LECTURES UPON THE FIRST AND SECOND EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS: Preached by that faithful servant of God M. ROBERT ROLLOCK, sometime Minister of the evangel of jesus Christ, and Rector of the College in EDINBURGH. EDINBURGH PRINTED BY ROBERT CHARTERIS Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. An. Dom. M. D. C. VI Cum Privilegio Regiae Majestatis. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL THEIR MOST LOVING FRIEND IN THE LORD, MASTER WILLIAM SCOT OF ELY, grace in this life and everlasting glory in the life to come. ALL knowledge, and all sciences invented by the wise men of this world without the knowledge of JESUS CHRIST, by whom remission of sins is obtained to the miserable soul, are but vain and unprofitable. The Apostle reckoning, out his prerogatives, Philip. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. which were many, counts them all in respect of the excellency and knowledge of Christ jesus to be but loss and dung: Even so it is with all sciences, if they be severed from the knowledge of jesus Christ in the Gospel. For, what avails it a man to know the height of the Heavens, the courses of the Stars, the breadth of the earth, if in the mean-tyme his conscience accuse him for his sins to be unworthy both of Heaven and earth? What avails it a man to seek by Physic to prolong afraile temporal life to the body, if his conscience tell him in the mean-tyme that his soul shall perish for ever? What avails it a man to brag of the knowledge of the Law, if his conscience accuse him to be most unjust and worthy of eternal damnation. In these and such like things the wise men of this world do glory, and yet they make not the soul the better. The knowledge of jesus Christ in the Gospel is the only knowledge that preserves the soul, and makes it to live for ever, joh. 5. 39 as our Saviour says, Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think to have eternal life, joh. 17. 3 and they are they which testify of me. And again, This is life eternal that they know thee to be the only very God, and whom thou hast sent jesus Christ. Then this science is to be sought, praised, and preferred to all others in all respects Look how highly PAUL commends it: 1. Cor. 2. 6. 7. 8. 9 Wespeake, says he, wisdom, among them that are perfit: Not the wisdom of this world, neither of the Princes of this world, which come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hid wisdom, which God had determined before the world unto our glory: Which none of the Princes of this World hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory: But as it is written, the things which eye hath not seen, neither ear hath heard, neither came into man's heart, are which God hath prepared for them that love him: But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. Other sciences were invented by men: but God himself is the Author of this science, he revealed it. Other sciences are all invented in time, but this science is before all time, from all eternity: other sciences handles things corruptible and changeable the knowledge whereof albeit it be pleasant and profitable for this present life, yet it cannot reform the soul to eternal life: for all their virtue is but the coverture of vice, but this science sets out and reveiles to a broken hearted sinner a favourable and reconciled God in jesus, who is advantage both in life and death, and in whom the heigh and wonderful things of God, and all things that the soul of man can require for grace or glory, pertaining either to this or to that other life, Col. 2. 3. 9 10. is contained: For in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, in him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily. Now this precious treasure the Lord hes committed to earthen vessels, he hes set in his service base and contemptible persons to carry the message of reconciliation, and to proclaim to weary and loaden sinners the glad tidings of salvation, he sends out simple men to manure his husbandry: he sends them out as soldiers to that spiritual warfare with weapons that are not carnal, 2. Cor. 10 4. 5. but mighty through God, to cast down holds, to cast down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Whom for the message they carry, the Gospel they preach, the word of life they offer, that hid treasure that is committed to them, the Lord craves we should have in singular account, honour and love. And indeed if we had the sight of the fierceness of that eternal wrath of God for sin, it could not be possible but we would say, O how beautiful are the feet of them which bring glad tidings of peace, Rom. 18. 15. and bring glad tidings of good things! We cannot honour, love and highly esteem of the Master, and respect the Gospel, if we hate and contemn the servant and messenger. And if we love our parents, of whom we have nothing but misery, who hes conceived us in sin, nurirished and trained us up in sin, and who by nature makes us airs of wrath and hell (for that which is borne of the flesh is flesh.) joh. 3. 6. O how exceedingly should we love these whom God makes instruments of our regeneration to beget us to God, to make us his sons, and to translate us from darkness to light from misery to felicity, from death to life, from hell to heaven. And yet this unworthy world never duly accounts of them, but of all men they hate most maliciously the true servants of jesus Christ. And to pass by other ages and Countries, the Lord of the harvest striving against our ingratitude hes sent out from time to time into this Land sundry painful labourers and faithful preachers of the Gospel, who pressed in all respects to approve themselves to God, to a good conscience, and to the consciences of so many as believed, of whom the world was not worthy. Among the rest whom God did beautify with singular graces, the Lord in the person of M. ROBERT ROLLOCK, that faithful and reverent servant of jesus Christ, gave us no sober token of his love. For we cannot tell if upon any almest in this Land the Lord bestowed greater abundance and variety of graces of his Spirit, if in any there was a more spiritual and heavenly soul, if any spared themselves less and undertook greater pains that they might be found faithful and finish their course with joy, if any pressed more to approve themselves to God and a good conscience than he. O what and how many gifts and graces were in the person of that man! in conceiving he was quick, in judgement solid, he uttered the Word with great liberty, he preached with evidence and demonstration of the Spirit and power: in opening up of the text and raising grounds of doctrine he had a special grace, in teaching he was clear and sententious, in convincing, powerful: in exhorting earnest and pithy: in correcting vehement: who for graces being in account and honoured was more humble? (& rara virtw humilitas honorata) who being provoked was less vindictine? who pressed more to keep the chair of Verity clean from corrupt passions, that the word of God might have free passage and be glorified? Who sought the world less? Who esteemed less of these earthly things: For he behaved himself as a faithful servant of God, not seeking himself, but jesus Christ, as a pilgrim here, yea and crucified to the world: for knowing that here he had no continuing city, he sought for one to come he had his conversation in heaven, from whence he looked for jesus Christ his Saviour to come. And having lived such an holy life to the glory of God, there followed a most sweet and comfortable death in jesus, whom he counted always to be his advantage. Revel. sword 13. And blessed are they that dies in jesus, for they rest from their labours, and their works follow them. O how great a wound did the church receive by the losing of such a member! Experience teaches us this day when there is such distraction of hearts in the Church what inlack we have of this man, whose labours in the like days and cases the Lord while he lived blessed wonderfully. His life preached his death preached to the world: Many one who heard him found in experience that he ran not unsent: For he laboured not in vain, 1. Tim. 3. 2. etc. but the grace of God was powerful in him, and by him to many. Finally, he as a vive exemplar represented to us such qualities and conditions as the Spirit of God requires to be in a Bishop of jesus Christ. Tu●. 7. 8 Put why insist we to speak to you, Sir, of this man who was well known almost to all, but most interely to you: Neither was he steadable to the faithful that heard him by his vine voice only in his life preaching, but also his works yet teaches the posterity. For his learned and judicious writings left behind him in latin hes acquired to him a famous name and reverend account among the learned in sundry nations, who profess that thereby no small edification redounds to the Church of God. And therefore, seeing that God did accompany his form of teaching so powerfully with his spirit and made it so profitable, we have thought meet to set out these his Lectures upon the two Epistles to the Thessalonians, that not only the simple may be instructed thereby but also the teachers may know and imitate his gracious form of teaching: as likewise, because the other Sermons that were before imprinted hes been received with great liking by the humble and such as desire to be edified, Now, Sir, whereas others in such cases uses to say that they were advising as doubtsome to whose patronage they should recommend their work, we herein are relieved of this care: we need no deliberation: for to whom in all respects can it belong but to you? First in respect of that inteere and exceeding love and familiarity that was between you and the Author hereof. For from once by his preaching the Lord wrought in your heart, all who knew M. ROLLOCK knew also how ye loved him, delighted in his company and conference, set yourself in all things to pleasure him, what testimonies of true love and unfeigned kindness ye would have uttered to him, how freely for the love of jesus ye would have communicate to him temporal things, (if that man, who was so well content with that he had, could have suffered you, and had not stayed the course of your liberality.) Also when that last messenger and forerunner of death did seize upon his frail and weakened body, few are ignorant how careful ye were for his greater ease to have him transported to your own house: How liberally ye and your bedfellow (whose praise ought not nor shall not be buried in oblivion) bestowed on him all things necessare and commodious, how cheerfully ye received and entertained for his cause all them that came to visit him, and what great benefit ye counted the Lord bestowed on you in that he offered the occasion, which long ye wished to show your liberality in temporal things towards such a rate vessel of mercy and faithful servant of jesus from whom he had received so many spiritual things. Again who is ignorant, what affection and kindness ye have uttered and daily utters towards his relict and posthume for his cause yea and towards all these who loved him in Christ. Next, to pass by that M. ROLLOCK in testimony of his love dedicate to you his commentare in Latin on the second of these Epistles, as also that in his Testament he ordained that all his books which he left to be printed after his decease should be dedicated to you, and come out under your name and patrociny, that whosoever goat commodity thereof, next after God, might give the honour and thanks unto you, after a special sort this work requires your patronage. For through your care, moyen and expenses these Lectnres were collected and gathered from the hands of these who wraite them from his mouth, by your moyen and procurement they were revised, corrected, and made apt for the printing by your means they now see the light, which they had never seen, but had been buried in darkness, if the Lord had not made you an instrument to publish them. Last, if that the pains which hath been ta'en in revising, correcting and making them apt for the printing might yield any right to make choice of a patron to this work, we would not, nor could not offer it to any, but to you, Sir, not only because of the undeserved love and kindness ye utter daily towards us, yea and towards all the servants of Christ, both publicly and privily as they themselves do testify, but also in respect ye were the Author to move us to undertake such travels. endeavoured such a propine is far inferior either to your deserts or our desire: and therefore we present it, not so much thinking thereby to discharge and satisfy the debt, as to acknowledge our obligation to you, and to be a testimony of our thankfulness. For these causes, Sir, we desire you to receive this work in your patronage and protection, to defend it from the speeches of such as hes not learned yet to speak well of any person or their works. For we are not ignorant how much and oft they who set forth other men's works use to be subject to the sharp censure of men, and how little thanks commonly, either they get, or may look for of many, so that few would be found to take travail in them, except they were rather moved through the love of the glory of God, and edification of his Church, then through any thankfulness they may expect at men's hands. Last, Sir, weary not in well-doing, go forward to do good unto the Saints for Christ's sake, and experience shall give you a proof of the Lords love and blessing upon your body, soul, and actions in this life, his Saints shall love you, his servants shall pray for you that ye may find mercy in that great day, and when ye have run out your course, when your journay shall be ended, when ye have fought out the battle, the Lord shall then gather you to his Saints and crown you with glory. Now the God of all consolation, Lord of Lords, and King of kings, bless you with all benefits spiritual and temporal, direct you by his spirit, and preserve you long to the glory of his Name, and to he well of his Church, that your pilgrimage being ended ye may with joy rest from your labours in jesus, in whose countenance is satiety of joys, and at whose right hand are pleasures for ever more, AMEN. Edinburgh the 16. of june. 1606. Yours in the Lord H. C. W. A. TO THE CHRISTIAN READER. WE offer unto thee, Christian Reader, these Lectures of that most reverent and faithful servant of jesus Christ M. ROBERT ROLLOCK, upon the two Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians. We have ta'en painos and travail that thou mightest find profit and edification. For not only have we conferred sundry copies gotten from the hands of them who written them from his mouth, but also we have conferred them with the Latin Commentary written by the Author himself, that thou mightest have fully, so far as was possible, both his own phrase and matter. In conferring of the Copies we omitted repetitions, cleared things obscure, and filled out imperfect sentences, that in nothing thou mightest find inlack. If thou doubt, either of the style or matter, or if any would move thee to conceive any eye-list or misliking of this work (as we are not ignorant how ready many are oft-times, upon small or rather no ground, before they have either seen or read, in such cases to give out sentence) we pray thee show us this favour to superceede thy judgement until thou hast red and considered, then mayest thou pronounce with the better warrant. If thou read with an heart indifferent and desirous to be edified, we trust thou shalt find thou hast not lost thy labours. And if thou return glory to God, and get grace to thy own soul, which were the chief ends of our travels, we will think we have gotten a sufficient recompense and obtained our desires. Farewell. THE ARGUMENT OF THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. THESSALONICA was a chief City of Macedonia, rich, populous, and puissant, builded by Philip the father of Alexander the great, King of Macedonia, after the victory he had gotten over Thessalia invaded by him at unawares. For returning home victorious he builded a City and named it Thessalonica, that it might be a perpetual memorial of that great and excellent victory he had obtained. Paul (as ye may read Act. 16. and 17. chapters) in his peregrination together with Sylas (who in this Epistle is named Syl●a●●●) the sixteenth year after his conversion, being called by a vision to preach the Gospel in Macedonia came first to Philippi, and next passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia came to this City Thessalonica, and entering in the Synagogue of the jews three Sabbath days disputed with them, proving by the Scriptures that it behoved the Messias to suffer and rise again from the dead, and therefore that Christ whom he preached was the true Messias and Redeemer of the world. At the which preaching of Paul, sundry of the jews that dwelled at Thessalonica believed and joined company with Paul and Sylas together with a great multitude of the Grecians, and many of the chief women of the City. But the jews that believed not, moved with invy, raised a great persecution against Paul, whereby he was forced to flee to Berea: where he preached the Gospel with better success: For the jews of that Synagogue received the word with all readiness, and tried his doctrine by the Scriptures, so that many of them, & likewise many men and women among the Grecians were converted. Yet the obstinate jews there also moving persecution against him, he is brought to the brethren to Athens, where he waited for Sylas and Timotheus, who returned unto him when he was in Corinth in Achaia Act. 18. 5. Therefore it was reported to him that the brethren that believed at Thessalonica were heavily persecuted by the obstinate jews: whereupon the Apostle was moved with an earnest desire to come to them, but he was hundred by Satan. 1. Thessa. 2. 18. Therefore tarrying himself at Athens he sent Timothy to them (1. Thessa. 3. 2.) to comfort them in their trouble, and confirm them in the truth. Timothy returning and bringing good tidings to him of the great grace of God that he found with them, because he could not come himself; the more to comfort, confirm and encouradge them to continue in the truth, he writes unto them this Epistle, which by the judgement of learned men is thought to be the first this Apostle wrote. There are four parts of this Epistle: The first part is the Salutation. chapter. 1. verse 1. The second is a Congratulation and rejoicing with them for the graces that by Timothy's report he understood to be in them, wherein he insisles very largely, even from the 2. verse of the first chapter unto the fourth chapter. Yet oft-times he breaks o●● this Congratulation by occasion casting in sund●y purposes needful to be entreated. First, he falls out in a discourse of himself, and the success the Lord gave him in his 〈◊〉 towards them, and his sincerity in his ministry, he removes from himself all suspicion of unsincerity, either by decease, by uncleannessen or by guile, together with the fountains from whence it proceeds, as flattery, avarice, ambition, and 〈◊〉 his endear affection towards them, from the beginning of the second chapter to the 12. verse. Next he excuses himself that he came not to them, from the 17. verse of the second chapter, to the last part of the verse of the third chapter, where he falls out in an exhortation to them to suffer afflictions patiently unto the 5. verse of the third chapters, there be brings a new reason to excuse his not coming to them unto the 9 verse of the third chapter: then returning to the congratulation in the end of the third chapter he concludes it with a pr●●er for the Thessalonians. The third part of the Epistle is anexhortation to holiness of life▪ He exhorts first generally to sanctification, in the first three vers. of the 4. chap. Then he comes more particularly to the parts of sanctification, and insistes 〈◊〉 them to the 23 verse of the last chapter. In this part of the Epistle the Apostle to comfort the Thessalonians who sorrowed above measure for the departure of their friends, by the way falls out in a discourse of the estate of the faithful departed this life, of the coming of the Lord of the rising again of the dead, of the time of the Lords coming, from the 13. verse of the fourth chapter to the 6 verse of the fifth chapter. The fourth part of the Epistle is the Conclusion, containing a prayer for them, a promise of sanctification made to them, with some other purposes, from the 23. verse of the fifth chapter to the end of the Epistle. MASTER ROLLOCKS LECTURES UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. THE FIRST LECTURE. THESSA. CHAP. 1. Vers. 1. 2. 3. 1. Paul and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the Church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father, and in the Lord jesus Christ: Grace be with you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord jesus Christ. We give God thanks always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 3. Without ceasing, remembering your effectual faith, and diligent love, and the patience of your hope in our Lord jesus Christ, in the sight of God, even our Father. WE purpose (well-beloved in the Lord jesus Christ) by the grace of God, as his Spirit shall assist us, to expone this Epistle, which is the first Paul doth write to the Thessalonians: Which furnishes to us doctrine serving for understanding, instruction, admonition, consolation, etc. Then to come to the purpose shortly: We shall speak something of these Thessalonians to whom he writeth; of the Argument of this Epistle, and the purpose of the Apostle in it. The Thessalonians were those, who inhabited a town called Thessalonica, which (as the History ●eares) was a chief town in the Country of Macedonia, sounded and builded by Philip King of Macedonia, after the victory he had gotten over Thessalia; for returning home victorious he builded at town, and named it Thessalonica, to be a perpetual memory of that excellent victory he had obtained. But to leave this: Paul (as ye may read, in the 17. Chap. of the Acts of the Apost.) in his peregrination together with Sylas, who is here named Silvanus, comes to this town in Macedonia, called Thessalonica, and entering into the Synagogue of the jews, three Saboth days preached unto them, and all his preaching tended to this, to prove that it behoved the Messias when he should come in the World, first to suffer, then to rise again in glory: Upon this he subsumes that that jesus whom he preached, had suffered, had risen up in glory; And therefore he concludes, that jesus, and no other, to be the Messias and Redeemer of the World. At Paul's preaching, sundry of the jews who dwelled in Thessalonica were converted: a great multitude also of the Grecians who abode there, and of the chief women of the town, not a few: Yet, notwithstanding of all this, sedition is moved against the Apostle, and that by certain obstinate jews, who would not be converted: so he is compelled to flee out of Thessalonica, fleeing he comes to Beroea, where he gets better entertainment, and convertes sundry: Occasion of the Epistle. Yet persecution ryses, and he is led to Athens, where he abiding, word comes to him, that the Brethren who were converted at Thessalonica, were heavily troubled, and persecuted by the obstinate jews there. Upon this the Apostle sendeth Timothy to them, to confirm them, and comfort them in their trouble. Timothy returning, and reporting the grace of God he saw there, Paul would have gone to Thessalonica, but as he sayeth, Satan withstood him, and therefore he takes purpose to write this Epistle unto them, which should be in steed of his presence. This is the occasion of the writing of this Epistle. Then to come to the Epistle itself, Parts of the Epistle. and to speak of the parts thereof. First, there is a salutation: after the salutation, he hath a congratulation, and rejoicing with them, for the graces he understood to be in them, by the report of Timothy. He continewes his congratulation a long time, almost to the end of the second chapter. Then he comes to his exhortation, and exhorts them (notwithstanding of all trouble) to presevere constantly to the end. This he doth in the third chapter: In the fourth and fift chapters he comes to the matter; and as before he had exhorted them to perseverance: so he exhorts them to godliness and holiness of life, such as becomes them, who have received the Lord jesus. This is the substance of the Epistle. Now in this chapter: First, we have the salutation, than the congratulation, and rejoicing for the graces of God in them; which continewes all this chapter, and the most part of the next chapter. Now to come to the salutation, wherein the Apostle salutes the Thessalonians: I will speak shortly of it, because it is a common form used by the Apostle in his Epistles, and hath been oft exponed. The persons from whom this salutation comes, are Paul an Apostle, Silvanus & Timotheus, two Evangelists: They who are saluted, are the Thessalonians, that is, the Church of God, that was made up of the Thessalonians, who were inhabitants of this town of Thessalonica▪ The blessings, or good things that are wished from Paul and the rest, to the Church at Thessalonica, are grace, and peace: the Author of this grace and peace, from whom, as from the fountain, Paul with the rest of his associates, wisheth these things to the Thessalonians, is the Father first: the Son our Lord jesus next. The cause wherefore grace and peace is wished from the Father and the Son to the Thessalonians, is, because the Thessalonians stood in that blessed conjunction with the Father, and the Son, and therefore it is said in the text, To the Church of Thessalonica, which is in God the Father, and in the Lord jesus Christ, that is to say, which is in that holy society, and conjunction with the Father and the Son. Now to mark something of the salutation. Note. This form of salutation that is used in this place, and in other places, by this & other Apostles: all these general salutations used by godly men, unto godly men; what are they? they are testimonies of that good mind, and goodwill, that the godly bears to the godly: They are more too; they are means and powerful instruments ordained by God, whereby the grace of God, the mercy of God in Christ, is convoyed from God, & Christ to them, to whom the salutation is directed. There are many means, whereby grace is convoyed from God to man, amongst all the rest, these salutations are means ordained by God, to that end. Brethren, it is no small matter to wish well to a man or woman, if thou have a godly heart when thou wishes well to a godly person, of necessity the affection of thy heart and mouth must be effectual. The to go fordward. Grace and Peace, is wished. But from whom? From God the Father, and from the Son jesus Christ. The Son must not be forgot here, because all grace is given in him by the Father; in such sort, that if any man will seek grace without Christ, he shall never get it. Therefore he who would have grace, let him seek it at God, through Christ: that he may receive it of that fullness that is in the Son. The jew that will seek to the Father without the Son, shall never see grace. Whom to is this grace and peace wished? to the Church at Thessalonica. Wherefore? Mark this ground. Because this Church is engrafted in the Father and in the Son by faith. Then first I see here: there is no grace, but from the Father and the son: and therefore there no wishing of grace to man or woman, but from the Father and the son, who are the fontaine of all grace. Again I see grace, mercy and peace pertains to none, but to so many as are in this happy conjunction with the Father and the Son. Art thou in the Father? Art thou in the son, engrafted in him by a lively faith? Then grace pertains to thee: mercy and peace pertains to thee. Art thou out of him, and not engrafted in him by faith? Let men wish welfare and peace to thee as they will, no grace, mercy nor peace pertains to thee. By grace & peace is understood whatsoever blessings of God that follows on that conjunction and union that is with God the Father, and the Son jesus Christ; As for example: Remission of sins, justification before the Tribunal of God, Regeneration & cleansing of this foul nature, peace, joy in the holy Ghost, & life everlasting: all flows from this conjunction: and therefore it must follow, that to him who is out of this conjunction with the Father and the Son, there is no remission of sins: if thou be not united to the Father and the Son by faith; no salvation, no regeneration, no life everlasting, no peace for thee: all thy peace is false peace, and thou shalt curse the time that ever thou had that peace. Then it must follow that this form of salutation, pertains not to the jew this day, who is out of this conjunction, neither I, nor no man can say to the jew this day, Peace and grace to thee from God the Father and from Christ jesus his Son: neither pertains it to the Turk or pagan, who are out of this union with God and Christ by faith. More than this, it will not be the name of any thing that will do the turn: there are many that takes upon them the name of a christian, & so will seem to be in the union with the Father and the Son, that in heart have no conjunction with them: But I say to thee, it will not be the outward conjunction with them, in the name of a Christian, it will not be the wishing of good days and good evenings that will do thee good, except thou find thy heart bound up in that blessed union with the Father and the Son jesus Christ. Mark an other thing. Learn here a form of an effectual and pithy salutation that the godly should use: first, when the godly salutes, as Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, when they wish any thing to thee, what wish they? Not any thing thou deserves, if thou were never so holy, but free grace, without any merit, as Paul here doth: then again, they wish it from them that hes this grace in their hands, from the Father and the Son. And last, they wish it to them who stands in the union and conjunction with the Father and the Son: for this union will draw down the drops of grace from the Heaven, from jesus that is full of all grace. Therefore Brethren, these salutations of the Heathen & Gentiles, and of profane men now, are nothing worth; they were never of valour: I will not give a penny for Cicero his salutem dicit; nor Plato his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, because in wishing well, they knew not what they wished, they called it welfare, well doing: they knew not grace, nor the free mercy of God: they knew not God, the fountain of all grace, nor Christ his Son, from whom all grace flows: they knew not a Church, nor the conjunction of the body, or the members with the head: so their salutations were of no value. Even so it is this day with profane men, who knows not God, nor Christ nor the Church, nor knows not his conjunction, their salutations are not worthy a stray; all their good days and good evenings are dear of right nought, for their salutations are only profane words, and when they are blessing with their mouths, they are cursing in their hearts. Now, brethren, to go fordward to the next part, which contains this congratulation & rejoicing together with the Thessalonians, for those graces of God which were bestowed on them Ye see the words: We give God always thanks for you, making mention of you in our prayers. In this congratulation he rejoyses together with them, for the graces the Lord hath shown on them: in rejoicing for the graces shown on them he forgets not God the giver of all grace, but in rejoicing with them, he glorifies God & thanks him for them, and so acknowledges all the graces that were in the Thessalonians, to flow out of this fountain, he acknowledges their faith, their charity, their hope, not to come of themselves, but to be of God: and therefore in rejoicing with them, he gives God the glory of all the graces that was in them. Why should we not congratulate and rejoise for the graces of God we see in others? we are bound to do it. Thou art oblisht to rejoise with him that rejoyses for the graces of God given him, as if they were given to thyself. Paul says, Rejoice with them that reioyses: mourn with them that mourns. Rom. 12. 15. We are bound when we see the grace of God in any people or nation, to commend it in them: for it is said truely, when grace or virtue is commended, it grows. But look that thy rejoicing, thy commendation of men for the grace thou sees in them, be to the end that thou may glorify God, who is the Author and fountain of all the grace, look that in commending of men, if it were all the Monarches in the earth, on pain of thy life thou forget not God. Look first up to the giver, and then to him who hath received: say not, Sir, or my Lord, I commend you for your good wit, and governance, I commend you for your manhood and wisdom. The flattering Gentiles that knew not God says so: but thou who art a Christian speak not so to any man: but say, I give thanks to God who is the fountain of all grace, for the grace he hes given to thee: thou hast no good grace no wisdom, no manhood, etc. but that which God the Author of grace hes given thee: as ever thou would see the glory of that God, who ever thou be have thy eye first of all, in all thy speaking and doing on the glory of that God. I confess there are many impediments casten in betwixt thy eyes and the glory of God, but strive to get a sight of that glory, or else thou shall never be partaker of that glory. Thou may have a shadow of glory in the world for a while, but as the must before the Sun vanishes away, so shall thou and thy glory vanish away, to thy everlasting confusion, if thou strive not to have the glory of God before thy eyes. Then hes thou any good graces in thyself? give God the glory: What hast thou, that thou hast not received?. 1. Cor. 4. 7. Give him the glory and praise of all: if it were eating and drinking at thy dinner: look that thou eat to his glory, and drink to his glory 1. Cor. 10. 31. And say in the meane-tyme, I do not this so much to feed this mortal body, as I do it to glorify thy Majesty. When thou lives, live to him: deying, die to him; consecrate thy life and death to him. Fie on us that can not learn to give the glory of all to our Redeemer. As for me, brethren, I crave nothing more, nor that the glory of God may shine before my eyes in my vocation, that when I speak or think, all may be to his glory, that in the end I may have this assurance that I shall be glorified with him for ever. But yet to stick to the words: He says not; I give thanks, but we give thanks, I, and Silvanus and Timotheus give thanks: He says not for an handful or a certain number of you, but for you all. He says not for a time, but always. Mark all these words: He says, we all, and that for all, we thank ever. It is a large thanking, and it testifies that the graces shown on the Thessalonians were large. When the graces of God are shown on me, on thee, or on any people, thy heart must not be narrow, but it must be enlarged, and thy mouth must be oppenned wide to praise and magnify God the giver of all. Or else I assure thee, when his grace is large, if thy heart be narrow, and thy mouth be oppenned but a little, the Lord shall draw in his hand & diminish his grace to thee. So is seen of it in Edinburgh this day, the graces of god on thee o Edinburgh were large, but thy heart was narrow, and thy mouh was not oppened wide. Therefore the Lord is pinching his graces; if it so continue, woe will be to thee. Go this grace of the Ministry away, and the Lord close men's mouths and let them not speak to thee, all thy grace is gone; and I think the Lord is beginning to pinch his graces on us, for that glorious Gospel which was preached with great liberty, and was so powerful in the land, hes lost the power: and the number of the godly of the land is contracted, for the one depends upon the other: therefore cry, that the Lord may make his grace abound, and that he would continue with us the light of his evangel. Now to the next words. He joins with thanksgiving, prayer: Prayer joined with thanksgeving. Making mention of you in our prayers: It is not aneugh to thank God for the grace that either we, or others have received, but also thou must pray: Cry for grace and continuance of grace; for I assure thee, if with thanksgiving there be not prayer for continuance, the grace received shall decay. Amongst all the rest of the means the Lord hes appointed for continuance of grace, earnest prayer to God is an especial mean. So as thou wouldst have thyself standing in grace, pray ever for grace, for there is no moment, but we are ready to fall away, except the Lord hold us up. The mean to entertain grace, is, earnest prayer. The Lord hold us up and let us not fall: but if the mean be not used, fall shall we, though all the world had said the contrary. It is to be marked farther. He says, in our prayers. As he would say, in our daily prayers we are accustomed to pray to God; in our daily prayers we forget you not, but we remember you. Mark this, Brethren. He is not meet to pray for others, that can not pray for himself, nor hes no acquaintance nor access to God. Who can solist for any man, when he hes no access to him whom he folists? Canst thou pray for me to my God, and thou have no access to him? He who will pray for others, must be well acquainted with God, and have a daily access to him. And how sweet a thing is it to have familiar access to him? for all the joy of the world is not comparable to that joy, which the soul finds when it is exercised with the Lord familiarly: for when thy heart is with him, no doubt he is with thee. Alas, beastly man, fie on thee that ever thou was borne, and thou have not that sweet sense of joy that flows from the meditation on the Lord: wilt thou let thy soul be ever stupid and senseless? wilt thou never be a Citizen of Heaven, expecting for the glorious coming of Christ, but ay lie as a sow, muzling and grountling upon the earth? wilt thou never look up with thy eyes to Heaven? wilt thou ay be looking down? If thou do so thou shalt fall down at last to that everlasting damnation. The Lord raise us up, for heavy are we: we are dead lumps ay tending downward & can get no rising up: the Lord raise up our souls therefore to heaven. Now follows the cause wherefore he rejoyses with them, in the next verse. Without ceasing, remembering your effectual faith. That is one, and diligent love; that is two: the third is, and the patience of your hope in the Lord jesus Christ, in the sight of God, even, our Father. Hear, brethren, not to escape the words, I see, first, an uncessant and perfit remembrance of the graces, God hes given his people, as Faith, Charity and Patience. I see, then, in the example of Paul, Silvanus and Timotheus, that, in the memory and heart of the godly, the graces of God shown, either on themselves, or others, makes a deep impression; when they see the graces of God, they take a deep apprehension of them. In the wicked it is otherwise: let God rain down graces from Heaven on themselves and others also, as they come, so they go, they remember never a good turn done to them. Now, on this remembrance follows prayer, they remember with joy, ever praying, remembering by night, ever praying, remembering by day, ever praying, at least, in the heart, if not outwardly in words. Mark it: a man that would pray well to God, must be of a good remembrance: would thou pray well? remember well: Prepare thee to pray, by remembrance of the blessings of God and pray then. What matter hast thou of prayer, when thou remembers not his blessings? So, all tends to this; that, thou be careful to remember the blessings of God: and as thou remembers, say, Lord, I thank thee for that blessing. I tell thee, the losing of remembrance of the grace of God, shown to thee and others, hes lost many graces to thee: if thou remember not the graces by-gone, and be not thankful for them, the grace of God will grow narrow, and become barren and turn away from thee. Now to come to the end shortly, let us touch the cause of this joy; first here are three graces of god that comes to the Thessalonians, Causes of thanks giving faith, hope & charity wherefore Paul thanks God in their behalf, to wit faith, charity and hope. I see these three graces recounted by the Apostle in other places: in the 1. to the Cor. cha. 13. 13. And now says he, abides three things, faith, hope and charity, but the chiefest of of those is charity, because when the rest go away, it abides in the life to come: in these three stands the perfection of the life of a christian man, in faith towards God and the Lord jesus: begin at them in this life, begin at God & Christ his Son, & be joined to him by faith: then come on to love towards thy neighbour, love thy neighbour: woe to thee that loves not thy neighbour: thou loves not God if thou love not thy neighbour. And because our life is not here, but it is hid up with God in Christ, thou must await for thy life in him, and so comes in hope, hope for thy life in him: these three must convoy & accompany thee here, till thou possess that life. So faith is the beginning of grace, faith joins thee with God through Christ, with a sweet conjunction, whereby all flows out of him to thee, for as we said in the beginning, no blessing but in that conjunction with him. Faith brings forth charity, the bud of faith is charity; and there is such a sure bond between faith and charity, that the one can not be without the other. If thou say, thou hast faith to God, and have not love to the Church, & the rest of the members of the body, thou art a liar. Now the end of all grace in this life, is hope; hope of salvation and glory, grace in this life ends in hope: it gins at faith, grows in love, and ends in hope; & that is the last degree, it goes no farther: for as to salvation, thou can not get it here; the farthest thou can reach to, is to hope, reaching up to heaven, expecting that glory that is appointed to thee there. The Apostle recounting the armour of a christian man. 1. Thes. 5. 8. ends in hope, he gins at faith, & then to love, & ends at hope: & speaking of the graces we have in the Gospel, as temperance, righteousness and godliness; Tit. 2. 13. He subjoines: Awaiting for that hope and appearing of that glory of that great God, and of our Saviour jesus Christ. Where ye see he puts on hope as it were a crown on the rest of the graces: hope, I say, is the last of all the graces in this earth, and we can go no farther, but in that life to come farewell hope: for we shall get the full sight and fruition of all the graces that now we look for: my eyes shall see my Saviour the Lord jesus Christ. So there the grace of graces in the other life, sight: for we live hereby faith, and not by sight, but then we shall get that full sight of glory, for we shall see him as he is. 1. joh. 3. 2. Yet to stick to the words: he sets out these virtues & graces, not simply, but, he descriues some one way, some another way: and so, he calls it not faith, but, effectual faith, or, working faith: he says not, love simply; but, a diligent and labouring love: and he calls it not hope simply, but, the patience of your hope: a patiented hope, Faith working a working faith, a laborious love. Now, let us consider the exercises of every one of them. Faith hes her excerise, in working: what works she? working out the filth of nature: (fie on the foul nature of men & women): so, that, the exercise of faith in jesus, is in cleansing the foul heart and every corner of it. And therefore, in the chap. 15. vers. 9 of the Acts, faith is said to purge the heart: for, by faith, jesus dwells in the heart, and Christ can not be idle, he will be exercised, and he purges out the foul stink of nature that lies hid in every corner of the heart. He that is not exercised in cleansing of his heart utters evidently, that, he never had faith, say what he will. This is the work of faith. Now, Charity is laborious. to come to Charity. Faith is exercised inwardly, in the heart, Charity is exercised outwardly, in the hand, and can not be idle: labouring, not for herself, but, for me and thee, and those, that are about her, and he who hes charity, or, he should not do good to his neighbour, he will rather want his hand: fie on them, who will not work with their hands, to help others. This land is full of idle men, & so, it can not be without judgement, thousands going idle, in all parts, and how can charity be keeped, without labour? if thou were a Lord, put to thy hand, and call to God, for to sanctify thy labour, it is vanity to sit idle, put to thy hand and do good to thyself, or, some others, or, else, sore shall that count be, that thou shall make. Now, come to hope. What is sho doing? She is bound under the Cross, lying in patience, looking for that glorious revelation of God: Hope patiented. I tell thee, either be exercised in suffering for the glorious appearance of jesus christ or else thou shalt lose hope: for as concerning hope she must be a sufferer; for it is said, It behoved us through many tribulations to enter in the kingdom of God. Act. 14. 22. So thy hope that awaits for the kingdom of God, must be endued with patience, otherways, if it be not joined with patience, to endure tribulation, that the Lord shall lay on thee thou and thy hope shall both ●all. And therefore when thou thinkest on hope, join ever the companion thereof, patience to it. 〈◊〉 Rom. 8. 25. with hope joins patience. Heb. 6. 15. Abraham awaited patiently: and thereafter enjoyed the promise: hope on, endure all, with the power of God, thou shall enjoy all, and prevail: for hope never made man to be ashamed, hope in God for salvation, for he hath promised. and is able to perform: and hope makes not ashamed. Rom. 5. 5. Then to take up this matter, I see all the graces of God are quick; a dead grace is nought, all are lively, either exercised in one exercise or other: Faith is working, Charity is laborious, Hope is suffering, each one hes their own exercise and therefore let not an idle body that is not exercised in sanctifying of the heart by faith, of the hand by charity, that refuses suffering in hope, let him not think he hes these graces of God. Thou that hast no work, no faith, no labouring, no charity, thou that can not bear patiently, and who at every thing coming to thee art ready to despair, thou that can not lie under the cross, thou hes no hope. And therefore as thou would find grace in the life to come, look that thou be exercised in this life, for if thou be not exercised here, thou shalt enter in that damnation, where there shall be no end of thy labour: & thou that will be exercised in faith, charity, and hope, assure thee in the life to come, thou shall not be pined with work, thou shalt cease from thy labour, and the tears shall be wiped from thy eyes, all pain and anguish shall be put away. Look then how ye will spend a moment, to eschew an eternity, if thou pass thy time idle, and do no good here, neither to thyself, nor to thy neighbour, thy labour shall endure everlastingly. Thou who wilt not spend a moment in labour, look not to obtain rest for ever. In the end of the verse he places, and grounds this patiented hope on jesus Christ; there is her ground & foundation. Look the words. And the patience of your hope, in our Lord jesus Christ, in the sight of God the Father. The faith and hope being begun on jesus, Hope grunded on Christ. a ground immovable, all the world can not shake it. He setteth to her witness God the Father: He must be witness, and must stand looking into the heart, to see what sincerity is in the heart. So beside the patience wherewith hope must be endued, she must be enarmed to dree out this destiny, she can not sustain trouble, except she be grounded. The ground is the Lord jesus, immovable for ever: who is able to shake him? If my hope be set on jesus, I defy all the world: shake me as thou wilt, no more nor thou is able to move him out of his place, no more art thou able to move my hope out of my heart. There is the foundation she must have. Yet more, she must have a witness, & he who hopes must hope before the Father: for the Father seethe all, and there is no sincerity but in the Spirit of God; and thou who wilt hope, consider God is before thee looking into thine heart, and have him ever before thy eyes: otherways, thou shalt do nothing in thy lifetyme sincerely, but all thy cogitations, motions, and actions of thy hand are all in hypocrisy. Therefore when thou dost any thing do it sincerely, and say, My God is looking on me: and therefore Lord prepare my heart to do it sincerely: let me not seek no approbation of men, but let me seek the approbation of thee my God. It is a misery to see men in the world, they will steal from God as it were to a backside, because they can not abide his eye: every man taketh counsel, at it were, to hate God, and he flies from God, because his pleasure is in hypocrisy: and thou vain man likes never to do any thing in sincerity, but would, as it were, ●yle thy own eyes and Gods eyes, and the eyes of all the world with thy counterfeit falsehood: therefore as thou would be approved in conscience, flee not from the sight of God, but crave his presence, that light may come from him & lighten thee, that in that light thou may walk and study to be acceptable to God, with whom thou must be & bid all this world farewell. woe to them that studies not to be approved of God, & gets not that approbation in their consciences. To this God the Father, with the Son and the holy Spirit, be all praise for ever. AMEN. THE SECOND LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. THESSA. CHAP. 1. vers. 4. 5. 6. 4. Knowing, beloved brethren, that ye are the elect of God. 5. For our Gospel was not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as ye know after what manner we were among you for your sakes. 6. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, and received the word in much affliction, with joy of the holy Ghost. THE last day, Brethren, we spoke of the first part of this Epistle, written to the Thessalonians, to wit, the salutation that the Apostle, with Silvanus and Timotheus directs to them. We entered in the second part, which continewes the congratulation, wherein he rejoyses together with them, for the graces of God bestowed on them: giving God the glory of all, making him the chief Author of all grace: Namely, for their faith which is employed in cleansing and purifying their hearts, for their love and charity, which was employed in labouring with painfulness for their brethren and neighbours, to their profit and well: and last, for their hope, which was employed in suffering, and taking things patiently, grounded on the Lord jesus Christ; having God the Father for an witness of her sincerity. This far for the matter going before. Now follows in the fourth verse, an other cause of this thanksgiving to God, and of this rejoicing: a more effectual cause nor any that was named yet: their eternal election before all worlds. All the graces told before were in time, but, as for this election, it is before all time, from all eternize: Upon this, as upon a foundation, all grace that is received by us in time is grounded, as ye would ground an house upon an foundation: None getteth faith, but those that are chosen of God from all eternity: None true love, but those whom God loveth from all eternity: None hope of life, but those who are chosen of God from all eternity: So all grace given in time, is grounded on this ground of election that was before all tyme. But to come to the words: Knowing (saith the Apost.) brethren beloved of God, your election. He styles them brethren first, than he calleth them beloved of God (for, I like that reading best.) The second is the cause of the first. Because they are beloved of God, therefore they are Brethren to him, to Timothy, and to Silvanus: Mark this. Note. Whom God loveth and upon whom he poureth forth his grace, as he did on these Thessalonians, we are bound to love them, to power out our affections upon them, to call them Brethren in jesus Christ, to speak kindly and lovingly to them: for, the graces of God we see in men, hes force to conciliate the love of men; so that, men when they see them in others are bound of duty to love them. If thou see the grace of God in any man; thou art bound to love the man for the grace, as thou would utter thou lovest God, the giver of the grace. The love thou carries to a man for the graces of God thou sees in him, utters the love thou carries to God the giver. Then we should learn to crave grace, to utter holy affections to them to whom the Lord hath given his graces, and that, for the grace's God hath bestowed on them. But to go forward. The next thing here that Paul utters, is a knowledge of their election. Knowing your election, sayeth he. This is a far sight. Then it is true, brethren, the godly who are able through the Spirit of discretion, to take up the grace of God in others, they have a great insight, yea even to the eternal election, and predestination to that life and glory, whereunto they are appointed, and they will utter an wonderful assurance thereof. (For the word signifies, Knowing perfectly your election) Indeed a man will have a greater certainty of his own election, then of the election of any other, because the warrant of his own election is within him in his own heart; Tokens of election. his heart is stamped therewith: he finds the seal thereof in his own conscience: as for the election of others, it is only outward, as in his actions and behaviour: by the eye of the godly, by the words of the godly and the works of the godly, and such like things the visible tokens of the mercy of God in men is shown: and so the Lord makes by some outward tokens their election from all eternity to appear. There are two things, whereof it is very hard to judge upon, and to utter assurance of: the first is the eternal election of others: the other is, the perseverance of others in grace to the end: the one by-gone from all eternity, the other to come to the end. It is very hard to judge of these two, in other men especially: Yet I see the Apostle takes on him to judge of both, and he utters an assurance of both. Ye see in this place, he knows the election of the Thessalonians. In the Epistle to the Philippians 1. 6. he is persuaded, that he who had begun with them (which is God) would perfit the work he had begun, to the coming of Christ, that is, that they should persevere in the grace they had received unto the end. The ground of all was, because of the grace of God he saw in time of the Thessalolians and Philippians: therefore he knows perfectly the Thessalonians is elected, and is assured the Philippians will persevere and stand in grace. So all tends to this, the grace of God bestowed on any (if we saw but a spark of grace in them) should ever move us to judge charitably, that those persons are the elect of God, and will stand and persevere in grace to the end. Away then with hard judgements of men. More than this (Brethren) ye see the Thessalonians are elected: yet he prays for them, Making mention (sayeth he) of you in our prayers. Election no impediment to prayer. And for this same cause; knowing that ye are elected. Mark this. The election of God, that sure ground and foundation of life and salvation, prejudges not prayer. Therefore, say not, I am elected, my salvation can not fail, saved must I be● therefore, what needs me to pray myself, or cause any other pray for me? No, by the contrary, say, I am elected, therefore, I will pray: ye are the elect, therefore, I will pray for you: that is Paul reason. For, as salvation, and life is predestinate and appointed by God, so are the means of salvation appointed by God, which thou must use, if ever thou wouldst attain to life, notwithstanding of thy election. And among all the rest of the means, Prayer is one: thou who art chosen to life, prayers is a mean to thee, to be used before thou come to life: Pray must thou, and others must pray for thee, or else, thou was never chosen to life. There was never man chosen to life from all eternity; but the Lord appointed that he should use prayer; also God ordained that he should live in holiness, and work good works, which is an other mean must be used. Ephes. 2. 10. For, if prayer be not used, if he live not holy, if he live without love, without charity and good works, if he continue so to the end, he shall find that he was never chosen. Now in the next verse, he falls to and proves their election: he utters not this assurance of their election without good warrants. There are two arguments in the text. The first is, from that virtue and power he found in himself, while he preached to them. The other is, from the effectualness and force of his Ministry in them. The first is in Paul himself, the second in the Thessalonians: the first is contained in these words. For, says he, our Gospel, that is the evangel preached to you, the Gospel of God: (there is no Preacher but he may take it and call it his Gospel, and except thou be saved by it, as it is the Gospel ministered by the Preacher, thou shalt never get salvation: Wilt thou go to God immediately, and not hear of them, but contemn them thou shalt never be saved. It is Paul and Peter's Gospel, and the Gospel of the preachers of it, ere it serve to thy well (this by the way.) This Gospel stood not in bare language and words only, but also in power. As he would say: when I preached to you, I uttered the Gospel in liberty and power, and therefore upon the graces and power I found in myself in uttering the Gospel to you, I gather, they to whom I preached are chosen of God. Then brethren: when the Lord sends out men to preach in power, it is never in vain; but it is a sure argument amongst them to whom they are ent, there are some chosen of God to life everlasting: and the man who finds himself sent out with power to preach the Gospel, he may say certainly, there is some I preach to chosen. Who will send out a reaper except there be some harvest to be reaped? Will the Lord send out a man instructed with power to any place, except there be some to be win to him there. The Lord says Matth. 9 37. 38. The harvest is great, it is coming to maturity, but the labourers are few: therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out reapers. And everbefore any man be sent out to preach, the men to whom he is sent are ripe to be instructed, so that he is sent out to gather them in to the barn-yarde. And by the contrary, when God takes away graces, and draws away power from preachers, when he lets them utter nothing but dead and empty talk without power, or when he closes men's mouths to speak, it is a token that the number of the chosen is growing narrow, and the Church is begun to be barren. Well, go this Ministry away, and if this power be taken away from us to an other part, there was never a surer argument of the drawing in of the godly in a narrow bounds then this is, and that the remanent are left only as miserable catiffes appointed to damnation. What avails this life and all that we have, if we miss that glory to come. In all our proceed, look what serves for the life to come; for all our lives will away, our life is not here: this death temporal is not death; this life temporal is not life, but death eternal is death, and life eternal is life. But to come to the words, and mark them. For our Gospel saith he, was not unto you in words only, but in power. Then it is not preaching in words only that works salvation. I see there are two sorts of preachings: some preachings in words only, as these Orators who preached to the Corinthians for invy of Paul, had nothing but words. There he sayeth. When I come I will cognosce these men, not in their words, but in their power (if they have any) for the Kingdom of God stands not in words, but in power of the Spirit. 1. Corinth. 4. 19 20. There is an other preaching of the Gospel, not in words only, but with wisdom and power. Theefore seeing this difference is in preaching, that some preachings are in words only, and some preachings in words with power, I must confess the cause wherefore there is only words without power given to the teachers, is oft times not only in the people themselves, although they be wicked, but in the preacher that utters nothing but words without power, to work into the hearts of the hearers. Therefore he that speaks in the name of the Lord, look that he have power, and ask power of God, that his words may be effectual in the hearts of the hearers to salvation, or else let him hold him silent. Either seek that power of God may be joined with words, or else close thy mouth, and speak not one word in the name of the Lord. This power is not gotten lightly, look to the grounds of this power: Paul sets them down here. In the holy Spirit, there is one, and in full assurance, there is an other. The first, the preaching of the Spirit: 2. grounds of power in preaching the second, a full assurance that is in the heart of man that speaks to the hearers. Look that he have assurance in his own heart, that remission which he preaches to others is gotteu to himself. Is he promising life to the people? look that he have assurance that that life is in him. The first and chief ground of all power is the holy Spirit of Christ: if the Spirit of Christ speak not, but only the spirit of man, the human power in the teacher, there shall be no power, no virtue in that word to edify. And therefore Paul 1. Cor. chap. 2. vers. 13. when he hes spoken of the mystery of Christ, which the wisdom of the world could not comprehend, he subjoins, The which we speak not with speeches, and words, which the wisdom of man teaches, but with words, which the holy Spirit teaches us, joining spiritual words with spiritual matters. By the which words he means plainly, that except the Spirit of Christ be the principal speaker of a spiritual matter, be the matter never so true of itself, it shall have no power, yea farther in the 1. cha. v. 17. he saith, the preaching of Christ, with the wisdom of words & human eloquence makes the cross of Christ ineffectual. 1. Cor. 2. 5. he saith, that faith stands not in the wisdom of men and therefore, who ever teaches in the name of christ, let him beg earnestly that that holy Spirit may be in the heart, to tune the heart; may be in the tongue, to tune the tongue, that the matter and words that he utters may both be of the holy Spirit. It is a dangerous thing to a man to speak in the name of the Lord, except first he pray and say, I am going to this place, Lord give me matter, give me words, and let not the speech be so much my speech, as the speech of thy Spirit in my heart. If the Spirit be in thy heart, he will speak, but if he be out of thy heart, it will be the voice of a man only. No, nothing will convert men, but that which comes of the Spirit. A natural ear may take pleasure to hear a natural thing, a natural heart to speak of a natural matter: but a spiritual ear and heart will take pleasure in a spiritual matter, which comes from the heart of a spiritual man. Now to come to the second ground of this power: It is the full assurance of grace and mercy, that he preaches by his own feeling, he speaks nothing but of faith and particular assurance: a general assurance is nought; for before I preach the grace of Christ, I must seek my warrant in my heart, that that grace, righteousness & life I teach, is settled in my mind, and upon this assurance I must speak to others; and if the speaker (albeit the grace were never so good) have not in his heart an assurance of that grace, all his words will be unsavoury words. So he must strive always to participate of that grace he teaches to you, either in teaching, or before. David says I believed and therefore I spoke. Psal. 116. 10. And Paul says, We believe to rise again, and to be joined to Christ, and therefore we speak. 2. Cor. 4. 13. As he would say, I am speaking to you of the rising of the body, but all this comes of an assurance in my heart, that this body of mine shall be dissolved, and at that last day shall live, and be glorified: and upon this assurance of mine, I preach to you this resurrection. All tends to this: He who speaks of God to us would be a man, that in his own heart hes a full assurance of grace: and above all men, a Minister that stands up and speaks to others, should have this assurance, and should seek all warrandes of his own salvation. And of the assurance of his heart, he should speak and say: Because I have felt remison of sins in Christ jesus, and life in him, therefore I may assure you of them in him, if ye earnestly by faith seek them. So look that none that is faithless, on pain of his life stand up to utter one word in the name of jesus, to offer life, or remission of sins▪ his speaking is but like the clattering of a Parocket, his heart is dead, and his head only sounds. The Apostle says, Because I am assured in my heart of this, therefore I spoke with a great liberty Then there are the two grounds: first, the holy Spirit: secoundlie, the assurance; if these two be of necessity the word must be profitable: and though a man can not get the full measure of these two; well is he that can sigh and say, Lord give me an assurance in my heart, ere ever I utter it to others. In the end of the verse, he takes them to be witnesses of his doing, manner of speaking, and power they saw in his preaching. As ye know after what manner I was among you for your sake. As ye know: then they knew the power. So brethren, there will be no Congregation of the Lord that will be so senseless and dead, but there will be some that will have that Spirit of discretion in them, know who speaks with power, and who not. Every man in the Congregation will not have it; but certainly in all congregations there will be some that will know empty words, and discern them. And therefore let every man that speaks in the name of the Lord, speak so, that he may take the people to whom this discretion is given to be witness of the power, and the Spirit wherewith he preached. Now all this is for their cause, all the graces Paul had, was for their cause, All grace is given to men for the Church. they were not for himself: Matter, word, power, spirit, all was for their cause, what ever grace any member gets, all is gotten and given for the whole body: the grace that the eye of the body gets, the grace the hand gets, all is for upholding the body and if the Lord had had no other regard, but of the hand only, he would not have given it the grace to grip. So is it in the body of Christ: for if he had not had an other respect to Paul, but for himself only, he had never received these graces. So james, Peter, john, etc. all their graces are for the well of the Church. The Apostle. 1. Cor. 3. 21. says, All is yours, whither it be Paul, Apollo's or C●phas, all is yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is Gods. Then the man that hath gotten the Spirit, and excels above his neighbours in graces, look that in pride he contemn not the least menber of the body; the eye must not lightly the foot, for if it look to the skies and let the foot stumble, it shall perish itself: so who hes gotten great graces, let him take them, and lay all down at the feet of the Church, and distribute them to the well of the Church, and say, I got them all for your cause. The Apostle having gotten a revelation and assurance, he sayeth, God gave it for the Church. So when thou hast gotten any grace, give it out to the Church in humility, whither the gift be spiritual or temporal, or else it had been better thou had never received it: yea, let a King bestow all his graces upon the Church, for his calling is for the Church, and except there were a Church, there should not be a King: woe to them that know not this end, that all Kingdoms and policies stands for the well of the Church. Daniel told Nabuchadnezar an heathen King, that his Kingdom was for the standing of the Church. The Lord open the eyes of men, to see that they do their duty in their vocation, that at that last day they may be found to be members of that body. To go forward, the Apostle gathers the election of the Thessalonians: first, from that power he had to utter the word, & that for their cause: secondly, by the effectualness & powerful working of this God within them. Brethren, if the power that God hes given the preacher, for uttering of his Gospel for their well, be an argument to them of their salvation, how much more must the effectual working of the Gospel be an argument of their well? join these two together, the powerful preaching of the Spirit & the working thereof, these two makes the assurance of the election of the hearers. And by the contrary if there be nothing but speaking without power, & no effectualness in the heart, it will not be the speaker that will avail, it will be ineffectual to them to their salvation. So thou must find the effectual working of the Spirit in thee, which must be thy warrant. But to come to the words. And ye are become followers of us, and of the Lord, and received the word in great affliction, and with joy of the holy Ghost. These are the words: ye see this effectualness in the Thessalonians stands in imitation and following, not so much of him, as of the Lord, of whom he was a follower. Well to be short: the effectualness of the Gospel in the hearer ye fe consists in the imitation of the speaker, when the hearer imitates in life the preacher; and above all, imitates in life and conversation the Lord jesus Christ, & follows Pastors as they follow the Lord only, and no otherwise. If then the effectualness of the Gospel in the people, stands to imitate thee, look thou that there be matter of imitation of thee, look how thy mouth speaks, look thou speak as Christ speaks, otherwise speak not, except thou may say as Paul says, when he hes preached to the people, ye are followers of me, I am made a guide to you going before, ye are followers: at the least, if they will not follow thee, look that thy life be good, though they should run away, go thou forward in the way of life. Preaching will not do the turn, if thou be not a light going before the people, all thy words shall do no good, and thou shalt never be partaker of that glory thou speaks of. Then mark again. Wherein stands this imitation? And received, says he, the word with great affliction. There the imitation of the Preacher, not only in receiving the word delivered by him, not only by following him in doing, but chiefly by following him in suffering affliction. Is he afflicted for the delivering of it? thou that receives it follow him in affliction. I remember Paul in the second Epist. to Timothy. Cha. 3. v. 10. 11. 12. where he lays down many things in himself to be followed, but chiefly his doctrine, manner of living, his purpose, his life, lenity, patience: then he says, my persecution and affliction in Christ. Now he sticks on this last, & he specially bound Timothy to that, and he says in general (as it were to every godly man) All that is willing to live godly in Christ, shall suffer affliction, & thou must be one of that number, Timothy. Brethren, we will be all content to follow in doing the Pastor. Hes he faith? we will follow his faith: hes he any other thing in him? we follow him in it: but when it comes to the cross, than we will leave him; we will let him alone: no, if it were Christ himself going out of jerusalem to Golgatha where he suffered, we will let him go all alone & will abide in jerusalem. It is vain to think that affliction only pertains to the speaker, and not to the hearers. The Apostle says, having received the word of God with great affliction. No, affliction is the unseparable companion of the Gospel in this life: hears thou and receives thou the word, make thee for affliction. And so Paul to Timothy makes affliction the necessare companion of the Gospel. 2. Timoth,. 1. 8. It bides with thee here on the earth with a cross on the back of it, for thou shalt not brook it without a cross. Therefore marvel not at this affliction, for it is a marvel that the Gospel should have remained so long without affliction in Scotland, and all this affliction in Scotland is nothing in respect of other parts where affliction is. And therefore if we brook this Gospel, look for greater afflictions, than these; for who hes striven yet to the blood, for the liberty of the Gospel? Now in the last words, with the affliction he joins the holy Spirit, An●●oy says he, of the holy Spirit. Ye received the Gospel with affliction, and with affliction ye received joy of the holy Spirit. joy of the holy Spirit joined with affliction. Look how surely affliction is the companion of the Gospel; as surely is the joy of the Spirit the companion of affliction, and this is most sure, that the affliction of the Gospel is most joyful. above all other things in the world. A man that suffers as an evil doer, a man that suffers for theft, a murderer that suffers for murder, an adulterer for adultery, he hes no joy in suffering, he is ashamed and hangs down his head, because the quarrel for which he suffers brings an evil conscience: theft brings an evil conscience, murder brings an evil conscience, adultery brings an evil conscience, & therefore he hes no joy in suffering. It is true, a man that is to be execute for his his evil deeds, in his execution will rejoice, but mark the ground. It is it not the evil cause that brings that joy, but it is the assurance of the remission of sins in Christ that brings the joy: the evil turn brings ever an horror of conscience: but when one suffers for Christ and the Gospel's sake, there is joy and comfort: and they that hes suffered for Christ's sake, in suffering have greater joy in the spirit, nor ever they had in the fullness of their pleasures in the world. Peter in his first Epist. 1. 8. says, In the midst of their suffering they suffered joyfully: when there is a good conscience, when men suffer for jesus sake, there was never joy comparable to that joy, it is such a joy as will swallow up all pain & terror. Experience of this we have in many godly Martyrs: not that affliction brings joy with it, for it is natural to the affliction to work sorrow and grief, but it is the good conscience that makes joy, and the good conscience comes of the good cause. When the conscience says, Thou art suffering for Christ that suffered for thee, and be assured after suffering thou shalt be glorified, o the joy that that man shall find! The Lord gives every man joy that suffers any thing less or more for Christ: the furnisher of the joy is the Spirit, who will not suffer any person to bear any thing for Christ, but he will give comfort and joy therein. Brethren, ye hear it commonly said, It is the cause or the quarrel, and not the pain that makes the martyr: the pain & the torment, were they never so grievous will not make a man a martyr: the ground is the good cause & quarrel that they suffer for, the Gospel & Christ. But I say farther, if there be no more nor the cause or the quarrel, that makes not martyrdom, if when thou art suffering for jesus sake, thou hast no joy, no patience, no faith and tolerance, no joy in the holy Spirit, and rejoice more in suffering and bonds, nor he that goes free, it is no martyrdom. join me joy and the good cause with patience in torment all three together, these make a Martyr. Peter sets down the rules of suffering, saying. Let no man suffer as a murderer, as a thief, as an evil doer, or as a busy body in other men's matters. Then he subjoins, If any man suffer as a christian for a good cause, let him not be ashamed therein, but let him glorify God. 1. Epist. 4. 15. 16. As in the I. Cham V 8. he says, They have in suffering for a good cause a joy ●●speakable and glorious: So here he forbids them to be ashamed in suffering, but to rejoice and glorify God who hes called them to that honour: for this is the highest honour of all, to suffer for Christ as the Apostles did. Mark all these grounds: These examples and rules commending suffering, are not set down in vain: and let none think to be a christian and to be exemed from suffering. Away with them who will say, they will preach and receive the word gladly in calmness, but they will have nothing to do with suffering: but I say, if thou prepare thee not for suffering after so long a calmness of the Gospel, the end shall prove that thou shalt curse the time that ever thou heard the Gospel. Therefore in purpose let us prepare ourselves to suffer, that nothing come to us unawares: and let us say when we rise, here I am ready, if it please thee, o Lord, to lay any thing on me for the Gospel ere evening, Lord give me grace not to be ashamed; but to suffer in joy, my life is not here, but my life must be laid down. And well is him can be this way prepared and looks for greater affliction: for no doubt, after so great calmness, affliction must follow, and all our suffering is but children's play yet. The Lord prepare us for it, and make us ready when he pleases to visit us. To this God be all praise for ever. Amen. THE THRIDE LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 1. vers. 7. 8. 9 7 So that ye were as ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not in Macedonia and in Achaia only: but your faith also which is toward God, spread abroad in all quarters, that we need not to speak any thing. 9 For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols, IN this part of this Epistle, which presently we have in hand: ye have heard (brethren) the Apostle rejoyses together with the Thessalonians, for those graces of God, which he understood and knew to be in them, giving God thanks therefore, rendering him the whole glory thereof. The graces were, as ye heard, namely first, their effectual faith: secondly, their laborious love and charity: thirdly, their patiented hope. Then he comes to the ground of all these graces, their election which was from all eternity, uttering an assurance of their election and of the choosing of them before the world was made. The grounds of his assurance of their eternal election were two: the first in himself: the second in the Thessalonians: the ground in himself, was that grace of God, that liberty, that power which he had in preaching Christ when he came among them, which assured him, the Lord had his chosen amongst them. The ground in them was a fair meeting, receiving the word, & that with affliction; as he delivered the word with affliction so they were followers of him, and received the word with great affliction, but yet with joy also; for as affliction accompanies the word, so the joy of the holy Ghost accompanies the affliction. This shortly for that which ye have heard already. Now to come to the text we have red. In the first verse thereof the Apostle amplifies the grace that God had given to them in receiving the word with great affliction: yea (saith he) ye have received the word with such affliction that ye were examples to all that believed in Macedonia, that is, in the country round about you: (for Thessalonica where they dwelled, it was chief City in Macedonia,) and not only were ye examples to them in Macedonia, but to them in Achaia, that is in the country next adjacent to Macedonia: so that even as the Thessalonians in patience and grace followed Paul, who was the teacher of grace to them: so the Thessalonians wants not their own followers: all those that believed in Macedonia and Achaia follows them as examples of faith, patience, & all graces. Mark it, Paul goeth before them in good example, they again go before all the Macedonians & those of Achaia in their good example. Then ye see examples of life hes great force, Examples are forcible. either to well doing or evil doing: for well doing & evil doing in this world come for the most part by example & imitation following others: a good man will follow a good man, a well doer will follow a well doer, a thief will follow a thief, & a murderer will follow a murderer: they that are inclined to harlotry and filthiness will follow them that exercise harlotry and filthiness: so they that intent to have grace will follow them that are gracious, they who do long and thirst for heaven will follow them whom they think to be going to heaven: they that will run to wickedness will run to hell after them that run before them thereto: so that our well and woe stands greatly in imitation of others: and therefore, he who walks let him take head to every footstep, especially he that is in any high room, in the sight of the people, let him take good head to his walking, and to every foot he sets down, how he goes, where he goes, what he is doing: for certainly, he shall not go alone: walks he well? he shall have followers: walks he evil? he shall have followers: falls he in the mire? more shall fall with him: breaks he his neck? some shall follow him who shall break their necks with him: stands he upright? more shall follow him and stand upright. Therefore the Apostle doubles over the precept, Walk wisely, walk circumspectly. Eph. 5. 15. 17. Colloss. 4. 5. Each foot thou sets to the earth, look where thou sets it, and look who follows thee. And Christ says. Matth. 18. 7. Woe be to that man by whom offence cometh, that is, that walks not warely but runs himself to destruction, and draws men and women thereto. This is a world wherein men had need to take head to their walking: God grant that they who are in high rooms, may take head to their walking, for they that goes before others may save many, if they walk well; and may lose many by their walking and going in wickedness, if they walk evil. Farther mark. Who are these that follows the Thessalonians? or to whom are they patterns of grace & patience in suffering? The Macedonians, the country about them: & beside that, the Achaians, they of the nighbour Country: for Achaia is next to Macedonia. And who were these? They that believed in Christ before the Thessalonians were called: they who were called first, followed them who were called to grace last. Mark then, the Thessalonians who were called last, outran in the course of grace the rest of the Macedonians and Achaians, and left them behind them, albeit they broke off before them. It is to be noted: We are all running in one course and we are all in one rinke, running towards the mark: for in the time of our life there is none sitting: thou deceives thyself that says thou hast a stablished mansion here, all must be on foot, and all must be running, and we must run to the place where our mansion is, to the But of our glorious resurrection and life everlasting: if thou sit still, thou shalt stink, rot and perish: but if thou run, and run on while thou come to the But, thou shalt, be safe in the end, and shalt receive the Crown and price of immortal glory. Now in this course and rinke of christianity, it falls out so, that they that start last, shall outrun them that start and break off a good space of time before them; and overcome them in faith, patience, affliction, and joy. Ye see this plainly in this example of the Thessalonians with the rest the Macedonians, and them of Achaia. So that is most true which jesus said, The last is first and the first is last. Math. 20. 16. There is a great alteration: the last outrunning them who broke off first: they that broke off first are made last. and lie behind, and is overcome in grace. The jews entered in this rinke long before, yea many hundredth years ere the Gentiles thought of any rink, or to come to heaven: but so soon as the Gentiles come in and breaks off in the rinke they did outrun the jews, & left them behind them as far as they might look to them: they were speedy in the beginning. After jesus came in the world and the Apostles were teaching, it is wonder to think how speedy they were: So this hath been oft times seen that in the Church of God, they who were called last hes overcome them who were called first. And I think that nation of France hath overcome all the Churches in Europe, in suffering a continual & frequent affliction: think not they are behind us in our course, no: they are far before us. And as to our nation in this part of affliction that Paul speaks of, I think it is behind all nations. Alas, what have we suffered? our time is yet abiding us. The Lord prepare us thereto: and I think it is coming on; yea, it is a wonder we should have heard the word so long without affliction. Yet to the words, he calls them examples, patterns going before others. He says not ye were a pattern singularly, (the words hes a great force) but ye were patterns: meaning, that so many heads of men and women, as there were of the Thessalonians, they were as many patterns, every person was a pattern; a pattern in grace, in faith, in patience and suffering. Many alled 〈…〉 So that ye may mark, when jesus come in the world, when the Apostles went out to the Nations, to draw the Nations to Christ, to convert them, the Harvest was great, the world was full of chosen vessels: when jesus came the world was full of men and women to be safe: there was never so many before his coming, & I wot not if ever there was so many since: and that was it that Christ meaned when he said, The harvest is great but the labourer: are few: Therefore pray ye the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his Wyne-yarde. Matth. 9 37. It is a wonder to hear how hastily at one preaching so many thousands were converted. Read the Acts of the Apostles, the second and third chapters, ye will wonder at the zeal, love, patience and joy of them. Brethren, this was the beginning and infancy of the Church, but since that number hes begun to be drawn in narrow bounds, & in process of time these Thessalonians who are now so praised by the Apostle, they are so drawn in, that we hear it not told that Christ is professed among them. So it was in the beginning here amongst us after the reformation, when papistry was put away: it was a wonder to see how men and women did thring in, and were glad to endure great labour, and suffer afflictions for the Religion. So, no question but that reformation fell when the Lord had many ripe to be called in this land. But I will speak my opinion, I think in these days the number of the faithful be drawn in, and (except the Lord say it) they shall grow fewer, and piece & piece they shall go away. Now when all the elect shall be gathered in to the last person, than the Lord jesus shall come and put an end to this world: and I trow it shall not be long to it. To return: So many Thessalonians, as many patterns of grace to Macedonia & Achaia. I ask a question ere I leave this. Received the Macedonians & Achaians any hurt by this superiority and prefement the Thessalonians had over them, they were casten behind, the Thessalonians before, were the Macedonians hurt thereby? No: the grace that God gives to a man, if he use it rightly, never hurts another man but furthers him: over comes he me in this grace? I am nothing impaired in that, because he is a pattern to me, whom I should follow in that grace: runs he before me? he should walken me up to follow and run after: for this is one mean among all the rest of the means the Lord uses to draw us forward in the course of grace: for we are slow in running, & every one of us by nature is inclined to sluggishness, & ay looking over our shoulder to stay our course, as Lot's wife did. Therefore the Lord hes appointed this mean to draw thee forward, he will set out one behind thee, long after thee, and will cause him to come by thy ear with all speediness, and run out before he, to provoke thee to emulation: so thou shouldest say, This man began after me, I was in faith before him, he hes outrun me, it is shame to me: & so thou should take thee to thy foot & run: otherwise thou hast no part with the runners in this rinke. So did he with the jews: they were all lingering at the coming of Christ, the Gentiles comes out after them, and runs by them, that they might be provoked to follow: so that both jew and Gentile might run on together to that But, which is Christ. Rom. 11. Now to the next verse: The words are plain. He makes this more clear, to wit, That they were examples to them of Macedonia & Achaia. And he says, For from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not in Macedonia and Achaia only. Even as, at the beginning this blessed Gospel sounded out from Zion (for they that preached it came from Zion, which is jerusalem) and spread it abroad through the whole world. So from the Thessalonians the word sounded out, & spread to Macedonia & Achaia. Who were these that sounded the word to Macedonia? Now certainly it appears well, even traveling men, so journers, passengers, merchants, traffickers, that had traveling in Macedonia (as men that would go out of Edinburgh to other parts of this Realm) & so from Macedonia to Achaia. These men as they so journed they so journed not with close mouths, but they ever sounded as Heralds and Trumpettars sounding, and where ever they found occasion, they spoke of Christ, and of that grace which was in him, to them that knew him not. So that they had conference ever of spiritual things. Then ye who travels from town to town, & from Country to Country, ye have your lesson here, ye should not travel with a close mouth, & all your speech should not be of ambergris and traffic; but of some grace ye have gotten at home, disperse and speak of it. Ye think of duty ye should seek your advantage & ambergris: the Lord hes bound your consciences as it were with bonds to speak & open the grace of god, & going to places where there is freedom to speak the Lord bids you speak, he bids you be lamps & lights to blind people, where ever ye resort: for besides all other means, the Lord hes appointed this as a mean to win souls to Christ, that ye who travails and have heard of grace should communicate that grace, and have conference thereof to all people where ye come, that you may win your poor brother & sister that have not heard of it. Alas, our consciences may accuse us very sore for the neglect of our duty herein: And I trow, because when men are abroad travailing, they travail with close mouths, never speaking of the grace they got at home, the Lord hes begun to close the mouths of the preachers of grace in this Town here. He goes forward in the next part of the verse and he amplifies this grace of the Thessalonians: Not only hes the word sounded to Macedonia, but he says, your faith also which is towards God, is spread abroad in all quarters. So that the Apostle travailed to no part but the brute of their faith met him: The brute of a man will go farther nor his voice will be heard. Thou then shouldst take head to thy name and fame, and travail to get a a good fame: for I tell thee, as thy presence is either good or bad to them that see thee, and with whom thou art conversant, so is thy fame to them that see thee not. If thou die bearing the name of a good man, thy name doth good to the posterity: but if thou die an evil man, thy evil name destroys many. Woe to them therefore that leaves an evil name behind them, especially if they be in high places: and amongst all the rest of the means God uses to enlarge Christ's Kingdom with, and to bring men to Heaven, as the presence of a man and his voice is one mean, so the name and fame of the grace of God in a man, is an other mean. Take head to thy name and fame; for either it shall turn to thy consolation or to thy damnation, accordingly as thou livest: and thou making men to follow thy evil example in doing, shalt aggredge thy judgement: look how little a thing will do much evil: we should then walk warely, this life will away, blessed is he that can make his name to serve to the glorifying of God. Thou Scotland hadst a glorious name in many Countries: Scotland's glorious name. the rosegarland of Scotland was the purity of the Gospel of Christ taught therein; and go it away, the King's honour shall pass, and I fear grace also shall go away. The Lord open men's eyes to see this, and let us not lose this name which we have in the mouths of good men in other countries. Now the last words of this verse. That we need not to speak any thing. As he would say: the fame of your faith spread so abroad, that where ever I come, it met me, so that my mouth was closed, that I needed not to speak of your graces. The Apostle when he had converted any people he ever commended them to the people he went to, and told of their graces, as the Acts bears. Now coming to other Countries, after the converting of the Thessalonians, before he could speak one word of them, the brute of them met him so the Thessalonians did hold in that part of his travail. It is most true, the people may disburdeene the Pastor of many things: for every one of them should edify an other, as he preaches & and edifyes in public: if every one of them would edify others in private conference, they would relieve him of a great burden. The end of his whole travails is to edify, and if every one of you edify others, ye relieve him of a great part of his burden. His office is to build up the house of the Lord, and every one of you is bound to take a stone in your arms to lay upon the building, and every one in their own vocation is bound to help up the building of the house of the Lord by conference communication, and such other means. But, alas, how is this practised in this nation? they burden the builder, not only to build, but also to build without an helper, for none there is that builds with him, The bloody murderer, will come in with a foul slander, and will beat down all that the builder hes builded in the hearts of many: the foul adulterer with a foul slander, and he will beat down that which the builder hes builded: the blasphemer with a foul mouth, and he will beat down that which is builded. This is the fashion of Scotland in building the house of the Lord. Woe to thee adulterer, murderer, blasphemer, etc. thou art a destroyer of the house of God, and shalt be challenged in that great day therefore. Now he make, 〈◊〉 more plain in the next verse. I needed not to speak any thing: for ere● open my mouth, he or she comes to tell me that thing, I should have spoke, & so he brings in their narration which spoke of his labour in converting the Thessalonians. For they themselves show unto us, what manner of entering we had unto you, and how yeturned to God from Idols. Ere they spoke of you Thessalonians, they spoke of myself, what manner of entering I had amongst you, with powerful preaching and liberty, as I have told you before. There is his part. So that where ever the Countrymen amongst whom he was, spoke to him of the Thessalonians, and of the grace they received by his preaching, they spoke to him of himself, of the grace God had given them by him. The commendation of grace, Commendation of the people & pastor 〈◊〉. patience and charity in the people, should not be without commendation of the Pastor, whom God hes employed as his instrument to their well. This commendation ye see begins at Paul, they speak of the grace of God in him ere they speak of the Theslalonians. And in that great day when the true praise shall be, the people shall not be glorified without the Pastor. If he hes had care in winning of you to Christ he shall be crowned standing by you. Paul saith A Crown of righteousnesse●● as laid up for him. 2. Tim 4. 8. and in this same Epist. to the Thess. 2. 19 What is my hope, my joy my Crow● ye are my glory & my joy. Meaning they could not be glorified without him, and his glory and joy consisted in their glory. All this tells us in that great day what glory and honour the faithful Ministers of Christ shall have, for they shall shine as stars: bide a little while, it is not long to. If thou be an instrument to make the people faithful, if they get a crown, thou shalt get a crown also. This for his own part. Then he comes on to their part. And as concerning you, where ever I traveled, they show me the manner of your conversion, and how ye turned from Idols, to serve the true God. So the thing that was reported to the Apostle of the Thessalonians, is their turning. Brethren, the first effect that is required in a man or woman in this world, is to turn them round about, to turn their face where their back was, to turn them off the course they were on, they are in an evil course, running to destruction, and their eye is on Hell. There is the first effect of the Gospel, Connersi● the first effects of the Gospel to turn them about; to take their eye off the Devil, and set it on God: thy heart, thy soul and thy affection that is set on the Devil, must be turned about within thy breast, and set on God, & if this turning be not wrought in thee by the Gospel, look not for grace, remission of sins and life everlasting. Art thou a murderer, and hast thy heart set on bloodshed? at the hearing of the Gospel, if thy heart be not turned, thy sin shall never be taken away. He who is new comde from murder, he will come in and hold up his ear to the Gospel, and hear of remission of sins and life everlasting through Christ, and he will take all to him, and in the mean time he will have his foul heart stuffed with murder and revenge. Away with thee o fool: it is impossible to get pardon & remission of sins, when thy heart remains yet unturned from sin: thou hast no part in jesus, I debar thee from him. Trowest thou to get remission and life when thy heart bides unturned, lying still in that stinking filth? In a word, thou shalt get no effect of the Gospel except thy heart be turned to God. So as thou would have life after this life, look thy heart be turned away from sin, and turned to God. So then there is the first effect that the gospel works, Parts of conversion. Repentance and turning. Wherein stands it? Look to the words: it stands first in this point, in leaving off Idols: if thou be an Idolater, turn thy back on an Idol. Thou makes an Idol to thee of thy foul affection, as murder, theft, adultery, when thou obeys them: turn thy back on these Idols. Many thinks to come to God in an instant with his Idol in his arms, they will present to God prayers, with the Idol in their bosoms, as Rachel would come down from Padan-Aram and worship God, but she keeped her Idol. No, be not deceived, if thou leave not the Idol behind thee, (whither it be an Idol in deed, or a foul affection that thou settest up in the room of God) I discharge thee of the Connention of the Sanctes of God, for thou scorns him, and one day he shall be avenged on thee for it. Turn thee therefore from that wicked Idol or else bide away. Now follows the second part of the conversion. It is not enough to turn from an Idol (a false dead stock, which is nothing but the invention of thy own brain. Paul to the Corinthians cal●es it nothing. 1. Corinth. 10. 19) but thou must turn to the true God. Turn thee from Satan to God. Alas, filthy creature, whom to will thou turn thee if thou will not turn thee to thy own Redeemer? The lesson is. It is not enough to turn from an Idol, except thou turn to the true God of glory, the living God. Brethren many men hes been deceyed with this. Amongst the Nations there were many who would scorn jupiter, condemn Apollo, as Diogenes, but they turned not to God, but turned to plain Atheiseme. So there are many in these days who will mock all the vanities of the Mass, and yet for all this, they will abide Atheists, and all Religion will be alike to them. Is he amongst the Papists? he will scorn them: amongst the Protestants? he will scorn them also? This is an evil sort of men. Except thou be of mind to ●mbra●●, the true God; hold thee with thy Idol, be a Papist still; an Atheist is most wicked and most dangerous, for the scorns all men▪ He is worse than an Idolater, and he can not eschew a judgement. For, the Histories records that God oft-times hes punished even the very cont●mners of the idols, that is, such as pressed to blot out of their hearts all sense of the Godhoode. Learn here in these words, that miserable estate that men lay into before their conversion The Thessalonians what were they before Paul came among them? dead in sin, dead in lusts, without any sight of God or salvation. I shall tell you how all men's sons, (even the King's sons) are borne, (so that we have no cause to glory in ourselves:) When he is borne first, and comes out of his Mother's womb, the back of him is to God, and his face to the Devil, and the burning eye of God is upon him. No infant, what estate so ever he be, is borne otherwise, his face is to Hell, his back on God his Redeemer, and thee seed of hatred, with the gall of bitterness against God in his heart, and if he remain in nature, there is no day he lives, but there is in his heart some augmentation of the hatred of God. Now in the mean time the ear of him is ay pulled, the light of reason begins not so soon in him, but the conscience will round in his ear, there is a God that created this world, and oft he will look over his shoulder to get a blenk of that God his Creator, and seeing him, feign would he be quite of that Creator, and of that sight of God that reason challenges his soul with: (look to this our nature, fie on them that gins to extol this nature in their doctrine) yet he can not be quite of the sight of God, and he finds that nature bushes him to seek a God. And then he saith: seeing I can not be quite of God, I shall make to myself a God, and then he will change the glory of the true God in the Image of a four-footed beast, etc. Rom 1. 23. Then the Lord seeing this maliciousness in the heart of man, who sees a God and will not see him; he putteth out his eyes, & gives him over to a reprobate sense and mind without all judgement: the Lord makes him both blind and would as a blind body running like as he were mad, and waits not what way: for he that is an Idolater, is by nature a would wavering body, and all his race in that broad way, adultery, murder, and all other vices, and ●unne where he will, Hell is the end of his running. Look then to this nature that we are borne in, it is worse nor I or the tongue of any man can express. Then how is this matter remedied? when the blind man is running on in his fury, there ryses a noise that follows him: see the mercy of God what manner of noise is this? It is the voice of the Law, crying, o miserable body, Manner of conversion. thou art condemned, Hell is thy lot and portion, and this gins to awalk him (a terrible walking.) Now if God let him alone in this manner, desperation would be his, end. But, if it pleases God to have mercy on that caitiff: there follows an other sweet voice, (alas, no other thing see I in Scotland but damnation if the Gospel be removed.) This cry is out of the Gospel with 〈◊〉 the Baptist: Sinner repent thee, turn thee to the Lord Christ and thou shalt ●inde mercy. The voice of the evangel. There is the cry of the Gospel, Thy sin shall be forgiven thee, thou shalt be safe. Death he hear this? if the Lord be powerful unto him, he will turn himself immediately about, and look with his face to that God and Christ with such a joy and mourning that no tongue can express it. A joy begins in the conversion, because of God's presence assuring him of the remission of all his sins: a sorrow begins because of the offending of God in time bypassed. So I cry this day, Believe in God miserable men, and ye shall find mercy. And if the idolaters in our North-countrie were here, I would cry to them, Fie on thee idolater, that hast run on so long in devilish ways, turn you from your idolatry and wicked nature to the verity of the Gospel of Christ, and you shall be saved: but if you turn not, damnation shall overtake you, and thou shalt be casten in utter darkness where there shall be nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth. The Lord save out of their wicked and detestable company all them that in their heart longs to see the most comfortable countenance of their blessed Saviour jesus Christ: and the Lord concur by his heavenly Spirit with the Gospel that is preached, that we may be all in time converted thereby, and see God in Christ, and serve him in this life, that at last we may have the full sight of his face for ever. AMEN. THE FOURTH LEC. TURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 1. vers. 9 10. To serve the living and true God. 10 And to look for his Son from Heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even jesus, which delivereth us from the wrath to come. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 1. 2. 1. For ye yourselves know, brethren, that our entrance in unto you was not in vain. 2. But even after we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated at Philippi (as ye know) we were bold in our God, to speak unto you the Gospel of God with much striving. THE purpose we have in hand, brethren, is that rejoicing of the Apostle Paul, together with the Thessalonians, whom he had converted to Christ, for these graces of God which Paul understood to be in them: namely, their faith, their love, their hope, their election eternal, of the which he was assured, and that by sundry arguments and tokens. Now the last day we entered into a narration, which the Apostle shows was made to him in the Countries in the which he travailed, both far & near concerning the Thessalonians and first of all concerning himself, what manner of entry he had unto them, with what liberty, with what affliction, and as concerning them, how they were converted and turned by his preaching from the Idols, false Gods which they worshipped before, unto God. This much already. Now in this text we have the uses and ends of their conversion and turning to the true and living God: There are two of them: the first is, that they should serve the living and true God: The second is, that they should look for his son, whom he, meaning the father, had raised from the death, even jesus, who delivereth us from the wraith to come. The ends of conversion. Now to come to the first end, and to mark every word: Ye are converted, saves he, from idols to God: and to what end? to serve the living and true God, whereas before ye served but dead and false Gods, being miserable slaves: ye are turned and converted from these false Gods to employ that service on the living and true God. Then brethren, to mark shortly the lessons, for the Text is plain. Our conversion & turning to God, is not that we should stand up idle before him or play the wanton in his eyes: but it is to be humbled before him, to honour him, and to consecrate our whole life, (if we did live ten thousand years) to his service. Many men, when for the fashion they have turned from Idolatry to God and to the Gospel, where he is present, employ their whole life (as ye see by experience) to displease and dishonour God in his face. In the light of the Gospel he will come out and play the murderer: in the face of Christ in the Gospel she will play the harlot, the third will oppress, the fourth will steal, the fifth will spew out blasphemy. Now why wouldst thou not do this when thou didst serve idols? the less judgement should have fallen upon thee to have done these things in the face of an Idol that saw thee not, nor in the face of God who sees thee. O hypocrite, it had been better for thee thou hadst never been converted to the Gospel, nor hadst never heard the sound of the Gospel, nor when thou hearest it to contemn God by thy life therein. Fie on thee, go back again to idolatry, except thou behave thyself comely standing before the face of that Majesty of God. Brethren, it is the thing I have been thinking on: This Gospel shall serve to the greater condemnation of the multitude of people in this world, & that for the contempt thereof: fie that such villainy should be daily and hourly committed in the sight of God, in so great a light of the Gospel. He joins some properties to this God, and calls him the living and true God, and that to put a difference between him and Idols: an Idol is dead, the Papists idol is dead and the Papist turns the living God in an idol. An idol is dead, without life, breath, feeling, motion or s●irring, without, all kind of quickness: God true & living. our God is living, an idol is but a false and sordged thing, a thing that a vain head will invent: fie on the 〈◊〉 of an idol: but our God is the true God, God in very deed, and in the end will be found the only true God. There are ●wo properties that are given to him: Mark the use of them: They are reasons moving the Thessalonians to serve him: He is living, why should they not serve him? he is the true God, why should they not serve him? The life that is in God, the verity that is in him is more than matter to move all mankind to honour him. Man cannot be honoured, but by others nor himself: take men away from a man, no honour to that man. It is not so with God, for, if all the creatures of the earth were turned to nothing, the honour and glory of that God stands sure and absolutely perfit. Then, if notwithstanding of the honour in him, of the life in him, of the truth in him, which all are matter of all service to be given to him, thou wilt not be moved to honour God, he is but an Idol to thee, an idol without life to thee, without sense or feeling, without hearing seeing, without all providence & care in governing these things in heaven and earth: thou that serves and honour him not in this life thou makes him an idol. If you thought he had an eye to see the inward of thy heart, an ear to hear what thou art speaking in thy secret chamber, if thou thought he had a providence over this world, for all the world thou wouldst not do as thou dost. The adulterer the oppressor if they had a conscience that God saw them and marked their doings, for all the world they would not do so as they do: but because thou makes an idol of him, thinking him neither to see nor know any thing: therefore thou playest the wanton: think not but this shall be laid to thy charge, Thou was an adulterer, a murderer, an oppressor: think not that this shall be the chief crime thou shalt be accused for, that thou art an adulterer, murderer, an oppressor: no, no, but the Lord shall say, caitiff, thou made an Idol of me in thy adultery, and closed me in Heaven, without life, sense or understanding, or providence to take care of the things of the world, caitiff, thy damnation is for this, thou dishonoured me in the profession of my name. Yet there is more in these words. He lets them see that greater advantage they had in serving God, nor ever they had before: before they served dead and false things, now saith he, ye serve not a dead & false thing, but a living and true God. There is great vantage here: Brethren, there are many sorts of slaveries in this world: but to be addicted to an Idol, or a false God, to fall down before a stock or stone, Slavery of Idolaters. of all slaveries this is the greatest: it is true, it is a slavery to be subject to a tyrannous man in this world, to his foul affections, to abide all things he will enjoin thee, but in the mean time, while as thou serves the living and true God, thou art a free man, and thou hast a singular comfort and consolation in thy heart: and if any will call the a slave, care not for that, for thou art a free man to God. 1 Cor. 7. 21. but, albeit he were a King, and had all the world under his dominion, if he be a slave to a false feigned God, an Idol, of all slaves he is the greatest slave: for not to know the true God is the greatest slavery that is: for there is no consolation but in God: if thou had all the liberty in the world, thy soul is in slavery, if thou serve not the living and true God. I will not call a Nation a free Nation, a King a free King, if they serve not that living God. Will I call a Kingdom a free Kingdom that is subject to a miserable slavery of Idolatry? Woe to that slavery: and thou Scotland, if thou lose the service of the living God, of all slaves thou shalt be the greatest, because so shamefully thou hast lost it. David in the 16. Psal. vers. 4. tells of the misery of the Idolaters, and of the liberty of them who serves jehovah. As for the Idolaters saith he, They multiple sorrow upon sorrow to themselves: then he rejoyses in his own felicity: who serves the living God jehovah? the Lord, saith he, is the portion of my inheritance. Therefore ere thou lose the service of this true God, and Christ his Son, lose thy life, and all that thou hast in this world. This is the only liberty to serve the living and true God. Now follows the second end of their conversion, which is to look for the Son and his coming; the first was, to serve the Father of this life; the second is to await for the coming of the Son. Mark every word. It is not enough, brethren, to serve the Father, the living and true God, in faith, in love, in all service that pertains to him in this life, except thy eye through hope reach out beyond this life in the mean time of thy service. Hope of life to come. Thou art here now serving him, look that thy eye reach out beyond this life, to see and to hope for an other life. There are many in wealth, in honour, in ease, in health of body in this world, that would make a Covenant with God, and say, Lord, Let me dwell still to serve thee here, and it were for ever, and I oblishe me never to look for more at thy hand: give me this life, and wealth and pleasure thereof, I shall serve thee to let me live here for ever, and I shall bind myself never to crave more of thee: alas, I trow there be many of this sort. Fie on it, this can not be rooted out of the hearts of the most godly, even as if either God had gotten glory sufficiently, or we could get perfit happiness in this life. Alas, if our hope were only in this life, and our blessedness reached not out beyond this life, of all men the christian man were most miserable. I had rather choose to be a Turk nor a Christian, except my hope reach out beyond this life, & all the pleasure and service I can do to God in it. If thou press to be a true christian, think not with thyself, I shall drive over this life quietly, & shall stand fast in all trouble, but thou must bide tossing & toiling, otherwise thou can not be a christian: for through many tribulations thou must enter into the kingdom of heaven. Act. 14. 22. Then ye who would serve God, serve him as pilgrims in a strange country far from him: what ever thou be doing here in his service walking in thy godly exercise, in the mean time let thy heart be with Christ: let thy heart be where thy life is hid up with Christ. Paul gives an example of this in his own person saying, I live here as a Citizen of Heaven. Philip. 3. 20. A Citizen in the heaven is a pilgrim on the earth. And therefore he subjoins, living as a pilgrim here, and a Citizen of Heaven, I hope for my salvation in Christ. A pilgrim hes ever his eye out of this world. The second Epistle to the Corinthians. Chap. 5. vers. 7. 8. he shows that in this life he walked in faith and confidence, but saith he, I choose rather to flit and remove out of the body, and to devil with my Lord jesus. Fie on thee, that is so nailed through head and heart to this world, that thou hes ever thy heart and sight here. Certainly I am of this mind, that the thing that every one of us should most care for, should be to steal away piece & piece from this earth. Louse thy heart piece and piece, and free thee from this woeful life. Now this hope and looking is for the Son: something pertains to the Father, thou must serve the living and true God: something pertains to the Son, thou must look for him from Heaven. Think not to honour the Father without the Son. The jew is vain that thinks to honour the Father without the Son, No, it will not be: serve the Father, but honour the Son also, or else the Father shall accept no honour at thy hand. joh. 5. 23. For all the honour of the Fathers is in the Son. But mark the special honour that is given to the Son in this life. The Son is honoured in faith in this life, in believing that he is already come in the world, that he is come in our nature and suffered the death for our sins: that he died▪ was buried, rose again from the death, thou honours him in believing this. But this is the special point of this honour, to hope that he shall come again: as he come once, so look that he shall come again. But brethren, neither hes his glory yet appeared, as it is in deed, and shall appear: neither yet your grace appears as it shall when he shall come again. And therefore the special service we can do, is to await for his coming, ad to glory under that hope. No, believe thou in the Father as thou wilt, if thou hope not for that glorious returning of the Son, thou honours him not. This is all to stir us up by hope, to look for an other life: for all these things; King and Kingdom will away, and they who hoped for him in this life, shall shine in glory with him in that life eternal. Fromwhence shall we hope that he comes? where shall we cast our eye (if we look for a man to come from one part, our eye will ever be on that part where from he should come, whither it be East or West, South or North) Where then should we cast our eye? Neither to the East, West, South nor North, nor to any part of this earth, but cast thy eye upward to Heaven, jesus is in Heaven, and he shall come from Heaven, he is not in the earth: and therefore ye see in him that hopes, as the heart breaks upward, so will the eye look upward, the hand, the head will be raised upward: as Christ sayeth, lift up your heads. Luke 21. 28. so his behaviour will tell thee from whence Christ shall come. And again thy behaviour will tell that thou hast no hope when thou tends altogether downwards, thy face ever towards the earth, & thy heart moiling in the earth: when any man sees all thy care and mind only upon the earth he may say, this body hes no hope, he looks not for the returning of the son of God. Then follows Whom he raised from the death, meaning the son of God: the Father raised him. I will not insist, but so far only as the text will bear me. Believe that jesus is raised from the dead, and that he is in heaven; believe the thing done & passed, and then hope that he shall come again: first be a believer, and then hope: he that hopes for a thing to come must be a believer of the thing by gone. Fasten thy belief on the things by-gone, that Christ died, was buried, and rose up by the power of God, and ascended to the heaven; believing all these things by gone, hope shall take hold on things to come; but if thou believe not these things by-gone, thou shalt never hope that Christ shall come again to thy delivery. All these things by-gone go before the thing to come: he hes told all the articles of the belief, ere he come to this coming of Christ again; therefore thou must believe these things by-gone ere thou hope for Christ's coming. Then he brings in a description of the son of God; from his name, a Saviour▪ from his office, a deliverer: a saviour must be a deliverer, his name bears his office, for jesus must be a saviour of men. There are two things joined together, Christ's coming and our eternal delivery: when he came first in the world, he began with delivery, and by his death redeemed us; when he shall come again he will make an end of our delivery & there shall be no more sin, death, Our delivery depends on Christ's coming. trouble or sorrow. So all our delivery depends so on Christ's coming, that if he return not we shall never be fully delivered: & by the contrary, jesus returning, of necessity thou must get a full deliverance. They that look for delivery (there is the order of hope) their hope is ever first in the coming of Christ, upon the which their deliverance depends, then in the second room, they look for their deliverance. They are fools that look first to be delivered, that is a backward order: therefore say, I hope jesus shall come again, and then say, I hope to be delivered: & ye see in the Revelation the cry of him who looks for salvation, is Come Lord jesus. Revel. 22. 20. The meaning is, When we desire Christ to come, we desire the performance of our deliverance: when we desire Doomsday, we desire the perfection of our eternal delivery, and it will not be until that day: if thou be found in jesus thy deliverance shall then come in the full accomplishment thereof. Now, from what should he deliver us? From the wraith to come. Christ deliveres us from the wrath to come. That is, from all pain and vexation. All the terrors, & hell that shall follow on the wrath of that great God that shall be revealed in that great day (for, that effectual wrath of God shall strike in that great day) are called the wrath to come. No doubt the Apostle by this word would stir up our minds to look for a greater wrath, then ever was seen in this world: there was never since the first day to the last, such a wrath of God seen in the world, as shall be seen in that last day. The lords wrath hes been uttered oft times in great measure since the beginning, as in that great deluge, in the burning of Sodom and Gomorrha with fire and brimstone, in the particular destruction of many people and sundry nations: but all is nothing to that great wrath, all is but play, in respect of that last wrath. And therefore, they are fools, who measures the greatness of the wrath of God, by the silly momentaneall afflictions, that is laid on men and women in this earth. Some thinks, God can not power a greater wrath, nor when he casts a man in great sickness, when he causes one to be rugged in sunder one part from an other, when he causes one to be burnt with fire: and foolish wretches will say, What can God do more to me? Knowest thou not, that, there is an everlasting wrath in God? or ever it light on thee, it shall make each member shake in sunder, & when thou sees it coming down on thee, thou shalt cry, Mountains and Hills fall down on me, and cover me from the wrath of the Lamb Revel. 6. 16. Again, mercy is not, to be measured, by the mercy we get here: it is a blasphemy, to think, that God hes no greater mercy to show on thee, nor he shows here. So the greatest affliction that can fall on us here, is nothing in respect of that last wrath. Therefore, that last day is called 2. Rom. vers. 5. the day of wrath. There was no day before called the day of wrath. Now, brethren, as the greatest wrath shall be powered out that day: so, the greatest mercy shall be shown to the godly that day. And they, who shall be found under the covert of the wings of this jesus the Saviour, wrath shall pass by them: but, they, who shall not be found under his wings, the wrath shall tumble on them. Alas, if we could consider this. Learn to seek jesus in tyme. The way to find jesus a coverture in that day, it must not be to begin then, thou wilt not get him then, if thou got him not before: think not to cry, then, jesus cover me: but, the way to make Christ a covertour to thee must be in this life: believe in him here, believe, that, he came into the world to relieve thee from this great wrath that day: believe, that, he died for thee, rose again for thee and hope, that, he shall come again to that eternal deliverance. Miss not this hope. Paul to Timothy 2. Epist. 4. 8. speaking of that crown of righteousness he shall receive, he communicates that crown with others: but, who are they? they, that hopes for his coming. If thou, in some measure, hunger not and thirst not for his coming in this life, look not to be covered by him hereafter: groan therefore, and thirst for jesus, in some measure, that he may keep thee in that great day from the fierce wrath of God. Consider this, the world binds up men's eyes, that, they should not see Christ's coming, and it makes us, never to desire, to hear, nor, know of an other life, or, of Christ's coming. Therefore, take up this necessity, and let all this life be a preparation to a better life, & in all thy exercise in this life, say, Lord, I am exercised here, in this vocation, or, that vocation at thy command: but, Lord, for all this bussines, I am a pilgrim here, my life is not in this world, and my heart and eye is beyond this world with thee. The Lord give us grace, to have this hope: woe to that soul, that must depart, and hes no hope of a better life. Now I will go forward in the Chapter following. Wherein first the Apostle sets out a discourse of himself, and of his own Ministry, and the success the Lord gave him in his Ministry towards the Thessalonians. This he tells in the two first verse● of this chapter. Parts of the second Chap. Then he comes to the recounting of the graces of God wrought in them by his ministry, to the 17. verse. Then until the end of the chapter he tells the great sorrow he had that he could not win to them, & shows the impediments, Satan withstood him. These are the three parts of the chapter. To come to the first part, he says For ye yourselves know, brethren, that our entrance in unto you was not in vain. When I came to Macedonia to win a number of souls that God had there my entry was not in vain, without effect or power: the reason is in the next verse following. For saith he, we were bold in our GOD, to speak unto you the Gospel of God, with great striving. The power of God was perceived in my preaching, and all my liberty in preaching of the gospel was of God. He aggreadges this his liberty by telling of the stays and impediments he got ere he came to them: he suffered many afflictions, and was evil entertained at Philippi, and coming to them he was not free of affliction, but all his preaching was with fight and daily battle: there is the meaning of these verses. To come then shortly to the lessons. First Ice the people that hes been grounded and edified in faith by the ministry of the Pastor, and by the grace and power of God, they should not forget the graces of God they got by him; and ere they should forget, the Pastor himself is bound by the example of Paul, for to stand up and to bring them in remembrance of the grace: not for his own praise, but for the glory of God, who hes given thee grace, that the grace of God be not obscured, but that his glory may shine. I will lay you a ground in the first Epistle Corinth. 2. 4. 5. Your faith is builded upon the power of God, that is given to the Ministry: To the Ministry? yea to the Ministry, to the Ministry man, or else thou shalt never have a ground of faith. The Apostle says, that your faith stands not in the wisdom of men, but upon the power of God. And therefore, brethren Faith stands upon that same very ground the power of God given to the Ministry. Thy eye should be drawn back to see the ground whereupon thy faith hath been grounded: if thou forget to look of it, Pastors should draw thy 〈◊〉 about, and let thee see that thy faith was grounded on the power of the word in the Ministry, I challenge your experience how oft ye remember the power of God in the ministry, whither ye rejoice or not: saying, well is me, I have not my faith grounded upon the wisdom of man, but upon the power of God; seek it for the foundation of your faith, that it be firm and sure: for if thou have not a sure foundation to ground thy faith on, it shall fall. And that thou may find it. I counsel thee that thou neglect not the Pastor: for if thou forget the Pastor & his ministry, thou shalt not come to the foundation of thy faith. I put it out of question, the power of God's word by his ministry is a ground where upon your faith is grounded. If this ministry go away, faith, salvation, and all graces in this land will decay. The second thing whereon stands this power, is in the second verse. It stands in a liberty, boldness & freedom, in uttering the Gospel, and speaking of Christ. So, brethren, where liberty, where boldness in preaching the Gospel is, there is effectualness in it, & the man who hes this boldness, is a fectfull man, & his entry shall never be in vain. If the Lord give thee liberty, if all the world had said the contrary, the effect shall not be in vain, and where the Lord gives not this liberty, all the preaching is fectlesse and without fruit. I shall say nothing but that which Paul saith: where there is no liberty in the speaking of jesus, of his mercy and grace, no freedom of mouth etc. there is nothing but a dead Gospel Where there is no liberty in using all the parts of the ministry, in rebuking, admonishing and comforting, there is nothing but a dead Gospel. (I mean ever of a liberty grounded on God, not on man's vain affections) where this liberty is not there is nothing but a dead ministry. I believe this nation be come already to the height of this liberty, not of the mouth only, but of the heart. And I think the Lord is binding up the hearts of men that they are not loused with that liberty, if it were but in preaching the Gospel, as they were. Lord be merciful to us. I believe this work be drawing to an end: ye have keeped it long: & blessed shall they be that dies in the light. And so when I look a far off, I pity the posterity, which appearantly shall be deprived of that liberty; all for our ingratitude, we had a grace, & liberty which we contemned. So God in justice is drawing it away. Next mark again. In God, says he, not in man. That is we used that liberty which God gave us. The liberty of the affection of man is nothing worth. Look then what ever be spoken by the Minister, it be warranded by the word of God. And look again, that it rise of the inward motions of the Spirit in the heart. If a man speak of his own private affection (o Lord if he should not have a well sanctified affection that speaks in the name of the Lord) it is better to him not to speak, he endangers himself & hes much to make account of. But if thou hast warrants in the word, break out with it with liberty: for it is as great danger to thee to conceal it when thou hast a warrant, as it is to speak it of thy own affection. And without question the Lord will control them that will control thy liberty here. The Lord give eyes to men that they may see what danger they incur by controlling the liberty of the word in the Church. There is his moderation in teaching. Now one thing more. All this power is in the beginning in his entrance to them. The Apostle is now afflicted in Macedonia, when he comes to Theslalonica, all his preaching is but a battle: & last shamefully is he put away, and goes to Ber●●a. What shall I say of this? If Paul had had no more but the spirit of a man, he would not have immediately gone to Thessalonica, and there teached: and being in Thessalonica he would not have uttered any thing that would have displeased them: No, but he does otherwise: the power of God never so well appears in men as under affliction, for when man is weakest God is strongest in them. My strength, says the Lord, 〈◊〉 shown in infirmity. 2. Cor. 12. 9 And in the fourth chapter of the same Epistle vers. 7. he shows, the Lord hes put a treasure in earthen veshels, that the excellency of his power may be known. Then he falls out in a probation of this power: My body is daily slain where ever I go, there is nothing but affliction. But saith he: by this I know, the life of jesus is manifest in me. He hes not a better token to know the life of jesus, nor by affliction: and none can know the life of jesus so well as in the last agony of death. Other countries hes experimented this power of God that appears in affliction better than we have done. Scotland hes no manifestation thereof in respect of other Churches. Well brethren, our time is coming fast on. The Lord of Heaven that is strongest when man weakest, give us strength and courage to abide that time and hold us up in our infirmities, that he may be glorified in our affliction. To this God, the Father, Son and the holy Spirit, be honour and praise for ever. AMEN. THE FIFTH LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 3. 4▪ 5. 6. 7. 3 For our exhortation was not by deceit, nor by uncleanness, nor by guile. 4 But as we were allowed of God, that the Gospel should be committed unto us, so we speak, not as they that please men, but God, ●v●o trieth the hearts. 5 Neither did we ever use stattering words, as ye know, nor coloured covetousness, God is record. 6 Neither sought we praise of men, neither of you, nor of others. 7 Whe● we might have been chargeable, as the Apostles of Christ: but we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. BRETHREN the purpose we have in hand, and hes had these days by-gone is the rejoicing of the Apostle together with the Thessalonians, for the graces of God bestowed on them. The Apost. falls out in a narration concerning himself & the manner of his entry among the Thessalonians, setting out the grace of God that was with him, when he entered in among them to this end, to let them see the ground whereupon their faith was builded was not fair words, but that effectual grace of God that was hid up in the 〈◊〉. The last day we show the Apostle proponed his manner of his entry among them, it was not in vain, it was not fectlesse, but fectfull, and when he come and entered amongst them, he come with a liberty and boldness, uttering the Gospel of Christ, and a liberty not grounded on man, or on his own affection, but on the power of God. This boldness he amplifies in respect of the afflictions which before he had suffered at Philippi, & in respect of that suffering he had, while he preached that word of the Gospel with liberty among them. Now to come to this text we have in hand. The Apostle in the third verse of this chapped. answers to that which might have been thought and objected by the Thessalonians (for he meets the thought of the heart) Thou says thy entry among us was with liberty & boldness, but look with what sincerity thou entered among us: it is not enough to preach with boldness & liberty, but there must be sincerity, look that thy preaching hes not been with deceat to deceive us, with uncleanness, with guile. If any of these three things have concurred with thy preacing & exhorting, all thy liberty in preaching & exhorting avails not. The Apostle answers (mark every word) for our exhortation was not by deceit, nor by uncleanness, nor by guile. Look to the words. Our exhortation, our doctrine or preaching (for by a special part of the doctrine, which is exhortation he understands the whole, and that because all doctrine ends in exhorting. Exhortation is the conclusion of all doctrine) exhortation, sayeth he, was not with deceat, with uncleanness, nor with guile, that is to say, was not with any kind of fainednes, neither in substance of doctrine, which is called deceat (false doctrine deceives.) Neither in affection, in uttering the Gospel, which is called uncleanness, neither in the manner of delivery, which here is called guile. In a word our exhortation was void of all sort of unsincerity: no part was simulate. Mark the lesson on this verse. Ye see here this meeting the Apostle makes to the very thought of the heart, and to the opinion they might have conceived, that he was not sincere in doctrine, utters plainly that there is oft-times a very opinion and suspicion in the hearts of the hearers, that there is unsincerity in the teacher, in delivering the doctrine, and this will make such a doubt in the heart, that it will hinder edification and faith. And therefore the teacher had much need to take head to himself in teaching, to his affection, and to eschew all sort of uncleanness, if it were but in his thought and affections: before he speak he should strive to get a sanctified heart, and in word let him meet the very thought and suspicion of the people, to remove all blame of unsincerity in preaching and uttering the Gospel, that edification and faith may increase. His end in preaching is faith, that the people may believe and be edified: Let him therefore put away all occasions that may stay the edification of the people, that the work and building may go up and faith may grow. Then secondly ye see, there are sundry sorts of unsincerity: A man may be unsincere in teaching many ways: he may teach, and yet teach false doctrine: he may be unsincere in his heart in teaching: he may be vasincere in delivering, and thereby deceive thee. And there is none of these ways, but they will stay edification, if the people take a suspicion, if it were of an unsincerity of the heart, it will stay the work. And therefore, in all manner of way the teacher should strive to be sincere in uttering the Gospel: that if there be any stop, it may be in him that hears, and not in him who teaches: for if the preachers strive not for his part to sincerity, and the people for their part to sincerity in hearing, it will be a great stay to the work. Now into the next verse, when he hes removed from him the opinion of all kind of unsincerity, and hes purged himself thereof, either in doctrine, affection, or in manner of delivery: He sets down the contrary, to wit, the sincerity he used in doctrine. The sincerity he used was this, that he spoke: how spoke he? Not as they do who are set to please men, but to please God. There is the sincerity in speaking: he had not men before his eyes, he respected not the pleasure of men: but in speaking and preaching his God was before his eye, and his heart was set to please God. Sincerity in preaching and hearing is to be measured by the end that thou respects in doing thereof: for if God and his glory be not before thy eyes, as the Butt whereat thou shoots, albeit that which thou dost and speakest had never so fair a face, yet all is unsincere and unclean. The thing I mark here specially is, a Pastor that strives to be sincere in speaking and preaching must set himself to please some in his speaking: but here a caveat to be keeped, in the person whom thou studies to please, either by doing, or by speaking: this is all the weight of the matter; if thy heart be set in speaking, preaching and doing, to please men and to satisfy the humours of men first of all: if that be the butt thou shoots at, because this man likes of this speaking therefore I will speak this: if this speaking please this woman, therefore I will speak this. If that be the end of thy speaking, all thy speaking is unceritie & flattery: if thou seek to pleasure any creature, if it were the Angels, let be a man, all thy pleasant talk is but vain talk and flattery. I deny not but men may be pleasured to, Rom. 12. 18. but look that thy butt be not to please men, of what estate so ever they be, but only to please God. First please God, and in God please them, & then thou can not go wrong. If men and women (what rank so ever they be of) can not be pleased in God, and will not let God have the first place, then please thou God, and anger all the world. If thou studies to please any person only in God in speaking and doing, there can be nothing there but sincerity. A sure rule, a man can never fail in setting his heart to please God, in thought, word and deed. The Lord give us upright hearts to study to please our God, and then all creatures only in him. Now he lays down a good ground, why in his preaching he strived to please his God, it was not without a good cause: and the ground is, God pleased him first, & why should he not endeavour himself to do all things to please him again, & render him the like duty. But as we, saith he, were allowed of God in such sort, that the Gospel should be committed unto us, so we speak. That is, that he hes placed us in this calling, made us Apostles who were unworthy bodies: of one who was unable of such a calling, hes made us able: as it hes pleased him so to please me, and as he hes allowed of me, who was altogether unworthy, my speaking shall be to please him. There was never a Minister that ever received grace for that calling at the hands of men, neither at king nor subject, but only at God's hand: and therefore let him study to please, not men, but God, who gives him all graces: and if men can not be pleased in God, let him not study to please them. Now to speak of this allowance, there is a difference between the allowance of men, when they allow of men, and God when he allows of men: man allows of man, because he sees some good qualities in him, which qualities he never gave him, for God gave him them. But when God allows of man, he allows not for any good thing he sees in him, to move him to allow of him, but all the allowing of God is of free grace, all is according to the good pleasure of his will: God's allowance of free grace. he allows not of man because he is able to do good, but because God allows of him, therefore he is made meet and able to do good: when God choised thee before all eternity to glory, what saw he in thee? The Apostle saith. He predestinate us in himself. Eph. 1. 5. Of his own free love he called us to grace. Before he called us to grace, what saw he in us to move him to make us partakers of his grace? He saw matter of hell and damnation in us. And therefore his allowance of us was not for any grace was in us: if he had allowed of us conform to that which was in us, he would have shot us with his hand to hell for ever. So when he calls one to be a Minister and teacher of the Gospel, allows he of him because he hes a grace before hand? No, the best Minister that is chosen he hes no more grace by nature to this holy function, nor the vildest sinner in the world. So it is the allowance of God himself that makes man meet to that office: so this allowance of God was in himself: no matter thereof in Paul, matter contrary to grace was in him, he was a blasphemer. 1. Tim. 1. 12. Paul had never been an Apostle, but an imp of the Devil, if God had not allowed of him first. The note is, God's free love binds us to please him. the undeserved love of God, when he allows of us, when he calls us to faith, or places us in any calling (if it were a King in his calling,) either in Church or commonwel binds & oblishes us to spend our lives in that calling, that God may be pleased. If ever thing bound thee, this undeserved liking God had of thee, who first liked thee when thou was full of ●inne, binds thee to set thy heart to please God: for thy blessedness, joy and felicity is to please him: and he that studies not to please him, knew never what joy was. Alas, if we could apprehend our own misery before God's allowance of us: (We are not placed so soon in any calling, but immediately we conceit with ourselves, that God hes seen in us something worthy of it,) and then again, if we could apprehend that free mercy of God, after the sight of our own unworthiness, than we would set our hearts to pleasure him. For, never apprehending our misery and God's mercy and free calling, we set ourselves in our calling to please men and our own foul affections. The Lord waken us, for apparently the time of trial draws near: we have been unthankful for the undeserved graces of God bestowed on us. Therefore he is begun to draw them from us, and lets us follow our own affections. Now next, In what thing strives Paul to please God? what was his calling? He says, The Gospel was committed to me. That is his calling. Therefore, say he, so we speak. Look what is every man's calling? Every man in a faithful discharge of his own calling is bound to please God. He saith not, God allowed of me, therefore I please him in playing the part of a king or magistrate: but he hes called me to be a minister, therefore I will please him in speaking. Then let every man set his heart to please God in his own calling. So there are two things we should respect in serving God: First do all to please him; secondly, in the calling he hath placed thee into chiefly study to please him. Keep these two, and then thou shalt be acceptable unto him. In the end of the verse he subjoins, But God who approveth our hearts▪ These words contain an assurance that Paul had in his heart, that in speaking and discharging of his calling he pleased God. God within me had his secret allowance, God in my heart as he allowed of me first, ere I had grace, and placed me in the Ministry, so now when he has given me grace to please him, he allows of me There are two sorts of Gods allowing. The first is when God allows of any man before he have any grace, 2. sorts of God's allowing. and by his allowance makes him able to do good: the second is, when he allows of him in the work he hes given him by his grace. The first allowance moves a man to serve his God and to do all things in his calling: the second allowance is a warrant to him that he hes done well. Always the lesson is. If thou set thyself to please God thou shalt never want a witness of thy doings, thou shalt never want a secret testimony within thyself, (albeit all the world should close their mouth, and never speak to thee) thou dost well: settest thou thyself to serve God, he shall round in thy ear and tell thee of thy well-doing, and give thee a secret joy. By the contrary, dost thou evil? art thou an harlot? settest thou thyself to displease God, who hes given thee all things? thou shalt get a bitter witness in thy heart, saying, false villain, thy pleasure is in displeasing God; o caitiff, thou art adjudged to condemnation. john 1. Epist. 3. 20. says, If thy heart condemn thee, God is greater than thy heart, much more will he condemn thee: take head to thy conscience; if thy conscience tell thee thou dost well, the Lord approves thy doing: otherwise, if thy conscience tells thee thou does evil, the Lord disallows thee. Now as he hes removed from him before, all sorts of unsincere doing, and took to him sincerity in speaking, to please God in all things who gave him his allowance: he goes deeper in the verse following, and he removes from him the soul vices, out of the which springs the unsincerity in dealing. The first is called flattering words: the second avarice: the third, ambition, insatiable greed of honour and estimation. Fountains, of unsincerity. He removes all these three, which are as as many fountains, wherefrom unsincerity springs. It is not my purpose to insist largely on these vices. Only I shall speak as accords to this place. The first than is flattery, Flattery. for no man used he any flattering words in preaching. Mark the lesson. When a Preacher is inclined to flatter and fletche on earth, either King, Queen, Council, or subject, man or woman, he is not sincere in his calling. There is none of us in no degree, but we may be, yea, and would be flattered. The Apostle is speaking here of flattery, not of Kings, or Princes, but of the flattering of the Thessalonians, Neither did we use flattering words, says he. But my lesson is, Where any Minister is set to flatter and fletche on the earth, that man ere all be done, will fall out in false doctrine, he will frame himself so to the affection of them whom he would flatter that he will be unsincere in doctrine. Why? The fountain of flattery is the foul crooked affection of man or woman: and so, if the vain man will apply himself to the crooked affection of man, the doctrine shall be crooked: ere he fail in flattery, he shall fall out in false doctrine. The heart of them who speaks in the name of the Lord jesus, must be set only on God, and not upon any man on earth, Well, the Apostle takes them to be witnesses of this, and says, As ye know. It easy to know a flatterer, his words will bewray him, he will commonly call God to witness, but not men. Men should behave themselves so, that they take not ay God only, but also good men to be witnesses to their doings: Paul here takes not God, but the people of Thessalonica to be witness, saying, ye know. It is true, brethren, albeit the words will bewray the flatterer; yet such is the blindness of man, who with self-love is set to pleasure his foul affection, that if a man would never so plainly flatter him in his face, yet oft times he can not perceive the flattery, and he believes this feigned flatterer to be his greatest friend. The Lord keep us from such flatterers, & lighten our eyes us grace that we may discern them. The next verse. The second vice is avarice, and he calls it the pretence of avarie; Avarice. your books turns it, nor coloured covetousness. Avarice in any man is dangerous, but chiefly in a Minister; it will make him to do much evil: for if his heart be set on avarice, and that be his end and purpose to win the world, he will in the end fall out in corrupt doctrine: for the rule of his teaching being his own belly and gain, ere he fail to get his purpose, he will teach false doctrine. It may be there be some men in this land whose hearts are so set on this sort of avarice, that they would say mass, ere they should want their gain. After that this vice of avarice reign in any man, it will misguide him marvelously, he will leave nothing undone to get his filthy heart satisfied: in any estate in the world an avaricious heart works much mischief. In the next words he takes God to be witness, & says, God is my record Avarice is not sodanely perceived, because it comes in with so fair a colour, the colour of godliness, the fairest colour that is, and the sight of man is so short that it can not look in to the corners of the heart full of guile. But the Lord hes an eye that can look through thy body in to thy heart, and he can tell thee whether avarice be in thee or not. And therefore Paul takes God to be witness that his heart was clean of avarice. Then learn; there is nothing so hid in man but he will get a witness thereof; if man can not be witness, God who sees all things, he shall be witness to thee, and in that great day he will reveal all, and discover the secreetes of all hearts: thou shalt not want a witness: think nor, when thou art sinning, thou shalt aye lurk still in sin; no, the Lord at last will take thee out and make thee a spectacle to the world. The last vice here is ambition. Ambition. Neither says he, sought I the praise of men, I sought no honour, neither of you, nor of others; and so, I am free of all kind of ambition. To speak this by the way: It is not enough to be free of any sin in any respect, at this time only, in this place only, in the sight of some only; but, he that would be free of any vice, as ambition, let him in all respects be free of it; in respect of all people, all times, all places: for, otherwise, he is an hypocrite and he will beguile men. So, we should study to please God in all ways, in respect of all places and people, and as if there were in the world no more but thyself alone, thou shouldst do as he commanded thee. The lesson is, It is dangerous for any man to be ambitious; but, in him that teaches the Gospel in the name of the Lord, whose calling should be, to seek the Lord & his glory, ambition is most dangerous: if this man be ambitious, if the thing he seeks by his preaching, be his honour and estimation, if his heart be inclined that way, in the end, if occasion serve, he will prove an evil man; he will be a papist, an heretic, and so forth. It is a most sure thing, he that is given to ambition will apply all his actions to obtain honour, because he serves that sin as a slave. I confess, there are none free of vice, we are all borne in sin, (except the Lord jesus) and naturally we are inclined to all vice, to avarice to ambition, we would all be Kings, and rulers etc. no, none of us is free thereof: but, blessed is that soul that getteth a piece of mortification, that his sins reign not over him, as lords; for, if sin reign over thee, thou shalt be compelled to serve thy appetite. We are all foul, aswell ministers as people, but, the Lord keep us from ambition reigning in us and tyrannising over us. For, then, there is no vice nor mischeefein this world that can be devised, but we shall be compelled to commit it, and all, to serve that foul sin; and a Minister in his calling of all men ought to have the greatest care to flee this ambition. Alas, the reigning of these sins what they have wrought in this age, experience hes told: this black darkness and this corruption that is in the kingdom of Antichrist hes risen on flattery, avarice & ambition: among all the Princes on earth, who overcomes this Antichrist in avarice? who overcomes him in ambition? who goes before him in flattery? Miserable experience shows well enough, that these vices hes brought in all heresies, and darkness, and these are three roots to all other vices. Now in the words following, he amplifies that which he hes spoken of the sins of avarice and ambition. He saith I sought not goods, nor honour of you, nor no others: he amplifies it In deed I might have been chargeable to you. I might have sought goods of you, being the Apostle of Christ: my calling might have made me chargeable to you, to have taken goods and honour or you: but I did it not. Brethren this is a marvelous thing. Men hes this sentence in their mouth. ministers right to temporal things. The Minister of God hes no right nor title to these things which other men enjoys. But I say to thee, he hes a title to the riches and goods of this world, to his own share of the honour of this world in his calling. Yea, Paul in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, 9 11. says, If we have sow unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing, if we reap your carnal things? If or hers with you be partakers of this power, are not we rather? Which words imports a greater right we have nor other men hes. If ye be addebted in any of these things to any man, much more to him that ministers spiritual things. And Paul charges Philemon vers. 19 not with a common pleasure or goods: but with a debt of himself: a Minister hes a right in a man to his life if he be faithful. But that ye should not think this marvelous, the things, as Paul says, that are given by the Minister, are things spiritual: he ministers to thee that spiritual life, and woe is to that man that gets not this spiritual life: and thou may say, cursed be the hour that ever I was born in, though thou were the Monarch of the whole earth, if thou get not this spiritual life, the life of God, the life of Christ. Then he says, as by Ironia: is it a fair matter to thee to minister to them temporal things? this world thinks they get overmuch if they get a drink of cold water, or an aiker of land: but would to God men had an eye to see what these spiritual things means. There is no sense of heavenly things amongst the most part of men now in those days. Yet again the special commendation a Minister can have, is even for Christ's sake, and for the Gospel's sake, to renounce some part of this right he hes to worldly things, ere the Gospel should be slandered. And therefore Paul says, we have not used our right, but we suffer all things, that in no manner of way the Gospel should be stayed, and so the course of man's salvation left off. Mark it, If any man for the Gospel's sake let a piece of his right pass, (aswell an other man as a Minister) that the Gospel may be furthered, and the course of man's salvation go forward, it is well done. The Apostle says, Why suffer ye not wrong rather nor before heathen magistrates ye should cause the Gospel to be slandered? 1. Corinth. 6. 7. Well is he that can let some part of these worldly goods go, that the Gospel may increase: he shall receive a fair recompense, and he shall get a part of that heavenly inheritance with Christ his Saviour. Now to end: In the last verse we read he sets down a virtue contrary to avarice and ambition; leaving avarice, leaving ambition, what followed? he says, But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. So the virtue that Paul used contrary to these two vices, is pleasantness: this pleasantness, understand what it is, it is a gentleness in all manner of dealing, in behaviour submitting himself to them, for the winning of them, submitting himself to all kind of travel and pain; as the pain the nurse takes for the child, to be a servant to them that he might win them, not respecting the honour and care of the world, but only upon such affection as the mother hes to her child; & so he takes a similitude from a mother toward her infant: there is no business nor care the mother will leave undone for the infant, nor respecting her hire or gain, but upon an inteere affection to the infant. Then learn shortly; A pastor must be like a mother: Paul Gall. chapter 4. verse 19 compares himself to a mother travailing in birth, until Christ be reform in them; O my little children, with whom I travail in birth, while Christ be reform in you. Now he compares the pastor to a nurse taking pains to nourish them when they are borne upon a motherly affection, without either respect to goods or honour; and he compares the people, who by the pastor are fed in Christ, & nourished by the sincere milk of the word to infants. As a young infant craves no other nourishment but milk; no more shouldst thou crave to be nourished with any other food but the sincere milk of the word: and as the infant would die, except he be fed with milk: so all they that refuses to be nourished with this sincere milk of the word, if they continue, die shall they. Thou Lord, Laird, or Baron, Husbandman, die shall thou, if thou be not nourished with this sincere milk of the word. If it be so between the people and the Pastor, Affection of the Pastor to the flock. as between the child and the mother: the Pastor's lesson is. Look what tender affection the mother hes to her birth, to cherish it, to take pains and travail, to wake and watch over it, and all upon a motherly affection, without respect of honour or gain: the like should thy affection be towards thy flock, and on pain of thy life look thou seek them, and not theirs. The Mother seeks the well of her child, and not his goods, nor honour: so seek thou the well of thy flock, and not their goods, nor honour, and let thy affection be motherly: and when thou sees the motherly affection of the mother to the child, say, The Lord give me such an affection to my people as this mother hes to her child, & let my honour and gain be to get them nourished. The honour of a Minister is in Heaven, and not in earth, his gain is in Heaven. So Paul sayeth, 1. Thess. 219. What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even you it in the presence of our Lord jesus Christ at his coming to glorify his elect. To this Christ with the Father and the holy Spirit, be glory and honour for ever. AMEN. THE sixth LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 8. 9 10. 11. 12. 8 Thus being affectioned toward you, our good will was to have dealt unto you not the Gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. 9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for we laboured day and night, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, and preached unto you the Gospel of God. 10 Ye are witnesses and God also, how bolilie and justly and unblameablie we behaved ourselves among you that believe. 11 As ye know how that we exhorted you, and comforted, and besought every one of you (as a father his children) 12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. THE Apostle (ye remember brethren) leaving off for a time the purpose that was in hand, to wit, that rejoicing he had with them, for the graces of God was in them. In the second chapter he falls out to a discourse concerning himself, making mention of his manner of entry among them, how it was not in vain. For when he entered among them, he entered with liberty, although that he had suffered immediately before at Philippi, notwithstanding of the battle he had in the mean time while he preached to them. Thereafter ye heard the last day, he removed from himself all suspicion of unsincere dealing in preaching the Gospel, challenging to himself sincerity in preaching. Seeing in preaching and speaking he had not man before his eyes, but God; not content only to remove from him unsincerity in 〈◊〉, he descends to the fountains of unsincerity and unclean dealing; which are three: namely, flattery, avarice, 〈◊〉, and these three roots of unsincere and unclean dealing in the 〈◊〉, he removes from him: he flattered them not he was not greedy of their goods, he was not greedy of honour. Albert, saith he, I might have been chargeable to you, as the Apostle of Christ ye were addebted to me both of your goods and honour, yet I would have none of them, but I lived in the midst of you, unburdensome, submitting myself to all fash●ie and pains for your sakes, as a mother nourishing her child, will undertake all pains for the child: so did I for you. Now in the first words of this text we have red, that which he spoke of the nurse cherishing her child, he applies to himself. Th●● says he, 〈…〉 towards you. The word is in the first language, I was desirous of you, I had a longing desire of you; such desire as a mother hes to her infant: she can not suffer her infant to be out of her sight, to be absent from her, incontinent she grieves for it, she is not well while thee have it in her sight. The same affection, (says the Apostle) I bear towards you, I love you, I can searcelie want your presence: for being absent from you, I have a continual care of you. There is the meaning of the words in the which ye see that love, that motherly affection to call it so the Apostle bore to this Church of Thessalonica. The first grace in the Pastor, is to love his flock: this is the ground of all the rest, if he want it all the rest is dear of the having, if he had all the learning and eloquence and utterance of men and Angels, all is nothing if there be not love and affection in his heart to his flock Paul 2 Cor. 6. recounting our many marks of the Apostle which he bore, amongst the rest in the 6. verse of that chapter, he accounts unfamed love to be one: for numbering those marks, he declares what spiritual love he bore to the Corinthians, saying in the 11. verse. O 〈◊〉, my mouth is open to you, our heart is made large, so that if it were possible, I would take you in my heart, ye devil not narrowly in me, but ye devil 〈◊〉 in your own bowels. I love you, but ye love not me so entirely as I do you. In the 11. chapter of that Epistle verse 28. striving with the ●alse Apostles, he shows what carefulness he had of the Church. Beside, sayeth he, 〈…〉, I have the care for 〈…〉 of the world. 〈…〉 but I am afflicted, I understand there are none afflicted, but I am afflicted with him. 〈…〉 It is wonderful to know what affection he bore to the Church of Christ. Ye who reads his works will wonder that there could be such an affection in his heart to the Church of God. Well brethren, all grace 〈…〉 love: all the blessings of God in Christ 〈…〉 of God. 〈…〉 john 3. 16. The giving and death of Christ and all the blessings in Christ came or the love of God to us 〈◊〉 Christ. All 〈◊〉 and duty of men, that man can do to 〈…〉 of the love of the heart, otherwise it●, all a vanishing 〈◊〉, not a thing in deed, but a vain s●o●e, albeit it be ne●er so glistering in the eyes of men: if thou would give all that thou hast to the poor, i● it come not of love and affection of the heart, all is lost all i● for nought. Now in the word● following, to the end of the tenth verse, the Apostle brings in 〈◊〉 arguments, testifying his in●re affection he had to them: Love must not stand in words, but it must be uttered in testimonies so that the world may see it in very deed. The work wil● let men see the heart, albeit it be God who is the 〈◊〉 searcher of the heart. Men will not be so blind, but in the hand they 〈…〉 hand be closed thy ha●● is closed 〈…〉 testifying his love & affection is a goodwill he have to them: such a goodwill that he was 〈◊〉 to impart and de●●ie to them, 〈…〉 precious 〈…〉 and all because of the love he bore to them 〈…〉 〈◊〉 here the first argument of the 〈…〉 〈…〉 and liberal 〈…〉 〈◊〉. A 〈◊〉 who love 〈…〉 〈◊〉, he will give them 〈…〉 comparison. A mother who loves her child, she will not be sparing to him, but liberal: so a Pastor that hath any tender affection to his flock, will not be sparing, but liberal and free to them. When the heart of man is open with the affection of love, it will open the hand also, and if he be niggard-handed sparing on his flock those grace's God hes given him, it is a sure argument there is no love in his heart. But come to the good things whereof the Apostle was liberal. The first thing was the Gospel of God, a precious thing, the glorious Gospel of the blessed Lord. That is the thing that is concredite to him, and it is the food of the soul of man: so that his liberality begins at the food of the soul, he must be liberal of the food of the soul of men, which is concredite to him, to give it to his flock. The mother begins to nourish her child with the milk of her own breast, her own substance. So the Pastor must begin at the food of the soul, he must begin at the sincere milk of the word, without the which there is no growing, and if they be not fed with this milk of the word first, they shall never come to the growth & stature of man, but shall be like dwarsses: and we so long as we dwell here are only infants in heavenly things; and all our thinking of heaven is but infancy; all our speaking thereof, the blabling of infancy. So we must be fed with that milk or else we shall never come to the stature of men, and perfection of heavenly things. The Apostle counts this but a small thing, to deal the gospel of God (albeit it be precious) in respect of the other thing, his soul he had to deal to them. 1. Cor. 9 16. He saith, if I preach not the Gospel, I have not wherein to reicice, and woe is to me if I preach not the Gospel, He who will not be liberal in preaching of the Gospel, which coast him not a penny, it will be long ere he give his life for his flock▪ if they were in Hell he would never redeem them with his 〈◊〉 Then the next thing whereof he is liberal, it is his 〈…〉 the liberality of a loving Pastor will end in 〈…〉 It will begiane at the preaching of the 〈…〉 his life which is more: if it be 〈…〉 This is the affection of 〈…〉 to her child, she 〈◊〉 for 〈…〉 affection, he 〈…〉 for his flock. This is counted a greater thing not the other, to die for the flock, greater not to deal the Gospel. Not that Paul's soul was more precious than the Gospel of God: no, the Gospel of God was more precious than the souls of Paul, Peter, and of all the Apostles, and of all the men in the world: but he counts it greater, because it was an harder thing to him to do: it was an easier thing to him to preach the Gospel, nor to give his life for them. Yet brethren, albeit it was an easier thing to a man to preach the Gospel, nor to give his life, things will fall out so, that all the by-gone preaching shall be in vain, except in the end thou seal up thy by-gone preaching with thy blood, if God call thee thereunto, the Gospel shall not have that sweet smell except it have the perfume or thy blood. The Apostle to the Philipp. 2. 17. says that the would rejoice If he were offered up upon the perfume of their faith. When the Lord thinks it expedient, he must lay down his soul, and with his blood he must perfume the Gospel he hes preached, otherwise he hes lost all his travel and his life to; and it is better to suffer then to lose all his travail, and in the end his life. This time is yet to come to us, the Lord knows how near it is. The Lord give us grace that we lose not our time by-gone, but that we may lay down our life for the Gospel, if that need require. In the end of the verse he turns again to the ground of his liberal dealing. This my liberality is not for any liberality of yours toward me, nor for any respect of commodity I will get at your hands. This my liberality is set only upon loving affection. So that he declareth the cause thereof to be love. It is necessare to the people to be persuaded of the love of the Pastor, otherwise except they be assured of his love, albeit he should utter the fairest doctrine that is, there will be no edifying. And so I see Paul ay seeks to show them of his love, that they might be edified. Particular gain will make a man preach: There are sundry Ministers who will be diligent to preach for game; but when it comes to life giving they fail there. worldly gain will never cause him be liberal of his life, only love makes a man liberal of his life. And therefore Paul sayeth, It was only for love, and not for gain, because ye were dear unto us. He who hes not this love, he may well flatter men a while, but the end that ●rye he had no true love. The Lord give men, especially the Ministry this affection, that in the end they may prove to be true Pastors: for if they have not this love, the end shall try they have been hirelings. The Lord give every man grace to trye-well, what reaca●esle and resolution he hes to suffer, for there is no day that the Minister ryses but he is bound to take this resolution in his heart, to render his blond up for Christ: And therefore albeit he die not, yet let him be dead in the resolution of his heart, and say, Lord 〈◊〉 I am ready to die for thy word, if it please thee so to call me. This is the first argument whereby he shows his love towards the Thessalonians. In the next verse he says, For ye remember, brethren, our labour 〈…〉. I will not only talk to you of my goodwill, but I will call to remembrance, what labour and travail, with what anguish and gi●se I have suffered for your cause. The words are very weighty in their own language, and specially the second, the words signifies such travail as a man takes on him, Labour 〈◊〉 the relief of the flock an argument of love. after he is wearied with travail, when he takes on him travail again. This is great labour. He labours while he was wearied and then he labours again to get rest. He uses this word in sundry places. Always mark. To testify the inward affection of the heart, the Pastor bears to the flock: it is not enough to profess a goodwill, that he had a purpose to have used liberal dealing with them, and to say, I will deal liberally with you: that is only words: but with the words, the flock must have an experience thereof, an experience of by-gone love and of a good deed, and there is nothing better to testify the affection, than the labour and travail the Pastor suffers for the flock. Charity is laborious and painful chap. 1. vers. 2. a man who loves an other he will undertake pains for him: His love will not be in word, but in action, he will run for him, he will ride for him night and day. If a Pastor love his flock, he with travail day and night for it: and it is a wonder to see what pains love will endure. Ye know this all well enough. Farther the word is to be marked. Ye remember. He charges them with a remembrance, and if they will forget it, he will not let them forget it. The people should remember of the pains of the pastor, thou art bound to remember upon the care and providence of God for thee, thou should remember the Pastor's pains: for if the Lord had not taken care on thee, he would never have raised up the Pastor, to take such a care on thee: and this is one of the ordinare means God uses to provide for his people, by raising of Pastors to take pains on them, and if thou remembers not on the man's pains, thou remembers not on the Lord's providence. The remembrance of the lords providence, and pains of the Pastor for thee go together, and thou who lightlies the pains of the man, thou lightlies God's providence: contemning the one, thou contemns the other; remembering the one, thou remembers the other. Men ●ill say, they remember on the Lord's providence, and yet they speak nothing of the instrument God hes sent to win them. No, he can not be thankful to God that forgets his Minister. Now in the words following, he makes plain the labour & pain that he bestowed on them. First, says he, I preached unto you the Gospel of God. There is a part of my labour: Preaching is a special labour: what matter were it if there had been no more but preaching. I wrought and laboured with my own hands, not in the day only, but in the night also: day and night I laboured. Paul was a craftsman, and had a handiecraft: he was a wever of Tents and Pavilions: and upon that came familiarity between him and A●utla, and P●●still●, who were of that same trade, and he did dwell with them. Act. 18. 3. Besides this he was a gentleman, and for other sciences he was well brought up, brought up in the laws at the feet of Gamahell, who was a chief lawyer, (and yet for all this he was a craftsman,) an Hebrew of the tribe of Beniaemin, of a good estimation, he that got that benefit to be a citizen of Rome, he was a gentleman. Well, a gentleman nowadays thinks it shame to put his son to any craft: but perchance the next day he will be hanged for theft, or murder, if he have not a craft to sustain him. Fie on this idle nation, and thou Scotland bears the gree of idleness and loitering. Wherefore was all this labouring? Because, saith he, I should not be chargeable unto you. Brethren, an end of his working was for his sustentation: an other end was, that the Gospel should not be slandered. We see he was sparing of these Thessalonians, and yet he preached carefully to them, and all to this end, that the Gospel should not be slandered, he wrought with his own hands, albeit they were debt-bound to him. Mark here, the thing in the world all men should chiefly seek, is that the Gospel of Christ should have the own progress, without any stop or stay. And above all things a Pastor who is the instrument of this progress, is bound that by no mean he be the stay of the Gospel given to win souls to the kingdom of jesus: left that which he is building up with the one hand, be not casle down with the other, as many do: they build on Sunday by their teaching, & all the week they cast down by their evil life: they destroy more by their life & manner of living, nor they build by their preaching. The least offence in the world will hinder the course of the Gospel; because of the infirmity of men & women, for they will start at a stray. There was never a stumbling horse comparable in stumbling to the heart of man: considering that so little a thing will cause men take offence at the Gospel, and leap farther back nor they came forward. (We climb up to Heaven very softly and slowly: but if we run to Hell, we shall fall down in an hour more than we did climme in a year.) Therefore we are all bound to flee all kind of offence and slander. Look that thou offend not, offend not the infirm to cause them go aback, neither in the word of thy mouth, nor in any action with hand or foot, or by the wink of thy eye to say the progress of the Gospel And of all men the Pastor is bound to walk most warely. Paul renounces his own right to flee this occasion of offence. The Thessalonians were bound to give him temporal things, who ministered to them spiritual things: but giving over his right, he laboured night and day with his hands for his sustentation. Every man in their own degree is bound to suffer all extremity, ere they be a stay to the Gospel; but chiefly the Minister. For Paul in the first Epistle to the Corinthians chap. 9 vers. 23. sayeth, If for the Gospel they absteene not from their own right, they shall not be partakers of the Gospel. Farther ye may perceive in the person of Paul and his example, who was in such need as he? Albeit he was the Apostle of Christ, he was pinched in his belly. 2. Corinth. chap. 11. verse 27. I have, says he, been oft in hunger, oft in thirst▪ oft in nakedness, oft in fasting, and Philippians chapter 4. vers. 12. I have learned to be hungry. Then we see by the example of Paul, God will let them whom he loves best oft times want their necessities. Measure not the grace of God by his outward dealing with his, he will let his own be as hungry, as naked as any other. And again learn in the example of Paul, the remedy how a man that wants shall supply his want. Paul wanted, what refuge had he? He bids thee not go steal, nor reave from them that have. Labour remedy of want. Thou who art able to work, he bids thee not go beg: hast thou hands? canst thou delve man? canst thou keep ●heepe: hast thou learned any craft? labour with thy hands as Paul did. Rather ere thou beg go to the vildest labour in the world. Idle rascals in this country, their labour all the day is crying, and begging. Alas, it is a shame when a stranger sets his foot in Scotland to see this great misorder, and that shameless begging. Then there is the remedy, labour. O but thou wilt say, I am a gentle man, a Lords son, a gentleman's son; it is shame to me to put my hand to work: file thy hands, or perchance thou wilt be hanged if thou were a lords son, go to the vildest exercise that is, ere thou be idle, thou glorifies God in thy doing & labouring: but in idleness, thou glorifies not God: if thou be going at the pleugh, thou glorifies God. Eat thy bread with the sweat of thy brows, otherwise it shall not do thee good: thou who lies on other men's labours, thou eats and drinks their blood. Would to God this matter could be mended, aswell as it is lamented: alas that there is no remedy for idleness. Now when he labours, wherefore labours he? for himself only ' no brethren: even to relieve the Thessalonians, that he should not be burden some to them Paul says, Eph. 4. 28. He that steals let him steal no more. (Alas, it is over long to live one day in theft,) but go and work with his hands, not to himself only, but also to help others. There are none that are bound to labour, but they are bound for the sustenance of others Thy labour is nothing worth if thou keep all to thyself, & put it all in thy own belly. Now ye have heard two of the arguments whereby he testifies his love he bore to them. The third argument whereby he testifies that love and affection he bore to them, is not from this or that particular, but from his whole life & conversation: 〈…〉 an argument of 〈◊〉. ye are witnesses how I lived among gone. sholilie to my God, justly to my neighbour) and then how unblamable, which follows on the other two: he who is holy to God and just to his neighbour, there is no blame in him. A man that loves, be he pastor, or be what he will, he will show his love in going before others in a godly life and conversation. In his life and conversation he will be an example to others, and he lives not without witness in the world: when thou goest out the way, the eyes of many are upon thee; goest thou out like a murderer? many follow thee, goest thou out like a thief, an harlots a number follows thee, and shall break their necks on thee. Again, a loving pastor will manifest his love especially in going out before his flock in an holy life: and these that have not an holy life I will not say they have love: I will not say that the murderer hath love, no not to his own wife and children▪ and he is but a stumbling block to all them that look on him. An harlot hes no love, she is but a stumbling block, & would have all the world to follow her: these are destroyers of the building that should be builded on Christ: woe to the destroyer of the Church of Christ. This is to be marked: thou wilt not live without witnesses in the world, live as well as thou wilt. Paul had witnesses of his life and manner of conversation, God was witness and men were witnesses: ye are witnesses and God 〈◊〉 witness. There are two things in a man's conversation; the one within, the inward sincerity of the heart; an other without, the outward behaviour and doing. Therefore he must have two witnesses The heart none can see but God, and therefore he is witness to it: the outward actions men may be witnesses to them. The whole actions of man are seen by God and man: God sees within, men sees without: both these witnesses are requisite for if you have not the approbation of God all thy approbation of men serves for nothing: who can allow when God dislikes? So thou who can not nor dare not say, Lord be witness to my sincere heart, thou hast no witness of God. Again it is needful that the consciences of men among whom we live in this world, should give us a testimony of a good life: & if thou laikes the testimony of men, thou laikes an approbation thou shouldest have: and Paul ever seeks the approbation of men and appeals their consciences. The word in the end of the verse is to be marked. Among you that believe. That is, you that are faithful: he takes the approbation of the faithful. It is faith that decernes, it is the eye of faith that sees good and evil, and not the eye of the body. The faithless man, if he were never so quick, can not take up holiness, if he be faithless, he can not decern between the holy and unholy. This will be his discretion: the best man he will judge him worst, and the worst man he will judge him best. And therefore with Paul let no man take him to the approbation of wicked men: but let him rejoice when wicked men speak evil of him: but take him to the approbat on of good men. The approbation of an unsanctified body is of no valour. The true approbation is only of God, and of these who hes faith to take up the truth of good and evil. Now the last argument that testifies of this love, it is in such things as concerns his calling; namely, in exhorting, comforting, Faithful. 〈…〉 beseeching. There are three named, under the which three are comprehended the whole duties of the Pastor, as the other duty was in doing, so, this is in speaking: and not only must the Pastor speak privately, but openly; and not only openly, but privately. Well then a loving Pastor will not be dumb: a dumb Pastor is nothing worth: but as Paul makes the comparison, he must be as a father teaching his sons standing in the midst of them, exhorting, comforting, rebuking them; so must a Pastor stand in the midst of his flock, to exhort, comfort and rebuke them: love must be in dealing with discretion, and all men must not be dealt with alike, all men must not be exhorted, because all lies not back in the way: they who are sluggish must be exhorted: all must not be comforted, there is some over proud and have need of a reproof, they only who mourns are to be comforted. In a word (that which is spoken to Tim thy 2. Epist ●. ●5) there must be a right cutting of the word, a Pastor must be a cutter and carver, and according to his discretion, he must give to every man. Now I find this, and ye see it, he takes God to be witness, and the people among whom he dwelled, saying, ye know, ye are witnesses to me: Learn it. The flock amongst whom the Pastor hes been, shall be witnesses to him in that great day, either to allow of him and his doing▪ or to disallow: to absolve or to condemn. If he hes discharged a faithful duty in his life, his flock will stand up before God and Christ and justify him in their presence in that day: if he hes been unfaithful, they shall make a complaint of him, that he was an unfaithful Pastor who hes not done his duty in his vocation. Therefore let every man take head how he behaveth himself with any people, for either they shall be condemners. or absoluers of him. Now he exhorts them. To what thing? To walk. Not to lie down, and sleep, but to get up on foot and walk in this world, because this life is but a pilgrimage, and a sleeping pilgrim is nothing worth. If thou go not on, thou shalt never come to thy journeys end. How should they walk? Not every way: for, it were better for men to be sitting or sleeping then to be walking wrong. Walk worthy of God. There is a kind of comeliness in going on the way: a man may go on the way in a comely manner, or else he may go on the way in an uncomely manner. Rule of walking. What is the rule of this comeliness? Walk worthy of God who hes called you to his Kingdom. In a word, the rule is, this glorious calling of God to be a Christian man and to be partaker of his kingdom. He who is called to be a christian man or woman, is also called to the Kingdom of God and Christ. Brethren, every man's life should be measured according to his calling, and as his calling is, so should he walk, and that calling should be a measure of his life. The king should walk in Majesty, to command: the people in love and humility, to obey: the Minister in uprightness, to teach: the people in holiness to walk before him: a merchant, a man of law, each one of them is bound in their manner of living, according to the rule of their calling. So, they that have their calling to be christians, should have their walking according to their calling. Is thy calling to be a christian? Live not as a pagan then, but as a christian. Thou wilt say, thou art called to be a christian, and then thou wilt be in the mean time a murderer, an harlot, a thief: Is that thy walking in thy calling? No, this christian calling is to a Kingdom and glory. There are none who are called to be a christian, but they are called to a glory and Kingdom: they are translated from the power of darkness, to the society of Christ. Therefore, seeing, their calling is to a kingdom, they should walk like King's sons: we are all made by our calling the sons and daughters of God, adopted in Christ and heirs of that glory that God dwells in. Then, walk worthy of God and glory. As our kingdom is above, flee and mount above this earth, in some measure, so far, as the heaviness of this corruption will suffer: lift up thyself, sin holds thee down, cast off sin and press upward: that life that is in God must be gotten above, in Christ: otherwise, if our hearts be not lifted up to that kingdom & glory, if our conversation in some measure be not answerable to our calling, we are unworthy of that calling, and we have never been effectually called: thou was called by the ear only, thou heard the Gospel, thy heart never received the Gospel, nor saw this Kingdom and glory that thou was called to. These wicked lives of men shows us, that, they were never effectually called. So as thou wouldst be a citizen of that heavenly kingdom, and partaker of that glorious calling, live an holy life, that, after this life, thou mayest be a king, & reign with God for ever in Heaven. To this God the Father, Son and the holy Ghost, be all praise for ever. AMEN. THE SEVENTH LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 13. 14. 13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, that when ye received of us the word of the preaching of God, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in deed the word of God, which also worketh you that believe. 14 For brethren, ye are become followers of the Churches of God, which in judea are in Christ jesus, because ye have also suffered the same things of your countrymen, even as they have of the jew. THE Apostle (ye remember brethren) in the beginning of the second chapter, he digresses and he falls out in a discourse concerning himself, his entering among them, what it was, his sincerity and uprightness in his whole dealing. This he does in the second chapter unto the 13. verse. In which verse he returns to his principal purpose, that he had rejoicing together with them, for the graces of God bestowed on them through his ministry. This rejoicing, as he show you in the beginning, it stands in a thanksgeving to God, who is the giver of all grace: for without him no matter of rejoicing, all matter of rejoicing is in him, who is the giver of all grace and mercy to us. The occasion of his returning to the principal purpose is this: In the verse immediately going before he hes spoken of his ewne carefulness in teaching them all manner of way, 〈…〉, and teaching them that they walk worthy of God, that had called them to his kingdom and glory. Now in this xiii. verse he thanks God for that meeting again he found in them. He teached, he instructed exhorted, ●nd comforted: the effect; They believed, they 〈…〉, they heard and received the thing he spoke, they embraced it▪ not as the word of man, but as the word of God, as it was in very deed. It was not ineffectual in them, but as they embraced it, so it wrought in so many as believed: it was powerful and made in them a wonderful alteration; and 〈◊〉 the operation thereof it show the self to be the word of God. The meaning of the text is plain. And therefore let us come to some observations. Ye see here first of all great matter of thanksgiving to God, Grace in 〈◊〉 & people double matter of thanks●guing. when this sweet harmony is between the pastor and the people, when as he teaches and instructs them lovingly and faithfully, they receive that word he delivers to them and thereto they conform their life & conversation. There is a sweet meetting: and if ever there was matter of thanksgiving in this world here is matter; in the faithfulness of the pastor and in the faith of the people meetting that faithful discharge of the Pastor in his office. It is true, when the pastor findeth the grace of God in himself alone, albeit he find no meeting in the people, he hes matter of thanksgiving to God: for how so ever it be, if that he do play the part of a faithful pastor, he is a sweet smell to God, as well in them that perish as in them that shall be saved by the word. 2. Cor. 2. 15. If ye meet him not he will be safe, if that he discharge a faithful duty; but your blood shall be upon you own heads: So he hath mat through the grace he hath received, to rejoice in God. But (brethren) when grace meets grace, when the faith of the people doth meet the faithfulness of the pastor, when he is not only a sweet smell to God, but he is the savour of life to life to the people; there is the double matter of rejoicing and thanksgiving to God: double grace and meeting of grace crave double rejoysinge and thanksgiving to God for the mercy double bestowed upon them. If any man had ever any grace, Paul had it; yet the man is never satisfied in his own person, except he find grace in those to whom he uttered grace meeting his grace, & except he find his ministry powerful to them whom he teaches: for otherwise he counts all his labour and running to be in vain. Therefore all teachers should strive to find the power of the word in the people; for wherefore are Ministers sent in the world? but to see that that word be effectual in the people to win them to God: and in very deed he may rejoice when he sees the salvation of the people wrought by his teaching. This in general. Now to come to the words. Their faith is set down in sundry degrees; and mark them: the first degree is hearing; they hear the word of the Apostle; 4. degries of saith there is the first grace in the people meetting the pastor, when they give their presence & hear him patiently. It is of the grace of God that a man or woman can sit and hear the word of God: and it appears that it is the grace of God; ye see many in Scotland that gets never the grace to hear, no preaching, 1. Hearing of the word. no hearing in many parts of the land: miserable are they without preaching, without hearing No question what ever other causes be of the lack of preaching & hearing, it is a just judgement of God on the people: and woe be to them that draws away the moyen of preaching and hearing from the people: miserable shall their end be. For, I see not, how salvation shall be, without preaching and hearing. There are many again, that albeit occasion of hearing be offered to them, and the teacher be at hand, yet they will not come to hear, they may hear and will not hear. Some will come to sit down, but if any thing touch their affection, they will hear with impatience: all this shows you, hearing is of grace. First, to get the occasion of hearing, is, grace: next, to hear patiently, to hear sin and vice rebuked in all estates of men and women it is a grace; for, some, in hearing their sin rebuked, they hear impatiently with grudging, and as soon as they remove and go out, that impatience breaks out in bitter words, As, when Steue● in the 7. chap. Acts ver. 57 58. is speaking to that Council of the jews that were convened; as soon as he speaks against them, they put their fingers in their ears, and rus●ing on him stone him to death. The 19 chapped. Acts verse 33. when Alexander stands up among the Ephesians, certain people being convened together, when he gins to speak to them of the way of God against Demetrius, they cry out all with one shout immediately, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. The 22. chapter Acts verse 23. when Paul makes a discourse of his own life and comes to this, that, he was called to be a teacher to the Gentiles, they rend their clothes and cast dust up in the air. All this tells us the fury and rage of the heart, against God, against Christ & his word. And by the contrary; it is a special grace of God, that men and women gets, when they can sit still and hear the word of God patiently. There is the first degree. The second degree of their faith and meeting of the Apostle, is receiving of the word. That is to say, a receiving and approving of the word of God, 2. general allowance. to be true and good, even, a general allowance thereof. When this man will say within himself, this is true that is spoken. Many gets not this grace: for, many when they hear, suppose they lend their ear to the word, in their mind they disallow that which is spoken: and albeit thy mouth be close, yet the mind will be making contradiction The natural man says the Apostle. 1. Cor. 2. 14. when he hears of heavenly things, he understands them not: yea, more, he thinks them all but foolishness. Set up a natural man, he will scorn all that is spoken of Christ and of spiritual things, and will laugh at them in his own heart. When Paul came to Athens Act. 17. vers. 18. and entered among those high headed Philosophers, and begouth to speak of the way of God. They met him again with scorning, and they said, What means this bablor? they thought all that he spoke babbling. There are many of them in Scotland, who thinks, when a man speaks of Christ, that, all is but babbling. Then, it is a grace of God, to give an allowance to that which is spoken. There is farther here. 3. 〈…〉 heart. The third degree of grace, is, embracing the word in the heart. There are many that can hear, that is a grace: when they have heard will give a general allowance, that, all is good, all is true; there is the second grace, but, in the mean time, they will shoot it all out of their heart: they will say, it is true and good, but, what is that to me? they never emembrace it in their own heart. Simon Magus (as it is told, Acts 8. 21. allowed of that which was spoken, & it is said, he had faith; in the mean time, no application in his own heart, for, shortly after he uttered that gall of bitterness which was in his heart & he would have bought the graces of the holy spirit: and therefore, Peter meets him, and wishes, that, he should perish and his money to. There are many of this sort, who will be content to hear & allow it to, & say. The Minister hes said well this day, all is true: yea but what hast thou reported, and what hast thou applied to thy heart? Thou heard to thy condemnation, except thou apply some thing to thyself of that grace thou didst hear. Yet there is a fourth degree; to receive it as God word, Not only to hear, allow, embrace; but to receive it as the word of God. Albeit, Paul spoke it, 4. Receiving of the word, as the word of God. yet, they looked up, above Paul, and took it out of his hand, not as his word, but as the word of God: that is a greater grace. There are many that rest to much upon the man that teaches, and set their hearts on the mouth of him that speaks more nor on God that gives the speaker the grace. Many will hear this written word, allow it, embrace it, but they make it to them the word of man, rather nor the word of God; because they count the Scripture to be authentic, not because God did speak it, but because the Church says it, as the Papists do say, this day. So they make the New and old Testament to be the word of men. The Lord keep us from such an error: for it is not possible to build faith upon that ground. I appeal thy conscience that sayest this, if ever thou didst find that constant faith in thy heart: faith can not rest, except it have an assurance, that, the word is from God and not from men: how many in this country fail in this? There are many that receive and embrace it, not with that reverence they should: when they hear it spoken they give no reverence nor obedience thereto, more nor it were the word of man, for when they go out, they are as wanton in wickedness as ever they were before. This testifies their want of due reverence, If this were settled in the hearts of men, that, the word that is spoken were the word of God, and that it is not the man that speaks it, but God's Spirit in the man● they would receive it, embrace it, and obey it with greater reverence. O, the obedience he would give to that word. There is naturally such a reverence of God in the heart, that when they are assured it is of God, they will reverence it. Now brethren, ye see in all these degrees nothing but faith. All is expressed in faith: ye see the beginning of it, the progress of it, the ending where it rests. It gins at the outward senses: It gins at the ear. Faith is by hearing. Rom. 10. 17. Then it goes next, to the mind, which allows and approves it. It sticks not there, but it goes down to the heart; and there in very deed is the right sait of faith: there is the proper loading of faith. Look, that, thy faith be not in thy head and ear only (there are many hes it so, and it goes away with the wind) Look, that it go to the mind, and be not content with that, but see, that, it go down to thy heart. This faith, ye, see, then, it exercises the whole soul of man: it exercises both the reasonable powers & the affections. Take head to it. The thing whereinto this faith is exercised, is the word of God. Faith in the ear is exercised about the word, faith in the mind is exercised about the word, faith in the heart is exercised about the word of God. The word of God should fill the whole head, mind and heart. This is it that the Apostle to the Coloss. says. chap. 3, 16. Let the word of God devil in you plenteously: not sparingly, but powerfully. And certainly think on, I tell you, if thou strive not, so long as thou art here, to be filled with the word of God, look not after this life for his presence: if thou press not, in some measure, in this life, to have thy soul filled with him: look not, that, God shall be a father to thee in the life to come. Alas, we can not get that fullness and our souls so well exercised as we should have by the word: but if we strive to this, our willingness is acceptable to God. Where there is a desire to think and meditate of it, and to repent that thou canst not have that desire thereof as thou wouldst, it repares that want we have of that fullness. There is yet one thing here to be marked. The special ground of his thanksgiving, is, for the embracing of this word, not as the word of men, but as the word of God. Wherein ye see, it is a rare thing and a special blessing of God, when a man is not offended with that good word of God. What care I for him, some will say oft-times, I will hear the word of God, and receive it, but this companion who teaches, hes offended me, I will not hear him. Again, he is of so mean graces, he can not speak two words right, he is babbling. Well thou art stumbling: and thou wilt break thy neck if thou dost so: for thou must not thank that the word of God hangs on the mouth of man, but the mouth of man doth hang on the word of God. This is the fault, we measure ever the word of God by the instrument, and counts ay of the word of God, as of the word of man that speaks it and preaches it. 2. Cor. 10. 7. Enter in comparison, The 〈◊〉 God and the 〈◊〉 of man are contrary. and I will let you see, Gods doing is far from man's doing, and man's doing is contrary to Gods doing. There is the wisdom of God. It hes pleased him from the beginning to put his power in the weakest creature, in the silliest and basest to look to the hes not chosen the wise in the world, the potent and noble, to put his power in them, when it pleased him to utter his omnipotent power. When he uttered his power against Pharaoh, he puts his power in frogs, in lice, in flees, and he is avenged on proud Pharac, by those vild things. All this is, and was, that his power should be seen, that men should not think, this is the power of a frog, louce or flee: but is the power of the great God that made all things. And when he means to destroy Goliath, he will not have the army of the Israelites, nor Saul● slaying him, but he will have silly David slaying him, without armour, with a sling only. All this was that the world might see, it was not David's power, but Gods that slew Goliath. So, the richest treasure that God hes in Heaven, which is Christ jesus in the word, he puts it in vild veshelles, the Ministers thereof. The unsearchable riches of Christ, the power and justice of God in Christ, and all the glory of God in Christ, he takes it and puts it not in veshelles of silver, and gold: no, but in a veshell of earth. 2. Corinth. 4. 7. and all this is, that, the world should not esteem the treasure according to the veshell. Therefore, the Lord will put in a veshell of clay the treasure that is Heaven in Christ. Now will ye see man's famous wisdom. When he hears the word coming out of this base and infirm man, he says, the veshell is nothing worth, it is made of clay, it serves for no purpose; a silly fellow, from whence came he? therefore this word that is in his mouth, it can not be the word of God: would ever he have put so precious a thing in so vylde a veshell? O rebellious man, that is ever contrary to God in all things, and specially in the Gospel! Experience teaches us of the enmity, that the wicked men in this Realm carries in their heart against God and his Ministers: they will not let God be wise in his wisdom he hes in his ministery, but they will be wiser. Well, fight on, his wisdom will win the field, and thou wilt lose it to thy everlasting destruction. Now to go forward. He casteth in a parenthesis, saying, As it is in deed, the word of God. Ye esteemed it not as the word of men, but of God, as it is in deed: receive it as ye please, account it God's word, or man's, as ye please, it is and shall abide God's word; and thy mouth in the end shall be shut up, so, that thou shalt not utter one word if thou account any otherwise of it. So what ever be the opinion of men in the world, and their speeches, their saying, or gainsaying altars nothing: Th' instrument neither adds, nor diminishes the glory of the word The word of jesus abides, and shall abide the true word, and shall retain the own authority and glory: thy words will never be able to make any change. No, brethren, the mouth of man for as infirm and graceless as it is, will not be able to impair a jot of the glory of that God: and by the contrary, put it in the mouth of never so glorious a creature, if it were in the mouth of an Angel, nothing will be added to the glory of it: it is powerful in the self, the creature will not be able to make any alteration. In deed, it will honour the mouth, when it is put in the mouth of a man it will make him honourable, but he can not honour it, if he were never so noble or eloquent. Set up a king to preach, trow ye he will honour the Gospel? no, but he shall get honour by the preaching of it. No, if it were all the Angels of Heaven that would preach this glorious Gospel they can not give it honour, but they are honoured by it. And when the Angels came and cried to men this word of God, they got a singular honour. Paul to the Galat. chap. 4. vers. 14. says, ye received me as an Angel of God, yea, as Christ jesus. Wherefore was this? for Paul's own presence? no, but for the word of God in his mouth, which made him to be accounted as an Angel of God. Never man shall be able to add any honour to the word, or diminish the honour thereof. Now blessed is he who gets this grace to deliver this word with an earnest zeal, to glorify God and Christ by preaching thereof. Now in the end of the verse. He thinks it not enough to call it the word of God, but he gives a proof of it. The word of God where ever it be, P●●er of the word. will ever prove itself to be the word of God: it can not be idle, it must be quick and effectual in the hearer, it must work lively, it will pierce like a two edged sword, and therefore, it is said: which also worketh in you that believe. Howbeit it was uttered by an infirm man, yet, the weakness of the person hinderes not the powerful operation of the word. It will not be the mouth of the speaker that will hold back power from the word of God. But when the Lord puts his word in his mouth, and says, I will put my word in thy mouth, go thy way, if all the world had said the contrary, that word shall be powerful. Well is that man in whose mouth this word is put: and well is that people that hes a man in whose mouth the Lord hes put his word, the baseness and infirmity of the man, will not be able to hinder the power thereof. If the Lord once put his word in his mouth (it is so wonderful a thing.) Set up eloquent Dememosthenes, divine Plato, facunde Cicero, etc. who were like as many wonders in the world: let them come in with their eloquence, they shall not have such operation in the hearts of men, as a silly fellow, and simple of speech shall have, when he speaks the word in the name of the Lord. And if there was ever a work in the world marvelous, that work which the Minister by the Spirit, and word of God works, is most marvelous. For, to regenerate a man, who was once dead, it is not a man's tongue, his eloquence, his instancy that can do it, but only that powerful, and blessed word of God: that all glory and praise of his powerful operation may be given to his Majesty. Mark a word farther. He says, not that works in every one of you: but he says, in you who believes. In the 1. chap. Rom. vers. 16. The Gospel is called the power of God to salvation, to them that believes. In the first to the Corinthians chap. 1 vers. 24. It is the power and wisdom of God to them that hes that effectual calling, and hes gotten the heart oppinned to take head, and drink in the word, only in these is the word of God effectual to salvation. Brethren, it is true, it is offered with power to the unbelievers, as well as to the believers, but this is the difference. If thou hast not an heart & hand to take it when it is offered to thee with power, thou shalt never receive its thou want'st power to receive it, but there is power in the word very sufficient unto salvation. Alas, how many hear the word with their heart so hardened, that the word strikes on their heart as an hammer on the study. The hardness of thy heart beats it back again, so, that it is not powerful to thee. My counsel is, except thou press to have thy heart mollified, and cravest at God to mollify it, hear not the word, or I'll assure thee, the more thou hearest, the more thou wilt be hardened. Many make a show of hearing: the Lord and the Laird will come and sit in their daskes and hear the word, and will come forth without any profit, because their hearts were not attentive to hear. jest not with the word, it shall either save thee or slay thee, and in the day of damnation thou shalt curse the time, that thou ever didst hear the word of Christ, if thou find it not powerful in thee. Come, in a mind to renew thy sinful life, or, else, bide away: come to be humbled under this word and reverence it, if that thou were a King, or else bide away, unless thou wouldst heap on thyself an intolerable damnation. Now brethren, I shall end shortly in the next verse. He thinks it not enough to set down this in general, what the word of God wrought in them that believed, but he comes to the particular. It will not be the general word will do thee good but a particular. The special effect is, It made them to be followers. It is good to follow them that go the right way: they were followers of the Church that was in judea, followers of the jew that were converted and believed in Christ. The word conformed the Thessalonians to the christian Church of the jews. All this was by the power of the word of God in the mouths of men. Look not for an Angel from heaven to speak to thee, nor for a sound from heaven: but look for it out of the mouth of men. We weary fast of this ministry; what ministry will we have next? will ye have Papistry again? will ye have Angels? No, if ye contemn this ministry, if this ministry be put out of the land, thou shalt never find any ministry powerful to salvation. Then I mark: this is the power of the word of God, a conformity & like affection in sundry persons: to make me like thee, the word powerful to make comformity and thee like me, the godly like other: this is the power of God's word, to cause a church follow one an other, to join man with man, to draw in a bloody wolf to the sheepfold of the Lord jesus and to make him a silly lamb: He that now was raging to draw him to Christ & to cause him sit down, and join himself to God's people in holiness and godliness. This is a marvelous effect that the word hes. It is not the proper effect of the word, to cut men from good men, but to make a conformity to join good men with good men, & draw all together to the church. The Lord, the great Pastor, he joins all the members of the body together, and all to make a whole body to the head christ. In a word, it is the force of God's word, to work our felicity & blessedness, and I assure thee, thou who art a contemner of the word of jesus, thou shalt never be happy, neither in this life, nor in the life come. All stands first in a conjunction with Christ the head, and then, with the members. Step out of the society of the church as you will (what is the church to thee) I denounce the terrible judgement of God against thee, if thou seek not to have that conjunction & society of the church of God, thou shalt never get a portion in jesus: there is thy doom, if thou repent not. This conformity is not all wrought at once: but, the word of God, by the power thereof, will bring one first in, then, an other man, then, the third man: then, one Church; secondly, an other church; thridlie, the third church; and so, draw them all together. So, that they who comes last, have no disadvantage, they both have that same word to draw them in that the first had and then also they have examples before them, drawing them in. It is good to have an advantage beside the word, to draw thee in. Brethren, we that are now in the world we have this last vantage, we have these patterns: look how many have been called, they are as many vantages and patterns to draw us to God. And look that thou hear not of a godly man, but press to follow him, and say, God make me like him: for, among the rest of the means God hes ordained to win souls, the setting up of patterns before men is one mean. This nature of ours is backward, (For, we are all borne naturally wolves and Tigers) so, that, it makes us that we break away so fast from the sheepe-●old of Christ, that we have great need of many means to draw us in: And therefore, the Lord sometimes uses, by the word, and sometimes by the examples of others to draw us in to Christ jesus. Yet again this conformity that is set down would be marked. The conformity is in suffering, ye are followers of the church in judea: in what? in suffering alike with them: the same persecution they suffered, ye suffer: yea, more; he amplifies their sufferings, in that they did suffer of such like persecutores as the Church of judea did: even of their own countrymen: the jews it was that persecuted the jews who were converted: it is the Thessalonians that persecutes you that are in Thessalonica. This is the persecution. Conformity in suffering. Then, learn. The conformity that ought to be among men and women in the world, stands not in doing only, to make others do well, as he doth well: As one Church lives holily, so, to cause one an other live holily: but, it must be a conformity in suffering also, that, as one man suffered, so, an other should suffer: as one Church suffered, so an other Church should suffer: it will not only be active, in doing, but, passive, in suffering. There is a fair effect, conformity in suffering. Brethren, men oft times are ready enough to follow others in doing, but, they are loath to suffer: all godly men would be like other godly men in doing: I see not a godly person, but, I would be like him: and one Church would be like an other godly Church, in doing. But, if I see a godly man suffer before me, I will hold aback and shrink to follow him. If thou see one martyred before thee, thou wilt leave him and not take part of his burden. There is not a flourishing Church in Europe, but this would be like it: but it hes no desire to be like that Church in France, that hes been so long under affliction, and can not get up the head of it. It is in deed an hard matter to the word of God, to work doing good in the heart of man: but, a harder matter, to work patience and suffering of affliction: but, if the word be not effectual, as well to work suffering, as doing; I can not say, it hes that force and power in us that it should have. And therefore, albeit thou be not as yet at suffering; yet, prepare thee for suffering: resolve not thyself for doing alone every day, but, for suffering also whatsoever cross the Lord will lay on thy back. And let this be part of thy prayer: Lord strengthen me in suffering. For, as thou wouldst reign with him, so thou must take a resolution to suffer with him. Who will not suffer, let him never look to be an heir of Heaven. It is now due time to learn to be prepared for suffering for Christ's cause. The Lord give us grace that we may suffer patiently, that he may be glorified in our suffering. To this God be glory and praise for ever. AMEN. THE EIGHT LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 15. 16. 15 Who both killed the Lord jesus and their own Prophets, and have persecuted us, and God they please not, and are contrary to all men. 16 And forbidden us to preach unto the Gentiles, that they might be saved, to fulfil their sins always: for the wrath of God is come on them, to the utmost. IN this rejoicing of the Apostle Paul together with the Thessalonians, for the graces of God that were bestowed upon them, ye have heard brethren. the Apost. thanked God instantly for that meeting he found in them when he preached to to them, exhorted, comforted & besought them to walk as worthy of that God that had called them to his kingdom and glory. Their meeting was: they heard him, and not only they heard him, but they received the thing they heard, and not only received it, but in heart embraced it and laid it up as a treasure and the seed of life and immortality: they embraced it, not as the word of man, but as the word of God, as it is indeed: and not only embraced they it as the word of God but in life and conversation uttered it: it was effectual in their life He proved this, because they were followers of the Church in judea, converted to jesus Christ. The special thing wherein they followed them was, that even as these Churches were troubled by their own Country the jews: even so they that were converted at Thessalonica were troubled, not by foreigners but by their o●ne Citizens. Not to repeat any thing we spoke the last day, but to go to the text red. In this text the Apostle having spoken of these jews malicious and obstinate doing, whereby they ever impeaded the progress of the Gospel of Christ and hindered man's salvation, scattering themselves among the Gentiles, through all the ●●●mane Provinces: and when any of the Apostles came, stirring up insurrection, and not suffering the Gospel to have place, so far as they might stop it. Therefore he digresses here and agg●eages the sin of these malicious jews, making up a dittay against them, and thereafter he gives out the doom, and pronounces the sentence of wraith and condemnation against them. And therefore to return, and to open up every sentence. They have slain, says he, the Lord jesus. There is the first point of their dittay. These men the jews, that trouble the Church of Christ in judea, are they that have slain the Lord jesus himself. They have in their extreme persecution slain and crucified to the death the Lord of glory. 1. Cor. 2. 8. That is, they have dispatched him, not after a common manner, but after a most cruel and shameful manner, by a cruel, sore and shameful death. Whom have they slain? the Lord of glory: and honourable parsonage, all the glory of God, is, & dwells in him as it were. Who is this by name? It is jesus, the Saviour of the world: every word aggreages their fault. There is the first point of their dittay. The first crime laid to their charge, is the crucifying of the Lord jesus Christ, this is the thing he gins at: there are more points of dittay laid against them, but he begins at this, the persecution of the Lord himself▪ Persecution begins not at the body, nor at the members of the body, Persecution gins at the head of the Church. nor at the servants; but it begins at the head, the Lord jesus himself, if not in action & in deed, yet in intention; in the malice and hatred of the heart. The Prophets in deed were slain and persecuted in action, and died before the Lord jesus came in the world: but these same men that slew the Prophets with their hand, ere they slew the Prophets they slew the Lord of the Prophets, the Lord jesus in their hearts: because that all the Prophets that were slain were his servants sent before him that was to come. Now to come forward. The second thing is, They slay the Lord jesus, they slew the Lord of glory, that in his slaughter, so far as in them lies, the world should be slain: for they that would slay jesus would slay all men, so far as lies in them, and they slay him after a most cruel and shameful manner. The greater grace the greater the persecution. Brethren, this is the engine and nature of persecutors: the worthier the parsonage be who is persecuted, the greater grace of God be in him, the greater glory and innocency be in him, the greater will be the extremity of their persecution. None of the Prophets of old were so extremely persecuted as the Lord jesus was; neither yet the Apostles that followed him were so persecuted as he was: and all because of the greatness of the glory of his parsonage. If ye will search the ground of this, it must, no question, come of great blindness, for if men saw well the grace and the glory of God that is in the people of them that are persecuted, for all the world they durst not persecute them. And therefore he says in the 1. Corinth. 2. chap. 8. verse, If they had known they had not crucified the Lord of glory. No if the glory of the Church were seen, wicked men durst not stir her. There is yet a greater and an higher ground; The malice of the heart comes in and blinds and putteth out the eye of the mind, Eph. 4. 18. Through ignorance says Paul, that comes through the hardness of the heart, for this is the nature of the hardness of the heart to hate the light and to delight in darkness, which is enemy to the light of God: All our pleasure is in darkness by nature, and so it is carried against the light, and the first thing it does it puts out the light of the mind yea even the very natural light, and so when the heart is blinded it carries him against all light, and chiefly against the light of God and the Lord of light himself. And this is the work of this fa●e nature of man so highly accounted of by the Philosophers. Seek therefore to shut out of thy heart this maliciousness that blinds it, or else thou shalt be blind fold thrown down to hell. The thrid thing to be marked here is. When he is laying out this persecution before the Thessalonians he is comforting them that were afflicted. Have they not slain your Lord? etc. what wonder is it howbeit they persecute you? Brethren, all the affliction is not laid upon one man, howbeit he get his burden heavy enough. Comfort through Christ's persecution The Lord hes measured to every one his own part: and he who is afflicted should look over his shoulder and see who hes been afflicted before him, and scarcely shall he see a godly man but with his burden on his back, all is not laid on him alone. But above all let the person that is afflicted first set his eye on the Lord jesus. Let him look over to Golgotha where Christ is hanging on the Cross, and in Christ let him look to two things: first to the glory & worthiness of that parsonage who sufferes: next, to the extremity and ignominy of that passion: look to these two things in him, and then look down to thyself, and look what thou art first, not a Lord, if thou were a King, but a servant (all the Kings on the earth are but servants in respect of him:) then go to the affliction thou suffers, and thou shalt find thou suffers not the thousand part of the affliction he suffered for thee, there is great inequality between thee and him, and then begin to reason. The servant is not greater nor his Lord, the disciple is not greater nor his Master. The Lord jesus is my Lord I am not but a servant: yet the Lord jesus my Lord suffers and in such great extremity; then may I not be content to suffer the thousand part of his suffering? Of this comes contentment of heart, and patience to suffer for the Lord. For except thy eye be set upon that parsonage of jesus Christ, it is not possible for thee to suffer with joy the simplest cross that is for the Lords sake. The next point of their dittay, they have slain their own Prophets. Persecution of the Prophets. This they did ere they slay the Lord; albeit it be set in the second row●●e. They have slain: whom? Prophets, worthy men. Whose Prophets? not strangers, but men of then own nation, jews as they were, their own Prophets sent by God to them, to teach and prophecy to them, to bring them to the way of life: yet they have run upon them, and have slain them, all aggreages their fact. Ye will ask, was these jew that slay the Prophets the same that slay the Lord jesus, they were not in the Prophet's days, they came long after? I answer, he understands the whole body of that people, fathers and children, which makes up a body. The fathers slew the Prophets, Therefore Steven. says Act. 7. 52. Which of them is he whom your fathers have not persecuted? Then he comes to the children: & as for you that are children, ye have betrayed and slain the just one. This is it that Christ says in the 23. chap. of Matt. vers. 32. Full 〈◊〉 out that or follow out that, that your fathers have left undone slay me and my Apostles. Yet there may be an other answer made to this. It may be that he will lay to the charge of them that slew the Lord jesus, the slaughter of the Prophets, as though they had slain them with their own hands. Posterity guilty through their fathers. For ye must understand that the children that come after their Fathers, are involved in the whole guiltiness that their fathers were in before them. Was he a murderer? thou art guilty of murder: were thy Grandfather and his father murderers? thou art involved in the same guiltiness: and except thou by grace be transplanted out of the rotten stock of thy forefathers in jesus, thou shalt die for that murder of thy fathers. All the sins of thy progenitors shallbe hung about thy neck if thou be not exemed and ●lanted in jesus Christ. Yea that sin of Adam for eating of the fruit shall be laid to thy charge, and thou shalt pay for it, if thou be not transplanted out of rotten Adam, and engrafted in jesus Christ, the second Adam. Rom. 5. 14. Not only is this natural corruption drawn to children through propagation, but the children are involved in the guiltiness of the very action of the progenitors. All serves to this; to make fathers to be way and to take head to their actions, that they slay not themselves alone, but the multitude of their posterity, as Adam slew us all. Yet there is an other ground and answer to this. These jews that slew the Lord jesus, are counted to have slain the Prophets before them. The ground and cause is this (I would that all murthereiss did hear this:) Slayest thou an innocent man such as Abel? the whole innocent blood that was shed since the beginning lights upon thee, thou art guilty of it. And therefore Christ Matt. 23. 36. lays to the jews charge the whole innocent blood shed since Abel unto Zacharias that was slain between the temple and the altar. Therefore murderer take head, thou shalt drown in blood, for by thy act thou givest approbaven to all those murderers that were from the beginning. Thou makest it a pastime to dip thy hand in innocent blood: but woe to thee if thou be not washed in the blood of christ. This for the answer to the question. Now mark, brethren. When he speaks of the slaughter of the Lord jesus committed by these jews, he forgets not the old Prophets: and with the Lords he joins his servants, neither forgets he the Apostles, Both the persecution & the persecutors are recent in God's memory. and us also have they persecuted: all are put in one catalogue, the old Prophets, the Lord jesus, the Apostles and Martyrs that were slain. And who doth this? It is not so much Paul as the holy Spirit that doth it: which is a token that all the martyrdoms that have been, is, and to be; was not, is not, nor shall not be forgot of the Lord: they are all in recent memory. And suppose there were not a book of Martyrs written in the earth, yet there is a book in Heaven written, and all the Martyrs from the beginning are registrate in it: and that book shall be laid open before man & Angels: ye shall see them, not in pictures but in face. And again, he remembers the jews who did it: so as there is a book of Martyrs in heaven, so is there a book of persecutors, wherein all their names are written, and in that great day the book shall be laid open, and shall be presented to their eyes, to their rebuke, shame and eternal confusion. So the Lord hes all in remembrance, the Lord hes a recent memory: a thousand years are but like a day to him, and a day as a thousand years: albeit we will forget all, yet all is recent in his memory. And this is very comfortable to the afflicted, and it is terrible to the persecutors. Woe is that man that hath not his sins forgot and pardoned of the Lord. There is not one tear of the sufferer but it is put up in his bottle. This for the second point of their dittay. Let us now come to the third point. The jews were not content with the slaying of the Prophets and of the Lord jesus himself, but when he is away they persecute his Apostles. A wonderful thing that this people can not hold up their hand: the fathers slay the Prophets, the children slay the Lord, & then the Apostles. Ere I go forward mark this: iniquity, in●●ietie & ungodliness, when once it enters in any family or clan, in any race of men in the world, how hard a thing it is to get it out again. Oft times when the fathers begin with it, it follows on so upon the whole race of them, that it makes an end of them and their race both Beginnest thou that art a father? thy son and thy whole posterity will follow, while in end the judgement of God light and destroy all together. Is the father a murderer and slew he one? the son will double it: and so forth of other vices: and then the Lord throws down the house and cuts off all the generation. And the Lord did so with these jew, It is said in the second command, that the Lord visits the th●●d & fourth generation of them that hate him. What is the gro●nde of this? because the iniquity of the fathers is driven to the children to the third and fourth generation. Therefore the vengeance of God lights on all. Ye fathers therefore take head to yourselves, and purge you from iniquity: for if ye be careless of yourselves, the vengeance of God shall be on you and your children both. The example of the jews might be a spectacle to all the world; the very iniquity proceeding from the fathers to the sons, till all were cutted off, might now suffice to exhort all fathers to leave sin, as they would not be destroyed and their whole race after them. Mark an other thing here. There is nothing that can not content this people: there is no kind of message that can please them. First the Lord sends Prophets to them: then he said's his Son (as it is said in the parable) that they might reverence him Matt. 21. 37. Last he sends the Apostles his servants, and they are as rigorous against them, as they could: so no sort of message could content them. 〈◊〉 Act. 7. 51. lays down the ground of this. persecutors malice ever against the light of the spirit. 〈…〉 So there is the ground: because all come with the light of the holy Spirit, therefore they persecuted all. The malice of a persecuter, is ever against the light of the Spirit of God. So let every man be sure, so long as the Spirit of light is, there must ever be persecution. Had I an other man (will the profane man say) I would hear him. No, if thou hast this hatred of the light of the spirit in thy heart, if Paul should come and preach thou wouldst persecute him: yea if Christ himself should come in proper person, thou wouldst persecute him: take therefore head not so much to the preacher as to thine own heart: if thou hast the love of the light, the preacher can not be disliked by thee, and by the contrary if thou hast not the love of the light, thou wilt persecute all that come to thee. This for the third point of their dittay. Now comes on the fourth part of their dittay. God ●hey please 〈◊〉. This follows the other three. The slaying of the Lord: the slaying of his Prophets, and the persecuting of his Apostles. They that slew the Lord, and his Prophets, and persecuted the Apostles: How could they please God that was the sender of them? And so in these words he takes off the cover of their faces. For these malicious jews when they were doing all this evil, they boasted of themselves they pleased God, & they were his people saying. We are the Church and all these are enemies to God. Paul pulls off this cover, and he shows that they in doing of this, were nothing but enemies to God Ye know in these days men will come in and say, It is we that are the true Church, it is we who are serving God aright and in the mean time they will be persecuting burning tormenting the children of God? But what are they? will ye have them deciphered? they are enemies to God: the Pope is the Antichrist, and this shall be ratified in that great day. But to let them alone there are many amongst ourselves, who will aye be doing evil, and are enemies to God: for thou that art an enemy to his servants, thou pleases not God: for here is a ground, There is no glorifying of the Lord, but in his ministry. Contemn thou this ministry by little and little in end thou shalt be an enemy to God, if thou hadst sworn the contrary. If thou severe the glory of God and this ministry, and be a contemner of it, thou shalt never be glorified of God. Ye have heard four points of their dittay. Now to come to the fift. They are contrai● to all men; jew and Gentile. This is a consequent of the first three: slayers of the Lord, and of his Prophets, persecutors of the Apostles & pastors, they are enemies to the salvation of all mankind: 〈◊〉 what they will; enemies to the servants of God, to the ministry 〈…〉 which salvation is wrought, and without it thou shalt never obtain salvation, nor see the face of God) they are enemies to all mankind's salvation. Come to the last point of their dittay. They forbidden us to speak to the Gentiles: they are enemies to the salvation of the Gentiles that by our ministry should be won to God and to his Church: the porple-wall is broken down that did hold out the Gentiles before, yet they will hold them out of the fold. There are sundry sorts of jews that hindered the salvation of men: there is one sort of them that would not suffer Christ to be preached to the Gentiles at all, but ever raised up sedition to impead that work. Of these ye may read in the 13. of the Acts. There was another sort of the jews that suffered the Gospel to be preached to the Gentiles, but added to it circumcision and the law of Moses: of whom read Act. 15. The first sort is worst. Now the Apostle here means chiefly of this first sort; who, as the Lord himself says, would neither enter themselves into the kingdom of heaven, nor suffer others to enter. For this is a sure thing, even as a man that hes gotten his own heart enlightened by the love of the truth, would have that light to be imparted to all the world and wishes from his heart that all were partakers of it, as Paul wished to Agrippa. and the rest that heard him, that they were like unto him saving his bonds. Acts 26. 29. Well had they been, though they had been chained, to have had the light of jesus: yet he puts to these words, for reverence cause saving these bands.) Even so, a man who hes the hatred of the truth and light, he would have all the world blinded as he is, he would have all mouths closed as his mouth is closed, that never man should name Christ to the world: He would have all eyes put out, that never a man might see one jot. In a word he that is in Heaven translated out of this darkness of nature, he would have all in Heaven with him. And by the contrary: He that is yet in darkness, and so in Hell, he would have all with him. So look what condition the man is of he would have all like to him. Therefore I will never think well of men that impeades the progress of the Gospel of Christ: they argue what is within them: for were this love of the light within their hearts, for all this world would they not hinder the progress of the Gospel Alas, ye shall find this over true in the end: woe, woe, to them that hinders the planting of the Gospel. Alas, if there were this love of the light in their hearts, there would not be so many churches unplanted, & so many souls fuffred to perish. Now I draw to an end. When he hes set down these six points of their dittay, whereof the least is worthy damnation: for what judgement must light on the slayers of the Lord, of the Prophets and Apostles? He sets down the end of all, that ever they should I fill out their sins. As though he said, they are ever exercised this way to this end that the measure of their sins should be filled out▪ and then the judgement should overtake them, This is the end of the counsel of God. They had an other end. But to make this plain. all things fall out to man by measure whole the fullness come. All things that fall as it were out of Heaven out of the counsel of God upon men▪ fall in a measure, and in a quantity. The grace of God in jesus Christ is givon in a measure to every one. Ephes● 4. 7. The afflictions of the godly is given in a measure, and piece and piece this measure is filled out, until it come to the heap, and then the affliction shall cease. The filling of them did begin at the creation, and Abel felt them first, and ever since the measure of them hes been incressing until it came to jesus; and he took an heavier weight of affliction upon him nor ever was before him. Yet the measure of the afflictions of the Church is not filled out. In comes the Apostles and they get their part: after them comes the pastors, and they get their part: and enerie person that is in Christ gets his part, and so every one hes his own burden. So long as the world shall stand this measure shall be in filling out: when it shall be full the world shall fail, and the pillars of it shall be cutted, and an end shall be put to all tears. Revel. 21. 4. This measure is long in filling. It did begin soon, it must be 〈◊〉 out, says 〈…〉. 1. Epist. 5. 9 So every one hes his own part. Likewise, some go by a measure and since the beginning this measure hes been in filling: every age hes casten to their their own part. It is not one age that hath ●●lled up the measure of sin; but every generation hes casten to the own part to fill up sin: and in this age every one is bearing their arme-fall and burden of sin: he with murder, the with harlotry, and he with oppression and persecution, and he comes in with blasphemy: yet the cup is not full, and the measure of sin shall not be filled up so long as the world doth stand. When the father dies, the son will live to fill out this measure: he makes his testament, yet the sin is not filled up, but the thing he could not do himself, he bids his son do it, and he will say to his son: Son I could not get this man slain, nor this evil deed nor that evil deed overtaken, if I had lived, I should have done this or that: do thou therefore that I could not do. So do the jews, and therefore the Lord says, Fill out the measure of your father's sins, Matt. 23. 32. Now when this measure is full, the world shall take an end and all shall fall down, but woe is the sinner, and well is the godly: for the sinner shall be destroyed for ever, and the afflicted body shall find salvation. Take head. There are none that know when this measure shall be filled out, but he who in his unsearchable counsel hes appointed this measure of sin, that is God: I know it not, thou knowest it not, and therefore it is over presiumptuous a thing, when thou seest a man i● sin to say, this man hath filled the measure of sin: for it may be the Lord will let him hue to commit greater sin. And in deed it is a wonder to consider the patience of God in suffering of sin, and so it is called the richeses of the benignity of God. Rom. 2. 4. And this should learn us patience to sit still and abide God's leisure, and glorify him. Farther this would be marked here: there are sundry measures of sin: one of all the wicked that ever was, is, or shall be to the end: an other is of any certain nation or county, as of the jews here: the third is of the particular person whereof Paul speaks. Act. 3. 10. And in like manner we may consider the same measure of grace. There is now the dittay. Will ye hear the doom? the wrath of God is come on them to the utmost. As he would say the wrath of God overtook them long since. It holds on, and shall hold on. until it bring them to a miserable end. There is the doom and judgement. It is set down as a cause of the filling up of their sin, Proportion between wraith & sin. because the wrath of God leaves them not. When once God's wrath gins to light on a body, that body will never do a good turn, but sin on still, until in end the wrath light on him and bea●e ●ut all his b●aines. And again, when once God begins to look on a creature with a favourable eye, that creature will be exercised in well doing: for it is the merciful face of God that makes the man to do well. And for this cause it is said that God hated Esau, and therefore he never did a good turn: and again he loved jacob, and therefore he did all to pleasure his God. All serves to this end, that men and women should seek to stand in the favour of God: seek tokens of his love. And on the other part seek to be free of the wrath of God: for if it possess thee, thou shalt do nothing but sin under it, and as thou sinnest, wraith after wraith shall follow on thee, until it come to an height, and then it shall be heaped on thee, to thy everlasting destruction: when thou art crying peace, peace, the wrath of God will come on, tumbling on thee as a Mountain: as was seen on these jews forty years after this. Now to end. The Lord give us ever grace, to seek to be under his favourable countenance, and that the countenance of his terrible wraith may be turned from us, that that we may study to please him in our life and conversation through jesus Christ. To whom with the Father, and the holy Spirit, be all praise, honour and glory, for ever and ever. AMEN. THE NINTH LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 17. 18. 19▪ 20. 17 Forasmuch brethrer, as we were kept from you 〈…〉, concerning ●ight, but not in the heart, we enforced the more to see your face with great desire. 18 Therefore we would have come unto you (I Paul, at lest once or twice) but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy, or stowne of reioy forgiune not 〈◊〉 you it in the presence of our Lord jesus Christ at his coming. 20 Yes, ye are our glory and joy. THESE days by-gone (brethren) we have insisted upon this rejoicing of the Apostle together with the Thessalonians, for the graces of God he understood to be in them: and so we have alie●die ended his part of the Epistle, which ●●ands in a congratulation. Now in this text presenlie red, the Apostle excuseth himself to the Thessalonians, because he came not to them to vis●e them after that time that first he planted the Gospel among them For they might have said to the Apostle. Well, thou professest a great love towards us and givest us a good 〈◊〉, and utterst a great 〈…〉 us and the graces we 〈◊〉 of God; yet than 〈…〉 the Gospel. 〈…〉 confirm the work begun. This 〈…〉 of us, notwithstanding of all pres●●● inword. The Apastle answers this, and gives two excuses. The first is, from that earnest desire he had to visit them: the second is from that purpose he took after the desire to come to them and visit them; yea, for that purpose he made once or twice to come: for once or twice he was on his journey, and was impeaded by Satan. In the end of the chapter, he gives a reason of that desire and purpose he took to come to them. Because, says he, Ye are my hope, my joy, and the coowne of my glorying, in the presence of the Lord jesus Christ, at his coming. And therefore, why should not I desire and take purpose to visit you? There is the sum of this present text. Now to return and pass through every verse, and expone it, as God shall give the grace. His first excuse is, that earnest desire he had to see them In the beginning of the 17. verse, he gives the reason thereof. Because on a sudden he was rest from them, otherwise than he expected & the more suddenly he was rest from them the greater was his desire to see them and to visit them. Of this parting and severing of the Apostle from the Thessalonians, after that he had been with them a certain space of time ye may read Act. 17. The obstinate jews, seeing that Christ and his Gospel was received of the Thessalonians, and the Lord blessed Paul's travels among them, by the instigation of the Devil stirred up such a vehement sedition, that Paul is compelled to flee to Beroea. The word he uses here hes a great pith. It signifies not only to be severed, but it signifies to be made an orphanne, a pupil destitute of father and mother, and spoiled of his parents: and therefore the severing of him, was as the spoiling of an orphan or pupil from the father whom he loved best in the world. The text is easy, and the observations fall out as easy. Ye may see first the delight and pleasure the godly have to dwell with other to have a mutual presence one of an other, that every one may receive of other consolation in jesus Christ. Rom. 1. 11. 12. especially a Pastor, or a Minister when he see the Lord hes blessed his labours among any people or congregation, his pleasure is to abide with that people, his delight is in the presence of that people, and when he is severed from that people, it is as sore to him, as to a child, or young one, when he is severed from the parents, and spoiled of the presence of father and mother. Again we may note. The Devil the enemy of man's salvation muyes nothing more than the mutual society of the godly: and especiailie above all other societies, he invyes the presence of a faithful Pastor with his people: for he knows that by this ministry salvation is wrought. Now would to God men and women knew aswell this ministry as he does. He knows this ministry of salvation is so necestarie that if thou conten●ne it thou shalt never be safe, thou shalt never see the face of God. I have given this doom oft-times. Therefore he invying man's salvation, his whole indevore is to severe him that is the Pastor 〈◊〉 his people: knowing that he being severed, the people shall be a pray to him. This is his old craft, and no novelty. Now the Devil is ever like himself, he can raise seditions and trmults, and that to severe the ministry, that carries the message of salvation before the people, that they being severed, the people may be a pray to him. Now the word used here is to be marked. He says, he was severed in the moment of an hour. Meaning he was severed upon a sodantie, far from their & his expectation, suddenly he and they were severed: well, an evil turn is soon done, & in the twinkling of an eye a break will be made: evil, is soon done, but not so soon mended. Paul could not come so soon to them again, as he was put from them, and when he is aback, the Devil holds him aback; and when he would have c●mde to them, he did cast in impediments. Yet albeit he severed Paul in body, his heart abode with the Thessalonians: they possessed his heart, the enemy could not get it severed from them. Then there are two sorts of profences of men with men; as there are two sorts of absence of men from one in body, an other in spirit: a man's heart will be where his body is not: and by the contrary, the body will be present 〈◊〉 he heart 〈◊〉 not. It is easy to severe the godly in body 〈…〉 Devil will easily do that. It is easy to him: to severe 〈…〉 of the ungodly (for there is no true con●●ction but in Christ 〈…〉 the hearts of the godly, it is not easy 〈…〉 The bond that joins them is not natural, 〈…〉 it comes not of 〈…〉 of the Spirit of God, who 〈…〉 member with an other member. As it is an hard matter to break that bond that joins the members with the head, which is faith: so it is an hard matter to break that bond that joins the member with the member, that is love and charity, which joins us together. Who shall severe us from the love of Corist. Rom. 8. 35. A natural bond is soon cutted: but no hammering will break the bond of Christ. Therefore seek not to stand in nature, but seek to stand in Christ by his Spirit, that will hold us together, until that society that never shall be dissolved in our head the Lord jesus Christ be accomplished. In the end of the verse comes in his desire. I enforced myself to see your face, not content of this presence of my heart that is with you: Satan cannot ●●uder the 〈◊〉 desires of the godly. There is an other vantage. The enemy for all his invy, yet he could not get his heart away, and when the body was severed, yet he could not get the desire of the Apostle to have a bodily presence severed from them. In deed if he could have gotten the desire and langor away, he had gotten a great victory: but as the heart abode with them; so his desire was to have a bodily presence, to see them face to face. And brethren, trow ye that the desire that the godly hes to be with other be in vain, or can be in vain? no, the desire of flesh and blood will be vain: and that which it will desire most, it will not artaine to it. But if the Spirit of jesus work a desire, it shall be effectual, either one time or other. Desirest thou to see jesus and his face? (for thou feast it not yet) desirest thou to see that glorious presence? thou with thy eyes shalt see it certainly. Desires thou to be of the society of the faithful? thou shalt be with them. There is not, nor there was never a godly man, whose presence thou thirstest for, but if not in this life, yet in the life to come thou shalt see him. There was never a godly man of old but thou shalt see him▪ and have his society which shall ind●re for ever. All comes to this. The desire of the godly shall never be vain. There is not a surer argument of life everlasting then is an earnest desire of it. Blessed are they 〈◊〉 thirst, for they shall be filled. Matt. 5. 6. To come to the next verse. In it is contained the second part of his excuse: he had not only a desire, but he says, 〈◊〉 purpose and was willing. That is, I entered in a deliberation and set myself to come unto you. Yet more, I addressed myself to the journey and never stayed while Satan hindered me: Satan stayeth well doing. There is the meaning shortly. In well doing brethren, in doing that of duty we are bound to do, it is not enough to desire to do it, but thou must enter in deliberation and purpose & lay a conclusion with thyself, I will do it. Yet it is not enough to purpose, but as thou takest purpose go to the action: begin to do well, go forward in well doing ay while thou getst a stay. Many do wish well and would well, but do no more: he or she will wish well, & feign would have all well, and in the mean time they sit still. This is a token thy desire was not ardent: thou that wilt not enter in action and be ay going forward while thou getst a stay, thou hadst never an he rtlie desire to do well. He says, I would once or twice have come unto you. First he entered into journey and he got a stay: then he entered again, and yet he got an impediment: he leaves not off at the first. Mark this. We must not leave off to do well for one stay or impediment: yea not for two, nor for three, nor for four, if it be a good turn that is in hand: but we must ever go forward that we may be excused both before God and man: and this is the excuse of the Apostle, he could do no more. Paul says The days are evil. Ephes. 5. 16. that is, there are many impediments casten in to him that would do well in in this life. It is the godly man that gets greatest hindrance, but the wicked will ay forward and will prosper: but if thou be a godly man, if thou be in thy journey, thou shalt not go one mile but thou shalt get a stay: what at then? should all these impediments stay us from doing good? No, the Apostle gives the an other counsel, Redeem the tyme. Play the part of a good merchant, that will redeem his vantage with the pains and travel of his body. Buy the time by well doing, and give thy life for it, and thou shalt lose nothing. Thou that canst lose thy life in well doing, shalt get a better life for it. He lays the fault on Satan, Satan hindered us. How was this? appeared he to him; and in his own person c●mde opposition to him? How he impeaded him it is not expressed: apparently as he stirred up the jews to cast him out, so he stirred them up now to beset the way. It may be he enraged their hartshighly against him, or else that he razed a storm in the air. Well what ever be the instrument or mean, we may see when we are stayed from well doing, Satan is ever the author, and that by permission of God, for without his permission he can do nothing) he is then the author & stayer of well doing. Therefore what ever impediment thou getst, take thee ever to the chief doer. Eph. 6. 12. It is not with 〈◊〉, he and blood we have to d●e. (how be it they be instruments) but 〈◊〉 with 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉, that is, the Devil. And therefore he gives counsel, not to take thee to thy corslet and steel-bonnet, wherewith thou armest thyself against a man: but that thou shouldst take thee to that spiritual armour, Faith, Hope and the word of God, and set thyself, not to resist this man or that man, but the common enemy of man's salvation who would slay thy soul. Trowest thou this be the resisting to resist man? No, the Devil is laughing in his sleeve when thou dost that, that is the high way to go on his course. As he forced these men to do wrong to Paul: so thou, if thou go to be revenged on man that is the instrument, thou givest place to the Devil to do his work. Last mark: when once he severed Paul from them, look how busily he holds him aback. When he is pressing to go to them, he cast in a stay. And again when he is pressing to make forward, he casts in an other stay, when once he gets godly men sundered from other there will be cast in many hinders to stay them from meeting again. And this testifies, that all our blessedness is a society and conjunction, first with our head Christ, and secondly with the members of his body. Our blessedness in communion with the sanctes. Look not for life and blessedness, if there be not a communion with the Sancts. Now the Devil knows this, and therefore the chief thing he sets himself on, is to rend a sunder this communion, and who ever would break this union, and hes a pleasure in division, take him to be an imp of the Devil: for it is a work of the Devil, to severe them that should be joined, as it is the work of God to join them together. Now let us go to the last part of this text, containing a weighty reason: first of his desire, and next of his purpose to come to them. These are the words, For what is our h●pe joy? what is crown of my glorying? There is the question and demand. The answer of it is, Are not ye in the presence of our Lord jesus at his coming? Then he doubles it: yea, says he, ye are my joy and my glory; and so he ends. Where a man's hope is, there is the thing he hopes and looks for: where his joy and crown and glory is, there he would be: that is to say, where his bless●●●, is there would he be. No● Paul would say. Ye Thessalonians are my hope my joy, my crown of the which I glory, & therefore I would be with you. There is the force of the argument. Now the style of the language would be marked: for the same Spirit that dytes the matter dytes the style; and spiritual matter craves a Spiritual style, 1. Cor. 2. 13. The holy spirit of jesus must be the speaker as well as the dyter. His language ryses up by degree by degree, the lowest degree is in the word, hope; the next degree is in the word joy: the last and highest degree is in the word, crown: whereby is meaned a most high and excellent glory. This learns us this lesson. Heaven would have an high style, that crown would have an high style, the grace of jesus Christ would have an high style when it is spoken of. And brethren, if Heaven be in the heart, as it is in the mouth, and if glory be in the heart as it is in the mouth and if the Crown of glory be in the heart as it is in the mouth, the mouth will ever be ready to speak of grace, of joy and of glory in a glorious style: for it is true, Of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. And I would demand of you, what is the occasion that men do speak so couldlie and carelessly of the Lord of glory, and so basely of so glorious things, as of heaven and of the joy thereinto? Alas, the occasion is the want of sense in the heart the heart is not filled with such things, and therefore an empty heart, an empty mouth: if thy hear be full of vanity, thy mouth will be full of vanity and vanish in painting out of vanity: for look as thou art disposed in heart, in like manner shalt thou be disposed in mouth. Therefore seek to have thy heart furnished fully with the Spirit of jesus. No man, (says the Apostle) can call jesus Lord, but by the Spirit. 1. Epist. Corin. 〈◊〉. 12. 3. Ye more. Speaking of this joy, he passes up by degrees. The lowest is hope: then he comes to an higher, my ●oy: then the highest is 〈…〉 on their glory. The greatest glory in the earth is a crown, and when a man is crowned in the earth, he can be no higher. But there is the difference. The crown in the earth is corruptible, but the crown of heaven is incorruptible. It is of this crown of heaven he speaks. Yet not these three degrees: for I mark this passing up by degrees in sundry 〈◊〉 parts: for when the Apostle begi●●nes to speak of jesus, he can be satisfy himself in words and 〈…〉 Praying i● God, 〈◊〉 ye may 〈◊〉, says he, what is the● hope of his calling, there is the first step: he stands not there, he goes up to see, what the 〈…〉 his glory: what glory? of his 〈…〉 〈◊〉 among his saints: this is the second degree: (yet he stands not there:) and what is that excellent greatness of his power, according to the efficacy of his strong strength. There he stands. Brethren, these are not words, but this rising up tells us, the height of the glory of heaven is wonderful: & that thou mayest attain to it, thou must rise to it by degrees: that is, thou must pass from sense to sense, from grace to grace, from light to light, from oye to joy, from glory to glory, as the Apostle speaks 2. Corinth. 3. 18. So long as thou livest thou must find this climming of thy heart sensibly, that thou growest in joy, and that thou hast more joy this year then before: and so strive continually, until thou come to the point, ever striving for perfection in this life, which shall be complete when we shall see our Lord jesus Christ. Now he calls it the crown of glorying, that is, that makes him to glory in God who crowns him. Brethren, when the heart is filled with glory in jesus christ, the mouth shall not be dumb, but it shall oppin and utter that passing joy, and the person shall ever glory in him, who hes set that crown on him. O that infinite glory and rejoicing that shall be in that glorious Majesty! now we tire, searcelie are we begun to glory in him, but the heart begins as soon to tire, but then there shall be no tiring nor wearying, the voice shall never cease, but glory in that Creator for ever and ever. Bide in patience while ye attain unto this glory, and in all troubles let the hope of this glory comfort thee. Rom. 5. 2. For there is nothing that abides but this glory. col. Now if hope made us to rejoice, how much more, present sight, present joy, and the crown put on our heads will make us to rejoice, and with gladness and loud voice to praise him who ●●es crowned us for ever. In the latter end of the verse, he makes an answer to his own demand, are not ye, says he, etc. He calls the Church ●is●oy, and his crown: not that properly his blessedness was in them, for, only jesus Christ is called our hope, our joy, our glory and crown. Only jesus Christ is our life, only Christ is our solace, he hes no companion: but he calls them his hope and joy in an other sense Because they were the mean and matter whereby he attained to the joy, solace and crown, which is in jesus Christ. It is then an improper fashion of speaking: for the people in whom our ministry is effectual to salvation is the mean whereby we shall be glorified in the Heaven. Mark this speaking of the matter of his joy. He speaks not of his Apostleship, and says not, it is the mean of my joy: but he says, the blessing given me in my Apostleship in saving you, is the mean of my joy. Faithful discharge of a calling a matter of joy. The matter of thy joy in the life to come, and of thy crown wherewith thou shalt be crowned in Heaven, it is not so much a calling: if it were the calling of a King, it will not be that that will make thee be crowned in Heaven: no, it must be the faithful discharge of thy calling toward them with whom thou hast ado. Art thou a King? the faithful discharge of a King in keeping the people in good order and peace will be the mean of thy crowning in heaven. Art thou a pastor intending to win many souls to the kingdom of heaven? it shall be a mean of thy crowning in that great day. When a crown shall be set on a king's head, or a pastors head, it shall not be his calling that shall be the cause of his crowning: he was an Emperor, therefore he must have a crown in heaven; it will not follow, if there be no more: He was a pastor, therefore he must have a crown in heaven: no, it shall be that blessing and fruit that God gave thee in the faithful discharge in thy calling here, that shall be the mean of thy crowning. And therefore let never flesh glory in any calling, if there be no more, if the blessing of the Lord be not with thy calling, thou hast cause of mourning, and thou shalt say in that day, woe to me, that ever I was a King, an Emperor, a Pastor, if there be not a faithful discharge of thy calling the greater damnation falls unto thee, the greater thy calling be. Now to end: he is speaking of this reward that he was to receive at Christ's coming, and he speaks not of these earthly stipends, howbeit their be much ado and strife for them in the land, if they were never so silly: he speaks not of these goods or any thing that pertained to them, but the reward of his Apostleship he speaks of, is, that he claims themselves. ye are my hope says he, ye are my joy, even ye yourselves. So, in one word, the reward of a faithful Apostle shall not be the 〈◊〉 of this earth, (for as niggard as men are of it: no, it shall not be his man●e▪ his 〈◊〉, two or three ●halders of ●●●uall, or an hndreth mark; rest all not be this, but it shall be the souls of all them he did win here on earth: and the Lord shall say to him, take them and let them be a matter of joy, of glory and honour for ever to thee. Well, he will not wish aught of the dirt of the earth, but their own selves, whom he will profess as the reward of his faithful calling to his everlasting joy. I go forward▪ before whom and in whose presence shall this joy and crown of glorying be? He says, before the Lord jesus Christ: it must be done in his sight, he must be before, he must be the doer of all: it must be he that shall take thee by the hand, and give thee to the Apostle and pastor, and say, Take, man, there is the matter of thy glory and crown make it a matter to thee of thy joy for ever. Brethren, there is no joy but in the face and presence of jesus: there is no light but that that comes from his face and countenance. It is true, the pastor ministers light, but if in the mean time the light of jesus shine not in thy heart, all is but vain and lost labour. And therefore, Paul 2. Cor. 4. 6. says, all this light must come from jesus Christ, and thou must hold up that heart of thine, that the light of jesus may shine in it. And he says also, as soon as the heart is turned, the va●le is removed 2. Cor. 3. 16. and the face of the Lord illuminates thee. For what trow you the light be, the joy be, the glory be that we shall receive: & in one word, what trow you heaven be: All the light in heaven is nothing but as a reflex of that light that is in jesus Christ: all the light and glory of heaven is 〈◊〉 like sparkles scattered from him, for all glory is in him. And therefore, if ever thou look for joy and glory, address thyself for jeses Christ▪ and as thou wouldst live, either here, or hence, 〈◊〉 to his presence, and think never thou art well, until you get 〈…〉 that presence. Let nothing so bewitch thee, 〈…〉 of heart▪ until thou getst some light of jesus Christ, 〈…〉 is no life nor joy within him. I ask thy conscience, Didst thou ever feel that solid joy and life, but when thy heart was set on that countenance of jesus? Fool, thou mayst rejoice, like a dog or beast with a sensual pleasure, but woe to thy joy and peace: there is no peace to the wicked; for when thou art so passing thy time out of jesus, the judgement shall suddenly overtake thee: for there is no salvation out of jesus. When shall this be? At this coming. It is true we walk here in his presence, and that joy that comes down from Heaven it comes through that glorious body wherewith he is clad: but the satiety of all shall not be, until the eye see it, thy glory shall not be perfected while then. I tell you, all the light we have now, the Apostle calls it the light of the evangel of the glory of God: it is his face that shines in a mirror, thou seest him no otherwise: but then this mirror shall be ta'en away, and the face of jesus shall be holden up in your sight. Brethren, while we are here, the light comes from heaven▪ and over shadows and transforms the soul only, and that, not fully, but in a part: but, when he shall come, he shall transform not the soul only, but these wild bodies, and make them conform to his glorious body. Phil. 3. 21. And so, there must be a greater force in his own presence, nor is in the mirror of the Gospel. And thou that takest a pleasure to see jesus in the mirror of the Gospel, and to be overshadowed with the light of the Gospel, the face of jesus shall shine on thee: and by the contrary, thou that takest no pleasure in the mirror of the Gospel, thou shalt never attain to the sight of jesus. Wilt thou continue in hatred of the ministry of jesus Christ, thou shalt never see the glorious countenance of jesus. In the end of this chapter, not being content to tell this once, he says it again, yes, ye are my joy. This doubling proceeds of a persuasion that he had of that glory: in a word, let a Minister be faithful to win many souls, to pleasure God and jesus Christ, who will recompense him so abundantly. The glory is sure, the joy is sure, and if he find faithfulness, and a blessing in his calling in this life: as the joy and glory is certain, so when he is going out of this life, he may be sure, and may say with confidence, I shall enter in my joy, and my soul and body shall be crowned with his crown of joy and glory, and all in the presence of the Lord jesus. To whom with the Father & the holy Spirit be all praise. AMEN. THE TENTH LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 3. vers. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1 Wherefore since we could no longer forbear, we though it good to remain at Athens alone. 2 And have sent Timotheus our brother and minister of God, and our labour-fellowe in the Gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you touching your faith. 3 That no man should be moved with these afflictions: for ye yourselves know, that we are appointed thereunto. 4 For verily when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulations, even as it came to pass, & ye know it. AFTER the salutation ye have heard (brethren) a congratulation and rejoising of the Apostle with the Thessalonians, for the graces of God in Christ, that were bestowed on them. Thereafter followed an excuse of the Apostle, wherefore he came not to visie the Thessalonians: he excused himself, from that great desire & purpose he had to visit them face to face. He entered in the journey once, he was impeaded: he entered the second time, Satan impeaded him: he could do no more. Now shortly to come this text. He follows out the same purpose, and continewes his excuse, showing them the desire yet left him not, but albeit he was impeaded in his own person to come to them, yet his desire was 〈◊〉 toward them. And therefore, that which he could not bring to pass in his own person, he thought good to perform by another, by a dear brother, and fellow labourer Timothy. Therefore he took purpose, being at Athens in Grecia, and Timothy with him, to abide at Athens himself alone, and to send away Timothy to them, and all to this end to establish them in that word which they had received: To exhort them that they should not be commoved or dashed with the afflictions which overtook them and wherewith they were exercised. Upon this, he salles out in an exhortation: exhorting them to bear patiently those afflictions that fell upon them. The first argument to move them thereto is, knowing well they were appointed thereto. God had ordained from all eternity those afflictions for them, a necessity was imposed upon them, and why should they not then suffer and bear them patiently? The next argument wherewith he comforts them. There is nothing come to us (says he) but that wherewith ye were forewarned. Therefore take it patiently. This is shortly the sum of the text standing in these two parts: in a purpose he took (because of his own not coming to them) to send Timothy to them, and in an exhortation to bear affliction patiently. Now to make every sentence. The narration is very plain, and therefore it farnishes plain doctrine 〈◊〉 says the Apostle I thought it best 〈…〉 to send him to you, so to remain al●ue at Athen; This is to be marked; this earnest desire of the Apostle to do that which became him in vi●ying these Thessalonians it les● him not, notwithstanding or any opposition he got: S●han did cast in stays to hinder him, he stayed him to come to Thessalonica: yet Satan could not get the desire of his heart stayed, he desired 〈…〉 he is not able to perform that which he desired so earnestly. 〈…〉. It is a hard matter to put out of the heart of the godly an holy desire to do well, to do that which they should do of 〈◊〉: yea, it is an hard matter to Satan himself to quench the holy desire of the heart of the godly, Paul in the Rom. 7. 18. where he sets out the battle he had between the Spirit and the flesh, he confesses in plain words, that he could not get that thing done that he would have done. In the mean time he says, To will is present to me, that is say: I have in the mean time a good will to do well, albeit I can not attain to the performance of well doing: the flesh in Paul stayed the action and perseverance in well doing, but the flesh was notable to quench the goodwill he had to do well. And brethren, most certain it is, where the desire abides in the heart, when a willingness to do well abides, the battle is not lost, the Devil hes not gotten the victory, the flesh hes not gotten the victory. Lose thou once the desire, and will of well-doing: if there be in thee no repugnance to Satan, but his work goes forward 〈…〉, the Devil then hes gotten the upper hand, the 〈◊〉 is lost and thou art gone: keep well therefore the desire in the heart to do well: how ever thy hand & feet be bound, so that thou canst not do with thy hand any good, nor can not go with thy foot to do good: yet it this will of well doing remain, the victory shall be thine in the end. It is most certain the desire of the godly albeit it be impeaded for a time, yet in the end it shall be victorious. Therefore the Lord himself promises them certain victory. Blessed are they who hungers, and thrists for righteousnedsse. Matt. 5. 6. (there is the desire) for they 〈…〉, (there is the victory) The heart that desires grace, continuing in the desire, shall be filled with grace and glory. This for the first. The desire continuing with Paul, when he is not able to visie the Thessalonians in his own person he takes him to the next best, and that which he could not do by himself, he took purpose to do by Timothy, which was his fellow-labourers▪ Where there is an earnest desyro to do well in the heart of any man, that thing he can not attain to at the first, he assays it over again, and if he can not get it done in his own person, he preasses to do it in an other. As Paul assayed the first and second time in his own person, and was twice in the journey: when he is impeaded in his own person, that he is not able to perform it himself, he purposes to do it by others, and so he sends Timothy to perform that which he might not do himself. Then ye may see: an earnest holy desire hes such a force that it rests not, it must break out in some effect at one time or other, by one way or other: it can not still remain in the heart; nor the Devil will not be able to impead the action for ever. No, but an holy desire of good in the heart, shall take effect once, in despite of all the world. Then mark. The great necessity joined to every one of us, to do the thing we should do must not be left off, for one, or two, or three, or four impediments: and when we are not able in our own person to do it, then provide some other mean to do it: for it may be the Devil will not be so busy to impead others, as he will be to impead thyself: for it is certain the Devil is ever busy working, but he was not so busy to stay Timothy, as he was to stay Paul. Now in the next words, he says, he thought it best to abide solitare, all alone at Athens, where he was for the time, (for from Thessalonica he went to Beroea, and from Beroea to Athens, and there he abode) as he would say to the Thessalonians: I took purpose to hurt myself for you, I forgot myself for your profit and the care which I had of you, that ye should have good company, I choosed to be alone myself among the infidels, without fellow-helpers. The lesson is plain. Where there is love in the heart of the Pastor to the church, or any person▪ he will be content to be solitare, without good company, even in the midst of infidels, that that Church may have good company: he will be content to be poor, that the Church may be rich: he will be content to die, that the Church may live: he will wish to be an Anathema, and accursed for his brethren, that the Lord may be glorified in the salvation of his Church. No it is an unspeakable love, that a faithful Pastor hes, first to the Lord jesus, who hes sent him: and next to the Church, that is bought with the blood of jesus: he will forget himself to remember them, he will not not only severe from good company for their cause, but he will forget his own life to have them well. Mark next. Ere he comes here to the sending of Timothy, to the Thessalonians, he tells of the purpose he took. I thought it best to abide at Athens mine alone. And upon this purpose, I entered in action and sent him. Ye shall find this commonly in Paul, when he speaks of his doing, he speaks ever of a purpose and decree going before, and then the action following. I decreed to know nothing among you, but Christ and him crucified. 1. Cor. 2. 2. All well doing should proceed of a purpose of the mind: Purpose and consultation should precede action. well doing would not come rashly to our hand, but as the Lord hes given a man a mind to conclude and resolve: so well doing should come of the resolute purpose of the mind: without the purpose of the mind in well doing, the action hes not the full praise. God himself did nothing, but by purpose and counsel preceding: He elected us of a purpose, before all eternity: in time of purpose he calls us, of purpose he justifies us, and of purpose he glorifies us. In a word, he does all things according to the purpose of his will. Ye may read this in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians. So when God gives grace to any man, to do any thing: the first grace he gives, is a willingness in the mind to do well. Grace begins at the heart and mind, and not at the hand. Philipp. 2. 13. it is said, God is he, who gives the inward will and purpose, that is first: and the performance, that is next. Ere he give thee the performance of well doing, he gives thee the purpose of the heart to do it. Therefore before thou put out thy hand to do well, look thou have the purpose in thy heart, and then the welldoing is perfit: otherwise not. Many will put out their hand to do some good thing, when the heart will be fight against the hand. Put both purpose in mind and action in hand together to do well, or else hold altogether to thyself. Now to the next verse. Having taken a purpose, he says: He sent Timothy. Having taken purpose he goes to the action: he sends him. The lesson is easy. After purpose is taken, then go to the action: advise thee well, and then stay not, but go to, and execute thy purpose. There are many who are ay purposing and consulting, but their purpose is ay fectlesse: and when they have taken purpose, they stand still there, their purpose in nothing worth. It is very true, even as the purpose to do well is of grace, it is not of man's self to do it, it is God who gives the purpose: so the action of the hand is of God, in such sort, that when thou hast gotten grace to will well, thy hand shall be bound hard and fast, that thou shalt not be able to do it, except thou be furnished with an other grace also. When God hes given thee the purpose, except he also give thee the performance, thou shalt never do it: for the Apostle says, 〈◊〉 God who gives the purpose and the doing well. Whereto speak ● this? even to learn us, that ever in all our actions and life we continue in begging of grace, beg good purpose by prayer: then stand not there, think not thou hast gotten all, there are many graces, beg the means to effectuate it beg earnestly the 〈◊〉. When thou hast begged the purpose and gotten it, begged the performance, and gotten it: beg the blessing to continue in it, or else all shall fail. If grace 〈◊〉 not multiplied, grace after grace, we shall fall: when we have gotten the fast grace, we shall 〈◊〉, the second grace, we shall 〈◊〉 yea, the third grace, we shalt 〈◊〉 except God up hold 〈◊〉 and the 〈◊〉 graces, except we continue, the greater is our fall. And so beg grace after grace, that we may be filled with his fullness in Christ, and get the perfection of all. 〈…〉 What man is this Timothy? He is set on● in his own styles: he calls him hast our brother, from that common calling of all Christian men and women: for in Christ we all are brethren and sisters a Minister must first be a brother, before he be a Minister. Then secondly, he is set 〈…〉 that particular calling, and he is called, the Minister of 〈◊〉 and what 〈…〉 Paul. In what 〈…〉 Christ. There is a fair Ministry, a fair exercise he is exercised in the service of God, in the glorious Gospel of jesus Christ. Then he sends this Timothy. Good men Can be depute to the performance of God▪ actions. Then what man is this Timothy that he puts in his place to visie the The 〈◊〉, to confirm and establish them in that faith? A good man, 〈◊〉 man, and a brother, and yet more than that, a Minister of God, and a 〈◊〉 labouret with Paul in the Gospel of jesus Christ. Then the lesson is. That which we can not get done in our own person, we must do it by others, whether 〈…〉 or in the Common wealth. But look that ever thy 〈…〉 whom thou appointest to do that which thou shouldest do in thy own person, be a godly man like Timothy. M●ses when he could not overtake all the affairs of the people himself, he chose out (at the desire of jethro his father in law) good men to do the turn: send not out a cyphere: appoint men that are able to do it, as thou wilt be answerable to God. In the work of the Lord do nothing negligently, but earnestly, having ever thy God before thy eyes. Woe to that man, that does the work of the Lord negligently. jerem. 48. 10. Let men therefore take head to their own doings, and to those men whom they set under them: that they be not ciphers, but meet to do the work of the Lord. Alas▪ this is far from the form of this country. They think it enough here if they put in any man to be a show in their offices, o if thou knew what count thou must give to the Lord for thy doing, thou wouldst do the work of the Lord more carefully. Yet to insist on this commendation of Timothy. It is an high commendation, and all tends to this, that he should be well accepted of the Thessalonians, to whom he was directed, that so he might do them the more good. Therefore the Apostle sent him adorned with this fair testimone. Good men deserve good commendation. Brethren, When we see good men in Church or commonweal, we should give them their own commendation; why should not the Prince have his own commendation in sight of the people without flattery? why should not the Pastor have his honour? but to this end Paul looked to, that they might be well accepted among the people: the next end, that being honoured among them, they may get obedience. So every good man should have his own authority among the people to do his good turns. The Lord grant that every man who hes office, may have matter of recommendation within himself, that when he is praised he be not flattered. The Lord grant that the Prince may have matter of his commendation; and the Pastor matter of his commendation, to this end, that their labours be not in vain. Now to go forward with the words. Wherefore is this good man Timothy sent to the Thessalonians? not to play him not to look about him: but to confirm the Thessalonians in that faith in the which they were grounded by the Apostle. The office of the Evangelist was to confirm men in that faith which was had down by the Apostles, to water that which the Apostles had planted. Paul planted, Apollo wattred, 1. Cor. 3. 6. So Timothy was sent to do his own office: his own office was to confirm them who were grounded. Brethren, ye have heard here before a great deal spoken of that singular faith which the Thessalonians had: and read in the whole Epistles of Paul, ye shall not find such a commendation given to any Church as to these Thessalonians: they were examples to the whole Churches about them, as to Macedonia, Achaia, etc. the word of them went abroad to all people: and yet Timothy must be sent to them to establish them. Mark it. There is none in this life so well grounded on the faith of jesus, Confirmation of faith necessary to all men on this life but night and day they have need of confirmation: yea, even at the last breath, when thou art going out of this world, thou must crave a confirmation: for there is no perfection in this life, nothing in this life but beginning of grace. Let none think he stands, if he thinks so, he deceives himself, and the man who thinks he stands, he is readiest to fall. There is nothing here but either to grow or decay, no standing. So we have need continually of a confirmation: faith in Christ is set down to us, as a ground whereupon we are established. Continually every hour and moment we crave a settling on that ground: for why? the sea, of the own nature is not so subject to commotion and slowing, as the heart of a man. When it is set down once in that faith which is the foundation, leave it there, it shall return to the own nature again. Then ye see, the sea, when it flows on a rock, immediately the jaw returns back again in the sea: So, our heart set on Christ, except by grace it be daily, hourly, momentlie settled, it will return back again to the own nature of it. There was never more winds nor storms on the sea, to cause it rage, nor is daily, and hourly brangling our faith, if it were possible to beat thy faith off the groundstone. Thou never seest thing with thy eye, but it is a blast of wind, to beat thee off thy ground: thou never hearst thing, but it is a blast to beat thee off thy ground. Prosperity a blast of wind to thee: adversity, a blast off wind to beat thee off thy rock Christ jesus: the scorning world is a wind to beat thee from Christ; all ●●n●ations are as many winds to toss thee here and there that thou settle not. Look then if we have need to be confirmed more and more in the faith of Christ. The next words tells the manner of the establishing of our faith. And to comfort. The first word was borrowed: the next word makes it plain. The manner is, seeing the heart of man is ay fleeting. Therefore we have sent to comfort you touching your faith. The very same ministry which Paul had for the time, Timothy for his time; the Pastors and Doctors hes this day: That same ministry which consists in instructing, exhorting, comforting, admonishing, and rebuking them for their misdeeds: for all are included within this word exhorting, and all these serves to confirm men in the faith of Christ. Paul to the Ephesians, 4. 11. says, When the Lord jesus ascended to heaven, after that glorious resurrection, leaving this earth, he left behind him some to be Apostles, some Evangelists, some Pastors, and Doctors, to the end we should not be ay children, fleeting, flowing, and carried away with every light wind of doctrine. What means all this? That the use of the ministry is to establish the heart of man, to hold the heart, that the wind of affliction and tentation blow it not away, and to settle it on Christ, who is the groundstone. Then, turn it over: take away the ministry, that men would have so feign away (give men their teyndes, they would be content never to hear a Minister) no stablitie shall be in the hearts of the people, thy heart shall be blown away from Christ, and thou shalt perish. Alas, we have over great experience of this, and especially in this City of Edinburgh, the Lord amend it. Count all things vanity, but to be established in Christ. Alas, that we are so senseless of this. A vain heart waits not what this word means, but a solid heart mourns for the want of the means of the word. Now to come to the next verse. The end of this establishing, confirming and exhorting of these people by the ministry of Timothy is this, that none of them should be commoved for the affliction, wherewith they were exercised for the present: For, the Thessalonians at that time were afflicted by the jews, enemies to God and man. Then, the end is, that they should not be commoved with the afflictions, that lay on them. It is easy to a man to stand in a calm: but when wind blows it is hard to stand sure: It is easy to profess Christ in calmness, but, when the blast of tentation strikes on thee, then, it is much to stand and hold Christ. In temptations we must stand on Christ, by faith. We are not yet well acquainted with this. So all tends to this: Albeit the waves of the sea dashed on them, they should stand fast in the faith of Christ. Brethren, all this world is full of temptations: the devil blows, and all his imps are ever blowing and raising a storm: it is a stormy world, and all the thuds light on the silly creature. Alas, if we knew the stumbering estate we stand into: what temptations are to assail us; the winds of tentation from the East, West, North & South, all meeting: adversity on one side, prosperity on the other side, all meeting, to draw thee from Christ. What remedy can be sought of this woeful estate we stand in by nature? if we stand not in grace, we shall curse the time, that ever we were borne and lived in this world. The remedy is Stablishing. What remedy for a ship when winds blow? Stablishing. And how shall the heart be established? How is the ship made sure? By casting the anchor in the sea: the anchor of the soul is faith, and hope; thou must then cast it upon Christ. Cast it not down in the sand, but, upward through the vale, to jesus the sure ground of it: and then, all the winds, howbeit they may shake thee, yet, they shall not severe thee from him. Then where shall we get this anchor faith? Faith is by hearing, as is said. Rom. 10. 17. Thou must hold to thy ear, or else thou shalt be blown away. Hearing is by preaching. So all resolves in this same ministry, the preaching of this glorious Gospel of the blessed God: let this ministry be heard, and thou shalt get faith: getting faith the anchor of the soul, thou shalt stand fast, and shalt not be thrust from the Rock Christ. But, cast away preaching, as ever a ship was tossed to and fro, until she perish, thou shalt be tossed, until thou perish everlastingly. Now to go forward in the second part of the text, in which he exhorts them, patiently to bear affliction. And so he falls from the last purpose and goes to the former, patience in affliction. Sand fast be patiented, taken in patience what ever is laid on thee: the reason is● because we are appointed to affliction. As God hes appointed us in the would and ordained us for glory, in the life to come; so, as certainly hes he appointed us to suffer in the mean time, that, by ignominy and crosses we may pass to glory. Hear this, and look the way to heaven; that by ignominy, tribulation, vexation and affliction thou must come to heaven, our place of long rest. The Lord hes ordained this; therefore, bear it patiently. There is the form of the argument: learn then, It is of the will and decree of God from all eternity, that the creature should suffer in this life, God's will, that we suffer in this life, should be reverenced. in one measure, or other. Then again: the creature should have such reverence to Gods will, that, when it thinks, that, it is the will of God it should suffer, it make no whispering; but, stoop there. Paul Rom. 9 20. speaking of the endured reprobate▪ anent the induration, reprobation and condemnation; He teaches them, that the reprobates when they are told, it is God's will that they should go to Hell, their mouth should be shut up, that they quarrel not the Lord. And he says in anger, What art thou that whispers against God's will the put stand up and speak to the potter that made it, and say, why hast thou made me a veshell of dishonow? No more should thou reprobate stand up, and say to thy maker, why hast thou made me a reprobate? o that reverence we should have to that blessed will: and albeit the reprobates speaks now against God's will; yet, at last, in the end, their mouth shall be closed & they shall not have one word to say against the will of God; but in Hell shall be compelled to reverence that solid will of God. Now if the reprobate should reverence this holy will of God. then who art chosen of God, and art afflicted for thy own well (for it is for thy sanctification) and knowing well, that there is a glorious prospect to thee therein, wilt thou not reverence Gods will? wilt thou not reverence it under such a little burden, the moment●neall lightness of affliction, when the reprobate shall do it in such pain? All is to this end. That, every only with patience under God's hand, in affliction, until the time come the Lord relieve them. Necessary of affliction. Then, ye see here a great necessity of afflictions suffer must we. Paul says, we are appointed to suffer, before all time. Peter says, we are called to suffer in time. 1. Epist. 2. 21. So, when the Lord calls thee to glory, he calls thee, by suffering and he says; Come to the torment and sword, and sire, and so, by that way thou must euter in glory. Christ our head entered by the cross to glory: so must thou. Well, then, knowing this necessity, what should we do then? Make us for patience, and ay prepare us, in the morning, at evening & at our meat and ay cry, The Lord prepare us for suffering: I am going out, I know not what shall befall me before my coming in: Lord conduct me in this miserable life, that I may reign with thee. I know there is nothing but trouble in this life: in trouble Lord, comfort me and conduct me, while I reign with thee, and rest from all troubles. This should be our daily prayer. Alas, the vanities of this world so overrunnes our eyes, that we can not see the tottering estate we are in. There is no ankoring but in Christ. The Lord oppin our eyes to see this more and more. Now one word on the next argument: the second argument is from the forewarning of the Apostle. For the first time we were with you, we told you we should all suffer. The Gospel can not be without affliction, for, affliction is an unseparable companion thereof: and therefore, I told you before, that ye might be patiented. It is a common proverb, Once warned half armed: an evil that is foreseen to come, ere it light, will hurt the less: when it comes not to us contrary our expectation, we will take it in better part: but this evil that lights on a man sudainlie contrary his expectation, o, it is a sore and heavy trouble, and will make him to shake. When a man is crying peace, and thinks all sure, then says the Apostle 1. Thess. 3. 5. when the trouble overtakes him upon a sodainetie, what shall be his dolour? His dolour shall be like to a woman's travailing in childbirth, which is compared to the pain of hell for the exceeding fierceness and sharpness. The Apostle knowing this, where ever he came to preach the Gospel of Christ, with the Gospel he preached affliction, and he did ever say, O people, prepare you for suffering; think not but ye shall suffer: that being forewarned, they should not stoop and let affliction pass over them. Affliction foretold more easily sustained No, he assures them, that, it behoves them, through many afflictions, to enter in the kingdom of heaven. Act. 14. 22. Every one who lives godly shall suffer. 2. Timoth. 3. 12. The Apostle so warns them, that when the people are warned, the affliction should not come unto them unarmed: but that, when they see it, they should say, I looked ever for affliction: Now, welcome affliction. He that is prepared for it, and knows perfectly, affliction will follow the gospel, he will take it in his aims, & say, welcome affliction; and he will receive it with such patience, as the tongue of man can not report, and where patience is joined with affliction, it is but half affliction: but, a man who lies sighting and waltering in trouble, o, that man hes double disease. Therefore, brethren, since it is, that we must suffer, either in one measure, or, other, let not the things of this world make us forget, that we are appointed to suffer: but, when prosperity comes, let us say, this world will decay: thou art mounted up this day, thou may be casten down the morn: thou art whole this day, thou may be sick the morn; and so, I will not be deceived with any thing, but, will prepair me for adversity. The Lord prepair us for it, for Christ's sake. To this Christ, the Father and the holy Spirit, be all praise and honour, now and ever. THE ELEVENTH LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 3. vers. 5. 6. 7. 8. 5 Even for this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent him that I might know of your faith, lest the tempter had tempted you in any sort, and that our labour had been in vain. 6 But now lately when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring to see us, as we also do you. 7 Therefore brethren, we had consolation in you, in all our affliction and necessity through your faith. 8 For now are we alive, if ye stand fast in the Lord. IN the beginning of this chapter (Brethren) the Apostle Paul tells of the purpose he did take to send Timothy to the Thessalonians, to establish them in the faith and to exhort them; and of the accomplishment of that purpose: that as he took purpose to send Timothy to them, so he sent him. And this was one of the Arguments whereby he excuses himself for that he did not come to them himself, being impeaded by Satan. The next he could do was to send that brother Timothy, who was a faithful man in the ministry of the Lord: and therefore they should have him excused. Then thereafter ye heard he fell out in a short exhortation, exhorting them to bear patiently those afflictions and crosses that they suffer in this life. The first argument was from the appointment of God: God had so appointed from all eternity that they should suffer: therefore seeing that necessity was imposed on them, why should they not bear the burden paventlie? The second argument was from his fore warning of them of the troubles for the Gospel's sake. There is nothing come but that I did forewarn you of; therefore when they are come what rests but that ye should bear them patiently? Now, leaving that which we spoken the last day upon the text preceding, I come to this present text. The Apostle in the fift verse of this chapter returns again to that which he spoke concerning Timothy and the sending of him to the Thessalonians. In the next verse he hes a narrative of Timothy his returning again, and of that good report he made in his returning of the Thessalonians, of their faith, love and remembrance they had of Paul. After that in the verse following he shows what effect that report of Timothy wrought in him: it brought to him joy and consolation, notwithstanding of all his affliction he was in for the present. The reason is given: because we live when ye stand in the faith: your perseverance is our life; and therefore what marvel if we rejoice in your faith? And thereafter he utters that he can not thank God enough for that grace they had gotten of God. Now to come back again. The text contains a plain narrative. Wherefore says he, when I could no longer forbear, I sent Timothy to you. Of this we spoke the last day in the beginning of the chapter: and therefore we go forward. The end is set down wherefore he sent Timothy, to understand of your faith. That is, of your perseveeing, of your abiding and of your standing in that faith ye have received. This is an other end from that which was before. Before he sent Timothy to establish and to comfort them: now he sends Timothy to understand of their faith and perseverance. No matter albeit there be sundry ends wherefore he sent Timothy; one for their cause, to establish them: an other for his own cause, that he himself might understand of their perseverance in faith, and might have joy in the report of their perseverance therein. So ye see, the Apostle, brethren, is ever careful of this Church at Thessalonica planted and begun by him there. So that in the beginning he was careful to low the seed of the word amongst them, to convert them and turn them to the faith of Christ. When he hes done this he leaves not off his care; but that work he had begun he is careful that it be brought to some perfection in Christ: So that he leaves behind him this lesson unto all pastors and unto all that travail in that calling: The care of the Pastor 〈◊〉 his stock should be instant. to have a continual care over the people that are committed to them; to have a care of their perseverance and continuance in faith to the end. It is not enengh to raise them up once, and to set them on their feet and thereafter to pluck away his hand from them, and to let them stand as it were them alone: but he must strive to hold them up; as he hes laid the foundation of faith, so he must build upon that foundation continually, so far as lies in him, while the building be ended. He is an evil workman that will lay the foundation of an house & then leap away: he is an evil teacher that will found any people on faith, and then goes away and leaves them Brethren, the beginning of faith is by the 〈…〉 way this ministry there shall be no foundation on 〈…〉 persseverance in saith is by this ministry; take it away, 〈…〉 once founded shall fall down again 〈…〉 〈◊〉 preaching of the Gospel 〈…〉 of God from the Congregations, and leave 〈…〉 your own reaching & meditation, though ye be 〈…〉 shall ye: all your reading and meditation shall not hold you up for that is the only mean whereby perseverance in faith is effectuate, & without the which thou shalt not persevere in faith, but shalt fall, and the last fall shall be worsle then the first. The cause is subjoined in the next words wherefore he would understand of their faith & their perseverance in faith, Lest saith he, in any sort the tempter had tempted you. As he would say, I know well enough the craft of the devil, and if there be not a wattring after the planting, I know his temptation, how busy he is to root out that which is planted: and therefore fearing he had tempted you and drawn you from faith, I was very careful to understand of your faith and perseverance therein. Then what should have fallen to me through your falling by the temptation of the Enemy? I Paul who had grounded you in the faith should have lost travail, and all my labour in planting you in that faith should have been lost. This is the meaning of all. Then what made Paul so careful of the standing and perseverance of the Thessalonians? the tempter, the devil, Satan that never ceasses from tempting the faithful made Paul so careful to understand of their perseverance in faith. Temptats ●n of Satan should make the Pastor walkrife. What should make a pastor careful and walkeryfe, to walk when others sleep? There is a tempter in the world, and there is not a Church in the world but there is a tempter in it, and there is no person in it but he hes a tempter. Go where thou wilt go thy tempter follows thee: sit, lie, rise, do what thou wilt do thou shalt not want thy tempter. So long as the devil is in the world, so long there is necessity required of walkryfenesse: pastors must be walkryfe, people must be walkeryfe, and every man and woman must be on their gua●rd Walk saith the Lord in the Gospel of sanct Matth. 26. 41. lest ye enter into temptation. There is a tempter at your ear that will tempt you: be walkeryfe therefore, be sober and watch saith Peter in his first Epist. 5. 8. Wherefore? For the enemy the devil is going about like a roaring lion seeking whom be may denoure. Go thou where thou wilt, he is about thee: thy eye begins not so soon to wink and lose the presence of the Lord, but as soon his mouth is oppin to devour. A slippery body, be he pastor, be he any of the people, he knows not that there is a Devil, a tempter. Would all this slumbering and fleshly security be trow ye, if men were persuaded that there is a devil ready to devour▪ So when men sleep in sin, in murder, in harlotry, in theft, in blasphemy, in all the rest of those sins, they testify that they know not there is a devil in the world. Alas, many never know that there is a tempter while they be swallowed up and be in his grip pes: many never know that there is an hell. Of all sorts of men in the world a slippery pastor, a careless man in the ministry is the worst, he loses both himself and many others: a careless man in the ministry is unmeet for that calling, away with him. And therefore the Lord would have us learn that there is not one man he sends out, but besides all other properties given him, he gives him this walkryfenes, this vigilancy for one property: and more than this, the Lord will acquaint him with tentation, and let him see a tempter going up and down: & will assure him in his heart that there is a Devil going about with every man. Paul therefore speaking of the incestuous man says, Comfort him, lest the tempter devour him. 2. Corinth. 2. 10. and in his own person 2. Cor. 12. 7. that the messenger of Satan was sent to buffet him. The Lord will let the minister see in his own person there is a tempter, that he may be the more careful of the people: as Christ himself was subject to all temptations that he should pity them that are tempted. Then to return. By your defection and falling away, what should I have lost? He says, and that our labour had been in vain. Therefore labours he, that he should not lose them. It is a pain to a man to take travel, to labour night and day, and then in the end to lose all, and not to receive fruit of his travel. It is a pain to a man to suffer for the Gospel, and then in the end to lose all. Always I mark of this place. When any people makes defection from the faith of Christ, not only the people themselves who makes defection, but also the Pastor who travels among them, makes lose in their defection. Paul professes in the Epistle to the Galathians, 4. 11. that he feared his labour had been in vain, saying, I have feared concerning you, that I have wearied myself in vain. I fear my pains and travel toward you be in vain: yea brethren, the carefullest and walkryfest man in the ministry loses his pain and labour, when he attains not to that end that he sets before him, to wit, salvation of the people. Well then if a faithful Pastor lose by the falling away or the people: what lose makes an uncareful Pastor, when through his default any people falls away to defection? judge ye then, what is his loss and damage: he loses not only the people, but himself: the people perishes, and the blood of the people is craved at his hand, and so he loses himself too. A faithful man in whose default the people falls not away shall triumph, their fall shall not take away his triumph, and he shall be a sweet smell in the sight of God: fall who will fall if it be not in his default, he shall not lose his labours, his labours and pains shall ever stand before God, as acceptable to him: but as so a careless body, by whose default any people or person is lost in the Church of God, there is no triumph for him; neither in this life, nor in the life to come, if he repent not; he shall be no sweet sm●ll in Christ to God, he is a stinking creature. Therefore let every man that is in that charge study to walkrifenesse, that no man perish through his default, and so he shall be a sweet smell to God, both in them that are safe, and in them who perish. 2. Cor. 2▪ 14. In the next verse we have the narrative of Timothy. returning back again from the Thessalonians to Paul who abode at Athens: he reported again to Paul good news of the Thessalomans and their perseverance, to his great joy and consolation. But now lately, says he, when Timothy came from ye● unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have good remembrance of us always desiring to see us, as we desire to see you. Paul was impeaded in his own person from going unto Thessalonica, but he sent Timothy's who is not impeaded, but goes forward, and does his turn among them: he waters that which Paul had planted in Thessalonica. Timothy in sa●ene returns back to Paul with good news, that all was well: Paul rejoyses greatly in the report of Timothy, and in the mean time Paul remaining at Athens, does his turn, and brings some to the faith of Christ there. Now brethren, I ask, hes Satan gotten any vantage here by staying Paul, to go to Thessalonica? Hes he hindered the Gospel? God over turns the enterprise of Satan. No the Gospel is furthered thereby: Paul abides and does his turn at Athens: Timothy goes and does his turn at Thessalonica, and fills Paul with good tidings that he brought from Thessalonica. Learn Satan when he thinks to hinder the progress of the Gospel most, he furthers it most. When he thinks he is most against the Church, he is most with the Church: yea, if he should have set himself of purpose to further the Gospel if he had taken counsel thereto, when he impeaded Paul to go to Thessalonica, he could not have devised a better way. This is wonderful, the Lord hes ever disappointed him, and shall to the end: he who works light out of darkness overturneth and whirls about so all his interpr●ses, that in despite of the Devil, he makes all the things, the Devil thought to do to the dishonour of God and hurt or the Church, to serve to his glory and the well of his Church, I tell you in one word, Satan never yet got the advantage of the Church nor of no godly man no not in the slaughter of Abel, he never got it, nor shall get it: but that whereby the wicked men thinks they get victory over the Church the Lord turns about so that one day ye shall see, it shall be the profit and honour of the Church. To go to the words he says, after Timothy's returning he brought him good news. Of whom were they? of yo● Thessalonians What were they? that ye were in a good estate, flourishing, full of wealth, full of honour, all things going well and prospering with you, all things succeeding to your hearts desire? were these the news that Timothy told to Paul? no, no never one word or syllable of this: what were they then? He tells me good tidings of your faith, that ye persevere in faith in Christ, that is the first. He tells me of your love and that bond whereby ye are bound together in love: there is an other he tells me of that special affection ye bear to me. The best news of any people These are all his news. Why then (I as●●) what are the best news that can be reported of any people Common weal and City? It is not of their flourishing estate in this world, nor of their wealth and riches, nor of their honour in this world all these things are transicprious all the honour of this world will away, the riches of this world will away. The best news of any people are when those things are reported of them that abides for ever. When faith and love is reported▪ which they will take to Heaven with them: 〈◊〉 in jesus gripped in thy heart will go to Heaven with thee, love will go to Heaven with thee. The best news that ever was told is the Gospel of peace to the world in God the Father through Christ. Fyon thee that receives not these news. As this Gospel and evangel is nothing but these glad tidings of God's mercy through Christ. So likewise the best news that can come of any people is, that the people hes received the Gospel and that faith in Christ. There is great matter of joy when we hear that grace, mercy and peace is preached to any people: There was never such joy, if we knew what is true joy, but alas we are lying on the earth, we have no sense of heavenly things, our eye is ay on the earth, as though there were no grace nor glory, but in this life. But brethren to go to every word, and to speak of these things Timothy reports to Paul. The first point of these tidings is faith; he begins at faith. Timothy says: Paul, the Thessalonians continewes still in that faith of Christ, and embraces that Gospel of Christ, which thou taught them. There is the first part of the news. Then ye see plainly here. the first part of the good tidings that can be reported of any people, is that they hold fast the faith of Christ. and embrace the Gospel of Christ. There is the first and best tidings that can be reported of any people. And learn, He that hes not and keeps not this faith, I say in a word there can be no good tale told of him. If he had all the world, without this Gospel, it is all in vain, because he hes no good property, and there is no blessing of God in him: That which seems to be a blessing is a very cursing to him. The more honour and riches he hes in this world, the more are the maledictions of God, and all his actiones, all his speakings, or what ever he does or thinks, all is sin. What ever flows not from faith in Christ, is sin, if it were never so glistering. Rom. 14. 13. So then I hold this ground. Thou canst not tell a good tail of any man that embraces not Christ and his Gospel. They will say, he is a stoutman, he is a rich man, the world goes well with him, but all is cursing to him, except he have faith in Christ: faith blesses all, and therefore no life to thee, except that thou have faith. What is the next point of the tidings? love. Faith begins and she goes forward as the Queen of all grace. Next to her comes in love, she is next in honour, and among all the rest of the graces that accompanies with faith, love is the chiefest, Then in one word. The next point of good tidings of any people, is to be a loving people, a people that entertains love and charity: no oppression among them, but ever one is ready bend to help an other: such kindness, lenity and love, that the tongue of man can not express it. I tell you (as I have said before) where these tidings can not be told, that a people entertains love and charity, it is impossible thou canst tell a good tail of them. Tell me he is not charitable: I will conclude, there is no grace in that person. O but ye will say: yet he believes, and who hes been so instant an hearer of the Gospel as he? but all is vanity; thy life shows the contrary: for who loves not their nighbour, and says that they love God, they lie says joha in his first Epistle 4. 20. For certainly love is an unseparable companion of faith, as the shadow is of the body, so that if love be severed from it, thy faith is of no value. Where charity is not, there is no true faith, and therefore be charitable, and love thy neighbour, otherwvise thou hast no good property. The third point of the news, is, concerning Paul in special, that remembrance they had of him in his absence, and of this remembrance a desire to see him: and that because he had grounded them in that faith in jesus Christ, and that love to their neighbour. Brethren, as the first point of good tidings that can be reported of any, is the embracing of this Gospel of Christ and Christ in the Gospel: So the last thing that can be reported, is the embracing of the Ministers of this Gospel, the embracing of them in their presence, the remembering of them, and the desiring of them in their absence. These are Paul's own words. And I affirm if any people have no liking of the Minister of the Gospel, no man can tell one good word of good tidings of them. If Timothy could not have reported this far of the Thessalonians concerning Paul that they had remembrance of him: but had said that they remembered not of Paul; Trowye that Paul would have counted of the report of their faith and charity? No he would have said, they had no faith nor charity: for where there is not a love to the Minister of the Gospel, no faith nor love there. Many will say, I love the Gospel. I love my nighbour: but when it comes to the ministry; then if there be any vile and contemptible speaking it will be of them. My Lord or the laird will sit up and speak of that calling with such disdain and despite that the verse Ethnic can not go beyond him; and in scoffing will say, away with these fellows, wherefore serve they? they hold the country in ado. Fyon thee, that ever thou shouldst take the name of Christ in thy mouth, when thou so heatst his servants For it is impossible where the love of Christ and the Gospel is to severe thee from the love of the servants of Christ. Thou deceivest thyself, thou never lovest the master when thou heatst his servants: thou never lovest God, when thou heatst the faithful Minister he sends to thee. Alas, among all the curses that procures heavy judgement at God's hand. this is one. the contempt of this ministry: God is (as it were) wrestling with us in this great contempt to hold in this light but if we continue, we shall lose this light, to our utter ruin: for God will not wrestle ay with us. Take heed to this, and learn this lesson with Paul. As ye would have a report of well doing, look that this report may be told of you, that ye have a remembrance and desire of your faithful ministry, otherwise all other reports is nothing worth. For where there can not be a report of your liking of the good Ministers, it can not be possible that a good tale can be told of you. The words in the end of the verse is to be marked. desiring to see us as we also do you. There is a meeting. Mark the word. There is a mutual duty craved between the Pastor and the stock, a mutual desire and remembrance every one of other, a mutual liking every one of others. Kyndneste will not stand on the one part only. Now who should begin? one must begin Paul begins he remembers of them before they remember of him, he desires their presence, ere they desire his presence, he likes of them ere they like of 〈◊〉. Speaking to the Corinthians: Epist. 6. 1●. he says, Our mouth hes 〈◊〉 opened unto 〈◊〉, our heart 〈…〉 made large, 〈◊〉 have not dwelled narrowly in our bowels. Then he says. 〈…〉 to you 〈…〉 be children, desiring 〈◊〉 like recompense. And teiles them as he was the beginner to love them, he desired a rendering of the like love to him. Gal. 4. 12. Be ye as I am, for I am as ye are. I crave not first of you, but I shall begin with love to you: render ye me the like. And certainly when the Pastor begins not love to the flock, the people is not to be accused for not loving of their Pastor. So the Pastor must begin; and when they follow him not, be it between them and their God: and without question it will not go away without judgement. Now to go to the effect of these things. Therefore brethren, says he, we had consolation (and to aggreadge this consolation he says) when he told me these good tidings, my misery was great. I was lying at Athens miserable: but when Timothy reported these good news to me, I was quickened in hearing of your faith, perseverance, love among yourselves, and towards us. So brethren, these tidings are not without great joy, they minister comfort. Never one of these things are told, but joy and comfort breaks up in the heart. Trow ye that it was the good report that raised this consolation in the heart? No, there was an higher ground. If Paul had not had an greater love to the Thessalonians, all the good tidings that was reported by Timothy of them to him, should not have wakened joy in his heart. It is true in deed, when we hear of the grace of God to be in any other, there is matter of joy to us, we should not hear so soon that the grace of God is in any man or woman, but we should rejoice therein, even as it were in ourselves. When thou hearest of faith or love in any man or woman, thou shouldst rejoice: when thou hearest of any sinner that is penitent, & turns to God, rejoice when thou hearest of any love in any person, there is matter of joy, all is true. But brethren: Who rejoices when it is reported that any grace is in any person? I answer. None but the lover; he that loves that people or person will rejoice. As for others that have no love to the person the more is told to them of the grace of God in him, either spiritual or temporal, the more they invy it. This is all our nature. What is it that invyes not? Paul says, Charity invyes not 1. Cor. 13. 4. And understand this, he who loves, rejoyes when he hears of any others well. Take me away love and charity no rejoicing in the heart of any man for an others well. Alas, this invy that is among men of the prosperity of an other testifies there is no love. When thou hearest the report of the graces of thy nighbour, a●●mnyes it, and speaks evil of thy nighbour, thou uttest thou hast no love to God and thou depryvest day self of a great grace: for thou deprivest thyself of that joy thou shouldst have of the grace of God: thou rejoicing, thou getst part of that grace, he that hes the grace gets not all that grace his alone, but when thou rejoicest, thougetst a part of that grace. By the contrary, if thou invy, thou spoils thyself of that joy: the joy thou shalt have in Heaven shall not be of the grace thou shalt have in thyself only (and assure thee as thou shalt have joy in Heaven thou must have joy in earth) but it shall rise of the graces of god bestowed on others on the earth: and thou shalt not see a glorious member beside thee, but of sight of it thou shalt have such joy as no tongue can tell. So I beseech you as ye would rejoice in Heaven, begin to joy, and learn in time to rejoice for the graces of God bestowed on others here, and learn in time to love thy nighbour●ó thou licentious body learn to love, o contemner, learn to love, thou back byter, learn to love, thou who wouldst rejoice with a true joy, learn to love, or thou shalt never rejoice in Heaven. What trow ye ` Paul is doing now when Timothy is turned back to him, and makes this good report of this charity and is rejoicing? I tell you, he is gathering up the fruits of his travel, taking up his rent and stipend from the Thessalonians. Pastor's stipend. What is the reward of a faithful Pastor and his proper stipend? Is it this little thing on the earth, his gleab and manse, two or three chalders of victual? no. What then is the proper reward of the Pastor? It fills not the hand, but the heart; not the mouth of this world, but the mouth of the soul with joy. Fill out my joy (says Paul Philipp. 2. 2.) fill it out, I have not gotten it all. What is that that fills the heart of the Pastor with joy? The grace of God fills the heart with joy. ye hear not that Timothy brings any substance from the Thessalonians. But the thing that fills Paul's heart, is the grace of God in the Thessalonians the saith of the Thessalonians, the love and good affection the Thessalonians bore to him. That is the matter of his joy. Men stands on this earth, and is loath to give one penny to an other, but to draw all in to themselves: but I say to thee, if thou be one of Gods, and of his people, he shall get more of thee, nor all thy heritage, nor all thy lands and riches in the world, if he be a faithful Pastor he shall get more of thee: For thou shalt have no grace, nor faith, nor charity, but he shall get the glory of it: thou shalt have no glory in Heaven, but that glory shall redound to his glory: for that chief Pastor of all Pastors hes communicate this to his Pastors, that all the graces bestowed by him on the people shall redound to their glory. So he will have all the travels bestowed on the people by his Pastor to redound the glory of his Pastor. Paul says. 1. Thessa. 2. 19 What is our joy, or crown of 〈◊〉? are not ye (Thessalonians) my glory and my joy? The Lord shall take you by the hand, give you to me, and say: have there the man thou hast win, take the glory thereof to thee, and give me the whole glory of him, and of all: o the shining glory that Paul shall have in Heaven! o the shining glory of these men, who hes traveled on earth to get souls to God they have a glorious preferment, but it is not seen here, in that day ye shall see it clearly. Now he aggreadges that joy he received of that report, from the great trouble he had in Athens: and says, we had consolation in all our affliction and necessity. In Athens he was troubled by the Epicurian and Stoic Philosophers (Alas, worldlie-wise men are not meet for the kingdom of God▪ he that would be wise in God let him be a fool) So he is in trouble: Heavenly joy swalowes up worldly pain. yet this consolation through the report of Timothy, swallows up the trouble: o that heavenly consolation and joy, how it will swallow up the displeasure and heaviness of the soul! Albeit the soul were filled with sorrow, when this heavenly joy comes in, it swallows up that heaviness: it is true that this is not without a battle, and a hard battle but in the end the spiritual joy will get the victory. Therefore thou who art in heaviness, press to get some spark of that heavenly joy, press to rejoice in Christ, grow in rejoicing in God. Thou who wouldst have any pain mitigate that is laid on thy body, if it were sickness or death itself, if thou wouldst have it made light, seek that spiritual joy, for as it swallows the dolour and displeasure of the heart, so it swallows up the pain of the body: trow ye tha● the Martyrs could have suffered so great pain as they did, if that the joy of the heart had not swallowed up the half of the pain? No, if the joy had not impaired the pain, they would have cursed God and man, So let a man or woman who would have their pain mitigate seek to get this joy. We see how sweetly they will departed out of this life who hes that joy in Christ, and therefore differre not till the last hour, thinking to get joy then, but in time when thou art neither sick nor sore, in soul nor body, prepare thee to get a sense of that joy that may be steadable in trouble: acquaint thee with heaven, as ever thou wouldst go to heaven. Away with the security of men who play the wanton, and will promise to themselves heaven, if they get but leave to ask mercy in their last breath. Fie on them, they shall be deceived. It is true, Delay of repentance dangerous. the thief that hung at Christ's right hand got mercy; but the other thief got none. Therefore repent & amend your lives in time: for where one gets repentance at the last hour of their death, a thousand wants it. Now ere I leave this mark. Certainly it appears that Paul loved the Thessalonians well: for when he hears the report of these good news, he who was in trouble is revived: and if he had not loved the Thessalonians exceeding well he had not received such exceeding joy. Love is the occasion of joy. Ye see, who loves a man well, when any good report is made of him he will rejoice for it. O the great love of Paul in all parts! it may be a mirror to all pastors. Would to God that such love or half love were in our hearts: we are bound to a Congregation, and yet we can not love them as he did having many Congregations: for he was minister as well at Corinthus, Galatia, Ephesus etc. as Thessalonica. Never did any man love a son begotten of himself more entirely nor Paul did all his Churches. Surely a Pastor should love his flock so well, that he should give his life for them. In the end of the verse he gives the reason wherefore he rejoiced, we live (says he) if ye stand in the Lord. joy comes of life; and natural life brings natural joy: that heavenly life begun in this life brings joy unspeakable. He reasons; Ye are n●y life: what wonder then that hearing of your standing in the Lord, which is my life, I rejoice? Then if he be a loving Pastor, who loves the soul of the people well. as Paul did, the grace that the people gets of God it is a quickening grace to him, it is a vivifying of him, if he be in dolour and distiesse it is a walkning of him. Therefore look what advantage thou gettest through love. Art thou a pastor? thou shalt get life. Art thou one of the people? if thou love thou shalt get life to: and thy love shall ever report to thee a joy in thy greatest dolour. If thou be departing off this life, and hast been a faithful pastor, the report of the standing of thy flock shall comfort thee: if thou be one of the people, thou shalt ever have comfort: for the grace of any member of the Church reported to thee shall bring joy to thee. But the man who hes nothing but invie can have no joy: he knows not what this spiritual joy means. Therefore as thou wouldst live in joy and consolation strive to be loving, charitable and tender hearted to every one in whom thou ●eest the graces of God: and so thou shalt get infinite matter of joy; thou shalt get peace here and life everlasting hereafter. The Lord for his great mercy's sake bring us to this life through Christ: To whom be all praise and honour for ever. Amen. THE TWELFTH LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 3. vers. 9 10. 11. 12. 9 For what thanks can we recompense to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we rejoice for your sakes before our God. 10 Night, day, praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might accomplish that which is lacking i● your faith. 11 Now God himself, even our Father, and our Lord jesus Christ guide our journey unto you: 12 And the Lord increase you, and make you abound in love one toward an other, and toward all men, as we do toward you, IN the Text immediately going before, well-beloved in Christ, we heard of the sending forth of Timothy to the Thessalonians, we heard of his returning, and what tidings he brought: he reported to Paul of the Thessalonians, concerning their faith and perseverance in faith, concerning their love; and particularly of that remembrance they had of Paul, who had founded them in the faith of Christ, in his absence desiring most earnestly to have his presence again. Last ye heard what effect these tidings reported by Timothy wrought in Paul: they wrought consolation and joy, notwithstanding all the afflictions and misery he lay in in Athens for the present. Now brethren, to come to the text we have in hand. In this text he does two things: first he shows what thanksgiving he gave to God for them and for all that joy he had conceived of the glad news he heard of them: he shows how earnest & instant he was in prayer for them, craving day and night that he might see them face to face, notwithstanding that report he heard of them by Timothy. Then in the second part of the text he falls out in a prayer continuing to the end of the chapter, first beseeching God the Father and the Lord jesus Christ to direct his journey toward them: next desiring God to increase them, and make them to abound in love every one toward an other, and toward all men in the world: thridlie beseeching God that he would establish their hearts before him in all holiness at the coming of jesus Christ with his Sancts. There is the effect of the text shortly. Now to return and to speak of the first part: he shows his thanksgiving and prayer to God for them. He says, For what thanks can we recompense to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we rejoice for your sakes before our God. I can not get a heart (would he say) to thank my God for it, joy in the heart bursts out in thanksgiving. as I should do. The text is very plain. So the doctrine is easy. First here we see. when the heart of any man conceives a spiritual joy for the grace of God, either bestowed on himself, or upon others, it is not able to contain that joy, but it must break out, and it must open the mouth to give thanks and praise to the Lord: for of the abundance of the heart, the mouth must speak. If the heart 〈…〉, be it good or evil, the har● must opened mouth, and 〈…〉 must speak either good or evil. Then the second thing ● be marked in this text, is w●en the joy of the heart opens the mouth to utter thanks, what ever be the 〈◊〉 and mean of joy, the first thanks that are given will not be given to it especially. (Paul here gives not the glory of this joy to the Thessalonians) but the mouth will be opened to glorify the author of all grace and joy, which is God: for without him there is no grace, neither have we ourselves any grace, neither hes any other any grace in himself: Thanksgiving to God only. and without God there is no joy; except he work the joy, there can be no joy in the heart. Yea, albeit the grace be given, yet if he give not a new grace to work joy in the heart for the grace, there can be no joy. And therefore the mouth when it is opened, to praise & glorify, first of all it should be opened to glorify him who is the giver of all: honour the instrument as the instrument, honour the Minister as the Minister, but let the author & worker of all have the glory & thanks. Then thridlie mark. In a manner he complains that he can not get a mouth to thank God sufficiently for all that grace they had received, and joy he had received and gotten through their graces. Mark then, our thanking and glorifying of God for the grace received and joy conceived in heart, it is not answerable in greatness to the grace, nor to the joy received. For will ye compare these two together, the grace of God, and thy thankfulness for it, the grace of God passes thy thankfulness, yea, the very joy that we have in heart for the grace bestowed on us or others, will be greater nor the thankfulness can be: and the tongue of man is not able to utter all that joy conceived, nor to thank God sufficiently for it. Peter 1. Epist. 1. 8. he calls it a joy unspeakable: The joy the faithful heart will conceive, is an unspeakable joy. So Paul of the sighs of the godly. Rom. 8. 28. The mouth of man is not so wide, nor so capable of grace as the heart is. I mean of the regenerate man. If the spirit of jesus dwell in the heart, all the tongues of men and Angels, can not be able to tell nor express the thousand part of that joy the heart will have in God's grace for all that joy says he, what thanks shall ● give to God? As he would say, my mouth can not get words to utter thanks to God the author for the graces received, and joy that is conceived there through. Now farther we have to learn in the words. He says, all this joy is before God, All joy in the face of jesus. all the joy that the heart conceives is in the sight of God and in his presence, it is all in the sight of christ. No liberty says Paul, but when the heart is turned to God, and laid oppin to him. 1. Cor. 3. 16. 17. No, no light of the knowledge of the glory of God, but in the face of jesus Christ. 2. Cor. 46. No sacretie of joy, but in his countenance, says Da●●d Psal. 16. 11. And Peter in his 1. Epist. 7. 8. says, that believing in jesus, and keeping him in our presence, we rejoice with a joy unspeak 〈◊〉 and glorious. So, no joy for thee, except thy eye be fixed in some measure on the face of jesus. Look not for it, turn thou thy back to him, and thy face from him, no joy for thee, if thou were all the monarchs in the earth: No, no joy, peace, nor tranquillity of conscience but in the face of God. And therefore who ever would have joy, and rejoice, and be glad in heart in this world, let him cast an eye on Christ, and be humelie with him: for his face is joyful. And what is all this joy we conceive in heart? but as little sparkles of the plenitude and fullness of that heavenly joy in Christ, all proceeds as blenks from it. Experience teaches us, that neither by day nor night can the soul rejoice, but when it hes the presence of the living God, in the face of Christ: for there is no sight of him but in Christ. Now last I gather of all this: He can not thank the Lord enough for their perseverance. Then all perseverance in faith and love comes of God if thanks must be given to God for it, of necessity it must follow that God is the giver of it: and therefore it is a vain tale to say that man's perseverance is in his own hand: he has a free will, he may stand if he will, he may fall if he will. All is vanity, all our standing is only in God: if he hold us in his hand we shall stand: if he pull away his hand we shall fall: therefore seek at God that we may stand and persevere; for without him we shall not stand one moment: & every one who stands is bound to praise him, who is the author of all perseverance. So brethren by Paul's example a Pastor when he sees his flock persevere in the faith of Christ above all men he is bound to praise God. Now to the next verse shortly. As he hes shown he thanked God for that grace they have gotten, and the joy he had conceived of it, so he adds to, and shows that as he thanked, he prayed and asked more. Prayed, how long▪ Night and day, After what manner? exceedingly with all feruen●●e. To whom pra●es lie? to God the Father and his Son Christ. What prayed he? that he night see their face. And to what end? ha● he might accomplish that which is looking in their faith. That is the effect of his prayer. So the Apostle would have prayer continually joined with thanksgiving. And there is not so great matter of thanksgiving for the grace which is received, and for the joy that ry●es of the grace, Prayer should be joined with thanksgiving. but yet there rests great need to seek more grace and more joy. So long as we live here, there is ay a want and inlaik in the best liver in this world. Faith is not perfit here. Regenerate: on & newness of life is not perfit here, no perfection in this life, and they who have come farthest toward that glorious face of God; yet they are far from the mark. Albeit thou hast run before others, yet so long as thou livest here thou art far from the mark: and therefore night and day thou must ask grace and furtherance: & say, Lord further me fill out the grace, it is not full yet Lord the thanksgiving is not full, yea the faith is not perfit. Lord fill it out, Lord augment that heavenly life in me. Now, behold the manner of his prayer and his continuance of it. He says he prayed night and day instantly After what manner? Not coldly, but feruenthe, with exceeding great earnestness in praying. So ye see Paul hes been a man much exercised in prayer partly for himself, partly for others. And certainly a Minister in his calling should be much exercised in prayer, not for himself only, but for the people he hes ado with, night and day▪ Prayer 〈…〉 and not for the fashion, but with fervency. Then note two properties in prayer The first in respect of the time, Prayer would have a instantnesse and continuance: 〈◊〉 must not be one word and away: no but it must be 〈…〉 night and day. Then again, Prayer would have an 〈…〉 Be instant in time: be fervent and earnest 〈…〉 if it have not fervency it is little we use it is 〈…〉 on seem morning to evening 〈◊〉 thy beeds without 〈…〉 in the heart, all is vain. Then again fervency without 〈◊〉 is but a vain blast and will blaw away. So if thou wouldst pray to God, and wouldst have him to hear thee (for he of purpose holds back his eye to make thee instant and earnest) pray earnestly and not for the fashion. And when thou comest before that Majesty, present thyself with an ardent desire of that that thou cravest: wilt thou compear before him, and not desire that thing thou cravest ' so thou scornest him. Now the th●●d thing in this verse is, that he might see their face: and that to this end, that he might fill out that which was inlacking in their faith. It may be demanded, Could not their faith be supplied without Paul, that is, without his ministry? was it not enough that Paul had once grounded them in their faith, and revealed to them the counsel of God? No, mark this: No increase, no growing in the faith of jesus Christ without this ministry. In plain words, contemnest thou it, thou shalt never grow one inch in faith, but thou shalt go backward. It is true, it is God that gives thee the increase and growth, Increase of faith only by the ministry. 1. Cor. 3. 7. but it is as true, he gives no growth in faith and grace, but by the ministry. God gives the growth to the corn, but if the corn be not wattred with rain which is the ordinary mean thereto, the corn will not grow. So if thou be not continually wattred with this ministry, thou shalt not grow, (I say ordinarily and not extraordinarelie.) The Lord let us see the miserable estate we are into through contempt of the ordinare mean that the Lord hes appointed. Paul Ephes. 4. 11. says When the Lord passed up to heaven, he gave some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets. etc. And how long is it needful that this ministry should abide with thee? for a day, a month a year, or twenty years? No, it is not enough but it must abide with thee ay until thy breath go out, and until thou givest up the last gasp: thou hast ay need of the gospel. Therefore the Apostle in that place he limits the time, while ye come altogether to the unity of the faith, and unto the perfit man in Christ. When comest thou to that perfit man? Not so long as life is in thy lip. So thou hast need of the ministry so long as thou livest. But in deed when all thy senses go away, when speaking and hearing go away; then the ministry leaves thee, & thou feellest a sense of these things that thou heardst before: but if thou lay not to thine ear to hear in time, thou shalt never see them. Brethren, ye will wonder at this earnest desire he had to see them: Might not the sending of Timothy, and writing of this Epistle satisfy him? No, he thinks he can not do them that good that he would until he see them and speak them, and that for this purpose to fill out then faith. Well brethren, when once Satan gets a severing of the pastor from the people it is hard to get them together again. Do what Paul could do, he could not meet with these Thessalonians: For he says, Satan held him away when he would have been at them. Then ye see, the remedy against Satan to stay his course is prayer, and instant prayer night and day. Presence of the Pastor very powerful. But to the purpose: There is much in the presence of him who hes the grace of God in him, for augmenting the faith and grace of God in men: his message will do much, but his presence will do more: the lively voice of man will be more effectual, nor the written word will be: his presence will edify more nor his letter. And so it is no small matter to have the presence of a man that is gracious Paul knew this well, and therefore he is so instant in praying to have their presence. If the Lord hes chosen out a man to win souls, there is nothing in that man, but it will edify▪ his tongue, his eye, his behaviour, his countenance, all will edify and further men to Christ. Now in the second part of this text he falls out in a prayer. There are three parts thereof. The first part is, that yet God the Father and the Lord jesus should direct his journey toward them, that he would give him that grace to see them, and have that mutual presence. Then when he is speaking of the prayer he used to God, look what fell out. Showing them he used to pray instantly for them: in the mean time he leaves off this narrative, and he bursts out in prayer to God. There is a sudden change. Now take head. If that earnestness and fervency to pray be in the heart, the least occasion in the world will walken it up, and make a man hold up his hands, and fall on his knees immediately: The very name of ardent prayer will raise him up to prayer: for as of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so the words in the mouth will walken the heart, if there be any spark of grace in it: and the heart being walkned the mouth will fall out immediately to prayer. Look to thy heart & mouth both. Look that thy heart be filled with God: look that godly speeches be in thy mouth; for certainly as thou speakest so thou walknest the heart: speak well, a good affection will rise in thy heart: speak evil a foul affection will rise in thy heart; and thy words shall be as bellows to blow up thine own heart and the hearts of them that know the sin and uncleanness. To the purpose; he prayed: to whom? To God the Father. To whom next? To jesus Christ the Lord. He gives them both their own styles. Christ hes bought us with his blood, and so he is our Lord and we his servants: And the Apostle says, For this cause is Christ risen again, that he should have, 〈◊〉 over all creatures. Rom. 14. 9 Now brethren, mark their styles more narrowly and shortly. God is a name of majesty, but Father is a name of love. Paul uses to set down the majesty of God with love to cause us to embrace it. This style the Lord, is a style of superiority & dominion. The style then that Paul uses tells you what disposition was in his heart in praying: he spoke to a Majesty, he spoke to a Lord: therefore reverence was in his heart. He spoke to a loving father: Disposition of the heart in prayer. therefore love and homeliness was in his heart. This tells us what disposition should be in our hearts is when we speak to God▪ In prayer thy heart should be disposed with fear and reverence, with love and homeliness. Reverence and fear would not be alone, for than it were a servile fear. Love and homeliness would not be alone; for than thou wouldst grow in contempt. So join together homeliness and fear, love and reverence, and then in exceeding sweetness shall follow. And this was 〈◊〉 fashion; and the fashion of all the godly fathers, and this should be our fashion in prayer. Look the people he directs his prayer not to prays not to the father alone, nor to the Son 〈◊〉 alone: he prays God the Father, 〈◊〉 jesus Christ 〈◊〉 Lord. What shows this to us If there were no other place in the Scripture▪ yet this declares ●●sufficientlie unto us, jesus the mediator is equal with God the father: else 〈◊〉 had never prayed to him & joined him with that glorious Majesty of the Father? Now to open this more plainly to you. The Father and the Son are one in nature, essence and substance: next as they are one in nature, jesus eternal God. so both their doing is but one: that that the father does the son does, and that that the son does the father does also. In john he says, My Father works to this day, and I work with him. john. 5. 17. Farther, the Father works with the Son, when he is incarnate, clad with our nature: and jesus Christ, God and man, being in our nature works together with the Father; and the Father gives us all the graces out of the fleshly hand of Christ the man: all the goodness that flows to thee, it flows through the vail of the manhood of Christ. Look their thou severe not Christ and his Father; and look that all thy duty thou dost to them, be a common duty: believest thou in the one, believe in the other joh. 14. 1. prayest thou to the one, pray to the other: servest thou and glorifies thou on● glorify and serve both together: honour ever the Father and the Son together; for if thou sever the Son from the Father, or the nature of the man from the Son, Father nor Son shall do thee no good. For when thou prayest to the Father, severing him from Christ, as the jews do; or to jesus, severing him from our nature, thou drawest down a plague in stead of a blessing. Then join all together in prayer. Pray to God the Father, and the Son manifested in our nature, and look in unto God the Father through the Son. Then he prays to the Father, and to the Son. What seeks he? In the first part of his prayer he seeks, that his journey should be directed to the. Thessalonians. Proverb. cha. 16. vers. 9 The heart of man will dispone his own way, but God will direct his steps. Man will say, I will bide here to morrow, and there other morrow, and he will be at the fire side, and no thought of God who hes the journey in his hand. Man dispones his ways, but God directs them. Without God, when thou hast taken all thy purposes, thou hast not a foot to lift to do them: and if he give thee leave to lift thy foot, without him, and not knowing him, thou shalt not be able to set down thy foot in the high way; a curse shall be on thee, and thou shalt run and ride to destruction: and either thou shalt go back, or else go to this side, or that side, and not in the right way. Brethren, wait ye not what ye have to do? When thou takest any journey in hand, thou wilt not come to the door so soon in the morning, but the Devil will meet thee▪ and if God's Angel do not convoye thee, the Devil will convoy thee. Alas, have ye ado with flesh and blood only? will ye not look to him who is working above? All this tells us, that we should hang on that holy will God, which is the rule of all our doing. Paul says Romans 15. 32. I would be at you, if by any mean the will of God will permit. Men uses this prophainnes●e in speaking, as▪ james says 4. 13. 24. I will go to 〈◊〉, and buy and sell, etc. But he says to the, what art thou doing? hast thou thy journey in thy own hand? thy life is uncertain. I say farther than james. Suppose thou live, what if he give thee not legs to travel with? and suppose he give thee legs, what if he curse thy journey, and send Satan in the way? All this learns us to have God before us, and depend upon him: and to speak with hoves, ●f it please God, I will do this or that, Always I submit myself to his holy will knowing that whether I go or bide, all shall be to my well and comfort: Hang on God. for there is no prosperous success, except thou strive to have an heart lifted up to God in all thy doings. For all this world will vanish away, but to him who depends on God, what ever falls out all comes for the best, This is the rule of the Apostle. Now the second part of the Prayer is: Seing he can not come to them as he would, he prays to God the Father, and to the Son the Lord jesus Christ; that those things he could not get done by his presence, the Lord will do them in his absencer that is, That the Lord would make them abound in love and charity, first among themselves, and then among all men. The example he gives, is, even as I loved you. Then when thou canst not get that which first thou wouldst have; leave not off to pray for the next best. There are many that when they pray for any thing, and cannot get it, they leave off all praying. No, but when thou canst not get that first thing thou prayest for, pray for the second; it may be, if thou get not the first, thou shalt get the second: and well is the soul that gets any piece of grace. So when one thing fails thee, Love, the gift of god o●ely. seek an other, and never leave off suiting. Then he prays for love and charity. Alas for love and charity in this age: far well love, thou hast gone away out of Scotland. There is a vain name of faith among us; he believes, and she believes: but, love which is the true witness of faith is gone. Far well love. These are the latter days: all love is dead. But, to the purpose. Ye see that he begs love from God to them. Then, it must follow of necessity. As faith is the free gift only and grows not in our foul stinking nature: so, love and charity is the gift of God, and grows not in nature. Thy love by nature is a foul stinking self love, thou hast that rooted in thy heart, thou wilt hate God and all the world for that love: and if thou ●akest a show of love to any who is conjoined to thee, all it for thyself, and not for Christ. Thou wilt love thy wife and children, but, not for Christ, but, for thyself. No sincerity in that love. The Papist will say, God commands us to love: therefore it is in our own hand to love, or not to love: Is this a fair argument? But, I reason by the contrair, out of this place. Paul begs love at God to them; therefore it follows well, love is the gift of God only. For, if it were in nature, whereto should I ask it from God? Mark one rule. It is a foolish thing to measure the command of God by the strength of nature; and the strength of nature by the command of God, and to reason, God hes bidden me do this, therefore, I have free-will within myself to do it; this reasoning will deceive thee. The Lord when he commands thee who stands in that Covenant made with us in Christ; with the very command, by his Spirit he works in thy heart above nature the same thing he commands thee, he works that love that he commands thee. O the greatness of this love of God. Say, Lord, do that thing in me thou bidst me do; bid me do nothing, Lord, but that which thou workest in me, for, I can do nothing without thee. The Lord open men's eyes to see this. The next thing is the measure of love, that he asks of God▪ He seeks not love in a small measure, he seeks not little love, but abundant love. Seek ever these spiritual gifts in as great measure as thou canst, seek abundance: for, thou canst not seek so much with thy mouth, Measure of love. nor conceive so much in thy heart, as the Lord is able to give thee. His hand is larger nor thy heart, and so be greedy of those spiritual graces, and never leave off to seek, or to beg, till thou findest thy heart running over with grace; full of love, full of knowledge and light. Paul to the Coloss. 3. 16. prays that the Lord would fill them with knowledge: Look Ephes. 3. 10. 20. Col. 1. 9 For, our perfection stands in abundance, our glory stands in fullness, and our fullness goes forward degree by degree: There is nothing in this life but a growing in faith, in knowledge, etc., we are never filled with love, knowledge, etc. but we must grow piece and piece, until we see the Lord face to face: and then we shall get satiety, than we shall be filled when God (who is love himself) shall be all in all things. And therefore grow ever; get a piece of growth this day, another piece to morrow, and so day by day grow, until thy heart be filled with the grace of Christ. As thou increasest in knowledge, so thou must increase in love: for, these must be joined together, knowledge and love. Knowledge is in the mind, and love in the heart. Ye see how pleasant it is to see the Sun, but the light of the mind whereby we see the Sun of glory is more excellent; it is the light that cometh from the Lord. Then join thereto the love in the heart, these two should answer other in proportion. Growest thou in knowledge of the way of Christ? look thou grow in love to God and man: otherways, I say, thy knowledge shall not avail thee; and the greater knowledge, without love grow therewith, the greater damnation. Now whom should they love? Love every one among your selves, love, next, all men in the world. Love all mankind. Ye are Christians, love together mutually. Be ye among the Heathen, love them too, who knows not Christ: love the Domestickes of faith, but love the strangers too: love the members of the body of Christ, but love them also, who are out with the body: but, in a different manner. The words lets us see, the love of the domestic is mutual. As thou lovest me, so I love thee: as the hand loves the foot, so, the foot loves the hand. So among the members of Christ's body, there is a mutual love. The band of love goes from my heart to thee, and comes again from thy heart to me: but, it is otherways with the love that reaches out beyond the body to strangers: it is but a single love going from my heart, and not returning again from them. I love him, but he loves not me: I love the jew, but he loves not me: I love the Turk, but he loves not me; because he is not conjoined in a body with me: we should love them to salvation. Then, learn, we should not be narrow hearted in love Say not, I love not him because he loves not me: if Christ had done so, when thou was an enemy, it had not been well with thee. He loved thee being his enemy. Love them then who hates thee, and them, who would slay thee. I will not give a penny for thy love, if thou love them only who loves thee. And this tells that thou art a member of the body, when thy love reaches out with the body to others. As Christ loves his enemy, so, thou, if thou be of Christ's body, will love thy enemy. Alas, the canker of our nature against love. If thou strive not to love thy enemy and to get that rancour of thy nature slain, slain shalt thou be. Stevin when the jew were stoning him to death, says, Lord, let it not be laid to their charge. Act. 7. 60. Therefore, as thou wouldst have thy soul safe, love thy enemy. He lays down his own ensample: as I do you. He uses this commonly when he bids them do any thing. I crave nothing but that ye should resemble me: I love you, love ye others. There is a lesson Thou who wilt bid any other do well, do well thyself: wilt thou bid me love? love than first, thyself, and love all men. A Pastor who would teach his flock to love, let him show love first in his life and actions himself: otherways, he shall not have grace in his words: let him cast himself to be full of love, and then, his words shall edify: Let him ever seek an hearty love to their salvation, and crave love to them, at the hands of the Father, and Christ jesus his Son. To whom with the holy Spirit, be all praise, for now and for evermore. AMEN. THE XIII. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 3. vers. 13. 13 To make your heart's stable and unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord jesus Christ with all his Saints. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 4. vers. 1. 2. 3. 1 And furthermore we beseech you brethren, and exhort you in the Lord jesus, that ye increase more and more, as ye have received of us, how ye ought to walk and to please God. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave unto you by the Lord jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, and that ye should abstain from for●ication. IN the words going before, ye heard (brethren) the Apostle makes mention to the Thessalonians, of that earnest prayer he used to God for them: that once it would please God to grant him a prosperous journey to them. He fell out immediately in a prayer. The prayer contains three parts: the first part is, that God the Father and the Lord jesus would direct his way towards them. The second part is, that how ever it should fall out, whether he should come to them or not, at God's pleasure: yet that they should abound in love, every one towards another, and not that only, but in love to all men: yea, toward their ver●e enemies. Now shortly to come to our text. In the last verse of this chapter, ye have the third head of his prayer: he beseeches God to give them holiness; holiness in general, all kind of holiness. As he prayed before that they might abound in love and charity, which is a part of holiness: So now he prays they should have all sort of holiness. Thereafter in the chapter following, he falls out in precepts of good manners, and holy life and conversation, and this he follows out to the end of the Epistle: saving only by the way he casts in one or two informations resolving them of certain doubts: the first concerning the mourning for the dead: the second concerning the day of judgement and the coming of the Lord jesus. Now to return. He prays for holiness to them. And what should this holiness do? To make your hearts (says he) stable and unblamable before God. And at what time? especially at the coming of the Lord jesus Christ. In what company should they be established with holiness? They alone? No, but with all his Saints: in that happy society of the Church of God and the Saints. There is the effect shortly of this thirtienth verse. Then brethren mark. It is holiness, not a fashion of holiness in outward behaviour; Holiness stablishes our hearts before God. but within the heart of a man or woman, that makes them stand up in the presence of God, that establishes them without fear, terror, or trembling when they stand before the. Tribunal of a terrible judge. Where there is no holiness, no sincerity of heart in man, but an heart filled with foul affections; full of uncleanness and filthiness, there the heart dare not present the self before the face of God, for fear that wrath come out from his angry face, and burn it up. The Apostle Heb. 12. 14. says, Without holiness, no man shall see God; for if they see him, at shall be to their destruction. When he looks 〈◊〉 the heart, and finds not holiness and cleanness there; his look shall destroy the heart, and he shall make it tremble and shake at his presence. Brethren, many hes experience of an evil conscience: uncleanness makes ever an evil conscience: and a man with an evil conscience is not able to stand in the sight of God. There is not an unclean body but he finds this in experience. They run ever to some hole and cannot abide the holy sight of God: he is holy, thou unholy: he looks through thee, thou canst not abide his sight. Now it is true our compearance before God and his Tribunal, shall stand in the righteous merits of Christ jesus, & except we be clad with that perfect righteousness of Christ, imputed to us by faith, there is no slanding for us. Rom. 5. 1. But it is as true, if thou findest not again in some measure some holiness and cleanness inherent in thyself; thou shalt never stand before God: for where the righteousness of jesus is, where remission of sins is in any man, there of necessity must be some measure of holiness & pureness of life in him also. If thou be justified by the free mercy of God in Christ, of necessity thou must be sanctified & must have some spark of godliness in thyself: for those whom he hes justified, he also hes sanctified. So when ever a man hes the justice of Christ imputed unto him, of necessity he must have a share of this justice inherent in himself: wants he a part of this holiness, brag as he will, he hes no cleanness through the blood of Christ. james says, If thou hast faith, let me see it thy works. 2. 18. If any by grace be sanctified in Christ, let them utter it in some measure in works: otherways they lie. So this holds sure. No standing to us before God, except there be holiness in us. Now the styles are to be marked in the text which are given to God; First he is called God: then our Father. The name of God, a name of Majesty and of great glory. The name of Father, a name of homeliness and lovingness. Mark it. If God were nothing else to us but God, that is to say, but an high Majesty, full of all glory: if that Majesty dimmitted not himself to be a loving Father to us through jesus, there were no standing for us before him, our heart durst never present the self before him. A sin is not able to look upon God, as he is God only, in Majesty, Honour, Glory and justice. No, the whole Majesties of the world dare not face him as he is God only. All our compearing before him is, because, as he is God in Majesty and glory: so in Christ he is become a loving Father to us: and if we receive not the Spirit (that is called the Spirit of adoption, testifying to our spirit, that he is become our Father in jesus Christ, and we are adopted in Christ; and therefore opens our mouths to cry Abba, Father) we would never have a face to look to him, nor a mouth to speak to him. And so as he is become a Father to us in Christ, so crave that thou mayst get that Spirit of adoption, that thy mouth may be opened wide, with sweetness, to cry, Abba, Father Moreover, these very styles learns us, how our hearts should be disposed when we come and stand before him, even here in his congregation, & church, where his presence is. (We are now in his sight and presence.) He is a God in Majesty; A Majesty would have fear and reverence. So there is the first thing, stand before this Majesty of God in fear and reverence. Then there must be more than this: he is a Father, and therefore, thou shouldst love him: so thou shouldst both reverence and love him together: If these two be together, they shall make thee to be in good temper to stand before God. Now come to the time when the heart shall be established. It is, at the coming of our Lord jesus Christ. It is true brethren, even in this life, before that glorious appearing of Christ, we stand before God in holiness, and our hearts are established before him without rebuke in a manner: and even now at this present time, who ever they be who hes holiness in their hearts, they find, in effect, their hearts standing in his presence; when they look to that face of his Majesty shining in the Gospel, with the eye of faith, the heart is established before the face of God, and God is pacified, and beholds them in quietness. Let all men descend in their hearts, and if they have holiness, I assure them they will have peace and quietness in the heart, when they think on him, Then this is true. Even in this life before the great day, we stand before him established in holiness: but it is as true, so long as we live in this life, there is ever a piece of unquietness in the hearts of the most godly: and there are none of us who can find so peaceable an heart before God, as we should have. There is ever so long as we live here a piece of evil conscience for sin. The cause is, because so long as we live he●r, we are but holy in a part and that in a very sober part: sin leaves us never, and therefore the prick in the conscience for sin leaves us never, And where this evil conscience is, there must ever be a piece of fear and terror to stand before that heavenly presence. But when the Lord shall come in that latter day, which is called the day of judgement, when Christ shall appear in that great day, the heart of the godly shall be established before him, without any fear or terror. If thou be one of the chosen of God, thou shalt stand before the face of God, with an heart in peace, without any terror. (But o how great shall the fear of the heart of the wicked men be?) the cause is, because thou shalt not so soon see the face of the Lord jesus, that fair glorious face, but as soon in the moment of thy resurrection, thou shalt be transformed in a perfit holiness, both in body and soul. And therefore the Apostle says. Philip. 3. 21. When we shall see him, We shall be transformed, and this vile body of ours, shall be made conformable to his glorious body, and when we shall see him, we shall be made like him in glory and holiness, without any spot or wrinkle, or any part of deformity in body or soul. What then is it, that puts this terror in our heart to stand before God? Only sin. So when all sin shall be taken away, all fear shall be taken away. Then, seeing there is no perfit quietness until we see him; why should not our desire be to see him? wherefore should all this fear be of this latter day, seeing thou wilt never be established in heart, nor get thy full glory until his coming at that day? thy blessedness shall be perfit there. I find in the Scripture the perfection of all graces differred until that time. Ye shall find no grace, Perfection of all graces differred till the ●utter day. but the perfection thereof is remitted until that day. Paul in the same Epistle. 2. chap. 19 verse. My joy is in the sight of God, and of jesus Christ, at his coming: He gets not perfection of joy, until he come. And therefore he will not promise to the Thessalonians their joy until that day; no perfection of grace, mercy and peace, until God put an end to sin, to death, and wickedness. Look then if we should long for that latter day; we look here and there for this thing and that thing; but who looks for that coming of the Lord? Alas, if we knew what grace and joy Christ's coming brought to us, we would look for nothing so much, as for his coming. We are earthly, and therefore all our looks are for earthly things: we are not spiritual, and so we cannot look for that spiritual grace. The Lord prepare us to look for, and desire that glorious coming. All these earthly things goes away; Heaven only abides. What foolishness is this, seeing we are subject to mortality, that we should set our hearts on this world: our dwelling must not be here; but in Heaven in endliesse joy. Seek it earnestly therefore. Now in the end of this verse he tells us in what company, and with whom we shall be established in holiness before God: thou shalt not be holy thyself alone: thou shalt not be an a per se in holiness, do as thou wilt, either shalt thou be in a society, in a company with many more nor thou; All graces in the society of the sants or else thou shalt never be holy, nor see the face of God. This is plain. Either thou shalt be in the Church, which is the communion of the Saints of God, or else thou shalt never see God's presence. He will leap out of it at this side, and he at that side; but if thou come not in again in that same society (yea, and to the number of this church and of the Saints that professes Christ this day in Scotland) thou shalt never see God's face. All blessings, grace, mercy, and peace everlasting before God is in the company of the Church, that profess the truth and purity of the Gospel of Christ: not in the company of them, who will take the name of a Church, or that false Church, the Roman Church. So let him who will stand with holiness in the number of the Saints▪ severe from Babylon, or else he shall be partaker of the judgement. So (brethren) to come again, ye shall not read in the Scripture of any grace given to any man, but ye shall find that it is given to him as a member of that body, as one of the Saints, in the society of the Saints. In the first to the Ephesians verse 18. speaking of the riches of the glory of the inheritance of Heaven; he says, thou shalt never get it but among the Saints. Then again he says, chap. 3. vers. 18. Who shall understand the love and charity of God? None but they that are in the society of the Saints. No light, mercy nor knowledge of God, but to them that stands knit up as members in the body of Christ: ye see, cut off a member of the body and cast it away; no sap can follow from the body to it: So, if thou be cut off from the number of the Saints, who are the Church of God, thou shalt never get any grace of Christ. Now to the next chapter. In the fourth and fift chapters follows the last part of this Epistle, containing the doctrine of manners, exhorting to holiness of life, and godliness. But to the words. He says, And furthermore, As he would say, all is not told: I will tell that which rests, which is the doctrine of manners, precepts of godly life and conversation. When we have teached all the year over; when we have told you the doctrine of justification, sanctification, etc. so long as there is no speaking of a godly life and conversation; and so long as we have not told you, how ye should lead your life; there is ever something behind unspoken of. Never a full and perfit preaching, where there is nothing spoken of a good or of an evil life and conversation. For▪ there is such a necessity laid on men and women in this world, that all serves for nothing, except they live a good & holy life: Thy profession of love, righteousness, mercy, & all the rest is but vanity and wind, if thy conversation toward thy neighbour be not answerable to thy profession: it is a shame to thee to speak of Christ, of holiness, of righteousness, of life everlasting, except thou live conform thereto. And therefore, ye shall never read any Epistle of Paul, but ever when he hes spoken of faith, justification, etc. then in the end he subjoins precepts charging us to live a godly life. And more than this; Trow ye, in the end, at Christ's coming to judgement, that the pretence of faith or righteousness will be sufficient to thy eternal salvation. No, but we must live holy: for, all the blessings of God in Christ tends to this end that we may live holy: yea, this is the end of election itself. Ephes. 1. 4. Paul says. We are chosen from all eternity that we should be holy. Then we should live soberly and justly with our neighbour. Tit. 2. 12. And therefore either cast away profession of Christianity, and hear never a word of faith, righteousness, etc. or else strive to live conform thereto. This in general. Now to the words. I beseech and exhort you, and that in the Lord jesus Christ. What exhorts he? that they increase more and more in godly life and conversation. As for the form of your going forward, I have told you the form. how ye should walk in this world; walk conformable thereto. The words would be well marked, I beseech and exhort you, says he, in the Lord jesus. He might have well said, I command you; as wrytting to Philemon vers. 8. 9 he says, When I might command thee, in the name of jesus: yet, rather, for loves sake, I pray thee. Love turns the command in a prayer. All doctrine that comes from any person must come of love, or else it is dear of the hearing. Now he shows his love, in speaking; for the words comes from the heart, and so among all the rest of the ways, whereby he utters the love he had in his heart, this is one, when precept and command is turned over to requeesting. When he may command he will not, but he turns it over and exhorteth. Ye may mark this very oft in the Epistles of Paul. Now the words are dowbled: He is not content to say, I beseech you: but he says also, I exhort you. There is no word lost here. This doubling of the words testifies of the earnestness that was in his heart to have this people going forward in this godly life: and consequently of the necessity that lies on every one of us, to live holy in this life. For, where there is no necessity, why should a man be earnest? but seeing there is a necessity lying on all people, that either they must live a godly life in this world, or else be damned, woe to that Pastor that is no busy to stir up the people to live godly and holily. As there is a necessity in them to live holy; so, there is a necessity in him to charge them to live holy. And therefore, blame not the Pastor to be busy, either to pray, admonish, or otherways to correct, and to reprove sin. For, he hes a necessity laid on him, under the pain of damnation, to push you forward to Heaven. For the Lord jesus sake, that is, as ever they would look for mercy and grace at jesus hand; as he would say, if ye live well, ye shall find him to be a merciful God: otherways, if ye live evil, to be a terrible judge to you. This is some severity against them. Sweetness and sharpness must be joined together, thou must be moved to thy duty, partly by sweetness, & partly by sharpness: therefore, with his request he joins this so weighty an obtestation; & this is a common custom to this Apostle. 2. Cor. 10. 1. More, this tells that howbeit a man use prayer and fair words where he might command, yet, we should not abuse his lenity and patience; for, if thou meet lenity and patience with disobedience, it shall bring on a greater judgement: nor if he had used threatening and severity. The greater lenity that a man uses to thee to win thee; if thou wilt not be win, the greater shall be thy condemnation, and thou heapst on coals on thy own head. Now what is this he exhorts them to? That they ever ease more and more. That they go forward still on with instantnesse, until they come to the mark: for, this course of holiness hes a fair end. Brethren, there is no standing for us in this course of Christianity and holiness of life. When thou enter'st once in the way, stand not there. A man will begin and run on till evening, and then set down his staff and rest him: but we must ay run, sleeping, waking, eating, drinking, etc. ay forward: there is not an half hour granted thee, no, not so much time as to look over thy shoulder to rest thee, but ay thou ought to have thy eye on the mark. And when thou runnest, strive, not only to overrun them that runs with thee: but more, the words means, that thou shouldst overrun thy own self; if thou runnest fast this day, run faster to morrow, and ay press to run forward, and when thou art lying on dead-bed, run fastest then, and so shalt thou find exceeding great comfort in thy running. The Lord hes bidden thee run, and cries out of Heaven, Run as thou wouldst save thyself. What is the Pastor's office? Paul when the Thessalonians are running out before him, he cries, Run: ye are in the rinke, run forward, excel yourself, run out before yourself until ye come to the end of the rinke. This is the office of the Pastor, to cry behind you when ye are running: and this shout of the Pastor behind the people, when they are in the rinke, is so needful, that except he cry continually, Run out and excel, they shall linger and lie down. That all the world may see the great necessity we have, to have this ministry continually crying in our ●are, run, run. Would to God we could let the necessity of this cry (to run) to sink in our hearts that we might obey it. If ye would be safe, have pleasure in this cry, and run on identlie, until ye come to the high press of our calling. Now follows the form and manner of this running forward until they come to the end of their rinke. No other form but the form set down before, ye have received of us how ye ought to walk, and please your God. Brethren, as there is a running and an instant course craved of us, so we must run, not in every sort▪ nor after every manner, but we must run with an order. There are rules prescryved to us how we should run. Order in running. The Apostle 1. Cor. chap. 9 verse 24. says, Run so that thou mayest get a grip of the crown. To Timothy he says, ye who strives, and wrestles, and runs, if ye strive not lawfully according to a good order, ye shall not win. 2 Tim. 2. 5. So when we run, we must run according to good order, not rashly, according to our own fantasy, but according to the good laws of God. There is no well ruled life on earth, but that life that is ruled by the rule of God. So we all running in this rinke, must be ruled by good laws. As Paul besought them to run and cries, grow more and more: even so he gives them the Laws to run by. So as the Minister is bound to cry to men to run; so the word of God is given to him to tell thee thou shouldest run by this rule, or that rule: the King by his rules, the counsellor in his own calling by his rules: what man that ever he be, except he run in his own calling according to his rules he shall never attain to the mark. And if the Lord take away this word that tells us the rule, whereby we should run, miserable shall we be. This is plain. Take this word out of the land, all shall run wrong. Yet there is one word here to be marked. He calls their going forward walking: Borrowing the language from a man who is going a journey. Ye will see in the word, many laws, many commands, many admonitions to put men forward in the way, to go and run: but ye here no precept in the Scripture, to sit still, eat, drink, and take thy pleasure, seeing thy life is short. So we learn, the Lord bids us walk. The Lord hes not ordained us to rest here. Whatsoever calling he hes given thee, he hes given thee a continual walking and traveling therein, until thou come to the end of thy journey and then thou shalt rest: he is a foolish body, who will promise to himself rest here: if thou rest before thy journey be complete, it shall be to thy utter destruction. And therefore do as he hes bidden thee; albeit it be painful here, yet in the end thou shalt find rest. Now in the next words he defines this (walking) and calls it to please God. It is a pain to a man to walk all day, from morning to evening, and then to find no rest, nor fruit of his labour at night: but, I say to thee, if thy walking be not to please God, thou shalt never get any fruit of thy walking: if thy walking be not ever to please thy God, thou shalt never get the right way, thou shalt go like a doting body, and be the farther from that glorious butt, and in the end thou shalt effectuate nothing, but in that great day thou shalt curse all thy labours and exercises; and thou shalt say, Alas my labours are all lost: I have wearied myself, and now I am no better. But if thy walking be to please God, thou shalt find a sweetness in thy labour, and joy in the end thereof: And when that blessed day of resurrection shall come, thou shalt say, Blessed am I in my labours, that I wrought to please my God, for now I have gotten the butt: I find the fruit of my labours. Paul says, 1. Cor. 9 26. I run, but not to an uncertainty. Learn never to run to an uncertainty, but ever run to a butt; effectuate something by your doing. The only way to make you run well, is to please God. A Minister, or any other in the world, who would run right, must run to pleasure their God, and then they shall find sweetness in their running. Now well is the soul that can endevore the self to pleasure God: for, there is no joy in the creature, but when it is set to glorify God night and day in this world: for, to this end are we set in the world. 1. Cor. 10. 31. and if we do this, he shall set us in the heavens to glorify him. Now in the next verse, he takes themselves to be witnesses that he had set before them the precepts and laws, whereby they should walk in the journey. Ye know what commandment we gave you by the Lord jesus. It is an happy thing to a Minister in his calling, when with a good conscience, he appeals the consciences of the people, that he cried to them and said, o people I bade you go, I prescrived you rules to go into, your blood be on your own head; I have discharged a faithful duty to you. Brethren, what avails it us if we should ever preach the Gospel, if we be not saved thereby? And when we teach you the Gospel, we also stir ourselves forward to come to that butt Christ; our own teaching is the mean whereby we are saved, as it is the mean whereby ye are saved. Therefore, let all go forward together in the rinke. Now, in the verse following, he begins to set down to them the rules of walking and going forward. That which he had spoken by tongue, being at Thessalonica, the same thing he puts in writ, by his pen. It is a foolish thing to a man, to say, The Apostle spoke one thing, and wrote another. No, brethren, Paul never spoke one sentence to confirm any people, but it is registrate to us. It is blasphemy, to think, that, Paul and Peter, etc. wrote not that, which they spoke: it is folly; for, there was no sentence they spoke pertaining to our salvation, but it is written. Then, the rule is, The will of God, which is your sanctification. That is, that ye be holy in your souls, and the whole affections thereof; in your body, and all the members of your body, and all the actions of your members. So, he draws the whole rules, which are to be observed in this course and rinke, we have to Heaven and life everlasting, to holiness and sanctification. Then, in one word, there is the manner, how thou shalt go forward to this butt. Be holy, be holy, thou must be holy, holy in heart, hand, mouth, foot, in all the members of thy body: separate thee from the world, which is full of sin, full of foul affections, displeasing the eye of thy God, and put on holiness. Who ever they be, that go forward in holiness, assuredly they shall come to the mark. Live thou an holy life, what vocation that ever it be in, assure thee▪ thou shalt come to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ jesus. Philipp. 3. 14. To turn it over again. Busy thyself as thou wilt, if that thy business be not in holiness, thou art foolish, the faster thou runnest, thou art the farther behind. Alas, how many are there, who busies themselves in wickedness, and the more they weary themselves, the farther are they from Heaven: Blessed are they, who can go forward to Heaven. strive to holiness, and say. Lord, I am on my journey, I cannot go forward, except I find an holy heart, to think; an holy mouth, to speak; an holy hand, to touch: Lord, sanctify them, that I run not in vain. The way to run holily, is to keep ever before thy eyes, God, that holy one, in the face of jesus; and to cry, O Lord, guide me in holiness: And I assure thee, if thou wilt strive to live holily, and cry to God, to guide thee in holiness, thou shalt come to that endless joy: But, if thou let God out of thy eye, thou shalt perish. Brethren, this life will away, and therefore, set your hearts to run to that everlasting life. Now, having set down the general, he deduces it in parts, and the first part, he takes up, is cleanness of the body: as he would say, file not the body with fornication; file thou thy body with fornication, thou shalt not think a clean thought, speak a clean word, or, do any clean deed. Surely, all sins pollutes, and files: The sin, that comes from the heart, if it were but an evil motion, it goes back again and leaves a foul blot behind it: a rotten deed, leaves a blot behind it▪ a foul word in the mouth, goes back, and leaves a foul blot in the heart: when thou hast spoken a word, thou art not quite thereof, but, it comes back again and files the soul. It goes not from thee so lightly as thou trowest, no, it leaves ay a foul blot behind it. So, this corruption grows daily. Brethren, I tell you, all sins fills the body: yet, of all sins, harlotry especially files the body. Look the comparison, the Apostle uses 1. Cor. 6. 18. The body of an harlot, of all bodies is the foulest. Alas, such a fyling of the body and soul, follows upon adultery, that it is wonderful to tell. Seeing, therefore, special pollution of the body, follows on fornication. I beseech you, (as ye would present yourself before God in cleanness) abstain from harlotry: An harlot will travel long, ere he come to heaven, thy heart and body must be sanctified, before thou come to Heaven. And so as thou would come forward to Heaven, strive to keep a clean body and soul to God; and specially, abstain from this vice of fornication. Lord keep us from it, until we come to the end of our journey, that we may be presented clean before christ. To whom with the Father, and holy Spirit, be honour and praise for ever. AMEN. THE XIIII. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 4. vers. 3. 4. 5. 6. 3 For, this is the will of God, even▪ your sanctification, and that ye should abstain from fornication. 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in holiness and honour. 5 And not in the lust of concupiscence, even, as the Gentiles, which know not God. 6 That no man oppress, o●, defraud his brother in any matter: for, the Lord is avenger of all such things, as we also have told you before time, and testified. WE have in hand, Brethren, the third part of this Epistle, written by Paul, to the Thessalonians. In this part, ye have heard, the Apostle exhorteth them to a godly life and conversation. This kind of doctrine he uses very oft, in the rest of his Epistles. The exhortation, ye heard, that was in the beginning of this chapter, was, not only to live well, to walk in holiness, but, also, it was, to excel more and more, to strive in that course of holiness, even, to strive to overcome, not only others, that ran with them in the rinke, but, also, to overcome themselves: if they ran fast this day, that, they should run faster to morrow, and so, each day to increase and grow. It is not enough, to run, not eu●ugh to strive, but we must run▪ and strive lawfully, as he speaks to Timothy, 2. Timoth. 2. 5. There are certain rules and laws, according to the which we must run in this present course. As touching these rules according to the which we must run, the Apostle shows to the Thessalonians, he hes prescryved them to them already, when he was among them. Now in the text we have presently red, he begins to call the laws to remembrance again, and to repeat them to to them. (For what ever thing he spoke by word being present, that same thing in effect he hes left behind him, registrate in writ, and this day by God's grace it is come in our hands.) He draws the whole rules and laws to be keeped in this course, wherein we run to this butt of salvation and to Heaven, to be partakers of that glory: First to a general law, which is, the law of sanctification and holiness. For, this is the will of God (says he) even your sanctification. Thereafter he comes to the special points of sanctification. The first is, the abstaining from fornication. The next in the words red, is abstaining from doing wrong to ourneighbour, either by violence, craft or deceit. Now to speak of the first, as God shall give us grace, and to take up every word. This is the will of God, says he, even your sanctification. Learn then first. The whole laws and rules according to the which we should walk and run in this rinke, wherein the Lord hes placed us in this life, are resolved in a general, called the Law of holiness. The law of a sanctified life; He or she, that in this course, or in this rinke will press to be holy in all the points of their life, shall run and strive (to speak with the Apostle) lawfully: and running and striving lawfully, in the end they shall be crowned. But they who in running towards the mark, strives not to an holiness of life, they run not lawfully; they keep no rule in their running. They run and waits not how; they are miserable in their running. And as they run unlawfully, so, they shall never be crowned with glory: they shall run long ere they come to the mark and prize of that high calling to be with God. Then in the course of this life, in this rinke which the Lord hes placed unto run in, until we come to the mark of that glorious resurrection, we must run holily, keep in holy heart, an holy hand, keep holy senses, keep an holy foot in running; in a word, we must be holy in the whole powers of the soul, be holy in the whole members of the body, sever all from the pollution of this world, dedicate all to God, and so, ye shall come to the end of the rinke. Now to go forward in the text. To move them to this sanctification, and to embrace this rule of running forward to the mark. God's will a sufficient reason of our actions. He says, For, this is the will of God. He gives no other reason but this: It is the will of God to be so. Howbeit we hear no word of any other reason but this: it is the will of God to do this work, or that work, it should suffice us: we are so oblist to that Lord, and so bound to his obedience, that, if we know of no other reason, wherefore we should do any thing, but only that it is his will, we should obey it. And the man who understands it is the will of God when he is doing any thing, and wilclose his eyes, lead captive his own reason, subject his will to the will of his God, and go and follow on him, if it were through Hell (if he bid thee go through Hell, go through it, close thy eyes, follow on, howbeit thouknowest no out-sight) surely, that man shall get a blessed issue, he shall get a crown: never soul was disappointed that set themselves to follow God. Who ever sets themselves against their affections to serve God, they come at last to Heaven. By the contrary, when a man thinks himself over wise, and will not follow on God's will, except he see a fair out-sight, and get great reasons wherefore he should do this, or that, and thinks it not enough to say, it is God's will; but will say, wherefore is it Gods will? The Lord will let him follow his own will, and his will and reason will lead him to destruction. There was never man whom the Lord gave over to his own will but he ran to his own destruction. Now to go forward. He comes next to the special points of this sanctification. There are sundry sorts of holiness, therefore, he will lay it down in parts, every part thereof in the own order. And the first part of sanctification and holiness of life, First part of sanctification, absteening from for●ication. he makes it to be absteening from fornication, absteening from harlotry. It stands in keeping of an holy and clean body. In running on this course, in the rinke that convoys to the last butt, and life everlasting, thou must keep an holy person. But to mark the words more natrowlie. First he recommends abstinence. He who runs in a rinke, and strives, says the Apostle 1. Corinth. chap. 9 verse 25. that man he is continent in all things, he keeps a good diet; ere he enter in the rinke he will diet himself and abstain from many things which otherways he would use: So we who runs in this rinke of Christianity to be partakers of that Crown; we must abstain, we must not follow our appetites, we must not put our hand to every thing our appetite bids us, we must not yield to the lusts of the flesh, there must be abstinence and diet. And therefore Paul in that same ninth chapter to the Cor. verse 27. shows how he used himself in running, to be an ensample to us. He says, He held his body at under, and redacted it in a servitude, and would not let it be his master. Let thou thy body be thy master, I promise thee thou shalt never see the butt. But to come more specially. What abstinence must it be? He names it from fornication. There are sundry sorts of abstinence, which is required of them that runs in this rinke: but among them all, this is a special, Abstain from harlotry, and pollution of the body with fornication. Among all the sins that defiles the body and the members of the body of any man or woman, harlotry is the chiefest sin, and makes all unclean and polluted in God's sight. The Apostle 1. Corinth. chap. 6. verse 18. says, All sins that a man commits, is out-with the body, but he who commit: fornication, he sins against his own body; he pollutes and defiles his body in a special manner. Brethren, the body of a man which is not polluted with this filthiness, is a meet body to run in this course: it is swift and ready to run in this course: but if the body be defiled with harlotry, it is not swift and meet for the course Learn it. Ye shall see for common, a good turn falls never out in the hands of an harlot: There is nothing under the Sun, that a body polluted with fornication can do holily. As the person is unclean in God's sight, so all things he does are polluted, yea, that same very action that otherways is good is sin in God's sight. Comest thou to the Church, and hearest the preaching, & if thou be an harlot, all is polluted in God's sight. Deal all that thou hast to the poor; liest thou in harlotry, all is sin. So in a word, an harlot can do no good: and if he seem to do any good, it is nothing but sin in God's sight. Look then what estate an harlot is in. Now to go forward to the next verse. He sets down the special remedy of this sin and vice, whereby they may keep their body from this pollution. Remedy of fornication. That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in holiness and honour. The first thing, that is required here, is a science, an habit in doing: not a light fashion in doing; a doing, as it were, off hand: but, a settled doing, of a settled grace in the heart: a craft to possess and to keep the body in holiness and godliness. Thou that would keep thy body clean, thou must have an habit and settledness. All things, we do in this life should come of a constant habit in the soul, of an use and settled grace in the heart to do well: For, as the thing a Craftisman does is of his craft: the thing a Wright does, is of the science of his craft: so, every one, that would intend to do well must have an habit and a grace in the heart to do well. And specially, he, that would keep his body in cleanness, look, that, he have a craft of it: otherways, it may be, he will not play the harlot this night, or, that night, because he hes not the occasion, but, the first occasion offered, he shall be an harlot. So, all resolves in this. The best thing in this world to banish sin, is, to get an heart settled and established with grace. Get an heart once established with grace, then, thou shalt not be moved, but, thou shalt stand fast in all temptations, and thou shalt keep a solid course: Let the Devil, the world, and all the enemies of thy salvation use all the temptations to draw thee away, thou shalt stand immovable. And therefore, learn the craft of well doing, and get once the habit in the heart, of well doing, and then, well doing shall come with such facility to thee, that thou shalt marvel thereat. Then, to come to the next words, That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in holiness and honour. He says, every one. He exeemes none, neither rich, nor, poor, high, nor, low, but he binds every one, of what rank so ever he be of to the science of possessing the body with cleanness and holiness. Mark it brethren. There are none privileged to be an harlot: not a King, nor Queen, nor Earl, nor Countess, no none of no estate hes this privilege, but all are bound to keep the body clean; and they who will exeem themselves, and think their rank to be a privilege to them, they shall exeme themselves also from the rank of them who runs in this rinke to Heaven. Thou goest not so soon to be an harlot, but thou goest out of the right way, and thou shalt never come to Heaven that way, run as long as thou wilt. Now what should every one know? Every one should know to possess his vessel that is, his body, not to be possessed of the body, but to possess the body; wilt thou be possessed of the body, and be a slave to it? and wilt thou let the foul affections of the body possess thee? thou shalt find woe in thy body for ever. Paul says, I hold my body at under, and red●ct it in service, I will not let it be my Master. 1 Cor. 9 27. Always the thing that every one should know, is to possess. To speak of this possession, it is a common saying: it is no less practic to possess a thing after it be gotten, nor to acquire and conquesse it. Yea, I say, there is greater practic to possess that well which is gotten, nor to get it. And there are more in the world, that can find the way to get it, nor the way to keep that which is gotten. But what thing is this they should know to possess? There are many possessions in the world, but among all possessions the chief is, that a man possess holily his body, which is a vessel to keep the soul. So the first possession that ever one gets in this world, is his own body, and it is the longest possession that any man keeps: Thou shalt be pulled from thy heritage, lands, goods and riches; but as for thy body, albeit for a time thou lay it down, yet thou shalt take it up again▪ and thou shalt possess it for ever; and it shall either be an house to honour, or else to dishonour to thee for ever. And so seeing this body is the first possession and the longest we have, therefore we should be careful how we possess this body. Be not so careful how thou keepest and possessest thy land, as how thou possessest thy body. There are over many that are so careful to possess their lands, that they forget to possess their bodies; and yet their land shall they leave behind them. So the chiefest thing thou shouldst seek to possess, is thy vessel thou carriest about with thee. But, how should thou possess thy vessel? First, he shows after what manner they should possess it, and then, after what manner they should not possess it. The manner how to possess it is, with holiness and honour. Fie on thee, thou wilt keep thy pot, or thy pan clean to thy meat, the vyllest vessel in thy house, thou wilt keep it clean, Manner of possessing the vessel of the body. and will have it washen every day once; and yet, thou wilt not be careful to keep clean that vessel, that keeps thy soul. And yet, more. It is not enough, to keep it clean, but, thou must keep it in honour. There are sundry sort, of vessels in an house, some vessels to dishonour, and some, to honour. They that are even to dishonour must be keeped clean; but, they that are to honour, must both be keeped clean and in honour. Thy body, which is the vessel of thy soul, should not be keeped clean only, but, in honour also: for, it is the vessel of a honourable soul: Yea, Paul says 1. Cor. 6. 19 It is the dwelling of the holy Spirit: which is more, nor thy soul. Thy body is dearer boght, nor all the vessels in this earth: it is bought with the precious blood of Christ; fie on thee, who pollutes and defiles the body, which is bought with so precious a blood. Ask some men and say to them; why defilest thou thy body? He will answer, My body is my own. But, I say to thee, thy body is not thy own, it is Christ's, he hes bought it with his precious blood; if it be not Christ's, it is the Devils, and he shall possess it in the end. And therefore, seeing, that body of thine is the Temple of the holy Spirit, bought with the blood of Christ, keep it in holiness and honour: and if there were no more to move thee, but because it is the vessel of the soul, thou should keep it holy and clean: For, an harlot's body, as a privy, stinks so in the nose of the soul, that the soul shall say, Lord, if I were out of this stinking body: O, how much more will it stink in the nose of the Lord. And whosoever keeps their bodies clean, all that they have is clean, their heritage, their movables and unmovables, all are clean and honourable; but if thy body be polluted, thou art foul, all is foul: put thy finger to thy meat, it files it; all that goes out of thy body is foul, stinking and polluted, the very earth thou goest on, thou fylest it with thy foul feet, albeit they be finely decored, and it groans under thee, because thou art heavy to it. The Lord let us see this▪ and give us grace to abstain from this filthy vice harlotry. Trowest thou thy whorish eyes shall see that fair glorious face of God? No, no: they shall not see it. Cry for the grace of sanctification, and for the blood of Christ, that all may be cleansed, and thou ●n the end may win to the end of the rinke, even Christ, and live in him, and be cleansed in him. Now to the next verse, which contains the wrong way of possessing thy body. The words are. Not in the lust of concupiscence. There is the wrong way. Weigh the words. Not with the passion. The word passion signifies a fiery flame, which breaks out of the body, inflamed with foul lusts, which proceeds from the heart, and sets the body in a fire. The lust begins at the heart, and breaks out through the whole members of the body, with extreme passions, and the body so exercised, is a sick and suffering body: the body of an harlot is the seekest body that goes; it is brunt up with a fire within. The thing that is enemy to the body is sickness, and passions. And therefore, who ever would possess their body well, they must be careful to keep the body from sickness and passions. Now among all the sicknesses that can come to a man, the sickness of foul lust is the worst and most consuming sickness: another sickness may well waste the moisture of the body; but, if thou be sanctified, the Lord shall make it a mean to sanctify thee: And oft times there will not be a cholier body, nor that body, that is lying in sickness: but, this sickness of lust, not only wastes the substance of the body, and dries it up; but, it destroys the holiness and honour thou shouldest have: it is an enemy to holiness. It is a sickness that will never sanctify thy body, but, destroy it; and the longer thou lie in that sickness, the fouler and unholier art thou. This is the nature of the sickness, thou shalt not only be consumed in body with sickness, but, thou shalt lose thy holiness in thy soul. And this is a fore matter. A sick man in another sickness will cry to the Lord, for comfort, but, in the sickness of harlotry, he will never have a voice to cry unto the Lord for mercy, if he repent not. So abhor this sickness, above all other sicknesses. The Lord makes all sicknesses and death to work to the best to his own, but this sickness destroys the soul and the body altogether. Now to move men to abhor this sickness: He brings in the ensample of the Gentiles, and he says, even as the Gentiles, who knew not God. As he would say, It is a shame to you to be like the Gentiles, among whom this foul vice reign first. It is shame to you, who are called to this holiness, to be like these foul Gentiles: Brethren, a body, who sees not God nor Christ, is a profane blinded body. And he seeing a murderer, going before him in murder; a thief in thiefrie, he will follow and commit the like wickedness: and so the blind following the blind, both falls in the pit together. But he who hes gotten a sight of God, and a glance of the glorious face of jesus Christ, in whose face, the glory of that Majesty shins, when he seethe an harlot, he will be so far from following him, that he will scarcely look to him, but he will abhor and detest him. For, in the light of the face of God, that a man sees in the face of jesus Christ, as in a fair mirror, he will see the filthiness and foulness of sin. None knows how great a sin the sin of filthiness and blasphemy, etc. is, but that soul that looks in the glorious face of jesus Christ. That mirror is so fair and glancing, that, looking thereto, and in it seeing the foulness of sin, he will be moved to hate and detest sin and darkness. And I say, there are none who are truly illuminated with the light of God, but the more they see Idolatry, harlotry and sin, the more they detest them. It will never give me in my mind, that they who will go out of this land▪ and at the first hand can find in their heart to embrace and to kiss Idols, were ever truly illuminated with that glorious face of Christ; for they that hes seen the glorious face of jesus Christ, the more they see the vanities and filth of the Papistry, the more they will despise it. Fie on thee that will jouke and kneel to an Idol, thou never saw the face of jesus Christ. Thou, who wilt follow the harlot in 〈◊〉 the murderer in murder, the drunkard in drunkenness, the chief in thift, thou never saw the face of Christ. So, the ground of all mischief, is this dark ignorance in the souls of men, they know no more of God, nor the Gentiles did. Thou who wilt follow an harlot knows no more of God, nor a pagan, or Heathen. Yet more I learn here. The chief vice that rang among the Gentiles, was the vice of lust. Read the Histories and ye shall find it to be true. Look the 1. chap. Rom. There the Apostle speaks of the pollution of the body that rang among the Gentiles. Fornication the fin of the gentiles. Will ye look to murder, it reigns more in Scotland nor it did there; oppression, falsehood, and such sins reigns more in Scotland nor ever they did among the Gentiles. So the chief sin reigning among the Gentiles, was the pollution of their bodies one with another. Now the ground of this, the Apostle makes the ignorance of God: they saw not, nor knew not God, in Christ, and therefore, each one run, and strove to pollution. Paul Ephesians chap. 4. verse 18. 19 says. They had their minds darkened, as strangers from the life of God; the light of God was not in them: the cause was through ignorance, which was through hardness of heart: and when they had lost sense and lost conscience too, then, they gave themselves to wantonness, and to commit all kind of uncleanness, and that, with all greediness, A wanton body is greedy of filthiness, it will swallow up sin, and can never be satisfied. In the 1. Rom. he tells, the Gentiles were wilfully ignorant, they would not know God, nor the light. Such was the maliciousness of their heart, they put out their eyes and would not see him; they knew him in nature: the Sun, the Moon, the Heavens, all testifies, there is a God. Yet, the Gentiles, for all that sight they would not know God: Therefore, the Lord gave them up to a reprobat sense, to follow their own counsel and their foul affections. So the Apostle tells us, that, the pollution of the body is the plague and vengeance of God, that follows on impiety; it is not only a sin, but, a punishment that follows upon sin. When one will not know him, nor hear him, the Lord commonly plague● that body with the sin of pollution. It is the plague wherewith the Lord plague's many of the Earls houses in Scotland: It is the plague that eats up men, wife and children▪ and all things that the great men of the land hes: because the Earl, the Lord, the Laird, the Lady, they are profane, they will not hear God, nor know him. Therefore, the Lord gives them over to pollution, to be a punishment to their body. The Lord will a great deal more plague us, who have so great a light of God & knowledge offered to us, if we contemn God and his precepts; seeing the Gentiles had only that natural light, and was plagued for the contempt thereof. Now, to go forward shortly. He hes done with the first point of holiness that concerns a man himself, and his own person in this rinke: which is to keep an holy body, and specially from harlotry: Then, the next is, keep thy heart and hand from wrong. The first is concerning thy own self: the next is concerning thy neighbour: Sec. part of sanctification, absteening from wrong. He says, Let no m●●oppresse, overcome, overhaile, or, circumveen another man, or, defraud his brother, in any matter. Why? The Lord is the avenger of all such things. Then, ye see the first, It is not enough to him, that would run in this rinke to Heaven, to be clean one way, but, he must be clean many ways. There are many who beguyles themselves, they think, if one virtue be in them, if they have one grace, that that one grace will upset many vices and sins. If he be a courteous Gentle man, and have a fair behaviour a liberal hand, he will think, what matter, although be an harlot in body, this virtue will hide the vice, and I will be borne with? Who will bear with thee? Men may well bear with thee, but, God will not bear with thee. Another man will pride him in abstinence and temperateness in mouth, and otherways abstaining from harlotry also. In the mean time, he will be an oppressor and deceiver; and he will think, that this one virtue of temperance will hide all other vices. No, brethren, the Apostle says, 1. Cor. 6. verse 9 Beguile not yourselves. He who suyes, the harlot shall never inherit the kingdom of God: he says also, the greedy avaricious man shall never inherit the kingdom of God. james says chap. 2. verse 10. He who sins in one of the commandments is guilty of all. Count me all the precepts of the commandments over; keep nine of them, break the tenth of them, be a murderer, or, an harlot; break one, thou art guilty of all: and if thou repent not, thou shalt die, as well, as if thou had broken all. I tell you truly: if there be a foul affection, or, a reigning sin, which hes dominion over the body, (as, for ensample, If fornication reign in thee, if murder reign in thee) I cannot say thou hast any spark of Regeneration, or true sanctification; thou mayest play the hypocrite, thou in whom harlotry reigneth, thou mayest counterfeit liberality: but, I say, it is no true liberality; for if this vice of harlotry reign and rule in thee, thou art an hypocrite for in him who is truly renewed there is no affection in the body, but in some measure it will be renewed. The vice may be in thee, but look that it reign not in thee. No, let no man think he hes any true grace, all are but shadows of grace, if any sin reign in thee. Now to mark every word shortly. Let no man oppress, or, circumveene his brother, in any matter. He exceptes no man. The Earl, the Lord, the Laird, believes his power be given him to overhaile, to oppressemen. No, no, if thou runnest so, thou shalt never win to Heaven. Thou thinkest the Lord hes strengthened thy hand to oppress the poor; no, not so, no man is exemed, look thou oppress none, or, else, renounce the name of Christ; for, thou cannot be an oppressor and his member. The word signifies to climme up upon a body and to tread him down. The second thing is, that, they should not circumveene, not by deceit beguile any man. The first is, that none do violence. The next is, that none deceive. The one as evil as the other: and we shall find as many destroyed by deceit, as by violence; and a fair clock of justice casten over deceit. And in what thing should they not circumveene? In any manner of dealing or, trafficking. The Lord, so long as it pleases him that we remain in this world, hes appointed a mutual buying and selling, otherways, we could not live: and he hes ordained this buying and selling to be so, that both the parties win, the buyer win, the seller-winne and he who blocks aright, and deals within his neighbour; according to the word of God aright, he will not be content to win himself alone, No, the conscience of him will say, and must say, I understand, as I have made my own vantage, so should my brother make his vantage also. But, alas, such is ourself love, that, we can never think, we get advantage, except our brother get loss. Alas this sin is over much used in Scotland. The Lord amend it. The Lord is the avenger of sin. And if in blocking thou seek not the advantage of thy neighbour that blocks with thee with thy advantage, thy advantage shall be a curse to thee, and thou shalt curse the time that ever thou got that advantage. Whom should they not deceive? He says, a brother. Thou shouldst not beguile any man, neither Turk nor pagan, much more shouldst thou beware to beguile a Christian a brother, or sister: for, I assure thee, God will not see them wronged. The Lord that is thy master, he will repair the wrong. He that is made a brother to the first begotten of the Father, the Lord will not see that brother wronged. The Apostle 1. Corinth. chap. 6. verse 8. sets down that matter as a great indignity, saying, Ye do injury, ye do hurt to your brother▪ and them who hes given their names to Christ, ye shame yourselves to beguile your brethren. But to open the matter more deeply. There are many conjunctiones the Lord hes ordained to be among men, as of blood, affinity, civil society, etc. and every one of these conjunctiones oblishes them to do no wrong to that person, with whom they are conjoined. But, when this Christian conjunction comes in, in our elder brother Christ, when we are all members of one body, in one head Christ, not sundry bodies, as brethren on earth are; this conjunction above all conjunctiones binds me and thee to deal truly in any block we have with our brother. So, when thou art dealing with any man, say this with thyself, he with whom I deal is my brother, and a member of that body of Christ, and therefore, far be it from me, to deceive him. Alas, if men could think on this, at their blocking, that they use to deal with a brother in Christ, and member of that body, for all the world they would not set themselves to beguile their brother. Many testifies, by their deceit, they are not brethren in this body, for, if they were brethren indeed, for all the world they would not deceive them. Now, there is here another thing. I see among all conjunctiones that ever hes been in any society▪ or, conjunction in this earth, the most powerful conjunction to keep men together in one society, and mutual love and concord, is this spiritual conjunction of us in the Lord: All the laws and conjunctions that ever hes been in any commonwel, since the beginning, are not so powerful to keep men in society, as this conjunction we have together in one head. Mark it. I tell you, if men and women be not joined together in one head, by a spiritual union, it may be there be a face of unity in the Country: but no society and sincerity in love, except the Lord be the binder and conjoiner together, no true conjunction. If Christ be not the conjoiner and the binder of the man with the wife, the father with the son, no true conjunction. I will not say, that that Roman and Grecian Common-well, that had no part in God through jesus Christ, had ever any true conjunction, or, sincerity in love. No sincerity in concord, but, that, that is made up in jesus the Lord: when we run all in, to be members of one body, and he sitting and joining us altogether, as pieces of that body, then, there will be a sweet conjunction Alas, ye see this sweet harmony and unity is not among people; yea, alas, among them that professes Christianity, greater outcasts, nor among Turks, The cause is, there are many and over many, that call themselves Christians, and takes upon them to be in the body, that hes no part in jesus, and hes nothing ado with him. It is shame, that, they should take this name upon them: for, it is true, if thou wert a true member of that body, thou wouldst not severe thyself from the rest of the body, by thy murder, oppression, deceit, etc. These homicides and murderers does testify, men and women are not truly conjoined in this body, but keeps the name of Christianity, without effect. Now, he casts to one reason of these two things, saying, God is the an●●ger of all such things. both of deceitfulusse and oppression. The reason is terrible, and it tells us, God sees all, and teaches us, that in this rinke to Heaven, if we be not hedged in with terrors yea the best of us, with terrors on this side, and terrors on that side, we will run out of the way. And therefore, as God hes appointed fair promises to exhort men to go forward: saying Go forward, thou shalt get a fair Crown: So, on the other part, knowing fair promises will not do the turn, he threatens judgements, saying. Go thou out of the way, my vengeance shall overtake thee: yea, he does more, nor this, and casts in greater terrors (he knows, that, words will not do the turn) whiles he takes an harlot, as it were by the neck, and and in the sight of the world, he will tear him in pieces, and let men see, that the vengeance of God follows on sin and will strike him with such a sudden death, that men will fear to do the like. We see daily such experience of God's judgements: whiles he will take an oppressor, who hes oppressed men in this world, and will tread on him with his feet, to terrify the world, and this is his daily doing in this world. Now, taking this man, and that woman, now and then punishing them, to let the world see, that, punishment is for sin, and sin craves judgement: yea, and let them see, there is a day of judgement coming, when he will take soul and body and cast them into hell. For, these temporal judgements, are but as many tokens, to tell us, there is a day coming, when all odds shall be made even. When ye see a man plagued temporally, stand not there, but think on the last punishment, unless repentance interueene. Ye will marvel when ye see a man running in wickedness, that, the Lord in our sight, instantly strikes him not: No, know ye not the patience of God? He is patiented, and lets men run in wickedness, until the cup be full, and then, he poureth out his wraith and judgement on them to the uttermost. The Lord keep us from his judgements and wraith, for Christ his Son's sake. To whom, with the Father and the holy Spirit, be praise and honour, for ever. AMEN. THE XV. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 4. vers. 6. 7. 8. 6 That no man oppress, or, defraud his brother in any matter: for, the Lord is avenger of all such things, as we also have told you before time, and testified. 7 For, God hath not called us to uncleanness, but, unto holiness. 8 He therefore that despiseth these things, despiseth not man, but, God, who hath even given you his holy Spirit. IN this part of this Epistle, after the salutation, and after that large congratulation, wherein he rejoised for the grace the Lord had bestowed on the Thessalonians, not after a common manner, but in great abundance. He sets down precepts of manners, concerning an holy life, and a godly conversation in this world, and he comprehends them all, first in a general, and he calls it sanctification, holiness in life and conversation, for whatsoever duty appertains to us to be done in this life, the whole may be taken up under this one word, sanctification, which stands in holiness in soul and body. When he hes set down the general, he divydes it in parts, and the first part of sanctification, of holiness of life and conversation, he takes it up to be in abstaining from fornication, it respects a man, or woman in their own person, that they keep the soul and body that God hes given them, in holiness, unpolluted with filthiness. The second part concerns our neighbour, that we do him no wrong: He is an unholy man that hurts his neighbour, that will wrong him in any dealing or trafficking with him. He is hurt two manner of ways: first, he is hurt by deceit, under colour, by fraud, beguiling or circumvention He is secondly hurt by plain violence and oppression. Both these two sorts of wrongs and injuries are unholy: He that circumueenes his brother is unholy, he that oppresses his brother is unholy. Now to persuade them to this sanctification, standing in these two parts, he uses sundry arguments. The first argument ye heard of before, was from the will of God. This is the will of God (says he) your sanctification. It is the Lords will that ye be holy. It is not an hid will, but a revealed will and oft revealed, that ye be holy in yourself, holy in respect of your brethren, and holy all manner of way. Brethren, if there were not an argument to move us to be holy, holy in respect of ourselves, holy in respect of our neighbour, this only reason, to understand it is Gods will we so do, may be sufficient. For, albeit we know of no other reason, wherefore we should be holy, but only that it is his will, it binds us to holiness. For, this reverence toward the Creator, and Redeemer of the world, should be in every creature, that they understanding any thing to be agreeable to his holy will, should stoop: knowing his will, they are bound to acquiesce and rest there, seeking no farther, and to close their eyes at all their reasons; howbeit the thing that is enjoined to them, should seem to be an impossibility. The Apostle speaking of his will Roman. chap. 12. verse 2. says, His will is ever good; it is good what ever he willeth, it is perfit, yea, it is the rule of all righteousness. So every one should reason with themselves. Is it the will of God? Then it is most just. I will follow and obey it, my reason shall not stay it, my reason is wrong and out of rule, his will is the rule of righteousness. I insist on this rather, because I know how hard it is to make the will of man pliable, and to frame it to Gods will: and what discrepance is between the will of God, and the will of man. So if thou givest thyself over to thy own nature, there is nothing God wills, but thou willest the contrary thereof. And therefore our prayer should be continually to God, to conform our froward will to his will: this should be our prayer continually, what ever come to us, be it prosperity, or adversity: Lord do thy will, & give me not my own will; for, if I get my own will, it will be my wreak; but, Lord, rule my will according to thy will, for thy will is only the right will, and the preserver of my life, and even now while we have time, we should cry, Lord, thy will be done: we are thy creatures, Lord let thy will be done in us. And, I assure thee, if thou get thy will conformable to his will, and be content with any thing he lays on thee, life or death, certainly thou shalt find comfort, & all shall come well to thee. The second argument ta'en from the vengeance that falls on the transgressors. He says, For the Lord is the avenger of al● such things. He avenges the deceit used by us, and the violence done against our neighbour. This second argument follows well on the other; for, one of those two must be, either the will of God must be done by us or else vengeance must be for disobedience. If the will of God move thee not to do that which he craves of thee, Punishment for disobedience to gods will. to live in holiness before him; let the fear of vengeance and punishment move thee. For, Brethren, the will of our God, is, in the self, a thing so holy and inviolable, that there was never person yet, that disobeyed that will, from old Adam to this hour, if it were but in a little thought of the heart, let be a deed, in a motion of the soul, let be an action, but that disobedience and transgression of that holy and inviolable will of God was punished either in the persons self, or in the Mediator jesus Christ. So inviolable a thing is the just will of God, that the disobedience to it cannot escape punishment. God is not like man, impossible it is that thy disobedience to him, (if it were but ●n a motion of thy heart) should be unpunished, either in thy body or soul, or else thou must have refuge to the Mediator, and it shall be punished in him. For, if thou be in Christ, thy disobedidience is ta'en away in his obedience. And therefore think it no childish play, to play with his will, if it were but the least cogitation of the heart: Play with man as thou wilt, but one thought against God's will imports damnation, if thou hadst a thousand lives. He adds that reason in the end of this verse, as we also 〈◊〉 you before time and testified. This was not the first time that he had told them of it of before, and now he tells them again, to let them see the certainty of it. The lord constant in denouncing executing of his judgements. Brethren, this hes a deeper ground. This constancy in den●oncing and threatening judgement, that ye find in those who speaks in the name of the Lord, (they will denounce once, twice, and thrice that same judgement) tells you, the Lord will be avenged on ungodliness. The ground is in God himself. The Lord is constant in his vengeance on impenitent sinners, he altars not, howbeit he delay the vengeance unto his appointed time, yet the vengeance stands fast: he is not like man. Man is changeable, he will brag the night, and say, I will be avenged, to morrow all is away. Man is vain and inconstant, the Lord is an unchangeable God, he will persevere with an unchangeable mind to vengeance. Of this it comes, that those whom he sends to denounce vengeance in his name, will preach vengeance to them this day, vengeance the next day, and ay will tell you, the Lord will be once avenged on you. The Lord will avenge thy harlotry, thy deceit, thy oppression, and ay constantly cry on. to let you see, the judgements bides on the impenitent sinner, he will not change his sentence for all the world: If God were changing, ye who speaks in his name would change, and he would not have warrant in his conscience to speak constantly: but, God being constant and unchangeable in his purpose, of necessity the preacher must be constant, And it hes not been seen of before, but the constancy in denouncing vengeance by the servants of God against impenitent people, hes ever been justified with a sensible judgement, & the vengeance they threatened constantly, it lighted. Now, brethren. we need not to go far off for ensamples. This constancy in threatening hes been oft used in Edinburgh. This hes been oft told you: if this be not amended, the famine, the Pestilence shall overtake this City. Now judge ye this day, if the effect justifies not our saying. It is folly to men to think, that one word of threatening of judgement spoken by the true servants of God, will fall to the ground: no it cannot be The Lord may well delay long, men and women may well sleep long, but, when the article of time comes which the Lord hes appointed for judgement, then follows the heavy judgement. And therefore we should judge holily of the truth that hes been spoken by the mouth of his servants, and glorify God all manner of ways, count God to be true, and let all men be liars. In the next verse, we have the third argument, to move them to holiness. The argument is taken from their calling; For, God hes not called us to uncleanness, but, to holiness. This calling is our christian calling, whereby we are translated out of the kingdom of darkness, to the kingdom of jesus Christ: we are called out of Hell, to Heaven: from darkness, to light: we are called to a kingdom and glory prepared for us. Now, he reasons from this their calling. Our christian calling should move us to holiness. This calling is not to uncleanness, to be an harlot, to be a deceiver of thy brother, to be an oppressor, but, thou art called to be an holy and a clean person: thou was called out of the pollution of the world, and translated to cleanness; therefore, thy calling is holy. Of all the callings in this earth, the fairest calling is the calling of one to holiness. The calling to an earthly kingdom is not so fair, as the calling of a man to holiness. This Christian holiness, it permits no so●t of uncleanness in this world, no, not so much, as a foul thought: but, it craves of him, who is called to this Christian vocation all kind of cleanness in the world. Learn ever to distinguish between thy own person and this fair calling of Christianity. If thou be unclean and filthy, it comes not of this Christian calling, but, of thy own person. And therefore: let no man, when he sees a man, or, woman, that keeps that name, and enjoys that calling to be called a Christian (the fairest name, that ever man got) to become an harlot, an oppressor, a deceiver, a murderer: lay not the fault on the holy calling, but, on the foul person, that is unworthy of the calling, for, he is but a vile creature, that is so called. That Christian calling permits not such vile sins: it is the vile person, that commits this sin. This hes been an old custom. When men sees these men, who professes Christianity, fall in sin, the mouths of the wo●ld are opened to blaspheme that vocation of Christianity, and to say, Take up your Christian and holy man now, there is your purity, that, ye do now profess; and so, the blame is ever more laid on the calling, and not on the person. The Prophet says, Through you, my name is reproached among the Gentiles. Esay chap 25. verse 5. Take head to this. When thou, who art called, commits any sin, wicked men will lay the fault on the calling, and not on the person: And therefore, be careful, to keep holy thy person, that thy person be not a slander to thy holy calling. I tell thee, harlotry is a great sin, indeed, that offends God; but, the exponing of this Christian calling, to be evil spoken of, is a greater sin, to thee, nor harlotry, murder, or, any other sin, that can be committed, and at that day, it shall be sorer punished, nor any sin. There cannot be a greater sin, nor to give wicked men occasion to speak evil of that holy calling. And trow ye not, that this sin is the special cause of this judgement this day? It is not somuch thy murder, thy harlotry, thy oppression, etc. as the slandering of thy holy vocation and calling: And therefore hes Scotland most justly procured the just judgement of God. Another thing I see here: I perceive this Christian calling should be the rule and square, whereby our actiones should be ruled. So, that, in no calling under the Sun, we should do any thing, that is unsetting, or, unseemly to this Christian calling: but, all our actiones should be ruled conform to it. A Christian King is bound to rule all his actiones, by the rule of this Christian calling: a Christian subject should follow the rule of this christian calling. Play the merchant, but, as a Christian man: play the part of a man of law, but, in the mean time, forget not, thou art a Christian man, etc. Let all thy actions in thy own craft be squared by this rule of thy Christian vocation. There is a great advantage: when any man in any vocation behaves himself as a Christian man, the labour is pleasant in the sight of God, and it is blessed. If a Christian man seek the glory of God in his calling, then, he shall be blessed in his actiones: but, when in doing any thing, the Christian calling is forgot. and the Lord jesus is not before the eye of a man, then, the action is unholy, yea, howbeit otherways it be lawful: if the doer, in doing, do not with a Christian heart, respecting the glory of God and jesus Christ and have no regard of his calling in jesus, it is unholy: and what ever is done, without having Christ, and a respect to God's glory in Christ, before thee, it is unclean. What ever ye do, whither ye eat, or, drink do all to the glory of God, otherways, all is sin. Brethren, seeing we are called to a kingdom, why should we do any thing, that is unworthy of so glorious a calling? It would seem to some, that this Christian calling bound the hands of men, that they cannot use their calling, with such liberty, as they would▪ This is not a new calumny. I answer. This Christian calling binds thy hand from doing any thing, that is unlawful, and against the will of God. It closes thy hand, that thou do no wrong. Thou who would be an harlot, it binds thee, that thou be not an hatlo●e; so, the oppressor, it binds him, that he oppress not, and in the day of judgement, it will stand up, as a witness against him, that he was not worthy of that calling. But, as to any calling on earth, as, to be a King, to be a subject, it will not stay thee to do thy exercise, but, gives liberty to thee to do and blesses thy doing and squares all thy actiones to thee, and makes thee holy. This christian calling never hindered a man to do any thing, that was lawful, but, lowse his hands to do all good things, and sanctified all his actiones. Therefore, the Apostle 1. Cor. chap. 7 verse 20 says, Let every man, that is called, abide in that vocation, he is called to. Is he a King? Let him bide still and be a King, and do all the actions, that concerns a King, christianly. Is he a subject? Let him do all the actiones pertaining to a subject. Whereby he means, that, this Christian calling stays no man in his lawful calling, but, sanctifies it to him. He says, we are called to sanctification, not to uncleanness, Ye see the end of this calling is, to be holy and clean. All graces spiritual, and all blessings of God in jesus Christ, serves to this end, to make us holy. We (says the Apostle) are chosen, that we should be holy. Ephes 1. 4. The end of our vocation, is cleanness and holiness. Holiness the end of all spiritual graces. Likewise, we are justified in the blood of jesus. to this end, that we may be holy, and renewed again, according to the Image of God, which we lost in the fall of Adam. And therefore, the end of our clectiona●cere is holiness. What means this preaching and hearing, but to make thee holy and clean. Our justification, our sanctification, etc. serves all to this end, that we should be renewed again to holiness. So, in one word: The happiness of man stands chiefly in holiness, if thou be happy, be clean and holy; for, we count happiness to stand in the end. So, the man that is clean in soul and body, that is the happy man. And by the contrary, the foul adulterer, an unhappy body: a murderer, an unhappy body, etc. And where holiness is, I cannot say, that, there wants a blessing. Art thou unholy in life, and will tell me of election, that thou art chosen to life, before all eternity? I see no warrant thou hast, for it. If thou delight in wrong doing; I see no warrant, to say, thou art happy, thou hast only the bare name of a Christian. Art thou unholy? What warrant hast thou, to say, thou art called, thou art justified in the blood of Christ? Vocation, Justification are to holiness. So, lackest thou holiness? What token hast thou of thy happiness? So, the end of all, of thy election, of thy vocation, of thy justification, of thy sanctification, is holiness: and according to this, try thyself, and judge of the things going before: It is a vain thing to thee, to live like a dog in this world, and then, to boast thyself of thy election, justification etc. Now, thou is as far from Heaven, as a dog, except in one time, or, other, thou have a sense of this holiness in thee. He says not simply, we are called to sanctification. But he says, God hes called us. There is a great motive to holiness: it is God, who called us. So, there are two things in this verse, that should move us to holiness. The first, our calling, which is to holiness: God the caller a great motive to holiness. the second, the caller. It is God, that calls us. The worthiness of such a person, as hes called us, hes no small weight and moment, to move us. The glorious God calls on us, and strains himself to speak to us, with his own mouth. If any King should call a man to any thing no doubt, the man would think himself bound to obey, not only for the commodity, he would get, by obeying that calling; but, also, because of the parsonage of him, that hes called him. whom he is bound to obey: So, then, if it be a sin, not to obey a glorious parsonage on the earth, when he calls: how great sin is it, not to obey the Son of God, when he calls thee to holiness? Brethren, think of God's calling and of his person, who hath called you, as you will, this is most sure, When God calls thee to holiness, it is impossible, but, that calling must be effectual in you, either one way, or, other; and that, in respect of the caller. No, that glorious person cannot open his mouth in vain, for, God's word must take effect. No word ever came out of his mouth, but it hes the full effect. When he calls thee to be holy, thou must be holy, and his word must make thee holy: when he calls on thee being dead, to live again, his word must work life in thee and quicken thee: or, else, when he calls on thee to be holy, if he make thee not holy by his word, be assured, that word shall slay thee. If thou answer him not calling on thee, in holiness of life & conversation, thou shalt perish in filthiness eternalie. And all ye, to whom this word sounds daily, calling you to holiness: (for, all our preaching what is it, but, to call men from wickedness & uncleanness, to holiness? the murderer, from his murder; the adulterer, from adultery;) I say to thee, if this word calling thee to holiness, be not effectual in thee, and draw thee not out of the vile sin thou lies in, to holiness, certainly, it shall slay thee, and bring damnation on thee: all this preaching shall bring on thee the heavy judgement and vengeance of God. And ye all, who hears 〈◊〉 this day, if your consciences challenges you of any vice; I call you now by the word of God, from that wickedness: and I pronounce, if ye come not out of this wickedness, in respect of this word, that calls, and God, that is calling on you; his vengeance shall seize upon you. And now, it is no time to thee to lie in uncleanness, when the Pest is at the door: woe to thee dying therein being in the puddle of uncleanness, but, well is thy soul, that turns to God, howbeit thou die in the pest of the body. Now follows another argument, to move us to holiness. He who will not be holy, when God calls on him, disobeys not man, but, God. As there are two things, to move us to holiness, first our vocation to holiness; secoundlie, the caller: so, there are two sins, that accompanies the disobedience of that calling: one sin, against the holy calling; another sin, against the holy God the caller. Contempt of God & the word, the greatest sin. There is no sin by the self alone: One sin must ever have another with it, and committing one sin, we sin many ways. Compare these two, the sin against the calling, and the sin against the caller; by all appearance the second is the greatest. The greatest sin, that can be, is, to contemn God. Thou that playest the harlot, thy sin is double: first by thy harlotry thou sinnest against thy calling thou was called to: and this is a great sin; but the other is greater: Thou contemnest the voice of the high Majesty of God that called thee. The oppressor sins by his oppression, but his sin is the greater in that he contemns his caller. And in the latter day ye shall find by experience, the challenge shall not be so much against the adulterer, for his adultery, as, for that, in sinning, he contemned the voice of God calling him from adultery. This shall be a chief challenge & dirtlay, especially, of christians, who hes heard this word and Gospel of God, that, they contemned the majesty of God, who called them by this word & Gospel. And surely all these particular judgements of God, that falls on men and these particular judgements on Scotland, and on Edinburgh this day, either the Pest or the famine falls not somuch for uncleanness and other sins, as for the contempt of the Gospel, and God that calls thee by this base ministry. And therefore the right cause of all these judgements, is the contempt of God calling us to holiness: For we have not only sinned in committing of sin, but in contemning God calling us from sin, and we have spitted, as it were in his face. Put away the contempt of the word of God, if ye put it away, who wait but but God will be merciful? If we contemn still, look for greater judgement. The contempt of God and of this food of the soul offered by the base ministry, hes caused this plague of famine and the Pest fall on this land. The Apostle says, In resisting, ye resist not men, but God. There is no blessing in time that God gives but he ministers it by men He will not come out of Heaven to speak to thee but he will speak to thee by the ministry of silly simple men. He tells thee of remission of sins, of justification, of sanctification: etc. & if thou despise the ministry of base men, though thou were Monarch of all the earth, thou shalt never get remission of sins, sanctification nor glorification. Now this is the thing that beguyles the world: When they look to the vile ministry of men, they cannot see God in it. They look to the silly man; they go no farther. Who speaks? A silly man speaks▪ Who calls me? I heard a silly man, and so through the man be looks not up to heaven, to see God speaking by, the minister. And from this flows the contempt: and resisting man, thou resists God that is the principal worker. The word is then contemned, when the man is contemned in speaking it. Resisting man, thou resists God who sent the man. Can any man resist God, and not be plagued therefore, if there be no repentance? So they who are called to the ministry, let them care for nothing but to speak the word of God, and open their mouth to glorify God: And if he be resisted, he is not resisted, but God who sent him, is resisted. And at that last day it shall be seen it was not man thou resisted, but God. Happy are they therefore who gets a sight of this in time, and that gives obedience to the word. Happy is the body that receives this word, as the word of god, and not of man. Now the last argument follows, Who, says he, hes given us his holy Spirit. Look now what he hes done: He hes chosen us from all eternity to be holielie and hes given us his Spirit, and all graces to this end to be holy. When the Lord hes begun to call us to holiness, Spirit of god dwelling in us binds to holiness. if he stand there, and do no more, it will not do the turn: if he give us over to our own nature and free will, and take away his Spirit when he hes brought thee on a point of holiness and leave thee there, thou shalt never enter in Heaven. And therefore when he hes done all these things to thee, than he will put into thy soul and body his Spirit of grace to cleanse the foulness out of thy soul and body: to bring in holy motions, actions and speeches; So that thou art made now (as Paul speaks 1. Corint. 6. 19) the Temple of the holy Spirit, and then that same glorious person the holy Spirit, coming from the Father and the Son, will dwell within thee in soul and body, as assuredly as we are within this Church presently; and thy soul and body shall be as sure Temples of this Spirit, as this Church is to our bodies. And is not this a great honour that in substance this glorious person will dwell within us? So this learns us, that all is of grace the beginning of grace, the midst of grace, the end of grace. Our predestination in God, our vocation our justification and sanctification, all in God, our glorification in God. Brethren the highest estate we can come to in this life is sanctification. We pass from predestination to vocation, from vocation to justification, from justification to sanctification, we cannot reach higher so long as we are here. We may grow in this estate but we cannot come higher. As to glorification, we get it in the life to come when we leave this life. All our actiones here are impersite, and all mingled with the corruption of nature, but hereafter all will be perfected. For when we leave this life, we go not backward, Think not that body that sleeps in Christ, that he goes backward. That body is predestinate, called sanctified here in some measure, after this life passes a degree upward, and comes to glorification: for holiness in this life, it passes up to glory: we are holy here, but glorious in the life to come: We are not called to be glorified in this life, but to be sanctified: when we end our life in jesus Christ we pass up to a wonderful glory. Now how comes this glory? Comes it on any thing we have done here in earth? Comes it of our works or merits? No, as holiness in this life comes of the free mercy of God in Christ; so the crown of glory in that life only comes of the mercy of God in Christ. We shall be glorified in Heaven, but how? Through the grace of God that he will give us in Christ. And as the crown of glory shall be given us of free grace, so the standing in that estate of glory shall endure for ever of grace. So all comes of grace. Perseverance of holiness in this life, is only by the grace of God. All perseverance in glory in the life to come of grace and mercy: nothing in earth nothing in Heaven, but free grace in mercy. Wherefore is this the Lord will have nothing in Heaven nor earth, but mercy? To this end, that all the glory of our salvation may be given to him: and he that glories in it should glorify him. Grace, free mercy, only in him. And let this be our song on earth, when we speak of the grace of God on earth Glory to God, mercy to us only in God The Lord give us grace that we may give all and the only praise of mercy and of glory in this life, and in the life to come. To this God with the Son and the holy Spirit, be immortal praise and glory forever. AMEN. THE XVI. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 4. vers. 9 10. 11. 12. 9 But, as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto your for ye are taught of God, to love one another. 10 Yea, and that thing verily ye do unto all the brethren which are throughout all Macedonia: but, we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more. 11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to meddle with your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you: 12 That ye may behave yourselves honestly towards them, that are without, and that nothing be lacking unto you. THE Apostle, brethren, after he hes set down his general exhortation to sanctification and holiness. This is the will of God, says he, even your sanctification: that ye be holy in soul, holy in body, & holy in all your actions, within and without. He descends and comes to the particular parts of this general exhortation. The first part of it respects a man or woman in their own person, that they keep their person to God, as the vessel of honour: keep it from fornication which is a sin that especially and in the highest degree files the person of a man, both in body and soul, which should be keeped in holiness to God who made it. The next part of this sanctification concerns our brother, our neighbour; that we do no wrong, nor oppress him by violence; we circumvene him not by fraud and guile in business concerning this life, but in all affairs we be as careful he have advantage, as we are that ourselves have advantage. When thou art only set to make vantage to thyself by thy own self love, that advantage is wrong. We heard the arguments the Apostle uses to move them to this: First, the will of God. If the will of God will not move thee from harlotry, from doing evil unto thy neighbour, let the vengeance of God move thee, (for that is the second argument,) and it shall overtake thee in the end, if thou continue therein. Then he came to that holy and Christian calling, that should move us to live holy. We are called to be holy; let us keep therefore our own person holy; let us be holy to our brother; let us be holy in our hand, holy in our faculties. Then he goes forward to another argument. He that will not be holy when he is called by man, he says, it is not with man he hes ado, but with God. It is God that bids thee keep thy body clean from harlotry, thy hand from wrong: Therefore thou disobeying, thou disobeys not man, but God. What is it to disobey me or him that speaks? It is that great God that thou rebellest against, and in that great day thou shalt be challenged as a rebel to that great God. These arguments are all set down to this end, to move us to holiness. Then at last in the end of the last verse, he casts to an argument from the holy Spirit given us by God, to this end. Getst thou the holy Spirit, to play the harlot? getst thou that holy Spirit, that glorious gift, the third person of the glorious Trinity, dwelling in thee, as in a Temple, to the effect thou shouldst commit filthiness? No, as all things oblishes thee to be holy so especially the holy Spirit of God dwelling within thee (craving an holy Temple) craves holiness: otherways with thy filthiness thou shalt disludge him and anger him, until at last he shall departed from thee, and then that foul spirit of wickedness shall possess thee. Now to come to the text. In the first part thereof he goes forward to another particular part of this sanctification, which is brotherly love. So the third part of this sanctification stands in brotherly love, called beneficience and liberality to thy brother: a grace and virtue craving an open hand, to bestow on the necessity of thy brooher. So when he hes exhorted not to do wrong to thy neighbour, not to oppress him by violence, or surprise him by deceit: then he exhorts that thou be beneficial to him, liberal to him, to support his want and necessity. He says then, But as concerning brotherly love (bountifulness towards thy brother) ye need not that I write unto yo●. The reason of it is; What need have I who am a man to be over diligent in teaching outwardly, when God is the inward teacher of you; and when he teaches this point of doctrine in special, to love every one another? There is the substance of the first words. Now to observe something on the words. Ye see it is not enough not to do evil, but true sanctification craves that we do good also De● 〈◊〉 from evil, says David in his 34. Psal. vers. 15. and do good. There are two things: It is not enough not to do wrong to our neighbour or brother, not to oppress him, not to beguile him; but true holiness craves that we benefit him, we bestow on him a good deed, we supply his necessity, want and poverty. All the parts of this which we call sanctification, holiness of life, (that are as many graces of God in Christ) are so inseparably linked together as the links of a chain are one in another; All the parts of sanctification link it together. that if any of them be a missing in any person▪ man or woman, and be not in him in some measure, I cannot say that that person hes truly any part of sanctification. As for example. Even this one grace of almous deeds, of beneficence, showing our liberality on them that have need; if this be not in some measure in any man or woman: Liberality. if there be nothing in the person but greediness, avarice and a closed hand: who can say that that person hes any true or solid grace of God. If one of these vices reign in thee, as avarice, reigning in the highest degree, if thou be a slave to it, who can say that any true grace is in thy soul? Thou mayest well count thou hast this grace or that grace, but I can not say that any grace of that spirit reign within thy soul, make no account that there is any grace within thee, if any sin reign in thee without controlment. Count not of thy abstenance, thou wilt be abstinent in mouth, and then an avaricious man But look that every grace of God in some measure be within thee, and that sanctification go through thy whole soul and body. Peter in his sec. Epist. & 1. chap. links together all the graces of God: amongst the rest, he counts this brotherly love, he links this link among the rest to help faith (for I assure thee faith will not stand itself alone.) Cast to, says he, to faith virtue, to virtue science, and so forth, until ye come to this brotherly love; Add to thy brotherly love charity, and so forth until all graces be linked together. Paul 2. Corinth. chap. 8. verse. 7. hes a special regard to this grace, showing our liberality to our poor brethren: As ye abound in all things, in faith, knowledge, 〈◊〉 ●●oke says he, that ye abound also in liberality, and doing of almous deeds And as in all the graces of the holy Spirit in us there is a resemblance of the Image of Christ: So ospeciallie in this grace of beneficence. Ye know, says Paul ●. Corinth: chap 8. verse 9 the bountifulness of the Lord, who when he was 〈◊〉, was made poor for our sa●es, that we might be made rich in his poverty. Now this is the grace that is here recommended; and now I recommend it to you, for if it was in any age craved, now certainly at this time, thou hast more nor matter to show thy well doing and almous deeds to the poor▪ Certainly charity was never so cold, and men's hands were never so hard contracted and men were never nearer to themselves, nor they are now. The latter days are near; for the nearer the end of the world be, we are the nearer ourselves; and the nearer ourselves the farther from God. The Apostle when he exhorts them to this grace he comes not on so plainly, but he uses an holy colour, and kind of simulation: He exhorts them, and yet he lets not on him he exhorteth. And as it were obscurely, and passing by he gives them a watchword and wakens them up to be beneficial. To teach 〈◊〉 Ministers to be wise in speaking to the people. We should not leave off to exhort any person in whom there is grace to do any duty: but, yet, we should do it so discreetly, that, our exhortation 〈◊〉 not so much an exhortation, as a commendation. For the grace of God in any person should not be misknown, but known and reverenced, both for his sake that is gi●er, and for his sake that hes gotten it: both that God may be glorified in giving him that grace, and the person may be stirred up to persevere in that grace. For, it is an old proverb, Virtue being commended increase. joh. 1. Epist. 2. 27. uses this same wisdom. I need not, says he, teach you, the holy spirit hes taught you all things, and in the mean time he is teaching them continually; yet when he is teaching them, he says, he needed not to teach them. So Paul when he is making a commendation of the grace in them, he says, it is not needful to exhort you to the grace, ye have a better teacher nor I, Teaching of the holy spirit. God teaches you; therefore I need not to teach you: the Lord teaches you by working in your hearts by his holy Spirit, what needs me to teach you by my pen? Brethren. There are two sorts of teachers, God and man. Men teaches, Philosophers in schools teaches, Ministers out of pulpits teaches, many sorts of teachers. If man be the only teacher of grace and virtue to be embraced by the auditor, and if God's Spirit should not concur inwardly to instruct the soul and heart, there would never be a good scholar in the school of christ; none of you to the world's end would get good by teaching. It may be men teaching thee will inform thy mind, and make thee to understand what is spoken: but man can never teach the heart, that is, to embrace that is spoken: no it will pass man's power to reform the heart: if the holy spirit move thee not to embrace that which is spoken, thou wilt never embrace it, for all that man can say. As for example. I may stand up and lay out before you this whole grace of liberality and beneficence, and paint it out in all the colours thereof, and make you understand this whole virtue in all the parts: But when it comes to the heart to be practised in your life and conversation, if the holy Spirit go not down to reform the heart, ye shall never be the better, but the worse, for the knowledge shall but serve to aggreadge your condemnation. Then be never content with the voice of men▪ but ever cry for the inward doctor the Spirit of God from Heaven. And say, Lord come with this word, and teach my heart, otherways, all is but wind, and shall be an aggreading of my condemnation at the last day: It is thou Lord who is the only inward teacher, and therefore except thou teach me, I shall not be taught. So except that holy teacher be with us in teaching all is but lost tyme. Now to come to the words. What is this the Lord craves of them? what teaches the Lord them? that every one should love another. He teaches not only love, but love that meets love; he will not teach thee only to love him, but him to love thee again. This is mutual love. As he teaches thee to love me, so he teaches me to love thee. love must be mutual. Friendship stands not in the one side, but friendship must be conjoined to friendship. There is no bond in that blessed body of Christ, except there be a mutual bond: if I love thee never so well, if thou love not me, thou shalt never be in the body: For as the rest of the members of Christ loves thee, so thou must love them again, or else thou hast no fellowship in the body. Mark the order which the Apostle uses in teaching. When he instructes men in any grace (there are some fundamental graces that are so called, because they are the grounds of all graces, to wit Faith, Hope and Charity: first Faith, then Hope and Charity, then follows all other graces on them.) When God instructs a man in any grace, he first lays down this fundamental grace, and teaches him to love, than he builds another grace upon it, and puts on liberality on it, and bids thee be beneficial: first he bids him love, and then he bids him be beneficial. Therefore Paul 1. Corinth. chap. 13. verse 3. Speaking of that same grace of beneficence, says, If I should take all my substance and deal it to the poor, if this liberality come not from the heart and proceed not from love, it avails nothing. Give all that thou wilt give, if thou love not the person thou guest it to, thou hast lost thy thanks at God's hands. Therefore in teaching liberality, that thy beneficence may turn to thyself, and do thee good, as it does to another man, he teaches thee love: For if my gift redound not to my own well, woe is me. Then the way to get good of the gift thou givest, is to love him thou givest it to. The Philosopher he teaches the child virtue, but as for love he cannot work it. He will teach thee liberality and descriue it to thee, but as for the heart he cannot instruct it. It is the Lord that teaches this fundamental grace of Charity, without the which, all thy doings are as an house builded without good ground. In the next verse, he proves that they are all taught of God by their doings. Yea, says he, and that thing verily ye do to all the brethren, that are in Macedonia. Ye are not speakers and bragger's, but, doers; it is not speaking, that will do the turn, but, doing beneficence must be in the hand and not in the mouth. This age is full of talk, as ever any age was, and all our goodness is only in our mouth and tongue, our faith in our mouth, our charity in our mouth, our liberality in our mouth; little in heart, as little in hand, nothing in action. Take head. All this testifies, for all the doctrine and preaching of the grace of God in Christ, commonly God is not the teacher. God when he teaches a man to be bountiful, as he lays the fundamental grace, which is love, so he makes it bud forth in the hand, that is he draws it out in action; he draws it not out in the tongue, to clatter of it, but he draws it in the hand to do well with it: and there cannot be a surer argument that God is the teacher of any grace, nor when we see the action of the hand conformed to the profession. Count of them by their works. Hast thou faith? the best argument to know thy faith by, is thy work. james says chap. 2. verse 18. Let me see thy faith, not in thy tongue, but in thy works. Would thou know if a man hes a liberal heart? Look not to his tongue, but to his hand. So he who is instructed by God in any grace, he is a doing man, a doe●, and not a speaker. Yet ere I leave the words, mark this. He says, to all the brethren. Love to all the brethren, not to him, nor to her nor to one part, but all in whole Macedonia, that is, the whole Country about you: As if the liberality of Edinburgh were extended to whole Scotland, and to all the brethren in it. Mark then the manner of Gods teaching. As he lays down the ground Charity and builds there on beneficency, and brings the grace from the heart to the hand: so he will not open one piece of the hand and shut it out to this body, or that body only, and then draw it in again: but he opens out the hand wide to all the brethren, and all the members of the body of Christ. Look all the doctoures of Philosophy, when they discourse of this virtue of beneficence, and liberality, they lay, do good to thy friends, and kinsmen, advance them: do good to them that do well to thee: thy enemy, meet him again, with an evil turn: yea, with two evil turns for one. And this precept is over well keeped in Scotland. But God, when he and his ministers teaches, he bids thee be beneficial to all men, show thy good deeds to all men yea to thy enemies. love thy enemies, show not only a good countenance to thy enemy, albeit he love thee not, love him: & by so doing coals of wraith shall be on his head. Commit the vengeance to God, and he shall surely repay. Rom. 12. 19 Vengeance is mine says the Lord, O would to God men could believe that, that the Lord would take vengeance on the oppressor, and on such as are set on evil works: we shall see that vengeance powered on them in that great day. The Lord (ye heard is the avenger of harlotry and wickedness: then let the Lord be the only avenger. Yet there is a great difference in showing liberality. Respect (says the Apostle) specially them, who are of the family of faith. Galat. 6. 10. There is a difference of love, as there are degrees of liberality, we are not bound to love all men alike, albeit we be bound to love all men, yet we should love them best, who are members of that body with us in Christ. This difference must be keeped. Now, when he hes left off to exhort them to beneficence. In the end of the verse, he says, the least thing I can do, is to exhort you, to increase more and more. This should learn us, that when we see the grace of God in any person, we should not insist long to exhort them to that grace; for, when God is teaching, few words may serve them, to stir them up to that grace: but, they, whom the Lord teaches not by his Spirit, a thousand words will not teach them. So, they, that would relieve the Minister of pains, let them seek earnestly, that, God would be the inward teacher in the heart, and then thou shalt be taught. Now, Necessity of exhortation to perseverance. brethren, albeit there be not a necessity to insist, to exhort men to the grace, they see, in any person, yet, there is a necessity to exhort them to perseverance in that grace. There are none so endued with any grace, as, with liberality, patience, love, yea, faith itself, the ground of all graces, but, he hes need, every day to hear the voice of exhortation to go forward: For none hes made such progress in the course of Christianity (for, we are all in the rinke, running to the butt, Christ) when we have run all our days, until we be grey haired, yet, we are far from the butt; and we are ay falling back: and so, we have ay need of this voice crying after us. Run on, thou art running, thou hast overcome him, who ran with thee: strive to overrun thyself: Ran thou fast the day? run faster to morrow: amend thy pace every day. There are none of us, who stands so fast in grace, but, we may fall back again: and therefore, we have need, continually to hear this exhortation: And the Lord hes appointed his ministry to cry after men, who are running in this rinke. And so if thou hear not the voice of his ministry stirring thee up to run, if thou contemn the voice of the crier, look, how fast thou ever ran forward, thou shalt run as fast backward. So, there is no better way to hold a man forward in this course of Christianity, and to cause him grow in all grace, until he come to the end of the rinke, nor the crying of this ministry, I denounce thee, contemn thou this ministry, thou shalt never come to the end of the rinke, to get inheritance in Heaven. Men will not believe this, until they see it. Now, quietness commended. in the last room, after he hes exhorted them, to abstain from fornication, not to do wrong to their neighbour, to be beneficial, and to love their brother, last, he exhorts them, to study to be quiet. The word is. Be ambitious of quietness. As ever ye saw men ambitious of the honour of the world, be ye ambitious of quietness: Among all the parts of uncleanness, and of the vitiosity and foulness of this our nature, this is one, called curiosity, over great business in other men's affairs, in the thing, that concerns not us, nor, our calling: Even so, by the contrary, among all the properties of holiness, this is one, To have a sober, content estate. For, these two are opponned to other, a curious spirit and a quiet spirit: the one plain contrary to the other, one is a vice; the other, a virtue. And as I said before, They who hes not quietness, in some measure, in their souls, but, in whom this curiosity reigns in highest degree, I cannot say, they have any part of sanctification: For, there is such an unseparable bond of the graces of the Spirit, that, where one is, in some measure all must be Glory never of one, nor, of two, nor, of three graces, except thou find the whole graces, and every one of them, in some measure, in thee. Now, when he hes commended the grace itself, he comes to the effect of the grace, Effects of quietness. what avails any grace, without the effect? It is an unprofitable grace? And the first effect of quietness, is, To every man, to do his own business. To keep him within the bounds of his own business, and be exercised in his own affairs, and not in the affairs of other men. So, the effect of quietness is not to sit idle, but to be exercised in well doing: but, in doing, not that, which perteins to another in their calling, but, that, which God hes appointed thee, in thy calling: Be as busy as thou canst in that, night and day. There is a great difference between a quiet person and an idle person: a quiet person is the best exercised person in the world; for, all his business is within the bounds of his exercise, he is doing that, which the Lord hes bidden him do (do thy labour, but, go not without the compass of thy calling) and in the mean time, he is idle in other men's turns: But, as for an idle man, I shall tell you his nature (no man can be altogether idle, but, he must be ever exercised in something, so long as there is breath in his mouth.) An idle person does not a turn, that pertains to his own calling, but, in other men's calling he is ever busy, he is exercised in this thing and that thing, that perteynes to another man, and in the mean time he is a vagabond, without any shift. Paul speaking of these busy bodies. 2. Thessaly. chap. 3. verse 11. says, that, they do no labour, and yet, they are busy bodies, exercised in other men's affairs, while as they are idle, in their own calling. The second effect, is a particular kind of exercise; handy labour, working with a man's own hand, not with his servants hands. And therefore, the word is, your own proper hands. This would seem over strait. It may be, that, many will be content to be exercised in an honest and liberal action, so, that, they may keep their hands clean: but, when it comes to an handy work, and to put to their hands and file their fingers, to the bowing of the back, and of the head, o, that is over straight, it is over sore, to a Gentleman, to do that, it sets him not: He is a Lords Son, should he file his hands with labour? But, Paul says, Labour with thy own hands, rather ere thou be idle in this life, Put to thy hand to a spade, or, shovel and dig dykes. Ye may read 2. Thessa. chap. 3. verse 8. of Paul. I will show you what he did (apparently there hes been men in Thessalonica, like this country people, who would not labour for their living) He says, Day and night, with pain and trouble, with my own hands, I won my living▪ beside my preaching, I won my living with my own craft. In the might, when he left teaching, he made tents, for his living. Now, this he speaks, to be an example to these idle bodies at Thessalonica: and Paul, read of him, when ye will, he was a Gentleman, a Roman, an Hebrew, a Pharisie, yea, one of the Apostles of jesus, which is greatest of all; yet, he labours with his own hands for ●as living. In the Epistle, to the Ephes. cha. 4. verse. 28. he says. He that s●all, let him steal no more, (sinner, sin no more: harlot, live in harlotry no more; alas, it is overlong to spend, if it were but an hour in offending God.) Then if he, that stall, should steal no more, what should he do? Works, says he, with his hands. I would, that, they, who cannot get other moyen to win their living by, should labour with their hands, for their living, if it were in the vilest office, that can be (for, all offices are sanctified, in Christ.) What makes a thief, but idleness? if thou wilt not work, thou must steal. In the second Epist. Thessa chap. 3. verse 12. (If any people had need of this admonition, this land had need thereof.) Paul says, work with your own hands. Wherefore? That ye may eat your own bread, not another man's bread, but, that thou mayst eat thy own bread, that thou hast win with the sweat of thy brows: whereby he would mean, that, they, who will not put to their hands to work, but, walks up and down idle, (wce to that morsel, they put in their mouth) do reave the meat out of the mouths of the poor labourers. Now, to be short. He says, He denounced these things to them, before; and he denounced them, in the name of jesus, threatening a judgement, as ye may see, in that place. 2. Thess. 3. 11. 12. This is an Inhibition as strait, as any King's inhibition: He that will not work, let him not eat. I forbidden him to put the least morsel in his mouth: he that will not labour, I command, in God's name, that, he eat none. It is the will of God, that they, who will not work, and may work, that, they should die for hunger. They who are strong and may get labour, and will not work, there should be an inhibition laid on them, not to eat: and they, who eat, if they eat not the bread conquest with their own labour, their eating is cursed to them. It is not permitted to a King, to eat bread, except he labour for it: (and surely, his labour is an heavy labour) No, for all the warrants, Charters and securities, which thou hast of thy lands, be thou Earl, or, Lord, or Baron, except thou eat the labour of thy own hands, thou eatest not lawfully, but, thy eating is accursed. This Inhibition is not to beggars only, but to the greatest dominators of the earth: for, it was enjoined to Adam, Thou shalt eat thy bread with the sweat of thy brow; and all Lords and great men were then in the loins of Adam. Go keep sheep, or, nolt, or, dig dykes (if it please God, thou have no other trade) and be ay doing something. Now, Labour, both honest and profitable. in the end, he adds two reasons, to cause them labour: the first, for honesty; the other, for commodity. He is the honester man, that will put to his hand to labour, and will sit down with grey bread conquest by his labour, nor he, who eats all delicates, with idleness. When thou hast laboured and win thy dinner, then, thou art an honest man: idleness is no honestier an idle body I cannot count him honest. He that eats without labour (set him at the table head) he hes no honesty. Now this honesty should be seen by them, that are without, even the heathen. Brethren, we should be honest, if it were no more, but only for our enemy's cause, for regard of our holy profession. The Enemy, the pagan, looks upon thee, who art an idle body, and labours not, and sees nothing, but a belly and a denourer of the creatures of God, and then, will he not slander thy profession? Therefore, if it were but to save this profession from the slanders of wicked men, labour continually: ere thou should be idle, labour in any exercise. Yea, more, nor this. Labour is the moyen, where by the Lord hes ordained thee, to win thy enemy; when he sees thee labour and win thy living, with the sweat of thy brows: and by the contrary; thy idleness holds others back, who would embrace the Gospel. Woe to them, who are stumbling blocks, to hold men back, from Christ. As for the profit the labourer gets (I not will insist in it) he who in his labour hes God before his eyes, & labours, not so much to win his living thereby, as to glorify God, according to the command of the Apostle 1. Cor. 10. 31. Wither ye eat, or, drink, what ever ye do, do all to the glory of God: (he who works, let him not work, as an Ox, or, an Ass, but, to glorify God He who in labour sets himself to glorify God, to be holy (be it, to 〈◊〉 pots, to hold the pleugh to dig dykes) those men they shall never want the thing, the Lord thinks may suffice them, at the least, they shall have co●●en●ment. When they sit at dinner, they shall have greater contentation than they that are fed with most dainty dishes. Therefore have ay God before thy eyes; labour ay to God, and then thou shalt have here in this life sufficient to serve thee, and hereafter shalt have heavenly riches in abundance. Therefore stand not, be not idle in thy calling but labour: And how? ever to God and his glory, and then thou shalt not want: thou shalt have plenty and satiety of joy in that full sight of the countenance of Christ: all this world will away. Then blessed is that man who will set himself to serve God in his calling while he is here: for when this world goes away, he shall obtain that glorious kingdom that lasts for ever: not by himself, but only by Christ: for in him only we and our labours are blessed. And therefore to him with the Father and the holy Spirit, be all praise for ever. AMEN. THE XVII. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 4. vers. 13. 14. 15. 13 I would not brethren, have you ignorant concerning them which are a sleep, that ye sorrow not as others which have no hope. 14 For we believe that jesus is dead, and is risen: even so them which sleep in jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which live, and are remaining in the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which sleep. THese Thessalonians (brethrens) to whom the Apostle writes, they were not altogether ignorant of the estate of them who departed this life. No question, they understood and knew the resurrection of the dead: for not knowing that, what could they know of Christianity? Yet as appears of this place by the Apostle, it was not a settled knowledge in the heart they had: they knew no so as they should have done the resurrection of the body. And therefore when their friends whom they loved well, departed, their dolour was excessive. When they saw the godly who professed in the beginning, drawn to torments, martyred and execute, they took displeasure out of measure: even as if they who departed this life, had perished altogether, and should never have been more. The Apostle understanding this, among other things he writes to them, he casts in this doctrine of the estate of them that are departed; to the end they should leave off that excessive sorrow and lamentation, and not lament as the Gentiles who were without hope. Then to come shortly to the words and purpose of the Apostle. He sets down this proposition, I would not brethren, have you ignorant concerning them which are a sleep; the end wherefore he would not have them ignorant, is, that they sorrow not as others who hes no hope. Now concerning the estate of those that are departed, he instructs them in sundry heads of it: First, he tells them that they are but a sleep, that is now their present estate in grave. Then he teaches them what shall follow; the rising again; when that they have sleeped a time, as one after sleep awakes, so shall they awake. Next he instructes them of the honour they shall have in the resurrection when they shall meet the Lord of glory. Suppose they be dead first, they shall not be last in meetting the Lord: yea they who shall be alive at that day, shall not be first, but they who are departed, shall be in the first rank to meet the Lord in the clouds. Of this he takes occasion to speak of the Lords coming, & of the glory thereof; to this end that every one in thinking upon these things should receive comfort. There is the sum of this doctrine. I would not have you brethren ignorant as concerning those who are at sleep. That is, I would not have you ignorant of their estate, what is their estate while they lie in grave, what their estate shall be thereafter. Of these and such things I would not have you ignorant. Now the lesson is easy. There are none of us but in some measure we should know what is the estate of them who are dead; what is their estate in the grave, what shall be their estate after the grave. It appertains to every Christian to know the estate of the dead in some measure, as well as it pertains to them to know the estate of the living not passing the revelation that the Lord hes made therein. Dream not any estate to the dead, know no more of it nor it pleases God to reveal, nor desire to know no more. The Papists passes in curiosity, and can not be satisfied with the Lords revelation: but let us be content with the revelation of the Lord until that great revelation come. Always it pertains to us in some measure to know the estate of the departed. Ignorance brings sorrow; and knowledge, joy. Ignorance brings a great deal of sorrow with it. The effects of ignorance. in things, we should know, are displeasure and sorrow. Knowledge of the things, we should know, and especially of the estate of those departed this life, brings joy & consolation. Ignorance made jacob excessively to mourn for his son joseph, without any cause, thinking he was dead, when he was alive. Being fred from his ignorance, and knowing the estate of his son, and that he was alive. he found joy and consolation. So light and knowledge brings joy. The blind opinion of this dream of Purgatory that the Papists hes invented, hes brought exceeding great displeasure to many. To think that the soul loosed from the body should be tormented in Purgatory, ere it enter in glory. But men being fred from this ignorance, and knowing assuredly that the soul, immediately after it severes from the body, passes to eternal joy, men and women knowing this in the point of death▪ no question, they are exceeding glad. Then brethren, to speak it again; Ignorance brings great displeasure; knowledge brings joy: when we know the estate of things as they are indeed, then there is joy. Therefore the Apostle says, That ye 〈◊〉 not, as others who hes no hope. That is, as the Gentiles. An ignorant and hopeless body who hes no hope of the resurrection, who knows nothing of the resurrection; and therefore hopes not for it, his mourning and sorrow will be excessive. This is the meaning of the Apostle. Ignorance brings 〈◊〉 in death, it makes a man hopeless, not to hope for a life after this life, nor for a resurrection to life, and being 〈◊〉, what joy can he have? a body dying without hope, no 〈◊〉 if thou be not in hope when thou art dying. all the world shall not make thee to rejoice. By the contrary, ye hear by the Apostle, knowledge brings hope; for hope is the effect of knowledge, and hope brings joy and comfort in the hour of death. None ever yet died in the hope of that glorious resurrection, but in the hour of death, they rejoiced with joy unspeakable. The joy that hope brings, being grounded on knowledge, is wonderful. It will not be contained in the heart but the mouth will open and glory in the joy it apprehends, through the hope of the resurrection in jesus Christ. The Apostle Rom. chap. 5. verse 2. says, We rejoice under the hope of the glory of God. I mean not, brethren, that, that knowledge that works hope, and that hope that works joy, will take away from a man altogether all displeasure, all heaviness, all mourning in the departure of our friends, and them we love well. No, it will nor nor should not do that. There is no grace of God in jesus, that puts out any natural affection: none will take away either natural joy, or displeasure: no, faith and hope will not do it, but it makes that natural affection sanctified, and puts it in order: Our dolour, which by nature is immoderate, it moderates: hope will bring with it a measure, knowledge will bring with it a measure, and faith which is the fountain of all graces, will bring with it a measure. In a word, Faith, hope and knowledge, will temper and mingle the affection of displeasure, which is bitter, with the affection of joy, and make a sweet temperature in that body: so that the body that hes knowledge and hope, when it is mourning fastest, it will have greatest joy. Beware of your mourning, and look that it be never altogether without some joy. Sobst thou? sighest thou unspeakably? Look, that thy sighs be mingled with joy unspeakable. Will ye have my counsel? Let never joy be the alone, but let ever joy be tempered with sorrow: Have not srrow the alone. but let it 〈◊〉 be mingled with some joy. So long as thou livest, thou art naturally inclined to sin, and sin procures sorrow. And therefore so long as sin dwells in thy body, let ever thy joy be tempered with sorrow, but let never thy sorrow for sin be it alone, but tempered with some joy in the mercy of God. This should be the estate of a christian: in laughing forget not sin, but sorrow for it: be not wanton under the burden of sin. Again, in mourning let joy be for the mercy of Christ to us. The Apostle says 1. Thess. 5. 16. Rejoice ever: yea even when thou art mourning, for there is matter of eternal joy offered in Christ: and therefore rejoice with a sanctified and with an holy joy. This is the first lesson. Then brethren, I gather on the words of the Apostle, As the Gentiles who have no hope of resurrection; where there is no hope there is no comfort? where a man's hope is bounded within the compass of this life, and reaches not out beyond the same, there is no comfort: make him king of all the world, if his hope be only on the kingdoms of this earth, if he hope not for that heavenly kingdom, Want of hope doth bring despair in death. to be an inheritor there, he hes no joy nor comfort: I mean that solid joy and comfort which the world never ministers to men. All the kingdoms in the earth will never minister to thee solid joy, comfort & consolation. Now brethren, this is the estate of the Gentiles. Paul Ephes. 2. 12. speaking of their estate, says; they lived in the world without God, aliens from the Common-well of Israel, from the Church of God, strangers from the covenants of promise, without hope & without God in the world; and so hopeless & comfortless. I can not say, that ever any Gentile that lived as a Gentile, what ever was their rank on the earth, that ever they had any comfort: all these monarchs that lived without grace in the world, I can not say that in the midst of their triumph & greatest glory they had any comfort; much less in the hour of their death had they any comfort & joy: and when they saw there was nothing but death, and all pleasure was away, then there was nothing but sorrow, Hadrian the Emperor (I remember) who was one of the most glorious Conquerors in the world, when he was on deathbed, he flatters with his own soul, to see if she would have bidden within the body, saying, My little soul, wilt thou bide within the body? thou waits not where thou art going to; without hope he was, and therefore comfortless, and dies in despair. To let us see there is none that deceasses without the hope of life, and of that glorious resurrection, but they die all in despair, from the King, to the beggar. Who ever died since the beginning of the world, without Christ, and hope in him, (yea before he was manifested in the world) but they deceased in despair: So, as ye would die in joy strive to get Christ. It is a thing flesh and blood will not give thee, and it is a greater wonder to see Christ, nor to see a man through a rock; there are so many impediments to hinder his fight from 〈◊〉. Therefore we have to crave, that the spirit of jesus would lighten the eye of the mind in us above nature, to see him, and then we shall see him, and so have comfort in death. Now, to go forward in the words, and to come to the heads in particular, concerning them, that are departed. The first thing he instructs them in (I take it up, when he says, Concerning them, that are asleep.) is, in respect of their estate present, while as they lie in grave. Bodies of the godly sleep in the grave The bodies lying in the grave, says he, is not dead: Ye believe they be dead. No, death is one thing and sleep is another. They are only sleeping; for, if ye will speak of death, what it means properly: The death of the creature properly, is, the everlasing punishment and destruction of it for ever. And they who dies, and are dead, they shall never live again; at the least, they shall never have a sense of joy. So, the bodies of the godly are not dead, but, sleeping, and lying in grave, and they have a very being: a man that is sleeping, is a man, and hes a being: a body in the grave hes a being, and bides lying in the grave in substance, and shall abide continually: And if it should be burnt in the fire, or, drowned in the water, the dissolution of the body in the grave shall not destroy the being thereof. The turning of it in ashes, is no other thing (to speak of it properly) but, a fyning of it; as the gold is fined by the fire, and the dross burned up, so, the body is fined in the grave, and the dross of the body is but at up, that at the latter day, the substance of the body being purified may rise, as gold glistering, to be conjoined with the soul. The Apostle 1. Cor. 15. 53. 54. 55. when he speaks of death, he says, that, the grave is not able to swallow the body, but, that, mortality (which is sin & death in the body) may be swallowed up of immortality. So it is the mortality and dross of the body that is burnt up, and not the substance, but the substance of the body is cleansed and purified, that it may reign with the head Christ in glory for ever. Now, to speak of this word sleeping. The Scripture when it speaks of death calls it sleeping▪ And when jesus speaks of Lazarus, he says, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but, I go to wake him up. joh. 11. 11. And it is said of Steven Act. chap. 7. verse 60. He sleeped. In the old Testament commonly there is a word added to it, he sleeped with his Fathers, he was joined with his Fathers. Now, to come to the purpose. There are two parts of man. A body, and a soul. When it is said, that, a man sleeps, think not, that, his soul sleeps, referring this word sleeping to the soul. Some vain men thinks that the soul after the deceasing sleeps, until the coming of Christ. No, the soul lives, and sleeps not; it lives and shall live, in despite of all the world, either in pain, or, pleasure, for ever. The soul of the ungodly is translated immediately after death to pain, and hes a wonderful sense of pain, and a living in pain, a continual pain, anguish and torment. (If there were no more, to testify this, but the parable of Lazarus, and the rich Glutton it may suffice. It tells thee that the soul of the rich Glutton had in Hell the own pain. Luc. 16. 19) The soul of the godly again after death lives in joy. And so Paul Philip: 1. verse 23. says, I would be dissolved, and be with Christ. viz. living in soul. And 2. Cor. chap. 5. verse 8 I love rather to remove out of the body, and to go to God, to devil with him. And God is said to be the God of the living, that is to say, of the soles that lives in glory. Matt. 22. 32. So the word of sleeping is not to be referred to the soul, but to the bodies of men and women: for, as a body lies down in his bed; so the body after dissolution is laid down in the grave, to sleep, until the day of resurrection. There is no sleep that by nature is everlasting and when a man hes sleeped, and is satisfied with sleep he must waken: So, the body if it sleep in the grave, of necessity it must waken again: If there were no more but this word sleeping it testifies that there shall be a resurrection. Now understand farther, that the word sleeping in the Scripture is referred to the bodies, both of the reprobat and elect: The body of the reprobat is said to sleep: The body of the elect is said also to sleep. So Daniel says, chap. 12. verse 2. Many of them that are a sleep in the dust in the earth, some of them shall rise to life, some of them to shame and ignominy. We are all sleeping, but, I see a diversity in resurrection: the body of the elect shall rise, to everlasting glory, the body of the wicked to eternal death and damnation. And yet, albeit this word be common to both, yet, most properly, it is ascrived to the bodies of the godly: For, even as a man sleeps, to this end, that he may rise up again more cheerfully, and be more able to take in hand any handiwork, & do his calling: So, it is the body of the godly only, that sleeps, to rise more cheerfully to the actions and doings of that life eternal. It is a wonderful change. It lies down a weak and infirm body, it will rise again a strong body: it lies down in ignominy, it will rise again a glorious body, and there was never a man so altered & comforted by natural sleep, as the body of the elect shall be altered and comforted by that sleep in the grave. As to the bodies of the wicked, woe to them: if they lie down with sadness and weariness, their rising shall be with far greater sadness and weariness. No, they shall think, it should be well with them, if the Lord would let the body ay lie still there. It is a black wakning. If they lie down with ignominy, they shall rise with greater ignominy. So, to speak it properly, the body of the reprobate is not said to sleep, as it is, to lie dead; for, the rising of it is but to death: death in the grave, rising to death, and ay deing, and never making an end of death. Now, this, for the understanding of this word sleeping. Then, I note shortly of this first head, that, Paul instructs them in, concerning the souls departed. That, the body, that lies in the grave. Sleeping of 〈◊〉 body: with out pain▪ comfortable. It lies without the sense of torment, or, pain: if it were not more, but to know that far of it, this knowledge ministers comfort, both in our own death, and in the death of our friends: Indeed, if we saw our friends body cast into the grave, and knew, that, there were torment and pain there: no question it would bring great heaviness, and we would remember on our own pain in the hour of our death, and it would bring sorrow to us. So it is a benefit of God that the body lies in the grave without pain. And this is the thing the Apostle will have them to know. Now to come to the words of the next verse. For if, says he, we believe that jesus is dead, and is risen again: even so them who sleep in jesus, God will bring with him. There are the words. In one word then. The second thing whereof he will not have them ignorant, is the estate of them who are departed: After then lying in the grave, they shall rise, the body that lies in the grave shall rise and wake again. Knowledge of the resurrection of the body more comfortable. It is comfortable to know that the body lies without sense of pain in the grave: but it is more comfortable to know that the body shall rise again, and not only want the sense of pain, but shall have comfort in Christ, in that glorious resurrection. The bodies of the godly shall not only want the sense of pain, but shall have all pleasure and joy that the heart would with: all their senses shall be filled with joy, the eye, the ear, all shall be filled with God in who●e presence is only joy. Now the thing that fills the sense with any joy in this earth are only creatures: The thing that makes the 〈◊〉 rejoice, is but the creatures that are object to it: The thing that mak● the ear to rejoice, is but the sound and voices of the creatures: But, in the resurrection, when God shall be all 〈…〉 these senses of our shall be filled with God, the great Creator of al. He shall be, as it were, the object to the eye, to the ear, to the teaching, (to speak it so, for your understanding) all our senses shall be exercised with him. And as there is greater matter of joy in the Creator, nor in the creatures; so, much more joy shall these senses of ours, the eye, the ear, the tasting, etc. have of God the Creator of all. So far as God passes the creatures, so far shall that heavenly joy pass the earthly joy. So, this we should know, that, the dead in Christ shall have full pleasure and perfit joy. But, yet, ere we leave the words. He grounds this resurrection of our bodies on two grounds. 2. grunds of the assurance of our resurrection. The first it, faith in Christ (if, says he, we believe, that, Christ died and raise again) But, faith in Christ, first crucified, and dead: It avails not, to believe in Christ, if thou believe not in him, as he is crucified & dead: and this not enough to believe, that, he is crucified and dead, except thou with a steadfast faith believe, that, he is crucified and dead for thy sins. The Devil knows, he was crucified, he saw him crucified, and no doubt, he was present at the crucifying of him: (for, he was the burrior of God, to him, at his crucifying) yet, the knowledge of Christ crucified does him no good, but, evil, because he believes not, that, Christ died for his sins; and he cannot believe, because he hes no faith. So, the first ground is faith in Christ crucified, and that he died for thee. Yet, believe more. He says, and rose again. Thou must believe (as ever thou wouldst rise in the last day) that, Christ was raised out of the grave, to the Heavens. And it is not enough, to believe, that, he rose, (the Devil believes, that, he rose again) but, believe, he rose for thee, for thy justification, for thy salvation, as Paul affirms Rom. 4. 25 Then, this is our faith in Christ, whereupon our resurrection is grounded; Faith, that he died for me; Faith, that he rose again, for my salvation. Then, to the next ground. They, says he, who hes sleeped in jesus. The second ground is nothing, but, perseverance in this Faith in Christ, even, to the last gasp and breath: So, that, in death and in the point of death, thy soul take hold on Christ crucified, and risen, and stick by him in the dissolution of the soul from the body. It is requisite, that, in all our lyfe-tyme and in every moment of our lyfe-tyme, we should have a grippe of Christ, apprehend him, take hold of him and rest on him: for, I assure you, they who will not grip him, are in a staggering estate, but, specially in the hour of death, when the greatest tentation is, and the Devil is busiest to deceive you, it is most requisite, that, the soul have a grip of Christ, grip to his Croce, grip to his glorious Resurrection: for, there is no standing, but, by the apprehension of Christ: and if thy grippe go, and his grippe go off thee, in that same moment thou art in Hell: for, no life to any, but, to them, who are in Christ, as members of his body, to them, who hes an apprehension of him, and of whom, he hes a grippe. Therefore, seeing, the time of our departure is very uncertain (who knows, when it will please the Lord to call on him?) every one of us, night and day, time and tide, should see, whether we be in Christ, or, not, whether we have an hold of him, or, not: In the morning, when thou risest, the first thing, thou shouldst think of, is, Am I in Christ? have 〈◊〉 a grippe of him? or, hes he a grippe of me, or, not? A knave will rise and grippe to his staff, or, sword, but, he hes no mind of a grip of Christ. Alas, when Christ grippes thee not the Devil carries thee, all that day, body and soul to wickedness. Say, therefore, Lord hold a grippe of me; for, I am as a child. (Never a child was so staggering, as thou art, except thou lean on Christ.) This is most true: It is not so much our apprehension we have of Christ, as his apprehension of us, that holds us up: A child that is learning to go, albeit he grippe, he cannot hold himself up, but, it is the grip of the Nurse, that holds up the child: It is so, between God and us, We are all infants, jesus hes us in his hand, we make a glifring to grip him again, but, when he lets us go, then, we fall: So, this is our comfort, that we are gripped by God, and his grip upholds us, for, when he grippes to the heart of any man, his hand never lowses again, and thou shalt never go out of his grippe: yea, even in that time, when thou thinkest, thou art gone, and the Lord hes casten thee offyn the meantime he hes thee in his grip and in that meane-tyme when thou appearest to be left, call to remembrance, that, he hes gripped thee, and then, assure thee, yet he grips thee. And say, Who shall be able to separate me from the love of Christ? Rom. 8. 35. And jesus says, None is able to reave my sheep out of my hand. john. 10. 28. Who shall be able to louse his hand? This is all in one word: Seek this apprehension, and stand fast in Christ, and death shall not sever thee, from him, but life shall follow death; glory shall follow ignominy; immortality shall swallow up the mortality, that we are here subject to. Well then brethren, who wait when we shall be stricken? Therefore, let us ever be prepared, and let us not look to the Pest. Nothing shall be able to severe us from God, if he have gripped us, ` Paul says, Philipp. 3. 8. 9 that, he counted all things but dung, that he might be found of him, and know him, and the force of his resurrection. Yet, to insist in the words expressing this resurrection: he says that, God shall bring us with him, that is, with Christ. So, our resurrection what is it, What is our resurrection. but, a bringing of us to God, to be joined with him, in that blessed society? Our felicity and blessedness, both in body and soul is, to be joined with God. For, understand, so long as thy body lies in the grave, lies in ignominy, in a manner it is severed from God. it is apart from God, in some manner, it is not so near him, as it will be: it is yet lying in ignominy. Now in the resurrection of the dead, that body that was separated from God and lay in ignominy for a time, ryses to be joined with God, to the end it may be glorified for ever. This is the resurrection of the bodies of the godly. But, it is far otherways, with the resurrection of the ungodly. They rise indeed, and must rise; for, they shall be pulled out of the grave; for, feign would they lie still: they must rise, to receive that pain of damnation, they shall rise, but, never to be brought to God. The Scripture indeed speaks, that, they shall rise, but, never to be brought to God, but, they rise to be severed from God, more, nor they were. They are severed, when they are in the grave; but, when the body shall be joined to the soul, then, they shall be farther severed. And look, how far is between the high Heavens and the low Helles, as far distance shall there be between God and the reprobate. They shall not be convoyed up to meet Christ in the clouds, as the bodies of the godly are: No, but they shall stand on the earth. Yet, to insist. Are the bodies of the elect brought them alone to God? No: what ever body must be brought to God in the resurrection it must be brought in company, it must be in a society and conjunction, ere that body be conjoined with God. He says, with Christ. That body must be brought to that glorious society with God, but, first it must be joined with jesus; otherways, thou shalt never rise to God. Then, would ye have the order Paul speaks of in this resurrection (for, every one shall rise in order.) The first is Christ, Christ the first of them, that rises; his glorious body rose first; Then, after that, they who are in Christ, that is, they who stands in that conjunction with him, as imps in the tree, who are engrafted in his body, then, they shall rise, with him. Therefore, in one word. Wouldst thou know, whether thou shalt be joined with God, or, not, look, if thou stand'st fast in that conjunction, and union with Christ, in this life: and if thou find thyself united with Christ in this life, then, in the glorious resurrection, with God shalt thou be. And so, this is a thing, that, I ever advertise you of. Look ever, that, thou be a member of that glorious body. Be either an eye or, foot, or hand, be some part of the body of Christ. And certainly, being joined with him, when he is joined with God, even God the Father of necessity (thou being a member of the body) thou must be joined with God. For, thy conjunction with God is not immediate, but thou must first be joined with Christ, and being conjoined with Christ, thou shalt be joined with God also in glory. Now, who shall be the doer of this? It is a great work to draw up this body out of the grave to Heaven, and set it in that glory. Will the body rise the alone? where got it that strength? will any Angel draw it up? No, all the Angels in Heaven is not able to raise up a body to Heaven: all the power in earth cannot raise up a dead body. Then who must do it? No power in Heaven nor earth, but the power of God. Paul Ephes. chap. 1. verse 19 calls it the effectualness of the strong power of God. There is no work in this world wherein the power of God appears more, nor in the work of the rising, first of Christ, when he was dead, and then of our bodies that are in him. The power and strength of God as greatly appears in the raising of the body, as it did in making of the world, when before it was not. It is as great a matter to make a thing to live, as to make it: There is as great power to make the dead to live, as to make any thing of nothing. And this power is only proper to God. The power of the world may put out the life: but no power can give life, but, only Gods. There are many slayers; but, none to give life, but, only God. Therefore, let us glorify the God of life. Then, mark two causes of our glorious resurrection. 2. causes of our resurrection. (He speaks not of the resurrection of the reprobate.) The first cause, is, the conjunction with jesus, begun in this life. The second cause, is, the power and might of God, in raising of them being found in jesus. Take any of these two away, thou shalt never be brought to God. If thy conjunction be not with jesus in this life, the power of God in the latter day shall not raise thee, to join thee to God. Take this first cause away, the second shall not follow. Then, again, if the hand of God at the day of the resurrection should not be put (as it were) out of Heaven, to take up thy body, thou wouldst lie still. Therefore, join these two. First, the conjunction with Christ, that is by Faith: then, join, with Faith, the power and virtue of God, and so, rise shalt thou, and be joined with God in glory. Now, as to the power of God to raise us, it is not extended to us here, but, we shall see it in that great day: but, the thing, we have to, care for, is to look, that, we have saith, and of necessity, the second must follow. Hast thou faith? and art thou joined with Christ, by Faith? of necessity the power of God must reach to thee, to raise thee, out of the grave. Thou needest not to fear, if thou be found in Christ. All mercy, power and glory is in him: if thou be out with Christ, no glory, nor mercy, but, damnation for thee; for, the power of God shall be extended to thy destruction. Now, to the next verse. Yet, he goes forward and teaches them, that, not only they shall rise and be brought to God, and be joined with him, But, he says, This say we unto you, by the word of God, that, we, who live and are remaining at the coming of the Lord, shall not preveene them, who sleep. He speaks, here, of himself, as though he should have been living at the day of judgement: and yet, he died, more nor a thousand year since: To teach us, ever to be in readiness: no hour, nor, moment should be, but, we should look for the coming of Christ; and think, we shall be living, when he comes. This is our vain thought: we think, we shall die before the day of judgement. No▪ Paul spoken not so: we should not speak so, but, be ay ready, to meet the Lord, at his glorious appearance. Now, the third head, wherein he instructed them, is, the order and rank of men, that shall meet the Lord, in the clouds. All that judgement shall pass by order. The God of order shall be judge, Order in meeting the Lord, after resurrection. and all shall be in order, and men shall be in rank: they who shall be raised up from this earth, to meet the Lord, shall have their own place and rank. Now, the Apostle would teach them, that, they shall have this order. They who hes departed first this life shall not be prevented, they who shall be alive shall not be put in the rank before them, but, they who are dead shall be in the first rank, and order, and ere ever that sudden change be made of them, who shall be found alive, changing them from mortality, to immortality (which change shall be in the twinkling of an eye) the dead in the grave shall be raised up first, by the power of God, & their bodies shall be first glorified, and then shall come on that sudden change, of them, who shall be alive, & then, all shall be rest up to the clouds: first, they, that were dead, next, they, that were changed, and so, we shall come all to meet our head Christ. This is the order. Now to be short. This same very speaking of the Apostle, and his instructing of them in this preferment teaches us, that, there should be in us such a desire to meet with Christ, that we should strive, who shall meet with him first: strive to be first, and not to be last; cast us to have a part of this preferment, and considering this preferment is promised to them, who dies first, it should make us joyful to die first, and to say to them, who are standing about us, when we are on deathbed, I will get a preferment. I am called to death first, before you, I shall be preferred to you in meetting with my Lord, in Heaven. Ye shall live after me, but, I shall meet first with my Lord. O, what it is, to get preferment in heavenly glory! Ye will count of preferment with Kings of this earth, and men will strive, who shall first meet with the King. O, then, should we not strive to meet with the King of Kings in Heaven. The Lord grant us faith, that we may be joined with Christ in this body, that at that last day soul and body may be glorified in Heaven with Christ our Head. To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit, be all glory and praise for ever. AMEN. THE XVIII. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 4. vers. 16. 17. 18. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise again. Then shall we which live and remain, be caught up with them also in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore, comfort yourselves one another with these words. THE Apostle (brethren) in this present text (by the way as it were) instructs the Thessalonians in that head of doctrine, that concerns those who are departed this life: Of the which either they were ignorant, or thought not of it as they should have done. And therefore, in the death and departure of their kinsfolk and friends whom they loved well, they mourned excessively, as though there estate had been miserable: as though after this world there should have been no more of them, but they should perish like beasts. And therefore the Apostle, to the end that for death they should not mourn so desperately, he instructs them in certain heads of doctrine concerning the departed. The first was, that they that died, died not so much as sleeped: this death is not so much to be called a death, as a sleep, for there shall be a waking again, as a man lying down to sleep, shall awake again. The second point. Their resurrection shall be glorious: Being laid down in the grave they shall not lie for ever, but shall be gloriously raised again: for here he speaks of the resurrection of the elect and chosen. Now the third thing he instructs them in is an piece of honour they shall have in their resurrection. They that are dead first, shall see the Lord before them that shall be found alive: for the dead shall rise first, and then the change shall be made of them, who are then living. And as the dead shall rise first, so they shall be first in rank among them who shall go to meet the Lord in the air: first the dead after their resurrection shall be rest up to the clouds: then they who shall be living, shall be rest up after them. So the dead shall get the first sight of Christ, than they who shall be found alive, shall be changed and get the next sight. This before ye heard taught to you. Now in the text we have red, the Apostle takes occasion of that which he spoke of immediately before, concerning the ranking and order of those that shall be found dead on that great day. To enter in this matter more deeply, and to fall out in a description of the Lords coming in that latter day. He points out the manner of it, and that glory that shall appear. Thereafter he comes to that effect that shall follow thereupon. The first effect, shall be the resurrection of the dead; ere ever they who are alive be changed (which shall be in a moment) the dead rising first, shall be rest up to the clouds, and then they who shall be changed, shall be rest up after them. The estate of both is, they shall meet the Lord, and be with him for ever. Then in the last verse, he desires the Thessalonians with such speeches as these, every one to comfort another: whether he sorrow for his own or for another's death, and to speak one to another of the resurrection, and of the glory that shall follow on it. Now this text stands in a narrative of the form of Christ's coming, whereof I will speak no farther, nor I can gather thereof out of the Scripture, and with as great shortness as I may: For, it is folly to speak any thing herein which is not revealed and spoken of in the Scriptures. Now Brethren, I shall speak first (according to the Scriptures of God) of the signs and tokens that shall appear in the world before Christ's coming. For, ere he be seen, they who shall be found alive at that great day, shall see signs and tokens of his coming. Next I shall speak of his coming and of the manner of it. And in the third room I shall speak of the effects that shall follow in the world immediately on his coming. As for the signs that shall be seen, ere he be seen. There are some of them that shall go before his coming immediately before he rise out of his Throne, where he sits at the right hand of his Father, even immediately before his rising there shall some signs be shown to warn the world, that the King of Glory is coming. Then there shall be some other signs, that shall be adjoined with his coming, as he comes through the Heavens and air to judge the world. So the signs are of two sorts, some signs before his coming immediately, Signs immediately preceding Chr●stes coming. some joined with his coming. The signs immediately preceding the Lords rising out of his Throne, to judge the world, are, The whole world shall shake, Heaven and earth shall trimble; they who shall be living at that day shall see it. The whole powers of the Heaven shall be shaken: The Sun, the Moon shall be darkened, all shall be obscured: the Sun shall have no light, the stars shall fall down, or, at the least, shall appear so, because they shall give no light, and light shall be away, nothing in the face of the earth, but darkness: nothing in Heaven but darkness. Ye may read this Matt. chap. 24. verse 29. Luke chap. 21. verse 25. Christ gives these same signs himself, that shall be immediately before his coming. What shall be the estate in the meantime of those who are living when these signs shall appear? All consciences shall be wakened, all shall get up, there shall be no sleeping. The murderer who hes his conscience sleeping now, shall be wakened then: the harlot's conscience shall waken. There shall be two sort of folk found living then; some reprobate, some elect; the world is never without these two. As for the reprobate when they shall look up and see such a wonderful alteration, the shaking of the Heavens, the darkening of the Sun, and Moon, than they shall begin to shudder and to be stricken with such a terrible fear, that, they shall be as they were dead: and for fear of that judgement that is to follow, they shall run and seek holes and secret places to hide them from the face of the Lord, and cry, Hills fall down on us, Mountains cover us, Yea, even ere they see the Lord before his coming down, Read of this in Luke 21. 27. Revelat. chap. 6. verse 16. etc. Now as to the elect that shall be found alive at that time, they shall conceive at the sight of these first signs an unspeakable joy, and shall not be afraid, but shall await for that Redemption, which they shall see to be at hand, that full Redemption in the Redeemer the Lord jesus. And therefore, they shall not run away and seek holes to hide them in, but they shall stand up and lift up their heads and faces to the Heavens and shall look greedily for the coming of the Lord jesus Christ: indeed it is true, they shall conceive a sorrow and shall be touched with a remorse, and shall weep bitterly; but a sweet weeping they shall weep, that ever their sins procured the death of the Lord jesus Christ, that Lord of glory. Therefore, they shall be both joyful, and sorrowful: joyful, because the Redeemer is at hand: sorrowful, for their sins, that Christ should have died for them; that they should have pierced him through with them. Read of this at length Luke chap. 21. verse 28. Zachary chap. 13. verse 11. Revel. chap. 1. verse 7. yea, they who pierced him through, with their sins, shall bewail him. All the godly Kings of the earth shall bewail him; all the elect shall sorrow, that their sins should have procured the death of this sweet and glorious Lord. This for the signs immediately going before his coming. Understand (brethren) that there shall be a process of time in the day of judgement, so that one thing shall (by a certain space) go before another. It shall be sudden, but, not so sudden, but they who are alive, shall see one thing done by a space of time before another; it shall be so sensible, that every one that is living at that day shall see every thing done sensible. Now to come to the signs joined with his coming. At his down coming, Signs joined with the coming of Christ. when the Lord rises out of his Throne, before he be seen, the whole world that shook before he rose, shall be set on fire, and there shall be a terrible dissolution: All things shall be dissolved, and so shaken louse, that the world shall not appear, unto the time it be made a new World, a new Heaven, a new Earth, as Peter speaks. Come to the particulares. As to the Heavens, they shall be burnt up, and being burnt up, they shall pass away with a sound and noise (says Peter) as the sounding of Chariot-wheels. The elements, the air, the water, all shall be consumed with fire, and be burnt up and vanish. The earth, and all the works on the earth, planting, building, all shall be burnt up with fire, nothing shall be spared. These shall be the signs that shall be joined inseparably with Christ's coming. The sign of Christ. In the mean time he shall come down, when all the world shall be on a fire. And this is called by Matthew 24 verse 30. the sign of Christ, the sign that shall be conjoined with his coming. Read of this whole matter in this 24. chap. of Matthew verse 30. 2. Epist of Pet. chap. 3. verse 10. 12. Revelat. chap. 20. verse 11. and chap. 21. verse 1. Then brethren, if there was such a commotion in the heart of men, in the first signs that passed before, what commotion shall there be in the hearts of men, when they shall see the whole world on fire? A wondrous thing. When all this consumption shall be, no body shall be burnt, but the power of the judge shall reserve the bodies to the judgement that is to follow immediately. Peter when he hes told of these signs, says, If such a dissolution of the world be, what manner of men should we be? how should we study to prepare us to meet the Lord? So on that great day, all these things shall not make the godly to shrink, but they shall ay press forward to meet the Lord in the clouds. As to the reprobate, o, that horror and terrible fear that shall overtake them at his coming! Now this for the two sorts of signs. The first, going before his coming: the second, joined inseparably with his coming down to judge the world. Now, shortly to speak of Christ's own coming. And this is it which the Apostle speaks of in this place. Which for our understanding I shall gather out of this and sundry other places of the Scripture. Christ's coming. Now as for the coming of the judge, he shall not come from the Sea, from the Earth, from the Plane. Wherefrom comes all the Kings of the earth, when they are in their triumph? The Roman Emperors came out from the Capitol in their Chariots. But, the King of Kings shall come from the Heaven of Heavens, above all these heavens that we see, from the highest place. The manner of his coming is sudden. These signs that I spoke of, shall come on a sodaintie; and yet there shall be a process of time in doing thereof. He shall come on a sudden, as the deluge of Noah did, as the 24 chap. Matt verse 37. tells. The people knew not of the deluge, that overwhelmed them, until it came: No more shall this miserable world know Christ's coming, until he come suddenly. And therefore, considering this, in the Scripture the Lord gives a watchword to his Disciples: Many hundredth years are passed since, and repeat it here, he says, Matt. 24. 42. Watch, for ye know not when the Lord shall come. The sodaintie & uncertainty of his coming should make us ever ready to look for it. The Chariot he shall be carried in, is the clouds of the air. As in his ascending the clouds resaved him from our sight, so shall the clouds resave him at his coming. Such a Chariot got never Emperor in all his highest triumph, none of them was carried in the clouds. The company that shall convoy him: he shall come, says Matt. chap. 24. verse 30. with the Angels, and a flame of fire, that fire that shall burn up the world, and shall burn up the reprobate in the own tyme. 2. Thess. 1. 7. 8. Jude says, verse. 14. He shall come with millions of Angels, there shall not be an Angel, but all shall come in that convoye, to let all the world see, that, all the Angels are but servants to that Lord, and servants standing about him, to obey his will what he commands, that his glory and Majesty may be seen. In the meane-tyme he hes no need of them, for they neither can add to his glory, nor diminish it: yet it hes pleased him, so to utter his glory to the world. And in that meane-tyme, when he is coming, he will not come in silence. Ye see, when an Army marches forward, there is a great noise and crying, shouting, and blowing of trumpets: So, there shall be a noise in the Lords coming down. The Angels of Heaven shall blow the trumpets. So he speaks Matth. 24. verse 31. Paul in this place says, there shall rise a sound: The word in this place is a word of exhortation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, borrowed from that sound which the Mariners uses to others, every one to move others to row. A shout direct to the dead that lies in the grave: it shall pierce through the grave and ears of the dead, and shall waken them up. With the shout shall be conjoined the voice of the Archangel, and with the voice of the Archangel, the sound of the trumpet of God, and this shall be the last trumpet, and never shall the voice of the trumpet be heard again, and it shall be the sh●●llest trumpet that ever was heard. Now when the Lord in his coming down shall come to the place where he is ordained to sit, to judge the world, which shall be in the clouds: Then all the Angels shall show their presence, and the Angels shall make a glorious Throne to the Lord of glory, and there he shall sit. This much shortly for the coming and appearing. I shall be short in this matter. For, I will speak nothing but make a narration of it out of other parts of Scripture. Would ye understand the effects that follows on his coming? Effects following Christ's coming. Certainly notable effects must follow on it. The Lord prepare us for it. The Father shall be there, the Son shall be there, coming. the holy Spirit shall be there with all their power, and all their Majesty. The glory of the Father never appeared so glorious, as it shall appear that day. The glory of the Son never appeared so glorious as it shall appear that day. The glory of the holy Spirit never appeared so glorious, as it shall appear that day. Ye see in the Parliament the Kings of the earth appears in their greatest glory to the people; so, the Lord of the world shall appear with an infinite and uncapable sight of glory. Now to come to the effects that shall follow on his coming. Assembly. The first effect. There shall be an assembly, a convention, the fairest convention that ever was since the world stood. There are none that ever took life, but all shall be there: all shall be sommonded with the shout of the trumpetuall shall compear: no excuse, the grave shall not excuse, death shall not excuse, dead and living, never man, nor, woman excepted, all shall be there. So, the first effect that shall follow the coming of the judge, shall be a convention of the whole world, elect & reprobate, dead and living. And I shall tell you, after what order it will be, by the Scripture. The first that shall come there to the convention, shall be they who were dead, they shall preveene them who were alive. And Adam and Eve, shall be with the first, and in the first rank. For before they who in the world shall be changed (which shall be in the twinkling of an eye; and it shall stand to them in stead of death) ere this change be made, the dead shall rise first. 1. Corint. 15. 51 52. Some of them who are dead, shall rise to life and honour, to wit, the elect: Some of them, to wit, the reprobat, to dishonour, ignominy and death, and a worse death nor they lie in presently. Then when the dead is raised up, and compeares first, then shall follow that sudden change of them who shall be alive: the elect that shall be alive shall be altered in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, to a glorious estate. The reprobat alive, shall be altered to, but, if they were ignominious before, they shall be more ignominious then: for, not only their soul, but soul and body shall be ugly, and if they had any beauty, Estate of the bodies of the elect. it shall be changed in a wonderful foulues. But, to speak of the body of the elect: for, the Scripture speaks most of them. Paul (1. Cor. 15. verse 35.) moves the question, with what bodies shall they rise? what body shall the elect have? For, he is not curious of the bodies of the reprobate, but he marks narrowly the rising of the bodies of the godly at that day. And the first quality he gives them, is, that, whereas their bodies were natural, when they were laid down in the grave, their bodies in that day, shall be made spiritual: Not, that our bodies shall be changed in spirits; no, our bodies shall be bodies indeed, of that same substance they have now. The very same substance of the body thou hast in this life, the same very substance thou shalt have in that life, and no other. It shall be present at that day, that same very body, that same very hand and foot, etc. and no other body, nor no other hand nor foot, etc. And there shall be none of the ashes of the body, but it shall be keeped, until that day, and shall be gathered up and joined better, nor ever it was before. Then, the body shall abide. Our life shall be much better. I live here a natural life, by a natural power in my soul, but, in the resurrection, my life shall be spiritual, and I shall not live a natural life: Now I live by a natural power in my soul, but, then, I shall live spiritually, by a spiritual power in Christ. Yet, there shall be more. Another property of the body shall follow on this. This body, if it were never so fair, yet, in respect of the glory it shall take up, it is but ignominious, but the body shall rise glorious and shining as the Sun; not by this natural skin and colour that we have here; but by a passing light and brightness, conform to that brightness of Christ, when he was transformed on the Mountain. (Read Matt. 17. 1.) and conform to his glory in Heaven, as the Apostle tells Philipp. chap. 3. verse 21. Yet more, ye see our bodies weak. The strongest man is soon beat down for all his strength; all the power of man is feeble and weak, but in the resurrection, the body shall be strong and pithy. One man (to be homely with you) stronger in the resurrection, nor an hundredth: yea, nor thousands are now. For, all feebleness shall be left behind him in the grave, and he shall rise strong, like the Angels in glory and strength. Yet more than this. (What matter of all this former glory, if it were possible, that, this spiritual body could perish:) The Apostle adds to this. We shall rise incorruptible, immortail, to life everlasting: when we shall rise in that strength, that power and freedom, immortality shall follow after mortality, glory after ignomnie, strength after weakness, spirituality after naturality. In life we shall be spiritual, in quality glorious, in time everlasting, there is no end of it. This is the property that Paul speaks of our bodies in the resurrection. Now to go forward. There shall follow more in this convention. That same power that shall convene all men together, Separation of the elect from the reprobates. that same power shall make a severing. The Angels, the Ministers of that glorious judge, shall stop in between the elect and the reprobate, and put them a sunder. They shall severe the sheep from the goats, they shall put the sheep at the right hand of the judge, and the goats at the left hand. Read Matt. chap. 25 verse 33. apparently Paul here would mean to us another kind of severing: and yet all is one. This apparently would be his meaning. They shall all be gathered together on the earth, and all shall stand together in a troop, and then this severing shall be made: Then all the elect shall be rest up to the clouds, to meet the Lord in the clouds. As for the reprobate, they shall all stand still on the earth, and shall not get that honour, to be rest up in the air, but shall bide on the earth, and receive their judgement there. For, Paul, when he says, they shall be rest up to meet the Lord in the air, he speaks only of the elect. Then, there shall be a severing, after which there shall never be a meetting again: a great golf shall be between them that none may pass: We are all mingled here through other, and none knows other: The sheep oft-times are taken for the goats, and the goats for the sheep; but, at that great day, the sheep shall be severed from the goats, and shall never meet again, be it man with wife, parents with children. There are two effects, a convention of all, and a severing of all. Yet the judge and the power of the judge shall pass forward, and the third effect follows. When the Judge hes all gathered together and none away: when the row is called, and all are present: Then when one sort shall be placed at the right hand, judgement pronounced. and the other at the left hand; then shall he fall to judgement: He cannot judge before he severe; the very severing tells the judgement: but, before the severing, the judgement shall not be pronounced. Then generally he shall judge all according to their works. The books shall be opened, the book of conscience shall be opened, the book of works shall be opened and all their judgement shall be according to their works 〈◊〉 understand this. The elect man shall be judged according to his works, not that his works shall be the cause that shall pro●●● his life: but he shall be judged by his works as a testimony of his faith in Christ and of the manner of life that he hes lived in the world as a member of Christ: So he shall be judged by his works; not as a cause, but as a token of the true cause, as ye would judge a man by a witness: for the works shall be the tokens of the true cause, which is, the only justice of Christ imputed unto us by faith. I dare say, albeit the reprobate worthily shall be damned according to their works, yet they shall be specially condemned that they believed not in jesus Christ, but contemned his Gospel without faith. Then to come to the sentence. The Lord will begin at the elect, as best and worthiest and he shall give them their sentence, Come ye blessed of my Father, and wher●●● the Kingdom prepared for you, before 〈…〉 of the world. Matt. chap. 25 verse 32. From once this sentence is passed out on them, when this absolution from death and damnation is pronounced, look what estate they 〈◊〉 be in: They shall stand with the Angles, as assessors to judge the reprobate. So Paul 1. Cor chap. 6. verse 3. says, know 〈…〉 judge the Angels? that is to say, we shall allow that most just sentence of jesus: And among all the rest of the 〈◊〉 the twelve Apostles specially shall have place. For, they shall sit on twelve Thrones, to justify that just sentence that shall pass on the reprobate. Then shall the sentence pass out on the reprobate: the voice shall go down through the air to the earth, a terrible voice, 〈◊〉 accursed of my Father to the fire prepared for the Devil and all his Angels. Brethren, think not this a fable, many will not believe this, until they feel it in themselves. Now to be short. To speak of the life of the reprobate after this sentence, they shall no● remain on the earth. In the very moment of the doom (that is certain) they shall pass to damnation. 〈…〉 At that same very moment thou receivest the sentence of life, thou shalt go to Heaven: The moment the reprobate receives sentence of damnation they shall go to Hell. Now to speak of this death and life: I will not be curious, there is much spoken in the Scripture thereof, both to let us see the glory of the elect and the torments of the reprobate. But, I tell you in one word, it was never all told. Never Prophet nor Apostle expressed the greatness of the joy that shall come to the godly, nor of the pain that shall come to the ungodly. There shall be another pain nor fire and brimstone to be tormented in. Neither can any express the joy in Heaven, There shall be such glory and joy as the ear of man never heard of, the eye hes not seen, nor yet hes it entered in the heart of man. Now look how Paul speaks of this joy here. He says, 〈◊〉 shall be 〈◊〉 with the Lord. He contents him with these words. To be with the Lord imports not a dwelling only with him, but a life and glorious life, joy that is with him unspeakable: I cannot tell it: all the tongues in the world cannot tell it: For, all the joy in Heaven it is in the Son of God, and shall shine through him, that is, through the natural 〈◊〉 of man, covered over with a Majesty; and so all heavens joy and glory shall be with him, and they who shall be with him shall be in that glory and joy with him. I dare say more. These things shall not be outwith us only, but within our bowels. The joy and glory shall not be outwith the godly, as it is now: Commonly the glory, the pleasure, are outwith us, the matter of joy outwith us, and we 〈◊〉 to it. But then, all matter of joy shall be in us; Christ first be in us, and God shall be all in all, and God in 〈◊〉 be dwelling in us; and then, when thou hast all within thee, what shall thou want? And therefore, in the Revelation chap 21. verse 2; it is said, We shall not need things outwith us. neither a Temple, nor Sun, nor Moon, for, God being in thee, shall be unto thee a Temple, he is all in all; and he being in thee 〈…〉 all 〈…〉 thee. In one word, He shall be within the●, 〈…〉 because God in Christ shall devil within thee, and 〈…〉 part of that glory and felicity of that life. Now is there no more nor this? What matter if it werfor a time we were to be with him? What matter of Heaven if Heaven lasted not? What matter of a Kingdom that vanishes away? A man set up on a pomp to day, casten down to morrow? what matter of heavenly glory, let be the earthly glory, if it lasted not? but the Apostle says we shall be with him for ever. Take up then our blessedness. It stands in two points; first a passing and exceeding joy and glory: and secondly in an eternity and everlastingness of joy and glory. Paul plainly and pithily sets these two together. 2. Cor. chap. 4. verse 17. He calls it a weight of glory, that is excellent: Then he calls it an everlasting glory. There are two, a weight of glory, and an everlasting weight of glory, and more excessively excessive. He cannot get words to utter it. It is a weight that will weigh down all the world, and then a weight of glory excessively excessive, and then eternal and everlasting. So our felicities in glory, and passing great glory and an everlasting glory. As for the pains of the reprobate▪ I will not insist to speak of them, because the Apostle is speaking here to comfort the elect. Now when the Apostle hes made a discourse of the coming of Christ, He makes his exhortation and says, and so I say also, Comfort one another with these words. Brethren, many hes sought comfort, death is dolorous and wearisome in the own nature: and therefore, many of the Heathen hes busied themselves to get comfort and matter of consolation in the hour of death. What matter of death, if there be a comfort therein? but then is death dolorous when it is without comfort. But, was there ever any that got comfort that knew not Christ, and the resurrection, and a life after this life? no, never man; neither king nor Emperor. As for all the comforts they had, all was but vanity, and dreams of comfort. Again I say. Was there ever any that gave comfort to a body in death, or that gave comfort to them that was heavy for the death of their friend, but that man that hes a sense of that glorious resurrection of Christ and of his coming? And therefore, as thou wouldst have comfort in death & give comfort for death; know, that, the Lord is to come in the world: know, that, there shall be a glorious resurrection, and after the resurrection there shall be an eternal joy and glory in Heaven. And look, that, this be not only words in the mouth. There are many vain babblers of Christ, and of that glorious resurrection: A knave, an adulterer, a murderer will flatter himself, and clatter of that glory and joy: but all is vanity▪ Wilt thou be a knave, and then speak of these things? The Lord shall punish thee. Look therefore, that, thy speaking of the latter day be not in vain words; Heaven and life everlasting is not in words; but, look, that, it be fectfull in the heart, and that, of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speak. Before thou speak, feel it in thy heart, and then speak. So says Paul 2. Cor. chap. 4. verse 13. I believe I shall rise, and therefore I speak to you. And David says, I believe, and therefore I spoke. Psal. 116. 10. And say, I pray God that I believe all these things that I speak to you. The Lord give every one of us grace, that, we may believe all these things of Christ's coming, and of the glorious resurrection: For, without Faith and Hope, of these things, no comfort, no life. The Lord give us Faith and Hope, until he bring us to the full sight and fruition of these things through Christ. To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit, be all honour and praise for ever and ever AMEN. THE XIX LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA, CHAP. 5. vers. 1. 2. 3. 1 But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For ye yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord shall come, even as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace, and safety, then shall come upon them sudden destruction, as the travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. IN the text immediately going before ye have heard (brethren) of the coming of the Lord jesus, the judge of the world in that day appointed, to judge the quick and the dead: Of the resurrection of the dead especially of the chosen that shall be dead before that day: of the changing of them that shall be found living that day by virtue of the resurrection of Christ, and of the life, glory, and joy that they shall enjoy after they are rest up in the clouds. They shall be with him for ever. Now to come to this text we have in hand. The Thessalonians hearing and understanding that the Lord will come from heaven, jesus will come and judge the world, might have moved the question to the Apostle, about the time of his coming: when he will come? what year, what day, what hour, what time generally shall we look for him? The Apostle meets this, and answers, It is not needful, brethrer, that I writ unto you of the times and seasons: for ye yourselves know perfectly that the coming of the Lord shall be as a th●efe in the night. And therefore, why should I go calculat days and years to you? seeing that the Lord shall come at unwares, and on a suddainty: the world shall not wit until he come. And he proves this in the next verse from the effect of his coming. They who shall be found in a deadly security sleeping, they shall be stricken suddenly: For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then shall come upon them sudden destruction, as the travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. And upon that follows an exhortation to vigilance. Now to come to the words of the text, I need not writ to you, says the Apostle, concerning times and seasons. It is not needful (would he say) it is not expedient, it is not profitable to you, yea more it pertains not to you to know it. As the Lord says Act. 1. 7. when the Disciples a little before his ascension was curious to know the times, he says, It is not expedient to you to know the times and the seasons the Lord hes in his 〈◊〉 By times is meant, all times less or more, whether it be the time of an hour, a day, a week, year, or any greater tyme. It pertains not to you to know any time of Christ's coming, yea to know in what age of the world, let be, the month, week, year, or day it shall be. It pertains not to you to know any definite or certain tyme. The next word is 〈…〉. It means a more straight and particular time when things comes to pass according to the Lords preseryved time, in his counsel the article of time God hes appointed to it. There is nothing the Lord hes appointed, but it shall f●ll out in that same moment and artickle of tyme. Now would ye know what means these seasons? I understand by them▪ the morning, noontide, evening. In the 1. chap. Act. It is not for you (says Christ) to know times and seasons, which the Lord ●es put in his own powers. Ye should not know the time of his coming, whether he come in the morning, even tide, midnight or cockcrow▪ So the answer the Apostle makes, is, ye should not be curious about the time of Christ's coming▪ ask for days, weeks, months, years, it is not for you to know this. Now to mark something, for I will not go deeply in this matter. We learn of the text immediately going before. There is nothing under the Sun more sure not this, that, Christ will come. Certainty of Christ's coming. This is a thing that every one of us is bound to know, that Christ will come and sit in judgement, and put an end to all things in this world And this is an article of our Creed. From thence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. If thou believe not that article, howbeit thou believe all the rest of the Articles, thy faith is nothing. Then the second thing I mark of this, is, the curiosity of the Thessalonians. This curiosity hes been in all ages, that when any man heard tell that the Lord jesus is to come again, and to judge the world, and to put an end to all things, in all ages there hes risen up men curious to understand the time, and to search when he shall come. The Apostles begouth this: Curiosity in searching the time of Christ's coming repressed. for, immediately before the ascension of our Lord, they uttered this curiosity, ask the times and seasons of his coming again. But incontinent their curiosity is snibbed and repressed by the Lord, Act. 1. 7. From that time men hes never left off to be curious of these times and seasons. Men hes been curious to lay an account if Christ's coming shall be in this year, in this age: yea, men in our age hes done this: but all is vanity. Now thirdly, I note on Paul's part, and his answer to them. Men should not search in curiously anent the time of Christ's coming. Men should not seek the month, day, year nor age: that pertaineth not to them. There is great difference between the first coming of Christ, and his second coming. As to the first coming, it was the will of the Lord that the time of his coming should be known to the world: And therefore, he revealed the year of his coming to the old Prophets. As ye may see 9 Daniel. And as Peter tells 1. Epist. chap. 1. verse 10. They searched in to the very time of this coming, and they did nothing but that which they should have done. And Christ finds fault with the hypocrite jews, that could take up by the sky what manner of weether should be, but searched not the time of his coming. Luke 12. 56. But as to his second coming, he never told of the time of it. Yea, in Daniel in his last chapter 4. verse, there is a plain inhibition to seek out the time of it. Therefore, it pertaineth not to men to know it: yea, it is better not to know the time of it, nor to know it. And this Christ means Matt. 24. 42. Watch therefore, for, ye know not at what hour your Master will come. Where he teaches us, that the ignorance of the time of his coming is very profitable for us, because it makes us to watch and pray, whereas the knowledge of it would make us careless. Ye may ask at me, May we on no ways speak or think of the Lords coming to judge the quick and the dead, and the time thereof? I answer. To define a special time, either in the cogitation or thought of thy heart, or in the words of thy mouth thou canst not, nor thou shouldest not do it. But generally to think and to say, the Lord will come shortly, whether this age, or the next age, I know not: but, I know well, it shall not be long when the judge shall come, it shall be soon: it is lawful for thee to think and say this. For, the Lord himself hes said, When it is craved (Revel. chap. 22. vers. 20.) Come Lord jesus, yes (says he) I come shortly. When he says, he will come shortly, let us believe it. The History in the Gospel Matt. 24. 25. etc. of the evil and the good servant, teaches us what we should do, until the Lords coming. The evil servant says, My Master delays his coming home, therefore, he will begin to play the wanton, and to drink, and to smite his companions. The good servant will say, I am looking for my Masters coming shortly: he will come at noontide, or midnight, or Cockcrow, I will wait for it, and therefore, I will be vigilant. And so this good servant tells that we should ever await for the Lords coming diligently. And surely his coming is near, and feign would the godly have his coming, to end their misery, and to perfit the joy and glory he hes appointed for them. And therefore, the Lord says, I come shortly, I shall not be long. And albeit we think it be long since he promised this: yet, think not, he delays his coming. For, a thousand years, in the sight of the Lord, are but as an hour. 2. Pet. 3. 8. and in respect of him, there is neither long nor short tyme. So, think ever with the good servant, the Lord will come shortly, and he is daily coming: yea, and we should desire him to come shortly every day, and we should ever patiently wait for it. And therefore, this clause is added in the Lord's prayer, Let thy Kingdom come: Which desires, that, he would perfit that work of glory. Ye see Paul says, 2. Tim. 4. verse 7. 8. I have fought a good fight, I have keeped the faith, I have run out my course. Then, he subjoines. But, what rests? I shall 〈◊〉 the crown of glory, which the Lord jesus as judge, general will give, me, and 〈◊〉 only given to me, but to all them with thirsts for his coming. Assuredly that body shall receive the crown of glory. Whereto are we so curious of the time of the general judgement? Know we not, that, our own death is our particular judgement? Know I not, that within a short time, I shall be called to an account before that Tribunal? No sooner shall the soul depart out of the body, but as soon shall my judgement begin: for, the soul shall immediately depart to that place where it shall remain for ever. Therefore seeing the day of my death is the day of judgement to me▪ (and how many of you that hears me this day will be living this day twenty years?) What needs us to be curious an●ut the time of the general judgement? seeing our own particular judgement is at hand. The Lord is already warning us to 〈◊〉, and yet, the Lord will not have us more knowing the particular time of death, no● the day of judgement. The Lord will have us uncertain, albeit men will be curious to know it. The cause is, that, all may be in readiness, that there be not an hour in the day, but thou be ready when the Lord shall call on thee, and will say to thee, Go, I will have thee carrying here no longer: That thou may say, Lord, I will go with thee, and we'll come death? The Lord refuses to tell his Disciples particular times, but bids them watch for that tyme. This doctrine is very requisite to us. They are living this day whom 〈◊〉 this day eight days, the Lord will call on. Therefore, let every one prepare themselves. No: in the second verse he gives the reason wherefore it is not expedient that they should know of Christ's coming to judge the world. For, says he, ye yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord shall come 〈◊〉 as a thief in the night. That is, 'Sdainty of Christ's coming 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 of it uncertain 〈◊〉 sodaintie▪ Men shall never know, until they see Christ come. If he, come in the morning; than ye may say when he is come, The Lord is come in the morning. And before that time thou shouldst not think no● speak of the certain hour of Christ's coming. There are two things that cannot be known both together▪ The coming of Christ on a sodaintie, and the certain time of the coming of Christ. If I knew the Lord would come sodaintie, it is folly to me to travail to know the special hour thereof: when thou hast calculate to see the very hour of his coming, it is but vanity. I tell thee, the Lord shall come as a thief in the night, which time is most uncertain, and therefore all thy calculation fails thee. Yet, farther. He says, that ye yourselves know perfectly that he shall come at a certain tyme. Hear is a certain time, but there is not a certainty of a certain time, but a certainty of an uncertain tyme. And if the Apostle sets down a certainty of an uncertain time, it is impossible to thee to get a certainty of it. Ye shall read this in Matthew● chap. 24. verse 42. And who ever hes travailed in any age to count the hour and time of his coming, the Lord hath let them see they are confooted of error, and the Lord hes condemned that labour. It is a bold thing to man to seek out that thing the Lord hes hid▪ Men will stand up and calculat such a year of the Lords coming. O vanity, thou passes thy bounds, and thou had no such thing in commission given to thee. The Lord keep us from such vanity. But, to go forward: in the the third verse the Apostle gives the reason of the sodaintie of the coming of that day as a thief in the night. For, when they shall cry Peace, Peace, etc. As he would say, The effect shall show it, bide, until he come. The sudden destruction at his coming shall show his sudden coming. When they shall say, peace, etc. and say, all is well, shut the doors, and be merry, then, on a sodaintie, the destruction shall overtake them. Then, I see, that, the death, that men shall die at Christ's coming, shall be a sudden death. Who ever shall die at Christ's coming, shall die suddenly. A great difference between this death, which we die now, and that death, which shall be at Christ's coming. When men now dies, they get leisure to die. There is patience in God, there is levity and long suffering: for, when we see we are on deathbed never to live again, then, he draws us to repentance, and he will not suddenly strike us to death, but gives us time to amend and turn to him. A murderer he will take him and cast him in prison, and will let him a●yde there, to see, if he will repent. So, there is patience now: But, in the day of judgement, there shall be no lenity, nor, patience. And if thou be a reprobate, thou shalt not have grace nor time, to say, Lord, be merciful to me: for, ere thou end the word, when thou beginst to speak, thou shalt be stricken. And what means this? Even, that, this is the acceptable day, the day of God's patience and long suffering. Repent therefore. Sat not the time, for, certanilie, wilt thou sit the time, until that coming? no patience, no grace, no repentance, but a change shall be in the twinkling of an eye. The Lord when he gives us time to repent, gives us grace also to repent. Think it a great blessing, when the Lord lays thee in pain, that he gives thee that time to repent, and make vantage of it. Now the words would be marked. For, when they shall say, peace, then shall come on them sudden destruction. In the chapter going before, the first death was called a sleep, yea, the reprobate when he is stricken it is called a sleep; and where sleeping is, there is a waking again: But, the second death is commonly called destruction, an utter wreak and destruction, and no death. In the 2. Epist. Thessaly. chap. 1. verse 9 Paul speaking of Christ's coming to judgement and pain of the reprobate, he casts to a property to this word, and calls it an everlasting destruction. Hear, he calls it a sudden hasty destruction. How can these two stand? Well enough: for, in the coming of Christ, it shall be sudden: and yet, albeit the coming be sudden, the destruction shall be endless and not sudden. Well were them, if they were beasts: for, so soon as the branes of a beast are beaten out, then, the wreak of it is done: But, the reprobate shall ay be deing, and never be dead, ay wreaked, and never an end of their wreaking. What matter, if▪ at the end of ten thousand years, there could be an end of their destruction. Paul in that place gives a reason of that endless destruction. (There is none of us but we should understand this) Seek the cause from the judge and striker: The cause is not so much in the man stricken, as in him who strikes, who is infinite. And therefore, the pain is infinite. As for example. Let a King, or, Monarch take a man & torment him, and yet hold his life in: Burn him, and boil him with ●yle, yet, that pain shall end. Let him pull the skin off him, do what torment he can to him, yet, that pain shall end. For, never a Monarch yet could keep a man in endless pain: they may well pine folk, but that pain shall have an end: all the judges power is bounded and limited, and therefore, he must have an end in his tormenting: But, the Lord is inf●●t. And therefore, he may torment in pain everlastingly. All torment here, is but child's play, in respect of the heavy judgements of God: what matter, to fall in man's hands: their wraith and power is nothing, in respect of that infinite wraith of God, who punishes, without an end of pain. Hell is not so light a thing, as men trowes. That terrible day is not as men believes. Therefore, in whose hands that ever thou cast thyself, cast not thyself in the hands of an angry God: No, rather choose to die ten thousand times, ere thou fall in the hands of an angry God: If thou knew the torments of Hell, though would be afraid. So, the thing especially we should care for, in this life, is, ever to seek, to stand in friendship with him, to be war of his wraith, and rather take on thee the wraith of the whole world. Now, he notes the time, when this sudden destruction shall fall. When they shall be saying, Peace and safety, at this time, scarcely shall he have ended the word, when the stroke shall light. We read of Belshazzar, Daniel 5. 5. who was profaning the veshels of the Lords house and crying peace; but, he had not spoken the word, when all his joints severed, and the hand writing on the wall afraid him. In the words, mark two things. First, on whom shall this sudden destruction fall▪ secondly, what time should this destruction be. Then, who is it, on whom this sudden destruction falls? The word bears, men and women making mirth in this earth, without the care of God, or, man. The thief when he breaks in in a house in the night, who is it in the house, he oppresses? If there be a body, that is found sleeping, he will cut his throat, but, if there be any waking and on his guard, that man will escape the thief: So, the Lord, when he shall come and will compass the whole world (as it were in a span) whom will he oppress suddenly? Him whom he finds sleeping in the senseless bed of security, without thought, either of God, or, of the Devil, such a man, the throat of him shall be cutted, and he will be casten in Hell incontinent. But, who shall be safe? They who are watching and praying▪ lying also in a security, but in a spiritual security having an assurance of God's grace, and mercy to them. Their throat shall not be cutted. But when is it, that the body sleeping in a deadly security shall be destroyed? Even when they are in the highest degree of security. Degrees of security Of this sleeping and security there are degrees. The best that lives is not altogether fred from this sin, but there is some that glories in their sin. The murderer glories in his murder, and he will say, He hes slain one to me, but I have slain three to him for it. The whore glories in whoredom. Then in the meane-tyme when he is on the height of his sleep, eating and drinking, than he is in the entresse to hell; and when he is tumbling in sin, the shall the Lord come and strike him with a sudden stroke and light on his head with an heavy, bloody & iron rod, when thou art in the midst of thy sin, in drinking, in murder, then shall this ●odde light on thy head to destroy thee. Now this word 〈◊〉 or speaking, which the Apostle uses ●●ere, would be marked, there are sundry kinds of speakings. There is a speaking in the mouth, there is a speaking in the heart, there is a speaking also in deeds and actions. The Psalmist says Psal. 14. 1. The foolish man hes said in his heart, there is not a God. They confess him in mouth, but, in heart they deny him. Paul speaks of some wicked men who professes, they know God, but in words they deny hi●. 〈…〉 Tit. 1. 16. Now, the words of the Apostle are not to be taken so straight, of them, that spoke with the mouth only, but of those also, that speaks the fairest with their mouth, but with a false heart and a wicked deed in the hand. If thou be found speaking peace, and all sure, whether it be in mouth, heart, or hand, this sodaintie in vengeance shall overtak thee. Among all the tokens of a judgement coming, security is one of the chief. Would ye know, if a judgement be coming on a creature, I will tell you: If I find the 〈◊〉 sleeping and s●o●ting in murder, 〈◊〉 and wickedness. I will say. Thou art able to get a black wakning. And therefore, among other 〈◊〉 that shall go before the latter day, a dead 〈◊〉 shall be one: For, when they are sleeping in their high sleep, the● 〈◊〉 the judge come 〈…〉. When was it, that the destruction lighted on the first world? when they were sleeping, eating and drinking, without thought of Heaven, or, Hell. When was Sodom destroyed? when all the inhabitants thereof were eating and drinking, then, fire and brimstone came down from Heaven and destroyed them. Again, in your own memories what ever judgement lighted on any City, or, person in Scotland, but ye might see a sensible and dead security on them? It is most sure. Ye shall see the experience of it in a child brought to the scaffold, among other lamentations of his misery, he will say, alas, I was sleeping in sin, until now: I was sleeping in security, I was playing the harlot, I was murdering &c. the very month of him will tell his security. These plagues of Pest and 〈◊〉 began among these borderers: what was their exercise sleeping in sin, reaving from others. So, most justly the plague hes seized on them. Trow ye to be free of it? No truly, the Pest had never so soon come on Edinburgh, except ye had been sleeping. And I pronunce, in God's name, if there be not a wakning in time, and arising up out of this senseless security, there shall be another kind of death. Now brethren. Then comparison would be marked, whereby he sets out the sudden judgement Even as a dolour takes a woman with child, So shall that pain overtake them. The dolour of a woman traveling, and the dolour in Hell is like other, in sundry points. And therefore the Scripture takes oft the example of it, to describe the pain of Hell, as in this part. Ye see, the woman bears the matter of her pain in her own bosom, the child: and where shall be the matter of pains of Hell, which is sin, but in the caitiffs own bosom? likewise as a woman with child will be full of child: So, the heart of a knave will be filled with wickedness and be heavy, albeit he leap and skip on the earth. They are like in sodaintie. For, as the sickness comes on the woman suddenly: So, the stroke of hell shall be sudden, and stricken suddenly. Compair these two pains in sharpness. As the woman hes a sharp dolour, which if it lasted, were untolerable: if the Lord gave not leisure to draw their breath, between shower and shower (as they call it) it were untolerable. So the pains of Hell are exceeding sharp and untolerable. (But, here, they differ. The woman's pain is but for a time, but, the pain of Hell endures for ever.) Again, when the pain will come on a woman, she may be at the table eating or drinking, or she may be sleeping, and it will suddenly take her. So the pain of Hell will come suddenly, when the wicked are eating and drinking and making merry. But, alas, when the Apostle hes compared it to the pain of a woman travailing with child, he hes not ●aulde all, no not the thousand part of that pain. The pain of Hell passes all measure. The Scripture for our capacity sets down a comprehensible pain to signify an incomprehensible pain. O, the incomprehensible pain of Hell! Always when thou seest a pain intolerable, think on Hell. And say, O Lord, this pain on me albeit it be in the flesh, it is exceeding sore: therefore, Lord save me from that exceeding pain in Hell. Now when he hes spoken of the time and pain of it. He says, they shall not escape. Some will say, May not men and women flee? He therefore seals and stamps the word which none can open. Thou shalt not escape. Art thou one who hes been playing and living in dead security? thou shalt not escape. The bullet came never so suddenly out of the gun, as the judgement shall come on the knave and murderer. Men will flee these earthly judgements, when the sword comes, a knave will flee from it. When the Pest comes, it may be, that, a knave will escape, better, nor one, that is worthy twenty of him. O, the patience of God Know ye what God will be doing in the mean-tyme? It may be, he is reserving the knave and oppressor to a sorer judgement nor the Pest: he may be keeping him to the day of Judgement, when he shall be stricken with the sudden pain of Hell. And this is true. The longer he is reserved and repentes not, the heavier shall the judgement be when it lights. For, the keeping of him is an occasion to heap sin on him. Keep a murderer who hes slain one to day, if he repent not, he shall slay another to morrow, and ay increase in sin. One sin is the punishment of another; and a wicked man will run from one sin to another, until he come to the head of the ladder, and have filled the cup full, and hold it up in his hand, saying, It is full. What is the Lord doing? Hes he done one sin? The Lord heaps up an heap of wraith for him: Hes he committed another sin? He adds to another heap of wraith, and so, until the cup be full, the wraith of God is daily augmented, until it be powered out on his head. Alas, will not the visible experience of God's judgementes move us? But how ever it be that men escape now, until Christ shall come to the judgement, yet there shall be no escaping at that later day. O, the hand of the Lord will over-spanne all, the Lords hand will draw thee out, be where thou wilt be. It is true, at that latter day before Christ's coming some will run to one hole, some to another hole, some will cry, Hills, cover us from the wraith of the Lamb. Shall the hills cover them? No, no: the Hills shall present them to the judge, all the creatures shall serve that God and search them out. The water shall spew them out, the very fire shall present them to that judge: No escaping from the sight of that judge. Then, ye have the suddentie of this judgement, the eternity of it, and pain of it. Let all these hold us in awe. Paul says, Knowing the terror of the Lord, I travel to be faithful in my calling, I exhort men. 1. Corint. chap. 5. verse 11. So, let us think on all these things, and set ourselves to serve God in this life, that we may be fred of pain for ever. The Lord grant us grace to do so, for Christ's sake. To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all honour and praise, for ever. Amen. THE XX. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 5. vers. 4. 5. 6. 7. 4 But, ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should come on you, as it were a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, neither of darkness. 9 Therefore, let us not sleep as do other, but, let us watch & be sober. 7 For, they, that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken, are drunken in the night. BRETHREN, ye heard, that it was a thing most sure and certain, that the Lord jesus will come again to judge the quick and the dead; ye heard again in the beginning of this chapter the uncertainty of the day and hour of his coming, what age he shall come in, what year he shall come, what month, what day, what hour, whether in the morning, noontide, midnight, cockcrow, etc. No man knows, neither is it revealed neither is it a thing to be known, it is not for our well to know it, but for our well to be ignorant of it; for, if we knew it, it would engender a security in us; the ignorance of it is, or, at the least, should be, an occasion to us of waking and preparation of us, for it makes us ready at what time soever he shall come to meet him. Always when he shall come to the ungodly there shall be a destruction. judgement shall suddenly overtake a great number of men and women that shall be found alive at his coming, especially these who shall be glorying in the face of the world, saying, all is well, shall be suddenly stricken, as the dolour comes on a woman with child, and they shall not escape, Now to leave all things taught before and to come to this present matter I have read. The Thessalonians to whom the Apostle writes, hearing, that, at Christ's coming there shall be a sudden destruction, might have consaved a fear, (as no doubt some of them did) they might have thought, that, that sudden destruction should have overtaken them at the coming of Christ. The Apostle meets this fear, with a comfort, and he says, to them who were turned, who were translated from darkness to light. Brethren (using an homely style) Ye are not in darkness, the sudden destruction shall overtake them only, who at the coming of Christ shall be found in darkness, lying in blindness, not knowing Christ: but, as for you, brethren, that day shall not come on you as a thief, that sudden destruction shall not light on you. Indeed, it is true, it shall come on you at unawares, but it is as true, albeit it be unawares, yet, it shall not destroy you: The reason is, because ye are not in darkness, ye are translated out of that darkness ye were before into, to light, to the light of Heaven, and so ye shall be found waking when the Lord shall come, and so ye ye shall escape that destruction that shall overtake them who shall be found sleeping in gross ignorance at that day. This is the meaning shortly of the Apostle in this place. Now to mark something. Learn here, first, when the judgementes of God are threatened, when mention is made of that latter judgement, and of that sudden destruction that shall be at Christ's coming. Who are they that fears and trimbles? who are they that are stricken with fear and terror? It is not the wicked of the world that is lying in darkness, in the ignorance of God and of Christ, that is feared for any threatening of a judgement. Threaten on a year, the wicked who is endured in heart will never be stricken with fear▪ The wicked mocks the judgement of God. tell him of judgement, the judgement shall never move him a whit● albeit it pertain to him. Speak to him of the sudden destruction that shall be at Christ's coming in the world, tell him, there shall be a day of count, and albeit he seem in the mouth to acknowledge it; yet, he shall scorn it in his heart. Read the second Epistle of Peter chap. 3. verse 4. There the mocker is brought in, saying, Where is the promise of his coming, for since the Fathers died, all things continue alike from the beginning of of the creation. Christ indeed shall come to judge the quick and the dead, there shall be a general judgement, and a count and reckoning for all our actiones and works done in this world, good and evil, and a sudden destruction of the world: yet, tell the mocker of these things, he shall scorn them all, and he will think, all are but vain fectlesse threatenings. Yea, not only will the wicked contenine all the threatening of judgement, but also the very judgement itself that is lighted on him, except it be all the heavier, he will contemn it. Read Fsay 9 10. They say (says he) in the pride of their heart, it is but brick and clay houses that are casten down to us: (when the judgement comes on them) but we shall build up again houses of stone. See the contempt of the judgement of God. So except the judgement be the heavier, they shall contemn it, and scorn God in his face. Experience tells this. The Earl, the Lord, etc. will say when his house is casten down in the just judgement of God, What matter that this house be casten down, I shall build up one far better, but the Lord may make that new house fall about thy ears. So, the world will never know the judgements of God, until the judgement light on them to their destruction. Well then if the wicked fear not the judgements of God, then, who fears? the godly, they whom to the judgement of God pertains not: The godly fear gods judgements. And I dare say, in Edinburgh the godliest is ever most feared for God's judgements. The Lord is terrible when he comes in judgement. Paul speaking of that day of judgement. 2. Cor. 5. 11. he utters the fear he had of it himself, Knowing, says he, the terrors of the Lord, we bring men to the Lord, that when he shall come in that terrible judgement we may find mercy: Be not senseless at the threatening of God. If men had not been seusles at the judgements of God, by famine these years by-gone, this Pest had not comde: & if theribe not yet a greater fear of God, he shall strike on with his judgements. Next I mark of this place. Who is it that is comforted against God's judgementes? Consolations belong only to the godly. To whom belongs consolations, promises, and speeches of comfort in the Scriptures? Speaks the Apostle to the Heathen that lie in ignorance and not converted to the faith of Christ? They feared not, where there is no fear nor down casting, it is foolishness to comfort. Whereto should I comfort them who are lifted up in pride? whereto should I press to lift up him who is over high and conceatie already. So, consolation, raising up of the heart, promises of God, that serves to consolation pertains nothing to the wicked, that hes no sense of misery, and lies in ignorance of God: nothing pertains to them but threatening upon threatening, judgement upon judgement. And when they say, Peace, and all things sure; I may say, a sudden destruction shall overtake them. And to the men in this land lying in a dead sleep of this fleshly security, and crying Peace, when they are in the midst of harlotry of murder, etc. I say a sudden destruction and vengeance shall fall on them. This shall ever be my cry, until they fear and trimble, and have a sense of their misery. never another word to them, but judgement out of my mouth. Should I say to a man lying in darkness, brother, ye are in the light, judgement shall not come on you? No, no: But I will say, the Lord shall come suddenly on thee with judgement to destroy thee. So, consolation pertains to the godly only: and who ever ye be that fears not Gods judgements, I bid you in God's name take no promise of comfort to you, no consolation, until ye be touched with a sense of misery and feel your sins. Then to whom pertains all the promises of consolation in the word of God? To the godly only who hes their eyes opened to see God in the face of Christ, hes their heart opened to feel the grace of God through Christ, to them they appertain: And therefore, ye shall find in all the Prophets when a judgement is threatened, immediately after the threatening, they subjoin a sweet consolation to the godly, lest they should think the judgement to pertain to them. The third thing I note. Mark the cause here, wherefore the Thessalonians shall escape that sudden destruction: Because ye are not in darkness, Knowledge of God in Christ the cause of escaping judgement says he, therefore, that sudden destruction shall not overtake you. Mark this cause. The ground of escaping this judgement, is, to be fred of darkness, to be fred of this gross ignorance, wherein we are involved by nature, and to be translated to the light of God, wherein we may see the face of Christ and Heaven, and the glory thereof. There is the ground. Whosoever shall be found lying in darkness at Christ's coming▪ albeit they be found lying waking and looking up with bodily eyes, 〈…〉 yet if they be in blindness in the soul, so that they can see nothing in Heaven, God nor Christ, judgement and destruction suddenly shall overtake them, and all their brains shall be beaten out ere they get leisure to cry God mercy. But again, who ever they be that at Christ's coming shall be found in the light, with the knowledge of God and jesus Christ with some sight of Heaven, they shall escape and shall live eternally. When the thief breaks in in an house, whom is it that he suddenly oppresses? Whom but these whom he finds sleeping with their eyes closed, he will cut their throats ere they be wakened. But when he breaks in on an house, and they who are in the house be waking on their guard, and ready for the danger, than the thief shall not prevail. They will eschew the danger: so shall it be at Christ's coming if he find thee sleeping sudden destruction shall overtake thee; if he find thee waking ready for the danger, thou shalt escape and live. So ye see how needful a thing it is to have knowledge and light, that every man may be saved. O what it is to know God, to know Christ to get a ●ight of Heaven and of the life to come! Thy safety consists in it. Then again see how dangerous a thing is ignorance, and specially the ignorance of God, to put off the day and the night in ignorance of God. Give thee good cheer, rest, play, honour in the world, thou wilt put off one day, two days, three days, thou wilt say, what care I more; but woe to thee when Christ comes. thou will be sleeping in ●inne. sudden destruction shall overtake thee: all this tends to this end, lie not in drunkenness, get knoweldge out of the word, know God in time, know him in mercy: If thou know him not in mercy in this life, thou shalt feel him in judgement at that great day of judgement. The Lord give every one of us grace to know him; that having the right knowledge of him which leads to salvation, we may at his coming be elected of him to reign in his everlasting glory in the Heavens. Now that which he had said before of darkness, in the next verse he makes it more plain, and says, for ye are the children of light, and of the day. That is to say, the fairest light that can be possible. For what in this world is fairer nor the light of the Sun and day light. As he would say, ye are not in the common light, but in the light of the Sun that shines most clear; ye are not children of the night, but of the day. These two will never stand together, to be the child of the night and of darkness; and to be the child of the light and of the day. If thou be the child of light and day, it is impossible to thee for to be the child of the night and darkness. And if thou be the child of the night and darkness, it is impossible thou can be the child of the day and light. These two can never agree both together. Two Kingdoms cannot stand in thee. If God reign not in thee, the Devil must reign in thee: and if God reign in thee, the Devil cannot reign in thee. Indeed so long as we are here, light and darkness may be both in us, for we are never free of this darkness, neither is this light of God persite in us, but both cannot reign together in us: but howbeit darkness be in thee, yet it hes no dominion over thee. For where any spark of the light of God is▪ the light reigns, and God reigns in thee, albeit thou have great darkness in thee: For wherever God is in any measure, he ever reigns. He says, Ye are all the children of the light, and the children of the day. Mark the words. For they import a pithy meaning. They mean, that not only they are in a light, but that in substance in a manner they are light. As I am light, and thou art light; if thou be the child of light, in substance thou art light, even so as in substance thou art a body, in substance likewise a soul; So in a manner in substance thou art light. For ye must understand this, the child is ever by nature of the substance of the Father and Mother. Then if ye be the children of light, of necessity ye must be in some manner of the substance of light. Paul Ephes. chap. 5. verse 8. says to the Ephesians, that some tymeye were Gentiles, sometime ye were darkness, but now ye are light in the Lord, walk as children of light. He says not ye were in darkness, but he says in very deed ye were in a manner a very lump of darkness. Then again he says not ye are in the light, but ye are light, your substance and nature is changed in the contrary, where ye were in substance darkness, now ye are in substance light, turned from the substance of daknesse, to the substance of light. Now the words this way exponed, take up an higher ground and of the escaping of judgement at the coming of Christ; It is not enough to be found in the light only, but thou must be found to be light itself, and the child of light. I shall make this plain. There are two sorts of things and bodies in this world that hes light. There are some bodies that in themselves hes no light in the world, they are dark in themselves▪ yet they will be in the light: As for example, Ye see the black floor ye sit on, it hes no light, of itself it is black; but when the Sun shines on it, it hes light and shines. There are other bodies that are not only in the light, but in the own nature are light, as the Sun, it is not only in the light, but it is light the self, and there is no other light to give it light except the self. Now to apply this. There are two sorts of men and women in the Church of God. I leave Pagans, Turks and jews, and I speak of these who are in the Church, and professes themselves to be Christians: There are some of them in the light, in the midst of the Saints of God, and professing the word as the Saints does, that hes no light of themselves, the light they have is the light of others; as for themselves they are but black bodies and black souls; Hypocrites that hes nothing in themselves but blackness (an hypocrite hes nothing but blackness, and yet he will be in the Church, and as far in as any man,) but shines in the light of the word, and of the Saints of God. Again there are some who are not only in the light, shines not only in the light of others, but in themselves are light, and shines in their own light, and there are beams that comes from them, and lightens both themselves and others that sits with them; as the Sun both shines the self, and makes other inferior creatures to shine. Of the which sort were the Philippians, Paul writes to them, Philip 2. 15. and says, Ye are compassed with Pagans and Heathen, and ye shine in the midst of them. So who ever gets this grace to have this light and to carry it out to the world, they are the children of light. Now in the day of judgement, it will not be enough to be in the Church, to be among the faithful and renewed creatures, and among them who are light, to be at preaching of the word, except thou be light of thyself: what care I, if the light wherein I shine be not my own, but the light that shines from another. If thou have no more, thou shalt be suddenly destroyed. Therefore if thou wouldst be fred from this sudden destruction, seek light, regeneration, illumination, and never rest nor be glad until thou find in some measure, the regeneration of thy nature, and thyself to be light in Christ. Again mark here the universal partickle (ye all) He says not some, but he calls all the Thessalonians the children of light, and of the day he makes no exception, he is not so precise as men are now. This learns us both Pastor and people, a good lesson to be observed, to think and to judge the best of every man and woman, that hes once received the seal of Baptism, and hes given their names in baptism to Christ, and professes christ outwardly For, albeit many of them will be hypocrites yet it is our part after the example of Paul to call them the children of light. Thou art over severe a censurer to call them who hes ta'en the name of Christ upon them, the children of darkness. Severe not thou the popple from the wheet, the caffe from the corn, the goats from the sheep, until the Lord come and he shall severe them. Put not men in Heaven when thou wilt, and men in Hell when thou wilt, but be ware with this rash judgement. Now to come to the next verse. Upon the grounds he hes laid, that all are in light and not in darkness, and that which is more, that they are the children of light and not of darkness, he gathers his exhortation. Then, says he, if it be so that we are the children of light, let us not sleep, but let us watch and be sober. This is the effect of the words. There are two things that here are forbidden, and two things that are commanded. The two things that are forbidden, are sleeping and drunkenness: for under sleeping, as the text that follows makes plain, is comprehended drunkenness. These two things go commonly together; a drunken body is ay doting and sleeping, for the senses of him are so burdened with surfeit he can do nothing but lie down and sleep. Now there are two things recommended, watching and soberness, these two agree also together; for a temperate man who hes moderation in drinking, that man is able to watch when others sleep, and to do a good turn in the night▪ But to go through every one of them, and to begin at sleeping, for he begins at it here. There are two sorts thereof. First, a bodily sleeping, when the senses of this body are choosed, Sleeping. the eyes closed, the ear closed, and all the senses closed, so that they leave their function, that is called a bodily sleep. There is another called a spiritual sleep, and it is the sleeping of the soul and spirit, when the eye of the soul is bound up, so, that, it hes no sight of God, the ear of the soul bound up, so, that, it cannot hear the word of God. In one word. When all the senses that should grippe God are bound up, and the soul is lying in a deadly security; That is shortly the second sort of sleeping. Now in this place I understand not chiefly this bodily sleep, but the spiritual sleep also. For this bodily sleep is natural, and is lawful: the Lord hes ordained that these bodies of ours should be refreshed with sleep; and if thou be sanctified thyself, thy sleep is sanctified also, and all thy actiones, eating, drinking, sleeping, and the rest are sanctified (if thou be not sanctified, all thy actiones, eating, drinking, sleeping, are unhappy to thee.) Next I doubt not but at the coming of our Lord jesus Christ, there shall be found some sleeping in the bodies, who shall be waking in their souls. Christ says in the 17. of Luke. 34. verse Two shall be in a bad sleeping, one chosen, and another forsaken. And last, albeit the body be a sleep, and all the outward senses closed, yet the spirit of man will be waking, the eye of the soul will be opened, the ear opened; and in the bodily sleep, if it were at midnight, a man will be waking in Christ, and apprehending him. So I understand that spiritual sleeping, for he forbids not this bodily sleeping only, but this spiritual sleeping, when the soul is sleeping without sense either of Heaven or Hell, and whosoever shall be found so sleeping with his a soul altogether senseless of Heaven and of the life to come, that soul shall perish without exception. Sleep on▪ if the Lord come when thou art sleeping, die shalt thou, thou shalt not escape. There is no escaping for thee. But to speak of the bodily sleeping something. Men should be ware to yield over much sleep to the body: for certainly where the body is over much given to sleeping, it is a token of a sleeping soul, and who delights in sleeping in the body, the soul apparently is sleeping, and all moderation should be used. The sluggisher the body be, the sluggisher the soul is. The walkrifer the body be, thee walkrifer the soul is. Now the next thing that is forbidden here is drunkenness. Drunkenness. There are two sorts of drunkenness, the one bodily when a man takes on over much drink oppressing the senses. This is over well known in Scotland, and we find over great experience hereof. Then there is secondly a spiritual drunkenness, when the soul is oppressed with surfeiting and immoderate care of the world, when it drinks in out of measure the pleasures of this world, through desire, all the riches of this world, through ambition, all the honour, through a foul appetite, all the lusts, So the soul becomes drunken and stopped, an avaricious body a dotting body, a man set on pleasures a dotting body. Trow ye when the soul is so oppressed with this world that it will get the eye opened up to see Christ? No, it is impossible. Christ speaks of both these sorts of drunkenness Luke chap. 21. verse 34. Now brethren, in this place, ye shall understand not so much the outward bodily drunkenness, as the inward spiritual drunkenness of the soul. Woe to that soul that shall be found drunken with the pleasures and lusts of this world, and so consequently sleeping when Christ comes. Yea farther, brethren, the very outward bodily drunkenness is much to be eschewed. For it is not only with drunkenness as it is with sleeping; for we get licence to sleep, if we use it moderately. But God gave thee never leave to use drunkenness. So it is a dangerous matter to be found drunken. It is a thing unlawful and forbidden, ye shall find that a drunken body commonly shall have a drunken soul, and woe to that soul, woe to that body, where both are given to drunkenness. The Lord save us from this sort drunkenness. Now before I come to the other two things that are recommended unto us in this place, the argument whereby he dissuades them it would be marked, Let us not, says he, sleep as others do. As if he would say, Fie on you that ye should be have yourselves as infidels. It is the Gentiles that are sleeping. Let them sleep on, but sleep not thou. The example of their sleeping should be an argument to you to watch. The example of their drunkenness should he an argument to you to be sober. Now, how reasons the world? Is not this the fashion of all men, therefore why should not I do so? all men sleeps, why should not I sleep? He drinks until he be drunken, why should not I drink until I be drunken. Companionry is wondrous good, I should do as others do. But Paul reasons otherways. It is the infidels that are sleeping and drunken, therefore watch thou o Christian and be sober: Paul to the Romans chap. 12. verse 2 says, Fashion not yourselves after the manner of the world, but be ye changed through the renewing of the spirit. Fellow not this old sleeping drunken world, but be changed by the renewing Spirit, and be waking & sober. And indeed let every one look to their own experience, they who are once translated and translated out of this world (for transplanted must thou be in some measure if ever thou see Heaven) the more they see men running on the course of the world, the more they detest the world; the more sin they see, the more they detest sin; the more drunkenness and sleeping they see in men, the more they abhor it. So the following of the multitude and the course of the world testifies that men were never transplanted out of this world, out of darkness unto the kingdom of light, nor renewed in spirit, and if they continue on, they shall perish, for this world will perish, and they who follows the world will perish. Now to come to the two things commanded. The first is waking, Waking. the other is sobriety. There are two sorts of watching, the bodily watching, when all the senses are waking and opened to do their own functions natural. The second, when the soul of man is opened, the eye of the soul opened to see Christ and the life to come▪ and to see these things that the eye of the body cannot see. It is a wonderful light the soul hes, for it sees things invisible, and sees in as it were to the very heart of God to a bottomless deep▪ for God is infinite. Yet for all this, the heart that is once illuminate by the Spirit, will see him. So the spiritual watching is, when all the senses of the soul are opened and hes the fruition of God in jesus, and all exercised about the graces of God through Christ, that is the spiritual waking, which is here specially meant of, not the watching of the body, but of the Spirit. For the body may be watching, the eye looking up, and all the senses exercised in their functiones. And yet the soul of the body may be sound sleeping: When the murderer is busiest at his murder, albeit he be riding and running, the quickell man in body that ever was, the soul in the meane-tyme is lying in a deadly sleep. So I doubt not but if the Lord jesus would come in this hour, alas the vengeance that would overtake many of them. So they who are in harlotry, and their senses exercised most in harlotry, than they are most sleeping in soul. Trow ye if the eye of the soul saw God, that for all the world they would be exercised in such a filthy exercise. So he means chiefly of the watching of the soul. Indeed it is true (as I have said before) it is good to be walkrife in body, for if thou be sanctified, thy body waking shall be exercised in some good exercise. And therefore Christ in the garden immediately before his passion, Matthew chap. 26. verse 4. would have his Apostles waking in body, aswell as in soul, lest they should enter into tentation; for they sleeped until his enemies came, Sobriety. and so for fear they left him. Then the second thing commanded is soberness. There are two sorts of it: The one of the body, the other of the soul. The body when it is not surfeited with any excess: The soul when it is not drunken with the world and pleasures thereof, is sober: for, as the body hes her sobriety, so the soul hes the own sobriety, and here, I specially understand the sobriety of the soul, but indeed the sobriety of the body is to be joined to it. For the sobriety of the body helps much to the sobriety of the soul. As I said before, when the body passes measure in drunkenness, the soul is commonly drunken to: so when the body is in sobriety, the soul is in sobriety and applied to godliness. So both the drunkenness of soul and body is forbidden. In the 21. of Luke 34. He says, Be ware lest your hearts be priest down with surfeiting and drunkenness, that is of the body, and with the carefulness of the world, that is of the soul. Therefore keep sobriety in body and soul. Then, brethren, there are two things forbidden and two things commanded viz. sleeping excessive, and drunkenness in soul and body forbidden: watching and sobriety in soul and body commanded. Now in the next words, he gives the reason wherefore they should not sleep and be drunken, but watch and be sober. They that sleep, sleep in the night, and they who are drunken are drunken in the night. Now he would subsume, ye are not of the night, therefore be ye not drunken, but be sober. So this argument is ta'en from the inconnenientnesse of the time, it is no time to you to be drunken now, ye are not in the night. Men uses to sleep and be drunken in the night, men who does evil seeks darkness. Ye are not in the night, but ye are the children of the day. Therefore it sets not you to be sleeping or drunken, but ye should watch and be sober. I take up the lesson shortly. In all our actions and doings we should have a special respect to the time: for there is great moment and weight in the time, when we should do this thing, or that thing, and specially in the two times, the day and the night. All actions must be done in these two times. The day hes the actions of the day. The night hes the actions of the night. The actions of the day should not be done in the night: The actions of the night should not be done in the day. This should be commonly keeped, albeit necessity sometime compels otherways. There are some actions that are seemly to be done in the day that is not seemly to be done in the night. As for example: It sets a man to be wakng in the day, it is not seemly to wake in the night, except necessity compel. Again there are some actions that are setting to be done in the night and not in the day, as to sleep in the night, and it sets a man better to drunken in the night, (if he would be drunken) nor in the day. It is a shame to be drunken before the Sun and day light. Paul in the Rom. chap. 12. verse 11. 12. 13. says, Men and women should walk in comeliness all manner of way. So soon as thou goest out to the sight of the Sun; albeit none saw thee but the Sun. it becomes thee to be comely. So thou who would be drunken, drink in the night. Fie o●●t, that a drunken body should come to the Sun, if there were no more but the light of the Sun, it cries to God for vengeance on drunkenness, albeit no man saw it. Now brethren, there are some unnatural men and women who will turn the action of the day to the night, and the night to the day. Fie on thee that prevents nature. When this fair Sun ryses in the morning to comfort them, to let them see the face of it, and to do their duty in that function the Lord hes called them to, What will they then do? off their clothes and go to their beds. Nothing the most part of the day time, but dead sleeping, except they be constraint otherways. Then when the Sun goes down, they are glad, and ryses to their villainy. And so they testify that they detest the glorious light of the Sun, which should rejoyse us. Always when others go to their beds, than they begin to rise, to eat and drink, etc. and to take their pleasure, this is not comely, and I tell thee, the vengeance of God will light on thee, if it were only for the preventing of the order of nature. Let the day be day, and the night be night. No question, this perverting of nature procures the heavy vengeance of God to fall on them and their houses. Trow ye that God of Heaven, who ordained nature, can suffer nature to be so abused without avengement? No, I dare say, thou that dost slay before the Sun, the Sun shall bear witness against thee, and say, Lord this villain so abominably committed murder in my eye, thou set me in the Heaven that none should work villainy in my eye, but he set me to little avail. The Sun no doubt is wearied and groans, to see the wickedness of men and women, and the creatures groans to see their vile sins and feign would be relieved thereof. This earth they go on, groans under the burden and would as feign be relieved of them as a woman with child would be relieved of her birth. Well then, if the Lord will revenge so a sin that is done before the light of this Sun that shines, and if the light of this same very Sun aggreadges their sin before the Lord and makes their judgement the greater. O what greatness must be in sin, and how fearful must the judgement be, when sin is committed with an uplifted hand in the face of Christ, that Sun of righteousness shining to us in his Gospel! The villain cares not to commit filthiness in God's presence, he looking to us vively in the Gospel. Well were it to thee, thou hadst never heard of Christ and the Gospel. Then more tolerable might thou have sinned. But when in the face of God and christ, and in the face of the Gospel thou commits such sin, how can it ●e, but thy sin is a thousand tymes● greater nor the sin of the Gentiles, and thy damnation ten thousand times heavier? And in Hell they that so sins shall curse the time that ever they heard the Gospel, saying. Woe to me, I have sinned in the face of Christ and the Gospel Be ware of this, the greater grace, the greater contempt thereof, the greater judgement and damnation for it. No not so much shalt thou be punished for being a thief, a murderer, etc. as for that (will the Lord say) thou spat in my face. And therefore we ought instantly to seek God to give us grace to reform us from this wilful contempt in the clear light of the Gospel. To this God be glory for ever. Amen. THE XXI. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 5. vers. 8. 9 10. 8 But let us which are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the hope of salvation for an helmet. 9 For God hath not appointed us unto wraith, but to obtain salvation by the means of our Lord jesus Christ. 10 Which died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. THE last exhortation of the Apostle (brethren) unto the Thessalonians, was that they should not sleep nor be drunken: but by the contrary, they should wake and be sober. Two things are forbidden, sleeping and drunkenness: Two things recommended, waking and sobriety; the sleeping which he means is properly a spiritual sleep, when the soul sleeps in a deadly security. Drunkenness is not so much this bodily drunkenness (which is also forbidden) as the drunkenness of the soul, when the soul takes a surfeit of these earthly things, so that it hes not the care not sense of that life, but is set altogether on vain pleasures. The waking he recommends is a spiritual waking, wakrifenesse in soul when the senses of the soul are opened, the eye of the soul to look to the face of Christ, to the glory and life to come, the care of the soul likewise opened to hear and receive inwardly the Gospel, which is the word of God uttered by the Minister. The sobriety that is recommended is properly that temperance of the soul when the soul is content with a moderation of the things of this world, and uses this world as though it used it not, not passing the bounds of rejoicing in this life, but setting the joy and pleasure on the life to come, that is the inward sobriety of the spiritual man. Now when he hes set down his exhortation he subjoines reasons thereto, and the first reason to move them not to sleep, not to be drunken, is in respect of the time wherein they are and for the inconvenience of the time: It is no time to be drunken, he that sleeps, sleeps in the night; they that are drunken are drunken in the night, No night now, since Christ is come in the world there is a continual daylight. And therefore since it is not night, it sets not you to sleep and to be drunken as if it were night. For in all the actiones in this life we ought to have a special regard of the time wherein we do any thing, and specially of these two times, the day and the night. The actiones that becomes the day, sets not the night; and by the contrary the actions of the night sets not to be done in the day. The Lord so distributes the doings of men that he hes given the night his actiones and the day his actiones, and in a manner it is a confusion of nature and of the ordinance of God, to do the actiones of the day in the night, and the actiones of the night in the day, and a kind of beastliness. But to come to this text. In the first verse we have read the Apostle gives the reason wherefore they should wake, as he gave the reason wherefore they should not be drunken. It is in respect of the estate wherein they stand presently. But ●e are the children of the day: Therefore ye should be vigilant and sober. Even as in all our doings, the time of doing is to be respected, if we should do every thing in the own time that God hes appointed thereto. So the condition of men and women who does any thing should be regarded in their doings, every one should do as becomes their estate, condition and calling; thou that art of a calling, should not do that which pertains to another of another calling, thy actions should be in that calling God hes placed thee in. Now there are two sorts of estates and conditions of men in this world especially to be considered. The first the estate of the children of light: The second, the estate of the children of darkness, there are none but of necessity they are of one of these conditions. Either they are the children of the night, or else, the children of the day. Choose thee, if thou be not the child of the night thou art the child of the day▪ if thou be not the child of the day, thou art the child of the night; if thou be not Gods, thou art the Devils. In all the doings and actions of this life, men does according to one of these two estates If thou be the child of darkness, be drunken on, for, in spite of thy teeth if thou be the child of darkness, thou shalt be drunken both in soul and body: if thou be the child of God do as besets thy estate, sleep not but wake; wake in the spirit and soul and have the inward senses of thy soul open. If thou be the child of the light and day, be not drunken either in soul or body, for none of them becomes the child of the day. If thou take upon thee to be the child of the day and light, and give thyself our to be a Christian, and yet will sleep and be drunken in thy soul, and have thy senses closed, and have no more of the child of light but the ba●e name it is better to be without it, for, the very name will aggreadge thy sin before the judge, and in the latter day, it will stand up and testify in thy face against thee, & as it will aggreadge thy sin, so it will make thy damnation the greater. Whereas the judgement of a Gentile who took on him the name of dark-and not of light, shall be tolerable in a manner, thy judgement shall be intolerable and double. A murderer who bears the name of a christian commits double murder, and therefore his judgement is double: an harlot who takes the name a christian his sin shall be double, and double shall be his damnation and he shall wish that he had never been called in the world a christian man. Let none therefore think they are well enough if they be called christians, ●and come and sit in the Congregation of the Lord, for if then they commit villainy and knavery, the greater shall be their damnation. If thou be the child of the day do the works of the day; if thou be the child of the night do the works of the night. Thou must do one. Now to go forward in this verse. As he recommends to them these two things, wakrifenesse and sobriety. So he recommends to them in the third place armour, wherewith he will have them inarmed. Putting on, says he, the breast plate of faith and love. There is the first piece of the armour, and the hope of salvation for an helmet. There the next piece of the armour. In all this place what is he doing? Instructing a warrior, a soldier what he should do, teaching him to wake and not to sleep, to be sober and not drunken, to be marmed and not to be naked. Ye know in the worldly warrior there are three things required: first wakrifenesse, a sleeping soldiers is nothing worth. Then with wakrifenesse sobriety, temperateness in his mouth and belly, otherways when he is lying drunken, the enemy will come on him in the night and cut his throat. Now the third thing that is required, is that he have his armour on him. It is not enough to be wakrife and sober, but he must have his armour on him. Armour of a spiritual warrior, faith, love and hope. For, if he want armour the armed enemies will come on him and slay him Even so it is in a Christian warrior. There is no Christian man nor woman but they are warriors, and they must make them to fight under the banner of the Lord jesus Christ their captain. And as it is required in the earthly soldiers that they be wakeryse. Even so it is required in the Christian soldiers. The next thing that is required in the Christian soldier is temperance, have not a drunken soul, thou who wilt be a soldier under Christ's banner, thou must not be drunken with the pleasures of this world. Now these two things are not enough, with wakrifenesse and sobriety therefore thou must have an armed soul: as the body of the worldly warrior must put on armour, so thy soul must put on armour. otherways, when the enemy makes the assault he will prevail against thee; if sin make an assault, if thou be without thy armour, sin will prevail. Brethren, (ye know and it is here meant by the Apostle) The worldly warrior when he arms himself, he hes respect in special to these two parts of his body, the first his breast where his heart lies, where the natural life hes her chief residence: therefore he puts on his breastplate. The next part of the which he hes a special regard is of the head, where all the senses lies. The head is the fountain of all the senses and moving of the body, and so he will put on an Helmet to save his head. If these two parts be well preserved from wounds he will regard the less of the rest of the body. If a wound be received in the heart, no life: A wound in the head and branes, no life, but a wound in the leg, etc. may be mended again. So the Christian hes a chief regard to two parts as it were, to the heart where his spiritual life lies, which is begun in this life, and to the head where all the spiritual senses hes their ground, and where his spiritual moving is, to defend by armour the life spiritual. What ever other part of him be wounded, he hes a special regard to these two. Now the Apostle brings in this by a comparison ta'en from the worldly armour used by earthly soldiers. The piece of armour that should be put on on the heart of the worldly warrior, is the breastplate. The piece that covers the head is called the helmet. The Christian warrior hes his own breastplate and helmet. Yet more ye see. There are two parts of the warriors breastplate, the brestparte and backparte, and piece before, another piece behind, that the heart receive not a wound, neither at back nor breast. So the breastplate of a Christian warrior is builded up of two parts, the fore part, Faith that embraces jesus, the other part which we may call the hinder and backparte, Love, and it flows from the other part, love to our neighbour it hangs on Faith to our God. As to the Helmet it is but a piece, and it covers the whole head and senses round about. So the Helmet of the Christian warrior is of one piece called the hope of salvation. Hope, that he shall be saved and live with jesus Christ. And this is his head piece. So long as he keeps this hope he shall save his head and all his spiritual senses, feeling and moving. etc. keep me hope, nothing shall destroy thy spiritual seeing, hearing and feeling, and all the rest of thy senses. And if thy head be bare of hope, thy spiritual senses shall soon be overthrown by the assaults of the enemy. So the sum shortly, the chief things whereby the spiritual life, the spiritual feeling and moving is kept within a man, are, these three things, which is chief told of in the Scripture, Faith, Love and Hope. Faith in God and Christ. Love to thy nighbor. Hope to be safe in the grace of Christ. Keep these three, thou shalt stand inarmed to resist the Devil and all his works, keep one of these, thou keepest all; lose one of these, thou losest all. Lose Faith, thou losest Love; lose Faith and Love, thou losest Hope. col. It is otherways with the Christian warrior, then with a worldly warrior, he may have his Helmet on and want his brestplait, but, I assure thee, if thou want a piece of this christian armour, thou hast no part of it; hast thou a piece of this armour thou hast all: hast thou Faith, thou hast Hope and Love: The spiritual graces that are wrought by the Spirit of God, wherein stands our regeneration, are so linked together, either must they be altogether in thee, in some measure, or, else, thou hast none of them. Either must all the powers of thy soul and all thy affections be renewed, or, else, none of them is renewed And therefore, if thou would try if thou hast these graces, look if thou hast any one of them, for, then, thou hast all. Look if thou hast Faith, look if thou hast a love to thy nighbor. For, I assure thee, if thou hast no love to thy neighbour, thou hast no Faith, speak as much thereof as thou wilt. Now to the next verse. When he hes spoken of the hope of salvation, he grounds this salvation upon the own foundation, that they might see the foundation of it whereupon it stands so fast and firmly, to the end they should have the certainty of the hope of salvation, and look certainly to be safe. The grounds are two. The first, God's eternal ordinance and his appointing of them to salvation The second, the death of jesus Christ. So we shall go through these two grounds. As to the first. For, says he, The first ground of the hope of our salvation, gods decree. God hes not appointed us to wraith: that is to punishment. But to obtain salvation through the me ●es of the Lord jesus Christ. Then I mark the first foundation of our life and salvation, is, in God's eternal election, and it is decreed from all eternity Our salvation stands upon the ordinance and appointment, decree●, and purpose of God before the foundation of the world: the foundation of thy salvation was laid ere ever the foundation of the world was laid. Upon this ground of God's ordinance ryses up the building of thy salvation. So as salvation itself is grounded on this eternal decree, so hope of salvation is grounded upon the sight of this eternal decree. So that if thou get not a fight in some measure of the eternal ordinance and decreet of God appointing thee to salvation, thou cannot have a sure hope of salvation: For what certainty canst thou have without a ground. So of necessity thou must have some knowledge of God's decree to ground hope on. I speak this for them who says it is a thing over curious to search in in predestination. No, no: For if thou get not some sight that thou art in the decree of salvation before the world was made, and say in thyself (Good hes decreed that I should be saved, therefore I will hope for it) thou shalt never have a sure hope. Now the decree of God is far of, it hes no beginning, and therefore it hes a far sight: for the sight of it is not gotten immediately. Neither I nor any man will be able to look in to God's ordinance concerning salvation immediately, God will not take thee by the hand and lead thee in to his secret counsel and let thee see it: How then is it gotten? Mediately I know it by the effects, and by them one by one I climb and ascend up until I come to that decree of God. Paul Rom. chap. 18. verse 30. These whom God hes predestinate, he hes called them effectually, and hes given them faith. For in faith stands our effectual calling, and them whom he hes called, he justifies, and whom he justifies, at last he glorifies. Then would thou know that thou art appointed to life before all eternity, look if thou hast a beginning of sanctification, look if thou be sanctified by the death of Christ, and then go to thy calling. And find thou these in thee, assure thee God hes appointed thee to salvation before the world was made. If I feel within myself my effectual calling by God out of this world to God, I assure myself God hes decreed from all eternity, I shall live with him in glory. So to touch this again, It is foolishness to say that it is curiosity for men to seek a warrant of their salvation. And never shalt thou have an assurance of thy salvation, if thou get not this hope grounded on this decree. The error of the Papists is here rebooked, that says, there should not be a certainty of hope of salvation. Folly, folly, For if I know the ground of my salvation, that it is grounded upon the ordinance of my God, I assure me of that life everlasting, because I know the certainty of God's ordinance, therefore I may justly assure myself, that I shall live with Christ here, and in the end I shall be glorified with him for ever Yet to stick on the words. He says God hes not appointed you to wraith. Learn by the way. From all eternity there hes been two ordinances of God concerning men and women. 2. decrees of God, one to salvation, another to damnation. There hes been from all eternity, and before the creation of the world and of men and women an ordinance to life. Again there hes been another ordinance, that some should go to Hell: as there past an ordinance of life in the counsel of God, so there past an ordinance of death. And these two decrees must stand. The decree of life cannot be rescinded. The decree of damnation cannot be rescinded. And in this place the Apostle speaks of them both. Now, brethren, to enter deeply in this matter it is not meet. But this understand. It is not a naked permission of God that men should go to Hell. No, the Lord hes decreed it to be done by himself, and not to suffer it be done by another. As for example, As ye see a potter makes a vessel to honour, so of purpose he makes another to dishonour and for vile purposes. Rom. chap. 9 verse 20. So the Lord hes appointed one sort to salvation, and another sort to damnation. Take head. This appointing of God of the creatures to destruction, as destruction is a just penalty coming from the judgement of God for sin, so it comes of God, and he is the executer thereof. But if ye will take the destruction not as a punishment but as an utter wreak of the creatures, I will not say it comes of God. As it is a penalty of sin I think it comes of God, and he is the doer thereof himself, otherways not. Always all these grounds stands sure, there is a solid foundation of life, and a solid foundation of damnation. So this should teach every one of us to strive to get a sight of that solid foundation of life, and God's appointment of us to life. It is sure some are appointed to damnation, yea and not a few number. Some will say, God forbid any should go to Hell, hes not Christ died for all sinners? Alas, except thou see thy warrant of God's ordinance to thy salvation thou shalt go to Hell. God is just as he is merciful. And as he will be glorified in mercy toward the godly, so will he be glorified in justice toward the wicked. He says, He ●es appointed you to salvation by the means of jesus Christ. Then I see ere ever God's appointment to life and salvation take effect, there must of necessity interueene a purchasing of that life that God hes appointed to thee, that life he hes appointed to thee before all eternity it must be bought. But by whom must it be bought? by thee: by thy moyen: No, I give thee this doom. If thou think that any piece or least title of the deserving of life stands in thy hand, thou shalt never get it. Then who shall purchase it? He says, to be obtained by the means of our Lord jesus Christ. If the Apostle had said by thy merits, than I would have run on with the Papists, and have cried merits, merits as fast as they do. But the Apostle speaks plainly it is obtained by Christ. And therefore fie on him that thinks that he is safe by merit. It is a wonderful thing, God of free mercy appoints to salvation, and yet ere we come to it, be will have it bought. What free mercy is this? No, never thing was so dear boght as thy salvation. For it was not bought with gold nor silver, but with the blood of the immaculate Lamb jesus Christ: And therefore he says in the first Epistle to the corinth. chap. 6. verse 20. ye are bought with a price, he calls it a price, by reason of the high excellency thereof. As though there were no price but only the blood of jesus to be esteemed of, and yet it is a free grace of God. How can it be afree grace and boght to? If I buy it, and that with a dear price, how can it be free? Indeed it is true, if thou hadst paid the price thyself, it had not been a free gift; but seeing it is not bought with a price that comes out of thy hand, but with the precious blood of jesus, who is God's Son, it is a free gift to thee. For who gave the Son but the Father? Who gave the price but he that received it? God gave as it were out of his own purse the price for thee. The mercy and love of God to his servants is wonderful. Wilt thou look to thy salvation, nothing but mercy in God: if thou hast nothing to glory in but free grace and mercy without any deserving; otherways if thou join any part of merit with mercy, and say, the mercy of God and my merit did it, shame shall come to thee. And therefore the Apostle says we are only saved by Christ, and speaks not of merit. Now to go forward to the next ground whereupon he builds the hope of salvation (As thou would have an assurance of life everlasting it is needful for thee to spy out the grounds) The next ground of thy salvation, is the thing that fell out in tyme. The sec. ground of the hope of salvation, Christ's death. He says, Christ died for us, that whether we walk or sleep, we should l●ue together with him. As our salvation is builded upon God ordinance, so it is builded upon the blood of jesus Christ, not living but crucified and slain: And as the blood of jesus is the ground of thy salvation, so the ground of the certainty of thy hope, is the sight of jesus crucified. Except I see Christ bleeding for my sin I can never assure me that I am safe, except I see that sacrifice offered up for my sin (as it is a sacrifice offered up for my sin, so it is a merit to obtain life to me) I will never think I am safe. How necessare therefore is it to me never to let the blood of jesus go out of my mind: Men will say, I wait well I am safe, and never will have an eye to Christ crucified and his blood. But I say to thee, except thy eye be fixed on the blood of jesus Christ, when thou fairest, thou art safe, thou liest falsely. Therefore look ever to Christ deying, and shedding his blood for thy sin. Another thing I see. There is no life but through death, he hes died for us that we should live through him, to learn men and women not to count so much of death and to scare at it, for I tell thee this general will stand, No life but through death, it springs out thereof, as thou seest the stalk of the corn rise out of the dead pickle. So except thy life spring through death, it is not possible to thee to live. For first death is the price of it, not thy death, but the death of Christ: for he hes gotten life by his death. Then after Christ hes purchased life to us, yet the way whereby we must enter to life, is by the way of death. Through many troubles behoves it us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: Act. 14. verse 20. for strait is the way to Heaven, thou must be drawn as it were through Hell ere thou come to Heaven, and yet thy suffering and death shall not merit. The only merit stands in jesus. Brethren, this lets us see how hard a thing it is to a sinner falling from life (as Adam fell and we all in him) to come to life again. Think it not an easy matter. There must be a death, yea, two deaths ere ever thou come there. O the great suffering Christ hes suffered for us land again thou must suffer and die thyself ere thou get life. Therefore learn how hard a matter it is to get life. Many difficulties interueenes, death must enter ere life come: which lets us see what it is to offend God; be loath therefore to offend God. The godly knows this how hard a thing it is when they have offended to get again the Spirit which they have extinguished, the Lord will not look on them for a time as it were. Look in David after his fall. But o the sweetness of mercy after the restorance! They who hes tasted in any measure of the sweetness of Christ, give them all the pleasures of the world, they will never get contentation, until they get a sight of God's ●●ce again lost by their sin. David would have given his kingdom for it again when he made the 51. Psalm. The Apostle here says, whether ye sleep or wake ye shall live with Christ. Then ye see if Christ hes once died for our life we shall live: That is the certainty and ground of our hope, that Christ hes died for us. Then when I feel this, nothing can stay life, nothing can hinder me to live with him. There is nothing in this world that will hinder thee to live with him, but live must thou. Sleepest thou in thy bed, thy sleep hinders nothing, thou livest in him: wakest thou? thou art living with him; livest thou this life? thou art living in him: art thou dying and drawing thy last breath? yet thou art living with him; what ever thou art doing in the world thou art ay living, eating, drinking, if thou be one of the godly for whom he hes died, thou art living with him. Yea, I dare say more if he have once died for thee, thy sin shall not hinder thee from that life to come. David's sin his murder and adultery hindered him not from that life, but the Lord turned it so about, that he made them work all to his well. All things turns to the best to them who loves the Lord. Albeit thou find thy sins many, yet stay not on them, nothing shall hinder thee from Christ. Yet this should not make thee to take pleasure in sin: For if thou love Christ well, thou wilt be loath to offend him. Then if we in so many troubles in this life live with Christ, shall we not much more live with him in that life to come, where there shall be no trouble, no impediments, and in the midst of all these troubles let us comfort ourselves with thinking on the joy that we shall have when we shall be in the Heavens with our Lord and Saviour. Now to mark the words. He says, that we should live with him. Look the nature of the life that we get in the death of jesus. It is a life that we live with Christ, not a life that we live from him, there cannot be a spiritual life from him. Death will not serve to life, if thou be from him, but thou must be with him. Thou must not only live with him as a man will live with an house and family, but thou must live in him. As by comparison, the arm lives with the head, so thou must live with Christ. Ye see the conjunction natural that is between the head and the members, that same conjunction must be between thee and the Lord jesus. If thou live with him, thou must live as a member, he must be thy head, and thou must be a leg, an arm, or some part of the body. Well is that soul that is any part of the body of Christ. Therefore draw ever nearer and nearer unto him, until thou be fully conjoined with him; we have no life except we be engrafted in him, as the imp is engrafted in the tree, and so press ever to grow in that conjunction. Look how thou was joined in him yesterday, say, Lord make a nearer conjunction this day: and to morrow say, work yet a nearer conjunction that I may draw nearer my head. But, brethren, this full conjunction cannot be until we see him face to face, we are far of now, but we shall be with him, we are from him now for a little space, but then we shall be with him for ever; and then in that great day thy blessedness both in body and soul shall be perfected, we shall be with him and stand for ever in that full conjunction with out head Christ in whom is all blessedness. To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all honour and praise for now and ever. AMEN. THE XXII. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 5. vers. 11. 12. 13. 11 Wherefore exhort one another, and edify one another, even as ye do. 12 Now we beseech you, brethren, that ye know them, which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, 13 That ye have them in singular love for their works sake. Be at peace among yourselves. IN the last exhortatation (brethren) the Apostle stirred up the Thessalonians to be good soldiers and warriors, under the banner of the Lord jesus Christ. In a warrior we show you there are three things specially required. First vigilance and wakrifnesse. secondly, sobriety and temperance. And last of all that he be in his armour with his Helmet on his head, and his breastplate on his breast, and all the rest of his armour on: For albeit he be waking and sober, yet if he be naked the enemy will overcome him. So it is in the Christian warrior, the same three things after a manner are requisite: First he must be wakrife in soul: Secondly, temperate in soul, having a soul not drunken with these earthly things which draws our whole heart and faculties away from God; So that they who are full thereof are laid up as it were in a dead sleep. And last it is requisite that he be clad with his armour, his own Helmet which is Hope, his own breastplate, which is faith and love, take away hope, faith and love, he is but a naked man in the world and shall soon be destroyed, if he be not clad with faith and love in his breast, and with hope in his head, he will not be able to gainstand. Follows now in the text ye have heard another exhortation▪ and it is to use these means, whereby we may continue in wakrifnesse, in continual sobriety and spiritual armour enarmed against the enemy. There are the words of the exhortation, Wherefore. As he would say, Seeing we must be wakrife, sober and enarmed in the Christian warfare, therefore I exhort you to get the means whereby these things are keeped. The means are Exhort one another, even as ye do already. So my exhortation is that ye continue to the end. It is not enough to begin, except ye continue to the end. Now there are the means. Then brethren, this lesson offers the self to us The means not to sleep in the soul, but to be wakrife, not to be drunken but to be temperate, not to be naked, but to be clad with spiritual armour is, instant exhortation. Stir up men and women by exhorting in edifying▪ in an instant building up and confirming them in the doctrine and knowledge that they have once received. This work of building will not be done in one day, or two days, or twenty days, but this building of the soul of men and women, building them up in that spiritual building must be raised up higher nor ever Babel was, yea it must rise to the Heaven of Heavens, and to the head jesus, who sits above all Heavens. This building must be instant. In one word. The means to hold men waking, and sober, and temperate in the spiritual warfare, and to hold this armour on them, is instant exhortation. Take me away the voice of exhortation, take away building in the doctrine ye have received and edifying therein in stead of wakrifenesse, there shall come on you a dead slumber, in stead of sobriety and spiritual temperance, thou shalt be drunken; in stead of armour, nothing but nakedness and ye shall be a pray to the Devil, this world and your own cankered nature, assay it when ye will. So then brethren, in one word. See the necessity men hes of instant exhorting and edifying, not for one day or two, yea if thou shouldst live Methusalems' days the voice of exhortation should never go out of thy ear: For there are a thousand things to draw us down to cause us sleep, until we die in sleeping, many things to make thee drunken, to lie down like a drunken body without sense of the life to come. Many things to denude thee of armour, to set thee up naked to the eneme, Would to God this world would consider the necessity of instant and continual exhortation to move them forward in the course of godliness. Mark next. Who is this that should exhort? Who is this that should edify? who should hold men waking in Spirit, hold them in sobriety, and hold on their armour by exhortation and edifying? who should do it? He says not the Pastor, ye have Ministers, let them do it, it is their office. It is true indeed, they have a special calling for that effect, and are placed in the Church to hold you wakrife, to cry in your ear until ye waken again, to exhort and edify continually to build up that spiritual building, and to build men and women up as lively stones in that spiritual building. Therefore in the first Epistle to the Cor. chap. 14 vers. 3. Paul says He that prophecies (that is the Preacher) he speaks to men, and whereto? to edify in building. There is the end of his speaking to exhortation, consolation. In the 4 chap. Ephes. verse 11. He says, When Christ passed up to Heaven, he left not his Church void or destitute of builders, but he says, he gave some to be Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, some Deacones and Pastors. And whereto? All to build up the body of Christ. If a Pastor be not a builder, he serves for no purpose. Yet not withstanding of this albeit it be the pastors special calling to exhort. The Apostle says, Every one of you exhort; ye men and women every one exhort and edify another. Thou should exhort thy neighbour, and let him exhort thee again. Hold thou him waking and let him hold thee waking hold thou him in sobriety, and let him hold thee in sobriety again; hold on that spiritual armour on him, on her let him and her hold on thy spiritual armour on thee again. So there are none of us in Christ's Church, but we have all this general calling in the Church to be bvilder's edifiers exhorters every one of others The simplest in the flock is bound to exhort and build up the best of them all that speaks with a tongue: For the Lord hes given to the least member some piece of grace to build up and instruct the body: For know ye what our calling is in Christ? As he is King, Priest and Prophet; a King to rule a Priest in offering up that only one propitiatory sacrifice for all; a Prophet to instruct and teach: So there is not a true Christian man nor woman but they have all these three offices, they are Kings. Priests and Prophets; Kings to rule in the Church of Christ. priests to offer up in a manner a sacrifice to God, Prophets to teach and help up the building, I mean the whole bedie, until it come to the head Christ, that once the man, whose head is Christ, and the body the Elect in the earth, may be perfit. So say not it is the Ministers duty to do this, what have I to do with this? Nor when one exhorteth thee, say not, art thou become a Minister? well it thou accept not such doctrine of them, thou shalt die for ever, for the Lord hes opened their mouth for thy edification. Now the third thing I mark in the last part of the verse, even as ye do. I will not bid you exhort one another, as though ye did it not already. No, I acknowledge the grace of, God in you in doing it already, take your own praise. Well then they are doing the thing he exhorteth them to, and yet he exhorteth them to do it. When I see a man do any thing what needs me to exhort him to it? When I see a man exhorting and building what needs me to exhort him to exhort and build. Learn then. There are none in this world but they have need continually and instantly to be stirred up in their doing, we are far from perfection, and albeit we be running on in the rink, yet we are far from the butt which is heaven, we are but running yet and so while we are running, let us go forward, if it be a minister that exhorts let him exhort on. Who ever they be that exhorts and edifies, let them go on in edifying and exhorting to the building up of the body. Now beside this, consider ye not the sluggishness of our nature? our nature is so dead and stupid that searslie will we have put our hand to the turn when we will fall from it. Ye will see a sleeping body put his hand to a turn, and in the meane-tyme he will fall down and sleep. Our nature is so slippery that when we are laying up one stone in the building, if one cry not in our ear, awake and be doing, we will let it fall. So when we are exhorting, and searslie will the word of exhortation be out of our mouth, when we will fall from that purpose. So considering our nature the best of us hes need to be stirred up and exhorted: when we are doing fastest, than we have need to be stirred up. Yet brethren, for all this exhorting he will not misknow the grace of God in them. Take head when thou seest men doing well that thou close not thy eyes thereat, and say not to them that they do nothing; some are over sore censorers that will say thou dost nothing, thy exhortation is nothing. No let every man have his own praise. If they be doing any good thing, be it never so little, commend them and stir them up to it, by giving them exhortations and praising them. This for this exhortation. All this part of this Epistle is full of exhortations concerning Christian behaviour. Follows now another exhortation which is more particular, and concerns the duty that the people ought unto the Pastors. I shall hold me by the words of the text. Then, to come to the words. Brethren: There the style, he calls them brethren, a loving style, to testify that love he bore towards them. Now we beseech you. There the next word, a word testifying the earnestness he had in exhorting them to do it, because it was a great matter, he bids them not simply do it, but, he says, I beseech you do it. When a great thing is to be done by any man, certainly it requires, we use an earnest and not a simple and slender speech. The first thing he desires of the people, is an acknowledging. Whom of? of them who labours in the work, that is first. Then, of them, who are over you and above you in the Lord. That is next. Then, of them that admonish you. That is last. The second thing he desires of the people, that they have them in a singular and most special love. col. Love them, not as ye do commonly any other man, or, woman, but, love them after a singular manner. Wherefore should this love be? Not so much for the persons sake, as for the works, love them for their works. There is the sum of the words shortly. The exhortation may be ta'en up in two words. Do your duty to your Pastor. Yet he is not content with the bare words, but, he lays out the minister before them in the whole substantial points of his calling, letting them see every piece of his calling after another. And more than this which he speaks of the people's duty, he lays not out their duty simply, but substantiouslie: know him, acknowledge him; there one part; then have him in a singular love, there is another part. And so, it is not enough, to have a simple knowledge of him, but they must know what a man a Pastor should be. Men will say, I know him, he is a man standing up in a Pulpit preaching with a gown. No, the Apostle shows us, to know him in every point of his dallying, in this point and that point of his calling, know him to be a Preacher set over you, by God, know him to be an admonisher and instructor, and again, when ye come to your own duty, know the points of your duty; I should do this, I should meet him with this duty, with that duty other ways thou knows nothing neither in the Pastor, nor in thyself. Therefore, the Apostle lays them out openly to thee to know them. But, to come to the words. Ye have first a short description of a true Pastor. Description of a true Pastor. The first point of the description of a true Pastor, is this, He is a labourer among the people, not an idle man; He says not, acknowledge them that sits idle, but acknowledge them that labours among you. He labours, and how? He labours in the work of God. As the Apostle speaks to Timothy in the first Epistle chap. 5. verse 17. Elders, says he, is worthy of double honour, especially those who labours in the word of God, he labours in opening up the scriptures of God: the preaching is thought by men to be no labour as though preaching were no more, but only to stand up and tell a tail: yet the Apostle calls that labour, yea, I say, they labour aswell as they who holds a pleugh labours. Wherein labour they? In word and Discipline: in taking order with your manners. Not only labour they in preaching, but also they take order with the manners of the people. Then to gather the lesson. This part of the description of a true Pastor excludes from the ministry and Pulpit; idle bellies, Ministers that bear the name of ministers, and in the meane-tyme are but idle bellies away with them: let them never face the Pulpit. Fie on them that takes the Ministry on them for an idle life and and to serve their affections; an idle Bishop that never opened his mouth to preach, an idle Pope that will sit up in a throne fie on him, why should he take the name of▪ Minister on him and do no good therein? The next part of the description of a true Pastor is, they are over you, not under you, but above you, set over you, as it were over your heads to look down to you, in a kind of superiority over you. Then a Pastor, a Minister sent of jesus Christ the Pastor of Pastors, the great Pastor. he hes a kind of superiority and pre-eminence above the flock. But brethren, he is not over them as a Lord (the only Lord that is over the people is jesus Christ) He is not over them then in things civil, in things bodily, concerning the body, concerning their temporal lives, concerning things politic, for entertaining of this temporal life, but he is over them in the Lord, not as a Lord, but in the Lord, the Lord jesus Christ. Not over them in things civil, but in matters of the Lord, in things spiritual, in things Ecclesiastic, in things concerning the consciences of men. Therefore Paul speaks to Philemon verse 8. I have great liberty to command thee as a superior; but how? Not of my own authority, but in the Lord, I am over thee as a superior, but not as a Lord. Take heed. There are sundry sorts of superiorities, A Steward in a family, in a manner, is over the family he hes a preferment by reason of the office: And yet for all this, if the steward would take upon him to be Lord of the family, he would be a knave, and would usurp the place of his master, So, a Minister in the family of the Lord, he is a superior, but not superior as a Lord, but as a steward, to dispense the mysteries of God to the soul, and no other superior: for none can sit over the conscience of any man, but only the Lord jesus. All the Kings of the earth cannot have a dominion over the consciences of men, the Lord is only Lord and supreme superior thereof; all the Ministers and office-bearers in the Church only stewards, with spiritual stewardrie, dispensing the spiritual food. I mean the word of God. Now brethren, this second part of this description of the Pastor condemns the Pope, who usurps a spiritual jurisdiction over the souls of men, who will strive also for a civil jurisdiction with the Emperor and Princes of the world. Now to come to the third part. He says, and admonishes you. There is the last part of the description of the true Minister of God. Admonishing stands in calling back again men in the way who hes made desection, either in doctrine or manners. In this point consists their labour. So, that, by this word, I understand the whole parts of the office of a Pastor, as exhorting, rebuking, comforting and teaching. It is not for nothing, that, he hes made a choose of this word admonishing, to teach us, if he could do all these things never so well, labour in teaching, comfort, exhort. If he cannot do this, admonish a sinner, tell him, sinner thou art in the wrong way; if he fail in doctrine, tell him, thou failest in doctrine; if he fail in manners, tell him, he fails in manners: if he cannot do this, he is not meet to be a Minister, if he cannot admonish them that are sinners, if he cannot admonish them that are in the wrong way, he is not meet to be a teacher. Now, see the perversity of our nature, for, many there are, who will hear comforting, exhorting, but not admonishing: but Paul teaches thee, the Pastor must be an admonisher: There is the Pastor set down in three parts of his calling. Now, to end this doctrine concerning them, I shall take up this one note. I gather of this, as it were, the nature of the ministry. What is this Ministry? It is first a labour, an exercise, not an idleness, but a labour, it is a burden, and he that takes it not on, as it were, a load on his back, he is not meet for it, he that enters to be a Minister, he must lay down his shoulders, and take on his load on his back, as you see an horse take on his load on his back. So, it is a burden and an heavy burden: a labour and an heavy labour. But, brethren, there are sundry sorts of burdenes and labours in this world; There are some that are vylder, some that are honourable. Now what a labour is this Ministry? Indeed, it is true, this ministry is thought a vile burden, and of all exercises, the labour of the ministry is thought most vile, in the sight of our profane, men in Scotland this day. The very name of a minister is thought vile in the earth, & so oft as they speak of him & names him, it is thought a vile name; the name of a cook is not so vile as the name of a Minister. But, in despite of thee and all the world, the Spirit of God will call him an honourable labourer, a person exercised in an high and honourable exercise. 1. Timoth. chap. 3. verse 1. The King is a labourer, but a honourable labourer. Even so, every one that labours and hes offices in the Church, are labourers, but yet they are honourable labourers. So the Ministers are labourers, but, honourable labourers, for he is over thee, and is thy superior. And he hes a burdeene, but a honourable burdeene, and at the appearance of jesus Christ in spite of thee that contemns him thou shalt see his honour and glory, and thou shalt wonder at that day, that ever he should be promoved to that honour, for he shall shine in the Heaven as a star: this shall stand in despite of the world. Well, come on now to the duty of the people to their Pastor (A King's Master-houshold will be accounted of, the Master-housholde of Christ's Church, what manner of honour should ye have him in? Duties of the people to the Pastor. ) The first words that expresses the duty of the flock are, know them, misknowe them not. The people would misknow them very feign; yet what knowing is this? It is the knowledge of the mind, when in mind we take up & know that calling of the Ministry to be the Pastor by jesus Christ the great Pastor to the Church, to be a dispenser of the mysteries of God, and the in searchable riches of Christ, such a dispenser as never was in the world, not of bread and drink as these world lie stewards; No, but of the insearchable riches of Christ, and that to salvation and feeding of the soul to that life everlasting wherein soul and body shall live for ever. This is the knowing be speaks of here. What more? It is not a simple knowledge, to know, that, he is a Minister, but with knowing, to join reverence, give him his own honour. Paul 1. Cor. 4. 1. says, Let a man count of him (not as thou cou●●s of Christ) but count of him as a Minister and dispenser of the mysteries of Christ. give him no more and cursed be that beast of Rome that would take the place and honour of Christ on him. Now this part of duty of the flock, in reverencing of the Pastor, is answerable to that part of the calling of the Pastor; he is a superior, a superiority craves reverence, who ever he be that is a superior, whether in families, cities, or common-wels, or, in Church, if he be set over you, honour him▪ this is the ordinance of the Lord, if the Lord have set him over you, honour him, look not to the man, but, to the Lords ordinance. And this, I continually persave, there is a natural hatred and contempt in the hearts of the people ever toward any superior, whether in Church, or, Policy, a natural jolly: we are bred with it, and we entertain it, and increase it. Thou hast a natural hatred against thy superior if thou wert never so good, if thou wouldst feign have him away, if thou wouldst cast of all yock, but this is a thing, the Lord is offended with. For, I affirm this, all superior powers that are set over us, whether in Church, or, Policy, reverence and honour is craved to them. God ordains it, and God will avenge the contempt thereof. Now, to speak generally. There are two sorts of superiors. One in the Policy, over the bodies of men in the world; another superior in the Church of God which is nothing else but a stewartrie. Now say I, reverence should be ever given to both, reverence the Magistrate, whisper not against him, but reverence him, if it be possible hold out evil thoughts out of thy heart, let be evil words in thy mouth. honour all, begin at the King and come to the lowest, honour every one in their own rank. Again in the Church honour the Ministry as stewartes in a great family, the family of the Lord of Lords, honour him as a faithful stewart in the house of the Lord. If ye compare these two together, every one of them are bound to reverence other, the Politic Magistrate to reverence the superiors in the Church: Again the superiors in the Church to reverence the civil Magistrate, I tell you my mind, mutually they are superiors to others. The Church man is inferior to the Magistrate in things civil, and therefore, as a common man is bound to reverence him, and should teach all reverence to them, in that estate. And by the contrary, the Magistrate, if it were the King, should be ruled by the Minister, in things spiritual: and he who is a stewart in the Church of God, the King is bound to take out of his hand the thing whereupon his soul feeds, and so, he, and all other Magistrates are bound to reverence him, as Gods stewart. If this mutual reverence were keeped well were it to Church and Commonwel; but, where it is not keeped, no well in Church nor Policy, and I shall crave ever to get this mutual reverence keeped, and my travel and exercise hes been this year by-gone to get it keeped, God is my witness. Now this is for the first part of the duty of the people. The second thing, he says, have them in singular love, for their worker sake. Not in a common love, but, in a singular love. it includes all the whole affectiones of the heart, and yet there is more to be understood here, the consequentes of this love, and the effects that follow thereupon. If love be in the heart, it will break out in the hand. So there are two things here. The one the singular love in the heart: the other the outward good deed in the hand. If the Ministers give to you things spiritual to entertain the heavenly life; is it a great matter to you to give them things temporal, things to entertain this frail life? Now, brethren, this point of the duty of the people answers to that part of the duty of the Pastor, which stands in labour. A labourer would have love of them he labours for, if it were but the servant that labours in your kitchen, ye ought to love him, love them who loves you. Now he who labours not in a vile office, but in an honourable labour to your salvation; how much more should ye esteem of him honourably and reverence▪ him▪ An honourable labour would be honourably handled. Ye see the meeting that the Apostle craves. The Pastor lies under a burdeene, and an honourable burdeene. On the people's part he craves a meeting, because the burdeene is honourable, and the Pastor should have preferment, therefore he craves reverence And because the Pastor labours, therefore he crane's love and entertaining of the people. It is a common saying, Friendship will not stand long on the one side. If this meeting be not of the people to the Pastor, the Ministry cannot stand, and the men cannot be able to bear the burdeene. Brethren, what shall I say, alas, experience tells us, for fault of this meeting on the part of the people, and specially of these in Policy, to whom this matter appertains, this Ministry is not like for to stand. And I affirm, if there be not a better meeting, and greater care to reverence this calling, and to love and honour it, and to provide sustentation for them that labours, the eyes of our posterive shall see this Ministry decay. It is going away. Men believes, it is well, if they get the teyndes, If the Lord and Laird get the teyndes, Teinds. he will indent and subscryve all with you. But, either must these things be redressed, or, else, certainly there shall be a decay, and then, farewell all grace. Shame and confusion to Scotland. Trowes Scotland, that, the common-well shall flourish, or, that, the estate shall be good, if this Ministry go away? No, there shall be nothing, but desolation. If they were here to whom this matter and this admonition pertains, I would charge them in the name of God, that they would show a better meeting to entertain this Gospel, or else, shame shall overtake them. Now this far as the words of the text furnishes to me I have spoken of the duty of the people. Now, there is another precept added to this exhorting to peace. Peace commanded. Be at peace, says he, among yourselves. This is agenerall precept given to Ministers, to people, and to all men, commanding peace, love unity and concord of mind. This is the fountain of other graces. She goes before us as a mother, other graces as children follow her: If she go not before, no following of graces. Where peace is, there is grace; where peace is not, there is no grace. And therefore Paul first to Tim. chap. 2. verse 1 says, Pray for Kings: for what end? that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Where he means, where peace is, these two follows, godliness which is the ground of the first table, and honesty which is the ground of the second table. Where peace goes away, farewell these two. Will ye look to your own families, if there be not peace between the Husband and the Wife, tell me what grace can be in the family? tell me can godliness, can grace be in the family, where there is nothing but strife and envy? can common honesty be there? No, no grace, Go to a City, where there is nothing but dissension, can there be grace, godliness or honesty there. Go to a Kingdom or common-well, where a Kingdom is rend in pieces, can there be grace, holiness or honesty there▪ So it is the peace in jesus Christ, which is the mother and conqueror of all graces; where the hearts of men and women are bound up in peace, there is flourishing, either in City or household. But yet what peace should this be? Wherein stands it? It stands not in a fair word, in a fair good morrow, nor in an outward behaviour, or false feigned smiling with thy mouth, when thou hast no love in thy heart; but this peace stands chiefly in the lenity and conjunction of minds and hearts. Paul to the Eph. chap. 4. vers. 3. says, Study to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: where he earnestly recommends an union of minds. Paul to the Philippians in the 2. chap. vers. 1. says, If there be any consolation in Christ, if any solace, if any communion of the spirit, if any bowels of pity, fill up my joy; and wherein stands it? Be, says he, of like mind and affection: There my joy, let your affection be one, have one love, have one mind dwell with all your souls together. join so your hearts together as if they were one heart: join your souls together, and make up one soul of all. And as concerning your judgements, he says, be not of contrary opinions and judgementes: There are some that ever delights in contradiction. When one will say one thing▪ they will make a contradiction to it. Now ye see wherein this peace stands, and this is the peace that makes up the Kingdom of God. Paul says to the Romans 14. 17. The Kingdom of God stands not in meat and drink, but in peace and righteousness towards God. Indeed the Kingdom of men will be made up of an outward counterfeit peace. The Grecian Kingdom, the Roman empire stood of an earthly peace, but all vanity, the Kingdom of Christ is made up of an unity of our souls, knit together in Christ. When our conscience is peaceable, than our souls is knit to him, Read the 4. chapter to the Ephesians, ye shall not find so many arguments in no place as there, to exhort men to unity, There is, says he, but one body, one spirit, one hope of your vocation, one Lord jesus, one faith, one baptism, one God, one Father of all. Then if there be so many one things, why should ye not be one. Now the whole blessing of men stands in union. Yea, the blessedness of God stands in an union, the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit united together in one God-hood. The blessedness of our nature stands in the union with our head Christ, and in the union of the members among ourselves. Where this union is not, there is nothing but misery. In the Kingdom of Heaven there is nothing but unity; by the contrary, there is no peace in Hell. If the father and the son go to Hell together, trow ye there shall be any love between them? No, nothing but invy, all invy and hatred is among the Devils: all peace and unity is in God, who draws the souls of men and women together, and makes one soul as it were in that glorious body of Christ. The Lord give us this bond of unity and love that we may be joined with the rest of the members in one body to our head jesus Christ. To whom with the Father and the Spirit be immortal praise honour and glore world without end. AMEN. THE XXIII. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 5. vers. 14. 15. 14 We desire you, brethren, admonish them, that are unruly: comfort the feeble minded: bear with the weak: be patiented toward all men. 15 See, that, none recompense evil for evil unto any man: but, ever follow that, which is good, both toward yourselves, and toward all men. WE go forward (brethren) in these exhortations and precepts, concerning good manners and godly conversation, which the Apostle sets down here, to the Thessalonians. As for these, whereof we have already spoken, as, that wakrifnesse, that should be in them, that soberness, that spiritual armour, wherewith they should be armed, concerning that mutual exhortation, every one of them ought to other, concerning that duty, that the flock and the people ought to their Pastor, concerning that mutual peace, that should be among them, we speak nothing now, recommending all to your memories, who heard us. Now, in this text we have read presently, first, we have three particular directions, concerning three estates of people: first, concerning unruly men: secondly, concerning feeble minded men: and last, concerning them, that are infirm and weak in saith, weak in the knowledge of jesus Christ, and of the things, that concerns him, not firmly persuaded of them, as we shall hear, 3. diseases, with their remedies. in the own room. So, there are here three diseases, or, special sicknesses: The first is unruliness, that is, louse living; the next, feebleness of heart; the third is weakness and infirmity in faith, and in that persuasion, that, we should have, towards jesus Christ and the Gospel. And as there are three diseases, So, the Apostle prescryves three several remedies against these three diseases. Mark it. For every disease he prescryves the own proper remedy and cure, for in ordinate living and unruly life, Admonition; for feebleness of mind and casting down of the Spirit, Comfort, for weakness in faith and infirmity, bearing with, to bear with the weak and infirm in faith Now, to go through these, and first to the diseases, and next, to the remedies thereof. The first disease is unruliness, 1. Vnruelinesse. inordinatnesse. The Apostle 2. Thessa. 3. chap. verse 6. tells who are these, he calls unruly, they, that live not according to that doctrine and instruction, he gave them. The word of God is the rule of life. The man, that lives not according to the word of God is unruly. Yet, more plainly in that same place, he descryves the unruly He calls them, 11. verse, they, who labours not for their living, they, who have not a trade of life. Then, he adds, that are busy bodies, busy, in other men's turns, doing nothing in their own, and therefore, they must be exercised in evil exercises, in things, that pertains not to them; prattling and babbling here and there, putting their hand to this man's and that man's offices. There are two properties, idle and exercised; idle in their own tume, exercised in other men's turns: An evil sort of men, these men are unruly. Now, to come to the remedy, shortly. The remedy is admonishing, reproving. This unruliness it is an evil malady, and enough to cause a man die. What medicine should we use to such men? shall we foster and entertain them in their folly? No, he says, admonish them, use them sharply and severely in admonishing, tell them, they are out of rule. The 2. Thessa. chap. 3. verse 10. he tells, how he used them, he denounced against them, that, if they wrought not, they should not eat, but, their mouth should be bound up, so, that, they should die for hunger. Also, in that same place, he gives a charge to all men of severe themselves from these men, that they may be ashamed of that life, it is a good and an honest thing to see a man well exercised, and that in his own calling. Now, to come to the second disease and remedy for it. The next disease is feebleness of mind; 2. Feebleness of mind. when the heart of man is casten down, troubled, assaulted, heavy, so, that there is no spirit, nor, courage, but, ay going in the way of despair. What is the medicine and remedy of this man? Deal not roughly with one, who is diseased after this manner, add not affliction to affliction, afflict not him, who is afflicted, trouble not the troubled, the proper medicine to such, is, comfort. Comfort them, that are dejected in spirit: David, in the 41. Psalm 1. verse, he pronounces a special blessing, to him, that will comfort the afflicted, Blessed is the man, that judges wysoly of the poor, that is, that can have compassion on a troubled conscience. Now, the arguments of consolation, he uses, in that Psalm, are two. The first, from the promises of God, to be bestowed on them, in Christ. The other, is, prayer: Promise then grace, to the troubled heart in jesus Christ, and then, pray for it. If the heart be dejected, no comfort for it, but, from God. Al the world, all the powers in Heaven and earth are not able to comfort and raise up the soul, but, only the power of God, through Christ and his blessed Spirit. Now, to the third disease and remedy thereof. It is weakness in faith, 3. Weakness in faith. weakness in the knowledge of Christ and the Gospel, when a man hes not a through sight and persuasion of these things, that concerns jesus and the Gospel, when he knows them not well, neither is confirmed in them. Such, as, concerning diversity of meats, all meats are sanctified in Christ, many knew not that, and therefore made conscience, in observing diversity of meats, and likewise, as concerning days, that put difference in days and keeped them, these he calls weak ones. The remedy is, bear with them, break not the bruised reed, quench not the smooking slax; no, entertain the least beginning of grace in the weakest body. A fire that hes smook in the beginning, if thou entertain it, it will, in end grow a fair fire. What knowest thou, but these, that hes a little spark of faith, if they be enterteinde, by process of time will grow to an high measure of knowledge, and will be as strong, as thou. Paul 15. chap. Rom. 1. verse speaking of these same weak ones, says, We who are strong in faith, that is, knows the liberty in Christ jesus, let us bear the infirmities of the weak, take their burden off their back and lay it on our shoulders, heap not on them burden upon burden, but relieve them, and that we please not ourselves and make off-casts of others. Therefore, he adds, let every one please their neighbour. Please their neighbour, and bear with him, that is the word: and he comes on, with Christ's example. Christ he bore not with himself, self-love carried him not, as it does us, but, as it is written, the reproaches of them, that rebuked thee, fell on me. He spared himself so little, that these igneminies and reproaches, that should have lighted on us sinners, he took them on him. He took our burdeene on him. There are the words shortly. Mark our lessons. This world is all diseased; men and women in this world are full of diseases: yea, and they, that thinks themselves wholest are sickest. I will not speak of the diseases of the body. There are few without their own diseases, and that is the reward of sin, yea and death follows on the end of them, but, I speak of the sickness of the souls of men and women; never one but they have their own diseases in their soul. He hes this sickness in his soul: she hes that sickness in her soul; he is miserable in his soul, another feeble in mind, the third, weak, without a sure knowledge of Christ; every one of these sicknesses are deadly, every one of them, enough, to cause a creature die: Art though unruly, if it continue with thee, and be not cured in time, it shall cause thee die, not such a death, as the death of the body; it is a sickness in the soul, thy soul shall die. The sickness of the body will cause the body die, if it be not cured; the sickness of the soul will cause the soul die, if it be not cured: Art thou feeble minded, thou shalt go to despair, if thou be not comforted: Art thou weak in persuasion, thou shalt grow weaker and grow to nothing, if thou be not cured in tyme. So considering so many sick bodies, and an heap of maladies among many Christians, there must be be many mediciners. A man is a man, a Minister if he be his alone in a flock, if he were the best Minister, that ever spoke among so many diseased bodies, what can he do? Therefore, look, how many men are in the Church, there should be as many mediciners, every one of us is bound to cure others diseases. Thou bond to cure my disease and I, thine; thou hast one that I lack, I must labour to cure thine; I have a malady, that thou lackest, thou must labour to cure mine. Competens medicine to be applied to every man's disease. I tell you plainly, none of us, but we are bound to do it: Think not, this pertaineth only to a Minister, to admonish, to instruct, exhort and rebuke, think not, the Minister should do all: but, if thou be a member of Christ, this binding is laid on thy back, to be a curer of thy sick brother and sister. Now, ye know the special virtue, that is craved in a Mediciner, is discretion, to know the nature of the diseases, to tell, this is this disease, that is that disease, and thereafter, to apply salve to the sore. To apply the competent medicine to the sickness. He is nothing worth, that hes but one kind of salve for all sores, and he will destroy the body, if he apply only one medicine for all sores; For, that, which is mending salve to one disease, it is poison to another disease: So, in the spiritual mediciner, discretion is craved, to know the malady of our brother and conform thereto, to apply the medicine, When I see an unruly body, that works nothing, that pertaineth to himself, but busying his head, about other men's callings, then, I should take the medicine of sharp rebuke and lay it to the sore, and tell him the disease, and bid him take a lawful calling, that he may serve God therein, and sustain his body. Again, when I see one cast down in spirit, I must not use that medicine to him, but, must comfort him. Jude in his Epistle vers. 22 says, Put a difference among sinners, in the curing of them, to some, show comfort and compassion, some bodies craves pity and compassion, as to others, save them, how? with terror, that is the word, threatening vengeance on them, and he adds, pull them out of the fire quickly, as it were, by the hair of the head, they are burning, if thou save them not with a sharp doing, the fire will consume them shortly. All men would be handled meekly and gently, and the unruly man would be handled as tenderly, as the body, that is dejected. Is that the way to cure him, to put smoothing coals on him? no, that is the way to let him burn if he lie in the fire: smooth him over he shall burn: A misruelie man he stands, as it were, in a fire, and such a fire, as shall burn him, if he be not all the sooner pulled out. Now, I will not insist on these particular directions, but, I go forward, be patiented toward all men. This is a general direction, not given for a particular disease, that concerns this man, or, that man, this disease, or, that disease in special, but, this concerns all men and all women and is, as it were, a general medicine, meet for all diseases: Patience, lenity, long suffering, meekness (to speak it so) is a simple medicine, that must be mingled with every medicine: Leaity medicine for all diseases Put therefore lenity and meekness in rebuking; lenity and meekness, in threatening; lenity and meekness, in admonishing: lenity and meekness, in exhorting, ever lenity: For, I tell you, if this very simple, to wit, lenity, be not mingled with all medicines, the medicine shall become a poison, rather, nor a medicine: As, for example, rebuke a sinner, that deserves rebuking, if there appear nothing in thy rebuke, but, bitterness, severity, anger and wraith, I tell thee, thy rebuke is a poison, thou poisons the man, that thou rebukest, thou edifiest him not, thou destroyest him. Therefore, hold thy tongue, be thou Minister, or, private Christian, that hes nothing, but bitterness and gall, in rebukes, for, the Lord forbids such, to speak and to rebuke, because they, who only spews out gall and bitterness, makes medicine, venom, and so, will destroy the body. Brethren, as this patience and lenity should be used towards all sort of sinners, so all should use it. a Minister, a private Christian, man, or, woman, aswell, as a Minister: Look, that, none speak any thing to any brother, or, sister, except it be tempered with lenity, except the body find some sweetness, or, meekness in the rebuke, or, admonition. As for the Minister, look the second Epistle to Timothi●, cha. 2. vers. 24. It becomes not the servant of the Lord to strive, nor be a striker, wilt thou stand up, to instruct men and be a striver and fighter? No, he says, use lenity towards all men, suffering men, to win them, then, he comes to the means to win them, Instruct, says he, with all lenity, him, who is contrary minded. Then, 4. chap. 2. verse of that Epistle, Improve and rebuke with all lenity. Now, as for the common men and women, how should they behave them, in using their medicine▪ Paul to Titus, chap. 3. verse 2. says, Put them in remembrance, that, they show all le●itie and gentleness toward all men, remembering, that, we were all once, as they are, all unwise, by our mind, Ministers and all. Our by-gone estate should move us to lenity: strive therefore, to win them with lenity, for, they are no worse, nor we were, and the best of us was once as evil, as they are: forget not this, let never thy misery go out of thy mind, and let not grace so blindefolde thee, that thou misknowe what thou wert once; for, if thou do it, it will make the● forget lenity toward thy neighbour. Galath. chap. 6. verse 1. He says, If by any occasion, thy brother hath fallen, ye, who are spiritual, restore him with the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, that stands, lest thou fall also. There is no sinner so miserable the day, but, by the grace of God he may be restored to morrow. None of us so sure to day, but, to morrow we may fall. My case the day may be thine to morrow: thou standest not by thyself, it is by grace, if it please the Lord to draw away grace from thee, suddenly shalt thou fall; then all standing is by grace: They, therefore, who stands, let them not rejoice in their own strength, but, think, that, it is by the grace of God, they stand, and pity them, that are fallen. Now, to go forward. The next exhortation concerns revenging of injuries, randering, or, repaying of wrongs, we have great need to be instructed in this, because our nature is so bend to revenge. He says, See, that, none recompense evil, for evil, unto any man. There is an inhibition, Whereof much might be spoken, but, I shall bind me to the words of the Apostle. Then, to come to the first words. See, beware, look to it. The word signifies an earnest care and study. As he would say, take care, be earnest, beware in this turn, for, it will beguile you, if you take not all the better heed to it. This very word, he uses, lets us see the great difficulty and hardness, that is, in obeying of this precept, in not randering evil, for evil, but, by the contrary, randering good, for evil. For, brethren, there is a wonderful promptness and bentnesse in the nature of all men ever to revenge, the spirit of vengeance is by nature in every one of us, yea, in the silliest and simplest body, that is. This point of doctrine, not to rander evil for evil, but, by the contrary, good, for evil, abhors from nature, and nature abhors it. Say to a natural man, do not evil, for evil, but, do good, for evil, he will scorn and laugh at it, and many in Scotland scorns it. Our nature abhors it so far, that, the ●uld Philosophers: (who set down many good moral precepts) never spoke one word of it: among all their moral precepts ye will not get this precept, Do no evil for evil, do good for evil. The scribes and pharisees Matt. cha. 5. vers. 38. etc. exponing the Law of God could not attain to this, but gave out this meaning of the second table of the Law, love thy friend, do good, to him, that does good to thee, hate thy enemy. So they exponed the Law, until Christ came and purged the Law. Only, then, in the school of jesus, only in the Gospel, Patiē●●in suffering wrongs, bardle ar●ed. this point of doctrine is taught and learned, that▪ men should not do evil, for evil, but, good, for evil. Indeed, brethren, this lesson is very hard to be practised. Good Christians, who professes themselves to be scholars in jesus school, how long time will they spend, ere they can get this lesson learned? Who, let see, is brought to this point, that, gladly he can be content to suffer wrong, or, to suffer a double wrong▪ ere he revenge, yea, to do good, for evil, ere he revenge wrong; Who can do this? No, all these murderers, all these oppressors, these contumelies, wherewith the land is filled, tells plainly, that, many thousands in the land hes never learned this precept of the Gospel, that the Lord hes given, to do good, for evil. Who of our Lords and Lairds hes learned it? If he hes gotten one slain to him, he will slay two: yea, come to the Gentlemen, ye shall see, that, this lesson hes never been learned of them. Who of our women hes learned it? for, if were but with the bitterness of their mouth, they will revenge their quarrel: and they, who hes attained to any grace, or, any part of obedience of this precept, yea, the best of all, the most patiented soul, how hardly can he, with a patiented, mind dejest injuries. There is no grace of God, no sort of obedience to jesus, but, so long as we live here, we keep it with a battle: hast thou any grace, ever the canker of our corruption stry●●s to put but the grace. So, that, if we be not holden up, we shall lose this grace; and among all graces, that, men gets, I trow, this grace of Patience we keep it with the greatest trouble. There is no grace, that hes so many assaults, as this, ever to stir us up, to take vengeance, our own nature, wicked company; fie on on thee (they will cry) beastly body, thou hast received wrong and will not revenge it; there is a thousand such instigations. What matter, if we could be content to rander wrong for wrong, but, our heart is so full of venom, that it cannot be satiat, until we double and triple ten wrongs, for one: the heart is so full of hatred, that if we could, we would shut our enemy soul and body in Hell. So; this grace of Patience, in not revenging, is the grace we keep, with the greatest assaults. Read the 39 Psalm when David had ta'en purpose to take heed to his ways, that he should not speak an evil word against his enemies, yet, the heart gins to take fire and out goes the flame, and he bursts out, in murmuring against God himself. All this tells us, how hard a thing it is, to one, to digest wrong, and how much more hard, to do good, for evil. And so, we are to creue ever at God, to give us this grace of Patience, to suffer wrong: Alas, the company of this world is so wicked, that we are ever stirred up to vengeance. And so, we should crave ever, the Lord give us patience, that with patience we may abide the wrong, and the Lord will avenge. The Lord says, Vengeance is mine and I will avenge it. Deut. chap. 32. vers. 35. Bide, till this time come and surely will the Lord repay it▪ And I darsay, never man got wrong and with patience abode it, but, either he got revenge here, or, else, in that day he shall see his wrongs fully repaid by God. This, for the first words. Now, he says▪ See, that, no man. This precept pertaineth to all men, it is general, he excemes no man, no, not the Kings of the world, from the King to the beggar, no man exemed, every soul is inhibit to do wrong, to rander evil, for evil, for, it is the King of all kings that puts out this inhibition. Brethrens, the conceit, men hes, of their own estimation, if the Lord call them to any estate, begyles them. If a man be preferred to another, he beguiles himself▪ and he thinks, he may do what he will, because of his preferment, he may do double wrong, and he will say, I am such a man, this is my estate, will I suffer a wrong, I cannot do 〈◊〉? How can I suffer this indignity? The Lord says, thy preferment is of me, thou art no better, nor the person, that is under thee; I command thee, under the pain of death, that thou patiently abide, until it please me to avenge this deed. Then, he says, do no wrong to any man; without any exception: thou art bound, not to rander evil for evil to any man, to the silliest and basest body, that goes on the earth. Measure not God's Law, by your own discretion. The holy Law of God forbids thee to rander injury for injury, to the vilest body in the world. And even as the consait of men, who are preferred begyles them, even, so, the opinion of the vile estate of other men in their eyes begyles them. How durst (will they say) such a vile loon, or, villa●e do such a turn, should I suffer such a wrong of such a rascal? I shall wring my hands in his heart blood: But, I say, the Lord, that is Lord over thee and him both gives thee an inhibition, if the man that does wrong were never so vile, handle him not, but, bear with him, until I revenge it. But, to come to the precept itself. What forbids he? and what bids he? He forbids one thing, and bids another thing: he forbids to do evil, for evil; he bids do good, to all men, and that, at all times; mutually do good every one ever to another; extend not your beneficence to the faithful only, but, extend it to all, from the King to the beggar, to the Turk, to the jew, etc. But, to come to the negative, that is forbidden. Do no evil, for evil. 4. Sorts of randering There are four sorts of randering: First, randering good, for good: Secondly, randering good, for evil: Thirdly, randering evil, for evil: The fourth sort, randering evil, for good. The first, randering good, for good, is every where commanded, as for randering good, for evil, it is also here commanded: As to the third, to rander evil for evil, here it is forbidden: As to the fourth, randering evil, for good, it is much more forbidden. The Apostle speaks not here expressly of it, for, in a manner, it is thought, that, such foul ungratitude could not be in a man; I think the Apostle hes thought, such a precept needed not, as being contrary to the Law of nature. The Philosopher made not a law, against a man, for slaying his Father, because, said he, I cannot trow, that, there can fall our such an unnatural fact: So, to rander evil, for good, it is such a thing, that, it should not once be named. But, ● Scotland is full of such mishant ingratitude, in randering evil, for good, and the man, who hes done most for him▪ in his greatest need, he will abhor that man most. Fie, if vengeance shall overtake him, that randers evil, for evil, what vengeance shall overtake such an ungrate reprobate, that randers evil, for good? Brethren, understand, in this doctrine, do not evil, for evil. He forbids, not only the action of the hand, or, the speech of the mouth, to speak an evil word, to do an evil deed, but, he forbids also the inward hatred of the heart; the Law of God touches the heart. And he says, On pain of death, look, that, thou keep no vengeance, nor, rancour in thy heart, to him, that hes done evil to thee, for, suppose thou would not do him evil with thy hand, and would hold thy tongue, yet, if rancour and vengeance be in thy heart, thou and thy heart, for breach of this precept, shall perish, suppose the Magistrate cannot punish thee, if thou keep thy mouth and hand from evil; yet, the Lord, that sees the heart will revenge the inward rancour of the heart: he forbids likewise, that thou should do evil for evil to another. Men are now very vile, in this point, they will seem to do no evil themselves, yet, by another they are doing evil, he is not revenging with his own hand, but, yet, he is revenging wrong for wrong, with the hand of another man. O, but, God will not be scorned, thou shalt pay for it surely. The Lord sees all the convoy very well, it is worse, than the other thou dost thyself. I will say further, Abuse not the Majesty of God, in revenging thy quarrel, yea, even, when at the Magistrates hand thou seekest justice of them, who hes done any injury to thee, be ware, that, thou respect not thy particular. It is lawful to the magistrate, to take vengeance, of them, that hes done wrong, but, take heed to thyself, upon what mind thou seekest it, look, that, it come not of thy private affection, that thou seek not the hurt of the man, to satisfy thy heart being carried with the thirst of revenge, that thou hast. For, he, whom other ways the magistrate justly punishes, I tell thee, if thou do any thing to him upon malice, thou art guilty of his death, and God shall think thee a manslayer, but, seek revenge, in the love, thou hast to justice, that God may be glorified in justice, in randering vengeance, to him, that hes done wrong. It is weldone, that the wickedman suffers punishment for his fault, but, thou hast to look to thy heart. Seek not the satisfaction of thy foul heart, for, if thou do so, thou shalt be the s●ayer of the man, but, seek, that, God may be glorified, in randering justice on the sinner: Lord, if we could do this. It is a good turn, to cut away a murderer. Always, albeit he had slain thy father, look to God's glory and not to thy own affection. yea, I say further, be ware, in dealing with thy God, in seeking vengeance. Thou wilt say, the Lord acquire him: It is not of the love of God, but, of vengeance in thy heart, thou sayest it, and I tell thee, if thou make such a prayer, vengeance shall turn to thyself. David hes many sad imprecations, in his Psalms, not only against God's enemies, but, also, against his own enemies. And yet, this came not of that private affection, to be revenged of them, but, David respected this, that, God should be glorified, in randring vengeance, to the sinner. Beware of it. Men may know by themselves, how hard it is, to get this love to our enemies: but, I tell you, if there be not a striving to these things, and a resisting and mortifying of thy nature, thou and thy nature both shall perish. Well is the body, that, can fight against their wicked nature in this life, albeit they come not to perfection. No there is not a tree, that hes spread the 〈◊〉 so broad in this earth, as rancour and vengeance hes rooted themselves in our hearts. So, our striving must be ever to pull out piece and piece this rancour. This day pull out one piece; to morrow, another piece, ay strive to the slaughter of it. They that will not strive shall never get the victory. Now, to the second part of this precept. Do good, says he, to a●men. First, to brethren and christians, and then, next, to all sort of men, albeit they be enemies. This is far more. How can our nature bear this▪ It is enough to me, thou wilt say, to do him no evil, the man, that hes dung me so many wrongs, must I do I am good, for evil? Yea, the Lord says, do him good, for evil, do no evil to him, but, do him good. There are the words. I say to thee, the man, or, woman, that does no good to another, when they may, if their need craves, if it were to their enemy, in not doing good, they do evil, in not saving, they kill. Read, in the Gospel of Mark 3. chap. 4. verse. When Christ healed a man on the Sabbath day, the pharisees found fault with it, The Lord says, Whether it is better, to do good, or, evil on the Sabbath day; To save a man's life, or, kill him? whereby, he means, that, he, that saves not a man's life being in danger and able to save him, he slays him, as it were, with his own hand. This is thought hard dealing, flesh and blood would wonder at this dealing, and yet is the Lords will. Men says, commonly, he hes done me a wrong, I will do him no evil, but, as for my good he shall get none of it, I will neither be friend, nor, foe to him. Then, he thinks, he hes done enough. Christ tells thee, here, If the man inlacks, or, if he be hurt through the holding back of thy good deed, if it might have helped him, thou art the doer of it. Alas, why flatters thou thyself, I tell thee, albeit thou do him no evil with thy hand, if thou bear malice in thy heart, thou art a murderer, and shall be challenged for a murderer, in that great day. Degrees of patience, in bearing wrongs. Brethren, there are two degrees of patience, in bearing with injuries; The first degree of patience, is, not to do evil, for evil; The second and higher degree, is, to do good, for evil; if thou would have perfit patience, go up these two steps, do, not only no evil to thy enemy, but, do him good, strive ever to a further perfection; thy strife in this life shall be crowned with victory, in that life to come. They who strives not to perfection in this earth shall never be perfit in the life to come. Well is him, that can strive to perfection, albeit he come not to it here, he shall obtain it hereafter. Do good, says he, How long? ever. There is no word here, in vain, do good to thy enemy, ever on, so long, as thou hast an hand. Galat. 6. chap. 9 vers. he speaks this matter more plainly, let us not weary in doing good, and he adds to the promise, we shall reap the fruit of our good deeds in our own time, if we long not, but, go; forward ay to the end. This language is borrowed from the labouring of the husbandman; He will till the land, and go forward, and then, cast the seed in the land, but, if he begin then to think, he hes done enough already, and let the land be unharrowed, or, when the corn comes up, he do not weed it, how shall the fruit prosper? shall he have a great harvest, if he harrow it not? the fowls shall gather it up, the weather shall wash it away, and at harvest he shall get little of it to reap: So it is with us, if we begin to do good and continue in well doing for a little space, and then, begin to close our hand and our purse, and think, we have done enough. Alas, when it comes to the harvest time, in that great day of the Lord, there will be no shearing, nor, reaping to life everlasting: except, by perseverance we continue to the end, no fruit of our labours. He that strives not continually, he shall not over come: therefore, let us ever persevere, while we live, and then, when our harvest and reaping comes, we shall have a fair barn-yarde. Blessed is that man, that can persevere. Then, he says, in that 6. chap. to the Galath. While we have time, let us ay do good, and he makes two ranks of them, to whom we should do good: First, to the family of faith, and then, to all manner of men. This time would be well marked: For, there is a season of all things; a season of tilling, a season of sawing, and a season of reaping. The season of sawing in the spring-tyme. If thou saw not in that season, thou shalt not reap fruit in Harvest: So it is in spiritual things; in this life is the time of polwing, sawing, and harrowing. The life to come is the time of reaping, and reaping the fruit of our labours. Lose thou the time of thy sawing & harrowing here, thou wilt never get it again, and when thou comest to the season of reaping, thou shalt not find fruit. Alas, I have seen great men, when they have been on deathbed, and found death to be at hand, would say, I have abused my time. Lord, if I had my time again, I should spend it better, nor I have done. Always, many never gets this repentance And well are they, who hes repentance for the time, that is misspent; but, where one gets this grace, twenty gets it not. Now, all tends to this, to go forward in well doing, while that we meet our head Christ: saw, harrow, and go forward, until the time of our Harvest and reaping▪ for if thou he sluggish here and saw not, thou shalt not reap hereafter. Now, to whom should they do good? To yourselves. First every one, to other, first, to them, whom he calls the family of faith. Gallat. chap. 6. verse 10. He that would show a good deed, let him begin at Christians, for, we are all of one family, even, of the family of Christ. I assure thee, that name, Christian, binds thee, to show a good deed to them, that carries it. It is a sweet name, I tell the more, albeit that body be thy enemy, yet, that name of Christian, in him, binds thee to love and help him, and do good, for evil, to him. It is no small obligation, binding every man, to do good. Then, he adds to, and says, do good to all men. To Christian, to no Christian, to jew, Gentile, Turk, pagan, what ever he be. Mark this. The Lord requires, that, this beneficence and liberality to men and women be extended to all men in the whole corners of the earth: bear they the name of men and women, thy liberality should ay extend to them. Look what reasons, Paul, Rom 12. 20. vers. gives, in recommending the same well doing to our enemies. He says, If thy enemy thirst, give him drink, if he hunger, give him meat. Give him not it bitterly, with the buffet, but, give him it with cheerfulness, and pray the Lord, to mend him: the reason is, For, in so doing, thou shalt heap coals on his head: For, if he repent not, for all thy doing good to him, the meat and drink, thou givest him shall be as many fiery coals on his head. Another reason, Be not overcome with evil, but, overcome evil with good. He wins the better, that suffers the wrong, and renders good, for evil, for, at last, he shall be crowned with glory. The Lord bring us to this glory, for Christ's sake. To whom, with the Father and holy Spirit be all honour and glory for ever. AMEN. THE XXIV. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 5. vers. 16. 17. 16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray continually. THERE are three precepts here, brethren, which the Apostle joins together. The first is the precept of patience, in suffering wrong and not rendering evil for evil, but, doing good for evil. Of this, we heard the last day. There is next the precept of joy and peace of conscience, in the first words, we have presently red, Last, there is the precept of prayer, seeking to God, and thanking God, for the benefits resaved, in the next part of the text. The Apostle Paul, not only in this place joins these three together, but, also, in the 4. chap. to the Philipp. ye shall find the same three precepts joined together, howbeit not in this order. he begins there, Patience, joy and prayer joined together. at joy, and he says, rejoice in the Lord always, again, I say, rejoice: then, he comes to patience in suffering wrong, let your patiented mind, let your moderation be known 〈◊〉 all men: for, the Lord is at hand; And last, he comes to prayer and says, be not careful for any thing, but, in all things let your requests be shown to God, in prayer and thanksgiving: Then, he comes to peace of conscience again, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding shall preserve your hearts, etc. These three are joined together: The precept of patience, joy and prayer, because these three graces of God, patience, joy and prayer are unseparable, every one of them joined unseparably with another: take one away, thou shalt not get the other; take prayer away, thou shalt not have joy; take joy away, thou shalt not get patience in suffering. So these three are so unseparably lined together, that, if they be not altogether in the heart of a man, none of them can be in the heart; and if one be in the heart, all shall be in it. Howbeit patience be set down first here, yet, it is not the first grace, prayer is first; joy, next, and then, patience: for, prayer first brings joy; then, this heavenly joy being brought forth and entertained by prayer, it brings patience, in suffering troubles. Now, brethren, what shall we make of this, ere we come to the words? Only, this, the graces of God, which are parts of our newbirth called Regeneration are so inseparably locked together, that, they cannot be severed, and therefore, he, that would have any one of them, let him seek them all; he that would have patience, let him seek joy; and he that would have joy, let him seek prayer, let him seek them altogether; either seek them all and get them all, in some measure, or, it shall pass thy power to keep any one of them, either keep all, or, want all: this is their nature, ye saw never a chain so linked together, as these graces of regeneration are linked. It may be, that, a man have the outward show of a grace, but, indeed, it shall pass his power to have a true grace, except he have the whole graces of this newbirth, in some measure. Many will seem to suffer wrong, and yet, they will not have the joy of the holy Spirit; but, they, that wants the joy of the Spirit, albeit they seem to suffer many wrongs, yet, they are but hypocrites. Therefore, seek one, seek all; want one, want all; either have all, or, want all. But, to come to the text and speak of this joy, Rejoice, says the Apostle, evermore. True rejoicing, or, joy, is that joy, that entertains patience in suffering. Go to experience and try it. There is none of us, that hes tasted of this heavenly joy, but, we will find, by experience, it raise up the heart of man and woman above all these things earthly, in some measure. It raises up the heart to an higher kingdom, nor all the kingdoms in this earth, this heavenly joy raises us up, to the kingdom of God. This kingdom of God, says the Apostle, Rom. chap 14. vers. 17. Is peace and joy in the holy Ghost. So, that, they, who hes this joy, are in another kingdom, as far above these earthly kingdoms, as the heaven is above the earth, and by this joy, they are lifted up, to heaven, and being up there, they look down to all these things on the earth, the troubles, afflictions and persecutions, as though they were nothing, and thinks them nothing: joy being in the heart, it swallows up the heaviest displeasure, that, can be (look this by experience) A little measure of it in the heart will swallow up sadness, suffering of wrongs and injuries in this world. This world is but a world of suffering. In the 5. chapter of the Acts, verse 41. ye see, the Disciples of Christ after his ascension are drawn in, before the Council; there, they are scourged, manassed, and threatened, that they should not speak in the name of Christ. But, what do they, when they are dimitted? They go away with joy: is there matter of joy here? they are beat, scourged and boasted, yet, they go away with joy, rejoicing, that, they were counted worthy, to suffer, for Christ's sake. Brethren, if joy had not swallowed up sadness, the Apostles had not rejoiced. Read the Psalms of David, He begins with such a sadness in many of them all, that he would appear to be in Hell, and ere the Psalm be ended, ye will see, that, he bursts out with exceeding great thankfulness. This means, that, there was a joy, and an exceeding great heaviness in the heart, and there was a battle betwixt them, and in the end, joy got the victory and swallowed up sadness. But, now, what is this joy, that he means of, when he says, Rejoice euermo●. It is no other thing, but, that, which he calls in the fourth chapter to the Philippians, Description of ●oy. The peace of God, that passes all understanding, standing about the heart, as a guard. And to speak the truth of this, it is the end and crown of all the graces of God in jesus Christ, it is that end, whereto all the graces of God tends: and when they come there, they go no further. Wherefore came Christ in the world, but that we should have peace and joy in conscience? Wherefore died he? that we should have joy. Wherefore rose he? that we should have joy in his resurrection. Wherefore are we all called to be Christians? that we should rejoice. Wherefore are our sins remitted? only to rejoice. This is the end of all, joy. What is Heaven but joy? What is life everlasting, but joy unspeakable? What is glory, but joy? Paul joins these two together, joy and the crown of glory. 1. Thess. chap. 2. verse 19 Therefore, in one word, what is true happiness? nothing but joy, joy in God, through jesus Christ. What is any thing under Heaven without joy in the heart? If a man have all the world and all the honour and riches of the world, except he have joy in them, what avail they? So, joy is the blessedness of men and women: And therefore, when the Apostle bids us rejoice evermore, what craves he, but, that we should press ever forward to our blessedness and Heaven; begin thy blessedness here, or, thou shalt never get blessedness hereafter Life everlasting gins here, in a measure of joy, that is not perfect, and ends in the next life, in glory, which shall be perfected. Yet, brethren, the nature of joy would be better seen and known, that men be not deceived with it. The joy, that is craved, of what kind is it? There are sundry kinds of joy. Is it a fleshly and carnal joy, 〈…〉 that will be in the mouths of profane people; be merry, eat, drink. Is that this joy? no, no. When Paul bids thee rejoice, he bids thee not pass the time like the Epïcurians, Eat, drink and be merry: The joy, that he craves, the nature thereof is not fleshly: but, it is clean, holy and spiritual. To speak the truth, it is in the heart (all joy is in the heart of a bodïe) but, it is not so much the joy, that is of the natural affection, as it is the motion of the spirit of Christ within us, using the affectiones of our heart as a part to rejoice in, when he is dwelling in us. When a man rejoices naturally, it is his heart, that rejoices, but, this is another kind of rejoicing. It is the Spirit of consolation, that comforts, the Spirit of jesus, that dwells in the heart, and wakens up the affection above nature, and makes it, It is 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 that was natural, as supernatural, it cannot be so well told, as felt. Rom. chap. 8. verse 26. The Spirit of God requests for us, with sighs unspeakable. Then, the Spirit sighs within the heart. If the Spirit of God be within the heart, the sigh will not be so much the sigh of the body, as of the Spirit of God: 〈◊〉 It is so with that spiritual joy; the joy in the heart if will not be so much the joy of the heart, as the joy of the Spirit of God, a joy unspeakable. No, no tongue can tell the greatness of it. And, brethren, if there were no more, but, this, that it cannot be told, it tells you the nature of it, it is not a natural joy, the natural joy can be all told. the heart of man is comprehensible, and the affectiones of the heart can be told, but, the joy of the Spirit of God is incomprehensible. The joy of the Spirit of God in the heart of the poor sinner cannot be told by all the Angels of Heaven, let be by the tongue of man. For, no man can re●● the infiniteness of God's Spirit. Therefore, put a difference between it and all other joys. The property of this joy is here expressed, Properti● of this joy, It is continual. it lasts evermore, it is continual, it altars not, it is without interruption, it is not broken off▪ prosperity will not break it, adversity will not break it, life will not break it, death will not break it, it abides, in life, it abides, in death, yea, even, to the very point of death, when it pleases the holy Spirit to work, it will be in a greater measure in his soul than, nor it was in the lifetyme. When we think the body should be heaviest and saddest, then, it is most joyful. This earthly joy is soon broken off. he is now in joy: in the twinkling of an eye, it shall be broken off: this hour glade, the next hour, wo. Balthasar was a merry man when he was profaning the vessels of the Lord and banqueting in the mean time of his merriness came the hand, writing upon the wall and then, he begins to shake, and his countenance is changed with shuddering and shaking. 〈…〉. Ye heard in this same chapter, when the wicked says, Peace, all things are sure, then, a sudden destruction overtakes them. So, this worldly joy is ay interrupted, it is ay turned in sorrow; if thou be content with a worldly joy proceeding of a worldly thing, (if it were all the kingdoms of the earth) thy joy shall be turned in a weeping for ever; but, the spiritual joy is continual without interruption. Then, if this be the nature of it, it is spiritual, it is clean and pure, heavenly, not rude, fleshly, nor, earthly. If this be the property of it, Matter of spiritual joy. it continues ay (for, this property must follow on the nature of it, a spiritual thing must ever abide) What can be the matter of it? there must be some cause of this joy. No joy, but there must be some cause and matter, that moves it. Then, what is the matter of it? There are two sorts of things in the world, that wakens up joy in the heart of man. The first is earthly things; ye know the things, worldly honour, riches, they waken up joy in the heart: Another sort is called spritual, heavenly, clean. There is no other, but, these two, either things heavenly, or earthly, to cause men to rejoice. Then, are these earthly things the matter of this spiritual joy he speaks of? Examine the nature of it, it is spiritual, it is the joy of Christ. Will these worldly things, if there be no further consideration of them, cause the Spirit of Christ rejoice within thee? Will a kingdom make Christ's Spirit within the heart of a man, to rejoice, if there be nothing more, but, as it is a worldly kingdom? No, I say, they will not be the matter of this joy: look to these worldly things how thou resavest them, if they be not resaved out of God's hand as arlespennies of heavenly things, and tokens of better benefits and of life everlasting, they shall never make the Spirit of Christ to rejoice in thee. Thy heart may be blithe for worldly things, because thou art an earthly body. A King may rejoice in a kingdom, etc. but, if they be not ta'en out of God's hands, as arlespennies of heavenly and spiritual benefits, the Spirit of Christ shall not rejoice in thee. Take heed, if it were but a morsel of meat, if thou take it out of God's hand, as a token of that heavenly food to life everlasting, the Spirit of Christ shall rejoice in thee. Therefore, be never content of earthly things, as earthly things only, nor, of the natural joy of the heart of man. A sow hes a natural joy, 〈◊〉 in filling the belly. No beast in the field, but it hes a sensual joy in the self, by nature, in the food thereof. Fie on thee, that cannot have more joy, nor a beast. Thou art made for Heaven and not for Kingdoms here: Therefore, rejoice in heavenly things; and I say, the Kow and other beasts are better, nor thou, if thou rejoice not with that heavenly joy, for the kingdom prepared for thee, in jesus Christ. Woe to thee, that hes not the joy, that proceeds of the Spirit of jesus. Again, this joy lasts evermore, it is continual, it bides in the night, it bides in the day, it perishes not. These worldly things are all perishing. He will be a King the day and will be casten down to morrow. He is rich the day, and will be begging to morrow. How can things changeable, be matter to me of joy, that stands evermore? No, they cannot. If my joy rests on earthly things, when earthly things fails me, of necessity my joy must fail me. When the ground of joy fails, my joy must fail. Worldly things must fail, therefore, the joy in worldly things must fail, and specially, in death: Either shall earthly things fail thee, or, else, thou shalt fail them; if thou were a King, thou must fail in thy kingdom, thou must leave 〈◊〉; either shall the worldly things be ta'en from thee, or, thou from them: What Monarch ever yet since the beginning of the world for all their dominions, if they had not God and Christ, had ever a spark of joy at the hour of his death? A dram weight of this joy is worth all the kingdoms of this earth; and if thou hast gotten a little piece of this joy, think it better, nor thou wert made Monarch of all the world. No question, the least piece of Christ's graces and of this regeneration is worth all the Kingdoms of this world. Even so, these earthly things cannot be the matter of this joy. Thou shalt never get the joy of the holy Spirit, if thou seek it in the world. Then, wherein stands this joy? Paul 4. chap. to the Philippians verse 4. says, Rejoice in the Lord. He says not, rejoice in the world, or, kingdoms of the world, but, he says, rejoice in the Lord and in all those graces, he hes brought with him, in remission of sins, in life everlasting, etc. Take heed, compare this joy with the matter thereof, This joy is spiritual, jesus is a Spirit, all his graces are spiritual. Then, these two agrees very well, a spiritual matter, a spiritual joy. Then, again, this joy is continual, Christ is for ever. Heb. 13. 8. His graces stands for ever. All the mercies of God in Christ are eternal and unchangeable. How well then stands these two, a joy continual, a matter continual; a joy, that is eternal; a matter, that is eternal. But, thou wilt say, 〈…〉. albeit that matter of my joy, Christ jesus never perishes, yet, we must perish, and albeit he stand, yet, we must fall. No, no. Paul, to the Rom. chap. 8. vers. 35. says, What shall separate us from the love of God, in Christ? No, if thou be once well imped in him by his Spirit and a lively faith, all the world shall never bring thee back again, thou shalt never be separate, heaven and earth shall first perish, ere they, who are imped in Christ, be separate from him, death shall not separate them. Paul says, Christ is to me both in life and death advantage. Philipp. chap. 1. vers. 21. These earthly things may vantage thee in this natural and transitory life, 〈…〉. riches may vantage thee in this life, honour may be pleasant to thee here, but, when death comes, then may thou justly say, I will get no more vantage of my riches, I will shake all off me and go naked to the grave, but, Christ will go to the grave with me: yea, even, to the resurrection he shall accompany thee, and then, soul and body shall be joined together, and thou shalt be with him for ever. In one word, the matter of this joy are not earthly things, but, spiritual. It is Christ and his graces, that is the ground of all this joy, until thou come to that life everlasting. And this, for the opening up of the words. Learn, Vse● then. There are none of us, that walks in the light of the Gospel of Christ, and hes ta'en the name of Christians upon us, but we are bound and oblist to rejoice, and be glade, and that, not for one time only, one day, or, one night, or, one year or, one season, but, evermore, and at every occasion, in prosperity, in adversity, in life and death, ever rejoice; and weulde ye know the pain? all obligations are under some pain, the pain of it, is, under the pain of banishing us out of God's Kingdom, out of heavenly jerusalem. He that would not rejoice under the hope of heavenly jerusalem must be banished out thereof. Rom. 14. verse 17. God's Kingdom in righteousness and peace, and joy in the holy Ghost; if thou press not to rejoice in Christ and his Kingdom, in life and death, prosperity and adversity, thou shalt be shut out of it. I say, they, who never felt of this heavenly joy, and never rejoiced in Christ, in his Redemption of us from sin, in that life purchased to us, by his blood, who never rejoices in these, but ay is glad when he is exercised about these earthly things, that man never yet saw Christ's Kingdom. And albeit he be outwardly in the Church (the Church is called the Kingdom of God, in the Gospel) yet, indeed, he is not one of the Kingdom, he is going up and down in company with them of the Church, but, he was never in the Church, for, thou must be spiritually in it and not bodily. And if there be a great sin in the world, this is one, not to rejoice in such a matter of joy; God offers thee salvation in Christ; if thou rejoice not therein, thou cannot do a greater contempt to the light of the Gospel, wherein life and salvation is offered, no● a greater injury to God, thou bereaves God of his glory▪ for, what shall be the chief glorifying of God, but a rejoicing in his mercies, through jesus Christ. Alas, what great blessedness we defraud ourselves of, when we rejoice not in the work of our Redemption. It is wonder, what joy the Angels have, in looking in, to this work of the Redemption of man. Peter, in his 1. Epistle, chap. 1. vers. 12. says, The Angel's desires to look in to this mystery. Were not the Angel's preachers to the shiephirds, of that joy and blessing, that came to the world? Luke chap. 2. verse 13. 14. Fie on thee, Christ is come, to redeem thee and not the Angels, and yet, they rejoice, and wilt not thou rejoice? The earth and heaven leaps and rejoices for the hearing of their deliverance by Christ's coming again, and thou cannot rejoice, fie on thee, When all the dumb creatures, above, under, and about thee, rejoices, and thou cannot rejoice. Waken up that dead heart of thine, and rejoice in God, or, else, the spirit of sorrow and sadness shall waken thee, that thou shalt weep for ever. The time of joy is precious, if thou rejoice not here, thou shalt never get that joy in Heaven hereafter. Now, ye will say, should we rejoice ay? The wise man says, Ecclest. chap. 3. vers. 4. 〈…〉. All things hes the time, there is a time of weeping, a time of laughing. How should we ay be glad? I answer, it is true, there is a time of mourning, and a time of sadness: and, I trow, this same very time is the time of sadness. But, I tell thee, again, for all this sadness, rejoice must thou, and when thou art commanded to be sad, for sin, thou art commanded to rejoice in Christ, for remission thereof: where nothing is in the heart but sadness, it will bring a man to despair, Sadness would ever be mingled with joy, sadness, for misery, would be mingled with joy, for hope of relief, or, else, the end shall be despair. And it is wonderful, to see the Spirit of jesus at ● time to work joy and sadness, 〈…〉. how he will make the heart sigh, with sighs unspeakable, and in that moment, with that same very sigh, that same very Spirit will make the heart rejoice with joy unspeakable: Know ye not this? This sadness is called contrition and brokenness of heart, it is a sadness wrought in the heart with sighs unspeakable, conjoined with joy, that is unspeakable, if it be with faith in jesus Christ. Peter says, 1. Epist. 1. cha. 8. verse. believing in jesus Christ, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorious. So, when thou art sad, have thy eyes set upon Christ, when thou art sad, go from the sight of men, but go not from the sight of Christ, if thou wert in wilderness, if Christ be in thy eyes, with sadness, unspeakable joy shall be mingled. Then weeping is recommended, rejoicing is recommended, and we must sorrow while we are here, but look, that, Christ in thy sorrowing be in thy eyes, and that joy that is mingled with sadness, in the end it shall swallow up the sadness, life shall swallow up death. But ye will say, the best man and most faithful will be some times so easten down, that he cannot get a spark of joy, look to it. Thou wilt say, rejoice thou; he will say, I cannot; 〈…〉. I tell you, if he had all the kingdoms of the world, he would give them for a spark of joy, the soul of him will be, as it were, beat down to Hell. How then says he, rejoice euermore● how can he bid this? The answer is easy. The Apostle speaks of that thing, that should be indeed: it is true, a Christian should ever rejoice; and it is as true, at some time, there will not appear a spark of joy in him. But, I say, if ever a person hes gotten the Spirit of jesus, and hes had this solid joy, that person shall never altogether lose that spark of comfort and joy. Yea, brethren, that spark of comfort and joy will be lying, as it were, smored under an heap of ashes, so, that, it will not be known by the persons self, in whom it is, and yet, it will be lurking in this heart; and in spite of the devil and the world (that would drive men to despair) it will break out. David felt this, when he had angered the Spirit. and says, Restore to me thy spirit again Psal. 51. vers. 12. He had done foul facts, adultery and murder, he lay long in these sins, yet the Spirit leaves him not, but, abode in him, and yet he says, restore to me thy Spirit; for, yet, he could scarce know, that, he had the Spirit, albeit in the meantime this Spirit was within him. The Lord keep us, from angering this Spirit; if thou anger him, he will anger thee, and will draw himself aside, in such sort, that thou wilt not know, thou hast him; and, in the meantime, he will waken the conscience of sin and make it accuse thee, and as a torture within thee, to torment thee, as if thou wert in Hell. Therefore, anger not the Spirit of jesus. This much for this precept. Now, as to the precept of Prayer, to touch it shortly, When he said, rejoice evermore. Then, he says, Pray continually. There the third link of this chui●e, Prayer. Prayer, The first, patience; The second; Rejoicing; The third; Prayer● Pray continually, says he. The Apostle, 4. chap. Philipp. 6. 7. verses. He draws out the peace of God, out of Prayer: Be 〈◊〉 careful in any thing, but, in all things let your requests be shown up to God, by prayer and thanksgiving. Then, he says, The peace of God, that passes all understanding, shall be a guard to your myddes and consciences. As if he had said, when ye are troubled for any worldly thing, I tell you, if ye can call to God. for all things that falls out, ye shall get contentment; Gods, Spirit shall guard you in all trouble, the peace of God shall preserve you; what hast thou lost, when thou hast lost the world and gotten that heavenly joy? When thou hast gotten an heavenly thing for an earthly, what hast thou lost? No, never man, in the want of an earthly thing prayed to God effectually, but, he got comfort, he got that peace of conscience. So, that, if the got not the earthly thing, he got heavenly things. Thou wilt find such joy in the heart, after prayer, that it is unspeakable. Then, it is prayer, that fosters joy: For, I tell you, homeliness with God in prayer, makes joy, and keeps God's presence in our eyes Ever seek from him and ever speak to him, and that will keep the face of jesus before us. Now, what is it, that keeps joy in the heart? Only the keeping of the face of jesus in the heart. When thou hast not the face of jesus, no joy. Turn thy heart from the face of Christ, and turn thy speech from him, thou shalt have no joy in heart. Again, turn thy heart to the face of jesus, hold thy heart before his face, of necessity thou shalt have joy. Felt ye ever the spiritual joy, when ye felt not Christ in the heart? Who ever felt comfort, that felt not Christ dwelling in their heart? None. Therefore, Peter says, Believing in him. (What is believing in him, but, keeping him in heart?) were juice with joy unspeakbale. 1. Epist. chap. 1. verse 8. Would to God this were more, nor words. Our heart and mind is so blind and senseless, that, Christ and all his graces is but words and wind, that strikes on the ear. Seek the solid feeling of Christ in the heart. Think it not enough, to prattle of him and to have him in thy mouth, but, seek to find him in thy heart. Thou shalt never find him, if thou find him not in thy heart, it is in the heart, he makes his residence; and if he be inthy heart, thou shalt know: for, thou shalt find a sensible joy possessing thy heart and it shall open thy mouth, to say, dwell Lord, in my heart: The Lord work these things, that they be not words. Now, brethren, there are two sorts of prayer. One, in seeking to beg and seek at God, two sorts of prayer. for, we are all beggars. The other is in thanking him, when we have gotten any thing: Seeking must come of need and necessity: a beggar must be a misterfull body, otherways, 1. Seeking he is a shameless beggar. He is shameless, who can stand before God and seek any thing, if he have no sense of his need and mister? Our need and mister is double. For, we mister ay a new grace, every moment, a new benefit: we never get so many graces at once, but, ever there is some new grace we stand in need of. God gives thee not all benefits at once, but he will have thee ever seeking: again, when we have received any grace, we have need of a new grace, to keep it. Alas, we are so weak, that, we cannot but lose the grace, that, God hes bestowed on us, except the Lord's hand follow on and keep it in our heart. There are two needs of prayer. One need of grace, another need, to keep the grace, we have received. So, there is two sorts of begging: the first is for grace; the next is for keeping of the grace. Never weary to ask. The Lord would have thee ever begging. Ay, say, Lord, give me. Then, say, Lord keep this grace, thou hast given me, otherways, I will lose it. For, I assure thee, if the Lords hand be not every moment holding grace in thy heart, thou art ay ready to lose it. Therefore, the Apostle says, Pray continually. Alas, if we knew what thing we are bound to, we would discharge a better duty to our God, we should not pass the time in playing, but, we should pray continually. Ye will think it an hard thing to be ever praying; ye will say, should we do no other thing, but, ay, pray, should this be our exercise continually? Take heed: By praying, is understood, not preceesly this outward form of prayer, the falling down on our knees, the lifting up of our hands and eyes, so, that we do not another turn. No, I mean not so. Thou hast a lawful vocation, go win thy living, according to thy calling. He that said, Pray continually, The same said, Go labour and win thy living, otherways, thou shalt not eat. Away with Munkries' and Nunneries. Then, when continual prayer is craved, no other thing is craved, but, that, thy heart and mind be ever exercised on God. Let thy heart and contemplation of thy mind be ever on him, be never so distracted with any exercise of the world, but, keep God ever, in some measure, before thy eyes, seeking his grace and blessing to thy exercise. When thou art busiest in thy exercise, let thy heart be seeking blessing thereto. Paul says, 1. Cor. 10. chap. 31. verse, Whether ye eat, or, drink, or, what ever ye do all to the glory of God. If I eat to the glory of God, my heart must be blessing & thanking him for the benefit received, seeking a blessing of him, that it may do me good, desiring, also, that heavenly food. I tell thee, this earthly food should be nothing else to thee, but, a remembrance of heavenly things, and of Christ, that is only the food of the soul. Then, in all thy exercises, ever hold thy heart on God; let thy heart be praying, when thy tongue is speaking of these things, that concerns thy exercise, so, thy exercise shall be in the Lord. The Apostle uses to say, do this, and do that, in the Lord. What means he, but, only, in that doing thy heart should be set on the Lord? Ay entertain God's Spirit. Think not, that, the exercising of the heart on Christ shall hinder thee, in any thing, in thy exercise. No, but, by the contrary, the face of God looking on thee it brings blessing; keep him in thy eye and think on him, and so, thy exercise shall be sweet; keep God in thy eye, and thou shalt find a wonderful joy, and an help in thy exercise. Now, I end, with this prayer. Lord, seeing there is no blessing but, when we keep jesus Christ in our eyes, Lord, grant, that, the face of Christ go never out of our eyes let never the remembrance of jesus depart from us. To this Christ, be honour and glory, for ever. AMEN. THE XXV. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 5. vers. 18. 19 18 In all things give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ jesus, toward you? 19 Quench not the Spirit. THE last part of this Epistle (Brethren) which we have in hand presently, stands in an exhortation to an holy life and conversation worthy of the Lord jesus Christ. The last day, we show you, there are three precepts joined together; the precept of patience, to bear wrong and injuries in this world patiently, and not to rander evil for evil, as we are bend by nature, but, to do good for evil. Then next, the precept of joy, the inward joy, and peace of soul and conscience, that passes all understanding that, evermore we should rejoice. And last, the precept of prayer, which stands in two parts, the one, in seeking at the hands of God; the other, in thanking him, for the grace received at his hands. We show you that conjunction that is among these graces, patience, joy and prayer, patience is the effect of joy, and the inward joy that is heavenly and spiritual is the mean to entertain patience, and to make a man bear patiently the wrongs he suffers in this present world▪ for, in a manner, it ravishes him up above the world and all things in the world, and makes him to look over all these earthly things and injuries that falls out in the world, as though they were not, and, in some measure, he hes his contemplation with God, in Heaven. So, that, the joy he hes will swallow up all these earthly troubles, and the life of God in him will swallow up mortality and death. Again, prayer is the mean to entertain that joy we have with God, for, it keeps God's presence and the face of jesus in our sight, and the face of jesus is so joyful, as no tongue can tell: For, all the light and joy we have in our hearts proceeds from the face of jesus, and from the face of God in Christ, and then, it shines on us. And this face of jesus it shines in the Gospel. And therefore, blessed were we, if we could look ever in the mirror of the Gospel, where we shall get this light and the face of Christ, that makes us rejoice: it appears in a mirror now, but, we shall see him face to face, when the body of jesus shall be perfect; all is but a beginning now, that, we have here, he is far from us, and all the sight we have of him is but a blenke; let every one look to experience; there are so many things goes in between us and him, that we can scarcely keep his face, in the which stands our joy. Always, it is prayer, that enterteines this presence of God; look to it by experience, take away prayer that men pray not to God, take away mediatation and thanking of God, take away this communing with God, it shall pass thy power, to have any presence of him, and without his presence, no joy in him. Then, shortly, to come to the matter in hand: This prayer consists in two parter. In ask and seeking at him, according to the needs and master's we have, we are full of wants and master's. There is none of us all, from the greatest to the lowest, from the King to the beggar but great is the need we have; so, every one of us hes need to be begging: never was there a beggar at our door, that hes so great need to beg, as we have need to beg at God's hand: beg things spiritual and things temporal; things for this life, things for the life to come; for, if we beg not, we shall die for hunger and plain want of grace, and we shall, not only lose this life present, but a better life, life everlasting. The next part of Prayer is thanksgiving; we spoke the last day of seeking. Now, this day, first, in this text, we have red, we have to speak of thanksgiving which we should rander to God. The words are. In all things give thanks; for, this is the will of God. When he hes said, pray continually, immediately he subjoins, in all things give thanks. Mark it. So he joins these two together, Sec. part of prayer; thanksgiving. Prayer, or, ask at God, and then, thanking of him. Brethren, I see, not only in this present text these two things, Prayer and thanksgiving joined together, but, in sundry other places, Philippi. chap. 4. verse 6. Be not careful for any thing, but, in every thing let your requests be shown forth to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. To the Colossians 4 chap. 2. verse, Continue, says he, in prayer and watching, with thanksgiving. there, they are conjoined: Seeking & thanksgiving, ever joined together. the one of these should not be severed from the other; Prayer should not be severed from thanksgiving, thanksgiving should not be severed from prayer. The need and necessity we have in this world, that moves us to prayer, is not so great, but, ever there is matter of thanksgiving to God, for the graces that is given every moment of our life, day and night: For, there are none of us, but we have experimented, in some measure, the bountifulness of our loving God; who dare say otherways, but in the greatest strate, that ever he was in, he ●and by experience of the mercy of God, a measure of grace, for relief? Alas, if it were no more, but this grace; in thy need, to get grace to seek grace, it is a special grace; thou art oblist to thank God, for that grace, thou getst, to beg grace. Again the blessing and mercy of God is never shown on us in such abundance in this world, but, in the me and 〈◊〉 thou hast need and mister, and in the most flourishing estate, thou art in, thou standest in need. The greatest Monarch, that is in his greatest flourishing, he stands in need; and therefore, as he hes cause to thank that God, that hes exalted him, so hes he cause, to be a beggar, to seek more: For, there is a Kingdom, that is above all Kingdoms; a glory, above all this glory; riches, above all these riches; a pleasure, above all earthly pleasure; so, as long as thou art not come to this height; yet, beg, for, none shall come to that height, neither King, nor, Monarch shall come there, but, by continual begging. Ye see David, in his Psalms, he prays and asks, when he is in need and in his necessity. But, at that same very time, he also thanks: Ye see, he will begin a Psalm with great heaviness of heart, but, ere he come to the end, ye will see, in that same Psalm, how he will rejoce, and with joy he will thank. Then, look Paul, in the beginning of all his Epistles, he commonly says, I thank God for you; but what more? are ye in such estate, that, I need not pray for you? No. Therefore, he subjoins, ever praying for you. As he would say, as I am thanking God for you; so, I am a beggar for you. Brethren, learn to pray, by example of these old fathers, who were better learned, nor we. When thou seekest any thing at God, thank him also; there is not a more forcible argument to God, to move God to grant any thing, nor to thank him: I cannot know what tune a prayer can have, without thanking: For, effectual prayer cannot be without thanking. To let you see this, in one word. Read Rom. chap. 8. verse 36. and there, ye shall find, that, the Spirit of jesus interceedes for us. Well, if the Spirit of jesus raise up in the heart sighs, and furnishes thee prayer, it shall not be without thanksgiving. And if thy prayer be any thing worth, it must come from the Spirit of God. Many will make a form of prayer, but, without the Spirit, it is but prattling: and therefore, their prayer is abominable. Therefore, enter never to prayer, but ask the Spirit of jesus to pray with. It is impossible to man to open his mouth to pray fervently, except the Lord open it by his Spirit. David say in his 51. Psalm, verse 15. Lord, open thou my mouth and then, I shall preach thy praise. And Paul, to the Corinthians, says, None can name the name of jesus and call him Lord, but by the holy Ghost. 1. Cor. 12. chap. 2. vers. if the Spirit open not thy mouth, thou may babble of that glorious name, but, to speak of it to thy comfort, and as thou should do, without the Spirit teach thee, it is impossible. Now, to return to the matter. If the prayer be any thing worth, if the Spirit of jesus request for us with sighs unspeakable, then, impossible it is, but God must answer thee. The Spirit of 〈…〉 never seek any thing at God, without effect. If the Spirit 〈◊〉 prayer to thee, it is impossible, but thou must resave an answer. Rom. chap. 8. vers. 26. it is said, The spirit intercedes with sighs unspeakable: And the Lord knows the meaning of his own spirit. A man sighs not so soon with the Spirit of God, but, as soon is the sigh conveyed up to the presence of God. And to speak it plain, the sigh touches not the heart of man so soon, but, as soon it touches the heart of God; so, of necessity he must receive an answer. The very prayer makes a way and access to the presence of God. And brethren, all the joy in this world is in that sight and presence of God. Thou never knew what joy was, that never got a sight of God, in Christ. Then, what must joy bring out? (Prayer to God gets God's presence, the presence brings joy) What must joy bring out? Of necessity, an heart, that rejoices, must burst out in thankfulness. If the heart rejoice, the mouth must be opened to thank. Go to experience. Your hearts was never touched with joy, but, either heart, or, mouth bursted out in thanking. joy cannot be without thanking, and the proper effect of joy it thankfulness. Then, ye see, neither should these two, Prayer and thankfulness be severed one from another, neither can they be severed. It may be, our Spirit will make us pray and utter not thanksgiving; but, all that is partling and uttering of grief, and not prayer; but, the Spirit of God prays not without thanking God, and again, he thanks not, without prayer. Now, to go forward. I have made you see how these two goes together. But, to come nearer the purpose: We said, whatsoever fort of prayer it be, whether it be ask or thanking, it serves to bring out joy, all tends to joy; for, in joy is our blessedness: I ●ould you the last day, the blessedness of man is in rejoicing in God. So, that, he who hes not that spiritual joy, hes no blessedness, if they had all the world. Then, we see, prayer brings joy, ask brings joy, so, also, we see, thanking brings joy, thanking of God rises on joy, thanking of God ends in joy, thanking of God stands in the midst. Prayer will begin with sorrow, and it ends in joy, upon this joy comes thanking, upon thanking comes joy again. So, all ends in joy. Would ye have this out of the Scripture? in that 4. Philipp. verse 7. draws not Paul that peace of God, that passes all understanding, our of prayer and thanksgiving? In all things, let your requests be shown to God with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. Then, he subjoines, when ye have prayed and thanked, that peace, says he, that passes all understanding, shall guard your minds in Christ. Then, peace rises on these two grounds, prayer and thanksgiving to God. So, thanking brings joy, aswell as prayer. To go forward in the words. Thank him, says he, in all things. As he would say, in all things, that are incident and falls out in the world, thank him. As all is matter of joy, Prosperity and adversity; well, woe; life, death; so, let all be matter of thanking, what ever he sends, thank him. Is it a great matter, to thank him in prosperity, when things goes well with thee? But, I say, thou hast not the grace of thanksgiving, except thou can thank him aswell in adversity, as prosperity, aswell in death, as in life. Then, I see, these three things, joy, prayer and thanking, they have a common property, which is continuance, without intermission, in all manner of things, in prosperity, in adversity, in well, in woe, in life, in death rejoice evermore; in prosperity, in adversity, in well, in woe, in life, in death, pray ever. And last, in prosperity, in adversity, in well, in woe, in life, in death, in all things thank him: Will ye go through them. As for joy, thy estate can not be so evil in the world, if thou be in Christ, but thou hast matter of joy: Then, again, were thy estate in this world never so good, yet, thou hast need to pray; for, so long as thou remainest here, thou getst not all graces: And last, if thy estate were never so miserable, yet, if thou have a grip of Christ, thou hast matter to thank God▪ Then, if this be true, hes not the Apostle said well? Rejoice evermore. Then pray continually, then, in all things give thanks to God: Let not therefore these things be words only, but, practise them in life. There is none of us, but we have matter to practise our joy. Who are in such a misery, but they have some matter of joy; yea, there are none of us, but we have cause, to use all these precepts; Rejoice evermore; pray continually; and in all things give thanks. Now, to come to the reason, in the next words. For, this is the will of God. In all things, in prosperity, in adversity, thank him. Wherefore? Because it is Gods will, that, ye should thank him, aswell in adversity, as in prosperity; in death, aswell as in life, it is his will, rest on his will. Yet, brethren, to speak one word of this will (I have spoken of it sundry times before) I say, and the Scripture says, The only light of this world is God's will. God's will, the only thing to be known, & the only rule of our actions. And I say, the only knowledge and wisdom, that a man can have in this world, is to know what is God's will. Fie on all the knowledge and wisdom of men in this world, if they know not this. He will start up, and he will be called a wise man. All the Philosophers would be counted wise men: but, which of all the Philosophers did know what was God's will? And these two parts of his will is specially ●oulds us in the Scripturel First, what we should do, that we may serve him. And then, what he will do with us. A vain Philosopher he knows much of nature, but knows he the will of God? Knows he it not? Then, he is a plain fool. Knows he these things? Then, he is a wise man. Paul, to the Ephesians, chap. 5. verse 17. Be not fools, but understand what is the will of God. Then, wherein stands wisdom? To know what is the will of God. Who is the fool? He that knows not, what is the will of God. Who knows God's will is wise, and the end shall prove it. Then as the only true knowledge and wisdom in this world is to know Gods will: so, the only 〈◊〉 and square of our life in the world, is the rule of Gods will. There are two things, we have to seek, knowledge and action. Would thou have knowledge? Know Gods will. Would thou have action and do any thing that would merit any commendation? Do according to Gods will. The rule, of all actions that is truly commendable in God's sight is his will: for, that man who hes the commendation of God, is only the man, that should be commended; do any thing because God hes willed thee to do it; go not to thy, own will▪ for, thou do, thy will & manners not being agreeable with Gods will, shall lead thee to Hel. Then, do nothing, but, according to Gods will. First, know what is God's will, and then, do nothing for all the world, but, that, which is agreeable thereto. If thou dost thy own will, or, the will of any man, look, that, it be conformable to Gods will and so, do it, otherways, not, and then, do it, because it is the will of God, and not because it is the will of man. Then, see ye not, how grave an argument, the Apostle sets down, knowing it is Gods will, that, we should thank him ay, should we not repose on his will? It is God's will, which is the only light and rule of all actiones. Whosoever knows his will, they have a fair light in all their actiones. A man will never wander wrong, who hes such a light before his eyes. If thou see, that, it be God's will that thou go through wilderness, through darkness, yea, through Hell, obey his will and take journey, and I promise thee, thou shalt find the fairest outgait, that ever was. Count not of the way, if thou have the light of the will of God before: It is not possible, that, Hell shall prevail against that body, that sets the self to pleasure God. Well is him, that sets himself to pleasure him, who is Lord over all, and who only is able to pleasure us all. The world shall not pleasure thee, if God pleasure the not. What matter to displease all the world, if we set ourselves to please him. Mark, further, he says, It is the will of God, towards you. This is a special will, that concornes all Christians, not a general will, concerning the world, but, a special will, concerning you, that are Christians, who hes given your names to Christ, and are translated from this world, that ye thank him, in prosperity and adversity, in well and woe, there is the meaning. Then, ye see, in this place, a special, will of God concerning this calling we stand in, and the special, will of God, concerning us Christians, is, that we thank him: Christian men and women are most debtfull to thank him, and aught, above all creatures, to thank him: Fie on thee, that will take the name of Christ on thee and not thank him. Thank him in all things, he can lay before thee. It is his will, that thou thank him, at least, strive to thank him for well and woe, prosperity and adversity, for death, aswell, as life. As for other men, jews, Turks and Pagans, etc. that are not Christians, God craves not this thanksgiving at them. A marvelous thing. The Turk he hes the glory and wealth of the world, and yet the Lord says, I will have no thanks of thee, neither in well, nor in woe, because thou art not in Christ, all my glory is in Christ, all the service I crave in the world is in Christ. So, the prattling of the Turk and jew, that makes them to thank God, is all but vanity, he craves it not of them. O, how great a honour is it, to call a man to thank and to serve him. No, never King got such great honour, as we get, when we are called to thank and to serve that King of Kings, all our glory stands in serving and making homage to God; so blessed are they that are called to this honour, through jesus Christ. Therefore, he says, through Christ, meaning, that, in Christ is the matter of all thanksgiving. There is matter in Christ, of all thanksgiving. In well and woe, Christ is to me advantage, both in life and death▪ says Paul. If thou hast advantage in death, why should not thou thank him? In one word, where Christ is, there is matter of thanksgiving to God, in the greatest misery we can be in the world. Again, where Christ is not and who are not in him, as members of that glorious body, joined in society with that glorious head, if they had all this broad world, they have no cause to be merry, nor to thank, no, to open their mouth to praise. And to speak the truth, they cannot be merry. They may laugh, but, the true joy is in God, he is the Lord of joy; a man may well laugh, but, he can have no true joy, except he have jesus in his heart. That man in adversity and in the point of death will laugh more sweetly and utter greater joy, nor the greatest worldly man in the midst of his prosperity. So, I say, and I command thee, look, that, thou rejoice not, without Christ; I say, to all men, rejoice not, but, be sad, if thou hast not Christ. The Lord hes not ordained thee to be glad, it is his will, only that they, that are in Christ, rejoice, and be never glad until thou get Christ. I counsel you, if ye had all the world, if ye find not Christ in the heart be, never glad. What matter hast thou to be glad, when the great God turns his back on thee? It may be, he will cast a kingdom to thee over his shoulder, as it were a bone casten to a dog, what is that to thee, if thou get not his joyful presence? Read David, in all his Psalms, he was never glad, but, when he had the presence of God. Now, I come to the next precept. Quench not the spirit. The words are few, but, they contain great matter. Quench not the spirit, put not out the holy Spirit of Christ. Take heed. He ●es been speaking before of the graces of God. What is patience in suffering wrong? What is joy? What is thankfulness, but the graces of the Spirit? He hes been before speaking of his graces and recommending them to thee. Now he comes to that glorious person himself, who is the giver and worker of all these graces, of Patience, of Joy, of Prayer and Thanksgiving. The holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity that God gives to me and thee, if thou be God's servant. It is vanity to think that a true Christian man gets only the graces of the Spirit: they get the very Spirit. No, it is not the graces of the Spirit that will dwell in the heart and soul and body of a man; no, but the Spirit itself. The Spirit will devil as surely within thy heart as ever a man dwelled in an house. That Comforter that Christ promised to his disciples when he was going up to Heaven, was not the graces of the Spirit; no, but, the Spirit itself to dwell in our heart, and to work it in all the graces. So, it is not the graces, but, the spirit he speaks of, here, when he says, quench not the spirit. Paul says, Ephes. chap 4. vers. 30 Grieve not the holy spirit. It is a simple guestning to make thy guest sad, make not the spirit of Christ sad: Paul says in another place, that the spirit is given thee as an arlispenny of thy salvation. Ephes. cha. 1. vers. 14. Thou ●oses the arles-pennie, if thou make him sad. But to the words. The speech, when he says, Quenching of the spirit. quench not the Spirit appears to be metaphorical. It is borrowed and not proper and it is borrowed from a fire or candle that uses to give light and heat. Then if it must not be quenched: It must follow that the Spirit of Christ must be a fire within us; It must follow, he must be a light enlightening our souls as a lantern and lamp of light set up within the dark and dead soul, to let the soul and affectiones have light; and the Spirit of jesus shines within the dark soul of a man, as a lantern shines in a dark night, and puts out that mass of darkness that is in the soul of man. And therefore because it is as a fire, he says, Quench not, And Paul to Timothy 2. Epistle chap. 1. vers. 6. sayeth, stir up or kindle the gift that is in thee, it is like a flaming fire, the gift of it is but a light or flame that comes from this fire. So he says, Stir up, kindle up the gift that thou hast received. Now ye see by experience, a fire or light is two manner of ways quenched; take me away coals timber, or such other matter to burn; take me away the nourishment that holds in the fire, it will die out: Another way, cast water on it smore it, it will also die out, albeit ye take not burning things from it. So it is with this heavenly fire: First draw me away the means whereby the Spirit is fostered, and the fire of the Spirit is holden in (for as the fire feeds on the subject, so the fire of the Spirit feeds on the own nutriture and food) take me away this food of the Spirit, as thou seest a fire die out, so he will die out. Take me away this word and prophesying, even this word preached, take me away the ministry, Mean● to 〈◊〉 the spirit. in spite of thy heart the Spirit shall die out. The world would feign have this word away, but this is a main violence done to jesus, to put the light of jesus out of the heart: O Lord what count shall there be at that great day for the contempt of this word! But is there no more to be had but the hearing of this word, to entertain the Spirit of jesus? Yea. It will not be the hearing only that will hold in the Spirit. Thy life must be answerable to the word. Thou must feed him with holy motions and thoughts within the heart, feed him with holy speeches in the mouth. Paul Ephesians 4. chap. 29. verse, speaking of certain vices to be contemned, he means plainly that rotten talk puts out the Spirit. Last, he is fed within the soul with holy actions, that holds in the light of jesus Spirit: As the oil holds in the fire, take away these materials, the Spirit shall die within thee. The other mean to put him out is not only to draw away from him the matter he feeds on, but to give him as it were poison to feed on. An harlot poisons him with an harlatrous heart: A murderer with a bloody heart: A blasphemer with a blasphemous heart; we poison him with foul thoughts in the heart, foul speeches in the mouth, wicked actions in the hands, this is water to put out the fire. Then brethren learn one lesson. As every one should take heed to the graces of the Spirit, to keep patience joy, prayer, and thankfulness continually (these are the graces of the spirit) So specially and before all we should take heed to the work● of all, the holy Ghost that dwells in our souls as a temple. Take heed how thou treatst him, what entertainment thou givest him, look that thou treat him well, do every thing thou thinkest may pleasure him abstain from all things may offend him. Set thy heart to please him, and let thy pleasure be in pleasing him, and pray ever, Lord if thou hast given me thy Spirit, give me grace to entertain him that I anger him not, Lord give me grace to do all things to please him, to do nothing to offend him. Alas if a honourable man would come in thy house and take a nights ludging, thou would look diligently that all the house and family were in good order. So hold thy body and soul in reverence and order for the holy Spirits sake that dwells in thee, otherways he will not judge with thee. Murderer, file not thy hands with blood if thou would have him to dwell with thee. Paul says 1. Cor. chap. 6. verse 19 20. The Lord hes bought thee out of the devils hands, out of thy own hands, for thou would lose both thy soul and thy body, if it were in thy hand. He hes bought thee with the blood of the immaculate Lamb, and to this purpose to be a ludging of the holy Spirit to dwell in. He is speaking to harlots, he says. Thou art not thy own: Thou art bought with a price. God hes bought thee with the blood of Christ to be a temple of the holy Spirit. Where the Spirit ludges, there is the Father and the Son, the whole Trinity. So in effect the man bought with the blood of Christ is a ludging to the Trinity, the Father, Son and holy Ghost. Alas, if thou could look to this, for all the world thou would not destroy that ludging of God. If once this truth of God could sink in men's hearts, for all the world they would not quench this Spirit and defile this temple of God. Alas the blindness of men who knows not what estate they stand in for want of sight and attention, for want of regarding of the truth we go to Hell. And if ever thing was to be deplored in this world, this is to be deplored that the Spirit of God is abused; when he comes to sanctify men and women he gets villainy and wrong done to him: they would pollute him when he comes to sanctify them. Indeed he is disludged of his ludging. These murderers takes him by violence, as it were, and with their hands puts him out of their heart by the shoulders. God keep us from the sin against the holy Ghost. Go thou on this way ay contemning the Spirit, thou shalt enter in this sin which shall never be for given thee in this life nor in the life to come. Now to speak of the way how we may know that we have this Spirit. These things cannot be told by words, thou must go to experience and there is none of you that hes had a taste of the sweetness of the Spirit, but ye will feill him dwell in you; if ye have him, thou wilt know him aswell as ever thou knew any guest that ludged with thee, for he brings with him such a fair light, such a life and joy, etc. that thou may easily know him. He comes in joy, in prayer, in thanksgiving, thou wilt know him in these, but thou wilt find him in experience; if thou growest in his service to honour and reverence him as he dwells in thee. To treat him as thou wouldst treat a honourable man that ludges with thee; he will dwell with thee, but if thou be sluggish in these things, thou wilt find he will draw himself to a nuke of thy soul, as it were, for a time, thou wilt find him cease from his working of regeneration within thee: if thou cease to entertain him by prayer godliness in heart, holy speeches in the mouth, holy actions in the hand, he will lie close within thee for a time and do nothing. And then if the man be godly, he will be ●ad and sorry: For no joy in the godly but when he feels the Spirit within him. Now if when he is not well 〈◊〉, he depart: How much more when we strive, as it were, to poison him, when we bring up evil motions in spite of him, when we fall out in evil language in mouth, evil deeds in the hand, shall he withdraw himself and departed, so that we will find no sense of joy? When a man fails to harlotry, he smores the Spirit. As for example, David, if ever man felt the Spirit of jesus in him, he felt him; yet when he fell to adultery and murder the spirit lay so close in him that he found him not. Then he wakens, and says. I have been sleeping. I find not the joy that I was wont, and so he says, Restore to me thy spirit again. Psa. 51. verse 12. Would he have said restore, except he had found the Spirit of God which he had before, withdrawn in working within him: What shall I say. No joy nor rest without this Spirit be enterteinde within us. The Lord give us grace to entertain him in soul and body, in holy speeches, thoughts and deeds. To this Lord be glory and praise for ever. AMEN. THE XXVI. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 5. vers. 20. 21. 22. 23. 20 Despise not prophesying. 21 Try all things, and keep that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23 Now the very God of peace sanctify you throughout: and I pray God that your whole spirit and soul and body may be kept blameless unto the coming of our Lord jesus Christ. IN this part of this Epistle (brethren) there are certain exhortations and precepts so linked together, that the next is ay the cause and mean of the former. He began at Patience in suffering, and not randering evil for evil, but recompensing good for evil. Then he came to joy. Rejoice evermore. joy is the mean and cause of Patience: from joy he came to Prayer, in ask that which we need at the hands of God, and in thanking him for the grace and benefit received. Prayer is the mean that interteines joy in the heart; from Prayer he came to the Spirit, the holy Spirit of God who is the worker of all these graces in our heart. The Spirit works Patience, the Spirit it works joy, the same Spirit 〈◊〉 up the heart to Prayer and to thankfulness. This Spirit the worker of all grace in the heart should not be quenched by leaving off of well doing, or by doing evil, for both these two quenches the Spirit. Now shortly to come to ou● purpose. In the first verse we we have read presently. He comes to the mean whereby the Spirit of Christ, the worker of all graces with us, especially is inter●ind in the soul and heart of a man and woman. And he says Despise not Prophesying. The thing he recommends is Prophesying. To make the words plain to you. By Prophesying here I understand not the foretelling of things to come (as there was raised up from time to time Prophets in the Church of God that foretold either well or w● that was to fall on the church in the own time) this prophesying was not such foretelling of things to come, it is no other thing in this place but the opening up of the Scripture: and so this word Prophesying is ta'en in the 1. Cor. 14. chap. throughout all that chap. But he that Prophecies, says he, he speaks to men, to edifing, to exhortation and consolation. That is, he applies the word of God to the present use for the time: So that if a man needs to be edified, he edifies; to be comforted he comforts; to be exhorted, the exhorteth. So then to make the words plain, ` Despise not Prophesying: It is as much as he would say, despise not the preaching of the word, despise not this ministry whose calling is to preach this word. Now, brethren ye see here among all the means whereby the Spirit of Christ is enterteinde in the heart of a man, the Apostle makes a choice in this place of preaching, hearing the word of God set down in the Scripture opened up and applied to the right use. Certainly, this is to the great commendation of this same visible ministry, and of this teaching of the word in the presence of the congregation and people of God. Shall I tell you? There is such a necessity of the preaching of this word (for as base as it seems to men) that if it be not holden up, farewell the Spirit of jesus Christ. If it be not, there shall not be in the earth a visible Church, for the word preached is the slandart that is holden up on high to the world, that men and women that would be safe may go in under it and make up a Church. Take me away this slandart, where shall men go to? who shall know the Church? So take me away this outward preaching of the word unto the which men should resort to seek salvation, no Church. Will men go to experience (I shall but touch it) there is but over great experience of this in this Country this day: Abstain 〈◊〉 hearing of the word, let it be of negligence or of malice, yet thou shalt in process of time feel thy heart void of all sense and feeling of God, thou shalt lose thy eyes, thy light and sight of God, thou shalt lose the sight of life and Heaven, if that thou do it in contempt and malice, thou shalt grow as profane as a profane dog, and wallow in all kind of wickedness, and evil deed after evil deed shall fall out in thy hand. Look to the great men of this land. What is the cause he is such a murderer? Only the contempt of this word preached. What is the cause he is such an adulterer? only the contempt of the word. I cannot tell if there be any great men's houses (at least there is very few) but thou may see the contempt of this word hes heaped judgement on judgement on them. Ye who would read of Prophesying which is the opening up of the word in the face of the Church of God, and who would read of the powerful working of it in the heart of men. read 1. Cor. chap. 14. verse 1. Seek after spiritual things, but specially after Prophesying. And in that same chapter 24. verse by supposition he lets us see, by comparison between Prophesying and strange language, what prophesying works: When a man is teaching the word, then comes in at the door an infidle that hes no understanding, he lays to his ear and hears, and he hears himself rebuked; incontinent his conscience wakens and lets him see the filth that is within him. So the poor man having his conscience wakened, he falls down on his face and seeks mercy, and then he will be moved to make a confession, and say, It cannot be but this man hes the Spirit of God that makes my sin so manifest to me, it cannot be the spirit of man, but it must be the power of God whereby he speaks. I will not insist, Brethren. I shall sum up to you in few words the diversity of the disposition of men concerning this word of God. Al is not alike disposed, Diversity of men's disposition concerning the word. toward the Spirit and the word, which two things only saves men. There are some that cares neither for the Spirit nor the word, such 〈…〉 dogs; atheists, men living without God in the world; speak of a Spirit to them they will scorn it; a profane body that hes not the Spirit, the name of a spirit is but a scorn unto him, tell him of spiritual life he will laugh an heedful laughter. Likewise speak to him of the word, and tell that salvation must be by the word. the profane dog will laugh and scorn at it. These are the worst men in the world. There is another sort that claims to a Spirit. They will acknowledge the Spirit of God, but when it comes to the word of God, they will fevere so the word from the Spirit, as though the word had nothing ado with the Spirit, nor the Spirit with the word: And as though all the speaking to the Church were not by the word preached but by other revelations: they will bind the Spirit to vain fantasies, illusions and dreams. These are Anabaptists that depends on these illusions of the devil and their own fantasies and foolish revelations. The third sort will acknowledge the Spirit, so will they the word and Scripture, but they think it is enough to read the word. He will say, I will sit at home in my chamber, and I will read, sometime of the old and sometime of the new Testament, and what will the Minister tell me in the Pulpit but I will get it here, and as for the opening up of this word, he will scorn is. This sort of men is very evil; and they will find in the end that the word read and not preached will do them little good. Now the last and best sort who will get grace, are they who reverences the Spirit and word, and seek by all means to have them ludging in their souls, not only reads themselves if they have knowledge, but hes a pleasure to have it opened up to the use of the Church, and their use in the congregation. It is these men that by the Spirit truly embraces the word, for faith is by hearing. Rom. 10. 17. Now I go forward to the text. In the next verse is another exhortation. Try all things, and keep that which is good, retain it after try all. Trial of doctrine. In these words the Apostle sets down the order after the which a man or woman shall allow or disallow of prophesying, that is preaching, when they hear it. The allowance or disallowance of it must be after a certain order. The order is this in one word. Try 〈…〉, and then either allow or disallow. There are two sorts of extremities in hearing of prophesying. There are some that will allow ere ever they try at the first hand. These are vain heads. Peter calls them unstable souls. 2. Epistle 2 chap. 14. verse. These are men that hes souls ever fleeting and flowing, and will be ever carried away with every light wind of doctrine. This is the cause that so many becomes Heretics, and I believe, there be some among us that delights in new faces; if a stranger step out in the midst of them and speak, incontinent will they faith, there was never such a man in the world, this is an extremity. Another sort is of them, that will not hear preaching and give audience, that there after they may try: when a man presents himself to speak in the name of the Lord, they will not give him audience; and certainly if there were no more, but, the reverence we ought to God, we ought to hear him that speaks in his name, but then try his doctrine, and allow, or disallow thereof, as it agries with the word. Now these are the two extremities. The midst is between them, and this midst is to be tain as best of al. Hear, and when thou hast heard, try; after tryell, if thou findst●it sound, good and wholesome, keep it; if not, farewell it, lend not thy care any longer to it. This is the rule john sets out in his first Epist. chap. 4. vers. 1. Well-beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirit whether it be of God, or not: If thou find not the doctrine agreeable to the analogy of faith, away with it. The jews at Berea are commended for this, Act. chap. 17. verse 12. when Paul and Sylas came among them, they heard, but believed him not, until they ran to their books and conferred that which they had heard with the ●ould canonical Scripture, and found, that, they agreed, then, they allowed of their doctrine. Now, brethren, in this Church of Thessalonica among all the rest of the gifts of the Spirit that they had, this was one; the gift of discretion and judgement, to disce●●e between true doctrine and false doctrine, between spiritual doctrine and carnal natural doctrine. Paul knowing this, writeth 〈◊〉 them and desires them, according to the gift of the Spirit of discretion, to discern right doctrine from wrong. I● is even so with all the Church of God on the earth. The Lord, among all the gifts he gives to the members of this Church, he gives this gift also, to judge of that which they hear, to judge between true and false doctrine, the doctrine that is like stubble that may not bide the fire, and the doctrine that is like gold. The Lord in the Church hes given some this discretion▪ and certainly if it were not so, the Church should spove be poisoned. Some gets this gift to taste the doctrine whether it be wholesome or not: A man that wants the taste will ●eceiue poison for 〈◊〉. So if the Church want this taste, they would receive poison for food. But mark again. ●uerie one gets not this gift, and the Church is beholden to them who gets it: for they try doctrine and saves the Church from poison. And, I say, where one hes it, four wants it. And where one is spiritual and hes it, ten will be carnal and flestilie. The Corinthians, as we may see in Paul, (Alas there are many like the Corinthians amongst us) took upon them, being carnal hearted, to judge of spiritual things, and so they preferred vain men that came in with ●●ratorie to the Apostle Paul who spoke with the power of the holy Spirit. Always among the Church there are some that hes it, and ye that wants it, seek it: for it is a special gift to decern between the truth and falset; and when ye go to hear a preaching, among all your prayers, say. Lord give me grace to discern what is spiritual, and what not, that I may embrace that which is spiritual, and may leave that which is carnal. Some will have it in some greater measure nor others. In the 8. chap of the Acts, Philip a good man being in Samaria, Simon M●gu● the sorcerer was with him, Philip took him not up, but yet when Peter came he perceyved him, and he says, knave, I see thee in the gall of bitternesse● repent thee or destruction shall suddenly overtake thee. Mark it. Further this place is not to be understood of false teachers who are already damned▪ neither of them who hes not a calling to speak in the Church: but of them who hes an ordinary calling, the doctrine of such men only should be tried by the Prophets and every one that hes the spirit of discretion. 1. Cor. 14. 32. Now (brethren) to go forward shortly to the next verse. The● words are these. Abstain frem all appearance of evil. This precept is general, and concerns aswell doctrine as any other thing in the world that can have the appearance, or any show of evil: As for the doctrine when thou hast heard it, and hast tried it; if after trial thou be not satisfied with it, but yet there abides a doubt in thy heart. Then, what should thou do? Abstain from it, meddle not with it, do never thing with a doubting conscience. And therefore, I say to thee, if thou doubt of the very lest thing that is good, if thy conscience be not persuaded; it is good, do it not● I say to thee, it is better, to do the thing that is evil, and have a persuasion in thy conscience that it is good, nor to do the thing that in it self is good if thy conscience think it evil. If thou do against thy conscience it is ever evil. Do never against conscience. What ever is not of faith, it is sin; if thou be not persuaded in conscience it is good, if it were never so good, it is sin to thee. So if there lies any suspicion in thy heart of the doctrine, that it is not altogether sound, abstain from it, and meddle not with it. As for other things, any thing in the world that hes appearance, of evil, Appearance of evil to be eshewed. suppose it be not evil yet if it appear to be evil, touch it not, meddle not with it. If thy conscience tell thee, this is sin, on pain of thy life do it not. Fight never with thy conscience what ever thou fight with (suppose it be evil informed) for it is sin. If it seem to thee, to be evil, meddle not with it. More, if it seem to be evil to others, namely, to those that the Apostle calls weak ones, albeit thou be persuaded of thy christian liberty; yet, for their sake that thou make them not do contrary their conscience, abstain: abstain for their sake, albeit not for thy own sake, from these things may offend their conscience, as, meat, drink, etc. Jude in his Epistle verse 23. goes further in this, and says, and hate even the garment spotted by the flesh; that is, the outward coat that is spotted with sin, touch not once the coat of sin. Lay not thy finger to the outward slugh of it, for, it will spot thee if thou lay thy finger on it. Then, brethren, take it up in one word. Ye see, here, how ware, men should be of sin, thou art bound to abstain from it, yea, to hate and detest the very appearance of it, the mow of it, let be the inward body of it. Thou sinst when thou layest thy finger end on the coat of it. Alas then how sinst thou, when at all thy senses thou drinkst it in, as it were, water. The murderer drinks in blood, as it were water; the harlot drinks in harlotry at all his senses, as it were water. If it be evil to allow of the appearance of it, how great evil is it to take the whole body of sin in thy arm and lay it with pleasure to thy heart. Never man will take thing so sweetly in their arms, as men will take this viper of sin in their heart. A murderer can never be satiat with blood; an harlot can never be satiat with harlotry; A blasphemer can never be satiat with blaspheming. Ye that would do no evil (the common word is) do no evil like, abstain from the hue and colour of it, touch it not once, let be to embrace or suffer it to reign in thee. Now, brethren to go forward, to that which follows. In the last verse we have red; he● concludes the whole exhortations of this Epistle with a prayer to God. I shall be short in it. Now, says he, the God of peace sanctify you throughout. I pray God, that, ye may be kept in soul and body in sanctification to Christ, Exhortation concluded with prayer. that is the effect of the words. All his exhortation is to holiness and sanctification: For, that is the general he laid down in the 4. chap. 3. verse. This is the will of God, even, your sanctification. Now in the conclusion, what does he? He prays. What prays he? That the Lord would grant them that same thing he was exhorting them to. He was exhorting them to sanctification; and he prays God, to give them sanctification. This is the Apostles fashion in other places, to the Ephes. 3. chap. 13. verse, He beseches them to stand constant in the faith of Christ and faint not, for his tribulation. And then, he subjoins, For this cause I how mykrees to the Father of our Lord jesus Christ, that ye grow not faint. So, he exhorteth them to constancy and he prays God to give them it. Paul and the rest of the Apostles never exhorted any Church to sanctification, to any good thing, as though it had lain in the hands of the people and Church to have done it. But, in the mean time while, he exhorteth them, he was perswadod that it behoved God to give them grace to do it, and that it lay in the hands of God only whether they should do it, or not do it. And therefore when he exhorteth them to do any thing, he adds prayer, I beseech God to give you, the grace to do it. The Papists thinks it lies in the hands of a man's self to do good; they ever extol free will Fie ●n them, it lies not in the pow●r of flesh and blood to do any thing that is acceptable to God. No, it is a poisonable doctrine: and this vanity they gather, upon these precepts and exhortations; If, say they, there were no power in man's hand, why should the Lord command● it is vanity, to command that which cannot be done? I answer, in one word; This is a foolish conclusion, if there were no more but this that the Apostle says, first, it is the will of God, your sanctification. Then, he subjoins. I pray to God that he would give you the gra●e of sanctification; as if he would say, I bid you not, as though inlay in your own hands but, I pray to God, that, he would work it: It shows the vanity of this conclusion. Now to the words. Whom to prays he? To the God of peace. The God of peace, says he, sanctify your souls. Read all the Canonical scriptures, ye shall never find that any of the old fathers directed their prayers to any Saints; either to Abraham, Isaac, or jacob, or to any other holy men or Angels. But, this, by the way. In all the prayers of the old fathers, and all the Psalms, there is never a prayer, but to God only. Now how styles he him? He calls him the God of peace. The God who is the Author and giver of all peace. Peace. What peace is this? Even the peace that he calls, The peace of God, that passes all understanding, that guards your hearts and minds in Christ jesus. Philipp 4. chap. 7. verse. No other thing, but that same peace of the conscience, when we are surely persuaded, that, all our sins are freely remitted unto us, in the blood of▪ Christ and that through him we shall get glory for ever. Then if we have this peace, we will be quietness in all the miseries of this world. Then end of all grace is peace. justification ends in peace: our calling and predestination from all eternity ends in this peace of conscience in the soul; regeneration ends in this peace. Now, look, how this style agrees with the matter, he is praying for sanctification, and he styles him the God of peace, who is the Author of all peace; Both the means & the end ar● of God. and he asks at his hand sanctification. Mark this. He who is the giver of our felicity, is he that gives us all the means that brings us to that felicity, he that must give thee the crown of glory, he must give thee sanctification to glory. In one word: he that gives thee felicity, is the gi●e●, also of all the means, whereby we attain to felicity. So, thou hast no cause to glory in thyself. The beginning of grace is of God, the means is of God, the end is of God, nothing in ourselves, all in God. To go forward to the petition. There are two things he craves in this petition. Sanctification & conservation thereof, craved of God. The first is sanctification, or holiness. The next is conserving and keeping in that same sanctification and holiness. First, he prays, that, they may be sanctified. Next, he prays, that, they may be kept, until Christ come again. Paul 12. Rom. 2. verse. Be not fashioned, that is, shapned like the world and men of this world, but be, transchanged, that is, turned away, from that thing to another, and that, though the renewing of the mind, that ye may prove what that good and acceptable will of God is. What ●row ye then sanctification is? It is no other thing but a new shaping over of them again, as ye will shaip a garment. The Apostles takes that similitude. Brethren, we were all well enough shapen in Adam and Eve ere they fell, and we had an exceeding good shape; but since they fell we become all wanshapen creatures and monsters. When thou seest an unregenerate creature, a murderer rejoicing in murder, then say, thou art a cursed monster of a man. So, in Adam's fall we became monsters of nature. Thou saw never such a monster as an unregenerate man. Now, we being monsters through Adam's fall, in Christ we begin to take on us a new shape, according to the glorious Image of God. So our sanctification is only as a renewing of us again, according to the first shape of the Creator, in holiness and righteousness. Now what is it must be shapen over again? What part of us is it that is wanshapen? The Apostle says, The God of peace sanctify you throughout. The whole man, through that foul aposta●ie in Adam is become a monster. Not a finger in thy hand, but it is become a monster. The eye a monster, or, else, such a foul look would not be. The tongue a monster, or, else, such foul language would not be. The ear a monster, or, else, we would not desire to hear foul and evil speeches. No part of thee, but, all are monstrous, except thou be renewed: And therefore, he prays, that, they may be renewed and made over again through Christ, even in the whole parts of the body and soul. Therefore pray thou and say, Lord renew, not this part, or, that part only, but, renew me wholly. The Lord renew the mind and begin there; The Lord renew the body, the Lord renew the eye, the ear, the hand. The Lord renew all over again. For, I tell thee, if there be any part of thee unrenewed, thou shalt all go to Hell, for that unruly part. The Lord uses not to renew one part & not another, but, he renews altogether. This shortly for the first part of the petition. Now in the next part he beseches the Lord of peace to sanctify them throughout, and that their whole spirit, soul and body may be keeped without spot or blame, to the coming of our Lord jesus Christ. He prays, that they may be keeped in holiness So, it is not enough, to get one grace, to get sanctification and holiness, but, thou must be keeped still on, in that grace, until thou come to glory. Then again, as grace is of God (all grace is of God) So, the perseverance in grace to the end is of God. Thou hast no more in thy power when thou hast gotten grace, to stand one moment in grace, if God hold not his hand about thee, nor thou had to take that grace before thou got it. Thou hast no power in nature to stand in grace. So, perseverance in grace is of God only, aswell as the grace is in God's hand to give. And as we must pray for the grace, before we get it, and say, Lord sanctify us; so, we must pray for the continuance of it, and say, Lord, continue us in it, if thou Lord hold it not into my arms I will not get it keeped. Therefore, Lord, keep thou it. Now, to go forward. What should be keeped blameless without spot? All the parts of man to be keeped blameless. One part, or, piece, or, the whole man; should I pray to God, to keep my soul only in holiness and not my body? my body only and not my soul? Wilt thou part them? or thinkest thou, that, God will keep one part of thee in holiness and not the whole? When men goes to Idolatry, they will pray to keep their heart holy; When they will bow their body to Baal, they will say, my heart is to God. No, if he keep not all, if thou dedicate not all to him, all shall go to Hell. So, the Apostle says, I pray the God of peace, that, he would keep blameless your spirit, your soul and body. In these three things he takes up the whole man, within and without. I will only speak this far. By the Spirit he understands the cleannest part of the soul. Ephes. 4. chap. 23. verse. He calls it the Spirit of the mind, that is, the light of the mind, which is reason. The reason is not common with the beasts, but, it is common with the Angels. So, it is the special part of a man, and thou may thank God, that hes it, and thou should pray to the Lord, to keep it. The next is the soul, whereby he understands the inferior part, wherein are the senses, that part of the soul that hears, sees, etc. Then, he says, the body. So, ye see, God must keep all in holiness; and he that would be keeped of God, must seek to be keeped whole, and every part of him, without exception: For, I tell thee, no part of thee is able to keep another. The old Philosophers made a Queen of reason, as though she should keep all, and should keep the soul and body in her light. It is solely, who can keep her? God must keep the Spirit, that is, the reason, aswell as the body: and the Spirit hes as great need to be kept as the foot; for, sin will begin at the reason, it is the first breaker of: so crave that he keep all, or he shall keep none. Alas, what is man, without grace? What hes he to boast of? Thou wilt boast of thy will and reason. If the Lord withdraw his hand from thy reason thou shalt be a plain idiot, thou shalt fall to filthy wickedness. So, brethren, these words are of great weight. He says not that he prayed that he would keep the Spirit, but the whole spirit; the soul, but the whole soul; the body, but the whole body. So we must not be keeped in the special parts, but in the whole properties and inferior powers of the soul and body; if the least hair of the head be not keeped by the Lord, if the Lords providence extend not to the keeping of the smallest part of the body, thou shalt not be able to stand. Think not thou shalt stand, except the Lord hold thee up, no growing but in God. Therefore the Apostle says, Thou that wouldst glory, glory in Christ. 1. Corinth. 1. chap. 31. verse. He is our keeper, and we are not able to stand one moment of an hour without his aid, neither in soul nor in body. Now, how long should we be keeped blameless? He limits the time, and says, Unto the coming of the Lord jesus Christ. Mark the tyme. Is it no longer, but till Christ come again? No, brethren, evermore. It is true, our conferuation and perseverance uses to be limited, to Christ's coming. Paul 2. Tim. 4●. chap. 18. verse, says, God will keep me to his heavenly kingdom, that is, until I enter in his heavenly kingdom. Peter says, 1. Epistle 1. chap. 5. verse. We are keeped through the power of God, till the last tyme. I tell you the cause, we are in greatest danger in this world; infinite dangers are we in, as it were hanging above Hell, ready to fall down every moment, if the Lord hold us not up; the devil is seeking whom he may devote, and when we trow least, than we are most suddenly assaulted by him: Beside the devil, have we nor this ●ankerd sin, that is within us? Have we not a this broad world about us? Have we not the grave and death great enemies in their own nature, except the Lord sanctify them? Certainly they also would devote us, except we were in Christ. We are compassed in this world about on every side with cruel enemies. Therefore, considering this dangerous estate, the Scripture craves ay, that, we may be keeped, until Christ come, and then all enemies shall be slain, the devil, the world, death and all shall be slain. Death shall die for ever. This canker of nature shall be swallowed up, all our enemies shall be wreaked. So, our conservation is craved, until his coming; but, our conservation shall not end then, but even in Heaven we shall be conserved by the hand of God for ever, through jesus Christ. When thou comest to Heaven thou shalt not be thyself alone, thou shalt not stand by the nature thou took of Adam, nor by any power that is in thee, no more nor a new borne child can stand alone; but, when thou comest to Heaven, thy standing shall be by Christ and God. Then, seeing all our conservation and standing, both here and hereafter is by God, we should rander all honour to his glorious Majesty for ever. AMEN. THE XXVII. LECTURE UPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1. THESSA. CHAP. 5. vers. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 24 Faithful is he, which calleth you, which also will do it. 25 Brethren, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brethren, with an holy kiss. 27 I charge you in the Lord, that this Epistle he read unto all the brethren the Saints. 28 The grace of our Lord jesus Christ be with you, Amen. WE have in hand presently (well-beloved in jesus) the conclusion which is the last part of this Epistle. He gins it with a prayer, craving in his prayer even that same thing he had exhorted them to, to wit, holiness, sanctification, continuance, and perseverance in holiness and sanctification to the end, and so acknowledging God to be the giver of that same very thing which he exhorted them to, and that it lay not in their hands nor free will to will or do any good, but all stands in the hands of God, who is the giver of all grace. He prays, that, it would please God to give them that grace he exhorted them to, and he would stir them up to seek that same grace at the hands of God; for it is vanity to strive to any grace without God. And therefore as thou would do any thing, pray to God to give thee grace to do it. Let thy eye be ever on God, and in the midst of the action when thou thinkest thou art best exercised, crave grace of perseverance: for, I assure thee, he leave thee in the best of thy action, thou wilt fall backward. Therefore there is such necessity that the eye be ever on God, that it is impossible to a man to do any thing that is good, except his eye be ever on him, begging grace and perseverance in grace at his hands. Now he goes forward: and in the things that follows to the end of the chapter and Epistle, there is such a variety that every thing here set down is a several heed of doctrine. First, he promises to them that same thing he had prayed for at God. Then he makes a petition to them, desiring them to pray for him. Then to commend him to the brethren. Then he adjures them that they read this Epistle to all the people. And last he bids them fairewell, recommending them to the grace of Christ. Ye see what variety of thing she hes. I mind to be short in them, seeing they are almost things common in every Epistle, making a choice of that I think best for our comfort and necessity. Now he gins at the promise, Faithful is ●e which calleth you, which also will do it. There is the promise. The Apostle would say, that that I pray God, that he will grant you; to wit; he will preserve you in the end in faith, that I am assured he will do; He will not leave you, unto the time he perfit his work begun in you. There is the promise. Ye see first in this promise, the prays that he made immediately before for them, praying to God, that he would preserve them in holiness to the end, is grounded upon an assurance in the heart, that God would grant that same thing which he prayed for to the Thessalonians. Mark it. And first, learn, concerning prayer: All prayer for things heavenly and spiritual concerning the life to come (I speak not of the worldly things, Confidence in prayer. but things heavenly and spiritual) should arise on some certainty and assurance of the heart, that God will grant to us the things we ask. Therefore james in his Epistle last chap. 15. verse. he calls prayer, the prayer of faith, that is, that ryses of faith and assurance in the heart, that God will grant us the thing we ask. john in his first Epistle, last chap. 14. verse, he joins these two together, confidence or assurance, and prayer, and he says. This is that confidence we have in the Lord, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he will hear us: There is confidence in prayer, that, when we pray, we should have that assurance that God will give us these things we seek, not according to our will, but according to his own will. It is his will that we should have these heavenly things, through the blood of Christ. And therefore our prayer for them should rise on confidence, that God will grant them for Christ's sake. Yet farther, I see in this place three things joined together. First, he exhorts them to a continuance in an holy life to the end. Secondly, he prays for the same continuance in holiness, that God would preserve them to the coming of the Lord jesus. Exhortation, prayer and promise conjoined. Thirdly, there is a sure promise made to them of that same thing he prayed for, that God would perfit his work in them, and never leave his work, until he crown it, and these three, continuance in holiness, prayer for it, and promise thereof, cannot be well severed. It avails not to stand up and exhort to any good thing, except the exhorter prey to God, that it would please him to grant them that grace he hes exhorted them to: the man that cannot pray for that grace he hes exhorted them to, he is not meet to exhort. Then again, prayer without promise avails little. A man who hes not assurance in his heart, to promise grace from the hands of God unto any people or person. is not meet to pray for any people or person. He to whom the Lord hes not given that grace in heart to promise with assurance, he is not meet to pray, for pithy prayer must rise on some confidence in the heart. To be short. In a Pastor these three must go together. He must be a man that is meet to exhort, that hes a grace to pray, and an access to God; and last he must have an assurance in his heart of that grace of God, so, that he dare be bold to promise to them that grace he exhorteth them to, and craves at God. And that which I speak of a Pastor, I speak of all men. For all should be exhorters, and every one teachers of their brethren, and so every one should see if they have these graces to exhort, to stir them up to godliness, to pray for them, and to promise to them grace with assurance. Now to go forward. He sets not down his promise simply, and barely, the Lord will do it, but he lays down the ground and foundation whereupon he builds his promise, which 〈◊〉 their effectual and inward calling. He is faithful that he● called you. So, the ground of this promise is their inward and effectual calling. By this calling, I understand no other thing, but an inward declaration of the eternal will of God in the heart of any man concerning his salvation; 2. sorts of calling. To speak the truth, this calling of a man by the word, is nothing but a revealing inwardly in his heart, that election and choising of God that was from all eternity. He calls him when he reveals that eternal election to him, and assures him that he hes chosen him before all eternity. There is another calling when the word sounds in the care, without persuasion of the calling in the heart. This is an outward calling. Many are called this way, but few gets this inward calling in their heart to salvation. Then this is the meaning of the Apostle, as if he had said to them, if ye be called (Thessalonians) if ye find the Lord to declare inwardly to your heart his eternal will in your election, I dare be bold to promise, that, that God who hes made that declaration in your heart, shall never leave you, until he persite his work, and put you in Heaven. This ground stands sure, that God shall never leave you who hes gotten the assurance of election, until he crown his work in you. There are the words shortly. Then, mark, brethren; The promise that one can make to another, that, God will not leave them to the end, it must not be spoken absolutely, but it must be conditional. The condition is, of thy effectual calling. This condition holding sure, that thou art effectually and inwardly called to life, surely the promise may be made to thee, with assurance, God will never leave thee to the end: And I or any man upon this condition may boldly make you this same promise, that Paul made to the Thessalonians, and I may say to you (this ground holding that ye are called inwardly, and that ye have received an inward declaration, as it were, out of the mouth of God of your election in Christ) I may promise you, that, God shall never leave you until he crown his work. Then, if it be so, who ever would have comfort of the promise of God made in Christ, when life is promised, perseverance is promised, the crown of glory is promised, who would have comfort in these promises, let him go to the ground, look if thou findest in thy heart thy inward calling, look, if God by his Spirit inwardly assures thee that thou shalt have lives, if thou findest it, assure thee the promise pertaineth to thee; but if thou find it not spoken inwardly by God to thee, thou hast no warrant, that the promise of grace perteins to thee, think never thou wilt be crowned, and that he shall perfit his work in thee, seeing he never began to work in thee. God will never perfit the work he never began. Therefore every one of us should take heed when we read or hear the promises of God in the Scripture, if we have this ground or not; if I find I have the ground, I may fully assure me, there is no promise but it is made to me; but if I see not the ground, no promise pertaineth to me. Then, on this, mark further Gods fashion of doing. This is his manner of doing: God's calling unchangeable. First, he calls, that is to say, he lets men and women understand by faith inwardly, that he and she is one whom he hes ta'en purpose from all eternity to save. There is the beginning. Then he goes forward and never leaves them until he persite his work in them. No, if he begin once with them, and give them assurance that they are inwardly called, the gates of Hell will never prevail against them, albeit they be in Hell at that same time of their calling they shall end in Heaven; he will draw them through Hell to Heaven, through death to life, all the world shall not alter his purpose. If he begin once he will end. Therefore, to the Philipp. 1. chap. 6. verse, he says, I am persuaded, that, he that hes begun the good work in you, he will perfit it to the coming of the Lord jesus Christ: I am persuaded, there is never one, with whom he begins the work of their effectual calling, but, of necessity he must perfit it. A man will begin a work and draw his hand from it again, and let it stand; but, God is not like man, he never began the work, but he will perfit it. And therefore, I say, who ever they be that would end with him, and have an assurance that God shall be with them in their end, and shall crown them with a crown of glory, they should take heed whether God hes begun with them or not. If I find his hand begin to work with me, I will persuade myself in spite of all the world he shall perfit it; but if we find not God begin with us, he shall never crown the work: All stands in the beginning, all the grace we get in this life, such as holiness, sanctification, is nothing in effect, but the beginning of grace. So that the thing we have to do in this life, if we should live a thousand years, is to enter in count whether the Lord hes begun this work or not. If I find he hes begun this work in me, then in my death and letter hour I will assure myself, the Lord will end his work with me, I will make a sweet end, and he will crown me with glory. Yet, farther, he says, Faithful is he, which calleth you, which also will do it. He grounds again this promise of the continuance of God's grace, Highest ground of faith, the constant nature of God. which is under this condition of effectual calling on an higher ground. If thou would have a suit faith, thou must have many grounds, faith is not builded on the sand, it must have sure grounds: He grounds this ground of their effectual calling on an higher and surer ground, that all the world will not be able to shake, it is upon the unchangeable and unalterable nature of God, the constant nature of God, not fleeting and flowing, as man's nature is. God is not like man. The word he speaks, it stands, it never altars. The purpose he takes is unalterable. To the Heb 6. chap. 18 verse. It is impossible, that, God should lie. 2. Tim. 2. chap. 13. verse. He cannot deny himself, he abides faithful and sure. Then, brethren, if he hes said to the heart inwardly, It is my will from all eternity, that thou be one of these that shall be safe. Hes he spoken it? that word shall never be altered, Heau●n and earth shall all go to, ere there be one word of that altered, God is faithful, the word he hes spoken cannot be altered: Therefore if he hes called thee, given thee a sight of thy election, it will never alter. Paul knew this well, and therefore he assures them, that he would perfit the work begun in them: on this condition, that he hes called them inwardly; this assurance should be in the heart of the Preacher, thou should have thy heart established on these same grounds, thou should know the unchangeable nature of God, that he cannot alter: for, if thou knowest not, that he cannot alter, thou hast no certainty of faith. So, the ground of faith is, the unchangeableness of God. it never rests until it pierce into that infinite deepness in God. To speak it so, It is not the word of God that is spoken that is the chief ground of faith: for faith goes in through the word, and grippes in to that unchangeable Majesty. Then the chief ground of faith, is the unchangeable nature of God, and it never gets rest, until it get that unchangeable God. And then when it hes gotten him, it rests on 〈◊〉 rests then on his word, and obeys his word; if he than speak to me, I will hear him and obey him. Then God should be painted out in his nature, so far as man can: But who can do it? He should be known to be a merciful, true and just God, and none can have faith but he must know these. Alas, thou that wilt be content with the scrufe of the properties of God, and will not seek in to the deepness of God, and take him up in his properties, and pearee in to his nature and rest on him, thou shalt never get a settled faith. Therefore seek ay knowledge, and press in to him, that thou may stand in some settledness. Now to come to the rest of the text. When he hes exhorted them, prayed for them, made promise to them: What then does he? He comes down and says, Brethren pray for me. He he been a● it were, sitting above them, exhorting them, praying for them, promising to them as a superior far above them, and ere ye look about you he comes down, and sits down on the earth and his course about looks up to them and bids them pray for him: What learn we of this? There is none so high mounted that hes so excellent graces in the Church of God, if it were the Apostle Paul himself, but he should humble himself, as it were, under the most humble and lowly in the Church, and as he hes prayed for them, so he should pray them to pray for him again. Pray for me as I have prayed for you; as I have exhorted you, exhort ye me; as ye have need to be prayed for by me, so have I need to be prayed for by you. So, nothing I can do to you, but I have need of it myself. Ye see the ei● of the head far above the foot, the one is low on the earth, the other high in the head; it is the light of the body and guides the foot, bids it go on this way, go on that way, it hes graces far above the foot; yet for all this pre-eminence and gifts it hes gotten, it must look down again to the foot, and say, foot carry me, and bear me; for if thou carry not me to this place, and that place where I would be, I cannot come there. I● is so with the members of the body of Christ: The eye of them, that is, the man that hes gotten greatest pre-eminence, he must sloop down and humble himself to the poorest body in the Church of God and seek help mutual in the Church: the silliest body in the Church hes gotten a grace which he hes not gotten, without the which grace he is not able to stand. The foot can carry the eye, but the eye cannot carry the foot: So the poorest and vilest body in the Church hes gotten some grace that the greatest in the Church must s●oup down and seek a grace at the silliest body. Therefore let none be proud. Thou that wilt contemn the soberest grace that the filliest body in the Church of God hes gotten, thou shalt lose all grace. Then I see again (brethren) the necessity of prayer. Necessity of prayer. The Lord grant this that we could once know it well. There is no grace nor perseverance in grace without prayer: Without prayer to God let none seek to stand to the end, thou that cannot open thy mouth to pray to God neither morning evening nor midday, etc. thou shalt never get grace; look never for this perfection. Thou cannot go forward in the rinke without prayer, and so thou shalt never come to the butt. And as ye see here, it is not only mans own prayer that is requisite, to bring them to the rinks end but it must be mutual prayer; I must pray for thee to help thee forward thou must pray for me to help me forward. So prayer must be mutual, and as it were, every one must be taking others by the hand, and lifting them up from the filth of the earth to heavenly things. So he that will contemn mutual prayer and say, I will pray for myself, I am familiar with God, I have a b●●ad back to bear all their curl if they were never so many. Alas the curslinges will thrust him down to Hell, and his prayer shall not avail: And thou who contemnest the prey or of the silliest body in the Church for thee. if thou shouldst 〈◊〉 all day on thy knee thou shalt get small ●●therance. The prayer of the Church is a necessary mean to bring thee to Heaven; For as he appointed thee to Heaven, so he● no appointed prayer of the Church to bring thee to it. Now he comes to the 〈…〉 says he, one another with an holy kiss. As he would say, I cannot be present with them, I cannot speak to them face to face, but 〈◊〉 you to whom I direct this Epistle, con●oy my salutation to them, and in my name salute them as it were with my mouth. Brethren, what is a salutation? A testification of our love that we bear so them we salute. Now there are sundry forts of salutations, a man will salute one with his own mouth, then when he cannot get him saluted with his own mouth, he will send his commendations with another man. There are two forts, I will testify my good will by my own mouth in his presence, and again I will testify it by another, and will send my 〈◊〉 good will by his hand: And truly look how sure ever thing in this earth was carried by a mediate person, as sure this love will be carried by one to another; he will take my love on his back and carry it to another; and as sure as any gift is presented to any person as sure will my love be presented to 〈…〉 I send it. And what good will it do? The chief thing we ●aue is the conjunction of the members one with another. Now the band that conjoins the members, is love; and ● may send this same band by an other. He may take my band that comes from my heart, and eary to any man: Then the band that comes to him it kindles up his heart, and he loves me again, and so his heart is given to me again. So, seeing this happiness in this life stands in this conjunction, every thing should be used that may entertain this conjunction, if it were but a good morrow or a good night, every thing holds this conjunction together, until we be fully joined to Christ, in the which conjunction stands our full happiness. Yet to insist. This salutation is to all the brethren, none excepted. To speak it in one word: Such familiar salutations as these, salute them with a kiss and an holy kiss, they are not competent between all sorts of men; I perceive not that the Apostle salutes this way any of the Gentiles and Heathen; it is true we are bound to wish well to all, to the prophainest in the world, yea to the enemies of Christ, and I will say, the Lord turn every enemy of Christ to him: but certainly, when it comes to such salutations as these that Paul uses, as to say, salute with an holy kiss, they are proper only to the domestics of faith, and therefore he says, salute all the brethren, not all that ye meet with, but all the brethren. Love pertains to all, but there as a special love that pertains to the members of the body, as to brethren and sisters, there are special salutations that specially pertains to the members in the body, and therefore discretion must be had; all salutations must not be had to all alike we should have a regard of the condition of the person whom we salute. There may be a fault aswell in this undiscreet doing, as when we leave it undone; give every one their own duty. Thou art addebted to a brother in a special kindness and salutation, and is not addebted so to a Turk, and to one that is not in Christ. In the end held esires that they salute all the brethren, with an holy kiss. We know it was a fashion of old ere Christ came; then jews at meeting they would kiss other even men would kiss men, the same fashion continued in Christ's days, and after Christ it was l●fed also, as 〈◊〉 may see in the Epistle of Paul, and in the primitiue● Church at their meeting together, at the Supper of the Lord they would kiss in token of their unity. Now this holy kiss is called by Peter, the kiss of charm, 1. Epistle 5. chapter. 14. verse. join 〈…〉 an holy kiss is nothing but a 〈◊〉 that ●yfes of an 〈◊〉 loue●, when love is in the 〈◊〉 it is sincere without by 〈◊〉 other ●ife it is not sincere▪ ●ad is kiss was not holy because love was not in his heart when he kissed his Master, Sincerity to be used in salutation. so this kiss was in hypocrisy. So in our fashion that is now used, albeit we, kiss not one another when we ●id good-marrow, or good-night, we make 〈◊〉 outward testification of the love, of the hate inwardly; if there be not love in the heart, all is but hypocrisy. And except helsing rise of love in the heart, it were better to thee to hold thy tongue, thou art but an hypocrite; when thou salutest with thy mouth, if thy heart would eat him up, thou wilt appear to have honey in thy mouth and the gall of bitterness is in thy heart. Alas many judasses now. Sweet sleeked lips, false malicious invyfull hearts. Always the lesson is, in all these outward testifications of love, look ever that there be 〈◊〉 love in the heart, that the testification may be sincere, and thou may get good of them; For I assure thee, this love to thy neighbour does good to thee: o Lord if sincerity be not good in the members of Christ! Alas this decrepit age is turned to a plane hypocrisy, and all are but words of office; thy vild salutation returns to thy own hurt. As it does him no good nor evil whom thou salutest, so it does thee evil and returns to thy own hurt. Hypocrisy ever hurts the heart it came from. Now to the next words I charge you in the Lord, that this Epistle be read to all the brethren, the Saints. This is another purpose: For in the end as I told you there is variety of things casten together: Appearandly, by the words it would seem, that this Epistle was directed chiefly to the Pastor, Elders, etc. and in one word, to the Presbytery, that was there. Therefore, lest the inferior and common sort of Christians should be defrauded of this benefit, the Apostle shows, that, it is his will, that this Epistle be communicate to the whole vulgar sort of christians, that we● in Thessalonica, never one should be defrauded of the benefit of it. He says not simply, I will you to do this, but, he uses another word, I charge you in the Lord; I bind and oblishe you, under a pain, the pain is the wraith of the Lord, Mark it. There must be great grounds and causes of this strait charge, under all highest pain. First, this strait charging lets us see the great necessity, that was, that the common people at Thessalonica should hear of this Epistle, aswell as the rulers of the Church. Secondly, it lets us see, that, the Apostle perceived, there should be impediments casten in, that should hold aback this writing of his, from the people, he knew the deceit of the devil, that he would be busy, to have this letter closed up and never to be communicate to the common people: and therefore, he charges them, that it should be read to the people. Now, I observe. This, that he speaks of this Epistle, which is but a part of the Scripture, I draw it to the whole Scripture canonical of the old and new Testament; Necessity of reading and bearing the Scriptures. and I observe the need that all sort of men and women so long as they live in this life hes to understand the scripture, to read it, or if they cannot read it, to hear it red: there is a plain necessity laid on every one of you men and women in all ranks to read the scripture▪ and if ye cannot read them, to hear them red, Search the Scriptures, says the Lord, in john 5. chap. 39 verse, for by them ye shall obtain salvation; it stands men on their salvation and damnation to know the Scriptures. Then secondly learn. The devil, the enemy of man's salvation, knowing how necessary the Scripture is to the salvation of men, hes ever striven to hold the Scripture hid as a close book from the common people. What ca●es he of the chief of the Clergy to let them know the Scriptures, he will let them pass if he can get the multitude of people to carry to H●ll with him? This wicked doing of his continues still in the world, and the word is closed up among the Papists, and it is forbidden to be red by laikes, that is, by simple men and women, and it is forbidden to be translated in their own language. Mark yet further. They who are rulers in the Church, teachers of the common sort, are bound under the pain of the wraith of the Lord jesus to light on them, that they communicate these Scriptures to the common people, and put the book in the hand of them that can read, and if they cannot read themselves, to read to them. The rulers of the Thessalonians are charged to read this Epistle to all the common sort. So all the rulers in the Church to the end of the world shall be oblished to instruct the common people; and therefore the translating of the Bible in every common language is ordained, that the idiots who hes the mother tongue only, may understand what is the will of the Lord in the Scripture. Then if it be so, the Doctors in that harl or Church in Papistry that hes closed the book of God to the people, and clasped it with double clasps, O what damnation abides them▪ (if ye have an English new Testament to the fire with you▪) dare tho● be bold to read the Scripture thyself in thy own language▪ thou shalt die for it. Alas the wraith of Christ binds 〈◊〉 and holds them 〈◊〉 to their utter destructions. If it were but for letting the people of God remain in ignorance without knowledge. Now to the last words. The grace of our Lord jesus be with you, and he seals it up with this word Amen. When he entered in with them in the beginning of the Epistle, what was his salutation? Nothing but a recommendation of them to the grace of Christ: at his first meeting with them he prays that they should receive the grace of Christ. Grace without merit wishes both in the beginning, and ending. When he bids them farewell he bids the same grace of God be with them; he wishes grace in the beginning and grace in the end. Learn this, If the Apostle had thought that there had been a greater thing in the world nor the grace of Christ, he had wished it either at the beginning or at the ending; but knowing well the best thing he could wish to the people is Christ's grace, as he began with it, so he ends with it. And alas, what can we wish more, for under the grace of Christ all the graces and blessings we can have here, and in the life to come are comprehended: If one would set himself to wish the best thing in the world to another, what can he wish better nor the grace of Christ? for all is in it. Now it is to be understood what is the grace of Christ. No other thing but the free favour of God in jesus Christ; I call it free, because it is without desert or merit on our part, a favour that comes not on our deserving; for we merit nothing but Hell. Then, brethren, what is this he hes been speaking to these Thessalonians? Certainly, I read not in all Paul's Epistles of so high a praise of Faith, Love and Charity of any Church, as he hes of this Church of Thessalonica; and yet for all this in the end he says not, I beseech God that he consider your merit, for ye have deserved well, and he is much oblist to your deserving (as that presumptuous villain the Pope will say) Lord reward you according to your deserving. No, he ends not so, but he says, Indeed Thessalonians ye have done well▪ but yet I commit you to the free mercy of God. The thing I wish to you is not for your deserving, but against your deserving. I wish to you the free grace of Christ, according to Christ's saying in Luke 17. chap. 10. verse. When thou has● done all that thou can do, say, I am but an unprofitable servant, I deserve not so much as a fair look of Christ. Hell shall overtake thee for all thy doing, except mercy come between thee and thy God. Then only mercy without deserving is our salvation. In the 2. Tim chap. 1. verse 16. he names one Onesiphorus, and he reckons out great kindness that he had done to him (and that which was done to Paul was done to his Master) he says, he hes refreshed me, when I have been exceeding weary, be thought no shame of my fetters and bonds, and hearing tell I was at Rome he sought me out very diligently. Yet for all this, he says not, Onesiphorus deserves well at God's hand, and I pray that the Lord would reward him according to his demerits. No, but he says, The Lord show mercy on Onesiphorus. And he doubles it over again, and he says, God grant as I have found mercy at Onesiphorus, so he may find mercy at the Lords hands in that day. He says mercy, not reward but free mercy: and so I end. Nothing but mercy and free grace; when we have done all we can, nothing but mercy, mercy in earth, mercy in heaven. On pain of life when thou hast done all the good thou may do, beware thou think of any deserving at the hands of God But cast thyself on thy knees, and hold up thy hands, and cry for free mercy and pardon of thy sins, and say, away with all my works, they are but dung and filth; I crave pardon for my sins of thy free mercy in that blood of jesus Christ: Except thou crave this, thou shalt never have solid joy in thy heart. And shall I say that one of these false quenchers of the Spirit felt ever this sweetness in Christ, which only ryses of the assurance of the free mercy of God. Therefore let our only reposing be upon this free favour in Christ. To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all praise for ever. AMEN. FINIS. LECTURES UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. PREACHED BY THAT FAITHFUL servant of God. Master ROBERT ROLLOK, sometime Minister of God's word, and Rector of the University of EDINURGH. EDINBURGH PRINTED BY ROBERT CHARTERIS, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. Anno Dom. M. D. CVI Cum Privilegio Regiae Majestatis. THE ARGUMENT OF THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. THIS second Epistle to the Thessalonians seems to have been written soon after the first. The occasion of the writing thereof may be gathered of the Epistle itself. The Thessalonians were at that time persecuted and heavily troubled for the faith of Christ; and likewise there entered in amongst them false teachers and deceivers who went about to persuade them that the coming of Christ was instantly at hand, taking occasion, as it appears, by the Thessalonians mistaking of certain speeches uttered by the Apostle in the first Epistle, especially these words in the fourth chapter, We which live and are remaining in the coming of the Lord shall be caught up in the clouds with them that are dead in Christ, after their resurrection, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. whereupon the Thessalonians concluded that Christ should come before they died, and they should be on life at his coming. The devil to confirm them in this error raises up these deceivers who went about to persuade them of it, as though it had been true that they should have been living at the coming of the Lord, alleging that they had it, both by the re●elation of the Spirit of God, and also by the tradition of PAUL. The Apostle therefore thought it needful to 〈◊〉 this second Epistle to the Thessalonians, partly to comfort them against the persecutions of their enemies, partly to admonish them that they give not ear to these false deceivers, assuring them that before Christ come the Antichrist should come, and there should be an universal defection from the truth. The Epistle may fitly be divided in six parts. The first part is the salutation in the two first verses in the first chapter. The second is the Preface, wherein he rejoiceth for their perseverance and increase of Faith, of Love and Patience in all their persecutions and tribulations, from the third verse to the fift. In the third part he comforts them against the troubles and persecutions that they sustained for the faith of Christ from the fift verse to the end of the first chapter. In the fourth part he admonishes them that they give not ear to these false teachers that said Christ's coming was at hand, showing them that before the second coming of Christ the Antichrist should be revealed, and there should be an universal defection from the faith of Christ Yet he comforts them against the fear of defection, and exhorteth them to abide constant in the doctrine they had received from him, craving 〈◊〉 comfort and constancy to them at God's hands. This par●e is conteinde in the whole second chapter. The fifth part containeth exhortations to good manners and Christian duties, from the beginning of the third chapter to the sixteenth verse. In the last part he concludeth the Epistle with prayer and salutation, from the sixteenth verse to the end. THE FIRST LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 1, vers. 1. 2. 3 4. 5. 1. PAUL and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the Church of the Thessalonians, which is in God our Father, and in the Lord jesus Christ. 2 Grace be with you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord jesus Christ. 3 We ought to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of every one of you toward another aboundeth. 4 So that we ourselves rejoice of you in the Churches of God, because of your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye suffer. 5 Which is a token of the righteous judgement of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for the which ye also suffer. HAVING ended (Brethren) as God gave the grace, the first Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, I thought it meetest to go forward in the second Epistle: for otherways the work would seem not to be perfected, and the matter contained in the second Epistle, is very worthy to be insisted upon And it appears very well among all the Epistles that Paul written, that, these two directed to the Thessalonians were the first: This second Epistle which we presently have in hand appearantly hes been written soon after the first. The occasion of the writing of it appears well of the purpose and argument itself. The Apostle in this Epistle comforts the Church of the Thessalonians, which was persecuted and heavily troubled for the faith of Christ. Another occasion we take up in the second chapter: There entered in this Church (for the devil can never be idle) false teachers and deceivers, who went about to persuade the Thessalonians, that the coming of Christ was instantly at hand. The Apostle therefore taking occasion hereof, admonishes them not to give ear to these men; and he tells them that before Christ come the Antichrist should come, and that there should be an universal defection in the world. I take these to be the two occasions of his writing. There are three chapters of this Epistle. In the first after he hes saluated them, and given thanks to God for them, he enters in to comfort them against all the troubles they were in for the present. In the second chapter he admonishes them not to give ear to these false teachers, that said that Christ's coming was at hand. And therefore he prophecies of the coming of the Antichrist, and of the universal defection of men in the world And in the third and last chapter he enters in (as his manner is) to exhortations, and Christian admonitions to the end of the Epistle. Now to come to the first chapter, first he salutes them, next he comes to a congratulation for the graces of God received by them, last he comes to the consolation. As to the salutation, it is the common form he uses in all his Epistles, and there is not one word altered from the salutation he used in the first Epistle. And therefore because I handled every word in the first Epistle, I mind not to insist in it here again, only this far, There are three persons that salutes, Paul, Siluan● and Timotheu●● Paul an Apostle, Silvanus. and Timothe●● two Evangelists. These three people salutes the Church of God at Thessalonica: That Church, he says, that is in God the Father, founded and grounded first on him. Then in the Lord 〈◊〉 Christ the Son, builded on the Father and the Son: All 〈…〉 must stand on the Father and the Son. The graces he wishes to the Church are these common graces he uses in all his Epistles. The grace of God, the peace of God, that is from the Father, and from the Lord jesus his Son. Now only this far: by the example of the Apostle we learn of the salutation that he permits before his Epistle. When we enter in to speak of any Church, to write to any people concerning faith, concerning jesus Christ, to make a declaration in the entresse of that love, that benevolence, that hartlinesse, that we bear to that people, to the end that they may be prepared again to hear with alike love, benevolence and hartlinesse, and so the Pastor uttering his liking to the people, and the people again their liking of the Pastor: the Pastor may have courage and liberty to go forward in doctrine: the people may give audience and receive the better instruction. There is the end of all the salutation. Now I go forward to the thanksgiving, and I will speak something of it as God will give me the grace. We should thank God always for you: He says not we thank God simply, but we should thank, we are addebted, bound and oblist of duty to thank him Then the lesson is clear. Thanksgiving to God is a debt that we are bound and oblist to pay to God; God's benefices matter of thanksgiving. for we give him not thanks for nothing: Ye will not bear the Apostle say, we thank him simply, but ye will find a matter wherefore he thanks him, even for his graces and his benefits. There are two sorts of his benefits and graces, there are some bestowed on ourselves, some on others. As for them that are bestowed on ourselves, out of question, there is none but he will confess he is debt-bound to thank God for them, at lest he must confess this in word, think as he will. As for the benefits bestowed on others, we are bound likewise to thank God for them. As concerning the Pastor that hes ado with any people, if ever man was bound to thank God for any benefit, he is bound to thank him for the benefit shown on the people he hes ado with; because their blessing is the fruit of his labours and travels: and therefore he is bound to be thankful for it. I say more. There is no member in the Church of Christ but he hes cause to thank God for every blessing he bestows on another. I am bound to thank God for the blessing he bestows on thee, thou art bound to thank God for the blessing he shows on me. And every one should thank God for others blessings. All is for the well of the body, the grace I get is for the well o● the body. The grace thou gettest is for the well of the body. We are all members of the body, and therefore we are all bound to thank God for the benefits bestowed on the body: I shall give you a familiar similitude. Should not the hand of a man thank the man that hes cured the foot, if the foot hes been sore. The eye likewise in a manner will it not be thankful to him that hes cured the hand; and so of all the rest of the members. Now would to God we were as sensible members of the spiritual body of Christ, as the members of the natural body of man are sensible among themselves, and could understand that every one is a member of that body. But let our sense be as it will, if thou be a member of the body of jesus Christ, thou art as much bound to be thankful to God for any benefit bestowed on another, as the hand is bound to be thankful for the graces bestowed on the foot; otherways thou shalt be challenged at that day of judgement for unthankfulness. Paul 12. chap. to the Romans 15. vers. says, Rejoice with him that rejoices, and mourn with him that mourns. Now to go forward. We should thank God always. Then (brethren) thanksgiving is an everlasting debt, a continual debt we ought to God, there is no end of it, there is no intermission or leaving of it day nor night▪ As Paul speaks of charity to the Romans chap. 13. vers. 8. Own nothing to any man, but love every one another. Charity is a debt that should never be paid out at the ground, but ay continuing in paying. Even so thanksgiving to God is a debt we should ever be paying but never put an end to paying of it, for it can have no end: in earth ever thanking: in Heaven when we are with ●im ever thanking, and our glory shall be in an everlasting thanking of him: for why, if he could leave off to show grace and could draw his hand from us, as men does, than we had cause to 〈◊〉 from thanking. But the graces of God in Christ are endless grace for grace. And therefore seeing his grace hes never an end, why should thou make an end of thanking him: when his hand is opened liberally to thee, why should thou close thy mouth, and not render thanks to him. Yet further. We thank him always for you, says he, as it is meet. Mark the words, as it is meet, as it is worthy. The word sounds so in the proper language, as if he had said. He is worthy of all thanks, and therefore we should thank him. There is a worthiness in God for the blessings he bestows on us, there is a deserving in him, there is a merit in him; it is be only that deserves and merits. There are two things, debt and merit, (I but touch them) every one respects other, where there is a debt, there is a merit; and where there is a merit there must be a debt. God only merits & man is debtor. These two words answers to other▪ There is no merit under the Sun but God's merit when God hes to do with man. As for us there is nothing but debt, no deserving in us, all that we can do to our God is mere debt; as ever a man was addebted to another. All the thanksgiving we can give him is debt, all works we can work are debt, what ever he gets of us, he merits and deserves it▪ This is the truth, and yet the enemies of the truth will turn this ever again, and will ascryve the merit to stinking flesh, and the debt to God. The debt that appertains to us they ascryve to God; and the merit that appeartaines to God they ascryve to us. They set us above God: for he who merits is above the debtor: Lord what a change is this? Paul to the Romans chap. 11. verse 35. says, Who gave him first, that hes bound him to give them again? Wilt thou be before him? gave thou him first any good? if thou can do it, than thou merits; if not, than it is a blasphemy to think that thou can merit: Fie on thee, there is nothing in the part of the creature but debt, yea, mere debt, nothing on the part of God but merit. Now to go forward in the matter of this thanksgiving that never hes an end, that should be without intermission, and that God deserves at our hands. The matter and cause of thanksgiving is grace: The first grace is Faith; not a simple faith, but an exceeding growth in faith; Because, says he, your faith grows exceedingly. The next grace is love; not simple love, but abundance of love, and abounding in mutual love, so that the hearts of them ran over in love, as a veshell will do when it is over full. Well then, there is the matte● and cause of this thanksgiving, an exceeding growth of sure faith, all ●undant mutual love that every one bare to other. Then compare this place with that which is in the first Epistle, chap. 1. verse 3. He thanked God for their faith and love, not for their growth, now his style is higher: and he thanks God, not for faith simply, but for growth; not for love simply, but for abounding in mutual love. Then ye see since the first time the Apostle wrote the first Epistle to them, the Thessalonians hes grown in faith and love. There is the lesson. Growth in faith in love. There must be a growth in grace, grace must grow in us, and we must grow in grace. If thou grow not in grace, faith and love, if thou go not forward, of necessity thou must go backward. Think not that a man will stand still in one estate of faith and love, so that he will say, I will fix my stalfe here, and I will go no further nor this point. If thou fix down thy stalfe in faith and love, thou shalt fall faster backward nor ever thou came forward, and thou shalt never come to the end nor mark. If thou fix thy stalf and never press to go forward, thou shalt never come to that glorious resurrection; in plain talk, thou wilt never come to Heaven. To be homely with you; We should have a care ever to grow in this life; for so long as we live, we are either children, or at the farthest we are springels (to use that word) Then I ask, will a child come to the stature of a man or woman, if there be not growth? No▪ Even so if is impossible to one to come to the stature of that spiritual man without growing: we are men when we come to Heaven, and are joined to our head, and no sooner, and there our growth ends. Can thou come to a spiritual man's stature, if thou grow not in faith and love in this earth? And therefore, as ever ye would come to Heaven and obtain that glory; press to grow in grace, to spring in faith and love in this world in some measure; mark your growth in grace as ever ye did in stature. He will be busy to see it he be higher this year nor he was the last year: but whom marks if he be grown higher in spiritual things this year nor he was the last year. This stature will away, these earthly things will away, but this growth ● Christ abides for ever. Of this growth read Ephes 4. chap. vers. 13 14. 15. where he exhorts us to grown faith to the 〈◊〉 age of Christ, and to grow in love, until we be joined with our head. Yet mark more. As ●n the first Epistle 1. chap. verse 3. he thanked the Lord for faith simply, and love simply, so here he gives him all thanks for the growth therein. Mark it. He thanks not them for the growth, he gives them not one part of the thanks, and God the other, but he thanks God for all. And good reason, for who is able to put one inch to his stature? Art thou able to make thyself grow in this bodily growth? No, it is impossible. Then far less is there any growth in the spiritual man, but that allanerly which God gives. No standing nor perseverance in grace but that which God gives. All is given by God. Fie on that stinking doctrine of the Papists. When God, say they, hes given man a grace, he permits a man to his free will to go forward, as it were in man's own option whether to go forward or not. I only touch this. As the graces comes of God, so of necessity the increase & growth of graces comes of God and not of any grace left in us. In one word, Give him the praise of the beginning of grace, give him the praise of thy progress in grace, give him the end, give him the praise of all: For he it is that gives the grace, the progress and growth therein, it is he that crowns his work in thee, it is he that works all, that all the glory of grace may be given to him. Yet to insist. What is this Faith? Faith is nothing but a joining of us with God in Christ. What is Love? this mutual love? Nothing but a joining of us with the Church here on earth. What is growth of Faith? Nothing but a growing nearer and nearer to God, to draw him nearer and nearer to us. What is the growing in Love? Nothing but a drawing nearer and nearer to the Church, which is the body of Christ. Then draw near to the head, draw near to the body severe not thyself from it. Then what is the matter of thanksgiving? Even this, that they were drawn nearer nor they were before to Christ, and to his Church. Then, brethren, when have we matter of thanking God for any man for any people? Even when we see any man or people drawing nearer to Christ, and the body of Christ nor they were. If a man had all the kingdoms of the earth, there is no matter to rejoice for in him; if we see him lie aback from Christ, and from his Church; if he draw not nearer and nearer to Christ and his church in this life, I will never rejoice for all his kingdoms. Unhappy is that man that sunders from Christ what ever he be; is he a Lord, an Earl, a King, and in the meane-tyme hes he nothing ado with God, unhappy is he: For the greater blessings worldly, if he be not joined with God and the Church, the greater shall be his damnation. Then last here, look what he speaks of love, and of the abundance of love; it is not single love, but love that is double and mutual; Mutual love. that is to say, the love that comes from my heart to thy heart; and again, the love that comes from thy heart to my heart that is mutual and double; this is the love that he praises, the double bond of love: and it must not be a double bond only between two: there are sundry thinks they love wel-eneugh if they love one, and that one love them again. No, the Apostle says here, Every member of the body must love all from the highest to the lowest: The hand of a man in the own sort loves the whole members of the body, from the head to the foot, honourable or unhonorable, high or low, be what it will, no member in the body but it loves all. So the love the Apostle craves, is that love that one hes to all; and again, that love that all hes to one. So that there should be no member in the body of Christ but it should be linked in with love to Christ, and every member of his body. There is no member of the body of man but it hes a certain link whereby it is linked to the rest. The finger of the hand hes a link with the toe of the foot, albeit they be far distant. So there should be no member of the body of Christ, but it should be linked with every one of the rest of the members, albeit they lay ten thousand miles sundry. It lies not in our power to cause all men love 〈◊〉 it lies not in my power to cause all men love me, nor in thy power to cause all men love thee; but I tell thee what thou should do, look thou love all for thy part, and if they love not thee again, they have to answer to God. For he crane's this mutual love of us. This is the mutual love that holds the brethren together, if it be not, the members cannot be joined together in the body. It is true, we will never get it perfit in this earth: for so long as the devil, the flesh and our lulles abides, there will be ever distraction; yet we should strive against the devil and our own cankered nature to be linked and joined with the members of the body, until we be perfitly joined with Christ, where there shall be no severing. If we were once perfectly joined with him, we shall never be severed hereafter. There shall neither be devil nor canker in nature to lever us then. Therefore this should be our prayer, Lord join us to thee, that we may no more be severed from thee and thy Church, by the devile, by sin, nor our own corruption. Now in the next verse he amplifies this their faith and great love. Their faith and love was so great that he was forced to preach their praises in all the Churches wherein he resorted: he came to no Church but remembering their great faith and love, he was compelled to preach their praises, and to set them forth as an example to be followed. Before he thanked God for them, and for their faith and love; now he glories in the graces they had received, before the world, men and the churches where he came in his journey. When he thanked God concerning them he utters never one word of their▪ praise; but coming among men, and speaking to men and to the Church, there he praises them. Mark this difference. Then brethren, there is a great difference in speaking of the graces of men, when we speak to God and before him, when we speak to men and before men. When thou speak'st to God of man, let no praise of man be heard before him: be ware of that, but let God have all praise and glory if thou be speaking to God, if it were of all the kings of the earth, utter no praise of any king there; for, in comparison with God, kings are but dust, and worse nor the dust that is trodden under foot. So, let God have all the praise of any grace he hes given to any man; and say not, Lord I praise thee for this part, of the grace, and I give man praise for that part of the grace. No, but say, Lord, I give thee the whole praise of the grace, because all the grace he hes gotten is of thee. But when we speak to men and tells them of the graces of God men hes gotten, than we may glory in men, but with this provision, that it be in God. We may commend men before men, for their faith, love, patience, but look that all this commendation be in God first, and then to this end, to make men whom thou commendest as examples in well doing. See that thou look to the well of them thou speak'st to, that they should follow them whom thou praisest for well-doing. If thy mind be puffed up without reverence of God, & without respect to the well of him thou speak'st to, thou derogatst God's glory; we should be ware when we speak to the praise of any man, that we derogate nothing from the glory of God. Yet mark further the order he uses. He glories not first before men, and then gins to thank God; but first he turns to God and gives God the glory of the grace he hes given to them. We ought to thank God, says he, always for you, as it is 〈◊〉. Then he comes to men and glories of their graces in the presence of men. Then, brethren, it is due time to praise men and to give them their own commendation for the grace's God hes given them: when first thou hast glorified God, giving him the first praise and commendation. This is the order. When thou givest God the first praise, and then comes to men and praises the graces in them before men, that praise is in God and he allows of it. But when thou begins in praising men to men, and remembers not God the giver of all, thou spoilest God of his glory. So we should take very good heed how we praise godly men: for very narrowly shall we escape derogation to God's glory, except the Spirit connoy the whole heart and mouth. And therefore in praising men we should be wart we derogate nothing to the glory of God, who is the chief giver of all. All the kings of the earth should stoop and give all honour and glory to God. Now in the end of this verse he sets down the matter of this his glorying, Faith namely, and with Faith he joins Patience. because of your patience and faith in all your persecutions that ye suffer. In the verse going before he made mention of faith without patience, but in this verse he makes mention of faith and patience, & their aeson is, Because faith in effect is nothing but the anchor of the soul: As the Apostle to the Heb. chap. 6. vers. 19 calls hope the anchor of the soul: and as an anchor is casten on sure ground to stick; so is Faith casten on Christ and fastened on him. Now there is nothing in this world that the devil, the world, sin, which are the enemies of Faith in this world envies more nor when they see the soul of a man anchored on Christ, as on a sure ground. And therefore they seek ever to severe thy soul from Christ, and to break the anchor. He will spew out floods of persecution and tentation, jaw after jaw, to raise, if it were possible, the anchor of Faith in Christ, that the anchor being away, the man may flow and fleet, and at the last perish. Then what is the remedy? It is needful, that, faith be sure grounded: if faith be not grounded on Christ she shall perish; and further she must have a troop of graces about her, she must be hedged on all sides with a variety of graces. Ignorance of God & of Christ are the causes of vengeance. And so it is, where ever true faith is in Christ, there is a troop of graces about it. Now all these graces that compasses her are as many branches that comes from herself as from the root. There stands about her, Hope, Love, Patience, etc. a number of graces of all sorts, all comes from her, for she is mother of all. All serves her, for she is Queen of all; Hope, Love, Patience, and the rest, are as many maids standing about her to serve her. Now among all these grace's Patience is one; the duty and service of Patience is to stand between faith and the jaws of temptations and persecutions, and to receive all the jaws of temptations on her shoulders, that the anchor of the soul which is Faith may stand sure. So, Patience stands up and holds the jaw off Faith, otherways, thy faith will be broken: and it is impossible to him that hes no Patience to abide the speeches, let be to sustain the persecutions of men; if Patience be not, Faith will not abide sure. And by the contrary look how needful it is that Patience be joined with Faith, it is as needful that Faith be joined with Patience: and therefore he joins these, your Patience and your Faith in all persecutions. And as I told you, Faith is the mother of Patience, and where the mother is not, the daughter cannot be: and if this anchor of Faith be not anchored on Christ, Patience will not hold off the jaw: for the solid ground to rest on is Christ. Where faith is not, Christ is not; and take him away no standing. So the chief ground of all standing, is faith grounded on Christ jesus, all the rest are but branches to Faith▪ faith is the chief ground. The standing of all is through Christ when the anchor of the soul is grounded on him. Now one word in the end of this verse. He speaks here of a Faith in tribulation and persecution, not of Faith in case, rest, and quietness, but of a Faith in trouble. The Faith of the Thessalonians was not a Faith in ease and quietness, but a Earth that lay under a continual exercise, lay under persecution: for, the Church of Thessaloniea was exceedingly troubled, as appears in this Epistle. Many will be content to believe, faith in Christ is a wondrous fair thing: He would believe and she would believe, but look what kind of faith men would have, a faith with quietness in the world, with honour enough, with riches, and all this world's wealth. This is the faith that all men would have. But (brethren) the faith of Christ (which is the true faith) must be casten in the furnace, otherways it will be full of dross: Will ye get fine gold that is not casten in the furnace and fined in it? Trow ye to get a fine and true faith that is not fined in the furnace of trouble and persecution, at the jest, one vexation or other? all troubles are not alike, but of necessity faith must be casten in some furnace; Faith fined by troubles. thou must be in some tribulation, either within thee, or without thee, in goods, riches or some thing: and this is the faith that hes the commendation here, a fined faith as gold hes the finesse through the fire. Peter 1. Epist. 1. chap 7. vers. tells the excellency of this faith compared with gold: gold when it is casten in the fire and the dross of it burned up will be far better nor it was, and yet there was never gold so f●ire but it will perish; fine it oft-times over it may be ever the finer, but it shall perish in the end; but he says, faith that is fined and tried, shall be found to your praise, glory and honour, when Christ shall be manifested. As he would say, it shall not perish, but at that great day of Christ▪ it shall tend to thy everlasting glory Let us not press to feed ourselves in our fantasies, thinking that we shall have a faith in ease, quietness & honour. No, lay this ground down, if thou would have a faith to abide till Christ come, assure thee thou must suffer, and thou must abide the jaws of temptations till all thy faith be tried, and the whole droes washen away, and the fine gold stand up. At these are but dreams, to think that thou would hold Heaven in the one arm and the world in the other arm. No, thou must let the world go, and take Heaven in thy whole arms with affliction, or else thou shalt lose Heaven and get the world in thy arms with damnation. Now this for the thanksgiving and congratulation for their increase of faith and abundance in love. Now come to the second part, Consolation: Making mention of their persecutions, he takes occasion to comfort them, and I think that be the principal purpose he hes to do with them: and the first argument he uses here, is that just and latter judgement, that general judgement. He says, the persecution that ye suffer for Christ's sake, for the kingdom of Heaven, they are sure arguments that there shall be a just judgement, and that Christ shall come to judge the world, and render to every one according to his works. And therefore upon the remembering of this just judgement that shall be; ye Thessalonians comfort yourselves, Persecutiones of the godly, a sure argument of the day of judgement to come. for it shall try who did right and who did wrong. Then take up this, The persecutions the godly suffers in this life, what are they? they are very ocular demonstrations (that is the force of the word) of the general judgement to come, wherein Christ shall judge the world. And in the persecution of the godly (as it were in a mirror) I may see or thou may see Christ coming to judge the world, & to render to every one according to their deserts: for look how I or thou may reason: When I see a person troubled for righteousness sake, I will conclude, here is an innocent man, here are godly people troubled wrongously, therefore, of necessity there must be a judgement wherein all odds must be made even; I look certainly for a judgement to come: God cannot be God, if there be not a judgement, wherein he shall be anenged for the wrong done to this man: I will not conclude a particular and an earthly judgement; I will not say, when I see a godly man troubled, therefore, the troublers of him shall be plagued ere they go off the world: it is over high. Indeed the Prophets of old had this revelation, but it is over high for us▪ because experience in all ages hes proved that some of the greatest persecutors hes died in peace, and no visible judgement hes overtaine them here. But, this I am sure of; when I see godly men oppressed, I may say, there shall be a day of general judgement, wherein God shall be anenged of the persecutors, if repentance intercede not. Now would ye know any token that Christ shall come again and put an end to the world, and that there shall be a general judgement? Look if ye see or hear tell that the godly and innocent are troubled in the world, take that for as sure an argument as can be that a general judgement shall be. And as surely as the master is coming after the forerunner, as surely shall the general judgement come after the suffering of the godly, they must draw on a judgement, and at the last they must draw Christ out of Heaven to take upon him the place of a judge to rander to every man according to his doing. Now another thing: He comforts them taking his reason from the general judgement, he tells them there shall be a terrible judgement, when a terrible judge shall come and sit down in a judgement seat. What comfort is this? Ye see many will shake and shudder when they hear of it, and feign would desire never to hear of it. It is true the promise of the general judgement will never comfort the wicked, and they that troubles others; the more that they hear of it, the more will they trimble and shiver. But it is as true that the most comfortable voice they that suffers wrong can hear, is the hearing of the coming of Christ in that latter day, and it is the matter of patience, it will make them lie under affliction with exceeding joy; the thought of the coming of Christ gives patience in all troubles, and this may be found in experience: the chief joy of the godly is the remembering of Christ's coming: It is not men's judgement, their absolution and condemnation that we should stand upon. What cares me, if all the world would absolve me, if I be condemned by God? And again, what care● me if all the world condemn me, if God absolve me? It is not men's absolving or condemning, that brings the true joy or heaviness to the heart: but it is God's absolution and condemnation that will do this. And therefore as thou would have comfort in that terrible judgement, do well, and suffer wrong, and bide patiently, for surely it will not be long; there is such a crying of blood, and such wrongs in this world, that, truly, in this decrepit age, Christ must come shortly. Then, this is the first argument of consolation. The other is more effectual. I shall touch it. Ye that suffers shall be thought worthy of the kingdom of God, for the which ye suffer. He comes nearer, as he would say, ye have no cause to trimble and fear, ye shall be absoluted from that terrible judgement, and ye shall be counted worthy of the kingdom of God. The enemies of the truth gathers of these words, that, there is a merit and worthiness for suffering. But Paul Rom. chap. 8. verse 18. says, All this suffering is not worthy this weight of glory. So I answer. This worthiness is not our own, but that which is Christ's worthiness and properly pertains to him, here is improperly ascryved to us: for, through that strate conjunction we have with Christ, he and we are made one, and therefore his graces, after a sort, are ascrived to us. I having Christ may challenge his merit and worthiness, his graces that he hes conquised, as life everlasting, etc. to me as ever man might challenge any land or heritage. Therefore gather not here any worthiness simply without Christ. Always, I see the chief cause of consolation to the godly that suffers here, is not so much that the wicked shall be punished for ever, as that the godly shall be adjudged to glory. There is the chief ground of my consolation, Let a man do all the evil he can to me, my comfort is not that he shall be punished at that latter day, but that then God shall glorify me at that latter day. Desire not so much the latter judgement that then the wicked may be punished, as that thou may be glorified. Look God's purpose, he hes appointed this latter day, only to this end, that, the godly may be glorified. The other end of the punishment of the offenders is not the chief end, for the chief end that God looks to, is, that, he may be glorified in mercy. It is true, he will be glorified in justice, but he delights most to be glorified in mercy. He seeks to be glorified in all his properperties, in his wisdom, power, etc. But the mercy of the Lord passes all, and he seeks above all, that, his glory should shine in his mercy toward sinners. And certainly Christ was sent in the world that his glory should shine in mercy. His preaching was to mercy. God hes greater glory in saving one sinful soul in Christ, nor he hes in condemning of millions of the wicked. So, brethren, wonder not that many goes to Hell, but, wonder, that, ever a sinner should be safe, and marvel more at the mercy of God, in saving of one sinner, nor at his justice in the perdition of ten thousands. So the mercy of God is wonderful, his power and all is wonderful, but, his mercy passes all his properties. To him be glory for ever. AMEN. THE SECOND LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA, CHAP. 1. vers. 6. 7. 8▪ 9 6 For, it is a righteous thing with God, to recompense tribulation to them, that trouble you. 7 And to you, which are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord jesus shall show himself from heaven with his mighty Angels. 8 In flaming fire, rendering vengeance unto them, that do not know God, and which obey not unto the Gospel of our Lord jesus Christ. 9 Which shall be punished with everlasting perdition, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. IN the first part of this chapter, ye have heard (brethren) next after the saluatation a preface, wherein he rejoices together with them, for that increase and growth of the graces of God in them, namely, of their Faith, Love and Charity. In rejoicing with them he gives God the thanks and all the glory of whatsoever grace they had received. We entered the last day in the second part, which contains a consolation: For these Thessalonians sustained affliction and trouble for the faith of Christ, therefore the Apostle comforts them. We heard the first argument of comfort he ministered to them, was from the just judgement of God. Your troubles and afflictions ye suffer are all sure tokens, that, jesus Christ will come one day and judge this world justly: Among all the assurances of the latter judgement this is one. The trouble that the godly suffers in this world. In the affliction and trouble of the godly, ye may see (as it were, in a mirror) the Lord coming to judge the world, when we see an innocent man troubled, we may gather our conclusion, there must follow of necessity a day of count and reckoning: it cannot be, that the just Lord will suffer▪ unjust dealing to pass away unpunished. Then, in the second argument he draws nearer to them, and sets down the end of this just judgement that shall be, the end shall be for their well: For, when the Lord shall come to judge the world, they shall be counted worthy of that kingdom, the kingdom of Heaven, for the which they suffered. Worthy, not in themselves (for, all the affliction under Heaven will not make a man worthy of Heaven▪) but, worthy, in the righteous merits of Christ, wherewith one day we shall be clad, and for his worthiness and merit shall be adjudged to life everlasting Now in the beginning of this text, he proves, that the day of judgement they shall be adjudged to life everlasiting and glory. He takes his argument from the nature of that judge. It is a just thing, says he, to God, to recompense tribulation to them who troubles you. As if he had said, the judge is just, yea, by nature he is justice itself, and therefore, the judgement must be just, and in his just judgement he must adjudge you to life, and he must render to every man his due; being just, he must render to them who hes afflicted you, affliction again. And to you who are afflicted, he must tender rest, even, as he renders to us: For, I in my own person have been afflicted aswell as ye have been, and I am assured, he will render rest to me, and so also will he to you: there is the meaning of the words. Then ye see, brethren, here, he grounds their deliverance in that latter judgement upon the just nature of God: ye may see our life everlasting unto the which we shall be adjudged in the day of judgement leans on a solid foundation, even the most just nature of the judge; all the world is not able to shake it, if thou can shake God, than thou may shake our life everlasting. Sever justice from him, and sever life from his own, both are alike; do the one, if thou may do the other. And so, brethren, ye see whereupon the assurance of your faith and hope of life everlasting is grounded, it is grounded upon an insight of the nature of God, upon a knowledge of him, what he is in his own nature, that he is just, he is righteousness itself, knowing then that he is just, seeing, as it were, at the least in some measure in God, and in his nature that he is just, I take assurance that that just God shall adjudge me to life, I make this more general: all assurance, all hope of any grace we have to receive at the hands of God, what ever it be, must proceed from an insight and knowledge of the nature of God; how can I or any man look for any good at the hands of him who is not known to me? how shall I assure myself I shall get any good from him, I know not? Therefore, the man or woman who would have faith in God, or hope of life, or any good at his hands, must seek to pierce in to the deepness of the infinite nature of God, so far as can be, to know him in his justice, wisdom, power, mercy, and in all these infinite properties in his nature; then knowing him in these infinite things, he must assure himself of such and such graces at his hands; I know him to be powerful, therefore, with his power he will deliver me; I know him to be merciful, in his mercy I am assured he will show mercy▪ on me; I know him to be wise, therefore I am assured he will deal wisely with me, he that is skilful and the God of order will deal skilfully with me. Then, ye see, that, faith will never be builded upon a scroofe and superficial thing. The world thinks it enough, to know, there is a God▪ to know his name and no more. No, thy heart cannot be builded on a s●roofe. It is impossible to any to have that solid and assured faith in God and that hope of life, except they have a solid knowledge, in some measure, of his nature and of his properties. And that body that presses not to pierce in to the deepness of God; cannot have that Spirit of God: for, in the first Epistle to the Corinth. chap. 2. vers. 10. it is said, The spirit of God searches, and what? in to the infinite deepness of God, and there he lets thee see God's mind towards thee. So, that, if any be endued with that searching Spirit of God, of necessity that Spirit must convoy their eyes, in some measure, in to the secreetes of God, to the deepness of that infinite nature: It is a wonderful sight that a true and solid faith hes in God. It will peace in to the infinite nature of God, and build on that infinite nature the solid ground of faith. I speak this that ye may seek to know the nature of God. Yet to the words. It is a righteous thing with God, not to men, but, to God. The meaning of the Apostle is, What ever seems right in the eye of man, this is righteous in the eye of God, to render to every man his due. Now the Lord forbidden, that our life or death everlasting hang upon that that seems just and unjust to man. Lord forbidden, that Heaven or Hell hang at man's girdle, or depended on his judgement, I assure you, many would go to Hell from hand. As God in nature is a just judge, even so, man by nature a wrangous and unjust judge: Let him be given over to himself, he shall never judges one whit of that which is just, Difference between the judgement of God, and of men. at the least, he shall never judge sincerely of that work. I shall tell you the differences between the judgement of God and man shortly. Man when he judges is oft-times so blinded, that he sees not the thing that is just: for, he will take up the thing that is unjust to be just, and the thing that is just to be unjust. Then again, supponing by the light of the mind he see the thing that is just, yet there is such a perverseness in his will and affection, that, in spite of the light of the mind he will pervert justice; that thing he knows to be just he will call it unjust. And the thing he knows to be unjust he will call it just. But it is not so with God: for, first, he by that infinite judgement in him sees that thing that is just to be just, nothing can beguile him, at the very first look he will know that which is just. And then again, when he sees it to be just, there is such an uprightness in him that he will decern it to be just. Then, brethren, it is well with us that our life and death depends not on men, upon their judgement, their speaking, it is well with us that our salvation and condemnation depends not on their blind and corrupt affection, but on him that sees every thing, as it is, and judges justly. There is the ground of our salvation. Now to go forward. The effect of his justice, what is it? The just judge sitting in his judgement seat he renders to every man their own, his justice stands in distribution: He renders to the troublers, by the saw called Lex talionis, even such thing as they did, to wit, trouble. But to the godly he gives rest, joy and comfort for ever. What should he render to the afflicters but affliction. To the troublers but tribulation again. So what ever man does, he gets the like repaid to him again in his hand: God readers infinite trouble to the afflicters of the godly. afflicts he, he shall be afflicted: trouble he▪ he shall be troubled, if all the world had said the contrary. Indeed it is true, brethren, the affliction that he receives, albeit it be alike in quality: (for affliction is ever like affliction) yet look to the quantity of that trouble the troublers shall receive, It is incomparable, in quantity: for, in quantity it shall be infinite. All that which they may do to the godly is but finite and hes and end: But that affliction wherewith they shall be repaid home again is infinite. And therefore read the Rom. chap. 2. vers. 8. 9 where Paul tells of that rendering alike at that great day, he cannot get words sufficiently to express their affliction. They shall get indignation, then wraith, they shall be oppressed with tribulation & anguish, and shall be casten in the press of affliction. Whereto should we speak of this? Can any words express it? No, all the words of the Angels of Heaven and men in the earth cannot express the affliction they shall be afflicted with in that day. Indeed, the afflictions: the godly sustains here may be suffered, but the affliction the wicked shall suffer at that day shall be intolerable. Now ye may say, how can this stand with God's justice, to repay a thing infinite for a finite thing; to render infinite affliction for finite affliction; to render the pains of Hell for a short temporal pain? I answer. God in repaying wrong to them that hes done wrong, looks not so much to the wrong that one man does to another, as to the wrong done to his own Majesty that is infinite. Thou oppressest thy neighbour, thou troublest a brother. The Lord when he comes to judge, he looks not so much to the wrong thou hast done to thy neighbour, or to thy brother, as to the wrong done to himself: He respects the wrong done to him who is infinite, and therefore, thou shalt be repaid with an infinite pain. This is God's justice. Then again. Never a man that did wrong. and that hes ta'en pleasure to do wrong, did ever the wrong, nor was able to do so great wrong, as he would have done, if he had gotten his will fulfilled in doing wrong, there would never be an end of his wrong: If the trouber had his will in troubling, no end of his trouble: If the murderer had his will in murdering his bloody sword would never be put up, but he would ever be murdering, he would be ever oppressing. And therefore, God in his judgement looks not so much to the thing thou dost, to the stroke of thy hand, to the word of thy mouth, as he looks to the thought and will of thy mind. It hes no end of evil. The Lord for thy endless evil will in heart, will render thee an endless pain. This much for the first rendering. The second rendering is the rendering to the godly according to God's justice. What renders God to the godly? Not as he did to the wicked, affliction for affliction, trouble for trouble; but by the contrary, where they were afflicted, lying tread down in the press of affliction, than the Lord shall loose their bonds, and take the oppressors and wrap them in the same bonds, and tread them under his feet. So, the second sort of rendering, God renders infinite glory, to the godly afflicted. is rendering not alike to alike, but a thing that is unlike, rendering to the afflicted relaxation for ever. Brethren, there is no comparison between the afflictions of the godly, and that which the Lord shall render to them for their affliction. That which the godly suffers is but a mean and small thing. It is not worthy to be spoken of, to be rend on the Raoks, to be burnt quick, for the name of jesus, is not worthy to be spoken of in respect of that wonderful glory we shall possess. The Apostle in that second chap. to the Romans, 10. verse, cannot get words to express their glory which they shall enjoy at that latter day. Honour and glory, that passes all the ignominy that can be in the world a thousand stages, immortality, thou shalt never die again, life, and life that is without end, peace and joy everlasting. There is no comparison. In the 2. Corinth. chap. 4. verse 17. Paul calls the afflictions of the godly, the momentaneall lightness of affliction: they are first light, than their afflictions lasts but for a moment. Yet, says he, they shall work to you an everlasting weight of glory, and glory that is excellently excellent: he cannot get words to express it. The glory is in quantity a weight, in time it is everlasting; in dignity it is excellently excellent. Whereto shall I speak it? All the tongues that is in Heaven and earth is not able to express that glory as it is worthy to be spoken of: For, in the 1. Epist. to the Corinth. chap. 2. verse 7. it is said, These things hes not entered in the heart of man that the Lord hes prepared for them that love him. And who are they, if not they who suffers for him? This much for the rendering both to the one and the other according to the just nature of God. Now in the end he adds to this word, with us. He shall render relaxation to you and to me also. I am troubled as you are. And therefore I hope for the same deliverance and relaxation that I promise to you. Promise nothing to the people, but the thing thou thinkest to get a part of thyself. Promise no resurrection, except thou thinkest to get a part thereof. But the thing I mark is this. I see all grace and glory is in a society with the Saints: resurrection, life everlasting is with the godly: For as there is a communion with the Saints in afflictiones 1. Peter chap. 5. verse 9 so there is a communion with the Saints in rest, in grace and glory. Ephes. chap. 3. verse 14. 1. Thessa. chap. 3. verse 13. And this thing we may take up ever in this Apostle, he speaks of no grace but ever together with the Saints, all is in one conjunction. Let none therefore press to come to Heaven but in this conjunction. Thou wilt leap from the Church, but I assure thee leap as thou wilt, and think to come to Heaven without that society, thou shalt never come to Heaven, thou shalt never get relaxation but in this society. Think it no small matter to be of the number of the godly: thou shalt never be glorified in that latter day, if thou be not one of that number. Then mark another thing. He says, they shall get relaxation with him. Then it follows that he was afflicted with them. Who gets rest? but they who are troubled. Who will come to Heaven? None but they who for Christ's sake on the earth hes suffered some affliction, either within or without. No, look not that a man will come sleeping to Heaven. Heaven is a relaxation out of bonds; who can be loosed, but they who have e'en bound? This may learn us to take in patience to be bound, to be evil spoken of, and to suffer either one thing or other for the hope of that life everlasting. Now to go forward in the text following▪ ye have a short but a pithy description of the Lord jesus coming to judgement to render and repay. When shall this rendering be? When shall affliction be rendered to the afflicters, and relaxation to the bound and troubled? When our Lord jesus Christ shall come to judge the world. Not till then. There is the diet nothing but patience until then. Thou art over sudden. Thou would have the Lord rendering to thee rest, and to thy enemy trouble at the first moment. Thou would have him to put thee in Heaven at the first hand, and thy enemies▪ in Hell at an instant. No, bide, till the time of the manifestation come. Time of rendering. Then, the time of rendering is the time of manifestation of light, it is the day of light, of such a light as was never in the world▪ for, while Christ come, all is hid▪ Heaven is hid. Hell is hid: Right is hid▪ wrong is hid; damnation is hid; salvation is hid; life hid, death hid; godly men is hid; reprobate men hid; all hid, till Christ come to judgement. 1. john chap 3. verse 2. When Christ shall come he shall be first revealed from Heaven, an infinite light shall come from Heaven accompanying that glorious Majesty. Then Hell shall be seen, Heaven shall be seen fair and broad, life shall be seen, death shall be seen, all shall appear then as they are. So, bide still a while, and bide in patience, thou who would have relaxation, and thy bonds shall be loused in patience; bide, till that tyme. Thou that would see afflicters afflicted●ly▪ still in patience▪ for, in that moment when thou shall see the Lord coming from Heaven▪ thou shalt see an end of all these things such rendering as ever thou would have desired. So nothing but patience. Now, mark the style the Lord gets in this revelation and coming. He is called▪ The Lord▪ A style of glory, a name of power. So the Lord in his coming and manifestation shall be manifested like a Lord, and in a surpassing power over quick and dead. Rom. chap. 14. verse 9 He died and rose again, that he might be Lord both of the quick and the dead. Then again he is called jesus, that is, a Saviour▪ as he shall be manifested at that day as a Lord; so shall he be manifested as a sweet Saviour jesus, to the just and godly of this world. So, then, his appearance shall be as a Lord and Saviour, to the comfort of his elect and as a Lord in power, to the destruction of the wicked. Now, to go forward▪ (I shall not be ●ur●ous, but shall open only the words▪) The Lords coming and revealing himself as Lord, and as jesus the Saviour is descriued and set out in an high glory: Christ shall come from heaven. His revelation shall first be from the Heaven. That word Heaven is not put in lightly. He is revealled not from the earth, or from any low part: No Monarches that ever revealled themselves in the world came down yet from Heaven: The Lord's revelation when he shall show himself to the world shall be from the Heaven: The Heaven now is a vail casten in between our eyes and the Lord. So that we cannot see him, but at that day the Lord of glory shall break down through the vail and come down to the air to be seen by us. Now if ye will ask what an Heaven this is▪ Paul 4. chap. to the Ephes. vers. 9 10. says he was carried to an heaven above a● the●e heavens which we see. And therefore these Heavens from the which the Lord shall appear, is a place above: He shall break through all these Heavens while he offer himself to be seen in the clouds. Then this coming from Heaven lets us see he shall come to his in glory. The greater glory, the greater comfort to us, the greater discomfort to the wicked, the greater fear and trembling to the reprobate. Take heed to this ye who takes pleasure in sin, what fear and terror shall overtake you in that day. So this is the first part. Now in the next words he is des●ryued from his company that shall convoy him. Angels shall accompany jesus, in his coming. The Lord in his second coming he shall not come his alone; in the first coming he came in the world basely, like a poor man accompanied with no glorious train. The Lord was made poor that thou should be made rich; the Lord took upon him ignominy that thou should get glory. Now in the second coming he shall be gloriously accompanied. No never Monarch was so accompanied when they came to their kingdom as the Lord jesus shall. They shall wonder that he going in his first coming in the world so poorly should have such glory. The first company he shall come with shall be Angels, the gloriousest creatures that ever was, not one or two, but millions of Angels, principalities and powers. Jude says 14. vers. the Lord 〈◊〉 come with thoulands of his S●ints. And I say as I think, there shall not be an Angel in Heaven, but all shall come with jesus. And what shall be then habit? They shall come like an army all as it were, in a●mes. Men who are in their armour in their harness they appear most glorious to the world. So all the Angels shall come as an army armed with power; and therefore it is said, Angels of his power▪ terrible to the wicked, because they shall be enarmed against them; comfortable to the godly, for they come for their defence. The Angels in their own nature are strong, by their creation potent; they are principalities, powers by virtue of their own nature. But the word would import more. They shall not only be strong with their own power, but, they shall come enarmed with the power of Christ, with an exceeding and extraordinary kind of power, such a power, that they were never seen in before, in such a majesty as never was seen of before, and all to the glory of that glorious Lord jesus, who is Lord and judge blessed for ever. An earthly king when he is in his greatest glory is but accompanied with silly infirm creatures who hes little strength. But, the Lord jesus, who is King of kings shall be accompanied at his coming with Angels of such an infinite strength, that the devil and all the world shall not be able to withstand any one of them. Now, to go forward, the next company that shall be with him shall be creatures, something inferior, Not so glorious as the Angels, Flaming fire shall accompany Christ. but, very glorious, a flaming fire, a fire with a great flame; and therefore, fire that shall cast down from it exceeding great heat and light to the world. Ye will ask, what fire will this be? I will not be curious herein: but, I think, that, that fire that shall be at that day shall be that same natural element, that the Lord created, when he made the rest of the creatures. This appears very well, of Peter, in his second Epistle, chap. 3. vers. 6. 7. When he says, the first world was destroyed by water, and the second world shall be destroyed with fire. Certainly, as the first world was destroyed by a natural water; so, shall the second world be destroyed by a natural fire. This fire shall then appear in such a glory, quantity, and light, as it was never of before: because it is employed in the service of a most glorious Lord. Would ye know what shall be the use of this glorious fire? Read. 2. Epist. of Peter chap. 3. This fire going before him shall burn▪ first, the heavens; then, it shall come to the elements, and melt them all with heat. It shall next come to the earth and shall burn up the earth and all the works. Would ye know what shall come after? There shall be a new heaven and a new earth. And so, this fire shall▪ serve for the purifying and burning of the dross of the creatures: for, all the creatures, the Heaven, the Earth, the Sun▪ the Moon, he● drawn on a corruption, through our sins. But, is there no other use of this fire? This fire shall also in the Lord's justice be a fire to devour the adversaries▪ Heb. chap 10. verse 27▪ to burn the reprobate for eever. And therefore, vain man, who takes pleasure in thy sins, let ●he memory of this flaming fire terrify thee, that, in time, thou may repent. Now, this much for that glorious company, wherewith the Lord jesus shall be accompanied in that glorious coming. Now, come to the effects, in the next words. When he is come from the Heaven accompanied with the glorious Angels and flaming fire, certainly, he will not come for nothing: Kings in the earth may fli● their camps for nothing; but, the King of glory will not do so. Now, the effect, in one word, is, rendering, repaying, recompensing; the judgement is, in rendering to every one, his own due: In rendering, first he begins at the godless and wicked after his coming in such a glory. He shall render the wicked, that, which is due to them, that is, vengeance. To whom? To them, that know God on this earth, 〈◊〉 them, that obeyed not the Gospel of the Lord jesus. Mark it. The Lord keep us from the causes of this rendering. There shall be none, that knew not God, Faith accompanied with a troop of graces. and obeyed not the voice of Christ in the Gospel, but▪ vengeance shall overtake them in that glorious appearing of that judge in the world▪ These are the two great ●aultes and sins, that shall procure, in the day of judgement, vengeance▪ from jesus Christ. Now, as there are two things, that procures this vengeance, so, there are two things, that brings life at that great appearance of the Lord jesus Christ. The first, is, the knowledge of God. The next, is, the knowledge of his Son the Lord Iesu● Christ▪ Ioh● chap. 17. verse 3. This is life everlasting, to know thee to be the only God, and whom thou hast 〈◊〉, jesus Christ know these two, know God, know Christ in his Gospel, 〈◊〉▪ vengeance shall not overtake thee▪ Then, by the plain contrary. There are two grounds and causes of death and damnation▪ The misknowing of God, and the 〈…〉 of jesus here 〈◊〉 in his Gospel, and these two are 〈…〉gether. Then▪ brethren, in one word, Let not the jew be bold to say, he knows God▪ when he knows not his Son; all the knowledge a man can have of God, when he knows not his Son, is nothing: for, God the Father cannot be known, but in his Son jesus Christ, and without the knowledge of God in his Son, there is no salvation from judgement. The Son is the Image of God, and God will be known in him. Heb. chap. 1. verse 3. He is the brightness of his glory, and the engraved form of his person. So, that there can be no sight of God, but in the face of Christ the man. join these two together, know God know the Son, know the Son that thou may know the Father; for, no sight of the Father, but, in the Son. This further would be marked. When he speaks of obedience to Christ. He says not, they that obeyed not the Lord jesus, but, he says, They who obeyed not the Gospel of the Lord jesus. This is spoken, to the commendation of the Gospel, and of the preaching of it, and this base ministry which men esteems so little of. Look how he ranks this Gospel and the preaching of it with Christ himself. He counts them that obey the Gospel, to obey Christ, and he counts them, who are rebellious to the Gospel, to be rebels to Christ. And therefore say I, boast as thou wilt, of Christ, and of the knowledge of him, if thou despise this Gospel, and this base ministry, vengeance shall light on thee: Thou wilt say, thou knowest Christ and in the mean time, there will be nothing in thy heart, but, a contempt of the Gospel & of the preachers of the Gospel. But, boast as thou wilt, of the knowledge of Christ; thou shalt find, if thou be impenitent in this point, vengeance▪ shall light on thee. Rebels to the Gospel and preaching thereof, in earth, rebels to Christ, in the Heaven. Think not, when thou hungerst the Gospel out of the land, by drawing away in thy ●lookes all the thing the Gospel should be sustained on▪ that, thou knowest God and jesus Christ. What matter of the hungering of the bodies of men, in respect of the Gospel. When thou closest the mouth of men, so, that, for hunger, they are not able to preach, say not, thou knowest Christ and loves the Gospel, thou liest falsely. When through thy greediness thou art an hinderer to the ministry, whom the Lord thrusts out, to be dispensators of the food to the souls of men, thou hungerst the Gospel. When thou dost this, say not, thou lovest Christ. Thou wilt say in that great day, Lord, where saw we thee hungering, where saw we thee naked, etc. But, the Lord then shall say, What ever thou did to the Ministers of the Gospel, thou did it to me, thou stayed the planting and progress of the Gospel, through thy avarice. O sacrilegious Abbot, Bishop, and Prior, and the rest of that rabble, and o ye ravening wolves, that devours the teinds, to the prejudice of the plantation of this ministry and Gospel, to the hungering of innumerable souls. Look to this matter and take up yourselves, that the Lord meet you not in vengeance, look to this at this time, and with draw not the moyen whereby this Gospel may be propagated in the world. I speak no more of this matter. One day will show the truth of these things. Yet, ere I leave the words. Mark, further. He is speaking of the godly, that were persecuted, and he brings in the Lord jesus rendering, and yet, he says not, he shall render vengeance to them, that afflicted and troubled the godly, he speaks not of them, that were afflicted. But, he says, to them, who obeyed not the Gospel of the Lord jesus. So, he touches the grounds: persecution and troubling of the saints rises ever on this ground, rebellion to God, rebellion to Christ, no persecuter, but a rebel to God, a contemner of the Gospel of Christ, be is a contemner of God and Christ. And in the meane-tyme, with this, he comforts the persecuted Thessalonians, they shall not escape trouble, who hes troubled you, because the Lord hes his interest. And therefore, assure the●, if there were no other thing, but, this rebelling against God and Christ, of necessity, vengeance must follow. Trouble ever rises of misknowledge of God. What matter of men, in afflicting men, they treble against God, and that rebelling shall not escape punishment. Now, in the next words, he comes more particularly to the vengeance. To scanse of these things oue● far, it is but vain curiosity. Therefore, it is expedient, in these things, to ●old fast the plain words, that we altar not to the one side, nor, to the other. Curious spirits hes spoken much of this matter without any grounds. It might have been asked, What can this vengeance be▪ He answers, and calls i● a perdition. Then, he calls it, everlasting perdition, and wrack of the creature. There are sundry sorts of vengences, all vengences are not the utter wrack of the creature: for, many men after punishment will get up their heads again and come through, but▪ after this punishment, utter wrack and perdition shall follow. A beast, when it dies and is field, it is wracked; but, look the nature of this wrack, it shall be everlasting, a wrack without an end, a death without a death, a death that shall never have an end, ay dying and never dead. So first, it shall be perdition and an utter wrack, and then, never shall have an end. The ho●ling and utter cry of the reprobat in Hell, ● how dolorous is it? But, what matter of the extremity of it, if it had an end; but, alas, extremity without end of pain, how dolorous is it? Many will never know this, till they be shot in Hell: Heaven and Hell is thought mocking: Many will never know, there is an Hell, until they feel it in experience. The Lord waken us, that once we may think of this. Alas, there is such a stupidity in the heart of man, that he can never believe this. So, there the vengeance, a perdition, and an endless perdition. Now, in one word. He resolves this particular vengeance in the own grounds; there is, first, a perdition; then, an eternity of perdition. In the next words, he lets you see the grounds, first, of perdition, and then, of the eternity thereof. As to the perdition itself, He says, it comes from the face of God. The wicked shall not see so soon the face of jesus Christ the judge at that day, but, as soon they shall melt away, as the wax at the fire; and as ye see the matter of melting is in the wax itself; so, the matter of the melting of the wicked shall be in themselves. But, what matter, if it had an end. And therefore, next, he lays down the ground of ●rernitie ●aine from the glory of the power of the infinite judge. The power of the glorious judge is eternal, infinite and endless; the power of man hes an end. He is a mighty monarch to day; but, to morrow evanishes; his power lasts not. But, the power of the lord jesus shall never havean end; and from once he begin to pu● the finger of his power on the soul of the wicked, they shall never be free of vengeance. It is a terrible thing to fa●in the hands of an angry God; from once he grip thee, his hand shall never louse▪ his power endures ever, and therefore shall thy pain endure ever. So, ye that will think, an endless pain cannot be, lift up your eyes and consider the eternity of his power and infinitnes of God, and then ye may see the great and everlasting vengeance that he hes to be poured on the wicked, and great and everlasting mercy on them that pertains to him in Christ. The Lord give us eyes to see it, even for his Christ's sake. To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be praise for ever. AMEN. THE THIRD LEC●TVRE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. ●. THESSA. CHAP. 1. verse▪ 10. 11. 12. 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and to be made marvelous in all them that believe (because our testimony towaryou was believed) in that day. 11 Wherefore, we also pray always for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of saith with power. 12 That the name of the Lord jesus Christ may be glorified in you, 〈◊〉 in him, according to the grace of our god, & of the Lord jesus Christ▪ THE last day ye heard (brethren) the purpose of the Apostle in this place was to comfort the Thessalonians against the affliction●s wherewith for the time they were exercised. The first and the chiefest argument of consolation was ta'en from that just judgement of God when he comes: for the afflictions that the godly and innocent suffers in this life for the name of jesus Christ, are as a mirror wherein we may see the Lord jesus coming to judgement, to take vengeance on the afflicters, and to render and to give rest 〈◊〉 his own. The Apostle taking occasion of this argument, points out the Lord jesus coming to judge the world. He notes the place from which he shall come, an Heaven above all these visible Heavens; he notes the company wherewith in his coming he shall he accompanied. First the Angels of his power enarmed with the power of the judge the Lord jesus to execute his just judgement. The next company is a flaming fire; This fire at the coming of the Lord jesus shall burn up the Heaven, shall melt the elements, shall burn up this earth, and all the works that is in it, as Peter declares in his 2. Epistle chap. 3. and at last shall consume and devore the wicked, and that everlastingly, ever burning without end. When he hes painted out the Lords coming to judge the world, he subjoins the effects that shall follow upon his coming and judgement. The first effect is, he shall inflict vengeance to them who in this world knew not God, and would not obey the Gospel of our Lord jesus Christ. And after this, he descryves this vengeance more particularly, it shall be an utter destruction, so that they shall never get up their head again, and this destruction shall be endless; a death without a death, the sorest death that ever man died; the cause of the perdition shall be the face and angry countenance of the judge, his face shall be as fire, and they shall be as wax, the heat of his face shall melt them as the fire melts the wax: the cause of the eternity of their perdition shall be the glory of his power, his power shall never have an end, and therefore their pain, anguish and perdition shall never have an end. The power shall ever hold them still in a torment, and so this wraith everlasting shall seize and feed upon them for evermore. And so they shall ever be doing and never be dead. Now, in this text, we have the second effect, that, shall follow on the coming of the Lord to his judgement. The first effect concerned the wicked. This effect concerns the godly. To come to the words, shortly. He says, When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints. The meaning is, this vengeance of perdition everlasting shall be inflicted on the rebels of God and Christ, at that time, when he shall come to glorify his own, the Saints, that in their glory and life everlasting he may be glorified himself. Chief end of Christ's coming▪ is, to glorify the souls. This is the meaning, shortly. Now, if ye will mark the first words, When he shall come. Ye may see, that, the first and chief end of the coming of the Lord jesus to judgement, is, not the wrack of the reprobate, but, his chief end in his coming to judgement shall be, the glorifying of his own, that in their glory, he may be glorified for ever. The order of the giving out of their doom and sentence of life and death at that day makes this master pla●ne. Read the order of the giving forth of this sentence in the 25. chap. of Matthew vers. 34. etc. Ioh● 5. cha. 29. verse. The sentence shall be given first to the godly, and the Lord shall say first to them ere he open his mouth to the other, Come ye blessed of my Father and 〈◊〉 that kingdom that is prepared for 〈◊〉. Then when that sentence is past he shall draw the godly to be assessors to him, and with their consent and approbation in a manner he shall come to the doom of the reprobat▪ and shall say, Dep●● from me to the devil and his Angels. john. 5. chap. vers. 28▪ 29▪ The hour shall come, when all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and they shall come forth, that have do●e good to the resurrection▪ of life, but, they that have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation This his order of proceeding shows that the chief end of Christ's coming is the glorifying of his own. The cause is, because in the glorifying of his elect chiefly shall God be glorified. And seeing the Lord, chiefly respects his own glory, therefore, the first respect he shall have in judging, shall not be▪ to punish the wicked▪ (for, ●e shall cast them by his hand, as dogs) but, to glorify his own. To go forward in the words. When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints. That is to say, when he shall come, first, to glorify his Saints▪ and so, consequently, to glorify himself▪ For, he cannot be glorified in his Saints, except he glorify them first. And therefore, it must be understood, that he must glorify them, that in their glory, he may be glorified. Now, mark. As the first and chief end of the coming of the Lord to judgement shall be the glorifying of his Saints: So, the chief mean, whereby the Lord shall be glorified shall not be the damnation of the reprobate, but▪ it shall be the life and salvation of the godly because in the godly at that day shall be manifested to the whole world, the goodness of the Lord jesus, his mercy, his omnipotent power: in one word, his Majesty and his glory, chiefly shall be manifested in them. So, that, the whole world, when they see them stand up, as it were, in a shout shall cry, Glory, glory, glory be to the Lamb, that sits on the Throne, when they shall see the elect so shining in glory, they shall burst forth, in crying, glory, glory, glory, and nothing shall be heard but glory ever more. These are the things, we shall once see and hear, either to our everlasting glory, or to our everlasting destruction. It is true, the Lord jesus that day shall be glorified also, in the damnation of the reprobat, and that, in his justice. Ye read, in the 14. of Exod. I shall be glorified in Pharaoh and his army, in pouring out a vengeance on them, I shall drown them. But, yet, the justice God, the justice of Christ serves not so much to his glory, as his mercy does. And it is a greater matter, yea and more glory shall come to him by the saving of one soul at that day, nor by the condemning of an hundredth. Came Christ jesus in the world, for this end chiefly, that, God should be glorified in his justice? No. Christ came and the Gospel of mercy is given us, that, men and Angels in that day should glorify God, chiefly in his mercy. Now, to go forward. And to be made marvelous in all them that believe. This is, in effect that same, which he spoken of before, even, the glorifying of God; for, it is one thing, the Lord to be glorified, and to wonder at him. The meaning is, shortly. When he shall come. First, he shall make the faithful wonderful, in the sight of the world, and then, in their wonderfulness, all the world shall wonder at him, who hes made them wonderful. Now, mark. The Lord jesus, in Esay 9 chap. 6. vers. among all the names he gets there, he is called the wonderful and the marvelous one. Now, this name, in effect shall show the selfcheefly in that day of judgement: for, chiefly in that day Christ shall be wonderful, and all the world shall wonder at him. It is but a little wondering we have here. Christ, at his coming, wonderful. Ye know, wondering presuppones novelties, things of exceeding great importance. Then, it must follow, that, the Lord jesus at that day shall be revealed to the world in such a wonderful glory, at never man, nor Angel saw yet● it shall be such a glory, as never eye saw, ear heard, or, once entered into the heart of man, as the Apostle ●aies, 1. Cor. 2. chap. 9 verse. They who saw him kyanized in a vile habit, judged, condemned, scourged, and crucified under Pontius Pilate, they shall wonder, when they shall see that Lord (whom they thought once so vile) raised up and exalted to such a sublimity and height of glory. Pilat, then, shall wonder; the Priests shall wonder, they, that with their wicked hand● crucified him shall wonder at that day. And in one word, there shall be nothing in that day in Heaven and earth but a wondering at the Lord jesus Christ and his Saints glorified. Ye see here next the chief mean that shall make the Lord wonderful, to be the wonderfulness of the glory of his Saints and elect, whom in that day he shall make wonderful. The world shall look in and wonder at them, and then they shall look to the judge and wonder at him. Then in that day they who hes believed in jesus in this life (look what faith brings with it) shall be blessed and made glorious: For first these faithful shall be made so marvelous in glory that they shall astonish the whole world: I tell thee more, when thou shalt be so translated, when thy vile body shall be so changed, thou shalt wonder at thyself: for the ear hath not heard, the eye hath not seen, etc. that wonderful glory which then thou shalt enjoy. As for the wicked of the world the troublers and afflicters of the godly, when they shall look to any one of the glorious elect, they shall weep and wonder. This is set down in the 5. chapter of the book of wisdom, albeit Apocrypha. First they shall mourn and weep, when they shall see the glory of the godly, and say, O we fools and senseless bodies, esteemed we not the life of these godly in the world a miserable life? Then they shall come on with wondering, How is this that this vile body so shines, and that he is so exalted? So they shall both mourn at this sight and wonder, and weeping and wondering they shall count themselves to have been fools and senseless bodies. The Lord give us grace to seek that true wisdom in tyme. For certainly that true wisdom is esteemed foolishness in this world, and he that would be wise, let him be a fool first, he shall never be counted wise that day, except he have been a fool first, and humbled under this foolish preaching of the Gospel. It is true, the condemnation of the reprobate shall be a mean to make the world wonder, and to make the judge wonderful. O, the pains that shall be inflicted on the reprobate shall be wonderful, and they shall be set up as spectacles of shame at that day, and the godly shall wonder at their shame and confusion. O, wonderful shall that weightiness of judgement be! they shall wonder that ever there should be such a wraith in God, they shall wonder that ever the arm of God should be so heavy upon them. O, Hell is lighted now (will they say) the wraith of God is lighted now! O, what a mass and weight of wraith is this that we see now! Men will now leap here and there, and make little count of the weightiness of the Lords hand, and securely contemn threatenings and judgement; but in that day, to their everlasting woe they shall find it the heaviest thing that ever was: for by the weight of it, they shall be so pressed down that they shall never be able to press up again. Alas, what a dead senselessness is this of men in this world that they regard neither Heaven no● Hell, living like beasts and not as men! Lord waken us in time to acknowledge these things. Now to go forward. Who are these that shall be made wonderful, that in them the Lord jesus may be made wonderful? In one word, He calls them, believers, a base and simple style among us. He called them before saints, holy ones; and now he comes to the ground of their holiness, and calls it faith. It will not be a fair, honest, civil dealing with our neighbour that will do the turn, albeit many men thinks so. No, but faith in Christ must be the ground; any man that in any measure hes had a sense and feeling of that life, he will find in his experience he can not have hope or assurance of life in the fairest outward dealing that ever men did, except he find his heart settled on God, and his anchor casten on Christ. This is the only cause of thy salvation, faith in Christ. As for all thy good works, they are only effects and tokens that thou hast that faith in Christ, which will do the turn, and is the only cause of thy salvation. O, blessed for ever is that heart that hes faith keeped, let never thy remembrance be off it. What ever thou think, or speak, keep it; hast thou it? be assured of thy salvation; lackest thou it? do all thou can, thou shalt die. Seek ever to have Christ in thy heart, And seeing, we who are now living may die in one moment, Lord, if we should not seek earnestly to have Christ dwelling in our hearts! It is only his merits that saves us. In the next words he defines them that he calls believers, and pointing them out, he says not, they that believes in jesus Christ, but they who in this life hes believed my testimony, the Gospel teached by me, by my fellow-servants, by the rest of the Apostles and Pastors. So, take up the nature of this faith and be not beguiled with it. It is not faith in Christ barely, but faith in Christ preached. By whom? by a silly body. What was Paul? a silly body. So look never for life nor salvation in that great day, except thou humble thyself under the foolish preaching (as men thinks it) and believe the foolish teaching of the Gospel. Thou shalt never come to grace and salvation except thou humble thyself under this preaching, which thou, by nature and in thy judgement, thinks foolish. If thou believe not in this, take thee this doom, never shalt thou be justified in that great day. Now to come to the last words in the verse. In that day. There is an Emphasis in this word, that day, the Lord shall be glorified in the godly, in the glory of his own, in that day. It is true, brethren, at this time, in this same moment, the Lord jesus is glorified, and the Saints and faithful hes their own glory. But the glory of jesus and his Saints is not in that fullness which shall be at that day. Thou seest him now, as it were, in a mirror darkly, he is coming behind thee, and thou art looking in a glass, but at that day thou shalt see him face to face with these bodily eyes, thou seest him now in glory▪ but in that day thou shalt see him in a surpassing and exceeding great glory. It is even so with the Saints. We are the Sons of God now, we are glorious now; but in that day we shall have another kind of glory. The Apostle john 1. Epistle. 13 chap. 2. verse, says, Dear beloved, we are the Sons of God now, but it appears not what we shall be. The very sight of him shall transform us. So that day in the 2. chap. to the Rom. 1. verse, is called the day of manifestation, all things shall be manifested. Glory, righteousness, Heaven, Hell, and all hid now. But in that day all shall be brought forth to that light, and be manifested. The Heaven shall be opened to see that glory in it, the Hell to see that darkness and shame in it. The Sun shall shine then most clearly, right shall then appear right in the own garment of righteousness; wrong shall be seen to be wrong; sin shall appear in the own colour, every one shall see it perfitly, all things shall be maid manifest. Now, in the next verse to the end of the chapter, the Apostle, to conquise to himself the benevolence and good liking of the Thessalonians (why should not the teacher have the good will of his people whom he teaches) lets them see, all that he does is for their cause. Wherefore, says he, we also pray always for you, that our God may make you worthy of this calling, etc. Well this sets out this part▪ of the Minister, as he teaches life to the people, So, let his prayer be ever to God, to help them forward to that life and glory he speaks of. This for his part. Then, ye see again, Prayer a mean to life. among all the means of bringing men to life, Prayer is one. Thy own prayer, the prayer of the Pastor for thee. I call it the mean, not the cause: for, thy own prayer will never merit Heaven, albeit thou pray continually, and be of that opinion, that thy prayer will merit Heaven, vain art thou, thou shalt never get it. Yet, the Lord hes appointed prayer as a mean to further men and women to Heaven. If thou neglect thy duty, thou shalt never come to Heaven. The Lord raise us out of this beastliness and senselessness that makes us so unwilling to pray. Men will rise in the morning and go to bed at night without one motion of prayer; but if thou continue so, thou shalt never come to Heaven: for, mark the Lords doing. As the Lord hes ordained thee for life, so, he hes ordained thee a midway, whereby he bids thee go forward to li●e. If thou take not the strait way the Lord hes given thee, but tak●● by road of thy own, thou shalt never come to Heaven. What should keep Christ with us, but only this prayer? what should sanctify all the speeches of our mouth, actions of our hands, but this continual praying? The remembering of this life should stir us up to prayer: for it is and shall be found the way to that life. But to come to the matter of his prayer. He says, for this cause we pray for you, That, God would make you worthy of his calling. By this calling he means life everlasting, by the mean he understands the end: for, he takes not the word calling properly, but he takes it for the end of our calling, which is life everlasting. Then, ye see, he craves this life and glory at the hands of God. Then, Life everlasting the gift of God. learn. This life everlasting is the only gift of God, thou hast it not by nature in thy own self, it must be given thee, as a free gift of God, or, thou shalt never get it. Further, I see one, or, two means, whereby we must come to this life, set down here. Before thou come to that life, thou must have a calling to it, albeit thou would reave a kingdom here, by tyranny, yet, thou shalt not come to this kingdom, except thou have a former calling to it. And when hast thou this calling? When this same word of the gospel sounds in thy ear, 〈…〉 and thou believest in it. If thou lay not to thy ear here, thou shalt never be called; and lackest thou that calling by the word, thou shalt never get life everlasting. Then, the other thing, I see here, that goes before life and glory, is a worthiness, a dignity, ere thou enter in that kingdom, thou must have a worthiness. Who will choose a man to an earthly kingdom without dignity and worthiness? Therefore, he says, that he would make you worthy. O, but understand, it is not my worthiness, nor thy worthiness, inherent in me, or, thou. No, it is that worthiness of Christ jesus, that must be imputed to us. Christ's worthiness must be imputed to us, and we clad with it. When ye hear this word worthiness in the Scripture, take it never to be an inherent worthiness in thee, or, in me, but the worthiness of that only worthy one, Christ the Lord, made ours, by faith. Then to the words following. He points out more clearly this life everlasting, and says, That he would fulfil all his good pleasure. Which good pleasure? Which comes of his gentleness and goodness. Then he adds. And that he would fulfil. What? a work. Whereof? of faith. After what manner? with power and might. Then there must be a power, or, else, faith will not be fulfilled. Now to return to every word. That he would fulfil Mark then. Life everlasting, glory everlasting is the accomplishment of a thing begun, of the decree going before, of life everlasting. First, there must be an entry to it, there must be a be●ginning going before, and then, life everlasting comes on, as fulfilling of the thing going before. What is the thing that goes before? It is his good pleasure. By his good pleasure is understood the decree of life, that was given out from all eternity, concerning his own. So, life everlasting is but the accomplishment of a decree, that was made in that glorious kingdom of Heaven before the world was made. Thy life begins at a decree that never had a beginning and ends in a glory that never shall have an end. He calls it not simply a good pleasure, but all his good pleasure, whereby he means here an ample thing. He means with the decree of life, all the means that serves to bring us to life. There is not one mean to life but all must come of this decree. Art thou called in time? it comes of a decree. Rom 8. 28. Art thou justified? it comes of a decree? Prayest thou? it comes of a decree. Nothing comes to thee in the midway of thy journey, but all comes of a decree. What ever comes, whether it be prosperity, or, adversity, think no●, it comes by chance, but, it is a mean, that the Lord hes ordained from all eternity to bring thee to life everlasting. 1. Pet. 2. 21. So, life everlasting proceeds of a decree from all eternity. He calls it the good pleasure of his goodness. By this word goodness he designs the cause of this eternal decree, not to be any thing, which God foresaw in us, but his own only goodness, and that, to the end he may have all the praise of our salvation. Read Ephes. 1. 5. 6. 9 Yet, there must be another thing, ere one get life. What is it? He calls it a work, that hes a beginning. The work, that must be accomplished hes a beginning, and then, it ends and resolves in life. And what is the work? Faith in jesus Christ. What is life everlasting then? 〈…〉 but, the accomplishment of this faith, that we have in this God: Faith is this building, that goes up continually. john chap. 6. verse 29. When the jews glories in their works, Christ says, This is the work of God, that ye believe in me. This is the building, that must be builded, even, Faith. Thou must ever be building this faith, this day, one stone, to morrow again, another, until thou come to the top stone, which is glory and life eternal. Paul says 2. Timoth. chap 4. vers. 7. 8. I have gone forward in this building, I have keeped the faith; now, the crown of righteousness is laid up for me. Then life everlasting is the crown of faith, without faith, nor crown. Who can crown thee, except thou have faith? It is faith, that, must be crowned. Lookest thou to be crowned, and in the meantime, hast thou no faith? thou deceives thyself. Therefore, seek ever faith in Christ, or, else, seek never to get that crown. Then, he says, with power. This must be done with power, or, else, it shall never be done. All the Monarches of the world, and all the Angels shall not be able to lift up this crown, to set it on thy head, It must be only the infinite power of Christ, that must lift●vp that crown and set it on thy ●ead, after thou hast gone forward in that work and come to the end. It is said Phill. 3. chap. 21. verse, When the Lord shall come, this vile body shall be transformed and made like that glorious body of Christ. What is the mean? Through the effectualness of his power, whereby he is able to subdue all things, the devil, sin and death that would hold thee aback from that glory. There must be power in the Lord, to kill sin, Hell, and to overcome the devil and all thy enemies. And the Lord by his power must give thee power over all, before thou be made conform to him. Now, to come to the last verse. He sets down the last end of his praying. That the name of the Lord jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him. Then, the chief respect he hes, in praying, is, not their glory, but, Gods● glory. Howbeit he would have the Thessalonians to be saved, yet, that is not his last end, but, all their salvation is, that, God may be glorified in them. The end of his praying is, that, God may be glorified in them; because our glory should rend to the glory of God. Now, mark one rule in praying. When we pray for life, either to ourselves, or, to others, let not our minds be so much set on our and their glory and salvation, as, God's ' gglory chiefly to be required, in our prayer. that, the God of glory may be glorified, and say, Lord, I seek glory and salvation, that in my glorifying and salvation, thou mayest be glorified; and so, let ever that glory of God be more precious and dear to us, nor all the glory and life can come to us. And they that gets grace to pray this ways, they may be assured, they shall be glorified for ever. So, renounce all, Heaven itself, our joy, our glory, and our inheritance in Heaven, to the end, that, he, to whom all glory pertains may be glorified. This did Moses and Paul, they craved to be anathema, that, God might be glorified. And this should be the desire of every man, seek, if it were thy own condemnation, rather, ere God, who created thee be not glorified; prefer God's glory to thy own salvation. Lord give us this zeal to his glory. What shall the end be? Trowest thou to lose any thing by so doing. No, look what God says to Moses, Exod. 32. chap. 33. verse, when Moses desired to be scraped out of the book of life. No, the Lord says, Moses, thou, who so earnestly desired my glory, I will glorify thee, and will scrape them out, that deserves to be scraped out. Then, the way, to come to life eternal, is, to renounce thyself, to seek only, that, thy God may be glorified. O, the joy, that is in the heart, when we find that zeal, that we can prefer God's glory, to our own salvation. That joy surpasses all joy, that ever was. He adds to another thing, to this, He says, That he may be glorified in you and ye in him. Learn, there is no piece of glory, that, Christ gets, but it redounds to his elect. Is he glorified in thee? that same glory comes back again to thee and glorifies thee. I shall tell you how it stands. First, thy life and glory, that ye call everlasting life, is nothing but, a fair glance, that strikes from the glorious face of jesus Christ as ye see the Sun shining on a man, makes him to shine: So, thy glory and life is as a very glance, 〈…〉 that strikes from the glorious countenance of Christ, as the glance of the Sun striking on a black body makes that body glance: o, much more will the beams of the face of Christ beating on thee, make thee to shine. What was the shining of the face of Moses, that made the people afraid, but, a glance of the face of God. Then, when the glory of God hes first shined on us, we shine; and then, our shining again with a reflex goes back to that Son of righteousness, it came from, and he of new shine● again on us, in a fairer shining▪ nor before. Now, in this mutual reflex and shining, yea, and the 〈◊〉 Christ is both the beginning and the ending: the shining gins at him and ends at him. And therefore, it is said Rom. 11. chap. 36. verse, For, of him, and through him, and for him, are all things: to him be glory for ever. Now, what shall be the cause of this glory of ours? He sets it down in these words, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord jesus Christ. Grace is the cause of our shining. Grace from the Father, grace from the Son. Then, there is nothing, but grace, there shall be nothing, but, grace in Heaven, grace in earth; no merit in this earth, no merit in Heaven: No merit in this earth, but, jesus merit, no merit in Heaven, but, only grace, grace and mercy in earth: all standing here and in Heaven is only by grace. And so, the cause of our everlasting standing is everlasting grace, the only grace of God, in Christ. To whom, with the Father and the holy Spirit, be all glory for ever. AMEN THE FOURTH LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 1. 2. 3. 1 NOW we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord jesus Christ, and by our assembling unto him, 2 That ye be not suddenly moved from your mind, nor troubled neithr by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as it were from us, a● though the day of Christ were at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: IN the chapter preceding ye have heard, brethren, first of the salvation of the Apostle, wherein he wishes to the Thessalonians grace, from God the Father, and from the Lord jesus Christ. Then we came to his preface, wherein he rejoices and gives thanks to God, for the increase of grace, of faith, of love they had received. And thirdly, we came to that consolation, that he ministers to them against the affliction and trouble under the which they lay for the faith of Christ. Now to come to this chapter. In it the Apostle first admonishes the Thessalonians that they give not ear to deceivers and false teachers, who would persuade them that the coming of the Lord jesus was at hand, and thereafter ●e enters in a refutation of this point of false doctrine and heresy. Now to make this more plain. The occasion (as it appears) of that▪ which the Apostle writeth in this chapter is this, In his▪ first Epistle written to them and fourth chapter thereof he spoke concerning the second coming▪ of the Lord jesus, 〈…〉 and beside other things, as we may read there, he specifies these words, We, says he, which live and are remaining in the coming of the Lord shall be caught up in the clouds with them who are departed this life after their resurrection. The Thessalonians reading this, incontinent concludes, Christ shall come ere ever we die, we shall be found on life at his coming, and we shall be re●t up in the air to meet the Lord in the clouds with them who are departed▪ Now in this meane-tyme the devil is busy to confirm them in this error, and therefore he raises up deceivers and false teachers that went about to persuade them of the truth of this, as though it had been true, that they should be living at the Lords coming. These false teachers alleged for them partly the revelation of the Spirit of God, partly a tradition of Paul, which both were false. Therefore, the Apostle understanding this, took occasion to write this Epistle, and especially, this second chapter, wherein he admonishes or rather effectuously requests them, that they suffered not themselves to be deceived, as though the coming of the Lord were at hand, and thereafter falls out in a refutation of this error. To return to the words. In the words we have read in the first verse we have the earnest request of the Apostle, together with an obtestation adjuring them with all gravity, by the coming of the Lord jesus, by the assembling of the elect to him at his coming, that they should not suffer themselves so to be deceived, as though the coming of the Lord were at hand. Now to insist in this first verse, Now we beseech you says he, by the coming of the Lord jesus Christ, and by our assembling unto him. The words bears a great obtestation, wherein he straits them under the pain of life and death, that, as ever they would look to have joy in Christ's coming and to communicate with his glory, they should not suffer themselves to be deceived. Then▪ brethren, ye see in requesting and that in lenity, he obtests and adjures them in gravity and in some severity. He joins and tempers two contrary things together, sweetness and lenity on the one part, sourness and severity on the other part First, he draws them on and entreats them willingly to obey that which he requires of them; and then again in a manner violently he pulls them. He both leads and draws. Requesting in l●●●tie he leads them, obtesting in severine he draws them, as it were, violently. Commonly ye shall find he uses this form of requesting. In the 2. Epist. to the Cor. 10. chap. 1. verse, 〈◊〉 I Paul myself, beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of our Lord jesus Christ. There ye have the request with an adjuring and charging of them. Now brethren, take these two, take lenity with severity together, they will have a great force in the hearers to bring them forward: sunder them, none of them will be so effectual; lenity the alone hes less force, severity the alone is over sharp. It will destroy more nor win, bind them together they have a great power. In the 2. Epistle to Timothy 4. chap. 2. verse, 〈…〉 there is severity; and again, exhort with all 〈◊〉 suffering and 〈◊〉, there is meekness▪ Look that these two be not severed. This was the Apostles manner of doing, and thus form ●e uses binds every one of us that speaks in the Church of God to the end of the world to use the like. Yet to insist in the words. I beseech you by the coming of the Lord jesus Christ, and by our assembling unto him. Ye see two things here whereby he adjures them to obey his request. The first is the co●●●ing of Christ. The second is our assembling to him at his coming. Then it fellows, that seeing he obtes●s by these two things that we should not doubt but the Lord jesus will come, and when he comes that we shall assemble unto him: for all obtestations are made by things, which are counted undoubted truths. The things whereby any man objures and obtests another man should be sure grounds. Now the Apostle obtests them by these two things. Therefore we should not doubt but these two are true, Christ's sec●nd coming to the cause of our assembling unto him. that Christ shall come, and we shall assemble unto him. Yet compare these two together, the first is the cause, his coming; the second is the effect. our assembling unto him. The coming of the Lord shall be found effectual in that day to our recollection, to the gathering and assembling of the whole elect unto him. The presence and the coming of Christ is ever effectual to the meeting of the Saints, where he is, there must be a meeting, he cannot be his alone. In the 24. of Matthew 28. verse. Christ says, Where the ●ar●on is, the there will the eagles resort. So where Christ is, there shall the elect resort. He came no sooner in the world but some elect both jew and Gentile resorted to him, so that there was not a Church raised up: But at second coming there shall be another kind of assembly. At that time all the elect from the four quarters of the earth shall be gathered, and never one shall be miss, all shall be in that general assembly, when the Lord shall come in that glorious day, and that assembly shall be through the power and effectualness of Christ. At his coming there shall come a sweet smell from him that shall draw all the elect that ever was together unto him. Yet to insist. These two things are joined together with great discretion: He says not only by the coming of the Lord, but also by our assembling unto him: For if he had said, by the coming of the Lord only, it had been a great motive to have terrified us: For the speaking of Christ's coming without any further consideration and mention of our life and our assembling unto him would rather terrify thee nor comfort thee. Therefore the wicked desires never to hear of his coming: for when their consciences are wakened they are terrified. But when the godly hears that Christ shall come, and that men shall be conjoined to him and be partakers of his glory, and that he shall not be glorified without them, that is comfortable▪ they never hear it without joy. Therefore if ever thou would find comfort at Christ's coming, look that thou find an assurance in thy heart that thou shalt be made partaker of his glory at his coming Further mark in this obtestation. This undoubted certainty of Christ's coming, and our assembling unto him, binds and oblises every one of us to believe the truth of the doctrine concerning his coming, and to flee and eschew all false doctrine thereof. As namely this point of false doctrine that stands in limitating and bounding his coming at a certain time, as they would say, He will come in such an age, in such a year, such a day, an hour, all is false doctrine. So I say the benefit of his coming, and the glory we shall receive at his coming binds us that we believe nothing but the truth: in such sort, that, if we will believe the truth of his coming, we shall be partakers of his glory at his coming. If we decline any thing from the truth of the doctrine of his coming, we shall hazard the glory, which otherways we should have. This which I set down unto you in particular concerning one Article of our faith, is true in all the rest: For, there is not one blessing of God in Christ, but it oblises us to believe the true doctrine, concerning that blessing, in such sort, that, if we will believe the truth concerning that blessing, we shall be partakers of that blessing, and if we believe not the truth spoken, concerning that blessing, we deprive ourselves of that blessing. To make it plain. The benefit of justification, whereby we are justified before God, only by the blood of Christ and his merit, and not by the merits of men, binds us to believe the truth of it, in such sort, that, if we will believe and seek justification in the blood and merits of Christ only, we shall be justified. If, again, we refuse to understand the true way of our justification and repose on our works, we hazard our justification. In the 9 chapter, to the Romans, vers. 31. 32. we read, the jews sought to be justified by the works of the Law. (So does the Papists, by their merits) But, what came of it? The Apostle says, They attamed not to it. And why? Because they sought it not by faith, but, by the works of the Law. Ye see, here, that perverse and false opinion, which the jews had, concerning man's justification made them, not to attain to justification. No more shalt thou be justified, who will be justified by thy vain works. The Prophet Esay says (Esay 64. 6) all our righteousness is like a menstruous clout, scarcely to be looked on, let be to be presented as a mean, whereby to be justified by God; if thou wilt seek to be justified by thy works, I denounce to thee, in the name of God, that, at that great day, thou shalt find thyself not to be justified. The Lord give us grace to embrace the truth, and the only way of justification and salvation. In the next verse, he comes to the thing be requested them, not to do. It is this, that, they should not suffer themselves to be deceived, as if Christ's coming were at hand. Now, for the better understanding hereof, I shall take up this second verse, in these three points. First, we have that thing, which he requests them not to do. To wit, That they be not suddenly moved in their mind, and be not suddenly troubled; in one word, that they suffer not themselves to be deceived. Then we have the means (which are three in number) by the which the false teachers used to deceive them. The first is by revelation pretending falsely the revelation of the spirit. The second is by word or tradition. The third is, by letter, as it were from him. In the third place he sets down the Heresy which false teachers laboured to persuade them to be true, to wit, that the day of the Lord was at hand. Now to come back to the words. In the beginning of the verse he says, I request you, that suddenly ye be not moved. Consider the words, and then he subjoins nor yet troubled. The first of these two respects the mind, next the heart, moving from the mind respects the mind, trouble respects the heart: for, the heart and the affections are suddenly troubled. Now by the mind I understand not every mind: for, every man hes a mind, an Heretic hes a mind, an Idolater a mind, but, I understand, here, a sound mind and rightly informed, and specially in this point of doctrine concerning Christ's coming: A mind that is enlightened, not with the light of nature only, but also, with the spiritual light of faith in Christ. Now he requests them, that, they be not moved, as it were, a jaw of the sea (for, the word is borrowed) And moved, to what thing? If the moving be from a sound mind, and informed by the light of Christ, it must be to a mind that is without faith in Christ, a mind perversely instructed, without the light of God. The manner, is suddenly. It is shame to be moved from that which is good, but it is a greater shame suddenly, as it were, with every light wind to be carried away. Therefore, the Apostle marueiles, that the Galathians was so suddenly carried away to another Gospel. Galat. chap. 1. verse 6. Now to come to the lesson. Who is the man that is in his right mind? Who is he that is in his wit? Is every man in his wit? No. Only that man is in his wit, whose mind is enlightened by the supernatural light of the faith of jesus Christ. Only the believer is in his right wit. Who is the man that is by his mind and is mad? Tharman (albeit otherways he had all the wit of the world in his head) that wants this light of faith in Christ, is mad, and the end shall kythe, and declare it, and the wiser in worldly things; if he be without this supernatural wit he it 〈◊〉 the madder. 〈…〉 This than must follow. By nature we are all borne mad and by our minds, mad foolish, witless, no otherways borne. Therefore, the Apostle, to Titus chap. 3. vers. 3. says▪ We also, Jews, aswell as the Gentiles, were unwise, mad and by our minds, meaning, that, without Christ we are all mad fools. Brethren, there are two sorts of this spiritual madness, one natural common to all the sons of Adam, all are ever mad, till they know Christ, ever continuing in madness, till they believe in Christ. The other sort of madness is, that is acquired by the defection and falling away from the knowledge of Christ, every Apostate is mad, every one that hes known the truth and falls therefrom, becomes mad. Of this madness Paul speaks Gal. 3 chap. 1. verse, O foolish Galathians, etc. Now if ye will compare these two madness the one natural, the other by defection. The second is more dangerous, nor the first. Madness that comes by Apostasy, of all other is the most dangerous madness: and therefore Peter 2. Epistle chap. 2. verse. 20. says, The latter condition is werse, nor the former. Madness that comes of the defection from the known truth is worse, nor the madness we had before we knew Christ. And so he subjoins, It had been better, never to have known the way of Christ, nor, after knowledge, to have fallen back again. It is better to a man ever to have bidden in the natural madness, nor once to have been wise and enlightened and then, to have made defection. There is a recovery after the first madness, but, after the second, it is very hard to get recovery. An apostate hardly recovers, but, oft, the Apostate will fall to blasphemy against the holy Spirit. Therefore, let every one strive by all means to keep the truth. Now the next thing he requests, is that they be not troubled. The word is borrowed, and in the own language it signifies that horror that ryses in the heart of man, through the clamour, or noise of any tumult. Ye see, men will be afraid, when they hear any tumult. So were the Thessalonians afraid, when they heard, that, Christ's coming was at hand. Now will ye compare this terror with the moving out of the mind, it follows very well: For, the man who hes his mind evil informed, and not enlightened by the faith of Christ can have no rest and peace in heart. For ye see a mad man hes never quietness in his heart, but his affections are ever in trouble. So a man spiritually mad without the light of Christ and salvation is never settled in his heart. An Idolater is never settled in heart, an Herotike hes never a settled heart, ever his affectiones on fear. Therefore he who would have that peace and joy that passes all understanding, let him seek light to know Christ, and to know the truth concerning him, otherways shall he never get peace and joy. Then in one word I ask the question. Who is he that is happy? Who is he that hes a stable and settled heart? Who is he that hes peace in his affectiones, and hes them set in order, so that he may take rest both day and night? I answer. The faithful who believes the truth in Christ. This man is blessed being justified by faith we have peace towards God, says the Apostle. Rom. chap. 5. verse 1. If thou be not justified by faith in Christ no peace, but ever trouble and unquietness both with thyself and with God. God shall make one affection to fight with another, and to harle thee before his fearful tribunal. Then who is he that hes not a stable and settled heart? Who is he that hes not his affections settled? He that believes not in Christ, he that believes not in the truth of God in Christ, he that knows not the way of salvation, he hes not a settled heart. It is truly said Es. 7▪ cha. 57, verse 21. No true peace for the wicked: for they have unstable hearts; and when thou seest the jawing and moving of the raging sea, thou may say, this is nothing in respect of the trouble that the wicked hes in conscience: for the trouble of the heart and unquietness in the affectiones, of all troubles is the greatest; and surely he who hes not the peace of God, but is troubled in heart, would gladly be turned in any thing. When it pleases the Lord to make one affection rise against another, o what pain trowest thou that person sustains? And again, o how prerious a thing is faith in jesus! Hast thou it? nothing shall trouble thee. So press ever to have faith in Christ: Hast thou faith? thou shalt in joy peace and a quiet mind: What ever be thy estate in the world, be thou rich, both on poor, hast thou faith in jesus Christ, thou rests by day and night, nothing troubles thee: yea even in these things, that appears to bring some grief to thy body outwardly, as sickness etc. Yet in thy soul in some measure thou shalt enjoy peace and joy in jesus Christ, that shall make the patiently bear the outward cross. Now in the second part of the verse we have the means set down which the deceivers used to deceive the Thessalonians with concerning Christ's coming. 〈◊〉 of deceiving men. They are three: first, Neither by spirit, that is to say, by dreams which men pretended to be revelations of the Spirit. The next is, neither by word, that is by any tradition that they said they had of Paul. The third is, neither by forged writing or Epistle, as if they had any which Paul had written to them concerning Christ's coming Now what are the things that chiefly ever from the beginning hes made men mad, and hes troubled the hearts of the people and the Church of God? Even these same three things. In all ages men hes risen up that hes said, We have received revelation extraordinar from the Spirit of God. Such as of old were the Valentinians and Montanists, such are the Anabaptists this day, such are many Papists, and Monks in their closters. When they dream they pretend the revelation of the Spirit; yea some of them hes pretended a revelation to slay kings. O but it is a false revelation, and it is not from Gods, Spirit, but from the Spirit of the devil. This is the first mean of deceiving. The next which hes ever troubled the world and brought men to madness is. Traditions, which the Papists extols so highly that they make them equal with the holy writ. The last that hes made men mad is writings that hes been stolen in into the Church of God under the name of holiness, and yet written by wicked and profane men. Such as were the Gospels of Thomas, Barthelmew, and Nicodemus, and the Papists are full of such writs bearing the names of men that never saw such paltry. So these three things hes made and makes men mad. Now as these three makes men mad, so there is one thing that keeps men in their minds, that is only the Canonical Scripture of the Old and New Testament, the writings of the Prophites and Apostles. Keep me the Scripture, hold by it only, thou shalt be keeped in thy right mind, and thou shalt have an settled heart. Trow therefore no spirits, that is false revelation of Spirits. Trow nothing but that which is revealed in the word: for I lay thee this as a sure ground. The Spirit of God will never reveal nor speak to thee any thing but that which is written in the old and new Testament. If any will come with a revelation, ask at him, is that contained in the Scripture? Is it revealed in the word? Trow not these traditions and these unwritten verities that is ascryved to the Apostles: for with these the world is deceived. Trow nothing but that which is in the word or may stand with the word. And last, as for writs, believe no writ but this writ which is contained in the old and new Testament, and such as godly men hes set down agreeing with the old and new Testament. Keep this ground of the Canonical Scripture. I assure thee, thou shalt be keeped in thy mind, and shall be reserved so till the glorious coming of the Lord jesus Christ. In the last part of the verse. The Heresy is set down, as though, says he, he day of Christ's coming were at hand Brethren, it was an Heresy to say the coming of Christ was at hand. Ye will wonder at thi●. Says not james in his Epistle 5. chap. 8. verse The coming of the Lord draws near. Says not Peter in his first Epistle chap. 4. verse 5. Christ is ready to judge the quick and the dead, and thereafter says he not. The end of all things is at hand and are not these days called the last days? Is not the Scripturefull of this? and so is not the day of the Lord near hand? How count ye it an Heresy then to say, The day of the Lord is at hand? I answer. There is a great difference between these two: for these men who said the day of the Lord was instant prescryved a certain and definite time to his coming, at the least they thought that Christ should come in that age and generation wherein they were, and so they bounded Christ's coming till a certain tyme. To say he will come in this year or that year, in this age or that age it is Heresy. These men went about to persuade the Thessalonians that the Lord jesus should come in that age, which was false and pernitions; and that it was false experience teaches us. There are passed since that time sixteen ages that is sixteen hundredth year, and yet they said then that the Lord should come in that age. Again it is pernicious and evil to limitate and bound Christ's coming; for if his coming be not in that age which they calculate, it will fall out, thât, either the godly that would feign have his coming (for, they sook ever for it) will faint and fall away through impatience, or else it will make the people to think that this doctrine of Christ's coming is but a fable. They will say, the time of Christ's coming which they said was is by past and he is not come. Therefore beware to prescryve to it a particular tyme. Now I mark two pernicious Heresies in the new Testament concerning his coming. One that prescryved a time, and said, Christ shall come shortly, in such an age, in such a year, as in this place: Another that said he shall never come. 2. Peter chap. 3. vers. 3. 4. Let us press therefore to hold us by the truth, and keep us from these extremities that the devil presses to draw us to. Now in the next verse and in the beginning thereof he repeats again his request and that in few words. Let no man deceive you by any means. It is the same thing which he said before, but it is contracted in fewer words. Now what needs this repetition and doubling over? was it not enough to him to have said once be not deceived? Brethren, men can never beware enough of seducers and false teachers, and therefore the watchmen can never over earnestly and oft enough warn them to beware of them. And if I should stand up from morn till night, crying, keep you from deceivers, it will not be sufficient; I speak not so oft as need craves. Paul to the Philip chap. 3. verse 1. says; It greenetly me not to w●● to you the same things, and for you it is a sure thing: and then he subjoins. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. So I say, we can never be earnest enough in warning you to beware of false teachers, and namely to beware of Papists: for experience might have teached us within these few days what need we have to warn you to beware of Papistry. Now he says, Let no man deceive you, that is, be not deceived with any man without exception of person, in matters of Religion believe no man for his rank. Brethren, experience teaches this daily. The persons and authority of men deceives many simple men. The estimation of learning and dignity deceives many. The Apostle knew this, and therefore he says, Let no man; and again he says, he no means, neither by this mean, nor that mean: as he excludes all persons, so he excludes all the ways of deceit. The ways of the devil that he suggyres to false teacher's to deceive men by, are infinite. There is no end of his ways. Hes he set one way? failles that way? he hes another way. If that failles too, he hes another, and so forth without end. So infinite are his ways to deceive the godly. Therefore the Apostle knowing that the devil hes many ways to deceive them, forbids them to believe any of his means. Now the argument whereby he deceives them, is, all is deceit. What ever be the person, what ever be the way, all is deceit. Therefore be not deceived. There is such a great lose and damage in this one thing we call deceit that there is no other thing that will upset it. The lose thou getst by deceit will never be upset: all the kings and doctors under Heaven will never set up thy lose thou getst by defection. Alas, what hes that 〈◊〉 win when he hes win all the world and lost his soul by falling away from the truth. Now the Lord let every man see that there is nothing comparable to this hurt of deceiving. What pleasure can thou have of all the kingdoms of the world when thou hast a troubled heart and conscience, when thou hast an unquiet soul within thee? Therefore as we say, It is good to sleep in a sound skin. Change not a settled mind and pacified heart with all the world, and prefer a sound mind enlightened with the knowledge of Christ to all the honours and dignity in the world. And because we are so unstable minded and so ready to alter that except we be surely anchored on Christ we shall be ever beat away with every light wind of false doctrine. Therefore we have to pray that our souls may be anchored by a sure faith on Christ. The Lord therefore by his grace anchor our souls on Christ. To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all honour and praise for ever. AMEN. THE FIFTH LEC TURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 34. — for that day shall not come except there come a departing first. and that that man of sin be disclosed, even, the son of perdition. 4 Which is an adversary, and exalteth himself against all that is called God, or, that is worshipped: so, that he doth sit as God, in the Temple of God, showing himself, that he is God. WELL-BELOVED brethren, ye have heard the request the Apostle makes in the beginning of this second chapter to the Thessalonians. He requests and adjures them by the coming of the Lord jesus, and by our assembling unto him at his coming▪ that they suffer not themselves to be deceived, or put by their minds, troubled in heart and affection, especially in this head of doctrine that concerns the coming of the Lord in the latter day, and that they should not be deceived by false teachers who went about to deceive them in this point, teaching that the day of the Lord is at hand, he shall come incontinent, ye shall be found alive when he shall come. This age and generation shall not be past when he shall come. This point of false doctrine that these false teachers went about to persuade the Thessalonians, and so to unqivet them, held them ay in vexation of spirit and mind, looking ay for Christ's coming, assuring them that he should come ere that presentage should end. Now in this text the Apostle enters to a refutation of that false doctrine, and he proves that the day of the Lord was not instant, that the day of the Lord would not beat such a time, that it should not fall out in that present age. Now mark his reasons. If the day of the Lord were instant then there should not be an universal Apostasy and defection from the faith of the Lord jesus Christ, before the day and coming of the Lord: Universal defection must go before the Lords coming. For, why? This Apostasy must crave a large space of tyme. Then, he subjoines, but, so it is, before that day shall come, there shall be an universal Apostasy and defection from the faith and truth of Christ jesus. And so, he concludes. Therefore, it is not so, as they say: The day of the Lord is not instant and is not so near hand, as they go about to persuade you. Mark his reason. The proposition and first part of the argument is not expressed in the text. The next part, the assumption is set down in the text, to wit, The day of the Lord shall not be, before that an universal defection be first. Now, before I come to the words, take up shortly this one thing. The Thessalonians, to whom he writeth being deceived, thought, that, incontinent Christ should come, and that they should be rest to the Heaven with him, and glorified from hand. The Apostle, to put them out of this conceit, tells them, ere they and the Church be rest up to Heaven and glorified there, that, they shall suffer yet on the earth some trouble, there shall be yet a great alteration and vexation in the Church of God. Brethren, mark it. The battle must go before the victory, let none look for the victory before he fight, thou wilt not come sleeping to Heaven. Thou must fight on earth ere thou come to glory and ere thou triumph in Heaven, thou must be victorious on earth▪ through many tribulations we must enter in the kingdom of heaven. This is that, which the Apostle teaches the Thessalonians. Now, to come to the words of the text, and to make this matter plain, we shall insist particularly on every word, taking up the meaning of God's Spirit here. And first, ●here occurs this word Apostasy, which must be before the day of the Lords coming. This Apostasy is nothing, but, a falling away, a flyding aback. This Apostasy is not a particular Apostasy, or, defection of this man, or, that man only, of any one person, or any two or three persons only. But it is an universal defection of multitudes of men and women in this world. For the word ye see is generally set down in the text to be a departure without any restriction. It is not said a departing of this man or that man, but generally a departing. Therefore the Apostle must mean of a departing and falling away of multitudes, and great multitudes. Now all the question is, what Apostasy means the Apostle of? I am not ignorant how a great number of the old Latin fathers in the Church, understands this Apostasy to be meant of the defection of many Nations from the Empire of Rome. It is true indeed the Nations of the world fell away from the Roman Empire: But how well and rightly they understood this Apostasy of that falling away from the Roman Empire God knows. And it is a wonder that so many learned and quick spirited men should have erred together in this point so long: Indeed it is likely that when one of them fell in this error all the rest followed on in troops without further discretion or judgement. But I leave them. What Apostasy is this than that the Apostle means of here? I shall tell you. It is an universal defection, not from an Emperor or earthly King, but from the King of Heaven jesus Christ, and from his faith. This agrees with the course of this text and with that which follows immediately of the Antichrist the head of this Apostasy. This agrees with the speaking of this same Apostle in sundry other places. In the 1. Tim. chap. 4. verse 1. he foretells of this universal defection from the faith. The words are, The spirit speaks evidently that in the latter days some shall departed from the faith, and shall give heed to spirits of error and doctrine of devils, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats which the Lord his ordained to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe. There the sum of this defection whereof he speaks in this place. Look also the 2, Tim. chap. 3. vers. 1. 2. 3. In the latter days there shall be troublesome times, men shall be lovers of themselves, lovers of pleasures and not of God, corrupt in mind, reprobates concerning the faith: There the Apostasy from the faith. In that same Epistle chap. 4. verse 3. The time shall come when men shall not suffer to hear the sound doctrine, but according to their own lusts shall gather together heaps of teachers: to wit, orders of Monks, Friars, and heaps of jesuits, and the rest of that profane and devilish rabble, that the devil by his spirit hes thrust in on the people of God, and they shall avert their eyes from the truth and turn them to lies. Peter in his 2. Epistle chap. 2 verse 1. says, There shall be among you false teachers who shall bring in damnable heresies, and many shall follow them to their perdition. They shall go to destruction with their Heresies, and many shall go after them. And before them Christ himself foretold of this defection 18. chap. of Like verse 8, When, says he, the Son of man shall come, think ye he shall find faith on the earth? No, there be an universal defection. Then this universal defection is nothing else, but this Apostasy and defection from the faith of Christ that shall be before Christ's coming in the world. Now ye see then this is a prophecy of the thing to come. Is this Prophecy fulfilled yet or not? Is it come to pass? Is that universal defection of the world from the church, from the faith of Christ come, or shall we look for it? There is the question. I tell you, it is come, I cry it out, it is come, and come long since, and very long since; It holds on and shall hold on. Mahomet began it, when he drew away not only the people from the faith of jesus, but also drew away the very name of Christianity, so as there durst not one avow himself to be a Christian. The Oriental Churches so well planted by the Apostles of Christ, whereof this Church of Thessalonica was one, may bear witness hereof. Who followed on? (Mahomet ended it not then) The Popes, that beast of Rome followed on. As Mahomet played with the Oriental Churches: So the Papists played with the Wester and Occidental Churches. The Pope hes drawn away this occidental Church of Christ in Europe, not indeed from the name and outward profession of Christ, for all are called Christians, but he hes drawn them from the faith of Christ, without the which there can be no salvation. So this Apostasy prophesied so long before is come now to pass. Church militant subject to errors. But ere I go forward mark here. The estate of the Church of Christ militant on the earth, she is subject to errors and Heresies, to be carried away with false doctrine, subject to defection, yea to an universal defection of the whole visible Church on the face of the earth. And, brethren, even godly men seeing this thing they have been compelled at times to doubt (they were so offended) whether if this Church was God's Church or not, whether if this building was builded by God or not which they saw so beat down, and lying so long dead. It is a lamentable thing to see the Church of Christ so long under the dominion of the Antichrist. And therefore the Lord by his Apostle and others hes foretold of this universal defection that the godly may be comforted and stand: seeing nothing comes to pass but by his providence and foresight. Then again ye know the Papists proposition; the church cannot ere. Now consider this place and ye shall see it cannot stand with that opinion. I ask how can that opinion stand with this Prophecy of Paul who tells, not of a light error, but of an universal defection from Christ? Either this must be false which the Apostle says, and which Christ spoken before him (which were blasphemy to affirm) or that which they say, that the Church cannot err must be a lie, and it is so. And all the Papists are blasphemous liars, believe them as ye will. No the godly are not ignorant of their purpose in this their assertion. They hold that doctrine to be a pretence to keep the Antichristian Church in her error and Apostasy: for she is altogether out of the way, and if she could think she could be subject to error she were curable, but because she lies in her stinking Heresy and Apostasy and will not acknowledge it, therefore in the just judgement of God she shall perish, perdition shall be her end, if the Lord waken her not in tyme. Now to the words. The words are, That the day of the Lord shall not be until the time that that man of sin be revealed. That man of sin must be revealed ere the Lord come in the world again. This is one thing with that which went before of an universal Apostasy, the coming of an universal Apostasy and the revelation of that man of sin the Antichrist, is one thing in sundry words: For what is the Antichrist but the head of this Apostasy and universal defection? and of all apostates under the Heavens he is the chief Apostate. Now he is called here a man, the Antichrist as though there were but one person. Mark it, (for this place is mistaken) When ye hear of this name of the Antichrist, who is here called the man of sin, be not deceived. The Antichrist would persuade you that this name of Antichrist signifies but one man some one person who shall be in the world at such a tyme. No, the name of Antichrist imports not one man only, but a succession of persons, one after another: in one kingdom or tyranny over the Church of Christ in the world; All this succession of people is expressed by the name of one man or one person, because they ran on all one course, and every one of them hes but one purpose to exercise their time in oppression of the Church of God. Therefore the whole succession is called but on man. But when shall this revealing of him be? He is said to be revealed when his kingdom and tyranny comes to the height and full perfection in the sight of the world: He began long before he was revealed, and he was in the days of the Apostles. When Paul and Peter was in the world, he was. And beginning in their days, he grows on piece and piece in greatness from a small beginning until he came to such a wondered and great height that he makes the whole world wonder at him: and this fell out in Anno 666. Revel. chap. 13. verse 18. He came to his height under the Emperor of Constantinople, Constantine, 〈◊〉 being Pope of Rome at that tyme. john in his first Epistle chapter 2. verse 18. says, that the Antichrist is to come: Then he subjoins, even now there are many Antichrists. By the many Antichrists john means these forerunners, little Antichrists, false Prophets, and little Heretics who were forerunners to prepare the way to this great Antichrist the monstrous beast of Rome against his coming. By the Antichrist that was to come, he understands the great Antichrist, the head of the Apostasy, the mid-man between the Dragon and the Antichristian kingdom and the Church. Revelation chap. 13. verse 16. Now to go forward to the description of the Antichrist 〈◊〉 it follows. He is first described from his nature. secondly from his properties. Description of the antichrist And thirdly, from his actions and effects he brings in the world when he comes. Mark it, This is a Prophecy not of the little false Prophets, but of the great Anchrist and false Prophet that 〈◊〉 at Rome.) What is he of nature? His nature. A man like unto other men of nature, not a devil, nor substance of a devil, but he is of an human and manly substance. Some thought that the Antichrist should be the devil or a beast: it is but solely. He is not a beast of nature, but he is called in the Revelation a beast for his beastliness, and for his filthiness. (O how capable is the nature of man of evil, if God give it over to be guided by the devil!) Then, what manner of man is he? His properties. The first property, the Antichrist hes, he is a man of sin. He calls himself the servant of the servants of God, No, but he is a slave to sin, his meat and drink is sin. The second property, he is the Son of perdition, destinate from all eternity to Hell and everlasting damnation. Peter in his second Epistle chap. 2. verse 3. says, Long ago his damnation is not idle, or, his destruction sleeps not, but, wakes. He gets this style, that judas gets, in the 17. chapter of john 12. verse, the son of perdition, adjudged to perdition from all eternity in the secret counsel of God. These two properties stands well together, the man of sin, addicted to sin destinate to perdition. The second is the ground cause of the first For, he, whom God from all eternity destinates to perdition, that man will never do a good turn. Nothing will come from his mouth, heart, or, hand, etc. but, all sin. Alas, when we look and see men, who can do nothing, but sin, sin in the house, sitting, eating, drinking, and in the field, ever sinning, what shall we speak of them who does so, if they take not up another course, ere this life be ended, but they are men from all eternity destinate for Helles fire. Let every man try himself. Alas, if thou looked to thy bloody heart and hand thou would think, thou had little warrant of thy sal●ation. Now this for his nature and properties. Now, to his actions and doings. What doing shall he have? The first action. His actions. He shall oppone himself against all, that shall be called God, and shall be worshipped. This is the first action, a plain opposition to all things that keeps the name of God, His first action. and is worshipped in Heaven and earth. He shall oppone him against all powers and magistrates, and against all things, that carries the name of a magistrate, whether they be Princes, or, Emperors on the earth, or, in Heaven, God and his Christ and from this opposition, he is called an adversary, as the devil is. As the devil is called Satan, that is, an adversar; so shall he get the name of an adversar. And he is called Antichrist, that is, an adversar to Christ. Now, let us see who must be this man. I make my reason. He that oppones himself to every thing, that hes the name of God, or▪ is worshipped either in Heaven, or, earth, that man of necessity must be this Antichrist, this is the action, that properly is competent to that person. Who is this man, then? look about all nations, if ye can take up such a man. Who is it in Europe, or, out of Europe, that oppones himself to jesus Christ the Lord, in doctrine first, in life and conversation next? I tell you, if ye find such a man, he is the Antichrist. Now I shall tell you some points of Christ's doctrine, whereunto this adversar oppones himself, that by them ye may find out, Pope the antichrist who is this Antichrist. The Lord jesus says and teaches Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God only, and him only shalt thou serve. What man of this world is it, that comes in and says No, thou shalt not worship him only, worship Angels, worship men & the souls of men departed this life, worship Images, dead men's bones called relics, do reverence to graves, and above all thou shalt give that worship, that is due to God only, to that breadie God in the Mass? Who does this and teaches it? Is there any so ignorant, that knows him not? Again, Christ forbids to worship God with such worship as men hes invented, to worship him with men traditions & inventions. Who is he that says, he must be worshipped by infinite traditions, which are out with the book of the Scripture, and many against the book of the Scripture, and bids serve him according to a rabble of vile traditions invented by the bran of man. Yet more Christ says, this Scripture, the old and new Testament is perfit, it is sufficient to make the man of God perfit, it contains all things necessary to our salvation. Who is he▪ that says, it is confused, difficle, mutilate, manked, the mother of all Heresies? Who says this? Look over to Rome, who but the Pope. Woe to him and all his adherents. Yet, further. Christ says, I am the only Mediator between God and man. Who is he, that says, No, there must be many more intercessors and mediators? Is it not the Pope? Christ says, justification is only by true faith in me. Who says, No, no, thy merit and good works must be a part of thy salvation and thou must deserve it? Is it not the Pope? Christ requires of us a sure confidence, that in his blood our sins are for given, and that thereby, we shall be safe and get life everlasting. Who says, it is an high presumption to believe so firmly, and bids thee doubt whether thou shalt get life, or not: Is it not the Pope? Christ says, it is impossible to fulfil the Law of God. Who says, it is possible to fulfil i●, is it not the Pope? A plain contradiction. Christ says, the only price of remission of sin is my blood. Who says, I shall give thee Indulgences and pardons for thy sins? is it not the Pope? Christ commanded to minister the Sacrament or the Supper under both the kinds. Who says the bread may suffice the laikes, let the Priests take both? is it not the Pope? Christ permits the use of marriage to all people, without difference. Who comes in with that doctrine of devils, forbidding marriage, and meats which the Lord hes commanded. Wherefore should I be long? Who is he, that oppones himself to every article of our faith? begin at the one end and leave at the other, he oppones to them all? Is it not the beast of Rome? Know ye not this to be true? His life. ye shall see it in that great day. Then come to his life and behaviour, wherein he denies Christ. Christ when he was in the world was holy, yea, holiness itself. But, what command is there, either in the first, or, second Table, which he transgresses not most evidently? Who is the head and chief Apostate from jesus Christ the head of the Church? Who is the chief Heretic under the Sun? The chief Idolater, the chief Magician and sorcerer under the Sun: Who is the chief blasphemer under the Sun? Go to the second Table. Who is the dishonourer of all powers and empires upon the face of the earth? Who, of all murderers, is the greatest murderer, and can not be sat●ate with the blood of all the Saints? Who is most adulterous and filthy? Who is the greatest thief and oppressor, reaving kingdoms? Who is the most perjurde person? And come to the last. Who is most full of all concupiscence in this world? Who is he, that sets himself above all men in this earth, and with an uplifted hand oppones himself to God, in all things? Read the Pope's hues written all by their own men. So, I gather, in one word. This Antichrist, that makes opposition to the great God of Heaven, to all power and majesty on the earth, he was never, he is not now, nor never shall be, if he be no● that man of Rome, who sits not in Peter's chair, but, in the chair of scorners, in the seat of pestilence: He is the very Antichrist and thou hast no eyes to see, if thou seest not this. Now come to the next action. His second action. He prophecies of another action, that shall be, when he shall come. He shall, not only in malice oppone himself to every thing, that is called God, but, in the pride of his heart shall exalt himself above every thing, that is called God and is worshipped on the earth, against all power both heavenly and earthly. Now, who is this, that exaltes himself this way? Spy this man, who hes this action in his hand, and without doubt this man is the Antichrist. Now, I will ask some few things, that we may find him out the more easily. Who is he, that exalts himself above the Emperor? Who, under God is the head-man of the world? Who is he, that will cause the Emperor stand and hold his stirrup, and will cause the Emperor hold to his shoulder, that he may lean on it, and cause him hold water to his hands, and go before with his first mess, to his dinner? Who will say, he hes an absolute power, to make and abrogate laws at his pleasure? He will make account to no man. He hes an absolute power, to close the Heaven and open it at his pleasure. To carry with him cartfulles of souls of men to Hell, if it please him? Who is able to comprehend this matter? Is there any here, that hes been in Rome and seen the Pope in the solemn time of his jubilee, and who hes heard, or, read of it? How he comes out of his Palace with such a rich and glorious arrayment, that he makes the world to wonder, with his threefold crown of gold, and precious stones on his head mounted up on men's shoulders, in a golden chair, with his relics and his breadie-god borne before him. Then, he will go to his paradise, the people on every side crying for remission of sins. Then when he comes to Paradise, with an hammer of gold he will knock and bid the gate open, and he enters in and there he gives indulgences, some gives this homage, and some, that, yea, such, as is competent to God only. Fie on him, such is his pride, that he will scarcely afford to put out his feet to kings to kiss them ●s not this an horrible abomination and monstrous villainy? I will not insist. His third action. There follows two particular actions, which rises on his pride. The first is, He shall be so proud that he shall sit in the Temple of God as God, that is, in his Antichristian kingdom, which yet keeps the name of Christ, because it keeps a kind of profession of the word of God, and in some respect hes the ensenzies of the Church. But, how shall he sit? Not like another man, but, as God, he puts God out of his char and sits down in God's char. What is the seat of God? God's char is the consciences of men and women, which all the Angels dare not press to. Yet, he will sit down there, and give out Laws, bind the consciences. Now, will ye spy this man out? Is this the Mahomet? Papist, I ask at thee, sits the Mahomet in the Temple of God, sits he in the Church, that hes the name of the Church of God? O, says the Papist, this, that shall be the Antichrist i● not yet come: This that shall be the Antichrist shall be a wicked man, that shall be borne at babylon of an Whore, in whom the devil shall dwell bodily, a jew by nation, of the Tribe of Dan, who should be circumcised and brought up in the cities of Chorasin and Bethsaida, who shall be detestable, for his forceries and witchcrafts, who shall come to jerusalem, and there re-edify the Temple of Solomon, and take upon him the name of Christ, and shall reign by the space of three years and an half with great tyranny and cruelty, against the Christians, and shall slay Enoch and Elias the forerunners of Christ, and then shall come the latter day, when in the Mount of olives Christ shall destroy him, and condemn him to Hell. A fair fable. It is thou, o man of sin, thou, beast of Rome, that sits in the consciences of men, it is thou, that shalt be beat out of the char to the Hells. It is thou o beast of Rome, that sits in the Temple of Christ. Another effect of his pride. He shall show himself to be a God sitting in the char of God, 〈◊〉 fourth action. in the Church of God: He shall give himself forth as God, as press to counterfoote God, in his name, style, dignity, and all other circumstances, and bereave God of that, which is proper to him. Well, spy this man. Who is he, that takes the name of God on him in the earth? He is not God only, not man only, but he is a mid thing between a God and a man. Who takes to him the style of a king and power above all the kings of the earth? Who says he hes the right to bear both the sword? Herd you ever of a Pope Benifacius the ●ight● of whom it is said, He entered in like a Tod, reign like a Lion, and died like a dog. In the time of his jubilee in the first day thereof he comes out in the Pope's weed, and as he goes he blesses the people. In the next day he comes out in Caesar's warlike clock and a naked sword horn before him and sitting down, he cries out, Behold two sword here, I am the head of the Church, I am the Pope and Cesar, I have the Empire in Heaven and earth. Who calls himself the head of the Church? A style only proper to Christ. Who calls himself the Vicar of Christ? The bridegroom of the bride the Church Who calls himself the high Priest? Styles only proper to Christ. Is it not this beast of Rome? Whereto should I insist? It is wonder, that, the earth can bear such a proud filthy villain. It is a wonder, that the Heaven can cover him; but, we must reverence the long suffering patience of the Lord. And seeing the Scripture hes pointed him out so evidently, it is a wonder that men should be so blind, that they should so reverence him, when he rages this way in sin, and that they will call him the successor of Peter, and the head of the Church. What shall I say▪ all reading and hearing will not enlighten the mind and persuade men▪ except the Spirit of God be present to open the heart. Therefore leaving this beast, I pray God to send his Spirit to let men see, that they may abhor such an enemy to God and Christ, and that they may embrace the light of jesus, and that he would keep us, that we be not deceived by these vanities. To this God, even, the Father, Son and holy Spirit be all praise for ever. AMEN. THE sixth LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 5. 6. 7. 8. 5 Remember ye not, that when I was as yet with you, I told you these things. 6 And now ye know what withholdeth; that he might be revealed in his tyme. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he which now withholdeth▪ shall let till he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall the wicked man be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall abolish with the brightness of his coming. THE Apostle, Brethren, ye heard, proves against the false teachers that the coming of the Lord was not so near hand as they thought and as they teached. He takes his argument from one thing that was to fall out in the world before Christ's latter coming: Ere ever become (says the Apostle) there shall be an universal defection from that faith of jesus Christ. This matter will contain a long process of time, and therefore would the Apostle conclude, Christ's coming is not so near hand as they make the people believe. He expresses not the name of the Antichrist, but for the name he hes a long description and painting out of him This description we entered in the last day, and he lets them see when he shall be, when he shall come. He points him out in his nature. First in his very essence he shall be a man of nature like other men. Then he comes to his properties. What shall they be? First, a man of sin, a wicked man as ever was or shall be in the world. The next property, He shall be the son of perdition a man long ago ordained to destruction. Then he comes to his actions (when he shall come and reveal him in the world) he shall oppone himself against every thing that shall be called God or shall be worshipped. That is, against every superior power and Majesty, whether earthly or Heavenly, against God himself and his Son jesus Christ Another action. He shall not be content only to oppone himself in malice, but in pride he shall exalt himself above all things that shall be called God and worshipped, either in earth, or in Heaven. Then, he comes to two special actions of his pride; first, exalting himself above God, he shall sit in the Temple of God in the Church of God. (For so the Antichristian Church is termed, because she keeps some ensenzies of the Church of God, the Word and Sacraments) He shall sit there as God on the consciences of men and women, to thrall and control them at his pleasure. The other particular action of his pride, he shall show himself as God, in the properties pertaining to God, he shall take them all on him. This far we proceeded the last day in the description of the Antichrist, whom the Apostle prophecies will come in the world ere Christ come again, only this I advertise you, as I did before. Take not this man whom ye call the Antichrist to be a single man, one person, take him to be a succession of men, every one following another in one kingdom and tyranny. The kingdom of Antichrist, all is termed under the name of a man. They are but one kingdom of all, one purpose of all, to exercise tyranny on the Church of God here on this earth. Now, brethren, to the text. He leaves off this description for a time until he come to the ninth verse following, and there he returns again. Now in the meane-tyme he falls out in some speeches and admonitions to them concerning the Antichrist: and in the first verse we have red, he confirms the thing he hes spoken of the Antichrist, from the speeches he had with them when he abode among them in Thessalonica. Concerning the Antichrist I write, would he say, no other thing to you now nor that which I told you when I was with you. That which I then spoke that same thing now I write unto you. Then in the next verse he shows to them that the Antichrist and Antichristanisme is come and begun already in the world, albeit his revealing and his coming to his pride is not yet▪ yet the Antichrist is come Antichristanisme and false religion is begun. Then again he tell, what withholds him that he is not revealed so soon and hastily. There is an impediment casten in which I told to you when I was with you: He insistes on this impediment, and tells when this impediment shall be tame out of the way, than this wicked man of sin shall be revealed. And last as he hes told of his coming out, and growing to an height in his pride, so he propecyes of his decay and his destruction. Now to return to the words. Remember ye not (says he) when I was with you I told you these things. To assure them the more of the truth of these things that he writeth to them concerning the Antichrist, he calls them to remembrance of that which he spoke to them face to face concerning this same purpose, and in doing this the utters some piece of anger. Remember ye not. He uses some sharpness in words, because they were so oblivious, as to forget a thing so needful for their salvation. Now to take up some lessons shortly on these words. Then Apostle then began very soon to foretell the Thessalonians of the coming of the Antichrist and of that universal defection that was to fall out so long after that: (for this prophecy is especially of that great Antichrist who came not a long time after this.) The estate of the Church of Thessalonica was flourishing at this time, he casts in a matter of discouragement here. There shall be an universal defection. Defection of the Church ever to be feared. Well, brethren, it i● good ever to foresee the evil that is to come on the Church of God on the earth, yea eue● when she is most flourishing to fear a decay and that her state will alter: For this is the nature of the visible Church of God here on the earth, she is not so stabled nor settled, but she is subject to alteration and trouble, to defection, to falling away from God, from Christ and the truth, and that both particularly and universally, our settledness is not in this world, there are none so well established but they may fall, and therefore we should be ever in a dread and fear of destruction and alteration. And it is the part of the Pastor above all other, even in the flourishing of it, to be forwarning and foretelling of an alteration and defection to ensue: For he as a watchman should have a sharp eye to foresee, and he should crave a foresight of God to know things to ensue that he may give advertisements to the people, and they may be prepared for all dangers to come. Another lesson. Ye see the Thessalonians hes been forgetful of that which the Apostle told them when he was with them, and therefore that which he spoke than he writeth now to them. naturally we are forgetful of spiritual things. So oblivious we are especially of things concerning our salvation, that we will receive them in at the one ear, and let them go out at the other; we hear to day we forget to morrow. The seed is not so soon sown but the devil as a ravenous foul is ready to pull it out of the very ears that it be to us nothing but a vanishing sound: and therefore it is the Pastor's part ever to be calling to their remembrance the things that are heard. Ye see in a school, the master considering the weakness of the memory of the youth is ever repeating the thing they have heard: as needful it is to the Pastor to be ever repeating the thing he hes teached, for all are as infants in thee school of Christ. 1. Cor. 13. 11. and it is the people's part to be as diligent to hear over again these things that pertains to salvation, and to crave that the Lord would bless their memories there in that they may be the more able to gainstand all assaults of the devil and his supposts: how canst thou gainstand if thou be not furnished with the armour of the word of God? Therefore the Lord grant me grace to forewarn you and sanctify your memories to receive and keep the things that concerns your salvation: for it may be the day of tentation is nearer nor we believe. But mark the form how he calls it to remembrance: He does it with a rebuke and reproof. Remember ye not. They who are forgetful of things heavenly should not go away without reproof, calling to remembrance should be with rebuke. But mark again the le●itie of the Apostle in rebuking. Remember ye not says he? I told you before. Therefore all this rebuke should be with lenity and love: sharpness should ever be mingled with le●●tie. This is the thing I ever find this Apostle doing. Now to go forward to the next verse. Because he said before the Antichrist was not as yet revealed. The Thessalonians might have asked the Apostle. What withholds? What stays? What impediment is there? Why is he not revealed? The Apostle answers shortly. Ye know what withholds, it is not needful I tell you, I told you it else when I was with you, call it to remembrance, it is not needful that I should lose time by oft repeating of it. Yet, brethren, albeit he knew it, and the Thessalonians knew it, because he had told them of it before, yet we know it not for any thing he shows here. Therefore we must see what was the impediment that stayed the reviling of the Antichrist till his height and pride. The Roman Empire, and publishing of the Gospel are impediments staying the revealing of the Antichrist. What was it? Both the old and late writers agrees in this. It was the Roman Empire that flourished for the tyme. The event and issue of things declared this to be true: For so long as the Roman Empire stood and the Emperor kept his own seat at Rome (which now is usurped by the Pope,) so long neither Mahomet in the East prevailed: (for, he was one of the destroyers of the Roman Empire) neither the Pope in the West got up his head: for the Empire suffered him not to come to his height. But when once the Roman Empire decayed, the Emperor changed his seat, left Rome and remained at Constantinople. Then up gets the Mahomet his seat in the East, the Pope in the West, and he sits down in the emperors seat. This is one impediment. Latter writers joins to this another impediment, that stayed the revealing of the beast and his coming to his height, to wit, the decree of God, concerning the publishing of the Gospel of jesus Christ in the world: Ere he should come to his perfection, it behoved, that the Gospel should be preached throughout the world: Ere there be any falling there must be a standing; ere there be any Apostasy there must be a receiving of the word: It behoved, that, before apostasy the word should be universally teached. Therefore the Roman Empire decaying, the course of the Gospel coming to an end, the evangel being universally teached, the Antichrist breaks in and takes upon him both the jurisdictiones, takes on him the earthly power, and then the jurisdiction over the souls of men, he kills the body with the temporal sword he kills the soul with the poison of fall doctrine. His kingdom is ever slaying, either of the souls of men with false doctrine and poison of Heresies, or else if men will not obey, he slays their bodies with the sword. These are the impediments held him back unreveiled. Then learn here, it is the Lord who stays and holds back evil from the world; and his maner●●; he casts in impediments before the devil and before wicked men ere they rise: The devil and his supposts is coming out rushing on the people, the Lord casts in impediments to them and then they must stand until these impediments be some way removed: For, brethren, the power of the devil and of darkness and wickedness is so great on the earth that the Church of God could not stand one day except the Lord did cast in impediments in the way of the devil and wickedmen to hold them off. And so all the glory of the standing of the Church in the earth, is to be ascrived to that God that holds off and shall hold off by his providence▪ ●ill they will they, the devil wicked men from their wicked enterprises; and the Lord forbidden the Antichrist should prevail; for if he prevail, assure thyself if thou stand steedfast: in the faith thy blood shall pay for it: for of all Tigers in the earth he is the most blood-thirsty. Now the words following tells wherefore these in impediments are casten in. That he should be revealed in his own time, As he would say, his time is not yet come, that article of time God hes appointed and decreed from all eternity he should be revealed in, is not yet come Brethren, this is true, and all the Scripture makes it manifest. The Lord from all eternity hes appointed times, opportunities, hours, moments, when everything should be done that falls out in this world, every action hes the own moment prescriued to it, be it good, or bad. The Lord hes written the hour of it in his book when it should be done. Now ye see by experience, the devil ever seeks to prevent the time, yea, the best of us all when the Lord hes appointed a time to our deliverance, or to do anything, cannot bide that time, but are ever fretting and fuming. Therefore, the Lord casts in stays both to the devil and to men on earth. When they are running forward, he will cast in a stay, and thou must stand there, and thou must stand until that same time and article come that he hes appointed, and it shall not lie in the power of the devil and of all the earth to prevent that tyme. Now to come to the next verse. There are two things concerning the Antichrist. The first, his coming in the world. The second his revealing after his coming. There is a difference between these two: His coming to the height and his revelation. As concerning his coming to his height, it might have been asked by the Thessalonians, Is he come yet? we understand by thy speaking, he is not revealed yet, but is he come yet? He answers, Even now the mystery of iniquity is in doing: shortly the meaning is. The Antichrist, the Antichristianisme, false religion, Heretical doctrine, is come already, albeit it be not revealed and come to the height. He calls Antichristanisme iniquity: for, of all iniquity, false doctrine is the greatest iniquity, and of all sinners on the earth a false teacher and deceiver of the people of God is the greatest sinner. Therefore he is called the man of sin, a man addicted to sin, as a slave to his master. Further he calls it the mystery of iniquity. It is called a mystery, because it came not to the light at the first, but, lay up hid in a mystery. It was not known not detected in the own colour nor came not to an height that men might know it. Then, mark, ye see, the Antichrist and Antichristianisme, that is, false religion began very soon, Even now there are many Antichrists, says john 1. Epist. 4. chap 3. verse. It began in Paul's and the Apostles days. It was conserved, as it were, in the mother's belly in those days, but, it lay long and many years hid up in a mystery, and it lay long time lurking in Rome and in the Church thereof, and then, at last broke up there the great Antichrist. It lay so hid up, not coming to the perfection, to the year of the Lord six hundredth and three years, and then, it was brought to a great maturity and perfection, by Phocas the Emperor and Pope Bonifacius the third. It layeth the mother's womb getting form and growth, ere it came to the revelation, so, the Antichrist is an old child. Mark it, there are many mysteries in the world, and among all the rest, there is a mystery of sin: as there is a mystery of godliness. 1. Tim. 3. chap. 16. verse, so, there is a mystery of ungodliness, and sin lies very long hid, ere it break out and appear in the own colour in any person. Alas, thy sin will lie long hid, as it were, clocked under a clock in thee, ere it come to an height, (for, sin is a deceiving thing) but, at last, it will bud out in spite of thy teeth. And to speak of this sin of false doctrine in particular. It lay hid many years ere men knew of it. No question, in the days of the old father's Chrys●stome Augustine, and the rest of them, many corruptions broke in, which they saw not, because they lay hid up in a mystery so, that, they could not see them, until it hes pleased the Lord now to reveal them Wonder not, that the doctors reproved not this Heresy and that Heresy; no, sin lies hid up wonderfully. The greatest sin will lie hid up under the greatest holiness. Then in the end of the verse, he returns again to the impediment, and he speaks two things of it. First, how long it shall lust, and then, what shall follow from once it shall be ●aine away, to wi●, that man of sin shall be revealed. Now to the words, ye lays, He that withholds shall let, till he be taken out of the way: that is to say, the Roman Emperor, for, he speaks of the succession of Emperors, as of one man, because there was one kingdom to wit, the Roman Empire, as before he spoke of the Antichrist. He shall withhold that head of the Roman beast from using, unto the time he be taken away. Then, what time shall he be taken out of the way? Even, at that article, the Lord hes appointed▪ then the Lord suffered him to be taken out of the way▪ Who took him one out of the way? Mahomet with his 〈…〉 the 〈◊〉 and Turks in the East were the first subverted the Roman Empire, and then; Boniface and his successors overthrewit in the West. Mark this▪ When as the point of time prescriued by the Lord to things to be done comes, than all impediments, that hold back that thing; if it were the Empire of all the world shall be put out of the way▪ and shall have no standing, but will vanish away. By the contrary, before that point of time come, I shall make one stray stay a man, one word shall hold him, the least thing in the world shall hinder him were he raging never so fast. To let you see, that all goes by the effectual working and dispensation of God that works all. I●standis not in this man, or, that man, albeit he were an Emperor, or, Monareli, but only in God, who hes appointed a time to every thing that all glory may be given him. That men say not, I did this or that: No, it is the Lord, that from time to time hes wrought it. Ye will see some times a marvelous hardness to win things that ye think be easy to be done, and again an easiness to come to things which ye think hard. All tends to this that we may know, all is decreed by the secret and effectual providence of God. In the beginning of the next verse, we have the effect, that shall fall out, upon this prophecy, when once he that withholds the 〈◊〉 out of the way that is the Roman Emperor, which is termed here as a man, by reason of a kingdom, many Caesars, but, yet, one kingdom. The●, says he, that wicked man shall be revealed, that great Antichrist shall be revealed. (As for the small Antichrists, that were forerunners of the great, he speaks not of them, than this great Antichrist shall show himself in power, to the world, he is called a lawless man, and who cannot be subject to a law. Who is that? He that craves an absolute power. And who craves an absolute power, if not that beast of Rome? Who breaks and makes laws as he pleases, God's law, men's law? Read the history of him. So ye have here the revealing of him, his coming to his greatness. To make this plain. When was it, that the great Antichrist came? for, this prophecy is of him, and this revealing is to be understood of him. When came he to this perfection? When was he first revealed? I show you before, in the days of the Apostles the Antichrist began and lurked, unto the six hundredth and three year of our Lord, and a great part of that time lurked in Rome he was not yet in greatness: well then, his greatness began in the six hundredth and three year of God, as the Histories notes. And upon what decasion? Growing & revealing of the antichrist. One Photas an adulterer, a parricide and wicked man always, when he had slain his master 〈…〉 Emperor, and so had become odious to the people, to 〈◊〉 to him the favour of the people he would show himself beneficial to the Church, he pronounces Bonifacius the third and his successors after him (there is the Antichrist) to be Popes, to be supreme and 〈◊〉 Bishops of the whole earth, which styles 〈◊〉 his predecessor so much abhorred. Then in the six hundredth and seven year in a Synod all counsel holden 〈◊〉 Rome under the same Bo●●facius the third, this privilege to be universal Bishops of the world is ratified to the Bishops of Rome. A little after this (see how this grows) in a counsel holden in Africa under the Emperor Constantine the nephew of Heraclius. Theodorus the Bishop of Rome gets this style and these titles sent to him, Domino, Apostolico culmini sublimato, sancto patrum patri, Theodoro Papae, & summo omnium praesulum princip● Synodus Africana. That is, unto the Lord lifted up on high to the Apostolical seat, the holy father of fathers, the most high Prince of all Prelates Theodore the Pope, writes the Synod of Africa. And yet he is not come to his height, till in the 666. year of the Lord, which number in the revelation of johny▪ 18. is called the number of a man, that is, an explicable number, easy to be counted with men. In this year he comes to the height of his perfection, as that prophecy of john tells and experience teaches. Who makes him up and perfites him? Even, he who should have holden him down, the Emperor of Constantinople Constantinus, Prorogatius Barbarus, Vitilianus being Bishop of Rome for the time, he makes up the beast: He sets him up on the top of his honour. Then, brethren, the Roman Bishop, who was before but a legate to the Roman Emperor, he is set down in his sovereignty, subject to no mortal man under the Heaven. Then comes in all abominations, all corruptions, all vices, and among all the rest, in comes the Mass, and it is determined, that it should be celebrated in the Latin tongue in all the world. The Antichrist in this 666. year comes to the height of height, he cannot come higher. Now, brethren, to end this matter. Hear a little of his down going again. As the Apostle here prophesied of his climming up to the height of the ladder, so, to comfort the Church of God in all ages, he prophecies of his destruction. Whom says he, the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall abolish with the brightness of his coming. There are two parts here of his decaying. The first part is his consuming; the next part is his abolishing. His consuming is with a slowness; for, as he came not incontinent to his height, so, he decays not incontinent, long ere he decay, he consumes away, as a body consuming, and then, ●e ends at a sudden. Who consumes him? Who abolishes him? Who, but the Lord jesus Christ? He it is who shall consume the Antichrist. Ma●er of consuming of the antichrist. To speak of his consuming. Wherewith melts he him away? with the breath of his mouth, that is, by the preaching of the Gospel, and that by the poor Ministers, who are despised in the world: He makes his Minister's breath and blow on the beast, and this breath of the Ministers consumes the beast. When began this consuming of him? Even soon after he came to his height. Ye heard of one john W. ckle●ff in anno 1383. he blew on the beast. john Husse, Jerome de Praga in Bohemia, albeit he was burnt and the beast got the mastery of him, yet he consumed the beast. Ye heard of Luther in Germany, his name shall not be buried. Melanthon, Zuinglius, Oe●olampadius, men of worthy memory; and then good john Caluin in France, Viretus, Farellus. they blew in their time on the beast. What shall I say? To be short, so many faithful men as the Lord raises up in the ministry they are as many slayers of the beast with their breaths. Now learn one thing. When the Antichrist is come to his height, who goes too to beat the beast down from his height? Is it the Emperor? is it this king or that king? No, no word of them. Is it any power in this world? No, it is the Lord jesus. He will have the honour of the wreck of the Antichrist. And therefore, as it were, in his own person he will enter in combat with the beast. Now what armour uses he? Comes he on with this worldly armour, guns and gainzies, I ask of thee? No, no thing is spoken of them, but a breathing and blowing is told of▪ jesus Christ blows on the beast and consumes him with the breath of his mouth. The word of the Gospel is the armour he uses: that same armour the beast abuses to hold up his kingdom withal, the Lord takes out of his ●and and slays him with. What instruments uses he to this turn? He takes not Angels from the Heaven to breath on him. No, but silly simple bodies, some out of the beasts own body, some otherways raised up to blow on the beast. Mark all these circumstances. They all let you see▪ that▪ in beatting down of the beast only jesus Christ ought to have the glory of the victory. Whether ye look to him who strikes the battle, the armour, or, them, who are soldiers in the battle, all lets you see, the glory should be given to Christ alone. What is more vile, nor the word of the cross and this vile ministry, and yet he will have him wreaked and consumed with the word and ministry. He chooses not great and mighty things, not kings and Emperors to this work (wonder not, nor be not moved, that ye see so many kings stand by the beast, to see the Emperor, the kings of France and Spain stand for him) but the Lord will use base means to destroy the beast, that the glory may be given to him alone. Now to come to the other point, his abolishing. He is abolished at the last. When shall this be? When Christ shall come again. How shall it be? The face and presence of jesus shall devour him. As soon as the Lord shall come down, as soon shall he vanish and be burnt up, as caffe with the fire. The word of the Gospel consumes him and burns him, but, not quite up. But, the face of jesus in that day shall burn him quite up, and then, that prophecy of john Revel. chap. 20. verse 10. shall be accomplished: He shall be casten in a lack of fire and brimstone which shall never have an end. Then, brethren, beware of this word; for, if it work not to life, but be a savour of death to death; if it do thee no good in this life, be assured, that most glorious face of the Lord in the world to come shall destroy thee. Therefore, look, that, the word be an instrument to thy consolation, and the power of God to thy salvation. Look how the word is effectual to thee, in this life: for, so shall the presence of jesus be to thee in the life to come, either to thy salvation, or, damnation. The face of the Lord shall consume thee if the word hes wrought no renewing of thee in this life. It is said in the chapter preceding verse 9 They which did not obey the Gospel shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the gloree of his power: one blenke of that face shall consume in an instant, all the reprobate. Crave then, that, the word may be powerful, that ye may escape this fire of that presence of jesus in his coming. Then, here, ye may perceive, that, the kingdom of the Antichrist is not altogether abolished, it takes a long time, ere it be taken away. Wonder not, that, he hes such a power in this earth: for, certainly, this prophecy tells us, that, there shall be some face of the Antichristes kingdom, until Christ come. Look not, that, Papistry end, ere Christ come, look not that every reformed Church shall be quite of them, but, they shall be as thorns in their sides till Christ come, and let no man over soon triumph, but let every one make him for the battle. There are none of the professors of Christ's truth but they should prepare them for battle. Therefore, let every one seek this armour, that being enarmed with that spiritual armour, so far as God will give the grace, eachone may breathe on the beast to his consumption, that, so, God may be glorified and then shalt thou triumph for ever with him. To whom be praise and glore for ever. AMEN. THE SEVENTH LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 9 10. 9 Even, him, whose coming is by the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, 10 And in all deceivableness of unrighteousness, among them, that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. WE return again, in this text, to the description of the Antichrist to be revealed, the Apostle before had casten in some things in the way pertaining to the present purpose. Ye heard the Antichrist to be revealed was descriued from his nature. First, of nature, he should be a man, like other men, then, he is described from his properties; first, a sinful man, addicted to sin, a slave of sin and iniquity; next, the son of perdition, a man from all eternity ordained to perdition. Then, he came to his actions, that, he shall do, when he shall be revealed; first, in malice of his heart he shall oppone him to every thing called God, in Heaven and earth, to the powers and majesties, here, on earth, to the Majesty of God and Christ, in Heaven. Another action, when he shall be revealed. in pride, he shall exalt himself above all thing, that is called God, and is worshipped in the world. Yet, more, in pride he shall sit in the Temple of God, not like a common man, but, as God, in God's seat, on the consciences of men and women, in the Church of God. And last, he shall show himself to be God in all things, in all his titles and styles, and all his dignities and shall bereave God, so far, as lies in his power, of all dignities and honours, that pertains to him alone. Now, to speak nothing of that, hes been spoken before. In this 9 verse, the Apostle returns again to the description of the Antichrist, and in this place he descriues him from the effectualness, or, effectual power, he shall have, in men ordained for perdition, when he shall come and be revealed in the world. Then, to come to the words. Satan effectual, by, and in the antichrist. Whose coming, says the Apostle, shall be according to the effectual power of Satan. As he would say, when he shall come and be revealed in the world, Satan, that sent him shall be effectual and powerful by him, powerful in men and we●en, that perishes, that are ordained from all eternity to perdition. Herein, shortly, learn, then. Even, as God, by jesus Christ in his ministry, whom he sends out, will be effectual, in these, who are his, if all the world had sworn the contrary: So, Satan the enemy of God and ●atan, in this point will press to be like God, and in his manner, will be effectual and powerful, in them, that are ordained for death, by the Antichrist. As God in his church for salvation will be powerful by his ministry: so, the Antichrist will be powerful, to them, that are ordained to perdition. Yet, brethren▪ the words imports more, to wit, that, Satan shall, not only be effectual by the Antichrist outwardly, but, he shall be effectual inwardly, in the heart of him; and when he shall work by him, he shall not work by the mouth, or, hand outwardly, but, by the effectual working in his heart and will inspire in his heart to do the turn. In this point likewise Satan presses to be like God. When God by his minister as effectual, he not only works by his mouth, or his hand or any outward member; but he works by his soul and inward affections chiefly. 1. Cor. chap. 14. verse 25. it is said of the Prophets that God is in them. Indeed he prophecies not only in the mouth but he enters in the heart, and thereby he prophecies aswell as by the mouth: Paul says▪ 2. Cor. 4. 13. We believe and therefore we speak. If the Prophet speak not with the tongue because he believes in the heart, all his preaching is dear of a penny. See Coll. 1. 29. So Satan will be like God in this point, he will enter in his minister, namely the great Antichrist, he will possess his heart and all the inward affections of his soul, and by them he will be powerful in them that are ordained for damnation before the world was made. Now to go forward in the text following. The Apostle setdowne two means by the which the Antichrist when he shall come shall be effectual in them who perishes. Mark the two means, and experience this day teaches the truth of them. The first mean he calls it, all manner of power, than he expones himself what he means by this power, by signs and lying wonders: wonderful working that comes of a power. Another mean in the verse following. And in all deceivableness of unrighteousness, that is, doctrine that is first false, secondly fraudulent, having only a colour of the truth. So to take it up shortly. The two means, the Antichrist shall have, is first working wonderfully next speaking, uttering false doctrine; first work and wonders, and then word: Work and word are the two means whereby the Antichrist deceives you, by his work he deceives the world, by his word he propons false doctrine. Now to speak of the first mean: His first mean are wonders and miracles. The Antichrist shall be effectual by working wonders in them who are ordained to perdition when he shall be revealed in the world. Brethren, as the minister of Christ is effectual by working of signs and wonders, as the Apostles were, and before them the Prophets in their own time: So the Antichrist the minister of Satan he will press to be like them, and he will be effectual ●n these who perishes by working of wonders and miracles. But what wonders are these that the Antichrist works by? The Apostle calls them lying signs, and wonders, lying first in respect of their end, wherefore they are wrought, to confirm false doctrine and lies to men; to establish falsehood: and again lying, because the wonders that are wrought are no true things in substance, they are but ilusions▪ and mere juglerie to deceive the people. Ye see the devil would feign be like God, and in the meane-tyme he is a plain counterfairer, and to call it so the ape of God, counterfeiting God: So the minister of Satan the Antichrist a plain counterfaiter of Christs-Minister, an ape set up, as he hes seen the Ministers of Christ work, so he will stand up and counterfeit, all are but apes, all their miracles and working but apes playing. Now, brethren, I think, ye would ask this question, whether, if Satan and the Antichrist hes power to work true miracles and wonders, or, not? I answer shortly, In truth, I say, Satan is not able to work one true wonder, he hes not power to work one miracle, Definition of a true miracle. that is true in substance, and I prone it, both by reasons ●n Scripture; but, shortly. By reasons: a true wonder, or, miracle is a work, that is wrought above nature, against nature, contrary to the course of nature, contrary to all second causes, of the which, when it is done, none in the world is able to give a natural reason, wherefore it is so. There is the definition of a true miracle: I could let you see out of the Scripture many examples of these, the ravishing of Enoch and Elias to the Heaven. Who can give a natural cause, for the lifting up of two heavy bodies to the Heaven? The preservation of Noah with so many with him in the Ark, a work against nature. The confusion of languages, at the building of Babel; a wonder. Sara's conceiving of a Son, when she had past the date of conceiving and bearing children. The passing of Israel safe though the red sea and through the flood of lordane. The standing of the Sun in the heaven, whe● joshua fought. The going back of the Son, when Ezechias wasick. The Eclipse of the Sun, when Christ was crucified. The saving of Daniel, in the lions den. The saving of the three children, in the fire. The saving of jonas, in the Whale's belly. The burning up of Elias sacrifices with a fire from Heaven▪ against nature. Come to the new Testament, the raising up of so many dead bodies, and the greatest wonder of all, the incarnation of the Son of God, his suffering, his resurrection, the greatest wonder, that ever was wrought. Satan cannot work true miracles. Who can give a natural cause of these things? Now, come to the assumption. Satan cannot change nature, it passes his power to impeed the course of nature, to do any thing against the second causes, it must be of as great power, to change nature, as to create nature, the power, that altars nature is as great, as the power, that creates nature: Satan, by all men's confession hes no● the power to create, only the Lord hes power to create: It passes the devils power to create the smallest creature on the earth; and therefore, it passes his power to change nature, and to do any thing against nature and the second causes. And therefore, Rom cha. 4. vers. 17. these two, the changing of nature and the creation; are only ascryved to God, as proper to him. To God, says he, who quickens the dead, that is an alteration of nature, and calls these things▪ that are not, as if they were, that is, creating, by the word of his mouth: at the naming of it, the thing, that was not, stands up and is. And so, we must conclude, Satan hes no power to work one true miracle. This, for the reason▪ Come to the Scripture. Read ye not, 72. Psalm vers. 18. Blessed be the Lord God, even, the God of Israel, who does only wondrous things. And in the 77. Psalm, vers. 13. 14. Who is so great a God, as our God: thou are the God, that 〈◊〉 wonders: as he would say, there is none, can work wonders, but, God. So, this question is easily solved. But, there is another question. Will not God work ●wonders by the ministry of the Devil and the Antichrist▪ shows not God his power, in working wonders by them, as he did, by the Prophets and Apostles his own servants. Brethren, I shall show you my opinion, without the prejudice of any man's judgement. I think, not: for, all the wonders, that, the devil will work are to this end, to establish lies, against God and his glory. Now, I say, the Lord will not lend his power to Satan, to work one true wonder, to deface his own glory and to establish false doctrine, and I think, I have a sufficient probation of this, out of the 9 chap. of john, 16 verse. When Christ had given sight to the man, that was blind, the pharisees made inquisition of the man, they fell in altercation amongst themselves, the one half reproaching him, the other half defending him, and they say, If he were a sinner, that is, a deceiver, he could not work wonders, but, he hes wrought this wonder; therefore, we conclude he is not a deceiver. And the man himself▪ who got sight reasons after this manner, verse 33. This man hes wrought a wonder in me, therefore, he is no deceiver. Then, ye will ask. What miracles are these, that, the Antichrist works in the world? I answer, Either they are only delusions, nothing in substance, only juglerie, deceiving of the senses of men; or, if there be any thing in effect, if there be any solid work in them, they are done, because they are natural, they are not done against nature. O, but▪ they seem wonderful, to vs● I answer. The old serpent knows nature and the force of it, better, nor we do, and he knows the second causes and sundry thing in nature, that never Physician took up. Again, he hes a slight in working, which we cannot take up, and therefore, knowing the nature of things, and having slight in working, we think the things that are done so, to be wonder▪ albeit in effect they be no wonders. So in one word, Satan never wrought one true miracle, but, either they have been delusions, or, else, works agreeing with nature, which we think to be wonders, because the causes of them are unknown to us. Now, Marks of the Antichrist. 1. False miracles. brethren, there is one mark of the Antichrist, that, Paul foretells shall be, when he is revealed. Men shall know him, by this mark▪ He shall work false wonders and miracles. Now, let us seek where is this man, that glories most in the world in working wonders, when all ordinare wonders by God hes ceased: Whether is he in the East, or, West? Who is he, that says, miracles and wonders is a true mark of the true Church? so, that, if wonders be not wrought in it, it cannot be the true Church. Is it the Turk? No. Who is he, that with five words, Hoc est enim corpus meum, will make daily such a wonderful transubstantiation of bread in the flesh of Christ, and of wine in the blood of Christ, and sacrifice him over again? Who is he, that brags of wonders wrought at dead men's graves? Who is he, that will make you trow, that, dead and dumble stocks and stones, Images set up in Temples, will laugh, whiles weep, whiles speak to you, while cast a glance to you? And last, to come to one thing (for, a thousand things in this purpose is nothing; always, the Lord keep us from the sight of this) Who is he, that tells a wonderful tail of our lady of Laurete, Maria Lauretana, so called from the Mount Laurete, that her Idol being in Galilea without the hands of men by the Angels was lifted up from Galilee and set down in Italy, where she is worshipped with multitude of pilgrims, out of all country's offering to her precious jewels, and she is worshipped this day as the Idols among the Gentiles were worshipped. Ye may know, and if it pleased God to open men's eyes, none needed to doubt who it is. Is it any other but the Pope of Rome? It is he that is the Antichrist, and if he be not the Antichrist, there never was nor shall be an Antichrist in the world. Now I go forward to the next mean, whereby he shall be effectual in them who perishes. The next mean is doctrine. He calls it the deceivableness of all unrighteousness. This unrighteousness is false doctrine; 2. false doctrine. it is doctrine in substance, but, false doctrine, then in colour it is fraud and deceivableness, a false colour; it hes a colour of the doctrine of Christ, but a colour only. So the Minister of Christ is powerful in the elect by doctrine and the word preached. So the Antichrist is powerful by doctrine in these that perishes and are in the Antichristian Church, so, that, he presses to be like Christ's true Ministers in this point. But as in miracles he is false, so, in teaching doctrine he is false. There is another mark whereby we shall know him. As false miracles was one mark, so, false doctrine, doctrine of deceit is another mark. Who is he that propones such doctrine as this, that first is false, and next hes a fair colour that deceives the world, who will speak fairly of Christ, his work, his nature, his substance, his incarnation, and pretends his glory in all things and yet mingled with falsehood, and all to deceive the world? Is it the Turk No I tell you what the Turks is, he is a man that oppones himself to jesus Christ and his doctrine directly▪ not feignedly but openly: so he is not the Antichrist. The Antichrist is feigned: the Antichrist under the pretence of the name of Christ oppones himself to Christ. Then again the doctrine of the Turks is not culloured, but is opposite in plain terms to the doctrine of Christ. So neither can the Turk ●e the Antichrist, nor▪ the doctrine of the Turk ●e▪ such a doctrine, he speaks hereof. Then who is the Antichrist▪ and who is it that propones this Antichristian doctrine? Who is it that takes the name of Christ, and calls himself Christ's friend, and shows a colour of Christ's doctrine? Alas that men should be so blinded in such a light, as it were in malice to put their finger in their own eyes, and when the Lord hes set him up that all the world may see him, rather ere they should see him, they would put out their own eyes. But albeit they should close their eyes never so fast that they should not see him yet this word of jesus shall cry it in their ears, and convince their consciences, nill they will they, that that beast of Rome the Pope is the Antichrist. Now to go forward and to come to these, in whom the Antichrist shall be effectual, when he shall be revealed and in whom now he is effectual▪ by false wonders first, and next, by doctrine, by fraud. In these, says he, who perishes, he shall be powerful in these who perishes. Who are they? That long ago were ordained to damnation, destinate in God's counsel from all eternity to damnation. Paul 9 Rom. verse 22. calls them vessels of wrath, made and form (as a potter will make a pot) to dishonour, So are they ordained to destruction before all eternity. Paul calls them Ephes. chap. 2. verse 2. the children of disobedience. antichrist effectual in them, who are ordained to perdition. This we have to rejoice in, the effectualness of the Antichrist is bounded; it is not said, that, he shall be effectual in all men: No, God forbidden, but his power is bounded; it shall only be effectual to them that perishes, and are appointed to damnation. I read in the 9 chap. Revel. verse 4. the locusts that rose out of that smook of that bottomless pit, they destroyed only them▪ that had not the mark of God in their foreheads. 13. chap. 8. verse, it is said, that, they only should adore the beast whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb. Then, only the reprobate that are ordained to perdition are subject to that final deceiving by the Antichrist, that his deceit may be as a chain to bind them to perdition. Lord if they who are bound with the chains of the Antichrist hes great cause to search out the ground of their election, whether they are such as are ordained to perdition, seeing they are in the wrong way. Go out of Babylon, commit not fornication with her: for, certainly, if maliciously ye continue in biding with her, ye shall be condemned with her. Mark again another comfort to the elect. The elect of God are not subject to these deceiving errors and Heresies of the Antichrist as the reprobate: They are not subject thereto finally, although for a time the Lord will suffer them to be drawn away, to the end they should know themselves to be dissolute Christians. Matthew chap. 24 verse 24. Christ says, false Christ's and false Prophets shall do such wonders, that if it were possible they should seduce even the elect, meaning that it is not possible the elect should fall in this final defection. Who are they then in whom the Antichrist prevails? Only they who are ordained to perdition: That is, such an object as is disposed and prepared before all eternity to be deceived by the Antichrist in time: they are the matter that is perishing and is ordained to perish. I will make this more clear by an example: When the fire burns up the caffe and dry timber, ye see, the cause of the burning not only in the fire; for, if a stone, or, iron were in the place of caffe, it would bide the fire: so the cause is not in the burning heat of the fire only, but also, in the caffe that is the matter thereof: Even so it is with them that are deceived by the Antichrist, the cause of there deceit is not only in the force of the Antichrist, but also, in the evil disposition of the men that are deceived. In plain talk, many are ordained to Helles fire, and therefore when the Antichrist lights on such folks they are readily and easily deceived. And yet, I see, God hes his part: Who gave this disposition? Who hes ordeinde it? Who hes ordeinde men to damnation? It is God in his eternal counsel. So the Antichrist is not able with his effectualness to do any thing in man, but, that, which God hes determined. First, the Lord of all creatures he dispones, he makes some vessels to honour, some, to dishonour. That eternal decree of God gives such a disposition to the creature, that, in time it is capable of good means, to life; capable of deceit, to destruction. So, it is God in his eternal counsel, that justly dispenses, and the Antichrist in his time works according to God's dispensation. So the Antichrist hes not the glory that he can do any thing without God, neither needs the godly to be offended nor afraid for the Antichrist, nor to be discouraged when they see men daily falling away from the truth. Nothing can be done without God's decree. Christ was crucified, a foul fact, yet, it is said Act. 4. vers. ●7. that, the Lord had appointed from all eternity, he should suffer for salvation, and for that cause, the hands of Herod, the jews, the Priests and all were loosed to crucify him: nothing comes, but by the Lord, that he may have the glory of all works. Now to go forward. He subjoines, a cause of the perdition of the wicked that are deceived and so, reserved to damnation, besides this, that it is God's ordinance. There is another cause, there are none seduced by the Antichrist, but they who deserves justly in God's judgement to be given over to be deceived. God's decree is the ground-cause of damnation, yet, of necessity there interuenes a cause or doing, where by justly thou deserves thy own damnation, and closes thy mouth that thou hast not one word to speak, when the Lord is putting his eternal decree to execution. Come to the cause. They perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. What can be but perishing, when men maliciously will not love the truth, but contemns it? What can ensue? The Lord is truth, embrace the truth, ere thou shalt never be saved: when men hes renounced the truth whereby they should be saved, how shall they be saved? Now take heed, there are many means and causes that will bring men to Hel. Murder will bring thee to Hell, Contempt of the truth a chief me●s of damnation. harlotry, perjury, blasphemy, foul concupiscence, any of these will cause thee die. But, notwithstanding of these & many more sins against the Law, the Apostle makes choose of one sin, one chief sin that procures damnation, contempt of God's truth, contempt of the Gospel teached, he leaves all causes and takes up this. The lesson is, lfye will look to them who hes once given up their names to Christ, and so, are called Christian men and women, and taking on them the name of God, and profession of the faith of Christ, in the day of judgement we shall see this to be true, the chief point of dittay, that shall be laid against them, is, thou contemned my Gospel in the earth. It shall not be said to them, thou art a murderer, harlot, etc. no thou art a contempner of my Gospel. That shall be the chief cause of thy perdition: for, it is the mother cause of all sin, because if men would embrace sincerely the truth of God and love the Gospel, if they would embrace jesus in their heart, O, if he would not keep them from many inconvenients! It is the contempt of the gospel that leads thee to thy sins, it is the contempt of the Gospel that makes thee a murderer, an adulterer, etc. Thou contemned the Gospel of Christ, and therefore the Lord casts thee away and gives the over to thy own affections, to commit sin with greediness, to be a blasphemer, an adulterer, and to commit other sins. So the mother cause and special ground of all sins is the contempt of the light and the word of jesus, and this may evidently be seen in this land, especially in great men's houses. Now he says not, because they received not the truth, but he says, because they received not the love of the truth There are many will seem to receive the truth, and who will take heed to the Gospel so diligently as they? And therefore the first thing that men should take heed to, is the heart, look if in the heart there be an unfeigned love of God and his truth. It is not thy ear in hearing of the word, nor thy mouth in speaking well of it that will make thee a good receiver of the truth, but it is the heart. Look there be an unfeigned love to the truth, in it, and then hold up thy ear, and it will sink in so sweetly in thy soul that thou shalt feed on it so joyfully as no tongue neither of man nor Angel can tell. It is not the outward profession nor the outward receiving (if thou should sit a thousand years hearing) that will bring thee to life: First thou must have heart and soul disposed inwardly with an unfeigned love to God, to jesus Christ and his Gospel, and then Heaven and earth shall got together ere thou perish. An heart that loves Christ and this light shall never perish: on the other part, all the outward form of doing, the protestation, subscription and the rest of these outward things shall not save thee in the day of the Lord, if there be not a piece of this love in thy heart. And so I end with this word. 〈…〉 accursed be he that loves not jesus Christ and his truth. And by the contrary blessed are they that loves jesus Christ and his truth, even this word preached by this ba●e ministry, and blessed shall they beforever. To this Christ with the Father and the holy Spirit be all praise for ever. AMEN. THE EIGHT LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 11. 12. 13. 14. 11 And therefore God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe lies. 12 That all they might bed●mned which believed not the truth, 〈◊〉 had pleusure in unrighteousness. 13 But we ought to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because that God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and the faith of truth. 14 whereunto he called you by our Gospel, to obtain the glory of our Lord jesus Christ. THE days by-gone (beloved brethren in the Lord jesus) we have heard a Prophecy of that universal Apostasy that was to come, and of the revealing of the Antichrist, who should be the head and ringleader of this universal Apostasy. We heard of the Antichrist to be revealed, he is painted out and deferyved in his own colours before he was revealed, even as we see him this day: For Paul could not have set him out more vively in his nature, properties and actions, if he had seen him nor he hes done in this Prophecy: for he descryvos him even as if he had seen him with his eyes. He hes described him from his nature, He shall be a man, says he not a single man simply, but he means by this word one man, a succession of men in one kingdom. As for his properties, he says, he shall be a man of sin, and addicted slave to sin. Next he shall be the son of perdition, destinate to destruction and everlasting perdition from all eternity. As for his actions first in malice of his heart he shall oppone himself against all thing that is called God, and is worshipped either in Heaven or in earth. He shall oppone himself both against the Majesty of God in Heaven, and against the majesties of Kings and Princes on earth. Again in pride of his heart he shall lift himself above every thing called God. More, in the pride of heart he shall sit in the Temple of God, as God in God's seat upon the consciences of men, to control them, which thing properly pertains to God. No creature hes power over the consciences of men, it is proper to God only. More, he shall show himself in all his styles dignities and names as God. He shall reave these from God and shall clothe himself with them. Last, he is described from that effectualness and powerful working which he shall receive of Satan, and which at his coming he shall have in the hearts of men, partly by working wonders, partly by false and fraudulent doctrine. But in whom? He says, in them that perishes, that is, in them that are ordained to destruction before the foundation of the world was laid; in these he shall be powerful, they shall believe him in all that he does and says. Then he sets down one cause of the perdition of these men in whom the Antichrist is and shall be effectual. To wit, their own merit and desert, they will not receive the love of the truth, they contemn the light of the Gospel, and therefore perish shall they. God indeed hes decreed from all eternity that they shall perish; but, before the decreet be put in execution, their merit shall intervene, and in time they shall contemn the truth of God, which shall procure that damnation, to the which from all eternity they were predestinate. In the first verse we read the Apostle shows by what order damnation and perdition shall follow upon the contempt of the light of God in jesus Christ. Mark this. Damnation shall not follow upon the contempt of the truth immediately, but something shall interueene, first there shall follow one plague of God: for he shall send upon these men strange illusions, that is, he shall hound out the Antichrist with his effectualness, and he coming with the effectualness of Satan shall deceive them, he shall blind them, as it were, and put out their eyes. What shall follow on that? Being blinded they shall go forward in their sin and so go down toward Hell, as it were, by another step. And as they contemned the light before, so now, being deceived, they shall embrace greedily lies. And what shall follow upon this? Embracing lies and vanities damnation shall ensue. This is the meaning of this verse. Then, ye see, a man is not shot in Hell at the first. No, when a man hes committed one sin, God will not put him in Hell at that same instant, but he shall make him go to Hell by degrees, from step to step, and from sin to sin in his just judgement, he shall make him stop from a smaller sin to a greater sin: and this he will do by plaguing of him and inflicting on him either spiritual or temporal judgements, and being beat he will not amend. No, mark this. A reprobate will never mend, all the temporal judgements in the world will not better him, but he will be ay worse and worse, so that if he sinned before, now being plagued he shall go to a greater sin, and shall not make an end of sinning till he end in judgement. Mark another thing here. Ye see what the Antichrist is with all his force and effectualness, his wonders and his doctrine whereby he is effectual in them that perishes. Is he without God trow ye? No, he is no other thing but a burrio sent from the Tribunal of God to plague the ingrate world, as the king would send an hangman to hang a thief or murderer; God in his just judgement sends him to execute justice upon this ingrate world for the contempt of the light of the Gospel. The Pope is God's burrio whom God sends, for to plague this ingrate world for the contempt of the Gospel of jesus Christ. When this great universal apostasy began the great Antichrist was sent by God to be the worker of it. And, brethren, what trow ye is the cause of this trouble sent in our Church this day? This high contempt of the light of the Gospel hes been the cause, and if we continue in this contempt, troubles shall not leave off. This same Antichrist the Pope by his supposts shall make ado amongst us, the Lord shall send an avenger to plague the souls of men that will not believe the Gospel. Another thing mark here. He says not that God shall suffer him, and suffer strong illusions to be wrought by him, but he says, he shall send them, he shall be an efficient, a doer, and a principal director of this turn. Then ye will ask, Is God the author of evil? I answer, there are two sorts of evil, there is one evil that they call the evil of a fault, there is another evil that is called the evil of punishment, according to that saying of the Prophet, There is not one evil in the city, (that is, there is no punishment in the city) that the Lord doth nor. As to the evil of a fault in sin, he is not the author and worker of it, but suffers it to be wrought by evil men. And as to the other the Lord is the author of it, as that saying of the Prophet before uttered by me witnesseth. And therefore, Hell as it is a punishment, is ordained by the Lord, and so this place is to be understood. Who hardened the heart of Pharaoh? Who gives up men to a reprobate mind? Is it not the Lord to punish their sins? But I will not insist in this matter. Lastly I note in this place, that, this plague the Apostle speaks of here, is, a blinding and deceiving of the mind. There are two powers of the soul, the mind and the heart. This plague is especially the plague of the mind. I shall make this clear to you. There are two sorts of lights in the mind, there is a natural light wherewith we are borne, and there is a supernatural light, which we get by the word and Spirit of Christ. Now there is such a conjunction between these two, that, if a man, when the supernatural light is offered from Heaven, refuse and contemn it, look what will follow. The Lord from the Heaven in his just judgement shall pluck from him the natural knowledge, and set him up blind in things natural and common, he shall pluck the common sense from him, that is, he shall render him over to a reprobate mind without all judgement and discretion. What shall follow then? Then like a mad man he shall run here and there to fin; he shall pass over the bounds of common honesty, he shall leap over all the laws of the second table, he shall be a rebel to God and man, he shall be a murderer and a thief, and he shall follow all concupiscence in the world, and as for the first Table, which is concerning godliness, he sets himself against: He will be an Idolater, an Heretic, an Atheist, a man of no religion, and all this comes of a reprobate mind which is procured of God's just judgement because that spiritual light was so contemned that he would not suffer it to be conjoined with that natural light. Therefore when we see these lightmynded men, and these that will be counted Lords and Peers in the Land, repine to this glorious light of the Gospel, take up the judgement of God that lights upon them. The Lord suffers them to pass the bounds of common honesty, they are wrapped up in a reprobat sense. Count no more of them then of mad men whom the Lord in justice shall confound for ever. No, if they were here, I would say they were mad men, running headlong under the vengeance of God to destruction. The Lord give them eyes to see this and hearts to understand that they may be reclaimed from this fierce wrath of the Lord. They want both natural wit and supernatural: for he that will not suffer this light of the Gospel to be conjoined with this natural light, he hes no wit at all, he is a mad body, he will not care to do whatsoever evil he may both to himself and others. The Lord save us from this sort of men. In the verse that follows first we have the effect that ensues upon this sin of believing of lies; upon the first sin the contemning of the truth follows; the next sin of believing errors and lies, upon this sin again follows judgement and indignation that they may be condemned, says he. In the next part of the verse he repeats the two sins upon the which damnation proceeds, the first is infidelity, who believed not the truth; the second is believing of lies and untruth, and all manner of unrighteousness. He joins these two together, not believing the truth and believing lies, and they go together necessarily: for if thou believe not the truth, of necessity thou shalt believe untruth. If thy heart repose not on God and his truth, of necessity thy heart shall repose on the devil and untruth; the heart cannot want some faith. Thou must have some faith and something to put thy confidence in▪ ●shal make this plain. The heart of the creature cannot stand alone, but especially the heart of the sinful man cannot stand up, except it have a leaning-stock or prop to uphold it. The hearts of all the kings of the earth cannot stand alone, but they must repose on something: Manshart must either stand on God, or on Satan. for this is the difference between God and the creature, God will stand him alone, he needs not a foundation or leaning stock, as the creature needs: for it must lean ever on something or else it is impossible to it to stand. Now there are two things whereon man reposes, either man reposes himself on God & his truth, or else on the devil & his falsehood. If thou leanst not on God on jesus Christ and his Gospel, of necessity thy confidence shall be on Satan the Antichrist, vanities, lies, and falsehood. Well then when thou hast leaned thee over on Satan and lies thou wilt stand no longer nor does vanities and lies, yea nor the devil will stand, and he will not stand ay, albeit he have strength for a time, yet he and vanity and lies shall fall down and thou shalt fall down with them: for if thou be found leaning on lies and on the Antichrist thou shalt perish with them. The word he uses is to be marked. He says not, they that believed lies, but they that had pleasure in unrighteousness. Even as we see and find by experience reposing on God and his truth is with a joy of the soul. So when a man is leaning on the devil and on vanity he hes a kind of pleasure and delight in his reposing on them, but it is a false and deceitful pleasure, a feigned rest and joy, and here I take up the plague of the heart (as I did before of the mind) when he makes the heart with a pleasure to rest on Satan and vanity, when the heart is beat with a senselessness that it cannot grippe a solid thing, but grippes vanity, and leans on it, as if it were a solid thing: when it thinks fleeting vanity to be solid, when it is fleeting in the Air it believes it be on the ground. So that the plague of the heart is when it is made senseless that it cannot grippe a solid thing but vanity and lies, and this plague is of God's just judgement. Mark then here the order. Wickedness and malice gins at the heart first, so that when the truth is offered to the mind, the malice of the heart oppugnes and will nor let it enter in the mind. Rom. 1. 28. Ephes. 4. 18. upon this God beattes first the mind and casts the man away in a reprobate sense. But, lets he the heart alone? No, the heart that began the mischief escapes not, but he beattes the heart that would no●let the truth enter, with a senselessness to live upon lies and vanities, and ere she know of herself she and her leaning-stock shall be both beat down to Hell. So beware of this maliciousness to the truth: for if thou have a malicious heart against this truth o● God, assure they self thou hast a blind ignorant mind plagued of God, and thou, thy heart and mind and all thou leanest to shall be plagued with God's everlasting destruction Lord save us from a malicious heart: for all stands in the disposition of the heart; if it be pliable to embrace the truth, thou shalt get true knowledge and solid joy, otherways woe to thee for evermore. Now in the next verse the Apostle leaving off this doctrine and prophecy concerning the Antichrist and this 〈◊〉 Apostasy, turns him to the Thessalonians and begins to comfort them, thinking well that the Thessalonians understanding 〈…〉 these that the 〈…〉 Apostasy from jesus Christ; and that the Antichrist shall come with effectualness to deceive the world, should be discouraged with such doctrine. Therefore he begins to comfort them. And certainly if we knew what? Apostasy were▪ and 〈◊〉 danger is 〈◊〉 it, 〈◊〉 what is the 〈…〉 Antichrist, what a deceives he were and what false doctrine were when it is sown among people, and what damage it imported, the very name of Apostasy and of the Antichrist and false doctrine would terrify us and discourage us altogether. For I trow there be none of us but if a canker enter in a joint of our finger we would 〈…〉 for it. Brethren, false doctrine is a canker and there is as never a canker that will consume so, as the canker of false doctrine, and so, when it enters in the Church, there is not a member of the Church but it should be feared for it, and astonished to see it: but alas, there is not feeling of the spiritual canker, we 〈◊〉 so gro●●e in our 〈…〉 that we cannot ●eele the 〈◊〉 spiritual things. But to come to the words, 〈◊〉, says he, should thank God 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 Wherefore? Because that God 〈…〉 from the beginning 〈…〉. As he would say, be not feared with these things: 〈…〉 and on a 〈…〉 He says Brethren, Our eternalelection proceds of God's love. 〈…〉. The cause of this style is in the word following 〈…〉 for this eternal election comes of a special love of God; for if he had not loved thee, he had 〈…〉 came of an unspeakable love of God towards thee, as the reprobation came of 〈◊〉 hatred to the reprobate. Therefore Rom. 9 13. It is said, jocob I ha●e loved, but as for Esau I have hated him from all eternity, and therefore I cast him away. Well since election comes of love, it is not without cause when we speak to the elect that we call them the beloved of God. This is a token of love when God hes elected a man from all eternity, and there is not a man, (look to your experience) there is not one, I say, when they ●eele their election, (for thou should feel it and find in thy heart that thou art chosen of God) but they will feel it with such a joy and sense of love of him that hes chosen them as is unspeakable: for there is nonone gift of God but when we feel it and consider it, it brings with it a sense of the love of him that gave thee the gift, and it wakens up the joy of the heart exceedingly. What matter of the benefit, it with the benefit bestowed on us the sense of love be not communicated: for the least and smallest benefit given with a sense of love▪ is 〈…〉 not a great benefit and gift without the sense of love. When God casts a kingdom to a man in hatred▪ there is no joy nor sweetness in it, because there is no sense of love; no if it were but a morsel of meat given, of love, that love will▪ make it so sweet to ●ee that thy heart shall be unable to 〈◊〉 the sweetness of it. Therefore whatever God gives thee, be it little or much, labour to feel that it is given of love to thee: otherways there is no true pleasure or joy in it: for all true joy is when the love of God is shed abroad in the hearts of men by the holy Spirit Rom. chap. 5. verse 5. Now what says he, We, to wit, I and they who writes with me, thank God, and not that only, but we should thank God, Mark it. All offices of thankfulness that we can do are debt and no merit, if thou lost thy life for God's cause, there is no merit in thy part: all merit and desert is on the part of God, as for thy part it is but debt: and thanksgiving is a debt we ought to God, not for ourselves only, but we are debt-bound to th●nke God for the graces bestowed on another: and a Pastor is chiefly bound to thank God for the graces bestowed on the people. He says more, always, not for one time or two, but ever and ever. Thanksgiving is a debt that should be ever in paying, ever counting and telling down; as Paul says to the Rom. 13. 8. Pay love ever: for thanksgiving is a debt will never be pa●de, neither in this world, nor in the world to come. Now he subjoins the cause wherefore he thanks God, that is the argument of consolation he ministers to them. Because, says he, the Lord hes chosen you from all eternity. Blessed is that body that the Lord hes made a choice of Paul in the 2. Tim. 2. chap. 18. 19 vers. when he hes spoken of the defection of some, and that there were some Heretics namely Humineus and Philetus, thereafter he subjoines a comfort, but, says he, the foundation of God stands sure having this seat the Lord knows who are his own. Whereby he strengthens the godly that they should not be discouraged when they heard of that defection, and his argument is from that solid foundation of their election: even so here when he hes spoken of this▪ universal defection and effectualness of Satan, he ministers this argument of consolation to them, their eternal eternal election. Then the lesson is. The chosen of God they stand fast, The elect are not subject to final defectione. they are placed without all danger of defection and falling away, at least finally, and are not subject to Heresies and errors as are the reprobate, and therefore well is that soul that is ordained to salvation: for the devil will never have power to seduce that soul by Heresies. Indeed the soul may be deceived for a time: for this effectualness of Satan by the Antichrist is hardly escaped, even by the elect, yet they stand sure: For a man having his salvation standing on this solid foundation, even the election of God that man shall not altogether fall away, but when he hes been wandering to and fro for a while and hes slidden, than the hand of the Lord shall pluck him up again: and why not? Who is able to shake the foundation of the Lord? Is Satan able to shake that decree of the Lord concerning thy salvation? Men will change and alter men's decrees, but how wil● thou get that decree of the Lord altered? No thou canst not. But as God himself is unchangeable, so is the decree of thy salvation. Indeed thou may make the elect of God shudder and shake while he is here, but as for his salvation it is kept up in Heaven where the decree is, and therefore it is impossible to shake it. It shall be impossible to shake the man of● this solid foundation of his election. Again learn. If it be so as it is indeed. The Apostle when he would comf●rtmen when he see● one assault on this side, another on that side, one behind another before, he telle● them, thou art settled on a solid foundation, look to it, lift up thy eyes to that decree of God. Now if the Apostle 〈◊〉 this kind of argument, Certain●y of election requisite. what men are these that teaches, that men should not have a certainty o● their election; while they stand in the midst of Apostasy? Men will say, this is curiosity and presumption, but alas, what comfort canst thou have except thou bear the decree of thy election in thy bosom? Alas, what joy canst thou have in thy soul, or how dare thou presume to seek for mercy or life eternal, if thou hast not this certainty that tho● art one chosen of God; if thou knew what this matter meant, as I speak it to thee, thou would never rest till thou got some assurance of thy election. Now in the end of the verse the Apostle shows by what mids the Lord chooses a man to salvation, 〈…〉 Look● the mids 〈…〉 and the faith of the truth. Mark it▪ The decree of God to salvation, is not without mids; but as he hes ordein●e thee to salvation, so hes he ordeinde thee to pass by such a way● He says not simply▪ My will is that this 〈◊〉 shall be 〈◊〉, but he says. Sanctification & faith means requisite. It is my will that this person get life 〈…〉 by such a mids, that is by sanctification, and by faith in Ie●us Christ; and therefore as there is a decree of the end, so there is a decree of the mids. Thou art appointed by the decree of God to life, and tho●▪ art likewise appointed to come to that life by mids. There are two mids to come by this life▪ The first is sanctification, which is nothing but our regeneration ●rought in us by the Spirit of God. The second is saith holden in the truth, which is the ground of holiness that springs out of the heart of him that believes in jesus Christ. S●● says the Apostles Act. ●5▪ 9 Having their hearts ●urged by faith, so that without faith there can be no holiness in a man. And all this civil fashion of d●ng is doing without faith. Men trowes they do well enough if they keep civil honesty. I say to thee, it is but a counterfeit doing: for where there is no sanctification in the heart 〈…〉 hypocrisy. If the love of this Gospel and ●aith in it b● not in the ha●●, all thy doings are but counterfeit▪ and they shall not be a mean to salvation: for it is true holiness coming of a true faith in this Gospel, that is a mids of thy salvation. And therefore all other outward shows, how honest and civil that ever they appear to be, I say to thee, they are no mids to thy salvation, and thou shalt never be 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 by them, for all is hypocrisy, therefore that thy life and form of actione may dunshee good to thy salvation, thou must have this faith in the Gospel's and truth of jesus. If ye will join these two together 〈…〉 and faith in the truth of jesus Christ, thou shalt be saved, and thou shalt go on in the way of thy salvation to the which thou▪ wert appointed from all eternity. Ye see then here further, brethren, before that ever that eternal decree concerning salvation take effect and be put in execution in the world to come, what must be done in this world. This decree must be put to execution in faith and holiness in this life, first in faith and then in sanctification. Then would thou know how thou shall know the decree of thy salvation? (for there is no decree extant in the counsel of God concerning thy salvation) I will not bid thee run up to Heaven rashly▪ but take up the assurance of that decree in the execution of these mids ere thou come to the end▪ I send you to easy means, hast thou faith and holiness, and perseveres in them, conclude and say with thyself, Lord I thank thee▪ I am of the number of thy chosen, thou hast given me the arlespenny of my election, I have gotten that blessed Spirit of jesus that seals up my salvation. I have gotten faith and holiness blessed be ●e that hes given me these things. And so it is not curiosity to be sure of thy salvation, nor it is no temerity to seek the certainty of thy election Brethren, there is no doctrine so true, and so good and profitable, but wicked men abuses it and turns the grace of God into wantonness. lipiturians and Libertines whose pleasure is in uncleanness when once they hear of election, they, will start up and say, If I be chosen, what matter what I do? do what I will and play the wanton as I please, my election stands sure, I must be safe. Vain man, fie on thee look▪ what the Apostle says, God hes chosen thee to salvation. But how? by these mids, they must have sanctification that is wrought by the Spirit of God, thou must live holily in his sight, and then thou must believe, thou must have faith that is through the truth of jesus Christ, or else thou wert never chosen. If thou hast not faith, if thou hast not an holy life, no salvation for thee. Then shortly in the next verse. Having spoken of faith, he shows how a man comes by faith, how he gets it. He says, unto the which ye are called. Faith thou is gotten by calling, if a man be not called and cried on, as it were, with a shout from Heaven, O, the dead body will not waken! for if thou be not cry edon, thou wilt not get grace to believe, if thou be not cried upon by the cry of God in his word thou shalt never get faith: for faith is kindled up by the voice of the evangel. The Lord says john 5. 28. 29. The hour shall come, and now i●, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear it shall live, meaning the dead in sin. So faith rises by a cry and call, when he says come out of that death thou that sleepest; if thou hear, thou shalt incontinent arise and believe. O the power of the voice of God It is his voice only that makes the dead soul hear and to believe. It is not thy free-will that makes thee to answer; it is the cry of God only that kindles up faith in thee, and what means uses he to call men by? Even the Gospel of jesus Christ, which is the voice of God: For what is the word of God but the voice of God shouting and crying upon thee? So calling is by a word and voice. Now, calls he thee by the voice of the Law? No, long would thou have lye● ere thou had answered to the voice of the Law, the more it cry upon thee, thou wiltly the longer dead. What is the voice then? The sweet voice of the Gospel of jesus Christ, when it is told to thee that the Son of God is incarnate for thy sake, he hes suffered and is risen that thou may get remission of sins and life everlasting: in one word, the speech of the cross of a dead man, it is the speech that puts life in thee, and so no faith without calling and no calling without the voice of the Gospel, and no life without the voice of the Gospel. Thou shalt never see the face of God without thou hear the voice of the Gospel. Yet mark. He says, our Gospel, that is, that I Paul and my fellow labourers ministered. Then I ask, what is the mouth out of the which the voice of the Gospel sounds, and by the which the Lord calls the dead man: Even the mouth of silly simple men; and therefore Paul calls it his Gospel. Paul's mouth Peter's mouth, and the mouth of all the faithful ministers are the voice of God to the end of the world calling thee to faith, and therefore do they call this Gospel their Gospel. The Lord hes so ordained that without the mouths of silly men no voice of God should be heard in the earth. Go to thy chamber, read as thou wilt, thou shalt nor come to Heaven if thou contemn the mouth of silly men: for without the voice of silly men that sounds this Gospel there is no voice of God calling thee to faith. And therefore without this base ministry is no salvation for thee. I say farther, If the mouth of this ministry whereby the Lord speaks be contemned by thee, there is no faith, no life appointed for thee God hes so bound himself to this ministry, that if thou contemn this ordinance thou shalt never see Heaven. He will have thee safe by a foolish preaching, or else thou shalt never see heaven Say not might he not send Angels? No, close thy mouth: for by foolish preaching thou shalt be safe and by no other means. Mark this ye that contemn the preaching of the word of God out of the mouths of silly men. Now in the end of the verse he sets down another end of this calling, the first end was faith: the other is the participation of the glory of Heaven in jesus Christ, all is in Christ, glory is in him, so thou shalt not get either grace or glory if thou get not Christ, always this is an end both of election, and vocation, life everlasting. Election is from all eternity, vocation is in time, and life everlasting follows as the only effect and end of both. Now the calling begins here, and what other thing is all our preaching but this, come to jesus Christ the Anchor of your faith and life, and this cry holds 〈◊〉 till Christ jesus come, and then he will cry out that last cry. Come ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom prepared for you, and then the chosen shall enter in the participation of that glory through Christ that never shall end. And therefore to this jesus the Anchor of our life and the caller of us to life and glory with the Father and holy Spirit we render all praise and honour for now and evermore. AMEN. THE NINTH LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 2. vers. 15. 16. 17. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, & keep the instructions which ye have been laughed, either by our word, or by our Epistle. 16 Now the same jesus Christ our Lord, and our God, ●●en the Father which hath loved us, and hath 〈◊〉 us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 17 Comfort you hearts, and stablish you in 〈…〉 and good work. AFTER the Apostle he● ended that Prophecy of the universal defection from the truth and faith of Christ jesus, and of the revealing and manifesting of the Antichrist, and his power, he doth three things in the end of this chapter. First he comforts the Thessalonians against this Aposta●ie and defection, assuring them it should not touch them, because they were grounded upon that stable foundation of the eternal election of God, of the which they had sure tokens and testimonies, the sanctification of the Spirit and faith in the truth, the calling of God to faith and participation of the glory of jesus Christ▪ Next in the text we have red there are contained two things. The first is 〈◊〉 exhortation to the Thessalonians to stand and persevere to the end. The other is a prayer conceived by the Apostle to God the Father and to the Lord jesus, that it would please them first to comfort the hearts of the Thessalonians, next to establish them in every good word and work. Then shortly to come to the text. We have set down in the first words an exhortation to the Thessalonians that they should standfast. But first we shall consider how this exhortation follows on the doctrine passing before. Therefore, says he. Then it must be inferred by a consequent upon the doctrine preceding. The cause of their standing and perseverance must be in the text preceding, to wit, their eternal election to salvation, their sanctification, their faith in the truth of jesus. their effectual calling to life ever lasting, and the glory of Christ: upon these grounds he infers this; I herefore, brethren, stand fast: as if he did say, seeing ye are so sure grounded, therefore stand fast on your ground. Then thelesson is, when a man finds in his own heart that God hes chosen him to salvation from all eternity, when he finds he hes faith and the Spirit of sanctification, and finds the Lord from Heaven to call on him and to put out his hand as it were, and to take him by the hand again, and to lead him forward to that salvation to the which he hes appointed him from all eternity Then though Heaven should fall and all the world go to ruin, though thousands of men should fall away from the truth at this time, yet it becomes him not once to shudder, or to suffer himself once to be shaken in the mids of all confusion, and that not through any confidence or strength in himself (for then he will be beguiled) but only through the power of the grace of his God which he hes found in experience: ground himself on that ground which we have Rom. 11. 29. The gifts and calling of God is without repentance, if once the Lord begin to bestow these spiritual blessings, and to call a person to the glory of Christ effectually, Heaven and earth shall go together ere that person perish. Now ere I go further to the words I would solve a question that may fall out here. Hes not the Apostle even now before certified these Thessalonians of their election from all eternity out of the which it follows necessarily that they are placed out of all danger of final defection: for it is impossible that they that are elected from all eternity can fall away finally and perish: how is it then that he exhorteth them to stand considering this their sure election is unchangeable? I answer shortly. It is true the chosen of God are placed outwith all danger of this defection, unto the which the reprobate is subject, and it is impossible that they can fall away finally. indeed they may have their own stumblinge and stops; but as concerning their final defection it is a thing unpossible that they can be subject to it by virtue of their election: for, brethren, so many as are ordained to life, of necessity they are ordained to final perseverance; if thou be ordained to life, of necessity thou must stand fast to the end in some measure: but it is as true on the other part that they that are ordained to perseverance they are ordained to stand by such and such means: and of these means this is one, exhortation; another is, admonition; another is teaching; another rebuking, (for if need be we should rebuke, even the chosen of God, and threaten them) yea the prayers also of the Saints and Pastors are means to make the chosen to stand fast. And failing these means by the which the Lord hes ordained that they shall persevere, and especially if thou contemn these means, exhortation, admonition, rebukes, doctrine, and prayers of the faithful, thou shalt fail of perseverance, and failing of perseverance thou shalt fall finally away. And if thou fall finally away, thou shalt find that thou wert never one of these that were chosen to life everlasting. And therefore, brethren, seeing these are the means of God to hold thee up to the end till he glorify thee, thou should be glad when thou art admonished exhorted and taught, for they are the tokens to thee of thy election if thou take them in a good part. Beware then that ye contemn not any of these means. Now to go forward. When he hes exhorted them to stand fast, then immediately he subjoines (as it were) the definition of this standing what it is. Standfast (says he.) What is that? Hold a fast and a sure grip. Whereof? of the doctrine I have taught you either by word or writ, stand fast by it. Mark then. Ye see the perseverance he craves is the perseverance in the faith, and in the ●ight of the word; the doctrine of jesus Christ is the light of the world, and perseverance in knowledge of this word is to hold it fast. To make this plain. There are two sorts of perseverance. One is the perseverance in the truth, in the Gospel, in the faith of jesus and in the light, two sorts of perseverance. and all these are one. There is another perseverance, and that is an holy life, well doing, and in a godly conversation. Mark them both: if ye will compare them together, the first which is perseverance in faith or in truth must be the cause of the other, and the other is the necessary effect of it; where perseverance is in the light of necessity there is a perseverance in godliness: for a man that perseveres in the light of necessity that man walketh in the high way to Heaven in his action and manner of living, and must go the direct way to salvation; but once take away the light, and let him reject and contemn the light and verity of Christ's Gospel, he shall not go one stop rightly, but he shall decline from the high way. Take the Gospel and the light of Christ out of his eyes and heart, he shall never do one right action, he may seem to be good and have a fair outward show, and his words may seem glistering, so that he shall not seem to be a murderer, a thief, or an harlot: but if the Gospel be out of his heart, all is but hypocrisy, and there is nothing in his hand that pleases God, all is abomination, and his reward for all his fair doing shall be with the hypocrites in Hell. So let not man pleasure himself in his doing, if his eye be not set on jesus Christ shining in the Gospel: If he walk not in the light of jesus Christ, he is in the wrong way when he thinks he is in the rightest way. Lord give men this grace that when they think they stand, they may grip to this light of te Gospel. Yet to mark more narrowly these words. Keep, says he, hold a grip and stand fast. How shall I stand? By keeping of a grip, no standing for man but by a gripping, if thou let thy grip go fall shalt thou. Now what shall they grip? Doctrine, keep light, the best thing in the world is to keep knowledge. There is no standing for men, except by keeping light and knowledge. Yet what doctrine is this he wills them to keep? He says, which I have delivered and teached you. There is no standing but by gripping of doctrine. And what a doctrine? Even the doctrine of the Apostles, grip to it only: For grip as fast as thou wilt to the traditions and vanities of men they will not all make thee stand: for there is no standing but by gripping of the doctrine of the Apostles, Paul, Peter, and the rest of them, there is no standing but on the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles. Paul writing to the Ephes. 2. 20. speaks of their building, Being builded, says he, upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles. Thou shalt never be builded on jesus Christ, if thou be not builded upon the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles, and if that be not, then there is no salvation for thee, go to Spain, go to Rome as thou wilt, thou hast nought ado with jesus Christ if thou stand not grounded on the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles. Then would ye see what ye call true perseverance in faith? What is perseverance and apostasy. Even that is true perseverance that is in the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles only, and no more, and no less. Then what is Apostasy that is contrary to perseverance? If perseverance be in keeping of the doctrine of the Apostles, then that is Apostasy when thou falls away from their doctrine. No, brethren, the falling away from that Roman Antichrist is no Apostasy. The Lord at his coming in that great day shall justify this, and shall judge that Church to be a false and an adulterous Apostatike Church, and whoever joins with it if they repent not, shall be adjudged that day to damnation; and they that departs from it and sticks to the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles shall be judged to be the holy ones of God. Now follows in the end of the verse two sorts of teaching of them, that the Apostle used. The first is by word, when he spoke to them face to face. The other is by his Epistle. The lesson is easy. Men are taught aswell by writ as word, all teaching is not tied to the personal presence of men. No, men are as surely taught by writ as by word. And seeing it hes pleased the Lord to show this mercy on us that the writs of the Apostles are comde in our hands, which are read in your audience, therefore we have Paul to be a teacher to us aswell as the Thessalonians had. Therefore conclude surely that it is not so much this Minister or that Minister teaches you, as it is the Apostle Paul and Christ jesus in him: for every Minister is not so guided as he was the ministers may err and hes erred, but the Apostles could not err: for they were immediately called of jesus Christ, and were in their writing direct fully by the holy Spirit. Therefore think that ye have the Apostle Paul and the rest to be your teachers, and as for a Minister if he go a stray breadth off that ground of the Apostles, he teaches false doctrine; and so the surest teachers that we have are the old Prophets and Apostles that cannot err. Think it not a small mercy that the Lord hes made their writs to come to us; and no doubt Christ when he took good-night of the Apostles had respect to this. Matt. 28. chap. 19 verse. Go your way and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and the holy Ghost, and lo I am with you until the end of the world: as he would say, ye in a manner shall bide and live till I come again, if not in your persons, yet in your writ, and I shall accompany your writ, as I did accompany your persons in the world: and surely the Spirit of Christ accompanies this same writ and word as ever he did their dresence on earth. Now I will answer one doubt that he ere occurs before I go forward. Ye that hes red any thing knows that the adversars presses to make advantage of this place, keep that that I have taught you by word or writ: Then cry they out traditions, traditions. The Apostles, say they, hes left traditions besides their writs, verities unwritten, and therefore as great credit should be given to them as to the written verity, and they should be received with as great reverence as their writs. Brethren, it is true the words imports a diversity, but if ye will look well about you ye shall find that there is no diversity in the matter and substance, but only in the manner and form of teaching: as if he should have said, Keep that which I have teached you either by word or writ, which is all one thing: for that which I spoke I wrote, and that which I wrote I spoken; this is certain. But giving this to them, supponing the Apostle had spoken something which he had not written at this time, what is it to the purpose? Ergo wrote he i● not afterward? Supponing the Apostle had not written this whole doctrine to the Thessalonians, yet wrote he it not to the Romans, Ephesians, & c? and in one word, the Apostle spoke nothing by mouth which he registered not in writ. The same doctrine he spoke by mouth, the same he left in register in writ to be red by the world. Now then to return to the matter. When he hes ended the exhortation he subjoines prayer, and the same perseverance he exhorted them to, he begs to them from the hands of God. Brethrens, all exhortation, Teaching without the spirit powerl●s all this doctrine and preaching, all precepts and admonitions are but wind and vain voices shall sounds in the ear and goes not to the heart▪ except with the word the Lord concur by his spirit If the Lord by his power and spirit inwardly move not the heart and affections of men all is but vanity and wind. Now the mean ye see to get the Spirit to the preaching and hearing of the word, is prayer. And therefore take the lesson. A man should never preach nor hear preaching but the eye of his soul should be lifted up to him that is able only to give the power and increase: In preaching the Minister should be begging power, and the people praying and saying, Lord as this is thy word, which is thy power unto salvation, so by thy Spirit make it powerful in me. If thy eye be on the man, and thy heart be not lifted up to God, thou shalt go as empty home as thou came abroad. Therefore set thy eye and heart on him who is only able to give power to thy life, and upon him who gives only consolation when thou hast need, and finally on him that gives salvation to all that believes aright, to wit, the Lord jesus: for without him there is no grace to be bestowed on man, be what he wil Prayer is the mean to get the presence of the Spirit concurring with the word: for the word, without grace and power be given to it to open the heart, is powerful to close the heart. The Gospel is an instrument to obdure thy heart, if it be heard without prayer to God and presence of his Spirit. Therefore pray that in hearing ye may understand, and that ye may walk according to the knowledge thereof. Now then to come to the words. There are three things in this prayer. First, the persons to whom it is directed: The second is the arguments whereby he will assure the Thessalonians that the prayer shall be granted to them. And the last is, the things that he prays for to them. To come to the persons, I pray, says he, the Lord jesus Christ. He names him first, for the sweetness of grace he had found in him ever since first he knew him; his soul was so filled with the sweetness of Christ that in nothing he could forget him, neither in his prayer nor exhortations to others, as every one that is touched with such a feeling of Christ will do: Know ye not this ye that make a glorious profession of Christ? 〈◊〉 is thee that ever took the profession of Christ in thy mouth if thou find not a sweetness of his grace towards thee in thy heart; if thou find it, thou wilt never speak of any matter concerning grace and salvation but jesus Christ shall be first in thy mouth. Next he comes to the Father, and he says, and God our Father▪ There than the two persons which are the two fountains of all grace that comes to man in the world. Mark here a double honour given to Christ. First he is joined with the Father as a fontaine of all grace, and next he is first named: for he says, I pray the Lord jesus: and then he says, and God our Father. He puts the Father in the second room, jesus Christ god equal with the Father. albeit in other places he puts God the father in the first room, as ye may find in all his salutations. Now what must follow on this? Even this, that jesus Christ is very God, as he is very man, coessential of the same nature with God, coequal, of the same dignity and majesty with the Father, and coeternal with him; if this were not, he could not have given him such a style without blasphemy against God. The old Heretics thought they got a great advantage of such places of the Scripture that placed the Father in the first room, to conclude that jesus Christ was not only inferior, but far unequal to God the Father, and especially they gather it out of these words, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, etc. Ergo, say they, the Son is inferior. But look here and ye will find that Christ is named in the first room. That old doctor Chrysostome▪ when he hes reasoned against this fond opinion, at last he concludes. They are equal in eternity, dignity and in every thing, that is, or may be called truly God. Indeed the Father is the first person, but that makes not that the Father is above the Son; for there is equality in dignity and essence, and therefore he whiles puts the one before the other, and that not in respect of any supremacy, but to testify that jesus Christ our Saviour and the Father is one, and equal in every respect. Now to come to the arguments which are not set down so much to move God▪ as to assure the Thessalonians that the things shall be granted that he craves for them▪ The arguments are from the effects of God. First, Who hes loved us. Secondly, who hes given us everlasting consolation: And the last, who hes given us good hope, and all through grace and mercy, contrary unto our deserving. Mark, bethrens, a general. He brings these Thessalonians to remembrance of these graces of God bestowed on them before, Arguments to assure us, that, God will grant us benefits craved in prayer. to assure them, the Lord will grant them these benefits he prays for to them. When God gins to show his mercy on men, or, women, and in jesus Christ to power out his blessings upon them, he gives, as it were, an obligation subscriued with his own hand, I shall be with you for ever, never man bond himself as the Lord binds himself: from once he begin to deal mercifully with us, if he begin once to give us faith in jesus christ and to minister that inward consolation, and to give us hope of life everlasting, in so doing he gives us an obligation that that mercy shall continue with us for ever. Therefore mark the graces of God given to thee and never forget them: for they will hold thee up. That God that hes comforted thee once shall comfort thee for ever: He is not like man, I am, says he, jehova, not changeable; and therefore, ground thy heart on that unchangablenes of God. For, he, who hes once begun with thee to give thee mercy, assure thyself, he shall not leave thee. How was David and the godly of old, holden up, but, by this same obligation? Would ever any of the old fathers have stood without this? No. There only prop & up-hold was the experience of the mercy of God once shown on them, and diligently remembered by them. Now, to come to the particular. Who hes loved us, not as a Creator does a creature, The first God's love but, as the father does the son, that is an higher degree of love; for, he called him Father, immediately before, then, he subjoines, he loved us. Brethren, would ye come to the things we have of God, through Christ? The first is grace, mercy, and free favour: He is bound to no creature, but, what ever he gives, he gives it freely. The first blessing, that God bestows on man on earth, and the first effect of grace and of his free favour, is love (this love is given to make the creature to power out, as it were, the heart on his Creator again) He hes loved us, ere ever we were, of this love proceeds eternal election, as ye may read, in sundry places of the new Testament. This love stays not here, but, after, he brings us in the world at his own appointed time, he makes the love, that was in his heart, before all time towards us, to break out, and he sheds it abroad, in our hearts. And the first effect of it is our effectual calling. He will say, Come hither out of the foul pollution of the world, and I will exceme thee from the damnable end of the world, and so, from thence forth, mercy hes no end, but, from calling he proceeds to justification; from justification, to regeneration; and last, to glorification. So, the first thing God gives thee, is his heart and hearty love. He will not give thee any of these blessings, that are in jesus Christ, until with them he give thee his heart: He is not like man who will give thee a fair countenance alone, and will take no further thought what become of thee, but God will give thee his heart, as the first gift, and giving thee his heart, what can he deny thee? When he hes given thee his heart, can he deny thee life? And therefore, Rom. 5. 5. it is said, that, the love of God is shed abroad in us, by his holy Spirit. Now, as he embraces us with love, Lord if we could meet him with half love again. We cannot love him, except he love us first. 1. john 4. 19 There is none that loves him, but he that hes the sense of God's love in his heart furnished by the Spirit of God. O, the joy and consolation in the heart, when it finds the Lord's heart powered out on it! And without this sense of God's love towards thee, fie on thee, if thou wert a king for all thy kingdoms, if thou wert ruler over all, fie on thy glory and pleasure: for, all the things under Heaven may well minister to thee a false joy and peace in thy heart, but they shall never give thee the true joy: for there is no true joy but through the sense of the love of God in thy heart. So there is the first gift and argument whereby he assure▪ these Thessalonians that the things he asks for them shall be granted to them without all doubt. The next argument is, And hes given us consolation eternal. In this word he sums up all the blessings given to man in jesus Christ in time, The second is eternal consolation. our effectual calling, our justification through his righteousness, forgiveness of sins, and an acceptation in his favour, our sanctification by his Spirit, the resurrection of the body, and life eternal in glory: all these we have in him to whom Paul makes this prayer. So all the blessings of God comes and meets in the heart of man as in a centre: they end all in consolation, our effectual calling ends in consolation, our justifying ends in consolation. Therefore, says Paul, Rom 5. 1. Being justified by faith we have peace toward God. Then in one word. As all blessing begins at the heart of God, and at that love he powers our on us, so all blessing ends in our heart. The beginning is Gods, the end is ours, and our end is this, that peace that passes all understanding: This love of God is as a flood through the which flows down all these blessings bestowed on us which are as as many springs and conduits coming from that great and unspeakable love of God and entering once in upon our hearts wakens up an infinite and unspeakable joy in us: For from once▪ that wa●e● of the love of God touch the heart, there flows such a consolation as is unspeakable. The Lord of Heaven give every one earnestness to seek this consolation: for it is the arlespenny of these everlasting joys which once we shall have in Heaven through jesus Christ. He calls it eternal, because it is a fontaine that never is stopped, it never goes dry, but ever runs, when the fountain ever ●●mes the river that runs from it will never go dry. And therefore when that fountain of love in the heart of God comes in thy heart, thy consolation must last for ever, his love running down in thy heart makes thy joy everlasting. The things of this world when thou gettest them will waken up some joy in thy heart, but that joy which thou hast the day thou wilt want to morrow, for it is not permanent: but as for that joy which proceeds of the love of God, it hes no end, it is eternal; and therefore they that will seek consolation in jesus shall never have an end of joy. Indeed sometimes this our joy seems to be troubled here, because it is compassed with many crosses and afflictions, but the Lord from time to time makes our joy sensible, and wakens it up in us, and when thou shalt be in Heaven thou shalt have an endless consolation without any vicissitude or alteration for ever. Seek than I pray you for this love of God, as ye would be everlastingly blessed with this joy unalterable. Now, the third benefit is good hope. He calls it good, because it is of the best thing, The third, good hope that ever was, that is, it is of that chief felicity: for, what is it we hope for? Even, that consummation of our chief and everlasting felicity with our God we hope for that possession of the glory of our Lord jesus, and therefore, it is not without reason, that, it is called good hope. Wherefrom flows it? Even, as consolation flows from love, so, hope flows from consolation, Rom. 15. 4. and consolation is as an arlespenny, that, God puts in thy hand, that thou shalt get them full payment of the whole sum. And therefore, it wakens up thy heart to hope, so, that when I get a piece of consolation, I am induced to hope certainly, that, that Lord, that hes given me that arlespenny shall not leave me, till he fill my heart with the fullness of consolation: for, the satiety: and full contentment is not, till we see Christ face to face, and until this time we must live by hope. In end, he says, all these things are by grace. Love is by grace, consolation is by grace, hope is by grace, that is, of the free favour of God, without any desert, or, merit, on man's part. And it is well with us, that it is no● so, that all is of free grace, without out merit: for, if any blessing of God hang upon a man's merit, upon his doing and deserving, alas, weak would this ground be, and there would not be one day, but we should fall from the grace. If it 〈◊〉 depended on me, I would lose it every moment of the day: So, the ground of thi● surety and stability of God's blessings is only in God, even, his free grace and love. When the Lord regards thee, not for aught, that is in thee, but looks to himself, then, thou hast steadfastness by the grace of God, as ye may collect of the 4. chap. to the Rom. verse 16. Therefore, it is by faith, that it might come by grace▪ and the promise might be sure, to all the seed. If the inheritance hang upon thy stinking works (for, thou fylest the works of the holy Spirit in thee) thou shouldst never see Heaven: And thou, that wilt stick by such a ground, and say, Heaven and salvation depends on thy works, thou shalt find thyself frustrate, in that day, and shall not attain, to that inheritance, that, thou looked for: for, there is no blessing of God in Christ, but that, that hangs upon the free favour and mercy of God to us, in jesus Christ. All the world shall not lose this ground. In the last verse, we have the things he prays for, to these Thessalonians: I pray the Lord jesus Christ and God, even, our Father, that they would comfort your hearts. The next, establish you in every word of the truth and every good work. Prayer for consolation. These are the two things he prays for, consolation and perseverance in well doing. Hes he not said before, that, God the father had given them eternal consolation, what is the crause, then, he prays for it, as though they had not gotten it? He says, he hes given us eternal consolation, and now he says, I pray the Lord jesus that he would comfort you. How can these two stand? Mark, brethren, This he says, to tell us that consolation is gotten by prayer, look the necessity of prayer. If there be no prayer at no time, there is no consolation; that man that cannot pray to God and beg comfort at his hand, that manifest never spiritual consolation in his heart. Go to experience. I pose thee in thy conscience, felt thou ever comfort without prayer? No, if there be not prayer to God, thou shalt have no comfort: and more, if there be not continuance in prayer, thou shalt get no continuance in consolation: Leavest thou off prayer, look whether consolation will leave thy heart, or, not▪ Leavest thou off, in prayer to meditate on jesus Christ, I pose the, whether the consolation in the heart leaves thee, or, not? Again, strivest thou to keep that presence of jesus Christ, by prayer, and in all thy exercises, casts a blenke to jesus Christ, (be not so exercised, that thou forget jesus Christ) hast thou thy eyes ever on jesus, by prayer and meditation, wilt thou not find a joy and sweetness in thy heart, such, as thou cannot be able to express? Again, when thou art so fixed on the things in this world, yea even in thy lawful exercise (for, in thy lownry, thou cannot have an eye to God) that thou cannot get a piece of thy heart to God, it may be that thou have a carnal and false joy: but, true joy and comfort hast thou not. Well, then, brethren, that peace and consolation flows of prayer and earnest meditation in jesus. Therefore, as the Apostle says, Philip. 4. 6. 7. Be not solist for any thing, but in everything▪ let thy requests be shown forth to God and that, by all manner of prayer and supplication; and supponing thou get not the worldly relief. I shall tell thee, what thou shalt find, the peace of God▪ that passes all understanding shall stand about thee, as a guard, and what lakest thou, if thou hast that peace and tranquillity of thy soul? And what hast thou, if thou lakest this peace? Now, fie on all, if thou lake this guard of God's peace, if thou wert a king, or, Monarch, abounding in riches, pleasure and honour, what shall all avail thee? So, he draws consolation, from God, by prayer. And as it is sure, that, every thing, that lives, hes the being and continuance of God. So, it is as sure, that, that person that is disposed to pray keeps and shall keep the comfortable presence and peace of God, that passes all understanding. Therefore, the Lord dispose our hearts to pray, that by prayer, we may keep some meditation and presence of jesus Christ in our hearts. King's will leave their kingdoms; Lords, their lordships, and every man will leave this world and all, that is within it; but, woe to that man, whom God leaves, when the world leaves him. The next thing he prays for, is, that, the Lord would establish them, Prayer for perseverance. as we say, settle them, and make them firm and stable, not changing and wagging, as the buss wags, and so, inconstant in their religion, but, that they be settled. Ye heard, wherein stood our perseverance. It stood in holding a fast grippe of the Apostles doctrine, the truth of God. Now, here, I find more, He prays to God and jesus Christ, that, they would establish them, that is, hold a grippe of them. So, that, in our persevering, there must be two things, of necessity. The one, is, thy hand must be festned, or, else, thou wilt fall: for, there was never one, that had not his heart festned upon the truth of jesus Christ, by holding a grip of it, but he fell down to Hell. The other thing. The Lord must hold a grippe of thee, or, else, thou cannot be able to keep thy grip; so, thou must grippe and God must grip thee; thou must stand on a foundation, which is jesus Christ, and the Lord God himself must hold thee on thy foundation: for, otherwise, thy feet will slip off the ground: So, ever say, Lord, hold me on this ground and foundation, or, else, I will not be able to stand one moment. Now, then, to come to the foundations, whereon we must stand, and whereon the Lord must establish us: they are these, first, every word of this truth: and next, every good work. Ye may see, there are two foundations here, whereon thou must stand: for, he that would stand to the end, must have his feet set a spar-ways, he must not stand on a slippery place, nor on one foot only, but, he must have a sure ground, and must stand on both his feet, and every foot must have the own groundstone to stand on, and the first ground is the Gospel of jesus Christ. Therefore, first, lift thy right foot and set it on the truth of God, the Gospel of jesus. The next ground is holiness of life and good works flowing from the former; then, take thy left foot and set it on holiness of life and every good work, and then, both thy feet stands sure. I shall make this plain. There are two things in man, the heart and the hand. The man, that would stand, must have heart and hand both fastened. The heart must be first fastened and locked on the Gospel of Christ jesus, and that, by the lock and bond of faith; and next, the hand must be fastened too, and it must grip first to every good turn; think it not enough, to have thy heart exercised. If thy hand be idle, or, doing evil: (for, if thy hand be not well exercised, it shall be doing evil) keep these two fast then, thy heart, on the word of God, and thy hand on every good work, and then, firmly shalt thou stand. These two are so joined together, that, they cannot be severed: for, if thou six thy heart on the Gospel of jesus Christ, of necessity thy hand shall be exercised in well doing; keep'st thou one of them, thou keep'st both; losest thou one of these two, thou losest both: for, it shall pass thy power to have a good turn in thy hand, if thou want the Gospel of Christ jesus in thy heart. As, by the contrary, haunt evil doing, and then, come to hear the Gospel, in despite of thy heart, thou shalt not get the Gospel within thy heart, but, thou shalt want Christ. Therefore, as thou would keep one, keep both, and strive to fasten thy heart and hand on both, and I shall assure thee, in the name of jesus Christ, that, he will hold his hand to thee, and stand shalt thou fast to the end, until thou be put out of all danger: For, when once thou art brought to the mark, and comes to the rinkes end, then, thou shalt be out of all fear and danger: For, there is no defection in Heaven, no falling, nor, stumbling there: but, an everlasting stability, when this mirror is away, and we shall see our Saviour jesus, face to face. Therefore, as the Apostle prays for stabilities, to these Thessalonians; Even so, I beseech jesus Christ and God the father, to keep us on this solid foundation for ever and ever: and let every one of you pray for the same, in the name of jesus. To whom, with the Father and holy Spirit, be all praise and honour. AMEN. THE TENTH LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 3. vers. 1. 2. 3. 1 furthermore, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free passage, and be glorified even as it is with you. 2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men: for, all men have not faith. 3 But, the Lord is faithful, which will 'stablish you, and keep you from evil. THE Apostle (brethren) hes comforted these Thessalonians against the afflictiones and persecutiones which they underlay for the present: He hes instructed and informed them concerning the second coming of the Lord jesus Christ, showing to them that his coming should not be so soon and sudden as the false teachers pressed to persuade them; but before his second coming there should interueene a great thing, to wit, an universal apostasy and falling away from the faith of jesus Christ, which should take a long time in growing and in the decaying, and so ere the Lord should return it should be a long tyme. Thereafter he comforts them against this Apostasy, the coming and revealing of the Antichrist, that notwithstanding of this they should stand fast unchanged or put off the ground of their faith; for the Lord that had begun his work in them, should hold them up & establish them to the end. Yet he exhorts them to stand, and be careful of it: for a sleeping man will not stand: the Lord hes not appointed standing for a slothful man; negligent bodies must of necessity fall. But as he hes appointed standing to his own, so he hes appointed them to be careful of it, and to use means to procure their standing. And therefore he falls out in prayer, and beseeches God the father and the Lord jesus Christ that he would hold up this people, and comfort them. Now shortly to come to the text red. In this last chapter we have the last part of the Epistle, wherein the Apostle gives out admonitions and precepts concerning good manners and a christian behaviour: for a bare knowledge of Christ, a pretended faith, a profession outward is nothing worth, except that a man that says he hes faith in his heart, can testify it in his doing before the world, God counts not of it. Now the first admonition concerns prayer: for it is one of the chief duties that the Lord craves of man, and it is a duty of the first Table whereby the Lord is honoured. Therefore the Apostle gins his admonition at prayer, and desires them to pray: and because immediately before he prayed for them, therefore he desires them to recompense him in that part, that they should do a mutual duty to him, to pray for him and Sylvanus. Ere I go further mark the lesson. Even as all duties and offices among Christian men should be mutual: (for he that does a good turn to another, should receive a good turn of another; he that loves thee should be loved again of thee.) Even so there is a mutual duty craved in praying. If one prays to God for another, that other is bound to pray for his well again, and especially this duty is craved between Pastor and people. The Pastor should pray for the people, and the people should pray for the Pastor. The Pastor should begin, the people should follow the example of the Pastor: for the people is bound to recompense the good doing of the Pastor; for the whole duty of the people to the Pastor is called a recompense, as the duty of the child to his parent is but a recompense for the good deeds received of the parent. It is even so with the people and the Pastor: All that the people does to the Pastor is but a recompense. 2. Cor. 6. 13. he says, As children I speak to you, I 〈◊〉 a recomtence: there is nothing I crave of you but a recompense, only rander a duty for that I have done to you. Now to come to the words. Pray for us, says he, brethren. There are two things in the words following, Paul craves prayer, both for the Gospel, & for the ministers thereof. in respect of which they should pray for Paul, Sylvanus, and Timotheiu. First, he desires them to pray, in respect of that Gospel that was concredite unto them: Then again, he desires them to pray for him in respect of their persons. Mark then the order. When he desires that they should pray for him, he desires not first that they should pray for the good estate of his person, but to pray for him in respect of that commission he had of the Gospel of the Lord jesus concredite to him, and so he desires them rather to pray for the Gospel then for himself. The lesson is easy. A pastor or preacher after the example of Paul is bound to care for the Gospel more nor for his own life. Then after the Gospel let him come on and care for his person. But mark this, that his care of his person be for the Gospel's sake. Brethren, the Gospel of Christ is not ordained for the Minister or Prophet, nor for the Apostle or Pastor, what ever he be, to be a servant to him, that he may make his vantage by it, to seek himself by it; but the Minister is ordained for the Gospel to be a servant to it: for the Gospel is an hundredth thousand times worthier than he, if he were the best preacher that ever spoke. Therefore that man must sin greatly in the highest degree that will teach the Gospel, not so much for the Gospel's sake, as for his own sake, that by it he may entertain his dignity and life. It is true indeed, the Minister should live by the Gospel, and should be entertained by it, yet his living should not be the end of his preaching, but his preaching should be the end wherefore he should desire to breath, eat, and live. Again to come to the words. That the word of the Lord may have a free passage, and be glorified. Concerning the word of God he desires two things. The first, is, that, it may run through the world, and have a free passage in running. The next, is, that it may be glorified. The first is less than the other, to wit, to run, to have a course: The next is greater, to be glorified in running, that is to say, in running to be powerful, to be mighty and effectual in the hearts of the hearers, to turn them to God, and to reform and renew them according to the Image of God; and so, consequently, to be glorified in the sight of the world. To make this more plain. There are two sorts of the running of the Gospel. There is one sort, when it runs only through the mouths and ears of men, and no further, when there is nothing but a bare hearing and speaking of it. There is another sort, when it runs through the hearts of men, that is, when in her course she is powerful in the hearts, to work a true faith in them, working sanctification, an altering and changing of the soul, and reforming the hearts of men, and conforming them to the Image of God. As concerning the first, she gets no glory, nor honour, but she is rather stained by it. As to the other, she runs with glory and majesty, and she is carried through the world, like a glorious Queen, and is magnified by men and Angels. Now among whom is she glorified, and among whom is she defamed? When she is powerful in men to sanctification, there she is glorified; who ever lives holily glorifies the Gospel; and when men hes nothing but a bare word of it, and lives licentiously and wickedly, than the Gospel is defamed and shamed by these men, as the Apostle witnesses, Rom. 2. 24. out of the 52. of Esay. For your sakes, says he, my name is blasphemed among the nations all the day long. Then they who lives a life contrary to the Gospel of jesus, they shame the Gospel, and therefore, in the world to come they shall receive shame, for shaming of the Gospel. In the end of the verse, he says, as it is with you. To move them to this purpose to pray for him, or rather for the Gospel, he brings in their own example and experience. Thessalonians. I wish you not to pray for another thing but that ye have experimented yourselves; see whether or not the Gospel be glorified among you? yea it is glorified. Ye are not bare professors of it: then are ye not bound to pray the Lord to communicate to other that grace that is bestowed on you? So they who finds the Gospel glorified in themselves, and finds her powerful in their hearts to a sanctified life, are bound to wish and crave this blessing to every soul. if it were possible. Wherefore shall I have a grace if I pray not to God to communicate that grace to another? Wherefore should I enter in Heaven and not put out my hand to help others to that kingdom, if it be possible? Wherefore should I not pray, thy kingdom come? which is nothing in effect, but, Lord, open Heaven to thy people, and let many enter in, that thou may be glorified. And it is most certain, that, col. if a man have entered himself in Heaven, he will not invy to have others with him; but he will strive to make room, if it were to all the world, that they may enter in. He will not be like the pharisees that will not enter in Heaven themselves, neither yet will let others enter in it. A man that is once in the light he would have all in the light. As a man that is in darkness would have all in darkness with him. Now in the next verse he desires them to pray for his own person, and for the rest of his fellow-labourers, that they may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men. Mark something before we enter in the words. Ye see the next care is of himself, that he may be fred from his enemies. The thing that man should care for next after the Gospel that worthy thing, should be, the person of the men that carries this Gospel before the world: for when she runs, she is borne up in the hearts and mouths of men: so next herself, there should be a special care had of them that bears that glorious Queen, that they that sees her may be safe. Next that Heavenly treasure the Gospel, that is, the unsearchable riches of jesus Christ, care (I say) should be had of the laime vessel, wherein it is contained. 2. Cor. 4. 7. A man is but a laime vessel, wherein the Lord puts so rich a treasure. But wherefore should there be a care of him? Even for the treasures sake, for that precious things sake. The person himself or the Minister is bound to care for his own person in respect of the treasure: And the people to whom he distributes so precious a treasure, is bound, as ever any man was bound to any thing to have a special care of the person of the Pastor for the treasures sake: for if he have this treasure, they will get more good of him, nor he will get by any benefit in this world that they can bestow on him. God himself for his treasure's sake, ere he suffer the vessel to be broken, Mark the great care God hes of his pastors. he will mingle Heaven and earth together, and stupefy the world with wonders, and by wonders he will work the delivery of the man in whom he hes put his treasure: so long as he hes ado with him for the dispersing and distributing of his treasure, for the salvation of men, Heaven and earth shall go together ere that man perish. Was not Peter casten in a strate prison, were there not watches within and watches without, was not the door locked, was he not in irons? (Act. 12.) and yet in the night an Angel is sent from Heaven, and he comes in the house with an exceeding light, and calls upon Peter, and bids him rise, he shakes off his fetters, the doors are made open, and all without doing of any man, the watches perceives not, Peter escapes. Wherefore does he this? Peter was a vessel in the which the Lord had his treasure. This vessel was not yet emptied of the treasure. The Lord's work was yet in Peter's hand: but as soon as Peter had finished his work he suffered him to die without much ado: so did he with Paul: for albeit oft-times before wonderfully he delivered him, yet when he hes done his work with him, the Lord let him go his way, and suffer without any miracle. So long as the Lord hes ought ado with any man, all the world shall not be able to to beat him off his feet, he hes such a care of him Now to end this, I dare say and affirm, they that hes no care of the persons of men whom the Lord uses to be his mouth, to preach this his Gospel, that they had never care of the Gospel itself. If thou hast no care of the preacher, praise the Gospel as thou wilt, thou art an enemy to the Gospel. He that would break the vessel he would scatter all the riches of jesus Christ that is in that vessel, that is, he would make a lose of the glorious riches of the Gospel. Therefore when ye have ado with this base ministry it is not with men that ye have to do, but with the treasures of Heaven and unsearchable riches of God. Lord if men now would once consider this. Now to the words. Pray for me, says he, and my fellow-labourers. And wherefore that we may be delivered in our own person, was he in any danger at this time, wherefore he craves their prayer? Appearandly he was in his journey towards jerusalem, and so he was to go among as many Tigers, Lions and Wolves, as he found in experience: and out of the way as he was in his journey he craves that they would pray for him: Ye will say, got he not forewarnings enough, that nothing was abiding him but bonds at jerusalem? Yes Agabus told him that, Act. 21. 11. Then what needed him to desire the Thessalonians to pray against that, that of necessity behoved to come, and he must prove in deed, bonds was prophesied, and bonds he got: persecution was prophesied, and persecution he suffered. Brethren, I am not of that mind that he desired them to pray that he should be altogether fr● of the cross and affliction: for it is not lawful for a Pastor or any other man to pray that he be burdened with no cross. What says he to Timothy. 2. Tim. 1. 8. Be not ashamed of my bonds, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel, etc. It is not lawful to a Pastor to go sleeping through the world, and none to cross his way; for a faithful Pastor cannot be without either one cross or other. Then what a delivery is this that he desires them to pray for? Even that being under crosses, the Lord so long as he had ado with him would deliver him and set him free, and so it is lawful for one lying under persecution for the Gospel's sake to pray for such a deliverance, so long as the Lord hes a work to do with him yea, and he is bound to pray that he may be victorious, and triumph both in death and life. What matter of death if he triumph in death? the Lord jesus triumphed in death, the martyrs triumphed in death, the true Pastor in death he will triumph. So if the Lord grant victory in the end, what matter what men suffer. This Apostle says in another place of his Epistle we ever triumph notwithstanding of all these afflictions we are into, Rom 8. 37. Paul in his death triumphed. 2. Cor. 2. 14. Now from whom should they crave that he should be delivered? From unreasonable and evil men, as he would say, This world is full of evil and unreasonable men, beastly-bodies. The first word signifies men of an absurd nature, and of a very evil inclination. The next word signifies men that are ever doing evil, and troubling the innocent. So he speaks of two sorts of men, evil in heart and evil in hand. And certainly he means his own countrymen who were worse inclined in mind and deed towards him and the Lord jesus then were any other. And so, brethren, mark shortly: where ever a faithful Pastor shall go, he shall meet with such men: go where he will he shall encounter with men evil minded, and doing evil. The Gospel so long as she is preached shall not be free of these men: of enemies that shall make contradiction: Count not the worse of her that she is gainsaid: for she is as naturally subject to this contradiction as ever any thing was subject to any property. It is the wearde of the Gospel, and the preachers thereof to meet with such men: It will never be broken: But what remedy? Come to the next best: How shall a Preacher be in safety, seeing he must enter with such men. The remedy is set down here, Prayer the remedy against the contradiction of unreasonable and evil men. Prayer: let him pray to God, and the Church pray for him. When Peter was in so great and extreme danger, what was the Church doing? Act. 12. verse 5. etc. 12. Praying for him, and by their prayers the Angel was brought down from Heaven, by whom he was delivered: So prayer is wonderful strong, and especially the prayer of the people for the Pastor will have a wonderful power before God for his safety. Then if this be the duty of the people, alas, is not this an unnatural thing to see the stock rise up against the Pastor to devour him. When this comes, either there must be a great sin in the Pastor, or in the people, or else in both, and it is one of the heaviest judgements that can light on a Pastor or people. Now to go forward. They might have been offended at this that the Apostle spoken, that there was so many that made contradiction to him, that there was such a multitude of them, that be where he would, he could not be quite of them, thereby they might have doubted of the truth: for this is a vain conceit that comes in men's heads, hay think the Gospel should have such a sound progress, as there should not be a contradiction to it; but I say to thee, where there is no contradiction there is a mark of false doctrine. And again, where the truth is, there for the most part a great contradiction will be▪ men when they see a multitude rising against the truth, and making contradiction to it, than they begin to doubt of the truth. They will say, this cannot be the truth; is not all the world risen up against it: But Paul tells you the cause of that, Faith a rare gift. when he says, all men have not faith, faith is a rare gift. Every one gets not faiths where one gets it, forty wants it. So when men gins to offend at the Gospel, it is the want of faith in them that makes them so to do: for there are very few that hes the faith of jesus Christ. Remember this that there is a few number that is chosen to life everlasting; many are called, says Christ, but few are chosen. And again there is none that gets faith in time, but he who is chosen to life from all eternity. As is said, Act. 13. 48. so many believed as were ordained to life everlasting. Therefore when thou hearst that few gets faith, remember it is not an Herb that grows in every man's garden, it is a rare gift of God. And therefore findest thou that thou hast gotten faith this precious gift, rejoice and be glad that the Lord hes called thee to be of that blessed number, and wonder not at the multitude that oppones themselves to the Gospel; but rejoice thou that thou art one of the elect, one of that chosen number. Last in this verse ye see where there is no faith; where the heart is not sanctified, there is nothing but unreasonableness, & he that hes not faith is a wicked man, an evil disposed person: and so ye may reason; he hes no faith, ergo he is an evil man; both evil minded & an evil doer. Then again he is an unreasonable man, what follows? Even this, it is very evil dwelling with such folks; it is not good to men to dwell with the faithless: for thou shalt get some damage of them, either in thy body or soul; for if thou escape the harm of thy body, thou shalt not miss to be harmed in thy soul. Again, where faith is, it will turn a lion in a meek lamb, and make a tiger the meekest creature that is. We are in deed borne cruel and savage by nature (for by nature a lion or tiger passes not a man in cruelty.) Now what turns thee from the nature of a beast? nothing but this faith of jesus Christ. And thou shalt not have faith so soon, but thou shalt be changed. O how good is it to live in the company of the faithful, for thou must live with them for ever: take thee to such company in earth, as thou would have to be with thee in heaven. If thou delight not in their company in earth, thou shalt never be with them in Heaven. The wicked shall not be there. Yet to go forward. They might have been offended, when he said, all men hes not faith. It is a rare gift given of God. Now they might have doubted, whether they were of that number: and if they were, whether they should stand or not. For, brethren, as it is an hard matter to get faith, so it is as hard a thing to keep it: for in keeping it, a thousand doubts will rise in the heart, whether one will persevere in it or not, and especially they that are most careful to keep it, they are most assaulted with temptations: for others that hes no care of it, they will not be moved with temptations, and so a careful keeper of faith is most subject to doubts This tentation is met by the Apostle in the next verse, he says, The Lord is faithful who shall 'stablish you and keep you from evils. As if he had said, ye shall not lose your faith. And wherefore? because God who hes given you it is in mutable, and reputes him not of any gift given in Christ, for his gifts are without repentance. Rom. 11. Therefore doubt not, but leaning on that God ye shall be kept steedfast to the end. Then I see here how ready the godly are to stumble, they are so ready that whatever they hear they fall in stumbling with it: No, so long as we are here we are subject to doubting, thy feet shall be ever subject to sliding. It shall be impossible to go forward without offence: all the the things thou shalt see, all that thou shalt hear shall move thee doubts, and thou shalt offend at them. These Thessalonians scarcely can hear one word of the Apostle but incontinent they are offended at it. They were offended at the multitude of the enemies of Paul; and again they are offended at the remedy he gives them, therefore he gives another remedy. The godly are very ready to offend. But what is the duty of a Pastor? Even with Paul ever where he sees one to stumble to put out his hand to hold him up: the godly will stumble, but God forbidden they fall to the ground: them beware with speeches, & when thou utters any thing by word thou suspects will offend the godly, thou should go about to meet it and to take it away: for the Pastor had need to be a discreet man in speaking, especially to the godly: as for the reporbat they will not care what ye speak, but the godly is soon moved ever ready to doubt. Again I see a man or woman once having received the faith of jesus Christ shall never lose it altogether: Faith once received can never be altogether 〈◊〉 again. get once true faith thou shalt never lose it altogether. Indeed thou may be at sometimes without the sense of it, but be assured true faith that once takes root in the heart shall never be rooted out altogether of the heart again. Fie on these men that defends that men having true faith and the Spirit of regeneration may lose it again, that is false doctrine: For the grace of regeneration once given shall never be l●st again altogether. Come to the ground of this doctrine. In the matter of faith there are two things, first there is a giver, and next there is a receiver. God gives, and the soul receives. Now what is the ground of the stability of faith wherefore it shall never be lost again being once given? Is it the receiver? No, ground it not upon the receiver, it is hut folly so to do, as though thy soul were so sure a keeper of the grace given thee: but the ground whereon thou must lean is in the giver▪ He is unchangeable, true and never altars, Heaven and earth shall turn up side down ere he altar one jot. So the immutableness of faith and that it loses not in him that hes received it once depends on the stable nature of God only, and not in no receiver, nor power of man. Therefore if thou would have an assurance of ●aith that thou shalt not lose it, anchor not thyself on thyself, but on that immutable God; thou ever altars because thou art not immutable in thyself, no thou hast no stability in thyself. Therefore set thy soul on that that is immutable, set it on God and stick by that immutable nature of his, and thus doing thou shalt never lose the grace received: for it is the nature of the elect and godly to set their heart on the giver of grace, and therefore they keep the grace fast and are established: I dare promise thee, hold thy eyes on God, and put thy confidence on him, thou shalt never lose the grace received. He says, He shall 'stablish you, and defend you from evil. There are two actions of God here set down, first to establish, secondly to defend: The one is, in keeping us in stability; the other, in holding off all adversary power. I shall give you the reasons of these two actions requisite in our standing: The first is, the infirmity in ourself: for the ouldest of vs●● not able to stand alone more nor an infant that is new borne is able to stand alone. The other cause, supponing thou wert able to stand, yet there is such an adversary power, so many enemies, so mighty, so powerful, that thou shalt not be able to stand against them of thyself and by thy strength. Now God in holding us up respects both: therefore as the nurse will hold up the child and defend it from falling: So the Lord holds us up by the one hand, and by the other seeing the adversary power coming on us: (for o his invasions are fearful and mighty) he holds it off, he holds aback the devil and all our enemies: And therefore ye see two actions given to God, one in holding us up by the one hand; and the other, in holding aback all the adversary power. Hast thou not matter to pray then, first to hold thee up against thy own infirmity, and next against the adversary power that will have thee to the earth if that hand of God hold it not aback. Now he says, from evil. The word may be ta'en generally of all sort of evil. yet I agree with this that it is understood chiefly of one, Satan: as 1. john 2. 13. So then the lesson rises, it is not with flesh and blood we have to do. Many thinks if they be free of men that they are well enough: put me from his gun and pistolet, says he I am sure enough: and in the mean-tyme there is never suspicion of the devil, stronger and subtler than all the men in the world: He will get on a croslet and plateglufe, o miserable caitiff, what armour hast thou for the enemy of thy soul? It is not with men we have to do, but with powers, we have not to do with flesh and blood, but with empires and Principalities, Governors, Princes of the world, rulers in the Air. If thou hast ado with Princes and Kings earthly, they will suit the field with thee; but if thou hast ado with the devil (as every unbeliever hes) he will not suit the field with thee, but he will be above thy head, where thou shalt not get one stroke of him, but he with great fetches and force will beat thee down, and use thee at his pleasure. Therefore it is not enough to pray to give thee grace to stand, and to keep thee from such as are enemies bodily to thee, but thou should say, Lord keep me from that evil one, Satan, from spiritual powers from that devil: thou art never free of him night nor day: for he is going about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may deuore. 1. Pet. 5. 8. and when thou hast thus prayed to be saved from the devil, then say, Lord keep me from these bodily enemies. Alas, men lives careless of Satan, as though there were not a spiritual enemy, while as there are millions of them to devore thee for ever. Ye see then this that is spoken to the Thessalonians is applied to the whole Church of God in the world: for this that he speaks of the Church of Thessalonica, he means of the Church of God every where, that the Church hes many enemies: the Church of Christ hes and ever had, and shall have many enemies; The 〈◊〉 ●es many enemies. the Church itself is but an handful in respect of the multitude both of spiritual and bodily enemies, multitudes of devils, multitudes of wicked men and women in the world: and therefore she cannot be without some noy and hurt; no think it not. But there is a consolation. The Church of jesus Christ shall never be tread under foot, the devil and all his supposis shall never tread on her, nor overcome the Church of God. Hold that fast for a sure ground. The Church of God shall never be utterly overthrown: and this is a wonderful thing. And yet, brethren, as the might and omnipotency of God appears in other things, so especially his might appears in holding up a poor handful of the poorest and vilest bodies in the world in appearance, against such multitudes of strong and mighty, both spiritual and bodily enemies, and the Lord will be glorified in this few number, and in end he shall make that handful to tread on the necks of the multitude of the wicked, upon Prince's necks, and on Powers and Principalities, and on the devil himself. The cause of her standing is, because she is grounded on jesus Christ who is immutable and unchangeable: she reposing and leaning on jesus shall stand still and be unalterable as long as he is unalterable, which is everlastingly, all the power of the world and Hell shall never overthrow her and bring her at under. This is her joy that she shall never finally fall, but shall stand notwithstanding of all assaults for ever. And at last be victorious over oer enemies through the strength of him on whom she reposes. Now to this God the Father, Son, and holy Spirit be praise and honour. AMEN. THE ELEVENTH LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL, TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 3. vers. 4. 5. 6. 4 And we are persuaded of you, through the Lord, that ye both do, and will do the things, which we command you. 5 And the Lord guide your hearts to the love of God, and the waiting for, of Christ. 6 We command you, brethren, in the Name of our Lord jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother, that walleth inordinately, and not after the instruction, which he received of us. THIS last part, brethren, of the Epistle of Paul written to the Thessalonians contains precepts and admonitions to live an holy and christian life. The last day well add in hands the first precept, which concerneth prayer to God, which is the chiefest exercise that a christian man can have in this world, there is none before it. Therefore he began to pray, and as he had prayed for them immediately before, so he craves of them a recompense which is, pray for me again, and good reason that when I pray for thee thou pray for me again. When the Pastor prays for the flock, the flock should intercede again with God by prayer for him. So the Apostle says, Pray for us, for me, and my fellow-labourers from whom in common this Epistle was directed. But for what things should they pray to him? The first thing is the Gospel, and what of it? Pray that it may run and have a free course through the world. And what more? That the Gospel of Christ running through should not run through the mouths and ears of men only, that is a small matter if there be no more: but that in running it may have the course with power and effectualness in the hearts of the hearers working life and salvation in them, and so consequently she may be glorified, that is, that men and women feeling the great force may be enforced to glorify her in this world: for none will glorify the Gospel, but he that feels the power of it in his heart, and to whom the Gospel is the power of God to salvation. The next thing that he craves they should pray for, is for his person, & the persons of his fellow-labourers, that we (says he) may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men: He gives the reason of this desire. All men hes not ●aith. When we go abroad preaching the Gospel, we will have great opposition of many wicked men, evil inclined in heart, & evil disposed in hand, so that our persons must be oft in great danger. Therefore pray for us: And the ground is, all men hes not faith. Howbeit some will profess God and religion, yet in very deed God is not in their heart: Christ dwelleth not in them by faith: they are not elect, and therefore they believe not. It is dangerous to be amongst them, yea even for the persons of men: for without Christ the heart of a man is as cruel as is the heart of a Tiger and Lion, or any wild beast, before it be drawn away from that cruelty and tamed by faith in jesus Christ; this is the nature of all men. Then in that third verse, lest that matter concerning faith and the scarcity of it should have offended them, and moved them to doubt▪ and to think it might be that they should fall away from the faith. He says, the Lord is faithful, and he shall establish you, ye are not of this number that fall away: for the Lord he is faithful, and according to his promise he shall make you stand for ever. Now here, he follows out his precepts, and in the first verse red we have a general exhortation to obedience to be given to all the directions, warnings, and admonitions that he had given them before, as if he should say, What ever I have bidden you in the name of Christ, do ye it all, and begin not only, but also persevere unto the end. Brethren, this christian calling that we are placed into craves a doing and practice; not a thinking or speaking only, so that all our religion be in our tongue. No, put to thy hand and do, as thou would show thyself a christian: for a christian man would be a doer; all men must be doing and set on an action, but not every way: for it is better for some men to sit idle, and to be sleeping when they are most exercised. The doing required of a christian should be by a rule, not wavering, but as ye see a line drawn by a rule or square; so ever the action of a man should be by a rule, even, strait, direct, not crooked, declining to this side or that side. We learn of these words what is the rule whereby the actions of a christian should be ruled. The doctrine of the Apostles is the rule of our actions. It is the doctrine of the Apostles of jesus Christ: do as Paul, Peter, and the rest of the Apostles hes bidden thee do, and I shall warrant thee; press to direct thy actions according to that rule: for he that hears the doctrine of the Apostles, and follows not their direction, refuses to give obedience to Christ himself. Now the form of proponing of this matter is to be marked. He says not, do as I command you to do, but he mitigates the command, and casts in a motive to move them to do as he bade them. He says, I am persuaded, I have a sure confidence that ye will do as I bid you, and so he utters the good opinion he had of them, that they did well, and would continue in well doing unto the end. So the Pastor hes his lesson. It becomes a Pastor or teacher when he sees a good meaning of his flock, ever to think the best of them, yea to conceive a persuasion (but in the Lord) that they shall continue in well doing unto the end. And again in the other part it is very meet that the flock understand that the Pastor counts and esteems well of them: for when the flock conceives that the Pastor hes a good estimation of them, it is no small motive and encouragement to them to go forward in well doing: for when the child thinks his father hes a good opinion of him, and that he shall come to grace, it is an encouragement to go forward in well doing Even so it is with the Pastor and the people; for if the flock think that their Pastor hes not a good opinion of them, it is the very way to discourage them and to cause them go backward: So men should be very ware lest they should hurt others. Another thing here is to be marked. He says, We are persuaded in the Lord, not in you, for aswell as we count of you, our confidence is not in you: for than ye and we should both be beguiled: so he hes not a confidence in them, albeit we have a confidence of them that they should do well: for these are different; for if confidence be in a man, it is as much as to ascryve all power and glory of well doing to man himself, and so to deprive God of his glory. As by the contrary, to put all confidence in the Lord it is to ascryve all glory to God, that gives the strength to man to do well: The general is, Why should we not have confidence of men, and be well persuaded that they will do well, but beware while thou hopest they will do well that thou hurt not the glory of God, by giving the glory of their well doing to man: If he were the best on earth give him not the praise of a jot of the power of well doing, but give it to God alone, that all the glory may be Gods. Let all the glory return to him from whom all graces came. This for the first verse I have red. The next precept contained in the next verse is more particular, and contains a special thing. The Lord, says he, guide your hearts to the love of God, and the waiting for of Christ. The sum is this, Set your hearts upon the love of God, that is one. And upon the patiented hope of Jesus Christ and his coming, that is another. There is the effect of the words. So first he recommends to them the love of God, and then the patiented looking for of jesus Christ and their salvation, which shall be accomplished when he comes in his glory. Now mark the form and manner after the which he gives out this precept: He turns this precept in a prayer (this is wisdom) in which he beseeches the Lord to direct their hearts to the love of God first, and next to the patiented hope of Christ's coming. Mark this form. By this turning of a precept in a prayer he would teach us this far, that these commands that are given in the Scripture, these precepts, exhortations, directions and admonitions, imports not that there is any power or free-will in man or woman to obey, or to do that that is commanded, and exhorted, or to do any part of it: This is the doctrine of the adversares, when they hear of any precept or exhortation in the Scripture, then incontinent conclude they there is a free-will in man to do that that is commanded, No free-will in man to do good. otherwise it were in vain the command given; if the Lord give not free-will to do it, wherefore commands he? but the Lord knows how this follows: for by turning this precept into a prayer, we are taught that albeit man be commanded and exhorted to do such and such things, yet all power of well doing depends only on the Lord: And therefore oft ye shall find either the precept turned in a prayer, or else with precept prayer conjoined: And therefore when we are commanded and admonished to do any good, in that same instant our heart should be raised to God to desire strength at him, & thou should say, Lord give me the strength to do as thou commandest me. When I admonish and exhort thee to set thy heart to love and fear God, is it in thy power so to do? speaks thy conscience so to thee? If it say, that it is in thy power thy conscience beguiles thee, that conceit is a plain illusion. And therefore seeing it lies not in thy power to do when thou art exhorted, let thy refuge be to the Lord and say, Lord as thou bidst me love thee, so give me grace to love thee; as thou bidst me hope, so work thou hope in me, otherwise I will never be answerable to thy command. Now to the words. I pray God to direct your hearts to the love of God. Ye see here wherefore he prays, not for their mouth or tongue nor for their eyes, nor for none of these outward members, but his prayer is for their hearts, that the Lord would direct their hearts. What means this? To wit, that the director, the guider, and ruler of all these outward members of the eyes, tongue, and mouth, of the hand and foot, is the heart; she sits in the midst and guides all: so that if she herself be first well guided, ruled and disposed, it shall be well with all the members of thy body, she shall guide thy tongue, and bridle thy mouth in speaking, and guide thy hand in doing, it shall be well with thy eyes and ears, she shall not suffer thee to look or hear wrong: and so well is the person that hes a well guided heart, and well disposed mind. For then as for the outward members they shall be all made wapons of righteousness to serve God: but if the heart be evil disposed, but if it be backward and perverse (as it is of nature) there shall not be so much as the least member of the body, but all shall go the wrong way, thy foot shall go to mischieefe, a murderers heart stirs his foot to murder, thy hand shall be a wapon of unrighteousness to fight against God thy eye shall be looking to evil, and likewise all the rest, all shall be set to do wickedness. And therefore as the heart craves here prayer for guiding of it, so every part of the body craves prayer for it. As the Apostle prays, so let us pray, Lord guide my heart, my hand, my foot: No, the least member craves prayer: but begin at the first stirrer, the heart, and say, Lord guide my heart that all the rest of my members may follow her. Alas, the neglect of this prayer to God that he would guide the heart makes the heart a foul stinking puddle. There is no stinking flower to the stink of a foul heart; (o if thou felt it that thou might detest it!) If it be not purged, thou shalt never see the face of God: if thou lie still in the filth of thy heart, and every day in thy heart contract some further filth, remember I forewarn thee, the intolerable judgement of God shall be heaped on thy head, as thou heapest filth upon filth. Now, what craves he to their hearts? I pray the Lord, says he, to direct your hearts. The word in the own language signifies a straightening as it were, an even line: for, brethren, consider the heart of man, as it is disposed by nature, and by this foul birth of ours (all within us is foul without that renewing Spirit of jesus Christ) it comes in this world crooked, manshart, crooked, by nature. and bowed in, as a crooked tree, bowed away from God, to the devil: from all good things to all evil and mischief. It is backward, that is the term, that, the Scripture gives it: every man is borne with a backward heart, bowed downward from God. And therefore, what thing should thou crave to the heart, what should thou ask for it? It is not even enough, no, so long as thou livest, there shall be ay a crook in it. What should thou pray for it then? Even this, Lord make it even, put this perverseness out of it: for so long as it bides in this backwardness, it is not possible but thy wraith must be on it. Then pray for two things to thy heart. First to make strait thy crooked heart, and say, Lord I find my heart crooked within me, bowing away from thee, Lord put in day holy Spirit in it, and straighten it. And again, because it is impossible, so long as I live, that I can attain unto an heart altogether strait: Lord hide the crooks of my heart, with that mantle of the righteousness of Christ. Trowest thou that thou could stand one moment before that Majesty that cannot look on a crook, except thy crook were covered with that mantle of the righteousness of jesus Christ. Therefore, our prayer should be, Lord, let Christ my Mediator ever stand between me and thee, to hold off thy wraith and fire of thy countenance. Now follows in the end of the verse, two points, unto the which the heart should be directed. manshart should be directed to two things. 1. the love of God. The thing that is made strait must be directed to a point. The first point, whereinto the heart must be directed, is, the love of God: the next is, the patiented awaiting for, of Christ. To speak of the first. The heart as it is bowed and alienated from every good thing, so, first, it is bowed from God and his love: be assured, as thou art borne, thou lovest not God: No, thy nature inclines to hate him so deadly, that thou hast no will, nor pleasure, once to think of him, the heart abhortes by nature the very cogitation of him, and feign would thou have that conscience that adverises thee of him, to be pulled away: Many would be quite of their conscience, that is ever sounding to them of God, thou would give a kingdom, if thou had it, to be quite of it. And as thou would not think of him, by nature; so, thou would never hear of him: there is such a natural hatred against God, in the heart of man; for, all are borne, as it were, with their face away from God, and their backs turned to God: and the longer thou livest the farther thou runnest from him, except by his Spirit he turn thee, and say to thee turn thee and look on my face. And therefore the first thing we should pray for, should be, Lord turn my heart to thee, to love thee, and set it on thee. This is the prayer of the Apostle, and it should be our prayer night and day. What thing canst thou love with any joy or delectation, if thou first love not God? Will the Husband love the wife if he love not God first? fie on thee and thy love both: for thy love will be turned in hatred, and thou wilt curse thy wife and thy children if thou lovest not God first, and then them in God for this cause. This is the first point unto the which the heart should be directed. Now the next point he calls Patience, that is, a patiented hope. Of whom? Of jesus Christ, that is of his coming, and consequently of thy everlasting salvation that shall be revealed at his coming. 2. Patient awaiting for Christ. Brethren, it is craved that the heart of man be set beyond any thing in this life: I tell thee thy heart must be directed farther nor any grace thou can get in this life, farther nor faith, nor the love of God, which is the preciousest thing thou can have, thy heart must be set on things that are not revealed as yet, on jesus Christ to come, upon that glorious revelation of him, and full redemption that he shall bring with him to thee. Now fie on me and thee, if our hearts be bounded within the things or graces of this life, if we hold our hearts only on the things of this life, then, as Paul says, of all men we were the most miserable. 1. Cor. 15. 19 And therefore the heart should put out the head of it beyond this life and lift it above this earth, above all the Heavens, up to that place where jesus Christ is, who shall once be manifested. Brethren, as concerning hope and that life to come, I think ye find how ye are disposed concerning it: will nature teach you that ever Christ shall come again to this world? I shall tell thee; thy nature will answer, all folly; and men will say, do well to me in this life, I shall take my venture of the life to come. This lets thee see what is in nature: for nature will never tell thee that there is a life to come; nature is far from all expectation of glory after this life. Therefore this is the second thing we should crave to the bowed heart that he would set it strait upon the hope of life; and as he prays, so should we pray, and say, Lord my heart is declined from the hope of life, and looks never Christ will come, Lord right it, that I may wait upon the coming of my Redeemer; for I shall not attain to that life except I hope for it and persist in it till he come. Well ye see then what is the good disposition of the heart of man and woman, be not be beguiled with it. When may thou have a well disposed heart, an even heart? When things falls out that pleates thee, store of honours, of riches, of pleasure, than thy heart is aloft and glad: but I say, if this disposition be not in thy heart, that i● love God first, and next that thy heart hopes for salvation, woe to that heart: if it be not otherwise disposed before thou die, woe to that heart for ever. So if thou would understand when thy heart is well disposed, go down to it, and say, my heart, lovest thou God? if it answer I love him, than thou art well: And again say, my heart hopest thou for a life after this life, and to see the Lord jesus to thy everlasting salvation: if it say, I hope so, then in joyfulness rest there. I beseech you for jesus Christ's sake, think not ye have a well disposed heart, except sensibly ye feel in it the love of God, and an hope for a better life. strive to this sense of the love of God, that thou may be persuaded that he hes loved thee first, and if thou feel that sweet love of this, than it will louse thy heart to love God with a joy unspeakable: fie on all carnal and fleshly joys in respect of this solid joy. Yet one word. He calls it Patience, by the which he means a patiented on waiting and hope: for, brethren, this understand, that there cannot be an hope of life except patience concur with hope in the heart. If thou hast not patience to bide, look not for that final redemption. Therefore this patience is the necessary companion of hope: for hope is nothing else but a fair look, yea a very far look to a thing that is far from us. Well except thou hast patience, trowest thou that thou wilt hold up thy head from morning till night to await on jesus Christ his coming. No such thing, thou may call a blenke and away at an instant, but thou shalt not stand, without patience, no hope. And again ere thou attain to that life, trowest thou that thou shalt go even forward a sound course, so that never a crossing shall come in thy way, no affliction touch thee till thou be set in Heaven? Is that thy opinion that thou may live in quietness, have goods, honour, and store, and none say to thee, ill goes thou on the way. Any man may take ease in patience: No, no, if thou hast hope of glory, assure thee, an hundredth stays shall be casten in the way, and thou shalt be beat and toasted here and there. And oft-times there shall appear such dark clouds that the fight of glory shall be plucked out of thy eyes. Therefore if thou hast no patience to abide till that cloud be removed, thou shalt have no hope, and without hope look not for glory. And therefore it is not without cause that Hope and Patience are joined together: He that would hope for life let him cast him for troubles and crosses; for if life be ordained for thee the Lord will cast in stumbling blocks ever to exercise thy hope until thou get that that thou hopest for: for the Lord hes appointed here continual suffering. The Lord grant that we may be enarmed with Patience ever till hope be turned into sight. The next verse contains another special precept. As the former precept concerned the heart and the direction of it: so, this precept concerns the outward society and familiarity, we have with men in this world: for, so long as we live, we must be in a society, but, beware with whom. So, the effect of this precept is this, withdraw yourselves from every brother, that walketh inordinately, in his life, that goes out of order and keeps not his own station, that lives inordinately. There are two things to be considered, in this precept. First, the form: Next, the effect of it. The form is, We denounce and charge you, not in our name, but, in the Name and authority of our Lord jesus: for, neither Apostle, nor, Pastor hes any power to denounce any thing in his own name: for, there is no authority in the Church, over the consciences of men, but, the Authority of God and of jesus Christ. And therefore, no man can say to the conscience, I charge thee in my name. It is only proper to God, to charge the conscience. Now, gather the lessson. This form, he uses, lets us see, how hard it is, Men naturally inclined to eull company. to be severed from evil company, albeit many will curse it in the end: It will not be a light word, that will make thee to leave evil company, but ere thou come from it, there must a charge interueene, and that, in the name of the highest authority, even, the great God, and that, by the mouth of his servant. The Lord must say, I charge thee in the Name of the great God, severe thee from evil company. Brethren, know ye not your nature, never thing stak faster to another, than this nature of ours cleaves to evil and evil men, so, that, by a great force, they must be pulled asunder. Now, to come to the matter. he says, withdraw yourselves. He says not, shoot them from you, but, draw yourselves from them: so, it imports not a public excommunication, but, a quiet separation of a true brother from a feigned brother. There are sundry severings. One, when we severe ourselves from these, that are publicly excommunicate. Another, when men quietly draws themselves from them, that lives inordinately: No, it is not enough, to say, He is not excommunicate, and therefore, I may haunt his company. No, but, I say, If he live not well and holily, begin thou to draw thyself from him, before, that, by that public censure he be casten from thee. Now, from whom should he withdraw himself? He says, From every brother, what ever they be to thee, and of what estate soever they be of. And who is this brother? He that takes on the name of a Christian, and yet, in effect, is not a Christian: company not with such a man, if his life fights against his name, away with him, let him stand his alone. There are many sorts of evil company, but, of all sorts, the worst and most dangerous is a brother, that is an evil man of life, and takes upon him the name of a Christian, and be assured, thou shalt get more evil of such a companion, nor thou shalt get of an Heathen, or, pagan. Is it not, trowest thou, a dangerous thing, to have company with a brother, that is an adulterer, and a murderer, will he not infect thee? Fie on thee, that withdraws not thyself from him: for, a brother, that hes only but a bare name of a Christian and not the life of a Christian, is like a lump of sour leaven: for, if it be casten in a whole baking, it will sour all the rest: even, so, he will infect all. So, if there be a false brother in thy company, if thou be homely with him, thou shalt be within few days made such a man, as he is; for, familiarity makes conformity in manners. And therefore, men, when they go to the scaffold to execution (ye have heard) have oft cursed evil company. Familiarity with a feigned brother shall make thee cold in Religion, and draw thee to his manners, and so, being involved in his sins, thou shalt have a part of his punishment. And what a brother is this, from whom thou should withdraw thyself? One that lives inordinately, that is, that lives not according to my doctrine and rule: and what rule hes he preseryved? Look Ephes. 4. 28. to wit, that, every man should labour, and that, every one should eat their own bread. And if thou hast not laboured, but, hes been idle all day, look, that, thou put not a nip in thy mouth: for, there is an Inhibition, Let him not eat, that labours not. This is the rule. Now, learn, how holy this christian life should be; for, by them that walks inordinately, he means not of men openly wicked and disobedient, as, open adulterars, murderers, oppressors, etc. but, he means of idle bodies, that are out of all calling, and are not labouring, but are busy bodies, claverers and prattlers, looking here & there, making that a mean, to win their living by: as dron-bees enters in the skeppes and soukes up the honey of the labouring bees; so, they suck up the meat, that others hes win with the sweat of their brows. So, as idle busy body is evil company, clap him, as ye will, entertain him as ye please, he is a plague, and he will infect thee: for, if he have not a certain calling, let him speak of Religion, as he will, no religion will follow him: for, the Lord gives not a blessing to any, but, to him, that hes some honest calling. Another thing, mark, here. Let none pretend the Gospel of Christ to their idleness: fie on the mouth, that speaks of Christ, and then is out of all calling and idle: speak not one word, or, one mum of Christ, if thou hast not a calling and be exercised therein. I tell thee, Christ's Gospel takes not away any good order, but, ratifies it. The Laws of Policy hes ordeinde, that every one have a calling, and the Gospel ratifies the same Law, and it is Christ's will, that, men keep themselves in their calling: It is not lawful, under pretence of Christianity and Religion, to cast off a calling: for, as God is the God of order, so, he looks; ever, that, men be in an honest calling. If thou be idle, thou offendest him, and prouokst him to wraith: therefore, look to thyself, 〈…〉. that, thou be not out of all calling: yea, rather, ere thou sit idle, be exercised in the vilest calling and vocation, that ever was. Now, I beseech the Lord, that as he hes appointed every one of us, to be exercised in some lawful calling, winning our living with the sweat of our brows, so, he would grant, that, we may faithfully travail in our lawful calling, and that he would join his blessing to our labours, that having sufficiency for our pilgrimage here, we may consecrate soul and body to him, who cares for us, and blesses us in all things, that this life being ended, we my be assured to rest from our labours with jesus Christ. To whom, with the Father and holy Spirit, be all honour and praise for ever. AMEN. THE TWELFTH LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL, TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 3. vers. 7. 8. 9 10. 7 For, ye yourselves know, how ye ought to follow us: for, we behaved not ourselves inordinately among you, 8 Neither took we bread of any man for nought: but, we wrought with labour and travail, night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of you. 9 Not but that we had authority, but, that we might make ourselves an ensample, unto you, to follow us. 10 For, even, when we were with you, this we warned you of, that, if there were any, which would not work, that, he should not eat. THIS last part of this Epistle, we show you, contained precepts and admonitions, concerning Christian life and conversation. The first precept and admonition was, to pray▪ and that, for Paul and his fellow-labourers, Sylvanus and Timotheus, who with him directed this Epistle to them. The next precept was general, desiring them, to do, and continue in every thing, he had commanded them. The third precept was particular, that they should take heed to their hearts, and set them first on the love of God, and secondly, upon the patiented hope and awaiting for the coming of the Lord jesus Christ. The fourth precept concerneth society and fellowship, and warns them, to withdraw themselves from every Christian, that keeps the name and walked inordinately, that is, not according to the ●ale, he had set down to them, to follow. In this precept, first, we have the form, how he propones it, the form is grave, I denounce, says he, in the Name of the Lord, that ye withdraw yourselves. By this form, he teaches us, how hard it is, to severe the best of us all from evil company: for this remanent corruption, that abides in the renewed men cleaves so fast to evil company, that oft-times it prevails against the Spirit: so, that, men must be reaven, as it were, by force, from evil company, they must be threatened with judgement ere they be content to leave them. As to the matter, Withdraw, yourselves from every brother, that walketh inordinately. There is no worse company, than they, who keeps the name of Christians, and under the pretence thereof, will live licent●ous●e, idle, without a calling, busy bodies: a curse and no blessing follows such men. And therefore, they, that hantes their company, takes pleasure in it, and fosters them in their fantasy must be involved in that same judgement with them. Now, to come to the text presently red. It contains moral precepts, concerning manners. Therefore, we shall open it up and gather such lessons, as shall be offered for our instruction. He turns him to these idle bodies, of the which, appearandly there was a great number among the Thessalonians, as there is in this City, and he wills them, to change their manners. The first argument, he uses, to move them, is taken from his own example, Ye yourselves know, bow ye ought to follow us: for, we behaved not ourselves inordinately among you, etc. Ye who lives inordinately, know, how it behoved you to follow me, as a light, that goeth before you, in life and conversation. Then he subsumes: I have not lived out of rule, nor out of order. Therefore, learn to live, as I have lived you before you, not idle, but labouring for your living, as ye have seen me do, before you. Now, to gather some lessons, on this first argument. Mark, in the person of the Apostle, when a Pastor hes laid down the rule of right living: the doctrine of the word of God, concerning an honest and godly life in this world, how soon he hes set down this rule in the Pulpit, he is bound immediately as soon as he comes out of it, to walk according to that rule, he hes laid down; to the end, that, he walking according to the rule, the people may follow him: For, for this cause, Heb. 13. 17. he is called aguyde (as he is called a Preacher) because in life, he should guide the people the right way, according to the doctrine taught by him; and walking according to the rule of the world, he conciliats credit and authority to the word, and makes the hearers to believe the word, he hes spoken, when they see him, in his person practise that word. And by the contrary, not walking according to the word, he hes preached, he does, that lies in him, that no man credit him, and so, becomes guilty of the highest crime, that can be: for, the disgrace of the Gospel of jesus Christ is the greatest sin, that, a man can commit; lease-majestie is a great sin, yet it is nothing to this: for, this sin is lease-majestie, against God. So, ye may see what necessity lies on him, to live well; otherwise, he shall beat down more, with his evil life, nor he will be able to build by his preaching: and so, he is a traitor, against Christ and his Gospel. Now, the chief care of Paul was to honour the Gospel, that it should get no disgrace; and therefore, he looked to be partaker of his own Gospel: otherwise, if a man honour not the Gospel by his life, teach it as diligently and eloquently as he can, he shall not be partaker of the Gospel. This lesson rises on Paul's person; another rises upon the part of the people, concerning them, that hears the preaching, and doctrine of Christ. What is their duty? When they have heard, and when they have seen the Pastor walk directly according to the rule of doctrine set down by him: then, there is a necessity laid upon them, to follow his footsteps, and walk, as he walks. And more. The words lets us see, that, their conscience tells them, that, necessity is laid on them, that, seeing the Pastor walking before them, their conscience tells them, that, they should follow: for, if thou follow not, the first challenger, that shall challenge thee, shall be thy own conscience, and it shall condemn thee, and if thou follow, thou shalt have the approbation of thy conscience: john says, 1. Epist. chap. 3. verse 20. If thy conscience condemn thee, God is greater, nor thy heart and conscience, and he shall condemn thee, Ye know men's voices in this country and their opinions, we are not all Ministers, we are not therefore bound to walk so closely by the rule, as ye, we may play us here and there. It is true, indeed, the Minister should walk first, and should go before you, but, it is as true, there is a necessity lying upon you, to follow him foot by foot: and certainly, if ye follow him not, damnation shall ensue, play thee and pass thy time, as thou pleasest. Come to the next part of the argument. He says. I have not behaved myself inordinately among you: this is the assumption of the argument. His life was among them, he passed not out to a backside, out of the society of men and women, but, his life was among christian men and women, continually winning them to Christ, by the preaching of the Gospel. Brethren, we are bound to live in a society among men and women, and not to go aside to Hermitages, and to live in Monks Closters', but, to live among men, in the society of men and Gods people: for, the life of a good man, or, good woman will edify that spiritual building, aswell, as the word will edify: and every one of us is oblist to edify another, by our life, aswell, as by our word. Peter 1. Epist. chap. 3. verse 1. exhorting wives to be obedient to their Husbands, says, They lucrifie souls unto Christ's, by their lives, without any speech. A woman will win souls, by her life, albeit she speak not one word. Therefore, brethre, seeing there is such force in the life, either to build, or, cast down, take the admonition, that, Paul gives both in the Epistle givento the Ephesians chap. 5. verse 15. and also, to the Coloss. 4. 1. Walk circumspectly, lift not one foot, but know well, where thou setst it down, walk wisely: for, be assured, as thou livest, others will live and follow thee; if thou livest well, others will follow thee, and if thou walkest wickedly, thou also wilt get followers: and if thou be a stumbling-block, woe is thee. O, woe is him, that is a slanderer with his evil life; it were better, that, a millstone were hanged about his neck, and, that, he were casten in the say, nor to be an occasion of stumbling. Therefore, we should be careful, not only for ourselves, to live godly, but, for others also: for, otherwise, if, through our occasion and ensample, others walk inordinately, their blood shall be craved at our hands. I go forward to the verse following. He proves, that, he walked not inordinately, and he takes his argument from the manner of the eating of his meat. When I was among you, the bread that I eat, it not for nought, but, I wrought for it: and how? With great painfulness. And when? not in the day only, but, in the night also: and with what instruments? Even, with my own hands, besides my preaching. The end of all, was, that I should not be grievous and chargeable, to any man. Now, of Paul's working, read Acts 18. 3. He was a tentmaker, and besides the teaching of the Gospel, he used his handy-labour. But, I come to the purpose, ye will see if a man walks ordinately, or, inordinately; the eating of their meat will show it; for, Paul takes his argument from his eating. If he lives and eats his meat by his work, he lives in rule and keeps a good order; but, when he steps to his meat and hes not done a good turn for it, he is out of rule: men commonly thinks, if they get meat, they care not how they eat it. This is a great sin: and oft-times an idle knave will think that meat sweetest, that hes cost him lest travail. But, mark, the end shall prove, there was never meat so dear boght, as that, that is gotten without labour, and in end, it shall prove the sourest meat, that ever thou tasted: for, what, trow ye, be the price of this meat, how is it bought? no man should eat, but, that, that is bought, but, what is the price of it? He hes a purse full of silver, Hes he paid the just price, for it? No, there is no true price for meat, but, the price of labour and working. Labour and eat; otherwise, if thou shouldest die for hunger, thou hast no right to eat. Alas, if men understood the truth, concerning this thing. More, note, here, two fashions of eating. One there is, by working and that hes the blessing of God with it. There is another sort of eating for nought, eating gratis. If thou workest not, thou eatest for nothing. Compare these together. The one is lawful and thou may eat, with God's blessing. The other, when thou hast been an idle vagabound, and hes done no good, and yet, stops to thy dinner, and framples up other men's travels, that is unlawful eating: for, the Lord says to thee, that is an idle body, touch not, nor handle not, Is there any exception of persons? No, no, there is not a Monarch can eat his meat lawfully in a good conscience, except, in his calling, he do the turn, the Lord hes put in his hands, except he have laboured for it, in his own calling. Yet, mark the words. There is a giving and a receiving: for, he says. I have not eaten the bread given by any man: Therefore, the Apostle thought it not enough, to eat, because it was given him liberally, except, ere he eat, first, he had laboured for it. Look how men counts of this doing: He thinks, if a man give him meat willingly, he may lawfully eat of it. No, it is vanity, except with the gift there be labour. There is nothing under Heaven, that, will make a right to thee to eat, except labouring in thy own calling go before: for, measure not the way of life by thy own conceit, but, by the will and word of God, and as he bids thee live, live; otherwise, woe to thy life. But, now, look how he aggrearges his working. He wrought and that, with labour and travel he wearied and pained himself, that is one circumstance; look to the time, all times were alike, he wrought by night and by day. Look the instruments: He wrought with his own hands, he put his own hand to labour. This is a marvelous thing, if ye knew what Paul was; He was a gentleman. Our gentlemen thinks much to file their hands: God forbidden, that, my Lord's son, and the Lairds son file his hands with work: Paul was a Citizen in Rome, a man greatly accounted of, he was a Pharisie, he had many worldly prerogatives, and yet, he puts his hand to work. It is a shame, to see so many idle vagabonds, they will pretend their nobility, and they think shame to labour, because they are gentlemen, yet, I say, the curse of God follows ever upon such. Always, the lesson is, there is such a necessity of working laid on every one, for their living, that, nothing can exeme us. There is nothing can exeme thee from labour, no, not thy blood and kindred, if thou wert a king's son, all thy lands and rents will not exeme thee; the painfulness of thy labour will not exeme thee: No, no time will exeme thee, when the Lord enters in count. If thou cannot win thy living in the day, then, work in the night, no sort of work will exeme thee. He will say, I cannot put my hand to such a work: No, put thy hand to the pleugh, and lead muck creeles, and go to the vilest exercise, that is, rather, ere thou win not thy living by work. Well is the man, that wins his living by the sweat of his brows, and woe to them, that lives on other men's labours. Now, to come to the end, why he did this. He says, he laboured night and day, to the end, he should not be chargeable to any man. I draw out the general of this. It is requisite, in a christian man, that, he be as little chargeable to others, as can be possible. Art thou a christian man? strive, that, thou be not chargeable to others: Is he debt-bound any way? yet, say▪ Paul, spare him. Burdene thy father and mother at little, as thou may: many knaves will not care, what they waist of their father's goods. The Thessalonians were much addebted to Paul, and yet, he spends very little of their goods, he is as little chargeable to them, as he could. Now, the way to free them of this burden, is, to work. If thou be idle, thou must be a burden: for, an idle man is a burden laid to others, that labours. Paul Ephes 4, 28. says, Let him that stole, steal no more now, when he is a christian: Brethren, he that hes sinned, let him sin no more. But, what should he do? let him labour. There is the remedy: If thou labour not, thou must be a thief, and a throt-cutter. And how shall be labour? If he cannot get a liberal and honest calling, let him labour with his own hand, and do that, that is good. To what end? That he may have to impart to other, that cannot work. So, let him not labour for himself only, but, for others. And so, we should not labour, only that we be not burdensome to others, but, also, that we may be helpful to others: for, we are not borne for ourselves only, he gives us not hands and feet, and the rest of our members for ourselves only, but, for our neighbours also: yea, he gives us not an heart, to love ourselves only, but also, to love our neighbour. All thy working, if it be in respect of thyself, if thou hast no respect to thy poor brother, thou shalt get no reward at all, for it. Now, I come to the verse following. The Thessalonians might have said, Then, thou hast no right, to crave aught of us, for thy preaching? sayest thou not, thou labourest, to get thy own living? He answers, no, I have just right, to take for my preaching, I writ not this, as if I had no authority: but, this I have done, when I might have ta●e of you, yet, I took not, to learn you to labour, and to shame them, that are among you, idle bodies, that works not, for their living. Now, ye see, here, in the persons of the Thessalonians, how ready men are, and hes been at all times to think, that, a Minister of the word hes no right, to these temporal things, as to eat, to drink, 1. Cor. 9 4. to marry a wife, to take a stipend. Any man hes a good right to all these things, but a Minister, they invy, that, Minister should get so much, as this common air. They come forward: from thinking and speaking, they come to doing. Scotland proves this evidently enough, by violence, by cavillation of laws, by one way, or, other, they will reave these temporal things from them, that the Lord hes set in his service: a minister hes no right to parsonage, nor, vicarage, nor, teindes. What hes the Minister ado with them? they have no right to them? Hes not my Lord, or, the laird, or, what he is, a Charter of them? But, Paul says, if any man hes right, I have right: And I say, a Minister hes as good right to these things, as any Earl, lord, laird, or, what ever man he be hes to his heritage: but, the ground of this is, men knows not, what, life is, what the kingdom of Heaven is, albeit they will prattle much of it. Now, this ministry is the ministry of the Spirit, and of the righteousness of jesus Christ: And therefore, all words of these things are but wind, to them; and they think, a man, that travels in this calling is but an idle man, they count of no exercise, but, that, that is in these earthly things. O Lord, that heavy count that shall be in that glorious appearance of jesus Christ, in that terrible day! Then, this reafe and violence shall appear to be reafe and violence indeed: Then, no words, no colour of Law shall be an excuse to thee. More, yet, on Paul's part, mark how ready, good men should be, whether they be Ministers, or, others, to give over their rights, which they may most justly challenge. Paul gave over his right, howbeit he might have taken a stipend: Yet, lest it should seem to common people, that, Ministers had no right, or, title to take by their labours, he meets it and will not prejudge the right of the ministry, that should follow, but, he tells, he had authority, to take. Thou mayest, upon good occasions leave thy right sometimes, but, look, it be not to the hurt of thy brother, look thou impair not his right, by giving over thy right, otherwise, thou hast no sincerity in thy doing; for, if thou hurt him, there is no sincerity in thee. Now, in the end of the verse, he tells the cause, wherefore he gave over his right. To be an ensample, says he, to you, to follow us. Brethren, the thing, that, the Lord craves of every one of us, is, that, we stand up, to be a good ensample to others: every one is bound to this duty: for, we are not borne to ourselves only, and it is hard, to win to this, and before a man attain to this, he must suffer many things, he must suffer many injuries and wrongs, he must pass from his right oft-times, and that, that he hes just title to, he must let it go. So, we, that we may be ensamples of well doing, must suffer many things, and do many things. Ye see a mean here set down, to move idle bodies, to labour, it is set down in Paul's doing. Paul needed not to work, only preaching might have done his turn, but, to move idle men there among the Thessalonians, to work, he would work. So, the lesson is, It is requisite, that, even, honest men, that hes no necessity to put their own hands to work, put to their hands to work, to move servants, men and women, that hes no other moyen to live by, but▪ by working, to do their duty. As, for ensample. A master of an house, who hes such servants, as will not put their hands to work, let him go before his servants in work, that thereby they may be ashamed. Now, to come to the last verse. He sets down another argument, to move these idle Thessalonians to work. The argument going before was gentle, ta'en from his own ensample, but, this argument is strait, forbidding all, that will not work to eat. He that will not work, let him not eat. Workest thou not? Paul inhibits thee to eat. This leans on a grueat equity. What, trow ye, eating be? God hes ordained it to be the reward of labour and working. Thou getst thy dinner, thy supper, meat and drink, as a reward of thy work, thou hast no other allowance of dinner, nor supper, but as a reward of thy work. Then must it not follow, he works not▪ therefore, he must not eat. O, ye will say, that is very straight, if men and women eat not, they will die? But, I say, die as they will, the Lord vouchafes not a nip on them, except they work. Yet, notwithstanding of this, great number of men gets meat and lives, albeit they work not, as, in Edinburgh this day, and Scotland, ye know, is full of such folk, that never puts their hand to work, and yet, they eat. Yet, I shall tell you their estate: Let not an idle man think, he is well, when he eats and works not; for, the curse of God is lying upon him, a miserable estate. Would to God, that, men would weigh this, that, the curse of God is on these men, and all is accursed to them, their clothes, their bed, and all, they have. For, if this be true, that, the blessing of God is on the labourer, Psal. 128. 2. Prou. 10. 4. and upon him, that eats the fruits of his labours, it must follow, that, he that eats, when he labours not, the curse of God is on him. So, idle bodies have no matter of vaunting and rejoicing when they eat; and they who wins their living with the sweat of their brows hes the blessing of God with them. Indeed, his blessing is not seen by thee now, and ye cannot distinguish now a blessing from a cursing. Ye see, here, oft-times it is aswell with the idle body, as with the body, that works; for, God's blessing and curse is not well seen here by men, but, in that day it shall be shown evidently, and this labour is a mean to bring us to that life, that Christ, by his blood, hes bought to us. The reward of a servant, that labours faithfully, and that believes in jesus Christ, shall be glory Ephes. 6. 8, Now, as this inhibition concerns Idle bodies, that they eat not, so, it concerns them, that labours, that they foster nor idleness in any body; for, that is to foster them in sin. No, if thou would do an idle body any good, bound him to work: wilt thou give a vagabond leave to clatter from morn till night and then, give him meat, thou fosters and enterteines him in sin: beware of such help, for, when thou thinkest, thou helpest and pleasure him, thou art procuring a judgement to him. The Lord give us grace to help all creatures out of that damnable estate, whereinto they are, by our ensample, that thereafter both we and they may strive to honour God in our callings, until we come to Christ, the Author and finisher of our faith; who according as our faith and belief is in him, does recompense to every one of us; that, through him, the just may be saved and the reprobate condemned. And therefore, to him with the Father and holy Spirit be all honour, praise and glory for ever. AMEN. THE thirteenth LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 3. vers. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 11 For, we heard, that, there are some▪ which walk among you inordinately, and work not at all, but, are busy bodies. 12 Therefore, them that are such, we command and exhort by our Lord jesus Christ, that they work with quietness, and eat their own bread. 13 And ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. 14 If any man obey not our sayings, note him by a latter, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed: 15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but, admonish him, as a brother. THE Apostle, ye heard (brethren) her found great fault with such among the Thessalonians as lived inordinately without a lawful calling, idle in the world. Now to come to the purpose shortly, in the beginning of this text he lays down the ground of that rebuke, and finding fault with such men: he spoken not begesse, but upon a sure information and report that he had concerning these men: albeit he was absent, yet the report came to him, that some among the Thessalonians lived inordinately, not working and not exercised lawfully, but in vain speaches and curious and superfluous exercises. The text is plain, and the first thing I mark here, is; Nothing should be spoken, no rebuke, no reproof should be directed to any, but upon a certain assurance and good ground, knowledge and notoriety of it: either upon that knowledge we have ourselves, as when we see the fault ourselves, either upon the certainty of a true and sure report of others that are of credit, and whom we know, to speak, not of affection, or malice, or of purpose to slander the person of whom it is spoken, lest we speaking upon an uncertainty, and being over soon credulous, without a full information, in the end such speaking bring a disgrace to our ministry. Then again the Pastor when once he hes scattered the seed of the word in the hearts of the hearers, his next care should be to see how it buds out and fructifies in their lives and conversations. Even as the Husbandman after he hes casten the seed in the ground, his eye is on the ground to see how the corn brierdes; so, the Pastor should have his eye on his ground upon the which he sows the seed of the word, that is, his flock, and see how it fructifies in them: If he be present, his eye should not be off them▪ He should not only look on them in the Church, but his eye should at all times, and in every place be very instant on them. Alas, for pity that this care is neglected in all almost, we think it enough to study the preaching, and lets the manners of men pass over, as if they appertained not to us: If the Pastor be absent, his ears should be opened to hear sure reports concerning their manners, that, as he hears and sees he may do thereafter, that if the word fructify he may encourage them to go forward, otherwise he may admonish, rebuke, and stir up the dead soul: for, a Pastor should never be idle, but either speaking or doing, comforting or exhorting, instructing or admonishing, or rebuking. No, there is no idleness for him, as he would give up a fair count in that great day. What heard he by report? That there were some that lived inordinately. Who are these? He defines them in the words following, They that wrought not at all, and yet, were busied, and none so busy as they, appearandly. Here, ye see are two contrares, doing nothing and yet, exercised, they were not busy in well doing, and in a lawful calling, but they were exercised and busy in curiosity, and so, evil exercised. The lesson is. There is a common Proverb, An idle man must ay be doing something, and he that is not profitable and well exercised, of necessity must be unprofitably exercised: for▪ the Spirit of a man cannot rest: for, we see by daily experience idle men and women (and Paul marked that in some young widows, 1. Tim. 5. 13.) of all people they weary and fash themselves most; ye see them here and there talking and prattling, and where ever they come they are in such a business as is wonderful, they gather all the news and tidings of the country greedily, and then running here and there they scatter them. In one word, they will be in as great a business, as if the care of a kingdom were laid on them. Let every one apply this to himself. Amongst all the faults of Edinburgh this is not one of the least that would be amended. The manners and behaviour of many people which I see in this City forces me to speak of it. In the next verse, when he hes laid down the ground, he turns him to them, and charges and warns them very weightilie, That they work. Mark the weight of the charge. He charges and exhorts, so, that, ye see, he mingles lenity with sharpness. There is a sharpness, in charging; and lenity, in exhorting. In whose Name charges he them? Not in his own name, but, in the Name and authority of jesus, the highest authority, that ever was, which learns us this, how hard a thing it is, to make an idle man to put his hand to work, they must be straited with the highest authority that is. Even, of the great God of Heaven: yea, when they are charged in his Name scarcely will they put their hand to work: Once a beggar and unthrifty, never a thrifty man again. It is a very hard thing to bring thee from thy vaiging. Take heed to this ye that hes young ones, that they be not brought up idly: for, if thou so do, it will be hard to bring them to work again. It is Gods just judgement, that, ye see many of them begging, because ye put them not to labour in their youth. Now, this for the form. What charges he them to do? Work, says he, and so do I, in the Name and authority of the great God, I say, to you vagabonds, work, ye that make a shift, by prattling and talking, I say, to you, work, let the tongue be quiet, and the hand be doing. And how should they work? quietly. An idle body and a body well exercised works both, but, differently; the idle body works with a noise, so, that, he troubles himself and others also, all the world is troubled by his working: but, a man in a lawful calling, how works he? quietly, without troubling either of himself, or, others, and he is the man, that, hes rest, both in himself and with his neighbours about him. Paul 1. Thessa. 4. 11. says, Stryve to be quiet, then, he subjoins the way, to do your own affairs; for, if ye be busy bodies, unquiet will your life be. This, for the first. The next, that follows this charge is, Ear your own bread. Who is he, that does this? The man, or, woman, that labours in his calling with a quietness, this person lives on his own winning. As for a busy body, look his vantage, when he hes wearied himself in vanity, he gets not so much vantage, as a morsel of bread, no, not an inch of bread, he may well eat, and drink, and sleep, yet, all is accursed, and his eating is by violence and reafe; he hes not an allowance in the Lord's count-book, and in that day he shall be challenged for reafe and violent oppression. Proverb 5. 15. Drink, says he, of the water ●f thy own cistern, and of the rivers out of the midst of thy own fountain. Brethren, there is the first law of equity. If a man would live justly towards his neighbour, let him be as little burdensome to him, as he may and let him eat and drink of his own labour. Now, I go forward to the next verse. Having in the verse going before, spoken to idle bodies, here, he turns him to them, that lived ordinately in their own calling, and requires an higher duty of them. Ye, brethren that labours quietly, weary not in well doing. I require more of you, that ye eat, not only your own bread, but also that ye give pieces about you: yea, as some expones, give something to the bodies before they perish. support their necessity, and in the meane-tyme, exhort, and stir them up to work. In that place of the proverbs, when he hes said, Drink of thy own cistern, he subjoins, let thy fountains run out to others, that is, help others, let thy liberality be extended to others. I show, the first Law of equity was, that men should be as little burdensome to any as they might. The next is, when he eats his own bread, and sees the want of others, to give pieces of his own about him, and to help the necessity of others I think that man happy that can do these two things, that is an happy man that devours not all himself, but vouchafes a part of his winning upon others. The last day I show to you Ephes. 4. 28. He that stole, let him steal n● more, but let him work with his own hand, that he may have to impart unto others, not to live himself only, thereon; that is not enough, there is more required: for, he is the true Christian man who labours to feed both himself and others also that are in necessity. Now, brethren, to insist here, weary not, says he, be not sluggish, relent not, grow not cold in well-doing. The Apostle would mean, that howbeit matter and occasion be offered to us that would do well through the ingratitude and unworthiness of men not to do a good turn to them, not to give them so much as a morsel of meat, yet, we should strive against the sluggishness, coldness, ingratitude and indignity of men, and ay be doing good. It is hard to do well, the days are evil; yea, they were never worse, and he who would do well must buy it with the preciousest and best thing that he hes in this world; there are so many things to hinder and cool him to do well. The ingratitude and unworthiness of men to whom he hes done well, will meet him, so that, if he will look to these he needs not to press to do well any farther. But this should be the rule of our doings, Let us not look so much to the deserning of men at our hands, to their unworthiness, as to the will of God, remember what it becomes thee to do, being the son of such a father, who wills thee to weary and pain thyself in beneficency and well doing toward ingrate men, awaiting on his will: for the Lord shall reward thee sufficiently in the end, albeit for all thy well doing thou get not somuch as a good word. Rest then on God, and in thy well doing lift thy eyes to him, and await for that rich reward when that glory shall be revealed in that great day. I go to the next verse. The next precept concerns stubborn men, obstinate and disobedient men that will not obey the word of God. The thing commanded concerning them, is Note them, abstain from their company, excommunicate them, put them from the society of the godly, exclude them out of the Church of God. First in this verse we have their disobedience; next the punishment that should be enjoined to them. I will not speak largely of excommunication, but only so much as serves for the meaning of the text. As to their disobedience, we have first against what thing it is. What is it they disobey? They that obeys not our saying. This disobedience is against the doctrine of the Apostle Paul, & so, consequently, against God himself and his word; the word of the Apostles is the word of God. Let not men extenuate their disobedience, because (as they say) it is against a man, a minister: I say to thee, if that man be sent of God with his word in his mouth that disobedience done against him is done against God, and he who is a rebel to the word is a rebel to God. Now where is this saying contained? He says, in this letter. This saying is co●●ained-in this same Epistle, written to you Thessalonians, by me Paul, Sylvanus and Timotheus. It is alike to be disobedient to the writ as to the word of the Apostle, as great disobedience it is that is against the writ of the Apostle, as if ye disobeyed the same Apostle, supponing he were alive: and disobedience against the writ and speaking of the Apostle, is disobedience against Gods own voice. Therefore, count of the Scripture highly. They have, says Abraham to the rich-glutton in torment, Luke 16. 29. 30. 31. Moses and the Prophets, and if they will not hear Moses, though one should be raised again from dead, they would not believe him. Some will say, If the Lord would speak to me by Angels out of Heaven as he did oft-times of old, than I would believe. But that is but folly, if thou believe not this same word left in writ by the Prophets and Apostles, if all the Angels would come out of Heaven and speak to thee, thou would not believe them. Now mark the nature of this disobedience. It is not a single disobedience against any precept or point of doctrine: No, but it is a disobedience with an obstinateness and rebellion: as a man is admonished to do his duty once, or ofter, yet he will not do it, but rebels and refuses obstinately. Therefore take up the lesson. We see, Excomcation proceeds of contumacy, of obstinateness after admonition, not of a simple sin, when men are admonished to do their duty and then will not do it, but obstinately will rebel, if he will not hear the Church, then follows the sentence of Excommunication. Matt. 18. 17. Let him be to thee as an heathen man, and as a publican. Now I come to the punishment of this disobedience. It is Excommunication. 2. Parts of excommucation. It consists of two parts. The first in this word, note him. The second is the word following, have no company with him. Note him, that is, mark him with the note of ignominy and shame, Give him over into the hands of Satan. 1. Cor. 5. 5. Put him out of the Church, 1. Noting of the disobedient. and then he falls in the hands of Satan; and that is the note of shame to be in his hands. Brethren, a man should not be stamped and marked lightly thus way, for it is a sore mark. But, again, when a man cannot be win but by a shameful mark, than this mark should not be spared: for, that is preposterous pity; if necessity drives the Church to note him, then shame him to his own face: for, better it is, to suffer shame here in this world for a time, then to suffer shame and pain without hope everlastingly. Shame him, that he may turn and repent and that in that great day he may be saved. Now well is the man that is shamed to his own grace that he may repent him of his sin and so live for ever. 2 Forbearing of his company. The second part of punishment is have no comapny with him, when once he is stamped with that ignominious mark, leave him, have not ado with him, 1. Cor. 5. 9 for, bearing of company with him takes away the force & fear of the mark which should be to his repentance: for, if men forbear his company, he would be ashamed, when company is keeped, he hes no shame, and all power of Excommunication is taken away, so, his repentance is stayed, and so, he is hardened in his sin. But, gettest thou any good of his company that scars not at the mark? None I assure thee: for, thou inuoluest thyself in his judgement: for, ipso facto thou excommunicatst thy s●lf▪ But, brethren, ye must not take this so generally, as though he should have no company at all; no, let him have company, but such as he cannot want; the excommunicate person must have some company, otherwise he cannot be in the world, if it were but this company that can exhort him and admonish him; necessity craves that he have this company, that he bide not still in the bonds of Satan; only here is to be understood, company that is not needful, company to pass his time with, that is slanderous and will foste▪ him in his folly. There are the two parts of this excommunication, first marking him with a note of ignominy; then second, forbearing company with him, as this text marks them. Now the end of it is, that he may be ashamed. The word in the own language signifies, The end of excommunication. the turning of a man within himself. There are many that hes their eyes upon others outwith themselves to mark their sins, but what man looks within himself to see what is there, to ripe up their vileness and filthiness, their rebellion and disobedience, and hatred of God in their hearts? wilt thou that art so quick in other men's doings, forget what thou art thyself? go down to thy own heart and affections, for thou wilt not bear the burdeene of other men's sins, but of thy own sins, that seeing thy own filthiness and vyldnesse thou may think shame of thyself. The turning of a man, is to look down to his own heart. If men saw themselves (o, fie on the sight: for all the vylde and filthy things in this world that ever man saw or felt, the heart of man is the vildest, if thou saw it as it is) I say, if thou saw thyself, that sight of thyself would make thee forget all the world, and remember thyself: then, seeing thyself thou would be ashamed of thyself. O thou who now art so lusty in thy own conceit, if thou saw thyself thou would hang down thy head for shame! and then, shame brings forth some fruit, albeit it be bitter, it brings out repentance, and repentance brings with it salvation. 2. Cor. 7. 11. So then, the end of excommunication is repentance, that a man may get life and salvation. 1. Cor. 5 5. Deliver him to Satan, that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord jesus. Now how is this repentance gotten? by what means? by thinking shame of himself, shame is the mean. No, if an excommunicate man think not shame of himself, I cannot say that he reputes thought he never shame of his sin? he never repent from his heart, and no repentance, no salvation. Paul 2. Corint. 2. 11. speaking of that incestuous man, he sets down another mean, sadness or sorrow, that is according to God. join shame and sadness in an excommunicate person, they will bring out repentance, he will begin to forethink that ever he should have done as he hes done: well worth that shame and sadness that brings out true repentance and salvation. Alas, what matter of shame and sadness for a short time here that we may rejoice thereafter in the Heavens with our head jesus Christ for ever. I read 1. Cor. 5. 5. 6. of two ends and uses of Excommunication. The one is, the salvation of the person excommunicate: for he is cutted off not to be lost, but to be saved. The other is, the welfaire of the body, that is, the Church, that that piece of leaven sour not the whole lump. Indeed it is true in Excommunication regard should be had to the well and salvation of the person that is excommunicate, but the chief regard should be to the well of the Church and whole body, in such sort, that, if the Church cannot be safe, but by the cutting off of the rotten member, rather ere the body be infected, let the member perish. Paul Rom. 9 3. wished to be Anathema, that is to be cutted off the body for ever, that it might be well with the body, for his brethren the jew, to have them saved he wished to be condemned. There should be such a love and such a care of the Church of Christ, that it should be far above and should surmount the care of any particular man or woman. Our chief care should be of the glory of God in jesus Christ, and he is chiefly glorified in the body, and therefore, a chief care should be had of the body. Now, to come to the last verse. Yet, says he, count him not as an enemy, but, admonish him, as a brother. In this verse, we have a kind of mitigation and tempering of the rigour and severity of Excommunication: for, brethren, if Excommunication had the own force in any man, the stroke of Excommunication would be the sorest stroke, that ever one felt. Read 2. Cor. 2. 7. Excommunication threw the incestuous person in such an heavy displeasure, that his soul was almost swallowed up with in him: for, when once the soul is casten in an heigh displeasure, which is the effect of Excommunication, then, the devil is ready to bring that man to despair. Therefore, he says here, verse 7. Forgive him and comfort him: for, we are not ignorant of the enterprises of Satan. It is marvelous, that sin blinds men so, that many cares no more to be excommunicate, then if excommunication were the lightest thing in the world. There is such a deadness and senselessness in the hearts of men, that there is no displeasure now for sin, but, rather, a delight and rejoicing in it. Certainly, the less sense of the sharpness of that sword of Excommunication, the greater misery. If there were any displeasure for sin in thee, it were an argument that, there were help for thee; but if thou bide senseless at that ordinance of God, if thou be hardened against the word and discipline both shall turn to thy destruction. But, when God is powerful with in thee with it (for, as God is powerful with the Word, so is he powerful by the Discipline) then, it shall turn to thy well and salvation. Therefore, seeing there is such a force in it, mitigation is very meet for it. Now here the way how it is mitigate, Count him not as an enemy: The next, admonish him as a brother. The first of these touches the inward thought, the second concerns thy outward speaking to him. The first is, lose not a good opinion of him, hate him not, lightly him not, as though he were a conjurde enemy against Christ and his Church, but love him, lose not the love in thy heart towards him, but, love him, as a brother. Now, loving him in thy heart, speak to him also, think him not unworthy of any speaking, but, flatter him not in his folly and humour, for, that will hurt him: for, if thou love him, thou wilt not, nor thou ought not to flatter him: But, I tell thee what thou shalt do, admonish him both sharply and lovingly, true admonition comes from the love of the heart, and whom we love, we admonish: but, yet admonition must be so loving, that it must be sharp also, and so it is effectual in the heart of the sinner. Now loving him first, and admonishing him next, is the way to win him, and to bring him home again, who hes gone astray. And if he be curable, certainly admonition will do the turn; if admonition will not do the turn, nor, will not move him, alas, brethren, it is over sure an argument, that, that man is uncurable, and that the Lord hes not ordeinde him for salvation: If the Gospel be hid, it is hid to them, that perishes, says the Apostle 2. Cor. 4. 3. If our Gospel will not work, it is over sure an argument of perdition, whereunto, long before they were ordained, as Jude says, 4. verse. Therefore, let a man suspect himself when he is admonished and obeys not; and let him say, shall I be for damnation? The Lord save me▪ and mollify my stony heart, that I may give obedience to the word well: give obedience to wholesome admonition, that by man is given thee out of the word of God, as thou would have a sure warrant, thou art of the number of those, that are appointed to salvation. Mark again. Nature and use of Excommunication. He will not have him called an enemy, but a brother. This lets us see the nature and use of Excommunication: of a brother it makes not an enemy; he is now a brother ere he be Excommunicate, and being Excommunicate he remains a brother. That which was a member of jesus Christ before Excommunication makes it not altogether to perish, neither cuts it so the rotten member from the body, that it shall have no more ado with the body, of a sheep it makes not a goat, that is not the use of it; of a christian it makes not an unchristian, he keeps his name. It shoots him not out of the Covenant of grace, God forbidden, but he stands in the bond, being Excommunicate. What does it then? I shall tell you. A man that hes fallen from Christ, by sin (which severes thee from Christ) it binds him again, it brings him in repentance, and calls him home again being wandering from God, it holds him within the Covenant: A man going to be an enemy to Christ and his Church, it straits him to bide still a brother. So it does him no evil, it is not ordained for his perdition, but, for his well and salvation. This whole ministry of jesus Christ and all the parts of it. Preaching and Discipline, promises and consolation, and threatening of judgement, & all the parts of Discipline, yea this Excommunication itself, are all ordained to save souls, that is the proper use of the ministry, to save all and never to lose one man. Therefore, in the 2. Cor. 10. 8. Paul says, that, he got power to edification and not to destruction. Never Minister got power to destroy one body, but, to edify; and if any perish, if the Word, or, Discipline be the savour of death to death, as, to many, it is, let him not blame the word, but, let him blame himself: For, men by their obstinacy and malice turns the word maliciously in an unproper use, to their destruction, and of the Spirit of life they make it the letter of death. Therefore the Lord keep us from all slubbornnes and all repying against this Word and Discipline: for I assure thee, repine thou against the Gospel and Discipline, which should be the power of life to thee, it shall kill thee, thou shalt not need another to kill thee everlastingly? And therefore the Lord grant every soul submission under the word of God, which is the mean that he hes ordained to salvation in jesus Christ. To whom with the Father and holy Spirit be all praise for ever. AMEN. THE FOURTENTH LECTURE UPON THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. 2. THESSA. CHAP. 3. vers. 16. 17. 18. 16 Now the Lord of peace give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. 17 The salutation of me Paul with my owune hand, which is the token in every Epistle: so I write, 18 The grace of our Lord jesus Christ be with you all Amen. IN this text, brethren, we have the end and conclusion of this Epistle, it consists wholly in prayer. First he wishes peace to them from the Lord of peace for ever, every way. Then he wishes to them the presence of the Lord himself to be with them all. Last he salutes them, and the effect of the saluatation is a prayer for them. The grace of our Lord jesus be with you all, Amen. So all consists in prayer. Then learn. He began this Epistle with prayer and salutation: throughout the whole Epistle prayer is mingled: Now in the end he multiplies prayer. What means this? Even this, that in vain is all doctrine, exhortation, admonition, and precept whatsomover, all preaching is nothing, except the Lord by his Spirit work inwardly in the hearts of the hearers, all is nothing but wind, except he move their affections. Now the way to obtain this inward and secret operation of the holy Spirit, is oft-times to turn to God by prayer, beseeching him to be powerful, and to join his Spirit with the word, and to join working with speaking. And therefore how oft so ever we teach and ye hear, the heart and eye should be lifted up, and set upon him who hes keeped Spirit and power in his own hand to give as he pleases: No man can give you it, neither the Preachour, nor no Angel can give you it. It is only in the hand of God and jesus Christ to give thee Spirit and power, and to join working with speaking. And therefore the eye in preaching should ever be set on Christ. The Pastor should pray and have his heart above to draw down grace to himself and the people, that the word spoken may be effectual in the heart, otherwise, preaching and all hearing is in vain. Now to come to the words. The first thing he prays for and wishes, is peace. The Lord of peace, says he, give you peace for ever and every way. The thing than he wishes is peace, that is quietness, rest and tranquillity, concord & agreement all these words expresses the meaning of the word Peace. The contrary is, unquietness, What peace is. dissension, etc. This Peace is the blessedness felicity & happy estate of Christ's kingdom, which is his Church, both in earth and Heaven: And all the graces we have in jesus Christ tends to this end, that, his subjects may live in peace, quietness, and joy, for ever: and that shall be the end, when we are in Heaven, peace and joy for ever. Ye see, the happy estate of a worldly kingdom, what is it? When men lives in rest, and enjoys peace and quietness, that is the happiness of a worldly knigdom: therefore, in the 1. Timot. 2. 2. he commands prayer to be made for all men, For Kings and superior powers. To what end? Even to this same end, that, we may live a peaceable and quiet life. Even so, the blessed and happy estate of Christ's kingdom, is, an heavenly peace, concord and quietness. And therefore, Rom. 14. 17. he makes this peace to be essential to the kingdom of God, that he defines it, by this peace, saying. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the holy Ghost. This Heavenly peace is only in Christ's kingdom, in his Church, in Heaven and earth. And the subjects of the kingdom of jesus Christ are only they that enjoys this peace here, and after this life for ever: for, without the Church of Christ, there is no true peace: If thou be no subject in his kingdom, thou hast no rest, no true peace: for, there is no true peace for the wicked, says the Prophet Esay 57 21. If thou be of that number that is without the kingdom of Christ, no peace for thee, and the end shall prove, thou hadst never true peace in this world. Now, to go forward. He craves, that, it may be given to them: Then, Peace the gift of god it is a gift. Heavenly peace is the gift of God; thou hast it not by nature: None is borne with peace, but with war and enmity, by nature all are borne with dissension, strife and debate, there is no heavenly peace, by nature. And the whole life natural, what is it, but a continuance in war, debate, and strife: first, against God; next with thyself and thy own conscience? And again, a strife against the Angels in Heaven and men on earth, and all the creatures of God; thou art an enemy to them, and they unto thee, until the time thou attain to that new birth in jesus Christ; and then, by virtue of that birth, thou getst this heavenly and spiritual peace: for, then, thou beginst to live at peace, first, with God himself, and next, with the Angels in Heaven, and men in earth and with all his creatures. So, look how needful it is, for thee, to have regeneration: for, if thou want it, thou shalt be at war for ever, thou shalt have no peace. But how getst thou it? It is a gift. And who should give it? The Lord of peace. The giver of it must be the Lord, with dominion and power, with command. And as under his Lordship other things must be, so peace must be at his command, either to give it, or, hold it. Now, who is this Lord that hes this power of peace and war? Who is he that says, All power is given to me in heaven and earth Matt. 2● 18. This Lord is jesus Christ. And therefore, ere ever he came in this world and took on him our nature. Esay 9 6. he styles him the Prince of peace. And Paul Ephes. 2. 14 styles him peace it ●elfe, he is our peacemaker And in john 14. 27. Christ speaking to his Apostles takes on him to be the giver of peace, and says, My peace I leave to you, and gives you. So this Lord of peace is the Lord jesus Christ, who hes in his hands all grace and glory, in Heaven and in earth. Yet to go forward. The lords style answer able to the grace 〈◊〉 prayer. Why is it that he makes a choice of this style rather than of any other? Certainly this style he receives here agrees with the petition and thing asked at his hands: peace is craved, he is styled the Lord of peace: what ever we ask of Christ it should be in faith that he hes power to give it: ask i● thou peace, ask it not but in an assurance that it is in his hand, and that he is able to give it. Now this assurance that all is in his hand, it cannot be better uttered then by the Name and style we give him: askest thou wisdom? say, Lord of wisdom give wisdom: askest thou peace? say, Lord of peace give me peace: askest thou mercy? say, Lord of mercy give me mercy. So the name and style we give to the Lord when we crave aught at his hands should be answerable to the grace and mercy we ask: for than we utter our faith and assurance that he hes such a grace and power to give us. This hes been the form of Paul's prayer, and of godly men of old, and should be imitate by us. The Lord hes many styles, he is called the Lord of peace, mercy and justice, the Lord of glory. There is not a Monarch that pride's himself in honourable styles and names, that is comparable with the great Creator the Lord of the world, yea set them altogether all are nothing in comparison with him, because all are his, all grace, power and dominion in Heaven and earth is his; and therefore look by how many graces his Majesty hes spread itself through Heaven and earth, look how many graces he hes in his hand to give, so many several and honourable styles may he receive, there is no end of his glory, nor no end of his Names: from his wisdom he is called the Lord of wisdom; from his justice the Lord of justice; from his mercy the Lord of mercy; from his peace the Lord of peace; from his glory the Lord of glory. Now to go forward. Two properties of peace. 1. It is everlasting There are two properties given to this peace. The first, It is for ever, always, it is not for a time only, but for all times: It is not for this life only, but for the life to come. This worldly peace serves but for this life only, but the peace of jesus Christ serves for the life everlasting. The peace of God is not peace in prosperity only, but in adversity also. It is not peace in life only, but in death also. And therefore Symen. in his song when he had seen jesus, he says, Now Lord, 〈…〉 departed in peace. Luke 2. 29. the servant of God as he lived in great peace, so also departed in peace: so this peace lasts for ever. And therefore Esay 9 7. when he hes called him the Prince of peace, he says, the largeness of his dominion and increase of his 〈◊〉 at and peace shall have no end: his kingdom is an endless kingdom, and there is an endless peace in that kingdom. I called this peace our blessedness. Now this is the nature of blessedness, it cannot be bounded within any terms: if it be true felicity bound it not, compass it not within a year, within twenty years, or within a thousand, yea within ten thousand years: for the nature of true blessedness is everlasting. And therefore ye see worldly men that places their happiness in worldly peace will dream an eternity, and perpetuity to that peace of theirs, that neither they nor their peace will have an end. That rich man in the Gospel, Luke 12. 19 said to his soul, Live at ease, eat and drink, and take thy pastime, thou hast store laid up for many years: trow ye not but he thought to live for ever, and thought that that abundance should abide with him for ever? and so fairs it with all worldlings, they dream a rest and peace for ever, but the end will prove that they were dreaming all their days. Therefore Lord set our hearts on that peace of jesus Christ that lasts for ever. This is then the first property of this peace of his; It lasts for ever. The second property of it is It is 〈…〉 of way. It is peace in all respects, not in one respect only nor in some respects only, 2. It is in all respects but in every respect. I shall make this plain. The peace of jesus Christ is peace in respect of God, when our souls stands in friendship with him, when we are reconceiled to him by the blood of jesus, as it is said. Rom 5. 1. Being justified by faith we have peace towards God. Then it is peace in respect of ourselves, an evil conscience is an evil enemy, when thou stryvest not against thy own affections but satisfies them, than thy conscience will let thee get little rest, it will ay be accusing thee: but when once this peace of jesus be given thee, so that thou beginst to be regenerate, and to lead an holy and sanctified life, than thy conscience rests, and thou beginst to enjoy a joyful peace in thy soul. Philipp. 4. 7. The peace of God that passes all understanding preserve your hearts and minds in Christ jesus: and Col. 3. 15. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. And again, it is peace in respect of the creatures of God, with Angels in Heaven, with men on earth (man is enemy to man by nature) then having this peace thou art at peace with Heaven and earth, man and Angel: for all are enemes to thee so long as thou art outwith jesus Christ, we are enemies to them all, and they all to us: but being in Christ all things are reconciled to us, in heaven and earth. Ephes. 1. 10. Col. 1. 20. so in all respects it is peace. Look how many sorts of enmities was, as many sorts of peace must be; we are enemies to God, to our own conscience, to Angels and men, yea, and that that is most conjoined to us by nature, be it blood, asfinitie, or any other bond; if there be no more but nature, there is nothing but enmity; the conjunction of man and woman, if there be no more but their natural bond is enmity; the parents and the children without this spiritual peace of jesus are at enmity. So, look how many sorts of enmity there is, there are as many sorts of peace, and our blessedness stands in this peace. Now look the nature of it. As blessedness must endure for ever, so our blessedness must be perfit. If thou hast that peace of jesus, thou must have it in all respects: if thou hast peace with God, thou hast peace with all men, so far as lies in thee: (Rom 12. 18.) otherwise, thou hast no true peace with God. Men oft-times beguyles themselves. I will have peace with God, will he say, and yet, I shall be this man, or that man's enemy, I shall slay him: folly, folly; if thou glory in debate with man and does not that lies into thy power, to be at peace with all men, thou shalt have no peace with God: that thing which the Lord joins, severe not thou, the Lords peace is with all: if thou severe it and pride thee in enmity with any, thou shalt not have peace with God, nor with thyself. What peace hes a murderer with God, or with his own conscience? Ask at him, I demand thee, o murderer, knew thou what that peace of God means, when that bloody affection raged and carried thee to blood? Thou lookest for friendship with God, folly, thou art neither at friendship with God, nor his Angels, nor none of his creatures. It is a wonder, that the Heavens falls not on thee. The earth is thy enemy, and it is a wonder that it swallows thee not up for all that blood that thou hast shed on it, but once it shall present it to thy damnation, if thou repent not. This far concerning prayer for peace. I go to the next words. The Lord be with you all. He goes to a deeper ground. Before he wished the grace of the Lord jesus to them. Now he wishes the Lord himself to them, the presence of jesus Christ in his own person, not only that he shall be with them in his grace and vertew, but also that he may be with them in his own presence and person, which is more than the first. Then thou must not be content to pray for the benefits of Christ, but the chief ihing we ought to pray for to Christ is, Lord give me thyself, give me thy presence in thy own person: for if we get any good of him it must be by himself, he must give himself to us. In one word, the first conjunction we must have with him must be with his own person, he must be our head, and we the members of his body: My hand will not be the better of any power or virtue in my head, if my hand be not joined with my head; the first thing than my hand must have, must be a conjunction with the head, and so of the rest of the members of the body, and then the conjunction being made with the head, the virtue goes down from the head and is scattered through all the members of the body. It is even so with Christ jesus before we get grace or life out of him, motion spiritual out of high, peace out of him (he is full of grace) first that sweet conjunction must be made between him and us, he must be conjoined with us in a more strate conjunction then the members with the head. And therefore he goes to the ground of all peace the Lord jesus, that he may stand with them, and they may be conjoined with him their head. Now he prays for this presence to them all: not to one member, to two or three, but to all and every one of them. Then mark. The Lord jesus is a sufficient head and Saviour for all the world, none being excepted, all sufficiency is in him, he may serve to be the head to all the world, yea to a thousand worlds, his presence is so ample that he may suffice to be a Saviour to a thousand worlds; yea, to an infinite number of worlds. Paul knew this that he is not like an earthly king, whose presence serves but for so many, and is contained within narrow bounds, and therefore he prays for peace to all. Now if thy head and Saviour be so ample, thy heart should not be narrow, nor thy mouth narrow: but as jesus is a sufficient head for all, so let thy heart desire his presence to all the world, if so it should be possible. And as for myself, I wish there were none but that they were partakers of this presence of jesus Christ: For, why should we seek the wreak of any creature? yet the Lord hes his own, and none will get his presence but they that are his. O, well is that body who is predestinate to life, for that body must have his presence, he will be an head and Saviour to him! But that body that is predestinate to destruction cannot have his presence; yet we are bound to wish his presence to every one. Now he comes to the salutation, and says, The salutation of me Paul with my own hand. Then he subjoines the form of it The grace of our Lord jesus Christ, etc. He began with a salutation after his common form, and now he ends with a salutation. His first meeting with them was by a salutation, the end of his conference is by a salutation. Then look what example of his doing should learn us: for as we are bound to obey the doctrine of the Prophets, so we are bound to follow their fashion of doing: Paul saluted, salute thou. The thing than I note here is this, In all the meetings and conferences of the faithful, either by word, presence, or writ, there should be a mutual benevolence, and an inter love and affection; that as ye see the bodies of men meet together, so the hearts may meet together joined in kindness and benevolence: Wilt thou meet in body and hold thy heart aback, that is, wilt thou have the half man meeting, and not the whole man? That is no meeting: for the meeting should be of the whole man, body and heart: and this should be uttered all manner of way, in thy gesture, in thy doing, salutations of christians would be testimonies of their love. in thy speaking, and all the words of thy conference should smell of love: Among all other things that testifies of love, this salutation is one, when thou bidst him good morrow, good night, it is a testification of thy well willingness and of thy love towards the man: and this hes been the form of the godly, their meeting hes been with a salutation; and their sending with a salutation, that if they could not have a biding together here, by their mutual salvation they might abide together: for all the members that are true members in jesus Christ, are joined together in their spirits▪ hearts and affections, this example we should follow. This manner of doing nowadays is counterfeit: Men will seem to salute other gladly, and yet the hearts will be wishing the worst: in hearts they are enemies to other, and so commonly all their doings, becking, and off-cap, and good days; both all their words and deeds are feigned. Look therefore what ever thou do, do it in sincerity: for the Lord hears and sees all, and if thou do feignedly, the Lord shall judge thee for it in that day. He says, he wrote this salvation with his own hand. The whole Epistle before Paul hes dyted, and appearantly another hes written it. Now when it comes to the subscription, Paul subscryves it with his own hand. Now wherefore was this? The cause appears to be that before this time there raise up deceivers that stole in writings under the name of Paul, as appears in the 2. chap. 2. verse, be not deceived, says he, etc. And therefore to let them know what was his, and what was not his, he subscryves with his own hand. This hes been an old practic of Satan, ever to corrupt Christ's Church, both by word and counterfeiting of writ, and all manner of way, and this same day we see the experience of it in the Roman Church. Satan by 〈◊〉 instruments counterfeits holy writs. Now to the end that false writs may be trowed the better, look the craft of the devil, he hes in his instruments stolen in books written under the name of Prophets and Apostles, to the intent that the people reading the name of a Prophet or Apostle should give credit to the writ. Papistry is full of deceit, and the chief grounds of their doctrine is Apocryphe-books which hes been stolen in under the names of holy men▪ Now look what hes been the mercy of God, he sees this well enough. Therefore it pleased him to imprint a mark in his holy writ, whereby it should be known to be authentic Scripture, as in this place he subscryves with his own hand, which was not without the providence of God: for there is not a part of Scripture but the Lord hes stamped it with such a sure stamp, that is, with such a Majesty in speaking, with such graciousness and spiritualness, both in words and matter, that they that hes a spiritual eye to discern between light and darkness will take it up to be of God. I pray you tell me, how was the old Scripture ta'en up to be of God? The Papist will say, because the Church said it they were of God. Is that all the warrant? And who told the Church? If the old and new Scripture bore not the marks of the Spirit in themselves the Church had never ta'en them up to be of God? So the mark of the Scripture is that stamp of the Spirit, that Majesty in such a simplicity of words: that graciousness and power which shows both in the words and matter, these things tells us they are not man's writs: for, men's writs hes not the graciousness and power that is in the Scripture. Brethren, this mark of Paul's subscription is away, albeit we have the Epistle, but a better mark bides, the stamp of the Lord bides, and this tells that it is the Scripture of God and Paul's writing. Now follows the salvation. The grace of our Lord jesus Christ be with you all. I see the affection of the man in the end of his writ is powered out on this Church of Thessalonica, and when he takes his leave, he bursts out in frequent prayer, and all his prayer is for heavenly and spiritual things. Then, first, we learn, we must not ever bide all together, and we cannot have ever conference either by word or writ. But, how is our sundering recompensed? To wit, with greatness of affection, let thy love grow. And how shalt thou utter it? In prayer to God, for them, with whom thou may not dwell: affection is nothing worth without prayer. And what should we pray for? Especially for heavenly things: Pray for heavenly peace, for the presence of jesus Christ, and that the grace of Christ may be with him: Pray also for things earthly, but so that they may further him to heavenly things. And I say, the man that cannot pray for heavenly things cannot pray truly for earthly things. Dare thou pray, if thou seek not first the kingdom of Heaven? no, thou cannot pray, if it were for thy dinner, except thou pray first for the kingdom of God. Now the next word is grace, that is free favour of God. I read not of such a commendation of any people as of these Thessalonians. He commended them in both these Epistles, from their faith, hope, love, and all the duties of love. Yet, he says not, The Lord render you a reward for your merit; but▪ he says grace be with you. This is contrary to all merit. Read the 2. Timo. 1▪ 16. there ye will find a very notable example to this purpose. There he says, Onesiphorus was very beneficial to me, he oft refreshed me, he thought no shame of my bonds: he sought 〈◊〉 Rome very diligently. How should he be requited for this? He says, The Lord grant that Onesiphorus may find mercy with the Lord at that day: He is but a miserable man when he hes done all this: And therefore this shall be my prayer for him: for it will not be his merit that will do him good, but it is the free grace and favour of God. O fool, all thy merits shall stink in that great day, and then thou shalt see what free grace shall do: for in that day none shall stand, but such as stands by free grace. Now whose grace is it he prays for? It is jesus Christ's: No, there is no grace but Christ's grace. How is it the Lord jesus Christ's? He hes bought of the hand of the Father all grace, all gifts of the holy Spirit, all glory in Heaven and earth with a price, even the price of his precious blood. And therefore the Father hes given him all. So there is no spark of grace given to any creature, but it must come through Christ his hand, even the hand of the man jesus. All righteousness, sanctification, and glory must come from him, he must be the giver thereof. Therefore it is said, he gave gifts to men. Ephes. 4. 8. The Father gives no graces immediately, but all are given through the hand of jesus Christ. Therefore let us have recourse to this Lord of grace, and seek not to the Father without him, but seek all from the Father in him. Now how far should this grace extend? Even as jesus Christ is an head that extends himself to all, so the grace that comes from him is sufficient for all: it is sufficient if it were for a thousand, yea infinite worlds. Rom. 5. 15. The Heavens are not capable of the greatness of the grace of jesus Christ: Greatness of the grace of Christ. so that if there were a thousand worlds, there is sufficiency of grace in him for them all: There is no inlack in him, but the inlack is in thy narrow heart; it is capable but of a very small portion. Learn here then by the example of Paul that we should not have narrow hearts to wish this grace to a few, but we should wish it to be given to all. Look what he says of himself, 2. Cor. 6. 11. My meuth, says he, hes been wide open unto you, my heart is dilated, ye devil not narrowly in my heart. So all men should have an open and a dilated heart in wishing grace: spare not to be liberal in wishing, fill thy heart and mouth with his grace, and 〈…〉 with liberalnesse to others: seek that grace of jesus to all, that, if it were possible, all the world might be saved: For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who will that all men shall be saved, and come unto the acknowledging of the truth. 1. Tim. 2. chap. 3. 4. verse. Yet the Lord hes his own, and so many as he hes written in his book shall be saved. Therefore thou should seek all the warrants thou can to assure thee that thou art jesus Christ's fore-ordeinde to life everlasting: for if thou be of the number of the elect, the grace of Christ shall extend to thee, and thou shalt have glory with him for ever. To this jesus be all praise, honour and dominion, for ever and ever. AMEN. FINIS.