about matters of this kind among us at this day, and if the coat fit any that are now hearing me, let them put it on. 11thly, See hence the true fpring and foundation of zeal for the public cause and interest of Chrift; why, it is laid in the erection of the kingdom of God within the foul. Whence is it that the zeal of God's house doth eat up fome of the faints? Whence is it that they prefer Jerufalem to their chief joy, and are ready to facrifice their worldly all for the public caufe of Chrift in the land or place where they live? Why, the fpring of their zeal lies here, they have got the kingdom of God within them; and, Sirs, allow me freely to tell you, that it is good to be zealously affected in a good thing; it is good to be on the Lord's fide, in fo far as you know his caufe; but beware of laying ftrefs upon this, that you are upon the right fide of the queftion; for folk may have a zeal of God, and yet that zeal not be according to knowledge, and therefore will but go a short way in the Lord's reckoning. Folk may cry, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are thefe," and make a great ado and noise about the public interefts of the church, and yet want an inward principle and an outward practice correfpondent unto fuch a profeffion, the Lord declares, that fuch are but "a fmoke in his nofe, a fire that burneth all the day." A fecond ufe of this doctrine may be of trial and exami nation * LUKE xvii. 21.-For behold the kingdom of God is within you. THE FIFTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT. I PROCEED now to the third ufe of this doctrine, namely, of Exhortation. ift, To all in general. Is it fo that God has a spiritual and invifible kingdom in the hearts and fouls of his people? Then, Sirs, let me exhort you to For this, fee Sermon on Pfal. lxxxix. 2. "Mercy fhall be built up for ever." to make way for the entry of the "Meffiah, the Prince, the Lord of hofts, the King of glory," that he may rear up the kingdom of God within you. His kingdom (he hath declared) is not of this world, it is feated in the heart and foul; and, Sirs, we that are minifters of the gospel come as the heralds of this great King, fummoning you to furrender, and caft open the everlafting gates of your fouls unto him. Perhaps fame of you may think the minifters words are but wind, it is a vain fummons without authority; but, Sirs, the found of our Master's feet is behind us; and therefore, if you will not hear us, hear himself speaking, and remember that his words are directed to every foul, young and old, within these walls, Pfal. xxiv. 7. "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory fhall come in." The fummons is repeated and doubled again, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlafting doors, and the King of glory fhall come in." And, in case you ask his name, in whofe authority we fummon you, faying, "Who is this King?" fee an answer to that inquiry, ver. 8. 10. "The Lord ftrong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. The Lord of hofts, he is the King of glory. Selah." See if you dare fit his fummons; if you do, remember it will be to your coft, and upon your peril. ver. 9. But now, to illuftrate this exhortation a little, and enforce it, I fhall obviate and anfwer a few queflions, that may be readily moved upon fuch a fummons. Queft. What is it that you call us to, when you require us, in the name of Chrift, to lift up the gates of our fouls and hearts to him? I answer, this lifting up the everlasting gates of the heart to the Lord is one of the expreffions of faith; hence we are told, when Lydia believed, the Lord opened her heart while Paul preached, Acts xvi. 14. Rev. iii. 20. fays the Lord there unto Laodicea, "Behold I ftand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will fup with him, and he with me." So, here, believing in Chrift is called a lifting up of the gates or doors. of the heart to the King of glory. Now, there is a two or threefold door that is opened to Chrift, when a finner believes in him. ift, The door of the mind or understanding must be opened to know him, and apprehend the way of falvation through him. Hence faith is not a blind but a feeing grace. "Look unto me, and be ye faved. Thine eyes fhall fee the King in his beauty." The eye of the mind is fhut and blinded by Satan the god of this world, but, in believing, it is opened to behold "behold the beauty of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." 2. The door of the will is opened, fo as to fall in with him as a Prophet, Prieft, and King, for "wifdom, righteoufnefs, and fanctification." Pfal. cx. 3. "Thy peopl⋅ fhall be willing in the day of thy power." The will, in believing, embraces the revelation made of him, and by him, in the word; as a Prophet, fubmits unto his righteoufnefs, as its only defence against the charge of the holy law, and receives the law. from his mouth, as its only King and Lawgiver. 3. The door of the affections is catt open unto him. The love, the joy, the delight, and defire of the foul must center and terminate upon him as the fupreme good, and upmaking all of the foul, faying, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I defire befides thee" So that, when we call you to lift up the everlasting gates to the King of glory, we call you to furrender your whole fouls unto him, understanding, will, and affections; and, in your doing fo, he comes in, and fets up his kingdom within you. Now, because we deal not with flocks and ftones, but with intelligent and rational beings, therefore we must deal with you by rational arguments, to caft open the doors of your hearts unto the Lord Jefus, for it is in this way that he perfuades and enables the foul to entertain him: And, Sirs, look up to the Lord, that the concurring power of his Spirit may come along with what is faid, 1. Then, Will you confider who he is that calls for entry: It is none other than the "Lord of hofts, the Lord mighty in battle; he who doth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth." But left this awful and terrible name fhould make you afraid, take a view of his name, as it is proclaimed, Exod. xxxiv. 6. "The Lord paffed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-fuffering, and abundant in goodnefs and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and tranfgreffion, and fin." O Sirs, that which for tifies the enmity of the heart against God, is ignorance of that revelation that he has made of himself from a throne of grace, or as he is in Chrift. We conceive of him as an implacable and inexorable Deity, and, by conceiving of him thus, natural enmity against God is fortified, and our minds quite alienated from him, through the ignorance of God; he is "in Chrift, reconciling the world to himself." Sirs, whenever God is feen, and taken up in the gospel glafs, he is feen to be a God of grace, mercy, love, and every way amiable; and it is the VOL. III. 3 U view view of this that makes the heart to open to him: Hence it is that God is at fo great pains, in the word, to take off the prejudices that finners have taken up against him, by wrapping himself up in our nature, in the perfon of the eternal Son, and by declaring, under the folemnity of an oath, that he bears no ill will to us: "As I live, faith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." 2. Confider in what quality or capacity he comes in, when the everlasting doors of the heart are opened to him: He comes in the capacity of a lawful proprietor. Sin, Satan, and the world, are but intruders; the heart is God's property; it was his feat before fin entered, why then should he not have his own? He comes in the quality of a Protector; and, as a King, he is obliged to protect his kingdom in the foul. He protects the foul against all challenges and accufations from the law, faying, there is no condemnation agrinft this man: He protects against the roaring lion that feeks to devour you; "the God of peace fhall tread Satan under your feet." He protects against the malice of the world: In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in me ye shall have peace. Be of good comfort, I have overcome the world." He comes in the quality of a rich Provifor: "All things are yours; my God fhall fupply all your needs, according to his riches in glory, by Chrift Jefus." He comes in the quality of a wife manager, bidding you caft all your cares on him: The King takes the burden of all the affairs of the kingdom upon himself. 3. Confider the advantages that fhall accrue to you by caft ing open the everlasting doors to the King of glory. Why, he will fet up his kingdom within you. I told you, in the doctrinal part, what fort of a kingdom it is that he rears up in the foul: In a word, the King of glory will dwell in you, and walk in you; he will be to you a Father, and all the pri vileges of children fhall be yours: "The Lord God is a fun and fhield: The Lord will give grace and glory: No good thing will he with-hold from them that walk uprightly." 4. Confider the extreme danger of refusing to open unto him, till you get the kingdom of glory within you. (1.) You are under the power of darknefs; there is juft a hell of darknefs in the foul till Christ be admitted. (2.) You are dead in fin, under the abfolute power and reign of it. (3.) You are under the dominion of Satan, the god of this world; he has a law-right to tempt you here, and torment you hereafter. (4.) You are under the curfe of God, and the wrath of God" abides on you; and how will you bear that burden? 5. Con 5. Confider how fond he is to have his kingdom fet up within you, and how loth he is to take a refufal. (1.) He calls for access. "Open unto me. My fon, give me thine heart." (2.) He knocks, and repeats his knocks and calls. See how often they are repeated, If. lv. 1. 13. (3.) He waits for a good answer from the finner, waits that he may be gracious, and waits till his locks are wet. He, as it were, is content to reafon the matter with finners, and to anfwer all their objections. Object. 1. Says the finner, I am fuch a guilty finner, and my fins fo aggravated, that he will never come in, to fet up his kingdom in my heart." Anf. Why, fays the Lord, "Though your fins be as fcarlet, they fhall be as white as fnow; though they be red like crimson, they fhall be as wool. I, even I am he that blotteth out thy tranfgreffions for mine own fake, and will not remember thy fins." Object. 2. Says the finner, I am wretched, miferable, blind, poor, and naked. Anf. Why, fays the Lord, that shall be no impediment, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayft be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayst be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye falve, that thou mayst fee." Object. 3. To what purpofe is all this; I have no power to open my heart unto him? Anf. "It is he that works both to will and to do." If thou wilt, thou shalt not want power. The blame, in fcripture, is laid upon the will: "I would, and ye would not," Matth. xxiii. 37. Object. 4. My will, indeed, is like an iron finew, like a ftone that will not yield. Anf. Well, in this cafe, plead the promife, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. "I will take away the ftony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh;" and that promife, Pfal. cx. 3. "Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power." Object. 5. What if I be not elected? Anf. That is none of your bufinefs; at first instance, yield your hearts unto him, and ye fhall know your election, and that he has indeed "loved you with an everlafting love." I fhall conclude this exhortation with a few, advices. Would you have the kingdom of God within you? Then, 1. Be convinced that the devil has his kingdom within you by nature, and that every thought and imagination of your heart is evil. The flaw lies herc: Folk imagine they have good hearts towards God, till they be convinced that they are defperately wicked, and until. I defpair that ever you will get any good by the gofpel. That vain imagination must be brought |