Page images
PDF
EPUB

afraid, is a great deal too common in this place? Instead of considering one another to provoke unto love, and to good works, many consider one another to provoke to vanity and to superfluity. Instead of taking notice of the virtue of believers, it may be people take notice of their way of living, of their garb; it is well if a great many be not hardened thereby: If one wear such a garb, why may not I? The righteous judgment of God will ever follow, where one Christian makes not conscience to observe and imitate the virtues of another, they shall be left of God, to observe and imitate the corruptions of one another. Let me therefore press it with these few, that you would mind well the plain words of the text, to consider one another, &c. all the Christians ye know, consider in such a manner, as that you may stir them up to love and holiness.

1st, Is not this commanded by God? There is none that can read the New Testament, and not find this commanded frequently, as Col. iii. 16, 17. 1 Cor. i. 5, 6, 7. and a great many other places.

2dly, Hath not this been practised by the saints of God in all ages? There was never a generation of believers that lived in any time of the world, but if they could converse together, they would. There were a company of them long since in the Old Testament, that feared the Lord, and thought on his name, that talked often one to another. There were a company when Christ was born, and yet it was as dark a day as ever came upon the church, there was a company for all that, Luke ii. 30. that were waiting for the consolation of Israel; and Anna, the old prophetess, knew them, and went to speak to all of them like enough, she knew where to find them that waited for redemption in Jerusalem. This is a duty now to be practised, and there was never more need of it. What our Lord said as a prophecy, hath been plentifully fulfilled in our day: Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold, Matth. xxiv. 12, 13. It is a duty the Lord hath always put a special remark upon, and hath taken great notice of, and for which a book of remembrance was written, Malachi iii. 16. For those that had sighed and cried, because of all the abominations done in Jerusalem, these are men marked, set

:

apart for special mercy. I shall leave this matter with three

or four notes.

(1.) Never did the grace of God reach a poor creature's heart, but with it there came an instinct after converse with them of its own nature. Whenever one is made a new creature, they begin to look upon them that are new creatures in another manner, and a warmer way, than they did before.

(2.) Where-ever the power of godliness is spreading, Christian communion always is. Never did the power of godliness flourish, where this was neglected. Therefore I look upon it as one of the sad signs that the power of Christianity and the efficacy of the gospel is greatly withdrawn from us, because Christian fellowship is so greatly neglected. I shall not tell you whence it comes particularly, and how it may be mended; much may be done to the mending of it. The Lord incline their hearts in whose hand it lies.

ous snare.

(3.) Where love and holiness is not, the single end of Christian fellowship, the fellowship of Christians, is a most dangerThe communion of Christians one with another is the most dangerous company one can be in, if so be that this be not the grand design, to promote love and holiness. There have been such meetings amongst us, among them that are called Christians, and it may be are truly so; many people of different persuasions have met together for disputation; a most vain sinful practice, that always flows from corruption, and always issues in destruction; so far from good works, that it was never found to fail to provoke to hatred and ill works. It were far better that Christians should soberly retain their particular sentiments.

Lastly, Where Christians are a plague to one another, it is a sad sign that God hath a mind to plague them all together. Where people neglect to do good to one another, where Christians are hindrances one to another in the righteous ways of God, it portends that God will plague them all together. That is a sad threatening, Ezek. xxii. 18. Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross; what shall I do to them? says the Lord, as they gather silver, and brass, and lead, and tin inte the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so quill I gather you in mine anger, and in my fury, and I will leave

you there, and melt you, good and bad in the same furnace, the silver and brass, and tin and iron. It is a fatal signification, when the institutions of Christ's appointment are not only forgot, but when they are perverted to contrary ends, than he hath appointed them for; it is a sad signification what the issue may be.

SERMON XIV.

HEBREWS X. 20.

By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh.

THE sum of Christianity is to know Christ, and to use

him; to know him for use, is to use him as 'known; his name sounds daily in the ears of multitudes, whose hearts never did once make use of him in the thing, if I may so speak, that our Lord only is useful for them in, and that is, his great calling to salvation. The apostle in the context is upon both these; he is both upon the doctrine of Christ, and the improvement of it; in the doctrine of Christ, he does discover and reveal this great usefulness for us in the matters of salvation, that the entry to the holiest of all is through his blood, that the way to the holiest of all is through his flesh, that he himself is the great High Priest set over the house of God; these are in the 19th, 20th, and 21st verses. From this 20th verse, I take notice of three things to be spoken to.

First, Where lies the way to heaven? How may a man find it? When is it one may be sure he is in it? Says the apostle, it is through the vail of the flesh of Christ. They that know not Christ, whatever they may pretend to, as to the knowledge of God or heaven, know nothing of either; and this I was speaking to last day, That the way to heaven lies through the vail of the flesh of Christ. Our Lord, in his helpfulness to us in our getting to heaven, is many ways spoken of in the word. Sometimes this great usefulness is expressed

of his person, he is the peace; sometimes it is expressed concerning his office, he is the Saviour; sometimes it is spoken of his life, and sometimes of his death; sometimes of his flesh, and sometimes of his blood. But whatever the words be that are used in the scripture, concerning our Lord in his calling as a Saviour, we are to take none of them apart, but to take all together; for Christ is not divided. His flesh that is here spoken of, is his human nature offered in sacrifice unto God, for the sins and souls of his elect; and through this we must pass, if we have a mind to heaven. It was an old custom, it is likely its original was from an institution, but it is very visible that it was several times practised of old before the Levitical law, and that it was a ceremony in making of covenants, that some living creature should be divided into two, and that the covenanting persons passed through the parts thereof; which had a great secret imprecation in the oath, that so God might do to them as was done to the beast, if they did falsify their engagements; and this the Lord by the prophet charges. severely upon the people of Israel, for breaking his covenant: Jer. xxxiv. 18. When they divided the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof. Our divided and our slain Lord Jesus is the great covenant-mean betwixt the Lord and us; and all that seek their peace with God and entrance to the heavenly kingdom, must pass, if I may so speak, through the parts of this divided and slain Son of God. Christ's flesh is called the vail, because it hides his glory; it is a vail, because the passage to heaven lies through it; though the vail of the temple covered the holiest of all from the eyes of all the people, yet through it a passage was for the High Priest at the appointed time. There are three things simply needful, not only needful to our salvation, but grand pieces of salvation. The saving knowledge of God; acceptable worshipping of God; and all enjoyment of him. In the saving knowledge of God, all graces are exercised, in acceptable worship all duties are performed, in the enjoyment of God all blessings and mercies are received. These three have all a mutual influence one upon another; the more there is of saving knowledge, the more there is of acceptable worship; and the more there is of both these, the more of communion with God. VOL. III.

M

And thus it is both on earth and in heaven; only there is a wonderful difference in degree, for all these are low here, but are perfect above; our knowledge is dark, our worship is faulty, our enjoyment scanty, small, and quickly passes away; our vessel is narrow, and cannot receive much; and leaking, and cannot hold much; what it is they know above, and what worship they perform, and what enjoyment of good they receive; is above our knowledge. Of their knowledge too the apostle speaks singularly, For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known, 1 Cor. xii. 12. The words that the apostle hath there, are very hard to be understood; but we might know something of them by the former part of them; we know what it is to know in part, we know a little what it is to see through a glass darkly; but what face to face knowledge of God is, and what to know even as also we are known, we do not know. What is more common in the sense and thoughts of believers than this, even in their nearest approaches to God, even in their clearest views of him. It is but a little that I know of him, but he knows me perfectly? Will ever that day be, that Paul shall know Christ as well as Christ knew Paul? I shall know even as also I am known, as clearly, as satisfyingly, as far beyond what our present knowledge is, as any thing can be. We shall be like him, says the apostle John; for we shall see him as he is, 1 John iii. 2. Beloved, says he, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. Ay, but it will ever appear? Yes, says he, it will appear; when he shall appear, then we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. The knowledge we have of God and of Christ Jesus now, is through the glass of the gospel, 2 Cor. iii. 18. And the more that God shines upon that glass, and the more that he enlightens the eyes our minds in beholding it, the more we perceive it; but now what a wonderful knowledge of Christ must that be, that is gathered and learned out of his blessed face, when we shall see him as he is! Christ is a great deal better than the Bible; the Bible is a creature, the Bible is a created manifestation of the will of God; all our knowledge now of God and Christ must be bounded with that, must be determined by that, must be ought from it; but the apostle tells us, there is another sort

of

« PreviousContinue »