The Redeemers Dominion Over the Invisible World, Title page – Dedication
A DISCOURSE Concerning the Redeemer's Dominion over the Invisible World, AND THE Entrance thereinto by Death.
Some part whereof was preached on occasion of the Death of JOHN HOGHTON Esq eldest Son of Sir Charles Hoghton of Hoghton-Tower in the County of Lancaster; Baronet.
By JOHN HOWE, Minister of the Gospel.
LONDON, Printed for Tho. Parkhurst, at the Bible and three Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers-Hall, 1699.
TO THE Most deservedly Honoured, AND Truly Honourable,
Sir CHARLES HOGHTON AND THE
Lady MARY HOGHTON
Of Hoghton-Tower.
Grace, Mercy, and Peace, &c.
YOU will, I know, count it no indecency, that, when God hath so nearly, many Years ago, join'd you, in Relation, in Affection, and now, so lately, in the Affliction, equally common to you both, I do also join your Names on the same paper, and make this solemn Address to you together.
It is by the inestimable favour of Heaven, that the mutual Interest God hath given you in each other, as it obliges, doth also (as I have great reason to hope) effectually dispose and enable you; so, not only to partake in the Comforts, but in the Sorrows that are common to you both, as that the former shall be greatly increased, and the latter proportionably allay'd, and mitigated, thereby. Thus is the Advantage of your Conjugal State, both represented in God's Designation, and apprehended, in your own Experience.
And you are to consider the Blessing of God herein, as having a peculiarity in it, not being extended to all so related, neither to all that were great in this World, nor to all that were Pious, and Good. Great worldly Felicity, hath been rendered insipid and spiritless. Great Calamities, much the more bitter, by the want of a meet mutual helpfulness, between such Relations.
A Great, Job 1.1.and a Good Man in his time. A Prince (as he is thought to have been) in his Country, a Man that was perfect, and upright, one that feared God, and eschewed Evil, when he lost not one, not the eldest, only, of his numerous Offspring, (as you have) but all at once, seven Sons, and three Daughters, with such concomitant Circumstances of accumulated Afflictions, as blessed be God, are not in your Case; and might now expect some relief, from his other self, the nearest and most inward Companion of his Life, and partaker of his Joys and Sorrows; All the Succour he hath from her, was …n impious endeavour to provoke and irritate his Spirit, that taunting Scoff, Dost thou still retain thy Integrity? and that horrid Advice, Curse God and Die. Whereas that rational, religious, Soul-composing Thought, shall we receive good things at the hand of God, and not also evil things? was deeply fixed in the mind of the one; how much more effectually relieving had it been, if it had circulated between both the Relatives; and they had, alternately, propounded, and enlarged upon it, to one another!
With you, I cannot doubt, it hath been so; and that you have made it your Business to improve your mutual Interest, not to aggravate, but to alleviate, your Affliction each to other.
You have, both of you, great occasion, and obligation, to revolve and recount to each other, the many good things you have received at the hand of God, to mitigate what there is of Evil, in this dispensation.
Both of you have sprung of Religious, and Honourable Families, favoured of God, valued, and beloved in the Countries where he had planted them. They have been both, seats of Religion, and of the Worship of God. The Resorts of his Servants. Houses of Mercy, to the Indigent. Of Justice, to the vitious. Of Patronage, to the sober, and vertuous. Of good Example, to all about them.
You were, both, dedicated to God, early, and he gave early Testimony of his accepting the Dedication. He began with you both betimes, blessing your Education, and owning you for his, by disposing and forming your Spirits to own, betimes, the God of your Fathers. He hath blessed you indeed, adding the spiritual Blessings in heavenly things, to your many earthly Comforts. Which Jabez migh… mean, not content, with a common Blessing; and the more probably, from the acceptance he found, 1 Chron. 4.9, 10. God granted his Request, as Solomon's, 1 Kings 2.10. When his Request was as little vulga….
You both concurred, in the Dedication of this your Son, as in the rest of yours; and I doubt not with great seriousness; you Covenanted with God in Christ, to be his God. And if he enabled you to be in good earnest herein, even that was of special Grace and Favour; and ought to come into the account of the many good things you …ave received of God's hand, as offering to God willingly, did, in the estimate of David: when the Oblation was of a meaner kind, 1 Chron. 29.14.
But then you ought to consider, what the import, and meaning was of that your Covenant, wherein you accepted God in Christ to be the God of your Son; and dedicated him to God through Christ to be his. Was it not absolute, and without limitation? that God should be a God to him entirely, and without reserve? and that he should be his, absolutely, and be dispos'd of by him, at his Pleasure? Otherwise, there was a repugnancy, and contradiction, in the very terms of your Covenant. To be a God to him! Is not, God, the name of a Being incapable of limitation? Doth it not signify infinite unlimited Power, and Goodness? To be a God to any one, therefore, under restriction, is to be a God to him, and no God. And so to Covenant with God, can neither have sincerity in it, nor good sense. He can be under no restraint, in the exercises of his Power, and Goodness towards any, to whom he vouchsafes to be their God in Covenant; but what he is pleased to lay upon himself; which must be from his own Wisdom and good Pleasure, to which in covenanting we refer our selves; with particular Faith, in reference to what he hath expresly promis'd; and with general, that all shall be well, where his Promise is not express. But from our selves, nothing can be prescribed to him. He must be our all, or nothing; in point of Enjoyment as our Sovereign, all-comprehending Good; in point of Government, as our Sovereign all-disposing Lord. So we take him, in Covenanting with him, for our selves, and ours. For he so propounds, and offers himself, to us; If we accept, and take him accordingly, there is a Covenant between him and us, otherwise we refuse him; and there is no Covenant. When he promises, as to his part, he promises his all; to be God all-sufficient to us; to be ours in all his Fulness, according to our measure, and capacity: we are not straitned in him, but in our selves. He undertakes to be to us, and do for us, all that it belongs to him, as a God to be, and do.Psal. 84.11. To give us Grace and Glory, about which, there can be no dispute, or doubt, they are always, and immutably good. And to withhold from us no good thing, Here, are comprehended, with the former, inferiour good things, about which, because they are but mutably, and not always good, there may be a doubt, whether, now and in present Circumstances, they will be good for us, or no. And now, it belongs to him, as he is to do the part of a God to us, to judg and determine for us: for which he alon… is competent, as being God only wise, and otherwise he were not God allsufficient; And not to leave that to us, who are so apt to be partial, and mistaken, in our judgment.
But when he makes his Demand from us, of what we on our part are to be, and do; he demands our all, absolutely; that we surrender our selves and ours, whatsoever we are, and have, to his pleasure and dispose, without other exception, or restriction, than by his Promise, he hath laid upon himself.
Nor are we to think it strange there should be this difference, in the tenour of his Covenant, between his part and ours. For we are to remember, The Covenant between him, and us, is not, as of Equals; He Covenants as God; we, as Creatures; He, according to the universal, infinite perfection and all sufficiency of a God, we, according to the insufficiency, imperfection and indigency of Creatures.
These things were (I doubt not) all foreknown, and, I hope, considered by you, when you so sol…mnly transacted with God, concerning this your Son; wherein you could not but then take him for your God, as well as his God. It needs now only to be apply'd to the present Case; and it manifestly admits this Application, viz.
That this his disposal of him, in taking him, now, up to himself, to be glorify'd by him, and to glorify him, in the Heavenly state, was a thing then agreed upon, by solemn Covenant, between God and you. It was done by your own vertual, and unretracted consent. The substance of the thing was agreed to expresly; that God should be his God, and finally, make him happy, and blessed in himself. But if you say, you would only have had his compleat Blessedness, yet a while defer'd; I will only say, could you agree with that God, whose he was, and whose you are, about the substance of so great a Transaction, and now differ with him about a Circumstance? And besides, all Circumstances must be comprehended in your Agreement. For taking him to be your God, you take him to be Supream Disposer in all things: and his Will to be in every thing the Rule, and measure of yours. Which you have expresly consented to as often as you have pray'd, either in the words, or after the tenour, of that Prayer, wherein our Lord hath taught us to sum up our Desires, and represent the sense of our Hearts.
But besides the Duty, that is both by his Law, and by Covenant-agreement, owing to God, it is also to be considered, as an high Dignity, put upon you, to be the Covenanted-Parents of a glorified Son; a matter of greater boast, than if you could say our Son (to repeat what I formerly ly wrote) is one of the greatest Princes on Earth!
How far should Paganism be outdone, by Christianity! which exhibits to our view Death abolish'd! Life, and Immortality brought to light, by Jesus Christ, in the Gospel! 2 Tim. 1.10. Which sets before us all the Glories of the other World in a bright representation! Which, if we believe, That Faith will be to us, the substance of what we hope for, and the evidence of what we see not. Thus, tho you saw not the kind reception, and abundant entrance of this Son of your Delights, into the everlasting Kingdom, it will yet be a thing evident to you; and your Faith will render it a great, and a most substantial Reality. Pagans had but obscure glimmerings of such things; and in such afflicting Cases, when they have occurr'd, comparatively lank, and slender Supports; yet such as were not to be despis'd.
Should I transcribe what I find written in way of Consolation by Plutarch to Apollonius, upon the loss of a Son, you would see what would give both Instruction and Admiration. I shall mention some Passages. He praises the young Person, deceased, for his Comliness, Sobriety, Piety, dutifulness towards Parents, obligingness towards Friends, acknowledges that Sorrow in the case of losing such a Son, hath (foreign) a principle in Nature, and is of the things that are (foreign) not in our Power, or which we cannot help; That to be destitute of it is neither possible, nor fit. That an Apathy, or insensibleness in such a Case is no more desireable, than that we should endure to have a Limb, a part of our selves, cut, or torn off from us without feeling it. But yet affirms that immoderate Sorrow upon such an occasion is (foreign) preternatural, and hath a pravity in it, and proceeds from a misinform'd mind. That we ought in any such Case to be neither (foreign, nor foreign) unaffected, nor ill affected. He tells his Friend a Story (The meaning whereof, is more considerable to us, than the Credit of it, as perhaps it was to him) concerning two Graecian Youths, Cleobis and Biton, whose Mother having a Duty to perform in the Temple of Juno, and the Mules, not being at hand, in the instant, when she expected them, to draw …er Chariot thither, they most officiously drew it themselves; with which act of Piety their Mother was so transported, that she made her Request to Juno, on their behalf, that if there were any thing more desirable unto Mortals, than other, she would therewith reward her Sons; who thereupon threw them into a Sleep, out of which they awak'd no more. Thereby signifying, that Death was the best gif… that could be bestow'd upon Pe…sons of such supposed Piety, as they!
To which purpose, is what he relates concerning the Death of Euthynous an Italian, referr'd to, towards the close of the following Discourse. Son, and Heir to the ample Estate, of Elysius, a Person of principal Dignity among the Terinaeans. To whom anxiously enquiring of Diviners, concerning the cause of this Calamity, the Spectre of his Son, introduced by the Father of the latter, appear'd in his Sleep, shewing him certain Greek Verses, the sum whereof was, Thy Enquiry was Foolish.
The Minds of Men are vain, Euthynous rests by a kindly decreed Death,
Because his living longer, had neither been-good for him, nor his Parents.
He afterwards adds, A good Man, when he dies, is worthy not so much of Lamentations, as of Hymns, and Praises.
He animadverts upon the aptnes… of Parents to quarrel with any circumstanc…s of a Son's death; be th…y what they will, If he die abroad, then the aggravation is, that neither the Father nor the Mother, had Opportunity to close his Eyes; If at home, then, how is he pluck'd away, even out of our Hands!
He gives divers memorable instances, of sundry great Persons, bearing with strange composure of Mind, the same kind of Affliction. I omit what he wrote to his Wife on their loss of a Child. As also to recite many, very instructive Passages, out of Seneca writing to Marcia, on the same account, viz. by way of Consolation, for her loss of a Son, and to Helvia, for her loss in the same kind. To Polybius, having lost a near Relation, &c.
But we have the Oracles of God, and do, too commonly, less need to receive Instruction from Heathens, than deserve to be reproached by them. That there is so frequent Cause for the Complaint of that an…ient Worthy in the Christian Church. Hierom.Non praestat Fides quod praestitit Infidelitas. The Infidelity of Pagans, performs greater things than the Faith of Christians. Their sedate Temper, their Mastery over turbulent Passions, may, in many instances, shame our impotency, and want of self-government, in like Cases.
For who of them have ever had, o… could have so great a thing to say, as is said to us by the Word of the Lord, 1 Thess. 4.13. For this very purpose, that we may not sorrow concerning them that are asleep, even, as others, who have no hope, i. e. ver. 14. If we believe that Jesus died, and rose again; even so, them also, which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. For ver. 15. this we say to you (and 'tis said by the foremention'd Aut…ority, the Lord himself having revealed it to this great Apostle, and directed him to say it) that we who are alive, and remain unto the Coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. Ver. 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven wi…h a Shout, with the Voice of the Arch-Angel, and with the T…ump of God; and the Dead in Christ shall rise first. Ver. 17. Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up, together with them, in the Clouds, to meet the Lord in the Air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Ver. 18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I have transcribed these few Verses, that they might readily appear to present view. And because all their Efficacy, and all our Advantage by them, depends upon our believing them; let us closely put the question to our selves, Do we believe them? or do we not? The Apostle seems …o design the putting us upon this Self reflection. Ver. …4. by inserting the supposi…ion, If we believe, — q d. This will effectually do the business, of allaying all our hopeless Sorrow. For, if we believe that one Fundamental Truth (and therefore let us see whether we do or no) of Christ's dying and rising again, it will draw such a train of Consequences, all tending to fill our Souls with a vital Joy, as will leave no place for undue Sorrow any longer. That Faith, will be still urging and carrying us forward, will make us wholly intent upon Prospect and Expectation. What are we now to look for upon such a Foundation, so firmly laid, and fully believed? If we believe that Jesus died! He did not submit to die, without a design; and his rising again, speaks him Master of his Design: and that he hath it now entirely in his Power. He died not for himself, but for them he was to redeem! And being now risen again, what must become of them! All that follows is now matter of glorious Triumph!
If Plato, Plutarch or Seneca, had but once had such a Revelation from Heaven as this, and had that ground to believe it, that we have; how full would their Writings have been of it! How had they abounded, in lofty Paraphrases, upon every Period, and word of it!
The Faith of such things, would surely make a truly Ch…istian Heart, so earn…stly press forward, in the expectation of the Great things, still to ensue, as to leave it little leisure for retrospection. And this is the source of all our intemperate Sorrow, in such a Case as this, our framing to our selves pleasing suppositions, of being as we were, with such, and such Friends and Relatives about us, as we heretofore enjoy'd. As hope of what is future, and desireable, feeds our Joy; so, Memory of good things past, doth our Sorrow. In such a Case as this, which the Apostle here speaks to, the decease of our dear Friends, and Relatives, fall'n asleep; we are apt to look back, with a lingering Eye, upon that former state of things: and to say, as he, O mihi preteritos—O that God would recall for me the Years that are gone over—! Or, as in sacred Language, O that I were as in Months past—When the secret of God was Job 29.1, 2, 3, 4, 5.upon my Tabernacle. When the Almighty was yet with me; when my Children were about me!
What pleasant Scenes do we form to our selves, afresh, of past things, on purpose to foment present Sorrow! And whether we have that design or no, we are more prone to look back to former things we have known, than forward to future, we know not; especially, if the further we look back, the less we find of Trouble intermingl'd in our former Course. A smooth and pleasant Path we would go over again, if Reason, and the necessity of Affairs do not recall us, and urge us forward.
And so, Sir, might you find matter for a very copious, and not ungrateful recollection, to call over again, and revolve in your Thoughts, the pleasures of your Youth, (more innocent than of many others,) when you were incumbered with no Cares, entertain'd with various Delights, of one sort and another, in this or that pleasant Seat of your Parents. But how remote is it from you, upon Consideration, to wish your self back, into your juvenile State, and Circumstances? How much a more generous, and God like pleasure is it, to be doing good in the World, and still to abound therein, to go forward, and do still more and more!
And, Madam, who could have a more pleasant Retrospect, upon former days, than y…u? recounting your Antrim Delights! the delight you took in your excellent Rela…ions, your Garden Delights, your Closet-delights, your Lords-days delights! But how much a greater thing is it to serve God in your present Station! as the Mother of a numerous and hopeful Offspring? as the Mistress of a large Family; where you bear your part, with your like-minded Consort, in supporting the Interest of God and Religion! and have opportunity of scattering Blessings round about you!
But our Business is not recurring, or looking back. God is continually calling us forward. Time is a stream, running on, towards the vast Ocean. Tending backward, is vain striving against the Stream. And as it is the Course, and Method, of Nature, of Providence, and Grace, to tend forward, and carry us from less to greater things, in this World. So do all these conspire, to carry us on, because our foreign, our highest pitch, cannot be here; to yet far greater things in the greater World. Of which vast World, it is the Design of the following Discourse to give you some account; tho, God knows, it is but a very imperfect one. Such as it is, if God only make it an occasion to you, of fixing your Minds and Hearts upon that mighty Theme, you will find it easy and pleasant to you to amplify upon it, and enlarge it to your selves. And thereby, through God's Blessing, I doubt not, arrive to a fulness of Satisfaction, concerning this late Dispensation, which hath a gloominess upon it; but is in very deed only gloomy, on one side, viz. downwards, and towards this wretched World, this Region of Sorrow and Darkness: but on the side, upwards, and towards that other World, which casts its lustre upon it, its Phasis, and appearance, will be altogether bright and glorious. And the more you look by a believing intuition into that other World, where our Blessed Redeemer, and Lord, bears rule, in so Transcendent Glory; the more will you be above all the cloudy Darkness, of this event of Providence, towards your selves, and your Family. Herein, your perusal of this very defective Essay, may be of some use to you. And I reckon'd it might be of more lasting and pe…manent use to you, and yours after you, and to as many others, into whose hands it might fall, as a little Book, than as one single Sermon.
You will, however, I doubt not, apprehend in it, the sincere desire to assist you in this your present, difficult …rial; followed by the faithful Endeavour, of
Most Honoured in the Lord, Your very respectful and obliged Servant, in him, and for his sake, JOHN HOWE. May 17. 1699.