Exposition of John 17, Exposition · Part 17
JOHN 17.4.
I have finiſhed the work which thou gaveſt me to do.
AND thus far of the firſt thing which our Saviour Chriſt had done, of which he minds his Father, as an inducement to him to glorifie him with himſelf. I have glorified thee on earth.
The ſecond follows now in order to be handled, which he propoſes alſo for the very ſame end, I have finiſhed the work which thou gaveſt me to do.
And here I ſhall take notice only of theſe two things: Firſt, what it was that Chriſt did, and then the manner how he did it. Firſt, what it was that Chriſt did, the work which God the Father had committed to him, which he had put into his hands, which he had given him to do. And then the manner how he did it, he did it abſolutely and compleatly. He did not enter on it and deſiſt again, he did not give it over when he had begun; no, he followed and purſued it, till he had brought it to perfection. I have finiſhed the work which thou gaveſt me to do.
At this time I ſhall faſten on the firſt of theſe, what it was that Chriſt did, the work which God the Father put into his hands, which he had given him to do.
To give, is ſometimes nothing elſe but to ordain, or to appoint, or to impoſe a thing upon another. And therefore they that have the legiſlative power, are ſaid with us to give Law. That is, by their authority to enact it and impoſe it on thoſe that are ſubjected to their power. And to the ſame effect our Saviour Chriſt himſelf uſes the very ſame expreſſion, John 13.34. A new Commandment give I unto you: becauſe he laid it on them now by his authority, as he was Mediator of the Church, and ſo accordingly the King and Ruler of his people. So in my Text, you ſee, he makes mention of the works which God had given him to do. That is, which he had laid upon him, and appointed him to do. The buſineſs which he had deſigned him, ordained him, and enjoyned him to diſpatch in this world. This was the work he was employed about, that which his Father ordered him to do, he did. I have finiſhed the work, ſaith he, which thou gaveſt me to do. So that the point ſuggeſted here is this.
DOCTRINE. That Jeſus Chriſt was ordered by his Father, in the work he did in this world.
The task which his Father ſet him, the work which his Father gave him, that he did. As he was Man and Mediator, he did not do things of his own head (if I may reverently expreſs it ſo) no his eye was on his Father for direction. He looked to have his Warrant and Authority for what he did. His Father gave him works before he did them. And this is that which he profeſſes very often, that he came down from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of him that ſent him, John 6.38. not to do his own works, but the works of him that ſent him. Yea, more then ſo, he tells us plainly, that a neceſſity in this reſpect is laid upon him. I muſt work the works of him that ſent me, Iohn 9.4. And hence he calls the works he did, and which he was employed about, his Fathers works, Iohn 10.37. And is content that all the credit which he had or looked to have among the people, ſhould be put to this iſſue, If I do not my Fathers works, ſaith he, believe me not. So that the works he did, you ſee, were his Fathers, not his own. No doubt they were in this reſpect his own, that he was the immediate agent of them. But in another way they were his Fathers, in that he was the orderer and diſpoſer of them. His they were, as being done by his direction, and by his command. That Text is full and home to this purpoſe, and parallel to this which I am handling, Iohn 5.36. The works which the Father gave me, the ſame works I do. Theſe very works and no other.
So that you ſee, my Brethren, Jeſus Chriſt was ordered, &c.
To open this a little further, the works of Jeſus Chriſt, as he was Man and Mediator, were principally and eſpecially of two ſorts. Either of ſatisfaction, or of application. His works of ſatisfaction, by which he fully and compleatly anſwered the Juſtice of his Father for the ſins of all the world, if you reſpect the Merit and the Value of theſe works of his. His works of application, by which this ſatisfaction came to be applyed, and ſo accordingly to be effectuall to ſuch particular and individuall men. Now in both theſe works of his, he was ordered by his Father, as I ſhall ſhew you briefly and in order.
Firſt he was ordered by his Father in his works of ſatisfaction; Thoſe which he did to ſatisfie his Juſtice, and to pacifie his anger, and ſo accordingly to reconcile him to his people. Now theſe works of ſatisfaction may be reduced eſpecially to two heads: For they were either works of active, or elſe they were works of paſſive obedience. And I will ſhew you that his Father ordered him in both theſe.
1. Jeſus Chriſt was ordered by his Father in his works of active obedience. He did them by his Fathers rule, and in ſubjection to his Fathers Law. For though, if you look downwards, he gave Law to others, and therefore he is called the Law-giver; yet on the other ſide, if you look upwards, he received Law from God the Father. And therefore the Apoſtle ſaith that he was foreign, under the Law, Gal. 4.4. That is, as ſome tranſlations read it, ſubject to the Law. Subject to the Ceremoniall Law, and therefore circumciſed. Subject to the Morall Law, and therefore converſant in all the works and duties of holineſs to God, and of righteouſneſs to man. And this not only as a Man, but as a Mediator and a Surety in our ſtead. He ſanctified himſelf, and lived holily, and conſequently in obedience to the Law and will of God for our ſakes. What the Law could not do in us, it did in Chriſt, as the Apoſtle Paul intimates, Rom. 8.3. It could not make us perfectly obedient, but it made Chriſt ſo. It could not be fulfilled in us, but it was fulfilled in Chriſt, and by Chriſt, in our ſtead, and for our ſakes.
He lived exactly by his Fathers Rule and Law in every thing; his works were always regulated by his Fathers will, and therefore he is ſaid to do them in his Fathers name, John 10.25. that is, by his authority, and according to his pleaſure and command. It is my meat and drink, ſaith he, when he was ſo intent upon the buſineſs of ſaving the poor woman of Samaria, to do the will of him that ſent me, and to finiſh his work; John 4.34.
2. Jeſus Chriſt was ordered by his Father, as in his works of active, ſo in his works of paſſive obedience: He did what he would have him do in both theſe. And therefore when he was about to ſuffer, and when the nature which he had aſſumed was averſe, he came at length to this Concluſion, not my will, but thine be done: Mat. 26.39. Father, if it be poſsible, ſaith he, let this cup paſs from me; nevertheleſs not as I will, but as thou wilt. Here it is evident, he did his Fathers will, and not his own. And therefore it is ſaid, He became obedient to the death, even the death of the Croſs, Phil. 2.8. To ſhew that he ſubmitted to it, in obedience to the Father; And therefore when the Article of death was come, which was the complement of his paſſive obedience, he cried out, It is finiſhed— The work which I have undertaken, and which the Father impoſed upon me, is accompliſhed and diſpatched. Juſt as he tels the Father in my Text, when he was about to ſuffer; I have finiſhed the work which thou gaveſt me to do. In this reſpect is that expreſſion of our Saviour, John 16.10. The Spirit (ſaith he) will convince the world of righteouſneſs, that is, full and perfect righteouſneſs wrought out by me for all my people. And why ſo? becauſe, ſaith he, I go to my Father, and ye ſee me no more. If I had not performed the work of my obedience abſolutely and compleatly; if I had not done enough to ſatisfie the juſtice of my Father for the ſins of all my Members, and ſo to juſtifie them, and to make them fully righteous, you ſhould be ſure to ſee me again. If I had not done, and ſuffered all that I was appointed and deſigned to do before my going up to God the Father, he would be ſure to ſend me down again among you; But now, becauſe I go and ſtay with him; becauſe I go to my Father, and you ſee me no more; you may be confident that all is well, that I have ended all the buſineſs that my Father hath ordered me to finiſh and diſpatch in this world.
So that you ſee, my brethren, Chriſt was ordered by his Father in his works of ſatisfaction: whether they were works of active, or whether they were works of paſſive obedience.
Chriſt was ordered by his Father, as in his works of ſatisfaction, ſo in works of application: I mean, in thoſe works of his by which that ſatisfaction came to be applyed, and ſo accordingly to be effectual. Now this he doth, I mean, he makes it applicable and effectuall (for he doth all in this buſineſs) by working faith in the hearts of his people. And faith he works, Firſt, By the outward promulgation of the Word: and Secondly, By the inward operation of the Spirit. In both of which, while he was converſant upon the Earth, he was ordered by his Father.
1. Firſt, In his outward promulgation of the Word, or in his preaching, Jeſus Chriſt was wholly ordered by his Father. He appointed him preciſely, both to whom he ſhould preach, and what he ſhould preach: Firſt, He appointed him to whom he ſhould preach, and that was not to the Gentiles, but to the people of the Jews only. And hence ſaid Chriſt to the woman of Canaan, Mat. 15.24. I am not ſent but to the loſt ſheep of the houſe of Iſrael: As he was ſent by God the Father, ſo he appointed him to whom he ſhould go, and what he ſhould ſay: He was the Fathers Meſſenger, the Fathers ſpokeſman to the world, and therefore he put words into his mouth: In which reſpect it is, that God is ſaid to ſpeak unto us by the Son, Heb. 1.2. The Son doth not ſpeak himſelf, he doth not ſpeak his own thoughts, as he is man and Mediator, but God ſpeaks to us by him. So that he ſpeaks his Fathers mind, he publiſhes his Fathers will and pleaſure to the world. In which reſpect our Saviour ſaith, my doctrine is not mine, but his that ſent me, John 7.16. See how the Father orders him in this buſineſs: Mat. 12.18. A bruiſed reed ſhall he not break, and ſmoaking flax ſhall he not quench, until he ſend forth judgement into victory. And ſo accordingly our Saviour tels us, that his Father had appointed him, both that he ſhould preach, and what he ſhould preach. He hath anointed me to preach, (ſaith he) Iſa. 61.1. to preach, what? good tydings to the meek, to proclaim liberty to the Captives, and the opening of the priſon to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And this order of the Fathers he obeyed, and therefore it is much to be obſerved, that he begun his publike Miniſtry with this; The firſt Sermon he preached in Nazareth, his own Country, was upon this Text, as you may ſee, Luke 4.18.
2. Secondly, Jeſus Chriſt was ordered by his Father, as in that work of application of his ſatisfaction, which is done in the external promulgation of the Word: ſo in that work of application of it, which is done by the internal operation of the Spirit. He did not by his Spirit draw any to himſelf, nor work faith in the hearts of any, that ſo his ſatisfaction might be actually applyed to them, but only thoſe that were appointed to it by his Father. Thoſe whom his Father gave hm by Election, whom he deſigned him to juſtifie, and ſanctifie, and ſave, thoſe he ſaved, and no others. Our Saviour Chriſt as he was man, was not to chooſe whom he would make partakers of his ſatisfaction, to whom he would apply the merits of his paſſion: no, he muſt take ſuch as his Father was contented to beſtow upon him. That place is notable to this purpoſe, John 6.37, 38. All that the Father giveth me ſhall come to me, and I will raiſe them up, and give them everlaſting life: all them, and only them. And why ſo? For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that ſent me. My own will as I am man, would carry me to juſtifie and ſave a greater number. But in this I muſt be ordered, I muſt remember I am come to do my Fathers will, and not my own, and therefore I muſt be contented with thoſe whom he is pleaſed to allot me. I am come that they might have life (ſaith Jeſus Chriſt) John 10.10. They, who? why his ſheep, as he explains it both before and after, I am the do…r of the ſheep, and I am come, that they may have life. And at verſe 27. My ſheep hear my voice, and I give unto them eternal life. But how comes Chriſt by theſe ſheep? why by his Fathers own gift. And therefore it is added in the very next words, My Father which gave them me, is greater than all. So that it is as if our Saviour Chriſt had ſaid, I am diſpatched into the lower world, to ſave thoſe whom the Father hath beſtowed upon me. All them, and none but them. I muſt be wholly ruled by him in this buſineſs.
By this time, I ſuppoſe, the point is fully cleared, That Jeſus Chriſt was ordered by his Father, &c. And it was fit he ſhould be ſo: the reaſons of congruity are ſuch as theſe.
Reaſon 1 As Man, he was the Fathers Creature, and therefore fit he ſhould be ordered by the Father. It is but reaſon that the Creature ſhould be in every thing diſpoſed and regulated by the will of the Creator. That he that gives it being, ſhould give it Law, to guide the motions and the operations of the being. That he that makes it, ſhould govern it, and rule it too. And that it ſhould be wholly at his pleaſure and diſpoſe, from whom it hath its eſſe, and its operari. And therefore ſeeing Jeſus Chriſt, if you reſpect his humane nature, is a Creature, it ſtands with reaſon that he ſhould be wholly regulated and diſpoſed according to the pleaſure of his Father.
Reaſon 2 And as he is the Fathers Creature, ſo in the ſecond place, he is the Fathers ſervant. So that he cals him, Iſa. 42.1. Behold my ſervant. And ſervants are to do their Maſters will, and not their own, they are in every thing to be ordered by their Maſter. And therefore it is very notable, that God the Father having called our Saviour ſervant, ſpeaketh of him ſo, as one that would be regulated and diſpoſed by him. Behold my ſervant, whom I uphold, he ſhall ſhew judgement to the Gentiles, he ſhall not ſtrive nor cry, &c. A bruiſed reed he ſhall not break, and ſo on. Thus and thus he ſhall do, and this he ſhall not do, ſaith God the Father: He is my ſervant, and I will order him at my pleaſure; And ſo our Saviour Chriſt himſelf profeſſes upon all occaſions, that he will be obedient to the Father, as a ſervant ought to be, and that he will do nothing any otherwiſe then he would have him.
Ʋſe 1 Is it ſo that Jeſus Chriſt was ordered by his Father in the work he did in this world? And firſt of all in the work of ſatisfaction? Here then we may behold, and wonder at the admirable condeſcention of our bleſſed Saviour, that being God co-equal with the Father, he ſhould in his aſſumed nature ſtoop ſo low, and ſubmit himſelf ſo far for our ſakes. Its true my Brethren, as he was a man, he was wholly to be ordered in matter of obedience, by his Fathers will, ſo far as it was manifeſted in the Law, which he hath univerſally impoſed on all mankind. And this if he aſſumed the nature; he was not able to avoid. But this work of ſatisfaction by his bloody death and paſſion was another thing. It was not any way required of him by the Law of nature, nor did it lie upon him, as he was a man; but it was that in which he willingly ſubmitted to be ordered by his Father for our redemption and ſalvation. And therefore he is ſaid to give himſelf to death for us: as you may ſee that place for inſtance, Gal. 2.20. He loved us, and gave himſelf for us. To offer up himſelf, Heb. 7.27. To humble himſelf, and become obedient (conceive it paſsively obedient) to the death, yea, the death of the Croſs. So that he was not forced in this reſpect, you ſee, to obey his Fathers order. He was not humbled and made obedient, but he humbled himſelf, and became obedient, and that to the death. And this he clearly intimateth in that ſpeech of his Joh. 10.18. No man takes my life from me, I have power to lay it down (that is, to lay it down of choiſe and free election, ſo that I cannot be conſtrained to it) and I have power to take it up again. And certainly if he had power to take it up again when he had loſt it, then he had much more power to keep it while he had it. And hence his death is called a ſacrifice, becauſe he voluntarily ſubmitted to it. He gave himſelf for us an offering and a ſacrifice to God. This death of his aroſe not out of the Condition of his Nature, neither was it inflicted on him by an exceſs of ſtrength in thoſe that brought him to it. But he ſubmitted to it in obedience to his Father, and in love to his people. Ah, my Beloved, what a miracle of mercy was there in this Condeſcention? That Jeſus Chriſt ſhould ſtoop in this to be ordered by his Father. His obedience to the death, the death of the Croſs, was not of neceſſary duty, as his obedience to the Law was, for that his very Nature call'd for, but it was of humility. He ſtooped below himſelf in this obedience, he humbled himſelf and became obedient.
And now my Brethren ſhould not we ſtoop, and ſhould not we be humbled as Chriſt was? The Father ordered him to ſuffer for us, and he readily and willingly obeyed that order. Suppoſe he order us to ſuffer for our Saviour Chriſt again, ſhall we not willingly obey his order too as Chriſt did? Shall Chriſt take up his Croſs for us, and ſhall not we take up our Croſs for him? I do not ſay we ſhould draw croſſes and afflictions on our ſelves, but if they come upon us for our Saviours ſake, we ſhould not take them as impoſed on us, but we ſhould ſet our ſhoulders to them, and cheerfully ſubmit our ſelves to bear them.
But oh the tenderneſs of men to ſuffer any thing for Chriſt? If croſſes, and afflictions, and perſecutions come upon them for his ſake, how do they murmur and repine? Ah my Beloved, remember the grace of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, who when he was equal to God, he humbled himſelf and became obedient, &c. And will you grumble at a little ſhame, a little trouble, a little loſs of outward things for his ſake? Oh my Beloved, learn at length to be ordered as Chriſt was. To ſuffer willingly for him, who ſuffered willingly for you. And to make you willing to it, I ſhall preſent you but with two Conſiderations.
1. Firſt though you ſhould ſuffer much, remember yet the time of ſuffering is not long. The ſeaſon from our Saviours Incarnation even to the final diſſolution of the World, as ſome expound it, is but an hour, as the Apoſtle John calls it. And alas what are our lives, but as it were a little minute of that hour? And ſhall we be ſo facile and tender, to ſink under ſo ſhort a ſuffering? I ſay to you of ſuffering as once our Saviour Chriſt of watching. Can you not ſuffer with him one hour? What, is your patience out ſo ſoon, will it not hold for one hour? Are you ſo quickly weary of ſo ſhort a Croſs? Oh be aſhamed of ſuch unworthy Cowardiſe as this is.
2. Conſider, if you ſuffer with him (conceive it willingly and in ſincerity) you ſhall alſo reign with him, 2 Tim. 2.12. There is no ordinary way to come to reign with Chriſt hereafter, but by ſuffering with him here, and by ſuffering willingly as he did. For if you do it of neceſſity, and of conſtraint (as the Apoſtle tells us in another caſe) you have your reward. But if you ſuffer willingly as he did, then you ſhall reign as he doth. And though you be not worthy, yet you ſhall be counted worthy of the Kingdom for which you ſuffer, as the Apoſtle Paul ſpeaks, 2 Theſ. 1.5.
Ʋſe 2 Is it ſo, that Jeſus Chriſt was ordered by his Father as in his work of Satisfaction, ſo in his work of Application? Did he apply the merit and the vertue of his ſatisfaction to none but thoſe to whom the Father ordered him? Let no man then find fault with Chriſt, that no more are ſaved by him; and that no more are made partakers of the benefit and profit of his paſſion. Alas, my Brethren, Jeſus Chriſt as Mediator, is not to chooſe to whom he will apply the ſatisfaction which himſelf hath made, no, he muſt follow the direction and order of his Father in this buſineſs. The work which his Father giveth him to do, that he muſt do, and no other. If he bid him ſave a man, and apply his merits to him, he muſt do it. If he bid him paſs him by, he muſt leave him in his ſins, to periſh and be damned for ever. I am come down from heaven, ſaith our Saviour, not to do my own will, but the will of him that ſent me. And this is the Fathers will, that of all which he hath given me I ſhould loſe nothing, Joh. 6.39. I am preciſely ordered to ſee that not a man of them periſh. As for the reſt they may, they muſt be loſt for me, it is not in my power to help them. All that the Father gives him he can keep and ſave, further then this his Commiſſion doth not reach. No doubt the will of Jeſus Chriſt, as he was Man, would have carryed him to ſave thoſe whom his Father had appointed to deſtruction. But he muſt ſtoop in this to the will of him that ſent him. There is no queſtion if he had been free in this regard, he would have pitched upon his own Countreymen, his own Allyes, his own Kindred before others. But the Evangeliſt obſerves, he came to his own (among them he began his Miniſtry) but he did no good there, his own received him not. And therefore you ſhall find it in his ſtory, that as man he was extreamly troubled at the unbelief and hardneſs of the peoples hearts. He wept over Jeruſalem with many tears. Why, you will ſay, what needed this, he might have wrought upon them, and converted them, and ſaved them. No my Beloved, he could not do it, he had no order for it from his Father. This belonged not to the work which he had given him to do. And yet as Man he pittied and lamented their condition, as we ſhould do in ſuch a caſe, he being in all things like unto us, ſin only excepted. And certainly this pity over loſt Creatures was no ſin.
Now this me thinks ſhould overcome and melt the hearts of Reprobates themſelves to Jeſus Chriſt, and make them to relent towards him. Alas he pitties you, and mourns over you: his very bowels yern towards you: he delights not in your ruine and deſtruction. No, he hath ſuch a tender heart (though yours be hard) that it is troubleſome and grievous to him. But why then doth he not relieve and help us, you will ſay? Why he hath no order for it. His Father hath appointed him to whom, and whom alone he ſhall apply the merits of his paſſion, and you perhaps are none of that number. So that it is not any of the buſineſs that he came into the world about to ſave you. The work of your ſalvation is not given him to do, and if it be not given him, he cannot do it; ſo that the fault is not in Jeſus Chriſt, if any of you periſh and be loſt for ever. Neither is there any reaſon why you ſhould be exaſperated and incenſed againſt him.
Is it ſo, that Jeſus Chriſt was ordered by his Father in the work, &c. Ʋſe 1 And why then ſhould not we be ordered by him too in all the work we do in this world? Shall Jeſus Chriſt be in ſubjection to the Father, more then we? Shall he be ordered by him, more then we? Shall he be at the Fathers pleaſure and command in every thing, and we be free? What an unreaſonable and incongruous thing were this? Nay, my Beloved; ſhould we not in imitation of our bleſſed Saviour ſtoop to God as he did? and do the work which he hath given us to do? and ſo walk as we have Chriſt for an Example? But alas, how do the greater number of us ſwerve from this pattern? Either we do the good, or elſe we do the evill which God hath not given us to do, I ſhall ſpeak a word to either.
Firſt ſome do the good which God hath not given them to do; the work is good, but it is not their work. It is given other men, but yet it is not given them to do. The work that Ʋzziah did, was for the matter of it very good. The incenſe which he meant to offer was ſuch as was preſcribed in the Law, the place in which he meant to offer was the Temple, the Altar upon which he meant to offer, was conſecrated to the Lord, the God to whom he went to offer was the true God. But he was not a perſon qualified and fit to offer, he was not called to that ſervice. This good work was not given him to do. And therefore God was very angry with him, and he was ſtricken with a foul diſeaſe. The like we ſee exemplified in Saul, the error was not in the Sacrifice he offered, nor in the object of his offering, the perſon unto whom he offered, but only in the perſon that did offer; The work was good, but it was not his work, he had no order for the doing of it, and therefore he was utterly ejected from the Kingdom, 1 Sam. 13.13. There are ſome works that belong to ſome callings as proper and peculiar to them. Some works that are peculiar to the Magiſtrate, or elſe the Magiſtrate hath no diſtinct calling. Some works that are peculiar to the Miniſter, or elſe the Miniſter hath no diſtinct calling, For that is no diſtinct calling that hath not ſome diſtinct work. Some works there are which God hath given to the Magiſtrate, as a Magiſtrate, to do. Some works there are which God hath given to the Miniſter, as a Miniſter, to do, and theſe works, they that are not called to them may not do. Or if they do, when they have ended them, they cannot ſay to God as Chriſt doth, I have finiſhed the work which thou gaveſt me to do.
Secondly, as ſome do the good which God hath not given them to do, ſo ſome others do the evill which God hath given none to do. They do that uſually which God commandeth not at all, neither comes it into his heart. They look not what the Lord hath ordered them to do. Their eyes are not upon him for direction any way, but what they have themſelves a mind to do, that they are imployed in. They are a rule unto themſelves, and walk according to their own counſels. They follow the way of their own hearts, and the ſight of their own eyes. They are not guided by the will of God, but by the will of man, and the will of the fleſh, as it is called 1 Joh. 13. which ſtands in oppoſition to the will of God. God may order what he will, and they will do what they pleaſe. For tell me, my Beloved, when you ſwear, and when you are unclean, and when you run out to all exceſs of riot, when you prophane the Sabbaths, and the Ordinances of the Lord, when you do things that are apparently and groſly evill, which admit of no excuſe. Are theſe the works which God hath given you to do? Can you look him in the face and tell him ſo? When you lie, and when you cozen, and deceive, do you theſe things by his order? No my Beloved, no ſuch matter: This is the will of God, even your ſanctification, that as he who hath called you is holy, ſo you ſhould be holy in all manner of converſation. And therefore while you wallow in your luſts, while you defile your ſelves with every ſin, you do not follow Gods order, you do not walk by his rule, but are a rule unto your ſelves. I wiſh that ſuch would ſeriouſly conſider but theſe two things.
Firſt, It is the fearfulleſt and the extreameſt judgement that God can bring on any man in this life, to give him ſo far over to himſelf, to neglect his order, & the direction he is pleaſed to give him, and to walk according to his own counſel: who when he permits men as he did the Gentiles, Act. 10.16. to wallow in their own ways, the ways which of themſelves they chooſe and follow. This is a formidable thing indeed. And therefore he is wont to execute this in the cloſe of all, as the heavieſt of his judgements, as having nothing left but this to ſhew the fierceneſs of his wrath and fury on a perſon, or a people. When he hath proved and tryed men every way, and nothing will prevail with them, this is the laſt, the parting blow, he gives them over to themſelves, and ſo he leaves them, And this is certainly the worſt that the Almighty God can do to them.
Secondly, If you will not be ordered by the Lord in one way, you ſhall be ordered by him in another. If you will not be ordered by the precept, you ſhall be ordered by the threatning. If you will not do his will, his will ſhall certainly be done upon you. If you ſubmit not here to his commanding will, you ſhall be forced to ſubmit to his condemning will hereafter. Here you ſay, you will not hear, you will not do, the Lord commands you this and that, but you reſiſt and ſtand it out, and you will not be obedient. But tell me Brethren, are you able to out-ſtand the curſe and vengeance of the Lord, in the laſt and dreadful day, when he ſhall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels? And when the Lord ſhall order you to go to Hell, and ſay, Depart you curſed into everlaſting fire, will you be able to reſiſt and to diſobey that order? Will you be able to controle him, and hinder him from executing the ſentence of the Law upon you? No, no, you break the bonds and cords of God here, but then the Lord will bind you faſt enough, in everlaſting chains of darkneſs, break and rent them if you can. The haughtineſs of men ſhall be brought low, and God alone ſhall be exalted in that day. And therefore I beſeech you, my Beloved, eye the Lord in all your ways, and ſee what work it is that he giveth you to do. Be ſure he give it you before you do it. And this indeed is to be men after Gods own heart, when you do Gods will. I have found David, ſaith the Lord, Pſal. 89.20. called, Act. 13.22. A man after my own heart, who will do all my wills. And if you thus do, God will own you in the latter day, and liberally reward you too. After you have done the will of God, you ſhall receive the promiſe, that is, the happineſs and mercy promiſed, Heb. 10.36. In doing of your own will, or the wills of other men, perhaps you may attain ſome tranſitory riches, pleaſures, honors, poor fleeting things, which in the end will periſh with you. But if you do the will of God, this will perpetuate and Eternize you, and make you to endure for evermore, 1 Joh. 2.17. The world paſſeth away, and the luſts thereof, but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever.