The Pulpits Patronage Against Unordained Usurpation, Part 1 · Chapter 14
CHAP. XIV. The eighth Argument.
THat ought to be in every ſetled, well-ordered Arg. 8 Church, which God hath promiſed unto them; for God ought to make good his promiſes, and all his ſervants that regard his reputation, ought to aſſiſt and aid him in it; for his renoun and reputation is their honour. When any came to Bacon and Burleigh, the late Queens real and ſerious Servants, with a project or deſign of raiſing and advanſing her Revenue, they would ask him, how much reputation would redound unto her by it? Moſes was fairly offered to be made the Father and Fountain of a glorious off-ſpring, upon condition he would let God cut off thoſe provoking and pernicious Apoſtates (h)Exod. 32. 10.; but he conſidered not ſo much what he ſhould get, as what God ſhould loſe, that then God ſhould not make good his promiſe, that now every body knew, and had took ſpecial notice of (i)Exod. 3…. 1…, 13, 14. Numb. 14. 12, 13, 14, 15.; good Servants ſhould conſult their Maſters prayſe, as well as profit, what honour as well as what advantage it will bring.
And if they fail in duty, God is not abſolved by it; he is ingaged, and cannot make them bear the blame (k)2 Tim. 2, 13.: if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himſelf; and therefore did conſider what he did, before he promiſed, ſaw that his people might be faithleſs, might fail on their parts, and that ſo groſly and a pertly, that his promiſe could not be made good without diſhonour and diſparagement unto his juſtice▪ Chriſt therefore was reſolved on, and layd as the foundation of all his promiſes, in whom they are and may be made good, without diſparagement unto his truth or juſtice (l)2 Cor. 1. 20; for all the promiſes of God in him, are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God by us; though others are unworthy to have them made good, yet Chriſt is not: Chriſt had not promiſed that Centurion to come unto him, but the Jews that were imployed in the ſervice told him, he was worthy (m)Luk. 7. 4.; but God hath promiſed, and Chriſt is worthy, to whom eſpecially it is to be made good; and indeed, what maketh men to fail in their promiſes, cannot befall God; for he is not a man that he ſhould lie, or the Son of man, that he ſhould repent; hath he ſaid, and ſhall he not do it? or hath he ſpoken it, and ſhall he not make it good (n)Numb 23. 19.? Men ſometimes promiſe to evade a preſent and oppreſſing importunity, that cannot otherwiſe be put off; as he, (o)Mat. 18. 26.have patience with me, and I will pay thee all: but when their leaſure ſerves them to weigh and conſider what they promiſed, they ſee, there being non ſolvendo, how utterly they are unable, and ſo repent: But God cannot be brought to this extremity: (p)Job 41. 11who hath prevented me that I ſhould repay him? A great King of this Land did promiſe to a Courtier a thouſand pound, and ordered his Treaſurer to get it ready; the Treaſurer takes occaſion to bring the King through the Room where it lay, all in ſilver on a Table ready counted; the King admiring, asked what all that money was for? he told him, he had provided it for ſuch a Courtier, and ſhewed the King his own hand for it: the King repeals and teares the Order, and commanded half of it to be ſent away, and ſwore, the other was more then he could well give.
Moſes thought God had made an unadviſed promiſe, that the people ſhould have fleſh to eat a monethmonth together, therefore he praye… him to conſider, that they were ſix hundred thouſand footmen, and the flocks and herds would not ſuffice them; but God anſwers, that his hand was not waxed ſhort (q)Numb. 11. 23.; we muſt not tell God of the greatneſſe of the Sum that is required, he can make that he doth not finde, never is non pluſt: yea, men, thou…h they be able, are many times unwilling to make good their promiſes; l…ke little Children, are eaſily blown on with every winde, and eaſily blown off, reſolve and refuſe, are angry and appeaſed in a breath, iras colligit▪ & ponit temerè, mutatur in horas, in one minde to day, in another minde to morrow, Roma Tybur amo, ventoſus Tybure Romam; how honeſt doth Saul ſeem to be, when a good pang was on him (r)1 Sam. 26. 21.? but David doubted his unconſtancy.
But God is not expoſed to any ſuch unconſtancy, cannot be off and on, ſees nothing which he ſ…w not before he made the promiſe (s)Mal. 3. 6., cannot ſay, non putaram, allege he was abuſed and miſinformed, as we do often: whatſoever therefore he hath made promiſe of, you may expect, you may account it payd, his word and deed are all one.
But God hath promiſed to every ſetled, wellordered Church, ſome to attend and act in holy th…ngs; for that he promiſed to Goſpel, or Evangelical Churches, which were ordered by Chriſt, of whom its ſaid, that he did all things well (t)Mark 7. 36., or by his Apoſtles, who knew how to behave themſelves in the houſe of God (u)1 Tim. 3. 15.; for what God promiſed by the Prophets, he promiſed to Evangelical or Goſpel-Churches; for the Levitical adminiſtration was then decaying and waxing old, as the Apoſtle ſayes (w)Heb. 8. 13; but he promiſed by the Prophets, ſome to attend and act in holy things, (x)Jer. 3. 15.I will give you paſtors according to mine heart, that ſhall feed you with knowledge and underſtanding, which they could never do without attending on them, nor do we finde they did it until Chriſts times; but of him it is ſaid, (y)Luk. 21. 37, 38.that in the day time he was teaching in the Temple, and at night he went out, and abode in the Mount that is called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to him, to hear him; and if we may believe St. Paul himſelf (z)Act. 20. 31, he ſaith, that by the ſpace of three years, he ceaſed not to warn every one night and day with tears; and that he charged it on his ſucceſſors, appears in that pathetical and ſerious exhortation given Timothy (a)2 Tim. 4. 1, 2.; and that the Prophet meant theſe times, appears in that place, where the ſame is iterated and repeated, though in ſomething other words (b)Jer. 23. 3, 4, 5, 6., In his dayes Judah ſhall be ſaved, and Iſrael ſhall dwell ſafely, and this is his name whereby he ſhall be called, The Lord our righteouſneſſe; what can more plainly point out Goſpel-times? for though the Levitical adminiſtration of the Covenant was to expire, or to be diſannulled, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks (c)Heb. 7. 18, 19., yet the Covenant was not, but was even then an everlrſting Covenant (d)Jer. 32. 40, and Aarons Prieſthood, however in ſome ſenſe it was to be determined and ceaſe, yet was indeed in ſome ſenſe, an everlaſting Prieſthood, as it is expreſly promiſed to Phineas (e)Numb. 25. 12, 13., that is, the Office and attendance upon holy things, was everlaſting, to be continued in Aarons Prieſthood for a time, and afterwards to be tranſlated into the Tribe of Judah, and Order of Melchizedeck, as God hath not only ſaid, but ſworn (f)Heb. 7. 20 21., where now it is, and ſhall be to the worlds end, in the Paſtors and Teachers of Goſpel-times.
The Prophet Iſaiah ſayes (g)Iſa. 44. 3., I will poure water upon him that is thirſty, and floods upon the dry ground, I will power my Spirit upon thy ſeed, and my bleſſing upon thine off-ſpring; and the Prophet Joel (h)Joe. 2. 28, 29., I will poure out my Spirit upon all fleſh: now when, and where were theſe great floods, and inundations of the Spirit poured out? the Apoſtle Peter tells you, that the greateſt and moſt obſerved inundation, was in the day of Pentecoſt, upon the Apoſtles that were then aſſembled in the Temple (i)Act. 2. 2, 3, 4., though there were dewes and leſſer ſhowers upon others afterwards (k)Act. 11. 15, and that not only in an extraordinary, but ordinary manner (l)1 Cor. 12. 8, 9, 10, 11.; yet in the Prophets theſe are promiſed in the reverend and known denominations and Titles of Prieſts and Levites; for when the Jews and Gentiles ſhall be gathered out of all the Nations, and bound up together in one volume, and preſented in Jeruſalem unto the Lord, God promiſeth, that he will take of them for Prieſts and for Levites (m)Iſa 66. 20. 21.: properly and litterally they could not be; for the promiſe is, to gather all tongues and all Nations, Tarſhiſh and Pul, and Lud, Javan and Tuball, are expreſly named (n)v. 18. 19., that is, the Gentiles, as they are called verſe the ninteenth; for the Prieſts and Levits properly ſo called, were only Jews, and of the Tribe of Levi; and Spiritual Prieſts and Levits they could not be, for it is ſaid (o)v. 21., I will take of them, not them, foreign, not foreign, ex iſtis as Junius, Montanus, and others, that is, ex iſtis gentibus quae in munus oblatae fuerint domino, as in their note: now who ever is converted, and waſhed in the blood of Chriſt, is made a ſpiritual Prieſt, and there is no diſtinguiſhing and picking out of ſome from others of them, (p)Rev. 1. 5, 6for all have great dignity, and there is no culling out.