The Hypocrites Ladder, Treatise · Chapter 2
CHAP II. The chief Doctrine raiſed, cleared, and made good by many Iuſtances.
BUt the Point wee ſhall inſiſt upon is this:Jamjam tacturum ſidera ſumma-Jamjam tacturum Tartara …igra-
A formal Profeſſor may go far, flye high, and ſeem to bee in a very fair way for heaven and ſalvation, above all others, yet is his last ſtate woful, fearful, deſperate: Lifted up to heaven, thrown down to hell.
Babylon was in an Allegorical heaven, Eſ. 14 14, 15. yet tumbled down, and ſome Expoſitors ſuppoſe our Saviour alludes to that ſpeech in this place, Tyre was in the higheſt terrestrial heaven, in the higheſt region of an imaginary heaven. Thy heart was lifted up, and thou Ezek. 28. 2, 3. 12, 13, 14.haſt ſaid I am a God. I ſit in the ſeat of God; thou haſt ſet thy heart as the heart of God; Thou art wiſer than Daniel; Thou ſealeſt up the ſumme, full of wiſdome, perfect in beauty; Thou haſt been in Eden, the Garden of God; thou art the anointed Cherub, &c. who could bee higher? yet thou ſhalt bee brought down to the pit, and dye the verſ. 8. 10. verſ. 19.death of the uncircumciſed; yea thou ſhalt bee a terror, and never bee any more. Here is a ſad concluſion, after ſuch an Exaltation.
Lucifer was in a real heaven, lifted not up to, but into heaven, yet is now in chains of darkneſs.
Hypocrites, and formal Profeſſors may bee in a high place and form, in the Eccleſiaſtical-heaven, in a Scripture-heaven; the viſible Church is often called the Kingdome of heaven; they may bee lifted up three ſtories high, yet fall from this third loft with Eutichus.
1 They are really lifted up by the hand of God, are as veſſels in his hand, in a fair way to heaven, veſſels of honour, they are planted in the choyſeſt Vineyard.
2 They are higher lifted up by the general acclamation of all that know them. And
3 They are lifted up higher yet (too too high) in their own proud conceit, and falſe opinion of themſelves, yet after all this miſcarry. Matth. 8. 12. Many ſhall come from the Eaſt and Weſt, and ſit down with Abraham, Iſaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdome of heaven, but the children of the Kingdome the Kingdome of heaven reputedly) ſhall bee caſt into utter darkneſs, there ſhall bee weeping and gnaſhing of teeth, Religio nunquam Periclitatur niſi inter Reverendiſſimos, Luther ſaid well, and I may allude, Salus nunquam adeo Periclitatur ac inter ſanctiſſimos. Religion is in moſt hazard of being loſt among the great Rabbies, ſaid hee, where his Grace, and his Holineſs are their ordinary Titles, and ſalvation is no where in ſuch danger, as among Chriſtians, Profeſſors, Saints. The children of the Kingdom. As when the Conqueror comes, the children of the Kingdome go to the pot, when Plebeians and vulgars eſcape; ſo when the Lord comes to Judgement, it will go better with Pagans and Infidels, Sodome, and Gomorrah, than with unſound Profeſſors. The laſt ſhall bee firſt, and the firſt and for moſt ſhall bee laſt, was a Proverbial ſpeech our Saviour much uſed, The ſmarteſt ſtorms follow the hotteſt gleams uſually.
This I ſhall further clear by Inſtances firſt, and after by Arguments confirme it.
1 Inſtance: Was not Balaam lifted up on high, of whom it is ſaid, The Spirit Num. 24. 3, 4, 15, 16.of God came upon him, that hee had had his eyes ſhut, but now open, that hee heard the words of God, that hee ſaw the viſions of the Almighty, falling into a trance but having his eyes open all the while; and after hee that had the knowledge of the moſt High, and ſaw the viſion of the Almighty. There is never an Enthuſiaſt alive never a Quaker of them all can ſpeak of more Viſions, and Apparitions, and extraordinary Revelations then hee, yet a notorious Impoſtor.
2 Was not Saul highly exalted, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon 1 Sam. 10. 6, 9, 12.him, as it did, that hee propheſied, and was turned into another man (not a new man) and God gave him another heart (yet not a new, humble, holy, and ſoft heart of fleſh) hee propheſied to admiration; all the talk was now Town and Country, of Saul, What is this that is come on the ſon of Kiſh; yea hee had ſuch extaſies, and ſuch actions, as none of all the company of Prophets, hee ſtript himſelf, lay naked all day, and all night on the ground, and brought in a new way of Propheſying into the world, 1 Sam. 19. 24.
3 What ſhall wee ſay of the Phariſee, who ſo highly applauded himſelf, I am Luke 18. 11, 12, 14.not one of your Extortioners, I faſt twice in the week, &c. yet is hee after his ſelf-juſtifying left under a ſentence of condemnation.
4 Magus, was not hee high flown of a ſudden? hee heard, beleeved wondered, Act. 8. 13.was baptized, ſtuck cloſe to the Preacher Philip, was in an extaſie, was ready to give any mony for ſpiritual gifts, hee wanted nothing ſo much now as the Holy Ghoſt, hee would bee an eminent Saint, or nothing, yet a rotten Hypocrite.
What ſhall wee ſay of Judas, who had received part with the firſt Apoſtles, not the latter ſeventy Diſciples, and did partake of the ſame ſpiritual endowments with the other Apoſtles to preach the Goſpel, heal diſeaſes, caſt out devils, and had the keyes of the Kingdome of heaven committed to him equal to Peter, and the reſt of the Diſciples, and the bag above all the reſt; hee was lifted up to heaven indeed, when hee had commiſſion to let others in, yet went hee not in himſelf. Hee was Legatus a latere Chriſti. Hee was Angelus in Penna, Re latro, corde Gehenna.
Were not thoſe Virgins fair for the Kingdome, who had been called, became Profeſſors, were furniſhed with Lamps, Veſſels, and Oyle, yet were ſhut Mat. 25.out.
I will ſay nothing of Sardis who had Rev. 3. 1.an Angel to her Miniſter, and was her ſelf a Golden Candleſtick, who had onelyonly a name to live, and was really dead. But the Church of Laodicea bare the bell from them all. There were the Saints indeed. Shee was rich, increaſed with goods, and wanting nothing at all, yet was indeed and truth, poor, miſerable, blinde, and naked.
But above all, what ſhall wee ſay to that ſtartling place, Heb. 6. 4, 5, 6. where ſuch as were Enlightned, and had taſted of the heavenly gift, and were made pa…takers of the Holy Ghoſt, and had taſted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, and did ſeem to have been in heaven already, yet fall away, and utterly periſh.
Here are five high ſteps leading towards heaven, of which more hereafter.
1 They were enlightned, they had been darkneſs, but now might ſay they were light in the Lord: This the loweſt ſtep.
2 They had their taſte and reliſh, as well as light and notion, they had ſomething in them inwardly, they had a taſte and reliſh, they were ſavoury perſons; yea 2 taſted of gifts, eminent gifts. 3 Yea they are called heavenly gifts, ſuch as come from heaven, lead others to heaven, and you would think even go to heaven, they make the poſſeſſors of them to bee heavenly Chriſtians. Such heavenly and gifted Saints may periſh.
3 They are partakers of the Holy Ghoſt in thoſe extraordinary acts and gifts of it, to ſpeak with Tongues, caſt out Devils, expound Scripture, utter Propheſies; not partakers of the renewing, ſanctifying, regenerating, heart-ſanctifying work of the Holy Ghoſt.
4 Taſted of the good word of God: Herein three things, 1 They have had ſome work upon their hearts and conſcience by the word. 2 They have looked upon it as Gods word, and been affected as if God himſelf had ſpoken to them. 3 They have had their part in the good word, all the word is good, but ſome part ſeems to bee more good and delightful, viz. the Promiſe; theſe have taſted the ſweet of the promiſe, are able to ſpeak great things of the goodneſs of the word.
5 And have taſted of the powers of the life to come; wherein three things too: 1 They may ſpeak contemptibly of the things of this world, and diſcourſe much of the vanity of all ſublunary things, and ſpeak highly and admiringly onelyonly of Eternity; the life to come. 2 They have had ſad apprehenſions of hel, wrath, and damnation, to know the Terrors of the Lord, and they have at other times been taken up into the third heaven, but neither in the body, nor out of the body, but onelyonly in imagination. 3 And they have felt the power and force of both, mightily to terrifie, or to comfort above any thing in the world. Powers, foreign, that is, the power of the one, and the glorious joyes of it, and the power of the other, to tremble under the horror of it.
There is much contained in the word Powers, and ſo again in the word Taſted. Some conceive it ſignifies no more but a light ſmack, and ſmall relliſh, as in the fourth verſe, taſted the good word of God, h. e. as Cooks who dreſs great feaſts for others, taſte a little of every thing, but ſit not down at table with the Gueſts; ſo may unfound Miniſters, or Profeſſors. But I conceive there is more in it, to taſte is to experiment, to bee under the power of it, ſo as to know perfectly what the thing is. So Jeſus told his Diſciples, They ſhould not taste of death till they had ſeen Matth. 16. 28.the Kingdome of God come with power, that is, they ſhould not know what death was, nor feel the ſtroak of it; ſo it is ſaid, Chriſt taſted of death, Heb. 2. 9. Will any ſay hee had but a ſmack of it, and a little ſenſe of it, hee found by woful experience how dreadful it was in all his attendances and circumſtances, his ſoul was heavy to death upon the thought. Such a kinde of penetrating, and heart-amazing experimental knowledge, and application may an hypocrite have of thoſe future things, Death, Heaven, Hell, Judgement, and Eternity.
Here wee ſee at preſent a ſhort Ladder of five ſteps (wee ſhall ſhew longer afterwards of twenty rounds a peece) whereon hypocrites are climbing up towards heaven, but not as Jacobs Ladder, whoſe Gen. 28. 12.top reached to heaven, foot ſtood on earth, the top of this is towards heaven, the foot in hell; there Angels aſcended, and deſcended, here aſcendunt Angeli, decidunt Diaboli, they aſcend as Angels, fall as Lucifer; aſcend as Lights, fall down as Lightning; you would think at their firſt appearance, you ſaw the Witches apparition, Gods aſcending out of the earth, but 1 Sam. 28. 13.they prove curſed ghoſts, and depart with horror, they that fall from this fifth Loft, are not like Eutichus taken up for dead, and after recovered, but are like them Act. 20 9.ſtricken in the fifth rib, never recover, if they fall away, it is impoſsible to renew and fetch them again unto repentance, the Apoſtle ſaith, verſ. 6.