Thirty-One Select Sermons, Sermon collection · Sermon 7
THE SAINTS INHERITANCE.
At Mr Carryl's Church at London-bridge.
1 COR. 3.22.
—Or things to come.
OMitting the Context; The words contain in them, the Inheritance of a Chriſtian, with the Tenure thereof: The Inheritance is, all things; the Tenure is, ye are Chriſts, and Chriſt is Gods.
Firſt, the Saints have an Inheritance; Chriſt is by the Father appointed heir of all things, Heb. 1.13. As he is the Son, he is haeres natus; as he is the Mediator, he is haeres conſtitutus: The one by Generation, which was an act of his Nature; and the other Deſignation, which was an act of his Will. Now the Saints being made Sons by the Sonſhip of Chriſt, they are alſo made co-heirs with him in his Inheritance, Rom. 8.17.
And his Inheritance being all things, ſo muſt theirs be.
There are two things in Chriſt to be diſtinguiſhed.
Firſt, foreign, a price payd, and thereby a ſatisfaction given unto provoked Juſtice; and ſo Chriſt did fulfil the righteouſneſs of the Law, and payd the curſe thereof.
Secondly, there is Meritum, which is a purchaſe made as it was perform'd by a perſon that was not bound unto the Law. The Law indeed required it of Men, but not of him that was God and Man; and ſo the excellency of the perſon is the ground of the Merit, and of the Purchaſe, and the Inheritance; for though it be true, Meritum Chriſti habet in ſe gratiam inviſceratam, there is the free grace of God in all the merit of Chriſt: Yet there is nothing that is ſo pure grace, but that there is a purchaſe alſo therein: That the Father may be truly ſaid to give it, and Chriſt truly ſaid to purchaſe it alſo. And this Inheritance is as full and large as could be deſired; for it is all things, Rev. 21.7. He that ouercomes ſhall inherit all things: All things are yours; foreign: our gifts are benefits given for your good. It's ſaid of Chriſt, Pſalm 86. That God hath put all things under his feet, that is, hath given all things into his power and dominion; In poteſtate tradere, ſo as all ſhall be his ſervants at his command, and their utmoſt end ſhall be his glory, and ſo he hath put all things under the feet of the Saints; they are all ſubjected to them as their ſervants; ſo that the higheſt end, next unto the glory of Chriſt, is for their good; All things ſhall work together for their good, foreign.
Firſt, all things are for their uſe. 2 Cor. 6.10. As having nothing, and yet poſſeſsing all things. So that though the Saints do not ingroſs all things unto themſelves by way of a Monopoly, yet as far as their neceſſity ſhall require they may expect the uſe and the ſervice of them all; ſo that whatſoever extraordinary experiment any of the antient Saints have had of the ſervice of the creatures when they have needed them, that they alſo may expect, as their exigencies and neceſſities ſhall require: The Heavens to rain bread, and Rocks to give water, and the Sun to ſtand ſtill, and the Moon to go badk; for the Saints are the Lords of all the creatures, and all things ſhall be for their uſe, becauſe they have an intereſt in him that is the Lord of Hoſts.Fidelibus eſt totus mundus. Aug.
Secondly, all things are the Saints for their comfort, and they can taſt a goodneſs, and a ſweetneſs in them all; 1 Tim. 6.17. He gives us all things richly to enjoy, foreign: And indeed in this reſpect, we muſt onelyonly, mundo uti & frui Deo; for he is onelyonly to be the reſt and delight of the ſoul: So the Schoolmen tell us, fruitio eſt finis.In the utmoſt end attain'd, we have the greateſt comfort that a ſoul can be capable of; it is nobliſſima voluntatis actio, and ſo as Heb. 11.25. Injoy the pleaſures of ſin: Other pleaſures enjoyed, become pleaſures of ſin; all creatures enjoy'd, become the baits and the ſnares to ſin; but here, fruition, as one hath well obſerved, ſignifies nothing elſe but cum laetitia rem aliquam perci pere, and ſo God hath given a godly man the creatures, and all things, that he may take comfort in them: And this is the Saints portion, that they may have all theſe things as a Viaticum in their way to heaven: Though their happineſs lyes not in theſe things; theſe things are not the peculiar gifts of God to them; even unregenerate men may have the creatures; For God gives the Kingdoms of the earth to the baſeſt of men, but they have no comfort in them; they have only the ſting, the gall and the wormwood that is in them, all his dayes he eats his meat in darkneſs, Eccleſ. And he hath ſorrow with his dainties.
Thirdly, a godly man hath a ſpiritual fruit and benefit by them; all of them tend to his bleſſing, and to the proſperity of his inward man: They are ſcala caeli, and the ſoul climbs to heaven by them, as it's ſaid of King Jehoſhahat, 2 Chron. 17.5,6.he had riches and honour in abundance, and his heart was encouraged in the wayes of the Lord, &c. whereas to other men their Table becomes a ſnare to their ſoul; it's to them as lime to their wings, that they cannot aſcend up to heaven: They are pondus, the weight that keeps the ſoul groveling here below: There's a double evil befallen the creatures ſince that curſe came upon them, Gen. 3.17. it's deceiving, and it's defiling.
1. They deceive; they are themſelves empty, yet raiſe mens expectations from them: He that depends on them, ſeeds on aſhes, Iſa. 44.20. and comes under the Serpents curſe, Duſt ſhalt thou eat: and when he depends moſt thereon, is as he that worſhippeth an Idol, who hath a lye in his right hand.
2. They defile; Tit. 1.15. to the unclean all things are unclean. Now in the covenant that the Lord made with the creatures, Hoſ. 2.19,20, &c. God promiſes not onelyonly that they ſhall not be hurting, but that they ſhall not be poluting to the ſoules of the people of God Grace ſhall make advantage by them all, and they ſhal all of them work together unto a mans ſpiritual good, that the ſoul ſhal ſhine, & proſper by them.
Fourthly they ſhall all of them have an influence into eternity, and all of them ſhall adde to a mans eternal account, and a man ſhall have the fruit of them in his eternal inheritance; A man makes friends of the unrighteous Mammon, and therein makes himſelf bags that wax not old, Luk. 12.23. and thereby lays up a good foundation for time to come, that he may lay hold of eternal life; for we are but Stewards of what we enjoy, and we muſt one day give an account anſwerable to the improvement of thoſe Talents committed to us by God, ſuch will our honour be at the laſt, thou haſt been faithful in the Mammon of unrighteouſneſs, and therefore the Lord will not fail to give unto thee the true Treaſure.
Secondly, the Tenure is, ye are Chriſts; for we hold all in Capite, all by virtue of Union; Omnes communio fundatur in unione; our communion with him is in his graces, in his priviledges, in his victories, in his ſufferings, in his inheritance, &c. But whats the ground of it? It's from our union. It's the higheſt glory of a man, next the glory of God, that ſuch a glorious creature as a woman ſhould be made for his comfort and ſervice; for the man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man: So the higheſt glory of God is Chriſt, as God-Man, that he ſhould become ſubject to him: That he that was the Lord of the Law, ſhould be made under the Law; he that was God equal with the Fother, 2 Cor. 11.3,4.and thought it no robbery ſo to be. So Chriſt holds his right to all things from God, and we hold ours from Chriſt by vertue of union with him.
There is a double dominion; There is dominium politicum, and that is grounded upon the providential Kingdom, that Chriſt as the Lord hath beſtowed upon him by God all the ſervices of the creatures; for he hath bought all the creatures, even all the world of God; not onelyonly the Saints, but ungodly men alſo; for, there are ſome deny the Lord that bought them. But he buyes them not all alike; but ſome as ſervants, others as ſonnes, ſome their perſons, and others their ſervices onelyonly; and as ſervants he doth give unto them a reward; and they have a right to it, but its onelyonly a right of Providence, as they are ſervants: But now there is another right, which is dominium Evangelicum, a right as ſons, as they be pledges of a mans eternal inheritance, and flow from a Fathers love, a right of the promiſe: and ſo its onelyonly union with Chriſt that gives ſuch a right; fundatur in gratia, and can belong to none but unto the Saints; for, its the Covenant that is the ground of all our claim unto any of the creatures in a ſpiritual ſence; for that is the root and the center of all the promiſes; and its our union with Chriſt that brings us under the Covenant, and therefore makes us heirs of all the promiſes; and by this means the Inheritance of the Saints is theirs, becauſe, they are Christs, and Chriſt is Gods.
We have here alſo an Inventory of the Saints, a particular enumeration of this all things, &c.
That which I am engaged in at preſent, is this (things to come.)
Man being a creature both prudent, and provident, cannot be ſatisfied that it's well with him for the preſent, but his mind is taken up about what ſhall be hereafter, and concerning either the good, or evil things to come; doth raiſe up to himſelf vaſt hopes or fears; for in both theſe the ſoul goes out to things to come: The ſoul is apt to ſay, I know how it's with me for the preſent, but my mind is taken up with what ſhall be hereafter; my Mountain may prove but a mountain of ſnow, it may melt; what changes there may be I know not: All things here are compared to Wheels, Ezek. 1. that which was upmoſt one minute, is down the next; Wheels are in perpetuo motu, in perpetual motion; ſometimes compar'd to the ſea, Dan. 7.3. which is in perpetuo fluxu, in a continual flowing, and therefore how it may be with me hereafrer, I know not: Now to ſecure the ſoul againſt any diſtractions for the future, the Lord aſſures the ſoul of things to come: Job.The thing that I feared is come upon me: I had not reſt, neither was I quiet, and yet trouble came. The heads of men are apt to frame ſtrange ſuppoſitions to it ſelf; and indeed it is a mans duty ſo to do in reference to a preparation, that ſo evil do not come upon him unawares; for, mala praeviſa minùs ſentimus: Though as it's matter of dejection, it's a mans ſin: Hab. 3.18.Though the Fig-tree ſhould not bloſsom, neither ſhall fruit be in the Vines; the labour of the olives ſhall fail, &c. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, &c. Pſalm 46.1.Though the earth be moved, and the mountains be caſt into the depths of the ſea. What if the Sun be darkned, and if the Stars fall from Heaven? What if the foundations be caſt down? We know how things are for the preſent, and what our Inheritance in them is, but what if the face of things change? What may be my Inheritance for time to come, and in things to come, I know not: Therefore the Lord aſſures the Saints, that they have not onelyonly a preſent Inheritance, but alſo in things to come, that they are theirs alſo: Things to come are yours.
Doctrin.
The Saints of God have an Inheritance in things to come; Things to come are yours. For the proof of it.
Firſt, God hath made over unto them things to come. The ſubſtance of all the promiſes, is things to come, whether they do refer unto the life that now is, or that which ſhall be hereafter; 1 Tim. 4.8. Now, the Saints Inherit the promiſes, Heb. 6.12. The Word of God is in ſcripture ſomtimes compared unto a Travelling woman, and there is a time of the birth of the threatning, and of the promiſe: Zeph. 2.1,2,3. It is foreign which is decretum ſcriptum & promulgatum,, non occultum, &c.The threatning, travelling with Judgement to come; and the promiſes, travelling with Mercies to come; and therefore Acts 7.17. We read of the time of the promiſes, that is, when the children are come to the birth, Iſa. 37.3. Both Promiſes and Threatnings lye in the womb of the purpoſe, and appointment of God a long time, but there is a birth time; and then the Viſion will ſpeak, and not lye, it will come, and will not tarry. And ſometimes it is compared unto one in purſuit of another, Zach. 1.6. Did not my word overtake your Fathers, Pſalm 140.11. Evil ſhall hunt the wicked. foreignIt's a metaphor taken from beaſts for which men lay ſnares, and then hunt them, that they may be driven into thoſe ſnares, and ſo take them. There is a purſuit of the threatning of God upon ungodly men; and there is alſo a purſuit of the promiſes of God upon the Saints.
Secondly, upon this ground it is that the Saints are the onelyonly men that have hope, and therefore they are called the priſoners of hope in the greateſt calamity that is upon them, Zach. 9.12. Thoſe that have not onelyonly a hope in this life, but in that alſo which is to come. Ungodly men do fancy unto themſelves hope, but its but kindling a fire of their own, Iſa. 50.11. and they compaſſe themſelves about with their own ſparks, when they lye down in ſorrow: It's not a living hope, it dyes with the man; but the Saints are begotten to a lively hope, 1 Pet. 1.3. Now hope is converſant about things to come, as fear is; but the one about good things to come, as the other is about evil things; there is this difference between. Faith and Hope, in eying of the promiſe, Faith gives a kind of foreign, and preſentiality unto the thing in the promiſe, and looks upon it as preſent, though they be things not ſeen, Heb. 11.1.
But hope looks upon it in the thing; and that looks upon it as to come: now if things to come were not theirs, there were no ground of the hope of the Saints, they were altogether vain hopes.
3. The Saints of God aſſure themſelves it ſhall be well with them in reference to things to come, Pſal. 23. laſt verſ. Surely Mercy and Truth ſhall follow me all my days. foreignThe word doth ſignifie, to follow one; ſammo ſtudio & diligentia, &c. it's the ſame word that is uſed Pſ. 34.15. Seek peace and purſue it: Mercy ſhall be to them as the Rock that followed them, 1 Cor. 10. not only to releeve them at the preſent, but alſo for time to come; and therefore in the loweſt condition, the Church of God do promiſe themſelves that the Lord will appear for them; they have yet an intereſt in things to come: The Lord will not hide his Face for ever, Mich. 7,7,8. Pſal. 94.5.I will look to the Lord, and I will wait for the God of my Salvation, my God wil hear me Rejoyce not againſt me O mine Enemy: when I fall, I ſhall riſe: When I ſit in darkneſs, the Lord ſhall be a light unto me, &c. He was in an afflicted condition: He went mourning all the day long for the oppreſſion of his enemies: and the Lord hid his Face, And his ſoul was dejected within him; but yet he had hope in God: For I ſhall yet praiſe him who is the health of my Countenance, and my God: The Saints do comfort themſelves in their ſaddeſt condition, with their Intereſt in things to come; that the Lord will wait on them, and be gratious, and will not keep his anger for ever.
Conſider theſe Eight thi…gs.Secondly, But how ſhall things to come become the Saints? In reſpect of good and evil things to come.
1. They are delivered from temptations to come: A man ſhall be delivered from them, and not left unto them; and there is a great deal of mercy in the preventing grace of God this way, in being freed from temptations: The Lord will not lead his People through the Land of the Philiſtines, Exod.though it was the neereſt way to the Land of Canaan, leſt the people ſee it, and their hearts turn back again into Egypt, &c. And indeed, the Lord doth ſtrangely order things in his Providence, that temptations may be hid from his Peoples Eyes. Satan deſires continually to winnow the Saints; but the Lord rebukes him and all his temptations.
2. If Temptations ſometimes aſſault them, yet he doth make proviſion for them againſt Temptation: Satan hath deſired to winnow thee, ſaith our Lord to Peter; Luk. 23.31.but I have prayed for thee: The Lord lays in conſolation for the future tryals of the Saints; and as the Temptation was fore-appointed, ſo alſo is the Conſolation, Jer. 10.11. When the children of Iſrael were in Babylon, and ſhould have temptations to worſhip other Gods, they were bid to make this Anſwer. The Gods that have not made the Heavens and the Earth, ſhall periſh from the Earth, and from under theſe Heavens: And 'tis very obſervable, that one Anſwer God puts into their mouths, is wrote in the Chaldee Tongue, &c. So the Saints ſhall be able to withſtand them by vertue of the Interceſſion of Chriſt, &c.
3. Afflictions to come, either they ſhall be delivered from them, as Hezekiah; thou ſhalt, ſaith God, be gathered into thy grave in peace: God had an Ark for Noah, and a Grave for Methuſalah: The Floud was appointed to come upon all the Earth, well, at the time appointed it comes: But firſt, Methuſalah muſt be delivered, for he lived until that very Year the Flood came, and God provides him a Grave; takes him away from the evil to come: him does God deliver from it: But Noah he muſt abide the tryal; for him God provides an Ark, and ſafely carries him through it, Iſa. 4.5. Upon all the glory there ſhall be a defence: The great water Floods ſhall not come nigh unto thee; or elſe, if they be afflicted, they ſhall be gratiouſly ſupported under them: The grace of God ſhall be ſufficient; for he hath promiſed, When thou goeſt through the fire, I will be with thee, Iſai. 43.2.
There is gratia perveniens & aſſiſteus, in ſuffering, as well as in ſins and duties. Pſal. 43.46. We will not fear, though the earth be removed; for there is a River, the ſtreams whereof ſhall make glad the City of God.
4. Mercies to come to the Saints ſhall prove Mercies indeed: Saul hath a Kingdom as wel as David, but it was a mercy to David, and therefore the Lord did qualifie him for it, and gave him Kingly graces, and weaned hii ſoul from the Mercy before he had; Bernard.Bern. Ecce paratum eſt cor meum; vis me conſtituere paſtorem ovium, aut regem populorum: My heart is as a weaned child, Pſal. 131.2,3. And therefore it's ſayd, Iſa. 30.18. that the Lord waits to be gracious; he doth not defer becauſe he is unwilling to beſtow mercies upon us, but becauſe we are not prepared to receive MercieMercy; for Mercies to unprepared ſoules, are like unto Cordials unto foul ſtomacks, the which do but increaſe the peccant humours; and therefore the Lord never gives them till the ſeaſon of them, and till he hath prepared the ſoul to receive them. There is a double right that the people of God have to Mercy. Firſt, there is jus haereditarium, a right of Inheritance, and that they have as ſoon as they are converted; but yet they are but then as a child in its nonage. Secondly, there is a jus aptitudinarium, a right of fitneſs that is wanting; and the Lord doth not give any Mercy, in Mercy, till both be found in the ſoul; till there is a right of fitneſs as well as an hereditary right.
Fifthly, Sins to come. If God leaves under any temptation, that we are foyled by it (as that the beſt of Gods people may; for I know no ſin but may overtake ſuch but final impenitency, and the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt) yet all things ſhall work together for good to them that fear God. Et ſi omnia, qui ni etiam peccata; Aug.Aug. If all things, then ſin it ſelf is not excluded. God makes a ſtrange uſe of ſin, to his peoples good and benefit; either to diſcover unto a man what is in his heart, and ſo to abate his carnal confidence, as the Lord did let Hezekiah fall to that end, that the work of Mortification may be perfected, and the Sword of Godly ſorrow may go the wider, and the Plough of Repentance the deeper; and that ſhall be the fruit of it, that the man may be more vile in his own ſight; or elſe to make him the more inſtrumental in that kind to do good unto others, being able to comfort them with the ſame conſolation with which he himſelf was comforted of God: And being himſelf converted, he may be the better able to convert, and ſtrengthen the brethren, Luk. 22.32. And the Saints of God do ſee great Mercy even in their ſins to come, as well as in their ſuffering; that as ſome of the Antients have bleſſed God for the Falls of the Saints, thoſe Horrenda naufragia; by reaſon of the comfort, and ſupport, and admonitions that they had from them: So they do ſee cauſe many times to bleſs God for that Grace that brings ſo much good out of their ſins alſo; and ſo much they may promiſe themſelves from a principle of Faith, in regard of ſinning as well as ſuffering.
Sixtly, in reſpect of the happy and glorious condition of the Church that is promiſed in the latter daies; there is a time coming, when all the kingdoms of the earth ſhall become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Chriſt. Rev. 11.16,17. and unto the holy people of the moſt high, Dan 17.27. And when the ſmoak out of the Temple ſhall vantſh, and the Temple ſhall be opened in heaven, and a man may ſee into the Court of the Teſtament which is within the vayl. The darkneſs of the pre…ent diſpenſation of God ſhall be done away; and new Jeruſalem ſhall come down from God out of heaven. When that Sea of glaſs Rev. 15.2. ſhall be pure as Chriſtal, as it was in the Primitive times; now mingled with fire of contention and diſaffection, then ſhall Jehovah be one, and his name one. Theſe promiſes are all for the Saints; if they dye, and never ſee them fulfilled, yet they dye in the Faith of them, Heb. 11.13. & Rev. 3. I will write upon him, the name of the City of my God, new Jeruſa…em: That when the Lord ſhall reckon up his people at the laſt day, and put every man with thoſe of his own rank, all they that dyed in the faith of it ſhall be reckoned as truly to belong thereunto, as they that lived in the time thereof that enjoyed it.
Seventhly, in reference to the deſtruction of the Enemies of the Church: Rev. 14.The Lord Jeſus Chriſt hath a Winepreſſe to tread, and a Vintage to gather. It's the Winepreſs of the fierce wrath of God, who is almighty, when the blood ſhall be up to the briales of the horſes, &c. which is in the times of the third Angel, and it hath a more ſpecial and peculiar aſpect upon the times in which we live; then the Saints ſhall rejoyce when they ſee the vengeance and wrath of God upon the ungodly; and they ſhall ſing Hallelujah, praiſe, and glory, and honour be unto thee (O Lord) for thou haſt judged the great whore, and avenged the blood of thy Saints, &c. Rev. 19.2.
Eighthly, the glory of Heaven is to come, but the Saints do rejoyce here in the hope of it, and do bathe themſelves in th…ſe Rivers of pleaſures which ſhall be for evermore, &c. By this hope, Anima aſcendit frequentèr, & currit plateas caelest is Jeruſalem. By this doe they ſee God in a fiducial, though not in the beatifical viſion. And a man having this hope he doth purifie himſelf that he way be made a meet partaker of the bleſſed hope that is ſet before him. So that all things to come do make for the good of the Saints; ſurely things to come are theirs.
But what are the grounds of the intereſt that the people of God have in things to come? Conſider theſe five.
Firſt, the Lord hath ordered his eternal decrees concerning things to come; ſo that they ſhall not only make for his own glory, but alſo for the good of his people; Eph. 1.11.for he doth work all things according to the counſel of his own will. He did not onelyonly from all eternity chuſe his peoples eternal eſtates, and chuſe them to glory, but he hath a decree that paſſeth upon all things to come, in the government of this world, as may conduce unto this end, and as may further this great decree and grand deſign of God: For though in the decrees of God, ſome Divines doe obſerve, that there are not priora & poſteriora, becauſe they are eternal, and in aeternitate non eſt prius & poſterius, yet there are ſubordinata, one thing may be ſubordinated to another, as the means are to the end; for he hath choſen us to glory and virtue, the one as the end, the other as the means, 2 Pet. 1.3. And ſo the grand deſign of God, is the glory, and eternal good of all the Saints; and he hath ſubordinated all things in the government of the whole creation of God unto this great and principal end, all things to come ſhall work together for their good.
Secondly, it is for their ſakes, that he hath committed the world unto the government of Chriſt; Iſa. 9.8.for it is by their Covenant that the world ſtands; and 'tis for their ſakes that he hath undertaken the Government of the world, Epheſ. 1. laſt. He hath made him the head over all things to the Church. Chriſt is not a head over all things, as he is the head of the Church. He is a head of guidance unto all things; but he is a head of influence unto the Church alſo; and he did undertake the government of all things for the Elect ſake, That he might gather them all together under one head, even in him, Eph. 1.10. And he that doth rule all things for their ſakes, they need not fear but he will over-rule all things for their good; and therefore all things which are in the government of Chriſt doe belong wholly unto the good of the Saints.
Thirdly, hence Chriſt doth exerciſe a peculiar providence over his own people; which is a great mercy. There is a common providence which doth extend unto the meaneſt creatures; not a ſparrow doth fall to the ground, not a hair from off your head, without it. But there is a ſpecial providence over all the Saints, he is the Saviour of all men, but eſpecially of them that beleeve. 1 Tim. 4.10.It's ſpoken of a temporal ſalvation, and there is a ſpecial providence over the Saints in reference to temporal things: Yet how apt are the people pie of God many times to diſtruſt the providence of God even in theſe: O ye of little Faith, are you not much better then many ſparrows, &c. Conſider but the projects of this providence for the Saints good in reference unto things to come; 'tis exceeding remarkable how they have been overſhaddowed by a ſpecial providence, whilſt they live in this world: When the Saints ſhall come to Heaven, and ſhall underſtand all the dealings of God towards them whilſt they lived here below, and the grounds thereof, that they may give God the glory of it. Suarez.Beatus in Deo videt res omnes accommodas ad ſe pertinentes, & omnes circumſtantias accommodatas, Suarez. Then when all things ſhall be opened and layd together, then it will appear how gloriouſly God watched over them for their good by all, things to come.
Fourthly, hence it is, that in the oeconomical Kingdom of Chriſt the Angels have their government, and they doe order things to come ſtrangely for the Saints good; for though no creature can know things to come of themſelves, yet by Revelation they do; for they receive from Chriſt, Rev. 19.10.a ſpirit of Prophecie, and they are employed as Officers under him in the government of all things, Ezek. 1. The ſpirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, and that was the Angels, chap. 10.20. and ver. 19. When the living creatures went, the wheels went by them, and when they were lifted up, the wheels were lifted up; for the ſpirit of the living creatures is in the wheels: and this is, becauſe they are ſent forth as Miniſtring ſpirits for the good of the Elect, Heb. 1.14. And when Chriſt gives up his kingdom to the Father, he will put down theirs; for he will put down all rule, and all authority, and power, for they were made principalities and powers, onelyonly under the kingdom of Chriſt; and ſo long their principality ſhall laſt, and no longer, as we ſee Dan. 10.20. I goe forth and fight againſt the King of Perſia, and then the Prince of Grecia ſhall come, &c.
Fifthly, God hath ſubjected things to come unto the prayers of his people, and thereby joyn'd them, as it were in the ſame commiſſion with his Son, the Lord Chriſt, in the government of the world: Iſa. 45.11. Ask me concerning things to come, concerning my ſons, and concerning the workes of my hands command you me, &c.
There are two things that the providence of God is extended to; and they are either matters of common providence, and they are concerning the works of his hands: And alſo matters Eccleſiaſtical, which concern his Church, and all things to come; concerning both, he hath ſubjected unto the prayers of his people, and therefore ye that are the Lords remembrancers, keep not ſilence: And therefore Revel. 4.5. it's ſaid, out of the Throne proceeded thunder, and lightning, and voices: Out of the prayers of his people are the great Mercies and Judgements; the great turnes of the world are brought about and accompliſhed by this, the Saints working together with God; and therefore at the laſt day, when the cauſes of all things ſhall be layd open, it will appear, all theſe great things that are diſpenſt either in a way of Mercy, or in a way of Judgement, were attain'd by Prayer.
Ʋſe of exhortation.
Exerciſe Faith about things to come; for this promiſe, that things to come are the Saints, as it is a ground of Faith, ſo alſo it ſhould be a ground of Hope, and a rule of Prayer: Therefore let me exhort you in the name of the Lord, be not ſinfully dejected about things to come. I would not have you ignorant of the ſigns of the times, nor ſecure: I would have you know the Judgement of your God; for he that is wiſe ſhall know times and judgement; but yet I would not have you diſtruſt, and walk dejectedly; for what if the Witneſſes be not yet ſlain? that ultima clades ad huc metuenda? What if the Enemyes of God prevaile once more, to ripen them for their greateſt and final ruin? What if ſuch a temptation ſhould befall a poor ſoul, that he thinks he ſhould not be able to withſtand? What if I be left by God unto ſuch a ſin? What if ſuch a miſcry and calamity ſhould befall mee, that GOD ſhould take away my Friend, which is as my own ſoul? and ſuch a Relation that I took comfort in? &c. What will become of the Church of GOD? What will become of the Ordinances of GOD? What will become of my Poſterity when I am gone, now the Enemy is ſowing Tares amongſt the Wheat? I have Friends few; where can a man find a faithfull man? Let theſe be the Queries of ungodly men, whoſe enjoyments are onelyonly preſent, and have no ground of hope for time to come.
I ſhould have given you a few directions; I can now only name two or three.
Firſt, Rowle thy ſelf upon the promiſe, Pſalm 10.14. Jerem. 49.11. Leave thy fatherleſs children with me.
Secondly, the ſame Fountain of Love and Goodnes that was extended to the Saints of old, is extended alſo to thee. There's Mercy for the future as well as at preſent: As Faith will purifie the heart, ſo alſo it will pacifie it, that it ſhall not be afraid of evill tidings: But the conſideration of the great Goodneſs of God will ſupport the ſpirit of a man in any calamity whatſoever.