All Flesh is as Grace but the Word of the Lord Endureth Forever, Text

All Flesh is as Grace but the Word of the Lord Endureth Forever · Text

Dr. Sewall's SERMON AT THE Thurſday Lecture in Boſton, January 1ſt. 1740,1.

All Fleſh is as Graſs; but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever.

A SERMON Preached at the Thurſday Lecture in Boſton, January 1ſt. 1740,1.

By Joſeph Sewall, D. D. Paſtor to a Church of CHRIST in Boſton.

Pſal. cii. 11, 12. My Days are like a Shadow that declineth: and I am withered like Graſs. But thou, O LORD, ſhalt endure for ever, and thy Remembrance unto all Generations.

BOSTON: Printed and Sold by S. KNEELAND and T. GREEN in Queenſtreet over againſt the Priſon. 1741.

All Fleſh is as Graſs; but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever.

1 PET. 1.24, 5.

All Fleſh is as Graſs, and all the Glory of Man, as the Flower of Graſs. The Graſs withereth, and the Flower thereof falleth away: But the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the Word which by the Goſpel is preached unto you.

HAVING obtained Help from GOD, we continue to the firſt Day in the New Year: Others have their Days numbred and finiſhed, and are ſent down to the Grave which celebrateth not God's Name, while we are ſtill among the Living, the living to Praiſe him this Day, and hear the Words of Life from him. O that this Goodneſs of God may lead us to Repentance! that this Patience may be Salvation to us! ToDay, while it is called to Day, if ye will hear God's Voice, harden not your Hearts. And what more p. 2quickning Motive can I offer to excite you to this Duty, than my Text affords us; the Conſideration of the frailty of Man reſpecting his firſt Birth, and as he is a Child of apoſtate Adam; and of the immortal Life he is begotten to, when he receiveth the incorruptible Seed of the Word of God into his Heart, of that God who liveth and abideth for ever.

Here then we may conſider from the Words the following Obſervations,

I. Man is Fleſh; weak and frail as the Graſs. II. All the Glory of Man is as the Flower of Graſs. III. As ſuch a fading Creature he withers & falls by Death. IV. The Word of the Lord endureth for ever. V. This is the Word which by the Goſpel is preached unto you.

I. Man is Fleſh; weak and frail as the Graſs. Man is call'd Fleſh. All Fleſh has corrupted his Way upon the Earth, Gen. 6. 12. Such is his Body, and his Soul is defil'd with fleſhly Luſts. That which is born of the Fleſh, is Fleſh, Joh. 3.6. Indeed in his original Conſtitution, Man had not the Seeds of Corruption ſown in his Nature; no, Adam was made in God's Image, and after his Likeneſs; a Candidate for a bleſſed Immortality: But when he had tranſgreſs'd his Maker's Law by eating the forbidden Fruit, that Threatning was denounc'd, Duſt thou art, and unto Duſt thou ſhalt return, Gen. 3. 19 As Graſs Man ſprings out of the Earth, being form'd out of the Duſt reſpecting his Body. It's true, his Body was at firſt, a noble Structure in which Adam appear'd in excellent Majeſty as the Head over the brute Creation. And here the meaneſs of the Materials out of which he was form'd was a ſoil to the divine Power and Skill of the p. 3Creator. **Materiam ſ…perabat opus.And even ſince the Fall has mar'd God's Workmanſhip, impair'd the Strength, and defac'd the Beauty of it; ſtill there's reaſon to ſing the Praiſes of our Maker in the Words of the royal Pſalmiſt, I will praiſe thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Pſal. 139. 14. And I may add, no leſs wonderfully preſerved; for as the Graſs, our Life is now exceeding frail, and liable to be blaſted by every Wind. As for Man his Days are as Graſs: as a Flower of the Field, ſo be flouriſheth. For the Wind paſſeth over it, and it is gone; and the Place thereof ſhall know it no more, Pſal. 103.15, 16. And accordingly as Graſs, when Man has ſtood for a little time, he falls to the Earth, and in his Diſſolution returns to it. Even ſuch as are now in their Verdure, may ſay, the time of our Departure is at Hand. For what is your Life? It is even a Vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vaniſheth away. Surely the People is Graſs, Iſai. 40. 7. All Orders of Men, whether they be high or low, rich or poor, young or old, agree in this; they are all as Graſs, frail dying Creatures. And this leads me to ſay,

II. All the Glory of Man is as the Flower of Graſs, Verily every Man at his beſt State is altogether vanity, Pſal. 39. 5. Suppoſe him to be flouriſhing in Beauty, Health, and the moſt agreable outward Circumſtances of Wealth, Honour, Friends, and the like; in all this Glory, Man is but a fading Flower, like the Lilies of the Field. Yea, this Compariſon is not too low for Solomon in all his Glory; for our Lord aſſureth us, he was not arayed like one of theſe, Mat. 6. 29. Even theſe Works of God which are to Day, and to Morrow are caſt into the Oven, appear with inimitable Luſtre in their fine and beautiful Colours, vaſtly exceeding all humane Art. But p. 4why do we ſet our Eyes upon that which is not? While we behold this periſhing Creature, it fadeth and vaniſheth away. Surely Men of high Degree are a lie: to be laid in the Balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity, Pſal. 62. 9. Which brings me to the third Head,

III. As ſuch a frail Creature, Man withereth, and falls by Death. As the Flower of the Graſs he paſſeth away. For the Sun is no ſooner riſen with a burning heat, but it withereth the Graſs, and the Flower thereof falleth, and the Grace of the faſhion of it periſheth, Jam. I. II. So do we fade away. My Days are like a Shadow that declineth: and I am withered like Graſs, Pſal. 102. 11. How feeble are we from our Birth! How brittle is our Conſtitution! We begin to die as ſoon as we begin to live. We are continually changing and wearing away as we paſs the different Scenes of Life, and at Death that Word is fulfil'd, Thou prevaileſt for ever againſt him, and he paſſeth: thou changeſt his Countenance, and ſendeſt him away, Job 14. 20. Almoſt every thing we converſe with in this paſſing World would teach us this plain Truth. Particularly, our daily Food. We live upon the Dead. The Fleſh of brute Creatures fed with Graſs and then ſlain, is a conſiderable Part of our Livelihood. And can a Life thus ſupported endure always? No ſurely. Every Meal puts us in Mind of thoſe Words, Meats for the Belly, and the Belly for Meats; but God ſhall deſtroy both it and them, 1 Cor. 6. 13. How careful then ſhould we be to glorify God, whether we eat or drink? How watchful over our ſelves, leſt by any Exceſſes we ſhould further ſhorten this frail Life? And how earneſt ſhould we be in ſeeking the living Bread which came down from Heaven, that we may eat and live for ever? Even the Fleſh of the Son of God, which he hath Given for the Life of the World. O labour, not for the Meat which periſheth, but for that Meat which endureth unto everlaſting p. 5Life. But it's time I return from this Digreſſion. We may each one of us ſay with Job, Is my Strength the Strength of Stones? or is my Fleſh of Braſs? No, it is much more fitly compar'd to the Graſs. Our Fleſh is a little mouldring looſe Earth, ſoon crumbled and broken to Pieces. O frail Man! why doſt thou boaſt thy ſelf in Vanity? Let the ſerious Conſideration of thy haſtening Diſſolution hide Pride from thee. You may ſay to Corruption, Thou art my Father; to the Worm, Thou art my Mother, and my Siſter. Glory not then in thy Strength or Beauty, Wealth or Honour; but rather lie down in the Duſt before the Lord of Life, and bewail thy Sin which hath ſtain'd thy Glory with the Shadow of Death, and turn'd thy Beauty into Corruption. Bury my Dead out of my Sight. And yet again I ſay to thee, Lift up thy Head, and behold thy Saviour offering to raiſe you to an immortal Life by his Word and Spirit, a Life much better than that which you forfeited and loſt by the original Apoſtacy. O that this may be the Hour in which ſuch as are dead in Sins ſhall hear the Voice of the Son of God, and live!

IV. The Word of the Lord endureth for ever. Now this is here ſpoken in oppoſition to the frail periſhing Condition of Man, conſider him in his unregenerate State, and as born of the Fleſh. As he proceeds from the firſt Adam, he is altogether Vanity, and whatever appears excellent in him, muſt ſoon vaniſh away; but then in the Word, CHRIST the ſecond Adam is reveal'd and offer'd to us, who hath aboliſhed Death, and brought Life and Immortality to Light by the Goſpel; and we have a new and living Way open'd to Glory and Bleſſedneſs. Sin is expiated by one perfect Offering of our great High Prieſt, God-Man; and the Holy Spirit purchas'd to ſanctity God's People, and p. 6ſo prepare them for eternal Life in Heaven. Agreably we read that God's People are born again not of corruptible Seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. ver. 23. Context. When the Son of God who is the eſſential and eternal Word is pleas'd to make uſe of the Word written, and accompany it with the divine Influence of his Spirit; then the Word of God is quick and powerful, it is Spirit and Life; the bleſſed Mean of be getting a new and ſpiritual Life in God's People, and of nouriſhing it to eternal Life. Of the Son, who is call'd the Word of God, Rev. 19. 13. it may be ſaid in the higheſt Senſe, that he liveth and abideth for ever, reſpecting his Divine Nature. This true & faithful Witneſs declareth, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning & the ending, ſaith the Lord, which is, & which was, and which is to come, Rev. 1. 8. And as Mediator, God has given him Power over all Fleſh, that be ſhould give eternal Life to as many as thou baſt given him, Joh. 17. 2. Indeed I do not ſay that the Word is here nextly to be underſtood of the Son of God perſonally; but then it is to be underſtood of the Word of the Goſpel as it is the Word of Chriſt, and as it is breath'd into the Hearts of his People by his Spirit. And this Name ſeems to have been given to our Lord Jeſus, not only as God utter'd his mighty Voice by him, and ſpake the World into being. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The ſame was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any Thing made that was made, Joh 1. 1, to 3. But alſo as God ſpeaks to his People the Word of Life by him, and createth the new Heavens and the new Earth, Wherein dwelleth Righteouſneſs. Accordingly, thoſe Words Heb. 4. 12. For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and ſharper than any two-edged Sword, piercing even to the dividing aſunder of Soul and Spirit, p. 7and of the Joynts and Marrow, and is a diſcerner of the Thoughts and Intent of the Heart; are by ſome underſtood as ſpoken of the eſſential Word, our Lord Jeſus Chriſt; by others of the written Word. I humbly conceive that the full Senſe of the Place comprehends both Interpretations, and may well be underſtood of the Goſpel of Chriſt, as ſpoken to the Heart by him, when it becomes Spirit & Life to dead Souls.

Having premiſed theſe Things, I would endeavour to confirm and illuſtrate th… …ead we are upon, by ſaying,

I. God has wonderfully preſerved his Word in every Age.

From the Promiſe made to our firſt Parents, which contains a Threatning againſt the old Serpent the Devil, that God would deſtroy this evil One with his Works, I will put Enmity between thee and the Woman, and between thy Seed and her Seed: it ſhall bruiſe thy Head, and thou ſhalt bruiſe his Heel, Gen. 3. 15. we may date the Goſpel Revelation, which we may ſuppoſe was handed down by oral Tradition, and alſo further preſerved and enlarged by God's appearing and revealing himſelf and his Will to his People as there was occaſion for it. We are aſſur'd that God at ſundry Times, and in divers Manners, ſpake in Time paſt unto the Fathers by the Prophets, Heb. 1. 1. Afterwards, for the better preſerving of the Word, it was by God's Direction committed unto writing. Holy Men ſpake, and they wrote the Word of God, as moved by the Holy Ghoſt. Agreeably God ſaid of his ancient People, Hoſ. 8. 12. I have written to him the great Things of my Law. God himſelf gave unto Moſes when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two Tables of Teſtimony, Tables of Stone, written with the Finger of God, Exod. 31. 18 However, it is not ſo certain, whether the Art of p. 8Writing was not communicated to Men before Moſes's Time; for Joh who is ſuppos'd to live before him, ſays, O that my Words were now written! Chap. 19. 23. But to return, after this the Word of God was written by Moſes and other inſpired Pen-men. Our Lord owns the Writings of the Old Teſtiment in uſe in his Day, as authentick. They have Moſes and the Prophets; let them hear them, Luk. 16. 29. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal Life, & they are they which teſtify of me, Joh. 5. 39 And God has ſince wonderfully preſerv'd the ſacred Writings of the old and new Teſtament; own'd and bleſs'd them in every Age down to our Times, by making them the great Inſtrument of convincing and converting Sinners, and of building up Believers on their holy Faith. This Foundation of the Apoſtles and Prophets, wherein Chriſt is reveal'd and doctrinally exhibited as the chief Corner Stone, none could ever remove. It abides firm, not withſtanding all Attempts of Earth and Hell. Time hath eaten up other Writings, of much later Date; but the Word of God endureth thro' all Generations.

2. This Word of the living and eternal God, is in its Nature and by divine Appointment, an enduring Word.

If God ſpeaks, it muſt be to purpoſe: none of his Words ſhall fail, or fall to the Ground. As God's Word in the Kingdom of Nature and Providence, ſo his Word in the Kingdom of Grace ſhall accompliſh his Will. As the Rain cometh down, and the Snow from Heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the Earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give ſeed to the ſower, & Bread to the eater: So ſhall my Word be that greth forth out of my Mouth: it ſhall not return unto me void, but it ſhall accompliſh that which I pleaſe, & it ſhall proſper in the Thing whereto p. 9I ſent it, Iſai. 55. 10, 11. The true and faithful Witneſs teſtifyeth, Verily I ſay unto you, Till Heaven and Earth paſs, one jot or one title ſhall in no wiſe paſs from the Law, till all be fulfilled, Math. 5. 18. And 24th Chap. 35th ver. Heaven & Earth ſhall paſs away, but my Words ſhall not paſs away. God's Word is ſettled in Heaven upon the ſure Foundation of his eternal Counſels and Decrees, and ſhall be fulfill'd on Earth and in Heaven, yea and I may ſay in Hell too, as God hath ordain'd. Thy Word is true from the beginning; and every one of thy righteous Judgments endureth for ever, Pſal. 119. 160. The Precepts Promiſes and Threatnings of God's Word ſhall all have their Accompliſhment. And the Prophecies ſhall all be fulfilled. Indeed there are poſitive Inſtitutions laid down in God's Word which were temporary, as the Paſſover, which had its fulfilment in Chriſt our Paſſover ſacrificed for us. And there will be no further Occaſion for the Adminiſtration of the Sacraments of the New Teſtament, when all God's People ſhall be admitted to his glorious Preſence in Heaven. But then the moral Law is an eternal Rule of Righteouſneſs. The End of the Commandment is Charity, or Love, 1 Tim. 1. 5. The great Scope and End of the divine Law is this, that God's People may be made perfect in the Love of God and their Neighbour, which our Lord teacheth us are the two great and comprehenſive Commands of the Law. Jeſus ſaid unto him, Thou ſhalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Mind. This is the firſt and great Commandment. And the ſecond is like unto it, Thou ſhalt love thy Neighbour as thy ſelf. On theſe two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets, Math. 22. 37,--40. Now this Love which is the fulfilling of the Law, never faileth, 1 Cor. 13. 8. And in the perfect and perpetual Exerciſe of this p. 10Grace firſt and principally upon God, and then upon his glorified Creatures, Angels & Men, in ſubordination to Him, will the Happineſs of Heaven very much conſiſt. O that we could begin this Happineſs upon Earth! by taking our greateſt Delight in the bleſſed God, and by the Exerciſe of that Love to Men, of which we have the Deſcription, 1 Cor. 13. Charity ſuffers long, and is kind; envieth not; Charity vaunteth not it ſelf, is not puſſed up; doth not behave it ſelf unſeemly, ſeeketh not her own, is not eaſily provoked, thinketh no Evil, rejoyceth not in Iniquity, but rejoyceth in the Truth: beareth all Things, believeth all Things, hopeth all Things, endureth all Things, Ver. 4, to 7. But to proceed, The Promiſes of God's Word endure, and ſhall all be accompliſhed. They are Yea and Amen in Chriſt Jeſus, ratified and confirmed; yea, God willing more abundantly to ſhew unto the Heirs of Promiſe the immutability of his Counſel, confirmed it by an Oath: That by two immutable Things, in which it was impoſſible for God to lie, we might have ſtrong Conſolation who have fled for Refuge to lay hold upon the Hope ſet before us, Heb. 6. 17, 18. Theſe great and precious Promiſes ſhall for ever be fulfil'd in that far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory, which God will beſtow on his faithful People in the heavenly Places. The Threatnings of God's Word ſhall alſo be fulfil'd. The old Serpent is ready ſtill to tempt Sinners, as he did the Mother of all living, Ye ſhall not ſurely die. But our Lord and Judge aſſureth us, that theſe ſhall go away into everlaſting Puniſhment, Math. 25.46. It's true, God hath no Pleaſure in the Death of Sinners, meerly as it is the Deſtruction of the Works of his Hands. But then that God who is infinite in all divine Perfections, and has made all Things for himſelf, loveth himſelf above all, and hath an higher Regard to his own Glory than to the Welfare p. 11of his Creatures: Therefore, thoſe miſerable Creatures, who ſtand in Oppoſition to him and his Glory in the terrible Day of the Lord, muſt be doom'd to ſuffer the Pains of eternal Death, and the Smoke of their Torments ſhall aſcend for ever and ever, to the Praiſe of God's glorious Power Truth and Juſtice. Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right? I might alſo ſay that the Scripture Prophecies ſhall all be fulfilled. The Viſion is yet for an appointed Time, but in the End it ſhall ſpeak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it, becauſe it will ſurely come, it will not tarry, Hab. 2. 3.

3. The Word of God, as it is the incorruptible Seed of the new Birth and ſpiritual Life in God's People, abideth for ever.

And this relative Conſideration of the Word ſeems to be the Truth of this Place. The Verſe foregoing is, Being born again, not of corruptible Seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever. And then our Text is bro't in thus, For all Fleſh is as Graſs—. "And nothing can make him (Man) a ſolid ſubſtantial Being, but the being born again of the incorruptible Seed, the Word of God, which will transform him into a moſt excellent Creature, whoſe Glory will not fade like a Flower, but ſhine like an Angel"**Contin. Mr. Henry.. This Word is the Inſtrument God uſeth to beget his People to a new and divine Life, and when accompanied with his Spirit, there's Power and Virtue convey'd by it to quicken dead Souls, and raiſe them to ſpiritual and eternal Life ††Vitae eternae O…g…num. Calvin.. Accordingly the Apoſtle Paul declareth, I am not aſhamed of the Goſpel of Chriſt; for it is the Power of God unto Salvation, Rom. 1. 16 True Believers are ſaid to be begotten and born of God. Of his own Will p. 12begat he us with the Word of Truth, Jam. 1. 18. Which were born, not of Blood, nor of the will of the Fleſh, nor of the will of Man, but of God, Joh. 1. 13. And this Work is particularly aſcrib'd to the third Perſon in the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. Except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God, Joh. 3 5. Ver. 6. That which is born of the Fleſh, is Fleſh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit. We are ſav'd by the waſhing of Regeneration, when we are renew'd by the Holy Ghoſt in the Spirit of our Minds. And as the divine Author is the Spirit of God, ſo the Work is ſpiritual. In this new Birth there are holy Inclinations, and vital Principles of Grace wrought in the Soul. Look upon the Man in a natural or phyſical Senſe, and he is the ſame Perſon as before Converſion; but in a ſpiritual Senſe, he is a new Creature. 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any Man be in Chriſt, he is a new Creature: old Things are paſt away, behold, all Things are become new. There's a new Light in the Undeſtanding to diſcern ſpiritual Objects after a ſpiritual Manner, a new Biaſs on the Will and Affections, whereby they are turn'd from Sin to God. And ſuch may fitly be ſaid to be born of God; for there's ſpiritual Life communicated, even a Power of ſpiritual Perceptions, Operations and Enjoyments; and alſo ſpiritual Likeneſs, it is after the Image of God in Knowlege and Holineſs. The new Man, which after God is created in Righteouſneſs and true Holineſs, Eph. 4.24. The new Man, which is renewed in Knowledge, after the Image of him that created him, Col 3.10 Furthermore, as God's People are begotten through the Goſpel, (1 Cor. 4. 15.) ſo by the ſame Word is the Work carried on till the Children of God grow up to the Stature of perfect Men in Chriſt Jeſus. We all with open Face, beholding as in a Glaſs the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the ſame Image from p. 13Glory to Glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, 2 Cor. 3. 18. While the People of God behold the Glory of the Lord in the clear Glaſs of the Goſpel, they paſs on from one Degree of glorious Grace to another, till Grace is perfected in the beatific Viſion. While the outward Man decays, and the Beauties of Fleſh and Blood fade, the new Creature ſhineth more and more to the perfect Day, till the Righteous ſhall ſhine forth as the Sun, in the Kingdom of their Father, Matth. 13. 43. When the Seed of the Goſpel is ſown in the Heart, and takes Root there, being mix'd with Faith, and receiv'd in Love; it ſprings up, and bears Fruit to Life eternal, not a fading Flower, but a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away. This Seed of God remains in the Heart. Whoſoever is born of God, doth not commit Sin; for his Seed remaineth in him: and he cannot ſin, becauſe he is born of God, 1 Joh. 3. 9. The Words can't intend that God's People in this Life have no remains of Sin in them. Scripture and ſad Experience teſtify the contrary. But then they are not workers of Iniquity as before Converſion, **Peccato non dat operam. Beza.and they ſhall not ſin unto Death. No, the God and Father of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt hath begotten ſuch unto a lively Hope, by the Reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt from the dead, to an Inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, 1 Pet. 1. 3, 4. And this Hope ſhall never make them aſhamed. It's true, their Bodies muſt d e becauſe of Sin; however, as theſe are alſo Temples of the Holy Ghoſt which is in them, ſo they ſhall not always lie in Ruins; but God will raiſe them from the Dead at the laſt Day, that in Soul and Body united, they may ever be with the Lord. But if the Spirit of him that raiſed up Jeſus from the p. 14dead, dwell in you; he that raiſed up Chriſt from the dead, ſhall alſo quicken your mortal Bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you, Rom. 8. 11. And we read of the Bodies of God's Children, 1 Cor. 15. 42,--44. It is ſown in Corruption, it is raiſed in Incorruption: it is ſown in Diſhonour, it is raiſed in Glory: it is ſown in Weakneſs, it is raiſed in Power: it is ſown a natural Body, it is raiſed a ſpiritual Body. A ſpiritual Body, truly a Body ſtill; but adorned with ſuch perfective Qualities as ſhall render it a meet Companion to the Soul in all the ſpiritual Exerciſes and heavenly Enjoyments the upper World; and raiſe it above all need of the Supports of the preſent animal Life, as Food, Sleep, &c. Thus as God's People have born the Image of the earthy, they ſhall alſo bear the Image of the heavenly Adam, that bleſſed Man, who is the great God our Saviour. For our Converſation is in Heaven, from whence alſo we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jeſus Chriſt: who ſhall change our vile Body, that it may be faſhioned like unto his glorious Body, according to the working whereby he is able to ſubdue all Things unto himſelf, Phil. 3. 20, 1. Nor can it be in any Meaſure difficult to infinite Knowledge & Power, ſo to order all Events relating to the Bodies of his People buried in the Earth, or ſunk in the Sea, that every one ſhall have his own Body without the leaſt Confuſion. Behold, Life and Immortality brought to Light thro' the Goſpel! Behold fallen Man rais'd to a State of conſummate Glory and Bleſſedneſs, by the Word of God! They which ſhall be accounted wortby to obtain that World, and the Reſurrection from the Dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage. Neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the Angels, and are the Children of God, being the Children of the Reſurrection, Luk. 20 35, 6.

p. 15V. This is the Word which by the Goſpel is preached unto you.

We need not inquire, as at a loſs about the Way of Life, Who ſhall aſcend into Heaven to bring Chriſt down from above? No, the Word is nigh us, and this is the Word of Faith which we preach. Sec Rom. 10. 6,--8. The Word delivered by the Prophet Iſaiah to God's ancient People; is here confirm'd by the Apoſtle Peter, The Voice ſaid, Cry. And he ſaid, What ſhall I cry? All Fleſh is Graſs, and all the goodlineſs thereof is as the Flower of the Field. The Graſs withereth, the Flower fadeth; becauſe the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: ſurely the People is Graſs. Tbe Graſs withereth, the Flower fadeth: but the Word of our God ſhall ſtand forever, Iſai. 40. 6,--8. The ſacred Writings of the Old and New Teſtament agree in this, to ſhew vain Man his vile and periſhing Condition by the Fall, and the only Way to Glory and Immortality thro' a Redeemer. And the only wiſe God hath ordained that this Word ſhould be preached unto us by Men like our ſelves, who are formed out of the Clay, and ſubject to the ſame natural and moral Infirmities; that the excellency of the Power may be of God, and that we may give Him the entire Glory of the wonderful Change wrought when Men are born again, not of corruptible Seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever. But the Time will not allow me to enlarge on this laſt Head. I therefore proceed to the APPLICATION.

USE I. Behold, and conſider,the frailty and vanity of Man in his natural State, and the neceſſity of the new Birth!

What are we by our firſt Birth? Duſt & Aſhes. Frail impotent Creatures, that have deſerved to be conſumed in the Fire of God's Wrath. What p. 16are the Things whereby Men ſeek a Name upon Earth? Job will tell us. Your Remembrances are like unto Aſhes, Job 13. 12. Yea, tho' ſinfulMan riſe ever ſo high in worldly Proſperity, yet is he vile and contemptible in the Eyes of that God who is the Fountain of all true Honour and Happineſs. Surely thou didſt ſet them in ſlippery Places; thou caſtedſt them down into Deſtruction. How are they brought into Deſolation, as in a Moment! they are utterly conſumed with Terrors. As a Dream when one awaketh; ſo, O Lord, when thou awakeſt thou ſhalt deſpiſe their Image, Pſal. 73.18,--20. Doth not their Excellency go away? Yes ſurely; and their Glory fadeth like a Leaf. Indeed, if Men attain to the Riches and Honours of this World, they are very prone to flatter themſelves as if they had gotten ſomething ſubſtantial and enduring; but what ſay the Oracles of God in oppoſition to theſe vain Thoughts? Their inward thought is, that their Houſes ſhall continue for ever, and their dwelling Places to all Generations; they call their Lands after their own Names. Nevertheleſs, Man being in Honour abideth not: he is like the Beaſts that periſh, Pſal. 49.11, 12. O then let us lie down in deep Abaſement before the Lord, and cry to him that we may be born again, born from above. We muſt be made Partakers of the divine Nature in the Image of God reſtor'd to us, or we ſhall live in vain, and die without Wiſdom.

2. Learn the great Sin and Folly of truſting in an Arm of … to the living God.

All Fleſh is Graſs; and ſhall we depend on this frail Creature Man? If we do, we truſt in a broken Reed, and Provoke the ever living God to blaſt our Hopes, and ſweep away the Refuge of …ies. Thus ſaith the Lord, curſed be the Man that truſteth in Man, and maketh Fleſh …, and whoſe p. 17Heart departeth from the Lord. For he ſhall be like the Heath in the Deſert, and ſhall not ſee when Good cometh, but ſhall inhabit the parched Places in the Wilderneſs, in a ſalt Land and not inhabited. Bleſſed is the Man that truſteth in the Lord, and whoſe Hope the Lord is. For he ſhall be as a Tree planted by the Waters, and that ſpreadeth out her Roots by the River, and ſhall not ſee when Heat cometh, out her Leaf ſhall be green, and ſhall not be careful in the Year of Drought, neither ſhall ceaſe from yielding Fruit, Jer. 17 5,--8. Let us then ceaſe from Man whoſe Breath is in his Noſtrils; and truſt in the Lord for ever, with whom is everlaſting Strength.

3. From what hath been ſaid we may alſo infer the excellency of God's Word, and how worthy it is of our high eſteem and love.

It is call'd, the glorious Goſpel of the bleſſed God, 1 Tim. 1.11. And well may it be ſo called, ſeeing it reveals Jeſus Chriſt to loſt miſerable Man, and the only Way to enduring and ſubſtantial Happineſs. The Glory of the divine Attributes ſhine forth in the Goſpel; and by beholding the Glory of the Lord herein manifeſted, his People are changed into the ſame Image from Glory to Glory, as we have heard; that in God's due Time they may be preſented before him a glorious Church, not having Spot or Wrinkle, or any ſuch Thing, Eph. 5. 27. And herein are we peculiarly favour'd who live under the New Teſtament Diſpenſation, in which the Vail of Types and Shadows is done away, and we have the Light of the Knowlege of the Glory of God in the Face of Jeſus Chriſt, more clearly revealed. The Apoſtle Paul declareth that this Miniſtration exceedeth in Glory, 2 Cor. 3. 9. Let us then highly prize the Goſpel of Chriſt, by which Life and Immortality are brought to Light, and Salvation with eternal Glory are made mani p. 18feſt. Let us take heed how we hear, and give the more earneſt Heed to the Things which we have heard; for how ſhall we eſcape, if we neglect ſo great Salvation? Conſidering the frailty of this Life, let us wiſely and diligently improve all Opportunities God affords us for attending to that Word which abideth for ever. In a particular manner, let the Day which the Lord hath made for theſe holy Purpoſes, be accounted very precious, and let us never neglect to aſſemble with God's People for religious Worſhip. On the Lord's Day, let us wait upon him for the Bleſſing of his Houſe, even Life for evermore.

4. Doth the Word of the Lord endure for ever; Here is Comfort for God's People under the Changes of this Life; particularly under ſorrowful Bereavements.

Are your earthly Enjoyments withering and dying about you? Well, you have a better Life which abideth, and ſhall be perfected when the Comforts of this Life are all paſs'd away. Do you complain with Job, Changes are againſt me? Or with Heman, Lover and Friend baſt thou put far from me, and mine Acquaintance into Darkneſs, Pſal. 88.18. Well, you may ſay with the Pſalmiſt, The Lord liveth, and bleſſed be my Rock: and let the God of my Salvation be exalted, Pſal. 18. 46. It is but a frail Life you have loſt in this or the other Bereavement; and we know, that if our earthly Houſe of this Tabernacle were diſſolved, we have a Building of God, an Houſe not made with Hands, eternal in the Heavens, 2 Cor. 5. 1. Be excited then to look into the Word of God, and realize the glorious and bleſſed Immortality of the heavenly World, which God's People enter into at Death. Here you ſympathized with them under their various Infirmities and Sorrows; There the Lamb which is in the midſt of the Throne, ſhall ſeed them, and ſhall lead them p. 19unto living Fountains of Water: and God ſhall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes, Rev. 7. 17. And the Word of God declareth, that as Jeſus died, and roſe again, even ſo them which ſleep in Jeſus will God bring with him. They ſhall awake to Everlaſting Life in the Morning of the Reſurrection. Therefore you ſhould not Sorrow as others which have no Hope; but comfort your ſelves, and one another with theſe Words. See 1 Theſ. 4. In a Word, do your Souls cleave to the Duſt under diſtreſſing Troubles of a temporal or ſpiritual Nature? beſeech the Lord to quicken you according to his Word. Delight in God's Law, and you ſhall not periſh in your Afflictions; but thro' the Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures, you ſhall have Hope. Thus you may rejoyce in Chriſt Jeſus, while you can have no Confidence in the Fleſh. And when your Fleſh and Heart ſhall fail, God will be the Strength of your Heart, and your Portion for ever.

5. Let us all, ſenſible of the frailty of this Life, be earneſt with God that we may be born again, not of corruptible Seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God; and then live as the believing Expectants of the Glory to be revealed.

Go to the Father of Lights this Day, and ask that good and perfect Gift, a new Heart. Plead that promiſe, Ezek. 36 26, 7. A new Heart alſo will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the Hony Heart out of your Fleſh, and I will give you an Heart of Fleſh. And I Will put my Spirit within you. And now, put off the old Man which is corrupt according to the deceitful Luſts; and be renewed in the Spirit of your Minds; and put on the new Man which after God is created in Righteouſneſs & true Holineſs. Eph. 4 22,--24 O let not the everlaſting State of your p. 20memortal Souls hang in Suſpenſe upon the ſlender Thread of this frail Life? For what ſhall it profit a Man if he ſhall gain the whole World, & loſe his own Soul? Or what ſhall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? Mar 8 36, 7 One Thing is needful; that you fit at Jeſus Feet, and hear his Word. O be not ſo careful and troubled about the Things of this vain Life, as to neglect this! But now chooſe that good Part which ſhall not be taken away from you, by taking God's Teſtimonies as an Heritage forever. Accept of Chriſt without delay, and ſubmit to him as your Prince and Saviour; for he hath the Keys of Hell and of Death. O be perſwaded to give Glory to that God in whoſe Hand your Breath is, before your Feet ſtumble upon the dark Mountains, and while you look for Light, He turn it into the Shadow of Death! Turn at God's Reproof, leſt you be ſuddenly deſtroyed. O that ſuch as are yet in their Sins, might remember the firſt Day of the Year by this good Token, their beginning to live to God! And may the Children of God have his Work reviv'd in their Souls! For theſe Ends, let us Pray, Lord, make me to know mine End, and the meaſure of my Days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am, Pſal. 39. 4. So teach us to number our Days, that we may apply our Hearts unto Wiſdom, Pſal. 90. 12. Men are very prone to put away the evil Day of Death, and ſo to neglect their Preparation for the eternal World. Let us then more cloſtly conſider the frailty and uncertainty of human Life, & then apply it to ourſelves.

It hath been conjectured that there are about three hundred and twenty Millions of People alive on the Earth at one Time; and computed from various Obſervation, that in Cities about One in Thirty die in a Year. **Sir Willam P…tty's Political Arithmetick.What vaſt Numbers then p. 21are paſſing out of this into the inviſible World every Day And who can tell, how ſoon his own turn ſhall come? It would be nothing ſtrange, if that Meſſage ſhould be brought to us, This Year thou ſhalt die. It is highly probable, according to the ordinary Courſe of God's Providence, that a Number of us ſhall be in our Graves before the next Year. And ſhall we not bring this Matter which ſo nearly concerns us all, each one of us, home to himſelf? It may be I am the Man; it may be you, and you, and you. We know not the Day of our Death. This Life may fitly be compar'd to a Lot. Our Days are determined with God; but altogether uncertain as to us. O let each one of us then ſay, It may be my Lot to die before the next Year. And ſhall I not make ready for my Lord's coming? Am I prepar'd to obey his Call by reſigning my Life to the Lord of it, and by committing my Soul into the ſaving Hands of Chriſt? And as our preſent Life may rather be reckon'd by Days than Years; let us ſay after our Saviour, I muſt work the Works of him that ſent me, while it is Day: the Night cometh when no Man can work, Joh. 9 4 And let us all be exhorted to work out our own Salvation with fear & trembling; for there is no Work, nor Device, nor Knowlege in the Grave, whither we are going. I deſign'd to apply theſe Things in a more particular manner; but muſt only hint a few Things.

Let Husbands & Wives conſider that the Time is ſhort, and live as Heirs together of the Grace of Life, walking in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord, blameleſs. O improve your intimate Acquaintance and dear Affection in helping each other on in the Way towards Heaven, where the Children of God live and converſe together as the holy Angels. Let Parents ſeek, firſt for themſelves, and then for their Children, that p. 22they may be born again. The Life which they derive from you the Fathers of their Fleſh, is very frail and defil'd with Sin; ſo that unleſs they obtain a better Life, it had been good for them, if they had not been born. O be not ſo much concern'd then to provide for their outward Man, that they may enjoy the Comforts of this Life; but rather travail in Birth again until Chriſt be formed In them, that they may be prepared for the Life of Heaven. Let the Aged give Diligence that while their outward Man decayeth, the inward Man may be renewed Day by Day Let our young People earneſtly ſeek the New Birth, that you may consecrate the ſprightly Powers and growing Strength of Youth to the Lord of all your Time. O that you may be ſtrong to overcome the evil One, When he tempts you to delay your Converſion to God! Now, that we hope there are many of your Age preſſing into the Kingdom of God, O take heed leſt you be leſt under the Power of Darkneſs! Seek ye the Lord while he may be ſound, call ye upon him while he is near. Do not preſume of long Life. We read of the Sun's going down at Noon, Amos 8 9. Yea, the Shadows of Death have reach'd many before the Morning of Life was paſt, The young Men are dead, Job 1. 19. Make haſte to Chriſt then, leſt the Strength of Youth fail before you have laid hold on eternal Life. Let the great Men whoſe Wealth and outward Glory are increaſing, remember that Man being in Honour abideth not, his Glory ſhall not deſcend after him. O let not theſe periſhing Things then hinder you from ſeeking durable Riches and Righteouſneſs in Chriſt Jeſus! Let not the Riches or Cares or Pleaſures of this Life choke the Word, that it ſhould become unfruitful. For we are not redeemed from Sin and Death with corruptible Things, as Silver and Gold; but with the precious Blood of Chriſt. p. 23Laſtly, Let Chriſt's Miniſters preach the Word, and the People hear it, under the impreſſive Belief of theſe important Truths. O conſider, you are as Graſs; but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever!

To Conclude,

This remarkable Year of forty one may put us in Mind of God's awful Judgments, particularly in the bloody Maſſacre in Ireland, wherein about Two Hundred Thouſand Proteſtants were accounted as Sheep for the Slaughter by inhumane Butchers, under the Inſtigation of the Whore of Babylon, whom the Apoſtle John ſaw in Viſion drunken with the Blood of the Saints, and with the Blood of the Martyrs of Jeſus, Rev. 17. 6. How were the People as Graſs in that terrible Day of the Lord! ‡‡This horrible Rebellion began October 23.1641. See Whitlooke's Memoirs, and Sir John Temple's Hiſtory of the Iriſh Rebellion. The Rev. Dr. Daniel Williams, who liv'd many Years in Ireland, hath theſe Words, "Two Hundred Thouſand Proteſtants were deſtroy'd by theſe bloody Men. Many, at the firſt breaking out of this Rebellion, were invited to Feaſts by the Iriſh, and butcher'd at the Entertainment: Mere dying was a Kindneſs; tediouſneſs and barbarity muſt heighten their Slaughters; they ſtrip'd Multitudes, and forced them to periſh by Cold and Famine in that hard Winter Crowds were burnt together in Barns; many driven into Rivers, and ſuch as attempted to eſcape, were forced back to periſh in the Waters. Women with Child they rip'd open; poor Babes they toſſed on Pikes, as pleaſing Sport. Candles were made of Man's Greaſe; no Intreaties of Women or Children could induce to Pity. —Thankſgiving Sermon preach'd October 22. 1689. for the Proteſtants Deliverance from the Iriſh Rebellion.O that Great Britain! O that Ireland would hear the Voice of the Son of God, to whom the Father hath committed all Judgment; Except ye repent, ye ſhall all likewiſe periſh.

p. 24And the Year we now enter upon, brings our Affairs to a very difficult Criſis, in which a Sovereign God writes Vanity on our worldly Glory. Let us then hear the Voice of his Word and Providence, and be excited to lay up Treaſures in Heaven. Let us make ſure of the Bleſſing's of Chriſt's Kingdom, Righteouſneſs, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghoſt; that we may be carried well thro' all the Troubles of this Life, and be prepat'd for that Inheritance which is incorruptible, and that fadeth not away.

FINIS.

Page 11. Mar. r. Organum.

End of the text · Joseph Sewall, All Flesh is as Grace but the Word of the Lord Endureth Forever (1741)