صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

plete fatisfaction to all the curfes of it, as much as the Covenant of works can feek: and then, if he looks to the law as a rule of duty and of obedience, then he leans to his foundation for ftrength, that his grace may be sufficient for him, and his ftrength perfected in his weakness. O happy believer, which hath learned this mystery, which God hath hid from the wife and prudent, and revealed unto babes; and whereby you can answer the law, as a covenant, by faying, "In the Lord have I righteoufness;" and answer it as a rule, by faying, "In the Lord have I ftrength," Ifa. xlv. 24. To fay this in reality, and in the experience of faith, is more than thousands of learned Rabbies in the world could ever fay or understand; "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto you, but your Father which is in heaven." O bleffed day, that ever the foundation of this fpiritual temple was laid? He that hath laid the foundation will carry on the work, till it be finifhed: "He that hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it; for, He is a Rock, and his work is perfect." He hath been at fome expence already in laying the foundation; and he will never leave the work incomplete; he hath been at the expence of blood in buying the ftones of the old quarry out of the hand of juftice; for, "Ye are not redeemed with corruptible things, fuch as filver and gold, but with the precious blood of Chrift:" and he hath been at the expence of power and pains, in laying the ftones upon the foundation; for, without a day of power, none would be willing to cleave to this foundation, But for you, believer, he hath made you willing in a day of his power; and from this day doth he blefs you; and bleffed fhall you be for ever in him. And all God's minifters and people on earth, and all his faints and angels in heaven, will fay, Amen.

3. Hence we may fee, that God hath his term days, his building days, his bleffing days. Every day is not a temple-foundation day; every day is not a temple-building day; but, O for fuch days of the Son of man amongst us! for they are very rare, in this dark and heavy day wherein we live; O for that happy hour in which the dead fhall hear the voice of the Son of man, and they that hear fhall live! When the minifter is brought

ta

to a good and warm frame in preaching, he is ready to think, O now, that happy day is come, when power fhall accompany the word for deftroying the old building, and laying the foundation of the fpiritual temple: but he may be all miftaken; for, "It is not for us to know the times and the feafons." But, notwithstanding of the great reftraint of the Spirit at this day, yet I would fain hope that God's term-day is coming with refpect to fome in this country-fide: O cry for a day of power. I hope of others, that they have met with this day already: and, though the work goes flowly on, while the Lord is fo much withdrawn, because the generation have finned him away; yet, ever fince the firft ftone of the tem ple was laid, the foundation hath never altogether been razed, but they have enjoyed now and then, fome remarkable days; fome days for digging and difcovering the foundation; and fome days for fealing and giving confir mation. O Sirs, “Defpife not the day of fmall things;" but put a remark upon God's days; his days of coming, and his days of going; his days of abfence, and his day's of prefence; that fo his day of abfence may be a day of prayer to you, and his day of prefence, a day of praife.

4. Hence we may fee, what makes it go fo ill with the church of Chrift, in general, at this day, especially in thefe lands: why, the Lord's temple is not built; few or none put to their hand to lay the foundation of the temple, or to begin and advance a work of reformation: and, therefore, the Lord is not bleffing us at this day; but we ly under many curfed fruits and effects of his anger; curfed divifions and animofities; curfed jealoufies of one another; and differences of judgment and principles; curfed diffentions, even about truth and error; curfed bondage with refpect to the difcipline and government of the church: many, many curfes we ly under at this day, inftead of bleffings; and none of them all more dreadful than that the word and ordinan. ces of Chrift are fo much blafted to the generality, that few are getting any faving or converting good of the word; and the most part are rather hardened or ftupi. fied under it. Alas! whence is all this curfe upon us,

and

་་

and little bleffing difcerned? Why, furely temple-work and temple-reformation is laid afide: this is what the Lord complains of, by this fame prophet Haggai, chap. i. 2, 3, 4. People fay, The time is not come, the time to build the Lord's houfe." Why, fays God, "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houfes, and this houfe ly wafte?" Thus many think, Ô it is not time to think of a public covenanted work of reformation; to ply the ftate for the redrefs of church-grievances, and the like but, ah! is it time for us to dwell in our ceiled houfe, while the houfe of the Lord lies wafte? is it time for us to be confulting nothing but our own worldly eafe, profit, and fecurity, while God's temple is wafted? Oh! what will the world be to you, when your eye ftrings are breaking? What will the world be to you, when you fee Chrift coming in flaming fire? Is it time for us to be indulging ourselves in the enjoyment of outward conveniences, lands, and houfes, and yet no time to be concerned about temple-work, when the foundations are like to be destroyed? But, what faith the prophet here? "Confider your ways: have you not been blafted and broken fince temple-work was neglected?" So may it be faid of us, Have we not been blasted and curfed many ways; broken, divided, and rent into a thousand pieces, because of our little zeal for templereformation? Is it any wonder then God fet our house on fire about our ears, when we are become fo coldrife in the zeal of his houfe, which fhould eat us up? I speak of all forts; both high and low, magiftrates, minifters, and people, without diftinction, as being all in our several stations defective with respect to temple-reformation, according to our call, in the diftinct fpheres of our activity. But, alas! our defection is gone to fuch a degree, that we can hardly fpeak of the defections of the day, without being mifconftructed. But I fpeak of such defections, whereof I defire to accufe myfelf among the first. However, I fay, we need not think ftrange, that it goes fo ill with the church, and that the Lord is not bleffing us as a church, when temple-reformation is fa much neglected.

Use 2.

་་

Use 2. Our next use shall be for trial and examination, if we are bleffed or curfed of God according as the foundation is laid or not: furely it is our duty to try whether or not we have built our fouls and our falvation upon the right foundation or not; "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your ownfelves; know ye not that Chrift is in you, except ye be reprobates?" Many lay a wrong foundation, and yet think the foundation is laid well enough: for example, fome build upon the fandy foundation of a name and profeffion; "They have a name to live, and are dead."-Some build upon the fhoulders of their progenitors, efpecially, if religious; The grandmother Lois, and the mother Eunice. Many follow their forefathers religion be what it will.-Some build upon the foundation of a negative goodness; "O "God be thanked, fay fome, I am no fwearer, drunkard, "whoremonger; "God, I thank thee, that I am not as "other men;" though I may have my faults, yet there. "are worfe folk in the world than I am; for I have always a good heart towards God." Wo is me, for you, poor deluded wretch! if you knew yourself, you would fee yourself the chief of finners; yea, worse than a devil. -Some again build upon the foundation of gracelefs graces, if I may fo call them. Thus many fay they have hope, but it is a falfe hope; they hope in the mercy of God, but yet it is a damning hope, an ignorant hope, a delufive hope; for, they were never begotten again to a new and lively hope, by the refurrection of Jefus Chrift from the dead; and they were never brought to despair in themselves. Many fay they have faith, but it is a cradle faith; "O! God forbid, fay "they, but we believe in Chrift, and trust in God. "Bleffed be God, I have trufted in God all my days; "and I have always believed." And yet never faw their want of faith; were never convinced of their unbelief; never faw the need of God's power to work faith in them; and far lefs ever felt this power. I tell you, that cradle faith will lead you to hell, and not to heaven; for, it is a faith of the devil's making, and not of God's operation.-Some,

again, build upon the foundation of their great attainments: they do not want knowledge, perhaps ; and, may be, they have fometimes floods of tears, at fermons, common motions, and meltings in duty; enlargements of natural affections in prayer; and ravishments of joy now and then: but what a fandy foundation this is, our Lord Jefus witneffes, while he tells us of the ftony ground hearers, that hear the word with joy; yea, with a temporary faith; they receive it with joy; but they have no root in them, and fo all fails them in the iffue. Some, again, build upon the foundation of a legal righteoufnefs and religious performances, while unacquaint with the foundation: this is not God's righteoufnefs; "They being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish a righteousness of their own, have not fubmitted themfelves to the righteousness of God," Rom. x. 13.: the righteousness of God is the righteoufnefs of Chrift; for, "Chrift is the end of the law for righteoufnefs, to every one that believeth." Man, woman, do you know nothing of what it is to be divorced from the law, as a covenant of life and works, and fhaken off from confidence in the flesh, or expectations of God's favour by your duties or obedience to the law as a covenant? Let none mistake me, as if I were speaking against the law as a rule of life and holiness: I fpeak of a divorce from the law as a covenant of works and condition of life; and am faying no more than what the apoftle fays, Rom. vii. 4. "Ye, brethren, are become dead to the law, by the body of Chrift, that you fhould be married to another, even to him that was raised from the dead, that we fhould bring forth fruit unto God." And, Gal. ii. 19. "I thro' the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God;" intimating, that as none can perform a gofpel-obedience to the law, as a rule, until they be divorced from the law as a covenant, and married to Chrift, in whom they are in cafe of bringing forth fruit to God; fo, that all who are built upon the foundation of a legal righteoufnefs of their own, they are stranger to true godlinefs, and upon a wrong foundation; and I infift most upon this, becaufe it is the most dangerous foundation that a man can be built upon; becaufe, being built upon

the

« السابقةمتابعة »