THE
SPIRIT’S
STANDARD
LIFTED UP AND DISPLAYED
AGAINST ERROR:
A SERMON,
By MR. ROBERT BRAGGE,
MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL.
It is a glorious truth, which reflects light on the whole gospel, and adds lustre to all the works of God, that whatever God does, or suffers to be done, be it in the church, or in the world, is for the manifestation of his own glory. To this great end, that his glory may shine forth the brighter, his works of nature are made to subserve his designs of love and grace: the first Adam, at the head of this lower creation, was but the figure of him that was to come. Dark and dismal as the veil is which sin has spread over all nations, and great as the confusion is which it has hurled quite round the globe, all in the end will be so overruled, as to be an eternal illustration of the glory of God, as it shines forth in the face of Jesus Christ. The scattering caused by sin would not have been suffered, but to make way for the gathering together of the whole election of the Father’s grace, in a far more glorious Head; of which you read, Eph.1:10. "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him." Full as hell is of darkness, the glory of God’s vindictive justice shines brightly therein: and full as the enemies are of wrath, be they men or devils, all their wrath shall be made to praise God.
I shall not consider these words in their connexion; so to do, would take up too much of your time: but, in speaking to them I shall observe the following method:
I. Who the enemy is whom the text speaks of, shall be my first inquiry.
II. Why the enemy is at any time suffered to come in like a flood, shall be my next.
III. I shall let you see how remarkably the Spirit of the Lord has all along lifted up a standard against them.
IV. I shall produce the standard which we, who are set for the defence of the gospel, should, as enabled by the Spirit, he now lifting up.
V. Who the present enemy is, which threatens to come in like a flood, shall be my last inquiry: And so I shall acquaint you with the design of this Lecture; and conclude with the joint request of the Lecturers.
I. I shall begin with the first of these; which is to tell you, who the enemy is, my text speaks of. The truly gracious, of any denomination, are not to be numbered among the enemy. These may differ among themselves, and labour under mistakes about less matters; but "being one spirit with the Lord, they are enabled, whereunto they have attained, to walk by the same rule." Being taught of God, they are brought to acknowledge every good thing in Christ, that is to be found in one another; according to that golden rule, which regulates the communion of saints, Philem. 6. "That the communication of thy faith may become effectual, by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus." Was this rule of Christian fellowship more observed, we should differ without falling out. The unity of the Spirit would be preserved, at another rate than it is, in the bond of peace; neither would the people of God kindle fire on earth, or call for fire from heaven to devour one another. Neither babes, nor men, nor fathers in Christ, are the enemies my text speaks of, but the seed of the serpent are; who, in numberless instances, have discovered and are still discovering their bitter enmity against the seed of the woman. The people of God, whose New Testament name is that of the saints, and faithful in Christ Jesus, have all along had their enemies. Righteous Abel had a cruel enemy—bloody Cain. Thus the patriarch Jacob had a fierce enemy—profane Esau. Jacob, to be sure, took a wrong step to obtain the blessing; who was suffered thus to come at it, that it might appear he deserved it no more than did profane Esau, who discovered the plague and enmity of his heart, by resolving on the death of his brother. Thus Israel, under the Old Testament, had many and fierce enemies; there was Pharaoh, king of Egypt, with his cruel counsellors; there was Goliath of Gath, with his Philistines; there was Sennacherib, king of Assyria, with his railing Rabshakeh; there was Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, with many more. Their own idolatrous kings were some of Israel’s worst enemies; who were so outrageously wicked, as not only to lay aside the worship of the true God, but to place their idols in his temple: the calves at Dan and Bethel were very provoking, but idols in the temple itself were more so.
Top instance of the enmity which lives and reigns in the seed of the serpent, is the treatment which Christ and his apostles met with, in the fulness of time, among the Jews, and wherewith his gospel and witnesses are still treated. One would have thought, that considering who Christ was, and on what kind errand he came, he should have had no enemy, especially among his own: the prophecies relating to the sufferings of the Messiah, were as unlikely to have had their accomplishment, as that of the kings of Europe consenting to give away their power to the beast: but accomplished they were, which is a wonderful proof of the truth of the Christian religion. Never had any more enemies, nor fiercer, than Christ had. They who waited for the consolation of Israel, were his friends; but how few were they? The rest, from them that sat in the gate, to them that deserved the stocks, were his enemies: he was the song of drunkards, as well as the envy of the Sanhedrim. His brethren did not believe in him, which was a plain proof he was no cheat; for had he been so, to be sure his brethren would have been let into the secret; and his near kinsfolks went forth to take him: he passed for an enemy to Cęsar among the rulers, and for a madman among his relations.
Thus his apostles, during the course of their ministry, had their enemies; few died a natural, but most a violent death; sealing the testimony they bore to the truth as it is in Jesus, with their blood. How was persecuting Saul persecuted, when he came to be a Christian! Hell soon turned the tables upon him, and was in an uproar against him. Thus the primitive saints had their enemies, both at Rome and at Jerusalem, and every where else. Wherever the seed of the woman had any footing, the seed of the serpent sent out a flood of persecution to destroy them. Witness the ten bloody persecutions under Rome Pagan; which have been outdone by Rome Antichristian: the dragon filled himself with the blood of the saints; but the scarlet whore has often made herself drunk therewith. In the massacre at Paris, she drank the blood of a hundred thousand Protestants; and of three hundred thousand in that of Ireland; and of a million in that great persecution of the Waldenses, and of the Albigenses. How did she begin to glut herself with English blood during the short reign of bloody queen Mary! Our civil rights, as Englishmen, have all along had their enemies: how forward were many during the reigns of king Charles and of king James, to have introduced slavery, as well as popery? And are there not still among us some who would be glad, were the prince absolute, and the clergy independent? Has the Reformation no enemies among us? Are all dead and gone, who hate to be reformed?
Thus the doctrines of the gospel have all along had, and still have their enemies. The doctrine of the resurrection had so; of which number were Hymeneus and Philetus, who said it was past already, 1 Tim. 1:20. And so had the doctrine of Christ’s true and proper divinity, of his incarnation, of his satisfaction, of his imputed righteousness, and of his efficacious grace.—Thus much may suffice, by way of answer to the first inquiry.
II. My next inquiry is this: why is the enemy suffered at any time, thus to come in like a flood? To which I answer, in six things.
1. It is for the manifestation of His glory, who works all things after the counsel of his own will, thus to suffer it; who can and will bring glory to himself, even praise, which is the top of glory, out of all the instances and attacks of the enemies’ wrath, Ps. 76:10. "The wrath of man shall praise thee;" which holds as true of the wrath of devils. Had not Christ, the seed of the woman, been an overmatch for Satan, one abundantly able to bruise his head, the old serpent had not been suffered to enter paradise, nor to tempt our first parents, and last of all to prevail: but super-creating grace would have interposed; for to be sure, that grace, whence is our recovery by Christ the second Adam, could have prevented our fall in the first. Were not the King of saints able to cast the man of sin, as a millstone, into the sea of God’s judicial wrath, to rise up no more for ever, Antichrist had not been suffered to show himself, and much less to wear a triple crown at Rome; the doing of which will outshine Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt, and Pharaoh’s being drowned in the Red Sea. By this Christ will get unto himself a glorious name of praise, and be eternally exalted; whose glory, as man and mediator, will be but the greater, in God’s salvation, for all the opposition it meets with from the enemy. It is with Christ, ‘the Sun of righteousness, as it is with the natural sun; we may darken our houses, and shut out the light, but cannot darken the sun: should all eyes be put out, the sun would remain as full of light as ever; the seeing eye adds nothing to the shining sun, that is the same whether the horizon be full of clouds, or without them; its light and heat are but the more manifested and recommended, by our winter seasons and long nights.
2. It is also for the trial and exercise of all his people’s graces that this is suffered. As the cash of the nation should not be locked up, nor hoarded, but traded with; so the graces of the Spirit are talents of such worth and usefulness, that God will not have them hid in napkins. Untried faith is uncertain faith, which holds true of the rest of our graces. Had not Abraham’s faith been tried, he had not been called in the word of God, the father of the faithful, a higher title than his being the father of many nations, or Adam’s being the father of all mankind. The trials and temptations of the people of God cannot be set in a sweeter light than they are, by the apostle Peter, 1 Peter 1:6, 7. "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness, through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Faith alone, because of its usefulness, is here mentioned; but all other graces are, doubtless, included. How shall the followers of the Lamb be brought off more than conquerors in the end, if they meet with no enemies in the way? Faith’s victories suppose a field of battle; a flesh lusting against the Spirit, a tempting world, and a raging devil. Mean and contemptible as the followers of the Lamb are, in the eye of the world, they will outshine all its Cęsars in the day of Christ’s appearance. "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory," will be their tribute of praise above in glory; for none in heaven sacrifice to their own net, nor burn incense to their own drag; but shout grace, grace, and will do so for ever.
3. It is to rouse and awaken the wise virgins that this is suffered; who, in slumbering and sleeping with the foolish, act below their character, as they are God’s witnesses, and God’s remembrances; who are to buy the truth as it is in Jesus, at any rate, but to part with it for no price: they are also to give the Most High no rest, until he so establish Jerusalem, as to make it the praise of the whole earth. Now, a sleepy, drowsy, lukewarm, indifferent frame ill becomes persons who are placed by God in so high a post, on whose diligence and watchfulness so much depends.
4. This is suffered, that the followers of the Lamb may take unto themselves the whole armor of God; no piece of which can well be spared; neither the girdle of truth, than which nothing is more dreaded by the father of lies; nor the breast-plate of righteousness, that is, of Christ’s imputed suretiship righteousness, which defends and screens the heart from the thunders of the law, as a broken covenant, and from the lashes of conscience for the breach thereof: neither can the saint’s shoe be any more missed, than the saint’s breast-plate; for the gospel of peace, received in the love of it, promotes practical godliness more than all the thunders of Sinai. And as for the shield of faith, we all need to be further taught how to manage it: it is among our graces like the sun among the planets; neither can we, who are as brands plucked out of the burning, be without the helmet of salvation, or lay aside the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; because ‘we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, and with spiritual wickednesses in high places;’ with the rulers of the darkness of this world, who sit at the helm at Rome, at Constantinople, in the East and West Indies.
5. This is suffered to put those who are one spirit with the Lord, upon looking up for a fresh anointing. Your having had him as the former rain, in your regeneration, should encourage you to ask, and to expect him as the latter rain, to the end of life: who, as certainly as he has laid the first, will bring forth the top-stone with shouting, not the Arminian shout of free will, but that of free grace unto it. To war as well as to worship in the Spirit, is what all the followers of the Lamb are called to: Satan is sure of victory whenever you go forth against him in your own spirits; a look unto Christ, your Head, for a fresh anointing, is of the utmost consequence, when we are called forth to battle.
6. I may add, this is suffered, to baffle and confound the enemy, who have missed the mark, as oft as they have bent their bow, and shot their arrows. Thus they missed it, in putting Pharaoh upon destroying the males in Israel, as soon as born; for then was Moses, Israel’s deliverer, born, who had not been taken up by Pharaoh’s daughter, and educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, had not his parents been forced to expose him. Never was Satan more desirous to accomplish any thing than the death of Christ; who, by dying, destroyed him that hath the power of death, that is the devil: where the enemy hoped to have triumphed over him, he spoiled them; whose cross proved their overthrow, and his resurrection their entire defeat. Thus in the pit which they dug for Christ, were their own feet taken.
III. I shall now give you some memorable instances of the enemy’s coming in like a flood; and let you see how victoriously the Spirit of the Lord hath, all along, lifted up a standard against him.
1. How like a flood did the gates of hell come in upon all mankind, when the old serpent had artfully drawn our first parents into sin! Then, if ever, was there joy in hell; but hell’s joy was but like a flash of lightning; for in the evening of that dark and gloomy day, did the glorious light of the gospel first break forth. That the old serpent was by when the threatening was pronounced, is very manifest, he being the first that was sentenced: to whom the first promise, if it was understood by him, must have been like a clap of thunder, before which he fell; who, as he had gained his point, so he was to receive his death’s wound by the instrumentality of a woman; for it was her seed, and not the man’s, that was to bruise his head. The standard of the first promise virtually contained in it all after-promises; for the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ, are all three plainly hinted at, and foretold thereby; his incarnation, in his being called the seed of the woman, who was to be born of a virgin; his death and sufferings, by, which his heel is most aptly and elegantly said to be bruised;. His resurrection and victory, by which he effectually bruised the serpent head.
2. How like a flood did the enemy come in, first in oppressing, and then in pursuing Israel! That Israel’s name might extinguished, Israel’s males were ordered to be drowned, as soon as born; and though God had, by an high hand of power delivered his people out of Egypt, Pharaoh resolved to pursue, with a prospect of overtaking and dividing the spoil: but how awful, as well as remarkable, was the standard which the Spirit of the Lord lifted up against Pharaoh and his host, by drowning them in the Red Sea; who were first infatuated, and so destroyed.
3. How like a flood did the Assyrians come in against Judah! Their defenced cities were taken, and Jerusalem besieged by an army of an hundred and fourscore and five thousand men, all full of rage and rancor against Israel, if any judgment may be formed of them by Rabshakeh’s railing letter. But good Hezekiah, instead of returning railing for railing, gave himself to prayer; in answer to which, the Spirit of the Lord lifted such a standard, as effectually brought about Israel’s deliverance; for the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote, in one night, an hundred and fourscore and five thousand of the Assyrians.
4. How like a flood did the enemy come in, in the reign of king Ahasuerus; when wicked Haman resolved by way of revenge, on the destruction of all the Jews! Not only they in Shushan were to be killed, both young and old, little children and women, in one day; but they from India to Ethiopia, even all that were to be found residing in any part of the king’s dominions, who reigned over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces. But how remarkable was the standard which the Spirit lifted up against him! Wicked Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai; and the Jews everywhere were victorious over their blood-thirsty enemies, of whom they slew seventy-five thousand.
5. How like a flood did the enemy come in, in that hour of darkness, of which Christ speaks, Luke22:53, "But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." In it the enemy got Christ betrayed, denied, and crucified; and to make all sure, requested Pilate that the grave might be secured; accordingly, they set a watch, and sealed the stone. But how glorious was the standard which the Spirit lifted up in the early resurrection of Christ! Matthew 28:2, 3, 4: "Behold there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it; his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow; and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men."
6. In the ten bloody persecutions raised by Rome Pagan, Satan came in like a flood, hoping to crush the church in its infancy; but such and so glorious was the standard which the Spirit, in those early days, lifted up against him, that the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church. As in Egypt, the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they multiplied; so the primitive Christians propagated the gospel, by their sufferings for it; the patience they acted, and their praying for their persecutors, overcame many of them; and the sealing of their testimony with their blood made their testimony but the more regarded.
7. How like a flood did the enemy come in, in the rise and progress of Antichrist, who is drawn and described to the life in the prophecies of the New Testament! Hardly a circumstance of any consequence is there omitted, from the word mystery, writ on his forehead, to his making merchandise of the souls of men. But how glorious and successful was the standard which the Spirit lifted up in the Reformation! though the man of sin was then in his height of power, saying, in his heart, he should never be moved; the first Reformers were in Christ’s hand an overmatch for him, by whose ministry he received such a wound, as will never be healed.
To conclude this head. A little before Satan’s binding, and immediately after his being loosed, he is to come in like a flood. A little before his binding, he is to come in like a flood in latter-day darkness; of which you have a very humbling account: 2 Tim. 2:1, &c. "This know, that in the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but deny-power thereof;" and likewise in getting the witnesses slain, who are the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus; such as bear their testimony against error to the truth, as it is in Jesus, who are to prophesy in sackcloth, during the long reign of Antichrist; towards the close of which, the beast out of the bottomless pit is to make war with them, and to overcome and kill them; and the dead bodies are to lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified: which great street seems to me to be Europe, which is the most trading, populous, and improved part of the first Adam’s world, which is the great city that is deservedly called Sodom and Egypt, into which Christ was born, and in which he was crucified. But how glorious is the standard which the Spirit, in those last days will raise up against the enemy! of which you read, Rev. 11:11:"After three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them; and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them that saw them; and the same hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell." Rome’s downfall seems to be the immediate consequence of their resurrection; which is followed by latter-day glory; chap. 11:15, "And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ."
After Satan is loosed, he will be suffered to come in like a flood, which will be his last effort, and, of consequence, his boldest and fiercest onset, of which you read, chap. 20:7, &c. "When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go to deceive the nations, which are in the four quarters of the earth, (where America, which is the fourth quarter of the earth, is plainly pointed at,) Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea: and they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." By which fire, it is highly probable, the first Adam’s world will be burnt up; of which the apostle Peter speaks, 1 Peter 3:7, for, in the close of this chapter, you have an account of judgment, and of the perdition of ungodly men; and at the beginning of the following chapter, of a new heaven and of a new earth.
IV. I shall next observe what the standard is, which we, who preach the gospel, should now be lifting up.
1. Negatively. Not the standard of a Plato, nor of a Seneca, which is that of carnal reason, supported by philosophy, and varnished over with a show of morality; which can no more supply the place of the gospel, than the dim light and shine of the moon and the stars can supply the place, or make up for the want of the light and warm beams of the sun. Though the mind of man was originally the candle of the Lord, it is blown out by sin into a stinking snuff: witness the stench of idolatry and superstition the world has for so many ages past been filled with. Neither is the standard, we should lift up’, that of Antichrist; which is fire and fagot, with all the instruments of cruelty, which a raging devil could invent, or a bloody inquisition make use of; who, in making converts, prove themselves to be none of Christ’s disciples, who came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. Rome’s cruelties are the reverse of Christ’s bowels. Neither is the standard we are to lift up, that of Mahomet, whose weapons were carnal, and not spiritual; such as flattery, and the force of arms, polygamy, and a carnal paradise; who, instead of foretelling sufferings, promised victory; and instead of working miracles, was full of debaucheries. Neither is the standard we are to lift up, that of the Jews; which is that of fables, and romantic traditions, of which their Talmud, and the other writings, are full; who, though they have the Old Testament entire, and the free use thereof, yet it is to them as a sealed book, the veil of their hearts not being taken away. This they kept for us, as we do the New Testament for them. In a word, the standard we are to lift up, is not that of any party, in opposition to Christ, whose written word is the touch-stone of all we preach, and of all we print. To this one and only standard of truth, and warrant of the reformation, we are ready to bring all our sermons, confessions, catechisms, and bodies of divinity: by this we endeavour both to preach and to pray, to walk and to worship.
2. Having thus returned a negative, I shall return a positive answer to this great inquiry; what is the standard which such as preach the gospel should lift up? To which I answer; the same, for substance, which Moses and all the prophets lifted up, under the Old Testament; which was Christ, in type or figure, and which the apostles and evangelists lifted up, under the New, which was Christ without a veil. Christ, as he is God’s salvation, or the truth, as it is in Jesus, is the standard we should be lifting up. This, like the canopy of heaven, is of a vast extent, and would employ the mind of a Solomon, to the years of a Methuselah, in the study thereof; as it has done, for a longer space of time, the minds of angels; and yet we are told, for their comfort and encouragement, who are babes in Christ, that "whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God." 1 John 5:1: Now, where this new birth is, there will be a following on to know the Lord; to which end such a book as the Bible is put into every believer’s hand, and the Spirit promised, to teach us the right use thereof. Now, in lifting up this standard, against the impenitent and unbelieving world, we should preach, as the apostle Paul did, "repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 20:21. "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ." It is not sufficient for us, who preach the gospel, to teach the duty of repentance, unless we tell our hearers where, and from whom the grace of repentance is to be had; "That Christ is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and remission of sins." Acts 5:31.
In lifting up this standard against the Arians and Socinians, we should enlarge on the true and proper divinity of Christ; and let our hearers know, that there is not that name in scripture, by which the living and true God is known and distinguished from dumb idols, but is given to the Lord Jesus Christ; neither is there that divine perfection mentioned in scripture, by which the living and true God is distinguished from lifeless idols, but is ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither is there any act of divine worship mentioned or commanded, in scripture to be paid to the living and true God, and forbidden to be given to idols, but is commanded to be given to the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither are there any works, either of nature, or of grace, be it creation-work, or that of preservation, or the disposals of providence; or redemption-work, be it renovation of the soul, or the resurrection of the body, or the judging of the world, or the making of all things new, but they are ascribed in scripture, to the Lord Jesus Christ; which is full and abundant proof, that, according to his divine nature, he is one in essence with the Father; not a mere creature, though the first of all creatures, but the most high God, manifested in the flesh. To say, that in the Bible such things as these are ascribed unto a mere creature, would be to place that book of God below the Koran.
We should also, in lifting up this glorious standard against the Pelagians and Arminians, enlarge on the love and grace, on the satisfaction and righteousness of Christ; and let our hearers know, how able he is to save, to the utmost of God’s mercy, and of the sinner’s misery, all that come to God by him; in making elect sinners first a wise and a willing, and so a pardoned, justified, reconciled, adopted, sanctified, and at last a glorified people.
We should also, in lifting up this standard, enlarge on the incarnation of Christ, and on those royalties which belong to him, as he is God’s essential Word made flesh: of which royalties you have a short, but a most incomparable account given by Paul to the Colossians, Col.1:15, &c. That Christ is there spoken of, as incarnate, is evident, because, thus considered, he hath blood; of which you read, chap.1:14. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." Then follows, "Who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature; for by him were all things that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist." As more of God is to be seen in one man, especially in the first Adam, than in all the beasts of the field, or birds of the air; so more of the glory of God is to be seen in the face or person of Jesus Christ, than in the whole world of angels, as well as of men; or in never so many worlds of mere creatures, never so varied or diversified. Mathematicians can easily tell how many ways the letters of the alphabet may be disposed, or how many millions of words may be made out of four and twenty letters; but who can say how many worlds may, by the power of God, be formed out of so much matter as this earth and the visible heaven contain? But let their possible numbers be what they will, it may be said for the glory of our Emmanuel, that his face will outshine them all; for, God manifested in the flesh must be, and is the top manifestation God ever did, or will make of himself, either to men or to angels. Accordingly we are told, Ps.1:3 that "out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined;" so shined, as to outshine all other discoveries; just as the natural sun outshines the moon and all the stars; and in the gift of Christ to be the Head of the church, and Saviour of the body, he hath abounded towards us, in all wisdom and prudence, Eph.1:8 "Wherein he hath abounded towards us, in all wisdom and prudence;" a like place with this, Col. 2:3. "In whom, or wherein, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." There seems to me to be a like difference between God manifested in the flesh, and all other manifestations, which there is between the print of a man’s foot, and his personal presence. How little of the man is to be known by the print of his foot, if compared with what may be known by personal converse! One "in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," must vastly outshine all the inhabitants of heaven, how glorious soever they may be. Thus is our Emmanuel "the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express image of his Person," and he is God-man Mediator; for thus considered the apostle speaks of him, Heb.1:3, &c. For the purging of our sins there mentioned, was made by the shedding of his blood, who, as incarnate, had blood to shed; blood, so his own as no other blood was or could be. By his Word to be made flesh, God made the worlds; by him, as incarnate, he upholds and governs them: thus considered he is a Head of confirmation to elect angels, and a Head of redemption to the elect among the children of men. The royalties belonging to Christ, as he is the Word made flesh, should no more be passed over in silence by us, in lifting up this standard, than the temple at Jerusalem should be left out in the history or map of that city. We may safely say it, that Emmanuel, thus considered, been laid in the purposes of God as the foundation of the whole creation, this world would have been like a house built upon the sand; in which sense he may well be called, and is, "the first-born of every creature."
V. I shall now give you some account of the design of this Lecture; which is truly great, and such as becomes us Protestant dissenters to engage in; for it is no other than in Christ’s name, and under the influences of his Spirit, to lift up a standard against error.
There are great evils, which not barely threaten, but are actually coming in like a flood upon us.
1. There is the horrible evil of Atheism introduced by a number of free-thinkers, whom the word of God calls fool; Ps. 14:1. who out-sin the devil, in going about to persuade themselves, and others, that there is no God. Of these I am credibly informed there are several clubs in this great city; and yet it is no less certain, that there must be an eternal, unoriginated Being, than it is that there is any Being at all; for as certainly as something now is, something has always been; which eternal unoriginated Being is God. It is also as certain, that the several species, or kinds of beasts, of birds, of fishes, and of insects, as well as the children of men, could not at first come into this world, as they now do; the first man, for instance, could have no father, but must, by some superior power, be immediately formed, and brought forth, not in a state of helpless infancy, but able to help himself. Thus the first of beasts must not need the dug; nor the first of birds be from an egg, or need the nest, or the wing. As lumps of paint never so well mixed, though they may be said virtually to contain all the pictures which the ablest hand can draw with them, yet without a skillful hand can express nothing, so dull inactive matter cannot form itself into the meanest plant, or insect, without a superior power; which superior Being, who formed all things, is God.
2. Another desolating evil, like to the former, is that of Deism, introduced by a set of men, who, taking no notice of the damage done by sin, assert the sufficiency of natural religion, to make men happy in both worlds, and so pour the utmost contempt on all divine and supernatural revelation, how well soever it is attested, though by a cloud of witnesses, many of whom sealed their testimony with their blood; by a great number of miracles wrought in the presence of inquisitive, as well as of implacable enemies; and by a set of most remarkable prophecies, which have all along had their accomplishment, and are still accomplishing. The light of nature when at best is but like the shine of the moon, if compared with the sunshine of the gospel; and, since the fall, is like the moon in an eclipse: now, if the moon, at full, be not able, much less is it, when in an eclipse, able, either to make or to rule the day. Deism, about an hundred years ago, was, in a manner, confined to France and Italy; but of late it has passed the Alps, and crossed the seas, and spreads like a mighty contagion far and near here in England.
3. Another desolating evil, which not only threatens, but is come in like a flood upon us, is that of error in the things of God; particularly in the doctrines of the gospel, from that of the Arian, to that of the Galatian error; or from those who deny the true and proper divinity of Christ, to such as say he is not "the end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believes;" which is no new nor unforetold enemy; for the apostle, so many years ago has told us, that "there must be heresies, that they who are approved may be made manifest." But, blessed be God, though the foundations may be attacked and undermined, they cannot be removed; for if they could, what should the righteous do?
4. Another desolating evil, which threatens to carry all before it, is that of profaneness. This is supported by such as regard not the sabbath; but cry down all public worship; make a jest of closet and family prayer; banter and burlesque Scripture, and pour the utmost contempt on a standing ministry; though it has been hitherto, and will to the end of time be supported by Christ, who said, "Lo, I am with you alway, unto the end of the world."
5. Another desolating evil, is that of immorality. This is nearly allied to, but not the same with the former, and is propagated and spread, not barely by private conversation, but in print, by such as deny that there is any intrinsic real difference between moral good and moral evil; who say, to tell a lie, is, in the nature of the thing, as commendable as to speak the truth; and to be a thief, as to be an honest man. But they may as soon persuade us, that there is no real difference between light and darkness, pain and pleasure, life and death. The mind in man is under a like necessity to own, that a dutiful son, or subject, excels one that hath murdered his father, or shot his prince; as the palate is to give the preference to wholesome pleasant food, before stinking carrion; or, as the eye is, to prefer a pleasant agreeable prospect, before a dark cave, or a dreadful precipice. It is not more evident to the mathematician, that the three angles of every triangle are equal to two right angles, than it is to all mankind, that justice and mercy excel tyranny and oppression.
6. Another desolating evil, which threatens to overflow like a flood, is that of libertinism, or turning the grace of God into wantonness. It is not unlikely but Cain might, presume, upon the grace of the first promise, in his murder of Abel: to be sure those libertines did on that of the gospel, of whom Jude speaks, Jude, verse 4. and thus do multitudes in our dark day; for though a work of grace cannot be abused, all the doctrines of grace may. The outward court is full of libertines, who are not under the law of Christ; of whom the apostle speaks, Phil.3:18, 19: "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things."
These are the evils of our times; some of which we, who preach this lecture, shall, in Christ’s name, and under the influence of his Spirit, lift up the standard of the Word against, even the truth, as it is in Jesus; who, as God manifested in the flesh, was a full, unanswerable, visible, and most satisfying proof of the being of a God; of the truth of the Old Testament, and consequently a matchless recommendation of the Christian religion, as it is contained in the New. Nothing could be expected from the Word made flesh, and in that flesh sustaining the character of a Redeemer, that was not to be met with in the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ: his divinity, sonship, and mediation, were written in characters full of greatness and glory upon all these; so written as to put angels to school again: those vast proficients in the book of nature, are represented as learning of the church, the manifold wisdom of God, as it shines forth in the face of our Emmanuel, the Lord Jesus Christ. Eph. 3:10.
The design of this Lecture therefore is not to oppose any other orthodox Lecture, nor to put a slight upon any of our brethren in the ministry; but to bear an extraordinary united testimony against growing infidelity, and spreading errors.
Now, we your Lecturers, though we neither expect nor desire the encouragement of the purse, want your prayers; that in a spirit of meekness, and not of wrath and bitterness, we may instruct those who shall oppose themselves, and defend, with a right gospel spirit, the great truths thereof; for between true Christian zeal and rage, there is a like difference, which there is between the warm beams of the sun, and the desolating flames of Ętna. Brethren, pray for us, that we may neither study nor preach, nor pray in our own spirits, but do all in Christ’s Spirit; the promise of whom, as he is Christ’s glorifier, is, in a way of eminency, the promise of the Father under the New Testament; as the promise of the Messiah was his promise under the Old.
For your encouragement who shall attend, as well as for ours who are to preach, take the following Scripture, and with it I will conclude, Ps. 93:3, 4: "The floods have lifted up, O Lord; the floods have lifted up heir voice; the floods lift up their waves:" Understand it of ungodly men, in all ages and places; especially of such as persecute the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus, though, for want of power, it be only with the lip and pen: "The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters; yea, than the mighty waves of the sea."
