Parental Wishes and Charges. OR, THE ENJOYMENT of a Glorious Christ, Proposed, as the Great BLESSEDNESS, which Christian PARENTS desire, both for Themselves, and for their CHILDREN. In a DISCOURSE, now put into the Hands of such PARENTS, as would be Assisted in their Duty, by putting such Things into the Hands of their CHILDREN.
CHRISTUS noster Amor, CHRISTUS que Honor, Omnia CHRISTUS.
Boston, in N. E. Printed and Sold by Timothy Green, 1705.
OMNIS Anima accedat and CHRISTUM; quia omnia CHRISTUS est nobis. Si a vulnere curari desideras, CHRISTUS medicus est. Si Febribus aestuas, Fons est. Si Gravaris Iniquitate, Justicia est. Si indiges auxilio, Virtus est. Si Tenebras fugis, lux est. Si Cael [...]m desideras, Via est. Si cibum quaeris, Alimentum.
Parental Wishes and Charges.
I Show you now a Pastor of a large Flock, at Prayer for his Flock. The Cares and Prayers of your Pastors for you, O our Dear People, will presently be described unto you. How can you hear them, and not fall in with them, to make such Cares and Prayers your own, for your selves and for your Children!
We have before us, A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Indeed, he must be [Page 4] a man of Prayer, that would be a man God. But what will the Prayer of sue an one mainly turn upon?
The Great GOD, having promise unto His People, a SAVIOUR, and GREAT ONE, the Faith of Good me lived continually upon the Promise of that MESSIAH, until it was accomplished. In every part of the Old Testament, we therefore find the Saints of God, looking and longing for the coming of the MESSIAH. And here we find our Moses doing so; Moses, one of the most Admirable, and Angelical men, that ever lived upon Earth; An Angel rather than a Man. That Illustrious man of God, having Bewayled the miseries, of a Generation many wayes perishing under the mortal wrath of Heaven, he petitions for those Blessings to be bestowed upon them, which might relieve, their miseries. The Summ and the Chief of all Blessings, is desired in the words now before us; The Appearing of the WORK and the GLORY of God. I make no Question, that by the Work of God, and His Glory, or His Glorious work, His [Page 5] MESSIAH is [...]. Moses thinks, [...] of the Messiah, this would [...] all that was amiss. Happy [...], happy the Children, that have the [...], the [...], the Christ of God, [...] to them, with His Blessed [...]. This is to be our Doctrine.
The [...] CHRIST of God, [...] Glorious [...] of God; And the [...] and for then Children.
We thus proceed upon it.
[...] CHRIST, we may [...] Work of God the most [...] that can be [...]; a [...] the [...] whereof surprises all [...]. Come with me my Hearers, and now let Men eat the food of [...].
(I) We have a CHRIST: And what is our CHRIST, but Gods Work [...] we never should have had Him. This is one of the Expressive Titles, by which [Page 6] our mighty Redeemer, is in the Boo [...] which Testifies of Him, described [...] us; He is the Work of God. The gladness of the Saints in Him, at the Arrival of the Great Sabbatism, is thus Expressed Psal. 92. 4. Lord, Those hast made me gla [...] thro' thy work. We read, Isa. 28. 21. The Lord will do His work, His strange work. I find the Ancients Expounding this, concerning the Incarnation, and the following Humiliation, of the Son of God. But because you may reckon the Gloss, a strange Gloss, we will not insist upon it. Yet, let it not seem Strange, if we say;
First; The whole Contrivance of a CHRIST, and of our coming to Blessedness in and by a CHRIST, it is, The Work of God. The whole Mystery of CHRIST is called, Luk. 7. 30. The Counsel of God. The Curious, and Marvellous and Exquisite Contrivance of a CHRIST, none but GOD is the Author of it. It is a Contrivance above the reach of Creatures, The infinite GOD Himself contrived it, That His own Son should become a CHRIST, in Uniting Himself unto a Man; and that He would make Worlds [Page 7] [...] CHRIST [...] Him a [...] Ones to be brought unto [...] by him, and with [...] World. If GOD [...] and, [...] it, [...] There is [...] new and [...] Eternal [...]. Well, [...] It is [...] the Work [...]. And it will be no [...] is the [...] It [...] not be [...] out such an acknowledgment [...] Deut. 32 3, 4. [...] God; The ROC [...], His WORK, [...]
[...] There is a special Work of God, in the whole [...] of a CHRIST, Exhibited unto the world. [...] of what has been done, in the [...] of a CHRIST it is all [...] every Article thereof, [...] [Page 8] Dei. When we see a CHRIST, in the Exhibition which our Gospel makes o [...] Him, it must needs be with that Exclamation, What has God wrought! Upon the whole Dispensation of a CHRIST, we must fall down with Astonishment, and Cry out, Psal. 118. 23. This is the Lords Doing, it is marvellous in our Eyes! What was the Birth of our CHIRST? It was the Work of God; And He was Conceived, thro' the Holy Spirit of God overshadowing His Virgin-Mother. What was the Death of our CHRIST? It was the Work of God. It Pleased the Lord to bruise Him in it, and He Groan'd, suffer thy Terrors, O God. What was the Resurrection of our CHRIST? It was the Work of God; God Raised Him from the Dead; Yea, God Revived His work in the midst of the Years, when He Raised Him. The Judging of the world by our CHRIST, whose Work will this be? We read, God shall Judge the world by that Man. And if we have an Heart any of us to Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Work of God, even this Faith also is the Work of God; We read, Col. 2. [Page 9] 12. Faith is of the Operation of God.
(II.) The Work of God in the CHRIST of God, is a most Glorious Work: There is a matchless Glory in the Work. This is another of these Expressive and Endearing Titles, by which our Lovely Redeemer is propos'd unto us. He is, The Glory of God; Numberless are the sentences in the Bible which have call'd him so. Hence, when the coming of our Lord was at hand, it was said, Psal. 85. 9. Surely, His Salvation is nigh them that fear Him, that Glory may dwell in our Land. [Compare, Jam. 2. 1.]
More Particularly.
First; The CHRIST of God, is the most Glorious Object that ever was. There was a Luminous, and Fiery, and Heavenly CLOUD, wherein the God of Heaven did from the Beginning sometimes render His Majesty visible to his Peculiar People. That Bright CLOUD, which was the Shechinah, or special and sensible Habitation of God, was called, The GLORY. Multitudes of passages in both Testaments, refer to the Consolations, which the Faithful had in that [Page 10] splendid and wondrous & glorious Appearance of GOD among them. Well, But GOD now Inhabits after a more intimate manner in our Lord JESUS CHRIST. Not a Cloud, but a Man, a most Excellent MAN, has the Son of God now taken for his visible Habitation. The Son of God Inhabits Him: Oh: Why should he not be the Praises of His People! The Son of God hath said, This is my Rest forever; Here will I dwell, for I have desired it. Our Lord JESUS CHRIST is now, The GLORY. And all the Fulgid and Flaming Glory of the heavenly CLOUD, is now but a Pavilion round about Him. HE, HE, is the Glory in the City of God: The Light of that City, proceeds from this Glory of the Lord. [See. Rev. 21. 23.] No mortal E [...]e can approach the Light of that Glory: No man can, see it and live! Then, said, and well said, the Devout Austin, Let me Dy that I may come at the the sight! Indeed, There is is no other Object so Glorious. Who is our CHRIST? He is the Lord of Glory. Who is our CHRIST? He is the King of Glory. Who [Page 11] our CHRIST? He is the Branch of [...] Lord, Beautiful and Glorious. Our CHRIST, he is the very Sun in the right Expanse of heaven. The most Glorious Arch-angels, do like the twinkling Stars, there disappear before him. The Heavens do Praise thy Wonder, O Lord! All the Angels in heaven, are [...]wallowed up in Praising and Adoring and Extolling the Glory of that wonderful One. They wonder at Us, too, and they Complain of us, and say, Oh! Children of Men, why, why are you no more affected with the Glory of your wonderful Redeemer! Never, No, Never was there any Glory observable any where, but that Glory is Transcendently to be observed in our Lord JESUS CHRIST. [...]s there a Glory in Riches? Our Glorious CHRIST has Unsearchable Riches. Is there a Glory in Dominion? Our Glorious CHRIST has his Throne Established in the Heavens, and His Kingdom Ruleth over all. [...]s there a Glory in Understanding? Our CHRIST is One that knows all things. Or is there a Glory in Goodness, in Vertue, in Holiness? Our CHRIST is Glorious [Page 12] in Holiness, Fearful in Praises. Oh! the Glory! the Glory!—Solomon, what art thou in all thy Glory? What is the Glory of all the works of the hands of God? It retires into obscure Darkness, when set by the Glory of the Son of Man, whom God has Crowned with Glory and Honour, and set over the works of his Hands: Draw near, O all ye Lovers of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, and Gaze upon the Glory of your LORD! Say, What Glory, what Glory is it, that you Discover in him? A Beloved Disciple shall answer for you; I will take that as your Answer; Joh. 1. 14. We beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the only Begotten of the Father.
Secondly; In the Work of Redemption by a CHRIST, there is a Glorious Display, which the God of Glory has made of his Infinite Perfections. The Attributes, the Perfections of the Great GOD; they are his Glory. Every Work of God Proclames the Glory of his Attributes. From heaven, and from every work of God under the Cope of heaven, there is that Voice heard; There is a Glorious GOD, [Page 13] that Made us all, and that Rules us all: Oh, Glorify the Maker and Ruler of the world! But the Attributes of GOD no where shine forth with such a radiant Glory, as in the Redemption of men by our Lord JESUS CHRIST. Upon that Work all Heaven rang with Acclamations; Luk. 2. 14. Glory to God in the Highest! Here, here, in this work indeed, the most High God is Glorified unto the Highest that is possible!
Where does the POWER of God appear in the Glory of it? Oh! the Glorious Power, that caused our Immanuel to be Born of a Virgin! And that United [...] Man unto the Second Person in God! Behold, a Person of such a rare Constitution, that it might be said, There is One who was born about Seventeen Centuries ago; and yet, He is from Everlasting [...] Everlasting. It might be said. There [...] One who slept in a Cradle; and yet, the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Him. [...] might be said, There is One who dy'd [...] a Cross, and lay in a Grave; and yet, [...]e is forever [...]dg'd in the Bosome of God. [...]d shed his Blood; and yet his Divinity [Page 14] suffered not. Man fills Heaven [...] Earth; and yet his Humanity has not [...] Ubiquity. Oh! the Glorious Power tha [...] Constituted such a Person! Oh! the Glorious Power that carried Him thro' hi [...] vast Undertaking to Redeem us, and Rais'd Him from the Dead, and set Him in the Heavenly places! None but a Gabriel, a Name confessing the Power of God were proper to bring the Tidings o [...] such a Redeemer!
Where does the WISDOME of God appear in the Glory of it? All the Treasures of Wisdome are laid up in our Lord JESUS CHRIST. It is an Abundant wisdome, a Manifold wisdome, a Glorious wisdome, which darts forth its glittering Rayes, in this work of God; The Son of God becoming the Son of Man, and the Mediator between God and Man. Oh! the Glorious wisdom, that furnishes the Mediator, with a Nature wherein to Do and to Dy for us, and with a Nature that can make all Efficacious! Oh! the Glorious wisdom that Reconciles the Justice of God in Punishing of Sin, with the Goodness of God in Pardoning of the Sinner! No [Page 15] Understanding of man can sail over all [...] Boundless Ocean of Wisdome, which [...]ere is in that Great Mystery of Godliness, God Manifest in flesh. It is a wisdom, [...]en of Angels, with Amazement, with Ravishment. It is a Plan laid by a God, whose Understanding is Infinite!
Where does the MERCY of God appear in the Glory of it? Let the Redeemed of the Lord say, His Mercy endureth forever: It is Demonstrated in their being [...]o. What but a Glorious Mercy, would Pity and Rescue, such perishing, such unworthy, such miserable Out-casts [...] What, but a Glorious Mercy could relieve miserable Sinners, and remove our horrible Guilt, heal our Ignorance, cleanse our Filthiness, and release us from our Slavery? Tis done by our Lord JESUS CHRIST, submitting to be Miserable for us. O Give Thanks; The Lord has Remembred us in our low Estate, because His Mercy endures for ever. Mercy is to do all that is to be done for a Sinner. What is that Mercy that has broke forth in a CHRIST given to sinful Men, who deserve [Page 16] not a Redeemer, but a Destroyer, Destruction to the uttermost!
Would we see the TRUTH of God in the Glory of it? We may see it in the punctual Accomplishment, which the Promises of God, have had in ou [...] Lord JESUS CHRIST. Oh! Glorious Truth Not one good thing has failed, of all that was foretold by thee, concerning the coming of Him that was to break the Serpents Head. When was see the CHRIST of God, we see most gloriously fulfilled, the Word of God. He is, The Word. In him God fulfills his Word. Every thing has fallen out just according to the word. Look upon a JESUS, and upon all that the Lord spake unto the Fathers, about a Saviour for us; and then Cry out; O Glorious Lord God of Truth; Great, great is thy Faithfulness!
The SOVEREIGNTY of God, His most Sovereign Grace: where shall we see the Glory of it appearing? It appears most Gloriously, when we see Fallen Angels irrecoverably Damned, but Fallen Men recovered unto good Terms with Heaven. It appears most Gloriously, when [Page 17] we see among Men, some Appointed to obtain Salvation by Jesus Christ, others of [...]d Ordained unto Condemnation. In our CHRIST, we see those things done, for which the Highest Reason, is, The Good Pleasure of the most High God. Oh! Sovereign and Glorious Grace, that so loved the world, as to bestow a CHRIST upon the Chief of Sinners in the world!
But then the Holiness, the HOLINESS of the great GOD: His Glorifying of himself, and his Abhorring and Revenging of Sin, which rebels against his Glory: Never was infinite Holiness display'd, as it is in the Lord JESUS CHRIST. Holy & Reverend was the Name of our God, when He sent Redemption to His People. Oh! the Glorious Holiness, that required such a Sacrifice for Sin, as was of more account, than if all Earth and Heaven too had been made a BurntOffering unto the Lord! When the only Begotten and the dearly Beloved Son of God, became a Surety for Sinners, God [...] Him not! Our Lord JESUS CHRIST, in the midst of His Dolorous Agonies, Cried out, O my God, my God [Page 18] Thou art Holy! Behold, O Christians Behold that Man, who is God Blessed forever, yet once made a Curse for us. Behold that Man, who is the Joy of the whole Heaven, yet once weltring under the Torments of Hell. Behold that Man in whom the Son of God for ever dwells with Delight, yet Clouded with Darkness, and Horror, and Dimness of Anguish! Then Cry out; ‘O Great God Thou art an Holy God; And, There i [...] none Holy as the Lord: Oh! Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts, how Great is the Glory of thy Holiness?’
My hearers, You are come, where you see, the Glory of the Lord.
II. In the Enjoyment of a CHRIST Appearing to us, as the Work, the Glorious Work of God, there is laid up the Great Blessedness desired by every Godly Christian. Two Instructions ly plainly before us.
First. Our Enjoying of a CHRIST, is in His Appearing to us. Tis by the Seeing of a CHRIST, that we come to the Having of a CHRIST. Some Enjoyment of a CHRIST is to be attained [Page 19] in this world. But this Enjoyment lies in [...] Fiducial Sight of him. Hence we read, Psal. 9. 10. They that know thy Name will put their trust in thee. The Scripture does Reveal much of a CHRIST unto us; and the Spirit which indited the Scripture does assist us to Receive What the Scripture does Reveal. We Enjoy a CHRIST. when we Receive him, and Apprehend the glorious work of God in him, as he is tendred unto us, in the Evangelical Revelation. But the whole and full Enjoyment of a CHRIST, is not attained, until we come unto the world that is to come. And this Enjoyment will be in the Immediate Sight of him. Hence we read, 1 Joh. 3. 2. We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. There will a Day come, when the Sun of Righteousness will Irradiate us with his Directest Influences. We shall one Day be in the presence of the Lord, and walk all the Day long in the light of His Countenance: A Day, when we shall be presented Faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding Joy; A Day, when we shall see His Face, and the Lord God [Page 20] will give us [...]ght, and an Eternal Day. Hasten, basten, O thou Day o [...] God▪ We shall than indeed Enjoy a CHRIST, and be forever with the Lord.
Secondly. Every Godly Christian expects his Great and Chief Blessedness in this Enjoyment. ‘Here, he sayes, here, Even this is all my Salvation and all my Desire; If HE that shall be the Just Ruler over men, will please to shine as the light of the Morning upon me.’ As the Prophet said unto the person that Entertained him, What shall be done for thee? I will say it unto the Believer; Christian, What shall be done for thee? Wouldest thou have all the Riches and Pleasures and Honours of the Earth heaped upon thee? I know the Reply that such an one will make It is the guise & mark of every Godly Christian, to Cry out with a flaming Soul, as the Martyr did in the Flames, None but CHRIST! None but CHRIST! A Godly Christian looks upon Acquaintance with a CHRIST, as the Inchoation of his Blessedness. He is of that Judgment; Phil. 3. 8. I count all things but loss, for the Excellency of the [Page 21] knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. He [...]oks upon Admission to a CHRIST, as [...]e Consummation of his Blessedness. He [...] of that Judgment; Phil. 1. 23. To be with Christ, is by far the best of all. A CHRIST, he is the light of God. The Real Christian sayes, Lord, In thy light, I shall see light: all the light, and all the good, that my Soul can wish for. A CHRIST, He is the ALL of every sincere Christian. He subscribes to that; Col. 3. 11. Christ is ALL. His Language is, Christus meus et Omnia; If CHRIST be mine, ALL is mine. The Alsufficiency of a CHRIST, is most affectionately Celebrated by every serious Christian. We read, Col. 1. 19. It pleased the Father, that in him should all Fulness dwell. And it Pleases, it Comforts, it Revives the Christian, to see that Fulness in him. He sees that Alsufficiency in a CHRIST, which will yield him Everlasting Satisfaction; that Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Holiness, and Redemption, which will answer all of his Necessities. Tell him of, A CHRIST, A CHRIST; his heart even [Page 22] leaps within him at the [...]ound of that Name. A CHRIST; that is to [...] A Store-house of Truth; a Fountain of Grace; enough to make amends [...] the Absence of every thing else. ‘Tho' I should have nothing else ve [...] if I have a CHRIST, I am a possessor of all things. A CHRIST; The very Heaven of Heaven it self. Tis the Top of HEAVEN, to be with him, and behold his Glory.’
III. Good men who Enjoy a CHRIST, are greatly [...], That their Children may be partakers with them, in the Enjoyment or so great a Blessedness. All men do Naturally desire a Blessedness for their Children. There is in Men by Nature, an inexpressible Stor [...]ee, and Passion, for the Blessedness of their Children. Tis a very [...] man, who Enjoyes any Blessedness, and Wishes not the like Enjoyment for his Children too. But now, tis the Distinguishing property of Good men, to pitch upon this Blessedness for their Children; A CHRIST; A CHRIST! [Page 23] Oh, That they may Know Christ, and Love Christ, and Serve Christ, and by a Christ be saved from the [...] Sins! THIS is the Blessedness chosen by all [...]ligious Parents, for their Children, a thousand times rather than Thousands of Gold and Silver.
First. Good men are very sensible, That without a CHRIST, their Children [...]re very Miserable. As we read 2 Cor. 4. 3. 1 [...] our Gospel be h [...]d, it is hid unto them that are lost. So will all Virtuous Parents conclude; ‘If a CHRIST be hid [...] from my Children, they are Lost, they are Lost; All the Gain of the whole world will not profit them.’ Good men remember, That their Children are, Children of Death, and, Children of Wrath, and have the Dreadful Wrath of God lying upon them. But they also remember, That none but a CHRIST can deliver them; Tis JESUS, who Delivers from the wrath to come. Good men remember, That their Children are the woful Slaves of the Devil, who Leads them Captives to do his will. But they also remember, That none but a [Page 24] CHRIST, can Redeem them out of their Slavery: This is the Lord, who Redeems rom all Iniquities. When one that is a [...] of God, has a Child bor [...] unto him, he thinks, ‘Alas, If God bestow not his CHRIST on this Child it had been Good that it never been born.’ And Good men have such sentiments about their Children; ‘Better, Better my Children should be cloath'd with Rag [...] than be without the Righteousness of CHRIST for the cloathing and covering of their Souls. Better, Better, my Children should be Despised Beggars, than that they should be Despisers of CHRIST, and of his Great Salvation. Better, Better, my Children should be Blind, than that they should be without a Sight of the worth of a CHRIST. Better they should be Lame, than that they should not Run to a CHRIST at his Call; better they should be Captives to Turks, and Moors, and Indians, than that they should not be the Servants of the Lord JESUS CHRIST.’ Ah, Lord; how can we bear to see them in this Condition?
[Page 25] Secondly. Good men are very sensible, That by their Means, their Children are become so very Miserable. It was the Law of Equity, Exod. 21. 19. He that wounded another, shall cause him to be throughly healed. Now Good men see, that there are Deadly Wounds of sin on the Souls of their Children; But they Reflect, Ah! My Child, my Child: It is I that have so cruelly Wounded it! This Awakens them to study, what they may do, that these Children may have a CHRIST, for to heal them of their Wounds. Good men see Original Sin in their Children, which is a Spring of all Wickedness and Confusion; An Evil Frame; An Evil Heart; An Heart of Stone. But Good men see, and with [...]leeding Bowels own, That their Children have derived from Them all this [...]adness, and are nextly Beholden to [...]em for their Original Sin. Quickly [...] their Thoughts now fly away to this [...]int; ‘Lord, Let my Child have a CHRIST. Let the Blood of thy CHRIST cleanse my Child from the sin which I have convey'd unto it. [Page 26] Let the Grace of thy CHRIST cure my Child of the harm, which my Sin has done unto it!’
Thirdly. Good men are very sensible, That if their Children have a CHRIST, they are then sure of Blessedness; they have Blessedness enough; they are sufficiently and admirably provided for. We read; Rom. 8. 32. How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Thus will Good men say; O my God; If thou wilt give thy CHRIST unto my Children, thou wilt in Him give them all things, and what is more than all? That worthy man Claviger, would say, If I may see the Fear of God in my Children, Satis mih [...], satis Filijs et Filiabus prospexi, an Ample Provision is made for them. They that have the Fear of God in them, will say concerning their Children; ‘If I may see my Children possessed of a CHRIST, I shall not be very sollicitious what other Possession I may leave unto them.’ Good men should not be sollicitous to lay up the Great Things of this world for their Children. Seekest thou Great things [Page 27] for them? Seek them not. The Children are very often undone, by having too Large Portions of these Bewitching and Perishing Vanities. It had been well for many Children, if they had not been endowed with such large Portions, to be the Fuel of their Debaucheries. But Good men know, that if their Children have a CHRIST, they then have the Promise, both of the Life that now is, and of that which is to come. They know, That if their Children have a CHRIST, whatever changes or sorrows come upon them, they shall all work together for their good. They know, that if their Children have a CHRIST, they shall most certainly be kept by the mighty Power of God, thro' Faith unto Salvation. This, this causes them to be in an inexpressible Travail of Soul for their Children, that an Interest in a CHRIST, an Union with a CHRIST, may be obtained for them.
APPLICATION.
And now; Hear the conclusion of the matter. Hear, and come to a Resolution.
[Page 28] First. Can you hear, That a CHRIST is the Work of God; and not resolve, To make it your work to study a CHRIST? Sirs, The study of a CHRIST, it should be our main Business, our main Delight. Oh! say with him; 1 Cor. 2. 2. I have determined not to know any thing, so much as JESUS CHRIST. God bring us to unite in this Disposition; ‘That most Honourable and Magnificent Work of God, which there is in the CHRIST of God, Lord, my Spirit shall be Enquiring after it, and Affected with it, until I have no more Spirit left unto me!’
Again. Can you hear, That a CHRIST is the Glory of God; and not resolve, To ascribe unto this CHRIST all the Glory that can be? Sirs; To be mightily taken with the Glory of a CHRIST, who is Altogether Lovely, tis the principal Action and Symptom of one that Believes to the saving of the Soul. Oh, come to a consort with the Heavenly Doxologies, Rev. 5. 12. Worthy is the Lamb that was stain, to receive Power, and Riches, and Wisdom, and [Page 29] Strength, and Honour, and Glory, and Blessing. Fall down before the Lord JESUS CHRIST, and say, ‘Glorious LORD, I will not, I dare not Reproach thee by Unbelief. The Doors of my Soul are set open; O King of Glory, come into my Soul. And show me, show me, what I shall do for thy Glory!’
Once more, Can you hear, that our Great Blessedness lies in the Enjoyment of a CHRIST; and not resolve, To be afraid of a Christless condition, as a cursed condition? Souls, If ever you be Redeemed from the Curse of God, it must be by the CHRIST of God. You find it said, Let thy Work appear unto thy SERVANTS. You are no Servants of God, if you tremble not at being Strangers to CHRIST. Strangers to CHRIST, are strangers to the Good One; strangers to all Good; strangers to Blessedness. Take the solemn Warning of God, O all you that neglect & refuse a CHRIST, who offers to Save you unto the uttermost; I earnestly testify unto you; You are under the terrible [Page 30] Curse of God; and, Wo, Wo unto you, if you continue so!
Finally. O PARENTS; What will you now do, that your poor Children may Enjoy a CHRIST, as well as you; That your CHRIST may be your Childrens too? If you are Pious Parents, yea, if you are not Ostriches and Sea-monsters rather than Parents, you will do all that you can!
Well then; Teach the Children; Teach them, Who CHRIST is; Why CHRIST came; What CHRIST has done, and is willing to do, for us; and How, they shall close with CHRIST, in all his Offices, for all his Benefits.
Charge the Children, Charge them, to Learn CHRIST, and Prize CHRIST, and Give themselves up to CHRIST. Set before them the Tenders of a CHRIST; and ask them to Accept what is Tendred; Leave them not until they have declared unto you their Acceptance of it.
[Page 31] Bring the Children to CHRIST. We read, Mat. 19. 13. There were brought unto Him little Children. Oh! Bring every one of them unto him, and Cry unto him with a wondrous Importunity; ‘Lord, Lord, Let my Children be thine. Cause them to Know thee, Love thee, Glorify thee! Be thou Precious to them; Do thou take them under thy Conduct; Guide them by thy Counsel; Bring them to thy Glory.’ And bring the Children under the Word of CHRIST. See that they Read the Word, see that they diligently attend on the Preaching of the Word. After the Word has been Preached unto them, do you speak to them of it, and mind them, what they should now go alone, and beg of God in fervent supplications. Restrain them from those Licentious Practices, to which our Young People so much abandon themselves, on the Evening after the Lords Day; the most Criminal Evening, they say, in all the Week. Our Children will be Ruined, Religion will be lost among our Children; except those [Page 32] Licentious Practices be retrenched and reformed.
I Bless God; some of our Young People, do make a more Profitable and Commendable Improvement of that Evening. They Associate and Assemble in that Evening for Exercises of Piety. May their Example Encourage Others to the like Exercises. [...] is pity but the Visits of their Pastors [...] to them, as they have time and strength for it, with suitable Exhortation, may give Encouragement unto them. No Pains, no Pains, are too much, that our Children may have a CHRIST Effectually set before them.
[9 d. 5. m. 1699. Quo Die. Natus mihi Eilius, et CHRISTO a me Baptizatus.]
[On the Lords-Day Evening; To my YOUNG MEN.]
AND now, Come, ye Children, Hearken to me, and I will Teach you that Fear of the Lord, that shall bring you to the Enjoyment of Him. The Inference will now be Irresistible. If Godly Persons desire above all things, the Enjoyment of a CHRIST, as the greatest Blessedness for themselves, and for their Children, certainly it becomes, it concerns our Children to desire this Blessedness for themselves. Yea, if ever they become Godly Children their Godliness will first show it self, in their Desiring of this Blessedness. Oh! If once our Children were come to this Language, A Christ, A Christ, for a Perishing Soul! Then should we begin to hope, that they will not Perish, Then, and never till then, should we see upon them, the Hopeful Beginning of those things that accompany Salvation.
[Page 34] But how shall they be prevailed withal? Nothing that we can say, tho' we should speak with the Tongue of Angels, will be prevalent upon the Blinded and Hardned Minds of Sinners. But,—
O Thou Almighty Spirit of Grace; Thou art stronger than all the Powers of Darkness, which holds the Minds of our Young People in such a deplorable Captivity. Oh! Do thou Exert thy Strength, and Glorify thy CHRIST, and conquer and perswade our Young People, to Embrace Him as the Greatest Blessedness, and awaken them into those Agonies, that shall never give them any Rest, until they are Blessed with an Interest in Him.
In Expectation of what the Holy Spirit of God breathing in His Word, may do upon the Souls of our Young People, we will now set before them, Why they should pursue such a Blessedness as the Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST, and How they shall obtain such a Blessed Enjoyment.
Will you be advised, O our Young People, Why you should look after the Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST?
[Page 35] First; Methinks, In that Expression, A Glorious CHRIST, you may see that intimated, which may admonish you, that you cannot have a Greater Blessedness, than the Enjoyment of Him. Glorious things are to be spoken of thee, O thou blessed Enjoyment! Children, you have GOD for yours, if you have CHRIST for yours. As CHRIST is, the True God, the Great God, the Most High God; so, to Enjoy Him, is the Truest, the Greatest, the Highest Blessedness, And his Office and Offer is, to bring you unto GOD. How Joyfully may you now sing, Lam. 3. 24. 25. The Lord is my Portion, saith my Soul; therefore will I hope in Him: The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the Soul that seeks Him. Good! Yea, An Infinite Good! There is enough in Him, to suffice Himself, and enough to suffice & fulfil the Desires of all the Souls that come unto Him. The Knowledge of GOD, you have it if you know JESUS CHRIST, whom to know is Life Eternal. The Favour of GOD, you have it, if you are Favoured and Accepted in His [Page 36] Beloved CHRIST. Fellowship with GOD; Truly our Fellowship is with the Father, if it be with His Son JESUS CHRIST.
The CHRIST proposed unto your Enjoyment, as He is the Manna of Angels, thus He is the Wonder of Angels; And may we not imagine, that our Contempt, of Him, is the Wonder, and the Anger of Angels? Oh! Could we look into the City of God!—You are Astonished, O ye Heavens, and you are very Disdainful at our Infidelity.
A CHRIST; Who, who shall declare His Excellency? Children, If there were proffered unto you, the Enjoyment of this World, in all the Glory of it, a little Time were enough to Relate all that you are to Enjoy. We read, The Tempter show'd our Saviour, Luk. 4. 5. All the Kingdoms of the world in a Moment of Time. It is a moral and witty Gloss, that Ambrose has upon it; In momento enim cuncta illa praetereunt. They last but for a Moment; If they are not shown in a Moment, they cannot be shown at all. Oh! But the Enjoyment of a CHRIST; An Eternity, an Eternity, is [Page 37] little enough, to Relate all the Glory that is contained in it. God the Father is forever Beholding His CHRIST, with a Divine Contemplation & Satisfaction. The Object of the Contemplation is the SON of God. The Satisfaction in that Object, is the SPIRIT of God. Arise, my dear Young People, Arise to an Unspeakable, Ravishing, Heavenly Communion with the adorable Trinity; You do it, when the SPIRIT of God, affects you with a prospect of what you shall Enjoy in having the SON of God for yours!
My Errand unto you, is, to Espouse your Young Souls unto the Lord JESUS CHRIST. And what Objection can you have, against being Espoused unto such a Glorious ONE? Oh! Could we see that King in His Beauty!—Either take up with Him, and be wondrously taken with Him; or say, He that made the world, is not so Good an Enjoyment as the world; say, He that fills Heaven and Earth, is not an Enjoyment that will Fill the Soul of man. Say, He that lives forever in the Bosome of God, is not an [Page 38] Enjoyment worthy to be laid near unto the Hearts of men. Blasphemous Unbelief! Alas, Alas, That any of my Children should be led into thy Blasphemies, O thou Evil Heart of Unbelief!
Sollicited Souls; Look thro' the Universe; Who who, is there so worthy of your Esteem, as the Glorious Lord JESUS CHRIST! Can Mammon stand in Competition, with him that is the King of Heaven? Can Satan be as desirable a Master, as he that is the Lord of Angels? Bring all other things, and lay them in the Ballance with the Lord JESUS CHRIST; they will all be found less than the light Dust of the Ballance, and lighter than Vanity it self: They will but help to set off an inestimable JESUS.
My Children: I cannot give over pleading with you, till a Glorious CHRIST appear unto you, as he does to the Holy Myriads, which are in his Realms of Light attending on him.
I will go on.
Secondly; The Things that a Glorious CHRIST will do for you; will [Page 39] these do nothing with you? Will the Thought of what you shall Enjoy in and from the Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST make no Impression upon My Children; We wish you all the Blessings that can be imagined; more Blessings than you can ask or think. Oh! If we could see you brought unto the Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST, we should see you invested with all such Blessings; the sight would make us Rejoyce with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory. It was of old said, Phil 4. 19. My God shall supply all your Need, according to His Riches in Glory, by CHRIST JESUS. Oh! What a Rich supply of Glorious Things, would a CHRIST JESUS heap upon you! We wish, that to Evil may happen to you in this world; That whatever looks like Evil in any of your Circumstances, may really work for Good; That you may want Nothing that shall be for your Good. Oh! [...]f our Glorious CHRIST were yours, [...]t would be so! We wish, that in the world to come, you may have a part in that Rest which remains for the People of [Page 40] God; That you may get safe into the City of God, and find Mansions in the Heavenly Places of that City provided for you; That you may be brought nigh [...] to God, and have God become all in all unto you, and be filled with all the Fulness of God. Oh! If our Glorious CHRIST were yours, it would be so!
Be assured of it, Children; The Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST, will bring you to an Inheritance, beyond all Humane Comprehension. For, if you become United unto the Son of God, you do your selves become the Children of God. And then! What followes? Rom. 8. 17. If Children, then Heirs; Heirs of God, and Joint-Heirs with Christ. The Inheritance which the Great GOD will bestow upon his Children, can be no small Inheritance. No, Children, You shall Inherit all things; yea, the Great GOD Himself will be your Inheritance.
What shall I say? You have no Righteousness of your own, wherein you may dare to appear before God the Judge of all. But come to the Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST; From that moment [Page 41] you become Owners of a spotless and splendid and glorious Righteousness; A Righteousness more acceptable to God, than the Obedience of all the Angels in heaven; A Righteousness wherein you may venture to stand before the Judgment-seat of God.
You have grievous Maladies on your Souls; None can Cure your Maladies. But come to the Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST; From that moment, the Cure is begun. The Lord our Healer takes you into his hands; He will never Desert what his healing hands have undertaken, till he present you Glorious, without spot, wrinkle or blemish, before his Father.
You are to Dy in a little while; and you are by Death to be stript of all that you Enjoy in this world. But come to the Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST; Then Death it self will be your Gain; By Death you shall Gain a Deliverance from all Pain, and all Sin, and all Temptation; You shall Gain a Paradise, where the Blessed JESUS will visit you with his Consolations.
[Page 42] In a word; In the Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST, you will have, what will make up the want of every other Enjoyment! It is a memorable passage, Isa. 9. 1. At the First time, He made Vile the Land of Zabulon, & the Land of Naphtali; so in the latter time He shall make it Glorious; Even the way of the Sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The People of the Countrey here described, were afflicted with an Early Captivity; The Assyrian Captivated them, and committed fearful and bloody Depredations upon them. Well, but sayes our God, I will make them Amends for these Afflictions. What Amends? It follows, The People that sat in Darkness have seen a Great Light. A CHRIST, a CHRIST, coming and shining upon a wretched Countrey makes Amends for the most severe Calamities; The Countrey is Glorified in such a rare Enjoyment! Are you Poor? In a CHRIST, you Enjoy a Goodly Heritage. Are you Sick? In a CHRIST you Enjoy the Saving Health of God. Are you Reproached? In a CHRIST you Enjoy an Advocate, Have your [Page 43] friends forsaken you? In a CHRIST, you Enjoy a Friend of more Value, than all the Friends in the Universe. How, how can you subsist without Him?
If you are Deaf to all these Charms, I will go on, Thirdly, to tell you; That except and until a Glorious CHRIST be yours, you are infinitely miserable. I tell you truly; The most horrible Article of Misery that ever was uttered, is that; Eph. 2. 12. Without CHRIST. And I will tell you Something about the Misery of them that are Without CHRIST: I say, Something of it; For, truly to be without CHRIST, is to be beyond all Expression Miserable.
Oh! That the God of all Grace, would cause these things to sink down into the hearts of our Young People, and therewith infuse a concern for a CHRIST into them!
First; By our Fall from God, we are all become very Miserable: And, O my Young People, Who but a Glorious CHRIST can Deliver you from the Numberless and Exquisite Miseries, into which you [Page 44] are Fallen? It is most sure, that by our Sin and Fall, we have made our selves miserable Creatures. We have Sinned; and our Lamentation may be that; Lam. 5. 16. Wo unto us, that we have Sinned. Children; You have Sinned, and you are Estranged from God, you are Abhorred by God; surely, this is to be very Miserable! You have Sinned, and you are sunk into an Ignorance of God, into an Enmity to God; surely this is to be very Miserable! You have Sinned, and your Minds are Infected, your Wills are Depraved, your Affections are all out of Order; the Powers of Darkness hold you in Chains of Darkness. And is not this to be very Miserable? Every one of you is a Sinner; and the Voice of every Sinner may be that; Rom. 7. 24. Oh! Wretched one that I am; who shall Deliver me! Now, if you have a CHRIST, you have a Deliverer. But if you are without a CHRIST, Oh! Wretched Ones that you are; you have none to Deliver you! Could you Deliver your selves from your Miseries, or could any one else Deliver you; Then to [Page 45] be without a CHRIST, would not be so Miserable. But, Isa. 10. 3. What will you do in the Day of Visitation? To whom will you flee for Help? Saith the Lord; Without me they shall Perish among the Prisoners of Desperation. What will become of a stung Israelite, if he look not unto the healing Serpent? We read, Act. 4. 12. There is not Salvation in any other. None of all your Miseries would ly upon you, if you had a CHRIST concerned for the relieving and removing thereof. But while you are without a CHRIST, all your Miseries continue unrelieved and unremoved World without end. All our Help is laid upon a CHRIST. Ah, Christless One! Ah, Helpless One! What will become of thee.
Secondly. To be without a Glorious CHRIST, is to be under the Guilt of Sin, But then, Behold, my Young People, Behold, how Miserable! If it could be said, Psal. 32. 1. 2. Blessed is the man whose Transgression is Forgiven, and whose Sin is Covered; Blessed is the man [Page 46] unto whom the Lord Imputeth not Iniquity; Then it must be said, Undone is the man, to whom the Lord Imputeth Iniquity. But so Undone art thou, O Young Man, if thou art a Christless one. It is a Miserable thing to be under the Guilt of sin. But he that is Christless cannot be Guiltless. It was said, 1 Cor. 15. 17. If Christ be not Raised, ye are yet in your Sins. And it may be said, If Christ be not yours, ye are yet in your Sins. While a man is without a Glorious CHRIST, he is Unjustified; for every Unbeliever is Unjustified; We are Justified by Faith. We read, Joh. 3. 18. He that Believeth not, is Condemned already. The Violated Law of God, has passed a sentence of Condemnation upon the sinner. None but a CHRIST can make satisfaction to the Violated Law; And he has done it for those that are in him. He that is without a CHRIST, is himself under obligation to satisfy the Law of God for himself; he is obliged in dreadful Bonds to become a Sacrifice unto the formidable Justice of God. Oh! Miserable [Page 47] Plight! We read Rom. 8. 1. There is no Condemnation to those that are in CHRIST. But horribly Condemned are they that are without a CHRIST. There is no way for a sinner to come at a Pardon, but by the Atonement of the Lord JESUS CHRIST. His only Plea is, That the Blood of the Lord JESUS CHRIST has made Atonement for him. A sinner has no way to become Righteous, but by having the Righteousness of the Lord JESUS CHRIST placed unto his Account. He must plead, That the Lord JESUS CHRIST has fulfilled all Righteousness on his behalf. He that is without a CHRIST, is without that Atonement, without that Righteousness. O Young People, If you are Christless, Let these Thoughts force themselves in upon you, ‘Any One Sin lying upon me, were enough to make me for ever Miserable. But, What shall I do? Where shall I fly? That have been Guilty of Thousands of Sins, and every one of them all Unpardoned unto this moment! Oh! [Page 48] my Unpardoned Soul: Thou art a most Miserable Soul.’
Thirdly. Can the dreadful Wrath & Curse of God, make any person Miserable? Then, O Young People, To be without a CHRIST, is to be Miserable. Sin, Sin, has laid us all under the Wrath and Curse of God. While we are without a CHRIST, we are without Him, who bore the Wrath and Curse for His People, and who alone can Redeem us from that Wrath and Curse. A Christless person is under the Wrath of God. We read, Joh. 3. 36. The Wrath of God abideth on him. He is under the Curse of God. We read, Deut. 28. 15. All the Curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.
Miserable sinner; The Wrath of God like a Consuming Fire, is burning against him. The Great GOD is every Day Angry at him. There is the Anger of God, in all His Dispensations towards him. Nothing that he does is pleasing to God. He Languishes perpetually under the Displeasure of God. He is [Page 49] a Child of Wrath; he is obnoxious to that Wrath, at which, you Quake, O ye Mountains, you Melt, O ye Hills, you are Thrown down, O ye Rocks; And, Who can stand before that Indignation? The Curse of God haunts him; There is a Curse in all that happens unto him. There is a Curse Embittering all his Enjoyments. The Curse makes him the worse for every thing. He may have some Temporal [...], but he has no Real Blessings in his Comforts. Like the Cursed Mountains of Gilboa, he has no Rain or Dew of Spiritual and Heavenly Blessings Falling from Heaven upon him. Nothing does him Good! Prosperity beguiles him; Adversity hardens him. Ordinances make him no better than he was before, Oh! Miserble Sinner! How canst thou hear of any Miseries, and thy Heart not Faint, and even Dy away within thee?
Fourthly. He that is without a CHRIST, is a Slave of the Devil: But certainly, O Young People, to be such a Slave, is to be very Miserable. [Page 50] Until a man get into the Hands of the Saviour, he is in the hands of the Destroyer. We are in the Kingdom of Satan, till we are translated into the Kingdom of our Saviour. [See, Col 1. 13.] Until a man be in CHRIST, he is not a Child of God. And he that is not a Child of God, who's is he? We may tremble to speak it; but we find it spoken by the mouth of God; 1 Joh. 3 10 Either the Children of God, or the Children of the Devil. Yea, but every Child of Satan, is a Slave to him. How Miserable is Sinner without a CHRIST? Satan has Possession of him; Satan Enslaves him; Satan Deceives him; Satan Befools him. He is Blinded by Satan; Satan hinders him from a true sight of Sin as it is, and from seeing the things of his Everlasting Peace. He is always at work for Satan; and at last Satan payes him his wages. he can't resist the motions of Satan; and Satan that has been his Tempter, at last becomes his Tormentor. He is in the Snare of Satan, and led Captive by Satan to do his will, Oh! Miserable Captivity! Worst [Page 51] than any Captivity among the Monsters of Africa!
Fifthly; Will you be sensible of it, O Young People? The Christless are under the Dominion of a worse Tyrant than the Devil himself: Sin, Sin, has Dominion over them that are without a CHRIST. It was said, Rom. 6. 14. Sin shall not have Dominion over you, for you are under Grace. But if you are not under CHRIST, you are not under Grace, and Sin will have Dominion over you, They that are without a CHRIST, say concerning Him, They will not have Him to Reign over them. God in His just Vengeance then sayes, If it be so, then let Sin Reign over them. Sin Swayes the Scepter in every Unconverted and Unsanctified Sinner. The filthy Lusts of Sin, the Desires of the Flesh, and the Desires of the Mind, are not only Raging but also Reigning in the Sinner, until he submit unto the Scepter of the Lord JESUS CHRIST. He is, Tit. 3. 3. Serving diverse Lusts. A Miserable Vassal! He has no steps ordered in the Word of [Page 52] God, but, Iniquity has Dominion over him. He is alwayes toyling to Gratify his Loathsome Lusts; his Lusts precipitate him into Criminal and Multiplied Follies; he feels himself ruined by following the Dictates of his Lusts, and yet he can't help it, he must follow them. He knowes that his Lusts damnify him in all his Interests, and yet he is hurried on unto Evident Confusion. Or, perhaps his Lusts put out his Eyes; but still he grinds for them, till he dies upon the spot. Judge, O all Young People that have come to any Exercise of Reason, Judge, whether this be not to be very Miserable?
Sixthly: Certainly, my Young People, Tis a Miserable thing, to be in hourly Danger of Easeless and Endless Miseries. In the Damnation that waits for the sleeping Sinner in the other world, and slumbers not, there are incomprehensible Miseries; which cannot without horror be thought upon. Oh! the Miseries of an Eternal Banishment from God, into Outer Darkness, where there is weeping [Page 53] and wa [...]ling and gnashing of Teeth! Oh! the Miseries of being siezed by the Justice of the Holy God, and having His Terrors, like Flashes of hot Lightning shot into an Enraged Conscience! Oh! the Miseries of being made Companions to Devils, in those unknown Torments, the Smoke whereof shall ascend for ever & ever! What a Miserable thing tis to be in hourly Danger, of being dragged away, down, down! into these Miseries! Miserable art thou then, [...] One. It was a Miserable thing, Deut. 28. 66 Thy Life shall hang in doubt before thee, and thou shalt Fear Day and Night, and shalt have none Assurance of thy Life. This, This is thy Condition, O Christless Young Man. Tis to walk on the very Brink of the Fiery, and the Horrible Pit! In the Morning, the Christless Person may say, For ought I know, I may be plunged into all the Miseries of the Damned, before the Evening. In the Evening, the Christless Person may say, For ought I know, my Soul may be sent among the Damned, before the Morning. Every Lords. Day, our Christless Young People [Page 54] may Cry out; For ought I can tell, I may before this Week be out, be broken in the place of Dragons, and roaring with the Devil and his Angels. That man reckoned himself Miserable enough, who sat at a Table full of Dainties, but had a sharp Sword hanging all the while, by an Hair just over his head. Such, even such is the Condition of the Christless. The Sword of the unappeasable Indignation of God, is hanging over their heads; if only the Rotten Thread of a Frail, Vain, Dying Life, should break, which every day, tis a wonder it breaks not! They are struck with a Flame entring into their Souls, and a stroke that cannot be cured in Eternal Ages. O our Children; How can you bear, how can you dare, to continue in this Condition? Shall we hope, that you are at last, more than almost Perswaded, into some Anguish of Soul for the Enjoyment of a Glorious CHRIST! In hope of it, we will now leave with you, our brief and plain Advice,
How to look after that Enjoyment?
[Page 55] And you shall have all in One word.
The Direction.
Let a Glorious CHRIST, be Heartitily, Thankfully, Joyfully Received, as He is Offered.
Be it known to you, O Children, and be you astonished at it; An Offer of a Glorious CHRIST, is made unto every one of you all. In all the Distresses that are upon your Souls, you have that Offer from a Glorious CHRIST; Isa. 45. 22. Look unto me, and be you Saved. He that said unto the Blind, What wilt thou have me to do unto thee? And unto the Lame, Wilt thou be made whole? HE Offers unto every one of you, I am willing to be thine; I am willing to do for thee, all that can make thee Happy for Eternity. With a Soul full of Agony, Receive the Glorious CHRIST, Receive His Glorious Offer.
Look upon all the Offices of a Glorious CHRIST; and with a Consenting Soul, Declare; Lord, I am willing that [Page 56] thou be the PRIEST, by whose Atonement alone I propound a Reconciliation with God.
Lord, I am willing, that thou be the PROPHET, on whom alone I rely to lead me in the Pathes of Righteousness.
Lord, I am willing, that thou be the KING, to whom alone I repair, for Government, and Protection.
Look upon all the Benefits of a Glorious CHRIST; and with a Complying Soul, Declare; Lord, Thou art my WISDOM; Oh! Make me Wise unto Salvation. Thou art my RIGHTEOUSNESS; My whole Dependence is on thy Obedience to make me Righteous. Thou art thy HOLINESS; May thy Lively Influences upon me, make me very Holy. Lord, Thou art my REDEMPTION; Oh! Redeem & Pay me; make me Victorious over the Enemies of my Salvation; Redeem my Soul from the Power of the Grave; Bring me to the Fulness of Joy which thou hast prepared for thy Chosen in the Heavenly Places for evermore.
[Page 57] Children, When you do thus, you are no longer without a Glorious CHRIST. A Glorious CHRIST is now become yours. This Day Salvation is come to that Soul.
And, O Lord; Thy Servants, to whom thy Work hath appeared, will Rejoyce and be Glad all our Dayes, because thy Glory now Appears unto our Children.