Ex Li Am C. K. OGDEN EFFIGIES' GVILIELMI BRIDG M-E.Obut fouljt THE WORKS REV. WILLIAM BRIDGE, M.A i'OHMF.RLY FF.I.I.OW OF F.MAXL'F.L COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IX GRF.AT VARMOUTII, NORFOLK. XO\V FIRST COLLECTED. LONDON:
73, C1IEA.PSIDE. 1845.
SYNOPSIS OF THE WORK.
Memoir of the Author The Great Gospel Mystery of the Saints' Comfort and Holiness opened and applied from Christ's Priestly Office. Satan's Power to Tempt and Christ's Love to and Care of his People under Temptation. Grace for Grace, or the Overflowings of Christ's Fulness received by all Saints. The Spiritual Life and In-being of Christ in all Believers. Scripture Light the Most Sure Light. The Righteous Man's Habitation in the Time of Plague and Pestilence. CONTENTS OF VOL. II. A Lifting up for the Downcast. The Spiritual Actings of Faith through Natural Impossibilities. The Great Things Faith can do. The Great Things Faith can suffer. The Freeness of the Grace and Love of God to Believers discovered.
Christ and the Covenant, the Work and Way of Meditation, God's re- turn to the Soul or Nation, together with his Preventing Mercy. Christ in Travail. Seasonable Truths in Evil Times.
Seventeen Single Sermons on Various Subjects and Occasions. Evangelical Repentance.
The Siwfulness of Sin and the Fulness of Christ. Remains.
2018121
IV SYNOPSIS OF THE WORK.
A Word to the Aged.
The Wounded Conscience Cured and the Weak One Strengthened.
The Truth of the Times Vindicated.
The Loyal Convert, According to the Oxford Copy, with Annotations
thereon.
The Doctrine of Justification by Faith opened and applied. General Index.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
Publishers' Preface Til
Memoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Prefaces xviii
Epistle Dedicatory xxii
THE GREAT GOSPEL MYSTERY OF THE SAINTS' COMFORT AND HOLINESS, OPENED AND APPLIED FROM CHRIST'S PRIESTLY OFFICE : IN FOUR SERMONS, ON HEBREWS XI. 17, 18.
Sermon 1. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3
Sermon 2. ,. .. 23
SermonS. 46
Sermon 4. 67
SATAN'S POWER TO TEMPT, AND CHRIST'S LOVE TO, AND
CARE OF HIS PEOPLE UNDER TEMPTATION: IN FIVE SER- MONS.
Sermon 1. Heb. xi. 18 89
Sermon 2. Heb. xi. 18 108
SermonS. Luke xxii. 31, 32 127
Sermon 4. Luke xxii. 31, 32 146
Sermon 5. Luke xxii. 31, 32 164
GRACE FOR GRACE, OR THE OVERFLOWINGS OF CHRIST'S FULNESS RECEIVED BY ALL SAINTS : IN SIX SERMONS, ON JOHN I. 16.
Sermon 1. 185
Sermon 2. 201
SermonS 222
Sermon 4. 242
SermonS. 258
Sermon 6. 276
THE SPIRITUAL LIFE AND IN-BEING OF CHRIST IN ALL BELIEVERS : IN FIVE SERMONS, ON GAL. II. 20.
Rev. W. Greenhill's Preface 297
Sermon 1. 299
Sermon 2. 320
Sermon 3. 340
Sermon 4. 361
Sermon 5. 382
viii PUBLISHERS' PREFACE.
also, for the information as well as the loan of two single Sermons which could not otherwise have been obtained.
The Publishers beg thus openly, both for themselves and on the part of their readers, to express their grateful acknow- ledgments of the valuable assistance which was thus kindly rendered, and which has thus made the edition in every res- pect complete.
It will doubtless be observed, that there is not included a work under the specific title of " Seven Sermons on Faith," which was first sent out with that designation by the Countess of Huntingdon, and which has since become a very popular book. This volume was made up of the first and last ser- mons of the work entitled, " A Lifting up for the Downcast," accompanied with the three smaller pieces on the same sub- ject which follow that work in this edition. It may be pre- sumed, that as in that disjointed state it obtained so much approbation, the whole of the work, and indeed the whole of the author's works, of which it may be regarded as a speci- men, will gain a still greater share of esteem.
The "Word to the Aged" was published anonymously, and was also privately printed. Independently of the simi- larity of style and the circumstance of one or two similes being repeated in this work which the author had employed in his earlier writings, and which would be sufficient proof that it is a genuine production of William Bridge, it may be added, that in one brief biographical account of him, it is assigned to him without any doubt.
A sermon entitled, " Joab's Counsel and King David's Seasonable Hearing of it," was published in 1643, with the name, " W. Bridges, Preacher of the Gospel at Dunstan's in the East," as the author of it. Although the Publishers could not discover that William Bridge was ever connected with that parish, and although the name also was spelt differ-
PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. ix
ently, a circumstance not unfrequent in those times, they had nearly concluded that it must be his production, from an allusion in the preface to his controversy with Dr. Fearne. Further investigation, however, brought to their view two other pamphlets by this same W. Bridges, and in one of which, entitled, " Division Divided, or Ruin's Forerunner Discovered and Decyphered," he has signed his name at the end of the preface at large, Walter Bridges, thus settling the point as it respected all the three which were then of course all passed by.
One pamphlet, however, entitled, " The Loyal Convert/' has the author's name, W. Bridges, without any further ad- dition. The Publishers are themselves inclined to believe that this also is by Walter Bridges, who took the same side with W 7 illiam Bridge in the controversy on the subject of resistance; but as there was no clue to determine the point, they have decided to include it herein. It would seem that Dr. Hammond published a tract, entitled, " The Loyal Con- vert," and which was in favour of the royal cause. W. Bridges has in his pamphlet reprinted the whole of Dr. Hammond's, with his own annotations thereupon. The anno- tations alone, therefore, constitute the writing of W. Bridges.
The last piece in the series, and which only reached the Publishers when just concluding the last volume, is a posthu- mous piece. The preface appended thereto sufficiently mani- fests the doubtful character of its authorship, and William Bridge, therefore, ought not to be held responsible for every sentiment it may contain. It is added as making the whole complete.
The two letters of William Bridge preserved in "Peck's Desiderata Curiosa," are inserted in the memoir.
The Publishers congratulate themselves in being able to supply an undoubtedly correct likeness of their venerable
x PUBLISHERS' PREFACE.
author. It is engraved fac-simile from the original plate, the painting from which that was taken, being still preserved in the vestry of the Independent chapel at Great Yarmouth.
They cannot close this brief advertisement without express- ing the satisfaction they have derived in thus bringing before the church the writings, now first collected, of one of her ablest ministers. It is their earnest desire that the Lord who so largely blessed his labours when living, may renew that blessing still more abundantly upon the valued legacy he hath left behind, and that thereby many may be established in our most holy faith.
18, PATERNOSTER ROW. Feb. 6. 1845.
MEMOIH.
MATERIALS for a lengthened Memoir of WILLIAM BRIDGE do not exist, and it is scarcely worth while for the sake of diffuseness, to enlarge upon the circumstances of the times in which he lived: although he undoubtedly occupied a prominent place in the controversies which then agitated the church and the kingdom, and by his writings on the subject of resistance to the higher powers, probably influ- enced considerably the minds of men at that important period.
His memory is dear, not as the champion of a sentiment upon which there will always be difference of opinion, but as the able and successful preacher of the gospel of peace, as the luminous and wise unfolder of the doctrines of salva- tion, as the profound disputant with the enemy in the gate: here our author shone, here in his proper sphere he gained and maintained a popularity superior to most of his con- temporaries, and in these discourses which he has left behind him, he still lives embalmed in the affections of the church of Christ, and still continues a profitable servant in the vine- yard of his Lord.
Times of difficulty and of persecution, have always been seasons in which God's ministers shine with greatest lustre. As the stars are brightest in the darkest night, so when tribulation shrouds the hemisphere in gloom, the lights in God's spiritual Israel, which in seasons of quiet or pros- perity are unknown and unobserved, become visible, and men strengthened then according to the day, come forth manifest- ing a devotedness and an ability of which they themselves were previously unconscious; and thus, as was the case with the children of the promise in the land of Egypt, the more they are oppressed the more they grow. God's people will not for this reason make persecution the subject either of their desires or their prayers: the cross which the Lord enables his people to sustain, is the cross which he himself
MEMOIR.
lays upon them: but this fact is a source of encouragement to the believer when foreboding coming calamity, and it should establish the certainty of the cheering truth, that if He who ruleth all things by the word of his power, should permit to come again into our privileged land the demon of persecution, he will raise up at the same time, such as shall be endued with the Spirit from on high, and by a larger measure of his gracious influences, animate and support the people of his love. Seldom has it been the case, that he who was great in the sunshine, continued great in the gloom. The rich and the dignified, and they of whom even the people of God hoped great things, often fall away at such a time, and walk no more with them; while most useful and much beloved, some of whom the world is not worthy, and of whom the world retains no memorial, live and walk in the light of God's manifested countenance, and feed the flock of God, at the peril of contumely, suffering and death.
Amongst those thus useful, thus beloved, and thus in their personal history almost unremembered, our author must be included. We have been unable to ascertain even the town which gave him birth. That he was a native of Cambridge- shire is we believe certain, and also that he was born in the year of our Lord, 1600. He was educated at Emanuel Col- lege, Cambridge, where he entered at the age of sixteen, and became Master of Arts at the age of twenty-six. He was for many years a Fellow of this College. It has been remarked, that this College is distinguished, for having edu- cated more who became afterwards Nonconformists, than any seven other Colleges or Halls in either University. In the year 1631, he was appointed to the lectureship of Colchester, where he continued but a short time. In the year 1633, he had a Friday lecture at St. George's, Tombland, Norwich, for which he was paid by the corporation. In the year 1636, we find that he was rector of St. Peter's, Hungate, Norwich, a living which at that time was not worth more than twenty- two pounds per annum. Here it was that he was silenced by Bishop Wren, for not being a thorough Conformist. He continued however in the city some time after his suspension, until he was excommunicated, and the writ de capiendo came forth against him.
MEMOIR. xm
Driven thus from his native land, he took refuge in Hol- land, which has many times been the honoured place for sheltering the persecuted worthies of the church of Christ. He settled at Rotterdam, succeeding as pastor the celebrated Hugh Peters, and becoming thus associated with that emi- nent man of God, Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs. From a passage in the " Apologetical Narration," it may be inferred, that Mr. Bridge received much support from the magistrates of the city, and that many wealthy persons joined the church, some of whom had fled from the persecutions of Bishop Wren.
While at Rotterdam he renounced the ordination which he had received when he entered the church of England, and was again ordained after the Independent way, by Samuel Ward, B. D. ; after which he similarly ordained Mr. Ward.
He returned to England in 1642, in the time of the Long Parliament, before whom he frequently preached. The thanks of both houses were constantly voted for his able discourses thus delivered, and on July 30, 1650, the sum of 100 per annum was voted to him to be paid out of the Impro- priations. It would seem from the two following let- ters, which have been preserved in " Peck's Desiderata Curi- osa," that he was likewise consulted by the Parliament in reference to a general augmentation of ministers' salaries: we insert the letters, not as containing any intrinsic merit, but as shewing that he certainly possessed considerable influence in his day, or, to use the words of Dr. Nathaniel Johnston, in his book, entitled, " The King's Visitorial Power Assert- ed," and in which book there is a petition from the Fellows of Emanuel College, Cambridge, signed amongst others, by William Bridge; " He was a great preacher, and one of the demagogues of this Parliament."
To Henry Scobell, Esq. Clerk of the Council of State.
HONOURED SIR,
I HAVE received your letters, and am glad that you are so sensible of the concernment of our Lord Christ, in the ministry of his word.
The Presbyterian and Congregational Churches in Norfolk, are many ; and in so short a time as one day, I am not able ta inquire into their state and condition : but having lately
Xiv MEMOIR.
received a letter from Mr. Philip Nye, in reference to the Congregational, I have inquired after them the more dili- gently, and send you the names of all those churches in Norfolk, with the names of their pastors, and the towns where they are seated, and the worth of their living, so near as I can.
The Presbyterian churches I have less acquaintance with, and if you please to give me longer time to inquire, I shall serve you therein. Only, Sir, I can tell you now, that here are four ministers in this town, and no set maintenance for any, unless 100, which I have from the state, given me by the Long Parliament. The other ministers are all good men and worthy, and no revenue but the people's charity.
Six miles from us there is a market town, and the only great town in the island, and the living is not worth 40. per annum. If 50 may be laid to it, and a good man put into the place, it would be very influential upon the whole island. The gift of the living belongs to the Lord Protector. The town hath been malignant, called Lowestofie, known to his Highness, being part of the first fruits of his great labours. Much service might be done for Christ in settling this place, and if the Lord will give you hearts to pity this great town, many souls will bless God for your bowels. I will trouble you no further, but present this thing to your goodness, and yourself to the grace of God, who is able to supply all our wants, according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ. In whom I continue, Sir,
Tour's, in all Christian observance,
W. B.
Yarmouth, August 16. 1655.
A list of the Independent Teachers who are Pastors of Churches in the County of Norfolk :
1. Church at Norwich: Pastor, Mr. Armitage; who hath an augmentation already.
2. Church at Yarmouth: Mr. Tookey, Teacher: Mr. Bridge, Pastor ; who hath 100 per annum from the state.
3. Church at North Walsom, a market town : Pastor, Mr. Brabiter ; the living about 40 per annum.
4. Church at Windham, a market town: Pastor, Mr. Mony ; he hath an augmentation already.
MEMOIR. XV
5. Church at Hupton, a small town and a small living ; no Pastor, Mr. Wale being gone to Ireland.
6. Church at Tunsted and Stowly : no Pastor, the revenue of both about 80 per annum
7. Church at Alby and Thwait : Pastor, Mr. Nathaniel Brewster ; the living about 50 per annum.
8. Church at Lesetiorgham : Pastor, Mr. Cushin ; the liv- ing about 100 per annum.
9. Church at Fowlsome : Mr. Worts, Pastor ; the worth of the living known to Major General Skippon.
10. Church at Edgefield : Pastor, Mr. Martin ; the living competent.
To Henry Scobell, Esq. Clerk of his Highnesses Privy Council.
WORTHY SIR,
I ii AYE lately received a letter from Mr. Griffith, in the name of the brethren at London, whereby I am de- sired to certify you of the receipt thereof. This is then only to let you understand, that on August 26, I received his let- ters dated August 20, and I shall take care that copies of the letters be sent unto all the churches in our county. Continuing, Your Servant in the gospel of Christ Jesus,
W. B.
Yarmouth, August 28. 1658.
He was one of the dissenting brethren in the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, and was one of the writers of the " Apologetical narrative," which was published in 1643. His name is also subscribed to the " Reasons of the dissenting brethren against certain propositions concerning Presbyterial government," which was published in 1648.
After a brief sojourn at Norwich, where he preached a sermon to the volunteers, he at length fixed at Great Yar- mouth, where he continued his labours till the Bartholomew Act. It is very probable, that at Yarmouth his congregation at least for some time met in the parish church for public worship, for in the year 1650, the north part of the church was enclosed for a meeting place, at an expense of ( JOO; a considerable sum in those days.
When ejected by the black Bartholomew Act, he went to reside at Clapham, near London, and preached in, if not found- ded, the Independent meeting at that place j and at this place he died, March 12. 1670.
From an epitaph in Yarmouth Church, it would appear that he was twice married. The name of his first wife is not known; he afterwards married Margaret, the widow of John Arnold, merchant and once bailiff of that town. Whether he had any children, or how many, we have been unable to as- certain.
These few brief particulars are all we have been able to gather, respecting this eminently useful and deeply taught servant of the Most High God.
We close this brief memorial with an Elegy upon him, the unknown author of which was contemporary with him.
ELEGY
UPON THE DEATH OF MR. WILLIAM BRIDGE, A FAITHFUL AND PAINFUL LABOURER IN THE LORD'S VINEYARD.
EVEN as a lamp that spendeth liberally Its oil, that we may do our work thereby ; Or as a sparkling star, which shineth bright, Thereby directing travellers by night ; Or as the sun, that by his cheerful rays Disperseth darkness, and his beams displays On the cold earth, whereby he makes it spring With fruitful crops, which joyfulness doth bring :
So BRIDGE dispersed his fruitful beams whilst here,
But now he 's fixed in a higher sphere.
You that have skill, sorrow and joy to blend, Somewhat of both upon this prophet spend. Grieve for your loss, and yet rejoice in this, He 's gone from trouble to a place of bliss. Mourn that you did no more improve his pains, And yet rejoice that he now reaps the gains. Weep that so bright a lamp no longer shined, Yet joy in those choice works he left behind. Mourn that such lights do set, and when ye 've done, Joy that he 's there, where needs not moon nor sun, Which never shall be stained with a night, BHt hath eternal glory for its light:
MEMOIR.
And let those darkened intervals you see,
Increase your longing in that place to be ;
For here are changes, prophets too must die :
Yet let me that expression mollify :
If the philosopher of old could say,
All of me shall not die ; then sure we may
Transcendantly affirm of BRIDGE, that he
Yet lives, and shall live to eternity.
He lives in heaven, on earth he doth the same ;
There in his soul, here in his works and name.
And though his body now be turned to dust,
Yet, at the resurrection of the just,
Each atom shall be gathered, so to raise
A glorious fabric to his Master's praise ;
And soul and body jointly then shall sing,
Grave, where 'a thy conquest? death, where is thy sting?
And then in triumph shall ascend on high,
Having obtained, through Christ, the victory.
PREFACES TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION.
TO THE READER.
So good is the God of Jacob lo his Israel on this side the promised land, that no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Friend, if it may be verified of thee, what our blessed Saviour spake of Na- thaniel, " Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile:" thou hast at present, not only a title to Esau's enough, but the tenure of Jacob's all: according to that ancient charter of all saints recorded by that great apostle of the gentiles: " For all things are yours; whether Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, &c. All are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's," 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22, 23.
The very persons and ministry, calling and gifts, studies and writings, prayers and sermons of the faithful ministers of the gospel, all are for the use, service, and comfort of Christ's little little flock, TO pK'pov vtoipviov. This evangelical truth is notably proved by the same apostle to the Ephesians. When our only High Priest ascended up on high, into the holy of holies there to transact his priestly office of intercession at the right hand of God the Father, " He gave some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ," Eph. iv. 11, 12.
Thus this servant of the Lord is thine; as much thine, as Paul was the Co- rinthians. Yea, these his Spirit-full pieces of evangelical mysteries are thine: thine to build thee up in the saving knowledge of that doctrinal truth, the priest- ly office of Christ, as it is the magazine and storehouse of all that grace and comfort which we are crowned with under heaven: thine, to give thee a piercing insight into the intricate methods of the old serpent, and plainly to discover upon what rocks and sands the faith of many suffer shipwreck: thine, to arm *hee with spiritual armour of proof, called a breast-plate, 1 Thess. v. 8. $wpa, because it guards the heart; or, as the words elsewhere holds it out, a long-largt shield, Ephes. vi. 16, Svfioe of $opa, which is very dexterous to defend the whole of a Christian soldier from all the fiery darts of the wicked one, TOV nrovypov.
Reader, let us be thine, to beseech thee by the mercies of God, as thou ten- derest the peace and welfare of all within thy own tabernacle, immediately to put in practice the holy contents of this experimental book. For if thou art one of the Lord's Simons, " Behold Satan hath desired to have thee, that he may sift thee as wheat." Oh, therefore make provision for thy soul with all speed, before the hour of temptation draweth on. It is not true valour, but desperate fool-madness, to adjourn this every-day's business of everlasting concernment: because in this, as in oversights of war, there is no room for a second retractation, the first error being unrecoverable.
PREFACE. Xi.t
This is all we have to advertise thee touching these choice useful lectures. For the author of them (whom we very much love and honour) we must bear witness, that when he first preached them from the bosom of Jesus Christ, his Master, to many tempted bleeding hearts in and about this populous city, he had not then the least thought to suffer them in print to serve the public. But after- wards, eyeing the voice of God in the multiplied desires and greedy expectations both of friends and strangers, his constant auditors, though of different judg- ments, in their private speeches and letters: and to prevent a further inconveni- ence, [sc. the publishing them by some who had imperfect notes in their hands M. W. M.] was necessitated to depute us [in his absence at Yarmouth] to hand out into the world this his copy, which was exactly penned from his tongue, by that his beloved amanuensis, and since kept charily by him as a precious thing committed to his trust. Trjv Ka\r]f ira.pa.KaTai}x.r)v, 2 Tim. i. 14.
The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ grant thee according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, so that thou mayest be more than conqueror through him that loved thee, and prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. So be it.
Thine in the Lord Jesus,
WILLIAM GREKNHILL. JOHN YATES. WILLIAM AODERLEY.
TO THE READER.
THAT we may at least stay the longings of many thirsty souls with a sweet relish of a promising vintage of new wine this year, we have slipt off this second ripe cluster of grapes from its fellows, which if it be squeezed in the hand of faith, will prove itself to be so rich, fragrant, and sparkling with the blood, juice, and spirit of the gospel, that it needs not the purple of our epistle recommend- atory to welcome it to any, that are in truth the living branches of the true. Vine. Yet to the end we may happily invite some that are without to come in, that they also may both see and taste how good the Lord is to the children of the bride- chamber:
Reader, stand awhile at the well-head, with the poor woman of Samaria, ad- miring the infinite dimensions of those waters of life that are fountained up in Jesus Christ, " of whose fulness we all receive, even grace for grace."
The saints may be brimful of the Holy Spirit, as Stephen was, but it is ac- cording to measure, a vessel fulness; but Christ above or without measure, a spring fulness, which is not only repletive, but diffusive, unsearchable, immea- surable.
The great ocean is too little to shadow out the overflowings of this fulness; for take away a drop or two from thence, it presently suffers a diminution: but though this Fountain of salvation should shed abroad his love upon all the world of the elect, as the waters cover the sea, yet it is ever full, running over. There is not the less light or heat in the Sun of Righteousness, though he daily ariseth with healing in his wings unto them that fear his name from east to west; " He is yesterday, to-day, and for ever the same." This is no hyperbole, but the lan- guage of Canaan. " Nee Christus nee coelum patitur hyperbolum." Lu- ther.
XX PREFACE.
Oh, that this unspeakable Fulness of heaven or earth, or saints and angels, that fills all in all, did now constrain thee to cast thy empty pitcher into these depths of his grace, so shouldest thou with this beloved evangelist, and the rest that are included in this WE ALL, " receive even grace for grace." To act faith is the principal use which directly flows out from every doctrine about Jesus Christ.
We shall appeal unto thee, whose eye is fixed on this full book of grace, Is not fulness in other things, a conquering, golden argument? Did not Joseph's treasure of corn, prevail with good old Jacob and his sons to go down into Egypt? And shall not this our gospel Joseph, who alone is the Bread of Life that once came down from heaven to feed hungry souls, engage thee, almost famished, to come unto him for this staff of life, that thou mayest live? Were they not the floods of milk and honey that did run down the promised land, that did set the Israelites' teeth on edge to be there? And shall not the overflowings of Christ's heart in heaven towards sinners on earth, make thee to hunger and thirst after His righteousness, who is the Lord our Righteousness? Was it not the abundance of Solomon's natural wisdom, which was as a constellation of stars in his crown, that invited the queen of Sheba to travel from the utmost parts of Arabia to kneel before his throne? And is there not a greater than Solomon here, " who is the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person, full of grace and truth?" Oh where, where then are the spiritual actings of thy soul upon him? Abraham's faith was a very lively, vigorous, and a more than conquering faith; when the sentence of death was apparent on the head of the mercy, and the womb leading to it: and is thy faith like a tree twice dead, plucked up by the roots? God forbid. Oh, remember the fulness of the infiniteness of all perfections that are originally in the Lord, being able to fill np all the empty chinks, void places, the unsatisfied gaspings and yawnings of the vast spirit of man. We shall seal up all with the evangelical words of that voice of Christ echoed in a wilderness, as the great motive of all motives, " The kingdom of heaven," of grace, of Christ, and all his benefits, " is at hand," hath approached. Therefore, believe, repent: " Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing."
Thine, in and for the Lord Jesus Christ, and his fulness, that thou mayest re- ceive even grace for grace,
WILLIAM GREENHILL. WILLIAM ADDERLEY. JOHN YATES.
EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
To THE WORSHIPFUL MAURICE THOMPSON, Esa., GEORGE THOMPSON, Esa., WILLIAM THOMPSON, Esa. SHERIFF OF LONDON, ROBERT THOMP- SON, Esa., SIR JOHN WITTEWRONG, KNIGHT, WILLIAM OFIELD, Esa., SAMUEL CHAMPNES, ELIAS ROBERTS, AND WILLIAM HAWKINS, EsaRS.
WITH THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN, GRACE AND PEACE.
Honoured and Beloved in our Lord Jesus,
IT is not want of respect that I seem thus to crowd your names together, I owe more than an epistle to each of your names, but because God hath made you one, though branched into several habitations, I take the boldness to present this work to you, as unto one family. It is written of the stork, that she useth to leave one of her young ones to the house where she made her nest. " Ciconise mos est unum e pullis relinquere domui qua nidulata est." Lud. Vives. And upon that account some of my labours do belong to your family, where I studied, and from whence I preached them t^some of you and yours have often desired the publishing of these notes, and being printed, whither should the press send them but to your door? you are the family with whom I have had the honour to converse much whilst living; and now the blossoms of the grave are upon me, I dedicate these notes unto you, that by them I may live and speak with you when my head shall lie under the clods: you are a family whom the Lord hath blessed and raised not only to a great estate in the world, but to the saving knowledge of his Son, our dear Saviour, and whom should I serve and honour but those whom God honours and blesseth?
That family is not far from blessing, which hath godly children, children trained up and seasoned with the grace of Christ from the cradle; " The Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom," and wherein did that blessing consist? the scripture tells us. 1 Chron. xxvi. That some of his children were porters in the house of God, others were mighty men of valour, able men for strength and service, and the reason is given, verse 5. " For the Lord blessed him," so that children useful and serviceable both in church and state are a great blessing unto a family. The Hebrews say, that children are the father's building, rm a p " quia films est sedificium patrisj" and indeed he builds wisely that doth lay the foundations of his house in a godly seed. " Lo, children (saith the Psalmist) are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb are his reward, as arrows in the hand of the mighty, so are children of the youth, blessed is the man that hath his quiver full of them;" especially where these arrows are well headed and well hearted too. And upon this account it is good for great families to have good servants. For, corrupt servants do debauch children, and debauched chil- dren do scatter brimstone upon the house of their fathers.
Neither is that family an unblessed family which is strict in the observation
Xxii EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
of the sabbath or the Lord's day. God hath blessed that day that he might bless them who do keep that day; hereby England hath been blessed with the power of godliness more than other nations; "My sabbath, (saith God) shall be a sign between me and thee." And in the primitive times when a Christian was asked whether he had kept the Lord's day, his answer generally was, I am a Christian, I cannot neglect it. " Servasti diem Dominican? Christianus sum intermittere non possum." As if the observation of the Lord's day were the badge of a Christian; this is the girdle of all our duties, and in respect of this girdle I may say, ungirt, unblessed; the valleys of the week day are blessed by the upper springs of this day; and as the commandment doth especially point at, and look wishly upon the master of the family, saying, Neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, &c., so doth the blessing also.
Blessed is that family which doth industriously seek to build the house of God and the house of the poor; David did but intend to build God's house, and the Lord promised him to build his house. The Egyptian midwives spared the Is- raelites' children, whereby, the poor families and houses of the Israelites were built, and the Lord dealt well with the midwives and made them houses, Exod. i. 20.
Neither is that family far from blessing which is a friend to the ministry. Re- ceiving, hiding, and refreshing the painful and faithful ministers and preachers of the gospel; " The Lord give mercy (saith Paul) to the house of Onesiphorus, for he hath refreshed me," not once and no more, but, " he hath oft refreshed me:" nor did he do this because I followed him and sought him out, but, " he sought me out very diligently, and found me." And in the day of my greatest affliction he was not ashamed of me, " for he was not ashamed of my chains," wherefore the Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy in that day; and give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus, 2 Tim. i. 16, 17, 18. " He that receiveth a prophet (saith our Saviour) in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward," and what is the reward of a prophet, but to profit by the prophet, and to have a share in his venture, and in all that good which he doth by his ministry. A praying family, also, is a precious family and blessed, especially where prayer and pains, religion and righteousness, frugality and liberality are in conjunction: some are much for pains-taking and little for prayer, others are much for prayer and little for pains-taking; some are much for religion and little for righteousness, others are much for righteous dealings and little for religion; some are much for frugality and little for liberality, others are much for liberality and little for fru- gality; but blessed is that family where prayer and pains, religion and righteous- ness, frugality and liberality meet and dwell together under one roof. " Nisi Dominus aedificaveric domum frustra laborat quisquis earn sedificat, Psal. cxxvii. Non enim dicit, Dominus sedificat domum nemine scilicet laborante, sed ita, nisi Dominus asdificaverit frustra laborat perinde ac si diceret, labore quidem opus est, sed hujus conatum frustra sumi si solus erit, non enim laboris sedulitas sed Dei benedictio rem fsecundaret omnia perficit." Luther farrago Epistol.
Now those things I have seen amongst you: only, as heretofore, so now labour to abound therein more and more, that you and your family may be as the field which the Lord blesseth. And as God hath raised you to an outward greatness in the world, so let your hearts be great for God, that what Pliny reported of Vespasian, may be truly said of you; " Nee quicquam in te mutaverit fortunse amplitude nisi ut prodesse tandundem posses et velles." Your abundance hath changed nothing in you, but this, that your power to do good is now made an- swerable to your will: counting it greater mercy to lay out for God, than to lay up for yourselves, for it may be when you come to die, you will have more com-
EPISTLE DEDICATORY. XXlii
fort in what you have laid out for God, than in what you have laid up for your children. And why should we not give that to God by an act of our faith which he gave to us by an act of his love?
And as for your children, if I might not exceed the bounds of an epistle, I would say to them :
Children, O children, know your fathers, and the God of your fathers, know 3 our parents, for that is the first commandment with promise, and you shall hon- our yourselves in honouring them. It is recorded of the Catanenses, (Camerar. oper. subcis. Centur. i. cap. 66.) that they made a stately monument of kingly magnificence, in remembrance of two sons, who took their aged parents upon their backs and carried them through the fire when their father's house was all in a flame. And of all the birds, the stork hath the name for the good bird, and why? but because the younger of them do help and bear up the elder, their weak parents; but though your parent is to be honoured, yet your God is more to be honoured. If you know Gou when you are young, God will know you when you are old; " remember therefore your Creator in the days of your youth:" and your Creator will remember you in the days of your age. " nVDn pia avis, ciconiis eximia in est pietas: et enim quantum temporis impenderint foetibus educandis, tantum et ipsse a pullis suis invicem aluntur. Solinus, cap. 11. Schind. Parentes senectute confectos numeris suis gestare dicuntur." Avenar.
Take heed of youthful sins, for the sweet sins of our youth do bite sore in our age.
Get an inward principle of grace in your own souls, for if you live on your parents' root, when your parents die, your goodness will die too; and therefore look well to the laying of your foundation, which is not to be laid in disputation but humiliation.
Be not unwilling to bear the yoke in the days of your youth, for he that can carry a calf when he is young, will carry an ox when he is old. Affliction gives you understanding; it is the school of experience. The oxen that are for use, are kept tied up, when those that are fatted for the shambles, are let loose into the pastures to feed at their pleasure. " Vituli triturantes quotidie ligantur vi- tuli mactandi quotidie in pascuis libere relinquuntur." Augustin.
Be not too confident of what you can do, or will do. Young men are apt to be too confident, as old men are k apt to be too fearful; but the best swimmers are the soonest drowned, because of their confidence. " Wherefore in all thy ways acknowledge the Lord, and lean not to thine own understanding," Prov. iii.
When you come to the great turns of your life, be sure that you make a right choice, for every man is as his choice is. If there be any dirt on the hands, it will appear in the knuckles, the turning places; and if there be dirt in your lives, it will be found and appear in your great turns.
Let your dwelling-place be where God dwells, and he dwells where his ordi- nances are, for there he records his name. But though you live under ordinances in regard of your station, yet live above them in regard of your affection, passing through them unto Christ, and through Christ into the bosom of the Father. It was not David's sling that killed Goliah, but the name of God in the use of the sling.
Seek not great things for yourselves in this world, for if your garments be too long, they will make you stumble; and one staff helps a man in his journey, when many in his hands at once hinder him; but labour to do great things for God, and God will do great things for you. Terrene or earthly felicity, is the
EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
lowest part of perfect felicity. " Infima pars fselicitatis perfect* est terrena fuelicitas. " Augustin.
Be much in private prayer, for the more you come to God, the more welcome you are; his customers have the best pennyworths; and if God do much for you in the morning duty, do much for him all the day after; and if you have little from God in the morning, walk humbly all the day after. " A prece prin- cipium."
Let your company be always such as you may get good from, or do good unto. When you are alone, think of good things; and when you are in company, speak of good things.
Keep the truth, and the truth will keep you.
And whatever mercy or blessing you receive, trace it to heaven gates, and to Christ's blood; for it flowed from Christ's blood, and leads you to heaven. " And the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you all (parents and children) perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever."
Your servant in the gospel of Christ,
WILLIAM BRIDGE.
THE GREAT GOSPEL MYSTERY OF THE SAINTS' COMFORT AND HOLINESS,
OPENED AND APPLIED FROM
CHRIST'S PRIESTLY OFFICE,
IN
FOUR SERMONS,
PREACHED AT STEPNEY, A. D. 1647.
VOL. I.] B
ON
CHRIST'S PRIESTLY OFFICE.
SERMON I.
" Wherefore in all things it behoved him, to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and a faithful High Priest, in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for atonement} for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted." HEB. n. 17, 18.
THE apostle Paul, (whom I take to be the penman of this epistle) having in the former part of this chapter, shewed the reasons, why it behoved Christ for to suffer death: he comes now, in the latter end thereof, to give you an account, by laying down some reasons, " Why it behoved Christ, to be in all things made like unto us," whom the apostle here calls the brethren of Jesus Christ.
In other scriptures we find, that our Lord and Saviour Christ, is called our Father, " The Everlasting Father, the Prince of peace." Here he is called our Brother, we his brethren. Now the same person, to be both a father, and a brother unto the same man, in nature it cannot be.
But because all these relations, are too scant, and narrow vessels to hold forth the love of Jesus Christ towards us: therefore inconsistent relations are given unto him. A father provides for his child, which the brother doth not. A brother can stoop, and condescend unto his brother, which the superiority of the father will not bear. So that here is held forth unto us, the stooping, condescending love of Jesus Christ: and therefore he is called our Brother, and we his brethren.
But why, and what reason is there, that the Lord Jesus Christ should in all things be made like unto us his brethren?
The apostle in these words gives the reason, te That he
might be a merciful, and a faithful High Priest, in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the
people," &c. The Lord God our Father, sware unto Jesus
Christ, " Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Mel- chizedek." He was to be the great High Priest. Among the Jews, in the times of the Old Testament, they had an high priest, that was in all things to stand between God and them, and in case any sinned, to make an atonement for them. As the Jews had their high priest: so the Lord Jesus Christ, he was to be, and he is, the Apostle and the High Priest of our Christian profession, as Aaron was of the Jews' profession. And therefore says the apostle, " It behoved him, in all things to be made like unto us."
But could not Jesus Christ be merciful unto poor tempted souls, unless he were in all things made like to them: like in their natures, like in their affections, like in matter of temptations?
Christ as God, could have been merciful unto us, although he had not been made like unto us: but not as our High Priest.
There is an ability of sufficiency, and of power: and so Christ as God, was able to succour those that are tempted, although himself had never been tempted. But there is an ability of idoneity or fitness, or aptness and disposition: and so the apostle says here, " For in that himself hath suf- fered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted."
It is plain then, what that is, that is the great support of a Christian against all temptations: wherein lies our succour against all temptation, namely, in the priestly office of Jesus Christ.
The priestly office of Christ, it is the great magazine and storehouse of all that grace and comfort which we have on this side heaven: it is that whereby we are reconciled to God the Father, and relieved against all temptation. This is the great thing that these words hold forth.
And therefore, upon this account, the apostle Paul, finding the Hebrews labouring under great temptations, doubtings, fears, and much unbelief; he does not only here, but all along in this book of the Hebrews, open the priestly office of Christ unto them.
And indeed, what comfort can we have in God himself, but through Christ? and what comfort can we have in Christ himself, but as he is clothed with his priestly garment, with