و they must very fhortly lye all miferable together in Hell. See how there he is petitioning Abraham, that Lazarus may be fent to his Father's House, to give warning to his Brethren, that they may not come into the fame place of Torment, wherein he now is made fenfible, he muft forever abide. One from the dead (faith he) will perfuade them to repent; though nothing else will work upon them, this will. But obferve what Abraham anfwereth to this Petition. He tells him, they ftood in need of no fuch Messenger from the dead, neither would fuch an one, were he fent, prevail with them to repent. God had not left them without fufficient Witness of his Will, he had already fent into the World Mofes, and the Prophets to teftifie unto them. These (faith he) thy Brethren have; their Books, which were written for their use, are in their Hands, and read in their Synagogues, let them hear them. Here they have a certain Rule of Faith and Life, whereby, if they will govern themselves, they fhall do well. If thefe will not fuffice them, one from the dead will not. He that would when he dieth go into Abraham's Bofcm, and not lye in Hell tormented in thofe flames with thee, must be content with, and make good Use of the means and helps, which God hath been pleased in his Word to give and direct him to, and not expect fuch Evidences and Helps as himself thinks moft proper. Thus hath our bleffed Saviour laid Paradife and Hell both open before our Eyes at once; and fhew'd us by what Rule we muft walk, if we defire to be happy when Death puts an end to our Pilgrimage on Earth, Let us devoutly pray unto Him, who hath fet all Things, which are of of greatest Concernment to us, in fo clear a light before us; that he would give us Eyes to fee them, and Hearts to confider them; and that he would help us all by his holy Spirit to profit by them, and to receive thankfully, and make a right Ufe of all that Instruction, Direction and Confolation in the way of Righteoufness and Life, which it was his gracious Defign in this Parable to give us. To this end, let us confider, I. What kind of Perfons thefe two are, which are II. What manner of departure they had cut of this III. What was their Condition immediately after IV. What Difcourfe is fuppofed to have been held be- below. 1. The first thing to be confidered is, What kind of Perfons thefe two are, which are here commended to our Obfervation? There was (faith our Saviour) a certain rich Man, (his name he mentioneth not) and there was a certain Beggar, named Lazarus. These two Perfons, the rich Man, and the Beggar, are both of them here reprefented to us as the Sons of Abraham; that is, of Abraham's Race, and Branches of his Family. They are both Jews, and by Profeffion, Members of the then true Church, and of the peculiar People of God. They were both Partakers of the fame Sacraments, Circumcifion, and the Paffover; and they had Mofes, and the Prophets, read unto them. They enjoy'd the fame Priviledges, and had the fame fame means of Knowledge, and of Holiness: But they did not both make the fame good Use and Improvement of them. Abraham was a very great Man, the Friend of God; and to Abraham, and his Seed were the promises given. The Jews were God's chofen and peculiar People, to them pertained the Adoption, and the Glory, and the Covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the Service of God, and the Promifes; and of them, as concerning the Flesh, Chrift came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. It was therefore no fmall Priviledge or Honour to be of the Seed of Abraham, and of the Church of the Jews. But alas, all these Honours and Priviledges, all thefe means and helps profited the rich Man nothing, because they did not make him a good Man. All the Seed of Abraham, are not to be reckoned for the Children of Abraham. Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for Righteousness. And they which are of Faith, the fame are the Children of Abraham, and bleffed with faithful Abraham, Gal. 3. 6, 7, 9. They are not all Ifrael, which are of Ifrael. Neither because they are the Seed of Abraham, are they all Children, Rom. 9. 6, 7. He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that Circumcifion, which is outward in the Flesh; but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and Circumcifion is that of the Heart, in the Spirit, and not in the Letter, whofe praife is not of Men, but of God. Circumcifon verily profiteth, if thou keep the Law; but if thou be a breaker of the Law, thy Circumcifion is made Uncircumcifion, Rom. 2. 25, 28, 29. Here then was the great Difference between thefe two Sons of Abraham. The one was a good Man, and kept the Law; and the other did not. The rich Man was indeed of the stock of Abra bam, ham, but the Beggar was alfo of the faith of A braham. The rich Man had the Circumcifion of the Flesh, but the Beggar had alfo the Circumcifion of the Heart. The former had the Law written on Tables of Stone, but the latter had it also written in his Mind, and in the fleshly Tables of bis Heart. The rich Man beard Mofes, and the Prophets, but the Begger obeyed them alfo. Hence the Beggar became the Child of God, whilft the rich Man continued a Child of the Devil. Tho' we be not of Abraham's Seed according to the Flesh, we are not one jot the worse for that, if fo be that we have the faith of Abraham. Abraham is the Father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcifed; of them that walk in the fteps of that Faith, which Abraham bad being yet uncircumcifed. The promife is made fure to all the Seed, not to that only which is of the Law; but to that alfo which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the Father of us all, Rom. 4. 11, 12, 16. Indeed it is no great matter what Man upon Earth, rich or poor, honourable or base, good or bad, was our Father; fo that we be the Children of God by faith in Christ JESUS. It is nothing to us, whether we are come of Jewish or Gentile Ancestors, whether we be of noble or of mean Extraction, the Children of Princes, or of Beggars, we are neither the better nor the worfe Men on this account. Yea, though we be in outward Conformity and Profeffion Members of the pureft and best conftituted Church in the whole World; and tho' we have been folemnly dedicated to the worship and fervice of the ever blessed and moft Glorious TRINITY in the holy Sacrament of Baptifm, and tho' we daily partake in all the holy Ordinances of Chrift and and enjoy all the external Priviledges of Chriftians: Yet we are to know, that no Formalities of Profession, no Ceremonies of Religion, no Sacrifice or Sacrament, no hearing or reading, no long Prayers, or loud Praifes, no glorious Outfide, or affected and glorying Infide of Religion will avail us any thing, fo long as we want the faith of Abraham. That faith, I fay, we must have which worketh by love, Gal. 5. 6. That faith which overcometh the World, 1 Joh. 5. 4. That faith whereby even against bope, we can believe in hope, and not tagger at the promifes of God through unbelief, Rom. 4. 18, 20. That Faith, which being the fubftance of Things hoped for, the evidence of Things not Jeen, perfuadeth us in Expectation of a City which hath Foundations, whofe builder and maker is God, to go forth chearfully, which way foever it pleaseth God to call us, tho' we know not whither we go; and all along to behave our felves in this World, as Sojourners in a strange Country: As Travellers towards Heaven. short, it must be such a faith, as will make the poor Man rich in Hope, and the rich Man poor in Spirit; the poor Man Patient and Content, and the rich Man Charitable and Liberal: Yea, as will make the rich Man, whenfoever Chrift commands it, to fell all that be bath, and distribute unto the poor, and follow his Saviour for inexhaustible Treafures in Heaven, Luke 18. 22. This is the faith of Abraham, which lodged poor Lazarus in Abrabam's Bofom; and for want of which the rich Man was caft into the flames of Hell. In That he was rich, was not the rich Man's Sin. Neither was it aVirtue in the poor Man to be poor. There have been, and I hope, there are yet fome good rich Men in the World; and I am too fure |