XIII.

SERM. of barbarous massacres, of horrid assassinations, of intestine rebellions, of foreign invasions, of savage tortures and butcheries, of holy leagues and pious frauds, through Christendom, and particularly among us,) which as it without reason damneth, so it would by any means destroy all that will not crouch thereto.

Ps. cxxiv.

6,7;

You will, in fine, with joyous festivity, glory and triumph in this illustrious demonstration of God's favour toward us; so as heartily to join in those due acclamations of blessing and praise:

Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as Ixviii. 32. a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

Rev. xix.

I, 2.

Rev. xv. 3.

Ps. lxxii.

18, 19.

Alleluiah; Salvation, and glory, and power unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments.

Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, 0 thou King of saints.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen.

SERMON XIV.

A CONSECRATION SERMON".

PSALM CXXXII. 16.

I will also clothe her priests with salvation.

HE context runs thus: The Lord hath sworn in SERM.

THE

truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. I WILL ALSO CLOTHE HER PRIESTS WITH SALVATION and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. There will I make the horn of David to bud, &c.

If all, not only inaugurations of persons, but dedications even of inanimate things to some extraordinary use, hath been usually attended with especial significations of joy and festival solemnity; with great reason the consecration of a person to so high and sacred a function, as that of a Christian bishop, (that is, of a prince, or principal pastor

Henry the Seventh's Chapel, July 4, 1663, at the Bishop of Man his consecration.

XIV.

XIV.

SERM. in God's church,) requires most peculiar testimonies of our gratulation and content: the face of things ought then to be serene and cheerful: the thoughts of men benign and favourable: the words comfortable and auspicious, that are uttered upon such occasion. And that ours at present should be such, the subject, as well as the season, of our discourse doth require; words few, but pregnant, and affording ample matter for our best affections to work upon: and which more particularly will engage us, both to a hearty thankfulness for past benefits, and to a confident expectation of future blessings; while they acquaint us with the ancient exhibition of a gracious promise, remind us of the faithful performance thereof hitherto, and assure us of its certain accomplishment for the future. The occasion whereof was this: King David, moved by a devout inclination to promote God's honour, and benefit the church, had vowed to build a magnificent temple, imploring God's propitious concurrence with, and approbation of, his design. Whereupon Almighty God not only declares his acceptance of that pious resolution, but rewards it with a bountiful promise, consisting of two parts; one conditional, relating to David's children and posterity, that they, in an uninterrupted succession, should for ever enjoy the royal dignity, in case they did constantly persist in observing his covenant, and the testimonies that he should teach them; the other more absolute, that, however, what he chiefly intended concerning God's established worship and the perpetual welfare of the church, God would have an especial care that it should fully and certainly be accomplished: that

XIV.

he would for ever fix his residence in Sion; that he SERM. would protect and prosper it, and all that did belong thereto; especially those that did most need his favour and assistance, the poor, the priests, and the saints, (or Gentle ones.) This is briefly the importance of the general promise, wherein is comprehended that particular one whereon we are to treat: and in which we may observe,

2 The persons who are especially concerned in the promise, Her priests.

3 The thing promised, Clothing with salvation.

I. I say, the Promiser, I: that is, the Lord; the most true, the most constant, the most powerful God; most true and sincere in the declaration of his purpose, most constant and immutable in the prosecution, most powerful and uncontrollable in the perfect execution thereof: Whose words are Ps. xxxiii. right, and all whose works are done in truth: Who xxxix. 34. will not break his covenant, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his lips: Whose counsel shall stand, Isai. xlvi. and who will do all his pleasure. These glorious attributes and perfections of his, so often celebrated in holy writ, do ground our reliance upon all God's promises, and do oblige us, notwithstanding the greatest improbabilities or difficulties objected, to believe the infallible performance of

this.

II. The persons whom the promise mainly regards, Her priests. Priests, that is, persons peculiarly devoted to, and employed in, sacred matters; distinguished expressly from the Poor,

IO.

XIV.

Contra

2 Chron.

vii. 21.

SERM. (that is, other meek and humble persons;) and from the Saints, (that is, all other good and religious men.) And, Her priests; that is, the priests of Sion: of that Sion which The Lord hath chosen; which He hath desired for his permanent habitation; which he hath resolved to Rest and reside in for ever. Whence it plainly enough follows, that the priests and pastors of the Christian church are hereby, if not solely, yet principally designed. Which interpretation, because it is in a manner the foundation of our subsequent discourse, and by some it may perhaps not be readily admitted, I shall endeavour further to confirm by these few arguments.

vii. 16.

I Because the covenant here mentioned is not, as to the main parts thereof, of a conditional or 2 Chron. temporary nature, but absolute and perpetual; and must therefore be understood to respect the Christian church: (that of the Jews being long since rejected, their temple demolished, their Sion dere linquished.) For although one For although one particular contained therein, concerning the continual succession of David's posterity in the regal authority over Israel, hath a condition explicitly annexed; (and, consequently, the effects depending upon performance of that condition were contingent and mutable;) yet all the rest of this covenant (or promise) is conceived in terms peremptory, and expressly importing perpetuity. This is my rest for ever, Ty, that is, as the Greek translators render it, Eis aiŵva aiŵvos, (In seculum seculi,) that is, to the end of this world; as Εἰς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων denotes the end of all worlds, or the most perfect sempiternity. And that it doth really in this case de