Sermon XII
According to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, in the
dispensation of the fulness of times to gather together in one all things in
Christ, loth which are in heaven, and which are on earth ; even in him VER. 10.
THESE words, as I have formerly, in opening the coherence of them, shewed, do hold forth the full purpose, the whole birth, that lay hid in God s eternal purposes and decrees. All that God purposed, both concerning Christ and
concerning us, him as a Head, and us as members, are all gathered into this one expression, He purposed to gather all in one in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth. That by things in heaven are meant angels, I have shewed. That by things on earth are meant men, I have shewed also. There are all things in heaven, for there are several offices of angels at least ; and there are all things on earth, there are several sorts of men. Now, God hath gathered together all things in one. The great thing to be opened, as I promised at first, which containeth in it all that God intended both toward Christ and us, is this word, which is translated to gather together in one, ava.x?a\cuu<toM&ai. It is a teeming word, a pregnant word, that con taineth all that God intended toward Christ and us in the womb of it.
At the first, I did give you four approved significations of it, that none that knoweth and studieth the meaning of the word can deny. The first; it signifieth a summing up, a casting up of several figures into one total sum.
The second is, it is a gathering together of several members or parts unto one head.
The third, which is rather an addition unto the second ; it is a gathering of them again. There is dva, a doing of it the second time. The fourth is, a reducing things unto their first principles, to their first
estate, instaurare, as I shall shew you anon.
I gave you these, when I made entrance into the words, to be the four several meanings of it. There is a fifth, which I will not stand upon. And these four contain all that God intended both towards Christ and us.
First, as a foundation to the great restoration of all things, the great re
capitulation and gathering of all under one head, God layeth this founda tion he summeth up all things in Christ s person. He was to make him a head, and he would make him a head that should partake of all the body ; one that should be a fit and a meet head, fit to be King of both worlds. He casteth up, summeth up in him, into one total, all divisions whatsoever, all things in earth and all things in heaven.
He summeth up in him God and the creature. That Avas the first great division.
He summeth up in him the nature of man and the condition of angels ; for he is a heavenly man and far above angels. It is his due, and he possesseth it now.
EPH. I. 10.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 185
He summeth up, in man s nature assumed, both Jew and Gentile ; for lie came of both.
Thus he cast up all sorts of divisions into one total sum in Christ s person
first, and made that a foundation unto a second; and that is this, to gather
together all things in earth and in heaven under one head, that is both head of angels and men; that angels and men do make up one great association under this one Head and Monarch, Christ ; and that of all sorts
of angels, and of all sorts of men, make what division you will, nations,
tongues, kindreds, sinners, ranks, whatsoever, he gathereth together of all
such, and makes up a body to Christ. That is the second. The third was this, wliich I entered upon in the last discourse, that he hath made a second gathering of all things in one. In Christ there is a second gathering. There is a twofold union of creatures reasonable, with
God, and amongst themselves, a first and a second ; ava, is not to be lost.
Yea, and he hath gathered together again the second time after a scattering, when they were dispersed, broken all in pieces ; he makes up all again in
Christ, to make his glory so much the more illustrious.
In the first place there was a first gathering of all things unto God, as under a head, which was that gathering of all in heaven and in earth by the law of creation ; which I explained in four things.
First, that both angels and men were, by that law of creation, united to God. It was their due so to be ; a natural due, if he would make them
creatures reasonable.
Yet, secondly, so, as they were both united to God, but by the same like common tie, they might both fall in pieces.
Then, thirdly, there was a peace between both these among themselves, if not an association ; which indeed the Scripture holds not forth ; but a peace there was.
And then, fourthly, in some respect this might be said to be in Christ ; not as a head undertaking for both, but by his natural due. It was his
right, if he were to be a creature, to be the head of that creation, the be
ginning of the creation of God, as he is called, Rev. iii. 24. Now, I shewed there is a second gathering in Christ, as a head under
taking both for men and angels.
First, for the angels parts, it was the thing I shewed you, the necessity of second union, and that in Christ. I cannot stand to repeat the particulars. They needed both confirming grace, as I shewed out of Job iv. 18, com
pared with Job xv. 15. They needed elevating grace, to that fulness of the
vision of God which is only Christ s natural due, as John i. 18, None hath seen the Father, it is not only no man, but it is oitd-Jg, none, but only by way of participation from him who lay in the bosom of the Father. There
is a vision of God which the angels were not created unto, which in Christ
they are raised up unto.
Then, again, I shewed there was a kind of reconciliation of them, a
gathering together in that respect, as the phrase, Col. i. 20, importeth, where all things are said to be reconciled, both in heaven and in earth. It
is not a proper reconciliation indeed ; but when God saw that his angels served him so, the most part of them, he chargeth the rest with folly. It was in their nature to do it, he could not trust them ; it might have made him repent that ever he made angels. Christ takes this
off", it is not an
actual falling, but a possible falling, and fixcth them to God for ever. Thus he gathered all things in heaven to himself by a second gathering ; for that
is the point.
186 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON XII.
ISTow, that which I am to handle is this, That there is a second gathering of men, of all things on earth; and that is clearer than the other.
God doth not preserve men only from a danger of scattering by a second union with himself in and through Christ, but he actually preserveth them. He sheweth not his grace of preservation only ; he withdraweth, or he leaveth them unto themselves, suffereth them all to turn head against him, to turn
rebels, to the end he might get glory by a further degree of grace toward
them, to shew forth the riches of his mercy in their recovery.
And, my brethren, this gathering of all things on earth in Christ, of men
to himself, is the great gathering of all the rest. It was the greatest work of Christ. That of angels was but an overflow of it, cast into the bargain, to confirm them ; but that which did draw forth all that was in Christ, to
satisfy his Father, was to reconcile men unto him. This was the great
scattering, for it divided heaven from earth, angels from men, men amongst themselves, as I shall shew you by and by. Therefore, when this cometh to be added unto the other, it makes it an universal gathering
: it makes Christ a catholic King, the only catholic King, the only universal Head, to all
things in heaven and in earth, when all come in again to him.
I shall explain or present unto you this gathering again in one of all
things, all sorts of men on earth, by these four particulars
I. I told you, first, it implied a dispersion, a scattering ; therefore I will
briefly lay forth the desperate, miserable, forlorn, scattered condition of the
sons of men, by the sin of Adam ; how all in earth and in heaven were
fallen in pieces, divided, and at enmity.
II. I shall, secondly, shew you the making up of all this again ; what a
complete, full, and entire gathering together in one there is of all that were
scattered.
III. And then, thirdly, because God s second works always exceed the
first, therefore this gathering again is with an addition of a more near, and
entire, and more glorious union than at first ; a more indissoluble union, never to part again.
IV. And, fourthly, that all this was done in Christ, or by Christ, as you shall hear anon ; and by what it was in Christ that all was thus gathered
together, when they were all scattered and broken in pieces.
These are the four heads which I shall now insist upon; and all are
ziecessary to open this text.
I. First, I shall shew you the division, the scattering, that was of things on
earth, both from what is in heaven, and from amongst themselves.
First, What is in heaven ? There is God there, he is the chief in heaven. Why, they were all cut off from God. It is called a departing from God, in Jer. xvii. 5, and Heb. iii. 12. It is called a going astray, like sheep, after a thousand vanities, in Isa. liii. 6. This people, saith he, Jer. v. 23,
1 hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone; clean
.gone from God, and gone for ever, if God take not the care of them : so the
phrase is there. And, Col. i. 21, there are three degrees, which indeed com
prehend all : You were, saith he, alienated and enemies ; once they were
friends, God and they were one ; now they are strangers ; not only so, but
* enemies in their minds; yea, thirdly, in evil works, all sort of hostility, not
only in outward actions, but in inward dispositions ; and by means of this, an eternal wall of separation is set up between God and man, Isa. lix. 2. Here now is one division, all on earth cut off from him, without God in the world; it is the expression the Apostle useth, Eph. ii. 12.
Secondly, What else is there in heaven? There are angels. Men are
EPII. I. 10.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 187
scattered utterly from them, because, as I told you, though there were not an association, yet there was a peace; though there were two worlds
divided, distinct, though there was no trade, yet there was no enmity. But
through man s fall there was ; for the angels cannot but hate where God
liateth, and they cannot but be angry where God is angry. And therefore
you read, Gen. iii. 24, when man by sin was cast out of paradise, then cheru bim came, with their swords turned every way to keep man out, with their swords drawn upon him. You never read of angels till then. When Balaam went on in a perverse way, Num. xxii. 22, it is said, The angel of the Lord
stood in the way for an adversary against him. They are adversaries, they are enemies to men in their evil courses and ways ; and howsoever some
divines have thought that all executions of judgments here below have been by evil angels, yet the Scripture evidently sheweth that they ordinarily and
mostly be good ; we have more instances of the one than the other. Those
that destroyed Sodom were good angels, and Lot entertained them as such : The Lord, say they, hath sent us to destroy Sodom, Gen. xix. 13. They were angels created ; therefore, Heb. xiii. 2, Lot is said to have entertained
angels. The like may be said of that, 1 Chron. xxi. 15 ; of that that
struck Herod, Acts xii. 23 ; and of that smote the camp of the Assyrians, 2 Kings xix. 35. It is evident, for in all those places they are still called the angel of the Lord, which is never spoken of Satan.
There is once, indeed, mention of an evil spirit from the Lord, but it is with an addition of evil ; but the angels of the Lord are still good angels. And that angel that destroyed Jerusalem, which David saw with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over the city, 1 Chron. xxi. 15, was evi
dently a good angel; for, ver. 18, he directs Gad to tell David where the
temple should stand, and biddeth him worship ; which an evil angel, God would never have used him to do it.
And, my brethren, if men be enemies to the Church of God, as wicked men by nature are, angels will revenge it. Take heed, saith Christ, Matt.
xviii. 10, that you offend not one of these little ones ; and he giveth the reason of it ; for, saith he, their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven: they have angels that take their part. Thus
they are enemies in this life unto wicked men ; and at the day of judgment, you shall read in Matt. xiii. 41, 42, 49 : The angels are the reapers, saith
he, ver. 39 ; and he sheweth there how they take the bodies and souls of wicked men. The good angels are their gatherers, but it is for hell. They gather all together, and
( cast them into the furnace of fire ; there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth. It is attributed unto the angels. Thus you see, I say, that angels and men are at odds, and all by sin ; all
is broken now. God is gone, angels are divided from us, and at enmity with us. All in heaven and earth is broken to pieces. Well, come to things on earth ; nothing but divisions there. There is not a man in the world but by nature is divided from all men. We, like sheep, have gone astray, every one after his own way ; so it is Isa. liii. 6. All went one way once, we all cleaved to God ; we have left God, and are fallen
all in pieces. God made man righteous ; there was but one way then, for so the opposition implieth ; but they have sought out many inventions, even as many as there are men, Eccles. vii. 29 ; and, Tit. iii. 3, serving divers lusts and pleasures.
Then again, secondly, men are at enmity one with another, it is certain, more or less, homo homini lupus. Tit. iii. 3, We, saith he, describing man s natural condition,
* We ourselves lived in malice and in envy, hateful,
188 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON XII.
and hating one another. Hateful every man is to another more or less, he
is hated of another, and he hateth another more or less ; and if his nature
were let out to the full, there is that in him, every man is against every man, as it is said of Ishmael. Self-love, my brethren, that ruleth all the
world, is the greatest monopolist that ever was in the world. Men shall
be lovers of themselves, as you have it 2 Tim. iii. 2, 3 j and what follow-
eth ? Covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, with
out natural affection, truce-breakers/ &c. Self-love breaks all bonds; all
things in earth are scattered.
Go amongst all nations; there is nothing else but a fatal confusion
amongst them ; the Jew at enmity with the Gentile, and the Gentile with
the Jew. All have heard how the Scripture sets it out, they were an abomi
nation and curse each to other ; of which I have treated elsewhere.*
And, thirdly, in religions, nothing but divisions, before our Lord and
Saviour Christ came in the fulness of time. Look upon all nations, so many
nations, so many gods ; nay, so many cities, so many gods, as it is Jer. ii. 28 ;
nay, so many families, so many gods ; there was not a family but chose a
several god to itself ; and therefore, 1 Cor. viii. 5, there are lords many, and gods many. Many indeed; for there was as many almost as there were men to worship them ; each chose what god he pleased. And the
Apostle in that place I last quoted, if you read it, you shall find, instanceth
in both things in heaven and things in earth. All things in heaven and in
earth, from stars to serpents that creep on the earth, the very onions were made gods amongst them ! Thus was all the world divided ; this was the
shattered condition of all mankind, of all things in earth, when Jesus
Christ came.
Nay, my brethren, fourthly, there is another division yet. There was a fatal
sentence to scatter men s souls from their bodies, their bodies to go to the
grave, and to return to dust, which also is scattered up and down with winds, God knows where, and their souls to hell ; called their own place.
And, lastly, to conclude ; by all these gatherings, they are gathered to the
devil, as their head and prince, though they know not of it ; who is the
prince of the world, that rules it ; and the god of this world, that is wor
shipped by the children of disobedience. What a miserable shattering is
here ; all in earth broken in pieces, and all in heaven ! And thus have I
represented to you the state and condition of man dispersed.
II. Now I must shew you, secondly, that Jesus Christ hath made all one
again; I must go over all these particulars, and make it good; that is the
second thing.
First, as I told you, all things on earth were cut off from God. What doth Christ do first 1 He makes peace with God, that was the great busi
ness of all the rest ; make peace with him, and all else will fall in. This
Christ did, Col. i. 20, Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, whether they be things in earth, or
things in heaven. Here you see it : I need name no more scriptures, for I
might give you many for it.
In the second place, angels come to be reconciled ; you heard before
they were enemies. I will shew you it in the general first, and secondly in
the particulars.
First, in the general. They were enemies before, you heard; you shall see
that the angels in Christ are made friends to souls and bodies. Eead Luke xv. 8-10 : Christ makes there a comparison of a woman that had lost * Vide Sermon of Christ s being the Universal Peacemaker, on Eph. ii. 14.
EPH. I. 10.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 189
her groat, and she lights a candle and sweeps her house ; and when she had
found it, she calls in her friends and neighbours, and, said she, Rejoice with
me, for I have found my groat which was lost. Who are those friends? the
next words shew that they are angels ; for it is added in the very next verse, There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over a sinner that repenteth. They are made friends you see, the text is express for it. And in token of
it what do they ? Look in the second of Luke ; they are so far friends, that
as soon as they knew the Saviour of the world was born, they came flyingdown, a whole troop of them, their hearts were full of it, to bring men the news of it ; and to shew their rejoicing, they sing ; they were glad at heart, and sing, Peace on earth, good-will towards men. They are the first
: ver. 10, Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in
messengers of that glad tidings
the highest, peace on earth, and good-will towards men.
Everywhere you shall find angels described throughout the whole Scrip ture to be the heavenly host, because they are the men of war, they are the
militia of heaven, to speak in the language of the age ; so they are called in
that second of Luke, and they are everywhere else so called : 1 Kings xxii.
19, 2 Kings vi. 17, Matt. xxvi. 53. Christ calls them legions, as the devils
are called. Now, my brethren, what do these angels that were soldiers,
enemies, warriors against devils and men
1 ? They come in all their warlike habit and attire down to earth, and proclaim peace. It became them so to do. A
multitude of heavenly soldiers, saith he, praising God, and saying, Glory, &c.
"What do they say? God is at peace with men, and we are at peace with
men; we are in our armour still, but it is to fight for this gospel we preach. As in the Revelation, I am thy fellow-servant, saith he, and of thy brethren, that have the testimony of Jesus. If any man have the testimony of Jesus and hold it forth ; if you be for Jesus, we are for Jesus and for you too, saith he. Angels and men are friends : Ps. xxxiv. 7, They encamp about
the saints. All that heavenly host turn all their weapons now for Christ, and for the saints. Therefore, when Ahab went to fight, in that 1 Kings xxii.
19, the whole host of heaven appeared; for the whole host of heaven standeth
ready to defend the gospel; they are all friends to Christ and the saints; so
that you see that all in heaven is for them. See another place, Gen. xxxii
1, 2. When poor Jacob went out to meet Esau, he went out trembling before ; but the angels of God met him, and saith he, This is God s host ; there were two hosts of them, Mahanaim, two troops, so he calleth them.
Now, what is the cause of this, that angels come thus *o be reconciled with us ; that they come down upon the earth to serve men, and to be
friends with them thus 1 It is Christ. Gen. xxviii. 12, Jacob saw a ladder
that touched heaven and touched earth. Who is that ladder ? Christ him
self is that ladder, and himself interpreteth it so, John i. 51, You shall
see the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man, as they did
there ascend and descend upon that ladder that appeared to Jacob. The
ladder, it touched heaven, it touched earth, for Jesus Christ hath both in him ; he is a heavenly man, and he hath the nature of a man, he hath made
up heaven and earth. You heard before how Christ was partaker of both
natures, and by the one he hath a foot on earth, whereof the top is in heaven ; and it is he that hath made the highway between heaven and earth an open passage. Therefore now angels are reconciled to men, heaven is
reconciled to earth, and there is an intercourse, a trade, a highway, they ascend and descend familiarly ; it was there to defend Jacob, and for many other ends they do it. Before, you heard, they kept man out of Paradise
190 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON XII.
with a sword ; but now you read, tliat they carry into Paradise the souls of men : as of Lazarus, Luke xvi. 22, and at the latter clay, as in Matt. xxiv. 31, And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven
to the other.
This is the general. Now see it in the particulars, that angels are, in all
the particulars wherein they are at enmity that I instanced in, reconciled to men. In the first place, I told you before that they execute judgments and
plagues. It was a good angel that destroyed in Jerusalem with the plague. Now read Ps. xci. 10, 11, it is a pat instance of the contrary
: There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall the plague come nigh thy dwelling
: for he
shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. You heard before that when man fell and was cast out of Paradise, angels stood
there with a flaming sword to keep him out. Now you shall see the angels stand to let him in. Eev. xxi. 12, describing there the new Jerusalem, he
saith there were twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels. It was
Paradise, as appears, chap. xxii. 14, because there was the tree of life, for so it
is described : Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the
city. It is an allusion to Paradise ; there angels kept out, here angels carry
in. The angels, you know, fetched the soul of Lazarus, and carried it into Abraham s bosom, Luke xvi. And so at the latter day, Matt. xxiv. 31, the
angels shall take the saints that rise, and bring them all to Christ ; so the
text saith there. Here you see it, I say, in all the particulars wherein they are enemies, how they are made friends. Here is then angels and men re
conciled after being broken to pieces.
Well, I shewed you in the third place, that all on earth were shattered to
pieces, the Jew from the Gentile, one man from another. Now Christ hath made up this division too. Take any man, my brethren, that is the greatest enemy to any ; let them have had the most desperate enmity that ever was between two mortal men ; let these two men be turned to God, let them meet in Christ, they will love one another, it is certain. Take a godly man, set before him the greatest enemy he hath in the earth ; do but put that
question to him, What will you say if this man should be turned to God ?
Oh, saith he, I could fall down before him ! He would do anything in the world to procure it and bring it about.
My brethren, the Jew and the Gentile were two, so they are called ; it is
the very word used, Eph. ii. 15. They were two indeed, saith he, He hath made of twain one, he hath reconciled both. Christ did it ; it was by the blood of his cross he broke down the partition wall. The fU<t4TOt%p9, the
partition wall, of the ceremonial law is broken down : which is elegantly sig
nified, alluding to the wall in the temple that kept the Gentiles from the Court of the Jews. The Jews were such enemies to the Gentiles, that they could not endure the gospel to be preached to them. They were all filled with envy ; so you read in the Acts the carnal Jews were. Well, but when
Peter goeth and preacheth the gospel to the Gentiles, what say the godly Jews? See what they say, Acts xi. 18, good souls, When they heard these
things, namely, that the Gentiles believed, that is the context, they held
their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God given also unto the
Gentiles repentance unto life. They fell down and glorified God. Here Jew and Gentile, that would not eat one with another before, are made
friends ; now they eat together at the same table, at the same Lord s Supper.
EPH. I. 10.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 191
Now there is one body, one supper, one sacrament, one God, one Lord Jesus
Christ, both Jew and Gentile one.
Go over particulars. Amongst the Jews themselves there were great divi
sions. There was the ten tribes opposite to the two tribes. Ephraim and Judah extremely opposite ; you have it, Isa. xi. 1 3. He speaks there of the
envy of Ephraim, and how they were adversaries to Judah ; but I will order
it so, saith he, that the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off ; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. This is in Christ ; for if you mark it, he speaks of the root
of Jesse in the 10th verse. Here now both these are reconciled. You have
the like, Ezek. xxxvii. 19. There are two sticks, the one is Ephraim, and
the other is Judah. Take these sticks, saith he, and make them one ; for I
will make them one nation, and they shall have one king, and they shall be no more divided into two kingdoms. You may read it there at large, ver. 21-24. And you read how these are scattered as dry bones used to be ; so
as none knows who these Jews of the ten tribes are, as in a charnel-house none knows what bones are of such and such men. These bones are the whole house of Israel, saith God to the prophet, ver. 11. Bones that were
dried, their hope lost and cut off, and they scattered one from another.
Well, you heard that the Gentiles were dispersed one amongst another, and had a thousand religions ; by the death of Jesus Christ they are all
gathered into one. Take one place for it ; it is John xi. 50, 51. The high
priest there prophesying of Christ s death, and shewing the end of it, saith
he, It is necessary that Jesus should die for this nation, (for the Jews.) And what followeth, added by the Evangelist ? It may be it was the pro phecy of the high priest at that time, but this followeth : and not for this nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. All the Gentiles that were scattered, scattered in place, scattered in religion, thus divided, Christ dieth to gather them together in one, all them that belong to God s election, both in that
age, and in all ages to the end of the world. Therefore now, when Christ came into the world you have it fulfilled ; in the apostles time there were as many gods as men, as many gods as cities, as many gods as families, 1 Cor.
viii. 5, There are lords many, and gods many, as many as there were
things in heaven and things in earth, as I said before he intimateth it there. Their religion lay in having lords that were mediators unto their gods. But, saith he now to us, There is but one God, and there is but one Lord. This
alteration did God make in the very apostles times. And, my brethren, let me add this to it. Since the greatest part of the world hath one God, though it have not one Lord ; the Turks and we have one God, we have not one Lord indeed ; but yet over all Turkey, over all the Roman empire, there-
is still one God to this day, and those heathen gods are all gone.
Thus he hath gathered together things in earth in one, in Jesus Christ ; he hath reconciled the nations ; and he will never leave till such time as he hath been the God of the whole earth, of the whole world. He saith, Isa. si 9, when both Jew and Gentile shall come in, that the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Isa. liv. 5, he saith that the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, shall be called the God of the whole earth. Dan. vii. 14, 27, he saith, there shall come a kingdom, after
all the kingdoms, after the fourth monarchy, which is now a-destroying, (for the Pope is the last head of it,) there shall come a kingdom of all nations, and tongues, and languages, and they shall serve him, and he shall possess
192 AN EXPOSITION OP THE EPISTLE [SEHMON XII.
all the kingdoms under the whole heavens, (it is not a kingdom in heaven.) He shall gather all in one, and there shall be but one kingdom, and one Lord, through the whole earth. This God will do in the end. Thus you see, I
say, that Jesus Christ hath reconciled all on earth, he hath made them up all
again ; he ineaneth to do it by the virtue of his death.
Well, there was one division more that I named ; as great a scattering as
any of the former is not yet made up
: and it is of things that are yet both
in heaven and earth, and remain divided one from another ; and it is of the
saints from the very beginning of the world, and will continue so to the very end. For death and the grave hold and keep the bodies of them, remaining
still in the earth, whilst their souls, being spirits made perfect, are lodged together in heaven. Here is a great scattering. All the patriarchs that did
die before Christ came, all that have died since, their bodies are in one place, and their souls in another ; one is in heaven, and the other is laid in the
grave, and there resteth. Death hath scattered all the saints into two worlds,
it hath reigned over all ; and though he will be the God of all the earth, and
join all nations together, yet souls and bodies are still divided of all that are
dead, and of all the saints from the beginning of the world, and that shall be to the end. Now, what will Jesus Christ do ? He will raise up all, and
bring them all together, make up that division too. 1 Thess. iv. 16, com
pared with Matt. xxiv. 31. He saith there, the angels shall go into all the four corners of the world, when the great sound of the trumpet cometh, he
speaks of the latter day, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
My brethren, the bodies of the elect, w
rhere are they ? Some burnt and turned to ashes, all dispersed into the elements ; who knoweth where every man s body is, and all the parts of it ? All those atoms, all those bones, will God bring together again, and gather them all in one, and join their souls to
them, and, saith he, we shall ever be with the Lord. There will be then a
gathering together that shall never be dissolved. Thus, I say, he hath
gathered together all in one that were all shattered and fallen to pieces.
III. The third head, as I told you, was this, That this second gathering shall exceed the Jirst infinitely. I mentioned four particulars, you know, to explain.
First, that all were fallen in pieces ; secondly, that all shall be gathered to
gether again ; and that this second gathering shall exceed the first. It exceedeth it in two things ; I will name no more. It exceedeth, first, in sureness and stability. That same first union with God by creation was upon slippery grounds. He putteth, saith he, no trust in his saints, Job xv. 15. He could trust none of them. He could not send an angel down, for he
speaks of angels there, as I shewed before, he could not send them on an errand to earth, but they might have fallen and been in hell before they came up again. It was a slippery knot, that of creation. But now they are headed in Christ. God would never trust creature more, he will make sure work ; and what doth he ? He headeth them all in Christ ; and what saith Christ ? My sheep shall no man take out of my hand. If angels and men be once bottomed on Christ, they can never be parted again. Who shall
separate us, now we are again the second time gathered, from the love of God in Christ ? It exceedeth in sureness, you see.
It exceedeth in nearness of the union too. We have a more near union with God, and one with another, than we had. First, a nearer union one with another ; for in the first gathering by creation, as I told you at first, men and angels were at peace indeed, but they should have lived in two worlds. Man should have lived upon the earth, and they in heaven. They
- TO THE EPHESIANS. 193
EPH. I. 10.]
should not have come one at another, that is certain ; man was an earthly creature, and he must have continued upon earth, as I have often hinted out of 1 Cor. But when we are gathered together the second time, angels and men live together in one world : men shall be like angels, Matt. xxii. 30 ; they shall bear the image of the heavenly man, 1 Cor. xv. 49 ; and
l we are come to angels, Heb. xii. 22 ; and we shall have places where they are, as I shewed out of Zech. iii. 7. There is a nearer union now one amongst another than was before. And a nearer union with God too. For, my brethren, let me tell you this, that men that were thus shattered from God and fallen into this great misery, shall be raised up to the nearest union with God that can be; for aught I know, nearer than the angels. Rev. vii. 11, there is the throne ; the four beasts next that ; the four-and-twenty elders next them ; and the angels round about the throne and the elders. They are more remote from the throne than the beasts are, than the men are.
Therefore, as I shewed before, Christ is our brother, which is nowhere said of angels ; they are nowhere called brother ; it is proper unto men, Heb. ii. Christ is our husband. It is not said of any of the angels that Christ is their husband, and that God is a Father to them by adoption through the
marriage with Christ ; there is a nearer union that these scattered ones have with God through Christ, upon this second gathering. So there is the third head explained.
IV. There is a fourth head, which shall be, and deserves to be, the coronis cf this glorious story
: They are said to be gathered together in Christ.
Well, in Christ. What will this hold forth ? It holdeth forth that they are not only all gathered in Christ as unto a Head, but they are gathered by virtue of him. Not only gathered to him, but in him, efficiently, meritori
ously, by something he hath done to gather all together again, when they were all shattered in pieces. You heard how all things both in heaven and earth were gathered together and summed up in the person of Christ, who
is the founder of this their gathering. We shall now see that ere he him
self could effect a gathering together of all in heaven and earth, himself must be made the subject of a fatal scattering ; and as the gathering of all
things in his person is the fundamental medium unionis, means of union, of
all things else that are united to God by him, that so this scattering is the means of all that reconciliation of things scattered, as hath been said. Christ had his O.VK too ; he had his gathering again in his own person ; and therefore a scattering first that befell his own person ; and what is true of us
is first true of him. And by virtue of this it was that we were all gathered; for it is a sure rule, that what is done in us by him, the like was first done for us in Christ himself; as, if we that are poor be made rich, it is because he that was rich was made poor. So in like manner, if he would gather all
things that are out of himself into one in himself, himself must be scattered in himself. As his incarnation was the summing up of all, so his death the scattering of all, and his resurrection is his gathering of all again ; and we had not God s design complete without all these. Now, to shew that he was scattered and shattered in all but the personal union
First, That his death was a scattering of him ; it was a taking down all, as I may so express it. Indeed, the union could never be taken down ; the union with the Godhead could never be dissolved, but it went as near as
possibly could be. You shall see the expression the Scripture hath, John
xi. 51, 52. When he speaks of gathering all in one that were dispersed, he saith he must do it by his death. It is necessary, saith he, that Jesus should die for that nation. And not for that nation only; but that also he VOL. I. N
194 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON XII.
should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. You know that death is a separation of all things, and so it was to Christ. Were we cut off from God ? Look to that phrase, Dan. ix. 26, Messiah
shall be cut off. There was a division, a separation made. There were
these three things summed up in him God, the condition of angels, the nature of man. They are all dissolved, there was a kind of dissolution ; it came as nigh as could be, so as he might still hold a personal union, for that was necessary.
First, God. God, you know, is called the Head of Christ, 1 Cor. xi. 3. Now, when Jesus Christ came to die, as we were cut off by sin from God our Head, so there was as near a cutting off of Christ from God as possibly could be. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me 1 saith he. My God, my God, still ; yet he was turned enemy to him. Zech. xiii. 7,
* Awake, thou sword, against the man that is my fellow. He strikes him, runneth his sword through his soul. Here God was gone, yet God is his God still. You see here was one scattering of that was once summed up in him.
Secondly, all the creatures left him ; first his disciples, as it followeth
there in Zechariah, Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. When he hung upon the cross, not an angel durst come to comfort him ; though whilst in his agony in the garden, when the curse came not on him unto its height, not so until he hung upon the tree ; and then when the curse came in its fulness upon him, no angel did or durst appear to comfort him. If the light of the sun would comfort him, God withdrew it ; and, in Dan. ix. 26, it is expressly said the Messiah had nothing. So in your margins.
In the third place, he was born, as I said, unto the condition of angels. He was a heavenly man, the Lord from heaven, 1 Cor. xv. ; and it was his due to be advanced, as now he is, far above all principality and power ; and therein he hath but his due. This I shewed at first, when I told you there was a summing up of all in him. Now what saith Heb. ii. 9 ? Saith he there,
* We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, &c. To give you the exposition that learned Camero hath given it, and certainly it is the
right ; the Apostle had shewed in the first chapter that Christ was above the angels, and that both as God and man it was his inheritance, his due, as he saith, ver. 4, 6. And, chap. ii. 5, he sheweth that the world to come
* so that, saith he, he hath that glory and that honour above the angels, as due to him. What did God make him now ?
is not put into subjection to the angels, but to Christ;
( He made him, saith he, lower than the angels, when he came to die. You will say, a little lower. But that same (3oa^-j 71 is but for a little time ; per illud tempus passionis, for the time of his
suffering, that is the meaning of it ; for otherwise he was made a great deal lower than the angels. I am, saith he, a worm and no man, Ps. xxii. 6 ; that is lower than the angels, infinitely lower ; but /%pu r/, for a little
while, so interpreters many of them carry it. A little while, saith he ; that is, while he suffered death, as Camero interpreteth it. That man that had an inheritance above angels, to whom all things should be put in sub
jection under his feet, angels and all; this man, saith he, was for a little
while made lower than the angels, and this while he suffered death. So that
now, my brethren, you see that, as God hath forsaken him, so likewise, in the next place, here is the condition of the angels that he was born unto, that is gone too, while he tasteth of death for every man.
EPH. I. 10.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 195
Well, but he is man yet 1 Why, but that is scattered too. What is man ? He is the result of soul and body. Take the soul from the body, the humanity ceaseth ; there is a body indeed and a soul still, but where is the man I Though he was personally united to the body in the grave, and the soul in Paradise, yet in a proper and strict sense there was a ceasing to be man. You know death is the dissolution of man into his soul and body. Take Christ s own expression, John ii. 19 ; he calls it an unbuilding, or
destroying of himself. Destroy this temple, saith he ; take it in pieces,
fling one stone from another, for when he died, his soul went one way and his body another, and, saith he,
* I will build it again. The stones were
pulled down, it was but unbuilt. It is true, it may be said that he is Godman when dead, but it cannot be said he was man when dead. Man he was indeed, in respect that his soul and body must be united again ; but yet in a proper and strict sense, man he was not then. Here, I say, all is gone; here is a shattering even in Christ himself, so far as possibly may be. The union could not be dissolved, for then it could not have been said that God
died, and that God was buried, and that God was raised, if the Godhead had not been united to the body. The union of the Godhead ceased not ; the union of the soul and body, the man, ceased. Though it is true that the Godhead was united personally to his body in the grave, and to his soul in
Paradise, and that union was never interrupted ; yet our divines, speaking in a strict sense, say in triduo desiit homo, he ceased to be man ; as man consisted of body and soul united in one together, so he ceased to be man, during the time ho lay in the grave. Here, I say, you see all is gone in his death. Here is his manhood scattered too.
Second, But what followeth ? In his resurrection all was made up again; he gathereth all together again in one, and by virtue of this we are gathered
together in him ; for what is done in us is done first in Jesus Christ. To
give you an express scripture for it : Acts xiii., when Peter speaks of his rising again, saith he, at the 33d verse, God hath raised up Jesus again. How doth he prove it ? As it is written, saith he, in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. As if all had been shattered, dissolved, and taken in pieces, and he was, as it were, new born ; God never saw his Son look like his Son till now ; he begets him anew when he raiseth
him, bringeth soul and body, and all is knit and made up again. 1. His body and soul came together again. He was declared to be the Son of God, in that he was raised up by the eternal Spirit, that is, the Godhead. Rom. i. 4, Destroy this temple ; he spake it of his body ; and then at his resurrection it was verified that he built it up again ; so then he was an entire man again, with soul and body united. 2. He is made now a heavenly man in qualities, not only such as the angels have, but far above the angels, and is become a quickening Spirit. 3. God is come
again, and never so near him as now, for he hath admitted him to sit at his
right hand. 4. He is advanced above all principalities and powers, 1 Pet.
jjii. 22; yea, far above all principalities and powers, Eph. i. 21. And let us see the same place that spake of his abasement, that he was made a little lower than the angels, to give testimony of his glory ; we see him crowned with glory and honour, Heb. ii. And in heaven he sits as a Head and
Redeemer, to draw all men to him in all times and ages to come, until he
is complete in respect of his body, which is his fulness.
Thus you see, my brethren, how all is made up, when all was shattered, and all broken to pieces, by the shattering of Christ himself; God, and the condition of angels, and the nature of man, in a sense, all being as it were
196 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON XII.
dissolved, although tlie union with the Godhead was kept. So you see now
this third interpretation made good, that there is a gathering together again, when all in earth and all in heaven were shattered, in and through Christ.
There is a fourth interpretation, a fourth signification rather, to make up
all complete. I shall give it you in a word ; for it is a thing cast in by
Christ, and therefore I will not insist upon it. I told you this, that he would restore all things to the first original, I laid open that, when I ex
pounded the words, I remember, at first. And, therefore, many translators
read it instaurare, to restore all things, which is reserved, as the complement of all, in the fulness of time ; and others, though they do not reject it, yet they say it is not the full meaning of the words, but it falleth short.
Well, my brethren, what doth this hold forth to us 1 You see all is in
Christ s person ; here are angels and men made a body to him. Well, take
all things in heaven and in earth, all creatures else, and they shall all be re
stored to him ; and when that is done, there is all God s full plot, all that was in his heart toward Christ, and us, and the whole creation. There is a time a-coming wherein the creatures shall be restored, all things in heaven and in earth, to their first original, and a more glorious condition, in and
through Christ. It is a thing indeed that cometh in by accident ; it was but cast into his bargain
: he came to gather together men and angels ; but
yet this is cast together into the bargain.
To open this unto you a little. Man falleth. With his fall what should have fallen? The world should have fallen about his ears; as traitors
houses, you know, should be pulled down and made a Jakes. What doth
Jesus Christ ? He buyeth the world of his Father. I will pay for it, saith
he, and will have it into the bargain. He payeth for wicked men that live
in the world ; therefore it is said they deny the Lord that bought them :
that is the meaning of that, 2 Pet. ii. 1 . He buyeth wicked men and all
the world, at one lump, of God. In the meantime he upholdeth it. It was
said of David, Christ s type, Ps. Ixxv. 3, The earth is dissolved, and the
inhabitants thereof ; I bear up the pillars of it : and Christ upholdeth all
* by the word of his power ; it is spoken of Christ. And, my brethren, when he hath governed the world, and made
things/ so saith the text, Heb. i. 3,
it serve, though indirectly, that all works together for good ; though wicked men have it directly, and the devils they carry the world away with them, and have done since the creation, but they shall not do so always ; there
is a time a-coming wherein all things in heaven and in earth shall be re
stored to their first condition, to a glorious condition, in and through Christ.
Read but Rom. viii. 19-21. There the Apostle is express for it : For the
earnest expectation of the creature, saith he, waiteth for the manifestation
of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not will
ingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth arid travaileth in pain together until now. And
delivered, saith he, they shall be, if not before the day of judgment, yet cer
tainly while the day of judgment lasteth, which will be a long day, while
Christ will be upon earth and judge angels and men. As the first Adam did bring them all into bondage by reason of sin, for as all was created for
him, so most justly the whole frame and fabric of what was made for him was subjected to bondage by reason of his sin, and would have fallen to
nothing had not Christ upheld it, so the second Adam shall restore all unto
EPH. I. 10.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 197
a liberty; and this, in Acts iii. 21, is called the restitution of all things,
not of angels and men only, but of all things.* It was meet that Christ,
having taken the nature of man, that is, the sum of all things, that therefore
all things should have some benefit thereby in their several kinds and capa
cities, and be in their land gathered and restored according to their capacity; and when this shall be done, then God s design of gathering is folly accom
plished. And though the time was full in respect of the centre of it when
Christ came ; and therefore it is said that in the fulness of time he might
gather all, in the text ; yet the fulness of time in the circumference is yet to
come, and is then when we shall be gathered to Christ, as, in 2 Thess. il 1,
the time of the resurrection and judgment is called.
And, my brethren, it became Christ thus, into the bargain, to restore all
things in heaven and in earth. He created all things, therefore it is fit he
should restore all things ; they were all created by him and for him. The
first Adam lost them, so saith Kom. viii. ; but they were subjected under
hope of a second Adam, that should come and restore them.
So now I shewed you the splendour of the universal Church out of Rev. v., and we will add the creatures to them, at that general assembly ac the last
day. I shewed you that all things on earth will meet then, and the angels
will meet then ; a representation of it you have there, though I will not say
it is the full intendment of the place, yet it will hold forth much unto us.
Read over Rev. v. 9-13, you shall see all things brought into Christ s pre
sence. First, you have men, all things on earth, ver. 9. They sung a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals
thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out
of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. Here is all on earth
gathered together, as I shewed you before. And I beheld, saith he, ver. 11, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, (here angels come in too,) saying, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power,
&c. Here you see God hath gathered both angels and men together ; they both come in. Well, now there is but the creatures wanting. Read the next
verse, And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under
the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I say
ing, Blessing, honour, glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Because not only angels and men are thus gathered in one unto him, but all the creatures shall be re
stored ; every creature that is in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth,
they all afford and administer matter of glory to man to praise God. My
brethren, now you see the sum of gathering all in Christ.
A MEDITATION OK TWO.
First, View and contemplate, with admiration and astonishment, the glory and splendour of Christ and his universal Church, to move your hearts to
seek to be one thereof, and not left out of this number and gathering up of
all things. You have the representation of this Church universal, during
this world, in Rev. v. And, chap, vii., you have, first, the Church of men
four beasts, and four-and-twenty elders, next the throne falling down and
worshipping him that is on the throne, and the Lamb. Thou hast re deemed us, say they there are all things on earth out of every kindred,
tongue, nation, and people, chap. v. 9. Secondly, you have a round of all
in heaven; they come in too, ver. 11, 12, And I beheld, and I heard the
* And unto this doth Bishop Davenant, as divers others, extend this word, because
of the word rruvra, speaking of things ; and not Trdvras, speaking of persons only.
AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [Si^MOX XII.
voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders : and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands ; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and
glory, and blessing. You have the like, chap. vii. 9-11. Then, thirdly, you have a ring of all the creatures that are round about both angels and men, that afford matter of praise unto God for his creating them, chap. v. 13, 14. This is the scheme and representations, as in this world. Oh, but what will it be at the great day, when Christ will come in his own and Ms Father s glory, with all his holy angels, when Christ, that hath all things in his person, shall appear in his fulness ! And all the holy angels, and saints of the sons of men that have been existent from the beginning of the world to that day, and not one wanting, but that Christ will raise it up at the last day ; and then when all these shall go to heaven, and be ever together, when God shall have all his sons about him, and his eldest Son in the midst of them, then he will bring forth all his treasures of glory, that shall last, and not be spent to all eternity. Secondly, Make sure to be one of this great assembly ; let men flock unto and get into Christ by clusters; Gen. xlix. 10, To him shall the gathering of the people be. Jesus Christ setteth up his standard ; come into Jesus Christ, not to be as Judas, who fell short by iniquity from this lot. It is a fatal saying of Peter s to Simon Magus, Thou hast no part nor portion in this matter ; that so innumerable a company should be gathered under this one Head, and that thou shouldest be shut out. I have but further, to move you to it, two things out of the text : you must be gathered one way, either to Christ or Satan; you must fall either to Christ s or the devil s allotment and share. As Christ is the head of all that shall be saved, Eph. i. 22, so the devil is the head of all the children of disobedience, Eph. ii. 2. And as Christ is the head of the angels, though he be not of the same nature with them, so is the devil of men ; and at the end of the world, when Christ shall have taken out aU these his own, all the rest shall be cast into the fire pre pared for the devil and his angels. The old expression in the Old Testament was, that men were gathered to their fathers; the wicked unto ccetus ^gantumunto the company of the giants, those wicked ones before the flood, from
^whom hell hath its denomination, as the first inhabitants of it, in Prov. xxi. 16. So the language of the New is, to be gathered to the devil and his angels, to the fire prepared for them.
Obs.~-I will give you but one observation, and so I will end. The observation is this, it is from this same gathering together again, That God, to shew forth his glory, and his skill, and his grace the more, goeth over his works again the second time, spoils them, shatters them in pieces, and then makes them better than ever. This is his manner. Shattered, you see, are all things in heaven and in earth ; here is his glory now to make them^ up again. This makes his glory illustrious, and his work illustrious. To give you an instance or two, and then to make a little use of it and so conclude
God created man according to his image, you know, at first, (and certainly had you lived with Adam, you would not have known how you could have been happier.) A glorious creature he was ; he had the image of God drawn upon him, he was God s herald, he had his arms upon his breast. On a sudden, after God had drawn this picture, he dasheth it, breaketh it in pieces, strikes out all he had done. What was the reason of this ? He meaneth to make it up better ; he meaneth to frame upon man the image of Christ, and
EPH. I. 10.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 199
make liim like unto liim. You bore the image of the earthly, but I will make a better image for you ; you shall bear the image of the heavenly, you
shall be changed from glory to glory. Thus he goes over his work again,
after he had spoiled the first.
So, likewise, he createth man at first immortal ; there was a possibility he
should die, but by the providence of God he should not have died. What
doth God ? He takes and divides soul and body, and flings the body into
the grave, there to rot. What is his end in this 1 He will raise it up a
spiritual body, more glorious ten thousand times than it was at first. What
saith the Apostle, 1 Cor. xv. 46 1 First, saith he, that which is natural, and
then that which is spiritual.
Go, take his chosen people, the Jews ; they were the only nation, his
darling ; theirs were the oracles of God, the promises, the covenant, and they were all in all with him for many thousand years. Why? He scatters
them, breaks them all in pieces ; the ten tribes he carrieth captive away long before the two tribes, and then the two tribes. And when he had thus
scattered them all, what is his promise? Isa. xi. 11, 12, It shall come to
pass, saith the text, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time
to recover the remnant of his people. And he shall gather together the
dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. He will gather them together in one again. What saith the Apostle, Kom. xi. 11? Have
they stumbled, saith he, that they should fall? Or, as the prophet Jeremiah expresseth it, we may allude to it, if it be not the meaning of the
place, chap. viii. 4, Shall they fall, and not rise? He compareth the
casting off of the Jews but to a stumbling, it was no more ; yet it was the
greatest stumble that ever was, for they stumbled upon the Bock, Christ :
they crucified him, and yet God calls it but a stumbling; but it was a
stumbling of a long stride, for it was sixteen hundred years. But, shall they
stumble, saith he, that they shall fall ? No, he will recover them again. Shall they fall, and not rise ? Yes, and their rising shall be life from the
dead, as it folioweth, ver. 15. In Ezek. xxxvii. 3, God compareth them to
dry bones : Can these dry bones live ? saith he. Their hope was gone, all
was gone. Behold, saith he, ver. o, I will cause breath to enter into these
bones, and they shall live. He comes over them the second time, and makes
all these bones come together, and flesh comes upon them, and they shall
live, and he will never cast them off again. Compare but Rom. xi. 26, the
apostle quoteth but one Scripture to prove the calling of the Jews there ; it
is out of Isa. lix. 20. Read but that chapter, and you shall find that when
they are once called, he will never cast them off again ; but their seed s seed
shall remain for ever. And, Isa. Ixv. 17, he saith that the former heaven and earth shall no more be remembered, nor come into mind.
This, my brethren, is the manner of God. I should give you the reason
of it, but I must pass on. I will conclude with a short use. You see here how all mankind ran into a confusion ; here is a shattering in pieces of
heaven and earth, and God gathered up all again. Fear not God s shatter
ing nor breaking things in pieces. You think our kingdom now is running into confusion confusion in opinions ; the saints are divided, one runs one
way, and another runneth another; one holdeth one opinion, and another
holdeth another. My brethren, although the revealed will of God is that
they should all agree, yet, notwithstanding all this scattering and division, God will in the end bring forth a glorious gathering together in one. If he
pull down the tabernacle set up, and the frame and form of it, he will set up a better. If he pull down the temple, it is in three days to build it up again,
200 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON XII.
and make it better, as Christ s body was when he rose again. Never fear, I
say, God s shattering things, God s unbuilding.
To give you an instance. God set up a glorious church in the primitive
times, and it was according to the pattern. What doth he do 1 He sendeth
Antichrist into the world, and he pulls it down and denies all the worship of God ; there is a falling away to be, saith he, so he calls it, 2 Thess. ii. 3, both in worship and doctrine. And what hath God done 1 He hath reason
ably well built it up again, recovered this temple out of the hands of Anti
christ ; he had once all nations following him, as you have it, Rev. xiii. 4, 7.
Why, ere Christ hath done, all nations shall worship him ; he had lost them
all, he gathers all again. Fear not his scattering then. There was a reformation made when first we came out of Popery. My
brethren, what is imperfect God will pull down certainly ; he will scatter
: and what is his end ? To fetch out the dross, and when he hath done, you shall have a purer reformation come out of all. This is
you, he will melt you