SERMON I

Preach'd before the

House of Commons,

AT

St. Margaret's Westminster,

On the 11th of April, 1679.

REVEL. ii. 5.

I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy Candleftick out of his Place, except thou repent.

W

E are this Day met together to humble ourselves for our Sins before God, and to implore his Mercy to this Nation, in the Preferving our King, our Laws, our Religion and our Lives.

VOL. II.

B

and

and in Bleffing the prefent Publick Coun fels, in order thereunto.

Ánd never was a Work of this Nature more seasonable or more neceffary than at this Time, and to us of this Kingdom: For as our Sins were never greater, never cried louder to Heaven for Vengeance, fo the Judgments they deferve did never more vifibly threaten us than they do at this Day. Infomuch,that if our Circumftances be duly confidered, we may have juft Reason to apprehend, that our Saviour in the way of his Providence does now speak to his People and Church of England the fame Words, that he ordered St. John, by the way of Letter, to speak to the Church of Ephefus. Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the firft Works; or elfe I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove the Candleftick out of his Place, except thou repent.

This Church of Ephefus, as alfo the other Six Churches of Afia, to each of which St. John, by the Command of our Saviour, doth here address a feveral Epiftle, were at the Time when these Letters were dictated very flourishing Churches, favoured as much with the efpecial Prefence and influence of Chrift, as ever any Churches

were.

This appears from the Preface to this Epiftle in the first Verse of this Chapter, wherein Chrift, the Author of the Epiftle, is defcribed, as holding the Seven Stars in his

right Hand, and walking in the midst of the Seven Golden Candlesticks.

The Seven Stars are the Angels of the Se- Cap. i. 26. ven Churches, as he himself interprets them, that is, according to the Sense of all Antiquity, the Bishops, the Prefidents, the Gover nours of thofe Churches. His holding them in his Hand, is his fupporting and directing them for the Good of the People. The Seven Golden Candlesticks in the midst of Ibid. which he walked, are, as he himself likewife expounds them, the Seven Churches themselves, as being the Places where those Stars, thofe Lights did fhine. And his walking among thofe Candlefticks is his Prefence in those Churches, Encouraging or Reproving, Rewarding or Punishing the Members of them, as there was Caufe, having the Power in his Hands, either to continue those Lights among them, or to remove them to another Place.

I infift on the Explication of this Paffage, because it lets us in to the Meaning of the Phrase that we meet with in the 'Text, of removing the Candlestick out of its Place, which from hence we plainly fee to be the Un-Churching any People, the withdrawing the Light of the Gospel from them.

Well, but this Church of Ephesus, to which the Epistle I am now concerned in was written, how much foever Christ had done for them, had, it seems, made but a bad Requital of his Kindneffes. At first Cap ii. .

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in.

3.

Ver. 6.

indeed they had walked very worthily, and are much commended by our Saviour, for their Zeal and Piety and Labour in Religion, but now they were fallen to a great Degree of Negligence and Remiffness.

It is true, they at this Time continued Orthodox in their Doctrines and Opinions, they did both know and profefs the true Religion, and were zealous against false Doctrines, which alfo our Saviour takes notice of and commends them for, This, faith he, thou haft, That thou hateft the Deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I alfo hate; but yet notwithstanding, fo offended was he with the Lofs of their firft Love, the Decay of Devotion and Charity among them, that he threatens them folemnly in the Text, That if they did not repent, and do the firft Works, he would remove their Candlestick out of its place; that is, as I faid, he would withdraw from them his Prefence and the Light of his Goffel.

This is a brief Account of my Text, as to the first Design and literal Meaning of it, that is, as it concerns the Church of Ephefus. I now defire leave to make fuch Application of it to ourselves, as may be subfervient to the Ends defigned in the Solemnity of this Day.

And we have warrant enough to make fuch an Application; for let us not flatter ourselves, what is here Reproved, and what is here Threatned, hath not fuch a peculiar Respect to the particular Church of Ephe

Jus

fus, but that it doth equally concern all Churches fo far as they fall under the same Character. Which whether we at this Day do or no, it is fit we should seriously examine ourselves about.

Here are Three Things confiderable in the Text. First, A great Sin, and Guilt, fuppofed. Secondly, A great Judgment denounced for that Guilt, no less than the Un-Churching of that People that had contracted it. Thirdly The Means prescribed for the averting that Judgment, viz. Repentance.

My Application of the Text fhall proceed upon the fame Heads, that is,

I fhall firft defire leave to enquire, whether we of this Nation, at this Day, for our manifold Sins and Guilt, may not be judged to be in as bad or worfe Circumftances than the Church of Ephefus in the Text, and confequently have not just Reafon to fear the fame Judgment that they are here threatned with.

Secondly, I ball confider the Judgment here threatned, how grievous a one it is, and confequently how great an Argument the Confideration of it ought to be to us all to Repent.

Thirdly, I fhall speak fomething of this Repentance, how it ought to be expreft, if we would thereby prevent the Judgment. I begin with the first of thefe Points which concerns our Sin and our Guilt, to B 3 make