all that Honour he had before the Foundation of the World. I have glorify'd thee on Earth (fays he) I have finish'd the Work thou gavest me to do: And now, O Father, glorify me with thine own felf, with the Glory I had with thee bebefore the World began; John 17. 4, 5. At this time he receiv'd the Reward of his Sufferings, and was invefted in all the Privileges of a Mediator, being hereby folemnly declar'd both Lord and Chrift; as a King, governing and protecting his Church; as a Prieft, interceding for it; as a Prophet, inftructing it by his Holy Spirit.

As for us, He is afcended as our Harbinger, to provide for our Reception into thofe Heavenly Manfions; for fo himfelf told his Difciples, I go to prepare a Place for you, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be alfo.

Again, He is afcended as our Advocate, to appear for us, and plead our Caufe in the Court of Heaven: So the ApoAle tells us, He is enter'd into Heaven itself, there to appear in the Prefence of God for us; Heb. 9. 24. Laftly, He went away to fend us a Comforter in the mean time: If I go not away (fays he) the Comforter will not come ; but if I depart, I will fend him unto you. Thus having fhew'd the principal Circumftances relating to our Bleffed Saviour's Afcenfion, let us,

Lastly, See what Ufe we are to make of it. And,

1. Chrift's Afcenfion may abundantly confirm our Faith and Hope in him. We cannot doubt his being the Son of God, and the Saviour of Mankind, after fuch an illuftrious Inftance of his Divine Power. We may from hence reft fatisfy'd, that he can and will do all that he hath promis'd, and that our Neceffities call for: This Hope we have as an Anchor of the Soul, both fure and stedfaft; fince our Forerunner is enter'd within the Veil, and made High Priest for ever after the Order of Melchifedeck.

2. Chrift's Afcenfion fhould teach us to be ftill honouring, worfhipping, and adoring him. We find the Apostles did fo; who, upon Chrift's leaving them, repair'd to the Temple, and were there continually bleffing and praising God: Luke 24.

3. Chrift's Afcenfion into Heaven may affure us of our afcending after him; for he is afcended as our Head and Reprefentative, and will fhortly have his whole Body with him. He is ftyl'd our Harbinger and Forerunner,

gone

"

gone a little before to prepare our way, having promis'd to come again, and receive us to himself, and fo Thall we be ever with the Lord..

4. Chrift's Afcenfion fhould raise our Hearts and Affections to things above: his being gone from this lower World to the Regions above, fhould make us lift up our Hearts and Defires to him, and mount after him upon the wings of Prayer and Meditation. We fhould fcorn to be taken up with any thing here below, when our Saviour is above; or be groveling upon Earth, when we fhould be thinking and preparing for Heaven. The Patriarchs look'd upon themselves but as Pilgrims and Strangers upon Earth, and were ever seeking another and better Country: How much more ought we to do fo, when our Saviour hath not only difcover'd and purchas'd this Country, but is gone before to take poffeffion of it for us? This fhould teach us to fet our Affections on things above, and not on things on the earth; to rife and afcend with Chrift, that where our Treasure is, there our Hearts may be also.

DISCOURSE XX.

MARK XVI. 19. latter part.

And fat on the Right Hand of God.

ROM the Second Step of our Bleffed Saviour's Ex

F altation, viz. his Afcenfion into Heaven; I proceed

to the

Third, to wit, his Seffion at the Right Hand of God; which both our Text and our Creed teach us ftedfastly to believe.

In difcourfing whereof, it will be necessary,

First, To explain the true Senfe and Meaning of it. Secondly, To fhew that 'twas foretold and promis'd of the Meffiah, that after the finishing the Work of Man's Redemption, he should fit down at the Right Hand of God: Thirdly, That our Bleffed Saviour is accordingly thus fet down at the Right Hand of the Majefty on high.

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Fourthly

Part II, Fourthly, I am to confider the great Benefits and Privileges that accrue thereby unto Mankind. And,

Laftly, what Influence the Belief of it ought to have upon our Practice.

For the Explication of it, we must note, That God being a Spirit, muft not be fuppos'd to have any material or corporeal Parts, and confequently not to have either a right Hand or a left; but we are to understand it figuratively, as fpoken after the manner of Men: for the Hand being the Inftrument of Power, by which most of our Actions natural and ar ificial are perform'd; therefore the Power by which God is faid to act or do any thing, is commonly exprefs'd by the Hand of God. And because the Right Hand, by being more generally us'd than the Left, acquires a greater Strength and Activity; therefore the infinite Strength and Power of God is frequen ly fet forth and fignify'd by the Right Hand of God. Moreo

ver,

The Right Hand is among Men efteem'd the place of greateft Honour and Dignity; whence Slomon, fitting on his Throne, is faid, in honour to his Mother, to feat her at his Right Hand, 1 Kings 2. 19. And therefore the Right Hand of God is us'd to fignify the highest Honour and Dignity in his Prefence.

Again, Becaufe Gifts are generally given and receiv'd by the Hands of Men; therefore the Right Hand of God is made to fignify his Bounty, and the Bleffednefs of fuch as partake of it according to that of the Pfalmift, In thy Prefence is Fulness of Foy, and at tby Right Hand are Pleafures for evermore. So that by the Right Hand of God here, we are to understand Power, Honour, Pleasure, and everlafting Happiness.

Furthermore, by Chrift's Seffion at the Right Hand of God, we are not to understand any one determinate Pofture of Body, much lefs that inclining Pofture which we call fitting for we find him defcrib'd in Scripture in other and different Poftures. St. Stephen looking up stedfastly to Heaven, faw Jefus ftanding at the Right Hand of God; Acts 7. 56. and St. John reprefents him as lying in his Father's BoJom. But by Sitting here we are to underftand his being, inhabiting, and poffeffing for ever this fuperlative Degree of Glory. And becaufe Sitting is a Pofture of Reft, Hopour, Command, and Continuance; therefore Chrift's

fitting

fitting at the right Hand of God, implies his eternal and undisturb'd Enjoyment of the highett Honour, Power and Happiness with God in the highest Heavens. From whence I proceed to fhew,

Secondly, That this was foretold of the Meffias, and reveal'd to the Prophets in the Old Teftament concerning him.

Fofeph's being taken from Prifon, and made the Ruler of Pharaoh's Houle, and thereby advanc'd to the highest Power and Dignity in his Kingdom, was a Type of the Meffiab's Advancement to the higheft Honour and Power in the Kingdom of Heaven. David fpeaking prophetically of the Meffias, fays, The Lord faid to my Lord, Sit thou at my right Hand, till I have made thine Enemies thy Footstool; Pfal. 110. 1. This Prophecy our Saviour, in his reafoning with the Pharifees, applies to himfelf; fhewing it could not be meant of the Son of David, but of the Son of God; becaufe David in Spirit call'd him Lord, which he would not have done if he had been only his Son. Yea, fo affur'd was he of this Honour, that he told the Chief Priefts and Elders before his Death, Hereafter fhall the Son of Man fit at the right Hand of the Power of God; Luke 22. 59.

Thirdly, But what was thus prophetically foretold of the Meffias, was exactly fulfill'd in the Perfon of Chrift, who after he was receiv'd up into Heaven, fat down at the Right Hand of God. Yea, we find all the Prophecies concerning the Glorious and Eternal Kingdom of the Meffias, and his exercifing Regal Power and Authority over his Church, apply'd to, and accomplish'd in him at this his folemn Seffion at God's right Hand. Then was that of the Pfalmift fulfill'd, Behold, I have fet my King upon my Holy Hill of Zion! Then was it truly faid to him, Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever, a Scepter of Righteousness is the Scepter of thy Kingdom. And the Vifion of Daniel came to pafs, who Saw one coming in the Clouds of Heaven to the Antient of Days, and was brought near before him; and there was given unto him Dominion and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all People, Nations, and Languages bould ferve him; whofe Dominion is everlasting, and his Kingdom fuch as fhall not be destroy'd: Dan. 7. 13, 14. This was an Honour never promis'd or given to any but the Son of God; for tho the Angels are faid to ftand about the Throne of God, yet it was never

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faid

faid to any of them in this glorious manner, Sit thou at my right Hand, till I make thine Enemies thy Footstool. And this will lead me, in the

Fourth place, to confider the great Benefits and Privileges that accrue to us hereby. And they are chiefly two: 1. A complete Victory obtain'd over all our Enemies. And, at God's right

2. His powerful Interceffion for us at God's Hand.

1. I fay, Chrift by his fitting at the right hand of God, hath obtain'd for us a complete Victory over his and our Enemies: So the Apoftle affures us, Heb. 10. 12, 13. He is fet down at the Right Hand of God, from henceforth exfecting till all his Enemies be made his Footstool. And he elfewhere tells us, that he must reign, till he hath put all his Enemies under his Feet. Where the Apoftle, in both thofe Expreffions, of putting his Enemies under his feet, and making them his Footstool, alludes to the antient Custom of the Eastern Conquerors, who were wont to tread upon the Necks of their fubdu'd Enemies. So we read of Foshua, who having made five Kings his Prisoners, faid unto the Men that went with him, Come near, and put your Feet upon the Necks of them; Josh. 10. 4. which in that, as in the prefent Cafe, was a token of a complete Conquest and Subjugation of all their Enemies.

Now the Enemies fubdu'd unto Chrift by this means, are Temporal and Spiritual; of the first fort are both Jews and Gentiles. The former, for their obftinate Refufal of Chrift, were scatter'd up and down, and remain to this day dif pers'd over the Face of the Earth. The latter, by yielding to him, are receiv'd into the Bofom of his Church, and partake of the Benefits of his Merits and Satisfaction. The Spiritual Enemies he hath hereby conquer'd for us, are Sin, Satan, Death and Hell; all which, by his fitting at the right Hand of God, he hath made his Footstool, and in a great meafure too put under our feet.

He conquer'd Sin by the Power of his Grace, and hath so weaken'd the Dominion of it, that if we confent not to it, it fhall no longer reign in our mortal Bodies.

He vanquifh'd Satan by the Triumphs of his Cross, in which he spoil'd Principalities and Powers, and the Rulers of the Darkness of this World, and thereby refcu'd us from the Snares and Wiles of the Devil.

He