Library · The Covenants and the Covenanters
Part 8
The Covenants and the Covenanters · James Kerr (ed.)
3. In respect of the impeders: what are they but men, and wicked men, as ye may see in the adversaries of the Jews. Who are they that impede our work? Even men that seek honour and preferment of this world, enemies to religion, fighting against God; to whom, I may say that word in Job, "Who hath hardened himself against God, and prospered?" With one word more I will reprove this mountain, and go forward.
"Who art thou, O great mountain?" Wilt thou search thyself who thou art: art thou of God's building or not? I trow you are not juris divini, but humani; God nor Christ hath never built thee: thou art only a hill of man's erecting; knowest thou not that Zion, against which thou art, is a hill of God's building. I will say to you then that word, "The hill of God is a high hill, as the hill of Bashan: why leap ye, ye hills? This is the hill that God desireth to dwell in; yea, and will dwell in it forever." And think ye to prevail against the people of Zion? She hath stronger mountains to guard her than ye have, "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people, from henceforth and forever."
3. The third thing in this mountain, is, It is a mountain removed, "Thou shalt become a plain;" that is, God shall remove all impediments before Zerubbabel, and his people; God is able to remove all that impedes His work; even the mightiest enemies that oppose themselves to the work of God. Ye may observe a fourfold power of God against these mountains.
1. A determining power, whereby He sets such bounds to the greatest mountains, that ye see they fall not upon the vallies, albeit they overtop them. The Lord hath set bounds to the great kings in the world which they could not pass, when they have set themselves against the Lord's people. We may see an example of this in Sennacherib. "Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come up to this city, nor shoot an arrow against it, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it." Ye are afraid of the king, that he come against you: fear not, the Lord by His restraining power is able to keep him back, that he shall not shoot so much as a bullet against this city.
2. God removes impediments by His assisting power, as He promised to do before Cyrus. "I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the iron bars." Albeit for any thing we see, there be brazen gates, and iron bars, closing out a reformation: yet let not this discourage you; God is with you by His assisting power to go before you, to make all crooked places straight, and to break the brazen gates, and to cut in sunder the iron bars.
3. God hath a changing power, whereby He makes mountains plain: how easy is it with God, to make the highest mountain that impedes His work a plain? "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of waters, to turn it whithersoever He will." Lord make our mountains thus plain.
The 4th way how God removes mountains, is by an overthrowing power: If there be no change yet, God will bring it down. "Every one that is lifted up shall be brought low."
By this which hath been said, ye may understand how a mountain may be made plain. God makes mountains plains, either in mercy or in wrath. 1. In mercy, when He takes a grip of the heart, and of a proud haughty heart, makes it toward and plain: we have seen such a change by experience. This work had many enemies at the beginning, that impeded it, whom God hath taken by the heart, and made plain; yea, He hath made them furtherers of the work.
2. There is another way of making mountains plain, to wit, making plain in wrath; when God overthrows the mountains that stand up impeding His work. Assure yourselves, if God bring not down this mountain we have to do with, in mercy, He shall overthrow it in wrath, and make it waste. That I may make this mountain more plain, ye shall consider how it shall become a plain, and how easily it may be made a plain.
1. I see you looking up to the height of it, and ye are saying within yourselves, How shall it come down? Ye must not think that it will come down of its own accord; God useth instruments to pull down. I find that God hath made His own people instruments to pull down such mountains: "Fear not, worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel, I will help thee, saith the holy One and thy Redeemer, behold I will make thee a new threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff; thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them." Mark these words, although Jacob be a worm, despised by the great ones of the world, yet God will make him a threshing instrument, to beat these mountains in pieces. The professors of this land are despised by the mountains; yet fear not, for the sharp threshing instrument is made, I hope it shall beat the mountains in pieces. We think them very high, but if we had faith, that word would be verified. "Ye shall say to this mountain, remove to yonder place, and it shall be removed, and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
But one is saying, I have not faith, that all that are joined this day against the mountain shall continue. I hope they shall continue, I hope they shall; but if they do not, we trust not in men, that they shall bring down this mountain, but in God, who hath said, "Behold I am against thee, O destroying mountain, I will stretch out My hand upon thee, I will roll thee down from the rocks, and make thee a burnt mountain; they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a foundation; thou shalt be desolate for ever." This mountain ye see so exalted, although men would hold it up, yet God will bring it down, and make it a burnt mountain: even so, O Lord, do.
2. In the second place consider how this mountain may be made a plain: I told you it was but an artificial mountain, a stooted mountain, standing upon weak pillars; if ye would take a look of the whole frame of the mountain, it stands upon two main pillars; and upon the top of the mountain stands the house of Dagon, an house of false worship, and take me the pillars from episcopacy, and it shall fall; take episcopacy away, and the house of Dagon shall fall. The two main pillars that prelacy stands on are a civil and secular arm, and an ecclesiastical tongue, so to speak.
1. The secular arm is the authority of princes, which have ever upholden that mountain: ye know secular princes uphold antichrist, and prelacy in this land is upholden by the secular power. 2. The second pillar I call ecclesiastical, that is, prelacy in this land hath been upholden by the tongues of kirkmen, preaching up this mountain, or, by their pens, writing up this mountain: and these are the two pillars whereupon our mountain of prelacy is stooted, the secular power, and the tongues of kirkmen. Let the king withdraw his power and authority from the prelates, and they shall fall suddenly in dross; let kirkmen and ministers withdraw their tongues and pens from them, and our mountain (ere ye look about you) shall become a plain. As these two stoot up this mountain, so upon this mountain all false worship in the kirk is built, even Dagon's house. "Lead me," says Samson, "to the pillars that Dagon's house stands on, that I may be avenged for my two eyes." The Philistines were never more cruel to Samson in pulling out his eyes, than our prelates would have been to us: they pressed to put out our eyes, and ere ever we were aware, they thought to lead us to Dagon's house, even to the tents of popery and idolatry. Let us come to this main pillar of Dagon's house, and apply all our strength to pull it down; that we may not only be avenged for our eyes, which they have thought to pull out, but also that the house of false worship, which is erected upon this mountain, may fall to the ground.
I hear some say, Minister, for all you are saying, the mountain will not come down at this time; ye think nothing but it will come down. I assure you, I would have it down, but ye must not think us that silly, as to think it will come down, because we have many for us; we trust not in men, but in God; and if this be the time that God will have it down, although ye should lay all your hands about their head, they shall come down: it appears they will come down, if there were no more but their pride, avarice, cruelty, and loose living to pull them down, especially when all these are come to height, as they are come to in them. And so much for the mountain; ye see we have reproved it, God remove it.
I come now to the three in the work, the mountain being removed, 1. It is a work growing and going up; "He shall bring forth." 2. It is a work finished; "He shall bring forth the head-stone thereof." 3. It is a work praised; "He shall bring forth the head-stone thereof with shouting, crying, grace, grace, be unto it." We shall speak of all these three shortly.
1. It is a work going up; it was impeded, but now it is going up. There is something here very considerable; the work goes not up until the mountain be made a plain. The mountain must not be pared or topped, but it must altogether become plain, otherwise the work cannot go up, the mountain of prelacy must not be pared nor topped, something taken away, but it must be brought down wholly, otherwise the work of Reformation cannot go on, neither Christ's house go up.
It will be said, What ails you? You shall have your desires, but the estate of bishops must stand; it is impossible to bring it down altogether; the king may not want an estate, (truly a good one both to kirk and commonwealth) ye shall have them brought within the old bounds and caveats set down to them; they shall not hurt the kirk any more. The Lord knows how loath I was to speak from this place; but seeing God hath thrust me out, I must speak the truth.
I say to you these quarters are not to be taken, because the mountain is not of God's making, but of man's; therefore make it what ye will, God will be displeased with it; yea it is impossible to set caveats to keep them. I appeal to all your consciences, Is it possible to set caveats to their pride and avarice? Their pride and avarice will break through ten thousand caveats. I will clear this impossibility by similitudes. Tell me, if a fountain in the town of Edinburgh were poisoned, whether were it more safe to stop up the fountain, than to set a guard to keep it, that none draw out of it, for there is hope the poison would do no harm? There is no man of a sound judgment, but he will think it more safe to stop up the fountain, than to guard it: this prelacy is the poisoned fountain, wherefrom the kirk of Christ hath been poisoned with the poison of error and superstition. Now the question is, Whether it be safer to stop it up than to guard it? Surely it is safer to stop it up; for all the caveats in the world will not keep the kirk unpoisoned, so long as it remains. I will give you another similitude: If the town of Edinburgh were (as many towns have been, and are) taken and possest by cruel and obstinate enemies, who would take all your liberties from you, would not suffer your magistrates to judge, and would spoil you of your goods, and use all the cruelty that could be devised against the inhabitants, if God give you occasion to be free of such a cruel and obstinate enemy: what would you do if this were proponed to you? Why may not you suffer the enemy to abide within the town? We shall take all their weapons from them, they shall never hurt you any more. Would ye not think it far better to put them out of the town altogether; both because the inhabitants would be in fear, so long as they were in the town, and because the town would never be sure: for there might be traitors among yourselves, who would steal in weapons for their hands; and so they would bring you under the former tyranny, yea under a greater. Even so it is in this case; the crudest and greatest enemies that ever the kirk of Scotland saw are those prelates; they have spoiled us of all our liberties, and exercised intolerable tyranny over us. Now the Lord is shewing a way how to be quit of them: consider the condition offered. What ails you? May ye not let them abide within the kirk: we shall take all their weapons from them; as admission of ministers, excommunication, and that terrible high commission; they shall never hurt you again. This is but the counsel of man; the counsel of God is, to put them out of the kirk altogether, otherwise the kirk can never be secure; yea, I assure you, there are as many traitors among ourselves, as would steal in the weapons again in their hands; then shall our latter estate be worse than our first: if our yoke be heavy under them now, it shall be heavier then; if they chastise us now with whips, they shall chastise us then with scorpions. I think I hear men speak like that word, "Hew down the tree, cut down his branches, shake off his leaves, scatter his fruits; nevertheless leave the stump of his roots with a band of iron and brass." The interpretation of that part of the vision is set down in the 26th verse; "Thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou hast known that the heavens bear rule." I hear men say, Hew down the tree, cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, scatter his fruits; ye shall be quit of all that; but the stump must be left banded with iron. (If it were till they knew God, it were something, but there is no appearance of that.) Consider, O man, who saith that. "No man, but the watcher, and the holy One, even He that made Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom sure to him." If God had made this estate sure to them, it would and should stand; and if God would bind down the stump of it with iron bands, we would never fear the growth of it, nor the fruit of it; but seeing they are only bands to be laid on by men, albeit the tree were hewed down, it would grow again in all the branches of it, with all the leaves of its dignity, and we should taste of the bitter fruit of it: ye that are covenanters, be not deceived, if ye leave so much as a hillock of this mountain in despite of your hearts it shall grow to a high mountain, which shall fill both kirk and commonwealth. If the kirk would be quit of the troubles of it, and if ye would have this work of reformation going up, this mountain must be made a plain altogether, otherwise the Spirit of God saith, Ye shall never prosper.
The second thing in this is a work finished; "He shall bring forth the head-stone thereof." When a head-stone is put on a house, the house is finished: ye who are reverend fathers in the kirk, who have seen the work of our first reformation, ye saw it going up, and brought to such a perfection, that the cope-stone was put on; purity of doctrine, and administration of sacraments, and sweetness of government, whereby the kirk was ruled; but woe's us all, we see with you now the roof taken off, the glorious work pulled down, and lying desolate. Now, it hath pleased God to turn again, and offer a re-edifying of this work, as He did here to the people of this temple: seeing therefore the Lord hath stirred up our spirits, to crave a re-edifying of Christ's kirk, let us never take our hands from it, till Christ have put the cope-stone on it.
I hear some say, There is more ado ere that be done; ye sing the triumph before the victory; ye will not see it go up at leisure. Ye are deceived; we sing not the triumph before the victory; some of us are afraid that it go not up so suddenly. I must say to you, if it be God's work, (as it is indeed) all the powers of the world shall never be able to hinder the putting on of the cope-stone. Ay, but say ye, It will be hindered; ere ye get the work forward, ye will find the dint of the fire and sword. Let it be so, if God will have it so, that will not impede the work: if our blood be spilt in this cause, the cope-stone shall be put on with our blood; for the kirk of God hath never prospered better nor by the blood of saints. Fear not, beloved, this work, whether it be done peaceably or with persecution, the cope-stone shall be put on it. Ye know in the beginning of the reformation, there was small likelihood that the work should go up, and be finished, because of the great power that was against it; yet the Lord brought it forward against all impediments; and put the cope-stone on it: that same God lives yet, and is as able to put the cope-stone on this work, as He was then, if ye believe.
The third thing in this work is a work praised; "He shall bring forth the head-stone thereof with shoutings, crying, grace, grace unto it." All ye that build and behold the work, will love the work, and will all wish it well. He alludes by appearance, who, when the foundation of a common work is laid, rejoices, and when it is finished, rejoices. Ye may see this clear in Ezra iii. 11: at the laying of the foundation of this temple, the people shouted with a great shout: if they did that at the laying of the foundation, much more shall they do it at the bringing forth of the head-stone thereof; as is said here, the words they cry, grace, grace. The phrase comprehends under it these three things:
1. A wish of the people of God, whereby they wish prosperity to the work. Ye may see it was a common wish. "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, As ye shall use this speech in the land of Judah, and cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity: the Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness."
2. It comprehends under it a thanksgiving; the workers give all praise to the work. When the builders laid the foundation of the temple, they set the priests with their trumpets, and the Levites with their cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David: "They sang by course, praising God, and giving thanks unto the Lord, because He is good, and His mercy endureth forever."
3. The third thing it comprehends under it, is a faithful acknowledgment that the work is built and finished, by no power and strength of men, but by the grace of God. Look the verse preceding the text, and ye will find it thus, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts:" ye may easily apply this. Our work that God is bringing up, and will finish, should be a praised work, our wishes should be to it: "The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness." Our song of thanksgiving should be in our mouths, "God is good, and His mercy endureth forever."--Albeit it go up, let us not ascribe any thing to ourselves, but let us ascribe all to the grace of God; and this will stop all the mouths of disdainers, who say, "Who are ye, who think to finish such a work?" We answer, "It will be finished, not by might, nor by strength of man, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts."
There are three sorts looking to this work, and to the going up of it: 1. Evil-willers. 2. Well-wishers. 3. Neutrals. 1. The evil-willers are Edom; and he was Jacob's brother; yet in Psalm cxxxvii. he cries, "raze, raze this work to the foundation." There is a number that is crying, raze, raze this work to the foundation. 2. There is a second sort that are well-wishers, crying, grace, grace be unto it. In those former years, the shout of raze, raze, hath been louder than grace, grace; but now, God be praised, the shout of grace, grace, is louder than raze, raze. 3. There is a third sort gazing upon this work, who dare not cry, raze, raze, because they are borne down with grace, grace; they dare not cry grace, grace, for fear of authority. What shall I say to these neutrals? They are so incapable of admonition, that it will be a spending of time to crave their concurrence to the work. To whom shall I speak then? My text is an apostrophe, if I may use one; that which I shall use first is God's own words from Isaiah, "Hear, O heavens, hearken, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me."
I will next turn me to strangers and foreigners. All ye of reformed kirks (What! have I said strangers? These men who are brought up in the kirk, are strangers from the womb; but) ye are joined with us in a corporation; come therefore with your fellow-feeling, let us hear your shouts and cries of, grace, grace, be unto the Kirk of Scotland; and let your wishes condemn these ungrateful neutrals, who profess themselves children of this kirk, and yet will not rejoice with us for the good of our mother.
Now, ye have heard this text in all these six steps. 1. A mountain seen. 2. A mountain reproved and disdained. 3. A mountain to be removed. 4. A growing work. 5. To be finished. 6. With great applause of all well-willers, wishing grace unto the work. And seeing I have ado with this great mountain; both with mountains that impede this work, and all ranks of persons, removers of the work, I will direct my speech to these with the apostrophe in the text.
And first, To the mountains lying in the way of this reformation: I rank them in two sorts, viz., prelates, and upholders of prelates. O prelates, if I had hope to come speed with you, I would exhort you in the name of Christ, to lay down your worldly dignity, and help us to exalt the kirk of Christ: but I fear ye have hardened yourselves so against the truth, that nothing will prevail with you, except ye keep your worldly monarchy; yet ye shall be forced to take up my apostrophe, "O mountains of Gilboa, on whom the anointed of the Lord is fallen, neither come dew nor rain upon you." Ye are these mountains, upon whom Christ and His Anointed have been slain; the dew and rain of God's grace are not on you: ye may well receive fatness from beneath, to make you great in this world; but from above, ye are not bedewed with the grace of God, without which, whatever your bodies be, ye have clean souls. Under this curse I leave you, and turn to you, O great mountains; great men, who are putting your shoulders to hold up this mountain of prelacy; I beseech you, if ye have any love to Christ, to take your shoulders, and help from this pestiferous mountain the wreck of Christ's kirk. And if exhortance will not prevail with you, I charge you in the name of the great God, and His Son Jesus Christ, to whom one day ye must give your account, that ye in nowise underprop this mountain; the which if ye obey, I am sure the Lord will bless you, and your posterity; but if ye will not, though ye were never so high a mountain in this kingdom, ye shall become a plain.
In particular, I speak to all ranks of persons. O noblemen, who are the high mountains of this kingdom, bow your tops, and look on the kirk of Christ, lying in the vallies, sighing, groaning, swooning and looking towards you with pitiful looks: if the Sun of Righteousness hath shined on you, let her have a shadow, as ye would have God to be a shadow to you in the day of your distress.
Barons and gentlemen, who are as the pleasant hills coming from the mountains (I speak to you for the relation that is betwixt you and the mountains, for by your descent ye are hewn out of the mountains) my heart is glad to see you lift your tops, as the palms of your hands reached to the mountains, that they and ye may be as a shelter for the kirk of Christ. I pray you separate not your hands from theirs, till our work be brought forth with shouting.