Heb. ii. 3. How Shall we escape, if we negleti Chrift's Refurrection fufficiently proved by Acts 1: 40, 41. Him God raised up the Third Not unto all the People, but unto Witnesses, chofen before of God, even to us, wobo did eat and Preach'd before the Queen, on Eafter-day, 1705. A Difcourfe of Confcience, with Refpect to those bat Separate from the Church of England, Pag. 289. St. Margaret's Westminster, On the 11th of April, 1679. REVEL. ii. 5. I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy Candlestick out of his Place, except thou repent. ᏙᏙ E are this Day met toge ther 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, and I and in Bleffing the prefent Publick Coun fels, in order thereunto. And 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 deserve 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 the People and Church of England the fame Words, that he ordered St. John, by the way of Letter, to fpeak 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 thy Candlestick 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 addrefs a feveral Epiftle, were at the Time when thefe 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 Christ, 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. ག The Seven Stars are the Angels of the Se- Cap. izo ven Churches, as he himself interprets them, that is, according to the Senfe of all Antiquity, the Bishops, the Prefidents, the Governours 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 tbid 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 Candlesticks is his Prefence in thofe Churches, Encouraging or Reproving, Rewarding or Punishing the Mem bers of them, as there was Cause, having the Power in his Hands, either to con tinue thofe 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 Gofpel from them. Well, but this Church of Ephefus, to which the Epistle I am now concerned in was written, how much foever Chrift had done for them, had, It feems, made but a bad Requital of his Kindneffes. At first Cap. ii. 2 indeed 3 B 2 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 also 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 bate; but yet notwithstanding, fo offended was he with the Loss of their first 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 Gospel. 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 Ephe fus. I now defire leave to make fuch Application of it to ourselves, as may be fubfervient 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 ourfelves, what is here Reproved, and what is here Threatened, hath not fuch a peculiar Refpect to the particular Church of Ephe fus, |