The Duty of an Apostatizing People to Remember from Whence They Are Fallen

J. Quincy, Speaker.

p. 1An Election SERMON.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first Works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove the Candlestick out of his Place, except thou repent.

IT is at the Call of the late honourable House of Representatives, that I stand in this Desk to Day; and it is my Purpose (in a humble Dependance on divine Assistance) from the Words which I have now read in this great Audience, to discourse of the Degeneracies, that the People of this Land are fallen into, and to urge all Orders of Men both civil and sacred, to endeavour a Reformation of what is am◊◊◊. I have not a Word to offer by Way of Apology, for this Design and Intention of mine.

p. 2Some have chosen thus to do rather than to insist upon any Subject, that had a direct Aspect on the Affairs of the Day, and the Duty of the Electors to have a special Regard to the Qualities of Councellors in the Choice of 'em. And the Reason (it seems) that has influenced them, was this,

Because they look'd upon it as an Impropriety, and altogether in vain to speak of necessary Qualities, when the Persons themselves are already fix'd upon, and (in Effect) chosen before this; and that perhaps without any Regard to their Qualities, only that they are such as will be sure to answer that Party-Cause and Interest they are designed for. But this is a Reason, that I utterly disclaim, in what I am going about; and would hope quite other Things, and better Things, of the honourable Persons, that are concerned in the Elections of this Day

This Book wherein we find our Text, is so full of divine Majesty, that it commands an awful Reverence in all gracious Hearts that read it. It was indited by Jesus Christ himself, the faithful and true Witness. John the beloved and bosom Disciple, and last Apostle, was the Pen-man of it. Chap. i. Ver. I. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his Servants Things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his Servant John.

p. 2For the Time of his writing it, himself tells us, Chap. i.9. That it was while he was in Patmos, for the Word of God, and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. This was (if we may believe History, and we have nothing else to inform us) in the Time of Domitian the Roman Emperor, about the ninety-fourth or ninety-fifth Year after the Nativity of Christ.

p. 3The Things which John describes and writes are of two Sorts, as Christ himself ranks them, Chap. i.19. viz. First, The Things that are. Secondly, The Things that shall be hereafter.

The Things that are, have a Respect to the State of the seven Asian Churches, signified by the seven Golden-Candlesticks, visionally represented unto the beloved Apostle; for so our Lord himself expounds the Vision, Ch. i, 20. The seven Candlesticks which thou sawest, are the seven Churches.

Now the Things which concern these seven Churches, are laid down in seven particular Epistles, directed primarily to the seven Angels of the seven Churches. Secondarily, With and in them, to the seven Churches themselves.

Our Text lies in the first of the Epistles, inscribed unto the Angel of the Church of Ephesus, Chap. ii.I. I will not here waste my Time with any Discourse concerning the Situation of the City of Ephesus, nor yet with a Resolution of the Context by any analytical Exposition of the Epistle.

In the Words before us, our Lord Jesus Christ expresses himself highly offended at the Church of Ephesus, for an Apostacy whereinto they were apace degenerating. An Apostacy was the Thing complained of; and the Remedy prescribed for the Cure of that Malady, and to which this Church was exhorted, was Repentance. Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first Works.

This Repentance is pressed with a dreadful Commination, big with Wo and Misery. The p. 4Judgment threatned, is no less than the Removal of the Candlestick out of it's Place; which means our Lord's unchurching them, & saying unto them, Loammi, you are not my People. What the Lord Jesus Christ in our Text says to the Church of Ephesus is this, Repent, and by Repentance recover out of thy Apostacy; or else I will dischurch thee, disown thee, destroy thee.

p. 4But then in this Threatning, this Promise is strongly implied, viz. that if this Church did thus repent, their Church-State should graciously be continued unto them.

Accordingly, from the Words, these three Doctrines may be observed.

DOCT. 1. That it is the great Duty of apostatizing Churches to remember from whence they are fallen, and repent, and do their first Works. Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first Works.

DOCT. 2. That if declining Churches thus do, the Lord Jesus will graciously continue their Church State unto them.

DOCT. 3. That unless apostatizing Churches do repent, they will provoke the Lord Jesus to unchurch them, and destroy them. I will remove thy Candlestick out of his Place, except thou repent.

To each of these in their Order.

DOCT. I. It is the great Duty of apostatizing Churches to remember from whence they are fallen, and repent, and do their first Works.

p. 5This Doctrine may be spoken unto, under these two Heads or Propositions.

I. Churches have many times been guilty of Declensions and Apostacies.

II. When they become thus guilty, it is their great Duty to remember from whence they are fallen, and repent, and do their first Works.

PROP. I. Churches have many times been guilty of Declensions and Apostacies.

So it was with the Church of Israel. How frequently do we find God complaining of this, by the Mouth of his holy Prophets? They turned quickly out of the Way which their Fathers walked in, obeying the Commandments of the Lord; but they did not so. They were planted by God a noble Vine, wholly a right Seed; but they turned into the degenerate Plant of a strange unto him, Jer. ii.21.