TO HIS EXCELLENCY,
THE LORD GENERAL CROMWELL, &c.
My Lord, It was with thoughts of peace that I emhraced my call to this place in time of war. As all peace that is from God is precious to my spirit, so incomparably that between the Father and his elect, which is established and carried on in the blood and grace of Jesus Christ. The ministerial dispensation of this peace being through free grace committed even unto me also, I desire that in every place my whole may be, to declare it to the men of God's good pleasure. That this was my chief design, in answer to the call of God upon me, even to pour out a savour of the gospel upon the sons of peace in this place, I hope is manifest to the con- sciences of all with whom (since my coming hither) in the work of the ministry I have had to do. The enmity between God and us began on our part ; — the peace which he hath made begins and ends wath himself. This is the w^ay of God with sinners : when he might justly continue their enemy, and fight against them to their eternal ruin, he draws forth love, and beseeches them to be reconciled who have done the wrong, and them to accept of peace who cannot abide the battle. Certainly the bearing forth of this message, which is so " worthy of all accepta- tion," and ought to be so welcome, cannot but have sweetness enough to season all the pressures and temptations wherewith it is sometimes attended. This it hath been my desire to pursue, and that with the weapons which are not carnal. And though some may be so seasoned with the leaven of contention al)out carnal things, or at best the tithing of mint and cummin, as to disrelish the weightier things of the gospel, yet the great Owner of the vineyard hath not left me without a com- fortable assurance that even this labour in the Lord hath not been in vain.
The following sermons, which I desire to present unto your excellency, were preached, one at Berv/ick, upon your first advance into Scotland, the other at Edinburgh. My willingness to serve the inheritance of Christ here, even in my absence, caused me to close with the desires that were held out to this purpose. And I do present them to your excellency, not only because the rise of my call to this service, under God, was from you ; but also, because in the carrying of it on I have received from you, in the weaknesses and temptations wherewith I am encom- passed, that daily spiritual refreshment and support — by inquiry into, and discovery of, the deep and hidden dispensations of God towards his secret ones — which my spirit is taught to value. The carrying on of the interest of the Lord Jesus amongst his saints, in all his ways, which are truth and righteousness — the matter pointed at in this discourse — being the aim of your spirit in your great undertak- ings, it bears another respect unto you. I am not unacquainted with its meanness, yea, its coming short, in respect of use and fruit, of what the Lord hath since and
284 THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
hy others drawn forth ; but such as it is, having hy Providence stepped first into tlie world, I wholly commend it to him for an incense who graciously " supplied the seed to the sower ; " — beseeching him that we may have joy unspeakable and glorious in the acceptance of that peace which he gives us in the Son of his love, whilst the peace whose desire in the midst of war you continually bear forth to him and to others, is by them rejected to their hurt.
Your Excellency's
Most humble Servant in our dearest Lord,
J. Owen.
Edinbuugh, N'ov. '-'(), 1G50.
SERMON VL
THE BRANCH OF THE LORD THE BEAUTY OF ZION : OR,
THE GLORY OF THE CHURCH IN ITS
RELATION UNTO CHRIST.
'• For mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people." IsA. Ivi. 7.
From verse 3 of this chapter to verse 8, you Lave promises and pre- dictions of calling in Gentiles and strangers to the church of God, notwithstanding any objections or hinderances laid in their way by ceremonial and t3rpical constitutions, — they being all to be removed in the cross of Christ, Eph. ii. 13-16; Col. ii. 14; — making way for the accomplishment of that signal promise which is given in the 2d chapter of this prophecy, verses 2, 3, " And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be estab- lished in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it: and many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up," &c.
The words of verse 7 are a recapitulation of the whole, holding out summarily the calling of the Gentiles to the holy mount, or spiritual church of Christ; where also you have a description of the services performed by them upon their coming : " Their burnt-offerings and sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar ;" — answerable to that emi- nent prediction of the solemn worship of the called Gentiles, Mai. i. 11, "For from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts." The spiritual services of the saints of the Gentiles are in each place set forth by those ceremonial ordinances of incense, altir, and sacrifice, as were then most acceptable, from the Lord's own appointment.