Gospel reconciliation, or, Christ's trumpet of peace to the world wherein is shewed (besides many other gospel truth) ... that there was a breach made between God and man ... to which is added two sermons / by Jeremiah Burroughs.

CHAP. 42.

Use, 1. The sending of the Ministers of the Gospel is to be accounted a glorious blessing.

FIrst, If this be the great work of the Ministers that are sent amongst you to dispence the Ministery of Reconciliation to you; O! then certainly the sending of any of the ministers of the gospel among you, you are to account a glorious and a wonderful blessing of God upon you at any time; why? what is their errand? They come to treat with your souls about Reconciliati∣on with God, and God hath appointed this the greate means of bringing souls unto himselfe, to be reconciled unto himselfe, and therefore it is one of the greatest blessings in the world to have the minestry of the gospel in any congregation. Blessed be your eyes saith Christ that you see such things, and your ears that you heare such things, that God hath disposed you to live in those times wherein you have the mighty things of the minis∣try of the gospel shewed unto you; it is a good argument that god hath many souls to be reconciled unto when he sends the ministers of the gospel unto a place, and therefore when Paul was going from a place, God ap∣peared to him in the night, and bid him be of good courage and saith unto him, I have many souls in this City. When God in a special manner sends the preach∣ing

of the gospel into a place let them bless God from their souls, and take it as an argument that sure God hath many souls in this place that he intends to be reconciled unto, for the minnistry of the gospel is the minnistry of reconciliation; it is the fruit of the prayer of Jesus Christ, and for that compare those scriptures together and it wil be clear; in Esay. 49 8. this is quoted in Cor. 2.6.2. now what is that? that is, when Paul was preaching to them, and he makes this the fulfilling of that prophecy in Esay. 49. now it is clear, that, that prophecy is a prophecy of Christs praying to God the father; for those that did belong to his election, that in due time they might have the doctrin of reconciliation opened to them; now saith God I have heard thee in an acceptable time, and saith Paul, now is the accep∣table time, so that at any time when you come to heare a sermon, and hear the doctrine of Reconciliation opened to you; you should think thus much, This morning, or this day have I had the fruit of the prayer of Jesus Christ for this congregation, and for my part in partic∣ular Christ was praying unto his father for this long be∣fore I was borne, and now do I come to have the fruit of the prayer of Jesus Christ; This very sound of the gos∣pel in my ears this morning, it is no other but the fruit of the prayer of Jesus Christ unto God the father long before I had a being and the world was.