Thirdly continue in prayer supplication without ceasing and never give over to be his remembrancers such praier evermore hath mercy joyned with it This doth our Saviour teach Luk. 11 8. 18.1.5 Math. 15.22.24.26 I meane this perseverance by sundry parables of the poore widow of the vnjust judge Luk. 18. of the friend that did lend three Loves Luk. 11. by the example of the woman of Canaan who followed our Saviour and would not give him over till she had obtained Math. 15. And the rather ought we to do so because sometimes God will proove our faith patience obedience and constancy sometimes to make us more earnest in prayer for we are to dull cold must be stirred up sometimes to teach us the value and price of the graces of his spirit because such as are soone and easily obtained are oftentimes dispiced or at least lesse regarded and not so carefully preserued sometimes to make us more watchfull and heedfull that we might not easily loose them when we have them The Prophts themselues complaine oftentimes that God heareth them not that they have called day and night and are weary of their crying Wherefore not that he will not heare much lesse that he cannot heare but that his mercy might the more appeare for the greater our necessity is the more is his power and mercy seene sometimes he delayeth us Iudg. 7.2 to teach us to renounce all confidence in the flesh as Iudg. 7. the Lord said to Gideon The people that are with thee are to many for me to give the Midianites into their hands least Israel make their vaunt against me and say mine hand hath saved me so would it be with us if we had alwayes helpes at hand 2 Cor. 1.9.10 and 2 Cor. 1.9.10 that we should not trust in our selues but in God which raiseth the dead Lastly sometimes we are differred that our danger being the greater wherein we are his glory might be the greater in our deliverance As the skill of the Phyfition is most seene in most desperate diseases and of the Surgeon in the deepest woundes for what great knowledge in his art doth he shew in curing the scratch of a pin or a little razing of the skin so the power of God is most of al seene in delivering of us from troubles dangers wherein we have lienand languished a long time and from thence also ariseth his glory Lastly it is our duty to give thankes to God when he hath heard us as Psal 50. I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me Our owne wants and necessities constraine us oftentimes to remember the former precept Call upon me but our deliverances cannot make us remember the latter clause thou shalt glorifie me We are ready with the Lepers to opon our mouthes for mercy but our mouthes are soone shut when we should give him the glory Luk. 17.12 and we quickly forget his goodnesse with the same Lepers There is no triall of our selues by prayer in our wants for it is often forced not free wrested not voluntary but rather by our thankesgiving whether we make conscience of our duties to God or not Forced prayer is no prayer As he loueth a cheerefull giver so he loveth a cheerfull prayer O how often was the Prophet David in praising God! how doth he provoke his owne heart not to forget his benefits and others O that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse Psal 116.12.103 107.8 and for his wonderfull workes to the children of men Cry mightliy Hitherto of the first point the matter or substance of the Kings coÌ„mandement they must all zeale The pray Doct. from the highest to the lowest the second point solloweth Prayer must â—e seruent the maner of their pray mightily this noteth their danger was certaine in a manner present therfore their prayer must not be cold Hence we must obserue that it is not enough to pray but prayer must be earnest fervent Hereunto commeth the double and trebled commandement of Christ to aske to seeke to knocke which repetition importeth and imposeth upon us this fervency True it is that prayer joyned with fasting ought to be earnest too fold but though it go alone without fasting yet it must not go alone without fervency of spirit The Apostle Iames speaking of ordinary prayer teacheth that the prayer of a righteous man prevailâ—th much Iam. 5.16.17 if it bâ—forment not otherwise This he proveth by the example of Elias â—e prayed earnestly that it might not raine and it rained not on the earth by the space of three yeares and sixe mâ—â—â—thâ— c. And least any should pretend that he was a great Prophet and in high favour with God no marveil therfore if his prayer prevailed who raised the dead to life and brought fire from heaven as also he obtained that the heaven should be as brasse and the earth as jron but all cannot be like to him every Christian cannot be an other Elias besides his prayer was extraordinary The Apostle answereth that notwithstanding his great graces yet he was a man subject to the same passions infirmities that others are and yet God heard him And true it is his prayer was extraordinary in regard of the manner we caÌ„not pray that the heaven should not give rain nor the clouds senddown their shewres because we have not that spirit which he had but we must have the spirit of Sanctification to pray â—erveÌ„tly as he did or else we shal never be heard as he was The reasons Reason 1 first God looketh not onely what we do when we come before him but how we do it he regardeth the maâ—ner as well as the matter not only that we do good things but that we do them well For as we must take heede not only what we hearâ— Mar. 4.24 Mark 4.24 Luk. 8.18 but likewise how we heare Luk. 8.18 so we must looke to our selues that we pray what we pray but withall how we pray seeing we must faile neither in the one nor in the other Secondly the Lord only loveth zealous servants that â—erue him faithfully and servently as he is sayd to love a cheerfull giver 2 Cor. 8. Thirdly cold suiters among men teach them to deny such suites If a man come to our dores and bâ—g coldly as if he cared not whether he speed oâ— not who will take any pittie or have compassion on such persons and shall we thinke that God will regard those that regard not in what cold and carelesse manner they present themselves before him Lastly he is cursed that doth any worke of the Lord negligently yea such as are luke-warme shall be spâ—â—ed onâ— of his mouth Rev. 3.16 Râ—â— 3. Such are they that caâ—e not which â—â—dge for wâ—rd whether they obtaine or not obtaine These are dead prayers without life as of dead men without breath This reproveth such Vse 1 as come negligently to the throne of
hand Ioh. 10.28 or who shall fight against his Sheepe and the Flocke of his pasture and prevaile This the Prophet teacheth Ier. 2.3 Israel was holinesse unto the Lord and the first fruits of his increase all that devoure him shall offend evill shall come upon them saith the Lord. Ier. Iob 1.3 2 3. The Sheepe of Job are reckoned in the account of his substance so are Gods Sheepe a part of his substance which he chose to himselfe so great is the kindnesse and mercy of God toward us For why doth hee take them for his Sheepe and let the rest goe as Goats being by nature no better Is it any worthinesse or excellency in them before others Rom. 2.12 19. No we are all gone out of the way there is none that doth good no not one that every mouth might be stopped and that all the world may become guilty before God Is it for their multitude Iohn 14.6 No they are called by Christ in this place a little Flocke and hee is the truth it selfe that speaketh it Thus Moses sheweth that the Lord did not set his love upon Israel neither chuse them because they were moe in number then any people Deut. 7.7 For they were the fewest of all people Deut. 7.7 Is it for their strength might and power they have Ezek. 16.5 6. No he found them weake and wallowing in their blood none eye pittied them to have compassion upon them so that wee may not say in our hearts Deut. 8.17 18. My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth but wee must remember the Lord our God for it is he from whom wee receive all good things What then is it because we are more righteous The Israelites are charged not to speake so in their hearts Deut. 9.4 5. Deut. 9.4 5. because It was not for their righteousnesse or uprightnesse of heart that they entred to possesse the Land but for the wickednesse of those Nations which were driven out before them Who is it among the sonnes of men that will not spend land and limme and life it selfe to defend that which hee hath bought and purchased with a great price and at a deare rate And will not God defend and avenge his Children whom he knew to be his before the foundation of the world was laid though they bee oppressed for a time and he beare long with the vessels of wrath who cry out against them Downe with them downe with them even to the ground 2 Tim. 2.19 Rom. 11.1 2 3 howbeit the foundation remaineth sure and hath this seale The Lord knoweth who are his and hee will not cast off the care of them for ever Fourthly here is matter offered unto us to stirre our hearts to thanksgiving considering the infinite mercy of God toward us who hath vouchsafed to make choise of us to be his Sheepe passing by so many thousands in the world Of this duty the Prophet putteth us in minde arising from this doctrine Psal 100. Psal 100.3 4. It is the Lord that hath made us and not we ourselves for we are his people and the Sheepe of his pasture What followeth he maketh this use thereupon Enter into his Gates with thankesgiving and into his Courts with praise be thankefull unto him and blesse his Name It is no small token of his love toward us to make us to be his Sheep that are by nature Lyons Leopards Beares Bulls Dogs Psal 22.12 13 16 21. Matth. 15.26 Wolves and wild Beasts and what not Is not his love who loved us first worth our love to him againe If it be a great blessing that we are made to bee reasonable men how much greater is it to be received and regarded as his owne inheritance then which nothing is dearer to him nothing ought to be better to us The unfaithfull are the worke of God by naturall generation but they are the new-worke of God by spirituall regeneration It is not our owne free will that can frame and fashion us to be the people of God for then we might say It is we our selves that have made us and not the Lord. Particular branches of thankfulnesse This thankfulnesse consisteth not in words onely but in divers other particular branches noted by the Prophet in that place First let us give to him our hearts that our tongues may bee guided thereby let us first offer him all that is within us and then all that is without us will follow also for other worship God accepteth not In vaine they worship him Matth. 15.8 that draw neere unto him with their mouth and honour him with their lippes when their hearts are farre from him Secondly we must never bee ashamed to praise the Lord and to confesse his wonderfull workes to the children of men We see how men are not ashamed to sinne before the Lord openly publikely proudly presumptuously and prophanely and they blush at nothing but at godlinesse prayer profession hearing the Word and such like workes of Christian piety These men glory in their owne shame Phil. 3.19 Ier. 6.15 but they are ashamed of their glory nay of Gods glory and even of their owne good Thirdly the service which we performe to God wee must yeeld willingly readily joyfully 2 Cor. 9.6 and with a glad heart for hee loveth a cheerefull giver Thankes constrained or wrung and wrested from us are rejected of God Wee must give unto him backe againe as he giveth to us But how is that and in what manner bestoweth he upon us hee giveth us his gifts freely we must therefore returne to him our thankes frankly Lastly he calleth us to the assembly of his Saints which he nameth the Court and presence of God which was the place appointed for his publike service and worship Indeed God is not confined to a certaine place Act. 7.48 Iohn 4.21 neither is there any place wherein he is not to bee worshipped neverthelesse such as are indued with true faith must follow the communion of the Saints as Sheepe that feed not alone but with their fellowes Gods Sheepe and servants must shew themselves in the publike Assemblies being publikely thankefull for publike benefits received at his mercifull hands Psal 84.10 considering that one day in a his Courts is better then a thousandelsewhere Fiftly all that are Pastors and Teachers under Christ are bound to feed the Flocke that dependeth upon them They are Vnder-shepheards as it were Christs Vicars or Curates hee is the great Shepheard of our soules to whom the rest must be subject for the Sheepe are his This use is gathered from the exhortation that Paul giveth to the Elders of Ephesus Act. 20. Take heed unto your selves and to all the Flocke Act. 20.28 over the which the holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the Church of God which hee hath purchased with his owne blood Where he reasoneth thus It is the Flock of
the immediate hand of God rather then endure these manifold miseries that are upon them and those that belong vnto them Secondly it leadeth us to thinke that our hope and comfort is not heere upon the earth Our happinesse and the time or place of our resting and refreshing is not heere We must not looke for an heaven in this life but make our selves ready to take up our crosse and follow our Master Our Saviour never promiseth his Disciples to live ever in prosperity and be free from all adversity O how many followers should he have if the profession of his name were coupled accompanied with honour and temporall glory as appeareth by the Shechemites that would be circumcised for gaine Ioh. 6.26 Gen. 34. and by those that sought him because they did eate of the loaves and had their bellies filled Ioh 6. but he forewarneth them in all places of grieuous troubles he sent them out as sheepe in the middes of Wolves he telleth them that they will deliver them up to the Councils and scourge them in their Synagogues and the Apostle was assured by the holy Ghost Act. 20.26 that bands and afflictions did abide him It shall not be thus in the life to come when the Lord shall wipe away all teares from our eyes 1 Cor. 15.19 therefore the Apostle saith If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable This is the description of such as are wicked men Psal 17.14 their portion is in this life Psal 17. they lay up for themselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt where theeves breake through and steale and where their treasure is there is their heart also Math. 6.19 Math. 6.19.21 they say let us eate and drinke for to morrow we dy 1 Cor. 15. The happinesse of a godly man is heereafter Phil. 1.23 to be dissolved and to be with Christ is best of all Phil. 1. When this earthly house of this his Tabernacle is dissolved he hath a building of God an house not made with hands eternall in the heavens 2 Cor. 5.1 Phil. 3.20 2 Cor. 5. his Conversation is in heaven and from thence looketh for a saviour Phil. 3. Col. 3.1.2 he seeketh those things that are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God Col. 3. he setteth his affections on things above not on things on the earth Thirdly seing be oftentimes chastiseth his children while worldly men feele nothing at all it behoveth us to beare his chastisements cheerefully humbly and patiently and not faint under the crosse as men out of heart Heb. 12.6 veing he correcteth every son whom hereceiveth and loveth and with this we should comfort our selves and strengthen the feeble-minded support the weake and be patient toward all men This condemneth all murmuring and complaining under the Crosse which causeth the Lord oftentimes not to remove but rather to double his strokes upon us When Parents perceive their children grow stubborne and wayward froward and foolish under the rod doe they not rather encrease their punishment then let them alone Lam. 3.33.36 Thus doe we constraine the Lord to deale with us true it is he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men to crush under his feete and to subvert a man he approveth not but when we are impatient and fret against him this is not the way to stay his hand and to call backe his judgements but rather to provoke him against us to strike againe and againe Motives to patience and to double and treble his strokes upon us Now there are sundry motives to move us to this patience and to stay us from all impatience First God useth bodily afflictions to cure spirituall diseases Every paine preventeth the paines of hell by drawing us to Christ We may learne more by adversity then we can doe by prosperity Manasses learned more in Babylon then in Ierusalem and profited more in prison then in his palace 2 Chro. 33. In prosperity David said I shall never be remooved but in adversity he confessed Psal 30.6.119.71 it was good for him to have beene afflicted that he might learne the statutes of God whereas before he was afflicted he went astray but now he kept his word Secondly the sorrowes and anguish we endure alas what are they if they be compared to those dolours and paines which Christ our saviour suffered for us for he might say more truly then any other Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me Lam. 1.12 wherewith the Lord afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger Thirdly our sorrowes are a thousand times lesser then our sinnes have deserved Let us enter into our owne hearts and consciences to try and find out this point and we shall easily discerne our sinnes and offences to exceed all our paines Fourthly nothing commeth upon us but that which the Lord hath sent and laid upon us affliction springeth not out of the dust though dust and ashes judge after that manner We looke too much to second causes to finde the cause of our visitations as also we trust too much in outward meanes and remedies to remove the same The Prophet saith Psal 39.9 I was dumbe and opened not my mouth because thou didst it This consideration wrought patience in him And our Saviour teacheth us to lift up our eyes higher then the earth Math 10.29 and to rest in his providence Are not two sparrowes solde for a farthing and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father Fiftly God hath not given us ouer into the hands of our enemies to be chastened but he correcteth us with his owne mercifull hand When David had his wish to chuse his owne chasticement either warre famine or pestilence all sharpe weapons able to wound to death he chose rather to be corrected by the hand of God then by men or other meanes 2 Sam. 24.14 2 Sam. 24. Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord for his mercies are great and let me not fall into the hand of man for the very mercies of the wicked are cruelty For if we stood at the discretion of mercilesse men as sundry our bretheren at this day in other places doe and heard the alarme of battel sounding in our eares when mourning is in our streets Amos 5.16 and we should heare crying in all our high wayes Alas alas and all places be filled with weeping and wailing when the blood of the Saints shall be powred out like water that cannot be gathered up againe when so many widowes and fatherlesse children are left to lament we would confesse it a great mercy to fall into the hands of God and not of men if we considered aright these things Sixtly all the afflictions of this life are not worthy the glory laid up for us in the life to
his Sonnes with the comfortable heate thereof Seventhly 1 Iohn 4.17 we have boldnesse to lift up our heads in the Day of Judgement because as hee is so wee are in this world if we be regenerate we are partakers of the heavenly nature ready to render love for love Lastly if we say we love God as who will not say it and how many ready to sweare it and yet hate our brother 1 Iohn 4.20 5.1 we are lyers and speake not the truth for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seene how can hee love God whom he hath not seene forasmuch as every one which loveth him that begate loveth him also that is begotten of him 1 Joh. 5.1 All these are as so many chaines whereunto I might adde sundry other linkes to couple us together and to hold us close one to another If we breake these bands in sunder that nothing will hold us like the man distempered and distracted in the Gospel How can we have any communion with God that have no fellowship with the brethren Fiftly we all have need of patience seeing wee are assured to finde such as will be sure to exercise it and we must earnestly crave it of the God of patience For how shall we goe thorow-stitch with our profession for which we shall not onely be little esteemed but hated of all men Luke 21.19 Heb. 10.36 except we possesse our soules with patience against the contempt which all for Christs sake are subject unto in this present world We are commonly esteemed as the reffuse and off all of all others but let us keepe faith and a good conscience and then say with the holy man Job whose patience and constancy was many wayes prooved and sundry false imputations charged upon him Behold my witnesse is in Heaven Iohn 16.19 1 Cor. 4.3 and my record is on high And with the Apostle With me it is a very small thing that I should be iudged of you or of mans iudgement yea I iudge not mine owne selfe The Faithfull are Gods hidden Ones deare to him and beloved of him And as they are the members of Christ so he accounteth his body after a sort maimed and unperfect without us for He is the Head over all things to the Church Ephes 1.23 which is his body the fulnesse of him that filleth all in all Eph. 1.23 where the Apostle sheweth that his body is his fulnesse Is it not a blemish and deformity in the naturall body wherein one member onely if it bee but a little finger is wanting so Christ Iesus should be unperfect as a body maimed and disfigured if any of his members should be missing which hee will not suffer to bee taken from him If at any time great men favour and respect us we passe not greatly what inferiour persons thinke of us So should it be with us concerning the matter in hand we ought to digest the disgraces and reproaches of the world more easily and with all patience considering the mighty God and Christ his Sonne and our Saviour have us in such estimation Rom. 8.31 For if God bee on our side who shall be against us Wee commonly affirme A friend in the Court is as good as a penny in the purse and we finde it so If then wee have a friend in the Court of Heaven which is the highest Court and from whence lyeth no appeale we shall not need to feare or be disquieted what man doth or can doe unto us And if we had the greatest friends that can be upon the earth what benefit can we promise to our selves by it when he that is higher then the highest is our enemy Lastly as wee are hated and shall bee hated in the world so we must learne and acknowledge that it is not lawfull to avenge our selves or to recompence and requite like for like Matth 5.44 2 Cor. 2.10 Acts. 7.59 Luke 17.3 Rom. 12.19 but we must love our enemies Matth. 5.44 and forgive them Luke 17.3.2 Cor. 2.10 and pray for them Acts 7.59 Hence it is that the Apostle teacheth Rom. 12.19 Avenge not your selves but rather give place unto wrath for it is written Vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord. He is the Iudge of the whole world and to him it belongeth to punish and shall not the Judge of the whole world deale uprightly Gen. 18.15 He judgeth without all passion or perturbation whereas we are partiall and passionate and sometimes peevish in our owne causes It is the office of God that properly belongeth to him Psal 94.1 to revenge all our wrongs whatsoever who will more sharpely and severâ—ly right our causes then any other man can doe whereas if we be avengers of our owne private injuries wee make our selves Iudges of the earth we take upon us the perfect knowledge of all things we make our selves searchers of the heart wee wrest the sword of justice from the Magistrate nay we usurpe the office of God and make our selves to be witnesses parties and punishers in our owne matters which was never allowed in any Court where there was any colour of upright dealing and we cannot expect the Divine revenge which onely keepeth due measure and proportion betweene too much and too little Little flocke The last observation taken from the limitation added to the flocke of Christ that it is little and arising from the former interpretation is that it is said to bee little in respect of the opinion that these poore sheepe have of themselves Their hearts are not hauty neither are their eyes lofty Psal 131.1 2. neither doe they exercise themselves in great matters or in things too high for them but they behave themselves as a child that is weaned from his mother their soule is even as a weaned childe This teacheth us Doct. 6 that the faithfull are little and lowly in their owne eyes This we learne by sundry examples in the Old and New Testament Jacob an holy Patriarke saith of himselfe Gen. 32.10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies Gen. 32.10 18.27 and of all the truth which thou hast shewed to thy servant Thus doth Abraham the Father of the faithfull confesse in his prayer I have taken upon me to speake to my Lord which am but dust and ashes Gen. 18. Ezra the learned Scribe of God was ashamed and blushed to lift up his face to God Ezra 9.6 Iob 1.1 4.3 4. 42.6 Ezra 9.6 Job a just and upright man one that feared God and eschewed evill who had none like to him in the earth answered the Lord and said I am vile what shall I answer I will lay mine hand upon my mouth once have I spoken yea twice but I will proceed no further yea I abhorre my selfe and repent in dust and ashes Esay 6.6 The Prophet Esay cryeth out Woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of uncleane lips Chap.
ought so much the more to be magnified if we consider what we are by nature to wit the children of wrath the heires of damnation the sonnes of Satan the servants of sinne so that wee may say not onely with Abraham Gen. 18.27 Luke 15.21 I am but dust and ashes but with the Prodigall Sonne I am not worthy to be called thy Sonne For what are we from the crowne of the head to the sole of the foot but a very lumpe of sinne and corruption It is by grace and adoption that we are made the Brethren of Christ and fellow-heires with him and not much inferiour to the very Angels in Heaven Psal 8. Secondly in that God professeth himselfe a Father of all the faithfull observe that with him there is no accepting of persons Acts 11.36 Iob 34.19 Gal. 2.6 The poore man hath as great right and interest in Gods Kingdome and in this Title to call him Father as the rich man whose corne and cattell is encreased whose wine and oyle is multiplyed The weake brother may comfort himselfe herein knowing that God is a Father to him as well as he was to Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to David to Peter or to Paul As all the Faithfull have obtained like precious faith 2 Pet. 1.1 so have all of them a like or equall right in this Father-hood the low as well as high the poore as well as rich the simple as well as wise the bond as well as free are allowed and warranted to speak to him as to a Father as we are also taught in the Lords prayer which is a perfect platforme for all to use that come before him For there is neither Jew nor Gentile Gal. 3.28 Col. 3.11 male nor female circumcision nor uncircumcision Barbarian Scythian but Christ is all and in all and they have interest in him alike who shed his blood as well for the one as for the other and paid the same price for them all And thus it shall be at the last Day when no outward thing shall commend us to God neither birth nor blood neither learning nor riches neither great revenues nor golden crownes nor large Kingdomes none of these shall helpe no not the outward calling of a Christian if there be no more in us Let us therefore comfort our selves in this that the love of God is as great toward us as to those that are greater in the world True it is all men have not neither can have free accesse into the presence of Kings and Princes to stand before them and to heare their voice but all men even of low degree have liberty to come into the presence of Almighty God to heare his Word which is his voice nay they are called and invited unto it All men have not liberty to sit downe at the Table of great Personages howbeit God admitteth all true beleevers and penitent persons though never so poore to sit at his Table and to partake of his Supper yea they are the guests that he inviteth and entertaineth and welcommeth he will suppe with them and they shall suppe with him Thirdly from hence we have assurance that God will accept of our service and obedience albeit it bee maimed and unperfect and many waies defective The father that commandeth his childe to serve him albeit he faile oftentimes in the manner of doing yet when he beholdeth his care and endeavour to please him he praiseth his doing and passeth by his misdoing as if he saw it not so it is with God he requireth at our hands to obey him and albeit we faile and offend many waies in our obedience yet when he seeth a ready and willing minde 2 Cor. 8.12 and an unfained desire in us to doe our duty he accepteth us according to that we have and not according to that we have not Psal 203.13 This the Prophet teacheth He pittieth them that feare him no lesse then a Father doth his Children Doth the Father accept of nothing but that which is on every side perfect and every way absolute Yes he commendeth the heart when the foot halteth so God accepteth of our sincerity even when it is mingled with much infirmity This the Prophet Malachi witnesseth Chap. 3.17 They shall be mine Mal. 3.17 saith the Lord of Hosts in the Day when I make up my Jewels and I will spare them as a man spareth his owne sonne that serveth him This serveth as a great encouragement to us to cause us to serve him and to put forth all our strength and utmost endeavour to doe his will Lastly he will not cast away any of the faithfull finally and for ever neither shall any fall away from his favour True it is they may many waies fall but they shall rise againe Mic. 7.8 he may chastise them with the rods of men but his mercy he will never take away from them neither purposeth hee to cast them away utterly out of his sight He may suffer them to be winnowed Esay 54.8 Luk. 22.31 32. as men winnow wheat but he hath prayed for them that their faith shall not fully nor finally faile as Christ our Saviour speaketh unto Peter Luk. 22.31 32 Your Father The second point in the promise is the application Christ Iesus contenteth not himselfe to say It is the Fathers pleasure but your Fathers as when we pray we are taught to say Our Father Neither doth the reason run in this manner It is my Fathers pleasure as he might have spoken as indeed sometimes hee speaketh and as the Scripture calleth him the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Ioh. 20.17 but to set the better edge upon it and to make it pierce the deeper he saith It is your Fathers good pleasure Ephes 1.3 It is not enough to beleeve that God is the Father of Christ or the Father of the Church but we must further beleeve that he is our Father and every one for his part must say He is my Father It is a matter of knowledge onely to confesse him a Father but it is a matter of faith to confesse him to be our Father Doct. 8 This teacheth that it is a duty belonging to the faithfull to apply the promises of God to themselves particularly as Ier. 3.19 Thou shalt call me Ier. 3.19 My Father and shalt not turne away from me Christ also sendeth Mary to his Brethren to say unto them Ioh. 20.17 28. I ascend unto my Father and to your Father to my God and to your God Ioh. 20. This was the confession and application of Thomas Luke 1.47 Gal. 2.20 My Lord and my God This was the faith of the blessed Virgin My spirit reioyceth in God my Saviour Even so the Apostle Gal. 2.20 The Sonne of God who liveth in me loved me and gave himselfe for me It must bee thus with every soule in particular not onely to say Christ is the beloved Sonne of the Father but as it was with the
exceeding loud and sounding long so that all the people trembled But the fire and the feare shall bee much greater at the last day when the Lord Iesus shall appeare in great glory when the Elements shall melt with fervent heat 2 Pet. 3.10 the earth also and all the workes therein shall be burnt up 2 Pet. 3.10 Fiftly they shall have shame and perpetuall contempt powred upon them so that they shall be shamed for ever before many witnesses before men and Angels even before all the world Dan. 12.2 Forasmuch as there is nothing secret that shall not be evident and come to light This the Lord teacheth by the Prophet These things hast thou done Psal 50.21 and I kept silence thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thy selfe but I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine eyes Lastly they shall have the Sentence of death and damnation pronounced against them the misery whereof standeth in three points First in feeling paines intolerable unspeakable and unsupportable not to be uttered by the tongue of man We see how terrible and tedious many diseases are and what torments they bring to the body in this life but what are they to the torments of hell For as all the comforts and pleasutes of this life are nothing in comparison of the joyes of heaven 1 Cor. 2.9 the eye hath not seene them the care hath not heard them the heart cannot comprehend them So I may say of the punishments of damned soules Neither hath the eye of man seene them neither the eare of man heard them neither can the heart fully conceive of them as they are indeed Onely the Scripture expresseth them by things most bitter and violent that we might in some sort attaine to the knowledge of them and therefore the Apostle saith Rom. 2. Rom. 2.9 Tribulation and anguish shall be upon the soule of every man that doth evill Secondly in a separation from God from Christ from the Angels from all the righteous from all comfort and from eternall glory A paine and punishment no lesse then the former to see the Saints whom they thorowout their whole life have mocked and misused and judged to be fooles and mad men now honoured and advanced to the Kingdome of God and themselves in greatest disgrace for ever The sight doubtlesse of the felicity of others shall aggravate and encrease their owne misery Thirdly in the fellowship that the Reprobate shall have with the Devill and his angels They that now will seeme to shake and tremble at the very naked naming of the Devill and cannot abide to heare of him they that are ready to defie and denie and detest him in words yea to blesse themselves when any mention is made of him alas alas now they must be constrained to abide this as a part of their cursed condition to have the continuall fellowship of the Devill and the rest of the damned crue and of none other but of them David complaineth of it as of a great misery and a woe much to be bewailed and lamented that he did soiourne in Mesech and dwell in the Tents of Kedar but woe woe woe againe and againe to those that must not sojourne for a season but dwell for ever and ever not in Mesech or Kedar but in the house of darkenesse with the Devill the Prince of darkenesse where they shall be cast into utter darkenesse Mitth 8.12 there shall bee weeping and gnashing of teeth Lastly acknowledge the wonderfull mercy of God toward his Children who hath loved them with a speciall and unspeakable love True it is the Reprobate have many blessings in this life because they live among the godly and for their sakes because God would leave them without excuse and stoppe their mouthes for ever because he would teach his owne servants not to place any happinesse in them but to looke for greater blessings in the other life howbeit they have not such among them all Gen. 25.5 6. as doe accompany salvation For as Abraham gave sundry blessings to the sonnes of the Concubines but he made Isaak the sonne of the free woman to be his heire so God bestoweth common gifts Matth. 5.45 and many temporall blessings upon the Reprobates hee maketh his Sunne to rise on the evill and on the good and sendeth raine upon the just and unjust howbeit he maketh them not his heires for as much as spirituall and eternall graces are communicated to none but to the Elect which shall be inheriters of Salvation and for them he hath prepared the Kingdome Why may wee not therefore cry out with the Prophet Psal 144.3 8.5 3 4.8 9. Lord what is man that thou takest knowledge of him or the sonne of man that thou makest account of him who is like to vanity and his daies are as a shadow that passeth away Psal 144. And else-where O taste and see for the Lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him O feare the Lord ye his Saints for there is no want to them that feare him If God must have praise for the least of his blessings how much more for this that is the greatest of all wherein the Lord hath enlarged his love towards us and without which our faith had beene in vaine yea Christ Iesus had dyed risen againe and ascended in vaine and all the worke of our Redemption were frustrate so that without consideration of the Kingdome of heaven of which we come now to consider in the last place blessings were no blessings and graces were no graces at all The Kingdome This is the last but not the least branch of the promise which containeth the highest staire and top of our felicity and happines The ungodly thinke faithfull men unworthy to breathe or whom the earth should beare but behold God even the Father vouchsafeth of his grace and good pleasure to account them worthy of heaven The ungodly deeme them not to be worthy to live in the world but the Lord esteemeth not the world worthy of them Heb. 11.38 and therefore he will translate them out of the world that they may enjoy his presence Now as before we heard of the object of the promise the Flocke of Christ so now we come to consider of the subject or principall matter of the promise the Kingdome of heaven And in this word we have the substance of the reason used by Christ our Saviour to keepe us from feare of falling away from him for feare of future wants and therefore we have deferred to consider of the strength thereof to this place The reason may be thus framed and put into forme that we may see the force of it If God will bestow upon us the Kingdome then feare not the lacke of earthly things But God will bestow upon us the Kingdome Therefore Feare not the lacke of earthly things Or more plainely after this manner Whosoever have a Kingdom promised unto them need