peace in the worlds power to give and there is a peace of Christs bestowing Now Christ would have us here not to mistake the worlds peace for his for the difference is very great for first the worlds peace is a false peace it is counterfeit coin it hath not the current stamp of Heaven on it but the peace that Christ gives to a Believer is true peace and perfect peace Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee Secondly The Worlds peace is an outward peace it is but skin deep it wets the mouth cannot wash the heart Prov. 14.13 In laughter the heart is sorrowful and the end of that mirth is heaviness The worlds peace is but the shell of peace their Conscience lowers when their countenance laughs but the peace that Christ gives is an inward and spiritual peace Psal 4.7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased Thou hast put gladness in my heart Peace is that gladness or peace smooths the brow but this fills the breast as the finner hath trouble within in the midst of all his peace without In the world you shall have trouble but in me you shall have peace Thirdly The worlds peace has only a neather spring arising out of the Creature out of worldly comforts therefore it must needs be unclean for an unclean fountain cannot bring forth clean water But the peace of Christians has an upper spring it flows from the manifestation of the love of God in Christ it is from the sprinkling of Christs bloud on the conscience it flows upon the workings of Christs Spirit upon the Soul which is first a Counsellor then a Comforter Oh how pure must this peace be in a believers soul that flows from so pure a spring Fourthly The worlds peace is a peace given to sinners it is a peace in sin and it is a peace with sin as the Prophet Isaiah tell us It is a Covenant with Hell and an Agreement with Death God delivers us from that peace Again Christs peace is given to none but believers it is their priviledge onely a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy Prov. 14.10 The heart knoweth his own bitterness but a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy Fifthly The worlds peace is a fading dying transitory thing it withers in the Sand The tryumphing of the wicked is but short and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment Job 20.5 Solomon doth elegantly liken it to crackling of thorns under a pot which is but a blaze and is gone Eccl. 7.6 so is the sinners peace it is for a spurt and is soon gone but the peace that Christ gives to Believers is a durable and abiding peace Your joy no man shall take from you it appears in life in death and after death first it is our peace in life grace brings forth present peace It is said of the Primitive Christians They walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost Act. 9.41 It is a remarkable expression Psal 19.11 In keeping thy Commands there is great reward He don't say for keeping them which respects the end of the work but in keeping them which looks at the work it self My brethren every duty done in sincerity reflects a peace in conscience as every flower carries its own sweetness It is possible I grant a Believer may not always find and feel this peace few do some seldom find it few find it always the remains of corruption bringing forth to interrupt or temptations to hinder and Gods dissertion may darken and hide it and a Believer may seem to be totally lost yet in this condition which is the worst a child of God can be in he hath a double peace first a peace in the promises in this very condition and what you have in Bonds and Bills you account as good as money in your pockets Secondly he hath it in the seed Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart Psal 97.11 Grace is the seed of Peace which Christ hath sown in the furrows of the soul and therefore peace shall spring out of the furrows of the soul Indeed this seed springs up sooner in some than in others yet every Saint shall have a reaping time sooner or later Psal 126.6 He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoycing bringing his sheaves with him If he staies long for the fruit he shall have a greater crop at last if he reaps not now he shall be sure to reap hereafter Psal 37. Mark the perfect man and behold the upâ—iâ—â—t for the end of that man is peace Secondly by this peace which is the peace of a Child of God it is a peace at death Grace will Minister to us then and that Ministration shall be Peace the sinners peace leaves him when he comes to the grave though in life it fills him yet in death it leaves him A Believer hath a two-fold spring of peace the first is from above him the other from within him That spring that runs with peace above him is from the bloud of Christ sprinkled on his conscience the other that is from within him is from the sincerity of his heart in the ways of Obedience My Brethren when we lye on our death-beds and can reflect on our sincerity in all Gods ways this will be peace at last so it was in Hezekiah Isai 38.3 Remember now O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which was good in thy sight There 's nothing makes a death-bed so hard and so uneasie as a life spent in the service of sin and lust and nothing makes a death-bed so pleasant as a life spent in the service of Christ Grace will bring forth Peace if not in this life yet Thirdly it will be sure after death if time brings not this fruit to ripeness yet Eternity shall Grace in time will be Glory in Eternity Holiness now will be Happiness then whatever it is a man sows in this world that he reaps in the next world be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting Gal. 6.7 8. When Sin shall end in sorrow and misery Grace shall end in peace in joy in glory well done thou good and faithful servant enter into the joy of thy Master Mat. 25.21 Whoever shares in the Grace of Christ in this world shall be sure to share with the joy of Christ in the next world that joy is joy unspeakable full of glory I will wind up all in a three-fold Application by way of Exhortation to three sorts of persons 1. To such as have this Grace
2. There must be light to actuate this Object if it were dark we could never see it There must be light both to actuate the eye and object Now this light that actuates the eye and object 't is either the natural light the light of Nature the light of Conscience the light of common Illumination the light of the Word or the light of the Spirit of God By all these Lights we come to look into the Looking-glass our Hearts 3. There must be an Irradiation from the Object i. e. a beaming forth from that Object some Species or Idea's that carries the object to the eye and clearly makes out to the sense what that Object is this beaming is by action from the heart mark it for it may be as necessary truth as was preached among you that look what the Stream is to the Fountain what the Beam to the Sun that the action is to the heart whether the act be manent or transient whether Internal in thought purpose election assection in joy in love in fear Or External in the life in the practice and in the conversation So that look as a puddle Stream always declares a corrupt Fountain so all your humble holy faithful thoughts speak a clear spiritual heart within a holy conversation speaks a holy Affection and a holy Affection declares a heavenly Constitution a new Nature Now for the Vse of this is the heart of a man a Looking-glass 1. See from hence of what concernment the Actions of men are whether internal or external The actions of men are like the streams you may certainly finde the Fountain by them they speak the heart as the Root bears the fruit 'T is of infinite concernment 't is the Fountain of what principles within and conversation without descend but into thy own heart c. 2. This shews the sad condition of all natural poor souls your Hearts are Looking-glasses but they are Looking-glasses in a dungeon of Darkness there be Toads Vipers and Devils there but thou canst not see them that hast no spiritual Light 3. Here is consolation to Gods people Is the Heart of a man a Looking-glass What reason have they to rejoyce in their hearts that are the best Looking-glasses in the world not like our Gallants Looking-glasses that must not bewray their wrinkles spots c. But theirs will represent their Heart Complexion Condition and Nature to them Nay in that Glass may be seen the face of a God Nay further because thy Heart doth answer to another Heart and his to his whatever Grace is in any Believers it is there in thy Heart in semine there 's the seed 4. By way of exhortation Is the Heart a Looking-glass Then keep the Looking-glass very chary make much of it above all keepings keep thy heart and that with all diligence in all places at all times and in all things If any thing under Heaven will keep thee holy it is the keeping of thy Heart There thou mayest see all thy spots defects desperate Hypocrisies Infernal Atheism all the deliques of thy soul How prone to commit as vile â—ins as ever was committed by the vilest of the sons of men Once more keep it clean and keep it close Look into the heart and thou shalt finde it to be a Copy of the Role of Eternity where thou shalt see thy very name written in Letters of Gold or Bloud for we looking into our Hearts may and do know that we are passed from death to life and that upon this ground because we love the brethren And thus I advance to The Fifth Sermon 1 John 3.14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren IN these words five things 1. A supposed Estate in which we are all by nature and that is an Estate of spiritual death 2. A peaceable Recovery or mention of another state and estate of life 3. A real Transition from this state of death to life We are passed c. 4. An inseparable property of all the Regenerate Souls in the World they do not hate but love the brethren 5. A comfortable Conclusion that a Christian may make from that property he may know he may be assured by this that he is passed from death to life because he loves the brethren The Observation this A Christian may know his real Conversion and Transition to Eternal life by this Character among the rest because he loves the brethren This Proposition waâ— slit into these two particulars 1. That every Believer may have an assurance of his Transition from death to life 2. The love of the brethren is one of the great eminent Symptoms of mans Regeneration 1. A Christian may know his real Conversion and Translation to eternal life Such a great and real change is there wrought in every Believer at his Conversion and this wrought by such a great Efficient and Infinite cause the Spirit of God and this cause working by such real and powerful means and instruments the great Word of God and this done notwithstanding the great opposition that is made by a poor sinner against the Word and when wrought it hath such a real and grand effect upon a Believer that 't is impossible but a Believer must needs know this his Transition from death to life Secondly Love to the brethren is the great Symptom of mens Regeneration Love to the brethren not taken solely singly as if this was the onely Character but concomitantly taken with others but beyond and above all others this is the Privie Soul of God on the Soul if he have inflamed it with love he may know he is passed from death to life The Vse is of Confutation of the Papists those grand enemies to Gospel-Truths and Believers peace They abhor this Doctrine of Assurance by it their Purgatory would fall down their Popes Kitchin would grow cold They tell us Believers cannot have assurance in this World No 1. Why hath God commanded us to make our Calling and Election sure and will God command Impossibilities such as cannot be wrought by our or his own power 2. Other Saints have attained this Assurance this New Name and White Stone within them Object That 's by extraordinary Revelation Ans This is not upon proof Was not the assurance of Gods people in Scripture grounded upon general promises Had they many of them either extrinsecal signs or marks to assure them of it did it not spring from Principles common to all Believers Object But suppose they have assurance to day they may lose it to morrow Man is a mutable Creature he may be a childe of God in the morning and a brat of Hell in the evening Answ 'T is true man is a mutable Creature yet is he preserved by an immutable God Man is a weak Creature but yet is preserved by the power of God unto salvation Man as a Creature is no less mutable in Heaven than upon Earth there preserved by God therefore why not
the holy Apostles their lives were traduced they went through evil report as well as good report 2 Cor. 10.2 And thus Athanasius who was traduced for an Adulterer by the Arians and so Luther and Calvin are represented and reported by the Papists as if they had been the vilest Creatures in the World The wicked man cavils at and finds spots at least doth what he can to find spots in the Sun and some who are not so wicked do look for an Evangelical perfection in Ministers and all theirs their Wives and their Children and their Servants and their Company How ready are people grosly and uncharitably to censure a Minister for any yea the least they discern in him or his and is this their Vertue nay is it not their Vice and Corruption 2. It is no breach of the Churches peace no argument of a contentious and unquiet spirit in a Minister to speak vilely of vile Ministers and enemies of the Churches peace Why who are they John Baptist tells us he calls them Vipers a generation of Vipers why were they not Preachers Mat. 3.7 And will you say that John Baptist was a man of a contentious Spirit of an unquiet Spirit And who were they whom our blessed Saviour calls a Generation of Vipers Mat. 12.34 38 39. And who were they whom our Saviour calls a Generation of Vipers and an evil and Adulterous Generation were they not Preachers and it is very observable both John Baptist and our Saviour did call those Preachers thus even in the hearing of them who were their ordinary hearers and do but observe what strange terms of disgrace St. Peter gives them 2 Peter 2.12 to certain Preachers in his time verse 14. what strange terms doth the Apostle give to those Teachers whose pernicious wayes many would follow as in verse 2. of that Chapter But did not the Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses's Chair and did they not preach some good Doctrine insomuch that Jesus Christ bids the people hear them and observe what they said though not what they did as Mat. 23.1 2 3. Therefore may some say It seemeth strange that Christ should thus disgrace the Scribes and Pharisees was not this the way to make their Ministry contemptible First It is very clear and undeniable that there was a Generation of pitiful sorry Teachers as in Mat. 9.36 Why did not the people enjoy the Teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees yes they did but the Scribes and Pharisees were Idol-Shepherds they knew how to feed their Flock and therefore Christ lookt on the people as Sheep scattered abroad for all the Scribes and Pharisees They did not understand that there was heart-murder or heart-adultery until our blessed Saviour instructed them The Scribes and Pharisees they did but strike at the bough only but our Saviour Preached with authority and not as the Scribes did And withal I answer 2. That beyond all peradventure our blessed Saviour saw that although the Scribes and Pharisees did teach some truths yet by their Life and Doctrine they did more mischief than good and therefore the more credit they had among the people the more mischief they were like to do And therefore from hence our blessed Lord and Saviour calls them a Generation of Vipers But I hope you will not count it an argument of the breach of the Churches peace to speak vilely of a vile Ministry It was no more than John Baptist did and than our Saviour did Thirdly No mans sin deserves so sharply to be reproved as the sins of Ministers because his sins of all others are the chief sins committed in a Land at the Sanctuary of prophaneness too too often begins Therefore when Gods people met in their publick Fasts they made solemn Confession of those sins of the first Magnitude by which they had most provoked the Lord they do make Confession chiefly of the sins of their Magistrates and Ministers Neh. 9.33 34. The Jews there bewailed the sins of their Magistrates and Ministers as the particular cause of their plagues Oh the sins of Teachers are the Teachers of sin and therefore no mans sin deserves to be so sharply reproved as the scandalous sins of Min isters Now if you love your souls take heed and beware of a prophane delight in lewd loose dissolute Ministers We sind the Lord complaining of the wickedness of the Prophets and of the Priests and People as Jer. 5 ult the people did take a prophane delight in false Prophets and in polluted Priests and so likewise in the Prophet Micah chap. 2. v. 11. the people although they did oppose the Prophet Micah and other true Prophets yet they did approve of and delight in false Prophets such as were of their own leaven their own way and mould such as would flatter them and promise them wine and strong drink and are there not many such people in the world that had rather hear such a Minister than such as preach close-walking with God and of getting to Heaven under pain of damnation Will you cry up and will you prophanely delight in a Ministry that shall preach peace peace to all prophane rebellious people in short such a one that will poison you in Doctrine or in his example Fourthly Take heed and beware of a sinful Idolizing of godly faithful Ministers the Apostle decries this with much zeal ardency and servency of Spirit what is Paul's planting and what is Apollo's watering 1 Cor. 3.5 6. As excellent gifts parts and graces as these men had yet they look higher so it is your duty to look above mens parts and above mens gifts and graces Paul and Apollo cannot give increase Paul indeed may plant but there is no rooting indeed in these plants but by christ And read v. 7. It is God and he only that can give encrease As Elisha's Servant could carry his Masters staff and lay it on the dead child but the child could not be raised to life until Elisha came himself thus godly faithful Ministers can but lay Gods Message before you but unless the Lord set it to the heart never a dead Soul can be raised from the death of sin to the life of grace and holiness Remember godly and faithful Ministers although they have the Lords Sword yet they have not the Lord Christs arm and alas what can the Lord Christs Sword do without his Arm. Fifthly Take heed of being leavened with prejudice against the Ministry of the Word because of the misdemeanours or miscarriage of the Minister Surely the efficacy of the Word and Sacrament doth not depend on the quality of the Minister It is the Word of the Lord that converts not the person of the Dispenser or Speaker A seed that is fown in a good soyl may yea will grow and thrive although perhaps the Sower had a very dirty hand 2 Cor. 3.2 3. The Apostle tells the Corinthians that they are saith he The Epittle of Christs Ministry by us the hand is Christs Ministers are but
Plummet and what is not warranted by the Word of God or maintainable by Argument drawn from it we should not close with And for the closing up of all do but consider how this Chapter and the things that I have spoken to you and preached from it how they do all influence this Exhortation Little Children keep your selves from Idols see to it that you approve your selves in holy Worship to God and the Lord Jesus Do but argue thus You profess to be Believers and is it not your duty to answer to this profession Your Falth is a pure Faith and an obediential grace it is a grace that will tutor you to hang upon Christ and his appointments and Institutions and therefore being Believers study to keep your selves from Idols and whatever is not consonant to the will of God concerning Worship You believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God keep your selves from Idols in this respect for he is come into the world and hath shewed the pattern of his House and then you are born of God carry it like a people that are born of God that are high born and credit your holy profession by keeping a dependance upon that God of whom you are born and then being Believers you are born of God and have overcome the world and therefore shew forth your heroick spirit by standing out in all opposition to Idols and whatever is contrary to sound Doctrine and the power of godliness You have an Unction from the Holy One and this engages you to look to it that you keep your selves from Idols And then we know saith he that the Son of God is come and hath given us understanding that we may know him that is true and we are in him that is true even in his Son Jesus Christ And thereupon he brings in this Little Children keep your selves from Idols as if he should say This is the true God God in Christ Jesus Christ the Son of the Father this is the true God and he hath eternal life with him other god are false gods and â—hat benefit will you have by following them and performing worship to â—hem Nothing but eternal death false gods can bestow no eternal life upon you but this is the true God and he can give you eternal life And therefore Little Children keep your selves from Idols And now yet one word more I would not occasion any discomposure of spirit that is not becoming you But this I must say for ought I know you have the words of a dying man and we use to say that the words of dying men are apt to take somewhat a deep impression I mean a dying man not in properness of speech according to nature and if it should be so I hope there would be cause of rejoycing on my part but I speak the words of a dying man in respect of the Ministerial Office I suppose you all know there is an Act come forth by Supream Authority and it is not for us to quarrel at all but to submit to it and hold correspondency with it so far as we can with a good conscience and there being many Injunctions that many besides my self cannot comply withall therefore we are willing to submit to the Penalty inflicted This I say you have for many years had the benefit of my poor Labours I have fulfilled near up towards forty years and have performed my service to God Christ and his People and I bless his Name not without acceptance and success My work so far I know in this course as in the weekly course is now at an end my desire is that you whose hearts have been inclinable to wait upon God in the way of my Ministry may be kept faithful to God and that you may have the blessing of the everlasting Covenant coming upon your Souls and that you may have the power of this Doctrine held forth in this Sermon put forth upon your hearts that as you do believe that Jesus is the Christ that as you profess these things you may carry it suitably to your profession that you may walk in love to God love to Christ and love to one another that you may labour to manifest a noble generous Spirit in overcoming the world in Errours Corruptions false Doctrines and unwarrantable Worship that you may in all things labour to approve your selves And littlte Children keep your selves from Idols Amen Mr. Calamy's Sermon Preached December 28. 1662. 1 Sam. 4.13 And when he came Lo Eli sate upon a seat by the way side waiting for his heart trembled for the Ark of God THat you may the better understand these words you must know that whatsoever God threatned against old Eli in the second and third Chapters because he did not restrain his wicked Sons from their lewd courses is here executed in this Chapter therefore we read there were four thousand I raelites slain by the Philistines And the Elders of Israel met together to consult how to repair this great loss they confess it was the Lord that had smitten them For say they Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines And they conclude the way to repair this their loss it was to fetch the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh and carry it into the battel whereupon they appointed Hophni and Phinehas to fetch it whereby they imagined that the presence of the Ark would save them from ruin but herein they were miserably mistaken for this judgment befell them not because the Ark was not in the Camp but because their sin was in the Camp The Ark of the Covenant would not preserve those that had broken Covenant with God And therefore there was a great slaughter of the Israelites and were slain thirty thousand men and Hâ—phni and Phinehas were slain and the Ark it self was taken Prisoner But what was old Eli doing He was ninety and eight years old and was not able to go to the Battel but sits upon a seat by the way side near the Battel and there he sits thinking what shall become of the Ark And lo Eli sate upon a seat by the way side watching for his bea rt trembled for the Ark of God for fear lest the Ark should be taken He was not troubled what should become of his two sons or what should become of the people of Israel but what should become of the Ark of God In the words are three parts 1. Old Eli's sollicitousness for the Ark. 2. Old Eli's heart trembling for fear of the Ark. 3. Old Eli's preferring the safety of the Ark before the safety of his two sons wise and children He sate upon a seat by the way side watching for his heart trembled for the Ark of God But what was the Ark of God why should old Eli's heart tremble for fear of the Ark I answer this Ark was the holiest of all the things of God it was so holy that it made every place holy where it came
it not unto me ver 45. Beloved there is a time coming when the great God will reckon with ungodly men for all the injuries and wrongs which they have done to his people as if they were done to himself immediately Oh! consider of this you that are true Believers are you invironed round with adversaries either spiritual or temporal you have God for your defence a God infinite in power which is able to defend you from the hardest assaults of your most potent and politick Enemies his Name is a strong Tower the Righteous fly unto it and are safe Are you encountring with great temptations The Lord being your Father he will protect you and not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able to bear but together with temptation will make way for your escape that you may be able to bear it 1 Cor. 10.30 the Lord knoweth that his Children are liable to many temptations from Satan from the world and from their own corruptions and that they are subject to many afflictions and tribulations from the hands of men and therefore he will be sure to be with them and to be a very present help to them in the time of trouble Thirdly Is God a Believers Heavenly Father then there is a comfort for them that God will pity them and compassionate them in all their afflictions a tender Father pitieth his Children when they are in any calamity as for instance in sickness how will the groans of a Child go near the heart of a loving Parent How do the Agonies of pain in the Child cause grief and sorrow in the Parents heart What means would not a Parent use to procure the health and ease of a Child My life is bound up in the life of the Lad says Jacob concerning Benjamin Oh Absalon my son my son would God I had dyed for thee says David concerning Absalon What sympathyzing and sellow-feeling will a dear and tender Parent have of the miseries of his Children And as a Father pitieth his Children so the Lord pitieth them that fear him Psal 103.13 The Lord is very pitiful Jam. 5.11 The pity and compassion of the Lord towards his Children is excellently set forth in that Scripture Jer. 31.20 Is Ephraim my dear son Is he a pleasant Child I speak against him I do earnestly remember him still therefore my bowels are troubled for him I will surely have mercy on him saith the Lord The bowels of the Lord do exceedingly yearn towards his people in all their afflictions and distresses and he is full of pity and compassion towards them Fourthly Is God a Father to all true Believers then here is also for their comfort that God doth and always will love them and take delight in them He loves them with an everlasting love they are his chosen Jewels and he will certainly one day polish them though he suffer them to be among the rubbish of the World for a while They are his pleasant pictures and he delights to be looking on them the eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him and upon them that hope in his mercy Psal 33.18 God takes pleasure to be viewing the new creature which he hath framed by his own Spirit in the hearts of his people and his own Image which he stamped upon them and herein the love that the Lord beareth his Children infinitely exceeds the Love that earthly Parents bear to theirs in that he loveth them continually Earthly Parents they love their Children but their love may be withdrawn from them again and is often times but the love of God will never be withdrawn from his love whom the Lord loveth he loveth to the end and although his loving countenance may be eclipsed for a time and they may lose the sence of his love to them by their failings sinful infirmities yet the Lord loves them still There is nothing shall be able to separate Believers from the love of God Rom. 8.25 and onward the Apostle Paul putteth the question there saith he Who shall separate us from the love of God Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword as it is written For thy sake are we killed all the day long we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter Nay saith he in all these things we are more than Conquerors through him that loved us for I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is not all the troubles of the world nor tribulations nor any thing that can render Believers less lovely in the eyes of Christ It is not all the Devils in Hell that can withdraw Gods love from his children although they do endeavour it by enticing them to sin by their temptations and then by accusing them to God for sin yet all this will not rout them out of God's love though the Devil do labour to pick a quarrel between God and his people yet it is not principalities nor powers it is not all the power of Hell that shall be able to withdraw Gods love from them Fifthly Is God a Father to Believers Then they may take this for their comfort that he will continually be mindful of them Parents do remember their Children and are mindful of them so the Lord he remembreth his people and will never forget them Isa 49.15 Can a Woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the Son of her womb yea they may yet I will not forget thee Earthly Parents though it be but rare yet they may and sometimes do forget their children but God he is more tender and mindful of his Children than earthly Parents are of theirs yea they may yet will not I forget thee c. Though Gods people do too often forget him yet he doth never forget them but remember them in all their conditions even in their low estate God is mindful of them Psal 136.23 Who remembred us in our low estate for his mercy endureth for ever Lastly Is God a Father to Believers Then they may take this for their comfort that God will provide an inheritance for them hereafter Fathers provide portions and inheritances for their Children for hereafter so doth God Rom. 8. Now saith the Apostle We are the Sons of God and if sons then heirs heirs of God and coheirs with Jesus Christ How often is the Kingdom of Heaven called an inheritance the inheritance of the Saints or them that are sanctified Acts 20.32 and 26.8 There is an eternal inheritance laid up for the Children of God for hereafter yea the Kingdom of Heaven is their inheritance and it is now preparing for them John 14.2 and they shall have assuredly one day an abundant entrance into their Fathers Kingdom the Children of God
of you but when we come again unto you I will have you to be of another manner of temper then now you are Well if all that I have said will not prevail with you I am sorry that nothing would prevail with you but the flames of Hell Oh then you will say Oh that we had but hearkened to the voice of God's Messengers that are sent to us Oh that we had our rousing Ministers to awaken us I have one of Advice to you that are the people of God whose hearts God hath humbled and I shall have done First I advise you that God hath humbled for sin now to look to your selves God will not now lead you you must learn now to go alone If you would keep tender hearts then be afraid of sin as well of the least sins as of the greatest Be afraid of a vain thought and if thou takest heed of a vain thought thou wilt be afraid of telling a lye and if thou takest heed of telling a lye thou wilt be afraid of swearing an Oath Secondly If thou wilt keep tenderness of heart then lye under the best Ministry you can get that there is a difference between some mens Preaching and others is plain by the effectual working of their Preaching upon the hearts of their hearers First Take heed of a blind ignorant Minister If the blind lead the blind they will both fall into the ditch If one that understands not what sin is nor feels not the guilt of sin Preaches Repentance it is ten hundred to one if ever God doth work upon your hearts by his Preaching Secondly Take heed of fly shun avoid an idle drunken Minister If you would ask me what we shall do in such a case I Answer Keep such a one out of your Parish if you can if you cannot then I advise you to take heed how you hear him First Because all such Ministers are no Ministers at all No what and are ordained No because they are not sent from God And let me tell you that men have no power to Ordain such to Preach the Gospal as are not sent by God I do verily believe that God never sent any Minister for to Preach the Doctrine of Salvation but such as God hath endowed with gifts and abilities to speak and if there be any Ministers that have not those qualifications that are fit for a Bishop to have then they are none of Gods Ministers although they are made Ministers by man 1 Tim. 3.1 2 3 4 5 6 7. This is a true saying If a man desire the Office of a Bishop he desireth a good work A Bishop then must be blameless the husband of one wife vigilant sober of good behaviour given to hospitality apt to teach not given to wine no striker not greedy of filthy lucre but patient not a brawler not covetous own that ruleth well his own house having his children in subjection with all gravity For if a man know not how to rule his own house how shall he take care of the Church of God Not a Novice lest being lifted up with Pride he fall into the condemnation of the Devil Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the Devil Here is all these excellent qualifications that a Minister of the Gospel ought to be endowed with Secondly I say that those Ministers that are not endowed with these qualifications but are ignorant drunken Ministers it is generally observed that people grow more wicked and that their hearts grow harder while they live under such a Ministry Object But how if we are forced to hear such and we can do no others wise if we will not hear them our purses must pay for it Answer To this I answer I wish that every place had an eminent Minister that you might gather up Manna at your own dores But if your Minister be wicked and prophane he is no Minister of Christ and in such a case you must rather hazard your purses than you souls But the Doctrin that he preaches it is good 'T is true it is so if it do not come out of a stinking vessel The water that is drawn out of a sweet Well if it be put into a stinking cask it will smell of the cask But I would not have you to be quarrelsome A Third advice that I shall give you is this Be sure that you ply the company of those that are of a tender heart It is a true saying Birds of a feather will flock together Take heed of being in the company of such as will swear and of living with such as scoff at religion It 's true a tender holy heart may live among wicked company as Lot did in Sodom but let me tell thee there 's danger they 'l tempt thee to be like them Lastly My advice is this Be sure that the Bible be much in your hand you that can read and beg of God to give you an understanding heart When God bids you to be holy think of Heaven Let the Bible be much in your hands and let God see you much in your Closets Mr. G. N. his Farewel-Sermon Rom. 8.38 39. For I am perswaded that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor Height nor Depth nor any other Creature shall be able to separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. IF divine Providence shall make this the season of our separation it is good for us to part with each other in the meditation and consideration of that from which those that are Gods shall never be divided that is the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Apostle is very confident of it I am perswaded We shall conclude the Chapter with our present Imployment and therefore shall not stand long discoursing on every particular but first briefly open them unto you and after improve them First We meet with the. Apostles Confidence a strong perswasion from whence we may learn Confidence belongeth unto a Christian yea it is the priviledge of the Gospel Col. 2.2 That their hearts may be comforted being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assuring of understanding c. This is what you may daily stand in need of therefore be perswaded to press toward it The Apostle calls to give all diligence to make your calling and Election sure Great diligence it is you give to assure the title of your earthly possession is it not of far greater concernment to assure your Calling and Election unto an everlasting enjoyment of divine Love And that you may do this remember to live 1. Lest unto this present World 2. More in heaven For then will you be more acquainted with the concernments and counsels thereof Do but draw up your hearts out of the cares pleasures and delights of this present world which choak the Word and
wholly flesh totally opposite to the holy Laws of thy Majesty and were it not for thy renuing and restraining grace we should break forth into as vile abominations as the vilest of men our lives have been a continuall piece of rebellion against God who did make us and doth feed and cloath us all thy paths have been paths of mercy to us but we have requited thee evil for thy good and hatted for thy love Oh foolish men and women that we have been I we acknowledge our Gospel-sins are of a deep dye Thou hast not been a VVildernss or Land of darkness to us we have been exalted to heaven in the means of salvation but Oh! how short do we come of knowledge to the time and means we have enjoyed and our obedience comes short of our knowledge we have not walked up to that light which thou hast given us We desire to lay our selves low before thee Oh do thou open our eyes and present us to our selves show us the vilenss of our lives Blessed be thy Name that thou hast laid help upon one that is mighty to save all that come to thy Majesty by him and thou hast promised all that beleeve on him shall not perish but have everlasting life Oh help us to receive him in all his Offices in our hearts help us to give him the keys of our hearts and help us to live and die to him that died for us and let our souls be united to thee by him that his death may be ours and his life ours and his intercession ours Oh let our unity to Christ be demonstrated to us by our communion with and conformity to him in grace and holiness And we pray thee dearest Lord pardon our sins in the Court of heaven and in the Court of our own consciences besprinkle our conscienees in the blood of Christ and say to all before thee at this time that desire to fear thee more and serve thee better Sons and Daughters be of good cheer your sins are forgiven you And do not only justifie us but sanctifie us purge our consciences from dead works inform our understanding conform our wills to thy holy VVill let our hearts and lives be comformed to the Image of thy Son that beholding thereof we may be changed from glory to glory and let us have more knowledge of thy will that we may do thy will und suffer thy will with more patience and be filled with the fruits of Righteousness which are to the glory of God Let us not be empty Vines that bring forth fruit to themselves but let us bring forth fruit to God whereby thou maiest be glorified Oh plant that great grace of Self-denial in our souls and let us take the Cross of Jesus Christ and follow him wheresoever he goes Remember all thine extend thy favour to those thou hast cast on beds of sickness and let there be a saving change wrought in them before that change by death shall come and they that are drawing nigh their time of Travel let the arms of the All-sufficient God be under them and be better to them than their Faith or our prayers and look graciously upon poor children entitle them to an inheritance that fadeth not away make them a blessing in themselves and a blessing to their Parents And those that deâ—re the conversion of Relations that walk in waies of perdition do not let them find peace in any way against thy Majesty and let them know that sin will be bitter in the latter eud Look upon us that are before thee at this time before we go hence and shall be here no more make thy face to shine upon us let our coming together be for the better and not for the worse to any of us let thy poor Servant be able to deliver thy Message plainly and powerfull and give thy People hearing ears and obedient hearts and let us rejoyce that we did wait upo thee in thy Worship this day and all For Christ his sake in whose Name and Words we call upon thee Our Father ' which art in Heaven c. Doctor Manton's Prayer at Covent-garden O Lord God all that we can do is nothing of our selves we can do nothing Oh let us have the gracious Assistance of thy Spirit as this time let thy love constrain us say unto us Thou art our Salvation Do not say that we shall fill up the measure of our Iniquities and there shall be no hope for us O Lord we are ashamed that we have waited so long in thine Ordinannances and have got no more profit to our toor pouls but we have given up our hearts to the pleasures and vanities of this world that are but for a season even those that thou hast drawn out after thee do not walk worthy of thee anseerable to that blessed hope of future Happiness in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation Jesus Christ is to many of us become a stumbling-blook and a reck of offence while our hearts are caried out after the wirld with such strong affections Oh! when shall we carry our selves so as those that profess themselves to be secke's of a better life We come into thy presence now for strength do thou manifest thy self to us thou hast promised to pour out thy Spirit upon all Flesh Oh let it be unto us according to thy promise O Lord our hearts naturally are averse to thee so that of our selves we shall never be able to do any thing that may be wel-plensing to thee but do thou regulate us by thy blessed Spirit that we may observe thy statutes and do them and that thy Commands may not be grievous to us that it may not be burdensom for us to do the work of God O Lord when shall our hearts be made sound in thy statutes we wait upon thee in the use of thine Ordinances that we may have a new supply from thee that at length we may come to see that thou art at work with us to save our soules O help us to be followers of them who with faith and patience do follow thee to do nothing unbecomming our holy Call suffer us not to swerve from thy Commandments but let us have a constant and earnest desire after thee Let the choicest of thy Mercies come down on our Sovereign Charles King of England Scotland France and Ireland let His heart be guided by thee let him always set the before his eyes that under the shadow of his Goverment we may have Peace in all Godliness and honesty Bless him in his Relations in his Councils Teach our Senators wisdom Be with all thy Faithfull Magistrates and Ministers let them be a terrour to evil doers and an encouragement to them that do well Be with us in the way of thy worship we are here met together to hear and handle thy holy Word Oh do thou command it to light upon all our hearts let it come in the evidence and demonstratian
Others say he sinned in numbring all ages whereas he was to number but from twenty years but these are conjectural reasons I conceive the sin of David was because he did it without a lawful call and for an unlawful end Sine causa legitima he sinned in the manner rather than in the matter for there was no cause for him to number the people but curiosity and no end but vain-glory Go through all the tribes of Israel and number the people that I may know the number of my people v. â— Davids heart was lifted up with pride and creature-confidence he begins to boast of the multitude of his people and to trust in an arm of flesh therefore God sends the Prophet to David to prick the bladder of his pride as if God should say I will teach you to number the people by lessening the number of your people Now the burthen of his sin did add much to the burthen of this heavy message vers 13. After David had numbered the people his heart smote him the message smites him and his heart smites him and he said I have sinned greatly in that which I have done now I beseech thee take away the iniquity of thy servant for I have done very foolishly If David had been to suffer this great punishment out of love to God or for a good Conscience he would not have been so distracted There are two sorts of straits in Scripture some suffered for God and a good Conscience and there are straits suffered for sin 1. There are straits suffered for God and a good Conscience Heb. 11.36 37. those Martyrs there were driven to great straits but these were straits for God and a good Conscience and these straits were the Saints greatest enlargements they were so sweetned to them by the consolations and supportations of Gods Spirit a Prison was a Paradise to them Heb. 10.34 they look joyfully at the spoiling of their goods Acts 5.41 They departed from the presence of the Council rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his Name Straits for a good conscience are greatest enlargements therefore St. Paul glorieth in his strait Paul a Prisoner c. 2. There are straits suffered for sin and these are envenomed by the guilt of sin sin puts poyson into all our distresses and perplexities Now such was the strait into which David was now driven it was a strait caused by fin and that made it so unwelcome and uncomfortable so that from hence I gather this Observation Doctrine That sin and iniquity brings persons and Nations into marvellous labyrinths and perplexities into time real and great molestations and a man free from sin is free in the midst of straits a man guilty of sin is in a strait in the midst of freedom After Adam had sinned in eating the forbidden fruit the whole world was a prison to him Paradise it self was an Hell to him he knew not where to hide himself from the presence of God After that Cain had murthered his Brother Abel he was brought into such a strait that he was afraid that every one that met him would slay him Alas poor Cain how many there was then in the world We read but his Father and Mother yet such was his distress teat he cryeth out every one that met him would slav him Gen. 4.14 Into what a strait did sin bring the old world the deluge of sin brought a deluge of water to drown them Into what a strait did sin bring Sodom and Gomorrah the fire of Lust raigning in Sodom and Gomorrah brought down fire from Heaven to destroy them Sin brings external internal and eternal straits upon persons and Nations 1. Sin brings external straits Sin brings Famine Sword and Plague Sin brings Agues and Fevers Goâ—t and Stone and all manner of Diseases yea Sin brings death it self which is the wages of sin Read Lev. 26. and Deut. 23. and you will see a black Roll of curses which were the fruit of sin Sin brought Sion into Babylon and when the Jews had murthered Christ forty vears after they were brought into that distress when the City was besieged by Titus Vespatian that they did eat one another the Mother did eat her Child that whereas David had a choice which of the three he would have either Famine Plague or Sword the poor Jews had all three concatenated together in the siege Sin brings all manner of external Plagues 2. Sin brought persons and Nations into eternal straits sin brings soul-plagues which are worse then bodily plagues sin brings hardness of heart blindness of mind a spirit of slumber a reprobate sense sin brings a spiritual Famine upon a Land it brings a Famine on the Word Amos 8.11 Sin causes God to take away the Gospel from a people sin brings internal plagues sin awakens Conscience and fills it full of perplexities Into what a strait did sin drive Judas after he had betrayed Christ Into what a strait did sin drive Spira Saint Paul glorified in his tribulations for God but when he speaks of his sin he cryeth out O miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death David a valiant man when he speaks of sin saith they are too heavy a burden for him to bear A wounded conscience who can bear saith the wise Man 3. Sin bringeth eternal straits O the strait that a wicked man shall be brought into at the great and dreadful day of Judgment when all the world shall be on fire about him when he shall call to the Mountains to hide him and to the rocks to cover him from the wrath of God then will he cry out with David I am O Lord in a great strait And when the wicked shall be condemned to Hell who can express the straits they then shall be in Bind them hand and foot and cast them into everlasting darkness Mat. 25. When a wicked man shall be bound with ever lasting chains of darkness then he will cry out I am in a great strait Consider what Dives saith to Abraham he desires that Lazarus might but dip the tip of his finger in water and that he might cool his tongue not his whole body but his tongue but that would not be granted It is impossible the tongue of man should set out the great straits the damned suffer in Hell both in regard of the greatness and everlastingness of them This is all I shall say for the Explication Vse 1. I chiefly aim at the Application Doth sin bring Nations and Persons into external internal and eternal straits then this sadly reproves those that chuse to commit sin to avoid perplexity There are thousands in England guilty of this that to avoid poverty will lye cheat and couzen and to gain an estate will sell God and a good conscience and to avoid the loss of estate and imprisonment will do any thing they will be sure to be of that Religion which is uppermost be it what it will
great strait 8. Take heed of mis-using the Prophets of God this made God destroy the children of Israel without remedy 2 Chron. 36.15 16. 9. Take heed of coming prophanely to the Lords Table this brought the Church of Corinth into a great distress insomuch as the Apostle saith For this cause many among you are sick and many weak and many fallen a sleep 10. Take heed of loathing the Manna of your souls this brought the children of Israel into woful misery that God destroyed all their carkasses in the wilderness save Joshua and Caleb Take heed of slighting the Gospel this brought Queen Maries persecution as many godly and learned men that fled for Religions sake out of the Land have confessed their thankfulness for and unfruitfulness under the Gospel in King Edward the sixths time brought the persecution in Queen Maries time 11. Take heed of losing your first love that makes God threaten to take away his Candlestick 12. Take heed of prophaning the Christian Sabbath which is much prophaned every where a day that Christ by his resurrection from the dead hath consecrated to be kept holy to God Certainly if the Jewes were so severely punished for breaking the Sabbath which was set a part in memory of the Creation surely God will severely punish those that break the Sabbath set a part in memory of Christs Resurrection May be same will say I have committed many of these sins but am not brought into any strait Remember it was nine moneths after David had numbred the people before he was in this strait but as sure as God is in Heaven sin will bring straits sooner or latter though one sin a hundred years yet shall he be accursed may be thy prosperity makes way for thy damnation and this is thy greatest distress that thou goest on in sin and prosperity Vse 3. If sin bringeth a Nation into marvellous labyrinths learn what great cause we have to fear that God shall bring this Nation into great distress because of the great abominations are committed in the midst of it Our King and Sovereign was in a great strait in the dayes of his banishment but God hath delivered him God hath delivered this Nation out of great straits but alas we requite God evil for good and in stead of repenting of old sins we commit new sins I am told there are new Oaths invented Oaths not fit to be named in any place much less here Certainly the drunkenness and adultery the oppression and injustice the bribery and Sabbath-breaking the vain and wicked swearing and forswearing this Nation is guilty of must of necessity provoke God to say of us as he did of them in Jer. 15.29 Shall I not visit for these things saith the Lord shall not my Soul be avenged on such a Nation as this God will not only punish us but be avenged on us There is no way to avoid a National Desolation but by a National Reformation Lastly Learn what cause you of this Congregation and Parish what cause you have to expect that God should bring you into great straits because of your great unthankfulness and unfruitfulness under the means of Grace you that have so long enjoyed the Gospel you have had the Gospel in this place in great abundance Dr. Taylor he served an Apprenticeship in this place Dr. Stoughton served another Apprenticeship and I through Divine Mercy have served three Apprenticeships and half another almost among you you have had the Spirit of God seven and thirty years in the faithful Ministry of the Word knocking at the door of your hearts but many of you have hardned your hearts Are there not some of you I only put the question that begin to loath the Manna of your Souls and to look back towards Egypt again Are there not some of you have itching ears and would fain have Preachers that would feed you with dainty phrases and begin not to care for a Minister that unrips your Consciences speaks to your hearts and souls and would force you into Heaven by frighting you out of your sins Are there not some of you that by often hearing Sermons are become Sermon-proof that know how to sleep and scoff away Sermons I would be glad to say there are but few such but the Lord knoweth there are too too many that by long preaching get little good by preaching insomuch that I have often said it and say it now again there is hardly any way to raise the price of the Gospel-Ministry but by the want of it And that I may flatter not you you have not profited under the means you have enjoyed therefore you may justly expect God may bring you into a strait and take away the Gospel from you God may justly take away your Ministers by death or other ways Have you not lost your first love Why did God take away the Gospel from the Church of Ephesus but because they lost their first love Are you not like the Church of Loadicea that was neither hot nor cold therefore God may justly spew you out of his mouth what God will do with you I know not a few weeks will determine God can make a great change in a little time we leave all to God but in the mean time let me commend one Text of Scripture to you Jer. 13.16 Give glory to the Lord your God before he cause darkness and before your feet stumble upon the dark Mountains and while ye look for light he turn it into the shadow of death and make it gross darkness Verse 17. But if you will not hear it my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride and mine eyes shall weep sore and run down with tears because the Lords flock is carried away captive Give glory to God by confessing and repenting of your sins by humbling your souls before the Lord before darkness come and who knoweth but this may prevent darkness Dr. Manton's Sermon Hebrews 12.1 Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of Witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us IN the former Chapter you have a spiritual Chronicle or a Catalogue of the Lords Worthies and all the eminent effects of their Faith and now the Apostle comes to make use of this History that he had produced through so many successions of Ages of all the holy men of God that excelled in Faith Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of Witnesses c. The Text is wholly Hortatory In it observe 1. The Premisses or principle the Apostle worketh upon seeing we are compassed about with c. 2. The practical Inferences which are deduced from thence and they are two 1. One concerning the private part of our duty Let us lay aside every weight c. there is something external and without like to clog us in our way to Heaven every weight
Christ in White In opening the Text I told you white might be considered two wayes 1 As it respects our state and so that by way of Justification and thus they shall walk with Christ but this is not the walking in white the Text means 2. Here is a further walking in white and that is matter of reward to the people of God 1. To walk with Christ in white it is matter of honour white garments are matter of honour Princes great Kings walk in white garments so the Saints of God shall walk in white Christ will honour them and give them honour among them because they have kept their garments undefiled They shall walk in white like great Princes and honoured persons A good name is better then precious oyntment they that are good indeed they shall have a good name they shall walk in white To keep the conscience â—ean is to keep the credit clean and they who are careful not to blot their conversation Christ will take care of their reputations that they be not blotted that they walk with men in honour It was worâ—hily spoken in the 11th of the Hebrews they kept their garments undefiled and it was by the power of faith and they obtained a good report by faith keeping themselves from the pollutions of the world they kept to themselves a good report This honour and good report which we get by keeping our garments undefiled is sure Abraham had an honourable title Abraham my friend and a man after mine own heart Isd 45 4. Since thou wast precious in my sight thou wast honourable And not only so that the people of God are honourable in his eyes but they also sometimes walk in white in the eyes of the men of the world he can give his people room in the opinions of men he moves their hearts to think well of them and he opens their mouths to speak well of them though indeed the honour which they who keep their garments undefiled have in this world it is most usually from good men from godly men and indeed honour of them is most honourable It is not much to us hat others say or think of us what the wicked world judge of us yet I say God can and doth sometimes raise a testimony of honour for his people amongst carnal men of the world Joseph would not defile his garments he walked in white amongst men true he was cast into prison what of that he was respected by the keepers of â—he prison afterwards he walked in white In the whole Egyptian Court Daniel was one that walked in white with â—â—mmon men of the world first with the Princes of the Eunuches he had tender favour with him he told him he would not disobey God to Please men yet he did not rail against him and call him a stubborn fellow because he would not bow to Baal and afterwards Daniel was as great a man as any in all that Province he walked in white God hath created testimonies of honour for his People from some men of the world yea they many times put white garments upon them so it was with Christ in Mat. 27. and verse 4. common men put a good report upon Christ a white garment Truly saith the Centurion this was the Son of God Truth this was a righteous man saith he when he saw how he carried himself at his death he gave him a good report thus it doth come to pass God doth somtimes keep up heir honour in the world who will not defile their garments nor touch the sacrifice of Baal and it follows so with them that the Lord shall clear up their credit and reputation and the shall walk in white in honour before the men of the world Rev. 6.11 where the souls under the Altar are spoken of who were miserably used in this world white Robes were given them to every one of them that is their evidences were cleared This may teaâ—h us the readiest way to the white Robe to the Robe of Honour it is to keep us from being defiled with sinful practises certainly they who please God he can make the world to honour them if God approves us he can make the world approve us too yet we must not think to have all speak well of us yet this we may say if we keep our garments undefiled we shall walk in white in the eyes of men if God see our garments in the dire and spotted with the filth of the world it will spoil the honour we should have in the world as it was said of Arius when his garments were defiled they called him Satanarâ—us that is to say devilsh thus it may be for the Lord hath a time to take our good name from us to cause our light of honor to be taken from us And as he hath caused us to walk in the white of honâ—r in the world so he doth somâ—imes cause us to walk in reproach with the world they who defile their garments lose their honor with men and they lose their joy they should have hereafâ—er Mal. 2.9 You have departed from my law therefore will I make yâ—u câ—nâ—emâ—tible in the eyes of all men It is a design of the spirit of wickedness to draw men to sin that they may upbraid them that I conceive is the sense of the Apostle Gal. 6.13 For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the Law but desire to have you circumcised that they might glory in your flesh saith he Oh there are some of this wicked spirit that would draw men to such and such wickedness not that they joy in their returning but that they might glory in their flesh when as they who stand fast do even force a good testimony from their enemies So it was the unhappy chance of Cranmer the Pope did perswade him to subscribe and did he get any honour by it No truly they did upbraid him and reproach him and so he had dyed in a raving condition had not the Lord been merciful to him I remember a speech of St. Austin about drinking of healths Oh say they 't is upon the Kings Birth-day and we cannot avoid it if we deny it say they we shall be reproached and scorned of all men He gives them many answers to it one of which as I remember was this God will so work that if you will not comply with them they in their hearts will honour you and whereas if you did comply with them they would dishonour you and say you are base spirited That is one thing of this point that keeping close to Jesus Christ will get you this reward you shall walk with him in the White of honour with his people and it may be with the World too 2. They shall walk in White in the White of peace and joy and inward comfort I shewed you in the opening of the Text how the Scripture calls that walking in White then the point is this Whatever becomes of the other White of
honour in the World they shall be sure of this that abundance of peace and joy and comfort shall possess their souls that keep their garments White they shall walk in the inward White of joy and peace with Jesus Christ and this is a blessed reward Indeed now this joy this White of joy arises in the Soul three wayes 1. From the testimony of their own Consciences O they who have a good testimony from their own consciences walk in White 2 Cor. 1.12 We have this for our rejoycing the testimony of our consciences that in all simplicity and godly sincerity we have our conversation in Heaven that is walking in White this is our rejoycing our conscience speaks well of us and kindly to us and who is able to express the sweetness of this thing None can know what this is but they that have it as it is said of the New Name written upon the White Stone Rev. 2.17 'T is a thing beyond expression what the joy and peace of a good Conscience is Now this I say that our White garments and our walking in White ariseth from the testimony of our Consciences 2. As from the testimony of our Consciences so from that testimony which is greater than our Consciences the Spirit shedding abroad of Divine Love thus it is with those that do not defile their garments but endure any thing rather than defile their garments Rom. 5.3 4 5. And not only so but we glory in tribulations knowing tribulations worketh patience and patience experience and experience hope and hope maketh not ashamed and whence was all this because of the Holy Ghost which was given to us this causeth joy unspeakable The Spirit it self beareth witness with our spirits that we are the Children of God This witness doth cause wonderful joy much more than the witness of our own Consciences 3. This joy doth arise from a well-grounded hope which that soul hath that keeps himself clean hope of enjoying Heaven at last hope of future glory is our present joy Rom. 5.2 By whom also we have access by faith into his grace even we stand and rejoyce in hope of the glory of God Now they who keep their garments white have good ground of hope of the love of God therefore this must needs cause them to walk comfortably as they who have this hope purifie themselves so they who purifie themselves have good ground of their hope and therein great cause to rejoyce 1 Pet. 1.5 6. Who are kept by the power of God through Faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last times wherein ye greatly rejoyce though now for a season if need be ye are in heaviness through many temptations We walk in white in hope we have of that inheritance now lay these three things together If they who keep their Garments undefiled have the testimony of their own consciences and the testimony of the Spirit shedding the love of God in their hearts and a well-grounded hope of future glory how can it be but these must walk in white with Jesus Christ that is in comfort and joy of the Spirit and of their own spirits Thus David walked he had abundance of joy upon his conscience of his own integrity and of keeping his heart and hands clean from those iniquities his enemies charged him with Psal 3. The Lord shall judge his people Judge me O Lord according to my righteousness and according to mine integrity that is in me He appeals to the Lord the Lord shall judge his people Judge me O Lord according to my righteousness Thus he appeals to God himself he had so much confidence and his heart gave him he kept himself from those sins So Job walkt in white though his friends black't him exceedingly yet he walkt in white in his conscience Job 16.10 Behold my witness is in Heaven and my record is on high I have not only a witness in my conscience but my witness is above He walkt in white notwithstanding all his afflictions from God and his friends Hezekiah walkt in this white when death looked him in the face Lord thou knowest I have walkt uprightly with thee I need not stay in the proof of the thing let me make some Use and Improvement of it Vse Is this blessed reward to those who keep their garments white to walk in the white of peace and joy then here we see the happiness of all those who are true to Christ and his ways Psal 119.1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the Law of the Lord. 'T is just in the language of the Text they indeed shall walk in white it is a great part of our blessedness to have peace of conscience and inward joy Oh how much better is it than the peace and joy of this world and the comforts of this world Prov. 15.13 A merry heart or as another translation saith A good conscience and indeed a merry heart and a good conscience do but one explain the other a merry heart or a good conscience is a continual feast Here is no surfeiting in this feast but a continual musick continual joy and comfort Oh how blessed are they who are undefiled in the way That which Christ said of the Lilly Solomon in all his Glory was not arrayed like one of these so may I say of the Lilly-white soul that keeps himself white in the world who keeps himself white in matter of practice and worship Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these Lilly-white ones Oh the Rivers of Consolations that flows to them that keep themselves out of the puddles of the world if you keep your selves from the puddles of the world from the dung of the world ye shall have rivers of joy flowing into your souls I may say to all such as Solomon saith Eccles 11.9 Go thy way it is a familiar speaking to them Go thy way blessed soul eat thy bread with joy though the world feed thee with the bread of adversity and though the world give thee nothing but the water of affliction yet let thy Garments be always White though the World cloath thee in mourning and cause thee to prophesie in Sackcloth with the Witnesses yet be of good comfort O Lilly-white soul for God now accepteth thy works now drink thy Wine with a merry heart thy labour thy ambitious labour is that whether present or absent thou mayest be accepted of him thou hast the fruits of thy labour the Lord accepts thy works therefore rejoyce in it Here is the happiness of those who keep themselves clean from a defiled and a defiling World 2. This point gives us an account why the servants of Christ stand so strictly upon their terms with the World even while some call it peevishness others ignorance others wilful stubbornness What is the reason the reason is because they understand in some measure and have had experience in some measure what it is to walk in some measure with Christ
to make up all those differences which fall out between God and us for you know Amity and Friendship is kept between Forraign States by their Residents and Agents that are kept in their several Courts so we have an Agent in the Court of Heaven the Lord Jesus Christ that was raised from the dead And as a Believer falls into sin which is a breach of Peace between God and us so that Peace is made up by the exercise of repentance on our part and by sprinkling of Christs bloud upon us on Gods part The renewed exercise of Repentance and application of Christs bloud preseryes that peace that is between God and Believers And to sum up the force of the Argument when we had fallen from God and it did not consist with the Majesty of God to make peace with us without satisfaction then was he pleased to pay our Ransom out of his own Treasury and Redeem us by the bloud of his Sonne So that all his Attributes might shine forth in their Lustre and glory in our Salvation and that upon sure terms we might be able to challenge an Interest in his Favour and Love It follows Through the bloud of the Everlasting Covenant It is called an Everlasting Covenant in two respects 1. In opposition to the Old Covenant which was made with Adam in Innocency but that Covenant which secures to us the reward of that Life Eternal did not secure to us the Condition that was perfect Obedience and in reference to this Old Covenant sometimes the Gospel is called a New Covenant sometimes a Better Covenant because it supplies all weaknesse in the first Covenant not as if the Law of God was weak and faulty in respect of its self for the Law is Holy Just and Good but weak in respect of us for it is impossible that that Covenant by the breach of which Sin and Death came in to us should reconcile us to God and appease his anger and therefore God contrived another Covenant for us a Covenant in the Gospel that was made with us in Christ and this is called an Everlasting Covenant because it remains for ever the tenor of it shall not be changed for the Frst Covenant is onely abrogated and made null while frustrated as to the intent it was first given 2. It 's called an Everlasting Covenant as it brings to those that are parties in it an everlasting Glory so the Lord Jesus his blood is called an Everlasting Redemption for it ransoms the souls of men from that Eternal Death to which they were liable and gives them a Title to Everlasting Life for this Covenant which now God hath made with us it not onely secures the Reward but the Conditions to which the Reward is made for God saith I will plant my fear in your hearts that you shall not depart from me I have now gone over the Title and that in order to the Prayer which follows Make you perfect to do his will working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight the general sum of it is this That God of Peace who is reconciled to us in his Son as he is the Father of mercies to us so he is the Fountain of Holiness to us and in this respect we can onely expect from him the treasures of Grace as he is the God of Peace for God as he is our Judge dispences to Sinners nothing but revenge there is nothing to be expected but the curse of his Law the Execution of that sentence of death from him For although the World despise holiness as a base and contemptible thing they had rather be ungracious than inglorious in the eyes of men and upon this account they are afraid to be Holy lest they should be the publick scorn and contempt of the place wherein they live although holiness is of so low a price in the world yet in Heaven next to God Christ and the Spirit Holiness is the most rich Jewel that God can bestow upon us and therefore we must first look upon him as the God of Peace before we can beg any grace from him And this is the Reason why the Apostle represents God by these Titles that he might encourage the Hebrews to believe God would grant this request When Christ dyed for us it was not his design only to quiet our consciences but to quicken our souls not onely to free us from Damnation but from the Domination of sin And therefore you shall find these two are joyned together Tit. 2.14 Who gave himself for us that he might Redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works The death of Christ as there was a value in it to purchase Gods favour so there was a vertue in it to restore to us Gods Image And the account of his dying for us is it that we must expect the least degree of Grace and Holiness from God And this is the reason why the Apostle prefaces this Now the God of Peace c. I know you expect I should say something as to my non-conformity I shall onely say thus much It is neither fancy faction nor humour that makes me not to comply but meerly for fear of offending God And if after the best means used for my illumination as prayer to God discourse study I am not able to be satisfied concerning the lawfulness of what is required if it be my unhappiness to be in error surely men wil have no reason to be angry with me in this world and I hope God will pardon me in the next Mr. Watson 's Forenoon Sermon Aug. 17. 1662. John 13.34 A New Commandment give I unto you that ye love one another as I have loved you VVE are this day called to a Love-feast and nothing can be more suitable than to treat of Christian Love Jesus Christ hath given us a great evidence of his Love to us he bled Love at every vein therefore we are to imitate him and as becometh Christians to Love one another 'T is a general complaint how true I know not That this is the great Grace that is defective among Christians Although they pretend much Love to Christ yet they have little Love one to another I have in former Sermons discoursed concerning Faith how that by Faith we must receive Christ in the Sacrament and now I shall speak something of Love Love is needful at a feast it is requisite when we sit down at our own Table I remember it is said of Augustin He would not suffer any to feast at his Table that came in a Spirit of Rancor and sate down in passion Sure I am they are not fit to be Guests at Christs Table that come not in a Spirit of Meekness and Love It is true we are to eat the Passover with bitter herbs but they must be the bitter Herbs of Repentance not the bitter Herbs of Malice Wrath and Fury we must come here with bitter Tears not with bitter
injury to you that are alive and without wrong to the memory of my dearly beloved Brother but speak something of him at whose Funeral we are met this Evening not so much for his commendation he needs not but for our imitation it is pity great pity something should not be said that this Reverend Minister though dead may yet preach this night and I have so much to say of him that I know not where to begin and when I have begun I hardly know how to make an end I must confess the little time alloted me for the providing this solemn work and the necessary avocations in this little time have hindred me from enforming my self about his Breeding and manner of Education at Emanuel Colledge under Mr. Steaker and his excellent carriage and converse with Mr. Hildersham Mr. Dod Mr. Ball Mr. Langly and other Ministers famous in their generations and the many pressures and hardships that he suffered in those parts and times for the keeping of his conscience pure from that which he counted sin and therefore I must draw a vail over that part of his life and confine my discourse only to the time since his coming to live with us in London which is about the space of twenty two or twenty three years all which time I have had the happiness to be intimately acquainted with him insomuch as that I can freely and clearly profess and that with a sad heart that I and many others have lost a real wise and Godly friend brother and fellow-labourer in the Lord the Church hath lost an eminent Member and choice pillar and this City hath lost an antient faithful and painful Minister who by his Prayers and Holy life did seek to keep off the judgements of God from falling on us and the less sensible the City is of this loss the greater is the loss I fear we may too truly repeat the words in the Text The righteouus perisheth and no man lays it to heart and mereiful men are taken away none considering that the righteous are taken away from the evil to come I have read of Philo the Jew and by chance met with the same in the life of St. Ambrose that when they came to any City or Town and heard of the death of any Godly man though never so poor they would both of them mourn exceedingly because of the great loss that place had by the death of that Godly man and because it was a warning-piece from God of evil approaching But we have had many Godly men and Godly Ministers taken away of late and yet I fear me but few lay it to heart and therefore as I said the loss is the greater to this City because it is so little sensible of it It is a great loss also to his relations his Wife hath lost a dear and loving Husband his Sister a brother his Parish and Congregation a faithful Pastor The Ministerial excellencies of many Ministers were collected and concentred in one Simeon Ash he was a Bazalcel in Gods Tabernacle a Master-builder an old Disciple a Polycarp a Christian of long standing in the School of Christ a burning and a shining light one whom many Ministers and other good Christians called Father insomuch that it was a common proverb in this City Father Ash and I believe many experimentally weep over him as the King did over the Prophet Elisha My Father my Father the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof for he lived desired and died lamented not only in the City but I believe in many places in the Country where he was known But more particulary there were twelve excellencies I observed in this reverend Minister and my dear Brother that were as 12 Jewels or precious Pearls in that Crown with which God had crowned him I shall name them for your imitation and benefit He needs them not for he is above our Eulogy The first and chief Jewel that did beautifie adorn this our Brother was his sincerity and uprightness in heart which indeed is not a single Grace but the soul of all Grace and the interlineary that must run through all Grace what is faith if it be not unfeigned what will love to God profit you if it be not without dissimulation what is repentance worth if it be not in truth as the body without the soul is a rotten carkass so is all grace without sincerity this is the soul of all grace this is the girdle of truth Sincerity is that which girts all our spiritual armor together and makes them useful what advantage is it to have the breast-plate of Righteousness the shield of Faith the helmet of Hope if they be but painted things it is the girdle of sincerity that makes all the other parts of our armor useful Now this excellent grace of sincerity was eminent in our dear Brother he was a true Nathaniel in whom there was no guile I mean no allowed hypocrisie this was that which carried him through the pangs of death with a great deal of comfort for he was able to say with Hezekiah Remember O Lord how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart He could say with Paul this is my rejoycing the testimony of my conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity I have had my conversation in this world 2. Another grace was his humilicy this is a grace that he was cloathed withal and it is a rare grace for God dwells with the humble he resists the proud but he gives grace to the humble This Reverend Minister was low in his own eyes and therefore very high in Gods eyes he had a mean esteem of himself and therefore he was high in esteem with God He was as Jacob said of himself less than the least of Gods mercies and therefore he was made partaker of the best of Gods mercies He was like an ear of Corn full of fruit bowing down in thankfulness to God 3. Another Jewel was the fruitfulness of his discourse for it may be said of him as it was of Christ he went about doing good where ever he went he scattered his goodness this all that knew him knew to be true He was full of good discourse where ever he came when I was with him in his sickness he took occasion to complain much and not without just cause God grant his complaint may make impression upon our hearts he complained that it was a great fault of Ministers that when they met together they discoursed no more of Christ of Heaven and of the concernments of the other world and professed that if GOD should restore him he would be more careful in his discourse and more fruitful than ever yet he had been 3. Another Jewel that beautified this Righteous man was his mercifulness he was a merciful man which he manifested not onely in his charity to the members of Jesus Christ but in his frequent visiting of sick persons and persons that needed Spiritual physick I
is darkest There may be an hour of darkness that may be upon the Gospel as to its liberty purity and glory and yet there may be a Sun-shining day ready to tread on the heels of it And so much for the resolution of these Queries I shall proceed as I said and leave some Legacies with you which may by the finger of the Spirit be made advantagious to you when we are not advantaged to speak unto you Leg. 1. The first Legacy I would leave with you shall be this Secure your interest in Christ make it your great business your work your heaven to secure your interest in Christ This is not an Age an Hour for a man to be between fears and hopes between doubting and believing Take not up in a name to live when you are dead God-ward and Christ-ward Take not up in an outward form and outward priviledges They cryed The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord that had no interest in or love to the Lord of the Temple Follow God leave no means un-attempted whereby your blessed interest may be cleared up Leg. 2. Make Christ and Scripture the only foundation for your souls and faith to build on as the Apostle said 1 Cor. 3.11 Other foundations can no man lay than that which is laid even Jesus Christ Isa 28.16 Behold I lay in Sion for a foundation a stone a tried stone a corner stone a precious stone a sure foundation Eph. 2.10 Since it is a very dangerous thing as much as your soul and eternity is worth for you to build on this authority and that on this saying and that take heed Leg. 3. In all places and company be sure to carry your soul-preservatives with you go into no place nor company except you carry your soul-preservatives with you that is holy care and wisdom You know in infectious times men will carry outward preservatives with them you have need to carry your preservatives about you else you would be in danger of being infected with the ill customs and vanities of the time wherein you live and that is a third Leg. 4. I would leave with you is this Look that all within you rise higher and higher by oppositions threatnings and sufferings that is that your faith your love your courage your zeal your resolutions and magnanimity rise higher by opposition and the spirit of Prayer thus it did Acts 4.18 19 20 21 29 30 31. compared All their sufferings did but raise up a more noble spirit in them they did but raise up their faith and courage So Acts 5.40 41 42. they looked on it as a grace to be disgraced for Christ and as an honor to be dishonored for him They say as David If this be to be vile I will be more vile If to be found in the way of my God to act for my God be vile I will be more vile Leg. 5. Take more pains and make more conscience of keeping your selves from sin than suffering from the pollutions and defilements of the day than from the sufferings of the day this Legacy I would beg that you would consider take more pains and make more conscience of keeping your selves from the evil of sin than the evil of punishment from the pollutions and corruptions of the times Acts 2.40 Save your selves from this outward generation Phil. 2.15 The children of God must be harmless and blameless without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation Heb. 11. speaks full to the point in hand Rev. 3.4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis that have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy White was the habit of the Nobles which imports the honour that God will put on those that keep their garments pure in a defiling day Rev. 8.4 And I heard another voyce from Heaven saying Come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues If you will be tasting and sipping at Babylons cup you must resolve to receive more or less of Babylons plagues Leg. 6. I would leave with you is this Be always doing or receiving good Our Lord and Master went up and down in this world doing good be was still doing good to body and soul he was acted by an untired power he still doing or receiving good this will make your lives comfortable your deaths happy and your accompt glorious in the great day of the Lord. Oh how useless are many men in their generation Oh that our lips might be as so many Honey-combs what we might scatter knowledge Leg. 7. I would leave with you is this Set the highest examples and patterns before your face of grace and godliness for your imitation in the business of Faith set an Abraham before your eyes in the business of Courage set a Joshua in the business of Uprightness set a Job of Meekness a Moses c. There is a disadvantage that redounds to Christians by looking more backwards than forwards Men look on whom they excel not on those they fall short of Of all examples set them before you that are most eminent for grace and holiness for communion with God and acting for God next to Christ set the pattern of the choicest Saints before you Leg. 8. Hold fast your integrity and rather let all go than let that go A man had better let liberty estate relations and life go than let his integrity go yea let all Ordinances themselves go when they cannot be held with the hand of integrity Job 27.5 6. God forbid that I should justifie you till I die I will not remove my integrity from me my righteousness I will hold fast and I will not let it go my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live look as the drowning man holds fast that which is cast forth for to save him as the Soldier holds fast his Sword and Buckler on which his life depends So saith Job I will hold fast my integrity my heart shall not reproach me I had rather all the world should reproach me and my heart justifie me than that my heart should reproach me and all the world justifie me That man will make but a sad exchange that shall exchange his integrity for any worldly concernment Integrity maintained in the soul will be a feast of fat things in the worst of days but let a man lose his integrity and it is not in the power of all the world to make a feast of sat things in that soul Leg. 9. That I would leave with you is this Let not a day pass over your head without calling the whole man to an exact accompt Well where have you been acting to day Hands what have you done for God to day Tongue what have you spoke for God to day This will be an advantage many ways unto you but I can onely touch on these Legacies Leg. 10. Labour mightily for a
in wait of the Jews and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you but having shewed you and taught you publickly and from house to house testifying to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ and now behold I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem not knowing the things that shall befall me there save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every City saying that bonds and afflictions abide me but none of these things move me neither count I my life dear unto my self so that I might finish my course with joy and the Ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testifie the Gospel of the grace of God and now behold I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of Heaven shall see my face no more Wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God Take heed therefore unto your selves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood for know this that after my departure grievous Wolves shall enter not sparing the flock also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away Disciples after them therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears And now Brethren I commend you to God and to the Word of his Grace which is able to build you and to give you an inheritance among all those that are sanctified I have coveted no mans silver or gold or apparel Yea your selves know these hands have ministred to my necessities and to those that were with me I have shewed you all things how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak remembring the word of our Lord Jesus how he said It is more blessed to give than to receive And when be had thus spoken he kneeled down and prayed with them all and they all wept sore and fell upon Pauls neek and kissed him sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake that tâ—â—â—â—hould see his face no more and they accompanied him unto the Ship BEloved I have read unto you the words of a departing Minister to his Hearers The case being my own I thought I could not pitch upon a more fit place to take my Farewel withal I shall not stand to open all these words only speak a word or two at parting as Paul did to the Ephesians and I shall only hold forth something to you by way of Analysis of it and thereby you may judge of the Analogy of it In this parting speech of Pauls you have two parts 1. Pauls carriage to them 2. Their carriage to him First Pauls behaviour towards them that was very pious as you may read from verse 17. to verse 37. Secondly The peoples behaviour towards their departing Minister which you have in the two last Verses Wherein is observable 1. Their Love 2. Their Sorrow First their Love expressed by kissing him and accompanying him unto the Ship Secondly Their Sorrow expressed by their weeping they could not part with such a Minister with dry eyes but saith the Text They all wept sorely sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake that they should see his face no more They wept and they all wept and they wept sorely a sore weeping when this Minister and this People parted From whence note this That there is occasion and matter of great sorrow when people lose a godly Minister Paul was not the first Minister that ever parted 〈◊〉 People nor the Ephesians the first People that ever lamented at th◠〈◊〉 of a faithful Minister See how the people lamented Samuel 1 Sam. 25.1 And Samuel died and all Israel were gathered together and lamented Samuel O that brave that powerful preaching Samuel is gone How did Elisha lament Elias catching hold of his garments and cried out My Father my Father the Chariots of Israel and the Horsemen thereof Christ himself when he saw the children of Israel scattered abroad upon the Mountains as Sheep without a Shepherd how did his bowels yern towards them But to name no more take St. Stephen Acts 8.2 when Stephen was departed dead and gone devout men carried Stephen to his grave and made great lamentations over him they could but lament to think that that noble couragious and heart-daunting Minister should never preach more before them When Christ was put to death how did his followers lament him Is it not a lamentable sight to behold a poor weather-beaten rotten Ship without mast or tackling in a tempest Good Lord what will become of the Ship and Mariners Is it not a sad sight to see a flock of Sheep invironed with a band of Wolves and no Shepherd to protect them Thus it is with the people when their Minister is gone Ministers themselves have wept and lamented when they have thought of departing from their own people and that for these two causes First Because they knew they would corrupt themselves Secondly Because they knew they would suffer others to corrupt them First Because they knew they would corrupt themselves Moses he knew this Deut. 13.29 he is there leaving the world and the people thereof Call unto me the Elders of your Tribes that I may speak a word in their audience and call Heaven and Earth to record against them for I am sure that upon my departure you will utterly be corrupted and turned from the way that I have commanded you for behold I being yet alive with you this day you are rebellious against God how much more then after my death I assure you it is cause of lamentation to think on this Thus it was with Joash while Jehojardah that good Minister lived with him and instructed him in the way that he should walk he kept to the worship of God but after Jehojadah died he turned Idolater and persecuted the sons of Jehojadah 2 Chron. 24.21 Secondly They knew that after their departure they would suffer others to corrupt them This was that that made Paul use these words to the Ephesians v. 29. For I know that after my departure gâ—â—â—â—â—s Wolves shall enter not sparing the flock And therefore well may you â—â—â—urn when a faithful Minister is taken from you I shall say no more only a word or two to Pauls speech wherein you have First Paul speaking to God for them Secondly Paul Speaking from God to them First He spake to them from God and then prayed to God for them I shall divide his speech to them from God into these two parts First He spake something by way of Vindication of himself Secondly He spake something by way of Exhortation to them First You may observe in Paul's Farewel-speech something by way of vindication
take up that good resolution of Joshuah's As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Though all else forsake God yet will not I yet let not us I beseech you saith he that you would not conform your selves to the fashions and manners of this wicked world Oh take heed of conforming your selves to the conversation of this world but walk harmless and shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation if we will comply with the world I mean to be as most of the world are that is temporizers time-servers preferring the pleasing of Man before the pleasing of God then we must lye in wickedness as all the World doth 1 Joh. 2.16 For all that is in the World is either the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye or the pride of life and these are not of the Father but abideth in the wicked one the Prince of the power of the Air after whom the men of the world walk This is the seventh Take heed of conforming your selves to this World Eightly Take heed of a hasty spirit when you are under sad dispensations when you are under sufferings you are apt to seek and close with relief come it which way it will and on what terms it will Let me beseech you Christians to have a care of such a hasty and impatient spirit Esa 26. verse 18. He that believeth maketh not haste that is he maketh not haste to get out of his afflictions The people of Israel were of hasty spirits and murmured because they were kept so long in the Wilderness for which God slew an innumerable company of them Saul was of a hasty spirit and by it lost his Life and Kingdom Jacob's Mother no sooner told him his Fathers intent but he was resolved to have the first blessing though he cheated his Brother and lyed for it and so told his Father that he was his eldest Son but he himself was afterwards deceived by a lye with having the eldest Daughter given him instead of the younger Take David for your example he waited Gods time the Kingdom was promised to him after Saul's death and when Saul pursued him you know David had him twice in his power and with ease might have destroyed him but he would not Far be it from me saith he that I should touch the Lords Annointed let God smite him by the hands of his Enemies I will not It is far better to be Gods Bondslave than the Devils Freeman Do not use any the least action whatever in any indirect way to deliver thy self but patiently sit down and wait Gods good time which when once come thy deliverance will assuredly come with it Take heed then of a hasty and sullen spirit under afflictions some men when God takes away any comfort from them are of so sullen a spirit there is no pacifying of them God will now this day take something from you which I believe you would willingly keep will you therefore be of so sullen a spirit that because you cannot enjoy all you 'l not injoy any but will rob your selves of all What though you cannot enjoy your Minister any longer will you not make use of the Ordinances of God I beseech you refrain this spirit and let the deprivation of one mercy be a means to make you make better use of those that are left Ninthly My ninth Caution is this Take heed of an ungodly Minister I speak not to any mans person in particular neither can I because I know not as yet who will succeed me but whosoever he be if he be wicked beware of him for if he be ungodly the people will follow him for like Priest like People And I pray God deliver you from such Ministers as for Doctrine do teach the traditions of men and cry Peace Peace when sudden destruction hangs over their heads Such Ministers may please you but believe me they will never profit you but at last you will find that through the Vale of Security you are led to the Pit of Perdition They will tell you you need not be so strict and diligent in your conversations nor Heaven is not so hard and difficult to gain as some would make you believe believe them not but remember that without holiness none shall see God and that neither Fornicaters Adulterers Idolaters Thieves Murtherers Covetous persons Drunkards Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven Tenthly and lastly Take heed you be not found professors of the Gospel only Christ when he was preaching to a throng of people as I am here this day said unto them Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is Hypocrisie Oh that I had no cause to say the leaven of the Pharisees is among you I mean that there are many here that are but bare Professors let me ask you that are only Professors this one question Is Religion good or bad If it be not good what is the reason thou art not ashamed to profess it if it be good what is the reason thou dost but profess it By thy bare professing thou losest the love of Man by no more than professing thou canst never gain the love of God so that on all sides thou art like to be miserable The World will hate thee for being so good and God will hate thee for being no better What a sad thing is it that thou losest thy comforts in this life by professing so much and thy comforts in the life to come by no more than professing Thus you have heard what I have to say by way of Caution I shall now speak to you by way of Counsel The former ten were Negative these shall be Positive First I intreat you all that above all things you would mind the one thing necessary that you would not trouble your selves so much with many things of little concernment but mind the great thing for which you came into the World Oh my friends will you spend your time for that which will not profit you and your money for that which is not Bread Look after Grace labour to get an interest in Christ of which you being unprovided you will be undone for ever it will be better for you you had never been born Oh! gain Christ and then you will be fitted for all times all troubles and all conditions that can happen unto you you will be endued with all wisdom and with all riches if you gain not Christ all that God doth to you and for you will nothing at all avail you Secondly My second Advice and Counsel unto you is this That you would live as you would die live to day as if you must dye to morrow Let me aâ—k you would you be content to dye in the state you are in If my Soul doth not desire to be in a better state when I come to dye than now I am in I may very well sit down satisfied if not then surely it greatly concerns me
to look after a better Would any man be content to dye a Drunkard I ask you that are Drunkards I do believe you will answer no why then do you live in Drunkenness How know you that God will spare you when you are drunk until you are sober again We may read of many that have dyed in their drunken fits God doth not always send his Herauld to warn thee before he sends his Serjeant to arrest thee How knowest thou but Death may strike thee on a sudden What will then become of thy Soul Oh Beloved I beseech you live not in that you are unwilling to dye in Balaam was not such a Wretch but he could cry our Good Lord let me dye the death of the righteous Thirdly Lay up for suffering times there are few of you I believe are so bad husbands but will lay up for a rainy day I mean against a time of sickness comes wherein you will be unable to work are you thus careful to maintain your bodies and will you be careless of your souls O be careful to provide for stormy weather you have winter garments for your bodies to preserve them from cold oh let patience be your winter garment to preserve keep your selves warm in afflictions I know that he that will live godlily in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution and that through tribulations and sufferings we must enter into the Kingdom of Heaven shall I not then provide for them But you may say What doth persecution attend all the godly A man may escape them as well as suffer them Put case afflictions should not come thou wilt be never the worse for being provided for them for he that is fit to dye is fit to live that man that is fit to suffer afflictions is fit to live without them It was Paul's Exhortation to the Ephesians 6.10 Finaly my Brethren put on the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to withstand the wiles of the Devil And it is wisdom in a man to provide for a misery before it comes There is mention made of a Nation the Spartans I think that useth to chuse their King as we do our Lord Mayor every year whilst they are in their annual Government they lived in all abundance of state have all the fulness their hearts can wish but when their year is over all their pomp glory is over too they banisht into some obscure remote place for ever where they spent the remainder of their lives in great want and misery One King knowing this being called to rule over this Nation made such use of his time wherein he reigned as King that by his provident living he heaped up so much treasure and sent it before him to the place where he knew he should be sent as maintained him all his life time Thus it is God hath appointed to every one a time to live in and that bur a short time too and in that time he hath appointed afflictions to attend us if we will live godlily in Christ Jesus it is not wisdom in us then to provide for them Take heed then to avoid sufferings you do not commit sin to commit sin to avoid suffering is as if a man should run our of the mouth of a barking Dog into the mouth of a devouring Lyon What is the wrath of man to the wrath of God Man can but destroy the body and no more but God can destroy both body and soul into Hell fire to all eternity Fourthly My fourth word of Counsel and Direction is this Be serious in serious things when you come to perform serious things do them seriously I do not know that ever I saw a man fall asleep while he was telling of Money for if he should how could he tell whether it were right or no Yet alas too too many sleep when they should be taking Truth not only by natural sleep but also by spiritual sleep they are so careless in receiving the Word they hear and so lazy withal that rather then they will try the Word they hear they will take all for truth the Minister tells them Beloved I believe you will scarce put so much confidence in a man as to receive a summ of Money without teâ—ling it because he saith it is right and yet will you receive all that your Minister tells you is truth for truth without trying it You must not be sluggish in your working for God but put forth your selves to the uttermost You must make the Kingdom of Heaven suffer violence and take it by force But then Fifthly The fifth Direction which I shall give you is about hearing the Word how you must behave your selves when you hear I take it for granted you will hear I hope you will for brown bread is better than none and a little is better than none at all yet I intreat you take these two words of Direction First Try the Word you hear by the Truth Secondly Try your selves by the Word First Try the Word you hear by the Truth if it be not consonate to that believe it not let who will preach it Paul exhorteth the Galathians so to do Chap. 1.8 9 But though we 〈◊〉 an Angel from Heaven preach any other Doctrine unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed How Paul accursed sure you speak too high what if an Angel must he be accursed sure you will call in your words again Nay instead thereof he repeats them over again As we said before â—o I say again If any one preach any other Gospel than that which you have received let him be accursed If any man pretend a Revelation from Heaven and cannot bring Scripture for what he saith do not believe one syllable Take the noble Beraeans for your Example they would not believe Pauls Doctrine until they had searched to see whether it were so or no. But then as you are to try the Word you hear by the Truth so try your selves by the Word You hear as a Truth that there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit Now try your selves by this Truth and see whether or no you walk after the Flesh or after the Spirit I have likewise two Directions about the preaching of the Word First Do not you receive the Word for the persons sake that brings it I am apt to think that many of you will receive a Truth of one mans bringing which you would not receive of anothers and thus ye receive the Word of God with respect of persons which you ought not But first receive the Word for its own sake and secondly receive the Person for the Words sake 1 Thess 5.12 13. We beseech you Brethren to know them which aâ—e over you to admonish you and labour among you in the Lord and to esteem of them very highly in love for their works sake Sixthly My Direction in the
no be more afraid of disinheritance look on sufferings with Scripture-spectacles Labour for integrity and uprightness of heart that preserves when falling Be watchful over thy thoughts and wayes Be a resolved Christian if thou be not thou wilt turn an Apostatizing Christian You must set your faces as thorns resolution is absolutely necessary not only under but before a day of suffering Be resolved for God and be resolved against sin and that for fear lest in a day of suffering thou shouldst halt and founder and so lose the things which thou hast wrought which brings me to The Tenth Sermon 2 John 8. Look to your selves that we lose not those things which we have wrought but that we receive a full Reward IN these words you have a Warning-piece discharged to an Elect Lady a serious Item to an Elect Lady and her Religious Family to look well to themselves that they lost not the things they had wrought And this is grounded on a double reason 1. From the damage of such as begin well and hold not out They lose the things they have wrought That were sad that so much should be done and all should be lost at last 2. From the advantage and benefit if we do go on then we shall receive a full reward The Observation was It much cancerns all those that have begun well that are looked upon by Ministers and those that are Godly as if they were truly godly that have entertained the Truth and the profession of the Truth to look well to it how they stand to continue to go on to hold out in their holy Profession and Conversation Look to your self you Elect Lady you her Religious Family look to your selves that you lose not the things you have wrought There 's all the reason in the world it should be so the Election of Believers engages us it should be so we are chosen that we should be so If we do not look well to our selves we may chance to lose all we have wrought It too too often falls out that after a hot fit of Profession there comes a cold fit of Apostasie this cold fit of Apostasie caused by a sharp wind of Persecution or by a melting thawing Sun of Prosperity either by our natural inconstancy and mutability within we love new changes we love to be changeable or else the subtilty of Seducers from without Again there hath been are and will come trying seasons were you never so sincere Think not all the work overdone as soon as converted As soon as come out of Egypt there 's a Wilderness and Red Sea to pass through Midianitish women Giants c. to contest with Therefore no wonder he writes Look to your self Then 1. Here see Election shuts not out the use of means You are an Elect Lady yet look to your self 2. You scandalous Papists the Doctrine of Perseverance we preach is no Mother of Sloth and Security Though you shall be saved yet look to your selves you shall not perish yet keep in the Ship 3. Orthodoxness of Faith and soundness of Profession is not enough to make a good Christian Elect Lady you make profession you are sanctified but you must look to your self 4. It is not enough to have a well-ordered Family Oh Lady Look to your self as well as to your Family 6. The business of Religion is not the work of one day As long as you have life look to your self 2. For Exhortation Look to your selves take heed of Apostasie Take heed of that which occasions cold fits after a cold fit comes a dead fit as after a hot fit usuall comes a cold fit Apostasie is the Quartan Ague of the Soul if it be not death it is exâ—reme dangerous 3. By way of Direction Would you look to your selves Look up to God beg to be strengthened with all might in the inner man that he who hath begun a good work would be pleased to finish it To that end Lord give strength while in begging and begging hearts for continuance of that strengthening Ordinance amongst us that it may be never said as it was said of those precious Israelites the Word of the Lord was precious in those dayes there was no open Vision Which leads me to The Eleventh Sermon 1 Sam. 3.1 The word of the Lord was precious in those dayes there was no open vision THe Word of the Lord was precious in those dayes Was it not alwayes precious Yes but there is a two-fold preciousness 1. Of worth and excellency 2. Of want and scarcity The Word of the Lord hath not been so precious to the Israelites in regard of its worth and excellency therefore God made it precious to them in regard of its want and scarcity There was no open vision Hence observe 1. There hath been there may be such a day overtake a Church and People of God wherein the Word of God may be precious that is may be scarce rare and hard to come by 2. 'T is most just with God to teach them how to prize the word by the want of it that know not how to prize the word of God by the worth of it the Use was for Direction what to be done to prevent this judgment of a scarcity and famine of the Word of God 1. Learn to prize the word by the worth of it 2. Improve the word as to the fruit of it 3. Adorn the word in your lives and conversations 4. Be earnest with God in publick and private for the blessed continuance of that word Learn to prize the word by the worth of it We do prize the word c. Do you prize the word in the truth Then 1. What hath meant that horrible wicked general contempt of the word of God and Ministers of that word through the Land though blessed be God they have not taken the vilest of the People and made them Priests yet the best of Ministers have been esteemed as the worst and â—ilest of People 2. What means the want of the word read repeated looked into 3. What means the general disobedience to the word 4. Why are you so ready to sell the truth farr more ready than to buy it 5. What means that easie forsaking of the blessed truths of the Gospel that a Popish Jesuite cannot come and vent one of his wicked Opinions but presently let it be vomited it must be sucked up by one or other 6. What means theâ— having of the faith of Christ in so much respect of persons as hath been here amongst us Judge your selves then for what is past and for the future learn to prize the word according to its worth consider what an admirable excellent thing this word of God is and that is and that may be known 1. By the Metaphors unto which it is resembled in Scripture which speak either its profit pleasure usefulness or necessity Thy word is a light to my feet what more precious than light without which the world were but one great
consider 1. Your absolute need of a Sanctuary You are in the power of the world in the paw of the Devil in the mouth of Danger in the mouth of Hell 2. All other things in the world are not sufficient to become a Sanctuary You may run to the Rocks but they cannot hide you you may make an arm of flesh your strength but it will prove an Aegyptian Reed and run into your hands you may make Riches your refuge The rich mans wealth is his strong Tower but rather it is a Castle in the Air you may make Honours your refuge c. All things unable to be your Sanctuary 3. Consider what a large free present well-furnished unchangeable Refuge and Sanctuary Christ is There are many nay all things in Christ in which a poor soul may take Sanctuary Dost thou want Righteousness He is the Righteous one Dost thou want Sanctification Wisdom Redemption He is all in him Refuge and Sanctuary mayest thou take in his Providence for thy Protection in his Offices for thy Salvation in his Promises for thy Consolation and amongst the rest that which is like the Diamond in the Ring see that great Promise in The Sixteenth Sermon Rev. 2.17 To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna TO him that overcometh i.e. Not that hath by one two or more acts conquered but to him that Overcomes that hath and doth and is overcoming still that goes on conquering and to conquer 2. To him that overcomes thus and this way and this Enemy this greatest Enemy that God hath Truth hath in the World Antipas especially that keeps my Truth inviolable that in a Scriptural way opposes that greatest Enemy I have and opposes him to a conquest To him that overcomes that goes on to overcome that thus overcomes Hence this Observation Believers are all a generation of Conquerours all Conquerours they are all like the Sons of Kings but some Believers are more Conquerours than others some that lay Antichrist upon his back such as out-shoot the Devil in his own Bow that stand out against Satans greatest Batteries that turn his Cannon on himself and cuts off the head of that Goliah with his own sword These are something more than Conquerours But how come Believers to be thus Conquerours They are actuated with a six-fold power 1. With ability to discern all necessary heavenly mysteries and this enables them to overcome Antichrist as he is an erroneous fawning Heretical Prophet 2. With a power to believe all things even such things as though they do not contradict yet exceed the reach of Reason 3. With a power to do all duties I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me These Conquerours cannot do any thing against but any thing for the Truth 4. With a power to suffer all things These Conquerours are ready not only to be bound but to suffer to die for the Name of Jesus and to conquer by dying 5. With a power to forsake all things To look upon all things as dung and dross that they may win Christ 6. They have not only a power of might but of right too as Kings conquer c. But what means are to be used to overcome in the sense of the Text. Answ 1. Study well that little Book of the Revelations indeed the Book of Books the Book of Sacred Scripture in which we have at once the sum of the Saints duty and priviledge and of Gods care and providence over his Church in the latter dayes of the Church c. 2. Concoct this Book by a practical belief of what is revealed in it do not think your own Notions to be Divine Revelations 3. Familiarize the Cross of Christ dye daily in expectation of it and provision for it do not say as Rev. 8.17 I sit as a Queen and shall see no sorrow 4. Labour by a prospect of Faith to antedate those great joyes God hath prepared for those that so suffer as to conquer 5. Buckle on the whole Armour of God and above all leave not out the Shield of Faith 6. Let your Love abound higher by opposition That becomes a Martyrs spirit indeed The more the wind blows it in thy face let that blow up more of thy blood into thy face Let it warm thee more c. 7. Live not by Example but by Rule Those that follow the most whither go they Wide is the gate broad is the way that leads to Damnation and many there be that enter therein The flock of Christ is a little Flock 8. Esteem duty above safety As one It is necessary Rome should be ruined it is not necessary I should be preserved 'T is necessary Religion should be advanced the power of godliness preserved it is not necessary I should be in this or that condition 9. Indulge not the least sin else thou wilt never be Conquerour That-man that will not lay down his Lust for Christ will never lay down his Life for Christ A man can never be resolved for Christ's ways without if not resolved against all impurity within 10. Harden and anoint your selves with practical improvement of Christ's sufferings in Christ's death There was an estimable price to purchase our Conquest an infinite merit to strengthen to encourage our Conquest an all-sufficient virtue to cause our Conquest a pledge of our eternal Conquest we are Conquerours already we do but gather the Spoil Make use of Christ's death as the merit pattern and motive of your Conquest 11. Labour for Sincerity 12. Get well acquainted with Divine Attributes and Divine Promises And such especially as may be most suitable for your condition 13. Abhor the relicks of superstition The very Nest and the very Cage of the Bird is unclean Not a crum of that old Leaven it will sowre the whole lump Antichrist is hugely like the Devil let him get in but one â—aw let him but get in his head he will quickly get in the whole body if you would avoid the paw of Antichrist avoid as much as you can the very parings of his nails 14. Get an experimental knowledge of Gospel-Truths they are your Head-Professors that turn Apostates 15. Let this be your first and chiefest care your first and last to seek and serve God Which if you do as all other things so this priviledge of Conquest shall be added unto you as your Crown Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof and all these things shall be added unto you Which opens the door to The Seventeenth Sermon Matth. 6.33 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you FRom this Scripture you had a remedy against solicitous thoughts and fears given in this Proposition that a serious inquiry and earnest pursuit of the Kingdom of Heaven and the righteousness thereof is an excellent remedy against distracting cares and fears about provision and safety Seek First and trouble your selves no more Seek
others may call it let them call it what they will Then hearken to my words as the words of a dying man yet not dead but alive and perhaps shall not die but live and declare the Word of the Lord and hold forth the Word of the Lord to you many a time in this place when-ever it pleaseth God to set open a door for me If it be so That the Ministers foundness in Doctrine and holiness of life and conversation do lay great obligation on a people duly and conscienciously to practice every commanded duty Then from this Doctrine I would suggest and leave with you several words and hints of counsel And on that the Lord God of Heaven would effectually engage and set them home on every one of our hearts My first Counsel is this That when the Lord taketh away such Ministers whose Doctrine is sound and their lives exemplary holy you would then be duly apprehensive and deeply sensible both of the inflicting cause and also of the meritorious deserving cause thereof 1. For the inflicting cause and that is the Lord himself Isa 3.1 2 Who is it that taketh away from the people the natural staff and the civil staff the spiritual staff saith the Prophet The Lord the Lord of Hosts Whoever it be that is the Instrument it is certain it is the Lord himself that is the principal efficient cause of this judgment on a people and this will appear if we consider 1. The Lord hath threatned this judgment on a rebellious people Amos 8.11 12. I saith the Lord will bring this judgment on them A most dreadful spiritual judgment Gods Word is the spiritual food of our spiritual lives and therefore as the granting of it is a blessing indeed so the with-holding of it is a judgment This ireful dreadful judgment of the Lord we see threatens yea that is not all the Lord hath not oly threatned it but 2. Inflicted it as the Lord takes away his faithful Messengers and Embassadors 1. Sometimes by death out of the world out of the Land of the living And thus the Lord took away the Prophet Enoch Gen. 5.24 And 2. Sometimes by removal Thus the Lord took away the Prophet Jonas from Israel and sent him to Niniveb as Jona 1.2 And thus Paul and Barnabas went away from the Jews and turned to the Gentiles as Acts 13.4 3. Sometimes by deprivation A time there was when the good Priests and Levites were forced to flee their own places and possessions 2 Chron. 11.13 14. 4. Sometimes by suspension Thus a time there was when it was said to the Seors see not and to the Prophets prophesie not Isa 30.9 10. Thus a time there was when people would have Pastors but would not endure faithful Jeremiah and a time there was that there was a Law made Look ye speak no more in the name of Jesus Act 4.11 And a time there was when Paul and Timotheus and Silvanus were forbid to preach to the Gentiles 1 Thess 2.15.16 Thus we see the Lord himself hath inflicted this dreadful Judgment on a people and the Lord hath divers wayes and methods and means to inflict it 3. Consider The Church and people of the Lord hath been very sensible of the Lords hand in this judgment as we may see in Psal 74.1 and 9. verses compared Why what is the matter as if they have said God was wont heretofore to give us signs and tokens he would even work miracles for us the Lord would send us some Prophets to converse with and instruct us we had those that could tell us how long our troubles should last but now we see no sign the Lord leaveth us as it were to the wide world and how sensible was the Lords Church in this judgment as ver 1. of that Psalm This is the first endeavour We are to be duely sensible and deeply apprehensive of the afflicting cause of such a judgment and that is the Lord himself 2. Of the meritorious Cause and that is sin Say not we it is long of such and such but it is long of our selves we may thank our selves for this and we appeal to your selves whether this judgment may not be charged 1. From the general inflexibleness and untractableness of people under the Ministry of the Word For this very cause the Lord plagued and poured his vengeance upon the ten Tribes as in 2 Kings 17. from v. 13. to 19. The Lord testified against Isreal by all the Prophets and by all the Sters saying Turn you from your evil wayes notwithstanding they will not hear And for this very cause did the Lord afterwards plague all Judah as Jer. 20.17 18 19. And for this very reason did the Lord Jesus Christ remove Paul from Jerusalem because the people were a stiff-necked people and they would not receive Pauls testimony concerning Jesus as Acts 22 18. Paul had a great desire to stay at Jerusalem as appeared by his reasoning with the Lord as ver 9 20. But what saith the Lord Christ ver 21. Now can England can London plead not guilty of this hainous provocation a general inflexibleness untractableness under a Conscience-ransacking a Conscience-searching Ministry What shall the Lord do with such a people under such a Minister Is it not just with God to let them alone that are prophane and superstitious Let there be like People like Priests Let the blind lead the blind and let the wicked rebellious Minister lead a wicked loose people that both may perish together everlastingly 2. The unfruitfulness formality lâ—ke-warmness declining of Gods own people and for this the Lord threatens the Church of Ephesus Rev. 2.4 5. I have saith Christ somewhat against thee thou hast left thy first love though not absolutely for nature yet eminent for measure And can England can London plead not guilty of this sad provocation Now indeed we cannot but observe and approve of your flocking to the Lords Ordinances as Doves to the holes of a Window but did you do so some Months agone Oh your voluntary and fearful distractions avocations diversions from the Worship and Service of God! And is it not just with the Lord to take away that abundance and choice of Spiritual helps a people had when they approved not of them yea when they undervalued and despised and abused them Oh the Lord God help us all to affect our souls and lay our selves low before his All-seeing Majesty for our provoking him to do this and endeavour to be duly apprehensive and deeply sensible of the inflicting cause and meritorious cause thereof 2. Take heed of a prophane delight in loose lewd wicked dissolute Ministers And here we will premise two or three things 1. Too many people are too ready to cavil at many Ministers without a cause The life of our blessed Lord and Saviour was it not traduced Did not some say he was a friend to Publicans and Sinners We see Christ was cavilled at and quarrelled with by some And thus
of Immortality on your heads in the life to come If you have Christ you have all things all heavenly graces and spiritual comforts all temporal blessings if you have Christ God will and can give you all things that are good for you without Christ you are not and you can do nothing that is acceptable to God Therefore this is my first counsel to you Crown the Prince of Peace the Lord Jesus Christ in your hearrs and lives Secondly Then maintain a constant and a conscientious intimate communion with the God of peace It was good counsel which Eliphas gave to Job Job 22.21 Would you have much of the preseuce of the God of peace Oh! then frequently fall down and lie at the foot-stool of the Lords Throne for grace and for peace and when you do so be not unmindful of us who have been often your mouths to God and Gods mouth to you And to engage and encourage you herein consider First The Lord Jesus Christ hath promised to be with his poor Ministers always even to the end of the world Mat. 28. ult If always not in the Pulpit only no the Lord hath promised to be with his faithful Servant out of the Pulpit as well as in the Pulpit in the prison sealing the truth as well in the Pulpit preaching the truth Oh then will you put this in suit by prayer that the Lord Christ will be with his poor Ministers to the end of the world Secondly We shall not fail to pray for you 1. Sam. 12.23 Our sequestring from our preaching-work from you will give us advantage to lay our more time to fetch sighs from our hearts in praying-work for you and I trust the Lord will give us hearts so to improve our time for you as Samuel said so God forbid we should sin against the Lord in câ—â—sing to pray for you as Peter did to the people with a promise as 1 Pet. 5.10 And not only for you But Secondly Even for such as have treated us somewhat uncivilly and unkindly to say no more of them although their number be very inconsiderable but such I trust we shall not forget in our prayers As Moses fell down on his face for the children of Israel when they treated him very unkindly and spit in his face I trust we shall not forget Moses's prayer for the people and so when they daueed before their Idol Jeremiab wept for those in his time as Jer. 13.17 And that we shall not for get Jeremiah weeping for you And I trust likewise that we shall remember Stephen being on his knees for his Persecutors powring out his life and prayer together Acts 7.60 I doubt not but my reverend Brother and my self shall remember Pauls willingness to spend and to be spent both in prayer and preaching for you all Though the more abundantly he loved the less he was beloved 2 Cor. 12.15 Thirdly Maintain and nourish all tenderness in your Conscience all your dayes Oh! go not without much less against the dictates of Conscience rebel not against the light of it beware of stifling and suppressing a warning Conscience lest a warning Conscience prove a gnawing Conscience and prove a tormenting Conscience And consider First Remorse of Conscience hath an eye against all sin past Secondly Tenderness of Conscience which hath an eye to all fin to come Take heed then of all calmness of heart Fourthly Take heed of Apostatizing Chrysostome hath a notable saying namely That Ministers have a greater trouble because they never find their work as they leave it as other workmen do Oh! in how short a time doth a poor Minister find all his work put out of frame and order Did not Moses find it so Exod. 32.8 Moses had no sooner turned his back as as it were but the People were turned out of Gods way of worship And did not Paul find it so Gal. 1.6 The Galathians were quickly removed Paul was but lately gone from them and they were quickly apostatized Now this cometh to pass First It is by reason of a crafty subtil deceitful Devil as in the Gospel we read While men slept the enemy came and sowed tares Mat. 13.25 And who this Enemy is we may see in Christs expounding the Parable ver 39. And secondly Partly by reason of mens own deceitful hearts as Heb. 3 12. observe it There is an evil heart of unbelief in the best it dwells in the best but it raigns in the wicked And what is that one of these evil hearts of unbelief in apostatizing in departing from the living God Thirdly It is partly by reason of deceitful Workers as the Apostle calls false Apostles It is partly by reason of such Then take heed of Apostatizing either from truth of Doctrine purity of Worship or practice of Conversation First From truth of Doctrine Be not weary of old Truths take heed and beware of itching after novel Doctrines take heed and beware of admiring this or that Opinion which as new Lights drop down from Heaven but indeed is but as the smoak of the bottomless pit Secondly From purity of Worship also Let not your zeal be cold but kindled against every bracelet of the Scaâ—let-whore How often doth the Apostle call the People Adulterers and Adulteresses because they Apostatize from the Word and Worship of God Thirdly In Practice and Conversation Priâ—e the Gospel love it and live accordingly to it With constancy look on every motion of thy soul and every action of thy life is a step of life or a step to death as a step towards Heaven or a step to Hell Heb. 10 31. To close this Counsel the Author of the Hebrews bringeth in the Lord protesting against Apostatizing If any man draw back from Gospel-principles and Gospel-worship or from a Gospel-conversation saith the Lord If any man draw back thus my soul shall have no pleasure in him Tremble then at this thou Apostatizer whoever thou art where ever thou fittest or standest My soul shall have no pleasure in thee I loath and abominate that person saith the Lord. 5. All of you then study peace and particularly you who do unfeignedly set your hearts and faces towards Heaven study peace and follow after it though it run from you pursue after it You profess your selves to be them that are truly searing God and truly honouring the King and truly loving one another Oh then seek peace You who do unfeignedly set your hearts and faces towards Heaven study peace alwayes and decline all dividing principles and practises among you and that you may not either breed or feed circumstantial differences or substantial divisions consider God is the God of peace our Saviour is the Prince of peace our Comforter is the Comforter of peace our Calling is the Calling of peace our Way is the Way of Peace Oh that we may so live in Peace that the God of Love and Peace may dwell with us and that the God of Peace may live with us here that
So that the Spirit of God is fain to come in and end the controversie before the soul will be satisfied 2. If it be the work of the Spirit of God to comfort the hearts of his people Then all the comfort of Christless and graceless souls is nothing worth there is no true peace for they are not the Disciples of Christ which are the proper subjects of this comfort they will not hearken to Christ nor learn of Christ but they cast his words behind their backs and break his bands asunder Those that do not learn Christs Precepts and follow Christs Canons and obey Christs Commands they are none of Christs Disciples aâ—d to be sure they have not the Spirit of Christ which is the Efficient in this comfort and without the root there cannot be the fruit for this inward peace is the fruit of the Spirit And therefore what comfort they have it is either a sinful comfort which to be sure will end in sorrow or else at best it is but a carnal comfort which will soon vanish like the crackling of thorns under a Pot There is no peace saith God to the wicked there is no peace with God as long as you are at peace wiâ—h sin 3. Here they are stumbled with the Riddle That the people of God should be sorrowing yet always rejoycing As sorrowing yet always rejoycing The carnal world think this to be a contradiction though they be troubled without yet they have peace within though they have maâ—ter of sorrow in respect of outward affliction yet they have fellowship with the Holy Ghost the comforter which gives peace in affliction joy in sorrow light in darkness which fills thee with joy unspeakable and full of glory Secondly If the Holy Ghost be the only Comforter of the hearts of Gods people then let me exhort every one of you to labour for an interest in this Comforter Friends I beseech you be restless till you have got some evidence of the Comforter in your souls by the inhabitation of the Spirit in your hearts without you have an interest in Christ there is no comfort no true comfort to be expected no comfort in prosperity no comfort in adversity no comfort in life nor in death no peace with your consciences Men may make a shift to keep themselves at quiet for the present by lulling conscience they may have a kind of peace from a false principle Ah but what will you do when storms arise what will you do when death and affliction comes Jonas lay quietly asleep till the storm came O my friends we must shortly lye a dying the Lord knows how soon O what will you do for comfort in a dying hour all other comforts may forsake you and before that time you may meet with sorrow and heavy afflictions so that all your friends in the world will not do you good your friends may fail your hearts may fail and then no comfort but the comfort of the Holy Ghost will do you good the time may come that all your friends may prove miserable comforters when God comes to deal with the soul to set sin home upon the conscience to lay sin before us then what will you do We are all guilty of sins of omission and sins of commission when these come to be charged upon the soul what will you then do then no plaister of comfort will stick but those of the Spirits laying on unless the Spirit seal up the pardon of sin the love of God to the soul nothing will quiet and comfort the soul however men may be merry for a time yet there is a time of sorrow that will come when they shall reflect upon their ways when they shall see nothing but sin behind them and terrours before them Oh! what amazement will seize upon their souls they have no interest in God in Christ they have no interest in the Promises there is nothing that will comfort you unless you have an interest in the Spirit But then what shall I do that I may get this comforting Spirit into my soul First Thirst earnestly after it The Promise is made to those that thirst after it Isa 44.3 Thirst after him in his convincings in his humblings in his sanctifying mercy Oh let the desire and longing of thy soul run out this way no matter for an Estate no matter for Friends and outward comforts if thou hast the Spirit of God thou hast that that is paramount to all outward comforts Secondly Pray earnestly for the Spirit You are not so willing to giâ—â— your children that they want as God is to give his Spirit to them that ask it Cry mightily Lord give me thy Spirit and cry to the Spirit and say as Laban to Abicam Come in so pray the Spirit to come in to thy Soul Thirdly If you would have this Comforter to come and abide with you You must resolve to become Christs Disciple It is only for such that Christs prays that God would send the Comforter You must hearken and obey him and follow him wheresoever he goeth You know the terms upon which you must be Christs Disciple Mat. 16.24 He must deny himself and take up his Cross and daily follow Christ He must deny himself There is two selfs in a man nay three selfs and they must de denied but however the first two must be denied if you intend to be Christs Disciple 1. A mans righteous self If any thing that we are that we have or can do from our works or duties any thing of our own all must be denied in point of Justification 2. Sinful self A mans corruptions must be denied pride passion and love to the world 3. Natural self Friends estates relations credit and honour and outward comforts these may be denied you may be called to part with them but if they come in competition with Christ they must be denied 2. You must take up the Cross of Christ rather than forsake his honor or disobey his commands You must resolve to follow Christ wheresoever he shall lead you either in a way of active or passive obedience you must take up Christs load you must undergo his burden Now Christians are you resolved upon this now sit down and consider what it will cost you to be Christians and if you would have the best you must be contented with the worst and if you are resolved upon this then you are the true Disciples of Christ and you are under the promise of his comfort and Christ is praying the Father to send you another Comforter who shall abide with you for ever 2. Vse of Exhortation 2. Vse Is of Exhortation wherein I shall apply my self to the true Disciples of Christ those that have had communion with Christ in his sanctifying Presence labour after communion with him in his comforting Presence To all others that are without the Spirit of God I may say as Jehu to Jehoram What hast thou to do with these things Labour to be
alimur ex quibus generamur is a true Maxim We are nourished of those of whom we are begotten Fathers when their children ask bread will not give them stones nor when they ask fish will they give them scorpions Mat. 7.9 He that provides not these things for his children is worse than an Infidel 1 Tim. 4.8 and hath God commanded this from Parents towards their children and will not God much more provide for his children that are truly regenerate and born again and that have his Image by faith engraven on their souls he would do it much more abundantly Mat. 7.11 If ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to those that ask him This then is one great priviledge that believers are made partakers of by vertue of this relation having God for their heavenly Father God will certainly provide good things for them both for their being and well-being here and hereafter and they may come to God as a Father with holy boldness of faith for all things that they shall stand in need of God takes care for those that are strangers and enemies to him and makes his rain to fall upon the unjust as well as upon the just Mat. 5.4 5 He giveth them rain from heaven silling their hearts with food and gladness Acts 14.7 And will he not much rather feed his own children he giveth food to all flesh Psal 136.25 And will he not much rather take care for his own children that are engrafted into him by faith that do love and serve him if God's bounty be largely extended to those that are strangers and enemies to him even to those that go on in sin and wickedness as many times it is then certainly he will kill the farted Calf for his own children as the Father of the prodigal did for his returning Son Nay in this the great God exceedeth earthly Parents as far as Heaven is above the earth for natural Parents they give good things to their children when they ask them but God the Father of Spirits will do much more abundantly for his children aboye what they are able to ask or think the Petitions of God's children may be large their desires and thoughts larger than heir Petitions for we are not always able to express outwardly what inwardly we desire but God will do more abundantly for his people beyond all these Let us look into the Word of God and we shall there see what noble provision he hath made for his people what food yea angels food he hath provided for them what a feast of fat things I mean of spiritual dainties and delicates he hath dressed for them for their bread they shall have the bread of life he that eateth thereof shall never hunger John 6.48 they shall have their fill of that hidden Manna laid up in the Sanctuary We read of Benjamins Messe Gen 4.3 last That it was five times as much as any of his Brethren but the children of God their food that they shall have from their heavenly Father shall be a thousand times better and more satisfactory than that which shall be given to the men of the World they shall have their measures heaped up pressed down and running over Psal 34.10 The young Lyons shall lack and suffer hunger but the children of God those that cry unto God their Father shall want no good thing but especially spiritual good things they shall be sure to have their fill of these and shall be satisfied with them even as with marrow and fatness and for their drink they shall have the heavenly Nectar the water of Life the bloud of Jesus Christ the which whosoever drinketh shall thirst no more John 4.14 they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of his house he will make them drink of the River of his pleasures for with God is the fountain of life in his light they shall see light Psal 38.8 9. there is a River the streams whereof shall make glad the City of God Psal 46.4 and his Children shall drink of this River of Water of life clear as chrystal proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb Rev. 22.1 it is for these especially that God hath provided the spiritual milk of the Word that they may grow thereby they shall suck sweetness out of the promises those rich breasts of consolation and for their apparel the Children of God may say as the Prophet Isa 61.10 I will greatly rejoyce in the Lord my soul shall be joyful in my God for he hath cloathed me with the garments of salvation he hath covered me with a robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with Ornaments and as a Bride adorneth her self with Jewels What shall I say they shall be cloathed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ a garment without spot or blemish white as snow even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of those Thus you have the first ground of consolation to Believers upon the account of having God for their Father he will certainly provide for them those things that shall be necessary both in this life and in the life to come Secondly Is God a Father to Believers then another ground of consolation is this That he will defend them from their enemies How mightily doth it provoke natural Parents to see their Children abused How quickly will their eye affect their heart and stir them up to come in and rescue them So will the Lord do for those that are his children by Adoption and Regeneration he will defend them he will be a wall of fire round about them so that all their enemies both spiritual and temporal shall not be able to do them any real hurt the Devil and all his wiles and temptations the World and all its tempting allurements yea all the policy and malice of Earth and Hell shall not be able to work their ruine the Lord is on their their side and they have more for them than they have against them Upon this consideration it was that David tells us in his Book of Psalms Though I walk saith he in the valley of the shadow of death yet will I fear none ill for thou O Lord art my Rock and my Fortress and my salvation eke for ever Would we not account him unworthy the name of a Father that would suffer his Children to be beaten and abused and destroyed before his face and not act in their defence and will God suffer his dear Children so to be No certainly He that toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye Zach. 2.8 and God accounts what is done to them as if it were done to himself in person In as much as ye did it unto those little ones ye did it unto me Will Christ say one day as he tells us Mat. 25.40 and in as much as ye did it not unto the least of these my brethren ye did
mock with God in our prayers when we pray that his Name may be glorified if we are dismayed and discontented when God is glorified by us in our sufferings because they are tedious and irksome to our flesh If we are unwilling that God should be glorified by our sufferings If we are unwilling to honour him in an afflicted state why do we then in our prayers pretend to beg that God may be glorified Oh how much is God glorified many times by the sufferings of his people when as he is dishonoured by the secure and sensual lives of many thousands that are in prosperous calm and quiet condition in the World I might give you many instances from the Scripture to such that the sufferings of Gods people have tended very much to the setting forth of the high praises of the Lord. Oh how much have the sufferings of the Israelites been all along of Joh of David of Hezekiah of the three Children of Daniel and so under the New Testament how have the sufferings of Stephen Paul Silas and the rest of the Apostles and Martyrs resounded to the honor and glory of God for whom they suffered Indeed Gods people do more honour and glorifie God by their sufferings than by their doings for him Let us not then be dismayed though we may be in a troublesome and suffering condition seeing this is a condition in the which we are most capable of doing service for God and of bringing most honor and glory to him Secondly Thou that hast an interest in the Kingdom of Heaven art thou in an afflicted suffering condition in the world to bear up thy fainting spirits consider that affliction and tribulation is that by which God is pleased to cleanse and purge his people from sin Afflictions are like Black-soap which doth seem to soil the Cloath and make it more filthy yet it purgeth and cleanseth it and maketh it more white at length it is as the fire into which the Gold may be thrown yet it is not consumed but refined and puriâ—ied thereby it loseth only its dross so the Saints are not quite consumed by their afflictions but sanctified and they lose only that filth dross and rust that doth mix it self with grace in their hearts by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged saith God speaking of afflictions and this is all the fruit to take away his sin and shall we be unwilling to have our sins purged It is true as for those that are Reâ—robates God usually lets them alone to go on and die and â—erish for ever when as yet God is pleased to correct his people and to cast them into the Furnace of affliction because he intends mercy to them and surely it will be known one day that there can be no greater Judgment befall poor Creatures than to be let alone without chastisements to take their own swing in sin and Oh how many thousands are now in Torment for that they were let alone in their sins and never chastised by Afflictions in their Life time when as Gods people are chastened of the Lord that they might not be condemned with the World 1 Cor. 11.32 And which is easier to be born external tribulations in this life or eternal torments in the life to come one of these two will certainly befall every man and woman of us either we shall be chastened here or condemned hereafter the wicked are oftentimes let alone here they are not in troubles as other men Psal 73. but they are condemned with the World The Goâ—ly they are often chastized of the Lord here but it is in mercy to them that they may be purged from sin and not condemned with the world And David tells us that by his afflictions he was reduced from going astray and brought back again into the Fold of God Psal 119.67 Before I was afflicted I went astray but now have I kept thy precepts And shall we be dismayed at the means whereby we are kept close to God and are kept from falling away from God A man is willing to take a bitter medicine to purge away that disease which would otherwise kill him Nor is he troubled at the working of his Physick though he have many painful gripes so long as it tends to the removing of those obnoxious humours and diseases which would otherways bring him to his grave And shall Christians be afraid of the bitter Cup of Afflictions which by Gods blessing purge away their sins which are the diseases of their Souls and so preserve them from eternal death Thy trials here are to purge thee and cleanse thee that thou mayest not lie in Eternal torments in the world to come And shall Christians be dismayed at that which tends to their Eternal health and Salvation and to the keeping of their Souls from Hell We should rather rejoyce to be in that condition whatsoever it be by which we may be most purged and preserved from sin Standing poâ—ls do usually contract filth and mud So those Christians that are setled upon the lees in a prosperous state and condition they do verâ— frequently get filâ—h and corruption The people of God are never made the freer from sin by their freedom from outward affliâ—tions This then is the second consideration to keep the Saints from being dismayed at their afflictions in the World because thereby they are purged from sin which would otherways prove the bane of their souls Thirdly You that are the heirs of Heaven and have an interest in the Eternal Glory you are in affliction and tribulation in the World be not dismayed For coâ—â—ider that the thing do tend to the exercisinâ— and increase of our â—â—aces and tâ— the making of â—ou eminent in Grace and â—â—linesâ— Aâ—d will you be daunted at that which tend to the making of you more holy Will you be grieved at that which tends to the increasing of your faith patience humility heavenly-mindedness and to the making of you more eminent for holiness and godliness Believers are usually greater gainers by their afflictions in the World than by their external prosperity yea many times they are losers by their prosperity when as they have been great gainers by their troubles and adversity Oh how many have gained in grace and holiness by their losses in the World the servants of God were never more eminent in grace than when they were least and lowest in their outward estate true graces are the diamonds that shine brightest in the darkest night and these shine clearest in the obscurest night of adversity The Saints in Scripture were then most eminent for holiness and godliness and all other graces when they lay under greatest troubles and tribulations from the World and how exemplary in holiness and how eminent in faith and heavenly-mindedness were the Martyrs when they were afflicted tormented imprisoned burned and persecuted with the most grievous persecutions from the hands of wicked men when as the prosperity and pleasures of the wicked did tend
Without God's gracious presence we can profit by nothing without this health is not profitable nor riches profitable nor Ordinances profitable the choicest means of Grace without God's presâ—nce are but as breasts without milk as bottles without water nay they are not onely a dead letter but the savour of death without Godâ—s presence they will damn us many go loaded to Hell with Ordinances But c. 2. Consider Such is the presence of God with those that walk in obedience with him that it transforms them into his own likeness making them holy as he is holy As the Sun will change the colour of those that are much in it so a man cannot be near to God but this will make him in purity and holiness like God And do you not desire to have such a beauty put upon you and thus to be adorned with the Robes of Righteousness Why do but strive to walk in obedience with God and he also will be graciously present with you making you of Bryars and Thorns Lillies and Roses of Lyons Lambs of deformed he will make you comely and of filthy he will make you clean adorning your souls with the Jewels of Holiness Col. 1.13 Without the presence of an holy God you can never be holy and without holiness you can never see the Lord with comfort Heb. 12.14 'T is onely Grace that leads to glory For no holiness here no happiness hereafter 3 Consider Such is the presence of God with those that walk in obedience with him that it can quiet their souls turning every storm that arises into a blessed calm When the heart is full of doubts and distresses accused by the Law pursued by the Adversary and condemned by it self then doth God by his gracious presence still the raging of the sea give quiet to conscience and lay the storm Nothing but the breast will quiet the child so nothing but the breasts of God's gracious presence can quiet a distressed soul Rom 5.1 Would you therefore be at peace and have quiet in your own consciences would you have a sweet calm and a sabbath of rest from all your spiritual agonies Walk then in obedience with God endeavouring to practise what you know that he by his presence may work your desire 4. Consider Such is the presence of God with all that obey him according to what they have heard and learned and received that nothing can intercept it nor withhold it from them If they go up to Heaven in prosperity God is there making all their enjoyments conduce to their everlasting advantage if they be forced to make their bed in hell and lie down in sorrow God also is there turning their sorrow into joy if they be glad to take the wings of the morning and to fly for their lives into the uttermost parts of the earth God is also there bringing them back at length out of Egypt the Land of their Captivity into Canaan Oh then if any thing can make you obedient let the hope of God's gracious presence prevail with you to be so your Honors your Riches your Friends and all your creature comforts may be easily withheld these are but as the shining of the Sun which every discontented cloud may intercept But if you walk in obedience with God there is nothing can intercept his presence nor hinder you from having communion with him Are you banished from your own habitations and forced to sojourn as strangers in a strange Land There will the Lord be with you as with Jacob at Padan-Aram Gen. 28.15 Are you shut up in close prison and lie under restraint that your Friendâ— may not visit you There will God also be present with you as with Paul and Silas compassing you about with songs of deliverance Act. 16.25 Are you in a word as men appointed unto death cast into an hot fiery Furnace There likewise will the Lord be present with you as with Shadrach Meshech and Ahednegâ— not suffering the flames to kindle upon you Dan. 3.27 5. Consider Such is the presence of God with those that obey him according to what they have heard and learned and received that it makes them rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory 1. Pet. 1.8 Many traduce Religion as a thing that makes men melancholick but his estate is of all mens most joyful who walking in obedience with God doth enjoy his presence for where can the soul find those comforts which do fill it with gladness and crown it with delight but in God His presence is a Christians musick and Festival the Nectar and Ambrosia whereon he delights to feed You may sooner taste honey than tell how sweet it is so you may taste what joy and gladness God's presence puts into the soul but can never express it Would you then have your souls overflowing with gladness Would you have them rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Then walk in obedience with God and his presence will do it 6. Consider Such is the presence of God with all that obey him according to what they have heard and learned and received that it sweetens every Cross and makes them not onely rejoice but to rejoice in tribulation Rom. 5.3 Amaritudines mundi dulces reddit The Wine of God's presence can sweeten the bitter Waters of Marah Let sickness come let reproach come let persecution come yea let death it self come yet the sense of God's gracious presence takes away the sting out of all these Such is the power of God's gracious presence that it takes away the bitterness of afflictions from all that walk in obedience with him gives them honey out of the beily of Lyons meat out of the Eater and sweet out of sowr If then you desire to see light in darkness to have your Prison turned into a Paradise and the flames of Martyrdom into a bed of Spices See then that you walk in obedience with God according to what you have heard and learned and received Prosperity without God's presence is full of trouble but trouble with the presence of God is full of comfort 7. Consider Such is the presence of God with those that obey him according to what they have heard and learned and received that it doth not onely rejoice their souls but gives them full satisfaction The Sun satisfieth the eye with light the Fountain satisfieth the thirsty with water so God satisfieth by his gracious presence all that walk in obedience with him Outward comforts do sooner cloy than chear and sooner weary than fill they can no more satisfie the heart than a Triangle can fill a Circle But when once God comes and vouchsafes his gracious presence now the soul is at rest now it 's come to its centre and with Jacob it can say I have enough For with whom God is graciously present to all them he is an all-sufficient portion 8. Consider The presence of God with all those that obey him in what they have heard and learned and received
have done will you take more care of your Family Will you give them an example of a holy heavenly Life Fifthly Have you repented of your Sins as you say you have Then how much are you troubled for the sins of others Do your hearts mourn in secret for the Wickedness and the Abominations of the places where you live And now I beseech you do not you flatter your selves in your wicked sinful courses If you do then I say take heed that God doth not send his Judgments upon you And if you repent not doubtless God will bring some Plague upon England ere it be long Consider this O England and do not provoke God to depart from you For if you repent of your Sins you may expect to live quietly in the Land of your Nativity and go to your death beds in peace and rest But if you will not repent of your sins then I say expect nothing but Cursings instead of Blessings from God If you will repent do it to day God knows how long it may be before you have such another day But I have one word to you this afternoon and it is for ought that I know the last words I have to speak to you I have one Question to ask you before I depart out of this Pulpit with thoughts for all that I know never to return into it any more My Question is this Will you repent The welfare of your souls depends upon it the welfare of the Church depends upon it the welfare of three Kingdoms depends upon it My beloved it is no trifling now Will you repent I ask you It may be hereafter God will give you up to hardness of heart and blindness of mind and if you go on in your wickedness Hell will follow after it Well I say Will you repent I ask you the Question and I ask you no other Question than I have asked my own self before I came into this place I ask you again Will you repent every man woman amongst you For Jesus Christ is angry with you and he takes away many of your Lights from amongst you That God is angry with you it is plain for God would never else have taken away his Ministers from among you I doubt not but God hath made use of some of those that are to speak no more in the Name of Jesus to the snatching of you as fire brands out of the fire and in bringing you from the kingdome of Satan unto the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ Well will you repent If you will not you sins lye at your own dores do not think its a hard Question when I ask you if you will repent There are two places where there is no Repentance the one is in Hell it were a vain thing for me to go to the gates of Hell and câ—y to them Repent for their day of Grace is past and their doom is passed upon them I do verily think that there is more sorrowing in Hell for sin than there is here upon Earth but their sorrow is not sanctified sorrow If the damned in Hell were delivered out of Hell they would sin again if they lived eternally they would sin eternally But I am not speaking to men in hell nor to women in hell but I speak to you that are here upon earth But there are a people to whom the day of Grace is set while they live to whom the Sun of Righteousness is set and their day is filled up with darkness I look upon the Heathen as such I look upon the Jews as such I look upon the Turks as such I dare not say of any man or woman living that can come within the hearing of a Sermon that God hath given any one up to such a reprobate mind Now my beloved if it be not thus with any of you that your day of Grace is not past as I am confident it is not Then I beseech you in the Name and Fear of God that you would repent The dying words of dying men and women do usually prevail with those that hear them The dying words of Fathers and Mothers do use to prevail with their children My beloved if you have any love to God if you have any love to your souls remember my last words I say Repent of your sins It may be God hath made me instrumental to the plucking of some of you as Fire brands out of the fire and in building of some of you up in the most holy Faith Remember what I say I have chosen this as my last words that ever I shal speak to some of you Object But may some of you say You bid me repent how can I do it I can no more repent than the dead man can arise Answ It is true O sinner that thou sayest But though thou canst not repent when thou wilt yet if thou wilt but endeavour to set thy self about the work it is probable that God may give thee a repenting heart therefore I say take heed of shutting thy self out from mercy Object But say you Why do you then press us to such a work when we cannot do it of our selves Answ Mark here when I say unto you will you repent That is will you make use of the means that God hath appointed for your Repentance Will you reckon up all the sins you have committed against God will you reckon up all the times that you have been drunk or that you have sworn an Oath will you reckon up all the sins that you stand guilty of between God and your own souls and will you go to God and beg of him that he would be pleased to pardon them But say you What if we do not If you do not then you are still in your sins and there is no peace to you there is no inward peace to your souls there is no true peace to your Kingdom But that I may prevail with you I shall give you some grounds or motives to press this Argument more home upon your consciences First of all Repent because Jesus Christ hath commanded you under great Penalties if you do not My beloved consider a little with your selves who it is that speaks unto you here in my Text. It is not I but it is Jesus Christ and doubtless Christ would never have perswaded you to this work of repentance if it were not necessary This book is the counsel of the Physitian of your Souls the Physitian of your Church and the Physitian of your Kingdom He that saith unto you repent saith if you do not Your sins shall not be blotted out He that saith unto you repent saith if you do not Eternal death shal follow Repent I say or if thou dost not wo be unto thee wo unto that man that ever he was born wo unto thee it had been better thou hadst never seen the Light Thy Parents that bore thee they may repent that ever thou were born Oh my beloved it is a terrible
you Oh! that I might drop in the Oyl of gladness into every broken heart and rejoyce every troubled spirit Oh here is good news from Heaven Say unto the Righteous it shall be well with him But here is a question must be answered You 'l say to me but how doth this appear that it shall he well with the Righteous for we often see it is the worst with them in this world he is deprived of his comfort many times he loses his very life in that quarrel he is made the very reproach of the world oftentimes how then is it well with the Righteous To this I answer yet still it is well with the Righteous though he meet with trouble in the world and one follows on the neck of another yet it is well with the Righteous as will appear in these three or four particulars 1. The troubles that the Righteous man meets with they turn to good and so it is well with him that is a most famous Scripture in Jer. 24.5 Whom I have sent out of this place unto the land of the Ghaldeans for their good Gods own Israel were transported into Babylon among their enemies but it is for their good saith the Lord. The troubles of the Righteous are a means to purge out their sin I have read a story of one who running at another with a sword to kill him by accident his sword run into an Imposthume and broke the Imposthume thus all the evils and troubles of the Righteous serve but to cure them of the Imposthume of pride to make them more humble when that the body of a Saint is afflicted his soul that revives and flourishes in Grace At Rome there was two Laurel-trees and when one withered the other did flourish so when the body is afflicted yet the soul that Laurel doth revive and flourish God doth distil our of the bitterest drink his Glory and our Salvation saith Jerome that that the world looks on as a punishment God makes a medicine to heal the sore why then it shall be well with the Righteous The rod of God upon a Saint is but only Gods pencil whereby he draweth his Image more lively on the soul God never strikes the strings of his Viol but to make the Musick sweet Then it is well with the Righteous 2. In the midst of all the trouble that doth befall the Righteous yet still it is well with them in regard of those inward heart-revivings that God doth give them We see a godly mans misery but we do not see his comfort we see his prison-gates but we do not hear the musick that is within his Conscience God doth sweeten to his People outward trouble with inward peace it is the Title that is given to God 2 Cor. 7.6 God that comforteth them that are cast down The Bee can gather honey as well from the thistle and from the bitter hearb as from the sweet flower the Child of God can gather joy out of sorrow out of the very carkass sometimes the Lord gives honey when the body is in pain the soul may be at ease as when a mans head akes yet his heart may be well thus it is well with the Righteous God gives him that inward comfort that revives and sweetens his outward pain 3. In the time of trouble and calamity yet still it is well with the Righteous because God doth cover his people in the time of trouble he hides them in the storm God hath a care to hide his Jewels and will not let them be carried away and thus he makes good that Scripture litterally Psal 91.4 He shall cover them with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust no evil shall touch thee God oftentimes verifies this Scripture litterally He makes his Angels to be his peoples life-guard to hide them and defend them when a floud was coming upon the world God provided an Ark to hide Noah when Israel is carried and transported into Babylon God hid Jeremiah and gave him his life for a prey Jer. 39.11 and in this sense the Saints of God are called hidden ones Psal 83.3 Why so not onely because they are hid in Gods decree and hid in Christs wounds but oftentimes God hides them in a time of danger and calamity they are hidden ones he reserved to himself seven thousand that had not bowed the knee to Baal The Prophet knew not where there was one but God knew there were seven thousand In this sense it is well with the righteous in time of publick misery I but you 'l say sometimes it fares yet worse then all this sometimes the righteous they die and perish they are carried away in a Tempest why yet still it is well with the Righteous and that in a two-fold sense 1. Many times God doth take away the Righteous by death and that in great mercy he takes them away that they shall not see the misery that comes upon a Nation Virgil the Heathen Poet saith They are happy that die before their Countrey his meaning was they die before they see the ruine of their Countrey and truly God many times takes away his people in mercy that they may not see the ruine that is coming on a Land you have in Scripture for this 1 King 14.13 He onely of Jeroboam shall come to the Grave in peace because in him there is found some good things towards the Lord God of Israel God puts him in his grave betimes in mercy because he should not see the evil coming upon the Land and there 's a parallel to this 2 King 12. last It is spoken of Josiah I will gather thee unto thy Fathers thou shalt be gathered unto thy Grave in peace and thine eyes shall not see the evil I will bring upon this place Josiah he dyed in Battel how then was it said he went to the Grave in peace We must understand the meaning of it is this Josiah went to his Grave in peace because he was a holy man and he had made his peace with God and so he went to his Grave in peace and because he should not see the evil approaching God gathered him to his Grave in peace Jerom speaking of his friend Nepotian you must observe Jerom lived to see some troubles before he died saith he Oh! how happy is my friend Nepotian that sees not these troubles but is got out of the storm dies and is arrived safe in Heaven Luther died in mercy before the trouble in Germany broke forth and thus you see the Righteous though they die yet it is well with them God takes them away in mercy that they may not see approaching evils 2. Though the Righteous die and are taken away yet it is well with them because death cannot hurt them Death can neither hurt their body nor yet their souls and then it is well with them 1. Death cannot hurt their bodies the body of a Saint it doth not perish though it die the bodies of the Saints
are very precious dust in Gods account precious dust The Lord locks up these Jewels in the Grave as in a Cabinet The bodies of the Saints lie mellowing and ripening in the Grave till the blessed time of the Resurrection Oh! how precious is the Dust of a Believer though the world mind it not yet it is precious unto God The Husbandman he hath some Corn in his Barn and he hath other Corn in the Ground why the Corn that is in the ground is as precious to him as that is in the Barn the bodies of the Saints in the Grave are Gods Corn in the ground but the Lord makes very precious account of this Corn The bodies of the Saints shall be more glorious and blessed then ever they were at the Resurrection Tâ—rtullian calls them Angelical bodies in regard of that beauty and lustre that shall be upon them As it is with your silks when they are died of a purple or scarlet colour they are made more bright and illustrious then they were before thus it is with the bodies of the Saints they shall be dyed of a better colour at the Resurrection they shall be made like a glorious body Phil. 3.20 thus it shall be well with the righteous their bodies shall not perish 2. It will be well with the Righteous at death as to their souls too Oh it will be a blessed time methinks it is with a Saint at the time of death just as it was with Saint Paul in his voyage to Rome we read that the Ship did break but though there were so many broken pieces yet he got safe to shore so though the Ship of the Believers body break by death yet it is safe with the passenger his soul that gets safe to the Heavenly harbour Let me tell you the day of a Believers death it is the birth-day of his blessednesse it is his Ascention day to Heaven the day of his death it is his marriage-day with Jesus Christ Faith doth but contract us here in this life is but the contract but at death the Nuptials shall be solemnized in Glory they shall see God face to face it will be Heaven enough to have a sight of God saith Austin when the Saints shall enter into joy here joy enters into them but then they shall enter into it they shall drink of these pure Rivers that run from the Everlasting Fountain And thus you see it will be well with the Righteous how ever things go though trouble come though death come yet it will go well with the Righteous And Oh let those that are the people of God comfort themselves in these words Oh what an encouragement is this to all you that hear me to begin to be Righteous this Text may tempt us all to be Godly Say unto the Righteous it shall be well with him when things are never so ill with him yet it is well with him We would be glad to have things go well with our Relations and in our Estates why when the Righteous things go well with us thy person is sealed thou art Heir of all Gods Promises thou art Christs favorite thou hast Heaven in reversion and is it not now well with thee If you would have Happiness you must espouse Holiness Say unto the Righteous it shall be well with them and thus much of the first Proposition the Godly mans comfort in life and death it is well with him But now if all this will not prevail with you to make you leave your fins and become Righteous I must passe in a few words to the next branch of the Text to scare men out of their sin to affright men out of their wickednesse Wo unto the wicked it shall be ill with him This my Beloved is the dark fide of the cloud It may cause in every wicked man that hears me a trembling at the heart Wo unto the wicked it shall be ill with him The Proposition that doth resist out of these words is this Doct. When things seem to be well with the wicked men it shall be ill with them at last though they have more then heart can wish yet it shall be ill with them at last Eccles 8.13 It shall not be well with the wicked nor shall he prolong his daies which are as a shadow because he fears not God it shall not be well with the wicked the God of truth hath pronounced this It is as true as God is true it shall not be well with the wicked Now that I may a little clear this to you I shall demonstrate this to you in these four particulars 1. It is ill with the wicked in this life 2. It is ill with them at death 3. It is ill with them at the day of Judgement 4. It is ill with them after Judgement it shall be ill with the wicked It is ill with the wicked in this life a wicked man that hears me will hardly think so when he hath the affluence and confluence of outward comforts when he eats the fat and drinks the sweet he will hardly believe the Minister that shall tell him it shall be ill with him but it is so For is it not ill with that man that hath a curse yea the curse of God entailed upon him can that man thrive that lives under the curse of God Flouds of bloud and wrath hang over the head of a wicked man he is heir to all the Plagues written in the Book of God All Gods curses are the sinners Portion and if he die in his sin he is sure to have his Portion paid him Wo unto the wicked every bit of bread he hath he hath it with a curse its like poison'd bread given to a dog every drop of Wine he drinks he swallows down a curse with it wo unto the wicked there is a curse in his Cup and a curse upon his Table God saith wo unto him we read of Belshazar Dan. 5.4 5. that he did take the Wine and commanded to bring the Gold and Silver vessels out of the Temple and then they brought the Golden vessels that were taken out of the Temple out of the house of God that was at Jerusalem and the King and his Princes and his Wives and Concubines drank in them Belshazar was very jovial in the midst of his Cups he was merry but wo unto the wicked for in the same hour came forth the finger of a mans hand and reach'd over the Candlestick upon the plaister of the Wall of the Kings Pallace and the Kings countenance changed and he was troubled there was a hand and a woe written on the wall let a sinner live till he come to an hundred years of age yet he is cursed Isa 65.20 his gray hairs they have a curse upon them 2. 'T is ill with the wicked not onely in this life but 't is ill with him at his hour of death and that in these two respects 1. Death puts an end unto all his comforts 2.