liquor from it though the Author be contemptible yet the matter is considerable God lookes not for what he gives not As well as I am able I have from this Scripture drawn you a Beleevers Picture and according to this Glass doubt not but your selves will dress If these bellowes keep the vestall fire alwayes burning upon the Altar and your graces have their advancement I shall have my contentment I have here laid the Rods of correction on the backs of offenders and given the words of Instruction to the hearts of believers Worthy Sirs Compare what is spoken in the books of men with what is written in the Book of God that the Bristoll stone may not passe for the sparkling Diamond noâ— Brasse and Copper goe as currant as Gold and Silver I would lay no other burdens upon your backs then I would carry upon my own shoulders nor would I have you make any brick but with Gods straw Mans fault cannot prejudice Gods right though we have lost our abillity of obeying yet he hath not lost his Authority in commanding By how much the greater you are then others by so much the better you should be then others where Divine Providence advances to honourable dignity there Divine precepts ingages to proportionable duty on earth it 's your businesse to serve God in Heaven it will be your blessedness to see God Many by feeding upon one dish grow to maturity when they that sit down to a multitude are surfited with variety When others grumble to look upon rich mens estates doe you tremble to think upon rich mens accounts and as the earth will doe you no good when you dye so let it do you no hurt whilst you live They that are in the right way to Paradise should greeve at every thing that hinders their progresse There are many are the Pictures of piety but I wish you may be the patterns of piety Alas what 's the reflection in the glass to the complexion in the face or the form of godlinesse upon us to the power of godlinesse within us such Jonah's in the lading of our Vessells doth but fill the Seas with stormes and tempests You Worthies have almost stretcht your lives to Davids standard and who knowes how soon such may meet with the death of the body that are incompassed with the body of death Whilst you are descending to the bottom of the hill of nature I wish you may be ascending to the top of the hill of grace that the nearer your bodies draw to the pit of corruption the nearer your souls may draw to the place of perfection that your declining Sun may not set under a cloud that hath so long shined in a clear sky Vsually their durations are the shortest whose possessions are the greatest But you have had as larg a share of being as you have had of blessing My hearts desire and prayer to God for both you and yours is that you may be as glorious in Heaven as you have been prosperous on earth that you may be such jewels of grace as may be lockt up in the Cabinet of glory that such silver Cups may be found in the mouths of all your sacks that the word which hath brought salvation to your souls may bring your souls unto salvation that as your children sit like Olive plants about your Table so you and your children may sit like Olive plants about his Table that your little family below may make up that great family above that when others as chaffe are thrown into the fire you as wheat may be gathered into the Garner That you may live long on earth profitably and for ever in Heaven joyfully is the Prayer of Your Humble Servant William Secker The Author to the Reader CHRISTIAN READER WE live in age that is most censorious and yet in age that is least religious where there are any faults men are more skilful to find them then careful to mend them But shall we turn the Sun into darknesse because of its moats or the Moon into blood because of her spots It s in vain to look for clear light where God himself will have a shaddow Good meats displease none but distempered palats and must wholesome dishes be barr'd the Table because they offend aguish stomacks To serve mens necessity is charitable to serve mens conveniency is warrantable to serve mens iniquity is damnable but to serve mens purity is honourable Grace needs a Spur to prick it on as well as Vice needs a Bridle to hold it in The design of this Peece is not the ostentation of the Author but the edification of the Reader I hope none will blow out such a Candle upon earth by the light of which themselves may see the way to Heaven The face of none is so comely in a Saints eyes as the face of Christ and the voyce of none is so pleasant in a Saints ears as the voyce of Christ The Manna of spiritual influences doth usually fall in the Dew of spiritual Ordinances To set them up was a work of mercy in God to us and to keep them up is a work of justice in us to God Whilest we suck at these Breasts they will stream warm Milk into our mouths Dear Christian In this Subject I have given thee a breviary of Religion The works injoyned in it are weighty and ponderous and the wages annexed to it are mighty and glorious Christianity is here cloathed in its white Linnen of purity Wouldst thou obtaine that happinesse which the promise confirms thou must espouse that holiness which the precept injoynes The best way to greaten your felicity is to heighten your activity Grace as it makes our comforts sweeter so it makes our Crowns greater And as it begins in the love of God to us so it ends in our love to God Those children that are found moving in the Orbes of obedience shall have the beautiest Sunshine of their Fathers countenance Christians Be sure to lay your superstruction upon an unmoveable foundation and propagate such a businesse as hath an immediat tendency to blessednesse It 's an unparalel'd mercy to be kept free from corruption in a time of infection It 's better to be innocent then it is to be penitent To prevent the malady then to invent the remedy Christians As you have not a Lease of your lives so you have not a Brace of your lives That that which is corrupted in the former may be corrected in the latter Had we not need to take heed how we shoot that have but a single Arrow to direct to the mark No time is ours but what is present and that 's as soon past as present We had need improve that with the greatest diligence that glides away with the speediest nimblenesse Shall our rests steal away one half of our time and our lusts the other O Sirs The more you have of good in you the more you shall have of God with you yea spiritual actions they will make
noise at the bringing forth of a child Well enough saith she for now I suffer for my sins but then I shall suffer for my Saviour There is more evill in a drop of corruption then there is in a sea of affliction In suffering the offence is done to us in finning the offence is done to God In suffering there is an infringement of mans liberty in sinning there is a violation of Gods authority The evil of suffering is transient but the evill of sin is permanent In suffering we lose the favour of men in sinning we hazard the favour of God The rose is sweeter under the Still where it drops then on the stalk where it sprouts The face of godliness is never so beautiful as when its spit upon The best corn is that which lies under the clods in snowy weather It was a brave saying of Vincentius to his persecutors Rage and do your worst you shall finde the Spirit of God more strengthening the tormented then the spirit of the devil can strengthen their tormentors Let but Professors do their best and then let persecutors â—eâ—cussâ—res nihil moraâ—amur praeseâ—tim â—um moriendum esse nobis sciamuâ— Justin 2. Defens ad Anâ—on 〈◊〉 do their worst Though you may feel their might yet you should not fear their malice Nil desperandum Christo duce auspice Christo It s storied of Hooper when he came to suffer O Sir saith one have a care of your self life is Thus the Proconsul perswaded and besought the noble German who suffered under Verus Vt quoniam admodum juâ—enis in flore esset sui ipsius misereretur Euseb Hist Eccl. cap. 15. sweet and death is bitter Ah saith he this I know but the life to come is more full of sweetness and the death to come is more full of bitterness A man may suffer without sinning but a man cannot sin without suffering When Philip asked Demosthenes If he was not afraid to lose his head No saith he for if I lose my head the Athenians will give me one immortal Do but listen to the language that drops out of the mouthes of those three children or rather of those three Vos occidere quidem potestis nocere non potestis â—ust ubi prius champions Dan. 3. 17 18. We are not careful to answer thee in this matter if it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thy hand O King But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up Either they must sin fouly or they must suffer sadly Either they must bow to a golden Image or burn in a fiery furnace Yet they were as far from worshipping of his gods as he Thus Polycarpe was assaulted by Herod and Nicetes who said Quidnam mali fuerit dicere Domine Caefar sacrificareque conservari But he answered Facturus non sum quod consulitis and chose rather a flaming fire then to consent unto their fawning words Euseb ubi prius was from worshipping of theirs And Daniel chuses the den of the lions before he will forsake the cause of the Lamb. Shall not we for his sake bear the wrath of man who for our sakes did bear the wrath of God Though obedience be better then sacrifice yet sometimes to sacrifice a mans self is the best obedience He that loses a baser life for Christ shall finde a better life in Christ Chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin which are but for a season Heb. 11. 25. What is a cup of physick that takes away the disease to a cup of poyson that takes away the life They that live upon God in the use of the creature can live upon God in the loss of the creature It was a brave expression of one What I receive thankfully as a token of Gods love to me I part with all contentedly as a token of my love to him For a good man one will even dare to dye Rom. 5. 7. Will one dare to die for a good man and shall we be afraid to die for a good God And others were tortured not accepting Melius est mibi emori propter Christum Iesum quam imperare sinibus terrae Ign. ad Rom. deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection Heb. 11. 35. Some would have used any pick-lock to have opened a passage to their liberty but they knew too much of another world to bid so high a rate for this world It is storied of Hormisdas a noble man of Persia who was degraded of all his promotion because he would not alter his professions afterward they restored them all again and sollicited him to deny Christ but he rent his purple robe and laid all his Honours at the feet of the Emperor saying Siideo me sperasti pietatem deserturam habe tibi donum tuum una cum impietate If you think to make me deny Christ for The like constancy and resolution you may read of in the noble Suenes and the zealous Benjamin both barbarously used by the same Prince Id. ibid. the obtaining of my honours take them all back again He thought that Christ without his honors was better then his honours without Christ It is storied of one of the Martyrs going to the stake a Noble man wisht him to have a care of his soul So I will saith he for I give my body to be burned to keep my soul from being defiled How many are there that had rather have sinful self satisfied then to have sinful self crucified As grace comes in at one door vice goes out at another as in a well when one bucket comes up full the other returns down empty The only way to have the house of Saul weakened is to get the house of David strengthned Those Philistims that could not stand before Sampson in his health how scornfully did they dance about him in his sickness O remember sin it is that which in this life doth debase us and it is that which in the next life doth destroy us Those whose end is damnation their damnation is without end No condition is so intolerably easeless as that condition which is unalterably changeless One seeing a woman going chearfully to prison O saith he you have not yet tasted of the bitterness of death No saith she nor never shall for Christ hath promised that they who keep his sayings shall never see death A beleever may feel the stroke of death but he shall never feel the sting of death The first death may bring his body to corruption but the second death shall never bring his soul to damnation Though the cross may be endured by them yet the curse is removed from them Though they may live a life that is dying yet they shall not dye a death that is
that is joyful more happy and an estate that is doleful less heavy It should be between Christians as it is between Lute strings that are tuned together when the one is touched the others tremble Beleevers should neither be proud flesh nor dead flesh Fellow-members have always fellow-feelings Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them Others woes are our warnings their desolations are our informations I am the man that hath seen afflictions by the rod of his wrath Lam. 3. 1. He suffered least in his own person as being under a royal protection But though he was freed from the bill of mortality yet he was filled with the bowels of sympathy Though they were the Jews desolations yet they were Jeremiah's lamentations That is the eleventh 12. Singular thing is the rendring of the greatest good for the receiving of the greatest evil Mariners look for a storm at the seas when the waters begin to utter a murmuring noise Theodosius the Emperor being moved to execute one that had reviled him answered That were it in his power if his enemies were dead he had rather restore them to life then being living to put them to death They say by the Laws of the land that Noble men have this priviledge that none of them can be bound to the peace because it s presumed that the peace is bound to them Noble dspositions will never engage themselves in quarrels and contentions He makes a good market of bad commodities that with kindness vanquishes discourtesies For a man to conquer anothers person and be led captive by his own passions what is this but to lose the Palace of a Prince to gain the Cottage of a Peasant A spark of fire falling upon a solid body expires immediately which lighting on combustible matter burns furiously God hath bound every believer in Gospelcords to his good behaviour Julian the Apostate knew this when he struck them on one cheek he said Their Master taught them to turn the other Yea his Souldiers would take away their cloaks and tell them They must part with their coat also A carnal man may love his friends but it s a Christian manthat loves his enemies But I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you Mat. 5. 44. Ad patientiam vocat qui patientiae est He calls us to patience who is patience it self It s unnatural to hate them that love us but it is supernatural to love them that hate us A sinner he can do much evil but he will suffer none a Saint can suffer much evil but he will do none He that takes up fire to throw against his enemies he will but burn his own fingers A peece ill charged Inimiâ—um seris teipsum jam lethaliter laesisti et hoc est Prunas è foco rapere sed omnium primò sibi manus amburere dein alios iis perfundere Drex Sig. 9. p. 84. instead of hitting the mark does but recoil on him that shoots it You should overcome others cruelty with your kindness If Injuries be our enemies forgiveness must be our weapons How many have had their bloods seen because they would not have their backs seen Mens actions towards others are usually excused by others actions towards them As we are wont to say fallere fallentem non est sraus There is a frenzie of the heart which turns men out of their patience as well as a frenzie of the head that turns them out of their prudence A sinner is so far from taking two blows without giving one that he will give two blows without taking one To forget an injury is more then nature can promise but to forgive an injury is no less then grace can perform Patience affords us a shield to defend our selves but Innocence denies us a sword to offend others If ever thou hopest thy charity should live after thee let others injuries dye before thee It s written in the law of Mahomet That God made the Angels of light and the Devils of flame Sure I am they are of a hellish constitution that delight in the firy flames of contention Be ye angry and sin not Ephes 4. 26. Anger it should not be a black coal fetcht from the Devils kitchin but a bright coal kindled on Gods Altar It should be like fire in straw that is as suddenly quenched as it is easily kindled He that would be angry and not sin must not be angry but with sin Let not the sun go down upon your wrath neither give place to the Devil if you carry your passions to bed with you the Devil will creep between the sheets and why should any give place to him that will croud in to fast of himself What shall thy life be mortal and thy wrath immortal is it not better to give place to an offending brother then to a destroying Murderer I know that a person is as unfit to receive Counsel in his anger as a Patient is to take Physick in a feavor how many are there that say they can forgive an injury who cannot forget an injury these are like those that pretend to sweep the house but leave the dust behind Nobilissimum generosissimum vindictae geaus est ignoscere cum possis ulcisci longe glorio sius est tacendo vincere inimicum quam respondendo Drex ibid. the door when ever you give your brethen a discharge make your hearts set their hands to the acquitance We must not onely break the teeth of malice by forgiveness but pluck the sting out of its tail by forgetfulness to lade our memories with the sence of injuries is to fill that chest with rusty iron which was made for refined gold When the pot of Malice doth boyle over its time to take it off from the fire Yet if the Sea of sinful nature be quiet it s no for want of foam but for want of a storme Can you look to fare better in the world then he that was better then the world A Christian should wish well to them who wish ill to him Aristides when two came before him he that accused the other said This man accused thee at such a time to whom Aristides answered I sit not to hear what he hath done against me but to hear what he hath done against thee Others they render evil for good but we should render good for evil therefore if thine enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head Rom. 12. 20. As the nature of man must not make his vices to be loved so the vices of man must not make his nature to be hated he that loved us when we were enemies commands us to love our Enemies Father forgive them they know not what they do Luke 23. 34. He gave his blood to drink by them who gave gawl and
nor of him that runs though it be never so hastily Our Crown of Glory is made by mercy Our working is not the cause of Gods grace but Ipsa salut hominis non debetur alicui per aliquam ejus voluntatem vel exteriorem operationem quae dicitur cursus sed procedit ex solâ Dei misericordiâ Aquin. in loc but Gods grace is the cause of our working Man may doe something against it but man can doe nothing without it It s ill hanging the great weight of Eternity upon the small Wiers of Activity The boundless life of felicity flowes from the bottomless love of the Deity That 's the sixth 7. Principle that you should walk by is this That there 's no obtaining what is promised but by fulfilling what 's commanded As those which were under the Law were not without a Gospel to save them so those that are under the Gospel are not without a Law to rule Lex moral is non minus ad Christianos pertinet sub novo quum ad Judae nos subvetere Testando Synops. Pur. Theol. disp 18. them What God hath put asunder let no man joyn together but what God hath joyned together let no man put asunder It 's as ill divorcing what 's united as it is uniting what 's divorced Ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall Quasi dixisset id quo vobu opus est petite Non conceditur quod petitis Quaerite Negatur quod quaerites â— Pulsate Deus vult cogi Arrowsin Tact. sacr l. 3. cap. 1. sect 11. find knock and it shall be opened unto you Matthew 7. 7. Continued Importunity is the most learned Oratory repeated knocks soonest opens heavengates Man cannot blame God for not giving but God can blame man for not asking He that inables us to find him he enjoyns us to seek him He that hath promised us to open that we might not be doubtful hath enjoyned us to knock that we might not be sloathful He that will not heare Debet se ei viâ morum conformare in viâ justitiae charitatis et patientiae c. et haec est via Coeli non seculi Dei non Mundi Gorram in loc the voice of Christ shall never see the face of Christ He that saith He abideth in him ought to walk even as he also walk 1 John 2. 6. Then only doth the Watch of our lives move with uprightnesse when it is set by the beams of the Sun of Righteousnesse As he hath made his glory to be the pattern of our happinesse so he hath made his grace to be the pattern of our holinesse The Law condemns those persons as criminal that pretends to the Royal blood but are not of it because there 's a dependance between the blood Royal and the Crown Royal. I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not but are the Synagogue of Satan Revel 2. 9. Many would be made like Christ in Blisse who would not be made like Christ in Grace They would have a promise to corroberate their assurance but would not have a precept to regulate their performance Observe the connexion The Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King he will save us Isa 33. 22. Where ever Christ is a Priest for Redemption he is a Prince for Dominion Wherever he Non rebellibus sed meum credentibus et ei obedientibus est causa sufficiens salutis aeternae Gor. in loc is a Saviour there he is a Ruler And being made perfect he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him Heb. 5. 9. Jesus Christ where he is a fountain of happinesse there he is a fountain of holinesse If he be not your Refiner he will not be your Redeemer And those mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them bring hither and slay before me Luke 19. 27. It s here the voice of rebelious sinners we will not have this man to reign over us and it will hereafter be the voice of a righteous Saviour I will not have these men to reign with me As many as walk according to this rule peace be upon them Gala. 6. 16. To tread in any other path on Earth is but to mistake your way to Heaven If the Golden Chains of duty will not hold you Jussasme culsâ non negligâ—ntur sine crimine non coâ—temnanâ—ur ubique enim et neglectus culstâ—biâ—e et contemptus dâ—mnabiâ—is est Bern de praec dispens the Iron Chains of darkness shall bind you If you abuse your liberty in one world you will loose your liberty in another Blessed are they that do his Commandemenâ—s that they may have right to the tree of life Revel 22. 4. To look upon a promise without a prâ—cept is the Road way to presumption To look upon a precept without a promise is the Road way to desparation the one is like the Lead to the Net to keep it from floating the other is like the Cork to the Net to keep it from sinking Beleevers should be like the point in the compasse that 's governed not by the various winds but by the constant Heavens An obedient person when hisbody is translated from life to death his soul is translated from death to life O doe not make him to be a Quà m miserum est ex eò flore veneâ—um colligere equo alii remedium sugunt stone for stumbling that God hath made to be a stone for building The force of the fire is manifested as much in consuming the dross as in refining the Gold The strength of a Rock is seen not onely in upholding the house that 's built upon it but in breaking the ships that dashes against it The pillar of a Cloud was as wonderful in the darknesse that it cast upon the Aegyptians as in the brightnesse that it gave to the Israelites Thus doth the Lord Jesus display the greatnesse of his owne power in putting off the living to death as well as in raising of the dead to life Come unto me all ye thatlabour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Matthew 11. 28. But what follows vers 29. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me Wherever he takes a burden from off the creatures back there he layes a yoke upon the creatures neck The Gospel it gives a pardon to the greatest sin but it doth not give a patronage to the smallest sin To be lascivious because God is gracious what 's this but to split that ship in the Sea which should Land us at the Shore To live in a holy obedience to a Heavenly Father is the liberty of Gods sons but to give lust the swinge is the licentious bondage of the Devils slaves That soule was never related to Christ that was never devoted to Christ Not every Observa quomodo Christus ponit discrimen inter judicium Dei et hominum
heated in the Mid-night of adversity Afflictions are not a fire that 's consuming but a flame that 's refining they are like the prick at the Nightingales breast that awaken her and put her upon her delightful singing Many Saints are like Topps that goes best when they are lasht most For Ireckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us Romans 8. 18. These fall as far short of glory as the smallest fraction of the greatest number or as the least filings of Gold of the riches of the whole Indies If the early glimmerings of our Lord Jesus Christ shroud so much joy and strength within their own beams as over-powers the cross what will his Meridian Rayes of glory doe when they are revealed Will you cast them both into the scales of the Sanctuary 2 Cor. 4. 17. For our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory How light is a dram of reproach to a weight of glory and how short a Minute of pains to an Eternity of pleasures He said excellently Bene fertur Calumina cúm acquiritur Corona He need not be weary of the Crosse that 's sure of the Crown After the Cup of affliction comes the cup of salvation The Wine-presse prepares for the Wine-cellar After the pangs and throws comes the child birth O clear up your interest in God A pardon may be past the Princes Seale that is not put into the Prisoners hand Things that are exceeding sharp calls for much Sugar to make them sweet Death is a thing that hath the most ungrateful taste to the creatures pallate Now Grace is baptized with a double name It 's called The first-fruits of the spirit Romans 8. 28. It 's called The earnest of the spirit 2 Cor. 1. 22. It 's a tast to shew us the sweetnesse of eternal life and it 's a pledge to shew us the sureness of eternal life Our Heavenly Physitian will keep us no longer in Physick but till we are thorowly purged Our merciful refiner will detain us no longer in the Furnace but till we are sufficiently purified Patience for sowing the seeds of sorrow on earth shall reap a golden crop of joy in Heaven We may talk of the greatnesse of our future recompence but we shall never know the weight of our Crowns till they be set on our heads nor the worth of our Robes till they be worn on our backs then the pricking Thorn shall be turned into a precious Gem. As darknesse is the absence of light when the Sun is removed from its Horizon so is death the privation of life when the soul is removed from its Prison we have here but jus ad rem there we shall have jus in re Here we have an expectation of our fruitions there we shall have the fruition of our expectations Chear up brave spirits your Wildernesse Nunc deprimuntur et calcantur electi ut olim assurgant et extollantur ad instar palmarum Drex Christian Zod. Sig. 5. p. 42. journeys will soon be periodized The cloth must be cut in peeces before it can be made up in garments The hewing of the timber is for the erecting of the structure The new corn that lives in Summer is produced from the old corn that dyed in the Winter We should willingly embrace death though we should not desperately rush upon it you will be like Civet that 's when it 's taken out of the Box leaves a sweet savour behind it Shall Christ willingly come down from Heaven to earth to dye for us and shall not we willingly go up from earth to Heaven to live with him A Saints loathnesse to expire doth not spring from this root because they judge that death is not good enough for them but it 's a sprig that grows upon this root because they judge thēselves not good enough for death But remember the edg of this keen sword is blunted since the sides of Christ was the scabbard in which it was sheathed When the Ship is in the Haven its Erras mi Christiane erras sicogitas te integrum et non bene contusum perventurum ad coelum Drex loc citat past all storms but by induring storms it at last arriveth at the Haven When we come to Glory there will be no temptations to endure but it s by enduring of temptations that we come to glory When the body and the soul shall part asunder the soul and God shall meet together The sharper your sorrows are here the sweeter will be your joyes hereafter let me allude to that Psal 68. 13. Though ye have lien among the Pots yet shall ye be as the wings of a Dove covered with silver and her feathers with yellow gold All the Grapes in Christs Vineyard must passe thorow the Wine-presse Health is most acceptable after the sharpest sicknesse and liberty most sweet after a rigorous bondage and the harbour most welcome after turbulent storms How pleasant soever a sinners beginning is his ending is dolorous how troublesome soever a Saints beginning is his ending is joyous The fresh Rivers of carnal pleasure run into a salt Sea of despairing tears when the wet seeds-time of a pious life ushers in the Sun-shiny Harvest of a peacefull death When Craesus askt Solon who he Dicique beatus ant◠obitum nemo supremaque funera debet Horat. thought happy he told him one Tellus a man that was dead Happinesse doth not goe before death but death goes before happinesse It 's storied of Adrianus that seeing many Christians put to such cruel and bitter deaths he askt some of them what it was that they suffered such cruel torments for to whom they answered Speramus illa bona quae oculus non videt auras non audivit in cor hominis non ascenderunt We hope for those things which eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor ever entred into the heart of man to conceive They who are born blind are unable to judg of that glory that dazles the very eyes of the Angels One smile in Gods face will dry up all the tears in their eyes When beleevers change earth for Heaven they do not loose their blessednesse but compleat their blessednesse as fishes dropping out of the narrow Brook into the wide Ocean do not leave their Element but are more in it then they were before A beleevers dying is resembled to a burnt-offering now in a burnt-offering when the ashes falls to the earth the flame ascends to Heaven Thus have I set twenty Diamonds in your Golden Ring And so much for the first thing Namely The erection of singular Principles I come now to the last stage for the direction of singular practises Here I shall spread but six Sails and make to the shoar 1. Would you do more then others then you must know more then others I may say of Divine
THE Nonsuch PROFESSOR IN His Meridian Splendor OR THE Singular Actions OF Sanctified Christians Laid open in Seaven Sermons at Allhallows Church in the Wall London By WILLIAM SECKER Preacher of the Gospel For Isay unto you Except your righteousnesse shall exceed the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall in no case enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Math. 5. 20. Non magna loquimur sed vivimus Arnob. London Printed by M. S. for Thomas Parkhurst to be sold at his shop at the three Crowns over against the great Conduit in Cheapside 1660. TO THE HONOURABLE And truly Noble Patriots Sr Edward Barkham Knight and Baronet and his Religious consort Dame Francis Barkham of Tottenham in the County of Middlesex Honoured Worthies THis Piece reflects on no Interest but what is Eternall You have tide me in so many silken cords of your constant favours that I must live and dye bound in those pleasant fetters the only returne I am able to make you is in Ink and Paper to acknowledge my self your Debtor Your Noble minds are like that of Artaxerxes King of Persia who thought it as well becoming him to accept of small things from others as to give great things himself Let rotten posts be guilded and decayed beauties painted vertue like a precious Diamond needs no varnish Your own graces will spring you Rivers of praises without the tide of others tongues flowing in to brim the banks Reall honour is not built on the glittering foundation of refined clay the flourishing Lawrell of durable excellency doth not alwayes grow in the smooth field of a brave Geneallogy That blood which runs in vertues veins is of a more orient colour then that which swims in other channels The fairest flowers of humanity are those that spring up in the garden of sincerity piety is a more noble thing then parentage it is better to be new borne then it is to be high borne I beleeve you count that the sweetest honey which you suck out of Christs hive and take more pleasure in your inward goodnesse then in your outward greatnesse I am sensible what prejudices are taken against Epistles commendatory letters are too often like multiplying glasses which makes the smallest mole-hills appeare like the greatest Mountains But yet I dare shew your unspotted faces without borrowing the suspitious reflection of any false glasses You have too cleare a knowledge of God to take any thing into your hands before him and too deare a love to God to set any thing in your hearts above him you cast more propicious aspects upon Religion then ever to think it a friend unto Rebellion lookt upon Fear God and honour the King as a couple that God had joyned tâ—gether and that no man might put asunder and such as have shaken these Pillars with their own hands have pulled the house upon their own heads Providence having laid on them the hands of vengeance that laid on us the hands of violence and brought them under the sword of the Law that kept us under the Law of the sword You rejoyced in the first dawnings of the Morning of our Redemption from Aegyptian slavery and oppression deem the superstruction of prosperity is firmliest laid upon the foundation of Monarchy When others have sparkled like Stars in their Orbes you have shined like a Sun in yours having neither been like Crabs going backwards nor like snails creeping forwards When others have sailed with every wind of Doctrine you have steered your course according to the Compasse of Scripture and have carried the lamp of Truth in one hand and the beauty of holiness in the other It is said of the Families of some great Personages That there is more oathes heard in a day then there are prayers made in a yeare But I may say of yours there is more prayers made in a day then there are oathes heard in a yeare The oyle of grace that is poured on your heads runs down to the skirts of your garments O how comely a Vision is it to see the Tabernacles of great men to be the Temples of the great God! Honoured Worthies Many jewells God hath hung upon your terrestriall Crown he hath given you the fatnesse of the earth as well as the dew of Heaven Esau's Venison as well as Jacob's Blessing the nether springs of common bounty as well as the upper springs of speciall mercy There are four showers that have watred your Garden First a fruitfull Posterity Secondly a peaceful Tranquillity Thirdly a faithfull Society Fourthly a gratefull Memory As there is nothing wanting to you so let there be nothing wanting in you you cannot complain of God for want of mercy let not God complain of you for want of Duty as he hath opened his hands to blesse you so do you open your mouths to blesse him In the highest flood and spring-tides of outward mercies its hard to keep our hearts within the channell Respected Sirs You have a large roome in the bosomes of many that are godly but alas the best mens confidences on earth are insufficient evidences for heaven A house well compacted is able to bear out a storme but a dis-joynted building every push will throw it down The best Patrimony is that above us the best Testimony is that within us give me such hopes as will not only goe with me to my bed of rest but will lye with me in my bed of dust as will not only bear me up in the Calme of Life but will shoare me up in the Tempest of Death Sirs You are like Beacons upon a hill which are visible unto all A small star may be darkned and yet passe unobserved but the eclipsing of the suns splendor is a part of the worlds wonder a crack in the greatest pebble is not so bad as a flaw in the smallest jewell O how amiably should you live with men who look to live eternally with God! The highest preheminence calls for the exactest obedience he is unworthy to be the chiefest in a family that is unwilling to be the choycest of a family yea he puts a sword into the hand of Vice that snatches the scepter out of the hand of grace None can challenge an interest in the love of God but such as are indued with the life of God Deare Sirs I know you have affections to desire the truth as well as apprehensions to discerne the truth and read Books as Bees to fill your Combes and not as Butterflies to paint your wings and therefore I have presented you with a Piece that is not notionall but practicall A great shooe fits not a small foot nor a large Saile a little Boat the subject is fitter for a Christian to live upon then for a Critick to look upon They are as cruell Parents that murder the issue of their brains as those that murder the issue of their loynes I hope the dreggs doth not lye so thick in it but you may draw out some cleer
Brutus also gave him a stab with that he looks upon him and saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What thou my son Brutus Sueâ—onius juxta finâ— vitae Iuâ— Caes What mother can endure to see those lips that drew her brests suck her blood The unkindness of a friend hath the most in it of an enemy When others appear before God as prisoners appear before a Judge Beleevers appear before him as children do before a Father The Roman Censors took such a distaste at the son of Africanus that they pluckt the ring from off his figner in which his fathers image was engraven They would not suffer him to wear his Fathers picture who was so unlike his Quin familiaribus quaeren tibus vellet n Olympiae in stadio decurrere eraâ— enim pedibus velor soquidem respondit reges sunt meum dâ—certaturi Plut. in ini â—vit A. lex Q. Curt. â— 1. fathers person God will not suffer any man to wear the livery of Christ upon him who wants the likeness of Christ within him When his companions would have Alexander that was swift on foot to run in the Olympick games I would saith he so there were but Kings and Princes to run with me Give me such a Saint as will do nothing upon earth that is unsuitable to his birth from heaven What shall he walk in darkness whose father is light Shall that tongue be found lying so constantly to men that was found praying so earnestly to God or those eyes be found gazing on sinful objects that were found reading of sacred Oracles The remembrance of our dignity should engage us to the performance of our duty It is not for Kings O Lemuel it is not for Kings to drink wine nor for Princes strong drink Prov. 31. 4. Such a sin is bad in a Subject but worse in a Soveraign As a spot in scarlet is worse then a stain in russet That 's the second 3. Christians should do more then others because they profess more then others As plants are known by their fruits so Saints are known by their works Shall such as have received Christs press-money fight under Satans colours Though there be many Professors that are no Beleevers yet there are no Beleevers but are Professors They profess that they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and to every good work reprobate Tit. 1. 16. A man is not what he says but he is what he does To say what we do and not to do what we say is to be like trees that are full of leaves but empty of fruits Or like a barn wherein there is much chaff but little corn It s better never to shine then not to be gold What is it to put off your old manners and to keep on the old man A snake may change her coat and yet keep her sting The Gospel professed that lifts a man unto heaven but it s the Gospel practised that leads a man into heaven To be a Professor of piety and a Practiser of iniquity it s so far from advancing your commendation that its an encreasing of your condemnation Why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the word that I say Either obey my commands more or else call me Lord no more Either take me into your lives or cast me out of your lips Our Lord Jesus disdains to have his name seen on as Princes scorn to have their Effigies stampt on base mettals Let every one that names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity If godliness be evil why is it so much professed if goodliness be good why is it so litle practised Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling 2 Tim. 1. 10. A holy calling should be attended with a holy carriage It s a greater glory to us that we serve God then it is to God that we serve him It is not he that 's made happy by us but it s we that are made happy by him He needs not such servants as we are upon earth but we need such a Master as he is in heaven A man may finde many that talks of grace but he shall find but a few that tastes of grace Every one doth no live like a Christian that looks like a Christian Thou that makest thy boast of the Law through breaking the Law dishonorest thou God! Rom. 2. 23. It s monstrous to see that Christians tongues should be larger then their hands That they should carry a lanthorn before others and yet tread in the dark themselves A vicious patern more infects then a vertuous doctrine instructs he that gives good precepts and then sets bad paterns is like a man that first blows the fire to kindle it and after casts water to quench it again These Physitians whilest they give cordials to others they faint themselves I may say of such Professors as he said of a vicious Preacher That when in the Pulpit it was pity he should ever come out he was so good in his instructions but when out of the pulpit that it was pity he should ever come in again he was so bad in his conversation We must not be offended at the profession of Religion because all are not religious that make a profession The sheep doth not despise his fleece because the Woolf hath worn it Who blames a chrystial river because some melancholly men have drowned themselves in its streams The best Drugs have their adulterate What though you have been cheated with false colours yet disestimate not them that are dyed in grain He is a bad husband that having a spot in his coat will cut off the cloath when he should wash out the dirt But when you make a good profession be sure to make your profession good 4. The Disciples of Christ are to do more then others because every Beleever is to be conformed to his Redeemer Jesus Christ as he is the principle of excellency to which all must come so he is the patern of excellency to which all must conform As he is the root on which a Saint grows so he is the rule by which a Saint squares God hath made one Son like unto all that he might make all his sons like unto one He 〈◊〉 to teach us how to live and he died to teach us how to die Yea as he lived and died for our good so he lived and died in our stead It s a rule Primum unoquoque genere est mensura reliquorum That which is the first in any kind c. Learn of me for I am meek and lowly Matth. 11. 29. Never was Nature better graced and never was Grace better natured Well may the Stars be obscured when the Sun was eclipsed For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you Joh. 13. 5. If the life of Christ be not your patern the death of Christ will not be your pardon The Lord Jesus though he was a man of sorrows
yet he was not a man of sins Though we cannot equalize his holiness yet we should imitate his holiness As it is the same light which shines from the body of the sun in its meridian and which breaks forth in the dawnings of the morning There 's the same water in the streams that bubbles up at the spring-head Summa religionis est 〈◊〉 eum quem colis Lactant. There should be such a conformity between the life of Christ and the life of a Christian as there is between the Counterpain and its Original As face answers to face in the water so should life answer to life in the Scripture What he was by nature that we should be by grace He that was a way to others never went out of the way himself A holy life is a chrystal glass wherein Jesus Christ beholds his own face In our Sacramental participations we shew forth the death of Christ but in our evangelical conversations we shew forth the life of Christ An excellent Christ calls for excellent Christians And why should we â—ay his yoke is heavy when he says his yoke is easie He went about doing good Acts 10. 38. As he was never ill imployed so he was never unimployed Jesus Christ submits his person to be judged by his actions If I do not the works beleeve me not If I act not like a Saviour do not take me for a Saviour Thus should it be with a Saint Never take me for a Christian if I act not like a Christian If men finde no more among Saints then they find among men they will say Here is a man and a man and not a man and a Christian Man naturally is an aspiring piece and loves to be nearest to those that are highest Now a Christ that did more then others calls on Christians to do more then others Methinks you should take as much delight in those precepts that enjoyn holiness as in those promises that assures happiness and be as willing to be ruled by Christ as you are willing to be saved by Christ To the Saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight Psa 16. 3. Was it so in his time and shall iâ— not be so in our time The New Testament out-shines the Old as much as the splendor of the sun doth the brightness of the stars If you live under more glorious dispensations you should have more gracious conversations As he is so are we in this world 1 Joh. 4. 17. As he was so should we be on earth and as he is so shall we be in heaven If there be no congruity between Christ and you in holiness there will be no society between Christ and you in happiness That 's the fourth 5. The Disciples of Christ must do more then others because they are more lookt upon then others If once a man be a Professor the eyes of the whole world are placed upon him Because our profession in the world is a separation from the world Beleevers should condemn those by their lives who condemn them with their lips Teach me thy way O Lord and lead me in a plain path because of mine enemies Psal 27. 11. Heb. Because of my observers or propter insidiatores meos because of those that lye in wait for me If you walk in the unpaved road of licentious loosness the world will not go backwards like Shem and Japhet to cover your nakedness but they will march forward like cursed Cham to uncover your nakedness They make use of your weakness as a shield to defend their own wickedness Men are merciless in their censures though God hath more equitable scales and wil give grains of allowance to his own gold A true Christian though he be a Dove in Gods eyes yet he is a Raveâ— in theirs An unholy conversation pâ—lls off the jewels from the beautiful Queen of Religion Sin allowed of in a Saint it s like a slit in a piece of cloth of gold or like a crack in a silver bell The foulest spots are soonest seen in the fairest cloaths The world will sooner allow its own enormities then of your infirmities The loose walkings of Christians are the reproaches of Christ Si Christus sancta dâ—â—uisset sancta à Christianis fierent qualis secta talis sectatores Quomodo bonus magistor eujus tam pravos videmus Discipulos as Lactantius brings in the Heathens ubraiding the Nations So much malice is there lodged in sinners as to reproach the rectitude of the rule for the obliquity of their lives who swerve and vary from it Now your pure lives should hang a padlock upon their impure lips who throw the dirt of Professors upon the face of Profession One hour of the suns eclipsing attracts more eyes to view it then all its illustrious shinings Dr. Whitaker reading that fifth of Matthew breaks forth into these words Aut hoc non est Evangelium aut nos non sumus Evangelici Either this is not Gospel that we Christians profess or else we are not Christians that profess the Gospel The curelty of the Spaniards to the Indians made them cry out Quam malus Deus iste qui habet tam malos servos What an evil God is this that hath such evil servants Gods Jewels should cast a sparkling lustre in the eyes of others One scar may stain the beauty of the fairest face It was a glorious Encomium given of Zachary and Elizabeth They were both righteous before God walking in all the commandmâ—nts and ordinances of the Lord blam â—â—ss Luk. 1. 6. As they were harmless in their actings so they were blameless in their walkings Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world Jam. 1. 2. If you would keep your selves unspotted from the world you must keep your selves unspotted in the world Christians such even threads should be spun by you as none might fasten a snarl upon you That 's the fifth 6. Ground is Because if you do no more then others it will appear that you are no more then others Vna actio non denominat fidelem It is not one action that makes a Beleever no more then its one Swallow that makes a Summer As there is none so evil but may do some good so there is none so good but may do some evil Every being nath its proper acting and where we do not finde the working we may deny the being You would be thought to be more then Publicans and Sinners what and yet act no more then Publicans and Sinners Ye shall know them by their fruits Mat. 7. 20. By the leaves the tree is seen but by the fruit the tree is known The hand of the Dyal is without in going as the wheels of the clock are within in moving Where the heart is of a good constitution the life will be of a fair complexion When the
Conduit is walled in how shall we judge of the Spring but by the water that runs out of the pipes A Sinner may shew the good he wants but a Saint cannot hide the good he hath When Saul was made a Soveraign he had another spirit poured out upon him a spirit of Government for a place of Government When a sinner is made a Saint he hath another spirit poured out upon him As he is what he was not so he does what he did not It s reported of a Harlot when she saw one with whom she had formerly committed folly she renewed her inticements to whom he answered Ego non sum ego though she was the same woman she was yet he was not the same man he was For him that is more then a man to do no more then a man where is the Christian Are ye not carnal and walk as men 1 Cor. 3. 3. If men act like beasts God will call them beasts and if Christians act like men he will stile them men There is no passing for currant coyn on earth without having of the stamp of heaven That 's the sixth 7. The Disciples of Christ are to do more then others because they are to be judges of others If you consult sacred Records you shall find that both God and Christ and the Saints are said to judge the world the ordination is Gods the execution is Christs the approbation is the Saints When the Apostle would stop the sinful suits among the Corinthian brethren that did not want men of Eminency to put a period unto controversie Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the world and if the world shall be judged by you are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters 1 Cor. 6. 2. If you shall judge in causes between God and man how much more in causes between man and man if about matters that are eternal then about matters that are external fellons may be jovial in the prison but they tremble at the Bar. When wicked men come like miserable captives out of their holes how shall the Saints rise out of their graves like morning suns Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied saying Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgement upon all Jude 14 15. This shall no more derogate from Christs Office then the Session of the Justices doth from the authority of the Judge they are Co-operators though not Coadjutators in that peculiar act When the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel Matth. 19. 28. Now the world judges the Saints but then the Saints shall judge the world the act of the head is imputed to the members and the act of the members is acknowledged by the head Now shall there be no difference between him that sits on the Bench and him that stands at the Bar How will you be able to pass a righteous sentence upon others for those evils you are guilty of your selves In maxima fortuna minima licentia In the greatest majesty there is the smallest liberty As he said to Caesar Caesari cum omnia licent propter hoc minus liceat Seeing all things are lawful for Caesar to do it is therefore the less lawful for Caesar to do them By faith Noah built an Ark by which he condemned the world Heb. 11. 7. The Saints judge the world not only by their faith but by their facts In the innocency of your lives you should shew the world the filthiness of theirs Thou art more righteous then I. What is the usual prejudice that the world hath against Religion but this that it makes no man better though it makes some men stricter Do not we see that they who profess against pride more then others are themselves as as proud as others These people they often meet together to be better but they are never the better for their often meeting together do but take away their profession and you take away their Religion They have nothing of the sheep but the skin Do but see how the God of Israel doth upbraid the Israel of God Hath a Nation changed their gods which are yet no gods but my people hath changed their glory for that which doth not profit Jer. 2. 11. Here is a professing people out-gone by a people that made no profession The Heathens if they take up their gods they will keep up their gods They were true to their false gods when these were false to the true God Hear O heavens and be astonished O earth Isa 1. 2. Why what is the matter the ox knoweth his own and the Ass his Masters crib but my people doth not know and Israel doth not consider God did not call down a Jury of Angels to condemn them but empannels a jury of Oxes and Asses to pass sentence upon them O that Oxes and Asses should be more religious then those who do profess Religion In their kind they are more kind for if the owner feeds them the owner rides them That is the seventh 8. Reason why the Disciples of Christ should do more then others because they expect more then others And every man that hath this hope purifies himself as he is pure 1 Joh. 3. 3. Hope its too pure a plant to grow in an impure soil You must not look to dance with the Devil all day and sup with Chrâ—â—â— at night or to go from Dalilahs lap to Abrahams bosom If falvation were easily come by it would be slightly set by It s the not raigning of sin in our mortal bodies which makes way for the raigning of our immortal souls Grace is such a pilot as without its stearage you will suffer shipwrack in your voyage Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Matth. 5. 8. A dusty glass will not represent the face We do not look for a Turkish Paradise but for a sinless state nor to bathe our selves in carnal pleasures but to be consorts of the Immaculate Lamb. Giving thanks to the Father who hath made us meet partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light Col. 1. 12. You season the vessel with water before you trust it with wine God will season the vessel with the water of grace before he pours into it the wine of glory It s hard to say whether God discovers more love in preparing of glory for Saints or in the preparing of Saints for glory Beleevers let youâ— present deportment be suitable to your future preferment There is no living a life that is vicious and then dying a death that is righteous As Justice crushes none before they are corrupted so Mercy crowns none before they are converted Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord Heb. 12. 14. Holiness though it be that which a sinner scorns yet it s that which a Saviour crowns The soul of man that is the cabinet
18. 4. If Rome have left us in the foundation let us leave them in the superstruction Where they are fallen from God there let us fall from them Where such worms breeds in the body of a Nation they will be sure to eat out the bowels of Religion Not to take away such traytors is to make a nest wherein to hatch their treasons That is the fifth 6. Singular thing is this To chuse the worst of sorrows before you commit the least of sins Others they chuse the greatest sin before the smallest suffering which is like the fish that leaps out of the broyling-pan into the burning flame by seeking to shun an external calamity they rush Thus Spira by labouring to preserve his outward estate indangered the loss of his immortal soul into eternal misery What is this but as if a man to save his hat should lose his head Or to sink the ship that is sailing to avoid the storm that is rising It is better to have the flesh defaced then Peccatum inter omnia mala existimare debemus maximum malum Chem Evan. har p. 878. it is to have the spirit defiled Though man be the Butt yet it is sin that is the mark at which all the arrows of divine vengeance are shot These spiders weave their own webs and then are intangled in them Our own damnation is but the product of our own transgression Wherefore doth a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sins Lam. 3. 39. When man had no evil within him man had no evil upon Peccatum omnia mala habet sibi adjuncta eorumque sons origo existit id ibid. him He began to be sorrowful when he began to be sinful When the soul shall be fully released from the guilt of its impieties the body shall be wholly delivered from the grief of its infirmities Sorrow shall never be a visitant where sin is not an inhabitant the former would be a foraigner if the latter were not a sojourner God is as far from beating his children for nothing as he is from beating his children to nothing There is no way to calm the sea but Si serpentem negligis basiliscus fiet si parvae navis foramina non abturas â—qua paulatim acrescens submerget navens Stapl. p. m. p. 443. to excommunicate Jonah from the ship Kill the root and the branches wither Diminish the spring and the streams will fail Remove but the fuel of corruption and you extinguish the fire of affliction The wages of sin is death Rom. 6. 23. The works of sin are hateful and the wages of sin are mortal The corruption of nature is the cause of the dissolution of nature The candle of our lives is blown out by the wind of our lusts that is the weed that overtops the corn the smoak that depresses the flame and the cloud that over-shadows the sun Were it not for sin death had never had a beginning and Supersint in nobis peccati reliquiae adhaerentes carni nostrae donee sâ—mus in hâc vâ—tâ at hae reliquiae mortâ— tollâ—atur â—â—use â—oc 〈◊〉 de â—em pec p. 53. were it not for death sin would never have an ending Man as a creature is a debtor to Gods Soveraignty commanding but man as a sinner is a debtor to Gods severity condemning What is so sweet a good as Christ and what is so great an evil as lust Sin hath brought many a Beleever into suffering and suffering Afflâ—ctiones sunt reâ—edia peccatorum ut peccata sunt causae afflictionum Stap. promp Mor. p. 197. hath kept many a Beleever out of sin It is better to be preserved in brine then to rot in honey The bitterest Physick is to be chosen before the sweetest poyson Sicut aurum reprobum igne consumitur probum vero igne declaratur In the same fire where the dross is consumed the gold is refined How many thousands of souls had never obtained the hopes of heaven if they had not sailed by the gates of hell As every mercy is a drop derived from the ocean of Gods goodness so every misery is a dram weighed by the wisdom of Gods providence When Eudoxia threatned Chrysostom with banishment Go tell her saith he Nil nisi peccatum timeo I fear nothing but sin And indeed nothing but sin is to be feared Before we lanch out into any undertaking it behoves us to ask our selves what is our tackling if a storm should overtake us in our voyage A bad conscience imbitters the sweetest comforts when a good conscience sweetens the bitterest crosses Et quantam in conscientia relinquent cicatricem vitia vel aetate tenerrima perpetrata He that is not afraid to do evil will be afraid to suffer evil But what need he fear a cross on the back who doth feel a Christ in Afflictio pins non constituit infaelices aut miseros uti humana judicat ratio sed contra felices aâ—beatos Lau. â—â— Ep. Iac. p 78. the heart It s the water without the ship that tosses it but it s the water within the ship that drowns it It s better to have a body consumed to ashes then a soul that shall dwell with everlasting burnings Though we cannot Diligo quidem pati sed nescio an dignus sim Ignat in Ep. ad Trall live without afflictions yet le ts live above afflictions Our Patmos is our way to Paradise Non nisi per angusta ad augusta Suppose the furnace be heated seven times hotter it is but to make us seven times better They that are here crossed for well doing shall be hereafter crowned for well-dying There is none so welcome to the spiritual Canaan as those that swim to it through the red sea of their own blood Christian when thou comest into the world thou dost but live to die again and when thou goest out of the world thou dost but dye to live again What is the grain the worse for the fan by which it is winowed or the gold for the fire by which it is purified Pendleton promised rather to fry out a fat body in flames of martyrdom then to betray his Religion but when the trial approacht he said As he came not frying into the world so he would not go flaming out of the world They who will not part with their lusts for Christ will never part with their lives for Christ But Paul and Silas they had their prison Thus that undaunted champion of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. frumentum Dei dentibus ferarum molar ut mundus panis Dei inveniar Ign. in Ep. ad Rom songs in the midst of their prison-sufferings These caged birds sang as sweetly as those that have skie freedom I have read a story of a woman that being in travel in prison a little before her death she cried out of her sorrows The Keeper askt her how she could indure the fire that made such a
living There is no condemnation belongs to those Christians who do belong to Christ That is the sixth 7. Singular thing is this To be a father to all in charity and yet a servant to all in humility First To be a father to all in charity That crop that is sown in mercy shall be reaped in glory In heaven there is riches enough but no poor to receive them In hell Thesauros in orbe illo supero struit qui pauperibus eos in hoc infero distribuit Drex ubi infra there is poor enough but no rich to relieve them Others they are deaf to the requests of mercy They will do no good in Those that forget benefits bestowed are not more to blame in a very heathens account then those that forget to bestow them Qui beneficium non redit uon magis peccat quam qui non dat Sen. de Bon. l. 1. the world with the goods of the world They are like spunges that greedily sucks up the waters but yields it not forth again till they be squeezed Necessity is not like to be undrest of misery whilst those that would help cannot for want of ability and they which may help will not for want of charity There is not a drop of water for such Diveses in hell that have not a crum of bread for such Lazerusses upon earth Every act of charity is but an act of equity It s not the bestowing of your gifts but the paying of your debts The riches superfluity was ordained to releive the poors necessity A Lady giving six pence to a beggar told him That she had given him more then ever God had given her To whom he replied No Madam God hath given you all your abundance No saith she He hath but lent that to such as me that we should give it to such as you Whosoever beleiveth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God And every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him 1 Joh. 5. 1. Holiness as it works a likeness to him that begets it so it works a likeing of them that enjoys it It is impossible that he should love the person of Christ who doth not love the picture of Christ He that loves himself will not hate his brother for whilst he is out of charity with his brother God is out of charity with him And we lose more for want of Gods love then our brethren lose for want of our love Make to your selves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness that when they fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations Luk. 16. 9. He is not a covetous man that lays up some thing providently but he is a Audite O divites novam è coelo artem novas colligendi thesaurimodus SPARGERE Errastis hactenus nam dando ditescimus non corradendo servando Drex Christian Zod. Sig 7. p. 63. covetous man that gives out nothing willingly The Sun of charity though it rises at home yet it should set abroad The hopes of life should not make you covetous but the thoughts of death should make you T was a Divi e saying of the heathen Nihilmagis possidereme credam quam bened onata Sen. de viâ— beaâ— c 20. bounteous Without your mercy the poor cannot live on earth and without Gods mercy you shall not live in heaven Others their churlishness doth swallow up their charitableness Instead of praying one for another they are making a prey one of another When I consider that our hearts are not softer I wonder that the times are no harder That God should give the rich so much and the rich give the poor so little Some observe that the barrenest grounds are nearest to the goldenest mines It is too often true in a spiritual sence that they whom God hath made the most fruitful with Estates are most barren of good works The rich they spend their goods more wantonly but the poor they give their Almes more willingly A penny comes more hardly out of a bag that 's full crammed then a shilling out of a purse that 's half empty Wherefore Parùm potes sufficit multum voluisse multum potes cave velis parùm dare Drex ubi priu p. 65. doth the Lord make your cups run over but that others lips might tast of your liquor The showers that fall upon the highest Mountains they glide inthe lowest valleys give and it shall be given you It s infidelity that is the spring of cruelty Therefore where you have â— precept for the one you have a promise of the other If thou deniest to those that are vertuous thou killest bees if thou bestowest on those that are vitious thou supportest drones But it s better to favour a bastard then to Murder a child God looks not so much on the merits of the beggar as upon the mercy of the giver He hath shewed the O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do Justice to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God! Micah 6. 8. Here is a trinity of precepts from a trinity of persons If all were rich no Alms need be received if all were poor no almes could be bestowed But he that could have made all men wealthy hath made some men empty that the poor might have Christ for an example of patience and the rich for an example of goodness Cruelty is one of the highest scandals of piety which makes lambs of Lyons and tames the feircest tempers Be ye merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful Luke 6. 36. Clemency is one of the brightest Diamonds in the Crown of Majesty Mat. 5. 48. Be ye perfect as your heavenly father is perfect what the one calls merciful the other stiles perfect as if Vna misericordia omnes perfectiones this one perfection of mercy included all He that sheweth mercy when it may best be spared will receive mercy when it shall most be needed It s storyed of one of the Dukes of Savoy that being askt what hounds he kept by certayne Embassadors that came to his Court he shewed them a company of poor people sitting at his Table these saith he are all the hounds I have on earth with which I hunt after the Kingdom of heaven It s counted an honour to live like Princes but 't is a greater honour to give like Princes Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the father is this to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspoted from the world James 1. 27. The flames of piety towards God should be perfumed with the Incense of charity towards man mercy is so good a servant that it will never let its Mr. dye a beggar Quantos avaritia ad incitas redegit eleemosyna nullos its pitty that those Dâ—ek ubi prius who have drained their own wels dry should perish for want of water to quench their thirst Then shall the King say unto
6. 21. him as one that is in bitterness for his first born Zach. 12. 10. The nailes that pierced his hands shall now pierce their hearts they shall wound themselves with their sorrows which have wounded him with their sins That they have grieved his spirit it shall grieve their spirits A beleiver puts on his mourning garment for puting off his wedding garment As the Suger-loaf is disolved and weeps it self away when it s dipt in wine so do our hearts disolve and melt themselves away in the sweet sence of Divine love and our refusals of it O that ever I should be so bad a child to him that hath been so good a Father Of sin because they beliive not in me John 16. 9. Unbelief it s a sin that least visible and yet a sin that 's most damnable Not to fetch our lives from Christ is to bring the greatest death upon Christ Insidelity is the greatest robbery it frustrates not onely all the actions of Christ in doing but all the passions of Christ in dying Other persons are like Lapwings that flutter most at the greatest remoteness from the nests if they have teares for their outward losses but none for their inward lusts they can mourn for the evil that sin brings but not for the sin which brings the evil As Pharoah more lamented the hard strokes that was upon him then the hard heart that was within him Esau mourned not because he sold the Birthright which was his sin but because he lost the blessing which was his punishment This is like weeping with an Onion the eye sheds tears because it smarts A Marriner casts over those goods in a Tempestuous season that he courts a return off when the winds are silenced many complain more of the sorrows to which they are born then of the sins in which they are born The venome of sin is not ever distastful when the vengeance of sin is affrightful The sinners in Sion are affraid fearfulness hath surprised the Hypocrites Why what 's the matter Who amongst us shall dwell with the devouring fire who amongsts us shall dwell with everlasting burnings Isai 33. 14. They fear corruption not as it is a cole that is blacking but as it is a fire that is burning A stroke from Justice brake Judases heart into despaire but a look from mercy melted Peters hearts into teares There are two things in our sins There 's the devillishness of them and the dangerousnes of them Now take a Saint and a sinner Quid feci quò me praecipitaveram nisi mihi Dei misericordia subveniret Cal. inst l. 3. c. 3. sec 15. the one saith what have I done the other what must I suffer the one mourns for the active evil that hath been committed by him the other mourns for the passive evil that shall be inflicted on him The former grieves because his soul is defiled The latter grieves because his soul is condemned Water may gush from a Rock when is smitten by a rod But such heartless humiliations are hearty dissimulations Did sin bring sorrow into the world O let sorrow carry sin out of the world Whilst the vessel is leaking the Pump is going it s too early to wipe Tota vita vestra poenitentia sit haec enim vita locus est poenitentia Stel. in Luc. 3. 3. away tears from your eyes till God sweep away dust from your hearts It s better to go to heaven sadly then to go to hell securely Give me a melancholy Saint rather then a merry devil nothing can quench Magni igitur constat poenitentiae Ferrar. the fire that sin hath kindled but the water which repentance hath caused Did the rocks rend when Christ dyed for our sins and shall not our hearts rend that have lived in our sins If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to clense us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1. 9. Do but you acknowledg the debt and he will cansel the bond Is it not better to be savedby Divine mercy then to be sued by Divine Justice do you open the Offensum se Deus obliviscitur si nos offensi cum dolore recordemur Drex Christi Zod. p. 115. ulcer that is paining and he will apply the plaister that is healing till we are opressed with our own burdens we shall never be eased by Christs Shoulders Where misery passes undiscerned there mercy passes undesired behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me Rev. 3. 20. Christ doth many times come unto the door when he doth not come into the house but how willing is he to be received who is unwilling to be denied as you knock at his doors for audience so he knocks at your doors for entrance if you shut out his person he will shut out your Prayers the onely way to have our will of God is to do the will of God A Saints tears are better then a sinners triumps Lachrymae poenitentium Bern. serm 30. super Cant. sunt vinum Angelorum A sinners repenting is the Angels rejoycing and give me such a mourning on earth as creates Musick in heaven if you would not sin in your griefs then grieve for your sins Why should God shew him mercy that doth not acknowledge himself guilty how many are there that are battered as lead by the hammer that were never bettered as gold by the fire Look to it least your repentance of dead works be not it self a work that 's dead that you shed such tears as need no tears for the sheding of them Usually that repentance that begins in the fears of hell ends in the flames of hell that 's the eighth 9. Singular thing is to keep our hearts lowest when God raises our estates highest charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches 1 Tim. 6. 17. Sinful arrogance doth usually attend sinful considence Worldly wealthyness is a great quill to blow up the bladder of high-mindedness when mens estates are lifted up then mens hearts are pussed up Oh how proud is thin dust of thick clay Pride breeds Thus Romulus secundis rebus elatus tumidus m nime serendam superbiam contumaciam sumebat Pâ—â—t in vita Rom. in great estates as wormes do in sweet fruits but Christians if you be poor in the world you should be rich in faith but if you be rich in the world you should be poor in spirit the way to ascend is to descend the deeper a tree is in its rooting the larger a tree is in its spreading The face of prosperity shines brightest through the Mask of humility As none have so little but they have matter for blessing so none have so much that they have matter for bosting shall the stage-player be proud of his borowed robes or the
refresh the earth Chariots too furiously driven may be overturned with their own speed How many are there that check passion with passion and are very angry in the dislike of anger thus to lay one Devil they raise another These leave more work to undoe in the end then they found to do at the beginning such a reproof of a vice is a vice to be reproved In reprehension take heed of carrying your teeth in your tongues of biting whilst you are speaking Chyrurgeons think it not safe to stab their Patients because one perhaps was so delivered of an impostume It s hard taming the unruly surges of an inraged Ocean Brethren if any man be overtaken with a fault you that are spiritual restore such a man in the spirit of meekness Gal. 6. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Set him in ioynt again and to restore a dis-joynted bone into its proper place requires the Ladies hand tenderness as well as skilfulness Leigh Crit. Sacr. Reprehension is not an act of Butchery but an act of Surgery take heed of blunting the instrument by putting too keen an edge upon it mark the reason that 's added Confidering thy self least thou also be tempted If thy neighbours house be on fire thy own may be the next thats burnt they should be willing to lend mercy at one time that may have occasion to borrow it at another We should deal with others sins Vide Boules l. 2. cap. 15. past evang can 3. as we do with our own sores if a prick with a pin will let out the corrupt matter cutting and lancing shall not be used If the birds will be driven away its needless to bring a piece to shoot them Open sinners deserve open censures but private admonitions will serve for private aberrations Whilst we seek to heal a wound in our brethrens actions we should not leave a scar upon our brethrens persons The purest gold being too light for passage we give it grains of allowance That is a rare temper of spirit that can cover our faults from others eyes and discover them to our own Under the Law the snuffers was made of gold and the dishes into which the snuff was cast to shew that there is a great deal of excellency in casting a mantle over our brethrens infirmities That physick that stirs the humors and doth not carry them away leaves the body in a worse condition then it found it Ah how many are there that vomit up these bitter pills though they be wrapt up in sweet sugar Men love to be adored but hate to be reproved But how can we make them brick when they will not afford us straw or praise what they do vvhen they do not vvhat is to be praised Theodosius the Emperor confest of St. Ambrose notvvithstanding his severe dealings vvith him Solum novi Ambrosium dignum Episcopi nomine That he knew none worthy to be a Bishop but Ambrose Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them Ephes 5. 11. We are as accountable for our sins of communion as we are for our sins of commission How securely would David have slept upon his adulterous pillow if Nathan had not been sent to awake him How far do many travel in the Devils rode for want of a wholesom reproof to stop them in their journey It was the saying of Austin when Benevolentiae ergo non odii signum est reprehendere Câ—em Asex poe â—ag l. 1. his hearers were angry at his reproofs Emendate vitia ego emendabo verba When you mend your lives we shall mend our language A serpent the more he is stirred the more he gathers up his poison to spit at you Others are to reproofs as Tygers are to Drums that tear their own flesh if you beat them in their presence Man is a cross creature and cannot endure to be checkt and controlled He would have a Noli me tangere written upon him But who will blame the dogs barking at the theifs approaching Sin it s like the nettle that stings when it s gently touched but doth not hurt when it s ruggedly handled Haec omnia tendunt ad salutem sanitatem aeternam This rough dealing is but to square you for the celestial building As for flatterers they may be stiled the Devils Vpholsters who when they see men leaning towards their lusts are laying pillows under their sleepy elbows but let them know that the want of the fire of zeal will at last be punished with the fire of hell Those are unskilful Painters that limb deformities in the fairest colours Reprehension it should tread upon the heels of transgression The plaister should be applied as soon as ever the wound is received It s easier putting out a candle then it is quenching of a house on fire Gentle physick will serve for a begun distemper but chronical diseases are cured with harshness Next to the keeping of our garments clean is washing as soon as we have defiled them The sword of reproof must be drawn against the offence of the person and not against the person of the offendor Many think the cup of reprehension is not bitter enough unless they mingle it with their gawl and wormwood But the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God The dreadfulest sentences of the Qui arguit impassibilitèr debet arguere ut salutem expetat ejus qui arguitur non vindictam Orig. ut quidam asserunt in Psal 37. Church are not mortal but medicinal they are to raise the dead to life and not to put the living to death Who knows how much the majesty of a Reprover tames the insolency of an Offender He that hates reproof is brutish Prov. 12. 18. He is like a dog that barks and bites when the thorn is pulling out of his foot that pricks him or like a horse that kicks when the Ostler is rubbing off the dirt that defiles him If thy brother shall trespass against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone Mat. 18. 15. If he shall hear thee thou hast gained thy brother The dog that follows the game by barking loses the prey The presence of a multitude makes a man take up an unjust defence rather then lie down in a just shame It s better to censure a man in private then to spread his guilt by a proclamation yet how many do that in the market that they should do in the closet Sin it s a miry depth if thou strivest to help one out and dost not thou sinkest him in the further Remember tender lambs though straying must be gently reduced to the fold That 's the thirteenth 14. Singular thing is To take up all duties in point of performance and to lay them down in point of dependance When the purest duties have been performed the purest mercies should be implored Many have passed the rocks of gross sins that have been cast away upon the sands of self-righteousness
Others they live more on their cushions then they do upon Christ more upon the prayers they make to God then upon the God to whom they make their prayers which is as if a redeemed captive should reverence the sword but not the man that hath wrought his rescue The name of God with a sling and a stone will do more then Goliah with all his armour Duties they are but dry pits in themselves though never so curiously cut out till Christ fills them I would have you neither be idle in the means nor to make an Idol of the means If a Mariner will have the help of the winds he must weigh the anchor and spread the sails The pipes can make no conveyance unless the spring yields its concurrence What 's hearing without Christ but like a cabinet without a jewel or receiving without Christ but like an empty glass without a cordial It s only that ladder whose bottom stood on earth on the staves of which we climb to heaven And be found in him not having on mine own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God through faith Phil. 3. 9. If you be found in your own righteousness you wil be lost by your own righteousness That garment was worn to pieces on Adams back and lasted but for a days covering Duties they are good crutches to go upon but they are bad Christs to lean upon when Augustus Caesar desired the Senate of Rome to joyn some with him in the Consulship they replied They held it a great dishonor to him to have any joyned with him It s the greatest disparagement that Christians can do to Christ to put their services in equipage with his sufferings You must put off the rotten rags of the first Adam if you would put on the royal robes of the Second To mix the Virgins milk with a Redeemers blood Though the voyce may be humble Jacobs yet the hands are proud Esaus Man is a creature that 's apt to warm himself by the sparks of his own fire though he lie down in eternal flames for the kindling of them Noahs dove made use of her wings but she did rest in the Ark. Duties can never have too much of our diligence nor too little of our confidence For he that is entred into rest hath ceased from his works as God did from his Heb. 4. 10. A Beleever doth not do good works to live but a beleever he lives to do good works It was a proud saying of him Coelum gratis non accipiam He would not accept of heaven gratis But he shall have hell as a debt that Non in carnabâ— bus 〈◊〉 sâ—d in solo Chrâ—sto fiduciam â—alutâ—â— noâ—â—rae omnem â—â—llâ— aâ—iââ—m re collocaâ—â—â— Zanc in loc will not take heaven as a gift For we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoyce in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh Phil. 3. 3. A Christian stands at as great a distance from the best of his services as he doth from the worst of his sins And makes not the greatest part of his holiness to be the smallest part of his righteousness When you have done all then say we are unprofitable servants Luk. 17. 10. When you have obeyed all the commandments from above there is one commandment above them all to be obeyed that is to rest from your obedience A bridge is made to give us a passage over a dangerous river but he that stumbles on the bridge is in danger of falling into the river In the most of our works we are abominable sinners but in the best of our works we are unprofitable servants Our duties are not like the chrystal streams of a living fountain but like the impure overflowings of an unruly torrent I will go out in Omnis alia fiducia quae in quâvis aliâ re colocari potest è cordibus nostris prorsus amputetur omnino necesse est Zanc. ubi prius the strength of the Lord and make mention of his righteousness and of his only Psal 71. 16. The righteousness of Christ is to be magnified but the righteousness of a Christian is not to be mentioned It s a hard thing for us to be nothing in our selves in the midst of our worthiness and to be all in Christ in the midst of our weakness To undertake all our duties and yet to overlook all our duties Our services they are like good wine that relishes of a bad cask The Law will not take Ninety nine for an Hundred it will neither accept of counterfeit coyn nor of clipped money The duty it exacts is as impossible to be performed as the penalty it inflicts is intolerable to be indured We sail to glory not in the salt seas of our own tears but in the red sea of Christs blood Crux Christi clavis Paradisi The gates of heaven were closly shut till the cross of Christ beat them open We owe the life of our souls to the death of our Saviour It was his going into the furnace that hath kept us from coming into the flame T is the ruddiness of his blood that takes away the redness of our guilt Man lives by death his natural life is preserved by the death of the creature his spiritual life is preserved by the death of his Redeemer Moses must lead the children of Israel through the wilderness but Joshua must bring them into Canaan Whilst we are in the wilderness of this world we must walk under the conduct of Moses but when we enter into the spiritual Canaan it must be by the merit of Jesus The same hand that hath shut the doors of hell to keep us out of perdition hath opened the gates of heaven to let us into salvation They that carry the bucket to the puddle of their own merit will never draw water out of the clear fountain of Gods mercy Luther compares the Law and the Gospel to Heaven and Earth we should walk in the earth of the Law in respect of obeying but in the heaven of the Gospel in respect of believing It was the saying of one That he would swim through a sea of brimstone so he might come to heaven at the last What would not natural men do for heaven if they might have heaven for their doings But the heat of the Sun beams wil melt such weak and waxen wings He that hath no better righteousness Omnis anima eget oleo divinae misericordiae then what is of his own providing shall meet with no higher happiness then what is of his own deserving For they being ignorant of the righteousness of God and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God Rom. 11. 3. Others if they rest not from their duties then they rest in their duties They will sail in their own bottoms though they sink in the Ocean
there is oft a vast distance and difference between the face of the work and heart of the worker But a soul acted by God in service though he may have self at the hither end he will have God at the higher end A Christian is more in love with his present duty then he is in love with his future glory St. Paul was contented to stay a while out of heaven that he might bring other souls into heaven To me to live is Christ and to dye is gain Phil. 1. 21. His life to them was most useful but his death to him was most gainful by dying he had injoyed his recompence sooner but by living he made his recompence larger Were it possible to divorce those things asunder which God himself hath linked together a Christian had rather be holy without any happiness then be happy without any holiness Luther hath this expression Mallem in inferne esse cum Christo quam in coelo sine Christo I had rather be in hell with Christ then in heaven without Christ And indeed hell it self would be a heaven if God were in it and heaven would be a hell if God were from it A gracious man makes this the request of his soul Lord let me rather have a good heart then a great estate Let me rather be pious without prosperity then prosperous without piety Though you may love many things beside Religion yet you may not love any thing above religion The earth that is our work-house but heaven that is our storehouse This is a place to run in and that is a place to rest in Yet a Beleever on his dying pillow being asked how he did O saith he sorry for nothing but that I am going to that Country where wages are received and no works performed That is the sixteenth 17. Singular thing is To be more in searching our own hearts then we are in censuring others states They are too busie Bishops that lord it over others Diócesses We are to allow beleevers for their failings though we are not to allow beleevers in their failings Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks and look well to thy heards Prov. 21. 23. It s of greater concernment to know the state of our hearts then to know the state of our flocks It s the expression of Seneca Vtimur perspicillis magis quam speculis Men are more apt to use spectacles to see other mens faults then looking-glasses to view their own Plato entertaining some friends at a neatly spread table Diogenes coming in tramples upon it saying Calco fastum Platonis I trample upon the pride of Plato to whom he answered Yea At cum majori fastu but with a greater pride He that is without sin let him throw the first stone They are fittest to finde fault in whom no fault is to be found and to blame others who are blameless themselves There is no removing of blots from the paper by laying upon it a blurred finger Thou hypocrite first cast out the beam out of thine own eye and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the moat out of Illud quasi cacoethes penitimmè inssium est ut cum in gravissimis nobis ipsis nimium facilè indulgentur ignoscimus aliorum tamen judices inclementissimi censores rigidissimi sumus Chem. Evan. Har. cap. 51. thy brrthers eye Mat. 7. 5. What dost thou get by throwing of stones in at thy enemies windows whilst thy own Children look out at the casements He that blows in a heap of dust is in danger to put out his own eyes Is not the worst mens practices a comment on the best mens principles Are there not the same lusts lodging in your hearts that are reigning in their lives The reason why there is so little self-manifestation is because there is so little self-examination For want of this men are like Travellers skilled in other Countries but ignorant of their own It is a sign they are sunk in their estates who are afraid to look into their books The trial of our selves is the ready road to the knowledge of our selves He that buys a jewel in a case deserves to be couzened with a Bristol stone Many think themselves as surely going to heaven as if they were already dwelling in heaven Christians would you see God then cast your eyes upwards would you see your selves then cast your eyes inward Contemplation that is a perspective glass to see our Saviour in but examination that is a looking-glass to see our selves in Bring your selves to the standard and see whether you be in the narrow way that leads to life or in the broad way that leads to death whether your spirits be chairs for vice to sit in or thrones for grace to rule in whether you be one of Christ Spouses or one of the Devils harlots Nero thought no person chast because Nero impurissimus neminem à libidine purum judâ—cabat himself was unchast Such as are troubled with the Jaundise see all things yellow But such as are more religious are less censorious Why dost Temerarium â—st judâ—cium cum in illo nâ—l lam jurisdictionem habeas Gor. in loc thou judge another mans servant Rom. 14. 4. They that are fellow-creatures with men should not be fellow-judges with God What will it advantage you to search anothers wounds and let your own bleed to death Take heed your own cloaths be not full of dust when you are brushing others garments or complaining of dirty streets when heaps lie at your own doors Many are never well longer then they are holding their fingers upon others sores such are no better then crows that fasten only upon carrion Let every man prove his own works so shall he have rejoycing in himself not in another Gal. 6. 4. For want of this men have their accounts to cast up when they should have their accounts to give up They have their evidences of grace to seek when they should have their evidences of grace to shew They lye down with such hopes in their beds of rest which they dare not lye down withall in their beds of dust Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions Ezek. 18. 28. Conversion begins in consideration The hasty showr falls fastest but the soft snow sinks deepest The Mariner that is running his ship against a rock if he considers it and stears another course prevents a desperate shipwrack Examine your selves Integritatis tuae curiosus explorator vitam tuam in quotidianâ discussione examina attende diligenter quantum proficias vel quantum deficias Bern med 5. in lim whether ye be in the faith or no or whether the faith be in you or no prove your own selves know ye not your own selves that Jesus Christ is in you except you be reprobates 2 Cor. 13. 5. See whether your hearts be the cabinets of such a jewel A true Subject dares not deny any coyn which bears the image of
the King If you will needs be Judges sit upon your own benches I shall ever esteem such to be but lepers that care not for looking-glasses He that doth not mind what he hath done Self-examination is the beaten path to perfection its like fire which doth not only try the gold but purifies the gold The sight of your selves in grace will bring you to the sight of God in glory The Heathens tell us that Nosce teipsum was an Oracle that came down from heaven Sure I am it is Oracle that will lead us up to heaven The plague of the heart is not every mans plague but the plague of the soul is every mans plague though there be no vision that 's less pleasurable yet there 's no vision that 's more profitable till you know how deep the pit is in to which you are faln you will never seek to get out of it again The bottom of our diseases lies in not searching our diseases to the bottome so we have but some raggs to cover our nakedness we seek not a remedy to cure our naughtiness He that trusts his heart is a fool and yet such fools are we as to trust our hearts the heart it s that which God searches by his Omnisciency and its that which man should search by his industry if a man would know whether the sun shines it s better viewing its beams on the pavement then its body in the firmament The readiest way to know whither or no you are in Christ is to know whither or no Christ is in you for the fruit is more visible then the root that 's the Seventeenth 18. Singular thing is to set out for God at our beginning and to hold out with God unto our ending to be amongst the first that seeks God and amongst the last that serve him First to set out for God at our beginning remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth while the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them Eccl. 12. 1. In the stilling of strong waters the first thats drawn is fuller of spirits then the rest that follows The first of the first fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God Exo. 23. 19. The way to have the whole harvest of your lives sanctified by God is to have the first fruits of your lives dedicated to God I remember the kindness of thy youth the love of thine Espousal Jer. 2. 2. God prises a Christian in the bud and likes the blossomings of youth above the sheddings of age We should pay our tribute as soon as ever our money comes out of the Mint Is it not pitty that plant should grow in Egypt that will thrive so well in Canaan Your Naturalists tels us that the most orient pearls are generated of the morning due They who are in Christ before us are like to be in Christ above us The way to keep a field from overgrowing with weeds is to pluck them up in the spring If youth be sick of the will nots old age will dye of the cannots Under the law they who gathered not Manna in the morning found none all the day if when you have seasons and want hearts the time may come when you may have hearts but want seasons Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil Ier. 12. 23. He is a bad husband that hath money to spend on company abroad but none to lay out for provisions to keep his family at home Yet one accustomed to Drunkenness will rather strarve his posterity then be bound in the cords of Sobriety It s hard casting off the Devils yoaks when we Quod in morbis accidit cum invaluere per longas moras ut Serò medicina paretur idem judicandum nisi quis a puero rectam viam meat et eidem assuescat Riveâ— in Ps 119. 9. have worn them long upon our necks can a man be born again when he is old grace seldome grafts upon such withered stocks An old sinner is nearer to the second death then he is to the second birth It s more likely to see him taken out of the flesh then to see the flesh taken out of him his body is nearer to corruption then his soul is unto Salvation Where the Enemy is the stronger there the victory is the harder Usually where the Devil pleads antiquity he keeps propriety As there 's none so old as that they should dispaire of mercy so there 's none so young as that they should presume on mercy if Gods To day be too soon for thy repentance thy To morrow may be too late for his acceptance Mercies clock doth not alwayes strike at our beck The longer poyson stayes in the stomack the more mortal Jesus Christ he had two Disciples whom he highly prized the one who was young for Comming so soon to him the other who was old for staying so long with him O how amiable are the golden apples of grace in the silver pictures of age God prizes a young friend but punishes an old Enemy Old sinners are like old serpents the fullest of poyson It s a rare spectacle to view the Antient of dayes in those who are not antient in days To see green peeces of Timber hewing and squaring that they might be laid in the celestial building when nature is in its minority to see grace in its sincerity Ps 119. 99. I have more understanding then my teachers Ex disci pulo doctorem me fecisti etiam eorum qui doctores meifuâ—runt Rivet in loc his youth was wiser then others age his dawning was brigher then their noon tyde and this was the more admirable because t was in his youth for when our lives are the most vigorous our lusts are the most boysterous You teach a dog whilst he is a whelp and break a horse whilst he is a Colt A plentiful harvest is the issue of an early seed time Thou writest bitter thing against me thou makest me to possess the sins of my youth Job 13. 26. Needs must that Iron gather rust that is not often filed Remember children your youthful sins layes a foundation for aged sorrows You have but one arrow to hit the mark and if that be shot at randome God will never put another into your bow I am Alpha and Omega the beginning and the ending or as some the first and the last Rev. 1. 8. He that is the first and the last will be served from the first to the last you can never come to soon to him who is your beginning and you can never stay too long with him who is your ending The flower of life it s of Christs setting and shall it be of the Divels cropping But what 's seting out without holding out Mutability is at best but the badg of infirmity Letters ingraven in
personall appearance 4. Principle that you should walk by is this There 's more bitternesse following upon sins ending then ever there was sweetness flowing from sins acting The Devils Apple though it may have a fair skin yet it hath a bitter core Me thinks this flaming sword should keep us out of the forbidden Paradice and make our hearts like wet Tinder to all the sparks of Satans fire Per delictum morti regnum datur nec potest regnare in aliquo nisi jus regni accipiata delicto Orig l. 5. in Epist ad Rom. You that see nothing but weal in its commission will suffer nothing but wo in its conclusion The wages of sin is death Romans 6. 23. He that likes the works of sin to do them will never like the wages of sin to have them Yea who would do those works that are but drudgery for those wages that are but misery Though all sins are not equal yet all sins are mortall The candle of ourlives is blown Nonne per peccatū mors et per mortem omnes ejus comites paenae cruciatus et miseriae hujus vitae omnes porro peccatum toti mundo detrimentum adfert Stap. in Dom. 5. Post Epiph. Tex 4. out by the wind of our lusts The corruption of nature tends to the dissolution of nature as the Leprosie got into the wals occasioned the demolishing of the house Sin it stands as a But at which God may shoot every Arrow till he hath emptied his whole Quiver We began to be mortal when we began to be sinful If man had had nothing to doe with sin Peccatum aculeus mortu dicitur non quia peccatum per mortem sed per peccatum Mors in mundum intravit Fulgent de Incam et Grat. Christi cap. 14. death had had nothing to do with man Our impiety forfeited the priviledg of our immortality Sin it s like a Serpent in the bosome that 's stinging or like a Theif in the Closet that 's stealing or like poyson in the stomack that 's paining or like a sword in the bowels that 's killing It s like Johns Book sweet in the mouth but bitter in the belly this fare faced Rachel will be found but a blear eyed Leah Knowest thou not that it will be bitternesse in the latter end The dregs lye in the bottome of the Cup. That which is now like a Rose flourishing in your bosome ere long will be like a Dagger drawn against your breast The Ivy though it embraces the Oak yet it eats out its heart Sin it s a thing that 's delightful O but its a thing that 's deceitful it s like Judas that at first salutes us but at last betrayes us it shews the bait but hides the hook it represents the amiability but covers the obliquity it s like a River that begins in a quiet spring but ends in a tumultuous Sea Do men gather Ex his spinis colligitur non laetitia conscientiae sed labruscae remorsus interioris non retributio gloriae sed labruscae Gehennae Gorran In locum Grapes of Thorns or Figs of Thistles Mat. 7. 16. The grapes of tranquility grows not upon the Thorns of impiety Heart peace is espoused to heart purity The way to keep conscience untormented is to keep conscience undefiled A Saint cannot so sin as to destroy Vide Bzoviu Conc. 24. Excellentissimè de hac re disserentem his grace but a Saint may so sin as to disturb his peace The Spider cannot kill the Bees but if she gets into the Hive she spoils the Honey If you will be nibbling at the bait the hook will enter into your bowels O think of that time wherein you shall be ashamed of nothing but your wickednesse and glory in nothing but your holinesse You may be eternally sinful but you cannot be eternally joyful In Hell all the Sugar will be melted in which this bitter pill was wrapped that 's too hot a climate for wanton delights to live in The pleasures of sin are suddenly abortive but the pains of sin are eternally extensive How soon did our first parents eat their forbidden fruit Esus vetiti illius pomi omniū malorum sons et orīgo fuit Bzovius in Con. 24. p. 229. De malis a peccato allatis vide Bzovium loco jam citato but the world to this day cannot rid it selfe of the miserable consequences of that woful banquet Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful and the end of that mirth is heaviness Proverbs 14. 13. The Serpent of sensual delight alwayes carries a sting in its taile In such golden cups there are deadly draughts Will Gaul and Wormwood ever make you pleasant wine Such thick and muddy vapors will never yeeld any sweet and pleasant showers You that sin for your profit will never profit by your sins O that England would look with Scripture Spectacles upon all it s rased Tabernacles and say if sin had not been there these had not lain here It s better to take up our lodging in a bed of Snakes then to take up our lodging in a bed of lusts who would spread such silken Sails upon a Pirates ship When the pale horse of death goes before the red horse of wrath doth follow after When the body goes to Worms to be consumed the soul goes to flames to be tormented It s better here to forgoe the pleasures of sin then hereafter to undergoe the pains of sin Your ill doing will be your undoing What fruit had you of those things whereof you are now ashamed Romans 6. 21. What advantage doth Dives reap in hell of all the delicate banquets that he had on earth What taste hath Cleopatra now of her draught of dissolved Pearls The stench and torment of everlasting burnings will take away the sweetest perfumes that ever sin was powdered with How can I doe this wickedness and sin against God Gen. 39. 9. It doth not grieve a Saint so much for this that God is displeased with him as it grieves a Saint for this that God is displeased by him He mourns not so much for the evil which sin doth bring as he mourns for the sin which doth bring the evill When Craesus son saw them go about to kill his father he cryed out O kill not King Craesus Did Christ open his veins for our redemption and shall not we open our mouths for his vindication The Crown is fallen from our heads wo unto us for we have sinned Lamenta 5. 16. Sin it doth not only unman us but it doth uncrown us Yea it doth not only take the Crown from off a sinners head but it layes a curse upon a sinners back There 's many think the fountain of their lusts are quite dryed up when the streams are turned into another Channel A hand taken off from sinful practises without a heart taken off from sinful principles it s like a peece of ground which having long lain fallow
when sown again yeelds more increase or like a stream that hath met with a dam that runs with greater violence when the sluce is opened that 's the fourth The 5. Principle that beleevers should walk by is this That there is the greatest vanity in all created excellency If this truth were more beleeved this world would be lesse beloved A Lady being told that the world in all its glory was but vanity true saith she Solomon said so but he tryed it before he said it and so will I. Thus many beleeve not a Toad to be poysonous till themselves are envenomed with it He that knocks at the creatures door will find but an empty house kept there All the rivers run into the Sea yet the Sea is not full Eccles. 1. 7. All the golden streams of worldly profits though they may run into the hearts of men yet they cannot fill up the hearts of men Did you never heare a rich man complain of the want of riches though he hath enough to support him yet he hath not enough to content him The eye is not satisfied with seeing If there be not enough in the world to satisfie the sences of men how should there be enough in the world to satisfie the souls of men The earth it s not a substance that is filling but a shadow that is flying The fashion of this world passes away 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 7. 31. The most excellent and flourishing Tamen ista divites nihil movent quia aureus fulgor ecce cavit eos Bzovius Conc. 28. p. 272. peeces of the whole creation are continually posting to dissolution We are commanded to use the world as though we used it not because whilest we use the world it is not The tide that so floatingly brings in the ship suddenly leaves her in the mud The higher the Sun of prosperity is in its shining the nearer it is to its setting Have you not seen some who have begun their lives in a Palace to end their lives in a Prison The golden Chains about their necks have been turned into iron fetters about their Nondescen det tecum in puteum interni aurum splendidum non lapides coruscantes non servorum caterva non agrorum latitudo Bzov. loco citato feet The substance of this life is but for the season of this life All creature felicity will become a prize to mortality You who feed upon golden dust will have all your gold turned to dust and the short Summer of your prosperity will usher in the long Winter of your adversity You who doe rejoyce in the world ere long will have no world wherein to rejoyce Arise ye and depart for this is not your rest because it is poluted it shall destroy you even with a sore destruction Micah 2. 10. Hearts ease is a flower that grows not in the worlds garden Where doth that fish swim that will not nible at that hook on which there hangs a golden bait How many perish for the having of that which doth perish in the using Why dost thou seek for wealth seeing the greatest Rulers are laid as naked on their dusty pillow as the poorest beggars The faster you grasp the world in your hands the sooner it slides between your fingers What is a man prosited if he shall gain the whole world and Hoc loco notantur duo 1. Inutilitas temporalis lucri 2. Irrecuperabilitas spiritualis Damni Gorr in Loc. Quid expedit concervar◠aurum lapides et gemmas et cum his in interitum pute◠inferior is demorgi Bzovius ubi priu◠lose his own soul Matth. 16. 26. He that bought this ware knows its worth The World if it be gained may be lost againe but the soul if it be lost can never be gained again There is a way to keep a man out of hell but no way to get a man out of hell It s as easie for a stone to lodge in the aire as it s for a man to rest in the earth The glory of this world its like a rotten post that never shews bright but when it is in the dark How few are there that clime the Staves of honor but they leave a good conscience at the bottom of the Ladder Beleevers themselves would surfeit of the worlds sweet-meat if God should not call them away from the banquet Creature comforts they are like sweet dews when they water the branches of the Tree they leave the root dry Why should Christians be found magnifying what * Diogenes et Abdolonymus de quibus loquitur Curtius l. 4. inenis et lib. 2. juxta finem Heathens have been found vilifying The world its rather a sharp Bryar to prick us then a sweet flower to delight us Poyson works more furiously in wine then it doth in water and corruption betrays it self more in a state of plenty then it doth in a state of poverty Gerhard compares this Praeciosa nux apparet haec vita exteriús sed sicultro veritatis aperias videbis quod nil nisivermes et putredo sintinterius Gerhard Medit. 38. life to a beautiful Nut which how fair soever it seems is full of nothing but wormes and rottennesse The earth it is for a Saints passage but heaven is for a Saints portion the former is for a beleevers use the latter is for a beleevers choice Every thing below is too base for the soule Nobility and too brittle for the souls Eternity Who would set that vessel under the droppings of a Cistern that 's able to drink in the waters of the Ocean A Professor stuffed with the world is but like a Bladder filled with the wind They that put on at the first for the world are put off at last with the world Son remember thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things These Blossomes will fall off from our Trees when death shakes the boughs The world it s got with cares and kept with fears and lost with groans We see the outside of a great estate but not the inside of it You behold the field of Corn Mundi honores divitiae et voluptates sunt tanquam uxae acerbae etpoma viridia atque immatura sed specaem anium et viriditatem Diabolus ostendit acerbitatem tacet Stapl in Dom. 1. Quadr Tex 8. but not the Tares that are mixed with it you see not their clouds and nights but their day and Sun The world pretends to be a Nurse but if you draw her breasts in the one you will find the water of vanity in the other the wind of vexation of spirit It s counted miraculous to find a Diamond in a Vein of Gold but it s more miraculous to find a Heavenly Christ in the bosome of an earthly Christian When we have the least of creature enjoyments we should then bless God for them When we have the most of creature injoyments we should not then bless our selves in them Thē world it doth us
more hurt in our hearts by loving it then it doth us good in our hands by having it Labor not for the meat that perisheth but for the meat that endureth to everlasting life John 6. 27. Who would loose a Crown above for a Crum below Birds the higher they are in their flights the sweeter they are in their notes The higher a Christian is raised above the things of the earth the more he is ravished with the joys of Heaven Surely every man walketh in a vain shew surely they are disquieted in vain he heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them Psal 39. 6. He that views an Ox grazing in a fat Pasture Ampla ac locuples facultas perditionem infeâ—r dicitur refugienda est ampla possessio ne consequatur profunda perditio Salv. ad Eccles Cath. l. 2. p. 404. concludes he is but preparing for the slaughter Worldly enjoyments they are but like hot water which when cold weather comes are the soonest frozen The greatest happinesse of the creature is not to have the creature for its happinesse Better not to have the world at all then to have our all to be the world The Raven when it had found a Câ—rrion to feed upon cared not for returning home to the Arke The world its like a Looking-glass there is a face presented by it but there 's no face seated in it When you have sifted out its finest flower it turns to Bran. Labour not to be rich Proverbs 23. 4. A strange paradox if it were not for labour who would be rich and if it were not for riches who would labour But see vers 5. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not whilest they are they are not They are not that they look like they have not that we look for But what are they not They are not durables but moveables For In hederâ qua delectabatur Jonas parabat Deus vermem ut exarescet ita in rebus mundanis quibus amore multi adhaerescunt nihil est stabile sed vermes corruptionis in illis nascuntur Gerhard Medit. 38. riches certainely make themselves wings and flye away as an Eagle towards Heaven The Cup that now overflows with Wine may be filled up to the brim with Water When the Sun of earthly happinesse is in its Miridian Rayes it may be eclipsed A man rejoyces in health and an Ague shakes him In honour and a Cloud shadows him In riches and a Thief robs him In peace and a rumor disturbs him In life and death disappoints him The Heavens at first had their Dropsie and then the old world was drowned the Heavens at last shall have their Feavor and then the new world shall be burned The earth its big in our hopes but little in our hands It s like Sodoms Apples beautiful Nascuntur pomacirca regionem Sodomae quae delectant exteriori pulchritudine sed contacta in pulverem abeunt Pelicitas hujus vitae exteriús delectat quid si pressiori considerations eam tangas fumo et pulveri similis apparebit Gerhard ubi prius to the eye at a distance but when you touch them they crumble into ashes Riches availe not in the day of wrath not in the day of mans wrath to keep him from plundering not in the day of Gods wrath to keep him from punishing They are but a shield of wax against a Sword of power They can no more keep an evil conscience from tormenting then a Velvet sleeve can keep a broken arme from akeing Fire say some came down from Heaven therefore restlessely works it selfe through all combustibles till it returns thither again Every spiritual soul is Heavens free-born flame raked up in the Embers of flesh and blood therefore restlessely works it selfe through all combustibles till it returns thither again He that comes from above is above all John 3. 31. Shall they who are so Nobly descended be ignobly minded Do but see how the men of the world are upon their knees for the things of the world There be many that say Who will shew us Carnales homines vaga et incerto cursu huc illuc feruntur ad bonum optatuÌ„ adipiscendum qualibet inani specie boni capiuntur quod in communi tantùm et incerto petunt Ames in loc any good Psal 4. 6. As if they could find a Heaven on Earth that should seek an Earth from Heaven It was a wretched expression of a worldly disposition Let but God give me enough of earth and I will never complain of the want of Heaven Thus is the curse of the Serpent intailed upon the seed of the Serpent there 's more of earth in them then there is of them in earth All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me Matth. 4. 9. If a covetous man had been there O how would he have catcht the promise out of the Devils lips for fear he should have gone back from his word Some are so in love with their golden Baggs that they will ride post to Hell if they be well payed for their pains Covetousnesse smothers Holinesse as the damp of the earth puts out the Candle This world it is a stinking Dunghil wherein the Rich are like Cocks crowing upon it and the poor like Chickings scraping about it These hungry souls for want of better fare falls aboard upon such course cheare Tha't 's the Fifth 6. Principle that you should walke by is this That dutyes can never have too much care bestowed upon them nor too little confidence placed in them Therefore Brethren we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh Rom. 8. 12. We owe nothing to our corruption but it 's crucifixian But when God becomes a Donor man becomes a debtor The debt of sin is discharged for us that the debt of service might be discharged by us Every thing hath it's bounds but grace hath none in sollid godlinesse there can be no excesse Those wells that are of Gods digging can never be too full of water He loves to see the plants of righteousnesse laden with the fruits of righteousnesse Though faith justifies separatim a bonis operibus yet not seperata a bonis operibus Though faith justifies alone yet that faith is Sola particula exclusiva additur non ad seperandas alias virtutes a fide aut ab homine justificato a quibus seperari non possunt magis quam lux a sole aut calor ab igne sed a causando justificationem vel ut praeparationes vel merito aut dignitate sua Scharp de just controvers 7. Consule etiam Davent de just act cap. 32. prope finem not alone that justifies Look what Trees are without their fruits that faith is without it's workes In poynt of Sanctification good workes cannot be sufficiently magnified in poynt of Justification good works cannot be sufficiently nullified The most famous Pilots of the Roman Sea when they came
carnal man and what he can do that he will not take a Christian man what he would do that he cannot Now impotency shall be pityed when obstinacy shall be punished God hath mercy for cannots but none for will nots Adams want was rather will then power but our want is rather power then will Psal 119. 5. O that my wayes were directed Emitto vocem cupientis et antrelantis Donec liberati simus semper clamabimus utinam Suspirabimus ex sensu imbecilitatis nostrae Donec gaudium plenum sit infruitione Rivet in loc that I might keep thy statutes A Saints will begins where his work ends Lord I beleeve help my unbeliefe Lord I see enlighten my darkness I hear but cure my deafness I move but quicken my dulness I desire but help my unwillingness I remember but remove my forgetfulness In the playing of a Lesson a single string may jarr and slip and yet the main be musicall It were a folly indeed to think our fields had no corn because there is chaff or that the pile had no Gold because there is Dross In Heaven there 's service alone without any sin In hell there 's sin alone without any service but on earth there 's sin and service in the same heart as there is Wine and Water in the same Cup. To condemn thy evil is good but to condemn thy good is evil Here beleevers are like the Israelites that in their darkest night had a pillar of fire and in their clearest day had a pillar of a cloud Above us there 's light without any darkness below us there 's darknesse without any light but here it s neither day nor night but in the evening it shall be light Though the lowest beleever be above the power of sin yet the highest beleever is not above the presence of sin It s in a living man that lust is mortified but it s in a dying man that lust is nullified When the body and the soul are separated by mortality sin the soul are separated to eternity though a forced compulsion is sufficient to testifie a Tyrant yet its ready obedience that proves homage to a King Sin never ruins but where it reigns It s not destroying where it is disturbing Lust its least hurtful where it is most hateful The more evil it receives from us the lesse evil it doth to us it s only a murderer where it is a Governour But the Rose is a fragrant flower though it be surrounded with prickles The Passover was a feast though it was eaten with sowre Hearbs There 's much of the wild Olive in him that 's ingrafted into the true Olive Our graces are our best Jewels but they do not here yeild their full lustre The Moon when it shines brightest hath its spots and the fire when it burns hottest hath its smoak I said in my hast I am cut off from before thine eyes nevertheless Intalem stupori excessum adductus fui ut mihi viderer projectus a conspectu praesentiae tuae tu verò exaudita mea oratione quanto ejus ad fuisti per subventionem et consolationem misericordiae tuae Titelman in Locum thou heardest the voice of my supplication Psal 31. 22. Who would have thought that ever those prayers should have had any prevalency that were mixed with so much infidelity Sin is an enemy at our backs but not a friend in our bosomes Although beleevers should be mournful because they have infirmities yet they should be thankful because they are but infirmities It is not the Interposition of a cloud that makes a night but the departing of the Sun Take the best beleever that breaths and he is fuller of his sins then he is of his prayers There is too much of earth in our imployments for Heaven But as he that drew Alexanders picture when there was a scar on his facedrew him with his finger upon the scar so Jesus Christ when he draws the picture of the Saints excellencyes layes his finger upon the scars of the Saints infirmities He looks over what is his and overlooks what is theirs Where there is no sins of allowance in them there shall be grains of allowance to them he will not throw away his Pearls for every speck of dirt Christ honours grace in its maturity yet he owns it in its minority O thou of little faith wherefore didst thou doubt They had faith enough to keep them from damning but they had not faith enough to keep them from doubting The least buds draw sap from the root as well as the greatest branches Though one Star exceed another in magnitude yet both are alike seated in the Heavenly Orbe Though one member of the body be larger then another yet each hath an equal conjunction with the head The Rind of good actions is tainted by infirmities but their Core is rotted by hypocrisie Jacob halted and yet was blessed as his blessing did not take away his halting so his halting did not keep away his blessing Hagar will have a room in Sarahs house till death turne her out of doors Death as it leaves the body soul-lesse so it leaves the soul sinlesse For if there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not 2 Cor. 8. 12. He doth not look that the Cock should run water when there 's none put into the Cistern Jesus Christ doth not put out a beleevers Vae nobis si secundum firmitatem fidei Deus nobiscum agere vellâ—â— Chem Har Evan cap. 83. p. 15. 85. Candle because of the dimness of its burning nor overshadow a beleevers Sun because of the watriness of its shining Though that Vice may be found in us for which he might justly damn us yet he hath not lost that grace by which he can as easily save us He comes not with water to put out the fire but with wind to drive away the smoak The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord Pro 15. 8. because the Incense stinks of the hand that offers it Not only the wickeds plotting against the Godly is sinful but also the wickeds praying unto God is sinful but what follows The prayer of the upright is his delight If the vessel of the heart be clean he will taste of the liquor that 's drawn from it O my Dove that art in the clefts of the Rocke in the secret places of the Stareâ— lee me see thy countenance let me hear thy voice for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely 2 Canticles 14. That 's the ninth 10. Principle you should walk by is this That inward purity is the ready road to outward plenty That 's but a Hell-bred Proverb â—lain dealing is a Jewel but he that uses it shall dye a beggar Religion though it be against our ease yet it s not against our interest O what clusters of Grapes hang all along our way to
judgeth the earth Psal 58. ult There 's no work that is done in vaine but that work that is vainly done Wealth and riches shall be in his house and his righteousnesse indures for ever Psal 112. 2 3. Doe but you take care of all that belongs to God and God will take care of all that belongs to you For all other gaines whilst we live we lose them or when we dye we leave them to whom we know not but it may be to them we would not Inkeeping of thy Commandements there is great reward Psal 19. 11. There is not only a reward for keeping of them but there 's a reward in keeping of them In other services the Master hath all the profit and the servant none but in this the servant hath all the profit and the Master none 2 Sam. 6. 11. And the Arke of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months and the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his houshold The Ark was not blessed for the sake of the houshold but the houshould was blessed for the sake of the Arke The Arke of God payes for its entertainment wheresoever it comes We say that those have decayed limbes that must be helped on with crutches Such are they that will side with resigion when they may live upon it but will shrink from Religion when it must live upon them But that maxime is still ture that Godliness with contentment is great gain 1 Tim. 6. 6. It 's only the Christian man that is the contented man and what is our enjoyments without contentment what 's abundance of possessions if linked to abundance of vexations Wicked men make this world their treasure and God makes this Fiunt instrumenta paenarum quae scilicet divitiae fuerant oblectament◠culparum Innocent world their torment When they want estates they are troubled for them when they have estates they are troubled with them when they should drink of the river God disturbs the water Sinner remember when thou diest thou wilt find godlinesse needfull and whilst thou livest thou wilt find godlinesse gainfull The purest honey is ever gathered out of the hive of holiness O that my people had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my wayes Psal 81. 13. But what had they got by it vers 16. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee The wayes of iniquity are the wayes of beggery It 's but equal that God should fall out with them in the course of his providence that falls off from him in the course of their obedience that they should have nothing from him in a way of bounty that will doe nothing for him in a way of duty If you make your Tabernacles leprous God will make your Tabernacles ruinous Length of dayes is in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honour Prov. 3. 16. Look to which hand you will and yet you shall find that both are full It 's storied of Synesius a Minister that living near Evagrius a philosopher This story you may read larger just after Mr. Baxter's Preface to his book called the Crucifying of the world and had often perswaded him to be a Christian O but saith the Philosopher if I become a christian either I must lose all for Christ or else I may lose all for Christ to whom the Minister replyed what you lose for him he will pay you againe O but saith the philosopher will you be bound for Christ that if he do not pay me you will Yes saith he and so became a surety for his surety and the philosopher became a Christian When this person came to lye upon his dying pillow he sent for this Minister saying here 's your bond Christ hath paid me all he hath left nothing for you to pay It was a vaine conceite of that potentate who refusing the name of Pius would be called Faelix Inward piety is the best friend to outward felicity though outward felicity be many times the worst enemy to inward piety That 's the tenth The eleventh Principle that you should walk by is this That all the time that God allows us is little enough to fulfill the task that he allots us Man that is borne of a woman is few of dayes and full of troubles Job 14. 1. The creatures life and existence is of a very short and small continuance Natures womb somtimes proves natures tombe and swallows up her own Vitae hujus principium mortis exordium est nec priùs incipit augeri aetas nostra quam minui Prosp de vocat Gen. lib. 2. c. 20 issue With many it's ebb water before the tide be at the full the lamp of their lives is wasted even as soon as it is lighted the sands of their hour-glasse are quite run out when they think it is but newly turned When men feele sicknesse arresting then they feare deaths approaching But we begin our dying as soon as ever we begin our living and how much the longer our time hath been so much the shorter our time shall be Every mans passing-bell hangs in his own steeple Take him in his four elements of Earth and Aire Fire and Water In the Earth he is like dust that 's scattering in the Aire he is like a vapour that 's vanishing in the water he is like a bubble that 's breaking in the Fire he is like smoak that 's consuming Seneca said truly Maximum vivendi Sen. de brevit vitae cap. 9. impedimentum est expectatio quae pendet in crastino the greatest hinderance of well living is the expectation of long life Therefore men so little prepare for death because they so little think on death they think not of living any better till they think not of living any longer Did you but walke by this principle though much of your time be past yet would no more of your time be lost you would this moment make sure of God because the next moment you are not sure of your selves One to-day is worth two to-morrows you know not how soone the sails of your lives may be rowled up or how nigh you are to your eternall haven O ply your Oares dilligently lest the vessell doe miscarry everlastingly What will you doe if you begin to dye naturally before you begin to live spiritually if the Tabernacle of nature be taken down before the Temple of grace be raised up if your paradise be laid wast before the Tree of life be set in it if you give up the Ghost before ever you have received the Holy Ghost if the Sun of your lives set within you before the Sun of righteousness shine upon you if the body be sit to be turned into the earth before the soul be fit to be taken into Heaven If the second birth have no place in you the second Death shall have a power over you One excellently compares