are all of a value So here some pass for Kings and some for Peasants but when Death hath gotten them into his Box the Grave they are all alike Yet how much need have great Men of Philip's Monitor for they are apt to forget their Mortality See Job 3.17 c. Some of the wiser Heathens have accounted Mortality a great Mercy that poor Creatures may be freed from their Misery And so doubtless 't is for those that are prepared for Death for they rest from their Labours The Hebrew Proverb is That in Calvary there are Sculls of all sorts and sizes Kings and Captains Lords and Lozels one takes no more out of the World than the other Naked they come and naked they shall go Great Saladine had but his Shirt Now though Riches cannot prevent Death yet it may hasten it Rich Men many times are as Oxen in a fat Pasture fitted for the Slaughter sometimes they are butcher'd by others for their Wealth and many times they prove their own Butchers and kill themselves by Intemperance The Sun-shine of Prosperity quickly ripens the Fruit of Sin and when Sin is ripe Ruine is ready Bachus or Venus opens the Door for Death to enter Now what good will it do to have a fair Suit of Cloathes and a Plague-sore under it Or a dainty Dinner with a Surfeit How often is Intemperance which ends in Gouts Surfeits Dropsies and such-like Diseases the Fruits of a Plentiful Table These open the Door of Eternity and light them a Candle to find the way to Death Now these are Diseases Riches cannot cure Seeing therefore the World is of so little use when we have most need why should we so greedily grasp after and spend so much time about it as to neglect our greater Concerns and despond so much when we meet with disappointments And why should we suffer those Vultures carking Cares to breed in and feed upon our Hearts and eat out all the Comfort of our Lives What Recompence can the World make us for all our pains and broken sleeps we have had upon its Account It cannot warrant us a Comfortable Life nor a Happy Death nay not one day free from pain Let such as over-greedily grasp after it remember Solomon's words H◠〈◊〉 maketh hast to be rich cannot be innocent And at leisure read James 5.1 2 c. Luke 6.24 Yet consider 't is not the having Riches â—ut the over-loving of them that is dangerous for they are not evil of themselves but great Blessings if not abused and some of those Talents put into our hands to be improved by us but prove dangerous when abused over-loved or over-trusted in But seeing they can neither prevent Death nor Diseases the cause of Death we should not put too high a value upon them nor take them for our Portion 2. As the World cannot prevent Death no more can it procure a happy Life And why Because it cannot give Content and Satisfaction to the Enjoyer of it and how then can our Lives be Happy when we are not content with our Condition and satisfied with our present Enjoyments Content never did nor never will grow in the World's Garden neither can Satisfaction be found in any thing under the Sun If we seek it here Riches will say 't is not in me Honours 't is not in me Pleasure 't is not in me c. Can we expect the Sun in a Pail of Water Indeed if the Sun shine upon the Water we may see the reflexion of it but if the Sun be clouded all the Water in the World cannot shew it When God shines upon us he may be seen in every Creature if not the World cannot shew him Our Earthly Enjoyments caâ— do us no good bring us no Comfort without a Commission from God and could they satisfie us for the present it would be but a miserable Portion yea a great Judgment for what should we do at Death when they leave us God did never give us these for our Portion but only aâ— a Viaticum in our Journey Our deceitful Hearts haply may promise Content had we an Hundred Pounds per Annum but they will deceive us for our desires would be enlarged from an Hundred to a Thousand and so in infinitum till Kingdoms yea the World would be too little for us as it was to Alexander Covetous Men have a dry Dropsie the more they have the more they thirst Theocritus brings in the Cove-Man wishing he had a Thousand Sheep when this wish was obtained he cries out Pauperis est numerare pecus 'T is but a Poor Man that is able to number his Cattel And 't is no wonder He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver The World is of too base a Birth and Breeding to give the Soul content for two things are requisite to Satisfaction and both of those are wanting there must be Proportion and Propriety but what proportion is there between a Piece of Gold and an Immortal Soul It can neither feed it nor cloath it nor make it better And for Propriety this also is lost by the Fall that which we call our own is but lent us and we must be Accountable for it And 't is vain also for what Satisfaction can an Hungry Man take in a Pebble or a Thirsty Man in a dry Pumice-stone What Satisfaction had Haman in his Riches Honours or Preferments without Mordecai's bow or Ahab's Kingdom without Nabath's Vineyard Something is still out of Order some string or other out of Tune that marâ—s the Musick And no wonder Content is not to be found here for God himself could not find Adam a help meet for him If we could turn a heap of Diamonds into a Spiritual substance then it might bear some proportion to the Soul which is a Spirit but except we could change it into God the work would not be done for none but God can make the Soul happy These Earthly things are far worse than the Body how then can they be a fit Match for the Soul Gold and Silver Gemms and Jewels are but the Garbadge of the Earth they seldom make bad Men good or good Men better but oft-times they make both worse they seldom procure Content for the desire enlarges with the Estate as the Israelites Shooes did in the Wilderness with their Feet Solomon could had nothing in them but Vanity and vexation of spirit Eccles 1.14 They are like Smoak they wring Tears from the Eyes but draw not Sorrow from the Heart or like Thorns the faster they are grasped the deeper they wound If God smile upon us they may bring us some Comfort if not all the Gold in the Indies will do us no good for this Coin is not currant in another World we may as well satisfie an empty Stomack with Air as a Covetous Man with Gold for the more Wood we lay upon the Fire the more furiously it burns a Ship may sink under its Burden before it be half full
Heaven and Glory and of the Beatifical Vision for withouâ— holiness we shall never see God Let us therefore leave off sorrowing for petty Losses and Crosses and turn the whole Torrent of our Sorrow into this Channel even against our sins 4. Nay the mischief of Sin ends not here it also exposeth us to the wrath of God and makes him our Enemy that otherwise would be our closest surest and fastest Friend and did we â—now what it is to have God for our Enemy it â—ould send us trembling to our Grave for when â—is Fury is kindled it sets on fire the foundation of â—he mountains Deut. 32.22 'T is better have all â—he World to grapple with than with God if â—e frown upon us no Creature dare smile If â—e be for us who can be against us Rom. 8.31 â—f God have a Controversie with us who dare â—ake our part or move a Hand or Tongue in our Defence We cannot grapple with him he is â—oo strong for us we cannot flye from him as â—onah thought to do he will over-take us neiâ—her can we hide our selves from him Psal 136 â— c. We cannot struggle out of his hand â—or he is the Almighty and we but despicable Worms if he tread upon us he leaves us dead â—ehind him Before him the Holy Angels cover â—heir faces and all the Infernal Spirits tremble â—n his hand is the soul of every living thing and the â—reath of all mankind Job 12.10 If he with-hold â—ur breath we return to our Dust for we have â—o more than what he puts into us how then â—hall we contend with our Maker Can Chaff â—nd Stubble grapple with a devouring Flame One blast of his Displeasure can blow us into Hell yea Heaven and Hell and All into nothing â—nd how are we like to make our Party good â—gainst him when we cannot move a Finger â—wag a Tongue or fetch a Breath without his â—ssistance Well but let us well consider whether our Cause be good What cause hath God given us to take up Arms against him Hath he â—een a hard Master to us Or with-held our Wages Jonah thought he did well to be angry but was soon convinc'd Job had a mind to quarrel him and seems of any other to have the best Cause but when the Contest began hâ— soon threw down the Cudgels and lays his hand upon his Mouth Hath not God been our greateâ—â— Benefactor and done more for us than all the World ever did or can do Is not he our beâ—â— Friend and shall we become his profest Enemies Many good works have I done among you saith Christ for which of those do you stone me John 10.32 God gave us our Being when we had none and shall we hate him for it We were tâ—â— Clay and he was the Potter and might have dash'd us into pieces with his foot He gave us Reason when he might have made us bruit Beasts as Dogs or Swine or more contemptible Creatures He hath given us Limbs and Senses when otherâ— want them Peace and Plenty yea Life and Liberty and hath made our Lives comfortable to us when we deserve not the Ground we tread upon or the Air we breath in and shall we flye at the Face of God and thus requite the Lord our Maker Nay hath not Christ suffered more for us than any other hath or can do We had sold our selves Bond-slaves to Satan and neither Man nor Angel could have redeemed us out of our Slavery or have paid a Ransom sufficient for us but Christ laid down his Life to free us from the guilt of sin from the filth of sin from the Punishment due for sin from the Curse of the Law the Wrath of God the Slavery of Satan and from Everlasting Damnation And hath he for all this deserved our Malice and Hatred He hath bestowed more upon us than the World hath to bestow 't is he that sends us so many Ambassages for Peace and rains Heavenly Manna so plentifully about our Tents he gives us Promises such as the greatest Kings upon Earth cannot make and make good to their greatest Favourites as of his Spirit his Graces his Son and his Glory And is all this nothing Shall we foster sin in our Bosom that hinders us in the Enjoyment of those promised Blessings and expose us to the wrath of God and the everlasting Destruction of Soul and Body and expose us also to all Miserie 's Temporal Spiritual and Eternal God forbid Well we cannot make our Peace with God till we break our League with Sin and if God be our Enemy and our Enemy he will be if we are at Peace with Sin then we may expect he will treat us as Enemies Well may we fear that every bit of Bread we eat will choak us and every drop of Drink we drink may be our bane and that every Creature may wait for a Commission to end our days that the Floods may drown us as they did the Old World or the Fire consume us as Sodom or the Earth swallow us up as Korah and his Complices or the greatest Judgments that ever we read fell upon Mortal Man may be our Portion Oh what need had we then to leave sorrowing for other things and turn all our Tears into the right Channel that it may drown our sins that expose us to these Miseries and Mischiefs 5. Nay but this is not all for Eternal Death as well as Spiritual and Temporal is the Reward of Sin the everlasting separation of Soul and Body from God which is called The second Death and this is far greater than all the Miseries before mentioned for if the sinner be not reconciled to God which cannot be before sin be mortified he shall be cast into the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone Rev. 21.8 This is the Natural Fruit and Effect of every beloved sin even the everlasting Damnation of Body and Soul a thousand thousand rentings of the Soul from the Body is not comparable to one renting of the Soul from Christ Sin doth that for us that all the Men on Earth and Devils in Hell could never do even pull us out of the Arms of God This threw Angels out of Heaven Adam out of Paradice and Millions of Souls into Hell This brought Death into the World and is the very Sting of Death and if this Sting be not taken out it will sting the Soul to Eternity This imbitters our Lives as you have heard while we are in the World and opens the Door to let us out of the World and will open Hell it self to let us in and is the only bar to keep us from coming out But if Sin were mortified we might with Old Simeon depart in Peace and with Ambrose say I am not ashamed to live nor afraid to dye And with Paul I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ Death without his Sting is like Samson without his Hair or like the Drone-Bee without a Sting not
is confest what Accusation will you form against this Omnipotent God seeing he hath meddled with nothing but his own Creature the work of his own hands and one that he hath a greater Interest in than ever you had What Arguments will you use to defend your Cause against him Job indeed had a good mind to quarrel him and as good a Cause for ought I know as any Man living for God himself commends him above all the Men upon the Earth for a perfect and an upright man one that feared God and eschewed evil yet holdeth he his integrity saith he to Satan although thou movedst me against him to destroy him without a cause Job 2.3 Oh saith he that God would answer me Job 31.30 But when God accepted the Challenge and posed him with some hard Questions he cries out I am vile what shall I answer I will lay my hand upon my mouth Once hâ—ve I spoken but I will not answer yea twice but I will proceed no further Job 40.4 5. Yea we find him at the loss of his seven Sons and three Daughters the loss of all his Cattel blessing the Lord The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord Job 1. â—1 We find him not cursing at the Chaldeans or reviling at the Sabeans as many would have done he knew whoever was the Rod God's Hand held it and whoever was the Instrument God was the Author This Consideration quieted David when that dead Dog Shimei railed upon him and cursed him The Lord saith he hath bid him curse David 2 Sam. 16.7 This quiered good Old Eli when the sad Tidings of the death of his two Sons and the ruine of his Family was fore-told 'T is the Lord saith he let him do what seemeth him good 1 Sam. 3.18 This Consideration also silenced Aaron when his two Sons Nadab and Abihu were both slain with fire from Heaven Levit. 10.3 And Aaron held his peace He bridled his Passion and submitted his Will to God's Will And how then dare we dispute the Point with God that have neither Might nor Right on our side that are but frail yea sinful Dust and Ashes poor Worms that if he tread upon us he leaveth us dead behind him Who are we that we should be discontent with his dealing while we have no wrong done us or think to struggle out of his hand when we have no Power or be sullen under his Rod when 't is for our own good God is not engaged to give us any Account of his doing but sure it may suffice us when he tells us All shall work together for our good if we love him Rom. 8.28 And then why not this Providence We take bitter Pills and unsavoury Potions upon the Word of a Physician when he Sugars them with the hopes of Health And shall we mistrust the great Physician that cannot deceive nor be deceived Yea how unsuitable is it for Christians to repine under such Dispensations of Providence who daily pray Thy will be done in â—arth as it iâ— in heaven chearfully readily and willingly and yet murmure when his Will is done and prefer our own Wills before his Nay further consider if you are not Accessory to this Cross that you now lye under Or have you not a hand in making the Rod wherewith ye are beaten There are two ways we may be Accessory to the Death of our Relations The one is by lodging them too near the Heart even in that Room which Christ hath reserved for himself This makes God like a Jealous Husband remove that Servant out of the Family which he sees his Wife dotes upon as a Father takes away the Knife for fear of Danger or the Meat for fear of a Surfeit for many times we grasp those Thorns so hard till they prick us to the heart and then like Children we cry when we have hurt our selves Some on the other side through Carelesness or Covetousness neglect the necessary means of preserving or restoring the Health of their Relations But if you can clear your self of the former I think all that know you will clear you of the latter for the hand of God was so evidently seen in this Visitation that no Providence no Câ—â—â— no Cost nor Pains could prevent or remove it God denying a Blessing to all the means that were used and did immediately dispute his own Right and claim his own Interest and silence all Gain-sayers Oh how good is it for us to hang loose to all Creature-Comforts and not set up any Idols in our Hearts but leave all our Relations to be at God's dispose for many times we our selves weave the Spider's Web out of our own Bowels with which we are intangled and twist the Snare with our own fingers wherein we are held Let us therefore in the first place consider who 't is that hath done this supposed Injury and the serious Consideration of it will do much to allay the Storms of our Passion and quell and suppress those tumultuous Thoughts that rage in our Breast and do much towards the calming of our Spirits 2. And as we have considered who 't is we contend with even the Mighty God of Heaven and Earth in the next place 't is not amiss to consider who we are that thus quarrel him even Dust and Ashes Worms-meat poor frail indigent Creatures we are that thus oppose the Will of this great God and find fault with his Government of the World What King saith our Saviour Christ going out to make war against mother King sitteth not down first and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand Or else while the other is yet a great way off he sendeth an ambassage and desireth conditions of peace Luke 14.31 32. And this is our Wisdom to do when we see we cannot grapple with him to lay down our Arms and submit and sue for Peace before the Contention grow too high for doubtless we may easily see we are not a meet Match for him our Original is but from the Earth The Lord formed man out of the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life and man became a living soul Gen. 2.7 and ere long we must be resolved into Earth Dust thou art and unto dust thou shall return Gen. 3.19 And is such a despicable Worm able to contend with the Almighty Yea all of us high and low rich and poor noble and base were bewen out of the same rock and digged out of the same hole of the pit Isa 51.1 And all had the same Original and are poor frail contemptible Nothings Is my strength saith Job the strength of stones or are my sinews of brass Job 6.12 And what if it were Were our Flesh of Brass and our Sinews of Iron could we then grapple with the Almighty Was ever any that hardened himself against God and prospered Dust we are by Creation sinful
bear again the Pangs of Death Would you bring her back again into the Vineyard now her Work is done and she is receiving her Wages to endure the burden and heat of the day and all to bear you Company You are groaning under the present burden of Mortality and are sensible of your Pains and Distempers and would you wish her in the like condition She is now safely landed in the Port of Glory and would you have her back again upon the raging Sea tossed up and down with Storms and Tempests among Rocks and Sands among Pirates and Robbers and all this under pretence of Love and Tenderness What worse can you wish to your greatest Enemy She is at her Journey 's end and would you have her tread over those weary steps again along the dirty craggy rocky and thorny way and pass through those Dangers again she hath once escaped She was an Heiress and is come to her Age and hath received her Inheritance and would you have her wave her Inheritance resign up her Crown and Kingdom and again reduce her self to servile Slavery Bondage and Beggery carking Cares and fretting Fears She hath run the Race and won the Prize and would you have her run it again and put it to a second venture She hath fought the good Fight and won the Victory and wears the Crown and would you have her try for it in a second Duel Would you have her renounce her Crown and Diadem divest her self of her rich Robes wherewith her Husband hath arrayed her and re-assume the rags of Sin and the state of Suffering She is now out of the Devil's reach and must she again feel his fiery Darts and be taken â—n his Snares and subject her self to the Allurements of the World where she shall have Snares â—aid for her in every State and Condition every Relation every Calling every Enjoyment every Duty yea every Action Would you have her â—gain hated persecuted and maligned for Righâ—eousness sake and under continual Fears Troubles Anxieties and Afflictions What pleasure think â—ou she can take that hath been enchaunting â—ut Hallelujahs in the Heavenly Quire when she â—omes to hear Swearing Cursing ribald and unâ—avoury Speeches and to see the Laws of God broken as is too frequent in the World to see Holiness made a Scorn and Religion a Laughing-â—tock and those that are Godly made a Prey Now what Arguments would you use to her to â—ain her consent to re-assume her former Estate â—he hath tryed both and knows the difference â—â—tter than we and we usually say Contra gustum non disputandum Experience is the best Master Doubtless all your Arguments will prove vain in this case she better knows now the Vanity of the World than formerly she did and the worth of Coelestial Enjoyments and her love to God is much more enlarged her Understanding being increased for nothing but Ignorance can stave off our Affections from Christ Will you tempt her with Gold Silver Precious Jewels Alas if you should empty the Indies it will noâ— do she must leave better Treasures behind her These will but serve her to look upon but tiâ—â— Death the other are more durable and laâ—â— even to Eternity she treads better Metal iâ— Heaven under her feet Rev. 21.21 The streeâ—â— of the City are of pure Gold Or will brave Apparel costly Ornaments entice her Alas she must leave behind her the rich Robes of Christ'â— Righteousness and those Precious Gemms anâ— Jewels wherewith her Husband hath arrayed her far more precious than the World affords thosâ— Robes of Glory which no Man can describe Or will Honour or Preferment do the work Alas the empty thing called Honour bears no more proportion to Heavenly Glory than painted fire on the Wall to true fire or a King upoâ— a Stage to a King upon his Throne or a liveless Carkass to a living Man And what Preferment can there be greater than to a Crown of Glory and to be the Spouse of the Son oâ— God If you offer her all the Delights of the Sons of Men what are those to the Delights of the Sons of God To those Rivers of pleasâ—â—e which are at God's right hand for evermore These are like Jonah's Gourd soon withered soon ripe and soon rotten Will stately Buildings large Revenues Crowns and Kingdoms prove a Temptation Alas this is too weak a Bait to allure a Heaven-born Soul The New Jerusalem whereof she is a Citizen is not to be parallel'd in the whole World See the description of it or rather the shadow for no words in Humane Language can discover it Rev. 21. where Gold and Precious Stones are the coursest Materials yea too course to describe it in its Glory And for spaciousness the whole Terrestrial Globe doth not so much exceed one square Inch of Earth as the Heavens exceed the whole Globe But it may be her dear Husband may allure her but she must then leave a better Husband even Christ to whom her Soul was espoused before she went But her Father and Mother are here but she hath God for her Father and Jerusalem that is above is her Mother and Angels and glorified Saints her Brethren and Sisters and constant Companions She was 't is true a loving and dutiful Child and now is a loving and dutiful Wife and she cannot transgress her Maker's Laws not her Husband 's Will. With what scorn would she reject such offers as these if made to perswade her out of Heaven Her love to her Husband would answer all the Objections could be made But how can you be so much against the consummation of the Marriage that were so willing of the Espousals I know you travelled in Birth till Christ was formed in her it was both your desire and design it should be so and your delight when it was done and is his fetching her home so troublesome What greater mischief could you wish to the greatest Enemy you ever had in the World than to wish him out of Heaven And it would be the most signal Revenge if you could procure it And can it be Love thâ—n to your Daughter You know not what Cup may be put into your hand to drink and would you have a glorified Soul to Pledge you Were you in a loathsom Prison would you wish your dearest Friends to be in the like condition Or were you sick must they be sick also Is this an effect of Lâ—ve Paul indeed desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ but he never desiâ—ed any that were with Châ—ist back again he desired Agrippa and those that were with him were such as he was except his bonds He did not desire their Misery but their Happiness The World is but a Pest-House and every one hath some Plague-sore or other running upon him and would you desire any Friend you love to come into such infected Company It is but a little while and you will follow her and it will be said of you as of her
and many Men have enough to sink them that have not half to satisfie them Content is one main Ingredient of Happiness but till we have God we cannot have it Croesus's Wealth Alexander's Crowns Heliogabalus his Pleasures fall short of Happiness or Satisfaction yet many are filling bottomless-tubs and rolling Sysiphus his Stone and have Tityus his Vulture gnawing in their Breast those that have much of the World have usually much trouble with it and sometimes God spoils all the Sport by throwing some handfuls of Hell-fire into the Conscience Reader wast thou ever upon thy sick Bed and received the Sentence of Death within thee What warming Comforts did the World then afford thee Nay hath not sometimes a pinching Pang of the Cholick Gout Strangury or the raging pain of an aking Tooth put thee by all the Comforts the World can afford And why then shall we so much doat upon it that can do us so little good when we have most need Till we can fill our Barns with Grace and our Bags with Glory and extract Heaven out of the Earth and God out of the Creature we must never expect Satisfaction in any Earthly Enjoyment I know Riches of themselves are the good Gifts of God but become Snares when they are over-loved and trusted in 't is not the having them but the over-loving them is dangerous they often prove the occasion of Pride Luxury Tyranny Oppression c. The World must have the Head and the Hand but God must have the Heart Set the World in its own place and there is no danger send it before us to Heaven and it will be made up into a Crown for us Cornelius's Prayers and Alms came up for a Memorial before God Acts 10.4 This is the way to make Friends with the Mammon of unrighteousness and at the last day Sentence will pass upon us accordingly Yet are there too many Professors that doat upon the World as much as ever Jonah did upon his Gourd or the Athenians on Diana's Temple But these things are nec vera nec vestra they are worth little and if they were they have another Master But there are Riches of another Nature which nec prodi nec perdi nec surrepi possunt none can deprive us of them Bags that wax not old a Treasure in the Heavens that fadeth not away A Beggar is an unsuitable Match for a Prince much more a bruit Beast but 't is a far more unsuitable Match for an Immortal Soul to be espoused to a Wedge of Gold When the Moon is at the Full 't is farthest from the Sun and nearest to an Eclipse If the Heart be full of the World there is no room for Christ every Good is not suitable for every Nature 't is not Natural to a Man to live under Water nor for a Fish to live on the dry Ground Kingdoms may promise Content to carnal Hearts but a Gracious Man cannot take up with such poor things One Dram of Grace will prove a better Portion than the World affords 3. As these Earthly things are unsatisfying so they are uncertain and this is a certain demonstration of their Vanity For had we never so much of them what avails it when we know not whether we shall enjoy them one day to an end A Kingdom would give us little content did we certainly know we should lose it at the Month's end and our Lives with it yea Heaven it self would yield us little content did we know we should enjoy it only a Thousand Years and then be cast into Eternal Torments the thoughts of leaving it would take away all Pleasure of Enjoying it and would be a Hell in the midst of Heaven Now all these Earthly Enjoyments will be stript from us at Death haply sooner and our Death cannot be far off and why should we doat so much upon them Many Thousands in our Age have been Rich o're Night and Poor ere Morning Witness France Ireland Germany Savoy and many others Thus it was with Job one day for ought we know saw him the greatest Man in all the East and Poor even to a Proverb The uncertainty of these Earthly Enjoyments is one of the greatest Vanities that is writ upon them how then can they be a suitable Portion for the Soul which runs parallel with the longest line of Eternity What will become of the Immortal Soul when the Portion is spent Why do Men make so much hast to climb the Ladder of Promotion seeing so many break their Necks ere they get to the top Haman may witness this for King's Favourites stand but in slippery places one day he glories in his Enjoyments and the next day is hanging on the Gallows he made for another Esther 5.11 c. and 7.10 Ahithophel one day his words were esteemed as Oracles and presently after falling into Disgrace he hanged himself This Age may produce many Examples to this purpose Sometimes the great Ones of the World hardly obtain a decent Funeral and what a condition is the Soul in that took the World for a Portion when the Body is neglected judge you Angels cannot help them nor the Saints in Heaven if they were willing and then sure nothing upon the Earth can do it The thoughts of fore-past Pleasures Honours or Treasures will give little ease to present Dolours and the Wrath of God It was small comfort that Abraham gave to the Rich Glutton Son remember in thy life-time thou hadst pleasure and Lazarus pain now he is comforted and thou art tormented When pale-fac'd Death like Belshazzar's Hand-writing shall enter our Lodging to Arrest us to appear before God in Judgment before we have evened our Accounts it will make our Joints to tremble and our Knees smite one against another What will the World do for us then at Judgment They will prove miserable Comforters when the Earth and all the works therein shall be burnt up where then is your confidence Now many love Gold more than God and Money is preferred before Mercy Now Paul calls this Idolatry Col. 3.5 And James calls iâ— Adultery James 4.4 But this will prove like Achan's Wedge to cleave the Soul asunder or like his Babylonish Garment serve for a Winding-sheet Riches at the best are deceitful like Winter-brooks dry in Summer or like Job's Friends miserable Comforters I have read of Fish in the River Araris which change colour with the Moon when 't is at the Full they are white when in the Wane black Thus the World doth by us when we want not it smiles upon us but when need is it looks of another colour There is no more proportion between this imaginary Felicity that the World doats upâ—n and true Happiness than between painted Fire on the Wall and true Fire or between a King upon the Stage and a King upon the Throne or between a liveless Carkass and a living Man In the midst of all our Enjoyments one hour's tormenting pain spoils all the Sport At Death Riches
done it So in Abraham's Offering his Son the Widow's two Mites were accepted as if it had been an Hundred Pounds But if Grace be wanting though a man give all his goods to the poor and his body to be burned it is not accepted 1 Cor. 13.3 Hypocrites blow their Gifts as Butchers do their Meat yea they are Fly-blown till they stink again but Grace is the Salt that makes it savoury Grace is the best Evidence we have for Heaven and a sure sign of God's Favour for he will know them well he bestows it upon He that believes and is baptized shall be saved but he that believes not shall be condemned Mark 16.16 God gives Crowns and Kingdoms sometimes to the worst of Men but the Childrens Bread they shall not have the rest is but Crumbs to feed the Dogs or rather the Cattel for the Slaughter No man knows Love or Hatred by these things The Sun shines as hot upon the Bramble in the Desart as on the Cedar in Libanus the Snow falls as well on the choicest Garden as on the Wilderness yea the lofty Pine meets with more Storms than the Shrub the Sun riseth upon the Good and the Bad and the Rain falls on the Just and on the Unjust Wealth and Honour are handed out to the one and to the other and the worst have of the best share and no wonder 't is their All Sometimes the Bramble is preferred before the Vine the Olive and the Fig-tree but Grace is the distinguishing Badge Christ's Sheep-mark which never any but his own Sheep did ever wear This makes a Man better when the World makes him worse this makes the heart chearful when other things make it sad or sordid yet the World contemns it as Aesop's Cock did the Precious Stone But at Death if this be wanting the Door will be shut against us and when we are lanching out into the infinite Ocean of Eternity we shall be glad of such a Pilot. This Garb I know is out of Fashion with our Gallants but 't is more durable than their Silks and Sattins and will better keep out a shower of Divine Vengeance than those it will prove the best Flower in the Garland and the richest Jewel in the Crown The Rich Glutton would have changed his Garb with Poor Lazarus and been contented with his Bill of Fare Were the Mountains Pearls and the Rocks Rubies and the whole Globe of the Earth were a shining Chrysolite yet Grace excels it all Crowns and Kingdoms stately Buildings Thousands of Rams and Ten Thousand Rivers of Oyl will not reach the worth of Grace this it is that opens the Door to the Pearl of great Price Matth. 13.45 To the unsearchable riches of Christ Ephes 3.8 It supports the Heart better than the choicest Cordials and those that now most despise it will ere long most earnestly desire it When Death like Belshazzar's Hand-writing enters their Lodgings and Summons them to Judgment when they shall wish the mountains to fall on them and the hills to cover them then Grace would be the best Security This is the only Ticket will open Heaven-gate the Evidence for our Title there To a Gracious Man though the way be rough the Journey 's end will be easie though the Battle be sore the Conquest will be certain and the Spoils great if they have a bad Dinner they will have a joyful Supper if they lose their Estate they are going to better Riches they cannot want that have God for their Father Jerusalem which is above for their Mother Christ for their Head and Husband the holy Angels and glorified Saints for their Brethren and Companions and Heaven for their Inheritance God hath set his Seal his Sheep-mark upon them Holiness to the Lord Zech. 14.20 Where God changeth the Relation he changeth the Nature and Disposition a heart in Heaven is one of the surest Evidences for Heaven For where the treasure is there will the heart be also The best Treasure the World affords what is it but the Guts and Garbage of the Earth the greater load of it we carry the greater clog it oft-times proves in our Journey to Heaven we cannot pass the strait Gate till we unload it Many make Gold their God and their Wedge their Confidence but it failed Achan his Wedge of Gold did serve to cleave his Soul asunder and his Babylonish Garment proved his Winding-sheet Covetousness is called Idolatry because Men Idolize their Wealth and Adultery because they Prostitute themselves to it and lodge it in the room of God Oh how good is that Counsel that bids us provide bags that wax not old a treasure in the heavens that fadeth not away Luke 12.33 Other things we cannot keep and if we could they would not avail us But the true Treasure we cannot lose 't is durable as the days of Heaven and will run parallel with the longest line of Eternity When others therefore grasp for Gold let us grasp for Grace for Godliness will be found great gain 1 Tim. 6.6 But those that make hast to be rich shall not be innocent Prov. 28.20 'T is not Gold but Grace not Money but Righteousness makes the Soul Rich. A Gracious Man thoughâ— his Habitation be below his Conversation is above and when Heaven is his Object Earth will be his Abject But if many Men's Hearts were anatomized we might find the World there fairly Engraven and nothing of Heaven would there be found The Devil holds his black Hand over most Men's Eyes that they cannot see the way to Heaven and when they are blind-folded he leads them as the Prophet Elisha did the Syrians to Samaria when they think they are going to Dothan they come to Hell with hopes of Heaven in their mouths They are like soft Wax he can turn them into any shape But Grace is the Soul's Ballast that keeps it steady and elevates it above the World and gives it a Pisgah-sight of Glory it mounts it upon Mount Tabor where 't is transfigured with Christ and its Garments made white and shining It gives the Soul those true Beauty-Spots which makes her lovely in the Eyes of her Husband But these differ from the Devil's Patches whose spot is not the spot of God's people Deut. 32.5 Grace is the Oyl that makes her Chariot-wheels move swiftly and keeps her Lamp of Profession burning Many are the Promises God hath made to Grace in general and to the several Graces in particular both of things concerning this Life and that to come and many are the Priviledges gracious Souls have in possession and much more shall have in reversion and many are the Love-Tokens her Husband sends her and many a gracious Visit he affords her 'T is true sometimes to try her Love he hides himself behind the Wall but then every sigh and groan and sorrowful complaint goes to his Heart and when he hath tryed her Affection discovers himself again he promises and will make it good he will never leave
their Dross Love will run in the right Channel and be set upon right Objects God shall have all our Love we shall love his Creatures by a reflect act we shall love God for himself and his Creatures for his sake and where we see most of God there we shall love most now we complain we cannot love him but then we cannot choose but love him for who can be in a fire and not burn Our Love to him here though true in its kind yet is full of Imperfections and like an Ague hath its heats and colds but there is no intermissions it admits of no cooling Ignorance here makes the Pearl of great price undervalued and most Swine rather delight in Swill and with Aesop's Cock prefer a grain of Barley before it but these will be better acquainted with its worth The Godly here have but a Viaticum something to animate them in the way and to stay their stomack but the Feast is for their Journey 's end where they shall drink Wine with Christ in his Father's Kingdom 'T is a Question with some whether there are degrees of Glory in Heaven a full Answer will be best made by the Inhabitants themselves Something may be spoken to it as to probability at least there will be no difference as to the duration for Eternity admits not of addition or diminution and as for degrees in general every one shall enjoy as much Happiness as they are capable of as much as their Vessels will hold and there shall be no cause of complaint or repining at others nay or of desiring more for themselves for this argues Imperfection of Happiness which Heaven owns not Yet it seems probable there will be degrees The righteous then will shine as the firmament but those that turn many to God as the stars for ever and ever Dan. 12.3 Now the Stars shine brighter than the Firmament and some stars differ from others in glory There are degrees of Torment For he that knew his Lord's will and did it not was to have the more stripes Luke 12.47 And Christ tells us It should be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah for Tyre and Sidon in the day of Judgment than for those Cities he preached to and they not repented Mat. 11.21 And I wish England be not sick of this Disease in making light of Christ the Beast and the false Prophet were cast alive into the Lake that burneth with Fire and Brimstone Rev. 19.20 c. and this seems to be a higher degree of Torment than others have And again the Scripture speaks of a greater degree of Condemnation and that every one shall receive a Reward according to his Works and some being greater sinners than others are Justice requires they should suffer more and the unfaithful Servant Mat. 24.51 hath his Portion appointed with Hypocrites which seems some peculiar Punishment Now there being degrees of Torments in Hell and he that deserves most Punishment shall have most why not of Glory in Heaven where he that hath done most Work shall have most Wages And although I dare not say there are Nine Hierarchies of Angels in Heaven as the Papists do yet we read of Angels and Arch-Angels as well as of the Devil and his Angels and why not then degrees of glorified Saints He that by his Pound gained ten Pounds was made Ruler over ten Cities when he that had gained five Pounds was Ruler only over five Cities and what this signifies but a higher degree of Glory I know not Luke 19.16 And Christ promises his Apostles that followed him in the regeneration they should sit upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Mat. 19.28 which Honour is not promiscuously promised to all And those that have forsaken any thing for Christ have greater Promises than others have Those therefore that desire a greater degree of Glory than others let them improve their Talents better than others do Another Question may be Whether the Saints in Glory shall know each other In Answer to it I say if it make for their future Glory doubtless they will for they shall want nothing of Perfection and the Scripture looks very favourably upon the Affirmative Christ tells us That many shall come from the East and from the West and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven but the Children of the Kingdom shall be thrust out And shall they sit with them and not know them In the Transfiguration the Apostle knew Moses and Elias and the Rich Glutton in Hell knew Abraham and Lazarus in his Bosom And is it probable that Men living here on Earth some few Years when the Understanding is clouded with Ignorance and the Memory with Forgetfulness know one another that they should not know one another through Eternity when those Mists are blown over Some also question whether the Souls of Believers go immediately into Heaven at the Death of the Body and this seems to me as plain as the other 't is Christ's Promise to the Penitent Thief This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise And this I judge was neither in Hell nor Purgatory for I know not where those are called Paradice Lazarus when he dyed was carryed into Abraham's Bosom where he was comforted while the Rich Man was tormented Luke 16.25 But I suppose there is little comfort in Purgatory-flames this Fire is but newly kindled and were it not to warm the Pope's Kitchen would be soon extinguished In a word the Scripture mentions Heaven and Hell as the Receptacles of separated Souls but there is no mention of another place Some also enquire if they go immediately into Glory whether they have at present the full degrees of Glory which they shall have hereafter I Answer Secret things belong to God but things revealed to us It seems probable that though they have as much Glory as thay Entitle them truly Happy yet there will be a further degree added at the Resurrection when Soul and Body shall be reunited and the Sentence of Absolution past upon them Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom c. Then as the wicked go into everlasting torments so the righteous shall go into life eternal Mat. 25.41 And thus you have heard of the Happiness of Believers but the duration of their Happiness is the chiefest Flower in their Garland for were it but to continue a thousand thousand Years it would be a Hell to them in the midst of Heaven to think that an end would come and it would make them they could little rejoyce in their Enjoyments But the consideration that it will be for ever is a great addition to their Happiness 't is to be for ever and for ever Dan. 12.2 And 't is called eternal Glory 2 Tim. 2. And Reason shews it must be so for the Soul is immortal and the Reward promised is such and this Enjoyment is called Eternal Life So then you see proved what before was asserted
That seeing all must dye the Righteous have not long to suffer for Death will set an end to all their Miseries and enter them into their Eternal Enjoyments of God and Glory and put them into the possession of those Mansions of Glory prepared for them by God before the foundations of the world And then any Man may judge whether there be any great cause why they should fear Death which is the only Cure of all their Miseries and the only Porter to open Heaven-gates to them It remains that we speak something of those whose Happiness expires with their Life and their Miseries commence at their Death Lesson 5. The Fifth Lesson this Providence teacheth is That seeing Men and Women may be taken away in the Flower of their Age and Death can put a period to their Lives then what a miserable condition are Wicked Men in when one day may put an end to all their Happiness and all their Hopes for both their Happiness and their Hopes is only in this Life and shall expire at their Death for whether they are Noble or Base Rich or Poor Young or Old by what Names or Titles soever they are dignified or distinguished if they have no better a Portion than the World can bestow upon them 't is at the longest for term of Life and at Death their lease expires Their Glory then will not follow them and their Pomp will take her leave Oh what a change Death will make among many of our greatest Gallants their Happiness depends upon a ticklish point and hangs but by the thread of their Lives and there are a thousand Diseases Distempers Casualties and Accidents ready to cut the thread and every Creature waits but for a Divine Commission to stop their breath and they are not sure of one day to an end The Experience of this very Age proves this point fully how many hundred thousands were in Ireland stript of all in a moment and left as poor as Job and many lost their Lives with their Estates The like may we hear of in other Countries in London an hundred thousand dyed in one Year and what a change did Death make to them that have their Portion only in this Life What the Wise Man saith Prov. 23.5 Rich's take wings and fly away We see by Experience many rich at Night and poor ere Morning bâ—t we also see many Rich Men snatch'd away from their Riches who are well o're Night and deâ—d in the Morning yet many Men hunt and havk after Riches and never overtake them and if they do cannot hold them many purchase them too dear even with the loss of their Souls and the shipwrack of a good Conscience and these make a hard bargain for the Soul is more worth than all the World Mat. 16.26 That a Wicked Man is not long to enjoy his Happiness is made out in the following Considerations 1. Consider at Death all Men of what Degree soever from the least to the greatest will leave behind them all these outward Enjoyments viz. Riches that very many so much glory in and trust to and cannot take with them the worth of a shoe-latchet Woe then to them that have no other Portion what will their poor Souls do to Eternity though now their Riches be their strong hold Prov. 18.11 yet can they not help in the evil day Zeph. 1.18 Yet here they are honoured as Gods but they are but Dung-hill Deities most Men dote upon them as much as the Athenians did upon Diana's Temple and Offer not only their Children but their Souls unto them But let their Attainments or Enjoyments be what they will at Death they must leave all behind them Kings and Emperours must leave their Crowns behind them and the Bishop his Mitre the Pope himself not excepted then those that have made a great hurly-burly in the World could not satisfie their Dust will be contained in a little Urn. At Death the Emperour must lay by his Robes and the Beggar his Rags for Death will lodge them in the same Bed and set them upon even ground The griping Usurer must leave his Gold and cease to fill his Bags with Silver when his own Mouth shall be fill'd with Earth Kings then must bid farewel to their Crowns and Kingdoms as Solomon to his Ivory Throne and our great Gallants their well-contrived Houses though they call them after their own names Psal 49.11 c. Haply they may leave them to Fools haply to Strangers haply to Enemies to enjoy It was the Speech of a good Man to a great Lord when he shewed him his sumptuous Buildings pleasant Gardens Walks Orchards and other Rarities Sir saith he you must make sure of Heaven or you will never be recompenced in the Earth for all the Pains and Cost you have bestowed here Yet many like the Rich Man in the Gospel Luke 12. sing a Requiem to their Souls and promise themselves long Life when haply they have not a day to live They put the evil day far from them and because they see not Death think Death heeds not them when he is even staring them in the Face They lodge Riches nearest their Heart and from it they expect their greatest Security but the Mortal Sithe is too hard for the Royal Scepter yet many consider it not but buy Faggots for their own burning for the rust of their Gold will eat their flesh as fire James 5.3 Here they have their Summer and their Winter Houses curious Parlours Banqueting-Houses Rooms richly adorned soft Beds and easie Couches but if they have no better Portion Death will strip them of this and lodge them in a stinking Dungeon and darksom Cell full of deadly Horror void of Light or Comfort a noisom sulphurous stinking Prison here are no curious Gardens or pleasant Walks for Recreation neither is there any thing to recreate the Eyes the Ears the Smell the Tast or the Touch the Object of Sight will be Infernal Devils and Damned despairing Wretches the Melody the groans and sighs the roaring yelling scrietching of damned Souls for the Taste pinching Hunger and parching Thirst or something that is worse their Smell is burning Brimstone and their Touch the scorching Flames Oh the Pains the Time the Cost and Charges many Men are at in adorning their Habitations Gardens Walks Orchards c. when all this while the poor Soul lyes neglected and slighted no Tree in the Orchard must grow disordered but must be pruned muck'd and manured when in the Soul nothing is in order no Weed must grow in the Garden when no Vice must be weeded out of the Soul Here they have pleasant Walks and Summer-shady Bowers their Rich Pastures Pleasant Meadows their Flocks and Herds their numerous Cattle both small and great and whatever their hearts can desire that can be purchased for Love or Money but Death will strip them to the skin and they shall carry nothing hence neither can they call ought their own but Tortures and
then the Soul will know the worth of the things she hath lost and what a foolish bargain she made when God and Heaven and Happiness were parted with for a Lust this will be a bitter Corazine and an eternal Torment to a miscarrying Soul when she knows and know she will what it is to enjoy those Rivers of pleasures which are at the right-hand of God ouâ— sight of Christ ouâ— glimps of Heaven one hours converse with Angels and glorified Saints would dash the Glory of Ten thousand Worlds out of countenance this Beatifical Vision this enjoyment of God in Glory is a Saints greatest Happiness and well it may We mourn and overmourn for little petty Crosses or Losses in our temporal Estate but the loss of a thousand Worlds will not equal this a glimps of whose Face in Glory would make amends for all the Losses Crosses Pains and Torments which here we can suffer for his sake 'T is His Presence that makes Heaven to be Heaven and his Absence is Hell it self the enjoyment of him here in a small measure is Heaven upon Earth and when he withdraws himself from the Soul 't is a very Hell but the blinded World is not sensible of his worth ignotis nulla cupida nothing but Ignorance could stave off our Affections from him yet many though they cannot live without him yet value him not they have not Bread to eat or Clothes to put on nor a Breath to breathe but what he gives them yet dare they abuse their Meat to Gluttony their Drink to Drunkenness their Breath to blaspheme his holy Name But what will those do when there shall be an everlasting separation between God and them The loss of a Jewel is not much to one that values it but as a common Stone but when they come to know its worth it will more trouble them I have read of a Diamond taken from the Duke of Burgundy slain by the Switzers that was sold for a crown by the Soldier that took it and so passed from one to one â—â—ll at last it was bought for 20000 Ducats which as some value it was above 7000 Pound and put into the Pope's triple Crown See what Ignorance may do But Ignorance of God will prove the most dangerous mistake There are many in our Age like David's Fool that say in their Hearts there is no God nay too many that proclaim it with their Tongues but e're long they will be fain to eat their words There is not one of them but e're long will be fully convinc'd for there is no Atheist in Hell the Devil though full of other Sins is not guilty of this Many here have Souls to little purpose but like Salt to keep their Bodies from Putrefaction for as they think there is no God so they live as if there were none Many of these have been convinc'd of their Error even in this Life by the Judgments of God the rest will soon after but these men I suppose rather desire there were no God than believe it Many that own a God fancy to themselves one of their own making a God all of Mercy and no Justice they think he that made them must save them but the Devils find it to the contrary 'T is true he was merciful when he drowned the old World burnt Sodom and Gomorrah with Fire overthrew Pharaoh and his Army in the Red-Sea slew in one night in the Camp of Sennacherib 185000 and will be so at the day of Judgment when he throws the Devil and his Angels and all unrepenting Sinners into Hell And they will find him just as well as merciful and one that will make good his Threats as well as his Promises He hath Power in his Hand to do both and will be no respecter of Persons for if they are wicked by what Name or Titles soever they are dignified or distinguish'd suffer they must Tophet is ordained of old even for the King it is prepared He hath made it deep and large the pile thereof is fire and much wood and the breath of the Lord as a river of Brimstone doth kindle it Isa 30.33 Now they say to God Depart from us we desire not the knowledge of thy ways Job 21.14 But e're long God will say to them Depart from me ye wicked into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels c. Mat. 25.41 Now they will not know God and then God will nor know them Mal. 7.22 Now the rottenness of their Hearts blisters out in their Lips and Tongues and they belch out their unsavoury Breath into the very Face of God himself Now they will none of his counsel but set as nought his reproofs but he will laugh at their destruction and mock when their fear cometh Prov. 1.24 But how light soever they value him now they shall know his Worth to their eternal Torment for they shall for ever lose him and all comfortable Relations to him and with him all that good is the Joys of Heaven the Society of Angels and glorified Saints these indeed they little regard here but they will know their Worth better hereafter It hath been the Speech of some of that Fraternity That if they thought the Puritans and such they called all holy sober serious men were in Heaven and their own Good-fellows and Pot-companions were in Hell they would chuse Hell before Heaven And they are like enough to have their Choice but e're long they would willingly eat those words of theirs Now they hate persecute and revile them and glad they are to be rid of them then they shall be far enough out of their company and out of their reach They think they are not worthy to live in the World whom God thinks the World is not worthy of Heb. 11.35 c. They are cutting off the Bough they stand upon and taking away the Pillars that uphold the Building they laugh at their own Misery and sport themselves with their own Folly they reioice to see their own Houses on Fire and to see their own Wickedness prosper which will be their Ruine but when the mad Fit is over and over it will be e're long when they consider what they have been doing their Note will be changed and their Sport spoiled they will find time enough for Repentance and for every dram of Mirth they will have a pound of Sorrow When God forsakes them and forsaâ—e them he will if they forsake not their Sins whither will they go for help Their Pot-Companions cannot help them for they are under the same Condemnation the World cannot help them for the Earth and all the Works therein shall be burnt up their Riches Honours and Pleasures shall be left behind the Rocks and Mountains cannot cover them these melt at the presence of the Lord their Companions can do them no good they will curse the time that ever they saw the Face each of other the Ordinances which they slighted are then ceased the Ambassadors
will make no Peace or Truce with it 't is his greatest Trouble he meets with in the World that he cannot be quite rid of it that he cannot give it a Bill of Divorce and put it away he deals with it as Amnon did by Tamar whom before he so lustfully loved yet after hated her much more So deals he by Sin what he had lustfully wickedly loved now he unfeignedly hates he hates Sin in all but especially in himself and flees the very appearance of Evil and resists it in the first motion and as the Babylon Children while they are young and the Cockatrice Egg e're it be hatched resists the Temptation and first Notion of Sin and if the Devil foist in a Temptation he like the ravished Virgin cries out for Help suppresseth Sin in the Thoughts before ever it appear in the Word or Action as Joseph that would not hearken to his Mistriss nor he in the House with her Now this is the course that we must take if we would kill Sin and we must be sure to begin Reformation at the right end purge the Fountain that the Streams may be clear stock up the Root of Sin that the Tree may dye Make clean the inside that the outside may be clean also Mat. 15.19 12.34 The Heart is the Source of Sin and the Fountain of Folly and swarms with Lusts as a Carrion with Vermine inward Bleeding will kill as well as outward and from within Wickedness proceeds but a man is never fit to dye till Sin be kill'd and the Heart cleansed 3 Dir. The World also is an Enemy that must be subdued if we would dye well or willingly for the love of the World breaks many a Match between Christ and the Soul and 't is the usual Bait the Devil lays to keep us in his Snares All this I will give thee and 't is a rare man that is not hereby alured And therefore it was not in vain that the Apostle gives us this Caution 1 Joh. 2.15 Love not the world nor the things of the world if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him And another Apostle tells us That the friendship of the world is enmity with God whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God Can a Woman love two Husbands or a Man serve two Masters God and Mammon And Paul tells us The world is crucified to him and he to the world It cares not a Pin for me and I care not a Rush for it there is no more delight in it in my account than there is in a dead Carcass have it we may use it we must but love it we may not It hangs out her two Breasts Strumpet like of Profit and Pleasure but the Apostle had no mind to suck at these Botches and if we would dye well let us imitate him that had learnt to dye daily and get our Affections as much weaned from the World as possibly may be and set upon Heavenly things or 't is ten to one it will speak to us in the Words of Peter to Christ Save thy self Whenever we should come to suffer any thing for Christ we may find what a snare it will be to us as to the young man Mat. 19.22 that bid fair for Christ till the World came and broke the Bargain he came to Christ hastily and departs heavily when he must part with his Riches he chuses rather to part with Christ and if Heaven will be had upon no cheaper terms let him keep it to himself Those that have the God of this World lively poâ—trayed upon the Soul are not fit for another World such as these will say with Cardinal Bembus they will not leave their part in Paris for their part in Paradâ—ce Judas and Demas may witness this Truth When the Affections are forestalled and set upon other Lovers 't is hard rending them off or making them willing to pâ—rt with what they love what a man loves best he would keep longest Where the treasure is there will the heart be also Mat. 6.20 21. If they are set upon this white and yellow Earth upon Pearls and precious Stones which are but the Guts and Garbage of the Earth and load themselves with thick Clay 't is as hard for them to enter in at the streight Gate as for a Camel 〈◊〉 go through the eye of a Needle Paul câ—lls such a one an Idolater Ephes 5.5 and St. James an Adulterer Jam. 4.4 Such as these are not ready for Death though Death may haply be ready for them but he that hath laid up his Treasure in Heaven and is at a point with all things under the Sun and wears the World about him as a loose Garment ready to cast off upon all occasions he that hath made ready pack'd up all and sent before him to his desired Port needs wait but for a Wind to waft him over Where the treasure is there will the heart be also When a man imagines he must leave better behind than he is like to find there 't is no wonder if he dye unwillingly and depart with a reluctancy but when better things are in view 't is no hard matter to dye The Devil puts a Cheat upon us when he shews us the World through his Spectacles and the Glory of it through his Magnifying-glasses there every Little seems Great and every Mole-hill a Mountain but when we view it in the clear Crystal of God's Word it appears in its Colours 'T is an easie thing to make a man exchange Rags for Robes and a Cottage for a Castle and is it not as easie to perswade a wise man to exchange Pebbles for Pearls Earth for Heaven and the Creature for God When a Man is satisfied that there is enough in Christ in Heaven and Glory to give the Soul Content yea to make up all the Losses sustained upon the account what should make him afraid to venture upon it But while the World seems a Pearl in our Eyes the Pearl of great price is not heeded The Splendor of the World seems greater than it is when the Devil hath adorned it in his Paint and Colours but when 't is stripp'd of that Varnish it appears an old withered and deformed Strumpet and 't is wonder that any fall in love with her Till we can look upon the World with Contempt we are neither fit to live nor fit to dye not to live for we shall place the love upon her that is only due to God not to dye for we shall then lose all our Portion and what a condition will such a departing Soul then be in Till we can see with Moses the Vanity of Kings Courts we shall never make his choice as the Afflictions of the people of God rather than these Vanities Heb. 11.25 Till we can with Galeacius see more Worth in one days Communion with God than all the Wealth in the World we shall not leave all as he