another but I and no other That Paradise is under promise for Converts Thou shalt be in Paradise Glory is entailed upon Grace Happiness is entailed upon Holiness and the Crown is appointed for the Converts Head Thou That this person was convinced appears in the Context Luke 23.40 41 42 Doest not thou fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation And we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man hath done nothing amiss And he said unto Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom That this person also was converted appears in the Text or Christ would not have laid Paradise under promise 1 Cor. 6.9 for Paradise is for none but Converts of his own making Thou shalt be in Paradise The unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God The unrighteous as unrighteous and in a state of unrighteousness Mat. 18.3 shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not not so the Greek enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Persons must be converted as well as convinced and changed as well as called or they cannot be passed thorough the Gates into the City Ye shall not not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Not not two Negatives strengthen an Affirmative That which makes Paradise a Paradise indeed is to be with Christ there With me Thou shalt be with me in Paradise What would a Paradise be without Christ What would Heaven be though Angels be there and the Spirits of just men made perfect be there if Christ were not there Whom have I in Heaven but thee As if the Psalmist had said Heaven would not be a Heaven to me were it not for thee Christ's being with the Soul here makes a Heaven here and the Souls being with Christ hereafter makes a Heaven hereafter Would not Heaven be a Baca a valley of tears A Bochim a house of mourning if the Soul were not to find Christ there John 14.1 2 3. Let not your hearts be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me in my Fathers house are many Mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self that where I am there ye may be also That the Soul of a Convert is a Blossom of Eternity and hath a Stamp of Immortality As the Mortality of the Body so the Immortality of the Soul is legible in this Text and Truth Thou shalt be with me and that in Paradise Though thy Body dye yet thy Soul shall live yea live with me Fear not them which kill the Body Mat. 10.28 but are not able to kill the Soul Though the Body dyes the Soul lives That when Time goes into Eternity then the Converts Soul shall go into Glory To day Thou art upon earth to day and thou shalt be in Heaven to day Thy Body is upon a piece of timber this morning but thy Soul shall be in a place of Triumph before night To day To be in Paradise is much but to day to be there is more The time accents the mercy For Christ to speak in the Future Tense to a graceless Soul is not so amazing and amusing as for Christ to speak in the Present Tense For Christ to say He that believeth not shall be damned is sad but to say Thou Fool this night shall thy Soul be required of thee this is sadder For Christ to say He that believeth shall have everlasting life is much but for Christ to say To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise is much more Though thou hast been sinning to this day yet after this day thou shalt never more sin All persons are bound for Hell or for Heaven for there is no Purgatory but what is in the foolish fancy of the blind and bloody of the barbarous and butchering Papists This cruel Crew cast all men into three Ranks Some are Apostles and Martyrs persons eminently godly these they say go immediately to Heaven Some are Apostates and Persecuters of the Faith these they say go immediately to Hell There is a middle sort of ordinary sinners that immediately after death go neither to Heaven nor to Hell but to Purgatory where they say they must bear the punishment of their sins until they be prayed out Luk. 16.22 23. But all Souls are bound for Heaven or Hell The poor man dying arrived at Heaven the rich man dying arrived at Hell The Soul of this Convert was to be where the Soul of Christ was to be and did not his Soul go into Glory Ought not Christ to have suffered these things Luk. 24.26 and to enter into his Glory Was not the Soul of this Convert in Heaven before his Body was in the Grave Stephen dyed in this Faith that the Soul of a Convert goes into Glory when his Time goes into Eternity or he would not have prayed Acts 7.59 Lord Jesus receive my Spirit They stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying Lord Jesus receive my Spirit Art actually in Christ Cordial V. Triumph also for Death will grave and that at once all thy Cares and Snares all thy Fears and Tears all thy Temptations and Tribulations Art actually in Christ Death then will grave all thy Cares Martha was careful and troubled about many things As it is said Luk. 10.40 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luk. 10.41 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 She was cumbred about much serving cumbred The Greek word to cumber or be cumbred signifies to be drawn or wried round and round about so it is said Martha Martha thou art careful and troubled about many things Martha Martha she is named twice and the name signifieth Bitter as if Christ had said Bitter Bitter 1. Bitter to her self in making her self a Drudge and neglecting the Word 2. To her Sister in chiding and accusing her Thou art careful The word signifies excessive and sinful Care 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Solicitude And troubled The word seems to signifie anxiously to be wreathed with the difficulty of a thing to be accomplished Martha was excessively and forbiddenly careful and thoughtful yea anxiously wreathed she had too much Care and Trouble when she was upon earth but she hath no care upon her now she is in Heaven Is not this the cry here Bread for the day Bread by the way Is not this the Cry here Bread for me and Bread for mine A little meal in my Barrel Eccl. 9.10 and a little Oil in my Cruse Oh says the Widow I am going to bake this Cake for me and my Son and then to dye But now Soul Death will grave all thy Cares for there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in the Grave whither thou goest This life is a day of working but death is a night of resting This life is
be Hence the Body of man is called vile 1 Cor. 15.47 Who shall change our vile body and make it like his glorious body The Body of the first Adamâ— was formed out of the Earth and is said to be of the earth earthy And as in the first Body so in the bodies of all men Earth is the predominant element our bodies are vile the chief Ingredient oâ— their mixture being the Earth which comparatively to those higher and nobler elements is but vile Gen. 18.27 Abraham writes himself Dust and Ashes Dust is Earth made by the Heat of the Sun Ashâ—s Earth made by the Heat of the Fire They Amos 6.4 who now lye upon beds of Ivory must lye down in a bed of Earth and rest their Heads upon a pillow of Dust. Most sleep in the Dust while they live but all must sleep in the Dust when they die He only who hath laid up his Heart in Heaven Eccl. 12.7 can comfortably think of laying down his Head in the Dust Then shall the Dust the Body return unto the earth as it was and the Spirit the Soul unto God who gave it Mans Body is Dust materially while he lives and Dust formally when he is dead God hath appointed Death Reas 3. Heb. 9.27 Ps 31.15 therefore Man is mortal and must die 'T is once appointed for Man to die and 't is enough that it is appointed once As the Statute is past that Man must die so how long he shall live and when he shall die Isa 57.15 My times are in thy hand He who inhabits eternity is also the Lord of Time Some live as if they were Masters of Time and could appoint out their own Term Isa 28.15 as if they had made a Covenant with the Grave and an Agreement with Death they speak as if their Tongues and their Time were their own To morrow shall be as this day Isa 56.12 and much more abundant That rich Caitiff looked upon his Time as his own Soul take thine ease Luk. 12.19 20. thou hast goods laid up for many years but God said Thou Fool this night shall thy soul be required of thee The Psalmist doth not speak himself the Master but the Servant of Time My times are in thy hand That is all my Times my times of Health or Sickness of Joy or Sorrow of Truth or Triumph of Light or Darkness of Life or Death all my times are in thy hand It is well that our Times are in Gods hands Man is not wise enough to use the Time that God sets him much less is he wise enough to set his own Time God appoints Death all manner of Deaths Jer. 15.2 3. four kinds of Deaths saith the Prophet Death is Heavens Statute and who can reverse that was not that to be reversed by man Esth 8.8 that was sealed with the Kings Ring Who then can reverse Death the Law of Nature the Statute of Mortals the Circumference of the Vniverse Death is the House appointed for all living Job 30.23 Job 19.25 I know that thou wilt bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living As I know that my Redeemer liveth so I know assuredly know that I shall die and go to the Grave of Silence Death bring us back to what we once were and shew us what we are It is true as I have written that some have lived and not died and that some shall live and not die yet those few Exceptions do not infirm but rather confirm the Truth of the general Rule which is That all must die because none escape but upon some special Exception Death is called a Change If a man die Job 14.14 shall he live again All the daies of my appointed time will I wait until my change come Death is natural but we die by a Law we die by Apointment the house appointed for all living Some say of Malefactors who are put to death for crimes against the Law that They are slain by the Law We may say of every man He is slain by a Law the house appointed for all living Thou turnest man to destruction Psal 90.3 that is to Death the destruction of all men as to their corporeal constitutions and external enjoyments But what then And sayest Return ye children of men God having turned man to Death saith presently Return ye children of men That is go back into what ye were return to the Dust. SECT V. The Brevity of Life IF the first Death Fui nihil amplius be the Mistress of Mortals and the Empress of the Vniverse reflect then the Brevity of Life I have been and that is all said Saladine the Great who was Conquerour of the East The longest liver hath but a handfull of Daies and Life it self is but a Circle alwaies beginning where it ends Dan. 7.9 Hodiè mihi crà s Tibi With the Ancient of Days there are no Days and Time will be when Time shall no more be The Child born in the morning is old enough to die before night To Dâ—â— to Me to Morrow to Thee is Deaths Motto When Jacob was asked by Pharoah How old art thou or according to the Margent How many are the daies of the years of thy life Gen. 47.8 9. His answer was Few and evil have the daies of the years of my life been c. A great Physician say that Art is long Life is short Ars longa Vita brevis Hippocrares Oculus apertus clausus Job 14.1 Margent The Heathens Emblem for Life was an Eye open and for Death an Eye shut as if there were no other difference between the living and the dying but the Twinkling of an Eye Man that is born of a woman is of few daies and full of trouble Job scarce thinks Himself worth the naming who doth not speak of himself in his own name Man that is born of a woman But what of this man he is of few daies short of daies and full of trouble Few daies and many troubles make up the Character of Man We use to say short and sweet Multum in parvo but here it is short and sewre yea short and bitter As some speak Much in a Little much matter in a little Discourse And as some do Much with a Little much Good with a little Talent so all suffer Much in a Little much Trouble in a little Time many Sorrows in a few Daies The daies of man are few compared with the daies that man lived before the Flood then man lived to six seven eight nine hundred almost a thousand years They are few also compared to the daies of God As the daies of God cannot be counted because they are so many so the daies of Man can scarcely be counted because they are so few Psa 39.5 Mine Age says the Psalmist is as nothing before Thee All Time is as Nothing compared to Eternity what a
Nothing then is the Age of one Man unto Eternity Some things created and finite are so great above others that they are nothing unto them What is the Ant unto the Elephant what is the Shrimp to the Whale what is the whole body of the Earth to the body of the Heavens It is but a point say Naturalists As one part of the Earth is but a point to the whole and the whole Earth but a point to the Heavens so one part of Time is but a moment to all Time and all Time is but a moment to Eternity especially to the Eternity of God What is Finite unto Infinite The Brevity of mans life will yet appear beyond all modest contradiction by the expressions wherewith it is cloathed by the metaphors wherein it is emblemed and by the Things whereunto it is compared For instance The Life of Man is compared to a Weavers Shuttle Job 7.6 My daies are swifter than a Weavers Shuttle A Weavers Shuttle is an Instrument of a very swift and sudden Motion this passeth the Loom or Web with such speed that it is grown to a Proverb for all things quick and transient The Life of Man is compared to an Hand-breadth Psal 39.5 Thou hast made my daies as an Hand-breadth That is not long which is no longer than the Breadth of an Hand not long in the largest Extent The Life of Man is compared to a Tale that is told Psal 90.9 We spend our daies as a tale that is told That is suddenly and swiftly A Discourse from the mouth especially in the mind out-runs the Sun as much as the Sun out-runs the Snail The Thoughts of a Man will travel the world over in a moment The Life of Man is compared to a Vapour What is our Life Jam. 4.14 it is even as a Vapour which for a while appeareth and then vanisheth away Though all a man hath is short of Life yet this Life of Man soon evaporates and expires SECT VI. The Certainty of Death OUR Bodies are but living Graves no sooner did we begin to live but we began to die and continue dying until we be swallowed up of Death As every Man had his Genesis his beginning or comming into this world so every Man shall have his Exodus his ending or going out of the world 1 Chr. 29.28 Oh soul flatter not thy self and thy soul with an undiable state David was a man after Gods own heart and yet concerning him it is said That he died Though he lived to a good old age full of daies riches and honour yet he died and Solomon his Son reigned in his stead Anaxagoras Scio me genuisse mortalem Deaths seisure is without surrender and from her sentence there is no Appeal When News arrived at one concerning the death of his only Son he seemed not to be over-concerned but to reply without Regret I know that he was begotten mortal I know the Son is mortal as well as the Father Gen. 5.5 8 11 14 17 20 27 31. Those long-livers recorded in the sacred Scripture and transmitted to posterity died They lived long but they did not out-live Death They lived long in the world but at last they left the world They lived long but a day came when they could not live a day longer Death is the obscurest thing in the world The Grave is a gloomy place and filled not only with natural but also with metaphorical Darkness SECT VII The Vncertainty of the Time of Death THough Death be certain yet the Time of Death is uncertain Death is certain but the Day or Hour of Death is uncertain Little did Julian think that Death had been at the Door before he was wounded by an unknown hand Vicisti Galilaee vieisti 1 Kings 22.27 1 Sam. 15.32 33. and blasphemed Thou hast overcome oh Galilaean Thou hast overcome Little did Ahab think that the day of Death had been so near dawning when he gave in charge concerning Micaiah Put this fellow in the Prison and feed him with the bread of Affliction and with the water of Affliction until I come in peace Little did Agag think of being hewed in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal when he said Surely the bitterness of death is past Pharoah stood upon even ground with God little thinking Exod. 5.2 Exod. 14.27 Isa 36.13 that the Sea should be his Sepulchre when he said Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go I know not the Lord neither will I let Israel go Little did Sennacherib think that he stood upon the Brink of Eternity Isa 37.38 when these words were spoken by his servant Hear ye the words of the great King the King of Assyria when he seemed to stand upon higher ground than God Little also did Herod the Mount of Pride according to his name think Acts 12.21 22. that his Grave had been digging when he so charmed his Auditory with his Oratory that they gave a shout It is the voice of a God and not of man The Manner and Time of Death is uncertain Some indeed have predicted the Manner of their Death thus Ridley that he should be burned and not drowned Thus Jewel he long before his Sickness predicted the Approach of it And in his Sickness predicted the precise day of his Death But this is rare very rare What is prayable Object 1. is attainable but the knowledge of the length of life is prayable To pray for a Physical Sol. or Literal knowledge of our End that is what Year or Day our Lives shall end Caryl Vol. 1. p. 355. is a sinful Curiosity and presumptuous Intrusion into the secret Will of God but to pray for a metaphysical or spiritual knowledge of our End that is how we may end any day of the year or hour of the day in an holy Duty and humble submission of our selves to the revealed Will of God this is warrantable But Obj. 2. Isa 38.5 Hezekiah had fifteen years added to his daies and therefore he knew how long he should live and when he should die This Sol. is such a Favour as that we read not of the like indulged any other of Gods Servants though very high in Favour with him This Great and Good King is indulged and assured a Lease of his Life fifteen years longer well now may this be ushered in with a Note of Attention and serious Consideration Behold I will add unto his daies fifteen years It is sealed also being an unusual Grant with an unusual Miracle Behold I will bring again the shadow of the degrees Isa 38.8 which is gone down in the Sun-dial of Ahaz ten degrees backward so the Sun returned ten degrees by which degrees it was gone down As we are to reflect the Brevity of Life the children of men being many times of as short a continuance as Jonahs Gourd which came up in a night and perished in a
Life a Taper burning 'T is like the wind that passeth not returning Ah! what is Life a Flood and Ebb and Man Sails then into a timeless OCEAN Ah puzling Theme was Austin at a loss What Life to call let not my Gold be Dross Mans Nostril is a passage for his Breath 'T is then a dying Life or living Death Life 's but a dying Death our Bodies are But living Graves the longest Liver share But in a span of days Death homeward sends A CIRCLE 't is beginning where it ends Ah daring Death the Tribute due to Nature The Law of Mortals not reflecting Stature And of the Universe the Emperess That visit Mortals in a various dress III. The Assertion THE Hebrew Proverb travels very far In Golgotha Skulls of all Sizes are Death 's not a bie but beaten path for All Here Croesus Codrus stumble may and fall One shoots the Gulf yet grounds upon a Shelf A Manuscript deceiveth DEATH it self No distance doth this Law of Nature know But Mortals reap according as they sow Death to the Grave is path for any Foot This common Gulf the mean and mighty shoot They blessed are much more let this take Air In Peter's Chain than He in Peter's Chair Ah Miscreant to refuge in a Lye Ah Monster-Man I see as I pass by Thy Triple-Crown begins to stand awry Down Dagon-like let this fall from on high Break Crown Head Neck this is the common Cry Thus wished 't is that thou may'st ever dye Popes dyed have without a doleful Song Unless it were because they lived long Where 's Adam Abram Isa'c Jacob Where Inventi non sunt they SEPULCRED were What Proto-Adam Yea He was a Man Red-earth I find when that his name I scan This Proto-Man finds Death on Nature enter Thus earth to earth returns as to its Center What Abraham 't is strange 't is true he dies And in the CAVE of Mackpelah he lies What Isa'c too a TYPE so eminent Types Shadows are Death pitched hath his Tent With Abraham Ah when his Days were spenâ— He like a Son unto his FATHER went WHat Jacob too Esau supplanted He One named right for Name and Act agree Ah but Supplanters may supylanted be Him daring Death transplanted have I see Mortality whatever Men suggest Antiquity hath for her native Crest Did not Death reign from ADAM unto MOSES Wher 's Matthew Mark Paul Peter James and Joses Our Fathers where are They the greatest Sage Is slily passing going off the STAGE Well stiled then is Death most aged King Who led the Van and up the Rear does bring Ah read Death's Motto in a Ladies Line My lot's to Day to morrow may be thine And wondâ—r not at that true Celled-sense Amongst these Skulls I find no difference But where 's Methuselah of all most gray Scan but his name the word the man bewray Years lived he Nine hundred sixty nine But dyed then no longer was his Line Though many now on Beds of IVORY Do stretch themselves yet these must also lie In Beds of Earth this Tribute pay they must And for their Heads a Pillow have of Dust The great Mogul erects his Nest on high But liveth he that shall not also dye All dyed have that lived have or have Translated been and so deceiv'd the Grave Thus dye shall All that live or changed be From ADAM all derive their Pedigree Now Reasons take from one so low in Stature Why Death should be a Tribute due to Nature IV. The Reasons 1. The Decree of God DEath seizeth All for this is God's Decree She seizeth but will not surrender Thee Death Heavens Statute is in Scripture-sense Each mans line meets in this Circumference Earth Heaven Hell their Laws are different If writing thus be not impertinent Earths Law municipal is once to dye But Heavens is to live eternally Hell also hath a LAW to dye for ever Take prospect here of three Once alway never 2. The Matter of the Body ADd nextly now the Matter of the Man This Fabrick then Eternize if ye can Ah mortal Man made up of Elements Earth Air Fire Water are Ingredients For Man to dye to me appeareth just Who at the first was reared out of dust The Breath of God the Soul I find to be The Work of God the Body seems to me The Building 's Clay the Basis also Dust The Creature to the Center dying must 3. The Merit of Sin ALl sinned have and therefore All must dye This must be true or Truth must be a Lye The Soul dyes not 't is an immortal Spirit The Body dyes 't is Sins undoubted Merit Sins venial and mortal Papists make But this distinction is a gross mistake As Adam's bounds were set and Soul endued So breaking these a double Death ensued 'T is better thus infernal Sophistry To naus'ate than a double Death to dye V. The Uses THree Uses now of daring Death be making High Prudence 't is right Measures to be taking I. Of Trial. TRy mortal Man come to the Test and try Stage Persons also Things yet Man must dye Can any PERSON Or can any THING That Persons deck match Death this timely bring I. Of Beauty CAN Beauty that 's a Snare from Death's Arrest Bail MORTALS No as Ages do attest Can Beauty so admired by the Tall No mortal Man for Nature caught a Fall When she was young as did a petty Prince Which caused hath her halting ever since She 's courted painted spotted yet I see 'T is native Beauty without sports to be Some try to mend but while they mend they marr For Beauty-spects the SPOTS of Beauty are Fade Beauty will like Flowers of the Field Not shot-free girded with an Ajax's Shield She fades faints falls and running of her Race Hath for her Soutch'on but a wrinkled Face Where 's Sarah that the Court of Pharaoh charm This daring Death this Beauty doth alor'm Where 's Absalom the Beauty of his Age He acts his part and gooth off the Stage From Head to Fóót no Blemish could be found But Beauty dyes Death marching is her Round This Tribute due to Nature payed He The Halter was his Hair upon a Tree Here Isr'el's Mirror had his mortal Stroak Will others now call this the Royal Oak II. Of Men and Means CAn Men or Means each Creature in its Station From Natures instinct plot its Conservation What Drug by Galen could prescribed be Or could Hippocrates by DOSES free His Pat'ents No they differ as to Stature Yet payment make of Tribute due to Nature For Spirits Chymists are Phlebotomy A Monster seems in that extracting eye They breathe no Veins rare Spirits they apply But salved is not DEATH by Chymistry Two wayes there are Diseases for to cure But neither can face-paling Death allure Is Sympathy the way the Arrow 's wide For Digby that admired Artist dy'd Or is A NTIP ATHY ah but undarted Is still the White beloved Luke's departed Speak Borgius that I may hear the sound Who
ἜΣΧΑΤΟΣ ἘΧΘΡΟΣ OR THE DEATH of DEATH IN THE DEATH of CHRIST BEING A NARRATIVE of the First DEATH as the MISTRESS of MORTALS and EMPRESS of the UNIVERSE Consisting of various Sections and Directions as appears by the Index in order to a holy LIVING and happy DYING By R. MAYHEW Minister of the Gospel Author of Love to the Life and the Paternal Gift â—ob 30.23 I know that thou wilt bring me to death and â—o the house appointed for all living Cor. 15.26.55 The last Enemy that shall be destroyed is Death O Death where is thy sting Nil sic revocat a peccato quam assidua Mortis meditatio Bern. Quis intelligit se quotidie mori Sen. LONDON Printed by Thomas Snowden for the Author in the Year 1679. TO THE Candid and Cordial READER Reader A Reflection of four things the Immutability of God the Mutability of the World the Immortality of the Soul and the Mortality of the Body have been alaruming unto this Essay and alluring this Narrative of pale Death the Mistress of Mortals and Emperess of the Vniverse To these distinctly The Immutability of God Man is mutable but God is immutable Mal. 3.6 I am Jehovah I change not therefore ye Sons of Jacob are not consumed The most of Men are mutable as the Moon which scarcely abideth two daies in a shape but God is immutable Under all the Changes that are made by Man yea under all the Changes that are made by God there are no Changes made in God He is the Father of Lights with whom is no variableness Jam. 1.17 neither shadow of turning He is the Father of Lights not of Light God is compared to the Sun but his Light is much perfecter The Sun is the Body of Light but God is the Father of Lights of all Light Aethereal Natural Spiritual Coelestial The firmamental Sun hath its Turnings and annual Departures from us it rise and set may be clouded and eclipsed but God in some sense riseth not setteth not Psal 145.18 departeth not He is nigh unto all them that call upon him unto all them that call upon him in truth There is not only no turning in God but also not so much as the Shadow of it nor the least Imagination of a Shadow The Mutability of the World The World is a Mass of Mutabilities every Man every State every Thing is as it were a Planet whose spherical Revolutions are some of a longer and some of a shorter continuance That Cardinal was an Atheist Cardinal as well a Papist who preferred his part in Paris to his part in Paradise The World is a Fools Paradise and its Motto is This Something is Nothing Hoc aliquid nihil Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not for riches certainly make themselves wings they fly away as an Eagle towards Heaven Prov. 23.5 Luther The whole Turkish Empire saith one is but a crum that the Master of the Family casts to a Dog Who but the Alexanders and Caesars of the World the Nebuchadnezzars and Nimrods of the World the Pharoahs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Thes 6.17 and Pompeys of the World that have been ordinarily the Lords of the World Riches are uncertain Trust not in uncertain Riches In the Vncertainty of Riches Eccl. 5.10 so the Greek Riches are unsatisfying He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied therewith Pro. 11.4 nor he that loveth abundance with increase Riches are unprofiting Riches Aut deserunt aut deseruntur profit not in the day of wrath but Righteousness delivereth from death Riches either leave us or are left by us They are not Food but Fewel to Desire They are like Salt-water the more we drink Dulce Venenum Bern. the drier we are Riches are like the Apples of Sodom more in shew than in substance and if touched they crumble to sulphur Riches saith one are a sweet poison The World and the Soul must part or Christ and the Soul will not meet The two Poles will sooner meet than the Love of Christ and the Love of the World The Immortality of the Soul In this World the Body was first and then the Soul but in Heaven the Soul is first and then the Body Origen If the World saith one be the Book of God then the Soul is the Image of God Plato Another calls the Soul the Glass of the Trinity The Soul is worth more Worlds than this world hath Souls in it The Soul is precious The precious Sons of Sion Precious Sons Lam. 4.2 having precious Souls And as the Soul is precious so the Redemption of the Soul is precious Psal 49.8 Oh how highly did Christ prize it when his Veins were breathed and his Vitals let out to redeem it He became obedient to Death even the Death of the Cross Phil. 2.8 The Soul is the Breath of God the Beauty of Man the Wonder of Angels the Envy of Devils The Body is but the Cabinet the Soul is the Jewel and this is immortal Eccl. 12.7 Then shall the Dust that is the Body return to the Earth as it was and the Spirit that is the Soul unto God who gave it Christ and the converted Thief do go from Cross to Crown from Earth to Heaven To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Luke 23.43 Mark 8.37 The loss of the Soul is a considerable loss a comprehensive loss an irreparable loss What can be given in Exchange for the Soul The Loss of the Soul is a kind of an infinite loss for it is the loss of an infinite God Psal 145.9 and this God a God of infinite Love The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works The Soul is a Blossom of Eternity and hath a Stamp of Immortality Man hath a Soul Matth. 10.28 which Death it self despaireth how to kill Fear not them which kill the Body but are not able to kill the Soul The Mortality of the Body Man is Mortal and not a Match for Death Zach. 1.5 Our Fathers where are they and the Prophets do they live for ever To be a Man is to be a Sinner and to be a Sinner is to be Mortal As it is true what Man is he that liveth and sinneth not It is as true what Man is he that sinneth and dieth not What man is he that liveth and shall not see death shall he deliver his soul from the power of the grave Man is but a Wink of Life Psal 89.48 Oculus apertus oculus clausus The Heathens Emblem for Life was an eye open and for Death an eye shut as if there were no material difference between the living and the dying Job 30.23 but the Twinkling of an Eye Death is the Circumference of the Vniverse and every mans Line meet in this Circumference May not every Individual say as He did I know that thou wilt bring me
death of his Saints If a Christian of Christs making goes bleeding to Heaven or burning to Heaven if he lays down his Blood on this side the Grave this goes near the heart of God Art out of Christ Direct 3. tremble then for in a moment thou mayest die and be damned too They spend their time in mirth Job 21.13 Anxius vixi dubius morior Oh ens entium miserere mihi Sed c. Arist Job 18.14 Caryl in loc and in a momeut go down to the grave Death by the Philosopher is called of all formidable things the most terrible These were some of the last words of that great Philosopher I have lived anxiously I die doubtfully Oh Being of Beings have mercy upon me but now it is too late for me to call for mercy Death is called by Bildad the King of Terrors This is a very strange Title We have read of many Titles which have been given the Kings of the Earth as most Serene most Christian most Sacred c. but if at all rarely of such a Title as this King of Terrors For a man to be brought to the King of Terrors is for a man to be brought to death or to his last end The Philosopher in this sense called Death the King of Terrors when he called it the most terrible of terrible things Death is terrible upon a threefold consideration Antecedents Nature Consequents Death is terrible if we consider the Antecedents of it 2 King 4.18 19 20. The Forerunners or Harbingers of Death are Pains Diseases Sicknesses and these are terrible The Shunamites Son was taken sick when he was with the Reapers crying to his Father My Head my Head being carried home he sate on his Mothers knees until noon and then died Death is terrible if we consider the Nature of it Death Mors Sceptra Ligonibus aequa is a Disunion All Disunions are troublesom but some are terrible Death according to the Poet is the greatest Leveller in the world Death levels Scepters and Plow-shares it makes all alike The Disunion that Death makes between Husband and Wife is terrible but Death makes a Disunion between them that are nearer than Husband and Wife even between Soul and Body Eccl. 12.7 Husband and Wife are one flesh but Soul and Body are one person Then shall the Dust the Body return to the Earth as it was and the Spirit the Soul unto God Death is terrible if we reflect the consequents of it I have said to corruption thou art my Father Job 17.14 Nativitas mala Vita pejor mors pessima and to the Worm thou art my Mother and my Sister Now soul art out of Christ what is thy Death then like to be It may be said of a person living and dying out of Christ that his Birth is bad his Life is worse his Death is worst of all Some are so sick that they cannot live and yet so sinful that they cannot die their Cry is Oh Lord we cannot die Oh Lord we must not die O Lord we dare not die Oh Lord we will not die Rev. 9.6 We read of some that shall seek death but shall not find it and shall desire to die and death shall flee from them Others there are that Death seek but they would not be found and that Death desire to have but they flee from it A great person hearing the Verdict which the Physicians brought in against him that he must die cryed out Let me live though it be the Life of a Toad under a Threshold Art out of Christ tremble then and realize a state of Death Do not only read of Death but also realize Death Do not look upon Death as a Physical Notion and a Mathematical Conclusion be much in the reflection of this Text and Truth Luk. 16.22 23. It came to pass that the Beggar died and was carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosom the Rich man also died and was buried and in Hell he lifted up his eyes being in torment Here is Death and Damnation too Thou mayest die and be damned too Art out of Christ go then to Christ Direct 4. in whose Death is the Death of Death To be Christless is to be Godless to be Graceless to be Gloryless go then to Christ Art in a state of Sin go then to Christ for Grace Art in a state of Darkness go then to Christ for Light Art in a state of Death go then to Christ for Life Art in a state of Damnation go then to Christ for Salvation Isa 53.3 Encline your ear and come unto me hear and your souls shall live Paul was a great Orator a great part of his Oratory was to perswade men to come to Christ and be saved He that winneth souls is wise Art Christless and Godless Graceless and Spiritless May not I say to thee with the Alteration of a word Acts 13.36 as was said to the stock of Abraham To thee is the word of this salvation sent But there is a Lion in the way an Adder in the path But what is this comming to Christ Quest 1. this going to Christ A comming Sol. Joh. 6.40 or going to Christ is a believing in Christ As Faith is the Souls Eye He that seeth the Son and believeth on him hath eternal life And as Faith is the Souls mouth Joh. 6.54 Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life And as Faith is the Souls Ear Joh. 5.24 He that heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent me And as Faith is the Souls Hand Joh. 1.12 To as many as received him to them gave he priviledge to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his Name So Faith is the Souls Foot Joh. 6.35 He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst But Quest 2. is there an indispensible Necessity of going to Christ for Salvation Can Salvation be had no where else Is he not only a Saviour but also the Saviour That Christ is a Saviour Sol. Luk. 2.11 is evident Vnto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. That Christ also is the Saviour is as evident Now we believe not because of thy words Joh. 4.42 for we have heard him our selves and know that this is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the world I remember the time when if I could have gone to Heaven by my Education Civility Forms of Prayer of mine own making or by my Fathers Copy I would not have made use of Christ but at last I found that there was Salvation in no other Act. 4.12 Isa 51.12 and sailing by the gates of Hell in my apprehension I also found that no Voice but the Voice of Christ would still the Voice of Desperation There is no Paradise without this Tree no Light without this Sun no God no
give thee the desires of thine heart Heart-desires are great desires are greatest desires are the best desires Now it is Christs Prerogative Royal to give the Desires of the Heart A Master may give much a Father may give more these may give Bags and Barns House and Land Silver and Gold but they cannot give Grace and Glory they cannot give Christ more of a Christ more of the Grace of Christ and more of the Spirit of Christ It is time now to distinguish between our Goods and our Good between our Goods and our God Christ is a seasonable Good As there is a season for every thing so every thing is beautiful in its season To every thing there is a season and a time for every purpose under the Heaven Now Christ as he is the Author of good so he is the Timer of good and if he be the Timer of good then certainly he must needs be a Timely-good The season of a mercy greatly accents the mercy Gen. 22.13 For a Lamb to be caught by the Horns in a Thicket when the Knife was in the hand of the Father to slay the Son was in season Exod. 14.16 Dan. 3.24 25. For the Waters to divide and Sea become Land to the Israelites when the Egyptians were in the pursuit of them like so many armed Furies was in season For the three Children to be in the Furnace and for Christ then to appear with them and make up that holy Mess was in season For a Soul to be afflicted Isa 54.11 tossed with tempest and not comforted and for Christ then to say I will lay thy Stones with fair colours and will lay thy foundations with Saphires is not this in season For the Soul to be dark and for Christ to enlighten it for the Soul to be dead and for Christ to enliven it for the Soul to be doubting and for Christ to resolve it and for the Soul to be distressed and for Christ to relieve it is not this in season In my distress Psa 120.1 I cried unto the Lord and he heard me For a Soul to be hard and for Christ to soften it for a Soul to be haughty and for Christ to humble it for a Soul to be tempted and for Christ to succour it and for a Soul to be wounded and for Christ to heal it is not this in season I even I am he that comforteth Thee Isa 51.12.8 Christ is a satisfying Good A Wooden Loaf a Silver Loaf a Golden Loaf will not satisfie a hungry man the man must have Bread The Dainties and Dignities of the World the Grandeur and Glory of the World the Plenty and Prosperity of the World the Puff and Popularity of the World will not satisfie a soul sailing by the Gates of Hell and crying out of the Depths it must be a Christ. Children or I die was the cry of the Woman a Christ or I die a Christ or I am damned is the doleful Ditty and doleful Dialect of a despairing or desponding Soul He that loveth silver Eccl. 5.10 shall not be satisfied therewith nor he that loveth abundance with increase It is a good observation that the World is round but the Heart of man is triangular Now all the Globe of the World will not fill the triangular Heart of man What of the World and in the World can give quietness when Christ the Sun of Righteousness goes down upon the Soul The Heart is a Three-square and nothing but a Trinity in Vnity and an Vnity in Trinity will satisfie this Not Riches nor Relations not Barns nor Bags will satisfie a convinced and deserted Soul Abite hinc abite longé This person can say concerning his Bags as a great person upon a sick if not upon a dying Bed did concerning his Bags Away and away for ever though there be Bag upon Bag yet they are altogether insignificant in a dying hour these Bags they are but as so many cyphers before a figure or without a figure This is the cry of despairing and desponding Souls Oh satisfie us early with thy mercy Psa 90.14 that we may rejoyce and be glad all our daies Christ is an incomparable Good Christ is the chiefest Good As he is the Gift of Gifts Summum Bonum If thou knewest the Gift of God So Christ is the Good of Goods Joh. 4.10 He is much fairer than the Sons of Adam Christ as God had the perfection of Grace and as Man Psa 45.2 had the perfection of Nature All are Blacks to this Beauty Publius Lentâ—lus President in Jâ—dea in the days of â—â—erius Caesar wrote an Epistle to the Senate at Rome concerning Jesus Christ and saith among other things that for his singular Beauty he surpassed the Children of men Christ is an eternal Good Things below are mutable and mortal mutability and mortality are stamped upon and legible in the face of all things here below Riches make to themselves wings Ye shall not need to send them away they will go away without sending Places are wasted What is Nineveh Joâ— 4.11 that great City wherein were more than six score thousand persons that could not discern between their right hand and their left It is reduced to a small Village What shall we say of Jerusalem the City of God the perfection of Beauty the Joy of the whole Earth Not one stone was left upon another It s true of persons as well as places The Patriarchs are dead the Prophets are dead the Apostles are dead Zach. 1.5 Our Fathers where are they and the Prophets do they live for ever But Christ is an eternal Good Consider Christ as God and so Eternity is his Mansion and his Measure Consider Christ as God and Eternity is his Mansion Isa 57.15 Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth Eternity whose name is holy c. Look upon Christ as God and so Eternity is his Measure Psa 90.2 From Eternity to Eternity thou art God Fear not Death Christ is thine and he a Rock Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. Psa 61.2 Though David was high Christ was higher though David was King of Israel yet Christ was Rock of Israel As Christ was the Rock of Old Testament Saints so he is the Rock of New Testament Saints They all drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them 1 Cor. 10.4 Quest Sol. 1. and that Rock was Christ But what manner of Rock is this Rock Christ is a high Rock Material Rocks and Mountains are high This was given in charge to the Children of Israel to destroy all those places Deut. 12.2 wherein the Nations served their Gods upon the high Mountaines This Mistical Rock Christ is high very high The Heavens are high but Christ is higher He is holy and harmless Heb. 7.26 separated from Sinners and made higher than the Heavens This Rock Christ is higher than fallen Souls higher
than unfallen Spirits This Rock Christ is higher then fallen Souls He is not only higher than Absolom and Agag Judas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Demas but also higher than the Church for he is Head of the Church yea the Head of the Church not onely by way of Emphasis but also by way of Exclusion Col. 1.18 And himself is the Head of the Body the Church So the Greek This Rock Christ is higher than unfallen Spirits Christ is not only higher than the Kings of the Earth but also higher than the Angels of Heaven He that is higher than the highest regardeth Eccl. 5.8 and there be higher than they Angels are higher than the highest of Men but Christ is higher than the highest of Angels for he is Head of the Angles yea the Head of the Angels not only emphatically but also exclusively Col. 2.10 And ye are compleat in him who is the Head of all principality and powwer Christ is highest Christ is a strong Rock Material Rocks they are strong very strong Job 39.28 It is said of the Eagle the Princess of Birds that she abideth upon the Rock the crag of the Rock and the strong place The Crag of the Rock is the Tooth or Edge of the Rock which is most inaccessible This mystical Rock Christ is strong very strong stronger than Men stronger than Angels Oh says the Soul I am weak and not only weak but also weakness it self and not able to weather another storm But Soul Christ is strong strength it self 1 Sam. 15.29 The strength of Israel will not lie nor repent What is a Goliah in the hands of this David Christ is not only the Power of God but also the God of Power who strengthens against sin and who strengthens unto service Christ the Rock of His strengthens against sin Christ is strong stronger than the strong man armed and can cast him out when he please and where he please 1 Joh. 4.4 Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world Oh says the Soul these Achans within these Goliahs within these Sauls within But what are these to Christ the Rock of His Christ the Rock of His strengthens unto service He strengthens His unto Action and unto Passion unto doing and unto dying but to these distinctly Christ the Rock of His strengthens his unto Action A Little is too much for Vs A◠is but Little to Christ Phil. 4.13 I can do all things is not this a lofty strain but how through Christ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me Christ the Rock of His strengthens his unto Passion Suffering work is noble work bleeding and burning work the noblest work that ever the Sons of Adam were engaged in Saints indeed are inferiour to Angels as to Action but superiour to Angels as to Passion for they are spirits and so impassible Now Christ the Rock of His strengthens His unto Passion as well as Action and unto dying Phil. 1.29 as well as doing It is given unto you in the behalf of Christ not only to believe but also to suffer for his sake Such a Rock Christ is Christ is a firm Rock Material Rocks are firm Rocks flinty Rocks are firm Rocks God speaking of Jacob Deut. 32.13 that is the Sons of Jacob saith He made him suck Honey out of the Rock and Oil out of the flinty Rock Christ the Rock of His is a firm Rock He stood until his hour was come all the combined Furies and Forces of Hell and Earth They sought to take him Joh. 7.30 but no man laid hands on him because his hour was not yet come Christ the Rock of His was firm in Action and in Passion Christ was firm in Action and did well I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do Joh. 17.4 Christ was firm in Passion and died well He was obedient to death Phil. 2.8 even the death of the Cross Christ is an ancient Rock Material Rocks may plead Antiquity Exod. 15.5 6. Jehovah said unto Moses I will stand before thee there upon the Rock in Horeb. Rocks were befere Men Dan. 7.22 but Christ was before Rocks He is stiled The Ancient of Days Christ may plead Antiquity in a two-fold respect Generation and Regeneration Christ may plead Antiquity in respect of Generation Christ had a Hand in making the first man Gen. 1.26 Come let us make man Christ may plead Antiquity in respect of Regeration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eph. 2.10 As nothing was done in the first Creation without Christ so nothing was done in the second Creation without Christ We are his workmanship his work so the Greek created in Chrift Jesus unto good works Christ is an accommodating Rock Material Rocks accommodate with Water Deut. 8.15 He brought them forth water out of the Rock of flint Christ the Rock of His accommodates His out of him goeth water living water If thou knewest the gift of God Joh. 4.10 and who it is that saith unto thee give me to drink thou wouldest have asked of him and he would have given thee living water Christ accommodates freely and fully Christ the Rock of His accommodates freely If any one thirst let him come unto me and drink Joh. 7.37 Christ the Rock of His accommodates fully As Ch ist is a free so a full Rock here thou mayest fill thy pitcher up to the very brim If thou comest to Christ thou comest to a Fountain and in a Fountain water for Quantity and Quality is ever the same Rev. 21.6 I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely Here is giving that 's freely and of the Fountain that 's fully Christ is an advantaging Rock Material Rocks they are commodious Job saith Job 28.1 There is a Vein for the Silver and a place for the Gold Gold hath its place hath its Rock Col. 3.11 Christ the Rock of His is very advantagious unto His for he is All and in All. Christ the Rock of His is All between God and Them He hath crossed the Book cancelled the Bond discharged the Debt Heb. 10.14 for ever perfected them that are saustified His Garment is large enough to cover His. Christ the Rock of His is All between Them and God He is concerned with the performance as well as the person and with the Service as well as the Soul Christ is not only All between God and Them in a way of Satisfaction but also All between Them and God in a way of Service He is a merciful Heb. 2.17 and a faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of his people Christ is a secure Rock Material Rocks are secure places Prov. 30.26 Joh. 17.12 Solomon speaks of a feeble Folk yet make they their houses in the Rock Christ the mystical Rock is
but also for ever gone I am left by a God and it is better to be left by all the world than to be left by God But Soul there is that laid and lodged in the Promise that will weigh down this Fear Is there such another Promise which according to the Greek for there are five Negatives in it may be read thus For he hath said I will not Heb. 13.5 not leave thee I will never not not forsake thee May not now the preciousness of the Promise be read in the geatness of it Divine Promises they are greater than a Believers Faith Faith if I may so write is mighty and can do mighty things What cannot Faith do Faith can do more than Force As it is true to believe is very difficult it is as true unto him that believeth all things are possible Heb. 11.30 33 34 35 36 37. Read but that Scriptural Martyrology which is the Book Martyrs epitomized and there you may find the noble Acts of Faith It is Faith that overcometh the world This is the victory that overcometh the world 1 Joh. 5.4 even our Faith Yea it is Faith that maketh a Conquest upon the God of this world Resist the Devil Jam. 4.7 and he will flee from you But how shall he be resisted In the Faith Whom resist stedfast in the Faith 1 Pet. 5.9 Oh the mighty power of Faith But I dare assert that you are not to take the Act of Faith without Christ the Object of Faith What can the Instrument do without the Hand Indeed the Faith of Believers can do much but Faith can do nothing unless it be laid in the Bosom and Bowels of the Promise Abrahams Faith was exceeding great He was very gray and so was his Consort but what made his Faith so strong He had the promise of a strong God and this gave strength to his Faith He staggered not at the promiso through unbelief Rom. 4.19 20 21. but was strong in Faith giving glory to God And being fully perswaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform Is there not now a greatness in the Promise and is not the preciousness of it legible in the greatness of it Divine Promises they are greater than a Believers Corruptions Consider the evil of Sin and that will appear to be exceeding great Sin hath Evil all Evil and nothing but Evil in it Sin is only evil altogether evil alway evil Rom. 7.13 That sin by the Commandment might become exceeding sinful or that Sin by the Commandment 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 might become hyperbolically sinful or that Sin by the Commandment might become a Sinner to a wonder a Sinner above wonder beyond comparison Sin is a darkening of the Glory of God a defacing of the Image of God a crucifying of the Son of God a grieving of the Spirit of God and a wroâ—ging of the Soul of man There is Evil enough in Sin to undo all the world Is not Sin the cry of the damned in Hell and should not Sin be the cry of the dead upon Earth Is there not a world of Sin within Thee and within Me yea a world of Sin within Thee and within Me not yet seen by Thee and by Me Now though Sin be so great an Evil that nothing is so great yet the Greatness and Goodness of God wrapped up in the Promise Isa 1.18 is greater than Sin Though your sins be as Scarlet they shall be white as Snow and though they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wooll This Promise is great and precious as well as great Divine Promises they are as great as divine Commands The Commands of God are great exceeding great Acts 16.31 Is not Faith a great Command Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ Spira sound it so who said Ye call upon me to believe I tell you I cannot believe Oh! how fain would I believe but I cannot It is as possible to keep the Moral Law as to believe for it is natural to work for Life but supernatural to believe for Life Faith is a great work Joh. 6.29 but now he that wills it works it This is the work of God that ye believe in him whom he hath sent Faith is the work the work that God esteemeth in stead of all works But Faith is not only a work so esteemed by God Col. 2.12 but it is also the work of God It is called a Faith of the Operation of God God commands the making of a new heart and a new spirit and might he not as well have commanded the making of a new Heaven Ezek. 18.31 and a new Earth Make ye a new heart and a new spirit for why will ye die oh house of Israel But what God commands his to do in one place he promiseth to do for his in another place Ezek. 36.26 27. A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will cause you to walk in my Statutes and ye shall keep my Judgments and do them I will give you Legs and lead you too I will habituate the Soul with Grace and actuate Grace in the Soul and for the Soul As the Habit so the Act of Grace shall be from me May not now the preciousness of the Promise be read in the greatness of it Divine Promises are as great if not greater than Divine Threatnings Hath God threatned the Vnbeliever with Darkness and Death He hath promised to the Believer light and life Rom. 5.21 Hath God threatned the Vnbeliever with Damnation he hath promised unto the Believer Salvation Doth Sin reign unto Death the second Death Grace reigns thorough righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Is the wages of Sin Death the first and the second Death all manner of Deaths the portion of a Christless Soul is nothing else but Death Rom. 6.23 Exod. 20.5 6. his whole estate lies in the valley of the shadow of death But now though the stipend of sin be death yet the gift of God is eternal life thorough Jesus Christ our Lord. Hath God visited Iniquity to the third and fourth Generation He sheweth mercy unto thousands of Generations May not now the preciousness of the Promise be read in the greatness of it Jer. 10.6 Divine Promises they are like unto God Himself God is great exceeding great There is none like unto thee Jehovah thou art great and thy name is great in might Now whatever is great in God he hath made it over by promise unto Believers Take a Taste His Power The Lord can do whatsoever he will though he will not dâ— whatsoever he can His Power hath no Patent but â—s Pleasure Power belongeth to God God is as much acted in making a Flie as in making an Elephant The Power of God is greater than the power of Sin Nah. 1.3 than the power of Men than the power
shall desire The Mother therefore and the Sons joined together in this work But what follows Grant that these my two Sons may sit the one at thy right hand and the other at thy left in thy Kingdom She might mean his kingdom on Earth To sit on the King 's right hand signifies the next place to the King and to sit on his left hand signifieth the third place in the Kingdom for the greater any one is in a Kingdom the nearer doth he sit to the King But Jesus answered and said Ye know not what ye ask The like Check he gives to James and John Luke 9.54 55. Shal we command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them as Elias did But Christ rebuked them saying Ye know not of what spirits ye are Ye know not what Spirit acts you Ye think ye are acted by such a Spirit as Elias of old but ye erre Ye have a zeal but not according to knowledge This is not a divine motion 't is at most and at best but a humane Affection Our desires are unlawful if we do not desire things that are lawful In order therefore to the constituting of Desire that it may be right we must desire things that are lawful Cordial desires are working desires Endeavour is added unto Desire There must be Works as well as Words and doing as well as desiring True Endeavour is ever a Concomitant of true Desire The man that had been infirm thirty and eight years John 5.5 6 7 8. could not goe into the Pool but he could lay at the Pool yea did lay at the Pool Though he could not cure himself yet he could wait there to be cured and was cured in waiting there He that is nothing but Desires shall have nothing that he desires but he that addeth good Endeavours unto good Desires can ask nothing that is good if for his good but he may have it There must not onely be desiring but also doing or they are not desires from the heart and will not be granted Psal 27.4 Lend an ear unto what the Psalmist speaketh One thing have I desired of the Lord One thing among many things one thing above many things One thing have I desired of the Lord Here is desiring but is here all No here is doing as well as desiring here is seeking as well as desiring One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after But what is it That I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life It seems that a great Estimate was set upon Church-communion then though there be too little Veneration for this now Here he would dwell 'till he died here he would dwell 'till he had upon earth no longer to dwell But what was in his Eye Were not Loaves No was it not a Name amongst Men No Two things were in his eye and should be in thine too in mine too greater sight and greater light Greater sight to behold the beauty of Jehovah i. e. to behold the face of Jehovah for Beauty sits in the face and the face is the Seat of Beauty And as greater sight so greater light to enquire in his Temple Cordial desires are constant desires Jehu was soon out of Breath Ye did run well who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth Gal. 5.7 The desires of an Hypocrite are not desires from the heart for he looks one way and rows another pretends one thing and intends another he hath Jacobs voice and Esau's hands You must do by an Hypocrite as we do by Hebrew read it backward An Hypocrite must be read backward The Desires of an Hypocrite are by Fits and Starts therefore not cordial desires but now cordial desires are constant desires they will captivate denyal The Begger at the gate knocks and continues knocking he takes no denyal Thus the Woman of Canaan cryed unto Christ Mat. 25.22 23. but Christ answered her not a word Christ was a Mute and yet she cryed For the Disciples said send her away she cryeth after us Christ answered I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel He seemed before to neglect her but here he seemeth to deny her She cries still Lord help me As her Daughter was her own so her Daughters case was as her own Lord help me She meets now with another repulse It is not meet to take the Childrens bread and to cast it to Dogs Was not here enough to seal up her lips As Christ was a Mute at first is not She a Mute at last No but she answers by an ingenious inversion Truth Lord yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters Table If I be a Dog I am thy Dog Crumbs belong to Dogs give me therefore the portion of a Dog She had indeed this property of a dog to hold fast If I be a Dog indulge me the place and portion of a Dog let me have the Room of a Dog and the Fare of a Dog Christ now if I may write it with a holy reverence is as it were in a holy captivity to her cordial and constant desire This appears by what follows Oh Wonan great is thy Faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt And her daughter was made whole from that very hour Cordial desires are holy desires If the Heart be at work then Holiness is in the Eye Though perfection be not in a Christians hand yet 't is in a Christians eye the beat bent and byass of his Soul is after perfection That is a desire from the heart 2 Cor. 7.1 which is a desire to be perfecting holiness 'till the Soul be perfectly holy and perfect in heliness When desires are from the heart they are desires after more holiness after more grace The Disciples said unto the Lord Luk. 17.5 Increase our faith Those who had most grace desired more grace When the Desire is from the Heart 't is a Desire more for Grace than for Peace more for Conformity than for Communion more for Holiness than for Happiness more for Purity and Perfection than for Pleasure and for Pardon Phil. 1.23 May the Apostle speak I am in a strait between two having a desire to depart to die and to be with Christ which is far far better or which is best of all I cannot think that this holy and happy Man desired only to be perfectly happy but also to be perfectly holy I cannot think that he only desired Death for full Communion with Christ but also for full Conformity unto Christ I cannot think that he only desired a death to come upon the life of his Body but also a death to come upon the Sin of his Soul Cordial desires are hard desires Desires from the Heart and the Desires of the Heart are not weak and feeble but hard and strong desires As the Cry of a Christ was so the cry of a Christian is but the