of thy glorious Majesty and the place where thine honour dwelleth There thou makest the largest discoveries of thy self and grantest the fullest communications of thy grace O let me take sweet counsel with thy people and go to serve and honour thee in their company I Wish that the Confederacy of the wicked in sin may provoke me to a league with the Israel of God for a free trade and commerce in holiness Shall they whose lusts are often contrary and set them at variance unite against God and his holy ways and shall not we whose graces are ever alike and of a cementing nature not joyn together for God and his Worship Do they conspire to defile and destroy each others souls as if vitiated nature did not lead them fast enough to sin or as if they could not run singly quick enough to Hell and shall not we encourage one another in the Worship of the living God and provoke one another to love and to good works O how much do the servants of Satan by their conjunctions in evil shame the Children of God for their backwardness in good Their Master is the Prince of darkness a cruel Tyrant a roaring Lyon that goeth about seeking whom he may devour Their work is far worse then any Turkish slavery its bondage to corruptionâ— the service of unrighteousness the diversity and contrariety of their Lords their lusts tearing them as it were in peâ—â—es for the promoting of their particular interests Their wages is the vengeance of the eternal fire the worm that never dieth and the fire that never goeth out after all their vassallage to their barbarous Masters and hardships which they have been put to in making provision for and gratifying such opposite furies they are recompenced with extremity and eternity of torments yet they can unite their hearts and hands and heads for the advancement of so hellish a Lord about the prosecution of so base and divelish a work and to earn so miserable a reward when the Souldiers of Christ whose Captain is the Lord of Hosts the most courteous and compassionate General whose combats and contests which they are called to are Noble and Heroick and whose Crown and Garland will be beyond all comparison and apprehension blessed and glorious do rather fight against themselves then against their enemies or for their endless happineâ— Ah foolish Christians who hath bewitched us May we not well blush that Satan should even out-boast the living God in the unity of his Subjects that the children of this world should be wiser in their generation then the children of light Alas is it a time for Mariners to be quarreling when their enemies are joyned in discharging their Cannons against them and the Bullets flie thick amongst them Is it a time for Christians to be wrangling when their Adversaries are united in a confederacy to destroy them all Lord thou hast promised that thy people in the days of the Gospel shall no more envy one another that the Wolf and the Laâ—b shall feed together and the Lion shall eat straw like the Bullock and dust shall be the Serpents meat that they shall not hurt nor destroy in all thy holy mountain Thy dear Son when leaving an ungrateful World left Peace as one legacy to his Children not onely peace with thee but also among themselves thou knowest how much his heart was set upon it when he begd so hard so earnestly so affectionately of thee this blessing a little before he went to lay down the price of it Let it please thee for thy Promise sake to make all thine of one heart and one way for because thou hast spoken it therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer before thee this day Let it please thee for thy Sons sake whom thou hearest always to take away all envyings and wrath and emulation and strife out of the hearts of thy people and heal thy Sion in its breaches for thou seest it shaketh I Wish that the injury I do my self by unnecessary solitariness may make me the more in love with good society My God hath told me Wo to him that is alone David was alone when Satan drew him to defile his Neighbours Wife Whilst the Sheep flock together they are safe as being under the Shepherds eye but if one stragle from the rest it s quickly a prey to the ravenous Wolf It s no hard matter to rob that house that stands far from Neighbours The cruel Pyrate Satan watcheth for those Vessels that sail without a convoy The order is observable in the narration of Demas his Apostacy Demas hath left us and hath embraced this present World He first left the Company of the faithful and then openly denyed the faith Christian conference is a good help to perseverance but they that forsake the communion of Saints will quickly disown the profession of sanctity If Rabbits keep within the Pales amongst their fellows there is Law to secure them against the violence of strangers but if any wander from the Warren they are a lawful prize for any man and prey to any Dog What an ill case is he in that travelling in a dark night falls and hath none to help him up that wanders and hath none to shew him the right way that is set upon by Theives and Murderers and hath none near him to defend and secure him Such is the condition of those that neglect the communion of Saints Hence it is that our great and sworn enemy raiseth the dust of dissention and strife amongst Christians to make them keep aloof from each other knowing that much of their welfare and safety doth depend upon their keeping together He knoweth its best fishing in troubled waters O my soul Now thou beholdest in these wicked days the high winds of divisions and passions amongst the Children of God how ready they are to Martyr one anothers names and it s to be feared to Murther one anothers bodies if infinite power did not over-rule and prevent it thou mayst gather assuredly that Satan was the Conjurer to raise them I have read of a Tree that if some of the boughs of it be cast into a Ship they cause a mutiny betwixt the Passengers and Mariners to the ruine of both Dost thou not think that Satan hath cast some such branches into the Vessel of the Church at this day that instead of uniting their strength against him and his Kingdom and instead of joyning their power to improve every gale for their furtherance towards their blissful Haven they might fall together by the ears destroy one another and save their enemies a labour O that for the divisions of Sion I could have great searchings great sorrows of heart Lord thy Saints in the Primitive times were famous for their love to each other Their very enemies would with admiration cry out See how the Christians love one another Thy Jerusalem heretofore was a City compact together at unity within
of Christ do all give thee daily occasion to mingle thy bread with ashes and thy drink with weeping What is this world that thou art so fond of it Thy God calls it a Sea of glass mingled with fire Rev. 15. 2. A Sea for its turbulency it s never at rest but ebbs and flows continually though sometimes more sometimes less Its work is to bubble up mire and dirt especially on them who are chosen out of the world A Sea of glass for its fragility All its pomp and pride on a sudden vanisheth Glass is both easily and irrecoverably broken in peices A Sea of glass mingled with fire for the fiery and dreadful miseries that befal men in it All its apparent comforts are mingled with real crosses In Heaven there is solace without the least grain of sorrow In Hell there is mourning without the smallest dram of mirth but on Earth there is no estate without mixture The Saints have joy in God but if need be they are in heaviness through manifold tribulations 1 Pet. 1. 6. The merry sinners in the midst of their pleasures have their hearts heavy Some of the wiser Heathen were so sensible of humane miseries that one of them when Ancient told his Scholar that if it were offered him to be young again he would not accept if Saints of all men must expect a large draught of sufferings The world is their enemy and raiseth all its forces against them If I be a Disciple I must look to follow my Master in bearing his Cross O my soul why shouldst thou hug that which hates thee and doat on this world which is neither a fit match for thee as being unsutable to thy nature nor if she were can be faithful to thee being made up of wavering and inconstancy Or secondly Is it the pain of death that thou art so frighted at Surely the fear of it is the greatest torment How many have felt greater pain in divers diseases as in the Stone or Strangury or Collick then in a dying hour Some of Gods Children have felt very little pain in the judgement of those that have seen them dying The waters of Jordan though rough to others have stood still when the Ark was to pass over But though I were sure my pain should be sharp yet I am as sure it shall be short In a moment in the twinckling of an eye I shall be transported over the gulp of misery into endless glory My pangs will be almost as soon gone as come Sorrow will endure but for a short night joy will come in the morning If I were assured of a great purchase made for me in Spain or Turky which upon my first comming over I should enjoy would I not adventure a passage through the boistrous Ocean to take possession My Saviour hath made a larger a better purchase for me in Heaven He is gone before to prepare a place for me My passage thither though it may be more painful is less perillous It s impossible for me to miscarry in it O why am I so slothful to go in and possess the good Land Surely the pleasures of the end may well sweeten the ways to it were they never so bitter With what chearfulness do some women undergo their sharp throws and hard labours supported with this cordial that a child shall thereby be born to them O how infinitely inferiour is the joy of a man child brought forth into this world to the joy of a sanctified soul brought out of this world into Heaven Again I have a tender Father who knoweth my frame and will lay no more upon me living or dying then he will enable me to bear He hath said it I will never leave thee nor forsake thee O my soul thou hast little reason to dread a contest with this enemy for this cause Thou mayst contentedly undergo a little pain to go to thy dearest Lord when many a sinner hath suffered greater to satisfie his hellish lust Thirdly Is it thy future condition that makes thee unwilling to dye Dost thou not know that death is thy portal through which thou shalt pass into the true Paradise It s the straight gate through which thou shalt enter into life Though its the wicked mans shipwrack which swalloweth him up in an Ocean of wrath and torment yet it s the Saints putting into harbour where he is received with the greatest acclamation and richest welcom imaginable Travellers who have met with many dangers and troubles in their journeys rejoyce when they come near their own Country I am a Pilgrim here and used or rather abused as a stranger shall I not be glad when I come near my blessed home my eternal happy habitation Children in some parts when they first behold the Stork the messenger of the Spring testifie their joy with pleasant and loud shoutings O why shouldst not thou lift up thy head with joy when sickness the fore-runner of death is come to bring thee tidings that the Winter of thy misery and cold and hardships is past and the Summer of thine eternal light and joy and pleasure is at hand Thy death may well be a Free-will-offering considering that though the ashes of the sacrifice thy body fall to the earth yet that divine flame thy immortal spirit shall ascend to Heaven In death nothing dyeth of thee but what thou mayst well spare thy sin and sorrows When the house is pulled to peices all those Ivy roots in the wall shall be destroyed The Egg-shell must be broken that the little chick may slip out Thy body must be dissolved that thy â—oul may be delivered Yet thy body doth not dye but sleep in the bed of the grave till the morning of the resurrection That outward apparel shall not be utterly consumed by the moth of time but lockt up safe as in a chest to be new trimmed and gloriously adorned above the Sun in his greatest lustre and put on again when thou shalt awake in the morning never never to put off more O that I could so live that I might not only be always ready but also when God calls me desirous to dye If I borrow any thing of my Neighbour I pay it back with thanks My life is Gods he lends it me for a time Why should I not when he calls for it restore it with thanks that he hath been pleased to lend it me so long Lord thy Children love thee dearly and believe that when they come home to thee thou wilt entertain them kindly yet their flesh like Lots Wife is still â—ankering after the Sodom of this World and loath they are to leave it though it be for their exceeding gain Give thy servant such true faith in thy Son that I may neither love life nor fear death immoderately but as the heart of Jacob revived when he saw the Wagons which Joseph sent to fetch him to Egypt so my heart may leap for joy to behold the heavenly Chariot which the Son of
who gives his Servant such a charge that therefore he must not put off his hat or bid any Good Morrow or ask their Neighbours how they do for ever after The same Law-giver doth command Salutations by his oâ—n mouth Into what house ye enter say Peace be to this house Luk. 10. 5 6. and also commends it to us by his Ministers 1 Cor. 16. Col. 4. 10 14. We may not bid them God Speed whom we see imployed about the Divels designes least we be partakers of their evill deeds but if we know not their actions to be bad our charity must hope the best He that hath but common Humanity must needs be a Civilian Though nature be a Crab-stock yet if she be but graffed by education this will be part of her sweet fruit 3. As thy duty is to be righteous and courteous so also to be meek in thy dealings with men Courtesie is a good Servant to wait upon meekness as its Master both together are no small credit to a Professour He that is highest in godliness is fullest of meekness the purest Gold is soonest melted and they are usually the best blades that will bend well the Lion of Iudah for courage was a Lamb for condescension The Saint must learn of his Saviour to be meek and lowly in heart The passionate man is one of Lucifers Disciples and followeth him in his fall from Heaven This meekness I speak of it in relation to man as its object is a vertue by which we moderate our passions and keep them in subjection least we should wrong our Neighbours Patience is sister to meekness and humility is its mother The Passions of our minds are like the winds in the air if they lye still the Ship must lie still too or at least make but small speed if they be too boysterous they endanger the dashing the vessel upon a Rock or casting it upon the Quicksands but when they blow moderately between a still calm and a violent storm they are most helpful to the Mariners Our affections are of no use if they be suffered to sleep and do not rise at all for then though the name of God himself be shot at they will not hear the murdering piece Such meekness is worse then mopishness God did not give the soul these wings in vain On the other side if our affections are tempestuous and rise too high they threaten to overturn both our selves and our Neighbours A passionate man is like the torrid zone too hot for any to deal with him or to dwel neer him The work therefore of meekness is to keep the affections within their bounds so to moderate this fire that it may warm not flame out to burn it self and others He that is inebriated with passion is unfit for any action like Sampsons Foxes he scattereth fire-bands abroad to the hurt of all that are neer him Alexander in his anger flies upon his best friend Parmenio himself must perish by that Wild-fire Catos best Emperor was he qui potuit imperare affectus that could keep his own passions in subjection When one said he was a wise King that was kind to his friends and sharp to his enemies another said He was a wiser Prince that could retain his Friends in love and make his enemies like them The Spirit of God gives us a mark to know a wise and noble man by Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge amongst you Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom Jam. 3. 13. Two particulars offer themselves to our view out of this verse 1. That meekness is a sign of a wise man The world counts them onely the brave spirits that scorn to suffer the least affront and who will repay a single injury with double interest but these in Gods accounts are fools What a fool is he that suffereth his passion that which should be his servant to become his master and to tyrannize over him What a fool is he that perceiving a Musket discharged will not stoop a little or fall down a while to avoid the Bullet but keep his place and height to the loss of his life Truly such a fool is he that will never yeild to anothers wraâ—h Is not he a fool that seeing a fire in his neighbours house anger in his Neighbours heart is so far from helping to quench it by the water of mildness that he throweth more fuel on it and increaseth its flame even to the burning down of his own is not he a fool that ventureth his inestimable soul at every trifling cast and runneth headlong upon the greatest hazards Surely 't is not without reason the wise man speaks so often of a fools wrath and that Anger resteth in the bosome of fooles Prov. 27. 3. and 17. 12. c. A wise man deferreth his anger least it burn with too hot a flame Prov. 29. 11. He will draw back the brands least the fire exceeding its bounds should consume him How many have been thrown nay utterly over-thrown by laying the reins upon the neck of their brutish passions when their persons would have been safe had but their passions been curbed Charles the sixth King of France was mad for anger and desire of revenge on the Duke of Brittain Excess of wrath cost Ajax his life if the Poet may be beleived Sylla in the height of fury vomited up his blood and his breath together saith the Historian When such winds blow they raise black and dark clouds A furious man hath few friends like Ismael his hand is against every man and every mans hand is against him The Herons name in Hebrew signifieth to be angry and it s observed scarce any fowl hath so many foes the Eagle preyeth upon her the Fox catcheth her in the night the Hawk destroyeth her eggs How foolish is the Bee that loseth her life and her sting together she puts another to a little pain but how dearly doth she pay for it The greatest conquest is to overcome our selves and the vilest bondage to be our own slaves Prov. 16. 32. He that is most mild is most manly It sullied the glory of all Caesars valour and victories that he was his own vassal It is the glory of a man to pass by offences Those Dogs which were presented to Alexander by the King of Albany were counted the best in the world and upon this account because they were so noble as not to stir at all when small beasts were brought to encounter them and through an overflowing of courageâ— would never fight save with Lions and Elephants Those men without question are far from true worth and most ignoble who upon every supposed petty wrong flie to the common Law or Civil War for revenge By the Laws of England a Noble man hath this priviledge that he cannot be bound to the peace because it s supposed that a Noble person will scorn to engage himself in
at last without Heaven This followeth from the former They being visibly without the Church and really without God and Christ must needs be without Heaven Without are Dogs Children onely are within doors Rev. 22. 15. Luk. 13. 25. The manner of the Apostles expression is worth our observation he saith not Walk with them No they ought not to be our Companions but walk wisely towards them Let them be the object of your caution as if he had said I know your callings or relations or some occasions or other will bring you into the Company of many that are not Members of the Church Militant and shall be excluded the Church Triumphant but take heed to your selves that ye keep good consciences in such company that ye defile not your own souls by being partaker of their sins be watchful that ye give no offence to them and that ye take no infection from them Walk wisely towards them that are without SECT I. FRiend to quicken thee to the greater caution I shall offer thee these two thoughts First Consider that evil Company is very infectious Wicked men like the Crocodile slime the way to make thee fall and when thou art down suck out as it were thy blood and with it fatten their insulting envy Thy experience tells thee that they are industrious to make men wicked and wretched Such is the corruption of our nature and the nature of our corruption that we are sooner polluted by the wicked then they purified and amended by us as the good Corn is rather soiled by the bad then the smutty made bright by the good The fresh waters run into the Sea yet they do not sweeten but are made brackish by it Our sinful hearts as Onions if there be any infection in the room are apt to draw all to themselves We may hope to save them when they may destroy us How many have leaped into the waters to save others from drowning and been drowned with them Wholesom Planets if in conjunction with those that are malevolent are of bad influence It s recorded by the Holy Ghost concerning the Israelites They were mingled among the Heathen and learned their ways Psa. 106. 35. They who joyn with wicked persons are prone to learn their wicked practices Evil men are as Mildew to the good Corn which makes it black It s an encouragement to men to walk in bad and by-ways when they have Company with them Sinners are compared to dust that breeds vermine in houses to Sepulchres which send forth noisom vapours and to thorns and briars that pierce and pain such as meddle with them can they be too wary then that handle them Luk. 15. 8. Rom. 3. 13. Heb. 6. 8. The Owl is a Night bird and altogether for darkness but they that Hawk for Birds make a Stale of her and whilst the silly Birds are wondering at her catch and kill them The Divel who makes it his work to take and destroy souls doth often make use of ungodly men as Stales to further his defignes Sampson was too hard for the Philistines when they opposed him by force but when they procured Delilah a wicked companion to tempt him by that fraud they prevailed against him The reason according to some why our Saviour forbad the Disciple to go and bury his Father was not out of aversness to civil much-less to natural respect but left his corrupt Kindred who might be present at the Funeral should corrupt him again and so he should dye with them When the Raven went out of the Ark it returned not again meeting as is supposed with some dead carcasses by the way The Caprimulgus or Goat-sucker flieth upon the Goats and sucketh them that their milk drieth up and they are afterwards blind I write these things Reader to make thee more careful in such company If thou wouldst keep thy graces lively and flaming amongst such damps and waters of wickedness thy watchfulness must be more then ordinary The more stones lie in thy way the greater must thy caution be if thou wouldst not stumble A Common Pilot may serve in a Calm Sea but he that would steer a Vessel right in a Tempestuous Ocean amidst Rocks and Quick-sands had need to be eminent both for skill and care Secondly Consider it is possible for thee not onely to keep thy self from waxing worse but to be the better for evil company I speak not this to encourage thee to cast thy self into temptations but to qâ—icken thee to the more care when God calleth thee among them The Weesel is an unclean creature and many ways hurtâ—ul yet it devoureth Mice whence its named in Latine Mustela and so is usefâ—l Unclean sinners that are intentionally pernicious may be providentially profitable to the Saints Some creatures can draw nourishment from hard bones A Saint may suck honey out of dry and bitter herbs The wise God would not send evil things as afflictions but for the good of his chosen nor suffer evil persons but for their profit Pluck not up the Tares lest the Wheat be pulled up also Math. 13. The good Husbandman makes an hedge of unfruitful Plants as Briars and Crab trees and other barren Trees to defend the Vineyard from Cattel and the good Trees in it from harm The Lyon as cruel as he was defended the old Prophets body God left some Canaanites amongst the Iews lest the Beasts of the Field should over-run the Country Exod. 23. 29. God leaves some wicked ones amongst his chosen in this World to keep under their brutish lusts which otherwise might undo them The Lees are helpful to preserve the Wine and the Chaff is useful to preserve the Corn Vermine are good against the Iaundise The Taunts and Scoffs of evil men have sometimes been instrumental to cure good men of their spiritual diseases The Sword of an enemy may let out thy rank blood Iason had his Imposthume opened and so healed by a blow that he received in the Wars from his enemies which his friends the Physitians could not cure Those tongues which have been as sharp as Razors piercing the Christians good Name have proved instrumental to heal their depraved natures The more the wicked twit thee with thy weaknesses the more they may quicken thee to watchfulness Thou wantest possibly a faithful friend to admonish thee therefore God sendeth thee furious enemies to cast thy faâ—lts in thy teeth and if now thou dischargest thy duty thou mayst hope that their malice shall be a Medicine to increase thine inward health and welfare A Fool loseth the improvement of his Friends but a Wise man can make an advantage of his enemies As the Herb called Ros Solis though the heat of the Sun lye upon it all day yet the hotter the Sun is the moyster it is So the Christian is the more softned and tender when others are hardened and bitter against godliness SECT II. I Proceed now to shew wherein the Exercise of Godliness in
in tâ—e other world I was as bad as the worst of them or at least I had slept as deep into that mire of prophaness and equalled or exceeded them in all manner of impiety if free grace had not with-held and prevented me I have the same root of bitterness and had doubtless brought forth the same cursed fruits if the hand of mercy had not new grafted me What thanks do I owe to my Redeemer who makes me to differ and what cause have I to love and laud to please and praise him world without end O friend if the Israelites blessed God for their preservation from those waters in which the Egyptians were drowned hast not thou cause to give thanks for preservation from that wickedness in which others are damned 3. Thy care and watchfulness should be the more increased The falls and failings of others should be Sea-marks and give thee warning to avoid those rocks and shallows if thou wouldst avoid shipwrack Thou hast the same poisonous seed therefore take heed lest thou committest the same sin These things saith the Apostle were written for our example to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they did 1 Cor. 10. 6 16. All these things happened unto them for examples and they were written for our admonition As the sins and sufferings of others are recorded for our instruction so God lets them be acted before our eyes for our admonition If he that walketh before me falleth and breaketh his neck I have the more reason to ponder the paths of my feet If a fire break out in one house every wise man will look the more to his own If enemies be near the walls the Garrison will be the more diligent to keep watch and ward Ah how foolish is that Mariner who beholdeth a Ship before him cast away upon some Rock and doth not steer his course with the greater care Thus the Sword of Goliah may be serviceable to a David and those weapons of unrighteousness which are designed for our destruction may be helpful to our preservation Those Kites that destroy Chickens do also eat up offals of Beasts and many noisom things which otherwise would infect the Air whence say some it s a Law in England that near a Market Town they should not be kill'd Unclean Beasts are serviceable to men and unclean men may be helpful to Christians SECT V. FIfthly Endeavour their reformation Thy duty is as a good Physitian to loath the noisom disease but to pity and strive to recover the Patient What difference is there betwixt thee and a carnal person if thou sufferest him to die and offerest not thy help for his cure Thy Father doth good to all he causeth his Sun to shine on the just and on the unjust O Remember that thou art his Son and that his pattern is worthy of imitation That piece of Iron which is rub'd with the Loadstone will draw another peice of Iron We read of Magnetical Rocks in some Islands that draw all Ships to them which have Iron Pins and hold them so fast that they are not able to stir Shew that thou hast been toucht with the Spirit that the Spirit of God dwelleth in thee by thy endeavours to draw others to God Christ never sat at Table with any sinners but he made better chear then he found If he sat with the prophane he did convert them if with the pious he did confirm them Luk. 7. Be not discouraged at the weakness of thy gifts or the small degree of thy graces but consider that the event of the enterprize depends upon him who sets thee a work and that its all one to him whether he have great means or small means or no means A poor contemptible Flie may hinder an Elephant from sleeping a poor upright Christian may awaken great sinners out of their spiritual sleep and lethargy A little Boat may land a man at a large continent A weak believer may help a soul to Heaven Endeavour to reform them these three ways 1. By wholsom Counsel Every place thou comest into should be like Libnah in which the Israelites pitcht a place of Frankincense perfumed by thy presence The breath of a man serves him both to cool his broth when hot and warm his fingers when cold The breath of a Christian should serve to put some warmth into them that are cold Heaven-ward and to cool and slack them that are hot Hell ward An wholsom tongue is a Tree of life Prov. 15. 12. Thy tongue should be like the Tree of life in Eden of which he that did eat was to live for ever Gen. 3. 22. or like that Tree of life in the midst of the street which bare twelve manner of Fruit and the Leaves of the Tree were for the healing of the Nations Rev. 22. 2. I have read of a person who led a dissolute life and was so wrought upon by the Counsel of a good man that he turned over a new Leaf and when his Companions asked the ground of that change which they soon observed in him and why he would not walk along with them in his old wicked ways he answered them I am busie meditating and reading in a little book which hath but three leaves in it so that I have no leasure so much as to think of any other business In the first leaf which is red I meditate on the passion of my Lord Iesus Christ and of that precious blood which he shed for the remission of my sins In the second leaf which is white I meditate on the unspeakable joys of Heaven purchased for me by the death of my Redeemer In the third leaf which is black I meditate on the intolerable torments of Hell provided and kept in store for the wicked and ungodly Prudent and pious advice may bring wandring sinners home to Christs fold There is a special art in baiting the hook aright so as thou mayst take sinners ere they are aware I being crafty caught you with guile 2 Cor. 12. 16. It s possible â—hou art amongst men that are moral and civil yet unsanctified by commending civility yet discovering its insufficiency thou mayst beat them out of their rotten holds and cause them to run to Christ for help Mat. 5. 20. It may be thou meetest with those that are openly prophane by bringing in wisely an example of Gods judgements on such persons thou mayst fright them from such lewd practices Sometimes thou mayst turn earthly discourse by degrees into heavenly and spread a Table and set a running banquet before them which they never thought of Do they ask for â—ant of other discourse what news After some prudent preface answer them that thou canst tell them good news from a far Country which is worthy of all acceptation namely That Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners Do they ask how such and such do acquaint them concerning their bodily welfare and if it may be done conveniently
and service Proud men disdain to take poor Saints advice as if wisdom had forsaken all commerce with inferiour persons and taken up her abode onely in stately Palaces Upon this score Darius instead of the thanks which he owed payed Charidemus with no less then death for his good counsel But it s the folly as well as the arrogancy of some rather to ascend to a dangerous height then descend at the call of one below them O how mad is he that will rather run on in hazardous paths to his ruine then turn back and retreat at the desire of one that is his inferiour And such proud Christians have this usually for their reward of God that when the humble that will stoop to take up jewels at the feet of the meanest are enriched they get nothing by godly conference We give no relief to them that go gorgeously attired and brag of their own large revenues There lieth a great deal of wealth and worth in some obscure and neglected Christians men do not more usually trample upon the golden veins of earth in America then conceited persons trample on the spiritual riches in poor Christians but a wise man will better himself by his enemies much more by his godly friends both in taking their counsel and receiving their admonition if occasion be 1. In Taking counsel It was said of Demosthenes that he was better at praising vertue then practising it We must write by that Copy which we set others It was the speech of a Philosopher That its the easiest thing in the world to give good counsel and the hardest thing to take it Iobs friends though falsly taxed him as guilty of this crime Iob 4. 3 4 5. Behold thou hast instructed many and strengthened the weak hands Thy words have up holden him that was falling and thou hast strengthned the feeble knees But now it is come upon thee and thou faintest it toucheth thee and thou art troubled Doctor Preston confessed on his death-bed that he found it difficult to take that Physick which he had often administred to others But all Christians must and will endeavour it Solomon makes it the mark of a prudent man The way of a fool is right in his own eyes but he that hearkeneth to counsel is wise Prov. 11. 15. When out of self-conceit we refuse others advice we bewray our own pride and folly Quintilian said of some They might have proved excellent Scholars if they had not thought themselves so already this is true of too many in our days They might have proved excellent Christians if they had not thought themselves too good to learn He that every day layeth up something though but little will in time have a good stock 2. In Receiving admonition The stomach of man naturally riseth against this bitter Physick though it conduceth so much to his health Faithful reproof is the awakening a man out of sleep and such are very apt to be angry The Hedg-hog brusleth up her prickles and will pierce if it be possible those that come to take hold of her There are two things that cause men to rage against reproof 1. Guilt of the sin objected Guilt makes men angry when they are searched and like Horses that are gâ—lled to kick if they be but touched They hate saith the Holy Ghost him that reproveth in the gate The easiest medicines and mildest waters are troublesome to sore eyes Praxaspes having reproved Cambyses for his drunkenness did so exasperate him that he shot the Son of the Reprover through the heart to confute the Father by shewing the steadiness of his hand Though you stir one that hath a boyl never so gently yet he will fret and fume Ahab conscious of his own filth and wickedness hates Michaiah for telling him the truth There is sâ—arce a more probable sign that the crime objected is true then wrath and bitterness against the person that chargeth us with it Children that have cankers will not suffer honey to come near their mouths as sweet as it is Though men are bold to sin even to the face of God yet they are so proud that they would not have it visible to the eye of a man therefore when by their admonitions they find that they are discovered they wrangle and quarreâ— 2. Love to sin makes men impatient under reproof T was Davids fondness of Absolon that made him so strict in his charge to his Captains concerning him Deal gently with the young man Absolon for my â—ake T is love of lust that makes us so desirous it should be spared and so passionate when it is pierced by a reproof A man may gather that sin to be his Dalilah which he will suffer none to hurt Eglebert King of West Saxons slew Earl Cambra for telling him of his faults but it was because his sin was dearer to him then his soul. When a persons sin is to him as the apple of his eye no wonder if he be offended at any that shall touch it Solomon calls reproofs ear-rings I am sure they are ill bestowed on such uncircumcised ears Prov. 25. 12. But Grace will teach a Christian contentedly to take those potions that are wholsom though they be not toothsom It is holy Davids expression Let the righteous smite me it shall be a kindness and let him reprove me it shall be an excellent Oyl it shall not break my head Psa. 141. 5. Faithful reproof is a token of love and therefore may well be esteemed a kindness Such wounding of a friend is healing and so David might well call it an excellent Oyl And he did not onely say so which is easie and ordinary but acted accordingly He did not as the Papists who highly commend holy water but turn away their faces when it comes to be sprinkled on them When he had by sin and continuance in it so gangrend his flesh and corrupted himself that he was in danger of death he suffered his sores to be throughly searched without regret Nathan was the Chirurgion whom God imployed to search that wound which had divers months been festring in his soul and truly he did not dally with his patient though he were a Prince but thrust his instrument to the bottom yet whatever pain it put him to he took it patiently and was so far from being angry with the Prophet that he made him one of his Privy Council T is a sign of a polluted nature for a man like a Serpent if he be but toucht to gather poison and vomit it up at the party Rebuke a scorner and he will hate thee Rebuke a wise man and he will love thee Pride scorns a corrector and thinks it a disgrace to amend upon anothers desire hence it hates him that endeavours it Amos for reproving the golden calves was accused by Amaziah the chief Priests of the Idols of Bethel and struck by Vriah the son of that Amaziah with a spear on the head whereof he died saith Buntingus
Christian without a spice of this sin Ioshua is ready to envy them that seemed by their light to darken his Master Cantharides a venemous worm usually breedeth in Wheat when it is ripe the highest Christians as the greatest Favourites at Court are usually the greatest objects of envy But O t is a sign of a weak eye not to behold the sunshine of others holiness without pain The holy Apostle is enlarged in thanksgiving to God for the faith and love and patience of the Thessalonians and their grace was â— strong cordial to revive him in his sorrows and distress We give thanks to God for you all Remembring without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Iesus Christ. We were comforted over you in all our afflictions and distresse by your faith Nay he was so far from grieving at others graces that he professeth the joy of his life did very much depend upon their perseverance in piety For now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord As if he had said Our life will be but a death in regard of sorrow and grief it will be so doleful a being that it will not deserve the name of a life if ye should once be loose and wandring from the Lord 1 Thes. 1. 2 3 4. 2 Thes. 3. 6 7 8. 1 Colos. 12. Grace cannot but desire and delight in its like He that truly loves his God will rejoyce in his brothers graces because they tend to his Fathers glory and he that truly loves his brother will be glad at his grace because it tends so exceedingly to his brothers good Pedaretus when he could not be admitted to be one of the three hundred among the Spartans went home rejoycing that his Country had three hundred better men then himself Surely then Christians when they behold others sparkling with grace and shining as lights in the World should rejoyce that the blessed God hath some that can do him more service and bring him more glory then themselves Good Wish about a Christians Carriage in Good Company wherein the former heads are applied THe Father of mercies and onely wise God who hath appointed â—he way in which I should walk during the time of my Pilgrimage and understandeth the multitudes of rubs and hinderances that I shall encounter with the power and policy of those enemies which will beset me therein as also how weak I am and unable to hold out how weary I shall soon be and ready to give over if I should travail alone having out of his boundless grace and goodness called me to the communion of Saints that I might be directed by their counsel and encouraged by their company notwithstanding all opposition to run the ways of his commandements I Wish that I may esteem his precept herein as my glorious priviledge improve their society to the greatest advantage both for my own welfare and my Gods honour and delight to converse with those brethren here with whom I hope to dwell in my Fathers house for ever What an inestimable dignity doth my God invest me with in imposing on me so sweet a duty How wretchedly ungrateful should I be if his paths should not be the more pleasant to me for such companions The worth and riches of this society may well invite me to trade with them and give me hopes of profiting by them All the companions on earth of the highest Callings are but a rabbel of Cennel-rakers to this noble society The Prince of this Senate is the Heir of all things the blessed and glorious Potentate such a Soveraign whose dominion is universal from Sea to Sea whose Kingdom is eternal throughout all Generations and even the highest have gloried in being his Subjects The Charter and Priviledges of this Society are the inestimable Covenant of Grace exceeding great and precious Promises wherein pardon of sin peace of conscience new natures adoption justification the love of the blessed God and eternal life are granted to them and entailed on them for ever The Servants of this Corporation are all the creatures in their several places striving which shall do them the greatest kindness They are in league with the stones of the field and the beasts of the field though never so ravenous by nature are at peace with them The glorious Angels pitch their Tents about them and count it their honour to wait upon them both living and dying The Livery in which this company is attired is the Royal Robes of Christs righteousness which renders them without spot or wrinkle and far more beautiful and amiable then Adam in his estate of unspotted innocency Their Garments smell of Myrâ—he Aloes and Cassin and for their richness infinitely surpaâ—â— that cloathing which is of wrought gold Their food is hidden Manna such meat as endureth to eternal life the bread that came down from Heaven the flesh of the Son of God which is meat indeed and the blood of the Son of God which is drink indeed Their inheritance is a Kingdom that cannot be shaken a Crown of life Rivers of pleasures an eternal weight of glory Some Societies have boasted that Kings and Lords have been Free of their Company the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is both Freee and Head of this Society they are his Hephzibah his delight his Segullah his peculiar treasure Ah! who would not have communion with them whose communion is with the Father and Jesus Christ his Son Lord let my ambition be to be enrolled a Citizen of Sion and to walk amongst them worthy of that vocation wherewith thou hast called me since the communion of thy Saints here is some weak resemblance of Heaven where all thy chosen shall glorifie and worship thee without fault and faintness teach me to hallow thy name by doing thy will on earth as it is in heaven I Wish that the gain which I am sure to reap by joyning with Christians in their common stock may make me more diligent at this spiritual trade The greatest priviledges are granted to Corporations not to particular persons The greatest victories are obtainted by Regiments and Brigades not by Souldiers engaged singly against their enemies That Oyntment which yeilded so grateful a savour as to delight God himself was compounded of several spices Exod. 30. 23 24 25. My God hath ordained the communion of the faithful for the building up one another in their most holy faith and if I expect his blessing it must be in his own way The body thrives best when all the members concur to perform their distinct and proper offices for the good of the whole Men make the most ravishing musick when many joyn in consort The two Disciples travelling together found the blessed Jesus to make a third and to warm their hearts with the fire of his heavenly Doctrine How many vessels going in company have returned in safety richly laden with the unsearchable riches in Christ If I am in doubts
in my dealing and discourse with such men Lord thou knowest the poor silly children of men are unable to judge of eternal affairs according to their weight they are quickly lost when in their thoughts they begin to launch into that boundless Sea The ponderousness of the subject is ready to affright and press them down being so much beyond and above their shallow understandings But wouldst thou please to enable them though it were but to peep into the other world and to behold through some Crevice what is doing and enjoyed there both by thy friends and thine enemies they would soon have other thoughts of thee and thy service and other carriages when they are about thy work the greatest seriousness would then be too little the greatest ardour would not be thought enough for thy worship they would then indeed be fervent in spirit when they are serving the Lord. O teach thy servant though he cannot see into the other world with the eye of sense yet so to look into it with an eye of faith that he may transact the concerns thereof with that diligence faithfulness and fervency which thou acceptest and whilst he liveth be zealous of good works I Wish that my heart may be so affected with pity towards sick and afflicted persons that I may often and earnestly remember them in my prayers A little Captive considering the Leprosie of her Master was instrumental for his cure by crying out Would God my Lord were with the Prophet that is in Samaria for he would recover him of his Leprosie I have more reason when I behold a Leprous soul near its last gasp to look up to Heaven with Would to God that poor creature were with Jesus Christ that great prophet of his Church who is able and willing to enliven and pardon and sanctifie and save Would to God he would be perswaded to come to Christ to cling to Christ to close with Christ for he would recover him And what do I know but my prayers may be prevalent on his behalf Christ when dying prayed for his enemies for them that imbrued their hands in his blood and shall not I pray for my friends when they are dying and possibly ignorant whether they are going My Prayers are a cheap courtesie and diminish nothing of my estate either spiritual or temporal Their misery is an awakening motive to the duty Never did they stand in such need of help from others and wrastling with God on their behalves as now that they are taking their journey into a far Country and entring upon an unchangeable condition They may say to me as Nehemiah to Geshem I am doing a great work c. I am going to die to bid adieu to all the folly and vanity and comforts of this world to take possession of my long home of the place wherein I must abide for ever O pray for us that we may be pardoned and saved that we may repent and believe that we may die in the faith and obtain the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto life eternal They have many distractions upon their own spirits by reason of pains and bodily distempers and the loss and lamentation of their Kindred and Relations that they cannot poure out their hearts to God with that freeness and seriousness and earnestness which probably they desire Their enemies and assaults and temptations at such a time are more quick and strong and violent and full of rage having but a short time I must now pray for them or never pray for them Now beg mercy for them or never beg mercy for them When their life is gone all tears and cries and groans for them are in vain Davids greatest passions for dead Absolon were to no purpose They are then gone the way they shall not return and fixed in that place whence they shall never remove Lord I confess that my narrow heart hath not pity enough for afflicted and sick and dying souls and my weak hands have not power enough to supply or support them in their sad estates but thou hast both O be pleased to look down from Heaven the habitation where thine holiness dwelleth Behold their miseries hide thy face from all their iniquities out of thine infinite fulness releive their necessities Let the eyes of their souls be opened to see their sins and their Saviour before the eyes of their bodies be closed Give them patience and strength answerable to the burden thou layest on their backs Enable them to do their last works well and let them be better then their first Open thou their lips and let their mouths shew forth thy praise before they go to the place of silence Stand by them in their last conflict with their enemies Death and Devils that they may over come both be more then conquerours through him that loves them and pass through the jaws of death to the joys of a blessed eternal life I Wish that my soul may be the more sound for every visit I bestow on sick bodies There is not so much danger of catching their outward diseases as there is hope of increasing my spiritual health if I am not wanting to my self The sick and dying bed is a Pulpit out of which I may be instructed more fully in many serious truths though the sick or dying man be speechless King Joash obtained three famous victories over the Syrians by visiting sick Elisha and might have gotten a compleat conquest over them if it had not been his own fault The sight of sick and dying men may assist me in my conflicts with the three great enemies of my present purity and future comfort and bliss It teacheth â—e how vain it is to make provision for that flesh which will it self ere long be provision for wormes Ah how foolish am I to pamper and please that which instead of releiving or refreshing will in my extremity pierce and pain me It teacheth me that the world it self is the greatest Cheat and Impostour in the world That though it laughs and smiles on men dandling them on her knees and hugging them in her armes whilst they are in health and promising all sorts of comforts and pleasures yet in their sickness and misery she turns them off and leaves them as Absolons Mule did him to be â—hot through with the heart-cutting arrows of eternal death By discovering the emptiness and falseness of these two seeming ends the flesh and the world it helpeth me to overcome my third enemy and to repel the fiery darts of the Devil The cup of temptation which hath so often bewitched me to drink down his deadly poison had its prevalency from the worldly profit with which the out-side was guilded or the fleshly pleasure with which the in-side was sweetned Ah! could I but bid an hearty defiance to the World and the Flesh and conquer them I need not fear the wicked one They are the powerful Advocates by which Satan pleads and too often prevails with