is utterly taken away This is not such a Come as we were wont to hear Come take up your Cross and follow me though that was sweet yet this much more Ye Blessed Blessed indeed when that mouth shall so pronounce us for though the world hath accounted us accursed and we have been ready to account our selves so yet certainly those that he blesseth are blessed and those whom he curseth onely are cursed and his Blessing shall not be Revoked But he hath Blessed us and we shall be Blessed Of my Father Blessed in the Fathers Love as well as the Sons for they are one The Father hath testified his Love in their Election Donation to Christ sending of Christ accepting his Ransom c. as the Son hath also testified his inherit No longer bond-men nor servants onely nor children under age who differ not in possession but onely in title from servants But now we are heirs of the Kingdom Jam. 2.5 Coheirs with Christ. The Kingdom No less then the Kingdom Indeed to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords is our Lords own proper title But to be Kings and reign with him is ours The fruition of this Kingdom is as the fruition of the light of the Sun each have the whole and the rest never the less Prepared for you God is the Alpha as well as the Omega of our Blessedness Eternal Love hath layd the foundation He prepared the Kingdom for us and then prepared us for the Kingdom This is the preparation of his Counsel and Decree for the execution whereof Christ was yet to make a further preparation For you Not for Beleevers onely in general who without individual persons are no body Nor onely for you upon condition of your beleeving But for you personally and determinately for all the Conditions were also prepared for you From the foundation of the world Not onely from the Promise after Adams fall as some but as the phrase usually signifieth though not always from Eternity These were the eternal thoughts of Gods love towards us and this is it he purposed for us But a great difficulty riseth in our way In what sence is our Improvement of our Talent our well doing our overcoming our harboring visiting feeding c. Christ in his little ones alledged as a Reason of our Coronation and Glory Is not it the purchased possession and meet fruit of Christs blood If every man must be judged according to his works and receive according to what they have done in the flesh whether good or evil and God will render to every man according to his Deeds and give eternal life to men if they patiently continue in well doing and give right to the tree of Life and entrance into the City to the doers of his Commandments and if this last Absolving Sentence be the compleating of our Justification and so the doers of the Law be justified Why then what 's become of Free Grace of Justification by Faith onely of the sole Righteousness of Christ to make us accepted Then the Papists say rightly That we are Righteous by our personal Righteousness and Good Works concur to Justification I did not think to have said so much upon Controversie But because the difficulty is very great and the matter very weighty as being neer the foundation I shall in another Book add to what is said before certain brief Positions containing my thoughts on this Subject which may tend to the clearing of these and many other difficulties hereabouts But that the plain constant language of Scripture may not be perverted or disregarded I onely premise these Advertisements by way of caution till thou come to read the full Answer 1. Let not the names of men draw thee one way or other nor make thee partial in Searching for Truth Dislike the men for their unsound doctrine but call not doctrine unsound because it is theirs nor sound because of the repute of the Writer 2. Know this That as an unhumbled Soul is far apter to give too much to Duty and personal Righteousness then to Christ So a humble self-denying Christian is as likely to err on the other hand in giving less to duty then Christ hath given and laying all the work from himself on Christ for fear of robbing Christ of the honor and so much to look at Christ without him and think he should look at nothing in himself that he forgets Christ within him As Luther said of Melancthons self-denying humility Soli Deo omaia deberi tam obstinaté asserit ut mihi plané vidcatur saltem in hoc errare quòd Christum ipse fingat longiùs abesse cordi suo quam sit reverâ Certé nimis nullus in hoc est Philippus He so constantly ascribes all to God that to me he seems directly to err at least in this that he feigneth or imagineth Christ to be further off from his own heart then indeed he is Certainly he is too much Nothing in this 3. Our giving to Christ more of the work then Scripture doth or rather our ascribing it to him out of the Scripture way and sence doth but dishonor and not honor him and depress but not exalt his Free Grace While we deny the inward sanctifying work of his Spirit and extol his free Justification which are equal fruits of his merit we make him an imperfect Saviour And thus we have by the line and plummet of Scripture fathomed this four-fold stream and seen the Christian safely landed in Paradise and in this four-wheeled fiery Charet conveyed honorably to his Rest. Now let us a little further view those Mansions consider his priviledges and see whether there be any Glory like unto his Glory Read and judg but not by outward appearance but judg Righteous Judgment CHAP. VI. This Rest most Excellent discovered by Reason SECT I. THe next thing to be handled is The excellent properties of this Rest and admirable Attributes which as so many Jewels shall adorn the Crown of the Saints And first before we speak of them particularly let us try this Happiness by the Rules of the Philosopher and see whether they will not approve it the more transcendently Good Not as if they were a sufficient Touchstone but that both the Worldling and the Saint may see when any thing stands up in competition with this Glory for the preheminence Reason it self will conclude against it Now in order of good the Philosopher will tell you that by these Rules you may know which is Best SECT I. 1. THat which is desired and sought for it self is better then that which is desired for something else or the End as such is better then all the Means This concludeth for Heavens preheminence All things are but means to that end If any thing here be excellent it is because it is a step to that and the more conducible thereto the more excellent The Salvation of our Souls is the end of our Faith of our
necessary That thy Lord had sweeter ends and meant thee better then thou wouldst believe And that thy Redeemer was saving thee as well when he crossed thy desires as when he granted them and as well when he broke thy Heart as when he bound it up Oh no thanks to thee unworthy Self but shame for this received Crown But to Jehovah and the Lamb be Glory for ever Thus as the memory of the wicked will eternally promote their torment to look back on the pleasures enjoyed the sin committed the Grace refused Christ neglected and time lost So will the Memory of the Saints for ever promote their Joys And as it 's said to the wicked Remember that thou in thy life time receivedst Thy good things So will it be said to the Christian Remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thine evils but now thou art comforted as they are tormented And as here the Remembrance of former good is the occasion of encreasing our grief I remembred God and was troubled I called to Remembrance my Songs in the night Psal. 77.3 6. So there the Remembrance of our former sorrows addeth life to our Joys SECT VIII BUt Oh the full the near the sweet enjoyment is that of the Affections Love and Joy It 's near for Love is of the Essence of the Soul and Love is the Essence of God For God is Love 1 John 4.8 16. How near therefore is this Blessed Closure The Spirits phrase is God is Love and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God and God in him Vers. 16. The acting of this affection wheresoever carryeth much delight along with it Especially when the object appears deserving and the Affection is strong But O what will it be when perfected Affections shall have the strongest perfect incessant actings upon the most perfect object the ever Blessed God Now the poor soul complains Oh that I could love Christ more but I cannot alas I cannot Yea but then thou canst not chuse but love him I had almost said forbear if thou canst Now thou knowest little of his Amiableness and therefore lovest little Then thine eye will affect thy heart and the continual viewing of that perfect beauty will keep thee in continual ravishments of Love Now thy Salvation is not perfected nor all the mercies purchased yet given in But when the top stone is set on thou shalt with shouting cry Grace Grace Now thy Sanctification is imperfect and thy pardon and Justification not so compleat as then it shall be Now thou knowest not what thou enjoyest and therefore lovest the less But when thou knowest much is forgiven and much bestowed thou wilt Love more Doth David after an imperfect deliverance sing forth his Love Psal. 116.1 I love the Lord because he hath heard my voyce and supplications What think you will he do eternally And how will he love the Lord who hath lifted him up to that Glory Doth he cry out O how I love thy Law My delight is in the Saints on earth and the excellent Psal. 16.3 How will he say then O how I love the Lord and the King of Saints in whom is all my delight Christians doth it not now stir up your love to remember all the experiences of his Love To look back upon a life oâ— mercies Doth not kindness melt you and the Sun-shine of Divine Goodness warm your frozen hearts What will it do then when you shall live in Love and have All in him who is All O the high delights of Love of this Love The content that the heart findeth in it The satisfaction it brings along with it Surely Love is both work and wages And if this were all what a high favour that God will give us leave to love him That he will vouchsafe to be embraced by such Arms that have embraced Lust and Sin before him But this is not all He returneth Love for Love nay a thousand times more As perfect as we shall be we cannot reach his measure of Love Christian thou wilt be then brim full of Love yet love as much as thou canst thou shalt be ten thousand times more beloved Dost thou think thou canst overlove him What! love more then Love it self Were the Arms of the Son of God open upon the Cross and an open passage made to his Heart by the Spear and will not Arms and Heart be open to thee in Glory Did he begin to love before thou lovedst and will he not continue now Did he love thee an enemy thee a sinner thee who even loathedst thy self and own thee when thou didst disclaim thy self And will he not now unmeasurably love thee a Son thee a perfect Saint thee who returnest some love for Love Thou wast wont injuriously to Question his Love Doubt of it now if thou canst As the pains of Hell will convince the rebellious sinner of Gods wrath who would never before believe it So the Joys of Heaven will convince thee throughly of that Love which thou wouldst so hardly be perswaded of He that in love wept over the old Hierusalem neer her Ruines with what love will he rejoyce over the new Hierusalem in her Glory O methinks I see him groaning and weeping over dead Lazarus till he force the Jews that stood by to say Behold how he loved him Will he not then much more by rejoycing over us and blessing us make all even the damned if they see it to say Behold how he loveth them Is his Spouse while black yet comely Is she his Love his Dove his undefiled Doth she ravish his heart with one of her eyes Is her Love better then wine O believing soul study a little and tell me What is the Harvest which these first fruits foretel and the Love which these are but the earnest of Here O here is the Heaven of Heaven This is the Saints fruition of God! In these sweet mutual constant actings and embracements of Love doth it consist To Love and be beloved These are the Everlasting Arms that are underneath Deut. 33.27 His left hand is under their heads and with his right hand doth he embrace them Cant. 2.6 Reader stop here and think a while what a state this is Is it a small thing in thine eyes to be beloved of God to be the Son the Spouse the Love the delight of the King of Glory Christian believe this and think on it Thou shalt be eternally embraced in the Arms of that Love which was from everlasting and will extend to everlasting Of that Love which brought the Son of Gods Love from Heaven to Earth from Earth to the Cross from the Cross to the Grave from the Grave to Glory That Love which was weary hungry tempted scorned scourged buffetted spit upon crucified pierced which did fast pray teach heal weep sweat bleed dye That Love will eternally embrace thee When perfect created Love and most perfect uncreated love meet together O the blessed meeting It will
rich 14. Consider also the happy consequences of this work where it is faithfully done To name some 1. You may be instrumental in that blessed work of saving souls a work that Christ came down and died for a work that the Angels of God rejoyce in for saith the holy Ghost If any of you do erre from the truth and one convert him let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins Jam. 5 19 20. And how can God more highly honor you then to make you instruments in so great a work 2. Such souls will bless you here and hereafter They may be angry with you at first but if your words prevail and succeed they will bless the day that ever they knew you and bless God that sent you to speak to them 3. If you succeed God will have much glory by it He will have one more to value and accept of his Son on whom Christs bloud hath attained its ends He will have one more to love him and daily worship and fear him and to do him service in his Church 4. The Church also will have gain by it There will be one less provoker of wrath and one more to strive with God against Sin and Judgment and to engage against the Sinners of the Times and to win others by Doctrine and Example If thou couldest but convert one persecuting Saul he might become a Paul and do the Church more service then ever thou didst thy self however the healing of Sinners is the surest method for preventing or removing of Judgments 5. It is the way also to the purity and flourishing of the Church and to the right erecting and executing the Discipline of Christ if men would but do what they ought with their neighbours in private what a help would it be to the success of the Publike endeavors of the Ministry and what hope might we have that daily some would be added to the Church and if any be obstinate yet this is the first course that must be taken to reclaim them who dare separate from them or excommunicate them before they have been first throughly admonished and instructed in private according to Christs Rule Matth. 18.15 16. 6. It bringeth much advantage to your selves First It will increase your graces both as it is a course that God will bless and as it is an acting of them in this perswading of others He that will not let you lose a cup of water which is given for him will not let you lose these greater works of Charity Besides those that have practised this duty most conscionably do finde by experience that they never go on more speedily and prosperously towards heaven then when they do most to help others thither with them It is not here as with worldly treasure the more you give away the less you have but here the more you give the more you have The setting forth Christ in his fulness to others will warm your own hearts and stir up your love The opening of the evil and danger of sin to others will increase your hatred of it and much engage your selves against it Secondly And it seemeth that it will increase your Glory as well as your Grace both as a duty which God will so reward For those that convert many to Righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever Dan. 12.3 and also as we shall there behold them in heaven and be their associates in blessedness whom God made us here the instruments to convert Thirdly However it will give us much peace of Conscience whether we succeed or not to think that we vvere faithful and did our best to save them and that vve are clear from the bloud of all men and their perishing shall not lye upon us Fourthly Besides that is a vvork that if it succeed doth exceedingly rejoyce an honest heart He that hath any sense of Gods Honor or the least affection to the soul of his brother must needs rejoyce much at his conversion vvhosoever be the Instrument but especially vvhen God maketh our selves the means of so blessed a vvork If God make us the Instuments of any temporal good it is very comfortable but much more of eternal good There is naturally a rejoycing followeth every good work answerable to the degree of its goodness â—e that doth most good hath usually the most happy and comfortable life If men knew the pleasure that there is in doing good they vvould not seek after their pleasure so much in evil for my own part it is an unspeakable comfort to me that God hath made me an instrument for the recovering of so many from bodily diseases and saving their natural lives but all this is yet nothing to the comfort I have in the success of my labors in the conversion and confirmation of souls it is so great a joy to me that it drowneth the painfulness of my daily duties and the trouble of my daily languishing and bodily griefs and maketh all these with all oppositions and difficulties in my work to be easie and as nothing and of all the personal mercies that ever I received next to his love in Christ and to my soul I must most joyfully bless him for the plenteous success of my endeavors upon others O what fruits then might I have seen if I had been more faithful and plied the work in private and publike as I ought I know we have need to be very jealous of our deceitful hearts in this point lest our rejoycing should come from our pride and self-ascribing Naturally we would every man be in the place of God and have the praise of every good work ascribed to our selves but yet to imitate our Father in goodness and mercy and to rejoyce in that degree we attain to is the part of every childe of God I tell you therefore to perswade you from my own experience that if you did but know what a joyful thing it is to be an instrument for the converting and saving of souls you would set upon it presently and follow it night and day through the greatest discouragements and resistance Fifthly I might also tell you of the honorableness of this work but I will pass by that lest I excite your pride instead of your zeal And thus I have shewed you what should move and perswade you to this duty Let me now conclude with a word of Intreaty First to all the godly in general Secondly To some above others in particular to set upon the conscionable performance of this most excellent Work CHAP. XII An advice to some more specially to help others to this Rest prest largely on Ministers and Parents SECT I. UP then every man that hath a tongue and is a Servant of Christ and do something of this your Masters Work Why hath he given you a tongue but to speak in his Service And how can you serve
with the way All Motion ends at the Center and all Means cease when we have the End Therefore prophecying ceaseth tongues fail and knowledg shall be done away that is so far as it had the nature of a Means and was imperfect And so faith may be said to cease not all faith for how shall we know all things past which we saw not but by beleeving how shall we know the last Judgment the resurrection of the body before hand but by beleeving how shall we know the life everlasting the Eternity of the joys we possess but by beleeving But all that faith which as a Means referred to the chief End shall cease There shall be no more prayer because no more necessity but the full enjoyment of what we pray'd for Whether the soul pray for the bodies resurrection for the last judgment c. or whether soul and body pray for the eternal continuance of their joys is to me yet unknown Otherwise we shall not need to pray for what we have and we shall have all that is desirable Neither shall we need to fast and weep and watch any more being out of the reach of sin and temptations Nor will there be use for Instructions and Exhortations Preaching is done The Ministry of man ceaseth Sacraments useless The Laborers called in because the harvest is gathered the tares burned and the work is done The Unregenerate past hope the Saints past fear for ever Much less shall there be any need of laboring for inferior ends as here we do seeing they will all devolve themselves into the Ocean of the ultimate End and the lesser good be wholy swallowed up of the Greatest SECT II. 2. THis Rest containeth a perfect freedom from all the Evils that accompanied us through our course and which necessarily follow our absence from the chief good Besides our freedom from those eternal flames and restless miseries which the neglecters of Christ and Grace must remedilesly endure an inheritance which both by birth and actual merit was due to us as well as to them As God will not know the wicked so as to own them so neither will Heaven know iniquity to receive it for there entereth nothing that defileth or is unclean all that Remains without And doubtless there is not such a thing as Grief and Sorrow known there Nor is there such a thing as a pale face a languid body feeble joynts unable infancy decrepit age peccant humors dolorous sickness griping fears consuming cares nor whatsoever deserves the name of evil Indeed a gale of Groans and Sighs a stream of Tears accompanyed us to the very Gates and there bid us farewel for ever We did weep and lament when the world did rejoyce but our Sorrow is turned into Joy and our Joy shall no man take from us God were not the chief and perfect good if the full fruition of him did not free us from all Evil. But we shall have occasion to speak more fully of this in that which follows SECT III. 3. THis Rest containeth the Highest Degree of the Saints personal perfection both of Soul and Body This necessarily qualifies them to enjoy the Glory and throughly to partake the sweetness of it Were the Glory never so great and themselves not made capable by a personal perfection suitable thereto it would be little to them There 's necessary a right disposition of the Recipient to a right enjoying and affecting This is one thing that makes the Saints Joys there so great Here Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor Heart conceived what God hath layd up for them that wait for him For the Eye of flesh is not capable of seeing it nor this Ear of hearing it nor this Heart of understanding it But there the Eye and Ear and Heart are made capable else how do they enjoy it The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object The more perfect the Appetite the sweeter the Food The more musical the Ear the more pleasant the Melody The more perfect the Soul the more Joyous those Joys and the more Glorious to us is that Glory Nor is it onely our sinful imperfection that is here to be removed nor onely that which is the fruit of sin but that which adhered to us in our pure naturals Adams dressing the Garden was neither sin nor the fruit of sin Nor is either to be less Glorious then the Stars or the Sun â—n the Firmament of our Father Yet is this the dignity to which the Righteous shall be advanced There is far more procured by Christ then was lost by Adam It 's the misery of wicked men here that all without them is mercy excellent mercies but within them a heart full of sin shuts the door against all and makes them but the more miserable When all 's well within then all 's well indeed The neer Good is the best and the neer evil and enemy the worst Therefore will God as a special part of his Saints Happiness perfect themselves as well as their condition SECT IV. 4. THis Rest containeth as the principal part our nearest fruition of God the Chiefest Good And here Reader wonder not If I be at a loss and if my apprehensions receive but little of that which is in my expressions If to the beloved Disciple that durst speak and enquire into Christs secrets and was filled with his Revelations and saw the new Jerusalem in her Glory and had seen Christ Moses and Elias in part of theirs If it did not appear to him what we shall be but only in general that when Christ appears we shall be like him no wonder if I know little When I know so little of God I cannot know much what it is to enjoy him When it is so little I know of mine own soul either it's quiddity or quality while it 's here in this Tabernacle how little must I needs know of the Infinite Majesty or the state of this soul when it 's advanced to that enjoyment If I know so little of Spirits and Spirituals how little of the Father of Spirits Nay if I never saw that creature which contains not something unsearchable nor the worm so small which afforded not matter for Questions to puzzle the greatest Phylosopher that ever I met with no wonder then if mine eye fail when I would look at God my tongue fail me in speaking of him and my heart in conceiving As long as the Athenian Superscription doth so too well suite with my sacrifices To the unknown God and while I cannot contain the smallest rivelet It 's little I can contain of this immense Ocean We shall never be capable of clearly knowing till we are capable of fully enjoying nay nor till we do actually enjoy him What strange conceivings hath a man born blind of the Sun and its light or man born deaf of the nature of sounds and musick So do we yet
Hope our Diligence of all Mercies of all Ordinances as before is proved It is not for themselves but for this Rest that all these are desired and used Praying is not the end of Praying nor Preaching the end of Preaching nor Beleeving the end of Beleeving these are but the way to him who is the way to this Rest. Indeed Christ himself is both the way and the Rest the means and the end singularly desireable as the way but yet more as the end If any thing then that ever you saw or enjoyed appear lovely and desireable then must its end be so much more SECT II. 2. IN order of Good the last is still the Best For all good tends to perfection The end is still the last enjoyed though first intended Now this Rest is the Saints last estate Their beginning was as a Grain of Mustard-seed but their perfection will be an estate high and flourishing They were taken with David from the sheep-fold to reign as Kings for ever Their first Day was a day of small things but their last will be an everlasting perfection They sowed in tears but they reap in Joy If their prosperity here their res secundae were desireable much more their res ultimae their final Blessedness Rondeletius saw a Priest at Rome who would fall down in an Extasie when ever he heard those words of Christ Consummatum est It is finished but observing him careful in his fall ever to lay his head in a soft place he suspected the dissimulation and by the threats of a cudgel quickly recovered him But methinks the fore-thoughts of that Consummation and last estate we speak of should bring a considering Christian into such an unfeigned Extasie that he should even forget the things of the flesh and no care or fear should raise him out of it Surely that is well which ends well and that 's Good which is Good at last and therefore Heaven must needs be Good SECT III. 3. ANother Rule is this That whose absence or loss is the worst or thâ— greatest evil must needs it self be best or the greatest Good And is there a greater loss then to lose this Rest If you could ask the Restless Souls that are shut out of it they would tell you more sensibly then I can For as none know the sweetness like those who enjoy it so none know the loss like those that are deprived of it Wicked men are here sensless of the loss because they know not what they lose and have the delights of flesh and sense to take them up and make them forget it But when they shall know it to their Torment as the Saints do to their Joy and when they shall see men from the East and West sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God and themselves shut out when they shall know both what they have lost and for what and why they lost it surely there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth He that loseth Riches may have more and he that loseth honor may repair it or if not yet he is not undone He that loseth life may save it But what becomes of him that loseth God and who or what shall repair his loss We can bear the loss of any thing below if we have it not we can either live without it or dye and live eternally without it But can we do so without God in Christ As God gives us outward things as auctuaries as over-plus or above measure into our bargain so when he takes them from us he takes away our superfluities rather then our necessaries and pareth but our nails and toucheth not the quick But can we so spare our part in Glory You know whose Question it is What shall it profit a man to win all the world and lose his own Soul will it prove a saving match Or what shall a man give for the ransom of his Soul Christians compare but all your losses with that loss and all your sufferings with that suffering and I hope you will lay your hand upon your mouth and cease your repining thoughts for ever SECT IV. 4. ANother Rule is this That which cannot be given by man or taken away by man is ever better then that which can And then I hope Heaven will carry it For who hath the Key of the everlasting Treasures And who is the Disposer of the Dignities of the Saints Who saith Come ye Blessed and go ye Cursed Is it the voyce of God or of meer man If every good and perfect gift cometh from above from the Father of Lights whence then cometh the gift of Eternal Light with the Father Whose priviledg soever it is to be Key-keepers of the visible Churches here below sure no meer man but the Man of Sin will challenge the Keyes of that Kingdom and undertake to shut out or take in or to dispose of that Treasure of the Church We may be beholden to men as Gods instruments for our Faith but no further For what is Paul or who is Apolio but Ministers by whom we beleeved even as the Lord gave to every man Surely every step to that Glory every gracious gift and act every deliverance and mercy to the Church shall be so clearly from God that his very name shall be written in the forehead of it and his excellent Attributes stampt upon it that he who runs may read it was the work of God and the Question may easily be answered whether it be from Heaven or of men Much more evidently is that Glory the gift of the God of Glory What can man give God or earth and dust give Heaven Surely no! And as much is it beyond them to deprive us of it Tyrants and persecutors may take away our Goods but not our chief Good our Liberties here but not that state of Freedom our Heads but not our Crown You can shut us up in Prisons and shut us out of your Church and Kingdom but now shut us out of Heaven if you can Try in lower attempts Can you deny us the light of the Sun and cause it to forbear its shining Can you stop the influences of the Planets or deny us the dew of Heaven or command the Clouds to shut up their womb or stay the course of the flowing streams or seal up the passages of the deep how much less can you deprive us of our God or deny us the light of his countenance or stop the influences of his Spirit or forbid the dew of his Grace to fall or stay the streams of his Love and shut up his overflowing ever-flowing Springs or seal up the bottomless depth of his bounty You can kill our Bodies if he permit you but try whether you can reach our Souls Nay it is not in the Saints own power to give to or take away from themselves this Glory So that according to this Rule there 's no state like the Saints Rest.
thou shalt perish for ever except I had seen the Book of Life Why the Bible also is the Book of Life and it describeth plainly those that shall be saved and those that shall be condemned Though it do not name them yet it tels you all those signs and conditions by which they may be known Do I need to ascend up into heaven to know That without holiness none shall see God Heb. 12.14 Or That it is the pure in heart who shall see God Matth. 5.8 Or That except a man be born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God Joh. 3.3 Or That he that believeth not that is stoops not to Christ as his King and Saviour is condemned already and that he shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Joh. 3.18.36 And that except you repent which includeth reformation you shall all perish Luke 13.3 5. With a hundred more such plain Scripture Expressions Cannot these be known without searching into Gods Counsels Why thou ignorant or wilful self-deluding Sot Hath thy Bible layn by thee in thy house so long and didst thou never read such words as these Or hast thou read it or heard it read so oft and yet dost thou not remember such passages as these Nay Didst thou not finde that the great drift of the Scripture is to shew men who they are that shall be saved and who not and let them see the conditions of both estates And yet dost thou ask me How I know who shall be saved what need I go up to heaven to inquire that of Christ which he came down to earth to tell us and sent his Spirit in his Prophets and Apostles to tell us and hath left upon Record to all the world And though I do not know the secrets of thy heart and therefore cannot tell thee by name whether it be thy state or no yet if thou art but willing and diligent thou maist know thy self whether thou be an heir of heaven or not And that is the main thing that I desire that if thou be yet miserable thou mayest discern it and escape it But canst thou possibly escape if thou neglect Christ and salvation Heb. 2.3 Is it not resolved on That if thou love father mother wife children house lands or thy own life better then Christ thou canst not be his disciple and consequently canst never be saved by him Is this the word of man or of God Is it not then an undoubted concluded case that in the case thou art now in thou hast not the least title to heaven Shall I tell thee from the Word of God It is as impossible for thee to be saved except thou be born again and made a new creature as it is for the devils themselves to be saved Nay God hath more plainly and frequently spoken it in the Scripture that such sinners as thou shall never be saved then he hath done that the devils shal never be saved And doth not this tidings go cold to thy heart Me thinks but that there is yet life and hope before thee and thou hast yet time and means to have thy soul recovered or else it should kill thy heart with terror and the sight of thy doleful discovered case should even strike thee dead with amazement and horror If old Ely fell from his seat and dyed to hear that the Ark of God was gone which was but an outward sign of his presence how then should thy heart be astonished with this tidings that thou hast lost the Lord God himself and all thy title to his eternal presence and delights If Rachel wept for children and would not be comforted because they were not How then shouldst thou now sit down and weep for the happiness and future life of thy soul because to thee it is not VVhen King Belshazzar saw but a piece of a hand sent from God writing over against him on the wall it made his countenance change his thoughts trouble him his loyns loosed in the joynts and his knees smite one against another Dan. 5.6 VVhy what trembling then should seaze on thee who hast the hand of God himself against thee not in a Sentence or two onely but in the very tenor and scope of the Scriptures not threatning thee with the loss of a Kingdom onely as he did Belshazzar but with the loss of thy part in the everlasting Kingdom But because I would fain have thee if it be possible to lay it close to thy heart I will here stay a little longer and shew thee first The greatness of thy loss and secondly The aggravations of thy unhappiness in this loss thirdly And the Positive miseries that thou maist also endure with their aggravations SECT III. FIrst The ungodly in their loss of heaven do lose all that glorious personal perfection which the people of God do there injoy They lose that shining lustre of the body surpassing the brightness of the Sun at noon day Though perhaps even the bodies of the wicked will be raised more spiritual incorruptible bodies then they were on earth yet that wil be so far from being a happiness to them that it onely makes them capable of the more exqâ—isite torments their understandings being now more capable of apprehending the greatness of their loss and their senses more capable of feelâ—ing their sufferings They would be glad then if every member were a dead member that it might not feel the punishment inflicted on it and if the whole body were a rotten carkass or might again lye down in the dust and darkness The devil himself hath an Angelical and excellent nature but that onely honoreth his skilful Creator but is no honor or comfort at all to himself The glory the beauty the comfortable perfections they are deprived of much more do they want that morâ—all perfection which the Blessed do partake of Those holy dispositions and qualifications of minde That blessed conformity to the Holiness of God that chearful readiness to do his Will that perfect rectitude of all their actions In stead of these they have their old ulcerous deformed souls that perversness of Will that disorder in their faculties that loathing of good that love to evil that violence of passion which they haâ— on earth It is true their understandings will be much cleared both by the ceasing of their temptations and deluding obâ—ects which they had on earth as also by the sad experience which they will have in hell of the falshood of their former conceits and delusions But this proceeds not from the sanctifying of their natures And perhaps their experience and too late understanding may restrain much of the evil motions of their wils which they had formerly here on earth but the evil disposition is never the more changed so also wil the conversation of the damned in hel be voyd of many of those sins which they commit here on earth They will be drunk no more and whore no more and
Praising of God They never tasted sweetness in things of that nature Or what care they for being deprived of the Fellowship of Angels and Saints They could spare their company in this world well enough and why may they not be without it in the world to come To make these men therefore to understand the truth of their future condition I will here annex these two things 1. I will shew you why this forementioned loss will be intollerable and will be most tormenting then though it seem as nothing now 2. I will shew you what other losses will accompany these which though they are less in themselves yet will now be more sensibly apprehended by these sensual men And all this from Reason and the truth of Scripture 1. Then That this loss of heaven will be then most tormenting may appear by these considerations following First The Understandings of the ungodly will be then cleared to know the worth of that which they have lost Now they lament not their loss of God because they never knew his excellency nor the loss of that holy imployment and society for they were never sensible what they were worth A man that hath lost a Jewel and took it but for a common stone is never troubled at his loss but when he comes to know what he lost then he lamenteth it Though the understandings of the damned wil not then be sanctified as I said before yet will they be cleared from a multitude of errors which now possess them and mislead them to their ruine They think now that their honor with men their estates their pleasures their health and life are better worth their studies and â—â—â—our then the things of another world which they never saw but when these things which had their hearts have left them in misery and given them the slip in their greatest need when they come to know by experience the things which before they did but read and hear of they will then be quite in another minde They would not believe that water would drown till they were in the sea nor that the fire would burn till they were cast into it but when they feel it they will easily believe All that error of their minde which made them set light by God and abhor his worship and vilifie his people will then be confuted and removed by experience their knowledg shall be increased that their sorrows may be increased as Adam by his fall did come to the knowledg of Good and Evil so shall all the damned have this increase of knowledg As the knowledg of the excellency of that Good which they do enjoy and of that Evil which they have escaped is necesâ—sary to the glorified Saints that they may rationally and truly enjoy their glory so is the knowledg of the greatness of that good which they have lost and of that evil which they have procured to themselves necessary to the tormenting of these wretched sinners for as the joyes of heaven are not enjoyed so much by the bodily senses as by the intellect and affections so it is by understanding their misery and by affections answerable that the wicked shal endure the most of their torments for as it was the soul that was the chiefest in the guilt whether positively by leading to sin or onely privatively in not keeping the Authority of Reason over Sense the Understanding be guilty I will not now dispute so shall the soul be chiefest in the punishment doubtless those poor souls would be comparatively happy if their understandings were wholly taken from them if they had no more knowledg then Ideots or bruit beasts or if they knew no more in hell then they did upon earth their loss and misery would then less trouble them Though all knowledg be Physically good yet some may be neither Morally good nor good to the owner Therefore when the Scripture saith of the wicked that They shall not see life Joh 3.36 nor see God Heb. 12.14 The meaning is they shall not possess life or see God as the Saints do to enjoy him by that sight they shall not see him with any comfort nor as their own but yet they shall see him to their terror as their enemy and I think they shall have some kinde of eternal knowledg or beholding of God and heaven and the Saints that are there happy as a necessary ingredient to their unutterable calamity The rich man shall see Abraham and Lazarus but afar off as God beholdeth them afar off so they shal they behold God afar off Oh how happy men would they now think themselves if they did not know that there is such a place as heaven or if they could but shut their eyes and cease to behold it Now when their knowledg would help to prevent their misery they will not know or will not read and study that they may know Therefore then when their knowledg will but feed their consuming fire they shall know whether they will or no as Toads and Serpents know not their own vile and venemous nature nor the excellent nature of man or other creatures and therefore are neither troubled at their own nor desirous of ours so is it with the wicked here but when their eyes at death shall be suddenly opened then the case will be suddenly altered They are now in a dead sleep and they dream that they are the happiest men in the world and that the godly are but a company of precise fools and that either heaven will be theirs as sure as anothers or else they may make shift without it as they have done here but when death smites these men and bids them awake and rowseth them out of their pleasant dreams how will they stand up amazed and confounded How will their judgments be changed in a moment and they that would not see shall then see and be ashamed SECT II. 2. ANother reason to prove that the loss of heaven will more torment them then is this Because as the Understanding will be cleared so it will be more enlarged and made more capacious to conceive of the worth of that Glory which they have lost The strength of their apprehensions as well as the truth of them will be then encreased What deep apprehensions of the wrath of God of the madness of sinning of the misery of sinners have those souls that now endure this misery in comparison of those on earth that do but hear of it what sensible apprehensions of the worth of life hath the condemned man that is going to be executed in comparison of what he was wont to have in the time of his prosperity Much more will the actual deprivation of eternal blessedness make the damned exceeding apprehensive of the greatness of their loss and as a large Vessel will hold more water then a shell so will their more enlarged understandings contain more matter to feed their torment then now their shallow capacity can do SECT III. 3.
guilty of all the sin that he committeth in his drunkenness VVill you resolve therefore to set upon this duty and neglect it no longer Remember Eli your children are like Moses in the basket in the water ready to perish if they have not help As ever you would not be charged before God for murderers of their souls and as ever you would not have them cry out against you in everlasting fire see that you teach them how to escape it and bring them up in holiness and the fear of God You have heard that the God of heaven doth flatly command it you I charge every one of you therefore upon your allegiance to him and as you will very shortly answer the contrary at your peril that you neither refuse nor neglect this most necessary work If you are not willing now you know it to be so plain and so great a duty you are flat Rebels and no true subjects of Christ. If you are willing to do it but know not how I will adde a few words of direction to help you 1. Teach them by your own example as well as by your words Be your selves such as you would have them be practice is the most effectual teaching of children who are addicted to imitation especially of their parents Lead them the way to prayer and reading and other duties Be not like base Commanders that will put on their Soldiers but not go on themselves Can you expect your children should be wiser or better then you Let them not hear those words out of your mouths nor see those practices in your lives which you reprove in them No man shall be saved because his children are godly if he be ungodly himself Who should lead the way in holiness but the father and master of the family It is a sad time when he must be accounted a good master or father that will not hinder his family from serving God but will give them leave to go to heaven without him I will but name the rest for your direct dutie for your Family 1. You must help to inform their understandings 2. To store their memories 3. To rectifie their wills 4. To quicken their affections 5. To keep tender their consciences 6. To restrain their tongues and help them to skill in gracious Speech 7. And to reform and watch over their outward conversation To these ends First Be sure to keep them at least so long at School till they can read English It is a thousand pities that a reasonable Creature should look upon a Bible as upon a Stone or a piece of Wood. Secondly Get them Bibles and good Books and see that they read them Thirdly Examine them often what they learn Fourthly Especially bestow the Lords day in this work and see that they spend it not in sports or idleness Fiftly Shew them the meaning of what they read and learn Josh. 4 6 21 22. Psal. 78.4 5 6 34.11 Sixthly Acquaint them with the godly and keep them in good company where they may learn good and keep them out of that company that would teach them evil Seventhly Be sure to cause them to learn some Catechism containing the chief Heads of Divinity as those made by the Assembly of Divines or Master Balls SECT XVII THe Heads of Divinity which you must teach them first are these 1. That there is one onely God who is a Spirit invisible infinite eternal Almighty good merciful true just holy c. 2. That this God is one in three Father Son and holy Ghost 3. That he is the Maker Maintainer and Lord of all 4. That mans happiness consisteth in the enjoying of this God and not in fleshly pleasure profits or honors 5. That God made the first man upright and happy and gave him a Law to keep with Conditions that if he kept it perfectly he should live happy for ever but if he broke it he should die 6. That man broke this Law and so forfeited his welfare and became guilty of death as to himself and all his Posterity 7 That Christ the Son of God did here interpose and prevent the full execution undertaking to die in stead of man and so to Redeem him whereupon all things were delivered into his hands as the Redeemer and he is under that relation the Lord of all 8. That Christ hereupon did make with man a better Covenant or Law which proclaimed pardon of sin to all that did but repent and believe obey sincerely 9. That he revealed this Covenant and Mercy to the world by degrees first in darker Promises Prophecies and Sacrifices then in many Ceremonious Types and then by more plain foretellings by the Prophetâ— 10. That in the fulness of time Christ came and took our Nature into Union with his Godhead being conceived by the holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary 11. That while he was on earth he lived a life of sorrows was crowned with Thorns and bore the pains that our sins deserved at last being Crucified to death and buried and so satisfied the Justice of God 12. That he also Preached himself to the Jews and by constant Miracles did prove the truth of his Doctrine and Mediatorship before thousands of Witnesses That he revealed more fully his New Law or Covenant That whosoever will believe in him and accept him for Saviour and Lord shall be pardoned and saved and have a far greater glory then they lost and they that will not shall lye under the curse and guilt and be condemned to the everlasting fire of hell 13. That he rose again from the dead having conquered death and took fuller possession of his Dominion over all and so ascended up into heaven and there reigneth in glory 14. That before his Ascention he gave charge to his Apostles to go Preach the foresaid Gospel to all Nations and persons and to offer Christ and Mercy and Life to every one without exception and to intreat and perswade them to receive him and that he gave them authority to send forth others on the same Message and to Baptise and to gather Churches and confirm and order them and to settle a course for a succeâ—â—â—on of Ministers and Ordinances to the end of the world 15. That he also gave them power to work frequent and evident Miracles for the confirmation of their Doctrine and the convincing of the world and to annex their writings to the rest of the Scriptures and so to finish and seal them up and deliver them to the world as his infallible Word and Laws which none must dare to alter and which all must observe 16. That for all this free Grace is offered to the world yet the heart is by Nature so desperately wicked that no man will believe and entertain Christ sincerely except by an Almighty power he be changed and born again and therefore doth Christ send forth his Spirâ—t with his Word which secretly and effectually worketh holiness in the hearts of the Elect drawing
yet remember the heart is deceitful God is oft pretended vvhen our selves are inâ—ended But if this be it that sticks vvith thee indeed consider VVilt thou pretend to be vviser then God doth not he knovv hovv â—o provide for his Church Cannot he do his vvork vvithout thee or finde out instruments enough besides thee Think not too highly of thy self because God hath made thee useful Must the Church needs fall when thou art gone Art thou the foundation on which its built Could God take away a Moses an Aaron David Elias c. and finde supply for all their places and cannot he also finde supply for thine This is to derogate from God too much and to arrogate too much unto thy self Neither art thou so merciful as God nor canst love the Church so well as he As his interest is infinitely beyond thine so is his tender care and bounty But of this before Yet mistake me not in all that I have said I deny not but that it is lawful and necessary for a Christian upon both the forementioned grounds to desire God to delay his death both for a further opportunity of gaining assurance and also to be further serviceable to the Church But first This is nothing to their case who are still delaying and never willing whose true discontents are at death it self more then at the unseasonableness of dying Secondly Though such desires are sometimes lawful yet must they be carefully bounded and moderated to which end are the former considerations We must not be too absolute and peremptory in our desires but cheerfully yield to Gods disposal The rightest temper is that of Pauls to be in a streight between two desiring to depart and be with Christ and yet to stay while God will have us to do the Church the utmost service But alas we are seldom in this streight Our desires run out all one way and that for the flesh and not the Church Our streights are onely for fear of dying and not betwixt the earnest desires of dying and of living SECT XXIV OBject But is not death a punishment of God for sin Doth not Scripture call it the King of fears And Nature above all other evils abhor it Answ. I le not meddle with that which is controversal in this Whether Death be properly a punishment or not But grant that in it self considered it may be called Evil as being naturally the dissolution of the Creature Yet being sanctified to us by Christ and being the season and occasion of so great a Good as is the present possession of God in Christ it may be welcomed with a glad submission if not with desire Christ affords us grounds enough to comfort us against this natural Evil And therefore endues us with the principle of Grace to raise us above the reach of nature For all those low and poor Objections as leaving House Goods and Friends leaving our children unprovided c. I pass them over as of lesser moment then to take much with men of Grace SECT XXV LAstly Understand me in this also That I have spoke all this to the faithful soul. I perswade not the ungodly from fearing death It s a wonder rather that they fear it no more and spend not their days in continual horror as is said before Truly but that we know a stone is insensible and a hard heart is dead and stupid or else a man would admire how poor souls can live in ease and quietness that must be turned out of these bodies into everlasting flames Or that be not sure at least if they should die this night whether they shall lodg in Heaven or Hell the next especially when so many are called and so few chosen and the Righteous themselves are scarcely saved One would think such men should eat their bread with trembling and the thoughts of their danger should keep them waking in the night and they should fall presently a searching themselves and enquiring of others and crying to God That if it were possible they might quickly be out of this danger and so their hearts be freed from horror For a man to quake at the thoughts of death that looks by it to be dispossessed of his happiness and knoweth not whether he is next to go this is no wonder But for the Saints to fear their passage by Death to Rest this is an unreasonable hurtful Fear CHAP. III. Motives to a Heavenly Life SECT I. WE have now by the guidance of the Word of the Lord and by the assistance of his Spirit shewed you the nature of the Rest of the Saints and acquainted you with some duties in relation thereto We come now to the close of all to press you to the great duty which I chiefly intended when I begun this subject and have here reserved it to the last place because I know hearers are usually of slippery memories yet apt to retain the last that is spoken though they forget all that went before Dear friends its pity that either you or I should forget any thing of that which doth so neerly concern us as this Eternal Rest of the Saints doth But if you must needs forget something let it be any thing else rather then this let it be rather all that I have hitherto said though I hope of better then this one ensuing Use. Is there a Rest and such a Rest remaining for us Why then are our thoughts no more upon it why are not our hearts continually there why dwell we not there in constant contemplation Sirs Ask your hearts in good earnest what is the cause of this neglect are we reasonable in this or are we not Hath the Eternal God provided us such a Glory and promised to take us up to dwell with himself and is not this worth the thinking on Should not the strongest desires of our hearts be after it and the daily delights of our souls be there Do we beleeve this and can we yet forget and neglect it What 's the matter will not God give us leave to approach this light or will he not suffer our souls to tast and see Why then what means all his earnest invitations why doth he so condemn our earthly-mindedness and command us to set our affections above Ah vile hearts If God were against it we were likelier to be for it When he would have us to keep our station then we are aspiring to be like God and are ready to invade the Divine Prerogatives But when he commands our hearts to Heaven then they will not stir an inch like our Predecessors the sinful Israelites When God would have them march for Canaan then they mutiny and will not stir either they fear the Gyants or the walled Cities or want necessaries or something hinders them but when God bids them not to go then will they needs be presently marching and fight they will though it be to their overthrow If the fore-thoughts of glory were forbidden
the drawn sword of his displeasure or at least overtake me to my grief at last But is he against the obeying of his own commands is perfect good against any thing but evil doth he bid me seek and will he not assist me in it doth he set me awork and urge me to it and will he after all be against me in it It cannot be And if he be for me who can be against me In the work of sin all things almost are ready to help us and God onely and his Servants are against us and how ill doth that work prosper in our hands But in my course to Heaven almost all things are against me but God is for me and how happily still doth the work succeed Do I set upon this work in my own strength or rather in the strength of Christ my Lord And cannot I do all things through him that strengthneth me was he ever foiled or subdued by an enemy He hath been assaulted indeed but was he ever conquered Can they take the sheep till they have overcome the Shepherd why then doth my flesh lay open to me the difficulties and urge me so much with the greatness and troubles of the work It is Christ that must answer all these Objections and what are the difficulties that can stay his power Is any thing too hard for the Omnipotent God May not Peter boldly walk on the Sea if Christ do but give the word of command and if he begin to sink is it from the weakness of Christ or the smalness of his Faith The water indeed is but a sinking ground to tread on but if Christ be by and countenance us in it if he be ready to reach us his hand who would draw back for fear of danger Is not Sea and Land alike to him shall I be driven from my God and from my Everlasting Rest as the silly Birds are feared from their food with a man of clouts or a loud noise when I know before there is no danger in it How do I see men daily in these wars adventure upon Armies and Forts and Cannons and cast themselves upon the instruments of death and have not I as fair a prize before me and as much encouragement to adventure as they What do I venture my life is the most and in these prosperous times there is not one of many that ventures that VVhat do I venture on are they not unarmed foes A great hazzard indeed to venture on the hard thoughts of the world or on the scorns and slanders of a wicked tongue Sure these Serpents teeth are out these Vipers are easily shaken into the fire these Adders have no stings these Thorns have lost their prickles As all things below are silly comforters so are they silly toothless enemies Bugbears to frighten fools and children rather then powerful dreadful foes Do I not well deserve to be turned into Hell if the scorns and threats of blinded men if the fear of silly rotten Earth can drive me thither do I not well deserve to be shut out of Heaven if I will be frighted from it with the tongues of sinners Surely my own voice must needs condemn me and my own hand subscribe the sentence and common Reason would say that my damnation were just VVhat if it were Father or Mother or Husband or VVife or the neerest Friend that I have in the world if they may be called Friends that would draw me to damnation should I not run over all that would keep me from Christ VVill their friendship countervail the enmity of God or be any comfort to my condemned soul shall I be yielding and pliable to the desires of men and onely harden my self against the Lord Let men let Angels beseech me upon their knees I will slight their tears I will scorn to stop my course to behold them I will shut mine ears against their cryes Let them flatter or let them frown let them draw forth tongues and swords against me I am resolved to break through in the might of Christ and to look upon them all as naked dust If they would entice me with preferment with the Kingdoms of the world I will no more regard them then the dung of the Earth O Blessed Rest O most unvaluable Glorious State who would sell thee for dreams and shadows who would be enticed or affrighted from thee who would not strive and fight and watch and run and that with violence even to the last breath so he might but have hope at last to obtain thee Surely none but those that know thee not and beleeve not thy glory Thus you see with what kinde of Meditations you may excite your Courage and raise your Resolutions SECT IX 5. THe last Affection to be acted is Joy This is the end of all the Rest Love Desire Hope and Courage do all tend to the raising of our Joy This is so desirable to every man by nature and is so essentially necessary to the constituting of his happiness that I hope I need not say much to perswade you to any thing that would make your life delightful Supposing you therefore already convinced That the pleasures of the flesh are brutish and perishing and that your solid and lasting joy must be from Heaven in stead of perswading I shall proceed in directing Well then by this time if thou hast managed well the former work thou art got within the ken of thy Rest thou believest the Truth of it thou art convinced of the excellency of it thou art faln in Love with it thou longest after it thou hopest for it and thou art resolved couragiously to venture for the obtaining it But is here any work for joy in this we delight in the good which we do possess It s present good that is the object of joy but thou wilt say alas I am yet without it Well but yet think a little further with thy self Though the Real presence do afford the choicest joy yet the presence of its imperfect Idea or image in my understanding may afford me a great deal of true delight Is it nothing to have a deed of gift from God Are his infallible promises no ground of joy Is it nothing to live in daily expectation of entring into the Kingdom Is not my assurance of being glorified one of these dayes a sufficient ground for unexpressible joy Is it no delight to the Heir of a Kingdom to think of what he must hereafter possess though at present he little differ from a servant Am I not commanded to rejoyce in hope of the glory of God Rom. 5.2 12.12 Here then Reader take thy heart once again as it were by the hand Bring it to the top of the highest Mount if it be possible to some Atlas above the clouds shew it the Kingdom of Christ and the glory of it say to it All this will thy Lord bestow upon thee who hast believed in him and been a worshipper of him It
it you in respect of the time of performance Our chief work will here be to discover to you the danger and that will direct you to the fittest remedy Let me therefore here acquaint you beforehand That when ever you set upon this Heavenly employment you shall finde your own hearts your greatest hinderer and they will prove false to you in one or all of these four degrees First They will hold off that you will hardly get them to the work secondly or else they will betray you by their idleness in the work pretending to do it when they do it not or thirdly they will interrupt the work by their frequent excursions and turning aside to every object or fourthly they will spoil the work by cutting it short and be gone before you have done any good on it Therefore I here forewarn you as you value the unvaluable comfort of this work that you faithfully resist these four dangerous evils or else all that I have said hitherto is in vain 1. Thou shalt finde thy heart as backward to this I think as to any work in the world O what excuses it will make what evasions it will finde out and what delays and demurs when it is never so much convinced Either it will question whether it be a duty or not or if it be so to others yet whether it be so to thee It will rake up any thing like reason to plead against it it will tell thee That this is a work for Ministers that have nothing else to study on or for Cloysterers or persons that have more leisure then thou hast If thou be a Minister it will tell thee This is the duty of the people it is enough for thee to meditate for the instructing of them and let them meditate on what they have heard as if it were thy duty onely to cook their meat and serve it up and perhaps a little to taste the sweetness by licking thy fingers while thou art dressing it for others but it is they onely that must eat it digest it and live upon it Indeed the smell may a little refresh thee but it must be digesting it that must maintain thy strength and life If all this will not serve thy heart will tell thee of other business thou hast this company stayes for thee or that business must be done It may be it will set thee upon some other duty and so make one duty shut out another for it had rather go to any duty then to this Perhaps it will tell thee that other duties are greater and therefore this must give place to them because thou hast not time for both Publike business is of more concernment to study to preach for the saving of souls must be preferred before these private contemplations As if thou hadst not time to see to the saving of thy own soul for looking after others or thy charity to others were so great that it draws thee to neglect thy comfort and salvation or as if there were any better way to fit us to be useful to others then to make this experience of our doctrine our selves Certainly Heaven where is the Father of Lights is the best fire to light our candle at and the best book for a Preacher to study and if they would be perswaded to study that more the Church would be provided of more heavenly lights And when their Studies are Divine and their Spirits Divine their preaching will then be also Divine and they may be fitly called Divines indeed Or if thy heart have nothing to say against the work then it will trifle away the time in delayes and promise this day and the next but still keep off from the doing of the business Or lastly If thou wilt not be so baffled with excuses or delayes thy heart will give thee a flat denial and oppose its own unwillingness to thy Reason Thou shalt finde it come to the work as a Bear to the stake and draw back with all the strength it hath I speak all this of the heart so far as it is carnal which in too great a measure is in the best for I know so far as the heart is Spiritual it will judg this work the sweetest in the world Well then what is to be done in the forementioned case wilt thou do it if I tell thee Why what wouldst thou do with a servant that were thus backward to his work or to thy beast that should draw back when thou wouldst have him go forward Wouldst thou not first perswade and then chide and then spur him and force him on and take no denial nor let him alone till thou hadst got him closely to fall to his work Wouldst thou not say Why what should I do with a servant that will not work or with an Ox or Horse that will not travel or labor Shall I keep them to look on Wilt thou then faithfully deal thus with thy heart If thou be not a lazie self deluding Hypocrite say I will by the help of God I will Set upon thy heart roundly perswade it to the work take no denial chide it for its backwardness use violence with it bring it to the service willing or not willing Art thou master of thy flesh or art thou a servant to it hast thou no command of thy own thoughts cannot thy will chuse the subject of thy Meditations especially when thy judgment thus directeth thy will I am sure God once gave thee mastery over thy flesh and some power to govern thy own thoughts Hast thou lost thy authority art thou become a slave to thy depraved nature Take up the authority again which God hath given thee command thy heart if it rebel use violence with it if thou be too weak call in the Spirit of Christ to thine assistance He is never backward to so good a work nor will deny his help in so just a cause God will be ready to help thee if thou be not unwilling to help thy self Say to him Why Lord thou gavest my Reason the command of my Thoughts and Affections the authority I have received over them is from thee and now behold they refuse to obey thine authority Thou commandest me to set them to the work of Heavenly Meditation but they rebel and stubbornly refuse the duty Wilt thou not assist me to execute that authority which thou hast given me O send me down thy Spirit and Power that I may enforce thy commands and effectually compel them to obey thy Will And thus doing thou shalt see thy heart will submit its resistance will be brought under and its backwardness will be turned to a yielding compliance SECT II. 2. WHen thou hast got thy heart to the work beware least it delude thee by a loitering formality Least it say I go and go not least it trifle out the time while it should be effectually meditating Certainly the heart is as likely to betray thee in this as in any one particular about
tantae devotionis est insipida Bernard Serm 23. Non cap o me pre lativa quia illi Mayâ—tas naturam â—uim naturae â—â—ae carnts so gaints subvâ—lat me insâ—â—um in divilias gloriae suae non ad horam sed in sempternum includit Fit scater meâ—s doâ—inus mens Et timâ—â— domini fratris vincit affectus Domine Jesu Christe Lâ—benter audio te â—egnantem in coelis libentiâ—s nascentem in terris liboutis sime crucem clavos lanceam sustinentem Haec siquidem effusio rapit affictum meum istorum memoria incalescit cor meum Berna Serm 23. in die Nata * John 20 16. Mat. 28 9. John 20.13 2 Sam 23.16 17. 1 Sam. 21.9 1 Sam. 18.4 * By the redundancy of which merit after satisfaction thereby made unto his Fathers Justice for our debt there is further a purchase made of Grace and Glory and of al good things in our behalf M Reinoldes Life of Christ Pag. 402. Isa. 27.4 Lam. 3.33 Ezek. 18.23.32 2 §. 2. 2 It is Freely given us 1 King 7.17 Rev. 5.4 5. Jam. 2.5 1 Cor. 9.4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13. 1 Cor. 9.18 19. Rom. 14.13 15 20 21. Rom. 15.1 2. 1 Cor. 914 12 ver 15. 1 Tim 5 17. 1 Cor. 4.10 11 12 1 Cor. 9.16 § 3. 8 It is the Saints peculiar John 14.22 Luk 4.24 25 26 27. Rev. 11.9.10 Rev. 16.5.6 Rev. 19 7.2 Rev. 18.20 2 Chro. 6.29 Psal. 67.6 33.12 78.71 16.5 §. 4. 4 It is a Rest with Angels and perfect Saints * Socrates Critoni vehementâ—r suadâ—nti ut si vitam ipse suam negligeret certe liberis estiamâ—â— parvulis amicis ab ipso pendentibus se servaret incolumem Liberi inquit Deo qui mihi cos dedit curae erunt amicos hinc discedens inveniam vobis ant similes aut etiam meliores ne vestra quidem consuetudinediucariturus quando quidem vos brevi eodem est is commigraturi Eras. apoth lib. 3. ex Platone Zenop. 2 Cor. 5.16 Melchi Adam in vita Lutheri Act. 12.15 Matt. 18.10 Luke 16.22 Luke 15.10 Heb. 1.7 c. Psal. 119.63 Heb. 12.22 23 24. § 5. 5 It is Immediate from God and in him Gen. 44.12 §. 6. 6 It will be a seasonable Rest. Mark 12.2 Luke 20.10 Psal. 1.3 Isa. 50.4 Gal 6 9. Jere. 5 4. and 33.20 Exod. 12 40 41. Jere. 8.7 Acts. 27.7 9. Dan. 6.19 c. Levit. 10.3 Psal. 39.9 2 Sam. 15.25 26. * Secundum quid 1 Cor. 11.30 32. Luk. 19.17 18 19. Job 5.26 Mr. Capell Temp. * Secundum quid § 7. 7 It will be a Rest suitable 1 To our Natures 1 Pet. 1.18 23. 2 To our Desires Gal. 5.24 3 To our necessities Luke 8.43 Mark 5.25 § 8. 8 It will be a perfect Rest. 1 In the sincerity of it 1 Cor. 12.7 1 Joh 4.18 2 In the Universality of it 1 In regard of good enjoyed 2 In regard of the evils we shall be freed from 1 We shall Rest from sin Revel 21.27 Ephes. 5.27 1 Joh. 3 8. 2 Cor. 6.14 1 From sin in the understanding * If a man should defer his Study of any Art or Science till the Writers thereof did fully and unitedly consent It would be as vain a thing as if a man did purpose his journey from London to York but should make a vow not to set forward till all the Clocks in London strike together Fulbecks Directions to study the Law pag. 26. The Writers in all â—ciences differ not from the uncertainty of the Sciences but theiâ— own imperfection yea in History which reporteth matter of Fact Livy against Pâ—lâ—bâ—us Plutarch against Livy Sigonius against Plutarch Ziphilinus against Dio whom he interpreted and abridgeth Non est litigiosa Juris Scientia sed Ignorantia Cicero de Finibus 〈◊〉 2. The best and most grave Man will confess That he is ignorant of many things saith Cicero Tuscul. 3. Selon was not ashamed to say That in his old age he was a Learner And Juâ—â—â—an the Lawyer said That when he had one Foot in the Grave yet he would have the other in the school 2 From sin of Will Affection and Conversation Josh 23.13 Gen. 21.9 Heb. 4.10 § 9. 2 From suffering 1 From doubts of Gods Love * Dr. Preston of effectual Faith pag. 24. § 10. 2 From all sense of Gods displeasure Job 3. 13.26 16.12 13 14. 7.20 Psal. 38. Psal. 69.3 Psal. 77.2 3. Psal. 88.7 § 11. 3 From Satans Temptations 1 Tim. 3.7 2 Tim. 2.26 Ephes. 6.11 Matth. 6.13 26.41 Revel 3.10 § 12. 4 From temptations of the World and Flesh. 2 Cor. 11.3 1.12 c. Deut. 12.30 7.25 Hosea 9.8 Psal. 69.22 Prov. 20.25 22.25 29.6 25. 1 Tim. 6.9 Job 8.8 10. Psal. 124.6 7. § 13. 5 From abuses and persecutions of the world Revel 6.9 10. 2 Tim. 3.12 Rom. 8.17 Matth 10.22 24.9 2 Thes. 1.9 10. John 15.19 17.14 John 7 7. 15.18 20. 5.23 17.22 1 Cor. 4 9.13 Lam. 3.45 Heb. 10.43 Isai. 8.18 Luke 6.22 Agesilaus dicere solitus est se vehementer admirari eos non haberi in Sacrilegorum numero qui laederenâ— eos qui Deo supplicarent vel Deum venerarentur Quo innuit eos non tantum Sacrilegos esse qui Deos ipsos aut templorum ornatum spoliarent sed eos maximè qui Deorum Ministros praecones contumeliis afficiunt Aemyl Prob. Luke 16.24 Psal. 83.4 Psal. 2.4 Judges 5.23 Psalm 9.12 John 7.34.36 8.21 22. Revel 12.16 Heb. 11. Matth. 27.29 30. Luke 21.19 Job 31.36 Heb. 11.25 James 1.2 Dan. 3.17 2 Thes. 1 7. 1 Pet. 3.17 4.14 15. Jude 8. 2 Pet. 2.10 1 Pet. 4.14 Luke 14.26 27 33. 2 Thes. 3.2 § 14. 6 From our Divisions and Dissentions Melch Adam in vitâ Grynai a Two books full of the language of Hell in bitterrest scornes at the Ministry and Discipline thought to be written by one Overton b Quemadmodum vero in multas varias sectas scissa est Catabaptistarum haerefis ita in hoc omnes unanimiter consentiunt ut praedicatoribus veritatis negotium exhibeant eos erga auditores tanquam seductores suspectos reddant Epistol Leo. Judae ante Bullingerum contra Catabap c Si Calvinus quam a natura insitam habebat vehementiam ca ipse adversus perditos sophistas usus est ut interdum etiam modum non tenuisse videri possit rogo moderatissimos istos homines quibus nimium incalescere videntur quicunque ipsorum more non frigent ut pro quo in quem dicatur paulo attentius expendant neque haereticos istos spiritus ex ingâ—niâ— suo metiantur Beza in Epistola praefat ante Calvini Tractatus Theologicos d Me quoque non latet turbulentos homines mâ—vendis seditionibus Satanae esse â—â—abella ut in Evangelii odium placidos alioqui homines inflammet Ita nostro seculu