humility by humility fear by fear and love by love if you doe not look upon all your graces as streames flowing from the fountaine above and as fruits growing upon the Tree of life that is in the midst of the Paradice of God Therefore when one eye is fixt upon your graces let the other be alwayes fixt upon the God of grace Secondly At the time when your eye is upon inherent grace Aut totum mecum tene aut totam omitte Greg. Naz. Let us say of Christ as the heathen once said of his petty Gods Contemno minutus istos Deos modi â—ovem propiti am habeam So long as he had his Jupiter to friend he regarded theâ— not So so â—ong as we have our Jesus to friend we shouâ—d not regâ—rd others no not our very graces in comparison of Christ and righteousnesse let your heart be fixt upon Christ and his imputed righteousnesse Pauls eye was upon his grace Rom. 7. 22. 25. I delight in the Law of God after the inward man And with my mind I serve the Law of God And yet at that very same time his heart was set upon Christ and taken up with Christ vers 25. I thanke God through our Lord Jesus Christ So in Col. 2. 2 3. you have one eye fixt upon grace and at the same time the heart fixt upon Christ That their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the father and of Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge His eye is upon grace his heart is upon Christ So in Phil. 3. 8. the Apostle hath his eye upon the excellent knowledge of Christ but vers 9. his heart is set upon the righteoushesse of Christ That I might be found in him not having mine owne righteousnesse which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousnesse which is of God by faith Here you have his eye upon grace and his heart upon Christ in the very presence of his grace This is your glory Christians in the presence and sight of all your graces to see the free grace of Christ and his infinite spotlesse matchlesse and glorious righteousnesse to be your surest sweetest highest and choycest comfort and refuge Peter was not well skill'd in this lesson and that was the very reason that he fell fowlest when his confidence was highest Grace is a ring of gold and Christ is the Pearle in that ring and he that looks more upon the ring then the Pearle that is in it in the houre of temptation will certainly fall When the wives eye is upon her Rings or Jewels then her heart must be set upon her husband When grace is in my eye Christ must at that time be in my armes yea he must lye between my breasts Cant. 1. 13. My Beloved is as a bundle of myrrhe he shall lye all night between my breasts Christ and not grace must lye neerest to a Christians heart A third thing is this When you looke upon your grace you must looke upon it as a beautifull Creature that is begotten in Gal. 2. 20. Phil. 5. 6 Deus nihil coronat nâ—si dona sua Aug. When God crowneth us he doth but crowne his owne gifts in us the soule by Christ and that is strengthend maintained cherished and upheld in your soules by nothing below the spirituall internall and glorious apperations of Christ Though Grace be a beautifull Creature yet Grace is but a Creature and so your soules must look upon it Grace is a heavenly off-spring 't is the first-borne of God as I may say and does most represent him to the life Grace is a bud of glory 't is of the blood Royall 't is nobly discended Jam. 1. 17. So in Heb. 12. 2. Looking unto Jesus the Author and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Leader and Crowner Finisher of our faith Christ is the Alpha and Omega the Beginner and Ender In all other things and Arts the same man cannot begin and finish but Christ doth both Phil. 1. 5. Our graces thrive and are upheld in life and power in beaury and glory by the internall apperation of Christ in our soules So in Col. 1. 27. Christ in you the hope of glory So vers 29. Whereunto I also labour striving according to his working which worketh in me mightily So Phil. 4. 13. I can doe all things through Christ that strengtheneth me I 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is wrong â—â— in me in power The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All things tho it be an universall is not to be taken in the u most exâ—ent but according to the use of the like phrases in all languages wherein the universall signe affixâ— either to persons oâ— times or places or things signifies a greater number but not all without exception as you may see by comparing these Scriptures together Psal 14. 4 8 9. John 14. 26. 1 Cor. 10. 23 So those words are to be understood in Phil. 4. 13. can be high and low poore and rich honourable and base something or nothing c. through Christ that strengthens me So in Cant. 4. ult Blow upon my Garden that the spices thereof may send forth a fragrant smell We may puffe and blow our hearts out and yet no savoury smell will flow forth if Christ does not blow So in Psal 138. 3. In the day when I cryed thou answeredst me and strengthenest me with strength in my soule Your graces Christians are heavenly Plants of Gods owne setting and watering and certainly this heavenly Husbandman will never suffer such Plants of renowne to wither for want of heavenly sapp he will look to the strengthening supporting and nourishing of the work of his own hand he will cause the desires of his people to bud and their graces to blossome and their soules to be like a watered Garden green and flourishing Isa 58. 11. compared with Isa 35. 6 7. Fourthly When you looke upon your Graces you must looke upon them as an earnest of more glorious and unspeakeable measures of Grace and glory that your soules shall be filled with at last In Ephes 1. 13 14. After that ye believed ye were sealed with that holy spirit of Promise which is the earnest of our inheritance untill the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory That little light and knowledge thou hast is an earnest to thy soule that thou shalt at last know even as thou art knowne 1 Cor. 13. 12. For now wee see through a glasse darkely but then face to face Now I know in part but then shall I know even as I am knowne Christians know but little of that they should know they know but little of that they might know they know but little of that others know they know but little of that they desire to know they
and manifestations when their Visions are onely the Visions of their owne hearts and their Manifestations are plaine delusions Ah but sayes the Apostle Little Children let none of these deceive you I tell you he and onely he that doth righteousnesse is righteous as God is righteous Children you know may be easily cousened and made to take Counters for gold because they are broader and brighter Children in grace are soon deceived hence is it that they are so cousened Little Children keep your 1 John 5. 21. The Idols that are here mentioned are surely those that the Gnosticks used to worship viz. The Images and pictures of Simon Magus and Helena as might be made evident out of Eâ—sebius selves from Idols So in Heb. 12. 12 13. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang downe and the feeble knees Some think that the Apostle Alludes to those Combates of the Heathens wherein it was a token of yielding when a man hung downe his hands You are weake saith the Apostle and by reason of Trials you are apt to hang downe your hands and to give up all as lost therefore sayes he lift up your hands to fight and your feet to run take heart and courage faint not give not over turne not aside because of the sharpnesse of afflictions But soules strong in grace will hold on in the wayes of grace and holinesse in the face of all dangers and deaths Psal 44. c. Ninthly Weake Christians are apt to make sense and feeling the Judge of their spirituall estates and conditions And therefore upon every turne they are apt to judge themselves miserable and to conclude that they have no grace because they cannot feele it nor discerne it nor beleeve it and so making sense feeling and reason the judge of their estates They wrong and perplex and vex their precious soules and make their lives a very Hell As if it were not one thing to be the Lords and another thing for a man to know that he is the Lords As if it were not one thing for a man to have grace and another thing to know that he hath grace The Canaanite woman had strong faith but no Assurance Mat. 15. that we read of Gal. 4. 6. And because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba father Mark they are first the Sons of God and then the Spirit cryes Abba father 1 John 5. 13. These things have I written unto you that beleeve on the name of the Sonne of God that ye may know that ye have Eternall life Mark they did beleeve and they had Eternall life in respect of Christ their head who as a publick person was gone to Heaven to represent all his Saints And they had Eternall life in respect of the Promises And they had Eternall life in respect of the beginnings of it and yet they did not know it they did not believe it Therefore these things write I unto you that beleeve on the name of the Son of God saith he that ye may know that ye have Eternall life and that this life is in his Son Ponder on Mich. 7. 7 8 9. Much of this you may read in my Treatise call'd HEAVEN ON EARTH or A well-grouded Assurance of mens everlasting happinesse and blessednesse in this World and to that I referre you The word shall judge us at last and therefore strong Saints John 12. 48. make onely the word of God the judge of their Spirituall conditions now as Constantine made it the Judge and decider of all opinions Tenthly Their thoughts and hearts are more taken with the love-tokens and the good things they have by Christ then with the person of Christ Oh their graces their comforts their inlargements their meltings and their warmings c. are the things that most take them Their thoughts and hearts are so exercised and carryed out about these that the person of Christ is much neglected by them The Child is so taken with Babies and Rattles c. that the Mother is not minded And such is the carriage of weak Christians towards Christ But now souls strong in grace are more taken with the person of Christ then they are with the Love-tokens of Christ They blesse Christ indeed Christ is the most sparkling Dâ—amond in the Ring of glory c. for every dram of grace and for every good word from heaven and for every good look from heaven I but yet the person of Christ that 's more to them then all these This is remarkeable in the Church Cant. 5. 9 10. What is thy Beloved more then another Beloved O thou fairest among women c. My Beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousand c. She doth not say My Beloved is one that I That wise is but weak in her love that is more taken with her husbands presents then with his person have got so many thousands by and heaven by and pardon of sin by and peace of Conscience by Oh no but he is white and ruddy Her soule was taken most with the person of Christ Not but that every one is to mind the graces of Christ and to be thankfull for them I but 't is an Argument of weaknesse of grace when the heart is more exercised about the bracelets and the kisses and the Love-tokens of Christ then it is about the person of Christ But now saith one strong in grace My Christs person to a strong Christian is the greatest Cordiall in all the world bracelets are precious but Christ is more precious the streames of grace are sweet but the fountaine of grace is most sweet the beams of the Sun are glorious but the Sun it selfe is most glorious A naked Christ a despised Christ a persecuted Christ is more valued by a strong Christian then Heaven and Earth is by a weak Christian Eleventhly Soules weake in Grace are easily stopt and taken off from acting graciously and holily when discouragements face them This you may see in that remarkeable instance concerning Peter in the 26 of Matthew from the 69 to the end A silly wench outfaces him she daunts and dis-spirits this self-confident Champion she easily stops and turnes him by saying Thou wast with Jesus of Galilee v. 70. But he denied it before them all saying I know not what thou sayest He makes as if he did neither understand her words or her meaning and this false dissembling was a true denying of Christ Now Mark saith Chap. 14. 68. That upon the very first deniall of Christ the Cock crew and yet this faire warning could not secure him but when another Maid saw him and said This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth vers 72. He denied it with Cavebis autem si pavebis an Oath saying I doe not know the man This was fearfull and dreadfull and the worse because his Master whom he forsware was now upon his Tryall and might say with wounded Caesar
that God shall put upon you this is your Principle I but tell me Christians will a little grace inable a man to live up to this Principle I judge not You are to stand ready to change your imployment from better to worse if the Lord shall be pleased to order it so You are to be ready to change your Crowne for a Crosse to change that imployment that 's honourable for that that 's mean and low and that which is more profitable for that which is lesse profitable as it were from ruling of a Province to the keeping of a Heard from being a Lord to be a servant from being a servant to great men to be a servant to the meanest servant yea to the poorest Beast Certainly a little grace will never inable a man bravely and sweetly to live up to this Principle Their hearts that are poore in grace are like a wounded hand or arme which being but imperfectly cured can onely move one way and cannot turne to all postures and all naturall uses Weak Christians are very apt to three things To choose their mercies To choose their crosses And To choose their imployments They are often unwilling that God himselfe should choose out their way or their work But now soules that are rich in grace they are at Gods beck and check they are willing that God shall choose their work and their way they are willing to be at his dispose to be high or low to serve or to be served to be something or to be nothing c. Now I beseech you Christians that you would seriously and frequently remember this That there is nothing in all the world that is such an honour to God and a glory to the Gospel as for Christians to live up to their Principles nor nothing such a reproach to God and his wayes as this for men to live below their Principles and to act contrary to their Principles And you will never be able to live up to your Principles nor to live out your Principles except you grow rich in grace therefore labour I say labour as for life to abound in Grace c. Now the fourth Motive is this Consider That soules rich in Grace are a mighty blessing to the Land and place where they live There are no such blessings in the world to Parishes Cities and Nations as those soules are that are rich in Grace Oh they are great blessings to all places where they come they are persons that are fit for the highest and noblest imployments there is not the highest work that is too high for a man that is rich in grace not the hottest work that is too hot for a man rich in grace nor the lowest work below a man rich in Grace Such a man will not say I would doe it but that 't is below my place my blood my parts my education May Christ have honour May others have good if so I will doe it saith the soule that 's rich in Grace What ever comes of it and blesse God for the opportunity In Dan. 6. 3. Then this Daniel was preferred above the Presidents and Princes because an excellent spirit was in him and the King thought to set him over the whole Realme Why was Daniel set upon the Throne but because there was a glorious excellent spirit in him that fitted him for the highest imployment So Joseph was a blessing to his Masters family and the people among whom he liv'd No such blessings to people and places as soules rich in Grace So in Nehem. 7. 2. I Such a one will be Pater patriae Father of his Country gave my Brother Hanani and Hananiah the ruler of the place charge over Jerusalem and why he for he was a faithfull man and feared God above many Oh the wisedome the prudence the zeale the courage the compassion the patience the self-denyall that should be in Magistrates There is a truth in that old Maxime Magistratus virum indicat Magistracy will try a man None fit to rule but such that are rich in Grace What a world of good may a man doe with worldly riches in a Parish in a City in a Nation but that 's nothing to the good that a man may doe that is rich in grace Oh the sins that he may prevent Oh the judgements that he may divert Oh the favours and blessings that he may draw downe upon the heads and hearts of people I presume you forget not what a blessing Moses Joseph Job Nehemiah Mordecai and Daniel proved to the people among whom they liv'd and these were all rich in grace A man rich in wisedome rich in faith rich in goodnesse c. Oh! what a blessing may he prove to ignorant soules to staggering soules to wandring soules to tempted soules to deserted soules c. Look what the Sun is to us that may a soule rich in grace be to others c. Oh friends would you be blessings to your families would you be blessings to the City to the Nation Oh then labour to be rich in Grace and doe not think it enough that you have so much Grace as will keep you from dropping into hell and that will bring you to heaven but labour to be rich in grace and then you will prove indeed a blessing to the place and Nation where you live The Romans when they did perceive any naturall excellency As those that were called among the Romans the Curii and Fabritâ—i c. to be in any persons though they were never so poor and mean they would take them from their dinners of Turnips and Water-cresses to lead the Roman Army 'T is true that naturall and morall indowments will inable men to doe much but grace will inable men to doe ten thousand times more There 's no work too high nor too hard for souls rich in Grace and therefore as you would be choyce instruments in the Lords hand and eminently serviceable in your Generations O labour to be rich in Grace 'T is not he that ha's most wit in his head but he that ha's most grace in his heart that is most fit for Generation-work Fifthly A rich measure of Grace will bear out your soules in severall cases therefore labour to be rich in grace A rich measure of Grace will bear out the soule under The golden nâ—me of Châ—â—stians is but as an Ornament to Swine saith Salvian He means such as content them selves with an empty name great means of Grace When a soule is spiritually rich this will bear him out under great means such a one will be able to look God in the face with joy and comfort he can say 't is true Lord I have had more means then others and lo I am growne richer then others Thou hast taken more paines with me then with others and lo I bring forth more fruit then others my five Talents are become ten But a little grace will not bear men out under much means of Grace Againe A great
loved Tully before his Coâ—version but not so much after quia nomen Jesu non erat ibi because the name of Christ was not there 8 Property price upon a crum of mercy Ah Lord sayes the humble soul if I may not have a loaf of mercy give me a piece of mercy if not a piece of mercy give me a crum of mercy If I may not have Sun-light let me have Moon-light if not Moon-light let me have star-light if not star-light let me have candle-light and for that I will blesse thee In the time of the Law the meanest things that were consecrated were very highly prized as leather or wood that was in the Tabernacle An humble soule looks upon all the things of God as Consecrated things Every truth of God is a consecrated truth 't is consecrated to a holy use and this causes the soule highly to prize it and so every smile of God and every discovery of God and every drop of mercy from God is very highly prised by a soule that walks humbly with God The name of Christ the voyce of Christ the foot-steps of Christ the least touch of the Garment of Christ the least regarded truth of Christ the meanest and least regarded among the flock of Christ is highly prized by humble soules that are interested in Christ An humble soule cannot an humble soul dares not call any thing litrle that ha's Christ in it neither can an humble soule call or count any thing great wherein he sees not Christ wherein he enjoyes not Christ An humble soule highly prizes the least nodd the least love-token the least courtesie from Christ but proud hearts count great mercies small mercies and small mercies no mercies yea pride do's so unman them that they often call mercy misery c. The eighth Property of an humble soule is this It can never be good enough it can never pray enough nor hear enough nor mourne enough nor believe enough nor love enough nor feare enough nor joy enough nor repent enough nor loath sin enough nor be humble enough c. Humble Paul looks upon his great all as nothing at all he Phil. 3. 11 12 13 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it signifies â— straining of the whole body a stretching out head and hands as runners in a race do to lay hold on the mark or price proposed Psal 10. 17. Desires Iaavath from Avah that signifies so to desire and long after a thing as to haâ—e ones teeth water at it so in Mic. 7. 1. But proud hearts sit downe and pride themselves blesse themselves as if they had attained to much when hev have attain'd to nothing that can raise them above the lowest step of misery Rev. 3. 17. Isa 65. 5. Lu. 18. 11 12 forgets those things that are behind and reaches forth to those things which are before That if by any means he might attaine unto the resurrection of the dead that is that perfection of holinesse which the dead shall attaine unto in the morning of the resurrection by a Metonomie of the subject for the adjunct No holinesse below that matchlesse peerlesse spotlesse perfect holinesse that Saints shall have in the glorious day of Christs appearing will satisfie this humble soule An humble heart is an aspiring heart he can't be contented to get up some rounds in Jacobs Ladder but he must get to the very top of the Ladder to the very top of holinesse An humble heart can't be satisfied with so much Grace as will bring him to glory with so much of Heaven as will keep him from dropping into Hell he is still a crying out Give Lord give give me more of thy selfe more of thy Son more of thy Spirit give me more light more life more love c. Caesar in warlike matters minded more what was to conquer then what was conquered what was to gaine then what was gained So does an humble soule mind more what he should be then what he is what is to be done then what is done Verily Heaven is for that man and that man is for Heaven that sets up for his mark the perfection of holinesse Poor men are full of desires they are often a sighing it out O! that we had bread to strengthen us drink to refresh us cloths to cover us friends to visit us and houses to shelter us c. So souls that are spiritually poore they are often a sighing it out O! that we had more of Christ to strengthen us more of Christ to refresh us more of Christ to be a covering and shelter to us c. I had rather sayes the humble soule be a poor man and a rich Christian then a rich man and a poor Christian Lord sayes the humble soule I had rather doe any thing I had rather bear any thing I had rather be any thing then to be a Dwarse in Grace The light and glory of humble Christians rises by degrees Cant. 6. 1. 1. Looking forth as the morning with a little light 2 Faire as the Moon more light 3 Clear as the Sun i. e. Come up to a higher degree of spirituall light life and glory Lord sayes the humble soule give me much grace and then a little gold will serve my turne give me much of Heaven and a little of earth will content me give me much of the Springs above and a little of the Springs below will satisfie me c. The ninth Property of an humble soule is this It will smite 9 Property 1 Sam. 24. ◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and strike for small sins as well as for great For those the world count no sins as well as for those that they count grosse sinnes When David had but cut off the lap of Sauls garment his A good mans heart when kindly awakened may smite him for those actions that at fiâ—sthe judged very prudent and politick How great a paine not to be born câ—ms from the prick of this small thorne Little sinnes have put severall to their wits ends when they have been set home upon their consciences heart smote him as if he had cut off his head The Hebrew word signifies to smite wound or chastize Ah! his heart struck him his heart chastised him his heart wounded him for cutting off Sauls skirt though he did it upon noble grounds viz. to convince Saul of his false jealousies and to evidence his owne innocency and integrity And so at another time his heart smote him for numbring the people as if he had murdered the people 2 Sam. 24. 10. And Davids heart smote him after that he had numbred the people and David said unto the Lord I have sinned greatly in that I have done And now I beseech thee O Lord take away the iniquity of thy servant for I have done very foolishly An humble soule knowes that little sins if I may so call any cost Christ his blood and that they make way for greater and that little sins multiplied become great
this is the best to keep them from falling Job feares and conquers on the dunghill Adam presumes and falls in Paradise Nehemiah fears and stands Nehem. 5. 15. Peter presumes and falls Mat. 26. Mr. Sanders the Martyr in Queene Mary's dayes feares and stands Dr. Pendleton presumes and falls from a Professor to be a Papist When Agamemnon said What should the Conquerour feare Casander presently answered Quod nihil timet He should feare this most of all that he fears not at all And so I have done with the Reasons of the point I shall now come to the Uses of it And the first is this Is it so that the most holy soules are the most humble soules Then this shewes you That the number of holy soules is very few Oh how few be there that are low in their owne eyes The number of soules that are high in the esteeme of God and low in their owne esteem are very few Oh the pride of England Oh the pride of London Pride in these A proud heart resists and is resâ—sted this is duâ—o duâ—um flint to flint fire to fire yet downe he must dayes ha's got a whores fore-head yet pride cannot climb so high but Justice will sit above her Bernard saith that Pride is the rich mans Cousen I may add And the poore mans Cousen and the prophane mans Cousen and the Civil mans Cousen and the formall mans Cousen and the Hypocrites Cousen yea all mens Cousen and it will first or last cast down and cast out all the Lucifers and Adams in the world Secondly As you would approve your selves to be high in the account of God as you would approve your selves to be not onely good but eminently good Keep humble Since England was England since the Gospel shined amongst us there was never such reason to presse this duty of humility as in these dayes of pride wherein we live and therefore I shall endeavour these two things First to lay downe some Motives that may work you to be humble Secondly to propound some Directions that may further you in this work First for the Motives Consider First how God singles out humble soules from all others ot 1 Motive poure out most of the Oyle of Grace into their hearts No Vessels that God delights to fill like broken vessels like contrite spirits Jam. 4. 6. He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble The Greek word signifies To set himselfe Anâ—itassetai in battell array God takes the winde and hill of a proud soule but he gives grace to the humble The silver dewes flow downe from the Mountaines to the lowest valleyes Abraham was but dust and ashes in his owne eyes I but saith Gen. 18. 17. God Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I will doe No I will not An humble soule shall be both of Gods Court and his Counsel too Humble Jacob that was in his Gen. 32. 10. owne eyes lesse then the least of all mercies what a glorious Vision had he of God when the Ground was his Bed and Gen. 28. the Stone his Pillow and the Hedges his Curtaines and the Heavens his Canopie Then he saw Angels ascend and descend An humble soule that iies low O what sights of God He that is in the low pits and caves os the earth sees the starres in the fiâ—mament when they who are upon the tops of the mountains discerne them not hath he what glory doth he behold when the proud soule sees nothing God poures in grace to the humble as men poure in liquor into an empty vessel he does not drop in grace into an humble heart but he poures it in The Altar under the Law was hollow to receive the fire the wood and the Sacrifice So the hearts of men under the Gospel must be humble empty of all sprituall pride and self-conceitednesse that so they may receive the fire of the Spirit and Jesus Christ who offered himselfe for a Sacrifice for our sins Humility is both a Grace and a vessel to receive Grace There 's none that sees so much need of grace as humble souls there 's none prises grace like humble soules there 's none improves grace like humble soules Therefore God singles out the humble soule to fill him to the brim with grace when the proud is sent empty away Secondly Of all Garments humility doth best become Christians 2 Motive and most adorne their profession Faith is the Champion of grace and Love the Nurse but Humility the beauty of grace 1 Pet. 5. 5. Be clothed with humility The Greek word imports That Humility is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Ribbon or string that tyes together all those pretious Pearles the rest of the graces If this string break they are all scattered The Greek word that is rendred Cloathed comes of another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greek word that signifies to knit and tye knots as delicate and curious women use to doe of Ribbons to adorne their heads and bodies as if humility were the knot of every vertue the grace of every grace Chrysostome calls Humility 'T is reported of the Christall that it hath such a virtue in it that the very touching of it quickens other stones and puts a lustre and beauty upon them so does humility put a lustre upon every grace The Root Mother Nurse Foundation and Band of all Virtue Bazill calls it The Store-house and Treasury of all good For what 's the scandall and reproach of Religion at this day nothing more then the pride of Professors Is not this the language of most They are great Professors O but very proud they are great hearers they will run from Sermon to Sermon and cry up this man and cry up that man O but proud They are great talkers O but as proud as the Devil c. Oh that you would take the Counsel of the Apostle Be cloathed with humility And that Col. 3. 12. Put on therefore as the Elect of God holy and Beloved Bowels of mercy kindnesse humblenesse of mind meeknesse long-suffering No Robes to these The Third Motive is this Humility is a Load-stone that 3 Motive drawes both the heart of God and man to it In Isa 57. Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth Eternity whose name is holy I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit The Lord singles out the humble soule of all others to make him an Habitation for himselfe Here is a wonder God is on high and yet the higher a man lifts up himselfe the farther he is from God And the lower a man humbles himselfe the neerer he is to God of all soules God delights most to dwell with the humble for they doe most prize and best improve his pretious presence In Prov. 29. 23. A mans pride shall bring him low but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit Prov. 22. 4. By humility
basenesse and wickednesse whereby their carnall ends may be attain'd and themselves exalted but these men and their honour will quickly be laid in the dust Oh! but the readiest the surest the safest the sweetest way to attaine to true honour Qui parvus est in reputatione propria magnus est in reputatione divina Gregory 8 Motive is to be humble to lye low Humility makes a man precious in the eye of God He that is little in his owne account is great in Gods esteem The eighth and last Consideration that I shall propound is this Consider humility keeps the soule free from many darts of Satans casting and snares of his spreading As you may see in the three Children in Daniel and in those Worthies in the 11 of the Hebrewes of whom this world was not worthy As the lowest shrubs are freed from many violent gusts and blasts of wind which shake and rend the tallest Cedars So the humble soule is free from a world of temptations that proud and lofty soules are shaken and torne in pieces with The Devil hath least power to fasten a temptation upon an humble soule He that hath a gratious measure of Humility is neither affected with Satans proffers nor terrified with Satans threatniugs The golden Chaine does not allure him nor the iron Chaine does not daunt him I have read of one who seeing in a Vision many snares of Satan spread upon the earth he sate downe and mourned Quis pertran siet ista The answer was Humilitas pertransiet and said with himselfe Who shall passe through these whereunto he heard a voyce answering Humility shall passe through them A proud heart is as easily conquered as tempted vanquished as assaulted But the Humble soule when tempted sayes with that worthy Convert I am not the man that I was Ego non sum ego There was a time when my heart was proud and lifted up and then thou couldst no sooner knock but I opened no sooner call but I answered no sooner tempt but I did assent Oh! but now the Lord taught me to be humble I can resist though I can't dispute I can fight but not yeeld Mistriss Catherine Bretterge an humble precious soule being once in a great Conflict with Satan said thus to him Satan Reason not with me I am but a weake woman if thou hast any thing to say say it to my Christ he is my Advocate my strength and my Redeemer and he shall plead for me An humble soule is good at turning Satan over to the Lord Jesus and this increases Satans Hell It is reported of Satan that he should say thus of a Learned man Thou doest alwayes overcome me when I would throw thee downe thou liftest up Tu me semper vincis thy selfe in assurance of Faith and when I would exalt and promote thee thou keepest thy selfe in humility and so thou art too hard for me The onely way to avoid Cannon-shot as they say is to fall downe flat No such way to be freed from temptations as to keep low And so I have done with the first Head namely The Motives that should move and provoke us to keep humble to be base to be nothing in our owne eyes I shall now come to some Helps and Directions that may be usefull to keep us humble and low in our owne eyes And the first is this Dwell much upon the greatnesse of Gods mercy and goodnesse 1 Direction to you Nothing humbles and breaks the heart of a sinner like mercy and love Soules that converse much with sinne and wrath may be much terrified but souls that converse much 'T is said of Adam that he turned his â—â—ce to the Garden of Eden and wept sore with grace and mercy will be much humbled Luke 7. the Lord Jesus shewes mercy to that notorious sinner and then she falls downe at his feet and loves much and weeps much c. In the 1 Chron. 17. it was in the heart of David to build God a house God would not have him doe it yet the Messenger must tell David that God would build him a house and establish his Son upon the Throne for ever Look Vers 10 11. into the 15 16 17 verses and there you shall find that David le ts fall such an humble speech which he never did before that God had sent him that message of advancement And 2. Sam. 9. 7 8. David the King came and sat before the Lord and said Who am I O Lord God and what is mine house that thou hast As Honey flowes naturalâ—y from the Bee so does mercy flow naturally from God brought me hitherto And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes O God for thou hast also spoken of thy servants house for a great while to come c. And this sweetly and kindly melts him and humbles him before the Lord. Oh if ever you would have your soules kept low dwell upon the free grace and love of God to you in Christ Dwell upon the firstnesse of his love dwell upon the freenesse of his love the greatnesse of his love the fullnesse of his love the unchangeablenesse of his love the everlastingnesse of his love and the activity of his love if this doe not humble thee there is nothing on earth will doe it Dwell upon what God hath undertaken for you Dwell upon the choyce and worthy gifts that he ha's bestowed on you And dwell upon that glory and happinesse that he ha's prepared for you and then be proud if you can Secondly Keep faith in continuall exercise upon Christ as 2 Direction crucified and upon Christ as glorified There are two speciall sights of Christ that tend much to humble and abase a soule The one is A sight of Christ in his misery in the 12 of As one scale goes up the other goes downe So as faith goes up the heart goes downe Zech. ver 10. And the other is A sight of Christ in his glory Rev. 1. 7. Isa 6. 1 3 5. compared 'T is dangerous to be more notion then motion to have faith in the head and none in the heart to have an idle and not an active faith 'T is not enough for you to have faith but you must look to the acting of your faith upon Christ as crucified and upon Christ as glorified Soules much in this will be very little and low in their owne eyes The great reason why the soule is no more humble is because faith is no more active Thirdly Study your owne natures more and what ever evill 3 Direction you behold in other mens practises labour to see the same in your owne nature There is the seed of all sins of the vilest and worst of sins in the best men When thou seest another drunk thou mayest Imibria sued Scenola for that he received not his weapon deep enough into his body Aug. see the seed of that sin in thy owne nature When
fore-runner of a fall Pride goes before destruction and a haughty mind before a fall Herod fell from a Throne of Gold to a Bed of dust Prov. 16. 18. Chap. 18. 12. Nebuchadnezzar fell from the state of a mighty King to be a Beast Adam fell from Innocency to Mortality The Angels fell from Heaven to Hell from felicity to misery The tenth and last Proposition is this God will by an invisible power carry the day against proud soules You that it escape and ruffle it out and carry it with a high hand remember this God will by an invisible power carry the day against you when you think not of it he will Pope Innocent the fourth as he was walking securely in his Pallace heard that sorrowfull and dreadfull Summons Veni miser in judicium come thou wretch receive thy judgement and soon after he was found dead Eccl. 8. 11. eat you out like a Moth. Isa 47. 10 11. For thou hast trusted in thy wickednesse thou hast said None seeth me Thy wisedome and thy knowledge it hath perverted thee And thou hast said in thine heart I am and none else besides me Therefore shall evill come upon thee thou shalt not know from whence it riseth and mischiefe shall fall upon thee thou shalt not be able to put it off And desolation shall come upon thee suddainly which thou shalt not know Impunity oftentimes causeth impudency but Quod defertyr non aufertur Forbearance is no Acquittance The longer the hand is lifted up the heas vier will be the blow at last Of all Mettals Lead is the coldest but being melted it becomes the hottest Humble souleknow how to apply this and Proud soules shall sooner or later experience this I shall now proceed to a second Observation namely That all Saints are not of an equall cize and growth in Grace and Holinesse Some are higher and some are lower some are stronger and some are weaker in spirituall Graces and Heavenly Excellencies Vnto me who am lesse then the least c. Among true Believers some may be found to be but weak Believers This Point flowes as naturall from the words as the stream do's from the fountaine and no Point more clear in all the Scripture then this In Rom. 14. 1. you read of some that are weake in the faith Them that are weake in the faith receive saith the Apostle None are to be rejected in whom Aliquid Christi any thing of Christ is to be found And so Mat. 14. 31. there is mention made of little faith 1 Cor. 9. 22. To the weak became I as weake that I might gaine the weake You read of Babes in Grace 1 Pet. 2. 2 3. As new borne babes desire the sincere milke of the word that you may grow thereby if so be that yee have tasted that the Lord is gratious 1 John 2. 12 13 14. there is mention made of little children of young men and of Fathers All are not Fathers in grace nor all are not young men in grace there are some Children in grace It is with Christians as t is with Planets The Moon goes her course in a month the Sun in a year the rest not in many years yet at length they finish A Christian in this life hath his degrees of growth he is first a Child in Grace and then a young Man in Grace and then a Father in Grace For the further opening of this Point I shall endeavour these foure things 1 I shall endeavour to decipher to you soules weak in Grace 2 I shall endeavour to lay downe those things that may Incourage Support and Comfort soules that are weak in Grace 3 I shall speake to the Duties that lye upon those that are weak in Grace 4 The Duties that lye upon those that are strong in grace towards those that are weak in grace Of these foure we shall speak as the Lord shall assist I shall begin with the first To decipher soules weak in Grace The first thing by which I shall decipher soules weak in Grace is this Weak Christians are usually carried much out after the poore low things of this world They are much in carking and caring for them and in pursuing and hunting greedily after them That 's a clear Text for this Mat. 6. 24. to the end Christ labours by severall weighty Arguments to fence and fortifie his Disciples against those dissident doubtfull carking cares that divide distract distemper torture and teare the heart in a thousand pieces And yet neither these Arguments nor yet the presence of him who was the great Land-lord of Heaven and Earth and whose love and bowels were still yearning towards them and whose speciall eye of providence was still over them could rid their heads and hearts of these worldly cares that doe but vex and perplex the soules of men And 't is very observable that after this smart Lecture that Christ had read them they did strive three severall times who should be greatest and highest in worldly Enjoyments Their hearts should have been onely in Heaven and yet they strive for Earth as if there were no Heaven or as if Earth were better then Heaven All which do's cleerly evidence that their Graces were very weak and their corruptions very strong Men that have little of the upper springs within are carried out much after the springs below Baruch was good but weak in Grace he had but some sips and tasts of the glory of that other world and Jerem. 45. 1 2 3 4 5. that made him when God was a pulling downe all worldly glory to seek for Earth as if there were no Heaven Certainly there is but little of Christ and Grace within where the heart is so strongly carried on t after these things without Where there is such strong love and workings of heart after these poor things it speaks out soules enjoyment of God to be but poor and low In the Old Testament the Jewes being Babes and Infants in grace and holinesse had a world of Temporall Promises and very few Spirituall Promises But now in the dayes of the Gospel the Lord is pleased to double and trebble his spirit upon his people and now you meet with very few temporall Promises in the Gospel but the Gospel is fill'd with spirituall Promises the Gospel drops nothing but marrow and fatnesse love and sweetnesse and therefore God looks in these dayes that men should grow up to a greater height of holinesse heavenlinesse and spiritualnesse then what they attained to in those dark dayes wherein the Sun shin'd but dimly Men rich and strong in Grace look upon the world with a holy scorne and disdaine as Themistocles when he saw in the dark a thing like a Pearle he scorn'd to stoop for it himselfe saying to another Stoop thee for thou art not Themistocles Abraham a man strong in Grace look't with a holy scorne and with an eye of disdaine upon these poor things When Melchisedech from God had made
him Heire of all things he refused the Riches that the King of Sodome offered Gen. 14. 21. Chap. 15. 1. him because God was his Shield and his exceeding great Reward The greatest bargaine that a soule rich in Grace will make with God for himselfe is this Give me but bread to eat and cloaths to wear and thou shalt be my God so it was with that brave soul Gen. 28. 21. he desires but Food and Rayment Marke he asks food not junkets Rayment not Ornaments A little will serve a man that is strong in grace much will not serve a man that is weak in grace nothing will serve a man that is voyd of grace Soules weak in grace have their hearts much working after these poore low things as you may see Mat. 18. 1. Who shall be greatest in the Kingdome of Heaven The Question is stated by the Disciples that one would have thought should have had their hearts and thoughts in Heaven but they dream'd of an earthly Kingdome where honours and Offices should be distributed as in the dayes of David and Solomon And 't is observeable in Mark 9. 33 34. they are at it againe And he came to Capernaum and being in the house he asked them What was it that ye disputed among your selves by the way But they So in Luke 9. 46. held their peace they were asham'd to tell him for by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be greatest Saith one I 'le have this saith another I 'le have that c. Or as 't is in the Greek they disputed who was greatest sayes one I am greater then thou no says another I am greatest It is an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 T is meâ—â—â—n Who was greatest Argument of a Childish disposition to be taken more with Rattles and Baubles then with Jewels and Pearles That Christian hath little of the power of grace within him whose heart is so strongly carried out to these vanities below Men that are growne up to years of understandiug prefer one piece of gold above a thousand new Counters A soule that is strong in grace that is high in its spirituall enjoyments prefers one good word from God one good look from Christ above all the glory of this world Lord saith he lift thou up the The Philosophers preserâ—ed the Kings countenance before his Coyne light of thy countenance upon me Warme my heart with the beams of thy love and then a little of these things will suffice You see Moses and all those Worthies in the 11 of the Hebrewes who were men strong in grace how bravely they trample upon all things below God they lav'd their Families and their Countreyes where they liv'd like Princes to wander in a Wildernesse upon the bare Command of God So Luther a man strong in grace when he had a Gowne and Money given him by the Elector he turned himselfe about and said I protest God shall not put me off with these poore low things Soules that know by experience what the bosome of Christ is what spirituall Communion is what the glory of Heaven is will not be put off by God nor man with things that are mixt mutable and momentary And to shame many professors in these dayes I might bring in a Cloud of Witnesses even from among the very Heathen who never heard of a Crucified Christ and yet were more Crucified to things below Christ then many of them that pretend much to Christ But I shall forbear onely desiring that those that think and speak so scornfully and contemptuously of Heathens may not at last be found worse then Heathens yea be judged and condemned by Heathens in the great and terrible day of the Lord. Secondly In order to a further deciphering of weak Christians I shall lay downe this That weak Saints doe usually over-feare troubles before they come Yea those future evills that forty to one may never fall out The very empty thoughts and conceit of trouble is very terrible and perplexing to a weak Saint When it was told The Chamelion saith Pliny is the most searfull of all Creatures and doth therefore turne into all colouâ—s to save it self and so 't is often with weak Christians the house of David saying Syria is confederate with Ephraim his heart was moved and the heart of his people as the Trees of the wood are moved with the wind Isa 7. 2. Their heart quaked and quivered as we say like an Aspen leaf It is an Elegant expression shewing in their extremity the basenesse of their feares arguing no courage or spirit at all in them The very newes and conceit of trouble or calamities oh how doth it perplex and vex and grieve and overwhelme weak Christians The very hearing of trouble at a distance makes them to stagger and reele and ready to say Will God now save Will he now deliver It puts them into those shaking fits that they know not what to doe with themselves nor how to performe the service they owe to God or man Now tell me can you call that a stout spirit a strong spirit Pray for me said Latimer in his Letter to Ridley for I am sometimes so fearfull thaâ— I would creep into a Mouse-hole Acts Mon. 1565 that is daunted with the very report and thoughts of Calamity Or that does torment men with immoderate feare of a thousand things that happily shall never fall out as feares of forraigne Invasions or feares of home-bred Confusions fears of change of Religion or being surprised with such or such Diseases or being ruin'd in their outward estate by such and such devises or disadvantages or by falling under the frownes of such a great man or under the anger and revenge of such and such a man and a thousand such like things Now this speaks out much weaknesse in grace Soules strong in grace are carried up above these fears yea with the Leviathan in Job they can laugh at the shaking of the spear Job 41. 29. Psal 23. 4. they can say with David Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will feare no evill for thou art with us thy rod and thy staffe doe comfort us But weak soules are Bucephalus was not afraid of his burden the shadow onely frighted him So weak Christians are afraid of the shadow of the crosse afraid of their owne shadow the very shadow of trouble will exceedingly trouble such soules and oftentimes make their lives a very hell Thirdly Fainting in the day of Adversity speaks out the soule to be but weak in Grace Weak Christians are overcome with little crosses the least crosse doth not onely startle them but it sinks them and makes them ready to sit downe and to cry out with the Church Behold you that passe by see whether there be any sorrow like my sorrow Before trouble comes weak Christians Lam. 1. 12. are apt to think that they can bear much and indure much
What and thou my Son Brutus Is this thy kindnesse to thy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 friend to him that ha's loved thee and saved thee and owned thee c. Then vers 73. Surely thou art one of them for thy speech bewrayeth thee And vers 74. He began to curse and to sweare I know not the man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vide Calvin on the Text. In Rom. 6. 19. There are 3 To 's in the expression of the service of sin To uncleannesse To iniquity and Vnto iniquity But in the service of God there are onely two To 's To righteousnesse and Vnto holinesse To note that we were more prone to sin before Conversion then wearetograce and holinesse after conversion The Greek word that 's rendred Curse imports a cursing and a damning of himselfe an imprecation of Gods wrath and a separation from the presence and glory of God if he knew the man Some Writers say That he curst Christ I know not the man saith he Though it were ten thousand times better to bear then to swear and to dye then to lye yet when discouragement faces him he is so amazed and daunted that he tells the most incredible lye that almost could be uttered by the mouth of man For there was scarce any Jew saith Grotius that knew not Christ by sight being famous for those abundance of Miracles that he wrought before their eyes Neither could Peter alledge any cause why he came thither if he had not known Christ But vers 75. He went out and wept bitterly One sweet look of love breaks his heart in pieces he melts under the beamings forth of Divine favour upon him Once he leapt into a Sea of waters to come to Christ and now he leaps into a sea of tears for that he had so shamefully denied Christ Clement notes That Peter so repented that all his life-time after every night when he heard the Cock crow he would fall upon his knees and weep bitterly begging pardon for this dreadfull sin Others say That after his lying cursing and denying Christ he was ever and anon weeping and that his face was furrowed with continuall teares He had no sooner taken in poyson but he vomits it up againe before it got to the vitals He had no sooner handled a Serpent but he turnes it into a rod to scourge his soule with remorse This truth is further confirmed by the speech and carriage of the Disciples Luke 24. 21 ult We trusted say they that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel but now we cannot tell what to say to it Here their hope hangs the wing extreamly Invalidum omne naturâ querulum Seneca Weak spirits are ever quarâ—elling and contending Weak soules find it as hard to wait for God as 't is to bear evill This weaknesse Christ checks vers 25. O fooles and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken c. And John 16. 5. The first newes Christ tells them is of their sufferings and of his leaving of them and upon the thoughts hereof their hearts were so filled with sorrow that they could not so much as say Master whither goest thou vers 6. But now soules strong in grace will hold on in holy and gratious actings in the very face of the greatest discouragements as those in Psal 44. Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of Dragons and covered us with the shadow of death yet our heart is not turned back neither have our steps declined Such a spirit shin'd in Chrysostome when he bid them tell the enraged Empress Eudoxia Nil nisi peccatum timeo I feare nothing but sin from thy wayes And so the three Children they hold up in the face of all discouragements And so those brave Worthies of whom this world was not worthy Heb. 11. their hearts were carried out exceedingly notwithstanding all discouragements to hold on in wayes of holinesse and in their actings of faith upon God in the face of all dangers and deaths that did attend them When Henry the Eighth had spoken and written bitterly against Luther saith Luther Tell the Henries the Bishops the Turke and the Devil himselfe Doe what they can we are Children of the Kingdome worshipping of the true God whom they and such as they spit upon and crucified And of the same spirit and mettle were many Martyrs Bazill affirmes of the Primitive Saints That they had so much conrage and confidence in their sufferings that many of the Heathens seeing their heroick zeale and constancy turned Christians Twelfthly Weake Saints minde their wages and vailes more then their worke Their wages their vailes is joy peace comfort and assurance c. and their work is waiting on God believing in Children mind moâ—e play-â—ayes then they do working dayâ— oâ— Schoâ—dayes 1 Sam 15. 14. God walking with God acting for God c. Now weak Saints minds are more carried out and taken up about their wages about their vailes then they are about their work as experience doth abundantly evidence Ah Christians if you don't mind your wages more then your work what means the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the Oxen What means those earnest and vehement cryings out and wrestings for joy peace comfort and assurance when the great work of believing of waiting and of walking with God is so much neglected and dis-regarded But now strong Saints are more mindfull of their work then they are of their wages Lord saith a strong Saint doe but uphold me in a way of believing in a way of working in a way of holy walking c. and it shall be enough though I should never have Assurance comfort peace or joy till my dying day If thou wilt carry me forth so as thou mayest have honour though I have no comfort so thou mayest have glory though I have no peace I Rom. 4. 18 19 20. will blesse thee I know sayes such a soule though a life of comfort be most pleasing to me yet a life of believing abstracted from comfort is most honourable to thee and therefore I will be silent before thee Lord doe but help me in my work and take thine owne time to give me my wages to give me comfort joy peace assurance They are none of the best Servants that mind their wages more then their work Nor they are none of the best Christians that mind their comforts and their incomes more then that homage and duty that they owe to God Before I come to the second thing premised give me leave to give you this hint viz. That there is no such way to joy peace and Assurance as this to mind your worke more then your wages Ah! had many mourning complaing Christians done thus their mourning before this had been turn'd into rejoycing and their complainings into singings Christians the high way to comfort is to mind comfort lesse and duty more 't is to mind more what thou shouldest doe then
there is little or no good in them and therefore thou mightest justly cut them downe But oh my father I see here a bunch and there a bunch here a little 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bring forth It is the custome of all Writers and very frequent in the sacred Dialect to use phrases whereby they understand much more then they do expresse an example whereof you have in this verse where Christs not breaking the bruised reed signifies his great mercy and kindness in repairing and restoring and curing the bruised weakling And so his not quenching the smoking flax is his enlivening quickening and enflaming that fire or spark of grace or goodnesse which was almost quencht c. Others understand the words of Christ seting up the profession of the Gospel in the world among the Heathens if the Jewes will not receive it grace and there a little grace surely there is a blessing in it O spare it let it not be stubb'd up let it not be destroyed So Mat. 12. 20. A bruised Reed shall he not breake nor smoking flax shall he not quench till he send forth judgement unto victory A bruised Reed shall he not breake The Jewish Commentators carry it thus He shall not Tyrannize over but nourish and cherrish the poore weake feeble ones that are wont to be oppressed by great ones But men more spirituall carry it thus Christ will not carry it roughly and rigorously towards poore weake tender soules whose Graces are as a bruised reed and as smoaking flax A Reed is a contemptible thing a tender thing it will break sometimes before a man is aware a bruised Reed is more tender it will be broken with a touch yet Christ will not breat such a bruised Reed i. e. a soule weak in grace Nor quench the smoaking flax The wick of a Candle is little worth and yet lesse when it smoakes as yielding neither light nor heat but rather smoakes and offends with an ill smel which men cannot bear but will tread it out But the Lord Jesus Christ will not doe so Soules whose knowledge love faith and zeale do's but smoak out the Lord Jesus will not trample under-foot nay he will cherish nourish and strengthen such to life Eternall Look what Tallow is to the wick or Oyle is to the Lamp that will the Lord Jesus be to the Graces of weak Christians Till he shall bring forth judgement unto Victory That is untill the sanctified frame of grace begun in their hearts be brought to that perfection that it prevaileth over all opposite corruption Thus you see how sweetly the Lord Jesus carries it to soules weak in grace Therefore let not those that bring forth a hundred fold despise those that bring forth but thirty nor those that have five Talents despise those that have but two The fifth Support is this That weake Saints may be very usefull to the strong and sometimes may doe more then strong Saints can As you may see in 1 Cor. 12. 14. to 28. The Apostle in this Scripture discovers the singular use of the weakest Saint in the body of Christ by the usefulnesse of the weakest and meanest Member in the naturall body to the strongest Ver. 21. The eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of thee nor again the head to the foot I have no need of thee By the head and by the eye he means such Saints as were eminent in gifts graces that were adorned more richly and that shin'd more gloriously in grace and gracious abilities then others Oh these should not despise those that were not so eminent and excellent as themselves for God hath so tempered the inequality of the members in the naturall body that the more excellent and beautifull members can in no wise lack the more abject and weak members therefore slight not the weakest Saints for certainly at first or last the weakest will be serviceable to the It was a sayink of Generall Vere to the King of Denmarke That Kings cared not for Souldiers untill such time that their Crownes hung on the one side of their heads strongest A Dwarfe may be usefull to a Gyant a Child to a man Sometimes a little finger shall doe that that a limb in the body can't doe 'T is so often in Christs spirituall body I will give you a very famous instance for this At the Councel of Nice there was 318 Bishops and by the subtilty of a Philosopher disputing against the Marriage of Ministers they generally voted against it that those that were single should not marry At length up stars Paphnutius a plain Christian and in the name of Christ with the naked word of God he pleaded against them all in that case and God so wrought by his Arguments that he convinc't the 318 Bishops and carried the cause against them yea and so Socrates Eccles Histo convinc't the Philosopher of his error that before all he freely confest it As long saith he as mens words were onely pressed I could repell words with words but what is weake man A little Sta◠hath light influence tho nor the glory which is proper to the Sun to withstand the word of God I yield I am conquer'd Weak Christians may be of singular use to the strongest those that know most may learne more even from the weakest Saints Junius was converted by discoursing with a Plow-man And Acts 18. 24. to 27. Apollo though he was an Eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures as the Text speaks yet was he furthered and bettered in the knowledge of Christs Kingdome by Aquilla and Priscilla a poor Tent-maker and his wife were instrumentall to acquaint him with those things that he knew but weakly He had not ascended above John's Baptisme but they had and so communicated their light and knowledge to him The sixth Support is this Where there is but a little Grace there God expects lesse 6 Support and will accept of lesse though it be accompanied with many failings Thou sayest Oh! I have but a little grace a little faith a little love a little zeale Oh know where there is but a little grace there God expects lesse obedience and will accept of lesse service 2 Cor. 8. 12. For if there be first a willing mind It is very observable that the Eagle the Lyon those brave Creatures were not offered in Sacrifice unto God but the poor Lamb and Dove To note that your brave high lofty spirits God regards not but your poore meek contemptible spirits God accepts it is accepted according to that which a man hath and not according to that which he hath not The two Mites cast into the Treasury Luke 21. 3. by the poor widow her heart being in the action were more acceptable then two Talents cast in by others Noah's Sacrifice could not be great and yet it was greatly accepted by God In the time of the Law God accepted a handfull of Meale for a Sacrifice
of happinesse but could not come at the Tree of Life the Lord Jesus Christ who is weak Saints compleat happinesse Rev. 14. 5. And in their mouths was found no guile for they were without fault before the Throne of God Though men may accuse you judge and condemne you yet know for your support that you are acquitted before the Throne of God However you may stand in the eyes of men as full of nothing but faults as persons made up of nothing but sin yet are you clear in the eyes of God So in Cant. 4. 7. Thou art all faire my Love and there is no spot in thee There 's none such as are the spots of wicked men nor no spot in mine account God looks upon weak Saints in the Son of his love and sees them all lovely they are as the Tree of Paradise Gen. 3. faire to his eye and pleasant to his tast Or as Absolom in whom there was no blemish from head to foot Ah poor soules you are apt to look upon your spots and blots and to cry out with the Leaper not onely unclean unclean but undone undone Well for ever remember this That your persons stand before God in the righteousnesse of Christ upon which account you alwayes appear before the Throne of God without fault you are all faire and there is no spot in you The eleventh Support is this Your sins shall never provoke Christ nor prevaile with Christ 11 Support so far as to give you a Bill of Divorce O there is much in it if the Lord would set it home upon your hearts your sins shall never prevaile so far with Christ nor never so far provoke him as to work him to give you a Read the 3d Chapter of Jeremiah Out of the most poysonfull druggs God distills his glory and our salvation Gallen speaks of a Maid called Nupella that was nourished by poyson God can and will turn the very sins of his people which are the worst poyson in all the world into his childrens advantage Bill of Divorce Your sins may provoke Christ to frowne upon you they may provoke Christ to chide with you they may provoke him gently to correct you but they shall never provoke Christ to give you a Bill of Divorce Psal 89. 30 31 32 33 34. If his Children forsake my Law and walke not in my Judgements If they breake my Statutes and keepe not my Commandements Then will I visite their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes Neverthelesse my loving kindnesse will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfullnesse to faile That 's a great Support to a weak Saint That his sin shall never separate him from God nor Christ Thou art many times afraid that this deadnesse this dullnesse this earthlinesse and these wandring thoughts c. that doe attend thee will provoke the Lord Jesus to sue out a Bill of Divorce against thee But remember this Thy sins shall never so far prevaile with Christ as to worke him to give thee a Bill of Divorce Mark There 's nothing can provoke Christ to give thee a Bill of Divorce but sin Now sin is slaine Ergo. I shall open this to you in three things First Sin is slaine Judicially for 't is condemned both by Christ and his people and so 't is dead according to Law A three-fold death of sin which is and may be a singular Comfort and Support to weak Saints that their greatest and worst Enemy Sin is condemned to dye and shall not for ever vex and torment their precious soules 'T is dead Judicially 't is under the sentence of condemnation 1 Cor. 15. 55 56. O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy Victory The sting of death is sin c. Vide Grotium and Voâ—stius on the words c. The Apostle here triumphs over it as a Thief condemned to death Sin is sentenc'd now though not fully put to death it 's dead judicially As when the sentence of death is past upon a Malefactor you say he is a dead man why he is judicially dead so is sin sin is judicially dead When a man that hath robbed and wounded another is taken and sentenc'd judicially we say he is a dead man and it 's often a great refreshing and satisfaction to a man that he is so Sin O weak soule is sentenc'd and judicially slaine and therefore that can never work the Lord Jesus to give thee a Bill of Divorce The thoughts of which should much refresh thee and support thee Secondly Sin is dead or slaine civilly as well as judicially 'T is civilly dead because the power of it is much abated and Rom. 6. 14. its Dominion and Tyranny over-powred as when a King or a Tyrant is whipt and stript of all power to domineere reigne 'T is with sin in the Saints as 't was with those Beasts Dan. 7. 12. who had their Dominions taken away though their lives were prolonged for a season and a time and play the Tyrant is civilly dead even whiles he lives So is sin in this sense dead even while it lives That Text is sutable to our purpose Hos 13. 1. When Ephraim spake trembling he exalted himselfe in Israel but when he offended in Baal he dyed What 's the meaning of these words The meaning is this When the King of Ephraim spake the people even trembled at his voyce such power once he had But when he offended in Baal by serving Baal by giving himselfe up to Idolatry he dyed in respect of obedience not yielded to him as formerly Time was that he was terrible but when he fell to Idolatry his strength and glory came downe so that now he became even like a dead Carcasse Adam dyed civilly the same day that he sinned The Creatures that before lovingly obeyed him as soon as he renounc't obedience to his God they renounc't all obedience to him or his Soveraignty so that he civilly dyed the very same day that he sinned That 's a sweet word that you have Rom. 6. 11. Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin Therefore Christ will never Divorce you for sin O what a support may this be to a weak Saint That sin that he fears above all other Where sinne sits in the soule as a King sins upon his throne and commands the heart as a King commands his subjects there is reigne of sin but grace frees the soule from this things in the world is slaine judicially and civilly the Lord hath whipt and stript it of all its ruling reigning domineering tyrannizing power O therefore Christians look upon sin as dead that is as not to be obeyed as not to be acknowledged no more then a Tyrant that 's stript of all his tyrannizing power People that are wise and understand their liberty look not upon such a one as fit to be obeyed and served but as one fit to be renounced and destroyed Doe
cursing banning and a blaspheming God to his very face Had not the Lord given thee a little grace ten thousand to one but thou hadst been one in wickednesse among these Monsters of mankind And thou lookest another way and there thou seest persons dicing carding drabbing and drunkening c. why had not the Lord vouchsafed to thee some tasts and sips of grace thou mightest have been as vild as the vildest among them Ah weak Saints you doe not think what an awakened conscience would give for a little of that little grace that the Lord ha's given you Were all the world a lump of gold and in their hand to give they would give it for the least spark of grace for the least drop of mercy I have read of a man who being in a burning Feaver profest One of the Kings of England in his straites cryed out A Kingdome for a Horse a Kingdome for a Horse So do awakened coâ—sciences cry out A Kingdome for a Christ a Kingdome for a Christ or a little grace That if he had all the world at his dispose he would give it all for one draught of Beer So would an awakened conscience for one dram of grace O saith such a soule when I look up and see God frowning when I look inward and feele conscience gnawing and accusing when I look downward and see hell open to receive me and when I look on my right and left hand and see Devils standing ready to accuse me O had I a thousand worlds I would give them all for a little lirtle drop of that grace that such and such soules have whom I have formerly slighted and despised Oh! what would not a damned soule that hath been but an houre in hell give for a drop of that grace that thou hast in thy heart Think seriously of this and be thankfull Well remember one thing more and that is this viz. That there is no such way to get much grace as to be thankefull for a little grace He who opens his mouth wide in praises shall have his heart filled with graces Ingratitude stops the ear of God and shuts the hand of God and turnes away the heart of the God of grace and therefore you had need be thankfull for a little grace Unthankfullnesse is the greatest injustive that may be 't is a with-holding from the great Land-lord of heaven Lycurgus saith Musculus amongst all his Lawes made none against the Ungratefull because that was thought a thing so prodigious â—s not to be committed by man Isa 1. 3 4. and earth his due his debt Phillip branched his Souldier that begged the land of one that had relieved him and kindly entertained him with ingratis hospes The Vngratefull Guest Oh weak Saints give not God an occasion by your ingratitude to brand you and to write upon your foreheads Vngratefull Children Had it not been for unthankfullnesse Adam had been in Paradise the lapsed Angels in heaven and the Jewes in their owne Land of Promise The Jewes have a saying That the World stands upon three things The Law Holy Worship and Retribution And if these things fall the world will fall You know how to apply it But that I may in good earnest stir up your soules to thankfullnesse will you take home with you these things that happily have never or seldome been thought of by you First Consider That there is more need of Praises then Gods favours and mercies seldome or never come single there is a series a concatenatioÌ„ of them and every former drawes on a â—uture there is of Prayers Two things doe with open mouth proclaime this truth And the first is this Our mercies doe out-weigh our wants This is true in temporals but infinitely more in spiritualls and eternalls Thou wantest this and that outward mercy and what 's thy want oh soule of this and that single mercy to the multitudes of mercies that thou doest enjoy And as for spiritualls there 's nothing more clear then this that thy spirituall mercies doe infinitly out-weigh thy spirituall wants Thou wantest this and that spirituall mercy but what are those wants to that God that Christ and all those spirituall blessings in heavenly places with which thou art blest in Christ Jesus Ephes 1. 4. Secondly Consider this That all your wants and miseries are deserved and procured by your owne sins Jer. 4. 18. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee this is thy wickednesse because it is bitter because it reacheth God and Christ are the sole fountaine from whence all these streames of living waters flow unto thy heart And Chap. 50. 25. Your iniquities have turned away these things and your sins have with-holden good things from you But now all your mercies are unmerited and undeserved they all flow in upon you from the free love and favour of God and therefore there 's more need of praises then of prayers And oh that the high praises of God were more in your mouths upon this very account And oh that with David you would summon all the faculties of your soules to praise the Lord who hath freely fill'd you and followed Psal 149. 2. Psal 103. 1. to 5. you with the riches of mercy all your dayes But secondly Consider this Thankefullnesse is a surer and a better evidence of our sincerity and spirituall intenuity then praying or hearing or such like services are Thanksgiving is a selfe-denying grace 't is an uncrowning our selves and the Creatures to set the Crowne upon the head of our Creator it is the making our selves a footstoole that God may be lifted up upon his Throne and ride 'T is much to be feared that that man is Christlesse and gracelesse that is earnest in craving mercies but slow and dull in returning praises 'T is a signe that the Dumb Devill ha's possest such a man in a holy triumph over all It is a grace that gives God the supremacy in all our hearts thoughts desires words and marks Selfe-love flesh and blood and many low and carnall considerations may carry men to pray and hear and talk c. The whip may work a shame to begge but thankfullnesse is the free-will Offering of a Child There 's nothing that so clearly and so fully speaks out your sincerity and spirituall intenuity as thankfullnesse doth Therefore weak Saints if you would have a substantiall evidence of your sincerity and spirituall intenuity be thankfull for a little grace The little Birds doe not sip one drop of water but they look up as if they meant to give thanks To shew us what we should doe for every drop of grace c. The third and last Consideration to set this home is this A thankefull soule holds consort with the musick of Heaven By thankfullnesse thou holdest a correspondency with the Rev. 4. 6 7 8 9. 5. 12 13 14. Angels who are still a singing Hallelujahs to him that sits upon the Throne and is
this no way to the Crowne like this he will not be long a Babe in grace who lives out that little grace he ha's Fourthly Living up to your light is the readiest and the onely way to fetch up and to recover all that hath been lost by your living below your light By your living below your light God your owne soules and the Gospel have lost much yea and others also have lost much light comfort strength and quicknesse c. that they might have had had you but liv'd up to that little grace you Bernard paraphrasing on that of Solomon A Lâ—lly amongst thorns saith the manners or lines of men as Lillies have their colours and odouâ—â— that which comes from a pure heart and a good Conscience hath he colour of a Lilly if a good name fallow it is more truly a Lil'y when neither cander nor odour of the Lilly is wanting Non enim passibus ad deum sed affectibus currimus had Now there is no way on earth to recover and to fetch up these losses but by living up to that grace you have Ah Christians 't is not your running from Sermon to Sermon not that I speak against frequent hearing of the word nor your crying up this man and that man or this notion or that or this way or that that will recover and fetch up the honour that God hath lost by your living below your graces 't is onely your living up to your graces that will make up all the breaches that have been made upon his honour and the Gospel and upon the comfort and peace of your owne soules and others Well remember this all the honour that God hath from you in this life is from your living up to that light knowledge love feare and faith that he ha's given you There 's nothing that will make up all losses but this therefore I begg of you upon the knees of my soule that you would take this one thing home with you and goe into your Closets and lay your hands upon your hearts and say Well the Lord hath lost much and my owne soule hath lost much and others have lost much by my living below that little Grace I have and therefore I will now make it my businesse by assisting Grace to live up to those measures of Grace that I have received more then yet I have done all my dayes I will by the strength of Christ make it more my duty and my worke to live out what God ha's given in then ever yet I have done that so the Lord and the Gospel may be no further loosers but gainers by me The fifth and last Motive is this The readiest and the surest Job 17. 9. Cant. 6. 10. Prov. 4. 18. Hâ—story reports of a Countrey in Asrica where the peoples industry hath an abundant reward for every bushelâ— of seed they sow they receive 150 mcrease afâ—er Blazaâ—ium Plin l. 18. c. 10. The appâ—ication is easie Prov. 10. 4. Dyonisius gave him his money agaâ—ne fâ—om whom he had taken much after that he heaâ—d he emplâ—yed a little well And will God beworse then a Heâ—then way to get more Grace is to live up to that little Grace you have He that lives up to a little light shall have more light he that lives up to a little knowledge shall have more knowledge he that lives up to a little faith shall have more faith and he that lives up to a little love shall have more love c. There is no such way to attaine to greater measures of grace as for a man to live up to that little grace he hath Verily the maine reason why many are such Babes and shrubs in grace is because they don't live up to their attainments He that won't improve two Talents shall never have the honour to be trusted with five But he that improves a little shall be trusted with much The diligent hand maketh rich He that is active and agile that works as well as wishes that adds endeavours to his desires will quickly be a Cedar in grace Ah Christians you have a God that 's great a God that 's good a God that 's gracious and a God that is rich that loves not to see his Children to be alwayes weaklings and striplings in grace The very Babe by drawing the Breasts gets strength and nourishment O you Babes in grace put out that little strength you have be you still a drawing at the breasts of Christ at the breasts of the Promises and strength will come nourishment will follow c. The third Duty that I would presse upon weake Saints is this Be sure that you alwayes reflect upon your Graces and whatsocver good is in you with Cautions This is a weighty Point and doth bespeak your most serious attention There are six Rules or Cautions that weak Saints should alwayes observe in their looking upon their graces And the first is this Looke upon all your Graces as gifts Of thine owne aith David have we given thee 1 Chr. 29. 14. of Grace as favours given you from above as gifts dropt out of heaven into your hearts as flowers that are given you out of the Garden of Paradise A man should never look upon his grace but he should look upon it as a flower of Paradise as a gift that God hath cast into his bosome from heaven 1. Cor. 4. 7. Who maketh thee to differ from another And what hast thou that thou hast not received c. Thou talkest of light of love of fear of faith c. but what are all these but Pearles of glory that are freely given thee by the hand of grace Every good As all light flowes from the Sun and all water from the sea so all good flowes from Heaven and perfect gift comes downe from above The greatest excellencies in us doe as much depend upon God as the light doth upon the Sun When thou lookest upon thy wisedome thou must say Here 's wisedome I but 't is from above Here is some weak love working towards Christ but 't is from above Here 's joy and comfort and peace but these are all the flowers of Paradise they never grew in natures Garden When a soule looks thus upon all those costly Diamonds with which his heart is deckt he keeps low though his graces are high Where this rule is neglected the soule will be endangered of being swell'd and pufft Mr. Fox was used to say That as he got much good by his sins so he got much hurt by his graces When you look upon the stream remember the fountaine when you look upon the flower remember the root when you look upon the stars remember the Sun and when you look upon your graces remember the fountaine of grace else Satan will be too hard for you Satan is so artificiall so subtill and critical that he can make your very graces to serve him against your graces conquering joy by joy sorrow by sorrow
know but little of that they shall know when they shall come to know even as they are knowne And yet these weak and imperfect glimpses that they have of God and Heaven here are infallible pledges of that perfect knowledge and full prospect that they shall have of God and heaven hereafter So that that little spark of joy thou hast is an earnest of those everlasting joyes that shall rest upon thy head when 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a Riddle Aenigma is properly Obscura allegoria an obscure Allegory 't is an Allegory with a mask on 't is a cloudy knotty intricate speech sealed and lockt up from vulgar apprehensions That 's a Riddle all sorrow and mourning shall flye away Isa 35. 10. c. And those sips of comfort thou hast now are an earnest of thy swimming in those everlasting pleasures that be at gods right hand Psal 16. ult The least measures of grace are an earnest of greater measures God will not loose his earnest though men often loose theirs God will not despise the day of small things he will make those that bring forth but thirty fold to bring forth sixty fold and those that bring forth sixty fold to bring forth a hundred fold c. He his Son and Spirit are all eminently and fully ingaged to carry on the work of grace in his Childrens soules Therefore doe not sit downe and say my light is but dim and my love but weak and my joy but a spark that will quickly goe out c. But alwayes remember That those weak measures of grace thou hast are a sure evidence of greater measures that God will confer upon thee in his owne time and in his owne wayes Isa 64. 4 5. Fifthly When you looke upon your Graces be sure that you looke more at the truth of your Graces then at the measure of your Graces You must rather bring your Graces to the Touch-stone to try their truth then to the ballance to weigh their measure Many weak Christians are weighing their graces when they should be a trying the truth of their graces as if the quantity and measure of grace were more considerable then the Essence and nature of grace and this is that that keeps many weak Saints in a dark doubting questioning and despairing condition yea this makes their lives a very hell Weak Saints if you will not observe this rule this Caution when you look upon your graces you will goe sighing and mourning to your Graves Ah poor hearts you should not be more cruell to your owne soules then God is When God comes to make a judgement of your spirituall estates he doth not bring a paire of scales to weâ—gh your graces but a Touchstone to try the truth of your graces and so should you deale by your owne soules If you deale otherwise you are more cruell to your soules then God would have you And if you are resolved That in this you will not imitate the Lord then I dare prophesie that joy and peace shall be none of your Lam. 1. 16. Guests and he that should comfort you will stand a farre off 'T is good to owne and acknowledge a little grace though it be mingled with very much corruption as that poor soule did Mark 9. 24. And straightway the father of the Child Grace is homogeneall â—very winkling of light is light every drop of water is water every spark of fire is fire every drop of honey is honey So every drop of grace is grace and if the lâ—ast drâ—p or spark of grace be not woâ—th ac knowledging 't is worth nothing cryed out and said with teares Lord I believe help thou mine unbeliefe He had but a little little faith and this was mixt with abundance of unbelief and yet notwithstanding he acknowledges that little faith he had Lord I believe help my unbeliefe His faith was so weak that he accounts it little better then unbelief Yet sayes he Lord I believe help my unbeliefe The least measure of faith will make thee blessed here and happy hereafter A Doctor cryed out upon his dying Bed Credo languida fide sed tamen fide Much faith will yeeld unto us here our Heaven and any faith if true will yield us heaven hereafter So the Church in Cant. 1. 5. I am black but comely She had nothing to say for her beautifullnesse yet she acknowledgeth her comelinesse I am black but comely Though she could not say she was clear yet she could say she was comely As she was free to confesse her blacknesse so she was ingenuous to acknowledge her comelinesse I am black but comely Ah Christians will you deale worse with your owne soules then you deale with your Children When you goe to make a Judgement of your Childs affections you look more to the truth of their affections then you doe to the strength of their affections and will you be lesse ingenious and favourable to your owne soules If he deserves to be branded that feasts his Child and starves his wife what doe you deserve that can acknowledge the least naturall good that is in a Child and yet will acknowledge none of that spirituall and heavenly good that is in your soules Sixthly and lastly When you looke upon your Graces look that you doe not renounce and reject your Graces seene in the light of the spirit as a weake and worthlesse evidence of your interest in Christ and that happinesse that comes by Christ I know in these dayes many cry up Revelations and Visions Grace saith one is the foundation of all our felicity and comprebends all blessings As Mâ—nna is said to have done all goâ—d tasts Johns Epistles are a rich Treasury for Christian Assurance yea the Visions of their owne hearts and make slight of the graces of Christ in the hearts of his people Yea they look upon grace as a poor weak thing Ah Christians take heed of this else you will render null in a very great measure many precious Scriptures especially the Epistle of John which were penned for the Comfort and Support of weak Saints But that this may stick and work be pleased to carry home with you these three things First Other precious Saints that are now triumphing in heaven have pleaded their interest in Gods love and hopes of a better life from Graces inherent I 'le onely point at those Scriptures that speak out this truth 1 John 3. 14. Chap. 2. 3 4. Job 23. 10 11 12. And the whole 31 Chapter of Job Psal 119. 6. Isa 38. 2 3. 2 Cor. 1. 12. All these Scriptures with many others that Christians may doubtlesse look to their graces as Evidences of their part in Christ and salvaâ—ion and the clearer and stronger they are the greater will be their comfort but not as Causes might be produced doe with open mouth proclaime this Truth And surely to deny the fruit growing upon the Tree to be an Evidence that the Tree is alive is
So in Psal 63. 8. My soule followeth hard after thee I but how comes this to passe Thy right hand upholds me I feele thy hand under me drawing of my soule off after thee Oh! were not thy gracious hand under me I should never follow hard after thee The Lord will put under his everlasting armes O weak Christian and therefore though thy feet be apt to slide yet his everlasting armes shall bear thee up therefore be not discouraged doe not turne aside from those paths that drop marrow and fatnesse though there be a Lyon in the way Secondly Consider this O weak Saint That there is lesse danger and hardship in the wayes of Christ then there is in the wayes of sin Satan or the world Prov. 11. 18 19. 21. 21. That soule doth but leap out of the Frying-pan into the fire that thinks to mend himselfe by turning out of the way that is called holy Oh! the horrid drudgery that is in the wayes of sin Satan or the world Thy worst day in Christs service is better then thy best dayes if I may so speak in sin or Satans service Satan will pay the sinner home at last with the losse of God Christ Heaven and his soule for ever But in the way of righteousnesse is life joy peace honour and in the path-way thereof there is no death Prov. 12. 28. His wayes are wayes of pleasantnesse and all his paths are peace Prov. 3. 17. Thirdly Remember O weak Saint That all those hardships that thou meetest with doe onely reach the outward man They onely reach the ignoble the baser part of man they meddle not they touch not the noble part With my mind I serve the Law of God though with my flesh the Law of sin Rom. 7. 22. And vers 25. I delight in the Law of God after the inward man And indeed many of the Heathen have incouraged themselves for this very consideration against the troubles and dangers of this life All the Arrowes that are Anaxagoras Pla to and others shot at a Christian stick in his Buckler they never reach his conscience his soule The raging waves beat sorely against Noah's Ark but they toucht not him The soule is of too noble a nature to be toucht by troubles Jacob's hard service under Laban and his being nipt by the frost in winter and Gen. 31. 40. scorcht by the Sun in summer did onely reach his outward man his soule had high communion and sweet fellowship with God under all his hardships Ah Christian bear up bravely for whatever hardships thou meetest with in the wayes of God shall onely reach thy outward man and under all these hardships thou mayest have as high and sweet Hos 2. 14. communion with God as if thou hadst never knowne what hardships meant Fourthly Tell me O weake Saints have not you formerly injoyed such sweet refreshings while you have been in the very service of God as hath out-wayed all the troubles and hardships that your soules have met with I know you have and you know that you have often found that Scripture made good upon your hearts Psal 19. 11. Moreover by them is thy servant warned and in keeping of them there is great reward Mark he doth not say For keeping of them there is great reward though that 's a truth But in keeping Austin saith If a man should â—erve the Lord â— thousand â—ears in would â—â—t dâ—serve an boure of the reward in Heaven much lesse an Eternity c. of them there is great reward While the soule is at work God throwes in the reward Don't you remember O weak Christians when you have been in the service and way of God how he hath cast in joy at one time and peace at another c Oh! the smiles the kisses the sweet discoveries that your soules have met with whilst you have been in his wayes Ah poore soules don 't you know that one houres being in the bosome of Christ will make you forget all your hardships heaven at last will make amends for all and the more hardships you find in the wayes of God the more sweet will heaven be to you when you come there O how sweet is a Harbour after a long storme and a Sun-shine day after a dark and tempestuous night and a warme Spring after a sharp winter The miseries and difficulties that a man meets with in this world will exceedingly sweeten the glory of that other world Lastly Consider What hardships and difficulties the men of this world run through to get the world and undoe their owne soules They rise early goe to bed late they goe from one end of the world to another and venture through all manner of dangers Psal 127. 2. Mat. 16. 16â— deaths and miseries to gaine those things that are vaine uncertaine vexing and dangerous to their soules And wilt not thou as a good Souldier of Christ endure a little hardship 2 Tim. 2. 3 4. for the honour of thy Captaine and thine owne internall and eternall good Thou art listed under Christs Colours and therefore thou must arme thy selfe against all difficulties and discouragements The number of difficulties makes the Christians Conquest the more illustrious A gracious man should be made up all of fire overcoming and consuming all oppositions As Chrysostome said of Peter as fire does the stubble All difficulties should be but whet-stones to his fortitude The fifth Duty is this You that are weake Saints should observe how Christ keepes your wills and affections That man is kept indeed whose will and affection is kept close to Christ And that man is lost with a witnesse whose will and affections are won from Christ Weak Saints are more apt to observe their owne actions then their wills and affections and this proves a snare unto them therefore observe your affections how they are kept for if they are kept close to Christ if they are kept faithfull to Christ though thy foot may slide from Christ all is well The Apostle Rom. 7. observ'd that his will and affections were kept close to Christ even then when he was Tyrannically Captivated and carried by the prevalency of sin from Christ With my mind I serve the Law of God sayes he and what I doe I allow not therefore it is no more I that doth it but sin that dwelleth in me My will stands close to Christ and my affections are faithfull to Christ though by the prevalency of corruption I am now and then carried Captive from Christ 'T is one thing to be taken up by an Enemy and another thing for a man to lay downe his Weapons at his Enemies feet I am saith the Apostle a forc't man I doe what I hate I doe what I never intended The heart may be sound when more externall and inferiour parts are not The heart of a man may be sound God-ward and Christ-ward and holinesse-ward when yet there may be many defects and weaknesses in
greatest affection love and compassion that possibly can be A third Duty that lyes upon strong Saints to the weak is this They must looke more upon their Graces then upon their weaknesses 'T is a sad thing when they shall borrow Spectacles to behold their weak brethrens weaknesses and refuse Looking-glasses wherein they may see their weak brethrens graces Saints that are strong ought to look more upon the virtues of weak Saints then upon their miscarriages When Christ saw but a little morall good in the young man the Text saith that he lookt upon him and loved him And shall not Mark 10. 12. we look upon a weak Saint and love him when we see the love of God and the Image of God upon him Shall morall If morall virtue could be seen with mortall eyes it would so ne draw all heaâ—â—s to it selfe saith Plato What then should grace do the least dram of which is of more worth then all the moral virtues in the world virtue take the eye and draw the love of Christ And shall not supernaturall grace in a weak Christian take our eyes and draw our hearts Shall we eye a little gold in much earth And shall we not eye a little grace where there is much corruption It is an insufferable weaknesse I had almost said for persons to suffer their affections to run out onely to such that are of their judgements and to love prize and value persons according as they sute their opinions and not according to what of the Image of God shines in them But if this be not far from a Gospel spirit and from that God-like spirit that should be in the Saints I know nothing It speaks out much of Christ within to owne where Christ ownes and love where Christ loves and imbrace where Christ imbraces and to be one with every one that is practically one with the Lord Jesus Christ can 't but take it very unkindly at our hands if we should disowne any upon whom he ha's set his Royall stamp And I blesse his grace that ha's drawne out my desires and endeavours to love owne and honour the people of Christ according to what of the appearances of Christ I see in them And if I am not much mistaken this is the high-way to that joy peace and comfort the want of which makes many a mans life a hell God looks more on the bright side of the Cloud then he doth on the dark and so should we It was the honour of Vespatian That he was more ready to conceale the Vices of his friends then their virtues Surely there is much of God in that soule that is upon a Gospel account more carefull and skillfull to conceale the vices of weak Saints then their virtues Many in these dayes doe justly incur the censure which that sowre Philosopher past Diogenes apud laertium l. 6. upon Gramarians That they were beteer acquainted with the evill of Ulysses then with their owne Fourthly It is the duty of strong Saints in things indifferent to deny themselves to please the weake 1 Cor. 8. 13. Wherefore if meat make my brother to offend I will eat no flesh while the world standeth least I make my Brother to offend Strong Saints must stand unchangeably resolved neither to give offence carelesly nor to take offence causlesly Sayes the Apostle I will not stand to dispute my Christian liberty but will rather lay it downe at my weak brothers feet then I will by the use of it offend one for whom Christ ha's dyed 1 Cor. 9. 22. To the weake became I as weake that I might gaine the weake I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some That is I condescended and went to the uttermost that possibly I could without sin to win and gaine upon the weak I displeased my selfe in things that were of an indifferent nature to please them Thou oughtest not O strong Christian by the use of thy Christian liberty to put a stumbling-block before thy weak Brother Rom. 15. 2. We then that are strong ought to bear with the infirmities of the weake and not to please our selves Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification He doth not say Let every one of us please the lust of his neighbour but let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification Let us in things of an indifferent nature so yield as to please our neighbour There were some that thought they might observe dayes others thought they might not Some thought they might eat meat others thought they might onely eat Hearbs Why saith the Apostle in these things that are of an indifferent nature I will rather displease and deny my selfe to profit my neighbour then I will by the use of my liberty occasion my neighbour to offend I this is true Christian love indeed for a man to crosse himselfe to please his neighbour so it may be for his soules edification But this heavenly love is driven almost out of the world which causeth men to dislike those things in others which they flatter in themselves A fifth Duty incumbent upon strong Saints is To support the weake 1 Thess 5. 14. Support the weake be patient towards all men Look what the Crutch is to the lame and the beam of the house is to the ruinated house that ought strong Saints to be to the weak Strong Saints are to be Crutches to the weak they are to be as it were beams to bear up the weak Strong Saints are to set too their shoulder to shore Look what the Nurse is to the child the Oâ—k to the Ivy the house to the Vine that should strong Saints be to the weak c. 2 Cor. 2. 7. up the weak by their councels prayers tears and examples Strong Saints must not deale by the weak as the Herd of Deere doe by the wounded Deere they forsake it and push it away O no when a poor weak Saint is wounded by a temptation or by the power of some corruption then they that are strong ought to succour and support such a one least he be swallowed up of sorrow When you that are strong see a weak Saint staggering and reeling under a temptation or affliction Oh know it 's then your duty to put both your hands underneath to support him that he faint not that he miscarries not in such an houre Isa 35. 3. Strengthen ye the weake hands and confirme the feeble knees Strengthen the weake hands That is hands that hang downe And confirme the feeble knees that is such knees that by reason of feeblenesse are ready to fall strengthen such that is incourage them by casting in a Promise by casting in thy Experiences or by casting in thy Experiences of other Saints that so they may be supported It may be his case was once thine if so then tell him what Promises did support thee what discoveries of God did uphold thee Tell
and to present his sins in such a dreadfull dresse as shall amaze him c. It often proves very prejudiciall and dangerous to weak Saints when their infirmities are aggravated beyond Scripture-grounds and beyond what they are able to beare He that shall lay the same strength to the rubbing of an earthen dish as he does to the rubbing of a Pewter platter instead of cleaning it shall surely break it all to pieces The application is easie c. Secondly There is a Mantle uf Faithfullnesse that is to be cast over the infirmities of weake Saints A man should never discover the infirmities of a weak Saint especially to such that have neither skill nor will to heale and bury them The world will but blaspheme and blaze them abroad to the dishonour of God to the reproach of Religion and to the grief and scandall of the weak c. They will with Ham rather call upon others to scoffe at them then bring a Mantle to cover them c. Ham was curst for that he did discover his fathers nakednesse to his brethren when it was in his power to have covered it he saw it and might have drawne a Curtaine over it but would not and for this by a Spirit of Prophesie he was curst by his father Gen. 9. 22. This Age is full of such Monsters that rejoyce to blaze abroad the infirmities of the Saints and these certainly Justice ha's or will curse Thirdly There is a Mantle of Compassion that must be I have knowne a good old man said Bernard who whâ—n he had hevd of any that had committed some noâ—orious offence was wont to say with hâ—mselfe Ille hodie ego cras He fell to day so may I to morrow c. cast over the weaknesses and infirmities of weake Saints When a weak Saint comes to see his sin and the Lord gives him to lye downe in the dust and to take shame and confusion to himselfe that he hath dishonoured God and caused Christ to bleed afresh and griev'd the Spirit c. Oh now thou must draw a covering and cast a Mantle of love and compassion over his soule that he may not be swallowed up with sorrow now thou must confirme thy love to him and carry it with as great tendernesse and sweetnesse after his fall as if he had never fallen this the Apostle presses 2 Cor. 2. 7. Love sayes the wise man covereth all sinne Loves Mantle is very large Love claps a Plaister upon every soare Love ha's two hands and makes use of both to hide the scarres of weak Saints Christ O strong Saints casts the Mantle of his righteousnesse over your weaknesses and will not you cast the Mantle of love over your brothers infirmities Tenthly 'T is the Duty of strong Saints to sympathize with the weake To rejoyce with them when they rejoyce and to mourne with them when they mourne 2 Cor. 11. 29. Who is weake and I am not weake who is †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Scandalâ—zeâ—ai Scandalized offended and I * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As â—ot on fire Thuan. Hist burne not Thuanus reports of Ludonicus Marsacus a Knight of France when he was led with other Martyrs that were bound with Coards going to Execution and he for his dignity was not bound he cryed Give me my Chaines too let me be a Knight of the same Order It should be between a strong Saint and a weak as 't is between two Lute-strings that are tuned one to another no sooner one is struck but the other trembles no sooner should a weake Saint be struck but the strong should tremble Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them Heb. 13. 3. The Romanes punished one that was seen looking out at his window with a Crowne of Roses on his head in a time of publick calamity and will not God punish those that don't simpathize with Joseph in his afflictions surely he will Amos 6. 1 ult Lastly 'T is the Duty of the strong to give to the weake the honour that is due unto them 1 Pet. 3. 7. They have the same Name the same Baptisme the same Profession the same Faith the same Hope the same Christ the same Promises the same Dignity and the same Glory with you therefore speak honourably of them and carry it honourably towards them Let not them be under your feet that Christ ha's laid near his heart c. And so much for this second Doctrine We come now to the next words EPHES. 3. 8. Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this Grace given c. WEE shall speak now to the word Grace The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greek word Caris that 's here rendred Grace hath a two-fold signification Somtimes it 's taken for the gracious favour and good will of God whereby he is pleased of his owne free love to accept and owne poor sinners in the Son of his love for his owne This is called the first Grace because 't is the fountaine of all other graces and the Spring from whence they flow And it 's therefore called Grace because it makes a man gracious with God Secondly This word Caris that 's here rendred Grace is taken for the gifts of Grace and they are of two sorts Speciall or Common Common grace is that which Hypocrites may have and in which they may excell and goe beyond the choycest Saints As in a gift of knowledge a gift of utterance a gift of prayer a gift of tongues c. A Mat. 7. 21 22 23 25. Ch. 1. 13. man may have these and many other excellent gifts and yet miscarry yea fall as low as hell witnesse Judas Demas the Scribes and Pharisees c. Secondly There is speciall Grace as Faith Love Humility Meeknesse which the Apostle reckons up Gal. 5. 22 23. Now here by Grace you may either understand the gracious favour of God Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this choyce favour given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ or else you may take it for the gifts of grace both saving and common which the Apostle had given him in order to the discharge of his Ministeriall Office which by the speciall favour of God he was advanced to The word Grace being thus opened we may from thence Observe First That the Lord gives his best Gifts to his best Beloved ones Vnto me saith the Apostle who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this Grace given For the opening and clearing of this point I shall premise these foure things 1 To shew you what those best gifts are that God bestowes upon his best beloved ones 2 I shall shew you the manner of his giving the best gifts to his beloved ones Or the difference there is between Christs giving and the worlds giving 3 And then the excellency of those gifts that Christ gives above all other gifts that the world gives
upbraideth no man Where Christ gives there he won't upbraid neither with present failings nor former infirmities Christ is not won't to reproach those to whom he gives the best gifts He will not cast it in their dish that he ha's been thus and thus kind unto them but will Jer. 32. 40 41 Prov. 1. 20. to 25. Ch. 8. 1. to 13. Ch. 9. 1. to â— Augustus in his solemne Feasts gave gold to some and trifles to others The Lord gives the gold the best things to his owne but the trifles of this world to the men of the world alwayes rejoyce over them to doe them good But the world gives and then reproaches the receiver for receiving and this turnes all into gall and wormwood c. Fourthly The world gives but they give more rarely but Christ gives and he gives frequently he is every day every houre yea every moment a giving of Royall favours to his people Here is Peace for you that are in trouble sayes Christ and here is Pardon for you that groan under guilt sayes Christ and here is Comfort for you that are Mourners in Zion sayes Christ c. His hand is ever in his purse he is still a scattering Pearles of glory I the very Jewels of his Crowne among the beloved of his soule Fifthly The world gives but they give the worst and keepe the best I but Christ gives the best he gives the best of the best he gives the best joy the best comfort the best 2 Cor. 9. 15. 1 Pet. 1. 8. Phil. 4. 7. Psal 88. 10 11. peace the best love the best assistance c. he gives Adoption Remission Justification Sanctification Acceptation Reconciliation and Glorification c. He gives the best As that King in Plutarch said of a Groat It is no Kingly Gift And of a Talent 'T is no base Bribe The world gives Groats I but Christ gives Talents Sixthly The world gives a little that they may give no more I but Christ gives that he may give He gives a little Grace that he may give Grace upon Grace He gives a little John 1. 16. comfort that he may give fullnesse of comfort He gives some sips that he may give full draughts he gives pence that he may give pounds and he gives pounds that he may give hundreds The third particular that I am to shew you is The Excellency of those Gifts that The Excellency of Christs gifts above all other gifts Christ gives above all other Gifts that the World gives In this I shall mind brevity And FIrst The Gifts that Christ gives to his are Spirituall and Heavenly Gifts As is most clear by what ha's been already said and the spirituality of them do's demonstrate the excellency of them And doubtlesse the more spirituall any gift any promise any truth any prayer or any service is the more excellent is that Gift c. All Christs Gifts are like himselfe spirituall and heavenly Secondly They are Pure Gifts Christ gives wine without Rev. 22. 1. Jam. 3. 17. water light without darknesse gold without drosse and sweet without bitter There 's much drosse and poyson in the Gifts that the world gives but there 's none in the Gifts that Christ gives The streames are as the fountaine is the fountaine is pure and so are the streames the branches are as the root is the root is pure and so are the branches John 15. Thirdly The Gifts that Christ gives are Soule-satisfying Gifts They are such as are sutable to the soule and therefore they satisfie the soule Things satisfie as they suite there is a Good and there is a sutable Good now 't is onely the sutable Good that satisfies the soule of man A Pardon is most sutable to a condemned man and therefore it best satisfies him Health is most sutable to the sick and therefore it satisfies when 't is attain'd c. As bread satisfies the hungry soule and drink the thirsty soule and cloathing the naked soule So does the Precious Gifts that Christ bestowes upon the soule satisfie the soule The light the love the Jer. 31. 25. Psal 90. 14. Psal 36. 8. Psal 63. 5. Ps 65. 4 c. joy the peace the fellowship c. that Christ gives does abundantly satisfie the soule Oh! but Gifts that this world gives can never satisfie the soule Eccl. 5. 10. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver nor he that loveth The Creature is all shadow and vanity 't is filia noctis like Jonah's Gouâ—d 't is now flourishing and now dying c. 1 John 3. 9. Rom. 2. 7. 2 Pet. 1. 11. abundance with increase A man may as soone fill a Chest with Grace or a quart-pot with virtue as a heart with wealth If Alexander Conquer one World he will wish for another to Conquer Fourthly The Gifts that Christ gives are Most permanent and lasting Gifts The Grace he gives is call'd An immortall seed and the Glory he gives is call'd Everlasting Glory The Gifts of the world are fading a false Oath a spark of fire a storme at sea a treacherous friend brings all to nothing in a moment Sad experience do's every day confirme this Fifthly and lastly The Gifts that Christ gives are the most Vsefull Gifts They are usefull to the strengthning of the soule against Temptations and to the supporting of the The golden Crown can't cure the head-ach nor the chain of pearl can't cure the tooth-ach soule under Afflictions and to the sweetning of all changes health and sicknesse strength and weaknesse plenty and poverty honour or disgrace life or death Oh but worldly Gifts can't bear up the spirits of men from fainting and sinking when Tryals come when troubles come Our Moderne Stories relate of Queen Mary that she should say If they did open her when she was dead they should find Callis lying at her heart The losse of which it seems hastned her end The Prior in Melancthon rowl'd his hands up and downe in a Bason full of Angels thinking to have Charmed his Gowt but it would not doe The precious Gifts that Christ gives his will bear up their heads above all waters c. Of all gifts they are the most usefull for the producing of the most noblest effects there are no gifts produce such effects as the precious Gifts that Christ gives they raise men up to much life and activity they make soules strong to doe for God to bear for God to suffer for God to be any thing to be nothing that God may be all in all They raise the strongest joy the most lasting comfort and the purest peace There 's no Gifts draw out that Thankfullnesse and raises up to that Fruitfullnesse as the Gifts that Jesus Christ gives And so much for that third Head viz. The Excellency of those Gifts that Christ gives above all other Gifts whatsoever I come now to the fourth Head and that is The Reasons why God gives his
these precious Gifts are denyed Let us therefore sit downe and wonder at this O Lord Jesus saith Bernard breaking sorth into an admiration of Christs love I love thee plusquam mea plusquam ineos plusquam me more then all my goods more then all my friends yeâ— more then my very selfe c. condiscending love of God Oh! we were once poore wretches siting upon the dunghill yea wallowing in our blood and yet behold the King of Kings the Lord of Lords ha's so far condiscended in his love as to bestow himselfe his spirit his grace and all the Jewels of his Royal Crowne upon us Oh! what heart can conceive what tongue can expresse this matchlesse love I will be thine for ever sayes Christ and my spirit shall be thine for ever and my grace thine for ever and my glory thine for ever and my righteousnesse thine for ever all I am and all I have shall be thine for ever Oh Sirs what condiscending love is this Oh! what a Christ is this But then secondly Be greatly thankefull O be greatly thankefull for the great Gifts that Christ hath bestowed upon you It 's not a little thankfullnesse that will answer and suite to the great Gifts that the Lord Jesus hath bestowed upon you Psal 103. O say with the Psalmist What shall I render to the Lord for all his favours and great benefits I will take the cup of salvation and will call upon the name of the Lord. Yea say againe Psal 71. 14. Injuries shall be writ in the dust but our mercies on Mâ—rble that our hearts may be the better provokt to praise and thankfulnesse with the same Psalmist I will yet praise thee more and more Or as 't is in the Hebrew I will add to thy praise Oh when thou lookest upon the Jewels the Pearles that Christ hath given thee say Lord I will praise thee more and more I will rise higher and higher in thy praises I will be still a adding to thy praise The very Law of Nature bespeaks great thankfullnesse where great favours are given and the Law of Custome bespeaks it and doth not the Law of grace bespeak it much more When Tamerlin had taken Bajazet among other Questions he askt him If ever he had given God thanks for making him so great an Emperour He confest immediately That he never thought of that To whom Tamerlin replied Turk Hist 220 c. 'T is no wonder so ungratefull a man should be made a spectacle of misery Oh! what doe they then deserve that are unthankfull for spirituall favours Tell me O Christians are not the Gifts that Christ ha's confer'd upon you peculiar Gifts And will you not be thankfull for them Were they There are but few upon whom God bestoweth his love 'T was alwayes a principle in morality that sweet and intimate friendship cannot be extended to many friends usually goe by paires but common Gifts you ought to be thankfull for them how much more then for peculiar Gifts for right-handed favours Tell me are not the Gifts that Christ ha's given thee rare Gifts What hadst thou been if Christ had not made a difference between thee and others by those glorious Gifts that he ha's confer'd upon thee Thou lookest upon some and seest they are very ignorant Oh! what hadst thou been if God had not bestowed the Grace of knowledge upon thee Thou lookest upon other persons that are unclean prophane and filthy why such a wretch wouldst thou have been if the Lord had not made a difference between thee and them by bestowing himselfe his grace and spirit upon thee It was long since determined in the Schools That penitents had more reason to be thankefull then innocents Sin giving an advantage to mercy to be doubly free in giving and in pardoning And so the greater obligation is left upon us to thankfullnesse Luther hath a very famous story in his writing upon the fourth Commandement in the time of the Councel of Constance he tells you Of two Cardinalls that as they were riding to the Councel they saw a Shepheard in the field weeping one of them being affected with his weeping rode to him to comfort him and coming near to him he desired to know the reason of his weeping the Shepheard was unwilling to tell him at first but at last he told him saying I looking upon this Toad considered that I never praised God as I ought for making me such an excellent Creature as a man comely and reasonable I have not blessed him that he made me not such a deformed Toad as this The Cardinall hearing this and considering that God had done far greater things for him then for this poore Shepheard he fell downe dead from his Mule his servants lifting him up and bringing him to the City he came to life againe and then cryed out Oh Saint Austine how truly didst thou say The unlearned rise and take heaven by force and we with all our learning wallow in flesh and blood The application is easie Thirdly The next Use is this If the Lord hath given the best Gifts to his people then Oh that his people would not give God the worst but the best of every thing 'T is the most wicked aâ—aâ—ice to defraud God of the oblation of our selves saith Chrysost Oh! give the Lord the best of your strength the best of your time the best of your mercies and the best of your services who hath given to your soules the best of Gifts Num. 18. 29. Out of all your Gifts ye shall offer every heave Offring of the Lord of all the best thereof even the hallowed part thereof out of it So I say of all thy Offrings offer God the best who hath given to thee the best and greatest Gifts So in Exod. 35. 22. For the service of the Tabernacle they brought bracelets and ear-rings and rings and tables all Jewels of If a man should serve the Lord a thousand years saith Austin â— would net deserve an â—oure of the reward in Heaven no not a moment much lesse an Eternity And therefore sayes he we had need doe as much as we can and doe all that we doe as well as we can c. gold and every man that Offered Offered an Offering of Gold unto the Lord. They gave the best of the best and so must we O doe not offer to God the worst of your time the worst of your strength the worst of your mercies the worst of your services That same is a very dreadfull Text Mal. 1. 8. 13 14. compared And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice is it not evill And if ye offer the lame and the sick is it not evill Offer it now unto thy Governour will he be pleased with it and accept thy person saith the Lord of hosts Saith God will men be put off thus No I know they won't and why then should you deale worse with me then with men Thy Governours will have
the best I the best of the best and will you deale worse with me saith God then with your Governours Will you thus requite me for all my savours O foolish people and unwise is this your kindnesse to your friend Vers 13 14. Ye said also behold what a wearinesse is it and ye have snuffed at it saith the Lord of hosts and ye have brought that which was torne and the lame and the sicke thus ye brought an Offering should I accept this of your hands saith the Lord. Oh! that God had not cause to complaine thus of many of your soules to whom he hath showne much love But mark what followes vers 14. But cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing for I am a great King saith the Lord of Hosts and my name is dreadfull among the Heathen If you have better in your hands and yet shall goe to put off God with the worst the curse will follow Think of it and tremble all you that deale fraudulently and false-heartedly with God Ah Christians you must say world stand behind sin and Satan get you behind us for the best Gifts the choycest favours that ever were given we have received from the father of light and therefore by his Gifts he hath obliged our soules to give him the best of our time strength and services and therefore we will not be at your call or beck any longer Oh say the Lord hath given us the best Gifts and cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing Fourthly This should bespeake the people of God to trust and leane 2 Tim. 4. 8. upon God for lesser Gifts Hath God given thee a Crowne and wilt thou not trust Heb. 11. 10. Chap. 12. 28. him for a crum Hath he given thee a house that hath foundations whose builder and maker is God Hath he given thee a Kingdome that shakes not and wilt thou not trust him for a Cottage for a little house-roome in this world Hath he Rom. 8. 32. given thee Himselfe his Son his Spirit his Grace and wilt thou not trust him to give thee bread and friends and Mat. 6. 32. cloaths and other necessary mercies that he knowes thou needest Ha's he given thee the greater and will he stand with thee for the lesser Surely no. Wilt thou trust that man for much that ha's given thee but a little And wilt thou not trust that God for a little that ha's given thee much Wilt thou not trust him for pence that ha's given thee pounds Oh Sirs hath the Lord given you himselfe the best of favours and will not you trust him for the least favours Hath he given you Pearls and will not you trust him for pins c. Does not the Apostle argue sweetly Rom. 8. 32. He that spared not his owne Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us Prov. 8. 23. to â—2 Vide Mâ—t. 3. uâ—â— all things What sayes the Apostle hath he given us his Son his onely Son his bosome Son his beloved Son the Son of his joy the Son of his delight Oh how can he then Taâ—â—um possâ—mus quâ—â—tum credimus Cyp. but cast in all other things as paper and pack-threed into the bargaine Oh that Christians would learne to reason themselves out of their feares and out of their distrusts as the Apostle doth Oh! that Christians would no longer rend and wrack their precious soules with feares and cares but rest satisfied in this That he that ha's been so kind to them in spiritualls will not be wanting to them in temporalls Fifthly If the Lord hath given the best Gifts to his people this should then bespeake his people not to envy the men of the world for those lesser favours that God ha's confer'd upon them David three severall times gâ—ves himselfe this counsell Not to envy at others Psal 37. 1 7 8. comp So Psal 73. 21. It was horrid wickednesse in Ahab to envy poor Naboth because of his Vineyard And is it a virtue in you that are Christians to envy others because their outward mercies are greater or sweeter then yours Should the Prince upon whose head the Royall Crowne is set and about whose neck the golden Chaine is put envy those whose hands are full of Sugar-plums whose laps are full of Rosemary c. Hath not God Oh Christians put a Royall Crowne of glory upon your heads and a golden Chaine of grace about your necks and his Sons glorious Robe upon your backs and why then should your hearts rise against others mercies Oh! reason your selves out of this sinfull temper I would have every Christian thus to argue Hath not the Lord given me himselfe is not one dram of that grace that God hath given me more worth then ten thousand worlds and why then should I envy at others mercies There was a Souldier which for breaking his rank in reaching after a bunch of Grapes was condemned to dye by Martiall Law and as he went to execution he went eating of his Grapes Upon which some of his fellow Souldiers were somewhat troubled saying He ought then to minde somewhat else To whom he said I beseech you Sirs doe not envy me my Grapes they will cost me deer you would be loath to have them at the rate that I must pay for them So say I Oh Saints doe not envy the men of this world because of their honours riches c. for you would be loath to have them at the rate that they must pay for them Oh! there is a day of reckoning a coming a day wherein all the Nobles and brave Gallants in the world must be brought to the Bar and give an account how they have improved and imployed all the favours that God ha's confer'd upon them therefore envy them not Is it madnesse and folly in a great favourite at Court to envy those that feast themselves with the scrapps that come from the Princes Table O then what madnesse and folly is it that the favourites of heaven should envy the men of the world who at best doe but feed upon the scraps that come from Gods Tables Spiritualls are the choyce meat temporalls are but the scraps Temporalls are the bones spiritualls are the marrow Is it below a man to envy the dogs because of the bones And is it not much more below a Christian to envy others for temporalls when himselfe injoyes spiritualls Sixthly Be not troubled for the want of lesser Gifts John 14. 1 2 3. It is to me a sad thing to see gracious soules that have some comfortable satisfaction in their owne hearts that the Lord hath given Christ and grace to them c. goe up and downe whining and weeping because they have not health or wealth or Child or Trade c. when the Lord
exercised Phil. 2. 12. Worke out your owne salvation with feare and trembling The Greek is Worke till you get the worke through The reason why many mens 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Katergazesthâ— hearts tremble and are so full of fears and doubts is because their salvation is not wrought out they doe not make through work in their soules They put not that question home whether they have grace or no an interest in Christ or no. They doe not rise with all their strength against sin nor with all their power to serve the Lord and therefore feares and doubts doe compasse them round about So in 1 Cor. 15. ult Be stedfast and unmoveable alwayes abounding in the worke of the Grace is bettered made more perfect by acting Neglect of our graces is the ground of their decrease and decay Wells are the sweeter for drawing Lord forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vaine in the Lord. Be stedfast 'T is a Metaphor taken from a foundation on which a thing stands firmly or a seat or chaire wherein one sits fast Vnmoveable signifies one that will not easily move his place or opinion Abounding or Excelling in the worke of the Lord. Knowing that your labour is not in vaine The Greek is Labours unto wearinesse The Apostle would have them labour unto wearinesse For saith he 'T is not in vaine It will turne to a good account it will yield you much of heavenhere and make you high in heaven hereafter There are onely two things that I shall endeavour to doe for the opening of the Point 1 To shew you why persons must improve imploy and exercise the graces and gifts that God hath bestowed upon them And then 2 The End to which they are to exercise those graces and gifts For the first There are these twelve Reasons why gracious soules should exercise and improve their gifts and graces Friends this Point is a Point of as singular use and of as great concernment to you as any that I know the Scripture speaks of and therefore I desire you to lend your most serious and solemne attentions First They must exercise and improve their graces Because the exercise and improvement of their graces is the ready way to be rich in grace Our graces are like Gideoâ—s Army but a handfull in comparisonâ— but our sins are like the Mâ—dianites in numerable as Grathoppers As sin is increased in the soule by the frequent actings of it so grace is nourished and strengthned in the soule by its frequent actings The exercise of grace is alwayes attended with the increase of grace Prov. 10. 4. The diligent hand maketh rich or the nimble hand the hand that 's active and agile that will see nothing lost for looking after that hand maketh rich Ruth 2. How did Boaz follow the businesse himselfe his eyes were in every corner on the servants and on the Reapers yea on the Gleaners too It is recorded of Severus That his care was not to looke what men said of him or how they censured him but to looke One day God will require of men Non quid legerint sed quid egerint nec quid dixerint sed quomedo vixerint what was to be done by him He will rise in judgement against those Professors that look more what this man and the other man saith of them then what is to be done by them The heart of a Christian is to be taken up with what is to be done by him and not with what this man thinks or the other judges of him Pacunius hath an elegant saying I hate saith he the men that are idle in deed and Philosophicall in word God loves saith Luther Curristas not Quaristas The runner not the questioner Grace growes by exercise and decayes by disuse Though both armes grow yet that which a man most useth is the stronger and the bigger so it is both in gifts and graces In Birds their wings which have been used most are sweetest the Application is easie Such men as are contented with so much grace as will bring them to glory The reason say some why Christ corsed the figâ—â—ee tho the time of beaâ—ing fruit was not come was because it made a glorious shew with leaves and promised much â—ut brought foâ—â— nothing with so much grace as will keep hell and their soules asunder will never be rich in grace nor high in comfort or assurance such soules usually goe to heaven in a storme O how weather-beaten are they before they can reach the Heavenlyharbour Secondly They must exercise their gifts and graces Because 't is the maine end of Gods giving gifts and graces to them Grace is given to trade with 't is given to lay out not to lay up Grace is a Candle that must not be put under a bushell but set upon a Candle-stick Grace is a golden treasure that must be improved not hoarded up as men doe their gold Grace is a Talent and 't is given for this very end that it should be imployed and improved for the honour and advantage of him that gave it The slothfull servant in Gods account is an evill servant and accordingly God ha's denoted him and doomed him for his ill husbandry to destruction Mat. 25. 24 -- 31. What a shame is it saith one that faith should not be able Hierom. to doe that which infidelity hath done What not better fruit in the Vineyard in the Garden of God then in the wildernesse What not better fruit grow upon the Tree of Life then upon the root of nature c. And then thirdly Because grace exercised and improved will doe that for us that all other means in the world can never doe for us I shall evidence this truth in some remarkeable instances Suppose the guilt of sin be upon a mans soule even as a heavy mountaine there 's nothing but the exercise of grace now that can remove this guilt The man prayes and yet guilt sticks upon him he heares and yet guilt as a mountaine lyes heavy upon him he mournes he sighes he groanes and yet guilt sticks upon him he runs from Ordinance to Ordinance No Israelite that was bit or stung with the fiery Serpent could be heaâ—ed but by looking up to the brazen Serpent and from ordinary services to extraordinary and yet guilt followes him he runs from man to man Sir was ever any mans case like mine I have prayed thus long I have heard thus long I have mourned thus long c. and yet guilt lyes as a mountaine upon my soule There 's nothing now below the exercise of grace that will remove this 't is onely faith in the Promises of remission that will remove the guilt of sin that lyes so heavy upon the soule 'T is onely faith's application of the righteousnesse of Christ that can take Those spots a christian finds in his owne heart can only by a hand of faith â—e washt out in
upon the promise and the promiser that gave glory to God All the honour and glory that God hath from beleevers in this life is from the actings of their grace 'T was Abrahams acting of faith that was his high honouring of God Christians I would intreat this favour of you that you would be often in the meditation of this truth viz. That all the honour that God hath from beleevers in this life is from the actings and the exercise of their Graces When thou goest to prayer then thinke thus with thy selfe is it so that all the honour that God It is reported in the life of Luther that when he praâ—ed it was Tanâ—a reverentia ut si Deo tanta fiducta ut si amico c. Jonah 2. uâ—t shall have from my soule in prayer will be from the actings of grace in prayer oh then what cause have I to stirre up my selfe to lay hold on God and to blow up all those sparkes of grace that be in me As a body without a soule much wood without fire a bullet in a Gun without powder so are words in prayer without the Spirit without the exercise of the graces of the Spirit Jonah acted his faith when he was in the belly of hell and Daniel acted faith when he was in the Lyons den Dan. 6. 23. and the Theife acted faith when he was on the Crosse and Jeremiah acted faith when he was in the Dungeon and Job So did the Publican he prayed much though he spake little or aâ—io brevis penetrat coelum The hottest springs send forth their waters by ebullitions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Augustin cryes out against them that did not profit by afflictions perdidistis utilitatem calamitatis August de Civit. l. 2. c. 33. acted faith when he was on the dunghill and David acted faith when he was in his greatest distresse and so did Moses in Exod. 14. And you know the issue of all was much glory to God and much good to them his heart will never be long a stranger to joy and peace who is much in the exercise and actings of grace Ninthly Because the more Grace is improved the more afflictions and tribulations will be lessened and sweetend to us 2 Cor. 4. 16 17. Though our outward man decreases yet our inward man is renewed day by day or day and day When Peter Martyr was dying he said My body is weake but my minde is well well for the present and will be better for ever hereafter This is the Godly mans Motto for Afflictions there is Glory for light afflictions a weight of glory for momentary afflictions eternall Glory so in the 10 and 11 Chapters of the Hebrewes Oh friends if your graces were more exercised and improved afflictions would be more sweete this would turne the Crosse into a Crowne this would turne bitter into sweete and long winter nights into summer dayes It would make every condition to be a Paradise to you c. Tenthly If Grace be not exercised and improved the soule Saints should be like a Seraphim beset all over with eyes and lights as Bassarion said Tâ—e fearefull Haâ—e they say sleepeth with her eyes open oh how watchfull then should a Christian be may be easily surprised conquered and vanquished by a tempting Devill and an intising world when the sword is in the scabbard the traveller is easily surprised and when the Guard is asleepe the Citie is quickly conquered The strongest creature the Lyon and the wisest creature the Serpent if they be dormant are as easily surprised as the weakest wormes so the strongest and wisest Saints if their graces be asleepe if they be onely in the habit and not in exercise they may be as easily surprised and vanquished as the weakest Christians in all the world as you may see in David Solomon Sampson Peter Every enemy insults over him that hath lost the use of his weapons c. Eleventhly We must improve our Graces because decayes in Grace are very great losses to us By decaying in grace wee come to loose our strength our best strength our spirituall Spirituall losses are hardly recovered a man may easiâ—y run dowâ—e the hill but he cannot so easily get up Philosophers say that the way from the habit to the privation is easier then the way from the privation to the habit As a man may soon put an instâ—ument out of tuâ—e but not so soon put in againe 1 Cor. 2. 14. Jer. 13. 23. James 1. 17. Eph. 2. 1 2 3. strength our strength to doe for God our strength to waite on God and walke with God our strength to bare for God our strength to suffer for God by decaying in Grace we come to loose that Joy that 's unspeakeable and full of Glory and that comfort and peace that passes understanding and to loose the sence of that favour that 's better then life Now our faith will be turned into feare our dansing into mourning our rejoycing into sighing and when O Christian thou beginnest to fall and to decay who knowes how farre thou mayst fall how much thy graces may be impaired and how long it may be before thy Sunne rise when once 't is sett therefore you had need to exercise and improve your Graces Twelfthly and lastly You are to improve your Graces because soules truly gratious have a power to doe good I doe not say that a man in his naturall estate though Arminians doe hath power in himselfe to doe supernaturall acts as to beleeve in God to love God and the like c. for I thinke a Toad may as well spitt cordialls as a naturall man doe supernaturall actions nor I doe not say that all the Grace wee have is not from God nor that man in his naturall estate is not dead God-ward and Christ-ward and holynesse-ward and heaven-ward But this I say that soules truly gratious have a power to doe good 'T is sad to think how many professors doe excuse their negligence by pretending an Inability to doe good or by When Charles Largius had excited Lipsius to the study of truâ— wisedom my mind is to it said Liâ—sius and then he faâ—s to â—ishing what said Langius â—rt thou purâ—osing when â—hou shouldest be doing Just Lip de Constan l. 2. 5. sitting downe discouraged as having in their hands no power at all what can we doe say they If the Lord doe not breath upon us as at first conversion we can doe nothing I thinke in my very Conscience that this is one reason of much of that slightnesse neglect and omission of duties that is among professors in these dayes So that God may complaine as he doth in the 64 of Isa 7. There is no man that stirreth up himselfe to take hold of mee they are as men asleepe that sit still and doe nothing But certainly they that are truly united to Christ are not acted as dead stocks as if every time and moment of their acting God-wards and
holynesse-ward they received new life from the Spirit of Christ as at first conversion they did and I am confident for want of the knowledge and due consideration of this truth many professors take such libertie to themselves as to live in the neglect of many precious duties of Godlinesse for which first or last they will pay deare But remembring that 't is not a flood of words but weighty arguments that convinces and perswades the soules and consciences of men I shall give you foure reasons to demonstrate That Beleevers have a power to doe good and the first is this First Because they have life and all life is a power to act Omnis vita est propter delectationem by naturall life is a power to act by spirituall life is a power to act by eternall life is a power to act by The Philosopher sayth That a fly is more excellent then the heavens because the fly hath life which the heavens have not c. Secondly Else there is no just Ground for Christ to charge Omission of diet breeds diseases so doth omission of dutie and makes worke either for repentance hel or the physitian of souls the guilt of sins upon them as neglect of Prayer Repentance Mortification nor the guilt of Carelesnesse and Sloathfullnesse c. which he doth if they can act no further nor no longer then the Holy-Ghost acts them as at their first conversion notwithstanding their union with Christ and that spirituall principle of life that at first they received from Christ Certainly if it be so it will not stand with the unspotted Justice of God to charge the guilt of sins of omission upon Beleeving soules if they have no power to act but are as stocks and stones c. as some dreame A third Ground is this If there be not some power in Beleevers to doe good then we should not have as much benefit by the Ipse unus erit tibi omnia quia in ipsâ— uno bono bona sunt omnia August second Adam as we had by the first Adam The first Adam if he had stood would have Communicated a power to all his sons and daughters to have done good and being corrupted he doth communicate power to sin as all his children finde by sad and wofull experience and shall not Christ much more communicate a power to us to doe good in our measure surely he doth though few minde it and fewer improve it as they should If there be not such a power in beleevers how have they gain'd more by the second Adam then they lost by the first and wherein lyes the excellency of the second above the first c. Fourthly and lastly All those exhortations are voyd and of none effect if there be not some power in soules truly gratious to doe good as all those exhortations to watchfullnesse To stirre up the Grace of God that is in us and to worke out our owne salvation with feare and trembling and that also Give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure To what purpose are all these precious exhortations if the regenerate man have no power at all to act any thing that 's good Nay then beleevers under the Covenant of Grace should be in no better a Condition then unregenerate men that are under a Covenant of workes who see their duties discovered but have no power to performe which is contrary as to other Scriptures so to that Psal 40. 7 8 9. Then said I loe I come in the volume of thy booke it is written of me I delight to doe thy will O my God yea thy law is within my heart or thy law is in the midst of my Bowells as the Hebrew reads it And to that of Ezek. 36. 25 26 27. c. A soule truly gratious can sincerely say Thy law O Lord is in the midst of my bowells and I delight to doe thy will O Lord I confesse I cannot doe it as I should nor I shall never doe it as I would till I come to heaven but this I can say in muâ—h uprightnesse that Thy law is in my heart and I delight to doe thy will O father And so Paul With my minde I serve the Law of God though with my Rom. 7. ult flesh the Law of sinne And we have many promises concerning divine Assistance and if wee did but stirre up the Grace of God that is in us Isa 41. 10. Heb. 13. 5 6 c. we should finde the Assistance of God and the Glorious breakings forth of his power and love according to his promise and the worke that he requires of us Isa 26. 12. Chap. 64. 5. c. Though no beleever doth what he should doe yet doubtlesse every beleever might doe more then he doth doe in order to Gods glory and his owne and others internall and eternall good Affection without endeavour is like Rachel beautifull but barren They are blessed that doe what Beaâ—i sunt qui praecepta faciunt etiam si non perficiunt Aug. they can though they cannot but under-doe When Demosthenes was asked What was the first part of an Orator what the second what the third answered action the same may I say if any should aske me what is the first the second the third part of a Christian I must answer action Luther saith He had rather obey then worke Miracles obedience is better then sacrifice But Sir you will say What is the meaning of that Text that is so often in the mouths of Professors Without me you can doe nothing John 15. 5. I answer All that that Text holds forth is this That if a man ha's not union with Christ if he be not implanted into Christ he can doe nothing Without me that is separate from me or apart from me as the words may be read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Secrsim a me Vide Beza Câ—meron and Pisâ—at you can doe nothing If you are not implanted into me if by the spirit and faith you art not united unto me you can doe nothing The arme may doe much it may offend an enemy and it may defend a mans life by virtue of its union with the head but if you separate the arme from the head from the body what can it doe Certainly the soule by virtue of its union with Christ may doe much though such as are separated from Christ can doe nothing at least as they should Union with Christ is that wherein the strength comfort and happinesse of the soule does consist Ah Christians if you would but put out your selves to the utmost you would find the Lord both ready and willing to assist you to meet with you and to doe for you above what you are able to aske or thinke Caesar by continuall employment overcome two constant Diseases the Head-ach and the Falling-sicknesse Oh! the spirituall Diseases that the active Christian overcomes Among the Aegyptians Idlenesse was a capitall crime Among the
Lucani he that lent money to an idle person was to loose it Among the Corinthians the sloathfull were delivered to the Carnifex saith Diphilus Oh! the deadly sins the deadly temptations the deadly judgements that idle and sloathfull Christians are given up to therefore be active be diligent be abundant in the worke of the Lord. Idlenesse is the very Source of sin Standing pooles gather mud and nourish and breed venomous Creatures and so doe the hearts of idle and sloathfull Christians c. Now the second thing that we are to doe for the further opening of this Point is to shew you The speciall Ends that the Gifts and Graces that God ha's bestow'd upon Believers should be exercised and improved to And they are these that follow FIrst They are to be improved and exercised to the honour 1 Cor. 10. 31. of God to the lifting up of God and to the keeping up of his name and glory in the world He that improves not his gifts and graces to this end crosses the grand end of Gods bestowing such royall favours on him Graces and gifts are Talents that God hath given you to trade with and not to hide in a Napkin The idle servant Mat. 25. in Christs account was an evill servant The idle soule in Christs account is an evill soule and accordingly Christ will deale with him Seneca calls sloath The Nurse of beggery the Mother of misery and sloathfull Christians find it so Christians God ha's given you grace that you should give him glory His honour should be dearer to you then your Jewels then your Crownes then your lives I then your very soules Thou livest no longer then thou livest to his praise It is recorded that Epaminondes the Commander in chief of the Thebanes That he did not glory in any thing but this that his father whom he dearly loved and honoured was living when he won three famous Battells against the Lacedemonians Plutarch in his Morals that were then held for their valour to be invincible regarding more the honour and content his father should receive of it then his owne Shall a Heathen thus strive to honour his earthly father And shall not Christians strive more to honour their heavenly father with all the gifts and graces that he ha's confer'd upon them But you will say How should we honour the Lord I answer First By a free and frequent acknowledgement that all your graces flow from the Lord Jesus the fountaine of grace 1 John 16. Of his fullnesse we all receive grace for grace Jam. 1. 17. Every good and perfect gift comes downe from above c. Thou must say O Christian I have nothing but what I 1 Cor. 4. 7. have received I have no light no life no love no ioy no peace but from above The Jewels that hang in my breasts and the Chaines of Pearle that be about my neck and the golden Crowne that is upon my head and all sparkling Diamonds Ezek. 16. 11 12 13 14 15. Psal 45. 8. ult in that Crowne are all from above All those Princely Ornaments by which I am made more beautifull and lovely then others and all those beds of spices and sweet flowers by which I am made more desirable and dilectable is from above Say I am nothing I have nothing of my owne all I am and all I have is from on high We have given thee of 1 Chron. 29. 14. thine owne sayes David So doe thou say Lord the love with which I love thee is thine owne and the faith by which I hang upon thee is thine own and the fear by which I feare Deus nihil coronat nisi dona sua Aug. before thee is thine owne and the joy which I rejoyce before thee with is thine owne and the patience with which I wait upon thee is thine owne c And therefore say as David did upon the receipt of mercy Blessed be thou Lord God of Israel our father for ever and ever Thine O Lord is the greatnesse and the power and the glory and the victory and the Majesty for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine Thine is the Kingdome O Lord and thou art exalted as head above all Both riches and honour come of thee and thou reignest over all and in thine hand is power and might and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all Now therefore our God we thanke thee and praise thy glorious name Secondly You must honour him By acknowledging the dependancy of your graces upon the fountaine of grace And that your strength to stand lyes not so much in your graces as in their dependancy upon the fountaine of grace as in their conjunction with the God of grace A man by his arme may do much but 't is mainly by reason of its union and conjunction with the head 'T is so between a Christians graces and Christ The stream does not more depend upon the fountaine nor the branch upon the root nor the Moon upon the Sun nor the Child upon the Mother nor the effect upon the cause then our graces doe depend upon the fountaine of grace Ps 138. 3. Phil. 4. 12 13. Now that our very graces doe thus depend upon the fountaine Though our graces be ouâ— best Jewe's yet they are imperfect and as the Moon shines by a borrowed light so doe our graces iâ— it were not for the Sun of righteousness all our graces would give â—o light c. of grace and that our strength to stand lyes not so much in our graces as in Christ is clear by this That the graces of the Saints may and doe most faile them when they have most need of them Mark 4. 40. And he said why are yee so fearfull How is it that you have no faith When the wind was high their faith was low when the storme was great their faith was little So Luke 8. 25. And he said unto them where is your faith Are you now to seek it when you should use it Peter denyed Christ when he had need by faith to have confessed Christ Moses faith fail'd him when it should have been most serviceable to him Nu. 20. 12. And Davids courage fail'd him when it should have been a buckler to him 1 Sam. 21. 13 14. And the Disciples love fail'd them when it should have been most usefull to them John 14. 28. And Job's wisedome and patience fail'd him when they should have been greatest supporters to him By all which 't is most clear that not onely our selves but also our very graces must be supported by the God of grace the fountaine of grace or else they will be to seek when we most need them Though grace is a glorious Creature it is but a creature and therefore must be upheld by its Creator Though grace be a beautifull Child yet 't is but a child that must be upheld by the fathers armes This Christians you
must remember and give glory to God Thirdly You must honour him by uncrowning your graces to crowne the God of your graces By taking the Crowne off Certum est nos facere quod facimus sed ille facit ut saâ—iamus saith Augâ—stine True it is that we doe what we doe but it is as true that Christ maketh us to do what we doe Cant. 5. 10 ult your owne heads and putting it upon his or by laying it downe at his feet as they did theirs in Rev. 4. 10. Acts 3. 11. 12 16. Chap. 4. 7 8 9 10. These Scriptures are Wells of living waters they are Bee-hives full of honey see and tast The Lord ha's often uncrown'd himselfe to Crown his peoples graces as you may see in these following Scriptures Mat. 9. 22. Chap. 15. 28. Mark 10. 52. Luke 7 50. And why then should not his people uncrowne their graces to crowne him That which others attribute to your graces doe you attribute to the God of grace You must say though our graces are precious yet Christ is more precious though they are sweet yet Christ is most sweet though they are lovely yet Christ is altogether lovely Your graces are but Christs Picture Christs Image and therefore don 't you worship his Image and in the mean while neglect his person make much of his Picture but make more of himselfe let his Picture have your eye but let himselfe have your heart Your Prov. 23. 26. graces are but Christs hands by which he works be you therefore carefull that you don't more mind the workmans hands then the workman himselfe Your graces are but Christs servants therefore don't smile upon the servant and look asquint upon the Master Your graces are but Christs favourites therefore don't so stare upon them and be taken with them as to forget the Prince on whom they wait c. All I drive at is this That not your graces but Christ may be all in all unto you c. The second end to which you must improve your gifts and John 1. 39. uâ—t Ch. 4. 1-43 lâ—d 2. 3. Acts 5. 26 29. Bo un est commâ—n catâ—vum graces is To the good of others Psal 66. 16. Come and hear all ye that feare God and I will declare what he hath done for my soule Psal 34. 8. O tast and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him God ha's given you gifts and grace to that very end that you should improve them for others good 'T is the very nature of grace to be diffusive and communicative grace can't be long conceal'd The better any thing is the more communicative it will be Grace is as fire in the bones as new Wine in the bottles you cannot hide it you must give vent to it Acts 4. 20. We cannot but speake the things that we have heard and seene as Croesus his dumb Son did for his father Can the fire cease to turne all combustible matter into fire Can the Candle once throughly lighted cease to spend it selfe for the enlightning of others then may the precious Sons of Zion cease to give light to others by their examples counsels and communicating their experiences No way to honour God no way to win soules nor no way to increase your owne gifts and graces then to exercise them for the good of others Grace is not like to worldly vanities that diminish by distribution nor like Candles which keep the same light though a thousand are lighted by them Grace is like the widows Oyle which multiplied by powring out and like those 2 Kings 4. Mat. 25. Talents which doubled by imployment 'T was a good saying of one For insensible riches those who pay their money doe diminish their substance and they who Chrysost Hom. Gen. 15. receive are made richer but these not so but both he who numbreth doth much increase his substance and doth add much to the riches of the receiver Againe By how much more we poure out of these flowing spirituall things by so much those spreading in abundance are Chrysost Hom. Gen. 8. p. 37. greater to us for in this cause it doth not happen as in money for there they who tell out to their neighbour diminish their owne substance and by how much the more he spendeth by so much the lesse money he possesseth but in spiritualls 't is quite otherwise No way to advance the Kingdome of Christ in the world like this of improving your gifts and graces to the advantage and profit of others No love nor pity to the precious soules Rom. 1. 11 12. 2 Cor. 9. 6. Suetonius tells of Augustus That in reading all sorts of good Authors he skillfully pâ—ckt out the prime precepts and patterns of valour â—nd virtue sent the sâ—me to such of his servanâ—s and unde-â—fficers for tokens as he thought they might doe mâ—st good unto of men like this No way to abound in grace to be rich in grace like this Nor no way to be high in heaven like this Art thou O Christian bound to doe good to others by communicating earthly things And art thou not much more bound to doe them good by communicating of spirituall things Surely thou art Why are Christians so often in Scripture compar'd to Trees but because of their fruitfullnesse and usefullnesse to others And why are they called Stewards of the manifold gifts of God but to note to us that their gifts are not to be inclosed but imployed for the good of others And why ha's Christ put a box of precious Ointment into every Christians hand but that it should be opened for the benefit of others Certainly he that is good is bound to doe good for gifts and graces are given not onely to make us good and keep us good but also to make us yea to prevoke us to doe good Lilmod lelammed We therefore learn that we may teach is a Proverb among the Rabbins And I doe therefore lay in and lay up saith the Heathen that I may draw forth againe and lay out for the good of many I think they are no good Christians that shall scorne to learne this good lesson though of a Heathen And O that all that write themselves Christians were so good as to imitate the good that shin'd in many Heathens To me 't is sad that Christians that live and act below the very Heathens should be offended to hear now and then of those excellencies that sparkled in the very Heathens I think that is a very evill spirit that can't indure to heare of those excellencies in others that he wants in himselfe Certainly he is a brave Christian and ha's much of Christ within that accounts nothing his own that he does not communicate to others The Bee doth store her Hive out of all sorts of flowers for the common benefit and why then in this should not every Christian be like a Bee Synesius speaks of some who having
a treasure of rare abilities in them would as soon part with their hearts as their conceptions I think they are rather Monsters then reall Christians that are of such a spirit The third and last thing to which you are to improve your gifts and graces is To the benefit and profit of your own soules The good of the soule is specially to be minded 1 Because 't is the most Noble part of man 2 Because the Image of God is most fairly stampt upon it 3 Because it is first converted 4 Because it shall be first glorified Not to improve them to your owne internall and eternall good is with a high hand to crosse the maine end of Gods conferring them upon you Ah Christians you must improve them to the strengthening of you against temptations to the supporting of you under afflictions to the keeping under of strong corruptions to the sweetning of all mutations and to the preparing and fitting of you for the dayes of your dissolution I shall content my selfe with giving you this hint because I have before spoken more fully to this head And thus we have done with the Doctrinall part We shall come now to make some Use and Application of this Point to our selves If this be so That 't is the Duty of Christians to improve and exercise the gifts and graces that the Lord hath given them Then in the first place this looks very sowrely and wishly upon all lazie idle negligent Christians that doe not stir up themselves to lay hold on God that doe not stir up the grace of the Lord in them 'T is sad to consider how many Christians Cupid complained He could never â—asten upon the Muses because he could never find them idle No Christians so fâ—ee from Satans assaults as active Christians are nor none so tempâ—ed as idle Christians can stir up themselves to lay hold on all opportunities to make themselves great and rich in the world and yet suffer their golden gifts and graces even to grow rustie for want of exercise 'T is sad to see how busie many men are to exercise and improve a Talent of riches who yet bind up their Talents of gifts and grace in a Napkin By these God looses much honour and praise and themselves loose much comfort and content and others loose much profit and benefit and the Gospel looses much credit and glory But the maine Use that I shall make of this Point shall be To exhort and stir you all up to make a blessed improvement of your graces And indeed it is a Point of most singular use to us all our The Jewish Rabbins report That he same night that Israel de parted out of Aegypt towards Canaan all the Idols Idolatrou Temples in Aegypt by lightning and earth quakes were broken downe So when grace holinesse is set up in the heart all the Idols of Satan which are meâ—slust are throwne downe dayes a truth that is every day of very great concernment to our soules Now there are seven Considerations that I shall propound by way of Motive to stir up your soules to make a blessed improvement of the grace and gifts you have received And the first is this Seriously consider that the exercise and improvement of grace in your soules will be more and more the death and ruine of sin in your soules Take it from experience There is not a choycer way then this for a man to bring under the power of his sin then to keep up the exercise of his grace Sin and Grace are like two Buckets at a Well when one is up the other is downe They are like the two Lawrels at Rome when one flourishes the other withers Certainly the readiest and the surest way to bring under the power of sin is to be much in the exercise of grace Rom. 8. 10. And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righteousnesse The life and activity of Christ and grace in the soule is the death and destruction of sin in the soule The more grace acts in the soule the more sin withers and dyes in the soule the stronger the house of David grew 2 Sam. 3. the weaker the house of Saul grew As the house of David grew every day stronger and stronger so the house of Saul every day grew weaker and weaker So the activity of the new Mat. 21. 12 13 14. man is the death of the old man When Christ began to bestir himselfe in the Temple the money-changers quickly fled out So when grace is active and stirring in the soule corruption quickly flyes A man may find out many wayes to hide his sin but he will never find out any way to subdue his sin but by the exercise of grace Of all Christians none so mortified as those in whom grace is most exercised Sin is a Viper that must be kill'd or 't will kill you for ever and there is no way to kill it but by the exercise of grace Secondly Consider this by way of motive to provoke you Mat. 5. 16. The exercise of virtue will draw I ve from a mans very enemies Tilligny for his â—are virtues was reserved from death by his greatest enemies at the Mâ—ssacre of Paris as you may see in the French History in the life of Charls the Ninth to exercise and improve your Graces The exercise and improvement of your Graces will provoke others to blesse and admire the God of Grace Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your Father which is in heaven The light of your Conversation and the light of your graces Oh! how many thousand soules be there now triumphing in heaven whose gifts and graces shin'd gloriously when they were on earth and ah how many thousands are there now on earth that blesse and admire the Lord for the shine of their graces who are now in heaven That blesse the Lord for the Faith of Abraham and the Zeale of David and the Meeknesse of Moses and the Patience of Job and the Courage of Joshua c. Ah Christians as you would stirre up others to exalt the God of grace look to the exercise and improvement of your graces When poor servants shall live in a family and see the faith of a Master and the love of a Master and the wisedome of a Master and the patience of a Master and the humility of a Master c. shining like so many stars of heaven oh how doth it draw forth their hearts to blesse the Lord that ever they came into such a family 'T is not a profession of Religion but the exercise and improvement of grace that contributes so much to the lifting up of the glory of the Lord and to the greatning of his praise in the world Many Saints have had their hearts warmed and heated by siting by other Saints fire by eying and dwelling upon other Saints
stark naught lâ—ke the Monk in the Fable did his excellent spirit appear in that he was holy and humble in heart though high in place and worth c. Dan. 6. 3-7 Daniel keeps humble and holy when he is lifted high yea made the second man in the Kingdome Malice it selfe could not find any thing against him but in the matter of his God 'T is much to be very gracious when a man is very great and to be high in holinesse when advanc'd to high places usually mens blood rises with their outward good Certainly they are worthy ones and shall walk with Christ Rev. 3. 4. in white whose Garments are not defiled with greatnesse or riches c. Secondly They that have highly improved their graces will comply with those commands of God that crosse nature that are contrary to nature And doubtlesse that man ha's improv'd his graces to a very high rate whose heart complies with those Commands of God that are crosse and contrary to nature As for a man to love them that loath him Mat. 5. 44. They use to say If any man would have Mr. Fox doe him a good turne let him doe him an injury c. to blesse them that curse him to pray for them that persecute him c. 'T is nothing to love them that love us and to speak well of them that speak well of us and to doe well and carry it well towards them that carry it well towards us Oh! but for a man to love those that hate him to be courteous to them that are currish to him to be sweet to them that are bitter to him c. this strongly demonstrates a high improvement of grace Certainly that man is very very good who ha's learned that holy Lesson of overcoming evill with good Such a one was Stephen Acts 7. 55 ult Rom. 12. ult He was a man full of the holy Ghost That is of the Gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost he was much in the exercise of Grace he can pray and sigh for them yea even weepe teares of blood for them who rejoyced to shed his blood So did Christ weep over Jerusalem so did Titus so did Marcellus over Syracuse so did Scipio over Carthage but they shed teares for them whose blood they were to shed but Christ shed teares for them who were to shed his blood So Abraham being strong in faith gave glory to God How Rom. 4. why by complying with those commands of God that were very contrary to flesh and blood as the offering up of his Son his onely Son his beloved Son his Son of the Promise and by leaving his owne Countrey and his near and dear relations upon a word of Command The Commands of God so change the whole man and make him new that you can hardly know him to be the same man saith one Well Sirs Lactant. defalsa sapient lib. 3. cap. â—7 remember this 't is a dangerous thing to neglect one of his Commands though it be never so crosse to flesh and blood who by another is able to command you into nothing or into hell Let Luther hate me and in his wrath call me a thousand times Devill yet I will love him and acknowledge him to be a most precious servant of God saith Calvin c. Thirdly consider this Such soules will follow the Lord fully that have made an improvement of their graces Oh! this was the glorious commendations of Caleb and Joshua in Numb 14. 24. that They followed the Lord fully in the face of all difficulties and discouragements They had another spirit in them sayes the Text they would goe up and possesse the Land though the Walls were as high as Heaven and Veni vidi vici I came I saw I overcame said that Emperour the Sons of Anak were there they made no more of it then to goe see and conquer They followed the Lord fully In the Hebrew it is They fullfilled after me The Hebrew word is a metaphor taken from a Ship under saile that 's carried with a strong wind as fearing neither Sands nor Rocks nor Shelves c. Such have little if any thing of Christ within who follow him by halves or haltingly I remember Cyprian brings in the Devil triumphing over Christ thus As for my followers I never dyed for them as Christ did for his I never promised them so great reward as Christ hath done to his and yet I have more followers then he and they doe more for me then his doe for him O where is that spirit in these dayes that was upon those Worthies Psal 44. All this is come upon us yet have we not forgotten thee neither have we dealt falsely in thy Covenant our heart is not turned backe neither have our steps declined from thy way though thou hast sore broken us in the place of Dragons and covered us with the shadow of death Fourthly Such soules that have improved their Graces to a considerable height will blesse God as well when he frowns as when he smiles As well when he takes as when he gives when he strikes as when he strokes as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the Margent together When the Lord had stript Job of all and had set him naked upon the dunghill why then Job 1. â—1 Levit. 10. 3. 2 Sam. 15. 25 26. Isa 63. 14 15. sayes Job The Lord gives and the Lord taketh away and blessed be the name of the Lord. Where Grace is improved to a considerable height it will work a soule to sit downe satisfied with the naked injoyment of God without other things John 14. 8. Shew us the father and it sufficieth us The sight Christus est mihi pro omnibus sayes a Christian as he said Plato est mihi pro omnibus of the father without honours the sight of the father without riches the sight of the father without mens favour will suffice the soule As Jacob said It is enough that Joseph is alive so sayes the soule that 's high in Grace 't is enough that Jesus is alive c. Fifthly Soules that have improved their Graces to a considerable height will be good in bad times and in bad places Such soules will bear up against the stream of evill examples in the worst of times and in the worst of places Abraham Though the Fishes live in the salt sea yet they are fresh So though soules eminently gracious live among the wicked yet they retaine their spiritualnesse freshnesse and liâ—e was righteous in Chaldea Lot was just in Sodome Daniel holy in Babylon Job upright and fearing God in the Land of Vz which was a prophane and most abominable superstitious place Nehemiah zealous in Damasco Oh take me a man that hath improved his grace and the worser the times are the better that man will be he will bear up bravely against the stream of evill examples he will be very good when times and all round
ship an arrow a dream a post c. This Valerian Valens and Bajazet three proud Emperours found by experience and so have many Kings and Generalls and Nobles as Scripture and History doe abundantly evidence Earthly riches are very uncertaine 1 Tim. 6. 17. They are ever upon the wing they are like Tennis-balls which are bandied up and downe from one to another As the Bird hopps from twig to twig so doe riches from man to man This age can furnish us with multitudes of instances of this nature c. Seventhly and lastly They are the most Vsefull riches to sweeten all other riches mercies and changes c. which speaks out the Excellency of these riches above all other riches The more usefull any thing is the more excellent it is Now the riches of Christ are of all things the most usefull to poore soules When the soule is under the guilt of sin nothing relieves it like the riches of Christ When the soul is surrounded with temptations nothing strengthens it like the riches of Christ When the soule is mourning under afflictions nothing comforts it like the riches of Christ When state friends and trading failes nothing makes a Christian sing care away like the riches of Christ c. The riches of Christ sweeten all other riches that men enjoy If a man be rich in parts Earthly riches cannot in rich the soule noâ— better the soule oftentimes under silk and sattin apparrell there is a thred-bare soule or rich in grace rich in faith rich in knowledge rich in wisedome rich in joy rich in peace c. Or if a man be rich in temporalls rich in money rich in wares rich in Jewels rich in Lands c. the glorious and unsearchable riches of Christ sweetens all his riches and the want of these riches imbitters all the riches that men enjoy When mens consciences are inlightned and awakened then they cry out What are all these worldly riches to us except we had an interest in the riches of Christ As Absolom once said What are all these to me except I see the Kings face I have read of one that upon his dying bed called for his baggs and laid a bagge of gold to his heart and then cryed out Take it away it will not doe it will not doe There are three things that earthly riches can never doe They can never satisfie Divine Justice They can never pacifie Divine wrath Nor they can never quiet a guilty conscience And till these things are done man is undone The Crowne of gold can't cure the Head-ach nor the honourable Garter can't cure the Gout nor the Chaine of Pearles about the neck cannot take away the paine of the Teeth Oh but the unsearchable riches of Christ give ease under all paines and torments Nugas the Scythian King despising the rich Presents and Ornaments that were sent unto him by * Michael Palâ—olegas the Emperour of Constantinople asked him that brought them Whether those things could drive away calamities diseases or deaths looking upon all those Presents as no Presents that could not keep off calamities from him Verily all the riches and glories of this world cannot keep off the least calamity neither can they make up the want of the least mercy But the riches of Christ doe both keep off calamities and make up the want of all mercies that the soule craves or needs All which speaks out the Excellency of the riches of Christ above all other riches We come now unto The Vses of this Point AND the first Use that we shall make is a Use of Exhortation to exhort you all seeing Christ is so rich to labour to be spiritually rich Oh labour to be rich in grace In the handling of this Use I shall propound this method 1 I shall lay downe some Considerations that may provoke your soules to labour to be rich in grace 2 I shall propound some Directions or Helps to help you to be rich in grace which is as much a mercy as a Duty c. 3 I shall lay downe some Propositions concerning the soules being rich in grace 4 I shall shew you how you may know whether you are the persons that are rich in grace or no. I shall begin with the first and be a little the more large upon it because it is a point of mighty weight and concernment and then be the more brief in the three following particulars For the first By way of Motive I shall onely propound these following Considerations to provoke your soules to labour to be rich in grace Laborandum was one of the Emperours Motto and must be every Christians First Consider That the more rich the soule is in grace the higher the soule will be in joy and comfort 'T is the greatest measures of grace that usher in the greatest O the joyes the joyes the unconceiveable joyes cryed out Mistris Katharine Bretterge who had attained to a great measure of grace c. measure of joy and comfort into a believing heart Christians have you tasted of the Consolations of God Have you at times sate downe and drank of these wells of salvation Are your hearts carried out for more of those waters of life Then labour to be rich in grace A little Star yeelds but a little light and a little grace will yield but a little comfort but great measures of grace will yield a man not onely a Heaven hereafter but also a Heaven of joy here Divine comfort is a choyce Flower a precious Jewel and onely to be found in their bosomes that are rich in grace Spirituall comforts are such Strong-waters that weak Christians are not able to bear them Great measures of grace carry with them the greatest evidence of the truth of grace and the clearer evidence there is in the soule of the truth of grace the higher will joy and comfort spring The soule is apt to hang her comforts on every hedge to shift and shark in every bye corner for comfort but as aire lights not without the Sun and as fuell heats not without fire so neither can any thing soundly comfort a Christian without the God of grace without his being rich in grace Great measures of grace carry with them the greatest evidence of a mans union and communion with God and the more a mans union and communion with God is evidenc't the more Aeterna erit exultatio quae bono laetatur aeterno c. will the soul be filled with that joy that is unspeakable and full of glory and with that comfort and peace that passes understanding In great measures of grace a man may read most of the love and favour of God and the more a man sees of the love and favour of God to him the more high the springs of comfort rise in him In great measures of grace as in a Christall glasse the soule sees the glorious face of God shining and sparkling and this fills the soule with joy Acts 9.
31. Then had the Churches rest throughout all Judca and Galilee and Samaria and were edified and walking in the feare of the Lord and in the comfort of the holy Ghost were multiplied The more their graces were increased the more their comforts were augmented If one drop of the joy of the Holy Ghost should fall into hell it would swallow up all the torments of hell saith Austin Oh! who would not then labour to increase in grace that he may abound in joy c. The Promise lyes most fair before their eyes that are rich in grace their interest in it is most clear and rarely that they goe without it unlesse it is by taking part sometimes with Satan against their interest in Christ or somtimes through the power of unbelief which indeed cuts off all the comfort of the soule or by looking after other lovers or by not hearkning to the voyce of the Comforter c. Christians you often complaine of the want of joy and comfort oh doe but abound in grace and you won't complaine of the want of comfort Without delight the soule cannot live saith one take away all delight and the soul dyes Let this that ha's been spoken provoke every Christian to labour to be rich in grace c. But secondly Consider this You have singular opportunities and choyce advantages to be rich in grace There is a price put into your hands but where are your hearts In former times God gave out grace by drops but now by Flaggons Opportunities if not improved will as Cant. 2. 5. that sword that Hector gave Ajax be turned into your owne bowels This will be a sword in thy bowels that there hath been soule-inriching opportunities and thou hast neglected them and turned thy back upon them The thoughts of this will one day be the Scorpions that will vex thee the rod that will lash thee the thornes that will prick thee and the worm that will gnaw thee The Storke saith the Prophet knowes Jer. 8. 7. his appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their coming but my people know not the judgement of the Lord. The Market for your soules is open slip not your season least with the foolish Virgins you Mat. 25. goe to buy when 't is too late The Merchant will not slip his opportunity of buying nor the Saylor his of sailing nor the Husbandman his of sowing and why should you slip yours of growing rich in grace Many men loose their soules as Saul lost his Kingdome by not discerning their time to be spiritually rich Tamarlen at first hung out a white flagge but if they slipt Such â—here have been who by giving a glasse of water opportunely have obtain'd a Kingdome as you may see in the story of Thâ—umâ—stus and King Agrippa c. that opportunity then a red and so death and destruction followed c. The Lord Jesus hangs out the white flagge of mercy in these dayes to intice soules to come in and to share with him in his glorious and unsearchable riches in the riches of his grace and mercy but if you stand out Christ hath a red flagge and if that be once put out you are lost for ever Thrice happy are those that take the first opportunity of closing with Christ and of subjecting themselves to Christ Plutarch writes of Hanniball That when he could have taken Rome he would not but when he would have taken Rome he could not When many men may have mercy they won't and when they would have mercy they shan't Mercy and Prov. 1. 24 â—l Rev. 3. 20. grace is sometimes upon the bare knee Christ stands knocking at sinners doores he is willing to come in and make sinners rich and happy for ever he calls upon soules to open to him Lift up your heads O ye Gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting Prov. 24. 7 8 c. doores and the King of glory shall come in who is the King of glory The Lord strong and mighty the Lord mighty in Battell The King of glory comes not vacuis manibus empty-handed no he comes with his hands and heart full of rich and royal Presents and blest and enricht for ever are those that open to this King of glory c. Thirdly Consider this Soules rich in grace shall have their names immortall Every man naturally would have if it were possible his name immortal now there 's no way in the world to have your names immortal like this of growing rich in grace A man that 's spiritually rich shall live and his name shall live when he is dead In Nehem. 7. 2. 't is said of Hannaniah that he was a faithfull man and feared God above many Or He feared God above multitudes as the Hebrew hath it His Merâ—bbim from Rabâ—b name lives though his body for many hundred years hath been turn'd to dust So in Acts 7. 55. Stephen was a man full of the Holy Ghost Though Stephen were stoned yet his name lives his memoriall is precious among the Saints to this very day So in Heb. 11. 38. They were such of whom this world was not worthy And in the third Epistle of John the six first Verses compared with vers 12. Gaius and Demetrius Ego si bonam faâ—ram servassâ— sat dives ero If I may but keep a good name I have wealth enough said Plaâ—t who were rich in grace have Crownes of honour set upon their heads their names live and are a sweet savour to this very day c. So in Psal 112. 6. The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance but the name of the wicked shall rot The great mans name and the rich mans name shall rot saith he but the name of the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance The Persians use to write their Kings names in golden Characters so the Lord writes the names of soules rich in grace in golden Characters Their names are alwayes Heires to their lives believe it there 's no such way in the world to have immortall names like this of growing rich in grace One man thinks to make his name immortall by making himself great another by heaping up silver and gold as the dust of the A good name yields a fragrant smell over Towne Country it puts a shining lustre upon the countenance it fitteth to any publick employment in Ministry or Magistracy it stops many a foul mouth and it makes men live when they are dead earth or the stones of the street and another by doing some strange exploites c. But for all this the Lord will make good his word The name of the wicked shall rot if God be God his name must rot but the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance they leave their Names behind for a blessing Isa 65. 15. 'T is sad to consider what many poor carnall Creatures have done and suffered to make their names immortall
love to grace and because of an excellency that they see in grace Grace is a very sparkling Jewel and he that loves it and pursues after it for its owne native beauty ha's much of it within him c. Thirdly 'T is your Principle That men must subject themselves and square all their actions by the word of God Now what will make a man live up to this Principle will a little grace Surely no. But great measures of grace will Isa 8. 20. Zacharias and Elizabeth were rich in grace and they liv'd up to this Principle Luke 1. 5. They walked in all the Commandements of the Lord blamelesse The Apostles were rich in grace and they liv'd up to this Principle 2 Cor 1. 12. This is our rejoycing the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world So in 1 Thess 2. 10. Ye are witnesses and God also how holily justly and unblameably we have behaved our selves among you that believe Oh here are soules that live up to their Principles A Christian that is rich in grace is excellent all over George Prince of Anhalt his family is said to have been Ecclesia Academia Curia A Church a Vniversity and a Court. A Christian that is rich in grace ha's a heart as large as his head yea a heart that is as large as the whole will of God Acts 13. 22. I have found David the Son of Jesse a man after my owne heart which shall fullfill all my will In the Greek 't is All my wills to note the universality and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sincerity of his obedience Soules rich in grace practice that themselves which they prescribe to others Lessons of Musick and Copies must not be read onely but acted also Soules rich in grace are good at this and they will be good in all places and cases They are as good at the particular Duties of Religion as at those that are more generall they are good Fathers and good Masters and good Husbands as well as good Christians in a more generall sense But now soules that have but a little grace they are much in the generall Duties of Religion but very defective in the particular Duties of Religion as sad experience does abundantly evidence Those that have a blemish in their eye think the skie to be ever cloudy and nothing is more common to weak spirits then to be criticising and contending about others Duties and to neglect their owne But such that are rich in grace make it their glory to subject themselves to the rule of righteousness As Baldasser a German Minister cryed out Let the word of the Lord come let it come saith he and we will submit to it if we had many hundred necks to put under It must be much grace that must inable a man freely fully and sweetly to subject himselfe and his actions to the word of the Lord. Fourthly 'T is your Principle That you must deny your selves your owne profit ease pleasure c. for a publick good And this the Scripture requires 'T is your Principle to deny your selves your own honour pleasure profit c. for a publick advantage when your particular advantages stand in competition 'T is a base unworthy spirit for a man to make himselfe the Centre of all his actions The very heathen man could say A mans Countrey and his friend and others chalenge a great part of him with the publick Now selfe must be laid by and the publick must carry the day Oh but will a little grace inable a man to live up to this Principle Wofull experience shewes the contrary I but now take me a man that is rich in grace and he will live up to this golden Principle as you may see in Nehem. 5. 14 15 16 17 18. Nehemiah was a man eminent in grace and he chooses rather to live upon his owne Purse then upon the publick purse Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their Governour in the Land of Judah from the twentieth year even unto the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the King that is twelve years I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the Governour Behold the former Governours that had been before me were chargeable unto the people and had taken of them bread and wine besides forty Sheckles of silver yea even their servants did bear rule over the people but so did not I because of the fear of God yea also I continued in the worke of this wall neither bought we any land and all my servants were gathered thither unto the worke Moreover there were at my Table an hundred and fifty of the Jewes and Rulers besides those that came in to us from among the Heathen And yet for all this saith he I required not the bread of the Governour because the bondage was heavy upon the people Oh! here was a brave spirit indeed he was far from inriching himselfe by others ruines from emptying others Purses to fill his owne But he is dead and it seemes this brave spirit is buried with him there are few of his name and fewer of his spirit if any in this world and therefore well might he pray Thinke upon me my God for good according to all that I have done for this people And accordingly God did think upon him for good and made him very famous and glorious in his Generation And that 's a remarkable passage concerning Moses Numb 14. 12. to 21. I will smite them with the Pestilence and dis-inherite them and will make of thee a great Nation and mightier then they saith God to Moses Therefore let me alone to destroy them and cut them off for they are a rebellious Generation And I will make thee a mighter Nation for honour riches and power then they Nay saith Moses this may not be Lord. Oh the people must be spared the people must be pardoned and the people must have thy presence with them and rather then it should be otherwise let my name Lord be blotted out of the Book of life Lord I care not how ill it goes with my particular so long as it may goe well with the generall let me dye so they may live Can the self-seekers of our age think seriously of this and not blush So Mordecai was a man of a brave publick spirit Esther 10. 3. Mordecai the Jew was next unto King Ahassuerus and great among the Jewes and accepted of the multitude of his brethren seeking the wealth of his people Or as the Hebrew ha's it Seeking good for his people That is he made it his businesse to seek their good Christ also was full of grace Christ healed others but was burt himselfe he â—ed and filled others but was hungry himselfe c. and had a brave publick spirit he laid out himselfe and laid downe himselfe for a publick good and so did Paul c. Few in our dayes are of his opinion
Shâ—â—hen Humility as the Violet though the lowest yet the sweetest of Flowers at my word The word there rendred dwell is an Hebrew Participle and signifies Dwelling Thus saith the high and lofty one dwelling with him that is of an humble and a contrite spirit The word notes to us thus much That God will not dwell with an humble man as a wafairing man dwells with his relations a few nights and away Dwelling notes a constant and not a transient act of God God will for ever keep house with the humble soule when once they meet they never part There is no such way to be rich as to be poor and low in our owne eyes this is the way to injoy his company in whom all treasures are Fourthly Improve the riches that you have Improve that knowledge that faith that light that love that you have Those that had two Talents did by the improvement of them gaine other two and those that had five did by the improvement of them gaine ten Prov. 10. 4. The diligent hand maketh rich Take hold of all opportunities to inrich your soules with spirituall riches Men will The â—adâ—x Hâ—râ—ts is to â— dig in the ground for gold whence 〈◊〉 fine precious gold Prov. 16. 16. The neglect of golden soul inriching opportunities has made many a mans life a hell yea many a Courtiers life a â—ell as all know that know any thing of History c. easily readily greedily and unweariedly close with all opportunities wherein they may get earthly riches and why should not you be as diligent in taking hold of all opportunities to enrich your precious soules Is not the soule more then rayment more then friends more then relations more then life yea more then all And why then doe you not labour to inrich your soules Thou wert better have a rich soule under a thred-bare Coat then a thred-bare soule under a silk or golden Coat If he be a Monster among men that makes liberall provision for his Servant his slave and starves his wife what a Monster is he that makes much provision for his baser part but none for his noble part A sloathfull heart in the things of God is a heavy judgement Prov. 4. 31. I went by the field of the sloathfull and by the Vineyard of the man voyd of understanding Or as the Hebrew hath it The man that had no heart that is to make use of his Vineyard and loe it was all growne over with thornes and nettles c. O the lusts the wickednesses that will overgrow sloathfull sluggish soules Spirituall sluggards are subject to the saddest stroakes Oh the deadly sins the deadly temptations the deadly judgements that spirituall sluggards will unavoidably fall under None such an enemy to himselfe none such a friend to Satan as the spirituall sluggard 'T is sad to think how the riches of Christ the riches of Consolation the riches of Justification the riches of Glorification are brought to many mens doores and yet they have no hearts to imbrace them no judgement to this Wherefore is there a price in the Prov. 17. 16. Wealth without wit is iâ—l bestowed c. hand of a foole to get wisedome seeing he hath no heart to it Well spirituall sluggards remember this When your consciences are awakened this will be a sword in your soules that you might have been saved you might have been spiritually and eternally inriched but that you have trifled and fooled away golden opportunities and your owne salvation Fifthly Walke uprightly holily and obedientially If ever you would be spiritually rich look to your walking 't is not the knowing soule nor the talking soule but the close-walking soule the obedientiall soule that is in spiritualls the richest soule Others may be rich in notions but none so rich in spirituall experiences and in all holy and heavenly grace as close-walking Christians Psal 84. 11. When my heart is coldest and highest I present God to my self under the notion of his greatnes but when my heart is loose and fearing then I present God to my soul under the notion of his goodnesse saith Luther The Lord will give grace and glory and no good thing will he with-hold from them that walke uprightly The upright walker shall be both of his Court and Councel he shall know any thing and have any thing In John 14. 21 23. compared If any man love me he will keepe my Commandements and I will love him and my father will love him what then we will make our abode with him and will manifest our selves to him Certainly they cannot be poore that injoy such Guests as these they must needs be full who injoy them that are fullnesse it selfe God and Christ are overflowing Fountaines and holy soules find it so Sixthly Be most in with those soules that are spiritually rich Let them be thy choycest Companions that have made Christ their chiefest Companion Doe not so much eye the outsides of men as their inside look most to their internall worth Many persons have an eye upon the externall Garb of this and that Professor but give me a Christian that minds the internall worth of persons that makes such as are most filled with the fullnesse of God to be his choisest and his chiefest Companions In Psal 16. My goodnesse extends not to thee sayes David now David speaks in the person of Christ but to the Saints that are in the earth in whom is all my delight There are Saints and there are excellent Saints now those are the excellent ones that are most rich in Heavenly Treasures and these you should make your bosome friends your choycest Companions Prov. 13. 20. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise That is he shall be more wise more humble more holy and more abounding in all spirituall riches The word Rolech that is rendred walke is an Hebrew Participle and signifies walking to note to us that 't is not he that talks with the wise nor he that commends the wise nor he that takes a step or two or three with the wise that shall be wise but he that gives up himselfe to the society and company of the wise that shall be more and more wise more and more gracious more and more holy He that cometh where sweet Spices and Ointments are stirring doth carry away some of the sweet savour though himself think not of it The Spouses lips drop as the Honey-comb Cant. 4. 10. the tongue of the just is as choyce silver he scaters pearls he throws abroad treasures where he comes Prov. 15. 7. The lips of the wise disperse knowledge The Hebrew word is a Metaphor from Jezaru from Zarah scattering abroad with a Fan or from Seeds-men scattering abroad of their seed in the furrowes of the field They scatter their light their love their Experiences among those with whom they converse as Seeds-men scatter their seed in the field Christ sayes his Spouses lips are like a
dispossessing of his Son If thou canst believe saith Christ all things are possible And the poore man said with teares Lord I believe helpe my unbelief And presently Christ charged the foule spirit to come out of him c. A believing husband a belâ—eving wife a believing Child or a believing servant may bring downe by the actings of faith many a blessing upon their relations Faith hath a happy hand and never but speeds in one kind or another It hath what it would either in money or moneys worth Apollenius saith Sozonem Never askt any thing of God either for himselfe or his friends but he had it And one pointing to Luther said There 's a man can have any thing of God that he will aske And as faith brings downe blessings upon our owne heads Faith hath a kind of Omnipotency in it iâ—'s able to do all thingâ— c. and the heads of our friends so it often brings downe wrath upon our enemies There 's nothing contributes so much to our enemies ruine as faith doth I am confident it hath neither been Armies nor Navies nor Parliaments that have had the chief hand in bringing howne the proud and stout enemies of Christ and Zion in this and other Nations but the faith of his despised people One Enemy may stand before Mary Queen of Scots that was Moâ—her o King James was wont to say That she feared Mâ— Knockes prayers who was a man of much â—â—iâ—h more then an Army of ten thousand men the face of another but what enemy can stand before the face and power of faith That 's a remarkable Scripture Heb. 11. 33. Who through faith subdued Kingdomes wrought righteousnesse obtained Promises stopped the mouths of Lyons quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the sword out of weaknesse were made strong waxed valiant in fight turned to flight the Armies of Alians Other means were used but that which did the work and struck all dead was faith faith ingages God in every incounter and who can stand before a consuming fire Polybius speaking of Horatiâ—s his keeping of the field against his Enemies Forces saith That his enemies were more afraid of his faith then of his war like strength And truly there is nothing that renders men more dreadfull to an understanding enemy then their faith Oh! 't is brave for men to believe downe the powers of darknesse to believe downe those that war against the Lamb c. No way to get an Enemy downe like this nor no way to keep an Enemy downe like this No way to save a Kingdome like this nor no way to keep a Kingdome like this the Nation is beholding to none so much as to believing soules Oh England England thou hadst long before this been a prey to men that delight in blood had it not been for the faith of the Worme Jacob c. Christians as you would have Christ goe on and doe more and more glorious things for England as you would be Crown'd with the choycest and the chiefest blessings and as you would have vengeance executed upon all that hate that wage war against and persecute Christ and the Saints be mighty in believing Ninthly and lastly Faith is a root Grace and will the branches flourish if the root wither O therefore water this root have an eye to this root If you have a choyce root in any of your Gardens Oh how carefull are you of it you will mind it and water it and look to it c. Well of all graces faith is the root grace and if this dye you will find your graces to languish your hope love fear patience humility joy c. can never out-live your faith these live together and they dye together therefore above all labour to be rich in faith for this is a root grace and if this flourish all other graces will flourish but if this decay all other graces will loose their strength beauty and glory c. And thus much for the fifth Proposition We come now to the sixth Proposition and that is this That no gracious soules doe at all times alike grow and thrive in spirituall riches A Child sometimes shootes up more in a month then he doth at other times in many months and sometimes more And don't Plants and Trees sometimes shoot up more in a week then â—n many c. in a year then he does afterwards in many years So many a Christian thrives more and gets more spirituall riches in one moneth then in many in one year then in many I appeale to your experiences Christians don't you find it so I know you doe To cite Scripture to prove this would be to cast water into the sea and to light Candles to see the Sun at noone Sin and Satan doe sometimes work more violently and more strongly in the soules of Saints then at other times Now when sin and Satan work most and prevaile most then grace thrives least As the life of grace is the death of sin and the growth of grace the decay of sin so the increase of sin is the decay of grace and the strengthning No ships have it all times the same gales of wind c. of sin is the weakning of grace Againe No Saints have at all times alike gales of the spirit of God and therefore they doe not grow in spirituall riches at all times alike A man thrives in spirituall riches as the gales of the spirit of God are upon him and no otherwise When the spirit of the Lord doth blow most sweetly Cant. 4. ult and strongly upon his heart then his graces thrive and flourish most then those beds of spices doe yeeld the most fragrant smell But when the spirit of the Lord doth withdraw and with-hold his influences how does the strength and glory Latimer said of the Spirit That 't is coming and going c. of grace wither and decay The Herb Heliotropium doth turne about and open and shut according to the motion of the Sun so doe the graces of the Saints according to the internall gales motions and operations of the spirit c. Againe No Saints have at all times the like externall advantages and opportunities of growing rich in spiritualls They have not the word it may be in that power and life as formerly or it may be they injoy not the communion of Saints as formerly or if they doe yet perhaps those that have formerly been as fire to warme and inflame them are now become water to coole them and deaden them or it may be they have not those advantages for Closet duties as formerly or it may be the course of nature is changed and if so 't is no wonder that they thrive not in spiritulls as formerly When Children have not as good food and as good lodging and as good looking after as at other times no wonder if they thrive not as at other times When men have not the same advantages and
is most precious And thou those that are spiritually rich doe out-reach all others c. Thirdly Rich men can with more ease and pleasure beare burdens then poore men can A Tree that is well growne stands it oâ— in the worst stormes it bends not it breaks not c. When Taxes and burdens are laid upon poore men they sigh and shrug and complaine that they are not able to bear them when rich men make nothing of them So soules that are rich in grace can bear burdens without a burden they can bear crosses afflictions and persecutions with abundance of ease cheerfullnesse and contentednesse of spirit they doe not shrug nor grumble but beare the greatest Trialls with the greatest sweetnesse as you may see in Acts 5. They went out rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ So Paul 2 Cor. 12. 10. I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses for Christs sake I take pleasure The Greek word is an emphaticall word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is the same word that God the father uses to expresse his infinite delight in his Son Mat. 3. ult This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Or In whom I am infinitely delighted The same word the Apostle uses to expresse the wonderfull delight that he took under all his sufferings he rejoyces leaps under all his burdens Oh but now a soul that is poor in grace he cannot bear a burden without a burden every light affliction turns him sinks him every Mole-hill is a mountaine every scratch on the hand is a stab at the heart every wave is a sea and the poore Christian sighes and groanes and cryes out O no sorrow to my sorrow no losse to my losse no crosse to my crosse but soules rich in grace act quite contrary as hath been hinted and proved c. Fourthly Rich men are most envied History and Scripture speaks out this as well as our owne experience The rich man above all others is the greatest object of envy and 't is as true that such that are most rich in Numb 16. spiritualls are of all men the most envied Moses and Aaron were rich in spiritualls and Oh! how were they envied by Corah Dathan and Abiram and other wicked wretches T was said of Caesar and Pompoy That the one could not indure a superiour nor the other an equall Ezra Nehemiah and Mordecai were rich in spiritualls and who more envied Among all the Prophets and Apostles those have been most envied that have most abounded in spirituall worth and to this very day none are such objects of scorne and envy as those that have most of Christ within Men that have more leaves then fruit that have a golden outside but a thred-bare inside are lesse envied then those that are all glorious within Men of greatest excellencies Psal 45. 13. are the maine objects upon which the eye of envy is placed Sauls envious eye was placed upon David and Cain's upon Abel and Esau's upon Jacob and Herod's upon John and the Pharisees upon Christ Envious soules are like the Ravens that flye over the sweet Garden and light upon the stinking Carrion Envy doth ever ascend it never discends An envious man can with more ease dye miserably Socrates calls Envy Seâ—ram animae Thâ— soules saw c. then see another live happily An envious heart weeps to see others mercies and joyes to see others miseries An envious heart is like the Mear-maid which never sings but in a storm and never mournes but in a calme An envious man cannot indure those excellencies in others that he wants in himselfe he loves not any light that out-shines his owne any Crowne that out-weighs his owne c. Cimon the famous Generall of the Athenian Common-wealth hearing a friend of his highly commending his Martiall Atchievements answered That they were not worthy of commendations because they were not envied c. Fifthly Rich men are most tempted and assaulted Pirates doe not use to set upon empty Vessels but those that are most richly laden And Beggars need not feare the Thief though the rich man doe Those that have been most rich in spiritualls have been most assaulted and tempted by God and Satan will tâ—y to the utmost those particular graces wherein any Christian do'â— excell c. Satan witnesse Abraham Job Joshua Peter Paul yea Christ himselfe The best men have alwayes been most and worst tempted none so much in the Schoole of temptation as those that are most rich in grace There are none that are such blocks such mountaines in Satans way as these none doe him that mischief as these none are so active and so resolute in their oppositions against him as they c. and therefore none so assaulted and tempted as they And thus by these five things you may know whether you are rich in grace or no. The next Use is this If the Lord Jesus Christ be so rich then doe not joyne any thing with him in the great worke of your redemption and salvation There is riches enough in Christ to pay all your debts and to satisfie Divine Justice to the utmost farthing without being beholding to your prayers teares or humiliations Christ will be Alexander or Nemo on earth Kings love no consorts power is impatient of participation When Augustus Caesar desired the Senate to joyne two Consuls with him for the carrying on the Government of Suetonius the State the Senators answered That they held it a diminution to his dignity to joyne any with so incomparable a man as Augustus Caesar was Was it a diminution to his dignity to joyne others with We must say of Christ as it was once said of Caesar Sâ—cium habet neminem He may have a companion but he must not have a competiâ—or c. him in the Government of the State And is it not a diminution of the dignity and glory of Christ to joyne your actions and your indeavours with his blood in the businesse of your redemption In Isa 63. 3. I have trodden the Wine-presse alone and of the people there was none with me And in Isa 44. Thus saith the Lord thy redeemer and he that formed thee from the womb I am the Lord that maketh all things that stretcheth forth the heavens alone that spreadeth abroad the earth by my selfe 'T is a sad reproach to Christ to joyne any thing with him in the great businesse of your salvation therefore abhor it more then hell it selfe let Christ be all in all Againe Thirdly If Christ be so rich then take heed of three things First Take heed of sitting downe dejected and discouraged under any losses or troubles that doe befall you or that have or shall befall you for the name of Christ Christ is generally rich he is able to make up all your losses and wants Phil. 4. 19. But my God shall supply all your
downe yea they would have him downe root and branch but there 's no such way for his totall and finall overthrow as the Preaching of Christ for the more the glory fullnesse perfection and excellency of Christ is discovered the more the horrid vilenesse and matchlesse wickednesse of the man of sin will be discovered and abhorred c. 2 Thess 2. 3 4 7 8 9 10. And then In the Canon Law the Pope is said to be Sâ—lutus omni lege humana shall that wicked one be revealed The Greek word Anomos properly signifies a lawlesse yokelesse masterlesse Monster one that holdeth himselfe subject to no Law Pope Nicholas the First said That he was above Law because Constantine had stiled the Pope God And of the same opinion were most of the Popes Whom he shall consume The Greek word signifies to consume Analosei by little and little till a thing come to nothing With the spirit of his mouth That is with the evidence and glory of his word in the mouths of his Messengers The Ministers of the word are as a mouth whereby the Lord breatheth Bellarmine confesseth to his great grief That ever since the Lutherans have declared the Pope to be Antichrist his Kingdome hath not only nâ—t increased but every day more more decreased and decayed Lib. 3. de papa RoÌ„ cap. 21. out that glorious mighty and everlasting Gospel which shall by degrees bruâ—se Antichrist and all his adherents and break them in sunder like a rod of Iron c. When Christ was born all the Idols that were set up in the world as Historians write fell down When Jesus Christ comes to be lifted up in a Nation in a City in a Towne in a Family yea in any heart then all Idols without and within will fall before the power presence and glory of Jesus Since Luther began to lift up Christ in the Gospel what a deale of ground ha's Antichrist lost and he does and will looâ—â— more and more as Christ comes to be more and more … ened and lifted up in the Chariot of his word Many in these dayes that speak much against Antichrist have much of Antichrist within them And certainly there is no such way to cast him out of mens hearts and out of the world as the Preaching and making knowne of Christ as the exalting and lifting up of Christ in the Gospel of grace A fourth Reason why they are to Preach Christ to the people is this Because else they contract upon themselves the blood of soules There 's no other way for them to avoid the contracting of the blood of men and womens soules upon them but the The Germans have this Proverb say they The pavement of hell is made â—f the bare skuls of Priests and the glorious Crests of gallants Theâ—r meâ—ning is that the more eminent any one is in Church or State doth not imploy his eminency accordingly the more low shall they lye in hell Rev. 18. 11 12 13 14. Preaching of Christ unto them Now a man were better to have all the blood in the world upon him then the blood of one soule The blood of soules of all blood cryes loudest and wounds deepest The lowest the darkest and the hottest place in Hell will be the sad and dreadfull portion of such upon whose skirts the blood of soules shall be found at last Hence that passage of Paul in 1 Cor. 9. 16. Woe unto me if I preach not the Gospel The Motto that should be writ upon Preachers Study doores and on their wals and on all the Books they look on on the beds they lye on and on the seats they sit on c. should be this The Blood of soules The Blood of soules The soule is the better the noble part of man it bears most of the Image of God 't is capable of union and communion with God Christ sweat for it and bled for it and therefore woe to those Merchants that make merchandize of the soules of men This was a comfort and an honour to Paul that he kept himselfe from the blood of soules Acts 20. 25 26 27. He appeales to them that they were witnesses that he was free from the blood of all men Paul had held out Jesus Christ in his Natures in his Names in his Offices and in all his excellencies and perfections and so frees himselfe from the blood of all men And Ministers can no way secure themselves from the blood of soules but by Preaching up and living out a crucified Jesus The last Reason is this Because the Preaching of Christ contributes most to their comfort here and to their reward hereafter therefore they are to Preach the Lord Christ to the people When Luther was upon a dying bed this was no small Bernard comfortably observes That Ministers have their reward Secundum laborem not Secundum proventum joy and comfort to his spirit Thee O Lord saith he have I knowne thee have I loved thee have I taught thee have I trusted and now into thy hands I commend my spirit There can be no greater joy to a Minister then by Preaching Christ to win soules to Christ 1 Thess 2. 19 20. For what is our hope or joy or Crowne of rejoycing are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ye are our glory and joy They that by Preaching Christ win soules to Christ shall shine as the Starres in the Firmament Dan. 12. 3. Every soule won to Christ is a glorious Pearle added to a Preachers Crowne 1 Pet. 5. 4. And when the chief Shepheard shall appeare you shall receive a Crowne of glory A Crowne imports perpetuity plenty and dignity the height of humane ambition It is the opinion of some That there are three places of exaltation in heaven The first and highest is for converting Ministers The second is for suffering Martyrs The third is for persevering Christians Without doubt those Ministers shall be high in heaven who make it their heaven to hold forth Christ and to win soules to Christ who are willing to be any thing to be nothing that Christ may be all in all to poore soules And thus I have given you the Reasons of the Point I shall now come to the second thing which is the maine and that is to shew you How Ministers are to Preach Christ to the people Many weak and slight spirits in these dayes think that 't is 2. Cor. 2. 16. Who is sufficient for these things Almost every Upstart in these dayes thinks himself sufficient Who am I sayes Moses who am I not saith every green-head in these dayes as easie to Preach as to play and so they hop from one thing to another and those that are not qualified nor fit for the least and lowest imployment yet judge themselves fit enough for the greatest and the weightiest imployment in the world and that which would certainly break the backs not onely of the
holy and heavenly as theirs nor no mens work is so high and honourable as theirs and therefore none deserve to be more honoured then they though not for their owne sakes yet for their works sake Shall Turks and Papists so highly esteem and honour every hedge-Priest of theirs above their merits And shall not Christians much more honour their faithfull Ministers Faithfull Ministers must have countenance as well as maintenance they must have reverence as well as recompence You are not to nodd the head and put out the lip to scoffe and mock and jeere at them Gal. 4. 14. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not nor rejected but received me as an Angel of God even as Christ Jesus When Ehud told the King of Moab I have a Message to thee from God O King he rose from his Throne and bowed himselfe Judg. 3. 20. Isa 52. 7. How beautifull upon the Mountaines are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace that bringeth good tidings of good that publisheth salvation that saith unto Zion thy God reigneth How beautifull upon the mountaines are the feete What 's their face then What 's their doctrine then Their very feet when dirty sweaty and dusty are yet very beautifull and lovely It was a common saying at Constantinople That 't was better the Sun should not shine then that Chrysostome should not Preach I have read of one that said If he should meet a Preacher and an Angel together he would first salute the Preacher and then the Angel afterward If you doe not give them honourable countenance Jewes and Turks Papists and Pagans will in the great day of account rise up against you and condemn you I could say much of what I have observed in other Nations and Countreyes concerning this thing but I shall forbear should I speak what I have seen many Professors might well blush The Gretians use to give farre greater respect and honour to their Philosophers then to their Orators because that their Orators did onely teach them to speak well but their Harvest-laboures have meat and drink and double wages Some think that the Apostle hath respect to the Law of the first borne Deut. 21. 17. in which a two sold portion is commanded to be given him The antient Christians as appears by Tertullian were wont in their Agapes or Love-feasts to give their Ministers a double portion Surely Ministers should have such a liberal honourable and ingenious maintenance as might set them above the vulgar as the first-born by their double portion were set up above the rest of their Brethren Philosophers did teach them to live well Oh! what honour then is due to them that doe teach you both to speak well and to live well both how to be happy here and how to be blessed hereafter And thus you see that honourable Countenance is due to faithfull Ministers Secondly There is an honour of Maintenance as well as an honour of Countenance that is due to them 1 Tim. 5. 17 18. Let the Elders that rule well be accounted worthy of double honour especially they who labour in the word and doctrine For the Scripture saith Thou shalt not muzzle the Ox that treadeth out the Corne and the labourer is worthy of his reward It was not the manner in the Eastern Countreys to thrash out Corne as we doe but their Oxen trod it out to which the Apostle allegorically compares laborious Pastours who after a sort crush out that Corne of which the bread of life is made Gal. 6. 6. Let him that is taught in the word communicate to him that teacheth in all good things Be not deceived God is not mocked for what a man soweth that shall he also reap So in 1 Cor. 9. 7 8 9 10 11. Who goeth a warfare any time at his owne charge Who planteth a Vineyard and eateth not of the fruit thereof Or who feedeth a flocke and eateth not of the milke of the flocke Say I these things as a man Or saith not the Law the same also For it is written in the Law of Moses Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the Ox that treadeth out the Corne. Doth God take care for Oxen Or saith he it altogether for our sakes For our sakes no doubt this is written that he that ploweth should plow in hope and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope If we have sowne unto you spirituall things is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnall things Mat. 10. 9 10. Provide neither gold nor silver nor brasse in your purses nor scrip for your journey neither two coates neither shoes nor yet staves for the workman is worthy of his meat Gods appointment in all these Texts bespeak it Againe You may consider the necessity of it how shall they goe on in their warfare if they be troubled with the things of this life Againe they are to give them selves wholly to the work of the Ministry 1 Tim. 4. 5. And againe the equity and justice of the duty Christ and the Apostle shewes in the fore-named Scriptures Mat. 10. 10. 1 Cor. 9. 10. The maintenance of the Minister should be so free and so liberall as may testifie that you honour him in your hearts and as may keep him from contempt and scorne in the world There are multitudes that grumble at the expence of a penny for the maintenance of those Divine Candles that waste themselves to give light to them that will rather dye to save Charges then spend a little money to save their lives yea their soules They like well of Religion without expence in Basil and a Gospel without charge but if it grow costly 't is none of their money The Scripture sayes Buy the truth but sell it not you can never over buy it whatsoever you give for it you can never sufficiently sell it if you had all the world in exchange for it It is said of Caesar That he had greater care of his Bookes then of his Royall Robes for swimming thorow the water to escape his Enemies he carryed his Books in his hand above The Ministers maintenance is not to be esteemed of the nature of Alms as some would have it but is a Tribute of honour such as is given by an inferiour to his superiour the water but lost his Robes But alasse what are Caesars Books to Gods Book The word is the field and Christ is the Treasure that is hid in that field The word is a ring of gold and Christ is the Pearle in that ring of gold and is it then worth nothing Many deale with faithfull painfull Ministers as Carriers doe with their Horses they lay heavy burdens upon them and exact work enough and give them but easie Commons and then to recompence this they hang Bels at their eares and necks They shall be commended and applauded for brave excellent Preachers and for great paines-takers c. That maintenance
that is justly due to the Ministers of the Gospel is honourable it ought to be sutable to their condition and dignity The maintenance that is due to them is of the same nature with that which is given to Princes and Magistrates by those which are under them and not a common maintenance which superiours give to their inferiours or servants Thirdly There is an honour of Obedience and Service that is due to them And indeed of all honours this is the greatest honour that can be cast upon a faithfull Minister the honour of Obedience Heb. 13. 7. Remember them that have the rule over you who have spoken to you in the word of God And vers 17. Obey them that rule over you O submit your selves for they watch for your soules as they that must give an account that they may doe it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you Obey them that have the rule over you The word that 's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendred Rule over you in the seventh and seven-teenth verses signifies Captaines Guides Faithfull Ministers are your Captaines they are your Guides they are your Chieftaines they are your Champions that bear the brunt of the Battel the heat of the day and therefore you must obey them even as Souldiers doe their Captaines So in 2 Thess 3. 14. And if any man obey not our words note that man and have no company with him Brand him as infamous beware of him let him see a strangenesse in you towards him that all may avoid him as one whose company is dangerous and infectious Ah Christians by your submission to their doctrine you highly honour them and you make their heavy task to be easie and sweet unto them Christians it will be your honour and happinesse in the day of Christ that you have liv'd out what they have made out to you I suppose you remember that happinesse is not intail'd to hearing or knowing or talking John 13. 17. but to doing If you know these things blessed and happy are you if you doe them There are some diseases that are call'd There is no fear of knowâ—â—g too much but there is much feare and danger of practising too little I feare with St. Augustine That many grieve more for the barâ—nnesse of their Lands then for the barrennessâ— of their lives The more the Cypresse is â—atered the more it is withered Oh that it were not so with many in these dayes Opprobria Medicorum the reproaches of Physitians and there are some people that may be truly call'd Opprobria Ministrarum the reproach of Ministers and those are they that are great hearers and talkers and admirers of Ministers but never obey the doctrines delivered by them The Corinthians were Paul's honour they were his living Epistles they were his walking Certificates they were his Letters testimoniall 2 Cor. 3. 2 3. The obedience and fruitfulnesse of the people is the Ministers testimoniall as the profiting of the Scholar is the Masters commendations Oh what an honour is it to a Minister when it shall be said of him as one said of Octavius When he came into Rome he found the walls all of base materialls but he left them walls of Marble So here 's a Minister that found the people dark and blind but left them inlightned he found them dead but left them alive he found them a proud people but hath left them humble a prophane people but hath left them holy a carnall people but hath left them spirituall a worldly people but hath left them heavenly a wavering people but hath left them settled and rooted c. No honour to a faithfull Minister like this And thus you see what honour is due unto them c. And now let me make a word of use Christians If their Office be so honourable then honour them O give them the honour that is due unto them Will you make conscience to give others their due And will you make no conscience of giving Ministers their due Are there any that are greater blessings to a Nation then faithfull Ministers Who have stood more in the gap to turne away wrath then they Who have begotten you to Christ thorow the Gospel but they Who have turned you from darknesse to light and from the power of Satan unto God but them Who have built you up in the light and love of Jesus but them c. O don't cast scorne and reproach upon them but give them that honour that is due unto them But you will say to me How shall we honour them I answer You must honour them these five wayes First You must honour them By hearing them and giving Antisthâ—nes a Philosopher went every day six miles to hear Socrates credit to their Message The want of this honour troubled Jonah too much Who hath believed our report Not to believe the report that they make concerning God and Christ c. is to cast the greatest dishonour that can be upon them The wise men Mat. 2. went many weary hundred miles to find Christ at Jerusalem some think near a thousand Nunquam nimis 〈◊〉 quod nunquaâ— saâ—i dicitur We can never hear that too often that we can never learne too well miles The Queen of Sheba some say went 964 miles to hear the wisedome of Solomon and what was Solomons wisedome to that wisedome of Christ that is held forth to soules in the Ministry of the Gospel The Holy Martyrs thought no weather too hot no winter too cold no journey too long nor no torment too great to injoy the Preaching of the Gospel though darkly The Heathen Priests began with Hoc age they thought it a very irreligious thing to be remisse and vaine though in a vaine Religion Oh that vaine Professors would remember this and blush Secondly You may honour them By standing fast in the doctrine of the Lord delivered by them 1 Thess 3. 8. Ye are our joy our Crowne if ye stand fast in the Lord else saith the If I forsake my profession I am sure of a worse death theâ— Judge Hales had said that Martyr Apostle yee kill our very hearts If after all our studying wrastling sweating and Preaching yee shall play Apostates and leave the precious wayes of God and run after notions and vaine opinions which cannot profit you nor better you you will kill many at once your owne soules and our hearts Thirdly You should honour them By being followers of them so far as they are followers of Christ So in 1 Cor. 4. 16. Be ye followers of me even as I am of Christ Chap. 11. 11. Bonus dux bonus comes A good leader makes a good follower Heb. 13. 7. 2 Thess 3. 7. Phil. 3. 7. All these Scriptures bespeak you to be followers of them as they are followers of Christ Alexander had somewhat a rye neck and his Souldiers thought it an honour to be like him Oh! 't is an honour
not doting upon their discouragements upon things that are seen but upon things that are not seene The things which are seen are temporall but the things which are not seen are eternall An eye fixt upon incouragements makes heavy afflictions light long afflictions short and bitter afflictions sweet Those blessed Martyrs found it so that were cast out all night in a cold frosty night and were to be burnt the next day who thus comforted themselves The winter is sharpe but Paradise is sweet here we shiver for cold but the bosome of Abraham will make amends for all Weak Christians have eyes to behold their discouragements but none to see their incouragements they look more upon their corruption then upon their sanctification Upon their disobedience then their obedience upon their distrust then upon their faith upon the old man then upon the new and this keeps them low and weak in spirituals it causes a leannesse in their soules Sixthly The zeale of weake Christians usually out-strips their wisedome and knowledge Weak Christians are very Zealous but not according to knowledge Rom. 10. 2. For I beare them record that they They were very zealous but not true Zelors have a zeale of God but not according to knowledge They are very peevish and pettish and censorious but they want wisedome and knowledge to mannage their zeale to Gods glory and their brethrens good Such zeale had those two Rabbins that set upon Charles the Fifth to perswade him to David Rabâ—nita and Shilomoh Molâ—hâ— Alsted Chr. â—26 turne Jew as judging their Religion to be the onely Religion in the world and for which they were put to a cruell death in the year 1530. A great zeale they had to the winning over of him to Judaisme but this zeale was their ruine Zeale without knowledge is as wild-fire in a fooles hand 't is like the Devil in the Demoniack that sometimes cast him into the fire and sometimes into the water So the Disciples of Christ Josephus in â—he 1â— 12 Chapters of his Book tells you of some that imposed this name of Zelote upon themâ—elves as if they were zealous for the honour and service of God and under this pretence committed all â—iots and imaginable wick eâ—nesse 'T were well if we had no such Monsters among us in these dayes were weak in their light and furious in their zeale Luke 9. 54. Let fire come downe from Heaven and consume them say they But mark what Christ saith vers 55. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of That is you know not what spirit acts you you think that you are acted by such a spirit as Elias of old was acted by but you erre saith Christ You have a zeale but not according to knowledge therefore 't is a humaine affection and not a Divine motion Zeale is like fire in the Chimney 't is one of the best servants but out of the Chimney 't is one of the worst Masters Zeale kept by knowledge and wisedome in its proper place is a choyce servant to Christ and Saints But zeale not bounded by wisedome and knowledge is the high-way to undoe all and to make a hell for many at once Weak Christians are usually most zealous about Circumstances and things that have least of God and Christ and the power of holinesse in them and most cold about substances as wofull experience doth evidence in these dayes Zeale ordered by wisedome feeds upon the faults of offendors not on their persons It spends it selfe and it 's greatest heat principally upon those things that concerne a mans selfe 'T is most exercised about substantials Titus 2. 14. But that which is rash is most exercised about circumstantials Gal. 1. 14. Paul was in the dayes of his ignorance very zealous for the Traditions of his fathers c. Seventhly Among all Saints the weakest Saints act most like carnall sinners No Saint so like a sinner as a weak Saint 1 Cor. 3. 1 2 3 4 5. And I Brethren could not speake unto you as unto spirituall but as unto carnall even as unto Babes in Christ I have fed you with milke and not with meat for hitherto ye were not able to bear it neither yet now are ye able for are ye not yet carnall for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions are ye not carnall and walke as men for while one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo are ye not carnall They were advanced but very little above the imperfections and passions and sins of meer men of such which had nothing of the Spirit in them c. Doe wicked men quarrell with their Teachers as shallow triviall Teachers when themselves are in fault as being not capable of more Mysterious matter So did these Babes here Doe wicked In many things weak Christians are carnall mens Apes men impute their not profiting to the Minister as he that having a thorne in his foot complaines of the roughnesse of the way as the cause of his limping when as it was the thorn and not the roughnesse of the way that hurt him Or as she that being struck with a suddaine blindnesse bid open the window when as it was not the want of light but want of sight that troubled her So did these Babes in the Text lay the fault of their non-proficiency upon their Teachers when the fault was wholly in themselves Now he calls them Carnall partly because the flesh was strong in them and partly because they followed and relished the things of the flesh and partly because they did in their actions resemble carnall men Doe carnall and wicked men cry up one good man and cry downe another Doe they lift up one and abase another So did they Are wicked men full of envy strife and divisions So were they And these overflowings of the Gall and Spleen come from a fullnesse of bad humours from that abundance of carnality that was in them But now soules strong in grace are higher then carnall men as Saul was higher then the people by head and shoulders Soules strong in grace have their feet where carnall mens heads are Prov. 15. 24. The way of life is above to the wise that he may depart from hell beneath Soules that are strong in grace doe act rather like Angels then like carnall men they doe as much resemble the father of Spirits as carnall men doe the father of Lyes Eighthly Soules weake in Grace are easily drawne aside out of the wayes of holinesse You know a man that hath but a little bodily strength is easily thrust out of the way so it is with soules weak in grace 1 John 3. 7. Little Children let no man deceive you he that doth righteousnesse is righteous even as he is righteous Saith the Apostle Little Children let no man deceive you Many in these dayes under pretences of high and glorious injoyments of God neglect and despise righteousnesse and holinesse crying up Visions
graces Ah! when mens graces shine as Moses his face did when their lives as one speaketh of Joseph's life is a very heaven sparkling with variety of virtues as with so many bright Stars ah how are others stirr'd up to glorifie God and to cry out these are Christians indeed these are an honour to their God a Crowne to their Christ and a credit to their Gospel Oh! if they were all such we would be Christians too 'T is a very great stumbling-block to many poor sinners to see men that make a very great and large profession Those in whom virtue is extinguished are like unto painted and printed papers which ignorant men honour and worship instead of Christ Rawleigh of Christ never to exercise and shew forth the virtues of Christ they professe they know him and yet by the non exercise of his virtues they deny him 'T was one of Matchavils Principles That the appearance of virtue was onely to be sought because the use of it saith he is a trouble but the credit of it a helpe I am afraid that this cursed soule-damning Principle is the best flower that growes in many mens Gardens in these dayes Though there is no virtue but is as a bright stone in a dark night it shines and shewes its clearnesse and beauty 't is as pure gold the brighter for passing through the fire yet how doe most Hypocritis nihil est crudelius impatientius vindicta cupidius There is not a more cruel creature more impatient and vindictive then an hypocrite saith Luther who had the experience of it therefore trust not to the Matchavils of the times covet rather the name of virtue then to be really virtuous Such I believe shall have the hottest and the lowest place in hell Well Christians remember this 't is not a shew of grace but the exercise of grace that will provoke others to glorifie the fountaine of grace That 's a very remarkeable Scripture 1 Thess 2. 2 3 8. compared We give thanks to God alwayes for you making mention of you in our prayers Remembring without ceasing your worke of faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our father For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not onely in Macedonia and Achaia but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad In this eighth verse you have an elegant Metaphor which signifies that their faith was so lively that with its sound as it were it stirred up other Nations The Greek word Exechetai is to sound as with the sound of a Trumpet to make sound afar off Sayes the Apostle your graces made a noise like a Trumpet Pliny tells of some in the remote parts of India that they have no mouths We have many such Monsters among us that have no mouths to blesse God for the good that shines in others they stirr'd up others to be gracious and active as the Trumpet stirs up men to warre So in 2 Pet. 1. 3 4. Wee are bound to give thanks to God alwayes for you brethren as it is meet because that your faith groweth exceedingly and the charity of every one of you all towards each other aboundeth So that we our selves glory in you in the Churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure Hoc enim Angelicum this is the Character of the Angelicall nature to rejoyce in the graces and gracious actings of others He that acts otherwise holds forth the Image of the Devil and declares himselfe a native of hell Thirdly Consider That the exercise and improvement of graces may be a speciall means to stir up the exercise of grace in others Your improvement of grace may be a speciall means to stir The complaint is ancient in Seneca That comonly men live not ad rationem but ad similitudinem Se◠de vita beati cap. 1. up others to improve their graces also 1 Thess 1. 7. So that we were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia Or as the Greek is * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 You were Types moulds Patterns of piety to them that were in Christ long before you So in 2 Cor. 9. 2. For I know the forwardnesse of your minde for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia that Achaia was ready a year agoe and your zeale hath provoked very many I knew you were forward and this I beasted of I made it my glory to tell how grace shin'd in your soules And saith he your zeale hath provoked many When they saw how warm and lively and active how open-handed and open-hearted you were to the poor Saints their hearts were stir'd up to acts of charity also Stories speak of some that could not sleep when they thought of the Trophies of other Worthies that Praecepta docent exempla movent Precepts may instruct but examples doe perswade went before them The highest examples are very quickning and provoking That this may stick upon your souls I beseech you bed and board rise and walke with this one Consideration viz. That all the good you provoke others to by Counsell or example shall be put downe to your Account It shall certainly turne to your internall and eternall advantage In the great day Christ will make honorable mention of all the good that thou hast stir'd and provok't others too and will reward thee for it before Angels and men The faith the love the hope the charity the patience c. that thou hast provok't others too shall be put downe to thy account as if thou hadst been the onely actor of them c. As all the sins that men provoke or stirre up others to by their Counsell or example shall be put downe to their Accounts as you may see in David David did but send a Letter concerning the death of Vriah and yet the 2 Sam. 12. 9 charge cometh Thou hast staine Vriah with the sword as whatsoever is done by letter counsell or example to provoke others to sin shall certainly be charged upon mens accounts at last so whatsoever good thou doest stirre up others to that They shall shine as so many Suns in heaven who are much in stirring and provoking of others to the exercise of grace and holinesse Dan. 12. 3. Dan. 6. 1 2. shall be set upon thy score and shall turne to thy eternall account in the day of Christ Oh! who would not then labour with all their might even day and night to stirre up the Grace of the Lord in themselves and others seeing it shall turne to such a Glorious Account in that day wherein Christ shall say to his Father Lo here am I and the children that thou hast given me c. Fourthly Consider this The exercise and Improvement of Grace Contributes very much both to the stopping the mouths of your enemies and to the rendering of you lovely
and minde who was rather willing to beautifie Italy then his owne house That Pilot dyes nobly saith Seneca who perisheth in the storme with the Helme in his hand Such that seek themselves more then the publick good must be served as Aesop did his fellow servant he gave him warme water to drink by which means he vomited up the stollen Figgs Friends 't is not a little grace that will make a man prefer the publick good above his owne particular good but much grace will therefore labour to be rich in grace Fifthly 'T is your Principle That you are to doe the Duties that God requires of you and quietly leave the issues and events of all to the wise dispose of God But pray tell me Will a little Grace inable a man to live up to this Principle To do his duty and to leave issues and events to him to whom they belong Surely no. Eccl. 9. 10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to doe doe it with all thy might for there is no worke nor device nor knowledge nor wisedome in the grave whither thou goest Mark he does not say what thy hand finds to doe for that may find a thousand things nor what thy heart finds to doe for that may find ten thousand things but what thy hand finds to doe that is look what work God cuts out to thy hand to doe that doe with all thy might for there is no working in the grave We are to doe much good in a little time we are made here and set to be a doing something that may doe us good a thousand years hence yea that may stand us in stead to eternity our time is short our task is great The Devil knowes that his time is but short and that 's the reason why he is so active and stirring why he doth outwork the Children of light in a quick dispatch of the deeds of darknesse Christians don't deceive your selves 't is not shewes of grace nor little measures of grace that will inable a man to live up to this Principle but great measures of grace will as you may see in the 3 Children We are not carefull to answer thee O King in this matter if it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hands O King But if not be it knowne unto thee O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the golden Image which thou hast set up We know our Duty and that we will keep to what ever the issue and event be So those Worthies Ps 44. Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of Dragons and covered us with the shadow of death yet have we not forgotten thee neither have we dealt falsly in thy Covenant Here was much of Christ grace within So in Acts 21. when Paul was to goe up to Jerusalem to suffer his friends by many teares and Arguments laboured to disswade him for feare of some sad issue and event that would follow But Paul rich in grace answered What mean ye to weep and breake my heart for I am ready not to be bound onely but also to dye at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus I must goe up to Jerusalem and I am willing to goe up though I dye for it I here 's a soule that lives up to his Principle I but now soules that are weak in grace as Many of the English have in this been like the Israelites c. we have had large experience of it in our times they are more taken up and busied about the events and issues of things then they are with their owne Duties When they should be a praying a believing a waiting and acting for God they have been a questioning and fearing what the issue and event of this and that and the other thing would be And indeed they have been high and low as secondary causes have wrought which hath made many of their lives a very hell But now those that are rich in grace they say as once he did Let us be of good courage and let us play the men for our people and for the Cities of our God and the Lord doe that which 2 Sam. 10. 10 11 12. seemeth him good Let us doe our duties and let the Lord doe as pleaseth him c. Sixthly 'T is your Principle That men are to be prepared and to stand fast against all suddaine assaults and invasions that may be made upon them Many a valiant person dares fight in a Battell or a Duell who yet will be timerous and fearfull if suddenly surprized in a mid-night Alarum Many precious soules when they have time to consider of the evill of sin the holinesse of God the eye of God the honour of God the glory of the Gospel the joyes of the Saints and the stopping of the mouths of sinners will rather dye then sin they will rather suffer any thing then doe the least thing that may be a reproach to Christ Oh! but when a sudden occasion or temptation is presented why then they often fall as David by chance spied Bathsheba washing her selfe and falls before the temptation he is conquered and carried captive by that sudden occasion But that 's a more comfortable and considerable passage that you have concerning Joseph in Gen. 49. 23 24. The Archers sorely grieved him saith the Text and shot at him and hated him but his Bow abode in strength and the armes of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. Joseph never wanted counsel nor courage when he was at the worst Soules rich in grace usually stand firme under the greatest and suddenest pressures assaults and invasions as you may see in Paul 2 Cor. 1. 9 12. and so the three Children so Daniel and so those Worthies Heb. 11. 35. They would not accept of deliverance that they might obtaine a better resurrection Many sudden assaults and attempts were made upon them their enemies would faine have stormed them and overcome them sometimes by golden offers sometimes by terrible threats but they are invincible nothing stirs them nothing takes them Really friends it must be much grace that will make a man to live up to this Principle and there 's nothing that speaks out more the strength of Grace in a man then his standing against suddaine assaults and invasions that by the Devil and the world are made upon him You may talk of this but without much grace you will never be able to doe it c. Seventhly and lastly 'T is your Principle That your hearts are to be ready for every worke that God shall impose upon you You are not to choose your imployment neither are you to refuse any imployment that God shall put upon you You are alwayes to have an open eare a ready hand an obedient heart and a willing cheerfull soule to fall in with what work or service soever it is