6. 21. him as one that is in bitterness for his first born Zach. 12. 10. The nailes that pierced his hands shall now pierce their hearts they shall wound themselves with their sorrows which have wounded him with their sins That they have grieved his spirit it shall grieve their spirits A beleiver puts on his mourning garment for puting off his wedding garment As the Suger-loaf is disolved and weeps it self away when it s dipt in wine so do our hearts disolve and melt themselves away in the sweet sence of Divine love and our refusals of it O that ever I should be so bad a child to him that hath been so good a Father Of sin because they beliive not in me John 16. 9. Unbelief it s a sin that least visible and yet a sin that 's most damnable Not to fetch our lives from Christ is to bring the greatest death upon Christ Insidelity is the greatest robbery it frustrates not onely all the actions of Christ in doing but all the passions of Christ in dying Other persons are like Lapwings that flutter most at the greatest remoteness from the nests if they have teares for their outward losses but none for their inward lusts they can mourn for the evil that sin brings but not for the sin which brings the evil As Pharoah more lamented the hard strokes that was upon him then the hard heart that was within him Esau mourned not because he sold the Birthright which was his sin but because he lost the blessing which was his punishment This is like weeping with an Onion the eye sheds tears because it smarts A Marriner casts over those goods in a Tempestuous season that he courts a return off when the winds are silenced many complain more of the sorrows to which they are born then of the sins in which they are born The venome of sin is not ever distastful when the vengeance of sin is affrightful The sinners in Sion are affraid fearfulness hath surprised the Hypocrites Why what 's the matter Who amongst us shall dwell with the devouring fire who amongsts us shall dwell with everlasting burnings Isai 33. 14. They fear corruption not as it is a cole that is blacking but as it is a fire that is burning A stroke from Justice brake Judases heart into despaire but a look from mercy melted Peters hearts into teares There are two things in our sins There 's the devillishness of them and the dangerousnes of them Now take a Saint and a sinner Quid feci quò me praecipitaveram nisi mihi Dei misericordia subveniret Cal. inst l. 3. c. 3. sec 15. the one saith what have I done the other what must I suffer the one mourns for the active evil that hath been committed by him the other mourns for the passive evil that shall be inflicted on him The former grieves because his soul is defiled The latter grieves because his soul is condemned Water may gush from a Rock when is smitten by a rod But such heartless humiliations are hearty dissimulations Did sin bring sorrow into the world O let sorrow carry sin out of the world Whilst the vessel is leaking the Pump is going it s too early to wipe Tota vita vestra poenitentia sit haec enim vita locus est poenitentia Stel. in Luc. 3. 3. away tears from your eyes till God sweep away dust from your hearts It s better to go to heaven sadly then to go to hell securely Give me a melancholy Saint rather then a merry devil nothing can quench Magni igitur constat poenitentiae Ferrar. the fire that sin hath kindled but the water which repentance hath caused Did the rocks rend when Christ dyed for our sins and shall not our hearts rend that have lived in our sins If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to clense us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1. 9. Do but you acknowledg the debt and he will cansel the bond Is it not better to be savedby Divine mercy then to be sued by Divine Justice do you open the Offensum se Deus obliviscitur si nos offensi cum dolore recordemur Drex Christi Zod. p. 115. ulcer that is paining and he will apply the plaister that is healing till we are opressed with our own burdens we shall never be eased by Christs Shoulders Where misery passes undiscerned there mercy passes undesired behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me Rev. 3. 20. Christ doth many times come unto the door when he doth not come into the house but how willing is he to be received who is unwilling to be denied as you knock at his doors for audience so he knocks at your doors for entrance if you shut out his person he will shut out your Prayers the onely way to have our will of God is to do the will of God A Saints tears are better then a sinners triumps Lachrymae poenitentium Bern. serm 30. super Cant. sunt vinum Angelorum A sinners repenting is the Angels rejoycing and give me such a mourning on earth as creates Musick in heaven if you would not sin in your griefs then grieve for your sins Why should God shew him mercy that doth not acknowledge himself guilty how many are there that are battered as lead by the hammer that were never bettered as gold by the fire Look to it least your repentance of dead works be not it self a work that 's dead that you shed such tears as need no tears for the sheding of them Usually that repentance that begins in the fears of hell ends in the flames of hell that 's the eighth 9. Singular thing is to keep our hearts lowest when God raises our estates highest charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches 1 Tim. 6. 17. Sinful arrogance doth usually attend sinful considence Worldly wealthyness is a great quill to blow up the bladder of high-mindedness when mens estates are lifted up then mens hearts are pussed up Oh how proud is thin dust of thick clay Pride breeds Thus Romulus secundis rebus elatus tumidus m nime serendam superbiam contumaciam sumebat Pâ—â—t in vita Rom. in great estates as wormes do in sweet fruits but Christians if you be poor in the world you should be rich in faith but if you be rich in the world you should be poor in spirit the way to ascend is to descend the deeper a tree is in its rooting the larger a tree is in its spreading The face of prosperity shines brightest through the Mask of humility As none have so little but they have matter for blessing so none have so much that they have matter for bosting shall the stage-player be proud of his borowed robes or the
your consciences the black hand must then part with the white glove That Day will be too criticall for the Hypocriticall You that are now coloured for show shall ere long be showne in your colours 3. Principle that you should walke by is this That God beares a greater respect to your hearts then he doth to your workes God lookes most where man looks lest My Son give me thy heart Prov. 23. 26. We cannot trust God with too much nor our selves with too little The first is our keeper the last is our Traitor Here you have the dignity with which a beleever is invested and the Duty to which a beleever is invited The God of Heaven and Earth sues from Heaven to Earth He that is all in all to us would have that which is all in all in us We commit our estates into the hands of men but we must commit our hearts into the hands of God There 's none of our spirits so good but he deserves them there 's none of our spirits so bad but he desires them On whom do parents bestow their hearts but upon their children and on whom should children bestow their hearts but upon their parents but man hath no mind to give what God hath a mind to have This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoureth me with their lips but their heart is farre from me Matthew 15. 8. Heartlesse operations are but hearty dissimulations You may keepe your works to your selves if you doe not give your hearts to him He that regards the heart without any thing he regards not any thing without the heart I beseech you therefore Brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God Rom. 12. 1. He that makes 〈◊〉 hath must have all he makes The Formalist he is all for outward activity the sensualist he is all for inward sincerity The one hath nothing within therefore he is for what is outward the other hath nothing without therefore he is for what is inward But it is not the pretence of inward sincerity that can justifie outward impiety nor a shew of outward piety that will excuse inward hypocrisie Though the braine be the spring of sensitive motion yet the heart is the Originall of vitall motion The heart its Primum vivens ultimum moriens it s the first that lives and the last that dyes O Jerusalem wash thy heart from wickedness how long shall vain thoughts lodge within thee Jer. 4. 14. Vaine thoughts defile the heart as well as vile thoughts as snails leave their slime behind them as well as Serpents If the Leprosie takes a single thred it spreads over the whole peece Though you cannot keep sinfull thoughts from rising yet you should keep sinfull thoughts from reigning Though these birds may hover over your houses yet let them not build their nest in its heaves The Devill knows if there be any good treasure it is in our hearts and he would faine have the key of this Cabinet to rob us of our Jewells A heart that is sanctified is better then a tongue that 's silvered he that gives but the skin of worship receives but the shell of comfort It is not the bare touching of the strings that is the making of the musick A spirituall man may pray carnally but a carnall man cannot pray spiritually If our duties doe not eat out the heart of our sins our sins will eat out the heart of our duties A worke that is heartlesse is Quando ea quae per se quidem et suo genere bona sunt fiant si non recte nec bene fiant non placent Dep. Chem. Evan Har. cap. 51. a worke that is fruitlesse God cares not for the crazy Cabinet but for the precious Jewell It 's said of Haniball that prime Captaine that he was Primus ingressus ultimus egressus The first that went into the Field and the last that came out of the Field Thus should it be in all the operations of a Christian The heart should be the first that comes into Duty and the last that goes out of Duty In prayer the heart should first speak the words and then the words should speake the heart All the inferiour Orbes they follow the motion of the superiour ones If the heart be inditing of a good matter the tongue will be as the pen of a ready writer It 's observed of the spider that in the morning before she seeks her prey she mends her broken webb and in the doing of it she alwayes begins in the middle Christians before you pursue the profits and the pleasures of the world you should mend the broken webbs of your lives and in the doing of it you should alwayes begin at the heart If you would have the Cocks to run wholsome water you must looke well to the springs that feeds them The heart is the presence Chamber where the King of glory takes up his lodgings That which is most worthy in us should be given to him that is most worthy of it Good words without the heart are but flattery and good works without the heart are but hypocrisie Though God pities stumbling Israelites yet he punishes halting hypocrites It 's reported of Cranmer that after his flesh and bones were consumed in the flames his heart was found whole A gracious soule is cloathed with sincerity in the midst of it's infirmities God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship Indicat quod Deus incorporeus est oportet igitur et incorpoream ejus culturam esse hoc est per animam et intellectus puritatem nos es offere Aquin. in loc him in spirit and in truth John 4. 24. You can never give him the heart of your services unlesse you give him your heart in your services It 's his heart that speaks a mercy saving and it is our hearts that makes a duty pleasing It 's said of the Lacedamonians that were a poor people and of the Athenians that were a rich people the former offered up leane sacrifices to Apollo the latter fat ones Yet in their warres the Lacedamonians were alwayes conquerours and the Athenians were alwayes conquered whereupon they went to the Oracle to know the reason why they should speed worst that gave most The Oracle gave them this returne The Lacedamonians were a people that gave their hearts to their Gods but the Athenians did only give their gifts to their Gods Thus a heart without a gift is better then a gift without a heart Religion that 's a sacrifice but the heart that 's the Altar upon which it must be offered As the body is at the command of the soule that rules it so should the soule be at the command of God that gives it For a man to send his body to the service of God and leave his soul behind him it 's as if a man should send his cloath's stuff't with straw instead of a
you look fresh and orient in the eyes of spiritual Christians that judge of the trees of righteousnesse by the fruits of righteousnesse The enjoyment of this world is neither an argument of Divine anger nor an evidence of Divine favour Therefore do not judge your selves by your wealth but by your works not by the Bags of Gold you have in your hands but by the Seeds of Grace you have in your hearts The ambitious man shall leave all his greatnesse behind him when the religious man shall carry all his goodnesse with him Let Christianity be your shop to trade in and Eternity shall be your bed to rest in Every grace that is here exercised shall there be glorified The Lord Jesus Christ shall not only see the travels of his soul but you shall see the travels of yours Christians Either let your works be according to your profession or else let your profession be according to your works Never put on the fair suit of profession to do the fowl work of corruption God will cut down those degenerate Vines that bear nothing but sowr Grapes The lusts of the flesh are pleasurable where the works of the flesh are visible Sirs The Gospel doth not only require that you should be diligent Christians but that you should be excellent Christians By the singularity of your actions you may prove the sincerity of your persons The Race is short in which you run but the Prize is great for which you run Let not us sow such barren Lands in which we loose our time and pains I wish that this gail of Divinity may speed your Vessel to the Haven of Felicity And when God gives in more of himself to me I shall give out more of him to you in the mean time it shall be my highest ambition to be instrumentall to others conversion Who am and ever desire to be a Lover of him that is a Saviour to us Yours in the Lord Jesus William Secker A Table of the chief Contents of this Treatise THe Text opened The Doctrine raised viz. That singular Christians must perform singular actions First Why it is that Christians must doe more then others 1. Because more is done for beleevers then is done for others Page 14. 2. Because they stand in a nearer relation to God then others p. 17. 3. Because they profess more then others p. 21. 4. Because every beleever is to be conformed to his Redeemer p. 25. 5. Because they are more lookt upon then others p. 28. 6. Because if you do no more then others it will appear that you are no more then others p. 31. 7. Because they are to be judges of others p. 33. 8. Because they expect more then others p. 37. Secondly What it is that Christians must dâ— more then others 1. To do much good make but little noise p. 41. 2. To bring up the bottom of our lives to the top of ouâ— lights p. 49. 3. To prefer the duty he owes above the danger that he fears p. 55. 4. To seek the publick good of others above the private good of our selves p. 64. 5. To have the beautifullest conversations amongst the blackest persons p. 75. 6. To choose the worst of sorrows before you commit the least of sins p. 82. 7. To be a father to all in charity and a servant to all in humility p. 93. 8. To mourn most before God for those lusts that appear least before men p. 105. 9. To keep our hearts lowest when God raises our estates highest p. 117. 10. To be better inwardly in substance then outwardly in appearance p. 125. 11. To be more afflicted at the Churches heavinesse then we are affected with our own happinesse p. 132. 12. To render the greatest good for the receit of the greatest evill p. 139. 13. To take those reproofs best which we need most p. 149. 14. To take up all duties in point of performance and to lay them down in point of dependance p. 159. 15. To take up our contentment in Gods appointment p. 167. 16. To be more in love with the employment of holinesse then with the enjoyment of happinesse p. 178. 17. To be more in searching our own hearts then we are in censuring others states p. 187. 18. To set out for God at our beginning and to hold on with God untill our ending p. 193. 19. To take all the shame of our sins to our selves and to give all the glory of our services unto Christ p. 207. 20. To value a Heavenly reversion above an earthly possession p. 215. The Application 1. For the erection of singular Principles 2. For the direction of singular Practices First For the erection of singular Principles The first Principle That whatsoever is acted by men on earth is eyed by God in Heaven p. 225. 2. That after all your present receivings you must be brought to your future reckonings p. 230. 3. That God bears a greater respect to your hearts then he doth to your works p. 242. 4. There 's more bitternesse following upon sins ending then ever there was sweetnesse flowing from sins acting p. 248. 5. That there is the greatest vanity in all created excellency p. 254. 6. That duties can never have too much care bestowed upon them nor too little considence placod in them p. 265. 7. That there 's no obtaining what is promised but by fulfilling what 's commanded p. 273. 8. That its ill dressing our selves for another world by the Looking-glasse of this world p. 282. 9. That where man is so diligent as to do his best there God is so indulgent as to forgive his worst p. 290. 10. That inward purity is the ready road to outward plenty p. 296. 11. That all the time God allows us is little enough to fulfill the task that he allots us p. 307. 12. That there can never be too great an estrangenâ—ent from defilement p. 317. 13. That whatsoever is temporally injoyed should be spiritually improved p. 344. 14. That we are to speak well of God whatsoever ill we bear from God p. 354. 15. That the longer God forbears not finding amendment the soarer he strikes when he comes to judgement p. 360. 16. That there 's no measuring of the inward conditions of men by the outward dispensations of God p. 366. 17. That we should cleave the closest to that good which is the choicest p. 374. 18. That it is our present businesse to make sure of our future blessednesse p. 380. 19. That integrity is the best security p. 385. 20. That the sweetnesse of the Crown that shall be received will make amends for the bitternesse of the Crosse that may be endured p. 390. Secondly For the direction of singular Practices 1. If you would doe more then others then you must know more then others p. 399. 2. Would you do more then others then love morethen others p. 407. 3. Would you doe more then others then pray more then others p. 413. 4. Would you do more then
others then beleeve more then others p. 421. 5. Would you do more then others then resolve more then others p. 429. 6. Would you do more then others then learn to deny your selves p. 432. Courteous Reader correct with thy Pen the faults of the Presse either such as are Verbal or such which are Literal the most whereof thou shalt find in this ERRATA PAge 30. read magister Margent p. 52. bona p. 96. novos modos p. 122. ingens 124. pereunt 218. despicit 231. observentur 247. offerre 256. excaecavit inferni 273. quam Judaeos testamento quaeritis 276. culpabilis 279. in sectabere rastru 282. respectu 290. Anhelant is 293. stuporis 347. obnubilat 362. Accendimus 389. dormivi 394. calumnia 398. auris For English Page 20. for singer r. finger p. 22. l. 22. adde on rotten Hypocrites p. 30. for Natian Christian p. 50. for relish receive p. 58. 2. suus sanus p. 192. for heart body THE Non-such Professor IN His Meridian splendor OR The singular Actions OF Sanctified Christians MATTH 5. 47. What do ye more then others IN a mountain the Law was propounded to Moses in a mountain the Law is expounded by Jesus the one to a man of God who was the meekest the other by the Son of God who was the greatest The former to a Prophet of the Lord the latter by the Lord of the Prophets As his works were miraculous so his words are mysterious But what 's light in the book without light in the heart Therefore as he opens the Scripture to our understandings so he opens our understandings to the Scripture The Scribes and Pharisees though they knew the letter of the Law yet they were ignorant of the spirit of it as the waves of the sea are discoverable when the wealth of the sea is invisible They never crackt the shell to taste the kernel nor unlockt the cabinet to find out the jewel They made a difference of the Tables as if one side had been of Gods writing and the other of the Devils scribbling They could not charge the Law with imperfections but Christ charges them with mis-interpretations They were better acquainted with the customs of nature then with the Canons of Scripture How shall the blind see when the Seers are blind yet their eyes are out which should put others in The Law requires holiness in our inner parts as well as in our outward acts It s like the Sun from the lustre of whose rayes the most secret closets are not hid Not only he that lyes with a woman but he that lusts after a woman is an Adulterer He whose heart is full of hating though his hand be free from striking is a Murderer Thus a law may be transgressed when it is observed as lightning melts the sword without hurting of the scabbard The lusts of men may be predominate when the lives of men are not inordinate as guests may be in the house when they look not out at the door The precepts of morality they order our conversations but the precepts of Divinity they order our cogitations The only way to have chrystal streams is to cast salt into the spring He that begins Religion where it should end will end Religion where it should be begun I have seen an end of all perfection but thy commandments are exceeding large Psal 119. 96. You may see an end of all perfection but of the Laws perfection there is no end to be seen you may sound the bottom of any deeps but of Gods deeps But as the Portal conducts to the Palace or as the Suburbs directs us to the City so the context will guide us to the text Vers 46. If ye love them that love you what reward have you do not the publicans the same they will shew kindness where kindness is shown as an eccho returneth the voyce it receiveth And shall publicans be as godly as the godly shall Eos ad altius quod dam foecunditatis genus Châ—istus excitat attollit dum hujusmodi illis interrogationem proponit Quid eximiivos facitis fructus longè praestantissimos ab iis expectat qui longè eminentissimum doctorem doctrinam habuerunt c. Rous inter reg Dei Tract 1. cap. 10. p. 157 158. the sons of men equalize the sons of God or the Law of nature swell to so high a tide as the law of grace this were for the dribling river to vye with the drowning ocean If you salute your brethren only what do you more than others I shall not curiously carve out the words least by painting the windows I shut out the light The native comeliness of the Scripture scorns the unnatural drugs of bewitching Jezabels A rough Diamond is of greater value then a smooth counterfeit I am not about a peice of Oratory but of Divinity and my design is rather to express affections than to affect expressions Though the sweetness of the sawce may yeeld us contentment yet it s the soundness of the meat that affords us nourishment But that Aarons bells may ring and not jangle the Text is like a precious jewel small in quantity but great in excellency In the words you have two parts 1. An action propounded 2. A question proposed 1. An action propounded about what is lawful If you salute your brethren only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 salutare quidem sig niâ—iâ—at sed osculo complexu qui mos islarum gentium erat Bez. in It signifies to salute with kisses and embraces There is a kiss of obedience and subjection and that 's the Subjects kiss There is a kiss of lusts and temptation and that is the Harlots kiss There is a kiss of treachery and dissimulation and that is the Traytors kiss There is a kiss of love and affection and that 's the brothers kiss What one verse calls saluting the other calls loving Because salutation is but a pledge of affection it s but our hearts runing forth at our lips 2. A question propounded about what is needful What do you more then others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 significat quid redundans vel quid superabundans Leigh â—rit sacr 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quid impar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ultra velquid excellens 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 supra â—reg Etym. par 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what singular thing do ye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if it were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Syms Lex This is as the well from whence I shall draw the water And that I may not raise a superstruction without a foundation take this as the corner stone Doct. That singular Christians must perform singular actions This celestial orbe is large enough for every star to shine in You cannot rationally imagine that I should sluce out a bitter stream from so sweet a spring Whosoever shall collect any pearls out of such a heap will leave as good behinde him as any
me before Quid aliud amant hypocritae quam gloriam quâ volebantetiam post mortem tanquam vivere in ore laudantium Aug. ubi prius the people 1 Sam. 15. 30. There is little worth in outward splendor if vertue yield it not an inward lustre When this sun is in its meridian it may be masked with a cloud By climbing of too high a bough you may hang your selves upon the tree Some had rather suffer the agony of the cross then the infamy of the cross It s more to them to be dispraised then it is to be destroyed And a certain woman cast a peice of a milstone upon Abimelecks head and brake his scull then he called hastily unto the young man his Armor-bearer and said nnto him Draw thy sword and slay me that men may not say A woman slew me Judg. 9. 53 54. Behold saith one Homo moritur at superbia non moritur The man dyes but his pride dies not God may reject those as copper whom men do adore as silveâ— He is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2. 29. The praise of an Hypocrite is not of God but of man the praise of an Israelite is not of man but of God The one desires to seem good that he may be praised the other to be good that God may be pleased The Saints on earth are to imitate the Angels in heaven and they had the hands of a man under their wings Ezek. 1. 8. They had not their wings under their hands but their hands under their wings Their hands note their activity their wings their celerity Their having their hands under their wings the obscurity of their motions They will not have others to fall down to worship them about the Throne but fall down themselves to worship him upon the Throne Our Lord Jesus Christ that did the most excellent works that ever were done He shall not cry nor lift up nor suffer his voyce to be heard in the streets Isa 42. 2. He shall not cry that is he shall not be contentious He shall not lift up his voyce in the streets he shall not be vain-glorious The Pharisee stood and prayed with himself God I thank thee I am not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this publican Luk. 18. 11. Hypocrites are better in O quot babet isle in saeculo imitatores qui festucam in oculo fratris vident trabeÌ„ autem in oculo suo non considerant Stel. in loc Nec quicquam jam ferre potest Caesarâ—â— priorem Pompeiusve parem Lucan shewing forth their own worth then they are in shewing forth of their wants at the displaying the banners of their perfections then at the discovering of the baseness of their transgressions I am not as other men are as if he had been such a fellow as had no fellow Ambition is so great a planet that it must have a whole orbe to itself and its impatient of a consort Because he was not so bad as the most he thought himself as good as the best A Sun-burnt-face seems fair when compared with a Blackamoor But can cyphers compleat a sum This Pharisee was as far from being religious as he was from being scandalous But upon what foundation Celavit hic Pharisaeus peccata quae confiteri debuerat bona siquae feverat patefecit Stella loc jam citato did he rear this superstruction vers 12. I fast twice aweek I give tithes of all I possess He proclaims all without doors that is done within They say of the sea it loses as much in one part of the land as it gains in another Thus what victory formalists seemingly get over one lust they lose it again by being imprisoned to another They trade not for Gods glory but for their own glory If a tear be shed or a prayer be made whatever is performed by them shall be divulged by them He that trafficks in Gods services to fraught himself with mans praises suffers shipwrack in the haven and loses his wages when he comes to receive pay for his works It s storied of Alexanders Footman that he ran so swift upon the sand that the print of his footsteps were not seen Thus should it be with Christians nothing is more pleasing unto God then a hand that is largely opened and a mouth that is straitly closed Most persons are like Themistocles that never found himself so much contented as when he heard himself praised I will not say a gracious heart never lifts up it self but I will say that grace in the heart never lifts up it self Grace in the heart ever acts like it self but a gracious heart doth not always so A Saint should be like a spire steeple minimus in summo that is smallest where it is highest or like those orient stars the higher they are seated the lesser they are viewed Usually your greatest boasters are your smallest workers Your deep rivers pay larger tribute to the sea then shallow brooks and yet empty themselves without a murmuring noise I have read a story of a harlot that offered to build up the walls of a City that Alexander had thrown down so she might set her own arms upon them O what will not an Hypocrite do so he may set his own arms upon it when it is done That is the first 2. To bring up the bottom of our lives to the top of our lights Look how far our lives are from Gods precepts to do them so far his ears are from our prayers to hear them Since the tree of knowledge hath been tasted the key of knowledge hath been rusted Man sinned away his light when he sinned against his light Adams candle aspiring to be a sun hath burnt the dimmer ever since The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned I Cor. 2. 14. Spiritual truths they oppose the wickedness of reason because they are against it therefore a natural man cannot relish them They exceed the weakness of Reason because they are above it therefore a natural man cannot perceive them It s better to be a toe in the foot and to be sound then to be an eye in the head and to be blind But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3. 18. Without grace there may be a knowledge that is seeming but without grace there cannot be a knowledge that is saving As the water engenders the ice and the ice the water so by knowledge is grace produced and by grace is knowledge increased If ye know these things happy are ye if you do them To obey the truth and not to know is impossible to know the truth and not to obey it is unprofitable Not every one that saith unto me Lord
been Egypts prisoner he had not been Egypts Governour The iron chains about his feet ushered in the golden chain about his neck Temporal disadvantages are but gentle blasts but eternal are insupportable storms Tell me beleevers is not Christ with his cross for a few years better then Dives with his dainties for a few days What is a short happiness attended with an everlasting misery to a short misery attended with an everlasting happiness That 's the third 4. Singular thing is To seek the publick good of others above the private good of ourselves Non nobis solum nati sumus ut praeclare scriptum est à Platone ortusque nostri partem patria vendicat partem parentes partem amici Tull. lib. 1. de Officiis As we are not born by our selves so we are not born for our selves Seekest thou great things for thy self seek them not Jer. 45. 5. For Saints to set their hearts upon what beasts do set their feet it is as if a King should leave his Throne to follow the plough Or as if one should desert a Mine of gold to dig in a pit of gravel Self-searching makes a man that is vertuous but self-seeking speaks a man that 's covetous I am loth to draw a line in any mans picture with a black caol Yet how many are there who have been in publick places that have had private spirits they which pretended to do every thing for the good of others intended not to do any thing but for the good of themselves Such succours at the root draw away the sap from the tree They set Kingdoms on fire to rost their eggs by its flames These Drones creeping into the Hive have stoln away the honey whilst the labouring Bees are starved O that too many were not like crows which at first seem to bewail the dying sheep but at last are found picking out their eyes Some there are that will never want fire so long as others yards afford fuel They make themselves fair cupboards with others plate There is a proverb but none of Solomons Every man for himself and God for us all But where every man is for himself the Devil will have all The heathen encca was of another judgment Ego sic vivam quasi sciam me alii natum de vita be aâ—a c. 20. A self pleaser is a God-displeaser though he may find himself whilst he lives yet he will lose himself when he dies How justly may that complaint be taken up which so sadly was laid down For all seek their own but none the things that are Jesus Christs Phil. 2. 21. A selfish spirit will not sow the seed except he may reap the harvest Non quae ad â—a â—â—m proâ—â—moruÌ„ honorâ—m â—ei quaeruâ—â— sed qu◠âd lucâ—um glâ—riam Aqum in loc nor plant the vines except he may taste the grapes There is no driving of such chariots without oyling of their wheels May we not say to many as a great man said to his servant Your rise hath been my fall If Dives be tormented quia cupide servavit sua what shall be his portion qui avide rapit aliena If those fists shall be cut off which so closely clasped their own what shall become of those hands that are open to graspe other mens It was Israels lamentation that those who were clad in scarlet embraced the dunghil but it may be Englands lamentation that those who embraced the dunghil are cloathed in scarlet Every mans private advantage is wrapt up in the good of the publick A drop of water is soon dried up when alone which in the Ocean retains its moysture A single beam of light is suddenly obscured which in the body of the Sun secures its splendor Yet how many have turned the Commonweal into a Common wo by spinning their fine cloaths Nullum vitium tetrius quaâ— avaritia praesertim in principinus Remp. guâ—ernantibus habere Rem ab questui non modo â—uâ—pecst sedetiam sâ—elâ—ratum nesarium Sibelius conc sept p. 143. on t of the Nations fleece when it was torn to pieces How many noble birds have been deplumed that their wings might be richly feathered When any springs have been opened they have laid pipes to conveigh the water into their own cisterns Our pretended Pilots have steared the ship of plenty into their own haven But I hope Justice will squeeze such spunges and leave them as dry at the last as they were at the first They are no better then moaths that eat into other mens cloathes that make a mask of Religion only to hide the face of Rebellion To advance the riches of a private person out of the publick ruines of a Nation is as if the stomach a publick Officer should keep all the meat to it self and starve the whole body Naturally every man is his own Alpha and his own Omega he hath his begining from himself and his ending in himself It was a dogged speech of Cain Am I my brothers keeper He that would not be his brothers He thought it was not his duty to be his brothers keeper but never thought it was against his duty to be his brothers executioner Assem Annot. in loc keeper would be his brothers Butcher How many have riveted themselves into their possessions by the bones of their murdered brethren and paved causies to preferments with the sculls of noble Patriots Self-seeking hath been so long pulling the ropes that it hath rung the passing bell of three Nations O how sad is it to see the chamber a triming whilst the house is a burning the cabin a filling whilst the ship is a sinking or the nest a building whilst the tree is falling But can better fruits grow upon the tree of Anarchy and confusion then cruelty and oppression They deserve to have their heads separated from their bodies who have separated the body from its head If I perish I perish But how can I endure to see the evill that Thus Aeneas tells â—ido how unwilling Anchises was to live after the ruines of Troy Abnegat excisâ vitam producere Trojâ Virg. Aen. l. 2. propè finâ—m Virumque hortatus ut piâ—tatâ—m perfectam custodirent hâc enim 〈◊〉 quit pax conservatur bella conficiuntur Theod. Hist Ec. l. â— c. 25. shall come upon my people Esther 8. 6. She did not prefer her own life above her peoples but her peoples lives above her own Theodosius when he lay upon his dying pillow was more studious how to do his Kingdom good then how to bear his own pains as appears by his counsel to his sons to whom he left it The Eagle though she was the Queen of birds as the Lion is the King of beasts was not offered up in sacrifice herself because she lived on the spoil of others Grace makes a Christian homo homini Deus not only to carry it like a man to God but to carry it like a God to man
mud-wall rise and swell because the beames of a beautiful sun shine upon it Gold in your bags may make you greater but its grace in your brests that will make you better Goodness without greatness shall be esteemed when greatness without goodness shall be confounded Proud sinners are fit companions for none but proud devils The more prosperity man enjoys the more humility God enjoyns Nature teaches us that those trees bend the most freely which bear the most fully A proud heart as it loves none but it self so it is beloved by none but by it self Consider in adversity as thou art a man thou art no less then him that is greatest and in prosperity as thou art a man thou art no more then him that is meanest Who would climb those pinacles that never any went up without They are like the inhâ—bitants of Asia who as Agesilaus affirmes si libertate fruerentur mali si servirent boni essent Plut. Apoth sec 84. fears or got down without falls Carnal persons they are never good but when they are under the rod and then not because God is displeased with their disilements but because they are overawed by his judgments It s written of Timotheus the Athenian when he had given an account to the State of his Government he often interlaced this speech In this Fortune had no hand After which he never prospered in any thing which he attempted When men disown God and cast off him God disowns men and casts off men It s storied of Philip of Macedon that after an unexpected victory he looked very sadly more like a mourner then like a triumpher He knew that what was got by the sword was subject to be lost by the sword God will not indure that any man should think well of himself but himself and when they are glorying in all their pride he is staining the pride of all their glory It is hard for any to be great in others eyes and little in their own Most Christians they are like Chamelions that when they take in the air they presently swell As that is a naughty heart which the world can soil so that is an empty heart that the world can fill Prosperous winds soon fill the sails but blowing too strongly overturn the ship Give me that brave person that in the midst of all his honours is rather pressed down with the weight of them then puffed up with the blasts of them You see your calling brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many We may say of such as Luther said of Elizabeth Q. of Denmark a pious Princess Christus aliquando voluit Reginam incaelum vebere noble are called 1 Cor. 1. 26. You Nobles I call you to see how few Nobles are called He doth not say not any such are called but he saith Not many such are called A rich man is a rare dish at Gods table It s observed by those that are experienced in the sport of angling that the little fishes bite more then the great ones Oh how few great fish do we finde so much as nibling at the Gospels book When King James's Tutor lay upon his expiring pillow his Majesty sent to see how he did Go saith he and tell him that I am a going to a place where few Kings are coming Under the Law the Lamb and the Dove were offered when the Lion and the Eagle were rejected In Heraldry they say that the plainest coats are the richest arms Usually the poorest on earth are the richest in heaven The tree of life is seldom planted in a terrestrial Paradise The shining diamond of a great estate is often found upon the stinking dunghil of a wicked heart St. Bernard saith of riches Non tam bona quam minora mala They are not so much good things as they are Sapiùs ventis agitatur ingenis Pinus celsae graviore casu decidunt turres feriuntque summos Fulmina montes Hor. Lib. 2. Ode 10. lesser evil things Where there is the most prosperity there is the least security The tallest Cedars are more subject unto boysterous blasts then the lowest shrubs The little Pinnace rides safe by the shore when the gallant ship advancing with its top-sails is cast away Sheep that have the most wool upon their backs are soonest robbed of their suits The worlds fawning is worse then the worlds frowning Poverty is its own defence from robery Who will disturb those nests in which there are hatcht no birds In our days Malignants could not make estates but yet estates could make Malignants If they took away their lives it was but to get away their lands These Hounds though they could finde nothing against them worth the barking yet they found something amongst them worth the taking But I shall leave them in their dregs that are left in the sudds hoping that the hands of Justice will restore what the hands of Violence did impair Others when their estates are low their hearts are high but Believers when their estates are high their hearts are low Then went King David in and sate before the Lord and said Who am I O Lord God and what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto 2 Sam. 7. 18. The weighty clusters humbled the branches of this royal vine He doth not quarrel with God for mercies denied but adores God for mercies bestowed Humility it looks with one eye on grace to keep it thankeful and with another eye on vice to keep it mournful As the Peacock by viewing of its black feet puls down its plumed feathers Theodosius thought it more honour to be a member of the Church then to be a Monarch of the world Wilt thou set thy heart upon that which is not Every thing will come to nothing but he that made every thing on t of nothing Many think it shall go well with them hereafter because it is so well with them here As if silver and gold which came out of the bowels of the earth had wings to carry a soul into the bosom of heaven The gates of the new Jerusalem though they stand open to gracious hearts yet they are not got open by golden keys A man may lie Perunt illa congregata sed pejus perit congregator eonum si non in Deo dives suerit Id. 1 bid in the bosom of the creatures for a time and yet lye in the bosom of the Devil for ever The worm of pride is such a gnawing vice that it crops the sweetest flowers of grace Either shut this sin out on earth or else this sin will shut you out of heaven The bowing reed is preserved whole when the stirdy oke is broke to pieces A proud person thinks every thing too much that is done by him and every thing too little that is done for him God is as far from pleasing him with his mercies as he is from pleasing of God in his duties Behold his soul which is
lifted up in him is not upright Hab. 2. 4. When we see a man blown up and swelled with the dropsie we can tell his blood is naught and waterish without opening a vein for the trial I will not say a good man is never proud but I will say a proud man is never good That is the nineth 10. Singular thing is To be better inwardly in our substances then we are outwardly in our appearance For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2. 28 29. We do not use to set our hands to blancks though we set our seals to bonds Formality often takes its chambers next door to integrity and so marches under its Mask the soul not suspecting that hell should aproach so neer heaven but of the two give me a substance that makes no show rather then a show that hath no substance he that gives truth to our inward parts he loves truth in our inward parts A rotten post though guilt with gold is fitter for the burning of the fire then for the building of the Fabrick Where there is a pure conscience there will be a pure conversation as the Index showes what 's in the book so the actions show what 's in the heart It s a vain thing to say its day when there is nothing but darkness in the sky but a man cannot tell alwayes what 's a clock in a mans breast by the dyal of his face the humblest looks is somtimes linked to the proudest hearts unclean spirits may have the chambers when they look not out at the windowes an hypocrite he is both the fairest and the foulest creature in the world he is the fairest outwardly to the eyes of man but the foulest inwardly to the eyes Cygnus plumas habet omni nive candidiores sed carnem nigram sic bypocrita sub verbis mellitissimis venenum alit Stapl. in Dom. 5. post Pent. of God who will baptize them with the name of Satan though shrouded in the mantle of Samuel Many appear righteous who are onely righteous in appearance But such as deceive others with the false shows of holiness deceive themselves with the false hope of happiness Some would not seem evil and yet would be so others would seem good and yet would not be so Either be what thou seemest or else seemwhat thou beest Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn away 2 Tim 3. 5. Though they who have the power of godliness cannot deny the forme yet they who have the forme of godliness can deny the power Hypocrites are like looking-glasses that present the faces that are not in them Oh how desirous are men to draw the fairest gloves over the fowlest hands To put the goodliest paints upon the rottenest posts and to Enamel a dunghil with sun beames to counterfeit the coyne of heaven is Treason against the King of Heaven who would spread such curious Carpets over a dusty Table If a man set forth in an unsound bottom he may lose himself in the voyage either get oyl into your lamps or else part with your lamps there 's no such Blacka-mores in the eyes of the Deity as those which paint for spiritual beauty Hypocrita inverbis sanctus est in corde vaâ—us Stapl. Ib. Others they are better in their outsides then they are in their in But Christians are better in their insides then they are in their out they are not like painted Tombs that make an inclosure of rotten bones The Kings daughter is all glorious within her cloathing is of wrought gold Psal 45. 13. She is all glorious within though within is not all her glory I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and and are not but are the Synagogue of Satan Rev. 2. 9. A false friend is worse then an open enemy A painted Harlot is better then a painted Hypocrite A treatcherous Judas is more abhorred by God then a bloody Pilat Christians remember that the sheeps coat shall be taken off from the woolfs back The velvet plaister of profession shall not always cover the stinking ulcer of corruption There is no sailing in the ship of formality to the shore of felicity The blasing lamps of foolish Virgins will never light them to the Bridegrooms chamber Either get the nature of Christians within you or else never take the honour of Christians unto you The Hypocrites purpose is not virtutem colere sed vitia colorare not to embrace vertue with a good intention but to paint over vice with a fair complexion Oh what a vanity is it to lop the boughs and to leave the roots that can send forth more or to empty the cistern and leave the fountain running that can fill it again Such persons may swim in the pond of the visible Church but when the net is drawn to the shoar they shall be cast away as stinking fish How pious and devoute did the Pharisees seem before men the people thought them the only Saints upon earth they judged their insides by their out but God judged their outside by their in And he said unto them ye are they which justifie your selves before men but God knoweth your hearts for that which is highly esteemed amongst men is abomination in the sight of God Luk. 16. 15. There shows of holiness before men was but holiness in show before God A man may be a God in the eyes Hypocrita veste virtutis induitur coram hominibus veste impietatis coram Deo Stapl. in Dom. 1. post Pent. of men and yet be a Devil in the eyes of God The conversation may be civilized when the affections are not sanctified There is as vaste a difference between nature restrained and nature renewed as there is between the shinings of a gloworm and the beamings of the sun Malus ubi bonum se simulat tunc est pessimus A bad man is certainly worst when he is scemingly best What is it to have the scabbard trimming if the sword be rusting To have hands as white as wool and hearts as black as hell such professors are like curious bubles smooth and clear without but nothing save wind within a man may wear Christs livery and yet do the Devils drudgery The skin of an apple may be fare when its rotten at the Coar Though all gold do glister yet all that glisters is not gould Aurichalco Hypocrita proprie assimilatur auri colorem non valorem habet Stapl. dom 5. post Pent. Men views your acts but God views your hearts Who would not prize a vessel in the Cellar full of generous wine before a guilt Tun that hangs up at the door for a sign He that walketh uprightly walketh surely but he that perverteth his ways shall be known Prov. 10. 9.
Emperours might be engraven in a little Ring I will not say there are not any good men that are great but I will say that there are not many great men that are good The Trees of righteousnesse are thinly planted in the worlds Orchard As in one righteous man there are many sins so for one righteous man there are many sinners Our fathers have eaten sowre grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge The generallity of persons they will rather walke in the way that the most goe then they will walke in the way that the best goe They are like dead fish that swims downe the streame whither soever it runs or like water that takes the figure of the Vessell in which it is contained But Vox populi is somtimes Vox Diaboli what 's ingraven upon the seale is imprinted upon the wax If we will not have the world to be our leaders we shall be sure to have them to be our troublers if they cannot seduce us into an evill way they will oppose us in a good one If they cannot scorch us with their fire they will black us with their smoake speaking evill of you because you run not to the same excesse of riot because they will not doe evill with them therefore they will say evil of them We must not walke in the way that hath been gone but in the way that should be gone Be ye followers of those who through faith and patience have inherited the promises What 's the reason that there are so many scribling professors in the world but that they write after such imperfect Copies The best of men are but men at the best It 's better imitating of an evill man in what is good then it 's imitating of a good man in what is evill Be ye followers of me 1. Cor. Exempla sanctorum non sunt nobis imitanda nisi quatâ—nus consentanea sunt cum lege Dei et cum Christi exemplis ideo neque Apostolus simpliciter dixit imitatores mei estote sed adjecit sicut ago Christi Zanch. de nat Dei l. 3. c. 3. ult fere verb. 11. 1. But this Exhortation hath its limitation as I am of Christ Where he follows Christ we must follow him but if Paul forsake Christ we may forsake Paul It was a good saying of Sir Thomas More I will not pin my faith upon any mans sleeve because I know not whither he will carry it Beleevers have not only infirmities that are naturall but they have infirmities that are sinfull When they begin to be spirit they do not cease to be flesh Noah was no sooner delivered from a deluge of water but he was drown'd in a deluge of wine Their failings flow not from a want of grace but from a want in grace not from a nullity in holiness but from an impotency in holiness As they are not so bad as they have been so they are not so good as they shall be those Roses that are now in Gratia est adhùc in augmento at posteà erit in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seu complemento Davent de just act cap. 34. their blossome shall be fully blown and the Starres that are yet imprisoned under a cloud shall be set in a cleare sky They are but slovenly Christians that will swallow all that beleevers doe without pairing their actions The Comment must be followed no further then it agrees with the Text. Say not in your hearts Multi sua peccata tegere volunt et defendere exemplo Davidis et aliorum quorum paenitentiam imitaâ—â— opoâ—â—ebat non corum peccata utere exemplis bonorum illosque in bonis actibus imitare Stella in Luc. c. 4. vers 27. why may not I be drunk as well as Noah and commit Adultery as well as David Did you ever hear of any that put out their eyes because others were smitten with blindnesse or that cut off their leggs because others went on Crutches If you have sinned as they have sinned you should mourn as they have mourned These acts are not for our imitation but for our caution they are not Land-marks for Travellers but Sea-marks for Mariners If a man find a piece of gold covered with dirt will he possesse himselfe with the dirt and throw away the gold You have heard of the patience of Job James 5. 11. We have not Apostolus commondat Job cum tamen Coeco impetu abreptus multa impatientiae signa edidit at etiamsi carnis infirmitate labascit vol secum tumultuatur huâ— tamen semper redibat ut seâ—otum Deo permitteretea Calvin Loc. only heard of Jobs patience but we have heard of Jobs impatience instead of cursing the sin in which he was born he curses the season in which he was born You have heard of the meekness of Moses and yet this even thred was not without its snarles whilest he is striking water out of the Rock he is fetching fire out of his heart And Peter not only forsakes his Lord but forswears his Lord. Who would ever have suspected that he who had his name from a Rock should have proved such a Reed Holy men they may be good Witnesses at the Bar but they are bad Judges on the Bench. If you will not turn your backs on Aegypt you may fall short of the Land of Canaan It was the complaint of one in his time That the greater theeves did execution upon the lesser But when God comes to passe Sentence he will bring the biggest to the Bar his Laws are not like Cob-webs which holds the little flies prisoners but the great ones break with small resistance He will set the Saddle upon the back of the right Horse Though you may have many under you upon Earth yet you have one over you which is in Heaven The Lord called to Adam and said unto him where art thou Gen. 3. 9. Not where wert thou but where art thou Oh how quickly hast thou morgaged that inheritance which I so lately setled on thee in Paradice The woman that thou gavest me she gave me of the Tree and I did eat Gen. 3. 12. Because she put it into his hands therefore he put it into his mouth The brats of sin are so ugly when they are brought forth that we are loth to own them our selves therefore lay them at the doores of others The stable Mountains are not so firme but they may be removed by Non igitur imitandi sunt fideles quatenus homines sed quatenus in eis resplendet imago Dei Bzov Conc 12. Page 119. fearefull Earthquakes Those Saints that have been as the greatest Stars have left behind them their twinklings and sad Eclipses 9. Principle that you are to walk by is this That where man is so dilligent as to do his best there God is so indulgent as to forgive his worst What an apology doth a waking Saviour make for his sleeping Saints The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak Take a
world was polluted and Noah was saved alone when the world was destroyed Vpon all the glory there shall be a defence Isa 4. 5. There 's nothing but the glory that 's worthy to be kept and there 's nothing of the glory but it shall be kept The shields of salvation they hang not in the paths of transgression Kept by the power of God by faith unto salvation All the wiles of the Devill cannot conquer a single Souldier in Christs Camp much lesse shall he rout the whole Army The name of the Lord is a strong Tower the righteous fly to it and are safe The name of the Lord is a Tower for its sublimity and it 's a strong Tower for its security Thy ship O Christian may put as boldly into such a harbour as a man may step into a house that is overtaken with a shower A Garden inclosed is my Sister my Spouse a spring shut up and a Fountain sealed Cant. 4. 12. God as he hath a hedge of affliction to keepe his people from wandring so he hath a hedge of protection to keep his people from wasting he that numbers their hairs secures their heads Sincerity is the only Sanctuary Psal 84. 11. The Lord God is a Sun and a Shield What darkness can obscure them who have a Sun above them or what dangers can injure them who have a Shield about them When thou passest thorow the waters I will be with thee and thorow the rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest thorow the fire thou shalt not be burnt neither shall the flame kindle upon thee Isa 43. 2. Here is a dangerous voyage but a safe convoy God doth not deale with his friends as we doe with ours We do with our friends as we do with Dialls only looke upon them when the Sun of prosperity shines upon them or as women doe with flowers whilst they are flourishing stick them in their bosomes but when once they wither cast them to the Dunghill But when our want is greatest his help is nearest the more grievous our oppressions the more gracious his redemptions When the night is at the darkest it's Tyranni premunt sed non opprimunt oppugnant sed non expugnant Id. conc 21. pag. 269. nearest morning and when the tide is at the lowest it is nearest turning A man that hath been for many yeares in a dark dungeon will rejoyce exceedingly at the lest appearance of light though it shine thorow a prison-grate When mans misery is most dolefull Gods mercy is most helpfull When our calamity is most indured his benignity is most admired Behold he that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps though Israel so kept doe both sleep and slumber Psal 121. 4. It was the saying of Alexander Tuto dormirinam Antipater vigilavit I slept securely whilst Antipater watcht Our safety sleepes when our Keeper sleepes when our Keeper sleeps Sometimes God doth house his Corn before a storme but however he keeps it in the storme If God be for us who can be against us Rom. 8. 31. Against us they may be to hate us but against us they cannot be to hurt us Noah rides safely in a well pitched Ark when the old world was covered with the waters of the Deluge when Israel was led into captivity then was Jeremy set at liberty The Prophet found more favour from the Princes of Babel then he found from the people of Israel Gideons Fleece was dry when all the earth was wet When the shaddows of the Evening were stretched over Asia the day dawned to us in Europe That 's the Nineteenth 20. Principle that beleevers are to walk by is this That the sweetness of the Crown which shall be received will make amends for the bitternesse of the Crosse that may be endured The last Wine that Christ draws is the best Wine that a Christian drinks When the waters cover the earth whither should such a Dove-like spirit flye but to the Ark He that came on earth to make us righteous will come from Heaven to make us glorious For ye had compassion on me in my bonds and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods knowing in your selves Haec est omnium verè in Christo fideliū vera et solida et efficacissima consolatio contra omnia hujus mundi adversa Stap in Dom 2. Quadr text 2. that ye have in Heaven a better and a more enduring substance Heb. 10. 34. Who would look for so fair a Jewel to lye upon so foul a Dunghil But the gain of these Heavenly Mansions drowned the losse of their earthly Mammon Christians you are now on a storming Sea do not say you shall never arrive at a quiet Harbour What hath he pluckt thee out of the fire of damnation and will he leave thee in the water of affliction It is not long before you shall Trumpet out that saying For lo the Winter is past the rain is over and gone the flowers appear on the earth and the time of singing of Birds is come Cant. 2. 11 12. O how clear will the Sun of righteousnesse shine when such dark clouds are blown over If there be so much Liquor in a single Grape what is there in the whole Cluster The waters of Life glide the smoothest when the wind blows the highest Take a beleever whilest he lives and God hath a servant the more on earth for him take a beleever when he dyes and God hath a Saint the more in Heaven with him If there be a fiery exhalation wrapt up in a cloud we must look for Thunder and Lightning to follow it Never look for an end of your sorrows till there be an end of your sins As sufferings came not a day before them so they stay not a day behind them God had one Son without corruption but he had never a Son without affliction As many as I love I rebuke and chasten Well may we bear the Rod when love makes the Rod a beleever when he lyes under that hand that doth afflict him he lyes in that heart that doth affect him Dunghils when they are raked up send forth a filthy steame but oyntment when it s powred forth yeilds a sweet perfume It 's reported of Tiberius that passing by a place where he saw a Cross lying on the ground upon a Marble stone he caused it to be digged up and found a great deale of Treasure under it Christians should you but dig up the stones where lyes your crosses under your greatest torments you might find your greatest treasures I have read of a fountain that 's cold at Mid-day and Amonis nemus in medio habet fontem aquam solis vecant sub lucis ortum tepidier manat medio diei cùm vehementissimu◠est calor frigida eadem fluit inclinato in vesperam calescit mediâ nocte fervida exaestuat Quint. Curt Lib. 4. Sect 7 hot at Mid-night thus are many Christians cooled in the mid-day of prosperity that are
the bark of fidelity there 's no grace doth so glorifie God as faith and there 's no grace that God doth so glorifie as faith Will you see how two gracious persons dash their feet against temptations Lord if thou hadst been here my Brother had not dyed John 11. 32. As if Christ could not have saved his life when he was absent as well as when he was present and have sent him health as well as have brought him health But doe they stop at the first step no but march on further in this distrustfull Road vers 9. Lord by this time he stinketh As if the physitians potion came too late and the Grave would not make any surrender though Christ commands the release of its prisoner but their unbeliefe stunk more in his nostrills then their brothers body did in theirs And being not weak in faith he considered not his own body now dead when he was about an hundred years old neither yet the deadnesse of Sarahs womb Rom. 4. 19. Skilfull swimmers are not afraid to goe above their depth whereas young learners grope for the ground and are loth to stirre from the bank-side Faith is not only the instrument to Fides salvifica est viva radiae sanctitatis ma nus os et oculus filiorum dei vinculum quo summo bono per Christum nobis unitum unimur Id. conc 15. in limine receive the righteousnesse of Christ for our justification but it 's the instrument to receive the holiness of Christ for our sanctification Of his fullnesse we receive grace for grace John 1. 16. But how do we receive it Even by Faith Faith unites the soul to Christ and as by a pipe laid close to the mouth of a fountaine water is carried to our houses for the supply of the whole family so by faith is derived to the soule in abundance a supply for all its exigences He that beleeves out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters Joh. 7. 38. Hence it is that when the Saints would advance to a high pitch in other graces they pray for an increase of this grace Lord increase our faith Luk. 17. 5. What the root sucks from the earth it soon disperces amongst the branches In faith there is such an efficacy Fides est armaturamentis et sicut scuto repellimus hostiles ictus sic fidem opponimus falsis diaboli suggestionibus Staplet in Dom. 4. â—ost Epiph. Tex 2. that it 's able to rout the whole body of impiety that not one lust stands in its unbroken strength Sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the Law but under grace Rom. 6. 14. Lusts they may stirre like wounded souldiers on their knees they may rally like broken Troops but shall never be Masters of the field where faith is seene Faith it doth not shoot paper pellets but Cannon bullets mans weakness can easily build the rotten fabrick of sin up but its faiths strength which can only throw it down As lusts would not let Christ live without us so Christ will not let lusts live within us Holding the Mistery of faith in a pure conscience Tim. 3. 9. Fides est cardo super quem vertitur porta Caeli situla per quam hauritur aqua vitae annulus ille nuptialis quo mens Deo desponsatur c. Arrowsin Tact. sacr l. 2. cap. 7. Sect. 13. This heavenly Manna it 's laid up in a golden Pot if faith be a precious pearle a good conscience is the Cabinet in which it s lockt Faith comes out of the warrs a conqueror when fear is foyled and taken prisoner it 's as potent to keep us from falling under temptations as to keep us from fainting under afflictions The body of Adam it is a Rack for sufferings but the bosome of Abraham is an Ark for resting A Beleever is like Joseph though the Archers sorely grieved him and shot at him yet his bow abode in strength and all his Arrowes were safe in the Quiver Christians never was the Tallent of faithfullness wrapped up in the Napkin of idleness He is a rich man that lives upon his wealth but he is a righteous man that lives upon his faith The first poysonous breath which was drawn by Eves lips was sent in those words Yea hath God said ye shall not eat This was the Traitors gate thorow which all sin entered into the heart A Tree is easily felled when its root is loosned Unbeleef it doth not only choake the bullets of wrath which are sent out of the fiery mouth of the Law but it damps all the motions of grace which comes from the still voyce of the Gospell All the offers of reconciliation which are made to unbeleeving persons they are like sparks of fire falling into a river of water that are extinguisht by it as soon as ever they light upon it Fifthly Would you do more then others then resolve more then others It is the resolute Christian that is the excellent christian An action that is well resolved is an action that is halfe performed God looks more at our wills then at our works The very first fruits of conversion they grow upon the Tree of holy resolution I will arise and go to my father Luke 15. 15. Arrows weakly shot fall short of their marks Many stand watching on what dyall the Sun shines and on what earth the cloud drops they stand as spectators on the shoare whilst the Vessell is tossed on the Sea Shame is that which ambicious nature abhors and danger is that which timorous nature declines Reformation is an Icy path and cowardly spirits love to have it well beaten by others before they will set a foot in it themselves Firme resolutions are like Rocks against which the waves may beat and strike but cannot move and alter As our prayers manifest what we desire that God should do for us so our purposes manifest what we our selves are desirous to do for God The holiness of a Saints life may be resembled to a babes birth In every birth there 's three things A Conceiving a Travelling and a bringing forth So there 's a conceiving of holinesse in our understandings by way of illumination there 's a Travelling of holinesse in our wills by way of resolution and there 's a bringing forth of holiness in our lives by way of operation Till you attain to firme resolutions you will never be free from great temptations Look as it is with the ill humours of the body they flock and resort to the crazy part so it is with Sathans assaults they will be ever frequent where the heart is ready to imbrace them or not resolved to resist them The Laws Curse is the press-money to force a servile spirit but the love of God is the by as of a Volunteer Your purposes and resolutions must be like water from a fountaine that flowes of it self and not like water from a pit that is fetcht forth by