of Gospel-worship I confess it is a sad sight to see a bad man do that which is bad or a wicked man do that which is wicked yet I say it is a sadder sight to see a bad man continuing in his state having no spiritual principles to go on doing good God often declares himself very highly against such as do good themselves continuing evil The good that you do will not profit you 't will not advantage you 't will be no plea at the Great Day You may have Iehu's Penny a deliverance from an outward Judgment but there is no deliverance from Wrath and Eternal Judgment Thus those that are not far from Heaven shall never come there yet I would exhort the worst of men to do good though they please not God in doing it yet they displease him in not doing it And thus faln man if he neglect to do good sins If he doth good he spoils it in the doing of it Hence we see the necessity of regeneration we are not born with a pure Heart A pure Heart a good Conscience Faith unfeigned are the Issues of the new birth Education cannot make the Heart pure it must be Revelation which makes the Heart pure Education may change a mans Course but it cannot change his Nature that 's only done by Regeneration He must be good before he can do good spiritually God works us before we can work for him he makes us good before we can do good We by Union to Jesus Christ come to have a spiritual Principle to carry us out in the doing of all good works Here 's your way you must be Gods workmanship before you can do Gods works As we are grafted into Christ he changes the Branch Then all your Fruits are sweet Fruits and pleasant Fruits they are well-tasted Why It is done first from a Principle of life in Christ. And secondly It is done from a Principle of love unto Christ. The Heart of man is the greatest cheat in the world The Heart of man received such a crack in the fall that there is no mending of it It must be new made The Heart is made wholly new by the power of God Meritoriously by the Blood of Christ that cleansing Blood it is made pure by the Spirit of Christ the Spirit is a purifier The Word of God is a purifier Instrumentally Applicatorily the Heart is made pure by Faith When the command of every sin When the custom and practice of every sin And when the love of every sin is gone such a Heart is free from these powers that Soul is Evangelically pure He that indeed hath this pure Heart is really sensible that once his Heart was very impure And also is as sensible that to this day there remains much impurity in his Heart He also that hath a pure Heart loves every thing that is pure and the more pure it is the more he loves it A pure Heart will be full of pure thoughts a pure Heart converses with God in purity of thoughts Whereas the wicked they have not the Pure God nor the Holy God in all their thoughts A pure Heart is full of pure desires he desires to be more good to be better he desires to know more of God and to honour God more he desires to enjoy God more he hungers and thirsts after God A pure Heart hath pure purposes and pure resolves and by resolves the Heart is more settled and fixt Resolution is the establishment of the Soul He resolves let the Winds blow high or low to cleave to Christ. There is a purpose in a pure Heart against all that 's evil He will neither defile his Heart nor his Life and these purposes he carries quite thorough all unto the end A pure Heart hath pure ends in all it doth a holy aim a single eye not self-profit not self-applause not pleasure but he purposes the profit of many that they may be saved Weigh it well whether you have this pure Heart The hardest thing that we have to do and the greatest kindness which God can do to us is to cleanse our Hearts Our hearts are the filthiest part of us If there be impurity in the hand there 's much more in the Heart Till the Heart be made pure nothing can be pure God is a friend indeed to those who have a pure Heart Keep pure Hearts with all diligence for the Devil comes a Heart-stealing continually unless you wash it weed it sweep it Cobwebs will grow Spiders will creep in they will be weaving their Webs To the impure Heart there is nothing pure Holy Ordinances honest Callings great Possessions all these to an impure Heart are not pure The pure in Heart are onely fit for Communion with God they onely are fit to call upon God who have a pure Heart Onely the pure in Heart shall see and enjoy God Impure eyes cannot behold God they cannot bear the Glory the excellence of his Presence THE HEART ANATOMIZED THe wicked search out Iniquities they accomplish a diligent search the inward thoughts of their Hearts are deep The Heart is commonly hard Harden not your Hearts as in the provocation in the day of Temptation in the Wilderness The heart of a godly man may be said to be perfect for David saith of himself I will behave my self wisely in a perfect way Oh when wilt thou come unto me I will walk within my house with a perfect heart The heart is said to be sound A sound heart is the life of the flesh but envy the rottenness of the bones The heart is sometimes merry sometimes melancholy A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken The heart hath many devices Nevertheless the Counsel of the Lord that shall stand The heart of an Holy man may be said to be pure He that loveth pureness of heart or hath grace in his lips the King shall be his friend The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked Who can know it The heart is said to be stony I will give them one heart saith the Lord and I will put a new spirit within you and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and I will give them an heart of flesh The heart is the chiefest Jewel which the Lord requires of a Christian My Son give me thine heart and let thine eyes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my Laws He that keepeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Lord shall be 〈…〉 Law of his God is in his 〈…〉 none of his steps shall side Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the Law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his Testimonies and that seek him with the whole heart Mr. Caryl's DIVINE SENTENCES OR A GUIDE TO An HOLY LIFE HE prepareth a fit Habitation for the Lord whose Reason is neither deceived nor Will perverted nor Memory defiled Happy is that Soul
that are earthy and as is the heavenly such are they that are heavenly What God gives us for our good we ought to employ for his glory He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. When our Saviour was buried it was the Body of the Lord not the Lord of the Body was laid in the Sepulchre If we set our affections on what we have when we have it not it adds the more to our affliction But the peace of Heaven surpasses the troubles of this world A Saint may be sad that he is no better but will inwardly rejoyce that he is no worse That man that deserves nothing ought to be content with any thing God is pleased with the free offerings of his Saints and they are pleased with the free gifts of God To be sorrowful for sin is good but that sorrow must continue or else the sorrow will be sin it self What is all this world but a world of nothing at all Whosoever can withstand the corruptions of gain gains by the corruptions Is it pleasure to the Almighty that thou art Righteous or is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect The men of this world pray to one another but the children of God pray to none but to the God of men The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light But the sorrow of this world worketh death Man is no sooner born but he begins to dye so uncertain is the life of man that none knows whether he that is born to day shall live till to morrow If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable Trust not in endeavours lest you neglect God but use endeavours lest you despise God But work out your salvation with fear and trembling Christ is the Physitian of our Souls his comforts are cordial but miserable comforts are the Physitians of the Body So said Iob to his friends Ye are all Physitians of no value Let us beware of the evil of sin for it leads us to the evil of suffering Wherefore Follow not that which is evil but that which is good He that doth good is of God but he that doth evil hath not seen God We may do those things which please God and yet displease him in the doing But Blessed are the poor in heart for they shall see God We perform our duties in a right measure when in seeking for mercies we study to please God rather than our selves God so loves his own that he will not depart from them and they that truly fear and love him have not the power to depart from him It was holy Ioshua's resolution As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. It is at present heaven with us to enjoy God and Christ What will it then be when we worship him with his innumerable company of Angels When we pay our devotions to God we should lay aside all worldly affairs lest they distract us in our duty It is a great offence against the Almighty to be interrupted when we walk with him See then that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time because the days are evil A Christian hath but two things to fear God and Sin As it is writ of Ioseph How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God! The three Divine Vertues are Faith Hope and Charity but the greatest of these is Charity The three humane Vertues are Friendship Credit and Conscience but the greatest of these is Conscience Conscience was Paul's glory when he said Herein do I exercise my self to have always a Conscience voyd of offence toward God and toward Men. When thou sinnest repent betimes lest thou plunge into a custom of sinning and always remember God hath a certain custom to punish sinners Thus saith the Lord of Hosts Turn ye unto me and I will turn unto you But except ye repent ye shall all perish God is the way and the life if we walk after his way we shall finde life if not we erre from the way of life Jesus saith I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the Father but by me Serve God in secret as well as in publike worship and he that seeth in secret shall reward thee openly What deceitful pleasures are those that require either Repentance or Damnation As the Jews did by our Saviour so should we do by the world the flesh and sin that is crucifie them They that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts The disingenuity of others towards us is a scourge to us for our disingenuity towards God If God denies the desires of thy heart learn to want with patience it will teach thee when God is pleased to bestow his blessings to receive them with chearfulness We ask the Lord for our dayly bread but he knoweth our wants before we ask We desire Health Wealth c. but the measure of those blessings is in God's hand and he knows how to carve for us better than we could for our selves Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him It is the duty of a Christian to wait God's leasure there is no mercie worth the praying for but it is certainly worth the waiting for We are all born to dye let us so dye that we may be born again Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin If thou canst hear and bear the Rod of affliction which God shall lay upon thee remember this Lesson Thou art beaten that thou mayst be better There is no better defence against our own Infirmities and the scandalous reproaches of others than the Sincerity of our own hearts Grace be with all them that love our Lord Iesus Christ in sincerity God is love and we ought to serve him in fear and love No service can be better done than that which is done in love God dwelleth in that servant and that servant in him Why doth a wicked man envy the welfare of a man more righteous than himself because it is a terrour to his Conscience to see the Image of Vertue in another man he having defaced it in himself Where envying and strife is there is confusion and every evil work All the Pomps and Gayeties of this world are not to be compared to a grain of distressed Vertue Wherefore adde to your Faith Vertue and to Vertue Knowledge Though I give my body to be burnt and have not charity it profitteth me nothing but to mortifie my sins and to deny my self submitting to the will of God is more than Martyrdom Let not the world overcome you but fight under the Banner of that great Captain the Lord Jesus Christ so shall you with him overcome the world Who is he that overcometh the world but he that
believeth that Iesus is the Son of God Why is it that sinners so rarely confess their sins it is because they are in them we use not to declare our dreams till we wake Therefore let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober To represent a Christian is only to act a part on the stage of this world but to be a real Christian is to depart this stage and enter into a world of Bliss He that hath children ought to correct them with discretion But he that spareth his Rod hateth his Son and he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes To be truly sensible of sin is to sorrow for displeasing God more than for the displeasure of God to be afflicted that he is displeased by us more than that he is displeased with us Mirth and Mourning are opposites to each other Mirth is burthensome in the time of Mourning and Mourning is likewise burthensome in the time of Mirth Love the Saints for Christ's sake and Christ will love you for his Saints sake Beloved let us love one another for love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God but he that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love The Old Testament veils the New the New Testament reveals the Old Beautiful upon the Mountains are the feet of him which bringeth good tidings but how much more beautiful are the good tidings which are brought by those feet The works of our life is the best demonstration that we are acquainted with the words of our life The Saint hath the motion of grace whilst the Hypocrite hath but the notion the Saint sees tasts and feels it whilst the Hypocrite only reads hears and speaks of it The Saint hath the experience of grace and the Hypocrite the expression Be modest in your desires so shall your cup over-flow but the covetous man never hath enough Take heed and beware of covetousness There is a time for all things but no time when all things may be spoken To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven When you give thanks let the strings of your Heart and the strings of your Tongue be tun'd to Unisons it is the musick that God himself delighteth in What a vain thing is man when the best of men are but vanity at best Verily every man in his best estate is altogether vanity The wife of a man's bosom is better than the portions of the purse House and riches are the inheritance of fathers but a prudent wife is from the Lord. Marry not where you love not lest you are tempted to love where you marry not Marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled but Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge If Nature be defective it is not the act of the creature but of God and since it is his will it should be so we ought to submit to his pleasure and not to blame the handy-work of God Hath not the Potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one Vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour To please all is hard to displease any may be inconvenient the Christians surest way is to please him who is all in all When a man's ways please the Lord he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him The Righteous man will venture his Credit to secure his Conscience but will not venture his Conscience for the sake of his Credit The Saints are visited by Christ here by way of invitation that they should visit him hereafter Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people A Christian should like all God's commands because they are all alike Holy Iust and Good The Statutes of the Lord are right rejoycing the heart the Commandment of the Lord is pure enlightning the eyes It is our Master's pleasure to let his joy enter into us here that it may teach us how to enter into our Master's joy hereafter In whose presence is fulness of joy at his right hand are pleasures for evermore No sin against God can be said to be little because it is against the great God of Heaven and Earth but if the sinner can finde out a little God it may be easie then to finde out little sins Our Mediator Jesus Christ the Righteous is the sinners Righteousness unto God and the Righteousness of God to sinners But we are all as an unclean thing and all our Righteousnesses are as filthy rags and we all do fade as a leaf and our Iniquities like the wind have taken us away If any man findes the want of Comforts Content will make them comfortable wants It was a rare experience which Paul had got who saith I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content Destruction giveth way to pride for pride goeth before destruction Be sober in advice and moderate in reproofs some hearts are sooner humbled with stroaks than with stripes As an ear-ring of gold and an ornament of fine-gold so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear Pride soars aloft but patience walketh humbly with his God God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble The mercie of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting Let not that incourage sinners to the commission of sin but from thence let them sue for a remission of sin It is the will of every Saint that the will of the Lord should be done and he is content that all things should be so done so as to content God The Holy Prophet confirms it saying I delight to do thy will O my God yea thy law is within my heart Though our good works will not carry us to heaven yet they shall finde a reward in heaven Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me to give every man according aâ— his work shall be The life of the wicked is abominable they sin with content and are content with sin Miserable Wretches Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the Prophet unto our Fathers saying Go to this people and say Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand and Seeing ye shall see and not perceive For the heart of this people is waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes have they closed lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted and I should heal them Till we get Christ within us we are without Christ. The Lord's bottle and basket are never empty he bountifully invites us with this free offer of grace Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich
Praise him ye heavens never fade Praise him for ye by him were made Praise ye the Lord ye Dragons fell Praise him ye Deeps his wonders tell Praise him Fire Hail Vapour and Snow Praise him ye Stormy Winds that blow Praise him ye Cedars Beasts o' th' Field Praise him all things can Praises yield Praise him ye Kings of highest birth Praise him ye Iudges of the Earth Praise him ye Rulers whom he rais'd Praise for he 's greatly to be Prais'd Praise ye the Lord both great and small Praise him that did Create us all Praise him within his Holy Tower Praise him for his Almighty Power Praise him for what he to us gave Praise Iesus Christ that did us save Praise ye the Holy Spirit too Praise each with all Devotions due Praise all strive who shall praise the most Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost Praise each with pious Harmony Praise ye the blessed Trinity Praise ye the Lord with Trumpets sound Praise him that heal'd us with his Wound Praise him with Harp's loud Melody Praise him with Song and Psaltery Praise him with Timbrel let the flute Praise him with Organ Pipe and Lute Praise him with instrumental String Praise him with Cymbals loudly sing Praise him with Ioy and skilful Voice Praise with new Songs the chief and choyce Praise him that is our Guide our Light Praise him because his Word is right Praise him whose works are done in truth Praise him that no injustice doth Praise him all people great and less Praise him that loveth Righteousness Praise him whose goodness fills the earth Praise him with Zeal and pious Mirth Praise him the Antient is of days Praise him that gives us pow'r to praise Praise him whose Word the Heavens made Praise him whose Breath requir'd no Ayd Praise him that doth the Wind command Praise him that makes the Waters stand Praise him whom Sun and Moon obey Praise him doth Heavens Scepter sway Praise him that doth the Heathen awe Praise him whose ev'ry word 's a law Praise him who doth from Heav'n behold Praise him ye Rich Poor Young and Old Praise him that fashions all our hearts Praise him alone can heal our smarts Praise him that is the King of Kings Praise him in grief that comfort brings Praise him that governs Sea and Coasts Praise him that is the Lord of Hosts Praise him who can the Lyon tame Praise him that mighty is by Name Praise him that guards us day and night Praise him the God of Peace and Fight Praise him that makes the stoutest yield Praise him that is our help and shield Praise him both with the heart and mouth Praise him in Age in Strength and Youth Praise him who are with sorrows sad Praise that the humble may be glad Oh let the Nations all accord To Praise and Magnifie the Lord. BLESSINGS of the Righteous As they are denoted in the HOLY SCRIPTURES HEarken unto the Lord thy God His Covenants observe So will he kindly spare his Rod And not afflict a Nerve Blest shalt thou in the City be Thy God will blessings yield At home abroad at bed at board And likewise in the field Blessed shall be thy bodies fruit And that upon the ground The wicked be they lowd or mute Shall neither of them wound Thy Cattle shall enrich thy store The increase of thy Kine And Sheep shall still wax more and more Thy Grapes shall yield thee Wine Blest shall thy store and basket be Blessings shall thence accrew Comings and goings shall agree To make thee blessed too The Lord shall smite thine enemies And put them to disgrace The chiefest he will make to flie And that before thy face Thy foes one way shall thee attempt But flee before thee seven From Iudgment none shall be exempt But as the Wind be driven Thy store-houses the Lord will bless And all thou tak'st in hand And give to thee a large increase Of plenty in the land The Lord as he himself hath sworn He shall establish thee And farther to exalt thy horn His people ye shall be Keep thou the Lord's Commandements And all the earth shall see That thou art great in Innocence And stand in fear of thee The Lord he shall his treasures ope The Heav'ns shall give thee Rain If head or hand with business cope It shall be for thy gain No discontent shall thee attend As free from grief or sorrow To many Nations thou shalt lend But have no need to borrow Blessed are they that in him trust He will them bless with speed For do they hunger do they thirst He is their help at need Blessed is he whose sin is hid He may with gladness smile Whose errours all are covered Whose spirit hath no guile Blessed are they that now lament As being poor in spirit For they are promis'd by the Lord His Kingdom to inherit Blessed are they that now do mourn Thinking their joys are fled For though as yet they seem forlorn They shall be comforted The meek are blessed too for they That love not strifes increase Shall on the earth bear happy sway Delighting much in peace The hungry too and they that thirst For Righteousness as Meat They shall be fill'd when those accurst Shall nothing have to eat Blest be the merciful to those Whom they observe in pain For he that mercily bestows Shall mercie reap again Thrice-blessed are the pure in heart Whose Souls and hands are free From Vanity and wicked Oaths For they their God shall see Blest the peace-makers are for they His Children shall be call'd And he that loves and doth obey Shall never be enthrall'd Blessed are they for Righteousness Do persecution bear Their great reward none can express But Heav'n it lieth there Blessed are they that are revil'd Because they seek the Lord Let them not fear although exil'd His Grace will strength afford Rejoyce and be exceeding glad For great is your reward The Prophets by such usage bad Did get into regard Curses of the VVicked He that doth hear a poor man's cry Shall never fare the worse But whoso turneth back his eye Shall never want a curse He that himself hath others curst His Servant curseth him The blessings of his flowing purse Shall him to ruine swim He that blasphemeth God his Lord Ought to be ston'd to death And cursed be that man abhorr'd Serves other God beneath Cursed be he that setteth light By Father or by Mother The people shall him daily slight And none his curses smother Cursed be he that doth remove His Neighbours Land-mark then The people shall him curse none love But each one cry Amen Cursed be he that leads the blinde In an erroneous way The Lord for him will torments finde And be the blind man's stay Cursed be he that doth pervert The Widow Fatherless Or Stranger from an upright heart Curses shall him oppress Cursed thrice cursed shall he be Covets his Father's Breast And that man curst shall be as he That lieth with a
live is Christ but to dye is gain The children of this World may be cast out but the heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven shall be as Olive-plants about the Table of the Lord. To commit sin is the part of an humane Nature to lament for sins committed is Christian-like but to continue in sin bidding defiance to the Divine powers is Diabolical There are three sorts of Faith the Faith of Sence which is seeing the Faith of Reason which is knowing and the Faith of Revelation which is believing And this last is properly called the Gospel-Faith Believe in the Lord your God so shall you be established believe his Prophets so shall ye prosper We ought seriously to consider two things the sin of our Nature and the Nature of our sin The Natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neican he know them because they are spiritually discerned But he that is spiritual judgeth all things yet he himself is judged of no man Let us follow after Christ he is our guide and will not shake us off but if we do not follow him we despise him and our own salvation Be ye therefore followers of God as dear Children If the heart of man be hard and stony it makes the softer cushion for the Devil to sit on To day if ye will hear the voice of the Lord harden not your hearts as in the provocation Since the days of mans life are as a shadow our suffering will be sudden and our sinning short We are but of yesterday and know nothing because our days upon earth are a shadow If man be for us God may be against us but if God be for us who can be against us If we are among our friends without God we are in continual danger but with God a man is safe though in the midst of enemies Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell The Saints ought to do more for God than others because as they are expected to be the best servants they are like to have the better wages The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is Eternal life through Iesus Christ our Lord. A modest behaviour and a portion of Morality without Holiness is but a golden Incredulity But sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every one that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear Let young Women put on Piety instead of Paints Sanctity instead of Sattin Modesty for their Morning and dayly dress so shall God and every good man love them more and more Let Women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shame fac'dness and sobriety not with broidred hair or gold or pearls or costly array But which becometh Women professing godliness with good works As God made man without the help of man so will he likewise save them that come unto him by his own Almighty power Hear how familiarly he invites them Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest And ye shall finde rest unto your Souls If we endeavour for Salvation it is God must give it but if we do not endeavour he will shorten his own hand though we cannot do it For thus saith the Psalmist with thee is the Fountain of Life in thy light we shall see light How lovely is God in all his Creatures how much more lovely in his Ordinances but most lovely in Christ who is the God of love Brethren be perfect be of good comfort be of one mind live in peace and the God of love and peace shall be with you The Christian hopeth for the world to come but the sinner feareth it For every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour Not to be chastened is an ill signe but not to bear a chastening is a worse Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest O Lord and teachest him out of thy Law He that hath a tender Conscience will not be prodigal of his Credit for a good Conscience is a continual Feast to a chearful heart So likewise he that hath a good name hath the savour of a pretious Oyntment which gives a chearfulness to his countenance He that detaineth a penny from the poor puts a Plague into his own purse He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker but he that honoureth him hath mercie on the poor Let the precepts of God be neer to our hearts lest he stop his ears to our Prayers Who so stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor he also shall cry himself and shall not be heard In prosperity we forget the threatnings of God and in adversity we are apt to forget his promises The prosperity of fools shall destroy them If we intend to suffer evil for God's sake in the day of Adversity let us do good for God's sake in the day of Prosperity Here lies the true point of Gentility to fear God scorn the World and conquer Sin Nay in all these things we are more than conquerours through him that loved us Doth any man fear to dye it's an easie thing to live slaves and beasts do so but it ought to be every mans study to live and dye well Man's life is more full of grief than glory and it is a seasonable time to dye in when to live is rather a burthen than a blessing Be obedient and do good they are the works and the wages of a Christian and he will delight in doing good though he doth it only for his delight Gathering of Riches is a pleasant torment the trouble of getting the charging of the conscience the care of keeping and the watching over them when gotten takes away a great part of the expected enjoyment Wherefore if Riches increase set not your heart upon them A gratious person is usually as apt to desire to understand what he is to do as what he is to enjoy The work of a Christian while he lives in the body is to crucifie the body of death Man is God's creature God formed man of the dust of the ground Sin is man's creature Man is like to vanity his days are as a shadow which passeth away Misery is sins creature The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is Eternal life through Iesus Christ our Lord. God made man in his own likeness man hath made sin in his likeness and sin hath made misery in his own likeness Adam who was the Father of mankind was of earth and therefore earthy Our Saviour who was the Redeemer of mankind and the second Adam was from Heaven and therefore Heavenly As is the earthy such are they
is to obey him as a Servant and honour him as a Son Strive to be good in all concerns to be good Subjects good Governours good Dealers good Husbands good Masters and good Neighbours so will God love you and bless you and the rest respect you Account sin the evil of evils and rather embarce the greatest sorrow than the least sin If God hath bestowed Graces on thee communicate them to others in your convenient conversations for true Grace is of a spreading nature affectual Grace will labour to convert others There are but two Roads that lead to Heaven the one is called Innocence the other is Repentance If God hath conferr'd more gifts either of Grace or Nature upon thee than upon another thou must study to improve them for as thou expectest more light from the Sun than from a Candle so will God expect more duty in Service than from a lesser light For the better the Wages is the better should the service be Holy Wisdom mixt with Honour are like Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver To disobey God in a little is no small disobedience for no sin can be said to be little since the least sin without Repentance and the mercie of God is big enough to damn a man A Sword can but kill a mouse and a Bodkin may kill a man Humiliation without Reformation will not shew a man the way to Heaven Despise not the Ministers of Christ for it is Christ that is the Word and they are his Ambassadors To make you the more capable of serving God be frequent in Spirit Consider the Great God whom ye serve alters not neither must his Servants Thou mayst safely serve the Devil if thou canst find out a corner that is secret from the all-seeing eye of God To flatter thy self is to cheat thy Soul Labour first for the Kingdom of Heaven and all other things shall be given We say in temporal affairs delays are dangerous how much more dangerous in spiritual when thy everlasting Peace is concerned Defer not your Repentance till you are old shall the Devil have the Flower of your age and God the Bran The Spirit of Prayer is more pretious than Treasures of Gold and Silver If thou art marryed beware of Cares and Strifes let your Cares be which shall be most zealous in the service of God and your Strifes be which shall love the other best so will your Cares and Strifes be turned into a comfortable pleasure If there be want of mutual affection between man and wife and the one suffer vaxations and affronts for a time yet do thy obedience to the Lord and thou shalt find comfort in the end Beware of immoderate Cares lest you dishonour or deny God for such Cares are 1. Needless 2. Bruitish 3. Bootless 4. Heathenish 1. Needless What need we care when Our heavenly Father knoweth we have need of these things and saith Be careful for nothing but cast our cares on him for he careth for us 2. Bruitish Consider the Fowls of the Air and Ravens that he feeds they toyl not 3. Bootless and in vain Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature or penny to his estate Take no thought for the morrow for that will take thought for it self 4. Heathenish For after all these things the Gentiles seek As the Waves of the Sea are troublesome and unfixt so are the Thoughts and Actions of a wicked man If thou risest from a low estate to a great one it is but like stepping from a Boat or Barge into a Ship thy dangers continue for thou art still upon the Sea The way to be either lov'd or envy'd is to serve God betimes so shall God and good men love thee and wicked men envy thy Glories If thou art afflicted remember afflictions are Gods Potions which thou mayst sweeten by Faith and Prayer but take heed of Impatience and Unbelief for those two ingredients will make them bitter as Gall. To be a servant to sin is to be a shameful and an unfruitful slave But in the service of God is perfect freedom Blessed are those that receive the Word of God into their hearts as well as into their ears For formal service is but an outward shew of Devotion and only an act of dissembling with him that will not be mocked The name of Christianity without a real Practice is but an empty Title and a dead Faith It can be but a small satisfaction to a Christian to seem to go to Heaven But to go neer Heaven and at last miscarry is as fatal as a double Hell Be merciful and charitable as well as pious as you freely receive freely give If thou art rich be pious too if both be rich in good works God doth not delight in the niggardly Christian. Beware of Apostacie the craft of which sin is to deprave your judgments from the truths of Christ your affections from your love to Christ and your conversations from a zealous walking with Christ. Meditate frequently on the four last things Heaven Hell Death Judgment The meditation of Heaven will be so inviting to you that your mind will more and more affect it The Meditation of Hell will teach you to abhor the place and the torments of the Damned The meditation of Death will direct you in your preparations for death The meditation of Judgment will draw you neerer to God and teach you to avoid sin Nothing separates God and man but sin and the only way to remove that Wall of separation is by a true and hearty Repentance and Reformation Sin not only makes a difference betwixt God and Man but betwixt Nation and Nation and sets the whole World at Variance Repentance carrieth with it a Divine Rhetorick and perswades Christ to forgive multitudes of sins committed against himself It is the only glorious Star that leads us to the everlasting Son It is impossible to dive into the secrets of Almighty God no man hath a key to his Closet nor knows the length of his Patience The old world had one hundred and twenty years Ierusalem's destruction forty years Nineveh had but forty days and Lot had but one nights warning for the destruction of Sodom Some there are and not a few that abuse the Mercies bestowed upon them that may justly be compared to Dung-hills that the oftener they receive the Sun-shine of Blessings the more apt they are to be corrupted Many there are that enjoy Health Wealth and Honour yet attribute all to their good fortunes and forget to thank that bountiful hand that bestows them Like Swine they drink of the Waters of Canaan and look not up to the Fountain from whence they flow But he that regardeth not those Mercies he receives mindeth not his own interest and despiseth his best Friends A Meadow affords no pleasure to a Swine but the Mire doth even so an ungodly man that only pretends to Christianity is as a fish
upon the shore that lives a while but with no delight because out of its own Element Afflictions and miseries happen by Gods permitment and whom he loveth he chastiseth those griefs are for the good of them that love God therefore beware of sin that makes your sorrows bitter and minde not the Rod so much as him from whom the Rod comes lest that teach you both to fret and faint As Sheep make every place the better where they come and Goats make every place the worse so is it with a Saint and with a Sinner the first bringeth sweetness along with him and the other leaves a stink behind him Win what thou canst by Prayer with comfort thou shalt enjoy the purchase Instructions for the keeping of the Sabbath Make the Lords day the Market-day for thy Soul let the whole day be spent in Prayer Repetitions or Meditations lay aside the affairs of the other part of the week let the Sermon thou hast heard be converted into Prayer Shall God allow thee six days and wilt not thou afford him one Observations for the Week-days 1. When thou risest in the morning consider thou must dye 2. Thou mayst dye that minute 3. What will become of thy Soul Pray often At night consider what sins thou hast committed 2. How often thou hast Prayed 3. What hath thy mind been bent upon 4. What hath been thy dealing 5. Thy conversation 6. If thou callest to mind thy errours of the day sleep not without a Confession to God and a hope of Pardon Thus every Morning and Evening make up thy Accounts with Almighty God and thy Reckoning will be the less at last Say not with thy self To morrow I will repent for it is thy duty to to do it dayly And if thou dost delay repentance Satan hath an opportunity to incroach and will bring thee to make it a custom which is hard to break Repent and seek the Lord betime lest thou too suddenly art accosted with shame and death The sinner is always grinding at the Devils Mill and the Devil is no less busie in supplying the Hopper lest his Mill should stand still A piece of dry Bread with Water a good Conscience and devout Thoughts is a noble Feast As the Potter fashioneth the clay so doth the Lord dispose of man as liketh him best wherefore fear thou the Lord. Wo unto him that striveth with his Maker Shall the clay say to him who fashioneth it what makest thou Be diligent to observe the Commandments of God for he is a Master cannot erre and what he willeth must be done If thou art Great be likewise Good for as if you were a Looking-glass others dress themselves by looking upon you God is the Fountain of Felicity converse with him and you shall be filled with Joy The first that named Gods Name in Scripture was the Devil and he likewise confess'd our Saviour to be the Son of God however he was the Devil notwithstanding that If you will not follow the example of your Saviours life you will merit nothing by his death God will not be perswaded to save us if we will not be perswaded to serve him Be careful to frequent the Church for publike Worship is the Pillar of Religion and a devout Service of Almighty God In the Church be careful to serve God for you are before the eyes of God and Man It is not only a scandal to man but a defiance to the Deity to be careless of our duties in the Congregation of those that come to seek his face A Congregation zealous at the Worship of God on Earth is an exact Picture of the Saints with God in Heaven Laugh not in the Church lest it be suspected thou art tickled by the Devil Well may he be punished that misbehaves himself in the Church when the Devils misbehaviour cast him out of Heaven If thou art poor neither wonder nor despair God will pay them that serve him and the less Wages thou receivest now the more thou shalt have hereafter You have a Crown set before you which Crown he that wins may wear it and that is Mercie It is dangerous to be rich for riches tempt men to be covetous and to delight in Gold besides Riches have wings and flie away by loss at Sea or Land by fire or some other accidents which lead men to discontentments and finally to despair If a wicked man be never so rich his whole Estate cannot ransome him for eternal torments for God is no esteemer of Riches A poor mans morsel with content and grace is better than the dainties of a Dives Many there are that to improve their own Estates care not how many Families they undo so true is that of the Holy Writ They that will be rich fall into temptations And how much to be admired is the Vanity of those that delight in Riches for when the covetous man dyes he can carry nothing with him but while living hazards his Soul to heap up Riches and knoweth not who shall enjoy them What are the Honours and Riches of this World when compared to the Glories of a Crown of life What can be a more certain token of a Reprobate than to receive large Wages in this World and yet do little or no service for it There are a sort of men that may be truly called Time-servers whose Religion is like Wax to be moulded to any fashion Discretion teacheth us to observe those times that are lawful and necessary especially in reference to the performance of our duties to Almighty God but it is an horrid piece of Impiety to serve the Times and neglect God Think not thy self Good because thou seest another worse but endeavour to mend him and make thy self better Imagine not thy life to be good because thy heart is honest but strive to run that thou mayst win the Race To avoyd Hypocrisie is good and likewise to shun the sin of profanation but to be active in the service of God is better An outward shew of goodness is Good for example-sake to others but an inward Holy zeal is better Do not conclude thy self good because thou art so sometimes 'T is a Habit of Holiness a Garment of Righteousness that makes a Saint God doth take notice of our steps but will judge us by our wayes Thou art not good because thou dost believe the Devils do believe and tremble but a good belief a good conversation acts of piety and charity are the ingredients of a good man To what end should a man fancy himself a Saint when his heart lies open to the eyes of the Lord He may be Gods Reprobate though his own Elect. If thou hast sinned and dost repent do not conclude that thou art well and mayst return to thy former Vomit for Justice when offended will be severe against those that abuse a Mercie Thou mayst hear Sermons often and do well in practising what thou hearest but thou must
not expect to be told thee in a Pulpit all that thou oughtest to do but be studious in searching the Scriptures and reading good Books what thou hearest may be forgotten but what thou readest may better be retained Take heed of giving thy self the liberty of committing one sin for that will lead thee to another till by an ill custom it becometh natural That disease is desperate which to keep is death and to part with is impossible To begin an evil is of ill consequence it teacheth one to shake hands with shame but to continue in it hardens the heart and leads it till it be past grace To begin a sin is to lay a foundation for a continuance this continuance is the Mother of Custom and Impudence at last the Issue Fly evil society as an infectious Plague for ill Company is the corruption of good manners Take heed of those Doctrines that oppose the Magistracie or Ministry and endeavour to promote prophane Liberty and cast down good works by crying up of free grace In Nature 't is an observable Maxime The Masters commands must be obeyed according to his own will shall we not then be as obedient to our Spiritual Master as our Temporal one God forbid If we intend to serve God he expects we should serve no other God Our God is a living God and loves not dull and drowsie Saints we must not only serve him in this life but we must have life in our service Hast thou sinned repent behold the Lord holds a bottle for thy Tears Call no sin little it will require a great stock of Penitence take heed of purchasing a sin till thou knowest the price Prayers and Tears are the sinners best Embassadors to the Throne of Grace To sin is the frailty of the Nature of man but to glory in sin is bruitish like the Swine that understands not that clean pasture is better than a Ditch Make not Religion a Cloak 't is Diabolical to Honour God with our lips and dishonour him in our lives Such are the paths of those that forget God and the Hypocrites hope shall perish It is in vain to dissemble with God for the Hearts of all men are in his hands and the Hypocrite shall not come before him And what comfort is there in Hypocrisie when we consider that The Triumphing of the wicked is short and the joy of the Hypocrite but for a moment And where is the hope of the Hypocrite though he hath gained when God taketh away his Soul In Humane affairs Reservedness is Wisdome but Dissimulation is in all things Hateful To be Lip-holy and Heart-hollow is a brief Character of a Hypocrite A false Friend is to be abhorr'd above a mortal Enemy This is the Fate of an Hypocrite when once known he will not be believed when he speaketh truth If Hell hath one place hotter than another it is called Locus Hypocritarum the place of Hypocrites The Malitious man dissembleth with his Lips and harbours deceit within him When thou givest Alms sound not a Trumpet as the Hypocrites do their folly is their reward And beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees which is Hypocrisie No Serpent hath more Poyson than sin it is a thief in the house and a sword in the heart of a Nation God and Mercie will not stay where sin is the obstinate Governour To fast till we are Anatomies to pray till our knees are fixed to the ground is nothing if we do not fast from sin Erroneous times may unsettle truth but the Conscience of a good man is firm The Cap and the Knee are but outward Ceremonies but he that avoids Iniquity is the best Christian The Wages of sin is death but to mortifie sin is eternal life Gods care is concerned in Sparrows how much more in the least concerns of his Children Forsake not the publike Worship of God lest God forsake thee not onely in publike but in private In your Repentance remember Church-sins Sermon-sins Sacrament-sins lest the Church give you up to Satan for your sins Let not Whoremongers and Adulterers boast for those sinners God will judge The Usurer is stuft with earth in this World He hath the Grave for his Landlord but no God for his Father The fashions of other Nations have made us slaves to them but our pride may expect a greater doom Love not the World for it 's a Moth in a Christians life Nothing is more prejudicial to a Christian then a carnal love When you rise or when you go to Bed let your Meditation be what shall become of your Soul this minute Is your Heart devoted unto Christ live to him and you shall live with him For know God is a Guest that requires the upper Rooms that is the Head and the Heart And it is the pleasure of a devout man to promote the Interest of Almighty God He that will be false to God can never be true to man It is good to be of a true Religion but it is ill not to be true in that Religion If God be against you who then can take your part Will God that made you save you if you will not serve him Consider it was Christ that dyed for you it is he that either saves or condemns you flatter not your self with a vain conceit can man be more merciful than God The Epicure that delighteth in the variety of dainties of this World little thinketh that those very creatures will one day witness against him The Gallant that glories in the pride of his Habit will likewise be tried by his Garments The heaps of Treasure which the worldling hoardeth up will be an evidence against him Time will be when Time shall call the Drunkard to account for his waste of time Fornicators and Adulterers will at last with sorrow remember the date of their former sins The consequences of a sinners life will appear against him charging him with the ruine of Wife and Children disquieting of Neighbours and impoverishing of other Families It is better to be a Lazarus in poverty and to want the relief of this World than to be richly habited to fare deliciously and hereafter to want a drop of water to quench the flames of an incensed Mercie The way to live in Heaven is to live heavenly upon Earth Do not pretend to believe more than you do believe and live according to that belief If you would be wholly God's give him your heart and live wholly to him Better it is to serve God than man purity is better than impurity feasting is noysome because it makes you sick Why do ye wallow in the mire because ye have the natures of Swine The Lord hath made the world and us that we in it may serve him and that is the duty of man The sinner will be accused not onely by his own conscience but his familiar companions Grieve not the Spirit now lest it grieve you hereafter Your intentions to Repentance and
the neglect of that Soul-saving duty will rise up in Judgment against you The Righteous and the Wicked will be tried by their Consciences and that will discover the whole truth Study that Lesson which the Apostle Paul hath set before you To have always a Conscience void of offence towards God and towards man The powers that are are of God therefore be subject for Conscience sake Let your rejoycing be in the Testimony of a good Conscience Put on Charity out of a pure Heart a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned Justice hath leaden feet but iron hands and it is but just that they that encourage one another to sin should at last condemn each other It will be but cold comfort at the great Tribunal for sinners to remember their past follies Satan that now spreads abroad his temptations will then witness to their neglect of wholesom exhortations The holy Quire of Angels will point to the sinners Conscience and that will answer I am acquainted with all your sins The Spirit of Christ will testifie how often that hath moved the ungodly to repent The abused creatures that have been forced to promote sin will continue in the hearts of sinners the Beast of the field will rise up against the Glutton and the Wine against the Drunkard Pray often for Prayer is a sheild to the Soul a sacrifice to God and a scourge to Satan Shun all appearances of evil resist the Devil and he will flie Seek not after Riches they have wings and flie away but study for Wisdome it 's price is above Rubies To seek after the Riches of this World is vanity But the fear of the Lord is wisdome and to depart from evil is understanding The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdome and instruction What can be more pretious than Wisdome for it is the gift of God Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding What can be stronger than Wisdome that buildeth houses and heweth out its pillars Who can be more pious than the wise man He that getteth Wisdom loveth his own Soul What can be more clear than Wisdome for that excelleth folly as far as light excelleth darkness The wicked mans fate is to be wise too late The Veil of Hypocrisie cannot hide our sins from God he will make us know that it is his Christ that we resist What is gotten by resisting our Saviour Or what shall a man gain if he get the whole World and lose his own Soul What are the Riches of this life to the Joys of heaven And who is a better Guide to that happy place than the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World And why should not we love God since he so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Was one Guest found out that had not a Wedding-garment and will not God then find out every unholy Soul The Righteous themselves are pardoned sinners but the wicked are impenitent Each Soul that labours in the Lords Vineyard shall receive his reward according to his merit Let your acquaintance be few and good Cousins Country-men and School-fellows are spenders of money and time Let your study be furnished not with many but with choice books Let wisdom direct your actions the wise man takes care for necessaries not for superfluities Wisdom is Riches indeed it teacheth a man the Art of contentment in all conditions It makes a man not onely Master over others but Conquerour of his own passions Premeditation is commonly accompanied with Wisdom The wise man sees his own faults by the follies of others He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he that ruleth his Spirit than he that taketh a Citie Wisdome is more useful in a City than the strength of mighty men So true is that of Solomon This Wisdom have I seen under the Sun and it seemed great unto me 14. There was a little City and few men within it and there came a great King against it and besieged it and built Bulwarks against it 15. Now there was in it a poor wise man and he by his wisdome delivered the City yet no man remembered that same poor man 16. Wisdom is better than strength nevertheless the poor mans wisdom is despised and his words are not heard However he that getteth wisdom loveth his own Soul and he that keepeth understanding shall find good 18. For Wisdom is better than Weapons of war but one sinner destroyeth much good Ingratitude is the Epitomy of Impiety To render a good deed for a good deed becomes a man to give evil for good is diabolical to repay evil for evil becomes a sinner but to return good for evil is the Quality of a Saint Injuries should be wrote in dust but Kindnesses in marble Nothing more spurs a man on to be ungrateful than the sin of covetousness Set not your heart upon wealth For the love of money is the root of all evil The wicked borroweth and payeth not again but the righteous sheweth mercie and giveth To be always begging or borrowing and never paying is the disposition of a covetous and ingrateful man and doth oftentimes set the dearest friends at variance Nature excuseth the follies of a fool but the ungrateful man hath no Apology To be courteous to one that is ungrateful is like ones hiding his treasure in the Sea Neer Relations that are strongly bound by the bonds of Affinity and Consanguinity are oftentimes divided by this black sin of ingratitude He that will forget a kindness is ungrateful but he that renders a discourtesie for a courtesie is impious And blessed is he that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble Wo be unto the covetous rich man that hath his heart fixt upon his heaps the poor man is happier than he For the Lord heareth the poor The needy shall not alway be forgotten the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever There is an evil under the Sun saith Solomon and it is common among men A man to whom God hath given riches wealth and honour so that he wanteth nothing for his Soul of all that he desireth yet God giveth him not power eat thereof but a stranger eateth it this is vanity and an evil disease He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver nor he that loveth abundance with increase 12. When goods increase they are increased that eat them and what good is there to the owners thereof saving the beholding of them with their eyes The poor mans labour rocketh him to sleep but the cares of the rich man keepeth him awake 13. There is a sore evil under the Sun namely riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt 14. Those riches perish by evil
travel and he begetteth a son and there is nothing in his hand 15. As he came forth of his Mothers womb naked shall he return to go as he came and shall carry nothing of his labour with him 16. In all points as he came so shall he go and what profit hath he that laboureth for the winde Agur's Prayer was Divine Two things have I desired of thee deny me them not before I dye 8. Remove from me vanity and lies give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me 9. Lest I be full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord or lest I be poor and steal and take the Name of my God in vain Poverty is no disgrace for when we came into the world we brought nothing with us and nothing can we carry out If we want things necessary we ought not to grumble or despair perhaps the Lord might see it necessary we should so want however we ought to use our endeavours for a lawful remedy if God bless not our endeavours we ought to bless him that knoweth what is best for us we are his Patients and therefore ought not to instruct our Physitian If thou art scandalized consult with thy own Conscience if thou findest thy self guilty thy correction is then just if thou art innocent it is a good instruction thus shalt thou suck honey out of gall and make an open enemy thy secret friend If thou hast an enemy that is hungry give him food if thirsty give him drink the Lord will reward thee and punish him The poor are the Lord's receivers and he is the best pay-Master If thou hast an Estate and wouldest improve it be charitable to the poor scattered seeds increase but those that are hoarded dye If I speak with the tongue of men and of angels saith Paul and have not charity I am become as sounding Brass or a tinkling Cymbal 3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity it profiteth me nothing 4. Charity suffereth long and is kinde charity envyeth not charity vaunteth not it self is not puffed up In all conditions Piety and Vertue must be the guides that must lead the way to Bliss God's servants are denoted by their two Vertues Humility and Charity and the Devil 's are distinguished by their opposite Vices Pride and Cruelty The only way to remember good acts is to be continually acting them Above all things have fervent charity for charity shall cover the multitude of sins Keep Faith Hope and Charity for when the World shall have an end the Angels shall sever the wicked from the just AN ELEGIE ON THE DEATH OF THAT Reverend and Pious Divine Mr. EDMVND CALAMY Late Minister at Aldermanbury ANd must our deaths be silenc'd too I guess 'T is some dumb Devil hath possest the press Calamy dead without a Publication 'T is great injustice to our English Nation For had this Prophet's Funeral been known It must have had an Vniversal groan Afflicted London would then have been found In the same year to be both burnt drown'd And those that found no Tears their Flames to quench Would yet have wept a shower his Hearse to drench A publike loss a greater loss by far One man of God than twenty men of War It was a King who when a Prophet dy'd Wept over him and Father Father cry'd O if thy Life and Ministry be done My Chariots Horse-men's strength is gone I must speak sober words for well I know If Saints in Heav'n do hear us here below A lie though in his praise would make him frown And chide me when with Iesus he comes down To judge the World This little little he This silly sickly silenc'd Calamy Aldermanbury's Curate and no more Though he a mighty Miter might have wore Could have vi'd interest in God or man With the most Pompous Metropolitan How have we known him captivate a throng And make a Sermon twenty thousand strong And though black mouths his Loyalty did charge How strong his tug was at the Royal Barge To hale it home Great George can well attest But by himself his worth is best exprest Nor did Ambition of a Miter make Him serve the Crown 't was for his Conscience sake Vnbridled Loyalty his highest reach Was to be Master Calamy and Preach He bless'd the King who Bishop him did name And I bless him you did refuse the same O had our Reverend Clergie been as free To serve the Prince without reward as he They might have had less wealth with greater love Envy like winds endangers things above Worth not advancement doth beget esteem The highest Weathercock the least doth seem If you would know of what Disease he dy'd His grief was chronical it is repli'd For had he open'd been by Surgeons art They had found London burning in his heart How many Messengers of death did he Receive with Christian magnanimity The Stone Gout Dropsie ills which did arise From Griefs and Studies not from Luxuries The Meagrim too which still strikes at the head These he stood under and scarce staggered Might he but work though loaded with these chains He Pray'd and Preach'd and Sung away his pains Then by a fatal Bill he was struck dead And though that Blow he ne're recovered For he remained speechless to his close Yet did he breath sigh out Prayers for those From whom he had that Wound he liv'd to hear An hundred thousand buried in one year In this dear City over which he wept And many Fasts to keep off Iudgments kept Yet yet he liv'd stout heart he liv'd to be Depriv'd driv'n out kept out and liv'd to see Wars Blazing-stars Torches which Heav'n ne're burns But to light Kings or Kingdoms to their Vrns. He liv'd to see the Glory of our Isle London consumed in its Funeral-Pile He liv'd to see that lesser day of Doom London the Priests Burnt-Sacrifice to Rome That blow he could not stand but with that fire As with a burning Feaver did expire Thus dy'd this Saint of whom it must be said He dy'd a Martyr though he dy'd in 's Bed So Father Eli in the Sacred Page Sate quivering with Fear as much as Age Longing to know yet loath to ask the News How it far'd with the Army of the Jews Israel flies that struck his Palsie-Head The next blow stunned him Your Sons are dead But when the third stroak came The Ark is lost His Heart was wounded and his Life it cost Thus fell this Father and we well do know He fear'd our Ark was going long ago His EPITAPH HEre a poor Minister of Christ doth lie Who did indeed a Bishoprick deny When his Lord comes then then the World shall see Such Humble ones the Rising men shall be How many Saints whom he had sent before Shouted to see him enter Heaven's door There his blest Soul beholds the face of God
that cleanseth his heart from the filth of sin and so stores it with Pious works as that it may delight the Almighty God to dwell therein Lay aside the cares of this world and take into your minds the Joys of heaven Empty your heads of all other things and prepare that upper Room to entertain your Lord. Consider ye are framed according to the Image of the Lord adorned with his Similitude espoused unto him by Faith endowed with the Holy Ghost redeemed with the pretious Blood of a dear Saviour assigned to be Fellow-Citizens with the Holy Angels capable of Eternal Happiness Heirs of Goodness stock't with Sence and Reason What have ye to do with the flesh then slight not those opportunities and advantages that are set before ye but Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all other things shall be added to ye Keep your Souls in a flying posture towards your Inheritance above For where can ye finde more Riches to invite ye The Lord is called The faithful God and will take an account of each ones faith Without Faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh to him must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Adam was a sinner and begot sinners and they must work out their Salvation with fear and trembling What am I A man that had my beginning from a thing unseemly in the moment of my conception I was conceived of Humane seed afterwards that froth changed into curds and by encreasing became flesh With weeping I was exposed to the miseries of a wretched world and behold I am full of sin and shall suddenly be presented before the strict Judge to render an account of all my works Wo be to me wretch when that day shall come and those Books shall be opened wherein are Registred all my thoughts words and works and shall be read before the Lord Then with a trembling Conscience I stand before the Tribunal-Seat of Christ full of fear and anguish calling to remembrance my manifold offences And when it shall be said Behold the man and his works then Oh then shall I see all my sins and abominations presented before mine eyes To prevent which Misery observe these Directions Since your whole life is a Race and a Battel a Merchandise and a Journey prepare against night a Rosary of good works to present unto the Lord. Let your sleep be no more than Nature and Necessity requires and remember as he that starts first is most like to win the Race so he that first offers his petition to Almighty God hath the more early title to a blessing Change not day into night and night into day be not addicted to idelness and sleep for that is the way to turn your blessing to a dream Let not that imagination seize you that you may lie in bed having no business immediately to do for he that hath a Soul and would save that Soul hath enough to do to make his calling and election sure Meditate Pray and Read Repent and do acts of Charity to others If you have little to do you have the more time to provide for a Crown of Glory When you open your eyes think upon some act of Piety Thank God for your last good rest and preservation Give thanks to the Lord for your creation and the many mercies you have received from his hands When you arise pay your devotion to the holy Trinity Be silent when you dress your self and fix your thoughts upon some act of Piety If you speak let it be in the praise of God of his Goodness his Mercies or his Greatness Always let the first-fruits of thy Reason be presented to the Lord that so the whole harvest of thy conversation may be Sanctified Let your habit be neither careless nor curious though men may respect you for your outward habit God doth expect that your inward garment should be Righteousness Let your ejaculations suit with your actions in the morning as when you clean your hands Pray to God to cleanse your Soul from sin or when you cloath your body Pray to him to cloath you with the Armour of Faith and a good Conscience This done betake your self to your Closet-Devotions or to Family-Duties as your condition is capacitated Having finished your Prayers consult with your self about your Occasions that day and resolve against any thing that may seem opposite to the Service of God or the Rules of Good manners If you have Children or Servants it is your Duty to Pray with them and for them or especially to be careful that they shall Pray for themselves After this betake your self to your Affairs avoid idleness and take heed of being too earnest after wordly goods be Prudent Temperate Diligent Humble and Charitable Harbour no idle Persons in your Family let your Servants have moderate Work and Meat if they deserve Reproof let it be without Passion advice with some Natures may do more than Correction Be not busie to inquire after the Concerns of your Neighbour but carry your self with this Caution that in all your Actions you mix the ingredients of Justice and Charity Be in Charity with all men Avoid Backbiting and Slandering he that delights in either of them shall never be beloved or innocent When you dine lift up your heart in an holy Ejaculation to the Lord thank him for your Temporal Food and crave for Spiritual After dinner return thanks for Mercies received He doth not deserve to eat that doth not desire to thank In your Recreations be moderate and be sure to secure your heart for God left your affections settle upon a false Basis Let not your Recreations be tedious lest if you dwell with them long you may be inticed to sin When you enter into Discourse be pithy and as often as you can devout but if your occasions shall be so urgent that you cannot conveniently discourse of God however be sure to think of him When you Read let it not be much at once let your Reading be little and your Meditation large for little Reading and much thinking little Speaking and much Hearing brief Prayer and firm Devotion is the surest way to be Wise and to be Devout In the Evening let your Meditations be on the hours of the day past how they have been spent if your Conscience be clear it is the sooner examined but if any thing extraordinary hath happned then take time to recollect your self with diligence Thank the Lord for his benefits of the day and crave a pardon for your errours and if any duty hath been omitted endeavour to redeem that fault the next day Let your last Prayers be applied to the concerns of your Conscience and forget not to thank the Lord for all his mercies to you and your relations that day When you enter into your Bed fix your Meditations upon Death and the Grave In the whole course of your life
let Religion be your business for he is most capable of rejoycing in the evening that watcheth his words thoughts and deeds in the day To despise the world is the way to enjoy heaven and blessed are they who delight to converse with God by Prayer What folly can be greater than to labour for the meat that perisheth and to neglect the food of Eternal Life God or the World must be neglected at the parting-time for then is the time of Tryal then shall the Righteous continue Righteous and be Blessed To seek your self in this world is to be lost and to be humble is to be exalted First study to believe there is a life of Blessedness hereafter then will you be the better strengthned to hunger and thirst after Righteousness If you would have the Lord receive you into Heaven you must give your self unto Prayer Prayer is defined by Gregory Nyssen to be a Discourse between the Soul and God it is of two sorts Vocal and Mental that is outward expressions of the Voice and an inward lifting up of the Mind to the Throne of Grace Before you enter into Prayer ask your Conscience these Questions with a resolution to return an Answer 1. To what end O my Soul art thou retired into this place 2. Art thou not come to discourse with the Lord in Prayer 3. Is he present will he hear thee 4. Is he merciful will he help thee 5. Is thy business slight is it not concerning the welfare of thy Soul 6. What words and reverence wilt thou use to move him to Compassion Let these Interrogatories be considered Discoursing with thy self will prepare thee the better to discourse with God To make thy preparation compleat consider thy condition thou art but dust and ashes and he the great God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that cloatheth himself with Light as with a Garment Remember these or such like devout expressions O let my Prayer enter into thy presence Let my Prayer be set before thee as Incense and the lifting up of my hands as the Evening Sacrifice As the clay is in the Potters hand to fashion it at his pleasure so man is in the hand of him that made him to render to them as liketh him best I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart I will shew forth thy marvellous works The Sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit a broken and a contrite Heart O God thou wilt not despise Let us search and try our ways and turn again unto the Lord. If your hearts condemn us God is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things Such Expressions as these from a devout Soul open the windows of Heaven and prevail with God to hear its Prayers In your Prayers or Meditations beware of Satan's devices of which these are some He endeavours to intice sinners to presumption by lessening a sin and making it seem to be slight On the other side he studies to betray some to the sin of despair insinuating such a crime is Haynous and beyond pardon But thus saith the Lord Though your sins be as Scarlet they shall be white as Snow Though they be red as Crimson they shall be as Wooll He shewed to our Parents a golden Cup but discovered not the Poyson hid therein when he said God doth know in the day that ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evil Thus he attempted to betray Christ when he tempted him with the glories of the World saying All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me He hath likewise the art to put false glosses on particular sins as Pride that he pretends is Neatness Covetousness is good husbandry Drunkenness he calls good fellowship and Extravagancies the effects of a liberal Spirit He extenuates sins by whispering to the credulous wretch To be Drunk to Swear c. are but little sins and repentance is no hard task it is but to ask pardon and cry Lord have mercie upon me He insinuates these delusions into the sinner You may walk by the Harlots yet not enter you may drink with the Drunkard yet not be drunk you may handle a bag of Gold yet not steal it He assures the Soul that the wicked man is happier than the devout Soul for the former enjoys all the delights of the world whilst the others are Persecuted Imprisoned and oftentimes undone One chief designe of Satan to delude the Soul is to conduct him into evil company Beware of false Teachers that lead your Judgment astray They reproach the Embassadors of Christ so did Korah Dathan and Abiram to Moses and Aaron Good Michaiah was likewise aspersed by Ahabs false Prophets They are devisers of false Prophesies The Lord said The Prophets prophesie lies in my name I sent them not neither have I commanded them neither spake I unto them they prophesie unto you a false Vision and Divination a thing of nought and the deceit of the heart They are stiled blind guides That strain at a Gnat and swallow a Camel They are counterfeit and unclean Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites that make clean the outside of the cup and platter but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness They endeavour to delude men to their opinions rather to carry on their own Interests than to better their Conversations Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye compass Sea and Land to make one Proselyte and when he is made ye make him twofold more the Child of Hell than your selves Wo unto you blind guides which say Whosoever shall swear by the Temple it is nothing but whosoever shall swear by the Gold of the Temple he is a debtor Ye fools and blind whether is better the Gold or the Temple that sanctifieth the Gold He that sweareth by the Temple sweareth by it and by him that dwelleth therein False Prophets privily bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction Since then Satan is so busie what remains but that we Arm our selves with spiritual Weapons Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day For the Weapons of our Warfare are not Carnal but Mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds David said to the Philistin Thou comest to me with a Sword and with a Spear and with a Sheild but I come unto thee in the Name of the Lord of Hosts the God of the Armies of Israel whom thou hast defied Let a Christian keep his Faith firm for that will carry his Heart through many difficulties Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God prepareth for them that love him The
Blessings of the Righteous in the the World to come 1. WIth everlasting Salvation 2. With everlasting Life 3. With everlasting Glory 4. With everlasting Honour 5. With everlasting Liberty 6. With everlasting Dominion 7. With everlasting Riches 8. With everlasting Kindness 9. With everlasting Peace 10. With everlasting Light 11. With everlasting Joy 12. With everlasting Security The Curses of the Wicked 1. Everlasting Damnation 2. With everlasting Death 3. With everlasting Shame 4. With everlasting Contempt 5. With everlasting Bondage 6. With everlasting Slavery 7. With everlasting Poverty 8. With everlasting Tribulation 9. With everlasting Darkness 10. With everlasting Sorrows To avoid the Curses We must endeavour to be Reconciled to God through Christ. We must endeavour to be really Justified and Sanctified We must endeavour to love God's Word in Sincerity We must endeavour to walk according to the Rule of it We must endeavour to have our minds fixed on God We must endeavour to trust in him effectually We must endeavour to be upright before him We must endeavour to please him in all our ways We must endeavour to do that which is good in his sight The bare Title of a Christian is not sufficient for Salvation if we are not obedient to the will of Christ we are no more Christians than a Picture is the Body of a man At the last day the Great Question will be Did you serve Christ or only pretend to do so Behold the great Assize is drawing nigh and our Judge is coming to the Court. A Crown of Glory and a consuming Fire attend for the appearance of the trembling Sinner Then the poor Soul appears to answer for what was done in the flesh At the Resurrection that power of the Almighty God that made man of nothing will new make him again Repentance and a good Faith are sure guides to Eternity Obstinate Impenitence leadeth to destruction Though it be above our powers to bring men acquainted with their hearts to assure them their Faiths are infirm and their Repentance lame the Great Judge that searcheth all mens hearts will at last convince them Though we hold the Candle of the Gospel in our hands yet the men we plead with are in the dark for they shut their eyes and will not see But the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to shew himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him He is not onely an all-seeing God but he is eyes to the blind and feet to the lame God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble This God we should endeavour to know but many men know many things yet do not know themselves Wherefore we should return from things External to things Internal and from things Internal ascend to things Supernal So may a man know from whence he came or whither he shall go the way to know God is for a man to study the art of knowing himself By how much the more I profit in the knowledge of my self by so much the more I approach to the knowledge of God I finde three things in my mind by which I remember consider and desire God and these are my Memory Understanding and Will By my Memory I remember by my Understanding I consider and by my Will I desire and love When I remember God I finde him in my memory and that gives me an occasion to rejoyce By my understanding I consider what God is in himself what he is in his Angels what he is in his Saints what he is in Men and what he is in his Creatures In himself he is incomprehensible because the beginning and end the beginning without beginning the end without end I understand from my self how incomprehensible God is because I cannot understand my self whom he hath made In his Angels he is desireable Which things the Angels desire to look into In his Saints he is delightful for they being happy continually rejoyce in him Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the world In his Creatures he is admirable because he Powerfully createth Prudently governeth and Sweetly disposeth of all things Every creature of God is good In men he is Amiable as he is their God and they are his people He dwelleth in them as in his Temple Ye are the Temple of the living God as God hath said I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people Since God is so ready to inhabit in man how happy is that man that can entertain so great and so good a Guest How great is the Humility of such an Omnipotent Creator to dwell in so poor a Cottage Why then should we despise others he doth not visit the Rich for their riches but he saveth the poor from the sword Despise no man though never so wretched but be moved toward him with a brotherly affection Think another mans miseries to be thine and take the like care to relieve them Reverence the poor for they are those that receive others into the Eternal Tabernacles If thou seest an apparent sin in another be as sorrowful for his Iniquity as if thou sawst an imminent danger of death to thine own body For one Soul wounded with sin is of more value than all the bodies in the whole world As I would be careful to defend my body from death much more I ought with all diligence to endeavour to withdraw my Neighbour from sin by my Prayers Example and Exhortations Let no man envy his Neighbours success but rather affect his good as his own and rejoyce at his welfare especially in spiritual Affairs tending to the good of his Soul Give no credit to reports but believe more good of your Neighbour than you can see with your corporal eyes Love your Neighbour as your self but not with so strong an affection but that you still keep the chief room in your heart for your God Love that man best that is most vertuous he may requite benefit for benefit and for courtesies received offer prayers to God As we have opportunity let us do good unto all men especially those who are of the houshold of Faith When you discourse with another let God be in your minde and consider he sees you and you see him as effectually as you see the person you discourse with Whatsoever you attain to acknowledge it to be the benefit of God Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning Think every man better than your self neither be proud in your own conceit for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble Give no cause of discontent to any neither be apt to commend your self
though to your familiar Friend Charity suffereth long and is kind Charity envyeth not vaunteth not it self is not puffed up Keep your Vertues secret rather than your Vices and be ever ready to hear another man praised rather than discommended Let your Discourse be of few words and those compounded of Truth and Piety If any person discoursing with you proposeth impertinent Questions cut off his discourse as soon as you can and divert your speech to other matters Shun prophane and vain Bablings for they will increase unto more ungodliness Whatsoever doth happen to your friend or to your self be neither grieved nor over-joyed but praise God and be content for godliness with contentment is great gain When you see any thing in another which misliketh you mark whether the same be in your self and amend it But if you observe any thing which pleaseth you mark whether that be in you if so retain it if not assume it By this means you shall make all things as a mirrour or a looking-glass to your self Prove all things hold fast that which is good Never affirm or deny any thing with over-much eagerness but let your assertions and denials be always seasoned with the salt of doubtfulness Abstain from immoderate laughter Sorrow is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better When sloath or idleness doth surprize you stir up your Spirits with reading some part of Scripture or some other book of Devotions When you are in Tribulation consider that they that are in Heaven feel no such things for there are pleasures for evermore Choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season When you are merry and joyful remember those which are in Hell feel no comfort at all Consider the words of Solomon I said in my heart Go to now I will prove thee with mirth therefore enjoy pleasure and behold this also is vanity I said of laughter It is mad and of mirth What doth it Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee to Iudgment Death doth daily threaten us the Devil waits to seize our Souls as soon as they depart our bodies but the Lord is above them both He is faithful to those that hope in him neither doth he forsake them unless they forsake him O love the Lord all his ye Saints for the Lord preserveth the faithful and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer Be faithful unto death saith the Lord and I will give you a Crown of Life Have God often in your mouth but more often in your heart and manners Lest the Lord should say of you as of the Jews For as much as this people draw neer me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me but have removed their hearts far from me and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men Therefore behold I will do a marvellous thing among this people for the wisdome of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid If with your Tongue you speak and with your Heart you meditate on the Law of God all the day long and your works do contrary to the same your zeal is counterfeit and blind The days of man are as a shadow upon the earth and there is no abiding and when he seemeth to be most firm then he is properly nothing Why then doth man heap up Treasures upon earth since that which is gathered and he that gathereth passeth away and perisheth Therefore labour not for the meat which perisheth but for that meat which endureth to everlasting life What profit hath man in his labour whose fruit is Ruine and whose end is death O that men were wise and that they understood this and would prudently provide for their latter end Know ye not that to day you are at the brink of danger then let not your Repentance be deferred that you may be preserved by the hand of your Mediator To day you are in the way to Hell Repent that you may finde the way to Heaven Repentance and Conversion are the Fabricks of Salvation Bring forth therefore fruits meet for Repentance But what do these admonitions avail unless you blot out of your Conscience the spots of sin and iniquity Apply your heart therefore to an inward reading of your Conscience that so you may come to understand your self Study the practice of that great Apostle of the Gentiles Paul To exercise your self to have a Conscience voyd of offence towards God and towards man Study to say as Simon Peter said to Jesus Behold we have left all things and followed thee So shall you eat and drink at the Table of the Lord Iesus and sit on a Throne of Glory judging the twelve Tribes of Israel Obedience certainly is a most faithful and familiar help to Salvation To obey is better than Sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of Rams It is a Vertue which our Saviour himself preferred before his life choosing rather to yield that than not to fulfil his obedience The great opposer of Obedience is Pride and that is not onely the Original of all Vices but the Ruine of all Vertues It is the worst of sins for it captivateth the minde of man Other Vices assault those Vertues only by which they are destroyed as Lasciviousness Chastity Anger Patience c. but Pride like a contagious Plague corrupts every Vertue of the mind Pride goeth before Destruction and an haughty Spirit before a Fall He that feareth the Lord must hate Pride and Arrogancy And those that walk in Pride he is able to abase Pride is never found in a noble nature nor Humility in an unworthy mind It is a sin that our Saviour abhor'd for in his Birth Life Death he was all Humility nothing of Pride The fear of the Lord is the instruction of Wisdome and before honour is Humility Wherefore O Lord teach us so to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom LONDONS LOSS OR An ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF THAT Reverend Servant of God AND Minister of Christ's Gospel Mr. IOSEPH CARYL Late Minister at Magnes London-bridge ROom for our Tears for here are thousands come To vent our Founts at his commanding Tomb. But oh what Mortals Genius can devise A decent Flood for such a Sacrifice His Pious worth must in our Hearts be writ For 't is above the reach of Head or Wit Happy 's that earthly Closet keeps in trust The Reliques of a Saint now turn'd to dust 'T is one whom flatt'ry knows not how to paint Londons Divine and Londons Magnes Saint
See see the day by sable Clouds orespread And bids us Weep for Caryl now is dead But by and by do's seem to say This Globe Could not detain him from his patient Job Calamy went before but there 's no odds Since each design'd to be a Child of God's Observe the hours how striving to retire Caryl and Comfort seeming to expire Bids Night and Nature hang the Vniverse With Black due Obsequies for such an Herse He ne'er was cruel to exhaust a Tear All Weeping was reserv'd to spend it here Those flattering Arts which Poets use to save Decaying Reputations in the Grave Are here but vain for no Hyperbole Can tell the World how great his Merits be And Chronicles themselves can say no more Than what his Learning told the World before His Pious Sermons did declare his worth His Expositions set his Learning forth And whilst we here lament his being gone Angels with Anthems welcome him at home And I my self a Catholick could be At least to Pray to such a Saint as he Caryl whose Conversation free from ill Can be express'd but by an Angel's quill As in some mirrour you might clearly see In him a perfect Map of Piety The Beauty of whose Vertues may incite The World to imitation and delight Let us lament our loss and blame his fate For not allowing Life a longer date Reverend Caryl may his Vertues shew As bright hereafter as they 're Glorious now Who when he through this Earthly Globe had past He dy'd left he should idle grow at last For when grown Ancient he would even then Both study Piety and use his Pen He like an Artist did true Patience paint To us on earth now to some Glorious Saint He shews the same who can no longer cease That to extol as Caryl's Masterpiece His EPITAPH HEre lies the Earthly Carkass of a man Whose life too justly may be call'd a span He liv'd converting those that went astray But Death now snatcht this Heav'nly Guide away Then careful Earth unto his Corps be just A Divine Soul was once within his trust But being call'd away it now is flown From hence to take Possession of a Throne A SPIRITUAL GARDEN OF Sweet-smelling FLOWERS OR Mr. VENNING's DIVINE SENTENCES THat Soul that is settled in the love of God is blessed in the peace of Christ. When such a Soul suffereth an outward War she looseth not her inward peace No troubles whatsoever which do outwardly make a noise do violently enter into the silence of her inward repose She coveteth nothing abroad and therefore resteth wholly within by love Such a Soul the Angels do visit and honour she being the Temple of the Lord and the Habitation of the Holy Ghost Happy is that Conscience in which Mercie and Truth are met together for there Justice and Peace have kissed each other God is a God of Mercie and will take pity on him that is truly sorrowful for his sins By Mercie and Truth Iniquity is purged and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil The Kiss of Justice is to love our Enemies to forsake Parents and Possessions for the love of God to endure with Patience injuries inflicted and in all places to flie from honours that are offered The Kiss of Peace is to invite Foes to friendship peaceably to sustain Adversaries lovingly to instruct such as do amiss meekly to comfort those that mourn and to be at amity with all men It is our Saviour's command Love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you For all that will live godly in Christ Iesus shall suffer persecution The Almighty hath three degrees of Wrath his threatning Wrath his punishing Wrath and his condemning Wrath. Adam sinned and was cast out of Paradice the Angels sinned and were cast into Hell We have many sins to repent for viz. our Church-sins our Sermon-sins our Sacrament-sins and the sins of our very Prayers Is any man rich let him not put his trust in them for riches make themselves wings and flie away Lazarus was poor but was received into Heaven Dives was rich but however was carried into Hell Moses went up unto the Mount to pray and took the Rod of God in his hand because with that Rod God had formerly done wonderful things for his people If any mistake through a vain hope of Heaven let him be earnest in the examination of himself to be deceived in this necessitates damnation To hear Sermons to commend them or admire them and not to practice what we hear and understand is to make Sodom and Gomorrha's case at the day of Judgment better than our's Then will the world discern the Blessed from the Wretched when the wrath of God is throughly kindled Those that are now so idly busie in heaping up their Treasures of an Ant-Hillock and building up the tottering Fabricks of a child remember not that the foot of death is coming to spurn it all abroad and to trample down both you and it Let us study how to answer the great and last Question Hast thou performed the condition of the Gospel Let us search our hearts that God may finde them in a condition to receive him For thus faith the Lord I the Lord search the heart I try the reins even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruits of his doings Make not sale of Heaven for the false pleasure of a few sins for a little delight and ease that vanisheth in a moment Repent before thou becomest Old left thy Repentance should come too late for thou leftst not thy sin but thy sin left thee Take heed of dissembling with thy God lest he so discover thy craft that thou shalt not be trusted by man Accommodate Nature withthings convenient but beware of nourishing a lust for that is to hug a Devil in thy bosom To acknowledge God to be just is good and it is just we likewise acknowledge him to be good When thou Prayest rather let thy heart be without words than thy words without an heart Prayer will make a man to cease from sin or sin will intice a man to cease from Prayer It is good to have a good Name but it is better to have a good Conscience It is good to be great but it is better to be good Teach thy heart to walk wholly with thy God as well as holily Only a profession of Christianity is not the only profession of a Christian Your words and works may satisfie the judgments of men but God is the great Judge of our hearts Pray for mercie before you receive and forget not to praise when you have received It is common to have the name of Christ in common The Swearer swears by it the Begger begs by it the Jester joyns it to his jest but wo be to them that shall tremble at it Vain sinner
thy Saviour is willing to save thee but it is thy sin and Satan that studieth to destroy thee When Satan's malice had produced mischief in our first Parents mischief brought forth misery and misery cried to heaven for mercie The God of mercie promised mercie unto mankind The seed of the woman shall break the Serpent's head When the fulness of Grace was come he that was covered in the Law became discovered in the Gospel When the fulness of time was come God sent his Son made of a woman made under the law that we might receive the adoption of Sons The Son of man had sinned against God and the Son of God satisfies for the sin of man Let admiration produce amazement that God should send his Son to suffer death for sinners that rebelled against him But man must dye unto Eternity unless the Son of Eternity would dye for him Therefore Christ the Messiah was slain but not for himself He was delivered to death for our offences He was delivered by his Father in Mercie by himself in Compassion by Iudas for Covetousness and by the Jews in Malice And all this to the end that God might effect what the Jews could not conjecture The Redemption of his people Israel He that was typified by the brazen Serpent is exalted on the Cross between two Thieves with this Title superscribed Iesus of Nazareth King of the Iews Thus Christ the immaculate Lamb refused no shame that he might purchase Glory to his faithful ones He that was the God of Glory becomes the Son of shame He that is the Righteous Redeemer was counted an Unjust Usurper He that is the Lord of Life was condemned to Death He that is honoured with the Acclamations of Angels was dishonoured with the Exclamations of Jews Pilate disgracefully shewed him to the people with an Ecce Homo Behold the man Stand O my Soul and with admiration bless the Author of all Blessedness Christ who to prevent thy shame suffered himself to be numbred among the wicked He was accounted sinful to purchase thy Salvation Adam by eating of the forbidden Tree made thee accursed had not Christ by dying on the cursed Tree restored thee to blessedness Christ's Cross is thy Comfort his dishonour is thy honour Christ's Cross is to the Iews a stumbling-block to the Gentiles foolishness But to thee O my Soul it is the power and the wisdome of God Then if Christ hath done this for thee follow thy Redeemer with a Cross at thy back and say with Paul God forbid that I should glory in any thing but in the Cross of Christ. But wo unto us sinners we run on in a course of pride though he humbled himself unto death even the death of the Cross. Pilate could not add to our Saviour's honour or dishonour in calling him Iesus for it was a name given him from Heaven for the Angel said unto Ioseph Thou shalt call his name Iesus for he shall save his people from their sins It was a sweet saying of an Antient Father The name of Jesus is Mel in Ore Melos in Aure Iubilus in Corde Honey in the Mouth Melody in the Ear and a Jubily or Joy in the Heart Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved This name is light unto the Soul Ye were darkness saith the Apostle but now ye are light in the Lord. This name is health to the Body In the name of Iesus of Nazareth rise up and walk All spiritual food is dry saith the aforesaid Father if this Oyl be not poured into it if it be not seasoned with this Salt There are several Titles that proclaim Christ's Glory but the name of Iesus imports our Redemption By others we know him to be God by this we know him to be our Mediator It is great misery to see man so proud and greater mercie to see God so humble God was the Creditor man was the Debtor but he that was both God and man the Pay-Master Wherefore Let Israel hope in the Lord for with him there is plenteous Redemption There is no sinner so great but after conversion he makes as great a Saint Though his sins be red as Scarlet Grace makes them white as Snow Come let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as Scarlet they shall be white as Snow though they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wooll There is more pleasure in suffering than in sinning for a Saint of God may suffer and not sin but he cannot sin and not suffer If any man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorifie God on this behalf To walk as a Heathen walks only by the light of the Rush-candle of Nature is no better than to walk in darkness If a man walk in the day he stumbleth not but if he walk in the night he stumbleth because there is no light in him God never made a good promise but he made good that promise For all the promises of God in him are yea and in him Amen We should prize mercie if we knew its price Thy mercie O Lord is great unto the Heavens and thy truth unto the Clouds 'T is true that Christ is every where Then Hell 's no Hell if Christ be there In his presence is fulness of joy at his right hand are pleasures for evermore A Righteous man hates sin because it is opposite to God and Goodness Fools make a mock at sin but among the Righteous there is favour That Saint that grows in grace grows more a man and more than a man For with him Where sin aboundeth grace doth much more abound A rich man is poor without God but with him a poor man is rich Go to now ye rich men weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you Ye have condemned and killed the just and he doth not resist you The pride of self-love is a folly in ones self For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted If a man would be ever good he should believe he was never good There is none good but one that is God God takes care of his Saints and they take care to be be cared for by him Cast your care upon him for he careth for you He that hath God hath all things for God is all in all A grain of Grace is of more value than many pounds of Gold God Created us and left us to our selves afterwards he Redeemed us and left himself to us Take heed of being self-conceited For the way of a fool is right in his own eyes True Christians are all for Christ and Christ is all-sufficient for them and their salvation It is the saying of holy Paul For me to
he hath sent empty away When God sends mercie we should not onely thank the donor but welcome the messenger for they both come from God How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of Peace and bring glad tidings of good things The proud man exalts himself against all that is good therefore the Lord thinks good to take down his pride Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. The world cannot exalt a proud man so high but God will bring him low neither can all the world so debase an humble man but God will exalt him The world may strive to pull him down But God will raise him to a Crown In the seed-time of your life let your Holiness be sown that so you may reap Blessedness in the Harvest of Eternity He that will put Piety in practice must set his heart to practice Piety The Lord seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart My Son give me thine heart and let thine eyes observe my ways Ungodly men grow rich yet godliness with contentment is great gain There is a kind of Divine husbandry saving grace is a heavenly thirft and doth so improve that it makes us Burgesses of the Holy City Wherefore Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Iesus Christ. A friend may commit an errour in love but he is an enemy that loves his errour The covetous man cannot enjoy what he hath got through the greediness of his desire to get more He coveteth greedily all the day long but the righteous giveth and spareth not To have faith in Christ is well-pleasing to the faithful God for he is the Father of the Faithful The Lord is God the faithful God which keepeth covenant and mercie with them that love him and keep his Commandments to a thousand generations The Righteous man hath grace beyond expression the Hypocrite hath expression beyond grace The tongue of the just is as choice silver the heart of the wicked is of little worth God doth sometimes deliver men up to Satan that they may be delivered from Satan Deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Iesus Can a man be an empty Vine and yet bring forth Fruit Israel is an empty vine bringing forth fruit unto himself Christ is the Son of God and yet he is called the Son of man The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth The Almighty's permission of sin is no warrant for the sinners commission of sin Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin Our Saviour had a Father and a Mother and yet he was from the beginning In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God This is Solomon's advice Be not righteous overmuch However it is the duty of a Christian to cloath him with Righteousness as with a Garment The Saints have no greater joy than to enjoy God and to rejoyce in him He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. As it is hard to bend a well-grown Stick so is it difficult to work upon the heart of a desperate season'd sinner for he runs on in his wickedness and is deaf to all good instructions They have ears to hear and hear not for they are a rebellious house Onwards they run a ready pace Plainer's the way than that to grace A Saint will not sin though he knows that sin may work for his advantage All things work together for the good of them that love God We are commanded to love Peace and follow after Righteousness and yet the Saints themselves are in continual War fighting the good fight of Faith Above all things take the sheild of Faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked The Salvation of a Saint may be sure yet may not he be sure of his Salvation Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if ye do these things ye shall never fall Blessings if abused may be turned into curses and curses are oftentimes turned into blessings Saith the Lord of hosts I will even send a curse upon you I will curse your blessings If any man would be rich he must be diligent but notwithstanding that let him remember Paul may Plant and Apollo may Water but it is God that giveth the blessing He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand but the hand of the diligent maketh rich The blessing of the Lord that maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it The Righteous man makes godliness his gain the Wicked man makes gain his godliness He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house but he that hateth gifts shall live The Soul is above the reach of any weapon but sin and that pierces like a sting Sin is a raging torment in the Conscience A wounded Spirit who can bear Let not the best of men think they were ever good lest their Conscience shall tell them they were never good Be not wise in thine own eyes fear the Lord and depart from evil Some men will pretend to abhor such a sin yet hug it in their bosom such sinners sting their Consciences to magnifie their Credits If by suffering for Christ we loose all that we have in this world we are sufficient gainers when we save our own Souls Paul that Pious Apostle saith Doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellencie of the knowledge of Iesus Christ my Lord for which I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ. A repenting Penitent though formerly as bad as the worst of men may by grace become as good as the best God who is rich in mercie for his great love wherewith he loved us Even when we were dead in sins hath quickned us together with Christ by grace ye are saved The Devil is indifferent whether we go to Hell in the frequented road of Profaness or in the smooth way of Hypocrisie It is the power of godliness not the form that directs the way to Heaven as the power of ungodliness leads to Hell Lovers of Pleasures more than lovers of God Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn away Beware of impenitence and of late repentance true repentance cannot be too late but a late repentance is rarely true Wherefore the real Christian should say betimes with holy Iob I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes It is one thing to hold the truth and another thing to hold it in sincerity we
must be just as well as orthodox Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth Let not the Sun go down upon your wrath go not to bed in anger lest you have a tempter to your bedfellow Wrath is cruel and anger is outragious but who is able to stand before envy One of the blessings of the Old Testament was Prosperity and one of the blessings of the new Testament is Affliction Let not sin intice you to forsake God lest it urge God to forsake you It is Solomon's advice My Son if sinners intice thee consent thou not Conversion is a fit application for the wounds of a wicked man and strengthening likewise is very apt for the converted Saith David In the day when I cryed thou answeredst me and strengthenedst me with strength in my Soul A devout Soul should not think himself secure when he is safe nor should he fear when in the greatest danger but distrust himself and always trust in God Say with Iob Though he slay me yet will I trust in him Act not against the light of Conscience lest your Light be darkned and your Conscience shipwrack't Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil Vertue and Vice that is Charity and Lust divide the whole life of man they are the two Trees of the Gospel that produceth fruits good and evil Study not to live long but to live well for an hour mis-spent is not liv'd but lost No man is perfect for there is none so good but he may mend Iesus said unto the young man If thou wilt be perfect go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt receive treasure in heaven and come and follow me The sins of a mans life are innumerable Who can understand his errours saith David cleanse thou me from secret faults The changes of a Saints condition are but so many exchanges of mercie if he thrives God is bountiful to him if he hath troubles in this world God is careful of him and provides him a portion in a better world When David was in the Cave all his comfort was in Prayer unto God I cryed unto thee O Lord I said Thou art my refuge and portion in the land of the living Troubles or Sickness when sanctified is much better than unsanctified Prosperity It is not talking of God but walking with God that makes a Christian compleat See that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise Redeeming the time because the days are evil Beware of superstition for that will not teach a man to fear God but to be afraid of him Study to have Christ rather in your heart than your house for with such Habitations he is best pleased Rent your heart and not your garments and turn unto the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness The being of the Soul is rather where it loves than where it lives Let us study to love God though we do not see him rather than to see him and not love him All the pleasure of our days is grief when there is not an inward peace in the Conscience and with that all the griefs imaginable are turn'd into delight for a good Conscience is a continual feast It is good to be Learned but it is better to be Religious for Learning is but an Ornament to Religion but Religion is a Blessing to Learning One may be ever learning yet never able to come to the knowledge of the truth A man may have knowledge and no grace but he cannot have grace and no knowledge Jesus answered the Sadduces saying Ye erre not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God He that is truly Religious delights in the service of God and had rather be shortned in the comforts of his life than neglect the performance of his duty towards him Delight thy self in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart To profess Religion is good but to practice Religion is better to profess and not to practice is to dissemble with God and Man and a cunning course it is for man to destroy his own Soul The godly man may apply the promises to himself but the wicked man may apply himself to the promises Having these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God If we would have God hear our Prayers we must have the sence of feeling them our selves Sin brought death into the world and death carried sin out of the world He that would not have Time pass swiftly away should not use much Pastime The way to understand the sweetness of God's mercie is to get a sence of the bitterness of our own misery In all concerns let God be concerned the work will be the better done and the blessing will be the larger No man can do an evil action well but a good action may be spoiled in the management The tongue is an evil member for he that hath no reputation himself is master of another man's Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile The delight which a gracious Soul hath in mercies is not in the hearing of them or talking of them but in the possessing and enjoying of them God is a God that pardoneth Iniquity and retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercie The delight of a gracious Soul is to long to be dissolved and to go to his long'd-for home that he may be with Christ. A day in thy Courts O God is better than a thousand I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tent of wickedness It is God's appearing gracious to our Souls that makes him appeaâ— so glorious to our eyes To the praise of the glory of hiâ— Grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved It is not in our power to imagine the power of God it converteth Souls and raiseth dead Bodies The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul the Testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple Iesus cryed with a loud voice Lazarus come forth And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave-cloaths and his face was bound about with a napkin Iesus saith unto them Loose him and let him go The Soul cannot be converted by the word that man speaks nor by the man that speaks the word For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God By the Scriptures we learn what God hath done for us and what we are to do for God All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness When a gracious Soul desireth a mercie of
God let him consider the value of that mercie before it comes and when it is present let him seriously value its worth before it be past When David's condition was low and mean in the world we finde to come from him many sweet breathings of his Soul and strong actings of his Faith and love I will be glad and rejoyce in thy mercie for thou hast considered my trouble thou hast known my soul in Adversitie Let me not be ashamed O Lord for I have called upon thee let the wicked be ashamed and let them be silent in the grave It is the key of Knowledge that openeth the door of Heaven it is the knowledge of the Truth that leadeth to Salvation Behold thou desirest the inward parts and in the inward part thou shalt make me to know wisdom The ill which proceeds from man must not be attributed unto God neither must the good which proceeds from God be attributed unto man There is none good but one that is God The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men that they are vain Sin hath dominion over us before conversion but being converted we have dominion over sin and whereas before we were captives unto sin we now lead sin into captivity He that is born of God overcometh the world When we have done for God all that we can our all is so little and our good deeds so ill that we are at best but unprofitable servants When ye have done all those things which are commanded you say We are unprofitable servants we have done that which was our duty to do What greater act of impiety or ignorance can there be than for a man to do ill and yet pretend or think he doeth well Who can understand his errours cleanse thou me from secret sins He that will not deny himself and his own ends for Christ will deny Christ for his own ends and will to his sorrow be denied by Christ in the end Whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven In God there is no darkness at all for God is light in man there is no light at all for he is darkness our very light is darkness God is light and in him there is no darkness at all If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness How great is that darkness We may profess Christ but when we possess Christ then is our hope of Glory Christ is made known to us two ways by Relation and by Revelation which latter knowledge is the best If we can be of the number of Christ's little ones the mercie will be great It was our Saviour's saying Verily I say unto you Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven A Saint's heart is in the Law of God and the Law of God is likewise in his heart The Law of God is in the heart of the righteous none of his steps shall slide O how I love thy Law it is my meditation all the day If any man would have his child be a man of God he must teach him betimes first to become a child of God Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it He is Natures fair Picture drawn in Oyl Which time and handling oft doth spoil Let the wicked laugh at the godly for being godly rather than God should laugh at them for being wicked Ye have set at nought all my counsel and would none of my reproof I also will laugh at your calamity I will mock when your fear cometh What a choice mercie had Solomon who had the choice of mercies The reputation of a good man is to be rich in goodness not in goods Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom neither let the mighty man glory in his might nor the rich man glory in his riches but let him that glorieth glory in the Lord. He is the only wise and rich man that can learn to be content Godliness with contentment is great gain The expectation of a Saint is Eternity and the whole world is not able to answer his single expectation We may be instructed by a Prophet but it is the Spirit of God by which we profit Walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh The death of Christ giveth life to them that repent and giveth them a repentance unto life not to be repented of it giveth salvation to them that believe and enables them to believe unto salvation Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. Whether God give or take it is our duty to be thankful Shall we rejoyce at Sweets and shall we lowre When God is pleas'd by his Almighty power To season them with some few grains of sour Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things Our God is free to give and free to forgive his hand and his heart are both open to them that serve him When we draw neer to Christ he is ready to receive us nay when we fly from him he is ready to invite us Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give ye rest Many men in their doings purchase their undoings There are many devices in a mans heart nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand He that receiveth a mercie and doth not use it doth abuse it Christ dyed that we might live But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept Live Iesus live and let it be My life to dye for love of thee If we finde not some time to serve God he will not finde any time to save us If any man serve me saith Christ let him follow me and where I am there shall also my servant be If any man serve me him will my Father honour He that hath Christ hath all things and he that hath not Christ hath nothing at all Wherefore Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you There 's nothing in this vast Terrestrial Ball Compar'd to Christ for he is all in all Study to be altogether a Christian for if a man be but almost a Christian he is like to be but almost saved though he may think he is not far from the Kingdom of Heaven yet he will finde the Kingdom of Heaven is far from him Agrippa said unto Paul Almost thou perswadest me to be a Christian There is nothing among us more rife than the name Christian or the Christian name and nothing among us more rare than the Christian man They that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts Though Christ was crucified to deliver us from death yet we must
all the Mirth Sin is against the Beauty of man it takes away the loveliness of mens very Complexions Sin is against the loving cohabitation of Soul and Body it hath sowed discord betwixt them Many a falling out is there between Soul body between Sense Reason they draw several ways Sin is against man's relative good in this world That which was made for a help proves but too often an hindrance Sin hath spoil'd Society One man is a Wolf yea a Devil to another Sin will not let Husband and Wife Parents and Children to live quietly Sin breeds Divisions Factions in Church and State that there is little of Union or Order Sin is against the very being of man How many doth it strangle in the Womb How many doth it send from the Cradle to the Grave And after a few days which are but as a span sin lays all in the dust Sin hath reduc'd man's Age from almost a thousand to seventy He that 's born to day is not sure to live a day Sin is against all the good of man in this life Sin hath degraded man by defiling him and almost unman'd him Man was a very noble thing made a little lower than the Angels but alas by sin he 's made almost as low as Devils Sin hath rob'd man of his primitive Excellence of a Lord he is become a servant yea a slave to Creatures to Devils and Lusts of all sorts Sin defiles his Body The Flesh is filthy the Body is a Body of sin the Members are servants to uncleanness Take man from head to foot from the crown of that to the sole of this there 's no whole because not holy part in him Their Mouth is full of cursing and bitterness with their Tongues they use deceit the Poyson of Asps is under their Lips their Throat is an open Sepulchre Eyes full of Adultery Eye-lids haughty Ears dull of hearing yea deaf as the Adder the Forehead impudent as a Brow of brass both Hands are employ'd to work Iniquity Belly an Idol-God the Feet swift to shed blood Look within their inward part is wickedness the Gall is a Gall of bitterness the Spleen is affected yea infected with Envy and Malice Sin defiles the Soul God's Image was more in and oâ— the Soul than Body of man and Sin 's Ambition and Envy is to deprive the Soul of this Image Righteousness and Holiness were stamped upon man's Soul but sin hath blotted this Image and Superscription which once told from whence it came It must be new created or renewed before God own it for his because till then his Image is not legible The Flood which washt away so many sinners could not wash away sin the same heart remains after the Flood as before Sin hath deceived the Heart hardned Obstinacie vain Folly and Madness vain Thoughts and Villanous bubble and break forth from this corrupt Fountain that sets the Tongue on fire from Hell The Conscience is become evil and in many feared Sin hath almost put out man's eye and even extinguished the Candle of the Lord. Sin hath dimmed and benighted man's leading faculty the Understanding which should shew a man the difference between good and evil Sin blinds the sinner and makes him grope as the blinded Sodomites to finde the door of Hope Man hath lost his way since he lost his eyes poor man catcheth at every straw grasps every trifle Sinners are ever and most stumbling at Christ Jesus they are offended at him but cannot tell for what Would a man be led by a Dog if he were not blinde Blinde Guides dumb Dogs false Prophets lead sinners into theDitch of Sin and the Dungeon of Hell Till a man fear God he doth but play the fool he is as the Prodigal beside himself The representative of sinners and converts Man's folly to think like a fool unsteadily and rowling independantly and broken at random and rovers Sin hath made man like a beast yea not like to but a beast the Man of sin the great Antichrist is called a beast and the great ones that Daniel saw in his Vision are called beasts Sinners in Scripture are call'd ten or eleven times brutish Sinful man is like the beast in ignorance Man though he sit at the upper end of the world as the Antichristian beast doth is but a bruit that hath no understanding Sinful man is like the beast in sensuality as if he were onely Belly-wise and had no Soul to minde Sinful man is like the beast in his unsociableness and unsuitableness for Society and Communion with God and men Good men are as shie of conversing with such as with beasts Sinners are likened to the worst of hurtful beasts such as in Scripture are call'd hurtful beasts to Lyons Tygers Boars and Bears the ill-qualited and ill-condition'd Creatures Wicked men are likened to Goats for lustfulness and wantonness so are sinners the Lust of the Flesh the Lust of the Eye are the things they are taken with Wicked men are likened to Goats for stinking a Goatish smell is a stinking smell Wicked men are likened to Goats for their bold and adventurousness they climb Rocks and Precipices to brouse and feed on what they can get with hazard and in this sinners are like them too in running hazards Sinners are likened to Dogs and 't is a common name to sinners Without are Dogs Sin separates the sinner from God they are without God sinners are said to be afar off for they depart from God and go into a far Country Sin separates the sinner from the sight of God Our happiness lies so much in the sight of God that it hath the name of the beatifical Vision Sin hath separated the sinner from the life of God such a life as God lives Sin hath separated the sinner from the love of God and made him the object of his wrath Sin hath separated the sinner from Communion with God God and man kept company while man and holiness kept company Sin hath separated the sinner from Covenant-relation with God They are without God Promise and Covenant Sin in robbing man of God it hath robbed him of all things God hides his face from sinners whose loving kindness is better than life The sinner turns the back to God and God turns the back to him God hears not the sinner's Prayers God is a God hearing Prayers but sin shuts out their shouting and howling The sinner is without strength man's great strength is in Union with God separation weakens him To be a sinner is to be without strength Man was once a Sampson for strength but having parted with his Locks his strength is departed from him Man by Reason of sin is in death often in this life but in the life to come he 's in death for ever God damns no man but for sin death is but sin's wages Heaven and Salvation is not more surely promis'd to the one than Hell and Damnation is threatned to and shall be executed on