Satan for the advancement of Christ and holiness but thou hast excelled them all Thou hast changed Lions into Lambs Ravens into Doves Beasts into Men and Men into Angels thou hast subdued head-strong passions mortified natural and riveted corruptions tore up old and sturdy lusts by the roots conquered Principalities and Powers led captivity captive and turned the world upside down By thee wonders are wrought the blind restored to their sight the dead raised the deaf hear the dumb speak the Lepers are cleansed and the poor have the Gospel preached to them and are changed into the nature of it where thou ridest conquering and to conquer the whole world runneth after thee Thy neck is like the Tower of David builded for an Armoury wherein there hang a thousand bucklers all shields of mighty men Thy weapons are not carnal but spiritual and mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. By thee poor weak and contemptible men have subdued Kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained the promises stopped the mouths of roaring lions quenched the violence of hellish fire escaped the edge of Hereticks and persecutors sword out of weakness were made strong waxed valiant in sight turned to flight Armies of the Aliens Thou hast not onely like Saul slain thy thousands but with David thy ten thousands thou hast broken the serpents head destroyed the great Leviathan tramplest on Scorpions and Vipers and nothing can hurt thee Thou bringeth heaven down to earth and carriest earth up to heaven Thou are the joyful message from a far country the river whose streams make glad the City of God Infinite Wisdom contrived thee Infinite Truth proclaimed thee and infinite Goodness discovered thee The Father indited thee the Son confirmed thee and the Spirit revealed thee to the children of men The Countries and Kingdoms of the earth were overwhelmed with worse then Egyptian darkness till thou didst arise upon them and with thy glorious beams enlighten and enliven them by thee fools have been made wise sinners made Saints ignorant men have been instructed wandring men reduced weak ones confirmed and lost ones saved By thee the heavens were established the foundations of the earth formed the sorrowful are comforted the scandalous reformed the needy relieved and the righteousness of God revealed Thou art eyes to the blind and â—eet to the lame and food to the hungry and rest to the weary and physick to the sick and life to the dying The ablest Historian will infinitely fall short in describing thy heroick deeds None can declare thy noble acts or display half thy praise Angels may well pry into thee with admiration and astonishment and make the contents of thy Chapters the subject of their songs and substance of their Halelujahâ— to all eternity When that heavenly host preached on earth thou wert their Text be thou their triumph in heaven for ever O thou savour of life thou living water thou well of salvation thou tidings of great joy to all Nations thou ministration of righteousness thou mystery of godliness thou mine of unsearchable riches thou way of holiness thou word of the kingdom that thou wert written on the tables of my heart and graven with a pen of iron and the point of a diamond on that rock for ever Thou wast once written on tables of stone with the hand of God himself how precious was that book wherein every leaf was immediately of Gods making and every line in it of Gods writing My heart is an heart of stone I find it by too much experience but if thou wert engraven on it 't would be a precious stone its price would be far above Rubies the Onyx and the Saphire should not be valued with it the Gold and the Chrystal should not equal it neither should it be exchanged for Coral or Pearls O that I were manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God known and read of all men O that my soul were the house and thou the inhabitant for ever O that the word of Christ might dwell richly within me that I were able to say with holy David I delight to do thy will O God thy law is within my heart or in the midst of my bowels Thou art the Oracles of God all thy sayings are faithful and true and worthy of all acceptation when O when shall I give it them Thou art worthy of the eye Blessed is he that readeth the words of this Prophesie Rev. 1. 3. Thou art worthy of the ear Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it Thou art worthy of the heart O that I could hide thee in mine heart that I might not sin against the Lord Thou art a counsellor to the doubting a comforter to the distressed Thou art health to the navel and marrow to the bones an ornament of grace unto the head and a chain of gold about the neck They that walk in thy ways are safe and their feet do not stumble Thou teachest in the ways of wisdom and thou leadest in right paths O that my ways were directed to keep all thy commandements for thy steps tend to holiness and thy Paths take hold of Heaven O my soul is it possible for thee to hear the excellency of Scripture thus opened to thee and not to burn in love to it Hast thou been all this while in such an hot bath and still cold and shivering Hast thou felt its power tasted its savour seen its beauty often heard its awakening voice and known its universal vertue and dost thou yet doubt its divinity or question its excellency Surely if ever thou shouldst again through unbelief belief ask it the same question which the Scribes did Christ when they beheld his miraculous actions By what authority dost thou these things or who gave thee this authority thou mayst answer thy self in the words of the man born blind and then seeing to the Jews Is it not strange or This is a marvellous thing that thou knowest not whence it is yet it hath opened thine eyes Joh. 9. 30. Was there not a night of dread and horror with thee when thou didst sit in darkness and in the shadow of death till this sun did arise with light and life under its wings O cry out with the Psalmist I will never forget thy precepts for by them thou hast quickened me I was wallowing in my filth weltring in my blood rotting in the grave of corruption till thou didst say unto me Live yea till thou didst say unto me Live Thy voice is powerful overcoming all opposition The love revealed in thee is wonderful far surpassing the love of woman Thy promises are exceeding great and precious more to be desired then gold yea then much fine gold Thy Maker may well prevail for thine acceptance Who
man in this world The greatness of the price the blood of God doth to every rational understanding fully speak the preciousness of the pearl Now how clear and plain is it in the word of truth that the Redeemer gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity and to purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of goodworks Tit. 2. 14. That being delivered out of the hands of our enemies we might serve him in holiness and righteousness all our days Surely Reader that which the Son of God who thought it no robbery to be equal with God thought worthy the taking on himself the form of a servant and the suffering the spite and malice of men the wrath and rage of devils and the frowns and fury of his father to purchase for thee doth deserve to be minded and regarded by thee as thee onely thing thou followest after and setst thy self about during thy pilgrimage Alas All the pains and labour and watching and working and time and strength and lives of all the men in the world are not equivalent to one drop of the blood of Christ or the least degree of his humiliation and wilt thou deny to make that thy business for which he shed so much blood and laid down his life 6. Is not that worthy to be made thy business which is the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost and for which the Spirit is infused into the hearts of men The worth of the Father doth speak the desert of the Child Though men who pretend to honour the Father for his work of Creation and to admire the Son for his work of Redemption blasphemously deride and wretchly slight sanctification which is the work of the Spirit yet undoubtedly the work of the Spirit is no whit inferiour to either nay is the beauty and glory both of Creation and Redemption as being the end and perfection of both The Father created the world in order to the new creation by the Spirit as that choice work man ship which he resolved should bring him in the largest revenue of praise and honour T is the new heavens wherein dwelleth righteousness that doth most declare the glory of God and the Firmament of sparkling graces that sheweth forth his most choice and curious handi-work Sanctification is the travel of the Sons soul a spiritual sacred life the great end of his death The Son redeemed man from slavery to sin and Satan and unto the service of righteousness by layino down the price thereof his own most precious blood One of the Sons main works was to purchase the re-impression of Gods Image on man the actual performance of which is the peculiar office of the Spirit hence he tells us Ioh. 14. I go away that the comforter may come and again Ioh. 6. The Spirit was not yet given i. e. so plentifully and universally because Iesus was not yet glorified And therefore we read that in few days after his ascension to acquaint us what was one main end and fruit of his death and suffering he powreth down the holy Ghost in an extraordinary manner and measure So that Creation the work of the Father doth as it were provide the matter the wax Redemption the work of the Son buyeth the Image of God the Seal and Sanctification the work of the Spirit stampeth it on the soul. Now Reader doth not the Sanctification of the Soul deserve to be thy main business when it is the curious work of the holy Spirit as that which the Fathers eye was chiafly on in thy Creation and the Sons in thy Redemption Is not that worthy to be made thy business which addeth a real worth to every thing and without which nothing is of worth or value Every one will grant that what is so richly excellent as to ennoble and add an intrinsick value to whatsoever it is affixed and the lack of which maketh every thing be they in other respects never so precious low and mean must needs deserve to be our business Truely Friend such is holiness it makes the word of God a precious word more to be embraced then gold yea then much fine gold The Ordinances of God precious Ordinances the people of God a precious people the excellent of the earth What is the reason that some in the account of him who is best able to judge though they be never so rich or beautiful or high and honourable in the world are called Dross Chaff Stubble Dust Filth Vessels of dishonour and counted Dogs Swine Vermine Serpents Cockatrices but want of holiness What is the reason that some though poor and despised and mean and houseless and friendless are esteemed by him who can best discern true worth The glory of the World the glory of Christ a Royal Diadem a Royal Priesthood higher then the Kings of the earth more excellent then their Neighbours Princes in all lands such of whom the world is not worthy but because they are godly persons an holy people Why are some Angels advanced to the highest Heavens waiting always in the presence of the King of Kings honoured to be his Ministers and Deputies in the Government of this lower world when other Angels are thrown down into the lowest Hell for ever banished the Celestial Court and bound in chains of darkness as prisoners to the day of execution but holiness in the former and want of it in the latter 8. Is not that worthy to be made thy business which will and can refresh and revive thee in an hour of death and enable thee to sing and triumph at the approach of the King of terrors The Master of Moral Philosophy tells us that its worth the while for a man to be all the time he lives learning how to dye well The unerring spirit of God acquaints us that it ought to be our great work to be wise for our latter end Doubtless it must be a rich costly cordial indeed and deserves not a little time and pains and charge to prepare which can keep a man from fainting in such a day of extremity wherein our honours and treasures friends wives children nay our flesh and hearts will fail and forsake us That cannot be of mean worth which can make a man encounter his last enemy with courage and conquest at the sight of which Kings and Captains and Nobles and the greatest Warriers have trembled as leaves with the wind and their hearts melted as grease before the fire Now Reader Godliness is that wine which will cause thee to sing at the approach of this Goliah and enable thee as Leviathan to laugh at the shaking of his spear when whole hosts of others without Godliness flie like Cowards before it and would give all they are worth to avoid fighting with it Heark what a challenge the godly sends to this adversary daring it to meet him in the field O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the
me in all my dealings chuse rather to be a loser then a lyar and let that be my character which thou hast given of the Citizens of Sion that I may never lift up my soul to vanity nor swear deceitfully but walk uprightly work righteousness and speak the truth in my heart I Wish that I may be Courteous as well as Righteous towards all with whom I converse Humanity is a debt which I owe to all mankind why should I therefore as some proud men dam up and contract my civility into so narrow a compass that it shall swell into flittery towards my Superiors and not suffer one drop to descend towards Inferiors I would not as Formalists in fashion of habits or outward Vesture discover the lightness of a carnal mind Nor like Hypocrites by composed actions or artificial gesture manifest the looseness of a frothy spirit but as a prudent yet serious Christian be so affable in my carriage that I may be the more acceptable in my counsel for the good of others souls Humanity doth cast a lustre to attract the eyes and hearts of others Courtesie is commendable and an adorning adjunct to sanctity Holiness is honoured by the attendance of this Hand-maid Grace is rendered more lovely when t is accompanied with a kind nature T is pity that Jewel should not ever be in this soft Velvet Cabinet One end of my trading must be to commend to others the excellency of spiritual wares and to encourage them to buy the truth but if my behaviour be morose and unkind I shall fright men from being my customers and inflict on my self part of Nebuchadnezars penalty separate my self from amongst men by forcing them to withdraw from me If my language be fierce and my looks frowning I may deter men from my company but shall never allure them to Christ. Where the carriage is sowre and pouting the Counsel will never be sweet and prevalent O that I might never disadvantage Religion by any rugged disposition but by the kindness of my nature may do a real kindness to grace and become all things to all men if by any means I might save some Yet I would not be so courteous to others as to be discourteous to my self I mean be so courteous to sinners as to comply with them in their sins T is far better that the World should count me uncivil then the Lord should esteem me ungodly Let me be an enemy to their corruptions when I shew my self most friendly to their persons and never be so much a Courtier as to forget that I am a Christian Lord who hast commanded thy people to be kindly affected one towards another teach me to shew the true affection of my heart in the kindness of my tongue and hand courtesie is as salt and dryeth those ill humours which are distastful to others and will make my counsel the more savoury Thine Angels themselves used salutations in their occasional converses with Mortals give me to do thy will on earth as it is done by those Noble Courtiers in Heaven for I believe that they were in Heaven when they were discoursing with thy chosen on Earth Grant me so much gracious good manners as by my prayers to send the next man I meet even all I deal with to thee Let me bestow the almes of some hearty ejaculation as well as the outward expressions of The Lord be with you upon them Yea let me for thy sake be kind and gentle to all men that I may draw them to thy self Yet suffer me not to be so friendly in my words as to have fellowship with any in their wickedness but helpe me to dispence even my civilities by a standard measure least what I intend as shy Net to take others souls prove Satans trap to catch mine I Wish that I may be both so just as not to offer injuries to others and also so meek as to suffer with patience what others offer to me The world will never leave its old haunt of persecuting them that are holy It s natural for Wolves to hate and devour Sheep If I were of the world I should be one of its darlings for the World loveth its own My God hath called me from it and chosen me out of it therefore it hates me I need not marvail at its malice when it did spit its venome at the Author of its being and took away life from him who gave life to it The Servant is not above his Master nor must the Disciple look to fare better then his Lord. If the soft Pillow of meekness be not laid on my back I shall never bear the burthens of their calumnies and cruelties with the least comfort What pain doth such Vinegar cause when it meets with the raw wound of an impatient spirit The more mad the world is the more meek I had need to be if I would enjoy my self Besides there may be â—allings out amongst the best friends Good men are not all of the same stature nor all of the same temper Some are like broken bones if but toucht they fret and fling How full are some of jealousies and suspicions which would soon be increased by my passions and that spark which might be extinguished by my lenity is blown into a flame by my fury Some are sickly and in constant pain others are under some smarting providence some offend me upon mistake and though others should do it out of malice yet even they also call for my pity more then my passion The best have need of pardon from man as well as God and shall I who want it more then others not allow it to others Alas what harme do I get by others heats The Air when beaten is not injured no not so much as divided but returnes to its place and becomes thicker then before The sharpest words cannot wound me if I do not put my hand to the weapon All those tongue-squibs of reproach which the malevolent world throw at me will go out alone and die of themselves if I do not revive them My well-grounded patience will as a walking staff preserve me from many a fall whilst I travail in rugged ways The distracted world indeed judgeth him the bravest fellow that will not pocket up the least affronts but the wisest man that ever was nay the onely wise God tells me The patient in spirit is better then the proud in spirit O my soul whom wilt thou believe the world that long since hath lost its wits and must ere long for its phrensie be fettered with the chains of everlasting darkness in the Bridewel of the bottomless pit or that God to whom Angels themselves are comparative fools O be not hasty to be angry for anger resteth in the bosome of fools What a fool art thou to break thy own bones to give another a smart blow A furious man is like Tamar who to be revenged of her father in Law defiled him and her self
militant Calvin was heard before his death often to sigh out How long Lord How long will it be ere thou avenge the blood of thy Servantsâ— The people of God are the purchase of Christ and of the same family and body with the dying Christian and therefore must needs be dear to him 4. For his Benefactours and those that have done good to him and his Paul had received some kindness from Onesimus he refreshed him in his bonds and in the 2 Tim. 1. 8. which was the last of his Epistles and thought to be written but a little before his death for he tells us in it I am ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand how pathetically doth he pray for him The Lord grant that he may finde mercy at that day 5. For our enemies This is to follow Gods pattern who doth good for evil and to obey his Precept who commandeth us to pray for them that despitefully use us Stephen when departing out of the World intreats mercy for them who were cruel to him Lord lay not this sin to their charge Act. 7. 60. Our blessed Saviour dying begs hard for their eternal lives who were the instruments and authors of his bloody death Father forgive them they know not what they do Luk. 23. 34. Thirdly In an holy exercise of Faith Courage Repentance Charity and Patience 1. Faith It s the Character of Gods Children that they live by Faith and they dye in the Faith Hab. 2. 6. Heb. 11. 31. The waters say some of the Pool of Bethesda wherein the Priest washed the sacrifices before he offered them was of a reddish colour to note that men must be washed by faith in the blood of Christ before they are ready to be offered a Peace-offering to God by death The dying Christian must expect strong assaults against the bulwark of his faith but what-ever he let go he must keep his hold on Christ. I know no grace that the Devil is such a sworn enemy to as Faith and I know no season that he is more diligent in to overthrow their faith then when they are under some dangerous sickness therefore it s the observation of a good man that he seldom seeth a sick Saint followed close with temptations to recover of that sickness for Satan knowing he hath but a little time useth all his craft and strength to separate the soul from the Rock of his salvation Upon a dying bed reflect upon former experienes of Gods love to thy soul and recollect the former evidences of of thy title to Christ and thereby to Heaven I must tell thee though the certainty of thy salvation depend upon the truth of thy Faith the comfort of thy dissolution will depend on the strength of thy Faith Faith is the shield of the soul and therefore above all in thy encounter with thy great enemy Satan and thy last enemy death take the Shield of Faith Eph. 6. 14. Epaminondas after his victory at Loâ—ctrum wherein he was mortally wounded understanding that his Buckler was safe bid his Chirurgion boldly to pluck out the Dart that stuck in his side and died cheerfully The Saint the Souldier of Christ who is wounded even to death and keepeth his Shield of Faith safe may leave the world with courage The Apostle Paul who knew whom he had beleived 2 Tim. 1. 12. rings a challenge in the ears of death O death where is thy sting and sings a triumphant ditty at the approach of death The time of my departure is at hand I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the Faith Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness 2 Tim. 4. 7 8. When Iacob had beleived the report of Iosephs life his heart was revived Is Joseph yet alive saith he I will go down and see him before I dye When the true Israelite can firmely credit the testimony which God hath given of Iesus the Son of Ioseph how he being an enemy was reconciled to God by the death of his Son and shall much more being reconciled be saved by his life and by faith can cling on him his heart though dying is then enlivened O with what comfort can he take his journey into the other world When Philip viewed his young Son Alexander Now saith he I am content to dye Old Simeon springs young again at a sight of Christ and having embraced his Saviour in the armes of faith as well as in the armes of his body he begs a dismission out of this valley of tears being assured thereby of an admission into fulness of joy Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word for mine eyes have seen thy salvation Having with an eye of faith beheld Christ he counts his life but a bondage and desires to depart or be loosed from fetters as the word signifieth and is taken Mat. 27. 17. We read of the Lords worthies that by faith they stopped the mouths of Lions Death is a fierce and cruel Lion but faith will pull out its teeth that it cannot hurt us or stop its mouth that it shall not devour us This grace like the Angel sent from Heaven when Daniel was cast into the Lions Den will save the Christian from being torn in peices O Friend The Robes of Christs righteousness is the onely Coat of Male which can defend thy soul against the shot of death If thou canst with Moses go up to Pisgah and take a view by faith of the Land of promise thou wilt comfortably with him lay down thine earthly Tabernacle Iob desired death as eagerly as the Labourer in an hot summers day desires the shadow Paul longed for it as vehemently as the Apprentice for the expiration of his Indentures and all because they had first beheld Christ by faith It s no wonder that many of Gods Children have called earnestly to be laid to bed knowing that it would prove their everlasting happy rest and when their bodies are carried by mortal men to their Mother Earth their souls should be conveyed by glorious Angels to their Father in Heaven 2. Courage A Christian should be a Voluntier in death Many of the Martyrs were as willing to dye as to dine went to the sire as chearfully as to a Feast and courted its pale and gastly countenance as if it had bee a beautiful Bride When King Lysimachus threatned Cyrenaeus Theodorus with Hanging Istis quaeso inquit ista horribilia minitare purpuratis tuis Thedori quidem nihil interest humine an sublime putrescat Threaten these terrible things to thy brave Courtiers Theodorus cares not whether he rot in the Air or on the Earth Cyprian said Amen to his own Sentence of Martyrdom Hierom reports of Nepotianus that he gave up his life so chearfully that one would have thought he rather walked forth then died When Ignatius was led from Syria to Rome to be torn in peices of wild
it by thy providence water it with the showres of thy grace and so quicken it with the beams of thy favour that it may bring forth much fruit to thy glory I Wish that I may like Enoch walk so with my God in all my actions whilst I walk amongst men that in thy good time my soul may be translated and I may not see death either as the wicked in this World do with terrour or as the damned in the other World do in torment to their everlasting woe Lord thou art Jehovah Tsidkenu the Lord my righteousness be pleased to cloath my person with the robe of thy Sons imputed righteousness that my nakedness may not appear before Men and Angels to my eternal shame let all my actions be covered with the garment of thy Spirits imparted righteousness that they may be acceptable and amiable in thine eye Let thy grace so fill my heart that godliness may be visible in my hands and I may thereby draw others towards Heaven Thou hast said Behold I make all things new what wilt thou then do with this old corrupt nature of mine O Renew that or nothing will be new to my comfort O God create a clean heart and renew a right Spirit within me I know the time will come that thou wilt create new Heavens and new Earth wherein shall dwell righteousness My body is the Earth and my soul is the Heaven which thou hast already made but might thy servant prevail with thy Majesty to create my soul thy new Heavens and my body thy new Earth wherein may dwell righteousness how infinitely should I be bound tâ— thy distinguishing mercy Thy hands have made me and fashioned me O give me understanding that I may keep thy Commandements Were my soul bespangled with the glorious stars of thy graces and my body embroydered and curiously wrought so as to be the Temple of thy Spirit then indeed thou mightest reâ—lect upon what thou hadst made with complacency for behold it would be very good Hast thou not made the great World for man and the little World Man for thy self When shall I be so pure as to invite thy presence and so sanctified as to be set apart from all others and to be only for thy service O make it appear that I am thy workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which thoâ— hast before ordained that I should walk in them If thou pleasest to set forth this Heaven and Earth this little Epitome of the creation in a new edition I know it would be done in so fair a Character as to delight thine eyes and to raviâ—h the hearts of all that behold it T is confest the Copy was perfect when it came out of thy hands there was no unrighteousness or impatience not the least blot or blemish in it but my Parents who transmitted the book to the world through their unfaithfulness filled it from the beginning to the end with errors Adam begat a Son in his own likeness after his Image The first sheet went off the press through his cursed falseness and negligence imperfect and full of faults and the many millions that followed have still retained the same defects Yet Lord since thy Son was at the cost of a new impression Let it please thee for his sake to be at the pains of correctâ—ing this volume so effectually that those who look into it may read righteousness courtesie meekness faith humility patience heavenly-mindedness printed in so large a Letter free from the former errors that they may so like it as to embrace and imitate it O then I shall be assured that at the general Resurrection when thy last hand shall pass on me and I shall be published in the newest and last edition none of those blots and blurs wherewith I have defiled it shall be found in it but thy Image shall be printed on me in such a lovely Character and in so perfect a manner that thou wilt delight in me and I in thee for ever and ever Amen CHAP. II. How Christians may exercise themselves to Godliness in the Choice of their Companions SEcondly Thy duty is to make Religion thy business and to exercise thy self to Godliness in relation to thy Company Man saith the Great Philosoper is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 natures good-fellow as one Englisheth it a creature in love with Company Cosmographers observe that the farthest Islands of the World are so seated that there is none so remote but that from some shore of it another Island or Continent may be discovered as if nature hereby invited Countries to mutual commerce God never intended that the World should be a wilderness nor the chief inhabitants thereof as barbarous Beasts to live alone lurking in their Monksâ— and Nuns and Hermits who under pretence of Sanctity sequester themselves from all society are so far from more holiness and being better Christians then others that they seem to have put off the very humane nature and not to be so much as Men. Vnclean nasty persons love to be always private and by their good will would neither seeâ— nor be seen of others Birds of Prey flye always alone and Ravenous Brutes come not abroad till others are retired Psa. 104. 23. Our very senses speak that God would have us sociable nay it s the natural voice of our tongues for our speech and hearing and sight would be in a great degree lost and our Makers end in giving us those Organs and Instruments for converse much frustrated if every man should immure himself in his own Cell The graces and spiritual riches of Saints would in some measure be useless if they did not deal with some to whom they might distribute them The Law of man condemneth ingrossers of external goods and the Law of God condemneth ingrossers of spiritual good things They who study to Monopolize all to themselves undo others As the World shall never want poor men that the wealthy may always have objects of Charity and opportunities of laying out and improving those talents which are committed to their trust so the world shall never be without needy Christians that those who are rich in grace may have fit objects and occasions of imploying their gifts The Moralists axiom is right Omne bonum quo communius eo melius Every good thing is so much the better as it hath many sharers in it In this sense there is a truth in that It is not good for man to be alone Not that it was a formal evil but inconvenient Infinite wisdom hath so dispenced his gifts and graces that no man is so sterile but he hath something wherewith to profit others nor any man so furnished and fruitful but he standeth in need of others help The Head cannot say to the Foot much-less the Foot to the Head I have no need of thee The King himself who seemeth to have least want cannot subsist without the meanest workmen even them that grind
and stranger in this earth may joyn my self not with the natives the men of the World whose portion is in this life by whose company I am sure to contract either guilt or greif but with my fellow sojourners who are travailing with me towards the same Heaven Though I love the wicked with a love of pity I would love onely the Saints with a love of delight Let my choice be of them now with whom I would choose to be for ever O let me joyn with those on earth and that in discoursing of thy gracious word and glorious works with whom I hope to joyn in Heaven in admiring thy boundless perfections and giving thee everlasting praise Lord if there be such comfort in thy chosen and their voices be so lovely and their faces so comely here below in the estate of their minority when they are black with the worlds calumnies and cruelties and besmeared with their own corruptions what delight will there be in them above when they shall come to their full age be parted from all their defilements and be perfectly adorned with thine Image How lovely will their voices be when they shall joyn with thy Celestial quire in singing HallelUjahs and in running division on thine infinite attributes and excellencies How comely will their faces be when they shall be freed from all the freckles and spots of sin and so see thee as to be fully like thee O if grace in its infancy be so ravishing what will it be in its maturity If the morning of holiness be so glorious how glorious will it be in its noon-day lustre Lord if my soul rejoyce so much in thy Saints who shine onely as stars in their several Orbes with a borrowed light what joy may I have in thy self the true Sun O cause thy servant so to glorifie thee in my choice of Companions and in my carriage in all Companies that I may come at last to enjoy immediate communion with thy beautiful Saints and thy blessed Majesty World without end Amen CHAP. III. How a Christian may exercise himself to Godliness in evil Company HAving spoken to the Choice of Companions I proceed Reader to thy Carriage in Company and first in evil Company Though evil men are not to be the object of a Christians choice or delight yet he must sometimes fall into their Company or go out of the world 1 Cor. 5. 10. Our Relations or Vocations or Offices of Charity which we owe to the worst of men will command our presence now and then amongst them Civil commerce with them is lawfâ—l though intimate communion be sinful It s certain the less we have of their society the more of safety but because civility and our necessities require us sometimes to be with them Christianity must help us as a glass-window to let in the light and keep out the rain to get what good we may and to prevent the hurt they intend God in the first creation separated the light from the darkness and so must the godly man amongst wicked persons Swine will be cleanly in a fair Meadow Sinners civil sometimeâ— in the society of Saints but Christians must keep their garments unspotted when they walk in dirty places and amongst defiled persons Godliness will be thy best armour to ward off those blows and hinder those wounds which those sons of violence and villany would cause in thee A wise Physitian whatsoever diseased Patients he goeth amongst will take some preservative but if he be to go into a Pest-house an Antidote It will be a sign of an excellent complexion if thou canst walk as occasion is in the Sun and not be tanned The Romans had a Law that every one where ever he went should wear a badge of his profession or trade either on his garment or in his hat that he might be known Christianity must be owned in every company as that which is our great and worthy calling The Nobleman carrieth his Garter or George with him in all places because he esteems them his gâ—ory and honour and if he be of the blood royal he desireth that all may take notice of it O what an honour and happiness is it to be a Christian to be related to Iesus Christ and how willing shouldst thou be to own and acknowledge it as the badge of thine honour amongst all personsâ— He is a base servant that is ashamed of his Lords livery It s said of the Teal a certain wild Beast iâ— AEthiopia that he hath two hornes of a Cubit long which he moveth as he pleaseth either both forward to offend his enemy or both backward to defend himself or one forward and the other backward to both uses at once A Christian in evil company should be as wise as a Serpent that he do not bring himself into suffering but yet as innocent as a Dove that others do not draw him to sin Walk as prudently as thou canst onely walk piously Use as much caution as thou wilt but be sure thou keepest a good conscience The Apostle gives a special precept for our pious carriage in such Company Walk wisely towards them that are without Col. 4. 5. In which words the qualification of the act and the specification of the subject are considerable 1. The qualification of the act walk wisely that is graciously Grace is Wisdom To fear God is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding He who walketh in the Law of the Lord and according to the rule of the word is the wise walker Job 28. 28. Psa. 119. 1. Gal. 16. 16. Whatsoever our company be we must walk by precept not by pattern He may be a good Courtier but he is a bad Christian that alters and orders his carriage according to his company If like Musicians we play no lessons but what the company calls for and what pleaseth them our musick will be harsh and jarring in Gods ears If I please men saith Paul I am not the servant of Christ Gal. 1. 10. He walks foolishly that to please a few weak dying Men displeaseth the jealous and Almighty God He walks wisely who will be sure who ever be offended to please him upon whose favour his life and all his comforts depend 2. The specification of the Subject towards them that are without Wicked men are said to be without 1. Because they are visibly without the Church scandalous sinners proclaim to the world that they are not so much as visible members of Christ. What have I to do to judge them that are without Do not ye judge them that are within but them that are without God judgeth 1 Corinth 5. 12 13. 2. Because they are really without God and Christ God may be in their mouths and they may call him Father but he is far from their hearts and will never own them foâ— his Children That at that time ye were without Christ and with out God in the world Ephes. 2. 12. 3. Because they shall go
of a Crown for the highest â—ead on earth Am not I a greater fool then the former and more vain then the latter if I spend that time which is infinitely more costly then gold or Bezer as having relation to eternity wholly in worldly talk which might be imployed in declaring and admiring the boundless perfections of the blessed God in furthering that curious work of grace in my own and others souls and in preparing us for our unchangeable bliss in the other World My God hath not onely a book of remembrance for every good word but also a book of observance and account for every idle word Lord within a few days I shall go the way that I shall not return thine Angel may say concerning me That time shall be no more Thou wilt never trust me with another life nor afford me another day of grace this is the onely time that I shall have to provide against the coming of my Lord. Nay whilst I live thou mayst part me from thy people and deny me that happy priviledge of their society that I now enjoy For the Lords sake help me to work whilst it is day and to walk whilst it is light because the night is coming wherein I can neither work nor walk I Wish that my tongue may never be so set on fire of Hell as to speak evil of those that are the Heirs of Heaven It were better for me to be sick and solitary in my bed then to be censuring or reflecting upon the Lords Servants The Divels themselves though for their own ends could sometimes speak of righteous ones with a seeming awe and reverence These men are the Servants of the most High God and shew unto us the way of salvation And shall I at any time be worse then a Divel at some times Such impotency in my tongue would be too great a sign of impurity in my heart Those that have a blemish in their eyes judge the Skie to be ever cloudy Caligula who was a Monster of obscenity and uncleanness thought there was never a chaste person in the World T is usual with the wicked measuring others by themselves to judge all to be ungodly They render others to be deformed that their own faces might be esteemed the more fair Or as the Lapwing they hope by their false cries against the godly to divert strangers from finding the nest of their own filthiness They would have all good men thought to be evil that themselves who are fullest of evil might be thought good But though the seed of the Serpent spit their poison against the seed of the woman should I do so who am one of their brethren How bad is that Bird that defileth its own nest How foolish as well as sinful is that Child that disgraceth and defameth his own Family If I speak evil of any of the Saints I speak evil of my self and of the Master whom they serve Though Christ was not upon earth in Enochs days yet he tells me that he will judge the slanderers of the Saints as blasphemers of himself Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgement upon all and to convince them of their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him Iude vers 15. It is Satans title to be the accuser of the Brethren and my God calleth such men as are guilty of it by no better name then Devils 2 Tim. 3. 3. Tit. 3. 2. Would I be willing to resemble the Prince of darkness or can I do it and escape punishment O t is dangerous to abuse the King of Heavens Favourites Such Arrows of slander and censure shot out of Satans Bow by my hand against the Saints would as a Shaft shot against a Stone rebound upon me and hurt not the Stone or Saint but him that shot it He that snuffeth a candle with his bare fingers doth foul if not burn his fingers but makes the Candle to burn the more brightly If I censure the Children of God I defile my own conscience but do not make them the less glorious O my soulâ— consider what thy God hath said Cursed is he that smiteth his Neighbour secretly And all the people shall say Amen Thou mayst smite thy Neighbour as really and as dangerously with thy tongue as with thy hand The wages of both is a Curse from God from all the People Surely the breath of so many would blow down the strongest person the strongest dwelling Though the causeless curse shall not come yet when God and Men both see cause for it and say Amen to it there is no way to avoid it I may build upon my profession as if that would secure me against such a stormy wind but it will prove a rotten foundaâ—ion My God hath told me What hast thou to do to take my Covenant in thy mouth Thou givest thy mouth to evil and thy tongue frameth deceit Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother and slanderest thine own Mothers Son No pretence whatsoever can prevent my punishment But I will reprove thee and set thy sins in order before thee If God once undertake to reprove it will be cutting it will be killing O let me tremble to think of tearing the names of any of Gods people lest my God tear me in peices when there is none to deliver me Psa. 50. 16 17 21 22. How irrational as well as irreligious is it for me to spend my time in censuring others If they be guilty of erring they do but shew themselves to be Men not Angels Am I so foolish as to expect Heaven upon Earth perfection in a polluted and polluting World If I my self were without sin then I might throw the first stone The actions of the best are but a miscellay of good and evil Moses himself like the Pillar that conducted him had his dark side The cleanest Corn even after threshing and winnowing will have some soil in it There is a tincture of corruption that stains all mankind Otherwise there are some graces that would rust for want of use and be given in vain What wise man will despise or deny a Mine to be Gold because it hath some dross or bad earth with it or will throw away a Beast and say it is not good meat because it hath guts and garbage in it The Vermine of sin may sometimes craul in a cleanly holy person though they be not allowed there One act will not prove an habit nor a few bad actions a bad person If every sin unsaint a man Satan will challenge the whole race of mankind as his own peculiar When I see the course rather good then evil my charity commandeth me not to think the man other then a Christian Besides How frequent is it for the malicious world to lay down false reports of the Saints and shall I be their Pedler to take them up and cry their rotten deceitful wares up and down the Country The Priest under the Law was
my self when any reprove me for the evil in me let me accept it with thanks Make me able to say with that sweet singer of Israel Let the righteous smite me it shall be a kindness and let him reprove me and it shall be an excellent oyl it shall not break my head I Wish that I may by no means repine but always rejoyce at the gifts and graces of others If the other members of the body thrive the heart doth not grieve but is glad at it It s ordinary for younger brothers to boast and glory in the large estate and great possessions which their elder brothers have left them by their Fathers Why should not my soul be joyful at the great share of spiritual riches which the onely wise God hath given some of my brethren If a man love sweet smels the greater degree of them he observeth in any place the moâ—e he is refreshed with them He that delights in Pictures if he see one in a room exactly and exquisitely drawn above all the rest that shall have more of his eye and his heart Is not grace compared to sweet Oynments and shall not I be comforted the more for the greatness of its savour Is not the Image of my God amiable in mine eye and ought I not to delight most in that Copy which is nearest the Original Surely if I envy any their spiritual excellencies I shew my self too like a Child of the Devil There is hardly any worm that gnaweth that unclean spirit more painfully then the grace which God gives his Children Their sins are his utmost joy their graces are his extream greif Would I be found in Satans livery at the last O that I might be so far from murmuring at that double portion of the Spirit which my God bestoweth upon some of his people that I might bless God heartily for it and beg of God to add to it an hundred fold how great soever it is The pretty Birds sing the more merrily the higher the Sun mounteth in the Heavens I have cause to be the more chearful the nearer any ascend to Heaven and the higher they mount in holiness My love to my God to my Brother nay to my self all command me to it My love to my God He that loves his Soverain will rejoyce that he hath any Subjects eminent above others for duty and loyalty They that have much spiritual strength will do my God much spiritual service The more grace they have the more glory they bring to God It s an honour to the Father of Spirits when his Children keep open house according to their estates cloathing the naked feeding the hungry soul and relieving liberally such as are in want I am no Christian if I be not tender of my Gods honour and joyful when that is exalted in the World Besides Love to my brother should quicken me to this duty If I love him as my self I shall both grieve at his soul-losses and rejoyce at his spiritual gains Love delighteth in the welfare of the party loved The hotter the beames of grace are in the party beloved the more they rejoyce the heart of the lover Why should any mans eye be evil towards his Brother because Gods is good to him Have others the less because some have so much Or is it not my own fault that I am not as holy and gracious as he God is a Fountain of grace always running over but he derives it to us according to our capacities If I go to the Well of Salvation and receive but little of the water of life I may know the cause my Vessel was no bigger Nay Love to my self may make me glad at others gifts and graces The greater the Saints estate is the more he will relievâ— others As the Earth though it sucketh in so much water as will give her self a competent refreshment conveyeth many springs through her veins for the cherishing and refreshment of others So the Saints do not onely advantage their own but also others souls Lord though in Hell there be little else but murmuring and repining at the good of thy chosen yet in Heaven there is no emptiness in themselves no envying at others every Saint there hath his joy doubled for anothers joy and is glorified in anothers glory Suffer not thy Servant to make his heart a little Hell by filling it with grief at the good of thy chosen But O make it thy lesser Heaven be thou pleased to dwell in it and then I shall begin the work of eternity in time magnifie and bless thee for thy love to them and praise and bless them for their likeness to thee Finally I Wish that I may so carry my self in all my converses with the Children of God here that I may meet them in the Fathers house and sit down with them at the Supper of the Lamb. Lord if Communion with thy Saints be so pleasant and delightful on earth how pleasant and delightful will it be in Heaven Here my communion with them is imperfect my flesh will not suffer me to receive the good I might from them nor their flesh allow them to do the good they might to me But there shall be no evil no occasion of evil no appearance of evil no sin shall clog the chariots of our souls no flesh shall fetter us from running to embrace and delight in each other but all shall be free to rejoyce and refresh one another Every Saint shall be as it were a fountain of Communion in the sweetest mannerâ— and fullest measure from every one shall flow Riâ—ers of water of life and every one enlarged to rellish and receive If Jonathan beholding a little grace in David on earth loved him as his own soul how doth he love him in Heaven Here our Communion is much lamed by the defects in our bodily organs we cannot impart our minds without our members which being defective make our Communion so but there we shall be as Angels seeing each other without eyes hearing each other without ears and embracing each other without hands Here our Communion is interrupted our particular callings our eating our drinking our sleeping our many occasions call us from it But there is no calling but our general calling of worshipping and enjoying our God no feeding but on the tree of life that groweth in the midst of Paradise no drinking but of the Rivers of Gods own pleasures and no night no sleeping but that rest which remaineth for the people of God O what darkness what night can be there where all the righteous shall shine infinitely brighter then the Sun in his noon day lustâ—e Here our Communion is hindered by the differences that frequently arise â— like Children of the same Father we quarrel and wrangle but there they will all be like-minded having the same love being of one accord and one judgement There indeed Jerusalem is a City compact together and at unity within it self There Pauls desire is granted
esteems himself in good company He had rather Gods deputy conscience should admonish him to contrition then that God himself should do it to his confusion According to the Apostles Doctrine Every one of us must give account of himself to God therefore every one of us must take account of himself befare-hand It will be but a sad account which some will give at the great Audit-day when conscience shall confess against them They made me keeper of others vineyards but my own vineyard have I not kept And it is but a poor trade that they drive at present who make little use of their Shop-books The greatest Merchants and the most thriving are much in their Counting-house 5. In solitude accustom thy self to secret ejaculations and converses with God Lovers cast many a glance at each other when they are at a distance and are deprived of set meetings A little Boat may do us some considerable service when we have not time to make ready a great Vessel The casting of our eyes and hearts up to Heaven will bring Heaven down to us My meditations of him shall be sweet Psa. 104. 34. Secret ejaculations have meat in their mouths and will abundantly requite such as entertain them If they be much in our bosomes as Abishag in Davids they will cherish us and put warmth into us They are sweet in the day like the Black-bird cheering us with their pleasant noats and do also afford us wiâ—h the Nightingale songs in the night A true Israelite may enjoy more of his God in a Wilderness then in an earthly Canaan Christians are nearest their heaven when farthest from the Earth What care I how much I am in solitude so I may but enjoy his desirable society Ah how foolish are those persons that neglect the improvement of this glorious priviledge They that like swine can look every way but upward may well lie rooting in the earth desiring no more then fleshly pleasures because they know no better Surely the company of my God is of such weighty consequence and universal influence that I need no other I can have none to equal it The society of my best friends for all their love to me and tenderness of me is but as the company of Snakes and Serpents to the company of my God They have not pity enough for the thousandth part of my misery nor power enough to answer in any degree my necessities Their hearts are infinitely short of my Gods his love to me like his being is boundless but their hands come far short of their hearts though they are not unwilling they are unable to relieve me How often have I told them of my doleful case and distressed condition in vain when thereby I have rather added to their afflictions then lessened my own But my God is all-sufficient both for pity and power he hath bowels and mercy enough for my greatest sufferings and sorrows and strength and might enough for my support and succour My best friends are waspish and upon a small cause are ready to snap asunder their friendship when my Gods good will everlasting and thongh he scourge me he will is never remove his loving kindness from me What need I those puddle streams whilst I have this Well of living water O let me enjoy him more though I never enjoy frâ—end more Because I shall have opportunity to speak more to soul conferences and also to converse with God in secret duties in other parts of this Treatise I shall speak no more in this place A Good Wish about the exercising our selves to Godliness in Solitude wherein the former particulars are applied THe blessed and infinite wise God who made my soul for himself and knoweth it will never be satisfied without himself commanding me in all company to converse with his sacred Majesty and calling me sometimes to solitude that being freed from worldly distractions I might have more of his society I Wish that my nature may be so sutable to his holy being and my love so great to his gracious presence that though his providence should cast me alone into a Prison yet enjoying his favour there I may esteem it sweeter and pleasanter then the stateliest Palace It is both his precept and my priviledge that in the greatest company I should be alone to him and in my greatest solitude in company with him There is not the most solitary place I can come into nor the least moment of my life but I have still business with my God and such as is neither easie nor of mean concernment All my transactions with men about House or Land or Food or Cloaths or the most necesâ—ary things of this present life are nothing to my businesse with God about my unchangeable being in the other world If they were all laid in the ballance with this they would be found infinitely lighter then vanity and nothing My understanding is ready to be overwhelmed with the apprehension of an endless eternal state All my business with meat or drink or sleep or family or friends or mercies or afflictions nay or the means of grace or ordinances themselves is no more worth or desireable then they tend to the furthering my everlasting good All other things are but as passengers to which I may afford a short salute but it is my home where I must abide for ever that my heart must be always set upon and it is my God upon whom this blissful endless life depends that I have most cause to be ever with O my soul by this thou mayst gather with whom to deal and about what to trade when thou art alone tell me not henceforward in the words of the lazy worldling I am idle for I have nothing to do Hast thou pardon of sin the Image of thy God an interest in thy Redeemer freedom from sin the Law the wrath to come a title to life and salvation to get and secure without which thou shalt be a firebrand of hell for ever and hast thou any while any time to be idle Hast thou that high that holy that weighty work of worshipping and glorifying the great God of Heaven and Earth and of working out thy own salvation and yet hast thou nothing to do O that I might never hear such language in thy thoughts much less read it in thy life when thou hast so much business of absolute necessity to be done lying upon thy hands that if all the Angels in Heaven should offer thee their help unless the Son of God himself do assist thou canst not dispatch it in many millions of ages Lord I am thine absolutely thine universally thine all I am is thine all I have is thine O when shall I live as thine I have no business but with thee and for thee O that I could live wholly to thee I confess it is thine infinite graâ—e to suffer such a worm as I am to converse with thy glorious Majesty that Heaven should thus stoop to earth
but as Zacheus when gotten out of the crowd climb up into the Sycamore of meditation and obtain a sight of thy Saviour If he want no company who is with the King surely thou mayst deny all the company on earth for the King of Kings Look how lovingly he invites thee to take a turn or two with him alone in the fields Come my beloved let us go forth into the fields there I will give thee my loves Hast thou not many a time sighed out to him O kiss me with the kisses of thy lips for thy love is better then wine Lo he tells thee the place where he will answer thy petition There will I give thee my loves Thy bridegroom is bashful and desirous to satisfie thy longings in secret Isaac met his bride in the fields and thou mayst meet thy beloved when thou turnest aside from the world to entertain thy self in solitude O how pleasant should solitude be to thee for his sake What matters it whether thou art driven or who be the whips that drive thee when thou art driven farther from men to be nearer the Lord Iesus Christ A loving Husband is instead of all company to a faithful Spouse Is not Christ dearer to thee then all the world be not thou dejected though thou shouldst be turned as he was into a Wilderness but expect an Angel even the Angel of the Covenant to be sent from Heaven for thy comfort Lord it is my support that wherever I am thou art continually with me O that I were able to say I am continually with thee I would willingly with Jacob leave all my company to meet thee aloneâ— so I might but as he did weep in secret and make supplication so as to prevail with thee for thy blessing Though I should sind cause to say with David Lovers and friends stand aloof from me and with Job My friends scorn me yet if thou pleasest by parting me from them to draw me nearer to thy self and to afford me more of thy quickening cheering presence I shall account their absence a desireable advantage The best society without thee is as a barren desart and an howling wilderness the greatest solitariness with thee is as a fruitful Country and delectable Canaan How precious are thy thoughts my thoughts of thee to me O God Let me rather dwel alone in a Prison with thy company then in a Pallace without thee I Wish that I may be the more careful of my carriage in secret lest what I intend as an opportunity for my Gods service should prove a season and advantage for Satan The body must be lookt to narrowly when it comes out of an hot Bath lest the Poors being open it should take cold The soul must be carefully tended when it comes from Christian communion lest in solitude it lose what it hath gained in good company When the Countryman hath been at Market and filled his Purse he is in most danger of robbing as he goeth home alone The Tempter will be sure to be present with me whoever be absent He walks to and fro in the earth and whilst I am in his Circuit I must expect his company Though he be more bold then welcome and though I deny his desires defie his works and resist him and sometimes foil him yet he will still attend to sollicite me to folly wherever I go he will find me out and whatever I do I must expect him at my elbow he hath a double advantage of me in solitude partly in that I have no visible second to assist me he hopes when I am alone t is a good time to set upon me and that he is strong enough by force to ravish and defile me Partly in that shame which restrains from sin in publique hath no place no prevalency in private He will tell me that secresie may be a curtain to hide my sins from the worlds eye of which I am so much afraid As Josephs Mistress he will cry Come lie with me be bold to sin to take thy pleasure for here is no man present to know it or to reveal it to thy disgrace And for God he hath forgotten he hideth his face he will never see it How shall God know can he judge through the dark Cloud Thick Clouds are a covering to him that he doth not see and he walketh in the circuit os Heaven But O my soul thy double danger calleth upon thee to be the more vigilant and diligent in minding thy duty When thou hast no humane friend to watch over thee thou art the more concerned to watch over thy self They that live far from Neighbours are the more liable to Thieves and therefore if wise will make up that want by extraordinary watchfulness and a greater provision of armour and weapons If one Devil be too hard a match for many secure Christians how unable will one single Christian be to encounter with many with a Legion of Devils Shouldst thou be idle in solitude or suffer thy thoughts to wander expect more then good Company and such as will employ thee about works of darkness Besides Consider Though thy thoughts are mantled from the view of men yet thy God knoweth thy thoughts a far off long before thou thinkest them and will judge the secrets of mens hearts according to his Gospel He that numbereth the stars of Heaven numbereth all the thoughts of thy heart I know the things that come into your mind O house of Israel every one of them Ezek. 11. 5. And he that punisheth men for wicked deeds doth not let them escape for their evil thoughts Hear O earth behold I will bring upon this people the fruit of their thoughts Ier. 6. 19. Nay thy God will scourge men both for and by their thoughts accusing thoughts are stinging vipers That worm of conscience which will ever ever gnaw the sinners heart to his unconceiveable misery is bred in his thoughts O therefore wash thy heart from wickedness let not vain thoughts lodge within thee Remember also O my soul if thy most retired thoughts are legible to thy God then thy secret actions are all open and visible to his eye Never presume upon sin in hope of secrecy for though thou mayst cover the candle of creatures with a bushel yet thou canst not the glorious sun of righteousness nothing is hid from his sight There is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity can hide themselves Lord thou hast told me There is nothing hid which shall not be revealed nor secret which shall not be made known I confess my wicked heart is apt to argue impunity from secrecy and to think I am invisible to thee because thou art invisible to the eye of my sense O affect my heart so throughly with thine Omniscience and Omnipresence that â— may keep thy precepts because all my ways whether inward or outward are before thee I Wish that I may have this comfortable evidence of my sincerity by the
for vengeance what will the blood of a murdered soul do Why should I to humour any mans lust injure his soul hinder my own peace and incur the anger of the Lord. O that no foolish pretences whatsoever may keep me off from acquainting sinners with thâ—â—â—â—il and end the nature and danger of their sins It s Gods order first to cast the soul down and then to lift it up The ground must feel the Plow before it receive the Seed Sorrow must precede comfort and they must sow in tears who would reap in joy God must shake all Nations before the desired of all Nations will come to him We come to Sinai the Mount that burneth with fire and to blackness and darkness and a tempest which makes even a Moses to fear and quake exceedingly before we come to Mount Sion the City of the living God the Heavenly Ierusalem and to Jesus the Mediatour of the new Covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things then the blood of Abel The Law is a School-Master to drive us to Christ. Austere Iohn with his Ax laid to the root of the Tree threatning the fire to those that bring not forth fruit prepareth the way for the sweet alluring Iesus Mourning and Grief is the Midwife of true mirth Penitential tears are the streams that lead to the Rivers of Pleasures Even the doleful sound of the Trumpet attendeth the Iudge when he is going to acquit a Prisoner by publique Proclamation Violence must be offered to corruption or there will be no acceptance of the Lord Christ. The building of holiness is the more strong for having its foundation of humiliation laid deep The safety of the soul doth depend like Jonahs upon his being cast over-boord and utterly lost in his own apprehension The blessed Iesus himself is brought into a desolate Wilderness before Angels are sent from Heaven to comfort him O that I might follow my God in his usual way and never prophesie smooth things to rugged and â—â—â—â—ed men but endeavour to break their hearts on â—â—th who have persisted in the breach of his holy Laws that their backs may not be broken in Hell Yet I would not instead of beating down the rotten Paper walls of presumption drive any into the Dungeon of desperation but as the good Nurse have the breast of consolation as well as the rod of correction in readiness for such Children Moses and Christ met together upon Mount Tabor The Gospel must be Preached to heal those wounds which are opened and discovered by the Law The Lord sendeth me to proclaim liberty to the Captives and the opening of the Prison to them that are bound Lord thou killest and makest alive bringest down to the grave and bringest up It s easie and ordinary with thee to break those bones which thou intendest to rejoyce and to perplex those Rams in Briars and Thorns which thou intendest to accept of as a sacrifice Teach thy Servant to know how to speak a word in season both to the wicked and to the godly how to divide thy word aright both in its minatory and consolatory parts that as occasion shall â—e I may awaken the wicked out of their deadly slumbers and quicken the godly to their spiritual watchfulness and help to sweeten that bitter cup which thou hast put into their hands O that thy blessing might water my labours for both their welfares Alas poor sick unregenerate ones are dropping into boundless and endless sorrows and yet are without sense Though they are dying they know not what they are doing nor whither they are going Their eyes are shut by the god of this World that they see not that unspeakable misery to which they are liable every moment their hearts are hardened through custom in sin that neithâ—â—â—â—reatnings nor promises prevail with them to feel their wounds and sores O thou great Physitian thou Lord of life thou God of health open their eyes send some Ananias to them that they may receive their sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost enable them so to mourn now that they may be comforted when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord and help thy servant to deal so faithfully with those whom thou callest me to visit that I may never give thy Majesty cause to say of me as once of the Prophets of Israel They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly saying Peace Peace when there is no peace I Wish that I may be close and home in my Applications to sick persons and speak what is proper to their estates with ardency and affection to their very hearts It s ill dallying with edged tools O how sad is it to toy and trifle to be formal or customary in counsel or reproof or comfort to immortal souls that are launching into the Ocean of eternity Death is a serious thing and that which they never did before nor shall ever do again Sin is a serious thing as the damned find in Hell by woful experience Though there they are in blackness of darkness yet they have light enough to see sin to be the evil of evils and altogether sinful Christ was serious when he took upon him my nature and therein did offer up himselfâ— a sacrifice for sin God is serious in commanding faith and repentance and in promising Heaven to the faithful and holy and Hell to unbeleivers and atheists And shall not I be serious and in earnest when I am dealing about matters of eternal life and death and about the concernments of God and Christ and souls and eternity O with what earnestness should I perswade the wicked to turn from their wickedness and live If ever their souls would draw near to the Lord of life it concerns them to do it when their bodies are drawing nigh to the Chambers of death It is but a very few hours and their condition will be past all amendment all alteration In this poor pittance of time all must be done upon which the Scales must turn for their salvation or damnation They are going to make that change which will admit them into endless joy or torment and render their estates unchangeable Their time is hastening that they must struggle with dreadful pains and strong distempers and death the King of terrors and must review that life which is ending and look back upon all that they have done and judge their persons and actions impartially whether they will or no that they must take their leave of all their friends and food and sleep and lands and houses and honours and pleasures and riches and step into eternity and appear before God without their Relations or Possessions or any worldly comforts to help or encourage them that they must be tried by an holy Law and an holy Judge for their everlasting lives or deaths and can my expressions be too full of weight and reason or my affections too full of bowels and pity
love of creatures is a canker which in time will eat up the very life of godliness Reader If thou art risen with Christ seek those things that are above where Christ is It is recorded by divers Historians both of the East and West Indians and some Blackamoors in Guinea between both that many subjects willingly dye with their Princes and Women with their Husbands that some Men give their Wives others their Children others their Servants to be buried alive in the Grave with their Kings to serve him as they conceit in the other world that some Women cast themâ—elves into the fire in which the dead bodies of their Husbands are consumed If those can cast away and contemn the world and all things in it for the love of a poor wretched creature what a shame is it to Christians if the love of Jesus Christ their Head their Prince their Husband do not mortifie them to the world and make them dispise all in it to injoy him whilst they live and to be with him where he is when they dye 4. Allow thy self in â—o known sin This like a thief used to the shop which will steal away all thy gains and keep thee assuredly from thriving in thy heavenly calling There is no possibility of making Religion thy business without the gracious concurrence of the holy Spirit he it is that must lay the foundation rear up the building and perfect what he beginneth but thou canst not expect his company or assistance if thou harbourest any corruption in thy heart though this Dove may flye to thee desirous to make its abode with thee as the Dove went of out the Ark yet if it behold the earth under water thy heart in any way of wickedness it will return again whence it came Doves will lye clean or be gone Bees will not continue in a stinking or impure Hive therefore those that would not loose them prepare the stools where they set them with perfumes and sweet-smelling boughs lest ill savours force them to forsake their stations Thus saith Chrysostom deals the holy spirit Our souls are the hives which if perfumed with grace invite his presence but if polluted with any known sin provoke him to depart O let there not be any way of wickedness in thee if thou wouldst run the way of Gods commandments CHAP. XIV Motives inciting Christians to exercise themselves to Godliness The Vanity of other exercises The brevity of mans life The Patterns of others THirdly I shall annex some Motives to quicken thee to exercise thy self to godliness and then conclude the Treatise First Consider The vanity of all other exercises and labours The wise man begins his Ecclesiastes with Vanity of Vanities all is Vanity and after a large and exact demonstration thereof makes this use and ends his book with Hear the conclusion of the whole matter fear God and keep his commandements for this is the whole duty of man It may be Reader thou takest much pains and spendest much time thou risest early and sittest up late and wastest thy body and wearest out thy strength and toylest and moylest about the things of this life but alass to what purpose to what profit The foot of all thy accompts when at the end of thy life the total comes to be summed up will be onely Ciphers and signifie nothing Thou workest all this while at the labour in vain like the Disciples thou fishest all night and catchest nothing thou spendest thy strength for what is not bread and thy labour for what will not satisfie If the word of truth and the God for whom it is impossible to lye may be beleived all the things of this life separated from godliness are lying vanities broken cisternes ashes lyes wind vanity of vanities and things of naught Joh. 2. 8. Ier. 2. 13. 1. Sam. 12. 21. Hos. 10. 13. and 12. 1. Eccles. 1. 2. Hab. 2. 13. It is Chrysostoms saying that if he had been to Preach to all the world and could so have spoken that all should have heard him he would have chosen that Text O mortal men how long will ye love vanity and follow after leasing Democritus gave that for the reason of his continual laughter which occasioned his Country-men to look on him as distracted That when he beheld the labour and diligence the running and riding the sweating and painting nay the fighting and killing of men to get one above another and to heap up a fading treasure he could not but deride their folly Indeed though the Heathen laughed at the ridiculousness of such persons the sensible Christian seeth great cause to weep at the emptiness and unprofitablenss of such actions and the madness of the Agents Cyprian advised his friend Donatus to suppose himself at the top of the highest mountain and thence to behold the tumults and chances of this wavering world and told him that then he could not but either laugh at it or pity it It s no such wonder that brutish horses should leave good provender to feed on litter as some Jades do but that men who are indued with reasonable souls that seeming Christians who have a Table spread before them with hidden Manna with Angels food with meat indeed and drink indeed withal tâ—e dainties of Heaven should neglect these and feed on ashes may well be matter both of admiration and lamentation The holy Ghost tells such that they follow after vain things which cannot profit them 1 Sam. 12. 21. All outward things are like an olive or date stone hard to crack or cleave but when with much labour they are opened they are nothing worth The Wise Moralist speaking of such laborious loyterers as work hard for nothing compares them to such as spend many months to learn to write with their feet and when they have learned it are never the Better for it Caesar compares them to such as fish for gudgeons with a golden hook hazard more then the fish when taken are worth Life is precious health and strength and time are precious because all these have a relation to an eternal estate now how foolish is he that wasteth them upon toys and trifles and neglecteth provision for the other world Surely every man walketh in a vain shew surely they are disquieted in vain Psal. 39. 6. Observe Rearder how dearly men pay for their guilded nothings for their earthen potsherds coverd with silver dross they walk up and down run hither and thither disquiet themselves with cares and fears and heart piercing frights and vexations for a vain shew The people labour in the fire and weary themselves for very vanity Habbak 2. 13. Their work is hot and hard they labour in the fire even to lassitude and weariness But is it about the noble concerments of their immortal souls Is it that their sins may be pardoned the vitiosity of their natures healed and that their souls may be fitted for the heavenly mansions No it is for very vanity For that which will