the most highly prized and esteemed of God doe set so low a price upon themselves And then the Use Iob 1. 8. Job was a none-such in regard of those perfections and degrees of grace that he had attained to beyond aâ—ny other Saints on earth Job was high in worth and humble in heart Job 42. 5 6. Humilitas animi sublimitas Christiani 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A me me salva Domine Aug. Deliver me O Lord from that evill man my selfe 2 Cor. 12. 1. 7 vid. Bezim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wordless words such as words are too weak to utter Isa 6. 1. 5 6. compared The clearest sight vision of God does alwayes give a man the fullest sight of his own emptinesse sinfulnesse and nothingnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a I am out off Luke 5. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a man a sinner a very mixture compound of dirt and sin For the first That this is so I shall give you most clear proofs and open them to you See it in Job no man ever received a fairer or a more valuable Certificate under the hand of God or the broad Seale of Heaven for his being a soule famous in grace and holinesse then Job as you may see Job 1. 8. And the Lord said unto Satan hast thou considered my Servant Job that there is none like him in the Earth a perfect and an upright man one that feareth God and escheweth evill And yet no man could speak more undervaluingly of himselfe then Job did Job 42. 5 6. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the eare but now mine eye seeth thee I abhor my selfe in dust and ashes This expression is the deepest act of abhorrency Abhorrency strictly taken is hatred wound up to the height I abhor my selfe the word that 's rendred Abhor signifies to reject to disdaine to contemne and to cast off Ah sayes Job I abhor my selfe I reject my selfe I disdaine my selfe I cast off my selfe I have a vile esteem of my selfe So our blessed Apostle who had been caught up into the third Heavens and had such glorious Revelations as could not be uttered yet he accounted himselfe lesse then the least of all Saints Not that any thing can be lesse then the least the Apostles holy Rhetorick doth not crosse Aristotle's Philosophy but the Originall word being a double diminitive his meaning is that he was as little as could be therefore he put himselfe downe so little as could not be lesse then the least Another proof you have Isa 6. 1 5 6. As Paul among the Apostles was the greatest so Esay among the Prophets was the clearest and choycest Gospel-Preacher and holds out more of Christ and of his Kingdome and glory then all the other Prophets doe Isa 6. 1. he sees the glory of the Lord in a Vision and this makes him cry out vers 5. Wee is me for I am undone because I am a man of uncleane lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of uncleane lips for mine eyes have seene the King the Lord of Hosts I am undone the Hebrew is I am cut off I am a forlorne man why For I have seen the King the Lord of Hosts Here you have the highest and choycest among the Prophets as you had Paul before among the Apostles abasing and laying low himselfe So Peter Luke 5. 8. Depart from me for I am a sinfull man O Lord. When he saw that glorious Miracle wrought by the Lord Jesus he cryes out as one very sensible of his owne weaknesse and sinfullnesse Depart from me for I am a sinfull man Ah I am not worthy to be neer such Majesty and glory who am a meer bundle of vice and vanity of folly and iniquity Take another cleer instance Gen. 18. And Abraham answered Gen. 18. 27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gnaphar vae pher dust and ashes i. e. base vile worthles Solemnly think that thou art dust and ashes and be pâ—oud if thou canst Isa 6. 1 2. Gen. 32. 10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am lesse then all meretes to wit in worth or weight c. and said Behold I have taken upon me to speake unto the Lord who am but dust and ashes Here you have the Father of the Faithfull the greatest Believer in the world accounting himselfe dust and ashes Dust notes the basenesse of his Originall and Ashes notes his deserving to be burnt to ashes if God should deale with him in justice rather then in mercy The nearer any soule drawes to God the more humble will that soule lye before God None so neere God as the Angels nor none so humble before God as the Angels So Jacob Gen. 32. 10. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant c. Jacob a man eminent in his prevailing with God a Prince that had the honour and the happinesse to overcome the God of mercy yet judges himselfe unworthy of the least mercy Ah how low is that soule in his owne eyes that is most honourable in Gods eyes David you know was a man after Gods owne heart a man highly honoured much beloved and dearly prized by the 1 Kings 15. 5. Lord yet 1 Sam. 26. 20. He counts himselfe a Flea and what 1 Sam. 26. 20. Psal 22. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tolagnath An humble soule is a little little nothing in his owne eyes is more contemptible then a Flea In Psal 22. 6. I am a worme saith he and no man The word that 's there rendred Worme is a word that signifies a very little Worm which breedeth in Scarlet a Worme that 's so little that a man can hardly see or perceive it A Worme is the most despicable Creature in the world trampled under foot by every one Sayes he I am a despicable worme in my owne eyes and in my enemies eyes And thus you see the point proved that the most holy men have been alwayes the most humble men The second thing that I am to doe is To shew you the Properties of humble soules I confesse when I look abroad in the world and observe the carriage of all sorts of men my heart is stirr'd to speak as fully and as home to this point as Christ shall help me 'T is very very sad to consider how few humble soules there be in these dayes Ah the damnable pride that reignes and rules in the hearts lives of most men God loves to heare this as a parcell of his praise Paâ—cere subjectis debellare superbos to spare the lowly and strike downe the proud Isa 23. 9. I think 't is far greater then hath been knowne in the Generations before us Ah England England what folly what damnable wickednesse is this that thou shouldest be a lifting thy selfe up in pride when God is a staining the pride of all glory and bringing into contempt the honourable of the Earth and a
fore-runner of a fall Pride goes before destruction and a haughty mind before a fall Herod fell from a Throne of Gold to a Bed of dust Prov. 16. 18. Chap. 18. 12. Nebuchadnezzar fell from the state of a mighty King to be a Beast Adam fell from Innocency to Mortality The Angels fell from Heaven to Hell from felicity to misery The tenth and last Proposition is this God will by an invisible power carry the day against proud soules You that it escape and ruffle it out and carry it with a high hand remember this God will by an invisible power carry the day against you when you think not of it he will Pope Innocent the fourth as he was walking securely in his Pallace heard that sorrowfull and dreadfull Summons Veni miser in judicium come thou wretch receive thy judgement and soon after he was found dead Eccl. 8. 11. eat you out like a Moth. Isa 47. 10 11. For thou hast trusted in thy wickednesse thou hast said None seeth me Thy wisedome and thy knowledge it hath perverted thee And thou hast said in thine heart I am and none else besides me Therefore shall evill come upon thee thou shalt not know from whence it riseth and mischiefe shall fall upon thee thou shalt not be able to put it off And desolation shall come upon thee suddainly which thou shalt not know Impunity oftentimes causeth impudency but Quod defertyr non aufertur Forbearance is no Acquittance The longer the hand is lifted up the heas vier will be the blow at last Of all Mettals Lead is the coldest but being melted it becomes the hottest Humble souleknow how to apply this and Proud soules shall sooner or later experience this I shall now proceed to a second Observation namely That all Saints are not of an equall cize and growth in Grace and Holinesse Some are higher and some are lower some are stronger and some are weaker in spirituall Graces and Heavenly Excellencies Vnto me who am lesse then the least c. Among true Believers some may be found to be but weak Believers This Point flowes as naturall from the words as the stream do's from the fountaine and no Point more clear in all the Scripture then this In Rom. 14. 1. you read of some that are weake in the faith Them that are weake in the faith receive saith the Apostle None are to be rejected in whom Aliquid Christi any thing of Christ is to be found And so Mat. 14. 31. there is mention made of little faith 1 Cor. 9. 22. To the weak became I as weake that I might gaine the weake You read of Babes in Grace 1 Pet. 2. 2 3. As new borne babes desire the sincere milke of the word that you may grow thereby if so be that yee have tasted that the Lord is gratious 1 John 2. 12 13 14. there is mention made of little children of young men and of Fathers All are not Fathers in grace nor all are not young men in grace there are some Children in grace It is with Christians as t is with Planets The Moon goes her course in a month the Sun in a year the rest not in many years yet at length they finish A Christian in this life hath his degrees of growth he is first a Child in Grace and then a young Man in Grace and then a Father in Grace For the further opening of this Point I shall endeavour these foure things 1 I shall endeavour to decipher to you soules weak in Grace 2 I shall endeavour to lay downe those things that may Incourage Support and Comfort soules that are weak in Grace 3 I shall speake to the Duties that lye upon those that are weak in Grace 4 The Duties that lye upon those that are strong in grace towards those that are weak in grace Of these foure we shall speak as the Lord shall assist I shall begin with the first To decipher soules weak in Grace The first thing by which I shall decipher soules weak in Grace is this Weak Christians are usually carried much out after the poore low things of this world They are much in carking and caring for them and in pursuing and hunting greedily after them That 's a clear Text for this Mat. 6. 24. to the end Christ labours by severall weighty Arguments to fence and fortifie his Disciples against those dissident doubtfull carking cares that divide distract distemper torture and teare the heart in a thousand pieces And yet neither these Arguments nor yet the presence of him who was the great Land-lord of Heaven and Earth and whose love and bowels were still yearning towards them and whose speciall eye of providence was still over them could rid their heads and hearts of these worldly cares that doe but vex and perplex the soules of men And 't is very observable that after this smart Lecture that Christ had read them they did strive three severall times who should be greatest and highest in worldly Enjoyments Their hearts should have been onely in Heaven and yet they strive for Earth as if there were no Heaven or as if Earth were better then Heaven All which do's cleerly evidence that their Graces were very weak and their corruptions very strong Men that have little of the upper springs within are carried out much after the springs below Baruch was good but weak in Grace he had but some sips and tasts of the glory of that other world and Jerem. 45. 1 2 3 4 5. that made him when God was a pulling downe all worldly glory to seek for Earth as if there were no Heaven Certainly there is but little of Christ and Grace within where the heart is so strongly carried on t after these things without Where there is such strong love and workings of heart after these poor things it speaks out soules enjoyment of God to be but poor and low In the Old Testament the Jewes being Babes and Infants in grace and holinesse had a world of Temporall Promises and very few Spirituall Promises But now in the dayes of the Gospel the Lord is pleased to double and trebble his spirit upon his people and now you meet with very few temporall Promises in the Gospel but the Gospel is fill'd with spirituall Promises the Gospel drops nothing but marrow and fatnesse love and sweetnesse and therefore God looks in these dayes that men should grow up to a greater height of holinesse heavenlinesse and spiritualnesse then what they attained to in those dark dayes wherein the Sun shin'd but dimly Men rich and strong in Grace look upon the world with a holy scorne and disdaine as Themistocles when he saw in the dark a thing like a Pearle he scorn'd to stoop for it himselfe saying to another Stoop thee for thou art not Themistocles Abraham a man strong in Grace look't with a holy scorne and with an eye of disdaine upon these poor things When Melchisedech from God had made
a treasure of rare abilities in them would as soon part with their hearts as their conceptions I think they are rather Monsters then reall Christians that are of such a spirit The third and last thing to which you are to improve your gifts and graces is To the benefit and profit of your own soules The good of the soule is specially to be minded 1 Because 't is the most Noble part of man 2 Because the Image of God is most fairly stampt upon it 3 Because it is first converted 4 Because it shall be first glorified Not to improve them to your owne internall and eternall good is with a high hand to crosse the maine end of Gods conferring them upon you Ah Christians you must improve them to the strengthening of you against temptations to the supporting of you under afflictions to the keeping under of strong corruptions to the sweetning of all mutations and to the preparing and fitting of you for the dayes of your dissolution I shall content my selfe with giving you this hint because I have before spoken more fully to this head And thus we have done with the Doctrinall part We shall come now to make some Use and Application of this Point to our selves If this be so That 't is the Duty of Christians to improve and exercise the gifts and graces that the Lord hath given them Then in the first place this looks very sowrely and wishly upon all lazie idle negligent Christians that doe not stir up themselves to lay hold on God that doe not stir up the grace of the Lord in them 'T is sad to consider how many Christians Cupid complained He could never â—asten upon the Muses because he could never find them idle No Christians so fâ—ee from Satans assaults as active Christians are nor none so tempâ—ed as idle Christians can stir up themselves to lay hold on all opportunities to make themselves great and rich in the world and yet suffer their golden gifts and graces even to grow rustie for want of exercise 'T is sad to see how busie many men are to exercise and improve a Talent of riches who yet bind up their Talents of gifts and grace in a Napkin By these God looses much honour and praise and themselves loose much comfort and content and others loose much profit and benefit and the Gospel looses much credit and glory But the maine Use that I shall make of this Point shall be To exhort and stir you all up to make a blessed improvement of your graces And indeed it is a Point of most singular use to us all our The Jewish Rabbins report That he same night that Israel de parted out of Aegypt towards Canaan all the Idols Idolatrou Temples in Aegypt by lightning and earth quakes were broken downe So when grace holinesse is set up in the heart all the Idols of Satan which are meâ—slust are throwne downe dayes a truth that is every day of very great concernment to our soules Now there are seven Considerations that I shall propound by way of Motive to stir up your soules to make a blessed improvement of the grace and gifts you have received And the first is this Seriously consider that the exercise and improvement of grace in your soules will be more and more the death and ruine of sin in your soules Take it from experience There is not a choycer way then this for a man to bring under the power of his sin then to keep up the exercise of his grace Sin and Grace are like two Buckets at a Well when one is up the other is downe They are like the two Lawrels at Rome when one flourishes the other withers Certainly the readiest and the surest way to bring under the power of sin is to be much in the exercise of grace Rom. 8. 10. And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righteousnesse The life and activity of Christ and grace in the soule is the death and destruction of sin in the soule The more grace acts in the soule the more sin withers and dyes in the soule the stronger the house of David grew 2 Sam. 3. the weaker the house of Saul grew As the house of David grew every day stronger and stronger so the house of Saul every day grew weaker and weaker So the activity of the new Mat. 21. 12 13 14. man is the death of the old man When Christ began to bestir himselfe in the Temple the money-changers quickly fled out So when grace is active and stirring in the soule corruption quickly flyes A man may find out many wayes to hide his sin but he will never find out any way to subdue his sin but by the exercise of grace Of all Christians none so mortified as those in whom grace is most exercised Sin is a Viper that must be kill'd or 't will kill you for ever and there is no way to kill it but by the exercise of grace Secondly Consider this by way of motive to provoke you Mat. 5. 16. The exercise of virtue will draw I ve from a mans very enemies Tilligny for his â—are virtues was reserved from death by his greatest enemies at the Mâ—ssacre of Paris as you may see in the French History in the life of Charls the Ninth to exercise and improve your Graces The exercise and improvement of your Graces will provoke others to blesse and admire the God of Grace Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your Father which is in heaven The light of your Conversation and the light of your graces Oh! how many thousand soules be there now triumphing in heaven whose gifts and graces shin'd gloriously when they were on earth and ah how many thousands are there now on earth that blesse and admire the Lord for the shine of their graces who are now in heaven That blesse the Lord for the Faith of Abraham and the Zeale of David and the Meeknesse of Moses and the Patience of Job and the Courage of Joshua c. Ah Christians as you would stirre up others to exalt the God of grace look to the exercise and improvement of your graces When poor servants shall live in a family and see the faith of a Master and the love of a Master and the wisedome of a Master and the patience of a Master and the humility of a Master c. shining like so many stars of heaven oh how doth it draw forth their hearts to blesse the Lord that ever they came into such a family 'T is not a profession of Religion but the exercise and improvement of grace that contributes so much to the lifting up of the glory of the Lord and to the greatning of his praise in the world Many Saints have had their hearts warmed and heated by siting by other Saints fire by eying and dwelling upon other Saints
my spirit that I would not leave a man alive but blessed be God and blessed be thy Counsel An humble soule can sit downe and blesse God under reproofs An humble soule is like the Scythian King that went naked in the snow and when Alexander wondered how he could endure it he answered I am not ashamed for I am all forehead Manasses King of Judâ—h being reproved by the Aged Princely Prophet Isaiah caused him neare to the Fountaine of Silce to be sawen in sunder with a wooden Saw in the eightieth yeare os his age For which cruell fact amongst other of his sinnes he was sorely punished by God 2 Chron. 33. 11 So Cambyses King of Persia hated Prexaspes one of his Nobles that was familiar with him for reproving his drunkennesse An humble soule is all forehead able to bear reproves with much wisedome and patience Oh! but a proud heart cannot bear reproofs he scornes the Reprover and his Reproofs too Prov. 15. 12. A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him neither will he goe unto the wise Amos 5. 10. They hate him that reproveth in the gate as Ahab did good Micaiah and Herod did John Baptist and the Pharisees our Saviour Luke 16. 13. Christ being to deale with the covetous Scribes and Pharisees he layes the Law home and tels them plainly that they could not serve God and Mammon Here Christ strikes at their right eye but how doe they bear this mark in the 14 verse The Pharisees also who were covetous heard all these things and they derided him The Pharisees did not simply laugh at Christ but gave also externall signes of scorne in their countenance and gestures * Exemukterizon they blowed their nose at him manifesting thereby their scorning at what he said Exod. 2. 13 14 They blew their nose at him for that 's the meaning of the Originall word By their gestures they did demonstrate their horrid deriding of him they fleared and jeared when they should have feared and trembled at the wrath to come In Isa 28. 10. For precept must be upon precept precept upon precept line upon line line upon line here a little and there a little One observes that that was a scoff put upon the Prophet and is as if they should say Here is nothing but precept upon precept line upon line And indeed the very sound of the words in the Original carries a taunt Zau le zau kau lakau as scornfull people by the tone of their voyce and riming words scorne at such as they despise Pride and passion and other vices in these dayes goe armed touch them never so gently yet like the nettle they will sting you and if you deale with them roundly roughly cuttingly as the Apostle speaks they will swagger with you as the Hebrew did with Moses Who made thee a Judge over us And thus much for the Properties of an humble soule I come now to the next thing and that is to shew you the Reasons why the best men are the most humble men First Because they see themselves the greatest debtors to God 1 Reason for what they doe enjoy There 's no man on Earth that sees himselfe such a debtor to God as the humble man Every smile makes him a debtor to God and every good word from Heaven makes him a When a Knight died at Rome that was much in debt Augustus the Emperour sent to buy his bed conceiâ—ing that there must needs be some extraordinary vertue in it it he that was so much in debt could take any rest upon it An humble soul sees hiâ—self so much in debt for mercies in hand and mercies in hope that he can't sleep without blessing and admiring of God I have read of a Stork that cast a pearle into the bosome of a Maid which had healed her of a wound So humble souls cast the pearl of praise into the bosome of God for all his favours towards â—hem Guc Hist l. 4. 2 Reason debtor to God he looks upon all his temporals as health wealth Wife Child Friend c. and sees himselfe deeply indebted for all He looks upon his spirituall mercies and sees himselfe a great debtor to God for them he looks upon his Graces and sees himselfe a debtor for them he looks upon his Experiences and sees himselfe a debtor for them he looks upon all his priviledges and sees himselfe a debtor for them he looks upon hiâ— incomes and sees himselfe a debtor for them The more mercy he hath received the more he looks upon himselfe indebted and obliged to pay duty and tribute to God as you may see in Psal 116. 6 7 8 12 13 14 verses compared In the 6 7 8 verses he tels you of the mercies he had received from God and in the 12 13 verses sayes he What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me I see my selfe saith he wonderfully indebted well what then why I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord I will pay my vowes unto the Lord in the presence of all his people c. The same you have in the 16 17 18 verses of the same Psalme So David Psal 103. 1 2 3 4. casts his eyes upon his temporall and his spirituall mercies and then cals upon his soule O my soule blesse the Lord and all that is within me blesse his holy name Blesse the Lord O my soule and forget not all his benefits Who forgiveth all thine iniquities who healeth all thy diseases c. An humble soule knowes that 't is a strange folly to be proud of being more in debt then another 'T is true saith he I have this and that mercy in possession and such and such mercies in reversion but by all I am the more a debtor to God Caesar admired at that mad Souldier who was very much in debt and yet slept so quietly So do's an humble soule wonder and admire to see men that are so much indebted to God for mercies as many are and yet sleep so quietly and be so mindlesse and carelesse in blessing and praising of God There is nothing saith one that endures so small a time as the memory of mercies received and the more great they are the more commonly they are recompenced with ingratitude Secondly it is Because in this life they have but a tast of God In the 1 Pet. 2. 2 3. As new borne Babes desire the sincere milke of the word that ye may grow thereby If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gratious The best of men on this side Heaven have but a tast he is but in a tasting desiring hungring thirsting and growing condition Job 26. ult These are part of his wayes but how little a portion is heard of him So in 1 Cor. 13. 9 10 12. We knew but in part and we prophecy but in part now we see through a glasse darkly but then face to face The
prophane men of this world for ten thousand worlds c. Well is this all O soule No Sir I have but one thing more and then I have done Well what 's that Why that is this I find my soule carried forth to a secret resting relying leaning staying and hanging upon Christ for life and happinesse Though I know not how it shall goe with me yet I Job 13. 15. 2 Kings 7. 3 4 5. Esth 4. 16. have throwne my selfe into his armes I leane upon him there I 'le hang and there I 'le rest and stay If I must perish I 'le perish there And thus Sir I have opened my state and condition to you And now I doe earnestly desire your judgement upon the whole Well then this I shall say as I must answer it in the day of my appearing before God That had I as many soules as I have haires on my head or as there be Starres in heaven I could freely adventure the losse of them all if these things doe not undeniably speake out not onely the truth but also the strength of Grace c. Nay let me tell you That he that finds but any of these things really in his soule though the Lord hath not given him a clear and full manifestation of his love and favour c. yet while breath is in his body he ha's eminent cause to blesse God and to walke thankefully and humbly before him The second use of the Point is this Live up to that little Grace you have Thou sayest O weak Christian thou hast but a little light a little love a little zeale a little faith c. Well grant it but know that 't is thy duty to live up to those measures of To speake well saith Isiodorus Peluâ—iota is to sound like a â—ymbal but to doe well is to act like an Angel c grace thou hast And this is the second head that I shall presse upon you live up and live out that grace you have And if ever there were a season to presse this Point home upon soules this is the season in which we live And considering that 't is not a flood of words but weight of Argument that carries it with ingenuous spirits I shall therefore propound these following things to their serious consideration First Consider this Living up to your Graces carries If Seneca said of his wise man Majore paâ—te illic est unde descendit He is more in heaven then in earth May not I say this is much more true of the godly c. with it the greatest evidence of the truth of Grace That man that lives not up to his grace let him be strong or weak wants one of the best and strongest demonstrations that can be to evidence the truth of his grace If you would have a clear evidence that that little love that little faith that little zeale you have is true then live up to that love live up to that faith live up to that zeale that you have and this will evidence it beyond all contradiction c. Secondly Consider this God and your owne soules will be very great loosers if you live not up to those measures of Grace you have God will loose many prayers and many praises he will loose much honour and glory and service which otherwise Of all losses spirituall losses are the saddest and greatest and fercht up with the greatest difficulty he might have and you will loose much peace much comfort much rest quietnesse and content that otherwise your soules might enjoy c. Thirdly Consider this Your not living up to that little light and grace you have will open the mouths of gracelesse souls against your gracious God and against his gracious ones and against his gracious wayes You think because of the weaknesse of your grace you must be borne with in this and that and what not But remember it is your duty to live up to the light and grace you have and nothing below this will effectually stop the mouths 1 Pet. 2. 15. Ye may put to silence the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to muzzle to halter up or button up their mouths as we say O there is nothing that will so muzzle bâ—tton up the mouthes of vaine men as Christians siving up to that light grace they have of gracelesse wretches from barking against the wayes of God the truths of God and the people of God Vaine men will be often a reasoning thus Though such and such men and women have not such great knowledge such clear light such strong love and such burning zeale as David Paul and other Worthies yet they have so much light and knowledge as tells them that they should not carry themselves thus and thus as they doe Their light and knowledge tells them that they should be just and righteous in their dealings and in all their wayes and designes c. Though they have not such great measures of spirituall injoyments as such and such yet that little grace they have should lead them b y the hand to doe things worthy of that Christ and that Gospel they professe c. Let me a little expostulate the point with you weak Saints you know that you should not be stirr'd and heated by every straw that is in your way why don't you in this then live up to your light You know that you should not be overcome of evill but overcome evill with good And why don't you in this live up to your light You know that you should Doe good Rom. 12. 21. Mat. 5. 44. uâ—t to those that doe hurt to you why doe not you in this live up to your light You know that you should doe your duties to others though they neglect their duties to you 'T is not the neglect of a husbands duty that frees the wife from the discharge of hers Nor the neglect of a wives duty that frees the husband from the discharge of his You know this don't you yes why don't you then live up to your light Why doe you by your contrary actings open the mouths of others against God and his wayes You know that you should be exemplary in your relations in your Generation and in your conversations You know that you should be examples of holinesse meeknesse sweetnesse patience and contentednesse and why then don 't you live up to your knowledge in these things You know that you should doe to others as you would have others to doe to you And why in this don 't you live up to your knowledge Ah that you that are weak did not cause the mouths of wicked men to be opened against God his truths and wayes Therefore by your living below that light and knowledge that God ha's given you I beseech you as you tender the honour of God and as you would stop the mouths of vaine men live up to those measures of grace that the Lord ha's given you No way to comfort-like
the curse he leads to God he leads to Christ he leads to the Promises he leads to glory c. There is no gain-sayingt Demoâ—â—heneâ— words said one So â—herâ— is no gaâ—â—laâ—ing of the pleadings of the Spirit Againe this spirit is A comforting spirit John 14. 16. and A pleading spirit Rom. 8. 26. Every Christian ha's three Advocates pleading for him The first is that Divine Love that is in the bosome of the father The second is the Lord Jesus that is at the right hand of the father And the third is the holy Spirit that is one with the father Fourthly He gives his Blood the blood of Christ is a gift of Christ to his beloved ones Mat. 20. 28. The Son of man came not to be ministred unto but to minister and to give his life a ransome for many So in John 10. 11. I am the good Sheppard the good Sheppard giveth his life for his sheep His blood was the purest blood his humane nature being most pure his blood was the noblest blood and therefore called Acts 20. 28. in Scripture The Blood of God by reason of the conjunction of the Divine Nature with the humane It was his life-blood his heart-blood that he gave it was not the blood of his finger but the blood of his heart it was precious blood Rom. 3. 25. Rom. 5. 9. Ephes 1. 7. Col. 1. 20. Heb. 9. 7-26 Chap. 10. 19. 1 John 1. 7. Rev. 1. 5. c. Three things are called precious in the Scripture 1 Faith is called Precious Faith 2 Pet. 1. 1. 2 The Promises are called Precious Promises ver 4. 3 The Blood of Christ is called Precious Blood 1 Pet. 1. 19. All your precious mercies swim to you in precious blood as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the Margent together It was an excellent saying of Luther speaking of this blood Vna guttula plus valet quam coelum terra-Luth of Christ One little drop of this blood saith he is more worth then heaven and earth Your pardon swims to you in blood your peace swims to you in blood your reconciliation is made by blood your acceptation is wrought by blood c. Sanguis Christi clavis coeli Christs Blood is Heavens Key Christs blood is a Preservative against the greatest evills Christs blood as Pliny saith of Polium is a Preservative against Serpents c. Fifthly Christ gives Pardon of sin and doe you know what a mercy that is Ask the troubled soule ask the soule that knowes what it means to lye under the wrath of the Almighty and he will tell you that pardon of sin is a gift more worth then a thousand worlds Now that pardon of sin is a gift of God you may see in Acts 5. 31. Him hath God exalted * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To his right hand That is to honour and dignity c. with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance to Israel and forgivenesse of sins So in Acts 26. 18. Ah soules of all mercies pardoning mercy is the most necessary mercy I may to Heaven without honours and without riches and without the smiles of creatures But I can never to Heaven without pardoning mercy As Ahab Haman Dives c. A man may be great and gracelesse he may be rich and miserable he may be honourable and damnable c. But he cannot be a pardoned soule but he must be a very blessed soule †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Blessednesses in he plurall Pardon of sin â—â—cludes a plurality of mercies a chaine of Pearles a chain of blessings Gen. 30. 11. Psal 32. 1 2. It intitles soules to all blessednesse it puts the Royall Crowne upon their heads Of all mercies pardoning mercy is the most sweetning mercy 't is a choyce Jewel and swims to the soule in blood Heb. 9. 22. 'T is a mercy that makes all other mercies to look like mercies and tast like mercies and work like mercies and the want of it takes off the glory and beauty of all a mans mercies and makes his life a very hell Pardon of sin is a voluminous mercy a mercy that ha's many precious mercies in the womb of it You may well call it Gad for it ushers in Troops of mercy When you can number the sands of the sea and tell the Stars of heaven then and not till then shall you be able to recount the mercies that attend pardoning mercy He that ha's this mercy cannot be miserable he that wants it cannot be happy get this and get all misse this and misse all this is a gift confer'd onely upon Christs favourites Son be Mat. 9. 2. of good cheere thy sins be forgiven thee No mercy will make a man everlastingly merry below pardoning mercy He ha's no reason to be sad that ha's his pardon in his bosome nor he ha's no reason to be glad who is upon the last step of the Ladder ready to be turned off without his Pardon And this is the fifth gift that Christ gives to his viz. Pardon of sinne Sixthly Christ gives Precious Promises 2. Pet. 1. 4. The Promises are precious beds of spices they are Vâ—res caelesieâ— bottles filled with those heavenly dews that wiâ—l never faile like that of Hagars but will cheâ—ish and nourish the soule to life eternall c. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and Precious Promises c. The Promises are a precious Book every leaf drops myrrhe and mercy The Promises are golden Vessels that are laden with the choycest Jewels that heaven can afford or the soule desire All our spirituall temporall and eternall good is to be found in the belly of the Promises Promises are big-bellied mercies there 's nothing you can truly call a mercy but you will find it in the belly of a Promise under all changes they are the comfort support and relief of the soule Psal 119. 49 50. Remember thy word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope This is my comfort in my affliction for thy word hath quickned me If the soule groane under the power of sin then that Promise relieves it Rom. 6. 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under the Law but under grace If the soule groane under the guilt of sin then that Promise relieves it Jer. 33. 8. I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned against me c. And that Promise Isa Anochi anochi ha mâ—hhe 43. 25. I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my owne sake and will not remember thy sins I even I am he blotting out thy transgression I even I whom thou hast offended I even I whom thou hast provoked I even I whose glorious name thou hast prophaned I even I whose righteous Law thou hast violated I even I whose holy Covenant thou hast transgressed I even I whose mercies thou hast dispised I even I
gives the soule is Soule-filling glory glory that fills the understanding with the cleerest and the Psal 16. ult Psal 17. ult 2 Coâ— 12. 1 to 6. Pericula non respicit Martyr coronas respicit saith Basil brightest light glory that fills the will with the greatest freedome glory that fills the affections with the choycest joy and delight Againe the glory he gives is Incomparable glory Rom. 8. 18. I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us The Greek word Logizomai that is here rendred I reckon is not a word of doubting but a word of concluding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ready to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 on us I conclude by Arguments that our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared to that illustrious and glorious glory that is ready to be revealed on us as 't is in the Greek I have cast up the account saith the Apostle as wise Merchants use to cast up theirs and I find in the ballancing of the account that there 's nothing to be compared with this glory that shall be revealed Againe the glory he gives is Vnmoveable glory all worldly glory is tottering and shaking Princes Crownes hang now but upon one side of their heads The Lord of Hosts hath Isa 23. 9. purposed it to staine or pollute the pride of all glory and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth The Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jegnâ—sah hath purposed it or as 't is in the Hebrew The Lord hath consulted it And the councell of the Lord shall stand It is agreed upon in heaven that the pride of all glory shall be stained and polluted or throwne downe as some polluted filthy thing that is trampled upon and trodden under foot Oh! but this glory that Christ gives is unmoveable glory Heb. 12. 28 't is permanent glory 't is glory that cannot be changed stain'd nor polluted Againe the glory he gives is suited glory 't is glory that Jo 14. 1 2 3. is suited to the backs hearts hopes desires and capacities of his servants Againe the glory he gives is never fading glory 't is glory that fadeth not away When a man hath been in heaven 1 Pet. 1. 3 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the proper name of a Flower which is still â—â—esh and green Isa 40. 6 7 8. as many millions of years as there be Starres in heaven his glory shall be as fresh and as greene as it was at his first entrance into heaven All worldly glory is like the Flowers of the field but the glory that Christ gives is lasting and durable like himselfe c. Tenthly and lastly He gives Himselfe and verily this is a gift of gifts indeed John 6. 51. 63. So in Ephes 5. 20. A Saint may say me thinks I hear Christ saying to me as Austin prayes Lord saith he what ever thou hast given take all away onely give me thy selfe Eschines said to Socrates Others said he give thee silver and gold and precious Jewels but I give thee my selfe So the soule may say One friend gives me bread and another gives me cloaths and another gives me house-roome c. Oh! but thou givest me thy selfe Christ put into the ballance will out-weigh all other gifts that he bestowes upon the sons of men Christ is the richest gift Oh! there are Unsearchable Riches in Christ as hereafter I shall shew you He is the choycest and the rarest gift he is a gift given but to a few rich and rare Jewels are not commonly but more rarely given so is Christ Though Israel be as the sand of the sea yet a Rom. 9. 27. remnant onely shall be saved A garden inclosed a spring Caâ—t 4. 12. Luke 12. 32. shut up a fountaine sealed is my well-beloved Feare not little little flâ—cke it is your fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdome Christ is a drawing gift a gift that drawes all other gifts along with him If he have given us his Son how shall Rom. 8. 32. he not with him freely give us all things Christ is a drawing gift When God the father hath cast this incomparable Jewel into a mans bosome he can't deny him any thing Such a soule may well say Hath he given me a Christ and will he not give me a crum Hath he given me his Sonne which is the greatest mercy and will he stand with me for lesser mercies surely no. In a word Christ is of all gifts the sweetest gift As the Tree Exod. 15. 25. sweetned the bitter waters so this gift the Lord Jesus of whom that Tree was a Type sweetens all other gifts that are bestowed upon the sons of men he turnes every bitter into sweet and makes every sweet more sweet And so I come to the second thing propounded and that was The Difference between Christs giving The Difference between Christs the worldâ— giving and the Worlds giving And this I shall shew you in the following Particulars FIrst The world gives but they give grudgingly But 2 Cor. 9. 7. when Christ gives he gives freely Isa 55. 1. Ho every â— Peâ— 4. 9. No Offrings to free will Offrings one that thirsteth let him come and buy wine and milke without money and without price So in Rev. 21. 6. I will give to every one that is athirst of the water of life freely To doe good and not to doe it freely handsomely is nothing A benefit given with grudging is a stony loaf onely taken for necessity Secondly The world they give but they give poorly Saul had buâ— five pence to give the Seer the Seer after much good cheer gives him no lesse then the Kingdome 1 Sam. 9 8. 10. So God deales with his nigardly but Christ gives plenteously richly 1 Tim. 6. 17. Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertaine riches but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy When Caesar gave one a great Reward This saith he is too great a gift for me to receive but saith Caesar 'T is not too great a gift for me to give So though the least gift that Christ gives in some sence is too much for us to receive yet the greatest gifts are not too great for Christ to give 'T is said of Araunahs that Noble Jebusite renowned for his bounty That he had but a subjects purse but a Kings heart But the Lord Jesus hath not onely a Kings heart but he hath also a Kings purse and gives accordingly Thirdly The world give but they give tauntingly they give upbraidingly they hit men in the teeth with the gifts they give I but the Lord Jesus Christ gives and he gives willingly he upbraids none with the gifts he gives Jam. 1. 5. If any man lack wisedome let him aske it of God that gives liberally and
open house for all commers and goers for all created creatures both in heaven and earth Psal 104. 24. The earth is full of thy riches so is the great and wide sea where are things creeping innumerable both small and great He opens his hand and he satisfies every living creature sayes the Psalmist So Isa 55. 1. Ho every one that thirsteth let him come and buy wine and milke without money and without price wherefore doest thou lay out thy money for that which is not bread and thy strength for that which doth not profit All Creatures high and low honourable and base noble and ignoble blessed and cursed are fed at the cost and charge of the Lord Jesus Christ They are all fed at his Table and maintained by what comes out of his treasury his purse All Angels and Saints above and all Saints and sinners below are beholding to Christ for what they injoy Oh the multitudes the numberlesse number of those that live upon the cost and charge of Christ Can you number the Stars of heaven Can you number the sands upon the sea-shore Then may you number the multitudes the millions of Angels and men that are maintained upon the cost and charge of the Lord Jesus In Col. 1. 16 17. For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers all things were created by him and for him And he is before all things and by him all things consist Thirdly You may judge of the riches of Christ by The time that he hath fed and cloathed cherished and maintained so many innumerable millions of Angels and men He hath maintained his Court above and below upon his owne cost and charge for almost six thousand years Oh to keep such a multitude if it were but for a day would speak him out to be richer then all the Princes in the World But to keep so many millions and to keep them so long what do's this speak out but that Christ is infinitely rich rich in goodnesse and mercy It would begger all the Princes on earth to keep but one day the least part of those that Christ maintaines every day c. But Fourthly You may judge of the riches of Christ by this That he doth not onely inrich all the Saints but all of the Saints That is He inriches all the faculties of their soules he inriches their understandings with glorious light their consciences with quicknesse purenesse tendernesse and quietnesse and their wills with holy intentions and heavenly resolutions and their affections of love joy feare c. with life heat and warmth and with the beauty and glory of the most soul-inriching soule-delighting soule-ravishing and soule-contenting objects c. All Saints experiences seale to this truth and therefore a touch shall suffice c. Fifthly Judge of the riches of Christ by this That notwithstanding all the vast expence and charge that he is at and hath been at for so many millions of thousands and that for neare six thousand yeares yet he is never the poorer his purse is never the emptier There is still in Christ a fullnesse of Abundance and a fullnesse of Redundance notwithstanding all that he hath expended It were blasphemy to think that Christ should be a penny the poorer by all that he hath laid out for the relief of all those that have their dependance upon him Col. 1. 19. It pleased the father that in him should all fullnesse dwell Not stay or abide a night or a day and away but should They say 't is true of the Oyle at Rhemes That though it be continually spent in the inauguration of their Kings of France yet it never wasteth I am sure though all Creatures spend continually on Christs stock yet it never wasteth dwell The Sun hath not the lesse light for filling the stars with light A Fountaine hath not the lesse for filling the lesser vessels There is in Christ Plenitâ—do fontis The fullnesse of a fountaine The overflowing Fountaine powres out water abundantly and yet remaines full why the Lord Jesus is such an overflowing Fountaine he fills all and yet remaines full Christ ha's the greatest worth and wealth in him as the worth and value of many pieces of silver is in one piece of gold so all his petty excellencies scattered abroad in the Creature are united to Christ yea all the whole volume of perfections which is spread through Heaven and Earth is Epitomized in him c. Sixthly The Lord Jesus is Generally rich and that speaks him out to be rich indeed he is generally rich You have few persons that are generally rich that is a rich man indeed that is generally rich that is that is rich in money and rich in Land and rich in Commodities and rich in Jewels c. Now the Lord Jesus Christ is one that is generally rich he is rich in all spiritualls he is rich in goodnesse rich in wisedome and knowledge he is rich in grace and rich in glory Yea he is generally rich in respect of temporalls He is the Heire of all things he is the Heire of all the Gold in The Philosopher once said Solus sapiens dives Onely the wise man is the rich man c. the world and of all the Silver and of all the Jewels and of all the Land and of all the Cattell in the world as you may see by comparing some Scriptures together Hos 2. 5 8 9. For their Mother hath played the Harlot she that conceived them hath done shamefully for she said I will goe after my Lovers that gave me my bread and my water and my wool and my flax my Oyle and my drinke But mark what followes vers 8 9. For she did not know that I gave her corne and wine and Oyle and multiplied her silver and gold which they prepared for Baal therefore will I returne and take away my Corne in the time thereof and my wine in the season thereof and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakednesse So in Psal 24. 1. The earth is the Lords and the fullnesse thereof the round world and all that dwell therein All others are either Usurpers or Stewards 'T is the Lord Jesus that is the great Landlord of Heaven and Earth So in Psal 50. 8 9 10. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt-offrings I will take no Bullock out of thy house nor He-goats out of thy folds for every Beast of the Forrest is mine and the Cattell upon a thousand hills I know all the Fowles of the mountaines and the wild Beasts of the fields are mine If I were hungry I would not tell thee for the world is mine and the fullnesse thereof 'T is all mine saith the Lord. Thus you see that the Lord is generally rich rich in houses in Lands in Gold in Silver in Cattell c. in all
are in Christ c. Heaven on Earth Or A serious discourse touchinga well-grounded Assurance of mens everlasting happinesse and blessednesse A Book of Short-Writing the most easie exact and speedy method by Theophilus Metcalfe A Copy-Book teaching to write several hands A Treatise of Christs Personall Reigne on Earth written by Mr. Robert Maton Another by Mr. Farmer A Description of the State of Great Brittain written eleven hundred years since by that famous Author Gildas Sir-named the Wise Satans Stratagems or The Devils Cabinet Councel discovered shewing the way to end Controversies in Religion by Jacobus Accontius A Treatise of Church-Government by several Ministers A Treatise of Civil Government by Robert Spye A Glasse for the times confuting divers Errours A Sermon before the Parliament by Samuel Gibson Entituled The Ruine of the Authors and fomenters of Civil Warres The Life and Death of William Laud Arch-Bishop of Canterbury A Speech by Sir Francis Bacon in Parliament Quinto Jacobi concerning the Scotish Nation An Heavenly Wonder or a Christian Cloath'd with Christ Purposely penned to comfort Christs sin-sick Spouse by Samuel More sometimes Minister at Brides The New Creature With a Description of the true Marks and Characters thereof Several Arguments for the unity of all true Believers by Richard Bartlet Which is a seasonable Duty and very necessary to be studied and practiced by all that love truth and peace declared by many Scriptures Sirs ye are brethren why doe ye wrong one another Acts 7. 26. Phil. 2. 3. Jam. 3. 14 15 16 17. Rom. 14. 19. Let us then follow those things which make for peace and wherewith one may edifie another THE Vnsearchable Riches OF CHRIST EPHES. 3. 8. Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the Vnsearchable Riches of Christ Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints THE Greek is a Comparative made of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Minissimus Estius a Superlative Lesse then the least of all Saints is a double diminitive and signifies lesser then the least if lesser might be Here you have the greatest Qui parvus est in reputatione propria magnus est in reputatione divina Gregory He that is little in his own account is great in Gods esteeme Apostle descending downe to the lowest step of humility Great Paul is least of Saints last of the Apostles and greatest of sinners The choycest Buildings have the lowest foundations the best Balsome sinkes to the bottome those eares of Corne and boughes of Trees that are most fill'd and best laden bowe lowest So doe those soules that are most loaden with the fruits of Paradise Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints Is this Grace given 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is alwayes taken in Scripture for a free gift a grace gift but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken not only for the favour of God but also for his gratious gifts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 25. 32. Cha. 28. 19. Io 11. 48. 50. 51. Acts 10. 22. Mat. 6. 32. Ipse unus erit tibi omnia quia ipso uno bono bona sunt omnia Aug. One Christ will be to the instead of all things else because in him are all good things to be found Gal. 1. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nec Christus nec coelum patitur hype bolen A man cannot hyper bolize in speaking of Christ and Heaven In the Greek or was this Grace given The word that 's here rendred Grace is taken in Scripture not onely for the favour of God but also for his Gratious gifts and so you are to understand it in this place Grace is taken for the gifts of Grace and they are two-fold Common or Speciall Some are Common to Believers and Hypocrites as knowledge tongues a gift of prayer c. Some are Speciall and peculiar to the Saints as feare love faith c. Now Paul had all these the better to fit him for that high and noble Service to which he was call'd That I should Preach That is declare good newes or glad tidings The Greek word answers to the Hebrew word which signifies good newes glad tidings and a Joyful Message That I should Preach among the Gentiles Sometimes this Greek word is generally used for all men or for all Nations Sometimes the word is used more especially for the people of the Jewes Sometimes 't is used for the Gentiles distinguished from the Jewes so 't is used Mat. 6. 32. For after all these things doe the Gentiles seeke and so 't is used here those that are without God in the world that stand in Armes against God that are ignorant of those riches of Grace that are in Christ This Grace is given to me that I should preach among the poore Heathens the unsearchable riches of Christ That I might Preach among the Gentiles What my selfe No but The unsearchable riches of Christ The Greek word signifies Not to be traced out Here 's Rhetorick indeed here 's riches unsearchable riches unsearchable riches of Christ Riches alwayes imply two things First Abundance Secondly Abundance of such things as be of worth Now in the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest riches the best riches the choycest riches in Christ are riches of Justification Tit. 2. 14. in Christ are riches of Sanctification Phil. 4. 12 13. in Christ are riches of Consolation 2 Cor. 12. 9. and in Christ are riches of Glorification 1 Pet. 1. But of these glorious unsearchable riches of Christ we shall speak Omnebonum in summo bono All good is in the chiefest good hereafter I shall begin at this time with the first words Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints There are these two Observations that naturally flow from these words First That the most holy men are alwayes the most Observat 1. humble men None so humble on Earth as those that live highest in Heaven Or if you will take the Observation thus That those that are the most highly valued and esteemed of by God are lowest and least in their owne esteeme Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints c. The Second Observation is That there are weake Saints as well as strong little Observat 2. Saints as well as great Or thus All Saints are not of an equall growth or stature I shall begin with the first Observation That the most holy men are alwayes the most humble men Soules that are the most highly esteemed and valued by God doe set the least and lowest esteem upon themselves Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints c. In the handling of this Point I shall doe these three things 1 I shall prove that the most holy soules are alwayes the most humble soules 2 I shall shew you the Properties of soules truly humble 3 I shall shew you the Reasons why those that are
living be justified So Job Though I were righteous yet would I not answer but I would make supplication to my Iob 9. 15. Judge Proud Pharisees blesse themselves in their owne righteousnesse I thank God I am not as this Publican I fast twice Lu. 18. 11 12 A proud heart eyes more his seeming worth then his reall want Rev. 4 10 11. Non decet Christianum in hac vita coronari said the Christian Souldier in the weeke c. I but now a soule truly humbled blushes to see his owne righteousnesse and glories in this that he has the righteousnesse of Christ to live upon Rev. 4. 10 11. the twenty foure Elders throw downe their Crownes at the feet of Christ By their Crownes you may understand their gifts their excellencies their righteousnesse they throw downe these before Christs Throne to note to us that they did not put confidence in them and that Christ was the Crowne of Crownes and the top of all their Royalty and glory An humble soule looks upon Christs righteousnesse as his holy Crowne Thirdly The lowest and the meanest good worke is not below V. 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to gaine with joy and delight of heart Ah! says Paul 't is my greatest joy my greatest delighttogain souls to Christ The word also signifies craft or guile Ah! humble Paul will use a holy craft a holy guile to win soules To know the Art of Alms is greater then to be crown'd with the Diadem of Kings yet to convert one soul is greater then to poure out ten thousand Talents into the baskeâ—s of the poore Chrysostome John 13. 4. 1 Cor. 2. 8. Phil. 2. 6. Col. 1. 19. 2. 3. John 13. 5. Proud hearts can't stoop to low services they say this work that is below their parts place parentage employments Cirius Scipiâ— These Heathens will rise in judgement against many proud professâ—rs in these dayes who scorne to stoopto mean services c. 4 Property Veniat veniat ver bam Domini submittemus illi sex cenia sâ— nobis essent colla Said Baldassar a German Minister So 't is with all that are high in worth humble in heart Lev. 10. 2 3. God will be sanctified either actively or passively Aut à nobis aut in nos either in us or upon us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word oâ—ten signifies a modest quietnesse of mind the troubled affections being allayed So here In Lam. 3. 27 28 29. It signifies to submit unto God and to be patient in affliction and so it may betaken here Nunquam nimis dicitur quod nanquam satis discitur we can never hear that too often that we can never learn too wel Militi multa agenda patienda plura The christian souldier must doe many things suffer more 5 Property If Seneca said of his wise man Majore parte illic est unde descendit He is more in Heaven then in earth this is much more true of humble holysouls Dulce nomen Christi Sweet is the name of Christ Christ may well be compared to the trees of the Sanctuary Ezek. 47 12. which were both for meat Medicine an humble soule An humble David will dance before the Ark he enjoyed so much of God in it that it caused him to leap and dance before it but Michal his wife despised him for a foole and counted him as a simple vaine fellow looking upon his carriage as vaine and light and not becoming the might Majesty and glory of so glorious a Prince Well sayes this humble soule if this be to be vile I will be more vile Great Paul yet being humble and low in his owne eyes he can stoop to doe service to the least and the meanest Saint 1 Cor. 9. 19 20 21. For though I be free from all men yet have I made my selfe servant unto all that I might gaine the more And unto the Jewes I became as a Jew that I might gaine the Jewes To them that are under the Law as under the Law that I might gaine them that are under the Law To them that are without Law as without Law being not without Law to God but under the Law to Christ that I might gaine them that are without Law To the weake became I as weake that I might gaine the weake I am made all things to all men that I might by all means gaine some Here you have an humble soule bowing and stooping to the meanest Saints and the lowest services that he might win soules So the Lord Jesus himselfe was famous in this John 13. 4. Though he was the Lord of glory and one that thought it no robbery to be equall with God one that had all perfection and fullnesse in himselfe yet the lowest work is not below this King of Kings witnesse his washing his Disciples feet and wiping them with a Towell Bonaventure though he was born of great Parentage and a great Scholler yet to keep his mind from swelling he would often sweep rooms wash vessels and make beds So that famous Italian Marquess when God was pleased by the Ministry of his word to convert him the lowest work was not below him though he might have liv'd like a King in his owne Countrey yet having tasted of that life and sweet that was in Jesus he was so humble that he would goe to Market and carry home the meanest and the poorest things the Market yielded There was nothing below him when God had chang'd him and humbled him 'T is recorded to the glory of some antient Generalls that they were able to call every common Souldier by his owne name and were carefull to provide money not onely for their Captaines and Souldiers but litter also for the meanest Beast There is not the lowest good that is below the humble soule If the work be good though never so low humility will put a hand to it so will not pride A fourth Property of an humbled heart is this An humble heart will submit to every truth of God that is made knowne to it even to those Divine truths that are most crosse to flesh and blood 1 Sam. 3. 17. Eli would faine know what God had discovered to Samuel concerning him Samuel tells him that he must break his neck that the Priesthood must be taken away from him and his Sons must be slaine in the warre why it is the Lord saith he let him doe what seemeth him good So in Levit. 10. the Lord by fire from Heaven destroyes Aarons two Sons Then Moses said unto Aaron this is it that the Lord spake saying I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me and before all the people I will be glorified and Aaron held his peace If God misse of his honour one way he will raine hell out of Heaven but he will have it another way this Aaron knew and therefore he held his peace when God shewed himselfe to be a consuming fire The Hebrew word that is
loved Tully before his Coâ—version but not so much after quia nomen Jesu non erat ibi because the name of Christ was not there 8 Property price upon a crum of mercy Ah Lord sayes the humble soul if I may not have a loaf of mercy give me a piece of mercy if not a piece of mercy give me a crum of mercy If I may not have Sun-light let me have Moon-light if not Moon-light let me have star-light if not star-light let me have candle-light and for that I will blesse thee In the time of the Law the meanest things that were consecrated were very highly prized as leather or wood that was in the Tabernacle An humble soule looks upon all the things of God as Consecrated things Every truth of God is a consecrated truth 't is consecrated to a holy use and this causes the soule highly to prize it and so every smile of God and every discovery of God and every drop of mercy from God is very highly prised by a soule that walks humbly with God The name of Christ the voyce of Christ the foot-steps of Christ the least touch of the Garment of Christ the least regarded truth of Christ the meanest and least regarded among the flock of Christ is highly prized by humble soules that are interested in Christ An humble soule cannot an humble soul dares not call any thing litrle that ha's Christ in it neither can an humble soule call or count any thing great wherein he sees not Christ wherein he enjoyes not Christ An humble soule highly prizes the least nodd the least love-token the least courtesie from Christ but proud hearts count great mercies small mercies and small mercies no mercies yea pride do's so unman them that they often call mercy misery c. The eighth Property of an humble soule is this It can never be good enough it can never pray enough nor hear enough nor mourne enough nor believe enough nor love enough nor feare enough nor joy enough nor repent enough nor loath sin enough nor be humble enough c. Humble Paul looks upon his great all as nothing at all he Phil. 3. 11 12 13 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it signifies â— straining of the whole body a stretching out head and hands as runners in a race do to lay hold on the mark or price proposed Psal 10. 17. Desires Iaavath from Avah that signifies so to desire and long after a thing as to haâ—e ones teeth water at it so in Mic. 7. 1. But proud hearts sit downe and pride themselves blesse themselves as if they had attained to much when hev have attain'd to nothing that can raise them above the lowest step of misery Rev. 3. 17. Isa 65. 5. Lu. 18. 11 12 forgets those things that are behind and reaches forth to those things which are before That if by any means he might attaine unto the resurrection of the dead that is that perfection of holinesse which the dead shall attaine unto in the morning of the resurrection by a Metonomie of the subject for the adjunct No holinesse below that matchlesse peerlesse spotlesse perfect holinesse that Saints shall have in the glorious day of Christs appearing will satisfie this humble soule An humble heart is an aspiring heart he can't be contented to get up some rounds in Jacobs Ladder but he must get to the very top of the Ladder to the very top of holinesse An humble heart can't be satisfied with so much Grace as will bring him to glory with so much of Heaven as will keep him from dropping into Hell he is still a crying out Give Lord give give me more of thy selfe more of thy Son more of thy Spirit give me more light more life more love c. Caesar in warlike matters minded more what was to conquer then what was conquered what was to gaine then what was gained So does an humble soule mind more what he should be then what he is what is to be done then what is done Verily Heaven is for that man and that man is for Heaven that sets up for his mark the perfection of holinesse Poor men are full of desires they are often a sighing it out O! that we had bread to strengthen us drink to refresh us cloths to cover us friends to visit us and houses to shelter us c. So souls that are spiritually poore they are often a sighing it out O! that we had more of Christ to strengthen us more of Christ to refresh us more of Christ to be a covering and shelter to us c. I had rather sayes the humble soule be a poor man and a rich Christian then a rich man and a poor Christian Lord sayes the humble soule I had rather doe any thing I had rather bear any thing I had rather be any thing then to be a Dwarse in Grace The light and glory of humble Christians rises by degrees Cant. 6. 1. 1. Looking forth as the morning with a little light 2 Faire as the Moon more light 3 Clear as the Sun i. e. Come up to a higher degree of spirituall light life and glory Lord sayes the humble soule give me much grace and then a little gold will serve my turne give me much of Heaven and a little of earth will content me give me much of the Springs above and a little of the Springs below will satisfie me c. The ninth Property of an humble soule is this It will smite 9 Property 1 Sam. 24. ◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and strike for small sins as well as for great For those the world count no sins as well as for those that they count grosse sinnes When David had but cut off the lap of Sauls garment his A good mans heart when kindly awakened may smite him for those actions that at fiâ—sthe judged very prudent and politick How great a paine not to be born câ—ms from the prick of this small thorne Little sinnes have put severall to their wits ends when they have been set home upon their consciences heart smote him as if he had cut off his head The Hebrew word signifies to smite wound or chastize Ah! his heart struck him his heart chastised him his heart wounded him for cutting off Sauls skirt though he did it upon noble grounds viz. to convince Saul of his false jealousies and to evidence his owne innocency and integrity And so at another time his heart smote him for numbring the people as if he had murdered the people 2 Sam. 24. 10. And Davids heart smote him after that he had numbred the people and David said unto the Lord I have sinned greatly in that I have done And now I beseech thee O Lord take away the iniquity of thy servant for I have done very foolishly An humble soule knowes that little sins if I may so call any cost Christ his blood and that they make way for greater and that little sins multiplied become great
as a little sum multiplied is great that they cloud the face of God wound conscience grieve the spirit rejoyce Satan and make work for Repentance c. An humble soule knows that little sins suppose them so are very dangerous a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump a little staffe may kill one a little poyson may poyson one a little leak in a ship sinkes it a little Flye in the box of Ointment spoyles it a little flaw in a good cause marres it So a little sin may at once barre the door of Heaven and open the gates of Hell and therefore an humble soule smites and strikes it selfe for the least as well as the greatest Though a head of Garlike be little yet it will poyson the Leopard though he be great Though a Mouse is but little yet it will kill an Elephant if he gets up into his Trunk Though the Scorpion be little yet it will sting a Lyon to death and so will the least sin if not pardoned by the death of Christ A proud heart counts great sins small and small sins no sins and so disarmes Conscience for a time of its whipping and wounding power but at death or in Hell conscience will take up an iron rod with which it will lash the sinner for ever and then though too late the sinner shall acknowledge his little sins to be very great and his great sins to be exceeding grievous and odious c. The tenth Property of an humble soule is this It will quietly 10 Property Psal 39. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from Alam which signifies to be mute or tongue-tied Lev. 10. 1 2 3 Vaiidem from Clam am which signifies the quietnesse of the mind the troubled affections being allayed 1 Sam. 3. 11-19 2 Sam. 16. 5-14 Gallesius observes upon Exod. 22. 28. the exceeding patience of those three Emperours Theodosius Honorius and Arcadius towards those that spoke evill of them bear burdens and patiently take blowes and knocks and make no noise An humble soule sees God through man he sees God through all the actions and carriages of men I was dumb saith the Prophet I opened not my mouth because thou didst it An humble soule looks through secondary causes and sees the hand of God and then layes his owne hand upon his mouth An humble soule is a mute soule a tongue-tied soule when he looks through secondary causes to the supream cause So Aaron when he saw his Sons suddenly surprised by a dreadfull and dolefull death he held his peace he bridled his passions he sits silent under a terrible stroke of Divine Justice because the fire that devoured them went out from the Lord. So when Samuel had told Eli that God would judge his house for ever and that he had sworn that the iniquity of his house should not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever c. It is the Lord sayes Eli let him doe what seemeth him good Eli humbly and patiently layes his neck upon the block it is the Lord let him strike let him kill c. sayes Eli. So David when Shimei manifested his desperate fury and folly malice and madnesse in raving and raging at him in cursing and reproaching of him sayes he Let him alone and let him curse for the Lord hath bidden him God sayes he will by his wise providence turne his cursing into blessing I see the Justice of God in his cursing therefore let him alone let him curse sayes David Cassianus reports that when a certaine Christian was held Captive by the Infidels and tormented by divers paines and ignominious taunts being demanded by way of scorne and reproach Tell us what Christ has done for you answered He Acts Mon. fol. 811. hath done what you see that I am not moved at all the cruelties and contumelies you cast upon me So that blessed Martyr Gyles of Brussells when the Fryers By long soo thingour own wills we have forsaken as Cassian saith the very shadow of patience sent to reduce him did at any time miscall him he ever held his peace insomuch that those wretches would say abroad that he had a dumb Devil in him Full Vessels will bear many a knock many a stroke and yet make no noise So Christians that are full of Christ that are full of the Spirit will bare many a knock many a stroke and yet make no noise An humble soule may groan under afflictions but he will not grumble in calmes Proud hearts discourse of patience but in stormes humble hearts exercise patience Philosophers have much commended it but in the houre of darknesse 't is onely the humble Christian that acts it I am afflicted sayes the humble soule but 't is mercy I am not destroyed I am fallen into the pit 't is free-grace I am not fallen into Hell God is too just to wrong me and too gratious to harme me and therefore I will be still and quiet let him doe what he will Isa 58. 1 2 3. with me sayes the humble soule But proud soules resist when they are resisted they strike when they are stricken Who is Non sic deos coluimus aut sic viximus ut ille nos vinceret said the Emperour An onius Philosophus the Lord sayes lofty Pharoah that I should obey him and Cain cryes out My punishment is greater then I am able to beare Well remember this though it be not easie in afflictions and tribulations to hold our peace yet 't is very advantagious which the Heathens seemed to intimate in placing the Image of Angeronia with the mouth bound upon the Altar of Volupia to shew that those that doe prudently and humbly conceale their sorrowes and anxieties by patience shall attaine comfort and refreshment The eleventh Property of an humble soule is this In all 11 Property John 14. 13. Ch. 15. 16. 16. 23 26. The name of Jesus hath a thousandtreasures of joy comfort in it saith Chrysostome And is therefore us'd by Paul five hundred times as some have reckoned Religious duties and services he trades with God upon the credit of Christ Lord sayes the humble soule I need power against such and such sins give it me upon the credit of Christs blood I need strength to such and such services give it me upon the credit of Christs word I need such and such mercies for the cheering refreshing quickening and strengthening of me give them into my bosome upon the credit of Christs intercession As a poore man lives and deales upon the credites of others so does an humble soule live and deale with God for the strengthening of every grace and for the supply of every mercy upon the credit of the Lord Jesus An humble soul knows that since he broke with God in Innocency God will trust him no more he will take his word no more and therefore when he goes to God for mercy he brings his Benjamin his Jesus in his armes and pleads for mercy upon
the account of Jesus So Themystocles did when he sought the favour of Kâ— Admetus Plutarch reports that 't was wont to be the way of the Molossians when they would seek the favour of their Prince they took up the Kings Son in their armes and so went and kneeled before the King and by this means overcame him So doe humble soules make a conquest upon God with Christ in The name of a Saviour saith Bernard is honey in the mouth musick in the ear a Jubile in the heart The boy that was a Monitor cryed aloud to him that rode in Triumph Memento te esse hominem Remember thy self to be a man their armes the father will not give that soule the repulse that brings Christ in his armes The humble soule knows that God out of Christ is incommunicable that God out of Christ is incomprehensible that God out of Christ is very terrible and that God out of Christ is unaccessible and therefore he still brings Christ with him and presents all his requests in his name and so prevailes c. O but proud soules deal with God upon the credit of their owne worthinesse righteousnesse services prayers teares fastings c. as the proud Pharisees and those wrangling Hypocrites in Isa 58. 1 2 3. 'T was a very proud saying of one Coelum gratis non accipiam I will not have Heaven but at a rate and therefore well did the Father call Vain-glory a pleasant Thiefe and the sweet spoyler of spirituall excellencies The twelfth Property of an humble soul is this It endeavours more how to honour and glorifie God in afflictions then how to get out of afflictions So Daniel the three Children the Apostles 12 Property Dan 3. ch 6. Acts 5. 41 42. Acts 4. 29. Heb. 11. Eph. 6. 19 20. Phil. 1. 13 19. and those worthies of whom this world was not worthy they were not curious about getting out of affliction but studious how to glorifie God in their afflictions They were willing to be any thing and to bear any thing that in every thing God might be glorified They made it their businesse to glorifie God in the fire in the Prison in the Den on the wrack and under the sword c. Lord sayes the humble Prorsus Satan est Lutherus sed Christus vivit regnat Amen said Luther in writing to his friend Spalatinus soule doe but keep downe my sins and keep up my heart in a way of honouring of thee under all my troubles and then my troubles will be no troubles my afflictions will be no afflictions Though my burdens be doubled and my troubles be multiplied yet doe but help me to honour thee by believing in thee by waiting on thee and by submitting to thee and I shall sing care away I shall say 't is enough When Valens the Emperour sent Messengers to win Euscbius Happy is that soul and to be equalled with Angels who is willing to suffer if it were possible as great things for Christ as Christ hath suffered for it said Jerome to Heresie by faire words and large promises he answered Alas Sir these speeches are fit to catch little Children that looke after such things but we that are taught and nourished by the holy Scriptures are readier to suffer a thousand deaths then to suffer one syllable or tittle of the Scripture to be altered And when the Emperour threatned to Confiscate his Goods to torment him to banish him or to kill him he answered He need not feare Confiscation that hath nothing to loose nor Banishment to whom Heaven onely is a Countrey nor torments when his body will be dasht with one blow nor death which is the onely way to set him at liberty from sinne and sorrow O but when a proud man is under troubles and afflictions his head and heart are full of plots and projects how to get off his Chaines and how to get out of the Furnace c. A proud heart will say any thing and doe any thing and be any thing to free himselfe from the burdens that presse him as you see in Pharoah c. But an humble soule is willing to Job 1. 20 21. bear the crosse as long as he can get strength from Heaven to kisse the crosse to blesse God for the crosse and to glorifie God under the crosse c. The thirteenth Property of an humble soule is this It seeks 13 Property not it looks not after great things A little will satisfie Nature lesse will satisfie Grace but nothing will satisfie a proud Galen mans Lusts Lord sayes the humble soule if thou wilt but give me bread to eat and rayment to put on thou shalt be Gen. 28. 20 21 22. my God Let the men of the world sayes the humble soul take the world in all its greatnesse and glory and divide it Vir bonus pauis indiges among themselves let me have much of Christ and Heaven in my heart and food convenient to support my naturall life Psal 4. 6 7. Prov 30. 8. Luther â— made many a meale of a Herring And â—unius of an Egge and it shall be enough Job 22. 29. When men are cast down then thou shalt say there is lifting up And he shall save the humble person or as the Hebrew hath it Ne shahh gnenaim Him that hath low eyes Nothing to us that an humble soule looks not after high things So in Psal 131. 1 2. Lord my heart is not haughty nor mine eyes lofty But how doe you know that David why sayes he I doe not exercise my selfe in great matters or in things too high or too wonderfull for me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Surely I behaved and quieted my selfe Hebr. My soule is as a Child that is weaned of his mother My soule is even as a weaned Child As a great shooe fits not a little foot nor a great saile a little ship nor a great ring a little finger so a great estate fits not an humble soule It was a prudent speech of that Indian King Taxiles to the invading Alexander What should we need said he to Plutarch fight and make war one with another if thou comest not to take away our water and our necessaries by which we must live as for other Goods if I be richer then thou I am ready to give thee of mine and if I have lesse I will not think scorne to thank thee if thou wilt give me some of thine Oh but proud Absalom can't be content to be the Kings Son unlesse he may have the Crowne presently from his Fathers head Caesar can abide no Superiour nor Pompey an equall A proud soule is content with nothing A Crowne could not content Ahab but he must have Naboths Vineyard though he swim to it in blood Diogenes had more content with his Tub to shelter him from the injuries of the weather and with his wooden dish to eat and drink in then
ditch So he knowes that godly soules though never so poor low and contemptible as to the things of this world Ephes 2. 6. are fixt in Heaven in the Region above and therefore their poverty and meannesse is no bar to hinder him from learning of them Though John was poor in the world yet many humble souls did not disdaine but rejoyce in his Ministry Christ lived poor and dyed poor Mat. 8. 20. As he was borne in another mans house so he was buried in another mans Tomb. Austin observes when Christ dyed he made no will he had no Crown-lands onely his Coat was left and that the Souldiers parted among them and yet those that were meek and lowly in heart counted it their Heaven their happinesse to be taught and instructed by him The seventeenth Property of an humble soule is this 17 Property Tully calls graâ—tude Maximam imo maâ—em omnium virtutum reliquarum The greatest yea the mother of all virtues An humble soule will blesse God and be thankefull to God as well under misery as under mercy As well when God frownes as when he smiles as well when God takes as when he gives as well under crosses and losses as under blessings and mercies Job 1. 21. The Lord gives and the Lord takes blessed be the name of the Lord. He doth not cry out upon the Sabeans and the Chaldeans but he looks through all secondary Causes and sees the hand of The Jewes have a Prov That we must leap up to Mount Gerizim which was a Mount of Blessings But creep into Mount Ebal which was a Mount of Curses To shew that we must be ready to blesse but backward to curse An humble soule can extract one contrary out of another honey out of the rock gold out of iron c. Afflictions to humble souls are the Lords Plow the Lords Harrow the Lords Flaile the Lords drawing Plaisters the Lords pâ—uâ—ing knise the Lords Potion the Lords Soap and therefore they can sit dowae and blesse the Lord and kisse the rod. God and then he layes his hand upon his owne heart and sweetly sings it out The Lord gives and the Lord takes blessed be the name of the Lord. An humble soule in every condition blesses God as the Apostle commands in the 1 Thess 5. 18. In every thing give thanks to God So 1 Cor. 4. Being reviled we blesse being persecuted we suffer The language of an humble soule is If it be thy will saith an humble soule I should be in darknesse I will blesse thee and if it be thy will I should be againe in light I will blesse thee If thou wilt comfort me I will blesse thee and if thou wilt afflict me I will blesse thee if thou wilt make me poor I will blesse thee if thou wilt make me rich I will blesse thee if thou wilt give me the least mercy I will blesse thee if thou wilt give me no mercy I will blesse thee An humble soul is quick-sighted he sees the rod in a fathers hand he sees honey upon the top of every twigg and so can blesse God he sees Sugar at the bottome of the bitterest cup that God doth put into his hand he knowes that Gods House of Correction is a School of Instruction and so he can sit downe and blesse when the rodd is upon his back An humble soule knowes that the designe of God in all is his Instruction his Reformation and his Salvation It was a sweet saying of holy Bradford If the Queen will give me my life I will thank her if she will Banish me I will thank her if she will burne me I will thank her if she will condemne me to perpetuall imprisonment I will thank her I this is the temper of an humble heart An humble soule knowes that to blesse God in prosperity is the way to increase it and to blesse God in adversity is the way to remove it An humble soule knowes that if he blesses God under mercies he hath paid his debt but if he blesses God under crosses he hath made God a debtor But oh the pride of mens hearts when the rod is upon their backs You have many Professors that are seemingly humble while the Sun shines while God gives and smiles and stroakes but when his smiles are turned into frownes when he strikes and layes on oh the murmurings the disputings the frettings and wranglings of proud soules they alwayes kick when God strikes The last Property of an humble soule is this An humble 18 Property soule will wisely and patiently bear reproof Prov. 25. 12. As an ear-ring of gold and an Ornament of fine gold so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear A seasonable reproof falling upon an humble soule hath a redoubled Grace with it It is as an ear-ring of gold and as an Ornament of fine gold or as a Diamond in a Diadem An humble David can say Let the righteous smite me it shall be a kindnesse and let him reprove me it shall be an excellent Psal 14. 5. Oyle is here Metaphorically taken for woâ—ds of repâ—oâ—f wthâ—ay be said figuraâ—ively to breake the head vide Job 19 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oyle which shall not break my head David compares the faithfull reproof of the righteous to the excellent Oyle that they used about their heads Some Translate it Let it never cease from my head That is let me never want it and so the Originall will bear too I would never want reproofs whatsoever I want But yet my prayer shall be in their calamities I will requite their reproofs with my best prayers in the day of their Calamity saith David Whereas a proud heart will neither pray for such nor with such as reprove them but in their calamities will most insult over them Some Translate it more emphatically The more they doe the more I shall think my selfe bound unto them And this was In vit Jo. Gers So Alipius loved Austin for reproving him So did David Nathan 1 Kings 1. 2 Sam. 12. 12 13. 24. 13 14 That 's a choyce and â—ender spirit that can meekly humbly imbrace reâ—roofs and blesse God sor reproofs Gersomes disposition of whom it is recorded That he rejoyced in nothing more then if he were freely and friendly reproved by any Prov. 9. 8 9. Rebuke a wise man and he will love thee give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser Prov. 19. 25. Reprove one that hath understanding and he will understand knowledge You know how sweetly David carries it towards Abigall 1 Sam. 25. 32 33. shee wisely meets him and puts him in mind of what he was going about and he falls a blessing of her presently Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me and blessed be thy advice and blessed be thou which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood I was resolved in my passion and in the heat of
this is the best to keep them from falling Job feares and conquers on the dunghill Adam presumes and falls in Paradise Nehemiah fears and stands Nehem. 5. 15. Peter presumes and falls Mat. 26. Mr. Sanders the Martyr in Queene Mary's dayes feares and stands Dr. Pendleton presumes and falls from a Professor to be a Papist When Agamemnon said What should the Conquerour feare Casander presently answered Quod nihil timet He should feare this most of all that he fears not at all And so I have done with the Reasons of the point I shall now come to the Uses of it And the first is this Is it so that the most holy soules are the most humble soules Then this shewes you That the number of holy soules is very few Oh how few be there that are low in their owne eyes The number of soules that are high in the esteeme of God and low in their owne esteem are very few Oh the pride of England Oh the pride of London Pride in these A proud heart resists and is resâ—sted this is duâ—o duâ—um flint to flint fire to fire yet downe he must dayes ha's got a whores fore-head yet pride cannot climb so high but Justice will sit above her Bernard saith that Pride is the rich mans Cousen I may add And the poore mans Cousen and the prophane mans Cousen and the Civil mans Cousen and the formall mans Cousen and the Hypocrites Cousen yea all mens Cousen and it will first or last cast down and cast out all the Lucifers and Adams in the world Secondly As you would approve your selves to be high in the account of God as you would approve your selves to be not onely good but eminently good Keep humble Since England was England since the Gospel shined amongst us there was never such reason to presse this duty of humility as in these dayes of pride wherein we live and therefore I shall endeavour these two things First to lay downe some Motives that may work you to be humble Secondly to propound some Directions that may further you in this work First for the Motives Consider First how God singles out humble soules from all others ot 1 Motive poure out most of the Oyle of Grace into their hearts No Vessels that God delights to fill like broken vessels like contrite spirits Jam. 4. 6. He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble The Greek word signifies To set himselfe Anâ—itassetai in battell array God takes the winde and hill of a proud soule but he gives grace to the humble The silver dewes flow downe from the Mountaines to the lowest valleyes Abraham was but dust and ashes in his owne eyes I but saith Gen. 18. 17. God Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I will doe No I will not An humble soule shall be both of Gods Court and his Counsel too Humble Jacob that was in his Gen. 32. 10. owne eyes lesse then the least of all mercies what a glorious Vision had he of God when the Ground was his Bed and Gen. 28. the Stone his Pillow and the Hedges his Curtaines and the Heavens his Canopie Then he saw Angels ascend and descend An humble soule that iies low O what sights of God He that is in the low pits and caves os the earth sees the starres in the fiâ—mament when they who are upon the tops of the mountains discerne them not hath he what glory doth he behold when the proud soule sees nothing God poures in grace to the humble as men poure in liquor into an empty vessel he does not drop in grace into an humble heart but he poures it in The Altar under the Law was hollow to receive the fire the wood and the Sacrifice So the hearts of men under the Gospel must be humble empty of all sprituall pride and self-conceitednesse that so they may receive the fire of the Spirit and Jesus Christ who offered himselfe for a Sacrifice for our sins Humility is both a Grace and a vessel to receive Grace There 's none that sees so much need of grace as humble souls there 's none prises grace like humble soules there 's none improves grace like humble soules Therefore God singles out the humble soule to fill him to the brim with grace when the proud is sent empty away Secondly Of all Garments humility doth best become Christians 2 Motive and most adorne their profession Faith is the Champion of grace and Love the Nurse but Humility the beauty of grace 1 Pet. 5. 5. Be clothed with humility The Greek word imports That Humility is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Ribbon or string that tyes together all those pretious Pearles the rest of the graces If this string break they are all scattered The Greek word that is rendred Cloathed comes of another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greek word that signifies to knit and tye knots as delicate and curious women use to doe of Ribbons to adorne their heads and bodies as if humility were the knot of every vertue the grace of every grace Chrysostome calls Humility 'T is reported of the Christall that it hath such a virtue in it that the very touching of it quickens other stones and puts a lustre and beauty upon them so does humility put a lustre upon every grace The Root Mother Nurse Foundation and Band of all Virtue Bazill calls it The Store-house and Treasury of all good For what 's the scandall and reproach of Religion at this day nothing more then the pride of Professors Is not this the language of most They are great Professors O but very proud they are great hearers they will run from Sermon to Sermon and cry up this man and cry up that man O but proud They are great talkers O but as proud as the Devil c. Oh that you would take the Counsel of the Apostle Be cloathed with humility And that Col. 3. 12. Put on therefore as the Elect of God holy and Beloved Bowels of mercy kindnesse humblenesse of mind meeknesse long-suffering No Robes to these The Third Motive is this Humility is a Load-stone that 3 Motive drawes both the heart of God and man to it In Isa 57. Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth Eternity whose name is holy I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit The Lord singles out the humble soule of all others to make him an Habitation for himselfe Here is a wonder God is on high and yet the higher a man lifts up himselfe the farther he is from God And the lower a man humbles himselfe the neerer he is to God of all soules God delights most to dwell with the humble for they doe most prize and best improve his pretious presence In Prov. 29. 23. A mans pride shall bring him low but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit Prov. 22. 4. By humility
example of Christs Humility till your hearts be made humble like the heart of Christ Oh that that sweet word of Christ Mat. 11. 29. might stick upon all your hearts Take my yoke upon you and learne of me for I am meek and lowly and you shall find rest to your soules Bonaventure Engraved this sweet saying of our Lord Learne of mee for I am meek and lowly in heart in his Study It was a good Law that the Ephesians made that men should propound to themselves â—he bâ—st parterns and ever bear in mind some eminent man And oh that this saying was Engraven upon all your foreheads upon all your hearts Oh that it was Engraven upon the dishes you eat in the cups you drink in the seats you sit on the Beds you lye on c. Jerome having read the Religious life and death of Hilaron folding up the Book said Well Hilaron shall be the Champion whom I will imitate Oh when you look upon this glorious example of Christ say The Lord Jesus his example shall be that that my soule shall imitate Sixthly Consider Humility will free a man from perturbations and distempers 6 Motive When there are never such great stormes without humility will cause a calme within There are a great many stormes abroad and there 's nothing will put the soule into a quiet condition but Humility An humble soule saith who am I that I may not be despised Who am I that I may not be reproached abused slighted neglected That which will break a proud mans heart will not so much as break an humble mans sleep In the midst of a storme an humble soule is still in a calme When proud hearts are at their wits ends stamping swearing and swaggering at God and man and providence an humble soule is quiet and still like a ship in a Harbour 2 Sam. 16. 6. to 13. Shimei comes rayling and cursing of David and calls him a bloudy man and a man of Belial that is a Runnagado one who being desperately wicked had shaken off the yoke of Government and would be under no Law So the Hebrew word Jagnal signifies men without yoke or lawlesse Therefore the Septuagint commonly Translate it Paranomos altogether irregular It signifies most flagitious men and notorious and desperately wicked stigmatized Villaines even incarnate Devis and yet David holds his peace though provoked by his mighty men to revenge himselfe Oh! how would this cursing and railing have madded and broken many a proud mans heart and yet it stirres not David Fulgentius after he was extreamly persecuted he had â—n Plura pro 〈…〉 â—ole advantage to seek revenge but he would not for saith 〈◊〉 We must suffer more for Christ then so What though I am thus and thus wronged What though I have an opportunity for revenge yet I must suffer more then so for Christ sayes the humble soule An humble soule when wrongs are offered him is like a man with a sword in one hand and salve in another he could kill but will cure One wondring at the patience and humble carriage of Socrates towards one that reviled him Socrates said If we should meet one whose body were more unsound then ours should we be angry with him and not rather pitty him Why then should we not doe the like to him whose soule is more diseased then ours An humble soule when he meets with this and that wrong from men he knowes that their soules are diseased and that rather moves him to pity then to revenge wrongs offered A proud heart swells and growes bigge when in the least wronged and is ready to call for fire from Heaven and to take any opportunity for revenge of wrongs offered No man so abused as I no man thus stiled as I sayes the proud soule O but an humble soule in patience possesses himselfe in all trialls and stormes Gallesius observes upon Exod. 22. 28. the patience and Willet on Ex. 28. Qu. 51. humble carriage of those three Emperours Theodosius Honorius and Arcadius towards those that spake evill of them they would have them subject to no punishment for they said If it come from lightnesse of spirit it is to be contemned if from madnesse 't is worthy of pity if from injury it is to be forgiven for injuries and wrongs are to be pardoned And this is the true temper of an humble foule and by this he enjoyes peace and quiet in the midst of all earth-quakes and heart-quakes The seventh Consideration is this Consider Humility 7 Motive exalteth He that is most humble is and shall be most exalted and most honoured No way to be high like this of being low Moses was the meekest man on Earth and God made him the honourablest calling of him up unto himselfe into the Mount making knowne his glory to him and making of him the Leader of his people Israel Gideon was very little in his owne eyes he was the least of his Fathers house in his owne apprehension and God exalts him making him the Deliverer of his Israel It was a good saying of one Wilt thou be great begin from below As the Roots of the Tree descend so the Branches ascend The lower any man is in this sence the higher shall that man be raised Mat. 23. 12. And whosoever shall exalt himselfe shall be abased and he that shall humble himselfe shall be exalted God that 's wisedome it selfe hath said it and he will make it good though thou seest no wayes how it should be made good The lowest valleyes have the blessing of fruitfulnesse while the high Mountaines are barren Prov. 18. 12. Before destruction the heart of man is lofty and before honour is humility David came not to the Kingdome till he could truly say Lord my heart is not haughty nor mine eyes lifted up Psal 131. 1 2. Abigall was not made Davids wife till she thought it honour enough to wash the feet of the meanest of Davids servants 1 Sam. 25. Moses must be forty years a stranger in Midian before he become King in Jeshurun He must be struck sick to death in the Inn before he goes to Pharoah on that Noble Ambassage It was a sweet Observation of Luther That for the most part when God set him upon any speciall service for the good of the Church he was brought low by some fit of sicknesse or other Surely as the lower the ebb the higher the tide So the lower any descend in Humility the higher they shall ascend in honour and glory The lower this foundation of Humility is laid the higher shall the roofe of honour be over-laid If you would turne spirituall purchasers of honour or of whatsoever else is good no way like this of Humility We live in times wherein men labour to purchase honour some by their money others by their friends others by making themselves slaves to the lâ—sts of men others by being prodigall of their blood and many by giving themselves up to all manner of
my selfe to differ to wit by the improvement of Nature This Age is full of such proud Monsters But an humble soule sees free grace to be the Spring and Fountaine of all his mercies and comforts he writes free Grace upon all his temporalls and upon all his spiritualls c. The Seventh Direction is Meditate much upon these two 7 Direction things First The great mischiefe that sinne hath done in the World It cast Angels out of Heaven and Adam out of Paradice it hath layen the first corner-stone in Hell and ushered in all the evils and miseries that be in the world It hath threw downe Abraham the best Believer in the world and Noah the most Righteous man in the world and Job the Uprightest man in the world and Moses the Meekest man in the world and Paul the greatest Apostle in the world Oh the Diseases the crosses the losses the miseries the deaths the hells that sin hath brought upon the world Bazill wept when he saw the Rose because it brought to to his mind the first sin from whence it had the prickles which it had not while man continued in Innocency as he thought Oh when he saw the prickles his soule wept So when we see heare or read of the blood misery warres and ruines that sin ha's brought upon us ler us weep and lye humble before the Lord. Secondly Mediate much on this That many wicked men Mat. 23. 15. take more paines to damne their soules and goe to Hell then thou doest to save thy soule and to get to Heaven Oh what paines doe wicked men take to damne their souls and goe to Hell Lanctantius saith of Lucian that he spared Such a mad Devil was Catalin neither God nor man He took paines to make himselfe twice told a Child of wrath It is said of Marcellus the Roman Generall That hee could not be quiet Nec victor nec victus neither Conquered nor Conquerour Such restlesse wretches are wicked men The Drunkard rises up in the morning and continues till Isa 5. 11. mid-night till wine inflame him The unclean person wasts his time and strength and estate and all to ruine his owne soule Theotimus being told by his Physitian that if he did not leave his lewd courses he would loose his sight answered Vale lumen amicum Then farewell sweet light What a deale of paines does the Worldling take He rises up early and goes to Bed late and leaves no stone unturn'd and all to make himselfe but the more miserable in the close Pambus in the Ecclesiasticall History wept when he saw a Harlot drest with much care and cost partly to see one Socrates Eccl. Hist l. 4. c. 28. take so much paines to goe to Hell and partly because he had not been so carefull to please God as shee had been to please a wanton lover Oh Sirs what reason have you to spend your dayes in weeping when you look abroad and see what paines most men take to damne their soules and goe to Hell and then consider what little paines you take to escape Hell to save your soules and goe to Heaven Eighthly Get more internall and experimentall knowledge 8 Direction and acquaintance with God If ever you would keep humble no knowledge humbles and abases like that which is inward and experimentall We live in dayes wherein there is abundance of notionall light many Professors know much of God notionally but know nothing of God experimentally They know God in the History but know nothing of God in the Mystery They know 'T is a sad thing to be often eating of the Tree of Knowledg but never to tast of the Tree of Life much of God in the letter but little or nothing of God in the spirit and therefore 't is that they are so proud and high in their owne conceits when as he that experimentally knowes the Lord is a Worme and no man in his owne eyes As the Sun is necessary to the world the eye to the body the Pilate to the Ship the Generall to the Army So is experimentall knowledge to the humbling of the soule Who more experimentall in their knowledge then David Job Isaiah and Paul And who more humble then these Worthies Seneca observed of the Philosophers That when they grew more learned they were lesse morall So a growth in notions will bring a great decay in humility and zeale as it 's too evident in these dayes Well remember this a drop of experimentall knowledge will more humble a man then a sea of notionall knowledge Ninthly Looke up to a crucified Christ for speciall power 9 Direction and strength against the pride of your hearts 'T is sad in these knowing times to think how few there are that know the right way of bringing under the power of any sin Most men scarce look so high as a crucified Christ for power against their powerfull sins One soule sits downe and complaines Such a Psal 10. 4. It was the the blood of the Sacrifice and the Oyle that cleansed the Leper in the Law and that by them was meant the blood of Christ and the grace of his Spirit is agreed by all lust haunts me I 'le pray it downe Another saith such a sin followes me and I 'le hear it downe or watch it downe or resolve it downe and so a crucified Christ is not in all their thoughts Not but that you are to hear pray watch and resolve against your sins but above all you should look to the acting of Faith upon a crucified Christ As he said of the sword of Goliah None like to that So I say none like to this for the bringing under the pride of mens hearts The weaker the House of Saul grew the stronger the House of David grew The weakning of your pride will be the increase and strengthening of your Humility and therefore what the King of Syria said unto his fifty Captaines Fight neither with small nor great but with the King of Israel So say I if you woulk keep humble if you would lye low draw forth your Artillery place your greatest strength against the pride of your soules The death of Pride will be the resurrection of Humility And that this may stick upon you I shall lay downe severall Propositions concerning Pride and I am so much the more willing to fall upon this work and to make it the subject of our discourse at this time because this horrid sin doth appeare so boldly and impudently and that not onely among prophane persons but Professors also There are ten Propositions that I shall lay downe concerning Pride And the first is this Of all sinnes Pride is most dangerous to the soules of Men. Pride is a sin that will put the soule upon the worst of sinnes Pride is a gilded misery a secret poyson a hidden plague 'T is the Ingeneere of deceipt the Mother of hypocrisie the Parent of envy the Moth of holinesse the
and manifestations when their Visions are onely the Visions of their owne hearts and their Manifestations are plaine delusions Ah but sayes the Apostle Little Children let none of these deceive you I tell you he and onely he that doth righteousnesse is righteous as God is righteous Children you know may be easily cousened and made to take Counters for gold because they are broader and brighter Children in grace are soon deceived hence is it that they are so cousened Little Children keep your 1 John 5. 21. The Idols that are here mentioned are surely those that the Gnosticks used to worship viz. The Images and pictures of Simon Magus and Helena as might be made evident out of Eâ—sebius selves from Idols So in Heb. 12. 12 13. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang downe and the feeble knees Some think that the Apostle Alludes to those Combates of the Heathens wherein it was a token of yielding when a man hung downe his hands You are weake saith the Apostle and by reason of Trials you are apt to hang downe your hands and to give up all as lost therefore sayes he lift up your hands to fight and your feet to run take heart and courage faint not give not over turne not aside because of the sharpnesse of afflictions But soules strong in grace will hold on in the wayes of grace and holinesse in the face of all dangers and deaths Psal 44. c. Ninthly Weake Christians are apt to make sense and feeling the Judge of their spirituall estates and conditions And therefore upon every turne they are apt to judge themselves miserable and to conclude that they have no grace because they cannot feele it nor discerne it nor beleeve it and so making sense feeling and reason the judge of their estates They wrong and perplex and vex their precious soules and make their lives a very Hell As if it were not one thing to be the Lords and another thing for a man to know that he is the Lords As if it were not one thing for a man to have grace and another thing to know that he hath grace The Canaanite woman had strong faith but no Assurance Mat. 15. that we read of Gal. 4. 6. And because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba father Mark they are first the Sons of God and then the Spirit cryes Abba father 1 John 5. 13. These things have I written unto you that beleeve on the name of the Sonne of God that ye may know that ye have Eternall life Mark they did beleeve and they had Eternall life in respect of Christ their head who as a publick person was gone to Heaven to represent all his Saints And they had Eternall life in respect of the Promises And they had Eternall life in respect of the beginnings of it and yet they did not know it they did not believe it Therefore these things write I unto you that beleeve on the name of the Son of God saith he that ye may know that ye have Eternall life and that this life is in his Son Ponder on Mich. 7. 7 8 9. Much of this you may read in my Treatise call'd HEAVEN ON EARTH or A well-grouded Assurance of mens everlasting happinesse and blessednesse in this World and to that I referre you The word shall judge us at last and therefore strong Saints John 12. 48. make onely the word of God the judge of their Spirituall conditions now as Constantine made it the Judge and decider of all opinions Tenthly Their thoughts and hearts are more taken with the love-tokens and the good things they have by Christ then with the person of Christ Oh their graces their comforts their inlargements their meltings and their warmings c. are the things that most take them Their thoughts and hearts are so exercised and carryed out about these that the person of Christ is much neglected by them The Child is so taken with Babies and Rattles c. that the Mother is not minded And such is the carriage of weak Christians towards Christ But now souls strong in grace are more taken with the person of Christ then they are with the Love-tokens of Christ They blesse Christ indeed Christ is the most sparkling Dâ—amond in the Ring of glory c. for every dram of grace and for every good word from heaven and for every good look from heaven I but yet the person of Christ that 's more to them then all these This is remarkeable in the Church Cant. 5. 9 10. What is thy Beloved more then another Beloved O thou fairest among women c. My Beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousand c. She doth not say My Beloved is one that I That wise is but weak in her love that is more taken with her husbands presents then with his person have got so many thousands by and heaven by and pardon of sin by and peace of Conscience by Oh no but he is white and ruddy Her soule was taken most with the person of Christ Not but that every one is to mind the graces of Christ and to be thankfull for them I but 't is an Argument of weaknesse of grace when the heart is more exercised about the bracelets and the kisses and the Love-tokens of Christ then it is about the person of Christ But now saith one strong in grace My Christs person to a strong Christian is the greatest Cordiall in all the world bracelets are precious but Christ is more precious the streames of grace are sweet but the fountaine of grace is most sweet the beams of the Sun are glorious but the Sun it selfe is most glorious A naked Christ a despised Christ a persecuted Christ is more valued by a strong Christian then Heaven and Earth is by a weak Christian Eleventhly Soules weake in Grace are easily stopt and taken off from acting graciously and holily when discouragements face them This you may see in that remarkeable instance concerning Peter in the 26 of Matthew from the 69 to the end A silly wench outfaces him she daunts and dis-spirits this self-confident Champion she easily stops and turnes him by saying Thou wast with Jesus of Galilee v. 70. But he denied it before them all saying I know not what thou sayest He makes as if he did neither understand her words or her meaning and this false dissembling was a true denying of Christ Now Mark saith Chap. 14. 68. That upon the very first deniall of Christ the Cock crew and yet this faire warning could not secure him but when another Maid saw him and said This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth vers 72. He denied it with Cavebis autem si pavebis an Oath saying I doe not know the man This was fearfull and dreadfull and the worse because his Master whom he forsware was now upon his Tryall and might say with wounded Caesar
blessed for ever In heaven there is no prayers but all praises I am apt to think that there can't be a clearer nor a greater argument of a mans right to heaven and ripenesse for heaven then this being much in the work of heaven here on earth There is no grace but Love nor no Epictetus wisht he were a Nightingale to be ever singing And what then should a Saint wish c. duty but Thankfullnesse that goes with us to heaven I but weak Saints may say Sir We judge that there is weight in what you say to provoke us to thankefullnesse But did we know that we had true Grace though it were never so little though it were but as the graine of Mustard-seed we would be thankefull But this is our condition we live betweene feares and hopes one day hoping we shall to heaven and be happy for ever Another day we are fearing that we shall to hell and miscarry for ever And thus we are up and downe backward and forward sometimes we believe we have grace and at other times we doubt we have none Sometimes we have a little light and suddenly our Sun is clouded one day we are ready to say with David The Lord is our portion and the next day we are ready to complaine with Jonah that we are cast out from the presence of the Lord. Me-thinks I hear a weak Saint saying thus to me Sir I would faine have an end put to this controversie that ha's been long in my soule viz. Whether I have grace or no and if you please I will tell you what I find and so humbly desire your judgement and opinion upon the whole Well speak on poore soule and let me heare what thou hast found in thine owne soule Why Sir then thus I finde first a holy restlesnesse in my soule till with old Simeâ—n I have gotten Christ in my armes yea till I Luke 2. 25. to 33. The Child is restlesse till it be in the Mothers Armes Cant. 5. 10. have gotten Christ into my heart I goe from Duty to Duty and from Ordinance to Ordinance and yet I cannot rest because I cannot find him whom my soule loves I am like Noah's Dove that could not rest untill he had gotten into the Ark. Oh I cannot be quiet till I know that I am hous'd in Christ My soule is like a ship in a storme that is tost hither and thither Oh! where shall I find him Oh! how shall I obtaine him who is the chiefest of ten thousand What Absolom said in another case I can say in this saith the poor soule in his banishment he could say What 's all this to me so long as I can't see the Kings face And truly the language of my soule is this What 's honour to me And riches to me And the favour of Creatures to me so long as I goe mourning without my Christ so long as I see not my interest in my Christ Well have you any thing else to say O weake Christian Yes Sir I have one thing more to say What 's that Why it is this I can truly say That the poorest the most distressed and afflicted man in the world is not fuller of desires nor stronger Tota vita beni Christiani sanctum desiderium est in his desires then I am The poor man desires bread to feed him and the wounded desires a Plaister to heale him and the sick man desires Cordialls to strengthen him c. But these are not fuller of desires after those things that are sutable to them then I am of holy and heavenly desires Oh that I had more of God! Oh that I were filled with Christ Oh that I had his righteousnesse to cover me His grace to pardon me His power to support me His wisedome to councell me his loving-kindnesse to refresh me And his happinesse to Crowne me c. Well is this all O weake Saint No Sir I have one thing more to tell you What 's that Why that is this Though I dare not say that Christ is mine yet I can truly say that Christ his love his works his grace his word are the maine objects of my contemplation and meditation Oh Some Contemplatioâ—s have Generationem longam fruitionem brevem but these are not the conâ—em plations of the Saints I am alwayes best when I am most a meditating and contemplating of Christ his love his grace c. Psal 139. 17. How precious are thy thoughts unto me O God How great is the summe of them Well is this all O weake Saint No Sir I have one thing more to say What 's that Why it is this I can truly say That the want of Christs love is a greater grief and burden to my soule then the want of any outward thing in this world I am in a wanting condition as to temporals I want health and strength and Trading friends and money that answereth to all things as Solomon speaks and yet all these wants doe not so grieve me and so afflict and Eccl. 10. 19. trouble me as the want of Christ as the want of grace as the want of the discoveries of that favour that 's better then Psa 63. 3 4. life Well is this all O weake Saint No Sir there 's one thing more What 's that Why that is this That I would not willingly nor resolvedly sin against Christ V. for a world 'T is true I dare not say I have an interest in I will rather leap into a bonsire then willfully to commit wickednesse willfully to against God Christ yet I dare say that I would not willingly and resolvedly sin against Christ for a world I can say through grace were I this moment to dye that my greatest feare is of sinning against Christ and my greatest care is of pleasing Christ I know there was a time when my greatest care was to please And I said A selme had rather gâ—e to hâ—ll â—ure from sin then to heaven polluted wiâ—h that filth The Primitive Christians chose rathet to be â—hrowne to Lyâ—ns without then left to lusts within Ad Leonem magis quam Leonem saith Tertullian VI. It is repâ—red of Bucer and Calvin That they loved aâ—l them in whom they could espâ—e Aliquâ—a Christi any thing of Christ 'T is justi so with these poore hearts that question their present condition Jer. â— 1. 2 3. VII Psa 119. 136 my selfe and the Creature and my greatest fear was of displeasing the Creature I can remember with sorrow and sadnesse of heart how often I have displeased Christ to please my selfe and displeased Christ to please the Creature but now 't is quite otherwise with me my greatest care is to please Christ and my greatest fear is of offending Christ Well is this all O weake Saint No Sir I have one thing more What 's that Why that 's this Though I dare not say that Christ is mine and that I have an interest in him
to me as unreasonable as it is absurd Certainly 't is one thing to judge by our graces and another thing to trust in our graces to make a Saviour of our graces There is a great deale of difference betwixt declaring and deserving And if this be not granted it will follow that the Apostle hath sent us aside to a Covenant of works when he exhorts us to use all dilligence to make our Calling and Election sure 2 Pet. 1. 5-10 Secondly Carry home this with you If Justification and Sanctification be both of them benefits of the Covenant of Grace then to evidence the one by the other is no wayes unlawfull nor no turning aside to a Covenant of works But our Justification and Sanctification are both of them benefits and blessings of the Covenant of Grace Ergo. In Jer. 33. 8. I will pardon all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me there 's your Justification And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me There 's your Sanctification And therefore to evidence the one by the other can be no wayes unlawfull nor no turning aside to a Covenant of works Thirdly Carry home this with you Whatever gift of God in man brings him within the compasse of Gods Promise of Eternall Mercy that Gift must be an infallible evidence of salvation and happinesse But such are those gifts mentioned in those Scriptures that prove the first head Therefore they are infallible evidences of our salvation and eternall happinesse I confesse a man may have many great gifts and yet none Covet rather graces then gifts as to pray more fervently tho lesse notionally or eloquently Stammering Moses must pray rather then well-spoken Aaron The Corinthians came behind in no gift 1 Cor. 1. 7. yet were Babes and Carnall Chap. 3. 2 3. of them bring him within the compasse of Gods Promise of Eternall mercy But I say whatever gift of God in man brings him within the compasse of Gods Promise of eternall mercy that gift must be an infallible evidence of his happinesse and blessednesse For the further clearing of this I will instance in a gift of Waiting where this gift is it brings a man within the compasse of Gods Promise of eternall mercy And had a man as in a deserted state it often falls out nothing under heaven to shew for his happinesse but onely a waiting frame this ought to bear him up from fainting and sinking When the soule saith My sun is set my day is turned into night my light into darknesse and my rejoycing into mourning c. Oh! I have lost the comforting presence of God I have lost the quickening presence of God I have lost the supporting presence of God I have lost the incouraging presence of God c. and when I shall recover these sad losses I know not All that I can say is this That God keeps me in a waiting frame weeping and knocking at the door of mercy Now I say This waiting temper brings the soule within the compasse of the Promise of Eternall mercy And certainly such a soule shall not miscarry Take three Promises for this In Isa 40. ult They that waite upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary and they shall walke and not faint The mercy is the waiting-mans but the waiting-man must give God leave to time his mercy for him So in Isa 30. 18. And therefore will the Lord waite that he may be gracious unto you And therefore will he be exalted that he may have Vide Lyra Junius on the words mercy upon you for the Lord is a God of Judgement blessed are all they that waite for him So in Isa 64. 4. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the eare neither hath the eye seene O God besides thee what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him So in Isa 49. 23. They shall not be ashamed that waite for me Men are often That is they shall be advanced by me to great hap pinesle and glory to great dignity and â—elicity for in the Hebrew Dialect Adverbs of denying signifie the contrary to the import of that Verb whereunto they are joyned as might be shewed by many Scriptures ashamed that waite upon the mountaines and hills Men high and great often frustrate the expectation of waiting souls and then they blush and are ashamed and confounded that they have waited and been deceived but they shall not be ashamed that waite for me sayes God I will not deceive their expectation and after all their waiting turne them off and say I have no mercy for you Now I say where this waiting temper is which is all that many a poor soul hath to shew for everlasting happinesse and blessednesse that soule shall never miscarry That God that doth maintaine and uphold the soule in this heavenly waiting frame in the appointed season will speak life and love mercy and glory to the waiting soule And so I have done with the third Use which was to stir you up to look upon your graces with Cautions The fourth Duty is To perswade weake Saints not to turne aside from the wayes of God nor from the service of God because of any hardships or difficulties that they may meet with in his wayes or service There is a very great aptnesse in weak Saints to take offence almost at every thing and to be discouraged by the least opposition affliction and temptation and so to turne aside from the good old way Now that no difficulties nor hardships may turne you out of the way that is called holy consider seriously of these few things First Consider this The Lord will sweeten more and more his services to you He will make his work to be more and more easie to your soules he will sute thy burden to thy back and thy work to thy hand O weak soule Thou shalt find that his grace will be sufficient to hold thee up and carry thee on notwithstanding 2 Cor. 12. 9. 2 Cor. 5. 14. any difficulties or discouragements that be in the way He will shed abroad that love that shall constraine thy soule The Philosopher told his friends when they came into his little low Cottage Enteuthen ouk apeisi the oi the Gods are here with me Surely God and Christ and the Spirit are and will be with weak Saints to aid and astist them in every gracious work both to keep close to his service and to delight in his service He will make all his services to be easie to thee he will vouchsafe to thee that assisting grace that shall keep up thy head and heart from fainting and sinking under discouragements as you may see in Ezek. 36. 25 26 27 28. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walke in my Statutes and ye shall keepe my Judgements and doe them
So in Psal 63. 8. My soule followeth hard after thee I but how comes this to passe Thy right hand upholds me I feele thy hand under me drawing of my soule off after thee Oh! were not thy gracious hand under me I should never follow hard after thee The Lord will put under his everlasting armes O weak Christian and therefore though thy feet be apt to slide yet his everlasting armes shall bear thee up therefore be not discouraged doe not turne aside from those paths that drop marrow and fatnesse though there be a Lyon in the way Secondly Consider this O weak Saint That there is lesse danger and hardship in the wayes of Christ then there is in the wayes of sin Satan or the world Prov. 11. 18 19. 21. 21. That soule doth but leap out of the Frying-pan into the fire that thinks to mend himselfe by turning out of the way that is called holy Oh! the horrid drudgery that is in the wayes of sin Satan or the world Thy worst day in Christs service is better then thy best dayes if I may so speak in sin or Satans service Satan will pay the sinner home at last with the losse of God Christ Heaven and his soule for ever But in the way of righteousnesse is life joy peace honour and in the path-way thereof there is no death Prov. 12. 28. His wayes are wayes of pleasantnesse and all his paths are peace Prov. 3. 17. Thirdly Remember O weak Saint That all those hardships that thou meetest with doe onely reach the outward man They onely reach the ignoble the baser part of man they meddle not they touch not the noble part With my mind I serve the Law of God though with my flesh the Law of sin Rom. 7. 22. And vers 25. I delight in the Law of God after the inward man And indeed many of the Heathen have incouraged themselves for this very consideration against the troubles and dangers of this life All the Arrowes that are Anaxagoras Pla to and others shot at a Christian stick in his Buckler they never reach his conscience his soule The raging waves beat sorely against Noah's Ark but they toucht not him The soule is of too noble a nature to be toucht by troubles Jacob's hard service under Laban and his being nipt by the frost in winter and Gen. 31. 40. scorcht by the Sun in summer did onely reach his outward man his soule had high communion and sweet fellowship with God under all his hardships Ah Christian bear up bravely for whatever hardships thou meetest with in the wayes of God shall onely reach thy outward man and under all these hardships thou mayest have as high and sweet Hos 2. 14. communion with God as if thou hadst never knowne what hardships meant Fourthly Tell me O weake Saints have not you formerly injoyed such sweet refreshings while you have been in the very service of God as hath out-wayed all the troubles and hardships that your soules have met with I know you have and you know that you have often found that Scripture made good upon your hearts Psal 19. 11. Moreover by them is thy servant warned and in keeping of them there is great reward Mark he doth not say For keeping of them there is great reward though that 's a truth But in keeping Austin saith If a man should â—erve the Lord â— thousand â—ears in would â—â—t dâ—serve an boure of the reward in Heaven much lesse an Eternity c. of them there is great reward While the soule is at work God throwes in the reward Don't you remember O weak Christians when you have been in the service and way of God how he hath cast in joy at one time and peace at another c Oh! the smiles the kisses the sweet discoveries that your soules have met with whilst you have been in his wayes Ah poore soules don 't you know that one houres being in the bosome of Christ will make you forget all your hardships heaven at last will make amends for all and the more hardships you find in the wayes of God the more sweet will heaven be to you when you come there O how sweet is a Harbour after a long storme and a Sun-shine day after a dark and tempestuous night and a warme Spring after a sharp winter The miseries and difficulties that a man meets with in this world will exceedingly sweeten the glory of that other world Lastly Consider What hardships and difficulties the men of this world run through to get the world and undoe their owne soules They rise early goe to bed late they goe from one end of the world to another and venture through all manner of dangers Psal 127. 2. Mat. 16. 16â— deaths and miseries to gaine those things that are vaine uncertaine vexing and dangerous to their soules And wilt not thou as a good Souldier of Christ endure a little hardship 2 Tim. 2. 3 4. for the honour of thy Captaine and thine owne internall and eternall good Thou art listed under Christs Colours and therefore thou must arme thy selfe against all difficulties and discouragements The number of difficulties makes the Christians Conquest the more illustrious A gracious man should be made up all of fire overcoming and consuming all oppositions As Chrysostome said of Peter as fire does the stubble All difficulties should be but whet-stones to his fortitude The fifth Duty is this You that are weake Saints should observe how Christ keepes your wills and affections That man is kept indeed whose will and affection is kept close to Christ And that man is lost with a witnesse whose will and affections are won from Christ Weak Saints are more apt to observe their owne actions then their wills and affections and this proves a snare unto them therefore observe your affections how they are kept for if they are kept close to Christ if they are kept faithfull to Christ though thy foot may slide from Christ all is well The Apostle Rom. 7. observ'd that his will and affections were kept close to Christ even then when he was Tyrannically Captivated and carried by the prevalency of sin from Christ With my mind I serve the Law of God sayes he and what I doe I allow not therefore it is no more I that doth it but sin that dwelleth in me My will stands close to Christ and my affections are faithfull to Christ though by the prevalency of corruption I am now and then carried Captive from Christ 'T is one thing to be taken up by an Enemy and another thing for a man to lay downe his Weapons at his Enemies feet I am saith the Apostle a forc't man I doe what I hate I doe what I never intended The heart may be sound when more externall and inferiour parts are not The heart of a man may be sound God-ward and Christ-ward and holinesse-ward when yet there may be many defects and weaknesses in
bâ—st Gifts to his Dearest ones I shall onely give you these six FIrst Because he loves them with the dearest with the choycest and with the strongest love therefore he gives them the best Gifts Christ doth not love Believers with a low flat dull common love with such a love as most men love one another with but with a love that is like himselfe Now men will give as they love 1 Sam. 1. 4 5. And Elkanah gave to Penninah his wife and to all her sonnes and daughters Portions but unto Hannah he gave a worthy Portion for he loved her Jiâ—â—en manah ahhath appaiim In the Hebrew it is He gave her a Gift of the face That is a great an honourable Gift Men look upon great and honourable Gifts with a sweet and cheerfull countenance So the Gifts that Jesus Christ gives to Believers are Gifts of the face that is they are the greatest Gifts the honourablest Gifts the choycest Gifts Gifts fit for none but a King to Mundus cadaver est petentis cum sunt Canis The world is a Carcasse and those that hunt after it are Doggs is an Arabick Proverb give Augustus in his solemne Feasts gave trifles to some but gold to others The Lord Jesus scatters the trifles of this world up and downe as Luther well speaks The whole Turkish Empire is but a crust that God throwes to a Dogge God scatters giftlesse Gifts viz. the honours riches and favours of this world up and downe among the worst of men but as for his gold his spirit his grace his Son his favour these are Jewels that he onely casts into the bosome of Saints and that because he dearly loves them Secondly Christ gives the best Gifts to his people Beeause Wicked men are onely principled to abuse mercy which occasions God so often to raine hell out of heaven upon them as he did once up on Sodome Gomorrah for abusing of mercy Gen. 25. 5. they are best principled and fitted to make a Divine improvement of them There 's no men on earth that are principled and fitted for the improvement of the speciall Gifts that Christ gives but his owne people None have such principles of wisdome love holinesse and faithfullnesse to make an improvement of the joy the peace the comfort that the Lord gives as his people Ergo. Abraham gave unto the Sons of the Concubines Gifts and sent them away but unto Isaac he gave all that he had As Isaac was better beloved then the Concubines Sons so Isaac was better principled to improve love then they were The application is easie Thirdly He doth it upon this account That he may the more indeere the hearts of his people to him The greatest designe of Christ in this world is mightily to indeere the hearts of his people and indeed it was that which was in his eye and upon his heart from all eternity It was this designe that caused him to lay downe his Crowne and to take up our Crosse to put off his Robes and to put on our Raggs to be condemned that we might be justified to undergo the wrath of the Almighty that we might for ever be in the armes of his mercy He gives his Spirit his Grace yea and his very selfe and all to indeere the hearts of his people to himselfe When Isaac would indeere the heart of Rebeckah then the Bracelets the Jewels and the Ear-rings are cast into her bosome So the Lord Jesus casts his Gen. 24. 53. heavenly Bracelets Jewels and Ear-rings into the bosomes into the laps of his people out of a designe to indeere himselfe unto them Prov. 17. 8. A Gift is a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it whither soever it turneth it prospereth In the Hebrew 'tis thus A Gift is as a stone of grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is it makes a man very acceptable and gracious in the eyes of others A Gift is like that precious stone Pantarbe that hath a marvellous consiliating property in it Or like the wonder-working Load-stone that as some Writers observe hath among other Properties this That it makes those that have it well-spoken men and well accepted of Princes Certainly the Gifts that Jesus Christ gives to his doe render him very acceptable and precious in their eyes Christ to them is the Crowne of Crownes the Heaven of Heaven the Glory of Glories he is the most sparkling Diamond in the Ring of Glory Prov. 18. 16. A mans Gift maketh roome for him and bringeth him before great men The Gifts that Jesus Christ gives widen the heart and inlarge the soule of a Believer to take in more of himselfe Naturally we are narrow-mouthed Heaven-ward and wide-mouthed earth-ward But the Lord Jesus by casting in his Jewels his Pearles his precious Gifts into the soule doth widen the soule and inlarge the soule and make it more capacious to entertaine Psal 24. 7 8 9 10. himselfe Christ by his Gifts causes all doores to stand open that the King of glory may enter in Now the fourth Reason of the Point is Because Christ expects more from his people then he doth from all the world besides therefore he gives them the best Gifts Where the Lord expects and looks for most there he gives 'T was a good saying of Just Maâ—tyr Non in verbis sed infactis res nostrae religionis consislunt God loves saith Luther curristas not quaristas the â—unner not the question or c. most Though Believers are but A little little flock though they are but A remnant though they are A fountaine sealed A spring shut up A Garden inclosed yet Christ looks for more from them then from all the world besides He looks for more love from them then from all the world besides and he expects more service from them then from all the world besides and he looks for more honour from them then from all the world besides Mal. 1. 6. A Son honoureth his father and a servant his Master if I am your father where is my honour And if I am your master where is my feare He looks for more fear from them then from all the world besides and for more honour from them then from all the world besides and for more prayers and praises Some say that the Panther wil leap three times after his prey but if he misse it the 3d time he will leap no more 'T were well for Saints if Satan would doe so c. 1 Chr. 21. 1. Job 2. 9. Mat. 26. 2 Cor. 12. 7. Mat. 4. 1 12. from them then from all the world besides Fifthly The Lord Jesus gives the best gifts to his owne people That he may fence and strengthen them against the worst Temptations There are no men on earth that lye open to temptations as Saints the best men have been alwayes the most tempted The more excellent any man is in grace and holinesse the more shall that man be
world Ah how many have turn'd their backs upon God and Christ and truth c. to gaine the world how will you get off this burden No way in the world like to the exercise and actings of grace Many men heare much and yet remaine worldly and pray like Angels and yet live as if there were no heaven nor hell They will talk much of heaven and yet those that are spirituall and wise doe smell their breath to stink strong of earth and all the art and parts and gifts in the world can never cure them of this soule-killing disease but the exercise of grace till faith break forth in its glorious actings A man may hear and pray many years and yet be as carnall base and worldly as ever There is no way under Heaven to remove this stone this burden but the exercise of faith and love c. Cant. 8. 6 7. 1 John 4. 5. For whatsoever is borne of God overcometh the world and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God Not that the habit of faith overcometh the world but faith in the exercise of it conquers the world and that it does these three wayes First Faith in the exercise of it presents the world to the soule under all those notions that the Scripture holds forth the Diviâ—â—ae corporales paupertatiâ— plenae sunt Earthly Riches are full of poverty saith Austin world unto us by The Scripture holds forth the world as an impotent thing as a mixt thing as a mutable thing as a momentary thing Now faith comes and sets this home with power upon the soule and this takes the soule off from the world Secondly Faith doth it by causing the soule to converse with more glorious soule-satisfying soule-delighting and soule-contenting objects 2 Cor. 4. 16 17 18. Though our outward man perish yet our inward man is renewed day by day how comes this to passe while we * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whiles we loâ—k upâ—n eternall thâ—ngs as a man looks upon the mark that he aimes to hit looke not at the things which are seen but at the things that are not seen for the things that are seen are temporall but the things that are not seen are eternall Now when faith is busied and exercised about soule-ennobling soule-greatning soule-raising and soule-cheering objects a Christian tramples the world under his feet and now heavy afflictions are light and long afflictions short and bitter afflictions sweet unto him c. Now stand by world welcome Christ c. So in Heb. 11. It was the exercise of faith and hope upon noble and glorious objects that carried them above the world above the smiling world and above the frowning world above the tempting world and above the persecuting world as you may see by comparing severall verses of that Chapter together Vers 9 10. By faith he sojourned Every man is as the objects are about which his soule is most conversant c. in the land of Promise as in a strange Countrey dwelling in Tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob the Heires with him of the same Promise for he looked for a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God Vers 24 25 26. And by faith Moses when he was come to yeares refused to be called the Son of Pharoahs Daughter choosing rather to suffer afflictions with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures in Aegypt for he had respect to the recompence of reward Vers 27. By faith he forsooke Aegypt not fearing the wrath of the King for he endured as seeing him who is invisible And in vers 35. They refused deliverance that they might obtaine a better Resurrection So in Heb. 10. 34. They tooke joyfully the spoyling of their Goods Upon what account Knowing in themselves that they had in Heaven a better and more induring substance Thirdly and lastly Faith doth it by assuring the soule of Injoying of better things For my part I must confesse so farre as Heb. 11. 1. I understand any thing of the things of God I cannot see how a soule under the power of a well grounded Assurance can be a servant to his slave I meane the world I confesse men may talke much of heaven and of Christ and Religion c. but give In my treatise call'd Heaven on earth you may find many consideratioÌ„s to evince this and to that I referre you c. me a man that doth really and clearely live under the power of divine Assurance and I cannot see how such a one can be carried out in an inordinate love to these poore transitory things I know not one instance in all the Scripture that can be produced to prove that ever any precious Saint that hath lived in the assurance of divine love and that hath walkt up and downe this world with his pardon in his bosome have ever been charged with an inordinate love of the world that 's a sad word 1 Joh. 2. 15. Now a fourth reason of this poynt why persons are to exercise their Graces is Because its the best way to preserve their soules from Apostasie and back sliding from God 2 Pet. 1. 5-11 Adde to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience Godlinesse c. For if ye doe these things ye shall never fall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Adde to your faith vertue The Greeke word that 's here rendered Adde hath a great emphasis in it 't is taken from dansing round linke them saith the Apostle hand in hand as in dansing virgins took hands so we must joyne hand to hand in these measures of Graces leade up the dance of Graces as in Pulâ—brior in praelio occisus miles quam fugâ salvus the Galliard every one takes his turne So in Chap. 3. 17 18. Ye therefore beloved seeing ye know these things beware lest ye also being led aside with the error of the wicked fall from your owne stedfastnesse There are many turne aside and shake hands with God and Christ and truth and the words of Righteousnesse and therefore you had need to take heed that you fall not as others have fallen before you But how shall we be kept from apostatizing why Grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 'T is a growth in grace 't is the exercise of grace that will make a man stand when others fall yea when Cedars fall c. Fifthly All other exercises without the exercise of Grace will profit nothing Or if you will take it thus All other exercises will be lesse to us without the exercise of Grace therefore we had need to Improve our Graces When the house is on fire if a man should onely pray or cry
holynesse-ward they received new life from the Spirit of Christ as at first conversion they did and I am confident for want of the knowledge and due consideration of this truth many professors take such libertie to themselves as to live in the neglect of many precious duties of Godlinesse for which first or last they will pay deare But remembring that 't is not a flood of words but weighty arguments that convinces and perswades the soules and consciences of men I shall give you foure reasons to demonstrate That Beleevers have a power to doe good and the first is this First Because they have life and all life is a power to act Omnis vita est propter delectationem by naturall life is a power to act by spirituall life is a power to act by eternall life is a power to act by The Philosopher sayth That a fly is more excellent then the heavens because the fly hath life which the heavens have not c. Secondly Else there is no just Ground for Christ to charge Omission of diet breeds diseases so doth omission of dutie and makes worke either for repentance hel or the physitian of souls the guilt of sins upon them as neglect of Prayer Repentance Mortification nor the guilt of Carelesnesse and Sloathfullnesse c. which he doth if they can act no further nor no longer then the Holy-Ghost acts them as at their first conversion notwithstanding their union with Christ and that spirituall principle of life that at first they received from Christ Certainly if it be so it will not stand with the unspotted Justice of God to charge the guilt of sins of omission upon Beleeving soules if they have no power to act but are as stocks and stones c. as some dreame A third Ground is this If there be not some power in Beleevers to doe good then we should not have as much benefit by the Ipse unus erit tibi omnia quia in ipsâ— uno bono bona sunt omnia August second Adam as we had by the first Adam The first Adam if he had stood would have Communicated a power to all his sons and daughters to have done good and being corrupted he doth communicate power to sin as all his children finde by sad and wofull experience and shall not Christ much more communicate a power to us to doe good in our measure surely he doth though few minde it and fewer improve it as they should If there be not such a power in beleevers how have they gain'd more by the second Adam then they lost by the first and wherein lyes the excellency of the second above the first c. Fourthly and lastly All those exhortations are voyd and of none effect if there be not some power in soules truly gratious to doe good as all those exhortations to watchfullnesse To stirre up the Grace of God that is in us and to worke out our owne salvation with feare and trembling and that also Give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure To what purpose are all these precious exhortations if the regenerate man have no power at all to act any thing that 's good Nay then beleevers under the Covenant of Grace should be in no better a Condition then unregenerate men that are under a Covenant of workes who see their duties discovered but have no power to performe which is contrary as to other Scriptures so to that Psal 40. 7 8 9. Then said I loe I come in the volume of thy booke it is written of me I delight to doe thy will O my God yea thy law is within my heart or thy law is in the midst of my Bowells as the Hebrew reads it And to that of Ezek. 36. 25 26 27. c. A soule truly gratious can sincerely say Thy law O Lord is in the midst of my bowells and I delight to doe thy will O Lord I confesse I cannot doe it as I should nor I shall never doe it as I would till I come to heaven but this I can say in muâ—h uprightnesse that Thy law is in my heart and I delight to doe thy will O father And so Paul With my minde I serve the Law of God though with my Rom. 7. ult flesh the Law of sinne And we have many promises concerning divine Assistance and if wee did but stirre up the Grace of God that is in us Isa 41. 10. Heb. 13. 5 6 c. we should finde the Assistance of God and the Glorious breakings forth of his power and love according to his promise and the worke that he requires of us Isa 26. 12. Chap. 64. 5. c. Though no beleever doth what he should doe yet doubtlesse every beleever might doe more then he doth doe in order to Gods glory and his owne and others internall and eternall good Affection without endeavour is like Rachel beautifull but barren They are blessed that doe what Beaâ—i sunt qui praecepta faciunt etiam si non perficiunt Aug. they can though they cannot but under-doe When Demosthenes was asked What was the first part of an Orator what the second what the third answered action the same may I say if any should aske me what is the first the second the third part of a Christian I must answer action Luther saith He had rather obey then worke Miracles obedience is better then sacrifice But Sir you will say What is the meaning of that Text that is so often in the mouths of Professors Without me you can doe nothing John 15. 5. I answer All that that Text holds forth is this That if a man ha's not union with Christ if he be not implanted into Christ he can doe nothing Without me that is separate from me or apart from me as the words may be read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Secrsim a me Vide Beza Câ—meron and Pisâ—at you can doe nothing If you are not implanted into me if by the spirit and faith you art not united unto me you can doe nothing The arme may doe much it may offend an enemy and it may defend a mans life by virtue of its union with the head but if you separate the arme from the head from the body what can it doe Certainly the soule by virtue of its union with Christ may doe much though such as are separated from Christ can doe nothing at least as they should Union with Christ is that wherein the strength comfort and happinesse of the soule does consist Ah Christians if you would but put out your selves to the utmost you would find the Lord both ready and willing to assist you to meet with you and to doe for you above what you are able to aske or thinke Caesar by continuall employment overcome two constant Diseases the Head-ach and the Falling-sicknesse Oh! the spirituall Diseases that the active Christian overcomes Among the Aegyptians Idlenesse was a capitall crime Among the
unstable soules An heart they have exercised with covetous practices cursed children they break all Promises and Covenants with God and man as Sampson did the new Ropes So in Prov. 19. 19. A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment for if thou deliver him yet thou must doe it againe The Hebrew word Tosiph signifies to adde sayes he thou must adde deliverance to deliverance for he will still be a adding sin to sin So the radix Jasaph is used Deut. 29. 19. and in severall other Scriptures Such sinners make God a God of clouts one that will not doe as he sayes Ahab after he was threatned with utter rooting out begat fifty Sons as it were to crosse God and to try it out with him Let God thunder Jer. 9. 3. in his judgements yet he will add sin to sin he will proceed from evill to evill till he comes to the very top of evill viz. to be hardned in sin and to scoffe at holinesse c. The old Italians were wont in time of thunder to shoot Wiâ—nesse Ahab Hamaâ— Jehu Jeroboaâ— the soâ—le in the Gospel and those in Mat. 23. 14 15 16. off their greatest Ordnance and to ring their greatest Bells to drowne the noyse of the Heavens So let God thunder from Heaven yet wicked men will so improve their wicked principles that their consciences may not hear the noyse of the Thunder-claps of Divine displeasure The covetous man will improve his earthly Principles and the ambtious man his ambitious Principles and the voluptuous man his voluptuous principles and the unchast man his unclean principles and the erroneous man his erroneous Principles and the blasphemous man his blasphemous Principles c. Ah Sirs shall wicked men thus improve their wicked Principles to the uttermost against God Christ and Religion and against the prosperity peace joy and happinesse of the Saints And shall not Saints improve their graces to the uttermost for the honour of the Lord the advancement of Religion and the mutuall profit and benefit of each other Seventhly The more high and excellent any man is in grace the more highly he shall be exalted in glory Oh therefore exercise your Grace improve your grace as you would be high in Heaven labour to improve your graces much while you are here on earth for glory will be given out at last according to the exercise and improvement of your grace The more high and improved a mans graces be the more that man will doe for God and the more any man doth for God the more at last shall he receive from God 1 Cor. 15. last Therefore my beloved brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable Darius before he came to the Kingdom received a Gaâ—ment for a gift of one Sylosâ— and when he became King he rewarded him with the command of his Countrey Sanus c. alwayes abounding in the worke of the Lord forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vaine in the Lord. So Gal. 6. He that sowes sparingly shall reap sparingly but he that sowes liberally shall reap liberally The more any man hath improved his Grace the more that man will be able to bare and suffer for God and the more any man bears and suffers for God the more glory shall that man have at last from God Mat. 5. 11 12. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evill against you falsly for my sake rejoyce and be exceeding glad or Leap and dance for joy Why so For great is your reward in heaven God is a liberall Pay-master and no small things Chaireâ—e kai agalâ—iasthe Leap skip for joy c. can fall from so great and so gratious a hand as his The more excellent any man is in Grace the more he is the delight of God Psal 16. 3 4. My goodnesse extendeth not to thee but to the Saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight Now this is spoken in the person of Christ for the Apostle applies these words to Christ Now saith Christ My goodnesse reaches not to thee oh father Acts 2 25. The sa he delights in all his Children yet somtimes he delights more in one then in another c. but to the Saints and to the excellent in whom is all my delight And doubtlesse they that are his greatest delight on earth shall be possest of the greatest glory in Heaven If fathers give the greatest portions to those Children in whom they delight why should not Christ Is it equity in the one and iniquity in the other Surely no Christ may doe with his owne as he pleases Againe The more any man improves his Grace the clearer sweeter fuller and richer is his injoyments of God here There 's no man in all the world that hath such injoyments of God as that man hath that most improves his Graces 'T is not he that knows most nor him that hears most nor yet he that talkes most but he that exercises Grace most that hath most communion with God that hath the clearest visions of God that hath the sweetest discoveries and manifestations of God Now certainly if they that improve their graces most have most of God here then without controversie they shall have most of God hereafter Doubtlesse a man may as well plead for equall degrees of Grace in this world as for equall degrees of glory in the other world Againe If those who are most gracelesse and wicked shall be most tormented then certainly they that are most gracious shall be most exalted in the day of Christ But the more wicked any man is the more shall he be tormented in the Mat. 23. 14. Luke 12. 47 48. day of vengeance Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for ye shall receive the greater damnation The darkest the lowest the hottest place in hell is provided for you therefore it roundly followes That those that are most gracious shall at last be most glorious And thus much for the Motives that tend to provoke all the precious Children of Zion to make a through improvement of the Gifts and Graces that the Lord ha's bestow'd upon them I shall now come to the resolution of a weighty Question and so conclude this Point which I have been the longer upon by reason of its very great usefullnesse in these dayes wherein men strive to exercise any thing yea every thing but grace and holinesse c. Now the Question is this When may a soule be said to be excellent in Grace or to have highly improved Grace Now to this Question I shall give these following Answers First A soule that 's high and excellent in grace that hath improved his Graces to a considerable height will keepe humble and unspotted under great outward injoyments 'T is said of Daniel that he had an excellent spirit and herein Many are seemingly good till they come to be great and then they prove
about him are very bad Some say that Roses grow the sweeter when they are planted by Garlick Verily Christians that have gloriously improved their Graces are like those Roses they grow sweeter and sweeter holier and holier by wicked men The best Diamonds shine most in the dark and so doe the best Christians shine most in the worst times Sixthly Such turne their principles into practice They turne their speculations into power their notions into spirit their glorious inside into a golden outside Psal 45. 13. Seventhly Such as have made a considerable improvement of their gifts and graces Have hearts as large as their heads Whereas most mens heads have outgrowne their hearts c. Eighthly Such are alwayes most busied about the highest things viz. God Christ Heaven c. Phil. 3. 2 Tim. 4. 8. 2 Cor. 4. ult Rom. 8. 18. Ninthly Such are alwayes a doing or receiving good As Christ went up and downe doing good Mat. 4. 23. Chap. 9. 35. Mark 6. 6. Tenthly and lastly Such will mourne for wicked mens sins as well as their owne O the teares the sighes the groanes Psalm 119. Jer. 9. 1 2. 2 Pet. 2. 7 8 9. that others sins fetch from these mens hearts Pambus in the Ecclesiasticall History wept when he saw a Harlot dressed with much care and cost partly to see one take so much paines to goe to hell and partly because he had not been so carefull to please God as she had been to please a wanton Lover I have at this time onely given you some short hints whereby you may know whether you have made any considerable improvement of that grace the Lord hath given you I doe intend by Divine permission in a convenient time to declare much more of this to the World I shall follow all what ha's been said with my prayers that it may help on your internall and eternall welfare EPHES. 3. 8. The Vnsearchable Riches of Christ NOw the next Observation that we shall begin with is this That the Lord Jesus Christ is very Rich. And the second will be this That the great businesse and worke of the Ministry is to hold forth to the people the Riches of Christ We shall begin with the first Point at this time namely That the Lord Jesus Christ is very rich For the opening of this Point we shall attempt these three things 1 To demonstrate this to be a truth That the Lord Jesus is very rich 2 The Grounds why he is thus held forth in the word to be one full of Vnsearchable Riches 3 To shew you the Excellency of the riches of Christ above all other Riches in the world And then the Use of the Point For the first That the Lord Jesus Christ is very rich First Expresse Scripture speaks out this truth He is rich in goodnesse Rom. 2. 4. Or despisest thou the riches of his goodnesse that is ready to be imployed for thy internall and To chreston His native goodnesse c. eternall good c. Againe He is rich in wisedome and knowledge Col 2. 3. In whom speaking of Christ are hid all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge Christ was content that his riches should be hid from the world therefore doe not thou be As man is an Epitome of the whole world so is Christ of all wisedome and knowledge c. angry that thine is no more knowne to the world What is thy one mite to Christs many millions c. Againe He is rich in grace Ephes 1. 7. By whom we have redemption through his blood the forgivenesse of sins according to the riches of his grace Againe He is rich in glory Ephes 1. 18. That ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints So in Chap. 3. 16. That he would grant unto you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthned with might by his spirit in the Nec Christus nec coelum patitur hyperbolem Neither Christ nor heaven can be hyperbolized inner man So in Phil. 4. 19. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus The riches of glory are unconceiveable riches Search is made through all the bowells of the earth for something to shadow it by The riches of this glory is fitter to be believed then to be discoursed of as some of the very Heathens have acknowledged But secondly As expresse Scripture speaks out this truth That Christ is very rich so there are eight things more that doe with open mouth speak out Christ to be very rich First You may judge of his riches by the dowry and portion his father hath given him In Psal 2. 7. Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee aske of me and I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession He is the heir of all things all things above and below in heaven and earth are his Heb. 1. 2. God hath in these last dayes spoken to us by his Son whom he hath appointed Heire of all things Christ is the richest Heire in heaven and earth Men cry up this man to be a good match and that and why so but because they are great Heires Ah! but what are all the great Heires of the world to this Heire the Lord Jesus Joseph gave Portions to all his brethren but to Benjamin a Portion five times as good as what he gave the residue So the Lord scatters Portions among the Sons of men he gives brasse to some gold to others temporalls to some spiritualls to others but the greatest portion of all he hath given into the hands of Christ whom he hath made the Heire of all things Rev. 11. 15. And the seventh Angel sounded and there were great voyces in heaven saying The Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reigne for ever and ever So in Chap. 19. 11 12. And I saw heaven opened and behold a white Horse and he that sat upon him was called faithfull and true and in righteousnesse he doth judge and make war His eyes were as a flame of fire and on his head were many Crownes Mark that what are Princes single Crownes and the Popes tripple Crowne to Christs many Crownes Certainly he must be very rich that ha's so many Kingdomes and Crownes waite but a while and you shall see these Scriptures made good c. Secondly You may judge of his riches by his Keeping open house for the reliefe and supply of all created creatures both in heaven and in earth Crassus was so rich that he maintain'd a whole Army with his owne Reâ—enues â—ut what is this to what Jesus does c. Psal 145. 16. You look upon those as very rich that keep open house for all commers and goers why such a one is the Lord Jesus Christ he keeps
He proceeds from virtue to virtue untill at length he shines like the Sun in its strength And so in Mal. 4. 2. Vnto you that feare my name shall the Sun of righteousnesse arise with healing under his wings and you shall goe forth and grow up as Calves of the stall Hos 14. 5 1 7. I will be as the dew unto Israel he shall grow as the Lilly and cast forth his roots as Lebanon His branches shall spread and his beauty shall be as the Olive-tree and his smell as Lebanon They that dwell under his shadow shall returne they shall revive as the corne and grow as the Vine The sent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon I shall but hint at this now because I have spoken more fully to it already c. The second Proposition is this Few or none are rich in all Graces There are some men in the world that are generally rich that are rich in money and rich in land and rich in goods But where you have one man that is a generall rich man in this sense you have ten thousand that are onely rich in some one thing as Money Goods or Land c. so it is here 'T is a hard thing if possible to find a soule that 's generally rich That is rich in every grace that 's rich in faith and rich in wisedome and rich in love and rich in patience c. Abraham was rich in Faith and Job was rich in Patience and Moses was rich in Meeknesse and David was rich in zeale c. but none of these were rich in every grace And so in these dayes you may find one Christian rich in one grace and another Christian rich in another grace but where will you find a Christian that is rich in every grace Such that are rich in some graces are yet very defective and lame in other graces No grace growes alike in all Saints In the Parable some brought forth thirty some sixty some a hundred c. The Saints once at Rome were richer in wisedome and knowledge then the Saints at Thessalonica Rom. 15. 14. And the Saints at Thessalonica were richer in faith love patience and charity then the Saints at Rome 1 Thess 1. 4. 2. 8. compared with 2 Epist 1. 3 4. It is with Saints as with sinners one sinner excells in one vice another in another vice So one Saint excells in one virtue and another in another virtue one is rich in joy in comfort another is rich in humility in feare another in faith and hope and another in love c. And mark how this arises It arises sometimes from hence that every Saint doth indeavour to excell in that particular grace that is most opposite to his bosome sin Now every Saints bosome sin is not alike it may be pride is one mans bosome sin and hypocrisie another mans bosome sin c. Now it 's the very nature of grace to make a man strive to be most eminent in that particular grace that is most opposite to his bosome sin and upon this account it comes to passe that one is rich in one grace and another in another Againe Some Saints have frequent occasions to act and exercise such and such graces others are called forth to act such and such graces now the more any particular grace is acted the more that particular grace is increased frequent acts cause a stronger habite both in graces and in sins If all Christians should be rich in all graces what difference would there be between heaven and earth what need would there be of Ordinances and when would Christians long to be dissolved and to be with Christ c. The third Proposition is this Soules may be rich in Grace and yet not know it and yet not perceive it The Child is Heire to a Crowne to a great Estate but The Sun ascends with out perception and so 't is often in this supernaturall motion c. The Greeks derive their word for desire from a root that signifies to burn Now if one should heap never so much fuell upon a fire iâ— would not quench it but kindle it the more The Application is easie Gen. 28. knowes it not Moses his face did shine and others saw it but he perceived it not So many a precious soule is rich in grace and others see it and know it and blesse God for it and yet the poore soule perceives it not Now because a right understanding of this may be of much use to some sadded dejected soules I will shew you how this comes to passe First Sometime it arises from the soules strong desires of spirituall riches The strength of the soules desires after spirituall riches doth often take away the very sence of growing spiritually rich Many covetous mens desires are so strongly carried forth after earthly riches that though they doe grow rich yet they cannot perceive it they cannot believe it 'T is just so with many a precious Christian his desires after spirituall riches are so strong that they take away the very sence of his growing rich in spiritualls Many Christians have much worth within them but they see it not 'T was a good man that said The Lord was in this place and I knew it not c. Againe This ariseth sometimes from mens neglecting the casting up of their Accounts Many men thrive and grow rich and yet by neglecting the casting up of their Accounts they cannot tell whether they goe backward or forward 'T is so with many precious soules they grow in grace and are Seneca reports of one Sexius that he would every night ask himselfe these three Questions 1 What evill hast thou healed this day 2 What vice hast thou stood against this day 3 In what part art thou bettered this day c. spiritually rich and yet by neglecting the casting up of their accounts they doe not know it they doe not perceive it c. Againe Sometimes it ariseth from the soules too frequent casting up of its Accounts If a man should cast up his Accounts once a week or once a moneth he may not be able to discerne that he doth grow rich and yet he may grow rich but let him but compare one year with another and he shall clearly see that he doth grow rich Though most are to blame for neglecting the casting up of their accounts yet some are to blame for casting up their accounts too often for by this means they are not able to perceive their spirituall growth and so can neither be so thankfull nor so cheerfull as otherwise they might Let there be some considerable time between your casting up of your Accounts and you will find that your soules are growne rich though for the present you perceive it not But then againe Sometimes it ariseth from the soules mistake in casting up of its accounts The soule many times mistakes 't is in a hurry and there the soule puts downe ten for a hundred and a
this and be rich in all be weak in this and be weak in all Faith hath an influence upon all other graces it is like a silver threed that runs through a Chaine of Pearles it puts strength and vivacity into all other graces You never knew a man rich in any grace that ha's not been rich in faith Every mans hope joy feare love humility patience c. is as his faith is In Heb. 11. 1. Faith is the evidence of things not seene and the substance of things hoped for Or as the Greek ha's it The subsistance of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things hoped for All other graces live upon faiths cost and charge Look what the breast is to the Child wings to the bird Oyle to the wheeles and the soule to the body that is faith to all other graces in the soule of man It is reported of the Christall that it hath such a virtue in it that the very touching of it quickens other stones and puts a lustr◠and a beauty upon them I am sure 't is true of faith there is such a Divine virtue and power in faith that it will quicken and cast a lustre and a beauty upon all other graces in the soule of man and therefore you should labour as for life to be rich in this particular grace of faith Thirdly Consider this Of all Graces that be in the soule of man faith is the most usefull grace and therefore you should above all labour to be rich in faith 'T is a Christians right eye without which he cannot see for Christ 't is his right hand without which he cannot doe for Christ 't is his tongue without which he cannot speak for Christ 't is his very vitall spirits without which he cannot act for Christ Some say that King Midas had obtained of the Gods that whatsoever he touch'd should be turn'd into gold I am sure that whatever faith toucheth it turnes into gold that is into our good If our faith touches the Promises it turns them into our good whatsoever faith layes its hand upon it appropriates to it selfe and turnes it into the soules good If Psal 63. 1. Psal 89. 26. John 20 28. faith looks upon God it saith This God is my God for ever and ever and he shall be my guide unto death When it looks upon Christ it saith with Thomas My Lord and my God When it looks upon the Crowne of righteousnesse it saith This Crowne is laid up for me c. Faith is bread to nourish us and wine to cheere us and a Cordiall to strengthen us Faith is a sword to defend us a guide to direct us a staffe to support us a plaister to heale us a friend to comfort us and a golden key to open heaven unto us Faith of all graces is the most usefull grace to the soule of man Without faith it is impossible Heb. 11. 6. to please God All those services are lost wherein faith hath not a hand You may write losse upon all the prayers Heb. 4. 2. you make and upon all the Sermons you hear and upon all the teares you shed and upon all the almes you give if all be not managed by a hand of faith Fourthly You should labour above all to be rich in faith because faith is that Princely Grace that Christ is most taken with Cant. 4. 9. Thou hast ravished my heart my Sister my Spouse thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes that is with that piercing eye of faith that looks up to my Mercy-seat with one Chaine of thy neck There are two things that with open mouth speake out Christ to be most taken with the faith of his people And the first is His uncrowning himselfe to Crowne his peoples faith Christ doth often take the Crowne off his owne head and puts it upon the head of faith witnesse such passages as these which are frequent in Scripture Thy faith hath healed thee Thy faith hath saved thee Thy faith hath made thee whole c. Christ takes the Crowne off his owne head and puts it upon the head of faith and no wonder for of all graces faith takes the Crowne off a mans owne head and puts it upon the head of Christ Man naturally is apt to Crowne any thing but Christ he is apt to Crowne his prayers and Crowne his desires and Crowne his indeavours c. Oh but now faith acts like a King of Kings and uncrownes all and sets the Crowne upon the head of Christ And then a second thing that speaks out Christ to be most taken with the grace of faith is this That he overlooks all other graces in comparison of faith as you may see in the Canaanite woman Mat. 15. 21-29 The poore woman shewes a great deale of compassion a great deale of wisedome a great deale of humility a great deale of love and a great deale of self-deniall but in the close saith Christ O woman greae is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt He doth not say O woman great is thy love nor O woman great is thy wisedome nor O woman great is thy humility and self-deniall nor O woman great is thy patience c. but O woman great is thy faith He overlooks as it were all other graces and sets the Crowne upon the head of faith O woman great is thy faith So in Mark 5. the woman that had a bloody issue twelve yeares comes to Christ for cure and in the close of the story saith Christ to her Woman thy faith hath made thee whole He doth not say Woman thy pressing hard to come to me hath made thee whole but Thy faith hath made thee whole He doth not say Woman thy earnest desires and indeavours to be made whole ha's made thee whole but Thy faith hath made thee whole He doth not say Woman thy feare and trembling hath made thee whole but Thy faith hath made thee whole c. So in Luke 7. ult Thy faith hath saved thee goe in peace Though she wept much and loved much yet Christ doth not say Thy teares have saved thee thy sorrow hath saved thee He doth not say Thy humility thy charity hath saved thee but O woman thy faith hath saved thee Christ overlooks all other graces as it were and casts a lovely eye upon the grace of saith c. And then againe in the fifth place You should above all labour to be rich in faith because of all graces in the soule of man faith makes him most lively and active There 's no grace I say no grace in the soule of man that makes him so full of life and action as the grace of faith Faith is the Primum Mobile the first pin the first wheele True faith puts forth it self into vitall operations Ferdinands of Arragon believed the story told him by Columbus and therefore he furnished him with ships got the West-Indies by his faith in the undertaker But Henry the
promises are over-performed 1 Cor. 2. 9. c. Christ upon his word Doe you believe he will give you a Crowne and will you not trust him for a crust Doe you believe he will give you a Kingdome and doe you doubt whether he will give you a Cottage to rest in Ha's he given you his blood and doe you think that he will deny you any thing that is really for your good Surely he will not he cannot Againe Trust him for power against all the remainders of sin in you Hath Christ freed you from the damnatory power of sin Rom. 8. 1. Rom. 6. 14. Heb. 13. 5. and from the dominion of sin and will not you trust him for deliverance from the remainers of sin Psal 65. 3. Iniquities prevaile against me As for our transgressions thou shalt purge them away O excellent faith Againe Trust him to bring you into the Land of rest Doe you think that this Joshua is not able to carry you through all difficulties dangers and deaths Doe you think that he will leave you to dye in the wildernesse who have already had some glimpses of Heavens glory O trust to this Christ for the bringing of your soules into the Promised Land Christ would loose his glory should you fall short of glory c. Againe If Christ be so rich Then don't forsake him don't leave him don't turne your backs upon him Is there Riches of Justification and Riches of Sanctification and Riches of Consolation and Riches of Glorification in Christ Yes why then doe not depart from him doe not You read of no Armes for the back though you doe for the breast Phil. 6. shake hands with him That 's a sad complaint of God in Jer. 2. 12 13. Be astonished O ye heavens at this and be horribly afraid be ye very desolate saith the Lord For my people have committed two evills They have forsaken me the fountaine of living waters and hewed them out Cisternes broken Cisternes that can hold no water Is it madnesse and folly to flye from the fountaine to the streame from the light of the Sun to the light of a candle And is it not greater madnesse and folly to forsake the Creator to run after the creature O say as Peter Whither should we goe thou hast John 6. 68. the words of eternall life To run from Christ is to run from all life peace and joy 't is to run from our strength our shelter our security our safety our Crown our glory Lev. 11. 10. Crabbs that goe backward are reckoned among unclean creatures The application is easie Origen coming to Jerusalem after that he had shamefully turned his back upon Christ and his truth and being exceedingly pressed to preach at last he yields and as he opened the Book he happened to cast his eye upon that place of the Psalmist What hast thou to doe to declare my Statutes or that thou shouldest take my Covenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest Psa 50. 16 17. instruction and castest my words behind thee Now the remembrance of his owne folly so reflected upon his conscience that it made him close the Book and sit downe and weep Such as forsake a rich a full Christ shall have weeping work enough That is a very dreadfull Scripture Jer. 17. 13. All you that forsake the Lord shall come to be ashamed and they that depart from him shall be written in the dust Can you read this Text backsliding soules and not tremble c. Againe If the Lord Jesus Christ be so rich Oh then all you that have an interest in him labour mightily to clear up your interest and to be more and more confident of your interest in so rich a Jesus My Brethren 't is one thing for a man to have an interest in Christ and another thing to have his interest cleer'd up to him I doe speak it with grief of heart That even among such Christians that I hope to meet in Heaven there 's scarce one of forty nay one of a hundred that is groundedly able to make out his interest in the Lord Jesus Most Christians live between feare and hope between doubting and believing One day they hope that all is well and that all shall be well for ever the next day they are ready to say That they shall one day perish by the hand of such a corruption or else by the hand of such or such a temptation And thus they are up and downe sav'd and lost many times in a day But you will say unto me What Meanes should we use to clear up our interest in Christ I 'le tell you there are six singular Means that you should labour after for the evidencing more and more your interest in Christ And take it from experience you will find that they will contribute very very much for the evidencing your interest in Christ And the Means for the evidencing our interest in Christ First is this Faithfully and constantly fall in with the interest of Christ Holinesse is the interest of Christ the Gospel is the interest of Christ the precious Ordinances are the interest of Christ c. Now the more sincerely and roundly you fall in with the interest of Christ the more abundantly you will be confirmed and perswaded of your interest in Christ Such soules The Primitive Christians did generally fall in with the interest of Christ and they generally had an assurance of their interest in Christ Lam. 1. 16. Phil. 4. 30. Isa 63. 10. Spiritus sanctâ— est res delicaâ—a Psal 77. 2. 1 Thess 5. 19. as fall in with strange interests or with base and carnall interests may justly question whether ever they had any reall interest in Christ Christians did you more sincerely and fully fall in with Christs interest you would lesse question your interest in Christ this would scatter many a cloud Secondly Be kind to the spirit of Christ Doe not grieve him doe not slight him If you should set this spirit a mourning that alone can evidence your interest that alone can seale up your interest in Christ by whom shall your interest in Christ be sealed up O doe not grieve the spirit by acting against light against conscience against ingagements doe not grieve him by casting his cordialls and comforts behind your backs doe not grieve him by slighting and despising his gracious actings in others doe not cast water upon the spirit but wisely attend the hints the Items and motions of the Spirit and he will clear up thy interest in Christ he will make thee say My Beloved is mine and I am his Câ—nt 2. 16 Thirdly Labour more and more after a full and universall conformity to Jesus Christ The more the soule is conformable to Christ the more confident it will be of its interest in Christ 1 John 4. 17. As all good Orators indeavour to be like Demosthenes so all good Christians should indeavour to be like to Jesus Christ for
therein lyes their glory and perfection Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldnesse in the day of judgement because as he is so are we in this world As he so are we The Child is not more like the father then then we are like our Saviour The Child is the father multiplied the father of a second edition Our Summum bonum consists in our full communion with Christ and in our full conformity to Christ Oh if men were more universally conformable to Christ in their affections ends designes and actings c. they would have abundantly more clear full and glorious evidences of their interest in Christ A more full conformity to Christ in heart and life will make your lives a very Heaven c. Fourthly Interest Christ in the glory of all you injoy and in the glory of all you doe This is a precious way to have your interest in Christ more 1 Cor. 10. 31. and more evidenced to your owne soules Such as are good at this as are much in this will find Christ every day a clearing up more and more their interest in himselfe 'T is not usually long night with such soules O Christians interest Christ more and more in the glory of all your graces interest him in the glory of all your duties interest him in the glory of all your abilities as Christ doth interest you in himselfe in John 1. 16. Rev. 1. 5 6. 1 Pet. 2. 9. his spirit in his graces in his riches in his Titles in his dignities in his offices Ah Christians did you interest Christ more in all you have in all you are and in all you doe you would never be so full of feares and doubts and questions about your interest in Christ as you are Your interessing of Christ in all you have and doe will speak out not onely the The mother that strongly loves her child dâ—es not question the truth of he love to her child truth of your love but also the strength and greatnesse of your love and where men love much where they love strongly there they doe not question the truth of their love The Heathen Gods were contented to divide their honours amongst themselves and hence the Senate of Rome rejected Christ from taking him to be a God after that they had consulted about it For said they if Christ come to be acknowledged a God he will not share with the rest he will have all himselfe And so upon this reason they refused him Christians Christ will not have any competitor he will rather part with any thing then with his glory Isa 42. 8. I am the Lord that is my name and my glory will I not give to another neither my praise to graven Images Christ will rather part with his life then with his honour therefore let every Christian say as David does 1 Chron. 29. 11 12 13. Thine O Lord is the greatnesse and the power and the glory and the victory and the Majesty for all that is in the Heaven and in the earth is thine Thine is the Kingdome O Lord and thou art exalted as head above all Both riches and honour come of thee and thou reignest over all And in thine hand is power and might and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all Now therefore our God we thanke thee and praise thy glorious name And cleerly friends the more your hearts are led forth to interest Christ in all you injoy and in all you doe the more clear and glorious evidence you will have of your interest in Christ let his honour and glory lye nearer and nearer to your hearts and you shall see that he ha's set you as a seale upon his arme as a seale upon his heart The fifth meanes to gaine the knowledge of your interest in Christ is By cleaving to Christ and whatsoever is deare to Christ in the face of all miseries difficulties and dangers It 's nothing to cleave to Christ in faire weather when every Psal 44. Acts 5. Heb. 11. Dan. 3. Acts 21. 13. one cleaves to Christ when every one professes Christ but to cleave to him in a storme when every one runs from him this speaks out a child-like disposition it speaks out a Jacob's spirit Surely he must needs have much of Christ that nothing can take off from cleaving to Christ When the soule sayes to Christ as Ruth said to Naomi Whither thou Ruth 1. 15 16 17 18. goest I will goe and where thou lodgest I will lodge thy people shall be my people and thy God shall be my God The Lord doe so to me and more also if ought but death part thee and me When neither the frownes of men nor the reproach of men nor the contempt of men nor oppositions from men can take the soule off from cleaving to Christ it will not be long before Christ speaks peace to such a soule Psal 63. 8. My soule followeth hard after thee thy right hand upholds me In the Hebrew 'tis My soule cleaveth to thee or Dabka naphshi is glewed to thee as Jonathan's soule cleav'd to David and as Jacob's soule cleav'd to Rachel in the face of all difficulties and troubles Doubtlesse when the soule cleaves to Christ in the face of all afflictions and difficulties this carries with it Shaâ—nma one of Davids Worthies stood and defended the field when all the rest fled very much evidence of its interest in Christ In temporalls men cleave to persons and things as their interest is in them and so 't is in spirituals also Christ cannot Christ will not throw such to hell that hang about him that cleave to him Sixthly and lastly If you would know whether you have an interest in Christ Then be very much in observing what interest Christ ha's in you Observe whether he ha's the interest of a head a husband a father or no Christ ha's a generall interest in all creatures as he is the Creator and Preserver of them And he ha's a heads interest a husbands interest a fathers interest onely in them that have a saving interest in him The interest of the head the husband the father is the greatest interest 't is the sweetest interest 't is a commanding interest 't is a growing interest 't is a peculiar interest 't is a lasting interest and really if the Lord Jesus hath such an interest in you you may be as confident that you have a reall and glorious interest in him ' as you are confident that you live And thus much for the means whereby you may come to know your interest in rich Jesus Before I close up this discourse give me leave to speak a few words to poore sinners who to this very day are afar off from this Jesus who is so rich in all excellencies and glories A VSE of Exhortation to Christ-less soules Ah poore hearts you have heard much of the riches of the Lord
Jesus and Oh that I could perswade with you to get an interest in this Christ get this Christ and you get all misse him and you misse all 'T is a matter of eternall concernment to your soules nothing can make that man miserable that hath this rich Christ nothing can make that man happy that wants this rich Christ In Prov. 4. 5 7. Get wisedome that 's Christ get understanding forget it not Vers 7. Wisedome is the principall thing therefore get wisedome and with all thy getting get understanding And so in Prov. 16. 16. How much better is to get wisedome then gold and to get understanding rather to be chosen then silver Hadst thou all the power of the world without an interest 1 Cor. 1. 25. to 29. in Christ thou wouldest be but weak Hadst thou all the wit and learning in the world without an Interest in Christ thou wouldest be but a foole Hadst thou all the honours in the world yet without an Interest in Christ thou wouldest be but base Hadst thou all the wealth in the world Dan. 4. 17. Luke 16. 2◠23 24 25 26. Mat. 13. 45 46 47. yet without an Interest in Christ thou wouldest be but a beggar c. Oh therefore labour for an Interest in Christ Oh turne the wise Merchant at last The wise Merchant in the Gospel parts with all to buy the Pearle to get an interest in Christ Oh! 't is your greatest wisedome 't is of an eternall concernment to your soules to sell all to part with all for an interest in the Lord Jesus Oh doe not deale with your soules when Christ is tendered and offered to you as sometimes simple people doe when they goe to Market they might have a good penny-worth but that they are loath to part with some old peece of gold that ha's been given them by a father or a friend somewhat willing they are to have the good penny-worth but unwilling they are to part with their gold 'T is so with many poore sinners when the Lord Jesus Christ is presented to their soules as a very glorious penny-worth somewhat willing they are to have him but unwilling they are to part with their old gold with some old sweet darling lust But sinners don't you deceive your own soules sin and your soules must part or Christ and your soules can never meet Sin and your soules must be two or Christ and your soules can never be one Christ is a most precious commodity Prov 8. 11. he is better then Rubies or the most costly Pearles and you must part with your old gold with your shining gold your old sins your most shining sins or you must perish for ever Christ is to be sought and bought with any paines at any price we cannot buy this gold too deare He is a Jewel more worth then a thousand worlds as all know that have him Get him and get all misse him and misse all Now if ever you would get an interest in Christ and so by gaining an Interest in him be possest of all the riches and glory that come by him then be sure to get your hearts possest with these nine Principles that follow And the first is this That the great end and designe of Christs coming into the world was the Salvation of sinners Get this Principle rooted in your spirits I came not to call the righteous saith he but sinners to repentance And Ma◠9. 13. Mark 2. 17. in 1 Tim. 1. 15. This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners Christ layes aside his Royal Crowne he puts off his glorious Robe he leaves his fathers bosome he takes a journey from Heaven to Earth and all to save poore lost sinners That which Christ had most in his eye and upon his heart in his coming into the world was the salvation of sinners Lay up this truth feed upon this Honey-comb Secondly Get this Principle rooted in your hearts Viz. That none ever yet obtained an interest in Christ but unworthy creatures When you are pressed to get an Interest in Christ you are ready to say O I am unworthy Will Christ ever looke after such a one as I am I answer Yes For this is a most certaine Principle That none ever attain'd an interest in Christ but unworthy creatures Was Paul worthy before he had an interest in Christ Wbat worthinesse was in Mathew when Christ call'd him from the Receipt of Custome And what worthinesse was in Zacheus when Christ call'd him downe from the Cycomore Tree and told him that This day salvation was come to his house Was Manasses or Mary Magdalen worthy before they had an Interest in Christ Surely no. Though you are unworthy yet Christ is worthy Though you have no merit yet God ha's mercy Though there is no salvation for you by the Law yet there is salvation for you by the Gospel Againe Christ requires no worthinesse in any man before Such as shall goe to prove he does must make a new Gospel a new Bible he believes and he that won't believe before he is worthy will never believe If you look upon God with an Evangelical eye you shall see that he that is most unworthy is most capable of mercy A real sense of our owne unworthinesse renders us most fit for Divine mercy This Objection I am unworthy is an unworthy Objection and speaks out much pride and ignorance of the Gospel and of the freenesse and riches of Gods grace c. Thirdly Let this Principle dwell in you Viz. That Christ hath lost none of his affections to poor sinners by going to heaven Oh! how did his bowels work towards sinners when he was on earth And certainly they work as strougly towards them now he is in heaven His love his heart his good will is as much towards them as ever Christ is Alpha and Omega Rev 1. 8. the phrase is taken from the Greek letters whereof Alpha Heb. 13. 8. Vide Grotius is the first and Omega the last I am before all and I am after all Jesus Christ the same yesterday to day and for ever Christ is the same before time in time and after time Christ is unchangeable in his Essence in his Promises and in his Love to poore sinners Fourthly Get this Principle riveted in your hearts That he is able to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Originall word signifies all manner of perfection Heb. 7. 25. He is able to save to the uttermost That is to all ends and purposes perfectly and perpetually he needs none to helpe him in the great businesse of redemption he is a thorow Saviour he ha's Trod the Wine-presse alone Isa 63. 3. Fifthly Get this Principle riveted in your hearts That the want of such preparations or qualifications Some men there be that would have men better Christians
downe yea they would have him downe root and branch but there 's no such way for his totall and finall overthrow as the Preaching of Christ for the more the glory fullnesse perfection and excellency of Christ is discovered the more the horrid vilenesse and matchlesse wickednesse of the man of sin will be discovered and abhorred c. 2 Thess 2. 3 4 7 8 9 10. And then In the Canon Law the Pope is said to be Sâ—lutus omni lege humana shall that wicked one be revealed The Greek word Anomos properly signifies a lawlesse yokelesse masterlesse Monster one that holdeth himselfe subject to no Law Pope Nicholas the First said That he was above Law because Constantine had stiled the Pope God And of the same opinion were most of the Popes Whom he shall consume The Greek word signifies to consume Analosei by little and little till a thing come to nothing With the spirit of his mouth That is with the evidence and glory of his word in the mouths of his Messengers The Ministers of the word are as a mouth whereby the Lord breatheth Bellarmine confesseth to his great grief That ever since the Lutherans have declared the Pope to be Antichrist his Kingdome hath not only nâ—t increased but every day more more decreased and decayed Lib. 3. de papa RoÌ„ cap. 21. out that glorious mighty and everlasting Gospel which shall by degrees bruâ—se Antichrist and all his adherents and break them in sunder like a rod of Iron c. When Christ was born all the Idols that were set up in the world as Historians write fell down When Jesus Christ comes to be lifted up in a Nation in a City in a Towne in a Family yea in any heart then all Idols without and within will fall before the power presence and glory of Jesus Since Luther began to lift up Christ in the Gospel what a deale of ground ha's Antichrist lost and he does and will looâ—â— more and more as Christ comes to be more and more … ened and lifted up in the Chariot of his word Many in these dayes that speak much against Antichrist have much of Antichrist within them And certainly there is no such way to cast him out of mens hearts and out of the world as the Preaching and making knowne of Christ as the exalting and lifting up of Christ in the Gospel of grace A fourth Reason why they are to Preach Christ to the people is this Because else they contract upon themselves the blood of soules There 's no other way for them to avoid the contracting of the blood of men and womens soules upon them but the The Germans have this Proverb say they The pavement of hell is made â—f the bare skuls of Priests and the glorious Crests of gallants Theâ—r meâ—ning is that the more eminent any one is in Church or State doth not imploy his eminency accordingly the more low shall they lye in hell Rev. 18. 11 12 13 14. Preaching of Christ unto them Now a man were better to have all the blood in the world upon him then the blood of one soule The blood of soules of all blood cryes loudest and wounds deepest The lowest the darkest and the hottest place in Hell will be the sad and dreadfull portion of such upon whose skirts the blood of soules shall be found at last Hence that passage of Paul in 1 Cor. 9. 16. Woe unto me if I preach not the Gospel The Motto that should be writ upon Preachers Study doores and on their wals and on all the Books they look on on the beds they lye on and on the seats they sit on c. should be this The Blood of soules The Blood of soules The soule is the better the noble part of man it bears most of the Image of God 't is capable of union and communion with God Christ sweat for it and bled for it and therefore woe to those Merchants that make merchandize of the soules of men This was a comfort and an honour to Paul that he kept himselfe from the blood of soules Acts 20. 25 26 27. He appeales to them that they were witnesses that he was free from the blood of all men Paul had held out Jesus Christ in his Natures in his Names in his Offices and in all his excellencies and perfections and so frees himselfe from the blood of all men And Ministers can no way secure themselves from the blood of soules but by Preaching up and living out a crucified Jesus The last Reason is this Because the Preaching of Christ contributes most to their comfort here and to their reward hereafter therefore they are to Preach the Lord Christ to the people When Luther was upon a dying bed this was no small Bernard comfortably observes That Ministers have their reward Secundum laborem not Secundum proventum joy and comfort to his spirit Thee O Lord saith he have I knowne thee have I loved thee have I taught thee have I trusted and now into thy hands I commend my spirit There can be no greater joy to a Minister then by Preaching Christ to win soules to Christ 1 Thess 2. 19 20. For what is our hope or joy or Crowne of rejoycing are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ye are our glory and joy They that by Preaching Christ win soules to Christ shall shine as the Starres in the Firmament Dan. 12. 3. Every soule won to Christ is a glorious Pearle added to a Preachers Crowne 1 Pet. 5. 4. And when the chief Shepheard shall appeare you shall receive a Crowne of glory A Crowne imports perpetuity plenty and dignity the height of humane ambition It is the opinion of some That there are three places of exaltation in heaven The first and highest is for converting Ministers The second is for suffering Martyrs The third is for persevering Christians Without doubt those Ministers shall be high in heaven who make it their heaven to hold forth Christ and to win soules to Christ who are willing to be any thing to be nothing that Christ may be all in all to poore soules And thus I have given you the Reasons of the Point I shall now come to the second thing which is the maine and that is to shew you How Ministers are to Preach Christ to the people Many weak and slight spirits in these dayes think that 't is 2. Cor. 2. 16. Who is sufficient for these things Almost every Upstart in these dayes thinks himself sufficient Who am I sayes Moses who am I not saith every green-head in these dayes as easie to Preach as to play and so they hop from one thing to another and those that are not qualified nor fit for the least and lowest imployment yet judge themselves fit enough for the greatest and the weightiest imployment in the world and that which would certainly break the backs not onely of the
must enter into it This was Paul's glory Acts 20. 27. that he had not shunned to declare unto them the whole counsel of God neither feare nor favour swayed him one way or another but he was faithfull in his Masters work and usually God crownes him and his labours most and sends most Fish into his Net that is most faithfull though he be lesse skilfull that hath more of the heart in the work though he hath lesse of the braine The Maid in Plutarch being to be sould in the Market when a Chapman asked her Wilt thou be faithfull if I buy thee I said she Etiam non emeris that I will though you doe not buy me So Ministers must be faithfull though God should not buy them though he should not thus and thus encourage them in their work Their very feet are beautifull Isa 52. 7. who are faithfull and their message most comfortable to those that sigh and mourne that labour and languish under the sense of sin and feare of wrath Thirdly They must Preach Christ Humbly as well as faithfully Gregâ—ry Nazianzen that famous Preacher setteth no other price upon all his Athenian Learning wherein he exceâ—l'd theâ— this That he had somthinâ— of worth to esteem as nothing in comparison of Christ 2 Cor. 4. 5. We Preach not our selves but Christ Jesus the Lord and our selves your servants for Jesus sake Paul doth not complement as the men of the world doe Your Servant Sir but he spake as it was for there are no greater Servants then those that are Servants to the soules of men for Jesus sake So John was very humble in the exercise of his Ministry John 3. 30 31. He must increase but I must decrease c. Luther used to say That a Minister must take heed of bringing three Doggs into the Pulpit viz. Pride Covetousnesse and Envy The friends of the Bridegroome must not woe and sue for themselves but for the Bridegroome Dispencers of the Gospel are the Bridegroomes friends and they must not speak one word for the Bridegroome and two for themselves as hath been the trade of many weak and worthlesse men 'T is the greatest glory of a Minister in this world to be high in spirituall work and humble in heart Vaine-glory is a pleasant Thief 't is the sweet spoyler of spirituall excellencies Paul was very humble in the exercise of his Ministry none so high in worth as he nor none so low and humble in heart as he though he was the greatest among the Apostles yet he accounts himselfe lesse then the least of all Saints yea he counted it not onely his duty but his glory to be a servant to the weakest Saints To the weake I became as weake who is weake and I am not weake who is offended 1 Cor. 9. 2â— 2 Cor. 11. 29. and I burne not Fourthly As they are to Preach the Lord Jesus Christ humbly so they are to Preach him Wisely In Prov. 11. 30. He that winneth soules is wise and indeed the greatest wisedome in the world is requisite to the winning of soules to Velokeach taketh from Lakach to take Christ He that wins soules or he that catcheth soules as the Fowler doth Birds as the Hebrew word imports or Fishermen Fishes he is wise There is a holy and a heavenly craft required in the winning of soules to Christ 2 Cor. 12. 16. Neverthelesse being crafty saith the Apostle I caught If one soul is more worth then a world as he hath told â—s who onely went to the price of it Mat. 16. 26. then they must needs be wi who win soules to Christ you with guile He speaks of a holy and heavenly craft It is written of the Fox that when he is very hungry after prey and can find none that he lyes downe and feigneth himselfe dead and so the Fowles light upon him and then he catcheth them Paul hungring after the welfare of the Corinthians soules makes use of his heavenly craft to catch them There 's a great deale of wisedome required to hold out Christ unto the people not onely as a good but as the greatest good as the choycest good as the chiefest good as the most sutable good as an immutable good as an independant good as a totall good and as an eternall good Christ must thus be held forth to draw souls to fall in love with him and to work their hearts to run out after him There 's wisedome required to answer all cavils and objections that keep Christ and poore soules asunder There 's wisedome required to take soules off from all false bottomes that they are apt to built upon There 's wisedome required to present Christ freely to soules in opposition to all unrighteousnesse and to all unworthinesse in man There 's wisedome required to suite things to the capacities and conditions of poore soules to make dark things plaine and hard things easie Ministers must not be like him in the Emblem That gave straw to the Dogge and a bone to the Asse but they must sute all their discourses to the conditions and capacities of poore creatures or else all will be lost time lost paines lost God lost Heaven lost and soules lost for ever Fifthly They must Preach Christ Zealously boldly as well as wisely Acts 4. 20. when they had charged them that they should Preach no more in the name of Christ why say they what doe you tell us of the whip or of Prisons or of this and that We cannot but speake the things that we have seene and heard So in Jer. 20. 9. Thy word was in my As Croesus his dunâ—b Son did for his father heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones and I was weary with forbearing and I could not stay Isa 58. 1. Cry aloud spare not lift up thy voyce like a Trumpet and shew my people their transgression and the house of Israel their sins And Isaiah had his tongue touched with a coale of fire from the Altar Chap. 6. 6 7. And when the Disciples were to goe Basil Luther Lâ—timer Dearing and multitudes of others have been very zealous and conragious in their Ministry c. and Preach the Gospel the fire sate upon their tongues Acts 2. 34. the worst of men are in a dead sleep and the best of men are too often in a sinfull slumber as the Spouse in Cant. 5. 2. and the wise Virgins in Mat. 25. and therefore faithfull Ministers had need cry aloud they had need to be couragious and zealous to awaken both sinners and Saints that none may goe sleeping to bell Every Coward is a Murderer as the Philosopher well observed The cowardice of the Minister is cruelty if he feare the faces of men he is a They that write the story of the Travels of the Apostles report that Simon Zelotes Preached here in England If ever there needed some Zelots it is now such as Epiphanius speaks of Eliah That he suckt
pittifull work would they make Yea for want of a Christ within how little of Christ doe they understand How little of Christ doe they make known notwithstanding all their borrowed helps Paul was a man that had got a Christ within him Gal. 2. 20. I live yet not I but Christ lives in me and the life that I live is by the faith of the Son of God c. Compare this with Gal. 4. 19. My little Children of whom I travell in birth till Christ be formed in you A Christ within makes him travel in birth Odino 2 Cor. 11. 23. ult As Nurses to Princes children are fed with the most delicate fare but not for their owne sakes buâ— for the childrens sake to whom they give Nurse So 't is with many Ministers that want a Christ within â— Tim. 2. â—4 25. The Greek word Translated I travell in birth signifies not onely the travel of the woman at the birth of the Child but also the painfull bearing thereof before the birth The paines of travel breed not a greater desire to see a Man-child borne into the world then Paul's love bred in him till Christ were anew formed in them No man did so much for the winning of soules to Christ as Paul nor no man had so much of a Christ within him as Paul Nothing will naturalize a Ministers heart to his work like a Christ within nothing will make him so wise so painfull so watchfull so carefull to win soules as a Christ within nothing will make him hold out and hold on in the work of the Lord in the face of all oppositions persecutions dangers and deaths as a Christ within Nothing will make a man strive with sinners and weep over sinners and waite upon sinners for their returne as a Christ within Such Ministers that have not a Christ within them will find to comfort and as little successe in their Preaching of Christ Above all gettings get a Christ within or else after all thy Preaching thy selfe will be a cast-away Secondly They that would Preach Christ to the people must Study more Scripture truths Scripture Mysteries then humane Histories They must study Gods Book more then all other Books The truth and antiquity of the Book of God finds no companion either in Age or Authority No Histories are comparable to the Histories of the Scriptures Moses is sound more ancient then all those whom the Grecians make most antient as Homer Hesiod and Jupiter himsâ—lâ— whom the Greeks have seated in the top of their Divinity For 1 Antiquity 2 Rariety 3 Variety 4 Brevity 5 Perspicuity 6 Harmony 7 Verity Gregory calls the Scripture Cor animam Dei The heart and soule of God for in the Scriptures as in a glasse we may see how the heart and soule of God stands towards his poore creatures It was the glory of Apollos that he was mighty in the Scripture Acts 18. 24. John 5. 39. Search the Scripture saith Christ The Greek word signifies to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 search as men search for gold in Mines You must search the Scripture not superficially but narrowly The Scriptures are a great depth wherein the choycest treasures are hid therefore you must digge deep if you will find Col. 3. 16. Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you Or as the Greek hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let the word of Christ indwell in you as an ingrafted word incorporated into your soules Let the word be so concocted and digested by you as that you turne it into a part of your selves You must be familiarly acquainted with the word you must not let it passe by you as a stranger or lodge and sojourne with you as a wafairing man it must continually abide with you and dwell richly in you 2 Tim. 3. 16 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousnesse That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good workes All Books and helps are not comparable to the Bible for the compleating and perfecting of a man for the work of the Ministry That which a Papist reports of their Sacrament of the Masse That there are as many Mysteries in it as there are drops in the sea dust on the earth Angels in heaven Starres in the skie Attomes in the Sun-beams or sands on the sea-shore Whiles they burned us said Reverend Moulin for reading the Scriptures we burnt with zeale to be reading of them But where is this brave spirit now c. may be truly asserted of the word of God No study to the study of the Scripture for profit and comfort Count Anhalt that Princely Preacher was wont to say That the whole Scriptures were the swadling bands of the child Jesus he being to be found almost in every page in every verse in every line Luther would often say That he had rather that all his Bookes should be burnt then that they should be a means to hinder persons from studying of the Scripture The third and last Rule I shall lay downe is this Such as would Preach Christ aright to the people had need Dwell much upon the vanity of humane doctrines The vanity of which doctrines may be thus discovered First They doe not discover sin in its uglinesse and filthinesse as the Scriptures doe They search but to the skin they reach not to the heart they doe not doe as the Master did in Jonah's ship when they were in a storme Secondly Humane doctrines have no humbling power in These things had need be seriously minded in these dayes wherein â—umane doctrines are so much exalted and admired them They may a little tickle you but they can never humble you they cannot cast downe Satans strong holds they cannot melt nor break the heart of a sinner they cannot make him cry out with the Leaper Vnclean unclean Thirdly Humane doctrines nourish not the noble part the soule of man The Prodigal was like to starve before he returned to his fathers house A man may study much and labour much and lay out much of his time and spirits about humane doctrines and yet after all be like to Pharoah's lean Kine A man that studies humane doctrines doth but feed upon ashes Fourthly Humane doctrines cannot cure a wound in the conscience The diseased woman spent all she had upon Physitians but was not a penny the better The remedy is too weak for the disease Conscience like Prometheus Vulture will still lye gnawing notwithstanding all that such doctrines can doe Fifthly Humane doctrines are so far from inriching the soule that they usually impoverish the soule They weaken the soule they expose the soule to the greatest wants and to the greatest weaknesses they play the Harlot with the soule they impoverish it and bring it to a morsel of bread Who so poore in spirituall experiences and heavenly injoyments as such that sit under the droppings
of humane doctrines Sixthly Humane doctrines make men servants to the humours and corruptions of men They make men pleasers of men rather then pleasers of God Yea they make men set up themselves and others sometimes in the roome of Christ and sometimes above Christ I hope these few short hints may prevaile with some to fall in with this counsel that so they may the better Preach the Lord Jesus to the people And so much for this Doctrine EPHES. 3. 8. Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this Grace given that I should Preach among the Gentiles the Vnsearchable Riches of Christ. HAving spoken much concerning Ministers Duty I shall now speake a little concerning their Dignity and so finish this Text. Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this Grace given that I should Preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ This grace this favour this honour is given to me that I should Preach c. I look not upon it as a poor low mean contemptible thing but as a very great honour That I should Preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ The Observation that I shall speak a little to is this That the Office of a Minister or Preacher is honourable For the understanding of this Point Premise with me two things First That by a Minister I understand one that is qualified according to Gospel Rules and that is internally called by God and externally called by the people of God to the Ministeriall Office The second thing that I would have you Premise with me for the understanding of the Point is this That the common Apellation of those that are set apart for the Preaching of the Gospel in the New Testament is DIAKONOI Ministers So in 1 Cor. 3. 5. 2 Cor. 3. 6. Chap. 6. 4. Chap. 11. 15. 23. 1 Tim. 4. 16. And in divers other places the word Minister is a Title of Office service or administration given frequently to the Preachers of the Gospel As for the names of Ambassadors Stewards and the like wherewith they are often honoured they are figurative and given to them by allusion onely These two things being Premised we shall now proceed to the opening of the Point And in the first place I shall prove That the Office of a Minister is an honourable Office And then in the second place I shall shew you What honour is due to them And then in the third place I shall shew you How you are to honour them And then in the last place we shall bring home all by A word of Application Christians Give me leave to tell you this by the way That since the Gospel hath shined in England a godly faithfull painfull Ministry was never more subtily and vehemently struck at by men that make a faire shew and by men of corrupt opinions and wicked lives This Age affords many Church-Levellers as well as State-Levellers Some there be that under that notion of Plucking up corrupt Ministers would pluck up by the very roots the true Ministry But God ha's and will be still too hard for such men if they will be Monsters God will be sure to be Master His faithfull Ministers Revel 2. 1. are stars that he holds in his right hand and men shall as soon pull the Sun out of the Firmament as pull them out of the hand of God Now considering that there is such a spirit abroad in the world I hope no sober serious Christians will be offended at my standing up to vindicate the Honour of a godly faithfull Ministry In order to which I shall first prove that the Office of a Minister is honourable and to me these following things speak it out First The severall Names and Titles that are given to them in Scripture doth speak them out to be honourable They are called Fathers Stewards Ambassadours Overseers and Angels as you all know that know any thing of Scripture To spend time to prove this would be to light Candles to see the Sun at noon Secondly Their worke is honourable Their whole work is about soules about winning soules to Christ and about building soules up in Christ and to these two heads the main work of the Ministry may be reduced The more noble the soule is O anima Dei insignita imagine desponsaâ—a fide donata spiritu c. Bernard O Divine soul invested with the Image of God espouseâ— to him by faith c. the more honour 't is to be busied and exercised about it Jam. 5. 20. Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the errour of his way shall save a soule from death and shall hide a multitude of sins Let him know That is let him take notice that an honourable and glorious work is done by him The soule is the immediate work of God the soule is the Image of God the soule is capable of union and communion with God the soule is more worth then a world yea then a thousand worlds Christ prayed for soules and wrought Miracles for soules and wept for soules and left his fathers bosome for soules and bled out his heart blood for soules and is gone to heaven to make provision for soules yea he is now a making intercession for soules All which speaks out the excellency of their Office whose whole work is about soules The Jewes say of Moses his soule That it was sucked out of his mouth with a kisse Soules are deare and sweet to God A third thing that speaks out this truth is this They are fellow-labourers with God They are Co-workers with God in the salvation of sinners And this is a mighty honour to be a fellow-labourer with God to be a co-worker with God 1 Cor. 3. 9. For we are labourers together with God Who would not work hard with such sweet company Who Mat. 5. 14. John 5. 35. Maâ— 5. 13. Mark 9. 49 50. would not affect prize love and honour such service Ministers are called the light and salt of the world because they inlighten blind soules and season unsavoury soules and so save them from corruption and perdition Oh! to be joyned in any work with God is an honour beyond what I am able to expresse The Senate of Rome accounted it a diminution of Augustus Caesars dignity to joyne any Consuls with him for the better carrying on the Affaires of the State Oh but our God doth not think it a diminution of his dignity that even his poore despised servants should be fellow-labourers and co-workers with him in the salvation of soules Fourthly The honourable account that the Lord hath of them in this imployment speaks out this truth That their Office is honourable In Mat. 10. 41 42. compared He that Kings and Princes have their Ambassadors in very high account so ha's God his receiveth you receiveth me he that receiveth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophets reward And
Alexander had with the Conquest of halfe the world and the fruition of all the treasures pleasures and glories of Asia So an humble soule is more contented and satisfied with Daniel's pulse and John's Coat then proud Princes are with their glistering Crownes and golden Scepters The fourteenth Property of an humble soule is this It can 14 Property rejoyce in the graces and gracious actings of others as well as in its owne An humble Moses could say when Eldad and Medad Prophecied in the Camp Would God that all the Lords people were Prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon Numb 11. 26-30 them So humble Paul in Acts 26. 29. And Paul said I would to God that not onely thou but also all that hear me this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A little and a gâ—eat way day were both almost and altogether such as I am except these bonds I heartily wish and pray for thine owne sake that not onely in a low but in an eminent degree both thou and all that are here present were as far Christians as I am Onely I The Ancient Church had her Diptyâ—hs or publick tables wherein the peâ—sons most noted for piety were recorded Plato called Aristotle the Intelligent Readerâ— and Aristotle set up an Altar in honour of Plato would not wish them Imprisoned as I am An humble soule is no churle there is no envy in spirituall things one may have as much of spirituals as another and all alike So in 1 Thess 1. 2 3. We give thanks to God alwayes for you all making mention of you in our prayers Remembring without ceasing your worke of faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our father So in the 2 Epistle 1. 2 3 4. Grace be unto you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ We are bound to thanke God alwayes for you brethren as it is meet because that your faith groweth exceedingly and the charity of every one of you all towards each other aboundeth So that we our selves glory in you in the Churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure Ezekiel can commend Daniel his contemporary matching him with Noah Ezek. 14. 14. 2 Pet. 3. c. and Job for his power in prayer And Peter highly praises Pauls Epistles though he had been sharply reproved in one of them Oh! but proud soules will be still a casting disgrace and contempt upon those excellencies in others that they want Caesar Bâ—rgâ— a emulating imitating Julius Caesar used to say Aut Caesar aut nullut But not long after he was slaine in the Kingdome of Navarre in themselves A proud Cardinall in Luthers time said Indeed a reformation is needfull and to be desired but that Luther a rascally Fryer should be the man should doe it is intollerable Pride is like certaine Flies called Cantharides who light especially upon the fairest wheat and the most blown Roses Though Licinius who was joyned with Galerius in the Empire was so ignorant that he could not write his owne name yet as Eusebius reports he called the Liberall Arts a publick poyson This age is full of such Monsters that envy every light that outshines their owne and that throw dirt upon the graces and excellencies of others that themselves may onely shine Pride is notable both at Substraction and at Multiplication A proud heart alwayes prizes himselfe above the Market he reckons his owne pence for pounds and others pounds for pence he looks upon his owne Counters as gold and upon others gold as Counters All Pearles are counterfeit but what he wears The fifteenth Property of an humble soul is He will rather 15 Property Psal 94. 1. Rom. 12. 19. I maytruly say of thehumble soul what Tul ly said of Caesar Nihil obli visci solet nisi injurias that he forgot nothing but injuries bear wrongs then revenge wrongs offered The humble soule knowes that Vengeance is the Lords and that he will repay c The humble soule loves not to take the sword into his owne hand he knowes the day is a coming wherein the Lord will give his Enemies two blowes for one and here he rests An humble soule when wrongs are offered is like a man with a sword in one hand and a salve in the other could wound but will heale Psal 35. 11 12 13 14 15 16. False witnesses did rise up they laid to my charge things that I knew not They rewarded me evill for good to the spoiling of my soule But as for me when they were sick my clothing was sackcloth I humbled my soule with fasting and my prayer returned into my owne Aâ—gustus Caesar in whose time Christ was born bid Catullus the â—aiâ—ing Poet to supper to shew that he had forgiven him bosome I behaved my selfe as though he had been my friend or brother I bowed downe heavily as one that mourneth for his mother c. The Scripture abounds in instances of this nature Dyonisius having not very well used Plato at the Court when he was gone fearing least he should write against him he sent after him to bid him not to write against him Sayes he Tell Dyonisius that I have not so much leisure as to think of him So humble wronged soules are not at leisure to think of the wrongs and injuries that others doe them Mr. Fox that wrote the Book of Martyrs would be sure to doe him a kindnesse that had done him an injury So that it used to be a Proverb If a man would have Mr. Fox doe him a kindnesse let him doe him an injury An humble soule is often in looking over the wrongs and injuries that he ha's done to God and the sweet and tender carraiage of God towards him notwithstanding those wrongs and injuries and this wins him and works him to be more willing and ready to beare wrongs and forgive wrongs then to revenge any offered wrongs The sixteenth Property of an humble soule is this An humble soule though he be of never so rare abilities yet he will not 16 Property Isa 11. 6. disdaine to be taught what he knowes not by the meanest persons A Child shall lead the humble soule in the way that is good he cares not how mean and contemptible the person is if a guide or an instructer to him Apollo an Eloquent man and mighty in the Scripture a Master in Israel yet sits by an Aquilla a Tent-maker and Vide Beza on the words Priscilla his wife to be instructed by them Acts 18. 24 25 26. Sometimes the poorest and the meanest Christian may for counsel and comfort be a God to another as Moses was to Aaron As an humble soule knowes that the Starres have their scituation in Heaven though sometimes he sees them by their reflection in a puddle in the bottome of a well or in a stinking