so to them 2. Secondly Consider whatsoever ye do for them the Lord takes it as done to himself Matth. 25. 40. Forasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it to me 3. Thirdly Consider that whatsoever we give it shall be paid us again with interest Luk. 6. 38. Give and it shall be given to you again good measure pressed down and shaken together 2 Cor. 9. 6. He which soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully 4. Fourthly Consider that which you have in your Possession is not your own thou and I are but Stewards and we must give an accompt of our Stewardship Prov. 3. 27 28. Withhold not good from him to whom it is due when it is in the Power of thy hand to do it c. 5. Fifthly Consider that in Scripture phrase he that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver that man in the time of trouble Ps 41. 1. Also consider that Scripture 2 Cor. 8. 2 3. How that in a great tryal of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality For to their power I bear record they were willing of themselvs Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift and take upon us the ministring to the Saints Therefore as you abound in every thing in Faith and Utterance and Knowledge and in all diligence and in your love to us see that ye abound in this also and set speedily about the work make no delay for the time is short our days are very swift yea swifter then the Weavers Shuttle It will be said shortly that Time shall be no more so Revel 6. 7. And the Angel lifted up his hand to heaven and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever who created heaven and earth and the things that therein are and the sea and the things that are therein that there shall be time no longer But in the dayes of the seventh Angel when he shall begin to sound the mysterie of God shall be finished as he hath declareth to his servants the Prophets Methinks I see the words of Christ come to pass Mat. 24. 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those dayes shall the Sun be darkned and the Moon shall not give her light and the Stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be shaken and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven and all the Tribes of the earth shall mourn for they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds with power and great glory Then he shall send his Angels with the great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the one end of the earth to the other Mat. 24. 30 31. O let all the inhabitants of the earth tremble for the day of the Lord cometh lo it is nigh at hand A day of darkness and of gloominess a day of clouds and of thick darkness there hath not been ever the like neither shall there be the like again A fire devoureth before him and behind him a flame burneth before his face the people shall be much pined all faces shall gather blackness the Earth shall quake before him the Heavens shall tremble the Sun and Moon shall be dark and the Stars shall withdraw their shining Oh this day of the Lord is great and very terrible who can abide it yea where will you find a man that can abide the day of his coming and who shall stand when he appeareth for he is like a Refiners fire and Fullers sope Oh what a terrible day will this be to most of the sons and daughters of men 2 Pet. 3. 12. The heavens shall be on fire and dissolve the earth shall melt with fervent heat If the rocks and mountains would fall on thee thou wouldst think it a favour to hide thee from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of his wrath is come Rev. 6. 16 17. All both small and great shall be gathered together before the Judgment-seat of Christ Mat. 25. 32 33 34 c. yea the Sea shall give up her dead and the grave shall give up their dead death and hell shall give up their dead Rev. 12. 13 14 c. So we shall all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ and all that ever we have done good or evil shall be laid open before all the world yea all our sins shall be brought to light and each man shall give an accompt of himself to God and be judged according to his works Mat. 25. 32 33 34. Rev. 20. 12 13. If ever thou wilt improve time do it presently Luk. 21. 34 35 36. Take heed to your selves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares For thy dayes are swifter then the Weavers shuttle and as a snare shal it come upon all them that dwell upon the earth Watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all those things and to stand before the Son of man This day will come as a thief in the night Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hastening to the coming of that day wherein the heavens shall be on fire and the lements shall melt with fervent heat Seeing then that ye look for such things be diligent that ye may be found in him in peace without spot and blameless But if any say I will be diligent hereafter Let me tell thee If ever thou intendest to do any thing for the glory of God the good of thy self and the benefit of others do it presently for the time is short Oh then get oyl in your lamps grace in your hearts that you may not be like the foolish Virgins Mat. 25. 7 8 9 10. The wise Virgins considered that their time was short and their dayes swift and so made it their present work to get oyl in their lamps which was grace in their hearts But the foolish Virgins put it off from day to day never minding that their dayes were swifter then the Weavers shuttle Our time is short wherefore bid adieu to the world For what is the World but vanity All the Honours are but as so many dishonours all the Riches but poverty and all the Joyes but sorrows and all the Pleasure is but pain And if in this life only thou and I have hope we are of all men most miserable Our dayes are but as a bubble we no sooner have our being but we are going to our end All our strength is but as grass and all our beauty is as the flower of the field the grass fadeth the flower with ereth and our strength and beauty is gone Death will bring
one of the greatest engagements to engage a Christian to walk in all well-pleasing to God to consider he is always in the presence of God 1. That he is present in all places at all times beholding all actions will appear by these Scriptures Prov. 15. 3. The eye of the Lord is in every place beholding the evil and the good Jer. 23 23 Am I a God at hand saith the Lord and not afar off Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord do not I fill heaven and earth 2 Chr. 16. 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth c. Psal 139. 7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence If I ascend up unto Heaven thou art there if I make my bed in Hell behold thou art there v. 8. If I take the wings of the morning and flie to the uttermost parts of the earth even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand hold me If I say surely the darkness shall cover me even the night shall be light about me v. 11. Yea the darkness hideth not from thee but the light shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to thee c Thus we see the Lords presence is every where and yet where is there a man or woman that doth believe it or see him The men and women yet in the state of darkness which is the greatest part these neither see it nor believe it And then for the Saints which are but few a little flock I dare say not one of ten of them have so set to their seals to this truth that the Lord God Almighty is present in all places at all times beholding all actions whatsoever Gen. 28. 16. And Jacob said Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not Job 9. 11. Lo he goeth by me and I see him not He passeth on also and I perceive him not And as he is by us and we do not see him so he speaketh often unto us and we do not hear him Sometimes he speaketh to us by a voice Isa 30. 21. sometimes he speaketh to us by the motions of the Spirit within us sometimes he speaketh to us by men in our own likeness Luk. 10. 16. Sometimes he speaks to us when we be asleep on our beds Iob 33. 14 15 16. God speaketh once yea twice yet man perceiveth it not In a dream in a vision of the night when deep sleep falleth upon man then he openeth their ears and sealeth their instructions Oh let us then see his face and hear his voice for sweet is his voice and his countenance is glorious c. 2. Let us consider that it is one of the greatest engagements to engage a Christian to walk in all well pleasing to God to consider he is always in the presence of God I have kept thy precepts saith David How so David why saith he All my wayes are before thee Psal 119. 168. Psal 16. 8. I have set the Lord alwayes before me and because he is at my right hand I shall not fall Psal 26. 3. Thy loving kindness is before mine eyes so I have walked in thy truth Now these men that do not behold the presence of the Lord still before them are ready upon all occasions to rebell against him Psal 86. 14. The proud men the malitious violent men are risen against me for they do not set the Lord before them As of God in the sight of God speak we in Christ 2 Cor. 2. 17. As if he had said When we come to do any thing we do it so as knowing the all-seeing eye of God is taking notice not only of the action that we do but also of the principle from which we act he endeavours in all his actions to have the same ends in all he doth as God hath commanded him to have When a soul apprehends it self to be in the presence of his Maker it labours to compose it self as beseeming the presence before whom it is So it endeavours to make the will of God his rule and the glory of God his greatest design and his word and Spirit his guide It comes to God for direction saying O Lord lead me in thy way It expects from God protection And do thou protect me in this way of thine And so it depends upon God for assistance in what it doth and for a blessing upon all it doth Exod. 33. 14 15. The Lord said unto Moses My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest Moses was so taken with that word that he breaks forth v. 5. If thy presence go not with us carry us not from hence In a word the Lord even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is always present and the holy Ghost is always present I fill heaven and earth with my presence saith the Father Jer. 23. 24. So I am with you to the end of the world saith the Son But the manifestation of this is by the Spirit and there are but very few that have this Spirit and so no wonder that men are so ignorant of Gods presence the Spirit would have discovered it but men what lieth in them do either quench it or resist it My friends we live in an Age wherein men are talking much of perfection behold here is the way to attain it to put thy self always in the presence of God and let all thy walks be before him Gen. 17. 1. I am God Alsufficient or the Almighty God walk before me and be thou perfect If we walk not in the presence of God then we walk in darkness and do the works of darkness Now God is light and in him there is no darkness at all those then that set the Lord always before them are in the light and so do walk in the light as children of the light 2. The second thing to be considered that so we might be taken off the world and make Religion our business is That we have but a few days to live in this world and they flie away faster and swifter then the weavers Shuttle Job 7. 6. Wherefore if we do think or judge that there be any thing for us to do either for God or our selves do it presently work whiles it is day for the night cometh in which no man can work Joh 9. 4. If thou wilt hear his voice let it be as in Heb. 3. 13. 15 To day c. Thou knowest not whether thou shalt have another day for none of us do know what a day may bring forth but because I have written so long of this subject in the first part of this Book called The Weavers Shuttle displayed or the swiftness thereof unfolded I shall in this place only cite a few Scriptures that speak of our frailty and so pass this point over Job 7. 6. Isa 38. 12. and Isa 64. 6. Isa
thy after-services are but like Cain's Sacrifices procuring a curse rather then a blessing In a word we were not made to serve the world the world was made to serve us and we were made to serve God Let every creature especially Man continue in his place for man is the most excellent creature of all on earth Let him then transcend all in his holy obedience to his Maker We are not our own we ought not to live to our selves we have forfeited our lives many a time the wages of the least sin is death and cursedness and yet our lives have been restored to us again For what end why saith the Scripture that we might not live to our selves but unto God Oh how often times doth he call how earnestly doth he knock at the door of our hearts how powerfully doth he strive how long doth he wait upon us to get us to yield unto him namely to have our hearts dis-ingaged from all things beneath himself and yet such wretches as we are we will not yield What is become of that frame of Spirit that was upon the Saints in former days Nathan used but one parable to David and he was converted Jonah preached but few days to Nineveh and they repented Christ looked back once upon Peter and he wept bitterly but there is such a spirit of slumber fallen upon most of the people in these days that nothing will prevail unless it be that place Rev. 21. 11. He that is unjust let him be so still and he which is filthy let him be filthy still And so they make good this place as it is spoken by way of precept and not by way of caution never considering what will become of them in the end thereof O ye sons and daughters of men did not our tender loving Lord God make us Lords of the Creation and are not we become Servants unto it Did not he make man the wisest of all Creatures and is there any Creature under the whole Heaven so unwise as man Did he not put a fear and a dread upon every creature Gen. 9. 2. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every fowl of the ayr and upon all that moveth on the earth and upon all the fishes of the sea into your hands are they delivered But how is poor silly man afraid of and become a Servant to the meanest of all these Creatures in a Spiritual sense These were made our servants and have been faithfull in their service to us we were Created in the Image of God and appointed by him to be serviceable unto him and yet the whole Creation are more serviceable unto him and do not dishonour him as man doth Jer. 8. 6 7. I hearkened saith the Lord and heard but the most excellent piece of my workmanship man spake not aright no man repented him of his wickedness saying what have I done So I was fain to repent my self that ever I made man for every one runneth into sin as the horse rusheth into the battel Yea the Stork in the heavens knows her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their coming but my People know not the judgments of the Lord. Man that was made the wisest of all is become the variest fool of all And oh that we saw it 1 Cor. 3. 18. Let no man deceive himself If any man among you seemeth to be wise let him become a fool that he may be wise We like fools take a great deal of pains to make our selves miserable We forsake the Fountain of living endurable waters and ride and run through thick and thin labour and toyl dig and hew unto our selves Cisterns yea broken Cisterns that will hold no water Jer. 2. 12 13. If John were to write an Epistle to the Professors of our dayes as once he did to Gaius 3 Ep. Joh. v. 1 2. Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayst prosper be in health even as thy soul prospereth I say if he were to write to us he would undoubtedly change his voice and say O ye Professors now extant in the English Nation I wish above all things that ye may prosper in your souls even as your bodies prosper O thou hast a flourishing body but a starved soul thy eyes stare out with fatness thou hast more then heart can wish thou art like the green Bay tree or the Willows by the water side thou hast given thee thy hearts desire but thou hast a lean famished starved soul and I could wish above all things that thy soul prospered as thy body prospereth Oh is it not better to go to Heaven with poor Lazarus then to Hell with rich Dives Is it not better O sons and daughters of men to be often saying with our head Christ The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head then to be saying in effect as most do at this day with that rich man Luk. 12 17. 18 19 20. Soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thine ease eat drink and be merry but God said unto him Thou fool this night shall thy soul be required of thee c. We have forgotten those words 1 Joh. 2. 15. Love not the world neither the things of the world if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him O how few such can we find in a whole Parish in a whole City in a whole Shire nay how many think you are there in a whole Nation that love the world and so have not the love of the Father abiding in them In this Epistle of John the Spirit of the Lord in the mouth of his servant cals to all the sons of men and craves their diligent attention I have written to you Fathers I have written to you Children I have written to you Young men Why what is the Spirit of the Lord about to make out unto us Only here is the sum ver 15. Love not the world nor the things of the world for if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him Object But some will be apt to say We do love God we do not love the World Answ How shall that appear If I should try thy practice by the Scriptures I shall find that thou dost love the world and not God 1 Ioh. 3. 17. Whoso hath this worlds good and seeth his brother in need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion how dwelleth the love of God in him That thou hast faith shew it to me by thy works and if thou hast love shew it by its fruits Indeed there is abundance of Faith and Love in the Nation but I can find but little in my self and others in the powerful operation The Power of Godliness is but here and there in a corner and when it doth
will beget in us this unspeakable benefit namely To behold a hand of Providence in and read love under every dispensation You and I should say with Iob when we loose all blessed be the name of the Lord and with Paul Phil. 4. 11. I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be contented and so we shall serve him without fear and not be afraid of Armies of men and Legions of Devils Psal 3. 6. He will not fear death and hell Why because he will see both overcome by Jesus Christ Death that was the King of terrours hath now lost his sting 1 Cor. 15. 56. and the Devil hath lost his power as to one that is in Christ for he is overcome by Christ Heb. 2. 14. Sin also the cause of death which did shut the door of Gods mercy and grace upon us is overcome for us by Christ upon whom it was laid Isa 53. 6. And so he made an end of transgression and sin The world also that did so often deceive us and perplex us is overcome for us by Jesus Christ Joh. 16. 33. The Law also which brought in many Bills of Indictment against us is fulfilled by Christ for us Rom. 10. 4. The Justice of the Almighty that did lie in the way of our peace and quiet untill it was satisfied is now taken away quite and appeased towards all true Believers by the Lord Iesus Christ Psal 85. 10 So that now come what will come all shall work together for the good of those that love God If prosperity come let us behold God smiling upon us and trying of us If imprisonment come let us with Paul and Silas sing Psalms if tribulation come let us rejoyce knowing that tribulation shall work patience and patience experience and experience hope and hope maketh not ashamed In a word if our wills were resigned up into his will we should be saying such words Good is the word of the Lord let him do what seemeth him good for nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Rom. 8. 38 39. Neither can any thing do me harm Rom. 8. 28. 7. This is the way to have our conversation in Heaven whilest we live on the earth Now what makes Heaven but Union and Communion with God in Iesus Christ now this being attainable in this life what hinders but a Christian may live in Heaven whilest he lives upon earth 1 Ioh. 1. 3. Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Iesus Christ Phil. 3. 20. Our conversation is in heaven again I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God Gal. 2. 20. All these were men on earth subject to infirmities as we are and yet they lived in Heaven and these things are left written in the Scriptures for our learning to wind up our hearts to the like frame Let Religion be our business then and more time spent on that and less time on the world For as hath been said before the time is short the remainder of our season is now folding up as a Sail or Curtain into a narrow room time is short and life shorter and the end of all things is at hand Thus have I endeavoured as briefly as I could to lay before thee whosoever thou art that readest these lines viz. the shortness of mans life or fewness of his days and the many miseries that do befall him and how a Christian might if not escape them yet have them lessened and sweetned unto him so that he might walk through these Seas of troubles and winds and floods of afflictions and fiery trials by open secret buffettings from thy many enemies and sometimes from pretended friends and neer relations with comfort c. Was not Abel murthered by his brother Noah mocked by his sons Job and David scoffed by their wives was not Iacob threatened by his brother banished from his Father abused by his uncle in the day he was consumed with heat Gen. 31. 40. in the night with frost then there arose a division betweeen his two wives two sisters brawling for one husband after this they both run from their father now see a fresh pursuit behinde him Laban following him with an hue and cry before him Esau coming with four hundred men to go forward intolerable to go backward unavailable then a little after his wife Rachel dies his daughter Dinah is ravished his son Reuben lies with his Concubines then his son his Ioseph they report is lost and now see a man of sorrows indeed I will go down saith he to the grave unto my sons mourning after this a Famine begins and another of his sons in prison and nothing can redeem him but his only Benjamin here was loss of son after son Ioseph is not Simeon is not saith he and now ye take away Benjamin all these things are against me Thus every Christian more or less though he be a few days yet they are full of trouble and both flie away faster then the Weavers shuttle which if well considered will rouze up those many sleepy professors living in these crazy times and slippery days wherein both lives and liberties health friends wealth pleasures honours and priviledges are in such extremity of extraordinary uncertainties I say the serious consideration hereof might serve to rouze up all sorts of men to improve the present time to the best advantage that so they might have an unshaken foundation of true spiritual peace and consolation For we must al die and that speedily our days flie away swifter then the weavers Shuttle It is said that when the Egyptians found their first born dead in their Families there was a great cry throughout Egypt a great cry in every Family Now were we as sensible of our souls as we are of our bodies oh what a great cry would there be in most of our Families one crying out and saying O Lord I have a dead childe another O Lord I have a dead servant another O Lord I have a dead wife in my Family whose soul is dead another I have a dead husband a dead friend and if the Lord doth not raise them speedily I fear they will die the second death from whence there is no redemption for they shall be cast into everlasting fire which is an intolerable eternity our life is like a candle in a paper Lanthorn there 's but a breath between us heaven or hel Wherefore O earth earth earth hear the voice of the Lord even while it is called to day which is swifter then the weavers shuttle FINIS
things considerable 1. His Holiness towards God in his Uprightness toward the World 2. His Sobriety toward himself 3. His Patience in bearing the mutability and change of his state 1. Of the first his Holiness towards God in his Uprightness toward the World He was the eye of the blinde and the feet of the lame he fed the hungry he cloathed the naked he harboured strangers Iob. 31. 17 19. and Iob 31. 32. and Iob 31. 16 17 21. 2. In sobriety toward himself his heart was not infected with lust Iob 31. 7. Nor suffered he his feet to walk in deceit Iob 31. 5. Nor made he gold his hope Iob 31. 24. 3. Here also have you his Patience in bearing the mutability and change of his state viz. 1. He lost his children and then his wealth then his body became leprous his friends also upbraided him his wife forsook him his own servants despised him Iob 19. 15 16. Iob was in affliction and he expected pitty from his friends but all his friends proved like a River that in Summer was dry and in Winter frozen Iob 6. 15. Next here is the vanishing frailty of mans age viz. 1. He compares it to the vanishing and consuming of a cloud Iob. 7. 9. 2. He compares it to the swiftness of a Post Iob 9. 25. 3. He compares it to the sailing of a Ship Iob 9. 26. 4. He compares it to a flower that springs in the morning and withereth before night Iob 14. 2. 5. He compares it to a shadow Iob 8. 9 12 6. And lastly He setteth forth the shortness thereof by its being swifter then a Weavers Shuttle saying My days are swifter then a Weavers Shuttle and here I will fix What the Weavers Shuttle is most men do know What the swiftness thereof is a few do know But the swiftness of mans days being swifter then the Weavers Shuttle there be but few yea very few do know or consider Now the Weavers Shuttle is an Instrument of a very swift and sudden motion which passeth the Lomb or Web with such speed that it is grown a Proverb What is swifter then a Weavers Shuttle Now as the Shuttle flies to and again forward and backward untill the Cloth is fully wove which for the most part is done in a few days so nights and days passeth this Shuttle of our life forward and backward to and fro again The night casts it to the day and the day to the night and the night to the day and so from one to the other forward and backward to and again and between these two time quickly wears off the thred of our life the Cloth comes to be filled or cut off and just so is our life Isa 38. 12. I have cut off like a Weaver Our days flie away swift and our time is short that man is not master of one day and yet how slow are we to take notice of the swiftness of time It is a wonder that such a plain familiar Doctrine as this should be handled so often and that the Holy Ghost should as it were endeavour by so many similitudes and comparisons to hold it forth to us and fetch in all things that are more then ordinarily transitory in nature to teach us the mutability of our condition yet how few believe it When the Weavers Shuttle is once out of his hand it is gone presently so our time flies away swiftly and passeth away irrecoverably A Weavers Shuttle flyes swift but our days are swifter then a Weavers Shuttle Psal 78. 39. Oh remember that my life is but wind saith David this is a Proverbial speech like that before of the Weavers Shuttle Now the life of man is like the wind in two things 1. The wind passeth away speedily so doth mans life 2. The wind when it is past returns no more so man passeth away and shall not return again they whose heads are highest must lie down in a bed of earth and rest their heads on a pillow of dust Most sleep in the dust while they live but all must sleep in the dust when they die Earthly men have earthly minds and they cannot rest but in Earth for it is their Center only take notice that he who hath laid up his heart in Heaven can comfortably think of laying down his head in the dust We no sooner come into the World but we are going out again and as soon as we begin to live we begin to die as soon as we begin to breathe our breath is departing Yea all the Prophets and Apostles that have written any thing for our learning have more or less written of the mutability and uncertainty of of our life As to instance Gen. 18. 27. I which am but dust and ashes said Abraham have taken upon me c. 1 Chron. 29. 15. All our dayes are on the earth as a shadow there is no abiding 2 Sam. 14. 14. For we must needs die we are as water spilt upon the ground which cannot be gathered up again Job 16. 22. When a few years are come then I shall goe the way whence I shall not return Psal 102. 3. For my dayes are consumed like smoak Psal 70. 9. We spend our dayes like a tale that is told Job 7. 7. Oh remember that my life is but winde mine eye shall no more see good Prov. 27. 1. Boast not thy self of to morrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth Isa 4. 6 7. All flesh is grass and the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field the grass withereth and the flower thereof fadeth away Isa 64. 6. But we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousness is as filthy rags and we all do fade as a leaf and our iniquities as a winde have taken us away Isa 51. 6. Lift up your eyes to the Heavens and look upon the earth beneath for the Heavens shall vanish away like smoak and the Earth shall wax old like a garment and they that dwell therein shall die but my salvation shall be for ever my righteousness shall not decay Hos 10. 7. Our life is cut off as the foam upon the water At the best we are but a Bubble and it is no wonder to see a Bubble break And so in the New Testament we have it frequently laid before us I shall instance in one or two places for all Jam. 4. 14. For what is your life It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away 1 Pet. 1. 24. For all flesh is grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass the grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away Now all these Scriptures being well considered we may all break forth in the words of Iob My dayes are not only swift but swifter then a Weavers shuttle Now to avoid all curious and nice division of the words which for the most part doth darken the truth rather then discover it set up the
but few men saying with the Prophet Psal 90. 12. So teach us to number our dayes that we may apply our hearts to wisdom 7. But most men and women when they are cutting off their life like a Weaver fall a praying with Balaam Numb 23. 10. Lord let me die the death of the Righteous and let my latter end be like his Never considering that none can die the death of the righteous but only those that live the life of the righteous It is true we read of one as the Thief upon the Cross that no man might despair and we read but of one that no man may presume Surely Death sends many messengers to you and me to tell us that he is coming One while in comes the Ague after that the Feaver and before we can shake them off many times in comes the Head-ach and it may be the Tooth-ach raging and shaking the best beam in thy natural building Well after a while thou and I have it may be shaken them off and now it is pretty well with us again we begin to smile and to feather our nests and while with Martha we are troubled about many things Death sends another Pursuivant and he terrifies us with Crosses and Losses troubles within and without Well we have scarce got over these torments but in comes Sir Thomas Gout or Sir William Cramp or both and these unwelcome guests will sit at the table with us and lie in the bed with us and night and day lie trouble us when we think to sleep then they will be talking saying Our days are swifter then the Weavers shuttle Well if all these be shut out of doors through long patience great charges and thou begin to cheer up in comes another Pursuivant and turns thy nearest and dearest Friend into thy greatest Enemy and so this cross in thy nearest Relation from whom thou didst expect thy greatest assistance and help now proves thy greatest enemy So that put all thy Crosses Losses Sicknesses Persecutions c. that ever befell thee in one ballance and this Cross in thy nearest Relation in the other ballance and this latter will weigh down the former ten times over In a word I do know a man that lost his tender Father and after that he lost his Estate that his Father gave him then he was in a banished condition at least 26 moneths then he lost some of his Children not long after he lost his tender Mother and a little before he lost one of his dearest Brethren since that he lost his onely Son not long after he lost his dearest Sister and between each of these Losses for the most part he was visited with Sickness and often brought even to the gates of death Then a little after this some of his most intimate Friends with whom he had sweet converse about Sâ—ul-work these turned Ranters besides these at least an hundred Crosses more came in the one upon the neck of the other And yet this man doth profess that all these put them together are but a Flea-biting to that one Cross in his nearest Relation and that but in her little member to wit the Tongue See Jam. 3. 5 6. Eccles 7. 26. Death doth often summon us to be in a continual readiness to lay down these crazie brittle dusty Bodies in their own Center the Earth And for my own part I must confess that the Weavers Shuttle hath been preaching to me almost these 25 years still telling me that my days flie away faster then my shuttle And now at last it having prevailed with me a little for my attention at least I had no sooner silenced my own thoughts but I heard a voice from Heaven saying All flesh is grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the field And when I lift up mine eyes to the Heavens as in Isa 51. 6. and look upon the Earth beneath the Heavens shall vanish away like smoak and the Earth shall wax old like a garment and they that dwell therein shall dye but my Salvation shall be for ever and my Righteousness shall never be abolished Men and women are like a bubble upon the water they would fain get above their element and swim a loft but they shall be cut off as the foam upon the water Mans life is like a Candle in a Paper-lanthorn full of crannies there comes on a sudden but a little puffe of wind and blows the Candle out Oh then let this little inch of Time be improved to the best advantage seeing Time is one of the most precious herbs in the garden of the World And yet by most men there is not one thing more slighted in the World surely if we did see time so pretious as it is we should take the counsell of the Holy Ghost and redeem the time because the days are evâ—l Eph. 5. 16. And if in truth thou and I did redeem the time there would be no room or time for so many idle words there would be no room or time for so many idle thoughts and unprofitable musings our thoughts are the eldest and most noble off spring of our souls and so are too worthy to be cast away upon base objects did we indeed see time precious short and swifter then the Weavers Shuttle we should redeem a little from our ordinary sleep and a little from our worldly business and to make all our dealings in worldly business subservient to Religion and not to grasp so much of the world as to distract our head with cares or engage our heart in sin we should redeem a little time from our usual lawfull recreations and so from all things else that drink up our time and improve this redeemed time to the best advantage for the glory of God and thy own good and benefit of others Let me tell thee what I know upon found ground we shall finde all little enough I once read of a man that did trifle away his time as most of us do not seeing the worth of it untill he was about thirty years of age and then hearing a Sermon of the shortness of mans life being a little troubled makes his request to a Godly man whom he looked upon as a Prophet to tell him how long he should live that so before death came he might repent of his sins and make his Peace with God The Minister asked him how long he desired to live and he said he would fain live sixty years at least well the Minister told him that there were more did die before they came to fifty then there was that did live to fifty yet saith he thou shalt have thy request thou shalt live till sixty Well with that the man was very thankfull conceiving he had time enough to take the pleasures of the World and to repent hereafter The Minister asked him how old he was he answered thirty then says he take out thirty of sixty and there remains but thirty years that thou hast
why we have many put offs the business concerning our souls must wait upon us from day to day from week to week from moneth to moneth nay sometimes from year to year before we be at leisure to take that into our consideration it is easier for a man to prefer a Petition to the Parliament and to get a promise of taking ones business into serious consideration and to answer our desires then it is to get our stubborn hard hearts so glewed to the World to be at leisure to consider the state of our souls we think every minute spent about that to be an hour and every hour a whole day and every day a year I remember the words of a man now with the Lord speaking to this from that Gen. 27. 38 39. You shall find there that Isaac blessing of Jacob and Esau he blest them both but see with what difference he blessed Jacob v. 28. God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth Then look to Esau's blessing Behold saith Jacobs father thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above v. 39. Mark they were both blessed with the dew of heaven and fatness of the earth but now in Jacobs blessing the dew of heaven is first and the fatness of the earth is in the second place but in Esaus blessing the fatness of the earth is first and the dew of heaven in the second place Noting this that a godly man indeed the greatest thing that he should mind in the first place is the dew of heaven and then in the second place the blessing of the earth But an earthly man in the first place seeks for the fatness of the earth and in the next place the dew of heaven Hence it is that the choisest of our thoughts are carried forth and busied about earthly things c. And in order thereunto how will men rise early and lie down late and eat the bread of carefulness and travail night and day far and near through heat and cold thick and thin deprive themselves of sleep and many times of necessary food and all to gather a little Moths-nest together which once gotten the Moths soon consume it unless it takes wings and flies away before the Moths can enter as in Prov. 23. 5. Are not most men and women in England like Corah Dathan and Abiram we read of them that they were swallowed up of the earth and so at this day there be many millions of souls both rich and poor old and young male and female swallowed up of the earth for they make it their great business and therefore the strongest endeavours of their spirits are employed to effect and accomplish their own carnal ends yea the whole man both soul and body is laid out to the uttermost they will neglect no time spare no pains to increase their earthly treasure Indeed I have stood almost amazed when I have a little considered the temper of my own heart the state of others wherein I find that we are very diligent and ready to do that which we have no command for and that which we have warrant for we are negligent to do As to instance We have no command as I can remember to make the things of this life so sure to us and our posterity although in a moderate sense it may be lawful and expedient so to do but for our Evidence for Heaven and our assurance of our interest in God to this we have many commands Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure as 2 Pet. 1. 10 And again 2 Cor. 13 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the faith prove your own selves know you not your own selvs how that Iesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates 1 Col. 23. Continue in the faith grounded and setled and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel which ye have heard c. Now for our assurance of earthly things men never think them sure enough but how careful are we to make all things infallible as there can be no way as we think wherein we can be deceived And to secure this earthly treasure how do men toile and labour and their thoughts run in the night and as soon as you arise in the morning you run headlong about the world having so many things to do you know not which to do first But the business of our souls and the assurance for heaven we either think not of it at all or if we do we make that but a business by the by but as for the matters of the earth men will go from this Lawyer to another to ask counsel and to see whether it be sure and to see whether there can be any thing done to make it more sure so that most men never think it to be sure enough but as for our assurance in spiritual things either we are contented with none at all or else any slender assurance will serve the turn Go from one seat to another and enquire of the People what evidence have you of Peace made between God and your souls What evidence have you that you are gone beyond any formal Professour What assurance have you that the saving work of God is wrought in you Why these be either Paradoxes or Mysteries the people know not what this doth mean many of them saying in effect it is an impossible thing for a man upon earth to have assurance of his salvation and so poor souls they drop into the grave one after another having no more assurance of Gods love to them or of their interest in him then the beasts of the field they came first from the earth and all the while they lived their hearts were upon it and so they die and return unto it never obeying that voice Ier. 22. 29. O earth earth earth hear the word of the Lord. These men have denyed Christ here while they lived in the body now he will deny them Mat. 10. 33. 2 Tim. 2. 12. They were ashamed to own him in his people here now he will not own them Luk. 9. 26. Christ called upon them to repent and they would not and now they shall not repent if they would They would none of his ways here and he will not accept of their persons hereafter Mat. 7. 23. O then let Religion be our business Let us seek the Kingdom of Heaven in the first place Mat. 6. 33. And again 3 Ep. John ver 2. I wish even above all things thou mightst prosper in thy body even as thy soul prospereth Mark here was a soul flourishing growing and thriving and that in the first place and next unto that is the moderate care of the body and this is Gods order but mans care is most for the body first and then a little for the soul afterwards when thou hast nothing else to do but know God will have the first fruits or none all
shall beg in harvest The diligent hand maketh rich But these are not diligent and therefore are poor See 1 Tim. 5. 8. He that provideth not for those of his own house by his lawfull Calling mark that man he hath denyed the faith and is worse then an infidel 3. Be diligent in your particular Calling as first and chiefly in obedience to the Command of God and secondly that so you might provide for your own selves and families thirdly so be diligent in it that you may be helpfull to others in their needs and wants Eph 4. 28 Let him that stole steal no more but labour working with his hands that he may have to give to him that needeth or to distribute as in the margent next to our selves and families we are to look to others for although charity begins at home it should spread abroad only in giving observe the Rule Gal. 6. 10. Do good unto all but especially to them that are of the houshold of faith and for thy incouragement herein read these and the like Scriptures Luk. 6. 38. Mat. 25. 34 35 36. Fourthly and lastly be sure that you follow this earthly Calling with an heavenly minde when thou lookest upon the world or any thing therein consider it is a natural Book wherein thou mayst read God thou mayst see him learn of him something in al thou puttest thy hand unto A man meerly natural is earthly in Spiritual things but a godly man is Spiritual in earthly things An earthly man when he is hearing praying or reading his thoughts and affections are upon the things of the earth but a godly man when he is about his Calling though the meanest as Weaving Spinning Hedging Ditching or using his Ax or Hammer he is more Spiritual then I say then a wicked man is when he is praying or hearing or preaching or administring or receiving Sacraments that it is so I know by wofull experience and thou whosoever thou art that readest these lines shalt shortly know it if thou dost not already to be true or else by wofull and most wofull experience in the highest degree it will appear to thee to be so at the day of Judgment when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed Truly I conceive that there is no one thing under Heaven that a man puts his hand unto or beholdeth with his eyes but we might behold our Creator in it and learn something from it I will instance in a few Callings leaving the industrious Reader to instance in the rest as occasion offers it self I will begin with the Husbandman as he in ploughing up the grounds to prepare it for feed the ground doth even tell him that the fallow ground of his heart must be ploughed up and fitted to receive Spirital seed Jer. 4. 3. Hos â—0 12. And as he is sowing the Corn even the grain doth preach to him saying I must die before I can bring forth fruit and so must you that sowe me die to the flesh before you can bring forth fruit unto God Rom. 7. 4. Then when a man comes to pluck up the weeds every weed tells him the ground was cursed for his sake and that there be many spiritual weeds in his soul that must be plucked out or it will undo him in the end Mat. 5. 29 30. Then when he hath reaped and is making a separation between the Tares and the Wheat this doth preach to him so will the Lord of Heaven and earth shortly put a difference between the godly and the wicked Mal. 3. 17. 18. and Mat. 3. 12. Come to those that spin and enquire of them and they will or might tell thee that they may see and learn by the thred they spin as in Mat. 6. 18. Luk. 12. 27. Consider the Lillies of the field for they toyl not neither spin and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these Then the Weaver as he is Weaving may think as if his Shuttle running should say unto him as in Job 7. 6. Thy days are swifter then the Weavers Shuttle and when he hath woven out his Piece is cutting it off he may thereby learn that as he is come to the end of his piece so he shail shortly come to the end of his life and so cut off like a Weaver as in Isa 38. 12. I have cut off like a Weaver my life I might instance in every state in every condition in every particular Calling in every particular Creature but for brevity sake I shall leave it to the prudent Reader NOw that we may make Religion our business indeed and so have our conversation in Heaven whiles we live on the earth and that we might be freed from all distracting cares and so use the world as if we used it not that we might I've above the world even whiles we are in the world and that our chief trading might be for heaven that so our portion and treasure might be there that our hearts might be there also Consider seriously these ensuing particulars viz. 1. That we are all in the presence of God always who takes a view of all our thoughts words and deeds 2. That we have but few days to live in the body and they flie away swifter then the weavers Shuttle wherefore if there be any thing for us to do do it whiles it is called to day Heb. 3. 13. 15. 3. If we make not Religion our business we shall lose much of our comfort here in point of our well being for if we were not wanting to our selves we might live in Heaven whiles our bodies were upon the earth Consider that the Lord that made us hath undertaken the care of us He bids us wait on him and he will feed us and clothe us 5. Consider that this God that hath taken the care of us by way of promise is a faithful God he cannot deny himself 6. If we do belive this we shall with Job and Paul behold a hand of Providence in and read love under every dispensation First of the first of these 1. That we are always in the presence of Almighty God who takes a view of all our thoughts words and deeds and if this were believed by us we should do all things as in his presence endeavouring to behave our selves so as is not onely good and commendable in the sight of men but of God also who looks not only on the outward action but at the inward intention Also this will cause us not only to put a watch over the door of our mouth but also to put another watch over the thoughts of our hearts that so we may with Enoch walk with God that is set him before us See Psal 16. 8. I have set the Lord always before me that I might not fall There are two things to be considered for the clearing of this first point 1. That the Almighty God doth fill heaven and earth with his presence 2. That it is
40. 7. Psa 102. 3. Job 7. 7. 2 Sam. 14. 14. Hos 10. 7. Jam. 4. 14. 1 Chron. 29. 15. Ps 39. 5. 3. If we make not Religion our business we shall lose much of our comfort here in point of our well being for if we were not wanting to our selvs we might live in heaven while our bodies were here upon earth Phil. 3. 20. For our conversation is in heaven and this caused the Saints exceedingly to rejoyce 2 Cor. 1. 12. For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our Conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world Psa 119. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed when I shall have respect unto all thy Commandments What is the matter that one is crying another is sighing and a third perplexed and a fourth in despair why sin is the cause if a man made Religion his business so that his ways did please the Lord even his enemies should be at peace with him Prov. 16. 7. Nay further He shall deliver thee in six troubles yea in seven there shall be no evil touch thee in famine he will preserve thee from death and in war from the power of the sword thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field and the beasts of the earth shall be at peace with thee thy tabernacle shall be at peace and thou shalt not sin Job 5. 19 20 21 22 23 24 c. In a word what brings all the miseries upon our bodies and plagues upon our souls but sin and how shall we refrain from sin unless we make Religion our business which if we did do we should 1. Not fear the faces of men Mat. 10. 28. 2. When we did suffer either in our bodies or estates we should be so far from murmuring or complaining that our hearts would be taken up altogether with singing praising and rejoycing Acts 6. 25. Luk. 6. 22. 23. 1 Pet. 3. 14 17. 1 Pet. 12 13 14 15 16. 3. We should have a fellowship with Christ in all our sufferings as in Phil. 3. 10. 4. We should be great gainers by all our sufferings Rom. 5. 3. 1 Pet. 2. 19. 20. 5. We should accompt the worst of them both light and short 2 Cor. 4. 17. For our light afflictions which are but for a moment work for us a far more excellent and eternal weight of glory Rom. 8. 8. If we made Religion our business with Paul we should should say in our sufferings as he did 2 Cor. 4. 8 9. We be troubled on every side yet not distressed we are perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not destroyed c. In a word I know nothing that keeps all good things from us and brings all miseries upon us but sin Jam. 4. 1. From whence come wars and fightings among you Come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members Oh then let Religion be thy business and not sin 1. Because sin is contrary to the nature of God it doth dishonour him 2. It 's most injurious to thy self as hath been proved for it brings all the miseries upon thee that have do or shall ever befall thee As soon as ever thou sinnest the punishment lieth at the door Oh then if the love of Christ will not constrain yet let the fear of punishment compel thee and me to refrain from sin Rom. 2. 9. Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil both of the Iew and the Gentiles Oh let us not do that abominable thing which the Lord doth hate Sin maketh a man abominable both in the sight of God and good men Better it were to suffer a thousand wrongs then to commit one sin Thou mayest have comfort in thy sufferings wrongfully thou oughtest to rejoyce in it but when thou doest sin thou shalt suffer as an evil doer thou art buffeted for thy faults in this thou canst not glory but blush with shame Wherefore if thou art not able to say with Joseph How shall I do this great evil sin against God yet say with Thamar How shall I do this evil and cause my name to slink among the sons and daughters of men Do but a little mark diligently and thou shalt find if thy Conscience be not feared as soon as ever sin is committed thy conscience checks thee thy heart smites thee thy foes laugh at thee thy friends grieve and pitty thee nay more then this thou dost crucifie afresh Christ Jesus and puttest him to an open shame as Heb. 6. 6. What is the reason thou hast so many enemies and so few friends Sin is the cause as Prov. 16. 7. Iob 5. 20 21 c. Thou art deprived of many comforts that others do enjoy Why sin is the cause of it Ier. 5. 25. Doth the Almighty hide his face from thee Why what is the cause Your sins and iniquities have made him to hide his face Wherefore doth the living man so complain but for the punishment of his sin Lam. 3. 39. Wherefore is there so much weeping in this Nation One weeps for his father another for his mother one for his brother another for his sister some for one Relation some for another Why dost thou weep for them Oh they be be dead or dying Why what brought this unavoidable Death into the world Ans It was sin it was sin The wages of sin is death Rom. 6. 23. In a word Sin hath slain our father deceived our mother cheated almost undone all our brethren and defiled our sisters wounded our children and plundered all our kindred to the skin and left them as poor as Iob. One sin caused Adam to fall and so infected the whole world One sin caused the Angels to be cast out of Heaven One sin caused Saul to be utterly cast off from being King although he was anointed King by the Lord his special appointment Ananias and Sapphira for one lye were stricken with present death Besides sin defiles a man totally it beginneth at the understanding and so to the will and affection it will take in every faculty of the soul and endeavour to act in every member of the body it doth defile a man eternally it robs us of the Image of God it robs us of his presence it will promise us peace and bring us into trouble it will promise us honour and bring us into disgrace it will promise us liberty and bring us into bondage it will promise us life and bring us to death it will hide Pride under the name of decencie it will bring in Covetousnes under the name of good husbandry it will clothe Drunkenness Gluttony under the name of good-fellowship it will hide Frowardness under the name of zeal In a word as the acts of sin be numerous so the
died and rose again even so them also which sleep in Iesus will God bring with him The Holy Ghost in this place forbiddeth not Christian sorrow for the dead but Heathenish sorrow not moderate but excessive and immoderate either in respect of time or measure of our grief we may water our plants for our deceased Friends but not drown them 7. Let us consider the priviledges of Believers after death for death is unto them but a Porter opening a door into a dark entry or a servant of thy Fathers sent to put thy dear friend to bed for a little while till corruption shall have put on incorruption and mortality shall have put on immortality Death is but a sleep and the grave a bed and all things that be on the other side death are taken away by Iesus Christ Death openeth the great gate that leadeth to thy Fathers house that so thou mayest go home for we are but Sojourners Pilgrims and Strangers here in this World it is true unbelievers are at home whiles they live here they be called the inhabitants of the earth and dwellers upon the earth when they die they do not go home as thou doest it is true they go to their own place and to their own Father so that death to them is the King of Terrours but to thee and thy believing deceased Friend death should be looked upon as the Messenger of glad tidings which is come only to crack the clay walls which is our Prison that you may flie home and be at rest and when thou comest home to enjoy the presence of thy Father and Saviour Christ and to be filled with the Spirit and to be with all the holy Saints of Heaven thou wilt then rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 8. Let us consider that although I and thee be like to loose our own lives or else have lost some of our nearest and dearest friends yet let this comfort us this also shall work together for our good Rom. 8. 28. Wherefore let us not so fear death but hearken what death doth whisper in thy ears saying fear not me I came from the Father and have no Commission to hurt you although my countenance be grim my message is sweet and pleasing Christ your beloved husband hath taken my sting from me before he would let me come to you I am come without a sting to tell you that God and Christ loves you and hath sent me on purpose to invite you into their presence where is fulness of joy and pleasures at his right hand for evermore only you must put off your filthy garments that the earth may return to its earth the fire to its fire the water to its water the aire to its aire for these were the Elements thy body was made of and so thou must endure a little pain in putting off these cloaths they be somewhat little and strait but thou must with Paul put off this earthly Tabernacle for that must be dissolved before thou canst be with Christ in whose presence there is fulness of joy where all relations will be made up in God there is no complaining in the Streets of this new Ierusalem no want of Relations God will be a Father Christ will be a Husband Saints gloryfied our Brethren Sisters and associates so we shall want no Relation neither shall any Relation want Perfection There is but a breath between thee and this condition 9. Let us consider that the Scripture doth pronounce them blessed that die in the Lord Rev. 14. 13 For from henceforth they rest from their labours See Eccles 4. 2. Job 3. 17. The greatest evil death can bring unto us is but a more speedy way to happiness Lastly let us consider that our dear beloved brother David although he mourned fasted and prayed whilst his Child was sick yet as soon as it was dead he arose and began to comfort himself saying I shall go to it ere long for my dayes are swifter then the Weavers shuttle saith Job Then shall the dust return to its earth saith Solomon Eccles 12. 7. The dust that is the body to shew the original of it Gen. 2. 7. and the weakness of it Dust is the weakest part of the earth Psal 103. 14. the basest and vilest of it Job 4. 19. Phil. 3. 21. Job 30. 19. Our original from the dust our return unto the dust This should humble us in our own eyes and should warn us to improve all our ability and every opportunity to make our calling and election sure that there might be nothing wanting in us to secure a better life before this be ended and not to put off the endeavours towards it as most do unto old age which haply we may never attain unto and if we do it will bring it self work enough for us to do Death comes swift and uncertain Sin the longer lived in doth the more harden Repentance is not in our call or command when we please it is a work of the whole man and of the whole life this work deferred will be greater the time to do it in will be shorter the strength to do it by will be less bodily infirmities will disinable spiritual actions God will have less honour and service from us and we our selves shall have more sorrow and less comfort For my own part I can speak something by woful experience of the sad effect of not imbracing the present opportunity and ability that God hath given me I am assured that I have lost much of my comfort here for hearkening to the motions of my own spirit and slighting the motions and strivings of the Lords Spirit by which means I have deprived my self of manifestations and apprehensions of heavenly and spiritual things that the Lord begun to pour out upon me And now if I would give all the world I cannot recall one day that is past nor one of those blessed opportunities that I have lost Only I desire if the Lord will to redeem this little inch of time yet remaining like an idle servant that hath loitered all the forenoon begins to work twice as hard in the afternoon I have two Requests within me to make unto thee whosoever thou art that readest these lines If there be in thee any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the Spirit if any bowels and mercy then my first Request is I do beseech thee beg thee in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ if thou mindest his glory or thy own good that thou wouldst seek the Kingdom of Heaven in obedience to his command in the first place for in so doing the Lord will be glorified thy light shining before men that they seeing thy obedience to him may glorifie thy Father which is in heaven that so while the whole World with Martha are troubled about many things thou mayst with Mary choose the better part That so while some are giving all diligence to get
earthly treasure thou mayst give all diligence to get heavenly And while some are spending their time in vanity one endeavouring to exceed another in folly thou mayst redeem precious time for spiritual ends endeavouring to excel others in piety That so while others that have great possessions are with the Young man in the Gospel going from Christ sorrowfull thou mayst with Zacheus receive Christ joyfully and be willing to part with some of thy goods cheerfully My second Request is That in thy addresses to the Father and approaches to the Throne of Grace in the name of the Son by a lively faith in him in whom are all our springs from whom are all our supplies that among all thy requests to the Lord of Hosts both for a supply of spiritual things and natural things for thy self and friends that thou daily standest in need of thou would'st have one request one ejaculation one sigh one breathing or one petition for me also That the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory would give unto me a more full cleer powerful knowledge of his will in all wisdom spiritual understanding that I might walk worthy of the Lord being fruitful in every good work that he would pour out upon me that Spirit of Faith spoken of in the Gospel which was once given to the Saints which we are commanded to contend for and that Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him the Spirit of councel and might the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord that I might act for God from a pure principle of love to God that so not onely sinful self might be denied in me but that also natural self and religious self might be laid at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ as dung and dross in point of justification and salvation which is all of free grace That so when I come to cut off my life like a Weaver for my dayes flie away swifter then his shuttle I may say with Simeon Luk. 2. 29 30. Lord let thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation Or at least I might say with Hezekiah Isa 38. 3. Remember now O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart or else that I might say in the sincerity of my soul with Paul 2 Tim. 4. 7 8. I have fought the good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith there is laid up for me a crown of glory O that our Parliament would consider with Job that although they have sate long yet now their days are swifter then the Weavers Shuttle and they shall shortly cut off like a Weaver Isa 38. 12. that so they might minde what David saith Psal 15. 4. He shall abide in Gods tabernacle and dwell in his holy hill that keepeth his word and Promises Oh that it might be your study so to do and that you would yet further improve the present opportunity in discharging the Trust reposed to you by God and his People for his Glory and their Liberty and this will bring you more comfort in the end then all your honour and estates which hath been now is and ever shall be my request to God for you O that our Armies whom God hath made so victorious would now pay their Vows that they made to the Lord of Hosts in the day of their distress and that speedily because their days are swifter then the Weavers Shuttle O that Magistracy and Ministry would consider how swift this Shuttle flies and yet their days flie swifter that so the one might not judge for Reward and the other teach for hire that so the first wheel that moves them to act might be out of conscience unto God and faithfulness to his People whose servants they are O that all men of all Opinions by what nick-name soever they be known viz. Episcopacy Presbyterie Independency Lutherans Socinians Arminians Anabaptists Antinomians would consider that their days are swifter then the Weavers Shuttle and give off that excessive contending about the garment of Religion and the Form in which they are to Worship which is but as paying Tithe of Commin and Annis and the while the Power of Religion is much abated and the weighty matters of the Law neglected Faith and Repentance Self-denial and an holy Conversation these by many are shut out of doors and so whiles we lie contending for the Form the Power of Religion is much abated and so the gravy marrow and sap of our souls is almost eaten out so that we had need and that speedily to take the Councell of Christ Rev. 3. 2. Be watchfull and strengthen the things that be ready to die for I have not found thy works perfect before God thou hast a name that thou livest but thou art almost dead for thou hast but a little strength ver 8. Now my Brethren let me tell you that I fear most of you instead of considering the great work that you have yet to do and the little time allotted you to do it and how swift that little time passeth away I say instead of considering this you all fall a weaving of the Spiders Web Isa 59 5. that is you are contriving Plots as may intangle others as the Spiders do the Flies to their dammage and detriment or to their utter undoing and destruction but let me tell you as in Isa 59. 6. Your Web shall not become garments which is your devices plots and practises though they may hurt and mischieve others yet they shall not help or avail your selves all the good or gain you gather by them shall stand you in no stead they will not be able to shelter you against Gods wrath no more then a coat of Cobweb is able to shelter you from a fierce storm or a thick volley of shot they shall all prove in conclusion as Cobwebs to your selves for any succour or benefit that you shall receive from them or reap by them See Isa 28. 15. 18. 20. Vse 5. Forasmuch as the soul is a more excellent piece then the body it is but reason that we should spend more time and pains in seeking the well being of the one before the other and if men did so indeed they would make Religion their business In seeking first the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness thereof knowing that all things that concern the well being of the body shall be added unto them But alas we serve the world which was made to serve us and so we become our servants servant Religion is not our business but the world and the things thereof is our business and Religion is a thing but by the by when we have nothing to do about our particular calling we will a little look after our general calling if we be called upon to hear such a Sermon to confer with such Christians about the business of our souls and our thriving in Spiritual things