ye are elected Therefore get evidences of your effectual vocation by returning an Eccho to Gods call that when he saith Seek ye my face if thy heart can answer thy face Lord will I seek Psal 27.8 When Christ saith Come to me poor dejected sinner thou that art weary of the work of sin and heavy laden with the weight of sin Come to me and I will give thee rest Mat. 11.28 If thy heart can answer Lord I would creep to thee on hands and knees when the spirit of God whispers in a voice behind thee saying This is the way walk in it Isai 30.21 If thy heart can return a yeelding answer Lord if it be the way though it be a narrow way and full of difficulty yet I will walk in it this is an evidence of thy effectual calling So likewise Get Evidences of your Adoption that ye are the children of God because ye are like your father and get evidences of your justification and sanctification by feeling the Lord Christ coming neer your hearts both by blood and water pacifying your Consciences and purifying your hearts and lives this is the way to clear your Title to this everlasting Inheritance In brief There are two things will exceeding much conduce to the clearing of your Title Viz. 1. The Adding to your Graces Viz. 2. The Acting of your Graces For the former Hearken to the counsel of the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.5 7. Give all diligence to adde to your faith vertue that is a well composed life saith Judicious Calvin and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience Godliness and to Godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness Charity This adding to your Graces is a Laying up in store for your selves a good foundation for the time to come that you may lay hold on Enternal Life as St. Paul expresseth it 1 Tim. 6.19 That as wicked men are said to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath Rom 2.5 So ye on the contrary by these Additionals will be treasuring up grace against the day of glory For the latter Be still acting of your Graces and exercising of your selves to godliness 1 Tim. 4.7 For example 1. Let Faith be in exercise still feeding upon the Promises and making vigorous application of them to your own Souls If the Promises feed your faith your faith will feed your Assurance and carry you with comfort and confidence to your journeys end 2. Let Repentance be in exercise by renewing that godly sorrow which comes from God and leads the soul unto God looks on God offended and ends in God reconciled Holy Job though he had a strong faith as appears by that much admired speech of his Job 13.15 Though he slay me yet will I put my trust in him yet in the same verse ye may see he was frequent in renewing his repentance I will saith he reprove my own wayes before him so some read the phrase and the Hebr. word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will well bear it q. d. I will be so far from justifying my self that I will disallow mine own wayes and disavow my own righteousness yea repent daily and abhor my self in dust and ashes Job 42.6 3. Let Love be in exercise Love the Lord Jesus dearly and sincerely Be sick of Love towards so sweet a Saviour as the Spouse was Cant. 2.5 Love nothing much but onely him whom you cannot love too much And if you love him see what he himself saith in that comfortable Scripture John 14.21 He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him Now if Christ manifest himself to thy Soul then certainly thy Title to heaven is cleared 4. Let fear be in exercise Happy is the man that feareth always Prov. 28.14 and the more ye walk in the fear of the Lord the more ye walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost Acts 9.31 This is the first Duty Duty The second The second is this Be more eager and earnest instant and constant in the pursuit of this Eternal Glory than ever ye have been to this day Oh that ye and I could go up to the top of Mount Nebo as Moses did Deut. 32.49 and view the pleasant Land afar off and tast some of the Grapes of Canaan by serious Meditation Oh that we could seriously consider 1. From what we are Redeemed 2. To what we are appointed Redeemed from wrath appointed to meâ—cy Redeemed from the pit ot hell and appointed to the glory of heaven Redeemed from those infernal flames and everlasting burnings but appointed to those everlasting joyes which no heart can conceive nor tongue express Were these things soundly digested and seriously considered they would awake our drowsie spirits and set the wheels of the soul a going that we should not onely walk in the way that leads to life but we should cheerfully run the race that is set before us Heb. 12.1 The truth is we might do a great deal more in the pursuit of our glorious hopes than we do if we did but put forth our strength to do what we are able and we might put forth our strength more than we do if we were not sick of a spiritual Lethargy and we are sick of a spiritual Lethargy because we do not prize those glorious hopes that are set before us according to the worth of them In Gods fear therefore let us hearken to the Counsel of the Holy Ghost Heb. 6.12 Be not slothfull but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promses This is the second Duty Duty The third The third is this Let us call off our affections from the world the pomp and glory and vanity of it that they may be set upon that Eternal Glory which is prepared for the Saints in light To you that are called with a holy calling and have had a tast of that everlasting Consolation and good hope through Grace God seems to speak in that language wherein Joseph spake to his Brethren Gen. 45.20 Also regard not your Stuff for the good of all the Land of Aegypt is yours So faith God to you set not your hearts on trash and trifles there is a Crown of eternal glory set before you Is it fit for Kings Children to be raking in dunghills This duty of weanedness from the world is seasonable at all times but most suitable to the times whereinto God has cast us for now God seems to say to us as he did to Baruch Jer. 45.4 5. Behold that which I have built will I break down and that which I have planted I will pluck up even this whole Land And seekest thou great things for thy self Seek them not Oh that we had such a spirit as Moses had he refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter he trampled upon all the honours and pleasures of Egypt Because he had an eye to the Recompence of Reward Heb. 11.24 26.
in strong afflictions and violent temptations For the third Head Thirdly God will have his children exercised with afflictions in reference to their Duties Partly to Fit them for service Quicken them in service 1 To fit them for service Roses while they are in a Nosegay carryed in your hand they are of little use but put them in a Still and bring them to the fire and then they yeeld you both a sweet Cake and sweet Rosewater So here while God carries us as it were in his hand or dandles us on his lap in a way of prosperity we are in a manner uselesse or do him very little service but when he brings us to the fire of affliction we are more usefull to him and he has more service from us Remarkable is that Scripture Acts 9.15,16 Our Saviour speaking of Paul He is saith he a chosen vessel to me to bear my Name before the Gentiles I but how does it appear that he was a vessel so serviceable to his Master It follows in the next words For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my Names sake as if he should say By sufferings I will fit him for service 2. As afflictions fit us for service so they help to quicken us in service we are usually in our way to heaven like tops we run no longer then we are whipt In working for our Lord and Master we are for the most part like a team of horses that if the whip be not held over them they will quickly be at a stand 3d. Querie for Explication is this How or in what respect these afflictions make way for that glory and happiness that is laid up for the Saints in light Ans The Text tells ye They work for us or make way for the obtaining of that Crown that is set before us Quest But how do they work for us Ans They work not by way of merit as the Papists would have it for what proportion is there between finite sufferings and an infinite or endless reward between light and inconsiderable sufferings and a superlative weight of glory If our afflictions were meritorious they must bear some proportion with that reward of glory which we work for and wait for at the great day of Christs appearing but there is no more equality or proportion between our afflictions in this world and the glory of the world to come then there is between a drop of water and the whole Ocean see what the Apostle saith to this purpose Rom. 8.18 I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed I dare boldly say If a man could endure the torments of Hell for a thousand yeers on earth he could not thereby merit one hours fruition of glory in heaven The Papists therefore that hope by their Pennances and Purgatory satisfactions to merit heaven at the hands of God shall be so far from meriting by their sufferings that they shall suffer for their merits Quest But if afflictions do not work glory by way of merit how then do they work it Ans They work glory on a threefold account 1. By the free grace and mercy of a bountiful God and Father who rewards the services and sufferings of his children for his own sake and his promise sake and according to his own heart so doth David acknowledge in that gratulatory confession 2 Sam. 7.21 For thy words sake and according to thy own heart hast thou done all these great things Yea he looks especially at the merits of his own dear Son our blessed Redeemer who has purchased this priviledge for us with his own blood that all things even afflictions themselves should work together for our good Rom. 8.28 2. Afflictions work or make way for glory by making us conformable to Christ our Head for he first drunk of the brook in the way that is as he passed through the world he drunk of a troubled brook of bitter sorrows and sufferings in the day of his humiliation before he lifted up his head in the day of his exaltation Psal 110.7 And therefore our Saviour used that language to his Disciples Luke 24.26 Ought not Christ first to have suffered these things and so to enter into his glory So then these afflictions when they are sanctified make us conformable to a suffering Saviour and if we be conformable to him in his Cross We shall also be conformable to him in his Crown If we suffer with him we shall also be glorified with him Rom 8.17 3. Afflictions work glory for us because they work us for that glory that is they fit us and prepare us for the fruition of it They help to make us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light Col. 1.12 Qu. How do they fit us or make us meet to be partakers of that eternal glory Ans These three ways do they fit us for glory 1. They help to purge out that drosse and filth of corruption which as it is odious to the Lord so is it prejudicial to our own salvation for there shall in no wise enter into heaven any thing that defileth Rev. 21.27 Now affliction helps to purge out this filth to purifie us and make us white Dan. 11.35 Hence is it that affliction is compared to a furnace Isa 48.10 I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction Look what the fire is to the mettal or the fan to the chaffe or the file to the rough iron the same is affliction to every teachable sinner It helps to rub off his rust to cleanse him from his chaffe and to refine him for his Masters use 2. They fit us for glory by helping us to act and exercise our graces and the more our graces are brightned the more fit are we to have communion with a holy God Therefore he corrects us for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness Herb. 12.10 Now the more holiness we have here the more we are fitted for eternal happiness hereafter Thirdly they fit us for glory Because they wean us from the world and the love of it The Lord by some smarting rod or other knocks us upon the fingers when he sees us take too fast hold on these uncertain vanities the hardship and several straits that we meet with on earth make us long to be in that place where all tears shall be wiped from our eyes Revel 21.4 yea everlasting joy shall he upon our heads and sorrow and sighing shall flee away Isai 35.10 Vse 1 For the Application of this Point We may improve it 1. By way of Information There are these two Doctrinal Inferences that may be hence deduced First Lesson The first is this That afflictions are not so evil grievous or hurtful as we take them to be We look upon afflictions usually with an eye of prejudice an evill eye and therefore when any unexpected crosse or calamity does befall
us we are ready to say as Ahab did to Elijah 1 Kings 21. â—0 Hast thou found me out O mine enemy But pull off the vizard from this unwelcome guest and ye shall find that the crosse has more sweetness then sharpness in it It is true no affliction or chastening saith the Apostle Hebr. 12.11 for the present seemeth to be joyous but rather grievous neveetheless afterward it yeelds the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby The pleasures of sin are sweet for the present Stollen waters are sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant Prov. 9.17 But afterward they are more bitter then gall and wormwood they may well be compared to the lips of a strange woman Pro. 5 3â—5 They drop as an honie-comb and her mouth is smoother then oyl but her end is bitter as wormwood sharp as a two-edged sword for her feet go down to death and her steps take hold of hell Or the pleasures of sin may be compared to the Locusts which John saw at the sounding of the fifth Trumpet Rev 9.7 10. Their faces were as the faces of men and they had hair as the hair of women but they had tails like unto Scorpions and there were stings in their tails on the contrary affliction is bitter for the present but profitable afterward to every one that can rightly improve it It is a sharp Schoolmaster but it makes good Schollars Schola crucis est schola lucis the school of correction is the school of instruction and in this school we many times learn more in a moneth then we did in seven years before witness Manasseh who in all the time of his prosperity had not learnt that one lesson To know God aright h. e. to know him as a sin-hating sin revenging God who will not spare the proudest Potentates upon earth if they do provoke him but when he was brought to the school of correction he humbled himself greatly before the God of his Fathers 2 Chron. 33.12 and the Text saith Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God ver 13. Affliction in this regard may be compared to a frosty morning in the winter-season it is somwhat sharp but it helps to clear the blood How many Christians have you and I known in our Observation that have been whipt to heaven by adversity whom prosperity would have suddenly and yet insensibly drawn to hell Is there never a soul here present that can say experimentally as Themistocles did Periissem nisi periissem I had been undone if I had not been undone Lord if thou hadst spared the rod thou hadst lost thy child but blessed for ever be thy name thou didst not suffer me to run post to hell for the want of a fatherly whipping Second Lesson The second Lesson by way of Inference is this That the wisdome of God is infinite and unsearchable in that he can make good Sampsons riddle to all them that fear his name Out of the eater comes forth meat and out of the strong comes forth sweetness Judg. 14.14 The Lord can for the godly's sake bring good out of evill grace out of sin light out of darkness glory out of affliction yea heaven out of hell The ways of God as one saith excellently seem full of contradiction to us because it is his usual manner to bring things to passe by contrary means Sibs soul-conflict for example when he means to justifie a sinner he condemns him first when he means to comfort a sinner he casts him down first when he intends to bring a sinner to heaven he brings him by the gates of hell first when he means to set a crown of glory on his head he will have him to wear a crown of thorns first Oh how unsearchable are his judgements and his ways past finding out Rom. 11.33 Well may we conclude with the Prophet This wonderful dispensation of providence cometh forth from the Lord of hosts who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working Isai 28.29 2 Use A second Improvement that live may make of this Doctrine is this If afflictions make way for glory it would be a profitable and needful inquiry for every one of us by a serious self-scrutiny and impartial examination to call our selves to an account to search and sift our hearts and lives whether the afflictions that we have met with have had that kindly operation on our souls yea or no I beleive there are none of you that hear me this day but ye have had your tryals in one kind or other and in some degree or other but the question is What spiritual advantage have you made by them Have they been sent as Gods messengers in a tendency to that eternal happiness that ye look and long for Quest It may be you will ask How may I know that affliction is working for me this eternal glory that the Text speaks of Ans Take this for a certain rule If affliction be sanctified doubtlesse it is making way for future glory for Sanctification is the way to Salvation Therefore sanctified affliction is better then unsanctifi'd prosperity sanctif'd sickness is better then unsanctified health sanctified losses are better then unsanctified gain For what is the hope of the hypocrite though he has gained a great estate when God takes away his soul Job 27.8 or what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul Mark 8.38 This thou shalt find by experience whoever thou art that hast been train'd up in the school of affiction let thy condition be what it will be never so poor or low or friendless or comfortless yet if it be sanctified to thee it is a mercy yea it is a greater mercy then if God should give thee all the treasures or pleasures the earth can afford thee for God may give riches honors and these outward accommodations in anger Hos 13.11 I gave thee a King in mine anger took him away in my wrath But God never gives a sanctified use of any condition in anger but it is always in love and favour Rev. 3.19 As many as I love I rebuke and chasten though he may severely chasten thee he may at the same time dearly love thee Quest But then it may be demaÌ„ded How may I know that my affliction is sanctified to me Answ Signs of sanctified affliction I answer Then is affliction sanctified to thee when thou art sanctified by the affliction For example 1. If it make thee more humble and base in thine own eyes If thou canst say feelingly with the Church in Babylon Remembering my affliction and â—ny rebellion so some read the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the wormwood and the gall my soul has them still in remembrance and â—s humbled in me Lam. 3.19 20. Sound â—umiliation is a special fruit product of sanctified affliction for the more the soul â—s humbled the more it is emptied of self-righteousness self-confidence
and the more it is emptied the more capable it is of Gods grace and mercy it is the humbled soul that prizes the Lord Jesus at the highest rate saith of him as the Church does Cant. 5.10 My beloved is white and â—uddy white in his innocency and ruddy â—n his passion the choicest of ten thousand â—t is true our humiliation does not serve â—o make us more precious to Christ but it â—â—…vs to make Christ more precious to us 2. Thy affliction is sanctified if it make thee more holy and heavenly minded if the hardship thou meetest with here in the wilderness make thee long to be at thy Fathers house If the losse of earthly treasures or outward advantages make thee lay up treasure in Heaven where neither moth can corrupt nor theeves break in and steal if the disappointments thou meetest with here on earth and the uncertainty of outward riches make thee more eagerly seek for the durable riches which Solomon speaks of Prov. 8.18 Riches and honour are with me saith Wisdome yea durable riches and righteousness why what are those durable riches surely such as these peace of Conscience joy in the Holy Ghost assurance of Gods love and favour an evidence of Christ Jesus dwelling in us the saving sanctifying graces of the spirit of God and inward comfort flowing from those graces these are such commodities that the world can neither give us nor take from us they are Maries portion that shall never be taken away Luke 10.42 If I say affliction make thee drive a trade for heaven more vigorously certainly affliction is sanctified to thee and thou art much bettered by thy affliction Sign 3 3. If thy affliction teach thee obedience to thy heavenly Father 1. Active obedience to do what he enjoyneth If thou canst say with Paul after he was unhorst and humbled What wilt thou have me to do Lord Acts 9.6 as if he should say though it be never so crosse and contrary to my carnal and corrupt nature though it be a parting with my right hand or right eye a sin as dear to me as either of them I will be content to do it 2. If it teach thee Passive obedience patiently to suffer what he inflicteth as it was said of our dear Saviour Hebr. 5.8 Though he were a Son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered so if thou canst say It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth I will put my mouth in the dust if so be there may be hope Lam. 3.17 29. In brief if thou canst say as the Church does Mic. 7.9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him certainly affliction has a kindly work upon thy soul 4. If affliction teach thee to prize mercies more and to surfet on them lesse to be more thankful in using them and more fearful of abusing them then thou hast been heretofore it is a token thou hast profited by thy affliction we usually in the Sun-shine of prosperity fall asleep and forget God and our duty to him yea forget our selves and the vows we made in time of trouble it fares with us as with little children the pap makes us wanton Hos 13.6 According to their pasture so were they filled h. e. when God had brought them out of the wildernesse into a land flowing with milk and honey and had fed them to the full they were filled and their heart was exalted therefore have they forgotten me Ephraim and Manasseh ye know were brethren Ephraim in Hebrew signifies fruitful Manasseh signifies forgetful fruitfulness and forgetfulness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are sworn brethren but if the Lord by imbittering our comforts or mingling water with our wine teach us temperance or a spiritual moderation in our carnal desires that which the Scripture call 1 Cor. 7.29 31. That they who have wives be as though they had none and they that rejoyce be as though they rejoyced not and they that use this world is not overusing it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then certainly such an imbitterment is in mercy Sign 5 Fifthly If Affliction help to melt and mollifie thy heart as Job spake though in another sense God maketh my heart soft and the almighty troubleth me Job 23.16 God sometimes softens our hearts by troubling of us If the bitterness of sorrow make thee to tast the bitternesse of sin and feelingly cry out O what a bitter thing it is that I have forsaken the Lord my God who is the fountain of living water and have been digging broken cisterns that will hold no water Jer. 2.19 13. O what an evill and bitter thing it is that I have so often parted with my peace for the tickling pleasures of sin for a season But it is bitter and bitter again that I have grieved that holy Spirit of God wherewith I am or might have been sealed up to the day of redemption Eph. 4.30 If thy soul can bespeak it self in that language which Josephs brethren used one to another after their consciences were awakened for that sinful and injurious act of selling their innocent brother into the hands of the Ishmaelites Gen. 42.21 We are verily guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear so if thou canst say thus to thy soul Ah vile unworthy wretch that I am verily I am guilty deeply guilty before the Lord for my unkindness and undutifulness to the Holy Spirit of God when he besought med in his heart-melting motions saying Oh do not that abominable thing that I hate Jer 44.4 Do not go on in a way of pride and presumption security and formality brutishness and earthly mindedness but I would not hearken I turned a deaf ear to all his piercing motions and pressing commands Alas alas Is not this that sweet spirit of grace whose counsels I have despised whose secret whisperings I have slighted whose warnings I have resisted and whose warmings I have quenched Might it not be just with God to say to his spirit Never knock more at this sinners heart never strive more with him to bring him to repentance but seeing he will be filthy let him be filthy still Oh that for this my eyes could run down with tears and my eye-lids gush out with waters as the Prophet speaks Jer. 9.18 If thy heart be thus melted with some penitential thawings and heart-irking grief for thy miscarriages certainly affliction has had a kindly work upon thy soul such a softning and sanctifying affliction is an evident sign of thy adoption Sign 6 Sixthly Then is affliction sanctified when it makes thee more fearful of offending such a gracious God and Father If it have taught thee that lesson which Elihu lays down for us all to learn Job 34.31 32. Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born chastisement I will not offend any more that which I see not teach thou
recompenced all his losses with double gain for he had fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels and a thousand yoak of oxen and so God blessed the latter end of Job more then his beginning Job 42.12 Or thirdly by a temporal evil God wil work an eternal good for his children as it is here in the Text Our Temporary afflictions work for us Eternal Glory according to that of the Prophet Isaiah chap. 61.7 For your shame you shall have double a double portion of glory and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion everlasting joy shall be unto them And may not all these considerations make us willing to bear afflictions not only patiently but also thankfully I know it is a very hard lesson to take out But we have both Precept for it 1 Thes 5.18 In every thing give thanks Be thankful even for affliction And we have President for it Acts. 5.41 When the Apostles were not only threatned by the Rulers but beaten for their preaching up the Lord Jesus the Text saith They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name and 't is elegantly expressed in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That they were honoured with dishonour And the Apostle could say Rom 5.2 3. We do not only rejoice in hope of the glory of God but we glory also in tribulation Had we but such a faith as he had we should be able to do as he did Du ∣ ty Third The third Duty that this Doctrine presseth on us is this viz. To labour for a sanctified improvement of every affliction that we may be able to say with the Psalmist Psal 48.8 As we have heard so have me seen this truth by experience We have heard that afflictions help to discover sin or prevent it or purge it out and blessed be God we have found and felt in our hearts this spiritual advantage by it We have heard That affliction helps to try our graces whether they be true or counterfeit and to exercise or brighten our graces that they may not be rusty for a rusty key though it be fitted for the lock yet til it be brightned it will not open it and to improve or increase our graces for the more they are exercised the more they are increased Now as we have heard so have we seen this spiritual benefit also We have heard that affliction helps to fit us for service and to quicken us in it and this we have seen also by experience that when we have been dull and drowsie and slow-pac'd in heavens way affliction hath rouzed us out of our sleepinesse and made us mend our pace in our heavenly journey It was the speech of famous Mr. Greenham when his friends about him were earnestly begging on his behalf that God would mitigate his pain which was acute and pressing No no saith he Lord give me the good the good of this affliction If the Lord teach you and me this spiritual Trade of improving our afflictions â—o spiritual soul-profit and advantage we shall find the merchandize of it is better then the merchandize of silver and the gain thereof better then the gain of fine gold as Solomon speaks of wisdom Prov. 3.14 Use 4 The fourth and last Use of this point is this It makes wonderfully for the encouragement of all Gods Children It may bear up their spirits and chear up their hearts in the midst of the saddest sufferings and heaviest pressures that can lye upon them for all these are making way for Eternal Glory that will abundantly recompence all our suffering and all our waiting nay I dare boldly say One hours fruition or enjoyment of that glory which is laid up for the Saints in light will preponder or out-weigh an hundred yeers suffering Therefore as our Saviour said to his Disciples John 16.33 These things have I spoken to you that in me ye might have peace in the world ye shall have tribulation but he of good cheer I have overcome the world Observe here Gods people at the same time when they have tribulation in the world they may have peace in Christ at the same time when there is a great shower ratling upon the tiles there may be musick in the chamber therefore saith our Saviour Be of good cheer be not daunted or dismayed at those sufferings that ye must undergo for I have conquered them all and ye shall be conquerors in me and by me So say I to you Lift up those hands that hang down and those feeble knees Hebr. 12.12 Fear none of those things which ye shall suffer It is the counsel of our Saviour to the Church of Smyrna and he gives a strong cordial to support her in the midst of her fears and fainting fits in the next words Behold the Devil shall cast some of you into prison that ye may may be tryed and ye shall have tribulation ten dayes Observe here how many Ingredients there are in this Cordial 1. It is true the Devil h. e. by his Agents and Instruments who do his drudgery shall cast some of you not all of you for some are not well able to suffer and therefore the Lord Christ will spare them for he is a tender-hearted carefull shepherd that gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them in his bosome and gently leads those that are with young Isai 40.11 2. It is but a Prison that he casts ye into if he were not restrained he would cast ye all into hell fire 3. This imprisonment is that ye may be tryed not that ye might be destroyed or brought to execution 4. Ye shall have tribulation ten days if the Devil might have his will it should be for ten years together nay ye should never come out of prison while ye lived but his power and rage are limited both for the measure and the continuance of them therefore be faithfull unto death and then I will give ye a crown of life Oh what a heart-cheating Cordial may this be to every poor drooping disconsolate soul God do's but cast thee down for a while that he may exalt thee for ever he does but correct thee with a fatherly rod that being chastened of the Lord thou mayest not he condemned with the world 1 Cor. 11.32 and beleeve it Sirs it is far better to be a corrected child then to be a cocker'd bastard if we want chastisement whereof all Gods children are partakers we are bastards and not sons Hebr. 12.8 It is better to go bruised to heaven then with ease and quietness to go to hell he does but cast thee into the furnace of affliction to purge out thy drosse not to destroy thy soul he loves thee in the fire as well as when thou art out and stands by thee all the while The Lord set home this comfortable cordial upon thy heart that it may stand thee in stead in the evill day So much for the first Doctrine Doctr. 2 The second Doctrine is this viz.
worth in our esteem Nay yet more This glory is not only a weighty glory but an hyperbolical transcendent glory far surpassing the capacity and comprehension of such poor creatures as we are for such is the excellency beauty and sweetness of it that as one saith excellently * Bolton of the four last things No mortal man can describe it no created understanding can conceive it or comprehend it Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. 2.9 The eye has seene admirable things Solomons Temple and the glory of it which was so great That for the Temples sake at Jerusalem even Kings did bring presents unto God Psal 68.29 and Solomons stately house which was thirteen years in building 1 Kin. 7.1 and all the wonders of the world The ear has heard most delicious exquisite heart-ravishing musick the heart of man can conceive yet much more then either eye hath seen or ear hath heard for in conceit it can turn all the stones upon earth into pearls all the sand upon the sea-shore into Silver and all the water of the Sea into liquid gold yet the height and happiness of heavenly glory do's far surpass all this especially if ye consider these three things most worthy of our meditation 1. The place where this glory is prepared 2. The Properties wherewith it is adorned 3. The Priviledges wherewith it is attended For the first The place where it is prepared is Heaven The new Jerusalem The City of the great King this must needs be a glorious place it ye consider these particulars 1. God himself is the maker and builder of it Hebr. 11.10 The most goodly Palaces that ever were built on earth are but the work of mens hands but this is a house 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 made without hands 2 Cor. 5.1 God himself made it without mans help 2. God built this house for himself for the honour of his Majesty to be the place of his residence where he will keep his court as if he should say Here will I dwell for I have a delight therein 3. In building this house he shewed all his skill it was his Master-piece therefore there are two words used in the Text Heb 11.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The former of them signifies an Artificer a curious workman or contriver God did not only build this house but he shew'd extraordinary workmanship in contriving it the frame or fabrick of this earthly globe ye see it is a goodly piece full of beauty but alas this is but a stage or scaffold set up for a while viz. for 5 or 6 thousand years which is but a moment in comparison of eternity but this heavenly house is to last for ever Now if the scaffold be so glorious how infinitely beautiful will the house it self be 4. It must needs be a glorious place because of the Glorious Company there residing viz. The great God of heaven and earth the Lord Christ with a glorified body and all the holy Angels and spirits of just men made perfect continually triumphing in the praises of the Holy One rejoycing in him and he in them For the Second The Properties wherewith this glory is adorned I will name but these three 1 It is a pure Glory without the least mixture of misery or infelicity There the Saints enjoy light without darkness mirth without mourning health without sickness wealth without wo beauty without blemish and honour without envy In this life all our comforts have some mixture of bitterness in them but there are unmixed joyes and delights without the least wormwood or gall mingled with them 2 It is a perfect glory nothing shall be wanting that the soul can desire Fulnesse of joy Psal 16.11 and a full Reward 2 Joh. 8. 3 It is a satisfying Glory The Saints shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatnesse of his house and he will make them drink of the River of his Pleasures Psalm 36.8 All the pleasures and treasures that this world can afford us will not give satisfaction to an immortal Soul They do not feed Esurientem animam but esuriem animae The hungry soul is not filled but the hunger of the soul is increased by them But this glory will so fully delight beautifie and satisfie the soul that it can desire no more For the third The Privileges wherewith this glory is attended They are of two sorts some are Privative Positive 1 Privative in the freedom from all evil For example The soul is here subject to temptations and corruptions desertions from God and provocations from wicked men Psal 120.5 Wo is me that I sojourn in Mesech c. These are so exceeding grievous to a gracious heart that they make a man cry out with holy Job My soul chuseth strangling and death rather than life Job 7.15 But when the Soul comes to enjoy that glory all these shall be removed All tears shall be wiped away from their eyes and there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain Rev. 21.4 2. Positive Priviledges in the fruition of all good things that can be conceived or desired For the Saints shall have an Immediate Communion with God these three wayes viz. By Seeing God Enjoying God Being made like to God 1. The Saints shall see him as he is 1 John 3.2 This is that which is called the Beatifical or blessed-making vision for in his presence Hebr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in his faces is fulness of joy If a man had all the pains of hell upon him this vision were able to make a man rejoyce because totam amaritudinem Gehennae absorberet saith Chrysost It would swallow up the bitterness of hell it self 2. The Saints shall enjoy him as their Portion He shall be All in All that is as one sweetly expresseth it He shall be joy to our Souls Life to our Bodies Beauty to our eyes Musick to our ears Perfume to our nostrils Honey to our mouthes and Contentment to our hearts for what can be wanting to him that has that God for his Portion who has and does all and fills all things in heaven and earth 3. The Saints shall be made like to God and conformed to the Image of his Son Jesus Christ Rom. 8.29 1. Like him in Soul by perfection of Grace for they shall have perfect knowledg perfect holiness and righteousness as much as Creatures can be capable to receive 2. Like him in Body For he shall change our vile Bodies that they may be fashioned like unto his Glorious Body Phil. 3.21 Then shall our Bodies be Spiritual 1 Cor. 15.44 active lively and nimble as Spirits And they shall be Impassible such as are not capable of suffering and Immortal such as can never dye In brief they shall have such an admirable beauty and lustre put upon them that they shall shine forth as the Sun
in the Kingdome of their Father Matth. 13.43 Vse For the application of this Doctrine If the glory of the life to come be so weighty and transcendent then we learn this undoubted truth That the service of God is no unprofitable service It was a lying slander that those Blasphemers cast upon the ways of God when they said Mal. 3.14 It is in vain to serve God and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts Just like some at this day What good is got by fasting and praying and that precise walking that Preachers presse us to from day to day O had these men ever seen but one glimpse of that beauty that is in grace which is glory begun or one tast of that heavenly glory which is grace ferfected then they would acknowledg we can serve no such master as God is either for work or wages as he is the best master so is he the best pay-master To thee therefore that walkest after the course of this present evill world and according to the will of the Prince of the air the fpirit that worketh mightily in the children of disobedience Eph. 2.2 Let me propound that Question which Saul did to his servants that stood about him 1 Sam. 22.7 Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds So say I to you Can sin or Satan or the world give you such wages as this such transcendent glory as this in seeing God enjoying God and being made like to God No no they will pay you with sorrow and vexation with shame and confusion and condemnation to all eternity Consider seriously of it before it be too late for the time will come when you will befool your selves and say O what sots and senseless wretches were we that willingly deprived our selves of that weighty and transcendent glory for a few stinking lusts and the pleasures of sin for a season We thought the service of God unprofitable and burdensome saying What A weariness is it Mal. 1.13 But now Oh that we had been a thousand years fasting and praying mourning and weeping Oh that we had been ten thousand years excercising the strictest duties of Religion self denial renewing repentance mortification contempt of the world and the like rather then have lost this weight of glory for it is an invaluable unconceiveable and irrecoverable loss the tears of Hell are not sufficient to bewail the loss of Heaven Thus will it be I say it again thus will it he with all you that neglect so great salvation and account Gods service an unprofitable service The Lord of his infinite mercy awaken you to Repentance So much for the second Doctrine Doct. 3 The third Doctrine is this viz. That the afflictions of this life are but for a moment the glory of the life to come is an everlasting glory That the Afflictions of this life are but for a moment appears in this Because our life if it were ten times longer then it is in comparison of Eternity is but a moment of time Mine age is nothing before thee Psal 39.5 It is but as a drop of water in comparison of all the water in the Ocean That the glory of the life to come is an everlasting glory the Scripture brings in abundant Testimony the Righteous shall enter into everlasting life saith our Saviour Matth. 25.46 And heaven is called a Kingdom that cannot be shaken Hebr. 12.28 Earthly Kingdoms are quickly shaken to pieces the great King of Kings and Lord of Lords can as easily tosse Kingdomes as we can toss a Tennis ball where are the four great Monarchies of the world the Babylonian Persian Grecian and Roman They devoured one another and death devoured them all but this heavenly Kingdom cah never be moved neither is it capable of any change corruption or alteration Doth not the Apostle call it an inheritance incorruptible and undesiled and suck a one as fadeth not away 1 Pet. 1.4 Doth he not call it a crown of glory that never withers of waxethold 1 Pet. 5.4 O this ETERNITY ETERNITY ETERNITY It is such a great depth or bottomless Ocean that it swallows up all our thoughts it is that which makes every mans condition either infinitely happy or incomprehensibly miserable In reference to the wicked such as have no interest in Christ no work of grace upon their hearts no fear to offend God nor care to please him It may smite their hearts with that fear and consternation that gastly horror and doleful confusion that if I had the tongue of men and angels I were not able to express it suppose a little Bird should every thousandth year fetch a drop of water out of the Ocean how many millions of years would it be before this bird could empty the Ocean Surely this is but a picture of eternity so long and infinitely longer shall those damned wretches suffer the torments of Hell fire without end or ease without mitigation or intermission In reference to the godly this Eternity may ravish their hearts with admiration and holy exaltation or rejoycing in Spirit that the glory prepared for them is such as shall never have end After a million or thousand thousand years expired their glory is but begun and when ten thousand millions are past their glory is not hear to an end That golden speech of Bernard Momentaneum est quod delectat aternum quod cruciat The pleasures of sin are but for a moment the punishment of sin is everlasting may by way of Inversion be fitly applyed to all true beleevers the sufferings they meet with are but for a moment the pleasures at the right hand of God which they expect are for evermore at thy right hand saith David Psal 16.11 are pleasures for evermore In brief it is the highest pitch of the misery of the damned in Hell that their punishment is everlasting and yet their torments are so great that every moment seems an eternity On the contrary It is the highest pitch of the Saints happiness in heaven that their joyes are everlasting and yet these joyes are so fresh that their eternity seems but a moment Vse For the Application of this Point There are four duties of infinite concernment that I would presse upon you in reference to this eternal glory O that I could prevail with you to put them in practise Duty 1 First Give all diligence to clear your title to this eternal glory that you may know it is prepared for you I say for you Quest But how may we clear our title to this Inheritance Ans Ye must labour to get evidences of your election make your calling and election sure saith the Apostle 2 Pet. 1.10 that is make your Election sure by your calling prove one and prove both if ye be called with an internal as well as an external vocation ye may be confident
It is Storied of Alexander that when he heard of the riches of the Indies he gave away all his present Possessions that he had in Macedon and being asked why he did so He answered I hope and look for far greater things than these Oh that we could imitate this Heroick Resolution To contemn our present enjoyments in comparison of our future hopes This is the third Duty Duty The fourth The fourth and last is this Let us frame our selves to a Heavenly Conversation Though our commoration or abode be upon earth let our Conversation be in heaven Phil. 3.20 For hereby we shall be sitting our selves for that Glory that shall be revealed If one of you were to have an Inheritance in Spayn you would learn the Spanish tongue and the Spanish fashion you would frame your selves to the custom of that Country or Kingdom where you were to spend your dayes Why surely ye look for an Inheritance in Heaven among the Angels yea to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Equal to the Angels Luke 20.36 Why do you not frame your selves to an Angelical Conversation You look to be like them in dignity strive to be like them in duty To do your Fathers Will on earth as the Angels do it in heaven To this end Let us every day take a turn or two with Christ on Mount Tabor take a prospect of heaven and turn every Solemnity into a school of Divinity Let us say as Fulgentius did when he saw the Nobitity of Rome sit mounted in their bravery Si talis est Roma terrestris qualis est Roma caelestis If Rome be such a glorious place what is Heaven If the Musick on earth be so delightfull how unconceivably sweet and melodious will the Musick of heaven be Thus a Sanctified fancy may make every creature a ladder to heaven Use 2 To close up al with a word of Consolation This Doctrine may be as an Alabaster box of precious oyntment to refresh and revive the spirits of all true Believers all the Saints and Servants of Christ in the midst of all the troubles and trials sorrows and sufferings that can befal them There is a Crown of Eternal Glory prepared for you which may make your hearts dance for joy yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry and when he comes he brings his Reward with him Rev. 22.12 Then shall ye hear him speaking comfortably to you he will speak to your hearts and say Come ye blessed of my Father receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world Enter ye into the joy of your Lord and Master Mat. 25 20. q. d. This joy cannot enter into you because of your straitness but ye may enter into it because of its fullness The Sea cannot enter into a Hogshead because the Vessel cannot contain it But the Hogshead may enter into the Sea because the Sea can fill it To conclude There are 4. principal Names whereby the Holy Ghost expresseth the felicity of the Saints in heaven 1. It is called a Life and such a Life as is Eternal 2. It is called a Glory and such a Glory as is a Crown 3. It is called a Kingdom and such a Kingdom as is Immutable and Unmoveable 4. It is called an Inheritance and such an Inheritance as is Immortal Now tell me poor fainting drooping Soul What is it that thy heart can wish Or what can bear up thy spirit under all afflictions reproaches difficulties and discouragements whatsoever if this cannot do it Is there any thing thou lovest better than life Is there any better life than a life of glory Is there any glory greater than a Crown of glory Is there any Crown so desireable as that which comes by Inheritance Is there any Inheritance so admirable or delightfull as that which is immortal undefiled and such as newer shall fade away Lift up thy head therefore because thy Redemption and eternal Glorification are so near at hand say to thy own Soul as that godly man did on his death-bed Hold out faith and patience thy work is almost at an end Encourage thy self as Basil tells us the Martyrs encouraged one another when they were cast out naked in a Winters night being to be burned at a stake the next day Sharp it the cold but let us endure a while and Abraham's bosom will warm us Troublesond is the way but the end of the journey will be sweet and pleasant Let our feet burn awhile that we may dance for ever with the Angels Let our hands feel they fire that we may lay hold on Eternal Life The Lord Jesus work these things upon our hearts that they may make an abiding Impression Amen I have done with the Text. Let me speak something to the Occasion How seasonably this Text may be applied to our dear deceased Brother Daniel Waldoe Esquire one that fined for Alderman in this famous City whose Funerals we this day solemnize ye that knew him and his Conversation may easily conceive He was a man trained up in the school of affliction for many years together being exercised with that acute and tormenting disease of the Stone about 30. years And doubtless God by that long and sharp affiction was preparing him for eternal glory partly by purging out his dross and making him white as the Scripture phraseth it Dan. 11.35 and partly by teaching him the exercise of Patience and perseverance For that speech of the Apostle was verified in him Rom. 5.3 Tribulation worketh patience It is a Paradox to Reason for affliction in its self and its own nature worketh Impatience and makes a man fret and fume like a wild Bull in a net as the Prophet speaks Isa 51.20 But when God works with it then it worketh patience and makes a man say with David Be silent unto the Lord O my Soul Psal 62.5 Do not utter an impatient word Yea his Afflictions taught him not onely Patience and submission but also self-denial and sympathy or a fellow-feeling with others miseries He could sigh in their sorrows and bleed in their wounds and be affected with their sufferings as if they had been his own In brief the Rod taught him that excellent Lesson To have a heart weaned from the world for the Rod has a voice Micah 6.9 and it spake to him in that language which the Prophet used to the Jewes in Babilon Micah 2.10 Arise ye and depart for this is not your rest The Testimony therefore that I may give of this worthy Citizen without flattery or partiality is this First He was a very humble man low in his own eyes no way self-consident or self-conceited And I am of the same opinion with that famous Divine Dr. Harris late of Oxford that was wont to say He valued no man for his gifts but for his humility under them Certainly the more Grace any man hath in his heart the more base he will be in his own eyes Did ye