seeking The Prophet complains No man stirreth up himself to seek the Lord. It is a businesse of the greatest concernment and most not be attended with a cold indifferency but as one set on by a true love and where that is Non quieâ—… 〈◊〉 sed querâ—… 〈◊〉 Love will he restless in the purâ—… of the thing or person beloved See with what heat men seek the world with much more heat seek God and Christ We must do as the woman that had lost her Groat she lights a Candle sweeps the House seeks diligently so we must set up the light of the Word and to work with the 〈◊〉 of a serious repentance and thorough â—…ation and diligently enquirâ—… Thus David with a very vigilant eye seeks him whom his soul loved Psal 130.4.5 I will not give rest to mine eyes nor slumber to my eye lids till I have found out a plâ—… for God c. Lastly Resolve with your selves never to give over till you come to the perfect and full enjoyment of them As Job said I 〈…〉 all the dayes of my appointed time So do you seek all the days of your appointed time If we would find God and Christ we must seek all the dayes of our lives They that will find what they seek must seek till they find As God in the Creation did not rest till he had made Man so Man should not rest till he hath found God And as in the Redemption Jesus Christ did never cease seeking till he had found all the lost sheep of the House of Israel so we should never give over till we have made God and Christ our own This should be the work of our lives and upon this work I must leave you For now I must tell you That perhaps you may not see my face or bear my voice any more in this place yet not out of any peevish humour or disaffection to the present Authority of the Kingdom I call God and Man to witness this day it being my own Practice and Counsel to you all To Fear GOD and Honour the KING but rather a real disatisfaction in some particulars imposed to which notwithstanding all endeavours to that purpose my conscience cannot yet be espoused Wherefore I hope in this and in all my abode with you I may say without ostentation with the Apostle in the 2 Cor. 1.12 Our rejoycing is this The testimony of a good Conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world especially to you words And as he said in Acts 20.26.27 So I take you to record this day that I have endeavoured to be pure from the blood of all men for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God both by my Life and Doctrine because I knew this very well that as one sayes Sâ—… loquâ—…is vita non oratia that the Preachers life is the most lively preaching I shall only adde this my Friends That though my lips be sealed up that I may not speak from God to you yet I shall not cease to speak to God for you as ever I have done And though I cannot have you in my eye yet I shall lodge you in my heart And asking nothing of you but your Prayers shall hope to meet you daily at the Throne of Grace and that at last we may enjoy one another in Heaven And because they say The word of a Dying man wake the deepest impression before I am altogether Civilly dead I shall give you one Exhortation more Exh. 2 Secondly Let it be your endeavour to keep God and Christ with you that they may make their abode with your hearts and houses that whatever you lose you may not be undone In the General First Take heed you do not slight or abuse his Providences Secondly Do not Despise or neglect his Ordinances Thirdly Be sure you do not grieve his Spirit Secondly Observe more particularly these ten directions which I would leave with you That God and Christ may make their constant abode with you First Endeavour to please God and Christ and to walk as the Gospel commands In all well-pleasing And for this purpose Observe these three Rules First Entertain God and Christ like themselves Now they are come to you say as Solomon did of his Temple which he had prepared for his God The Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee much lesse this poor Tent so with the most humble frame of spirit admire his greatnesse and infinite condescention for he is the King of Glory as in Psal 24. And so give him suitable entertainment for he will dwell with the humble and contrite spirit If Elizabeth wonder'd at the visit which Mary gave her with a whence is it that the Mother of my Lord is come unto me then admire that the Lord himself should come not only to visit your hearts but to make such a gracious abode with you And as the Centurion said to Christ in the Gospel I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my Roof So acknowledge your unworthinesse of so rich and unparalleld a grace that God and Christ should come in unto you to abide with you Secondly Wait upon God and Christ with all readinesse of mind to observe every intimation of the Will of God to you Stand alwayes ready as Servants wait upon the hand of their Master saying in your hearts Lord what wilt thou have me to do or what wilt thou have me to suffer It is the frame and posture which Christ commends to his Disciples Luke 12.35 Let your loyns be girded about and your lights burning to do his will as it is done in Heaven Thirdly Take pleasure and delight in the company and society of God and Christ above all the pleasures in the world Do nothing without first calling God and Christ into the action Remember this in These four cases especially First Pray God and Christ along with you into all your spiritual duties that you may be sure to perform them all according to the mind of God None knows better what will please God than himself don't enquire so much what others say but what God appoints 't is not what this or that man sayes how we must serve God but what God sayes himself as Agustine said to the Manichee in another case Nec egote nec tu me sed ambo audiamus Apostolum So hear what God and Christ say to us as to the performance of all our duties If we will entertain God and Christ and have their company we must set before them such savoury meat as they like lest we be like them Mat 15.9 of whom Christ sayes In vain do they worship me c. and our service be like theirs of which the Lord said Who hath required these things at your hands O what was that great evil the people were guilty of for which there comes that heavy judgement Psal 78.60 He forsook the Tabernacle of Shiloh the Tent which he placed among
to that word Heb. 2.1 We ought therefore to give the more diligent heed to the things which we have received lest at any time we let them slip And that we may not forget but keep in our memories the words of Christ First consider That all the promises and counsells which Jesus Christ hath made known to us are not only for present but for future use Isa 42.23 Hearken and hear for the time to come We should hear as if we were to hear no more The Cordial which hath some time revived us must not be laid aside lest for want of it another time we faint quite away The reason why they were ready to faint under afflictions Heb. 13.5 was because they had forgotten the exhortation which speaketh to them as to Sons For this cause Jesus Christ often bids his Disciples remember the word he had spoken to them and knowing their frailty promises his spirit Joh. 14.26 and that sayes he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall bring to your remembrance Secondly consider Not to remember the words of Christ is a sad sign of our dis-esteem of Jesus Christ We usually remember Precepts Counsels and Sayings according to the authority which the person hath with us from whence they come It is a very great dishonour to Jesus Christ when we shall cast his words behind our backs Did we honour Jesus Christ as our King Lord and Lawgiver we should be more careful to remember what he hath spoken to us We often blame our heads as if the fault lay only there that we do not remember the words of Christ when indeed the fault lies most in the hearts that we have not more love and esteem of Christ there Thirdly The time will come when we shall dearly repent every truth forgotten that we did not endeavour to seal instruction upon our hearts First When God shall with-hold instruction from us because we have refused it the time may come when as Amos 8.12 Men shall run to and fro and seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it and then we shall see the worth of the word that now we prize not Secondly When God shall call us to an account for all the Sermons and Instructions we have received as he will certainly do though we forget yet he will remember and he will ask how we have kept and improved the Word he hath spoken to us To help us in keeping or remembring the words of Christ Directions First Let your hearts be affected with the worth and excellency of the word that it is more precious than Gold or Silver and then we shall keep it as choice treasure That which a man prizeth he will keep in safe custody and have often in his eyes as David sayes of the word Psal 119.97 O how I love thy Law it is my meditation all the day long It a man account the word as his treasure he will not forget it as Jerem. 2.32 Can a Maid forget her Ornaments or a Bride her Attires This they forget not Yet because we account not the word as excellent and necessary as these therefore it follows Yet my people have forgotten me dayes without number Secondly Apply every word of Christ to your own souls though men will not keep what is anothers yet usually they keep what is their own while men carve away the word to others as if it concern'd them not 't is no marvel if they keep it not but if we accounted every word as spoken to us and our portion we should hear and keep it Men remember the news which concerns themselves We should hear Christ speaking as Job 5.27 Hear thou this know it for thy good Thirdly Meditate often upon what you have received as Mary pondered the sayings which she heard in her heart The way to keep any thing safe is to have a constant eye upon it Meditation is the Souls serious retiring into it self to take a view of all that of God that is laid up within it self Fourthly Hasten to do all that you have heard and learned Psal 119.60 It is said by David I made hast and prolonged not the time to keep his Commandments A man will not easily forget his Trade so if we daily obey commands and believe promises we cannot easily forget the commands and promises given to us which last direction leads to the second exhortation Exh. 2 Secondly It may exhort us to keep the words of Christ with an Evangelical and Practical keeping Keep the word as a man keeps his Rule or the Souldier keeps his Weapon let not the word depart from thee and do not thou depart from it by forsaking the appointments and commands of Christ First consider That if we do not keep the words of Christ by obeying and a suitable walking we do but in vain pretend love to Jesus Christ as they that had no more of Christ but to call him Lord Mat. 7.21 Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven c. So not every one that sayes he loves me but he that doth my word he is my friend Secondly consider what a sin it is to pretend love to Christ and not so truly to love him as to keep his words 't is Hypocrisie they be Christ's false friends an open enemy is less dangerous than they Ezek. 33.31 They hear thy words but they will not do them their heart goes after their covetousness They be false to themselves and delude their own souls with a bare profession and hearing Jam. 1.22 Be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own souls Secondly consider what judgement they incurre and who can tell how great it is 't is call'd a beating with more stripes when the least stripe from that hand can break the loynes Luke 12.47 He that knoweth his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes Secondly consider This is the clearest evidence of our interest in Christ of his love to us that we keep his Commandments By this we know that we have him as our Christ when we do not only love him as a Jesus a Saviour but obey him as a Lord and follow his Law When God shall write his Law in our hearts Is not this an evidence that Christ is ours Thirdly Great and many are the encouragements which he hath promised to them that keep his words There be many blessings in the word but they only have the blessings for theirs who keep his word Jam. 1.15 Whoso looketh into the perfect Law of Liberty and continueth therein he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work this man shall be blessed in his deed he shall ask what he will and have it Joh. 15.7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you ask what you will and it shall be done unto you Direct That we may do the words of Christ First Let it be the aim and intentions of our souls when we
come to hear to turn hearing into doing Say as Paul did Acts 9.6 Lord what wilt thou have me to do and Cornelius Acts 10.33 Now therefore are we all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God Secondly Beg of God to give you such a heart that you may not only say as the people in a good humour once to Moses All that thou shalt speak unto us that will we observe and do but find your hearts such as in Deut. 5.29 O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my Commandments always c. It is he by whom the word is made as James hath it ◠Jam. ◠1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 engraffed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A fruit-bearing word Begin all your hearing with prayers and conclude them with prayers because 't is of the greatest concernment Use 2 Lastly A use of comfort First If we keep this word the word will keep us It will keep us in the worst of times yea at all times Pro. 6.22 When thou goest it shall lead thee when thou sleepest it shall keep thee and when thou awakest it shall talk with thee If you keep his Commands his Commands will keep you If you keep his Promises his Promises will bring you to Glory Secondly If we keep his word we shall not want present comforts The present gratuities which we have from Christ should be enough to encourage us if there were no future reward Psal 19. In keeping of them there is great reward 1 Tim. 4. ◠verse Thirdly Jesus Christ hath promised a blessedness to such persons they be a blessed people Rev. 1.3 Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this Prophecy and keep those things which are written therein and so in Luke 11.28 Blessed are they c. and with the best of blessings doth be crown them in the Text My Father will love him and we will come to him and will make our abode with him which is the second observation Obs 2 God and Christ will make their abode with them that keep his word In which Observation we shall take notice of these three particulars First How God and Christ do make their abode with them that keep his word Secondly Why God and Christ will make their abode with such Thirdly What an excellent blessing it is to have God and Christ abiding with us First How God and Christ do make their abode with them that keep his word in which these three particulars must be shown 1. How God abides with his People 2. How Jesus Christ abides with them 3. How both God and Christ will make their abode with them that keep his word First How God the first Person in the Trinity is said to make his abode with them that keep his word And this will be two wayes seen First It is not here to be understood of his common or general presence as he is the infinite God and being Omnipresent fills Heaven and Earth for so he abides with all the works of his hands yea so he is with them that fear him not Secondly It is here properly understood of Gods abode by way of special presence as he is a gracious Father there fore Jesus Christ doth first express the Fathers love and then his abode as the product and fruit of his love My Father will love him and we will come unto him c. He will come and abide with his as a God in Covenant with them therefore hath he put it into a promise in the 2. Cor. 6.16 I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people Secondly How Jesus Christ will make his abode with them that keep his word which will be shown also First Negatively Secondly Affirmatively First Negatively It is not to be understood of a carnal or corporeal presence of Christ as the Papist imagine as if the flesh of Christ could be in all places whom the Heavens must contain till the time of restitution of all things for saies the Apostle 2. Cor. 5.16 acknowledging If he had known Christ after the flesh yet so he knows him no more Secondly Affirmatively He makes abode with his people after a spiritual manner God the Father makes his abode with his Servants as a Father to them Jesus Christ abides with them as the Head of his Church as it is in Ephe. 5.23 He is the Head of his Church and the Saviour of his Body God abides with us in Christ Jesus Christ abides with us by his Spirit Corn ◠lap A learned Author shews four ways of Christs abode with Believers 1. Politicè ut Rex in Regno As a King in his Kingdom and so he gives Laws as the only Head and King of his Church protects them and order all their affairs 2. Oeconomicè ut Puter in Dome As a Father in his House and so he takes care and makes provision for his people as a Father doth for his Family 3. Ethicè ut ratio in homine As reason in a man which is the light that directs man in all his actions so Jesus Christ directs and leads his people 4. Phisice us Anima in Corpore As the Soul in the Body which animates and acts the whole man without which the Body is a dead and liveless Trunck so Jesus Christ doth quicken our soules by whom we have spiritual life And that he is the Head of his Church and thus abides with them First consider He hath all grace and life in him John 5.26 As the Father hath life in himself so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself therefore the Psalmist saies Psal 36.9 With thee is the Well of life and in thy light shall we see light Secondly From him is all grace and life conveyed out unto us John 1.16 of his fulness have we all received and grace for grace Yea whatsoever we receive from the Spirit of God we have from him originally as in John 16.15 For he shall take of mine and shew it unto you Thirdly How God and Christ are both said to make their abode with them that keep his word And this I shall shew to be three wayes First by their special Providence and Inspection with them and so we may see them in several Scriptures abiding with them as in Zach. 1.8,9,10 verses there 's Jesus Christ among the 〈…〉 which represent the Church and in Revel 1.13 He is there in the midst of his Golden Candlesticks and David tells us of his experience of Gods presence with him Psal 73.23 I am continually with thee thou upholdest me with thy right hand and the Apostle Paul 2 Tim. 4.17 The Lord stood by me indeed the eyes of the Lord are upon the Righteous and he hath said he will not leave them Secondly They make their abode with them in the Gospel and Gospel Ordinances where