in Adam the sonne of God by falling in him Joh. 8.44 thou becamest the sonne of the Devil thy Saviour comes to make thee the sonne of God againe without which thou canst not be the heire of glory Now marke God cannot give thee what he hath not The Father is not the Sonne neither is the Holy Ghost the Sonne but the Sonne is the Sonne Therefore he becomes thy Saviour to give thee sonship The Sonne of God becomes the sonne of man to make the sonnes of men become the sonnes of God He is made man that he might be a fit sacrifice Man is a more noble sacrifice then a woman Mal. 1.14 for cursed is he that hath a male in his flock and offers a corrupt thing Vse Now ponder seriously on this my child with thy selfe that thy Saviour is the eternall Sonne of God I tell thee that if thou have but any ingenuity in thee it will make thee both hate and avoid sinne Hadst thou such a Plague soare botch or boyle about thee that nothing could cure but the heart-bloud of the Kings sonne and the King should be so loving as to kill his onely sonne for thy health would'st thou not hate such a disease and take heed that thou never didst fall into such a disease againe This is thy case Thy sinne is a soare wound and plague that nothing could cure but the heart-bloud of the Sonne of God God out of his infinite love did send him into the world to take thy nature upon him that he might be reviled for thee spit upon for thee scourged for thee crowned with thornes for thee sweat drops of bloud for thee be crucified for thee and shed the bloud of his hands feet and heart for thee and all to cover and cure thy finne Wilt thou not now hate thy finne and be carefull to suppresse it and never fall into the like againe I hope thou wilt or else thy latter end will be worse then thy beginning Goe on now and tell me 23. Q. What hath Christ Jesus done for thee A. He suffered the paines of death for me Thou hast seene what Christ was What Christ hath done for us and is now sadly consider what he hath done for thee Thou happly mayst thinke it little for him to be borne for thee to live for thee though it were infinite love but because the purity of his nature and perfection of his obedience have influence into the value of his sufferings therefore thou doest mention onely these paines of death Peter mentioneth these paines of death Act. 2.24 and Paul cals them Rom. 6.9 the Dominion of death Phil. 2.8 and his humbling of himselfe and becoming obedient unto death even the death of the crosse What paines and torments Christ endured for thee then is unexpressible yet they may be valued a little Heb. 5.7 by his offering up prayers and supplications with strong crying and teares to his Father and by sweating drops of bloud when he grovelled upon the ground in so cold a season as made Peter creep to the fire in the high Priests Hall Surely there was fire nigh which caused this sweat What may the cause then of these paynes and torments be Surely the sight of our sinnes charged upon him Heb. 7.22 and the sense of his Fathers wrath He stood a Surety in our roome and was to answer for all our sinnes to God and not be discharged till he had satisfied for them all Look therefore as if a man were bound for a million of thousand pounds for other men when he was once attached his whole charge would be put in against him and this sight would be fearefull to him especially if he considered that they were his chiefe enemies for whom he was bound and a nest of unthankfull creatures who did load him with disgrace and obloquy Just thus was it with thy blessed Saviour Though he had the testimony of his enemies that never man spake as he did Joh. 7.46 Mar. 7.37 Act. 10.38 and that he had done all things well because the Lord was with him Yet when he was under arrests and executions Esa 43.24 he was made to serve with our sinnes and was wearied with our iniquities 2 Cor. 5.21 for he was made sinne for us who knew no sinne when all our sinnes were charged upon him and he was to make satisfaction to God his Father for them And whose sinnes were these The sinnes of those that were his enemies Rom. 5.10 the sinnes of his Disciples who runne away from him the sinnes of Peter who denied him and the sinnes of Jewes and Gentiles who crucified him The Jewes and Gentiles bare a world of enmity against him Eph. 2.16 yet he reconciled both unto God in one body by the Crosse having slaine the enmity in himselfe Thinke seriously whether this was not a torment and paine of death to have all the debts presented unto him of such sinners to be satisfied for Besides when God his Father saw him thus covered with sin in the State of a surety though the holinesse of his person was never polluted he withdrawes the blessed vision of the divine nature Wheresoever it shined abroad upon others yet though hee was personally united unto it it shined not upon himselfe but left him to sweat drops of bloud and his soule to be heavy unto death and his heart and tongue to cry out Psal 22.1 Mat. 27.46 My God My God why hast thou forsaken me Is not this an unutterable paine and torment of death Was it not enough for him to die but he must endure the sorrowes of death thus Use Oh my deare child forget not this point It will humble thee for sinne drive thee from sinne and comfort thee against sinne It will humble thee for sinne to think that it should present such a cursed visage to God that such a fearfull load must be laid upon thy Surety for it It will drive thee from sinne to thinke that if thou neglect so great salvation as Christ hath offered unto thee thou shalt be for thy sins in a worse case then he was He was able to slay hatred and enmity but thou canst not by suffering millions of millions of ages and therefore thou shalt have thy sinnes lye before thee for ever and the wrath of God will presse thee to all eternity It will comfort thee against sinne to thinke that thy Surety having endured this for thee it were unjust for God to impose it upon thee againe Onely be sure that thou keepe the Covenant of the Gospel that is when thou hast been translated out of the kingdome of darknesse into the Kingdome of his deare Sonne that thou honour the Father in the Sonne by beleeving in him with a faith working by love and then thou wilt have cause to triumph as Paul Rom. 7.25 I thanke God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now let me see what thou remembrest and
hallow Gods name Therefore pray that thou maist know and acknowledge him that thou maist remember him in his wayes that thou maist honour confesse and praise him that thou maist not prophane his Name either in tongue by vain swearing cursing and blasphemy or in life by wicked life and thou shalt hallow Gods name Now tell me 40. Q. What is the second Petition A. Thy Kingdome come Here thou askest the first principall meanes for the hallowing of Gods name Thou canst never do it savingly What is asked in the second Petition except thou be a subject of Christs Kingdome because without faith it is impossible to please God to life therefore next after hallowed be thy name thou prayest Thy Kingdome come By Kingdome thou must principally mean the Kingdome of Grace and the Kingdome of Glory The Kingdome of grace is that soveraignty which Christ exerciseth over us by grace Of this it is said Rom. 5.21 that grace reigneth through righteousnesse unto eternall life Luk. 17.21 Rō 14.18 and that the Kingdome of God is within us and stands in righteousnesse peace and joy of the Holy Ghost The Kingdome of Glory is that Soveraigntie which Christ exerciseth over us by Glory that is when Christ and his members are in full glory Mat. 25.34 of which Christ speaketh Come ye blessed of my father receive the Kingdome prepared for you By the comming of Christs Kingdome thou must understand the Erecting of it where it is not Psal 24.9.10 Act. 2.41.47 Gal. 6.1 the Enlarging of it where it is by adding new souls to the Church the repairing of it where it is decayed when broken Members are joynted again and the perfecting of it fully 1 Cor. 15. when God is all in all Next mark that thou saist not the Kingdome but thy Kingdome Because Christ would oppose this against all other Kingdomes Thou knowest what Esay saith Esa 26.13 Revel 12.4 O Lord our God other Gods besides thee have had dominion over us The Kingdome of Grace is opposed by Satan Act. 28.23 by the world and self-carnall hearts The Kingdome Glory is opposed by loving the world and the things that are in this world 1 Joh. 2. by rotting in sinne and by persecution of Gods servants which would make Gods servants come short of glory But thou desirest here that the Kingdome of the world flesh and devill may be cast out and that the Kingdome of grace may be established which may fit us for the Kingdome of glory And that all this may come to passe mark what thou prayest for That thou maist have all means for Christs Kingdome of grace and glory For the Kingdome of grace that thou maist have inward and outward means Inward thy subjection to the word of God the spirit to create new hearts the fruits of righteousness peace and joy in the holy Ghost Outward means are either in the Church Cōmon-wealth or both of them In the Church thou prayest for Schooles of good learning faithfull Ministers and their peace Act 19.9 Matth. 9.28 2 Thes 3.1 In the Common-wealth thou prayest for godly Magistrates good Lawes and and execution of them In both thou prayest that thou maist have the Scriptures the Lawes of the Kingdome and the blessing of God upon all for good government As for the Kingdom of Glory thou prayest that thou maist have the Kingdome promised by a glorious resurrection and a speedy comming to judgement and that God and Christ may have full glory manifested against all our enemies Vse Therefore my dear childe prize this petition Thou canst not hallow Gods name before thou be in his Kingdome They that are without it are against it and do quite contrary to it This Kingdome is not yet fully come Though he be fully King yet in respect of us he is not in quiet and peaceable possession because we suffer yet from the Kingdome of the flesh the devill and the world Therefore pray heartily that Christs Kingdome may come Pray that the Kingdome of grace may come Phil. 3.9.10 Ephe. 3.14.16 17. Thus did Paul for himself that he might be found in Christ and for others I bowe my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that Christ may dwell in your hearts that you may be strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man in the holy use of all these inner and outward means which God hath ordained Pray heartily that the Kingdome of glory may come The whole Creation groanes under the burthen of vanity and we our selves do groan Rom. 8.19.23 Rev. 22.17 and the spirit and the bride say come Till then God hath not the full glory of his mercy and justice If thou do but see the largenesse of the Kingdome of sinne and Satan 1 Joh. 5.19 that the whole world lyes in wickednesse If thou consider the many enemies of Christs Kingdom who say depart from us Job 21. we desire not the knowledge of Gods lawes who is the Almighty that we should serve him we will not that he rule over us therefore let us break his bands and cast away his cords from us If thou weighest how ready thou art to rebell against the Kingdome of Christ and to admit of the Kingdome of darknesse thou must zealously pray Thy Kingdome come 41. Q. What is the third Petition A. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven Here thou cravest the second principall means for the hallowing of Gods name that is the acts of grace W ha is prayed for in the third Petition It is not enough that Gods Kingdom be within thee by grace but thou must also act it by the doing of Gods will Put case that thou be in his Kingdom it is not every one that saith Lord Lord that shall be of his Kingdom Matth. 7. but he that doth the will of our Father When this Kingdom is come we are enabled to hallow his name but how By doing of his will therefore next thy Kingdome come is set thy will be done God hath but one will yet he doth not reveal all to us Some part he keeps to himself till the event make it known This is called his Counsell Psal 33.11 Rom. 9. Rom. 11. or thought of his heart Of this Paul saith who hath resisted his will and who hath known his will Some part he makes known to us and would have us to do for the exercising of grace Ephes 5.17 Of this Paul saith understand what the will of the Lord is This is the Scriptures which are called Gods will from the common course of speech as our words are called our will which are but a signe of our wils Of both these thou prayest here both that God do as he please Act. 21.14 as Paul said The will of the Lord be done and that we do as God requires in the volume of his book Psal 40. By doing his will Revel 2.6 thou must
understand that God works his whole will to be our will both for submission and obedience And that thou maist do it most acceptably Christ doth teach thee to pray for an elevating qualification that Gods will may be done on earth as in heaven By Heaven thou must understand the heaven of heavens where the will of God is gloriously done In this heaven there are Christ Angels and Saints that do it Christ professed that he came not to do his own will Joh. 6.38 Psal 104. but the will of him that sent him The Angels fulfill his commandement and the Saints have leisure to do nothing else Thou must not look to equality of measure but likenesse of manner in their doing of Gods will that as they do the will of God first willingly speedily faithfully and zealously so must thou pray to do Yea thou must lift up thy obedience above the earth that thou maist bare the image of heavenly things If now thou would'st frame thy heart in prayer according to this petition have an eye to Gods secret will and pray that thou maist submit to it when it is revealed Thou knowest not for present how God will deal with thee in body soul state or friends but when he hath revealed his pleasure pray that thou maist submit Again have an eye to Gods will in his word and pray that thou maist have it know it beleeve it and love it Have an eye also to thy conformity to Gods will and pray heartily that thou maist basely esteem of thine own will and deny it that thou maist have power to submit and bring it into act in all things as they do that are in heaven Use Therefore my dear childe learn that it is not enough to be a subject in Gods Kingdom except thou live answerably Thou maist hear many say God knows my heart that is good to God-ward This is but a vain plea where there is not submission to and doing of Gods will in life When therefore thou seest how willing thou would'st live at liberty what ever the will of God is When thou seest what enemies we are to Gods will and how few do it When thou thinkest what dishonour it is to God to have so many servants and so few to do his will When thou considerest how many do it and do it amisse by failing in faithfulnesse then stir up the grace of God in thee to pray the more earnestly Thy will be done To this end know the word of God Remember those parts of it most which concern thine and others salvation Talk and conferre with Gods skilfullest workmen about thee Practice the doing of so much of the will of God as thou knowest and avoid the course of sinne and then what thou prayest thou shalt do about Gods will to Gods glory and the good of thy soul 42. Q. What is the fourth Petition A. Give us this day our daily bread Here thou prayest for the best principall means for the hallowing of Gods name What is prayed for in the 4th Petition Thou canst not hallow Gods name without grace therefore thou prayest Thy Kingdome come The plea of grace is but poor except there be practice therefore thou prayest Thy will be done And now because thou art unfit to seek Gods Kingdome and to do his will except thou hast the supplies of this life therefore thou callest for bread Abraham Isaac and Jacob were distracted in famines Israel did want bread and murmured Many poor Christians shine not as they should for want of necessary provisions and so it may be with thee Therefore that they and thou mayst hallow Gods name by being in his kingdome and doing of his will therefore Christ learns thee next to pray for daily bread By Bread thou must understand all worldly necessaries Luk. 14.1 Bread in the Scripture doth sometimes signifie a Feast as when Christ went into the Pharisees house to eat bread that is to feast with him Matth. 14.2 sometimes it signifies ordinary diet as when it is said of the Pharisees they wash not before they eate bread that is take their diet sometimes it signifies fruit Jer. 11.19 as when the Prophet saith destroy the tree with the bread that is the fruit of it Prov. 31.14 and sometimes it signifies provision of all sorts as when it is said of the good housewife she fetcheth her bread from afarre Ezec. 4.16 Psal 104.15 that is all provision from her family All this is asked under the name of bread both because bread is the staffe of life and strengthens man and because the very name of bread onely might restraine from gluttony and drunkennesse Thou cravest that t u mayst obtaine bread by gift Give us Psal 105.15 Thou doest not say let me enjoy what I have or render my own bread unto me or let me be my own carver but Give us God gives it by blessing the earth with plenty Hos 2.21 Psal 128. Psal 104. by making thee to eat the labour of thy hands by blessing the creatures to strengthen thee and by giving an holy use of them He gives it to wicked men and sends leannesse withall into their soules Matth. 4. but he makes his people live not by bread onely but by every word of God Thus thou doest acknowledge God the supreame Lord of all creatures that thou mayst be humbled under his hands for wants and thankfull to him for enjoyments Thou cravest not onely that bread thou hast use of but what thou hast right unto Our bread Though thou possessest it Job 20.14.23 yet it will doe thee no good except God blesse it Though God blesse it it will doe thee no good except God keep it Psal 127.1 and preserve it for thee Though God keep it for thee it will doe thee no good except thou be enabled to make use of it for when sicknesse comes Psal 107. thy soule will abhorre all manner of food Yea though it be possessed and blessed and kept for use yet will it doe thee no good if it be anothers bread and not thine There are that eate the bread of violence Prov. 4.17 Prov. 20.17 and the bread of deceit but thou wouldst not and therefore thou sayst Give us our bread Thou cravest this bread not onely for thy selfe but for others under this word us Men are apt to think their throat cut with all fat morsels that goe besides themselves But Christ learneth thee to pray for others and for thy selfe for others uses Thou wouldst have this bread given thee this day or day by day The foole saith Luk. 12.19 Soule thou hast stored up much for many yeares but the wisdome of God teacheth thee to crave but for the day Not as if thou mayst not provide as the Ant and Joseph for a raynie day Joh. 6. for Christ will have thee to gather up the broken meat that nothing be lost but because he would not have
proportion and thy eyes being exalted and clarified thou shalt see beside this great Leviathan creeping things or sinnes innumerable For as in a train of gunpowder set one grain on fire and all will be in a blaze so let thy soul be fired with godly sorrow for one sinne and thou shalt quickly see those thou never sawest before Fourthly thou maist finde them out by bringing sinne to a propimity or neernesse As sinners put farre from them the evill day so they put as farre as they can from them the sight of sinne When they do it they are loath to see what they do because it is a work of darknesse It is a bastard brood betwixt Satan and a wicked soul and therefore they remove it into the Country as farre as they can because they would not see it themselves nor suffer others to see it But bring it to a neernesse and that which seemed no sinne will appeare to be a sinne and what seemed a little one will be a very great A man upon the top of an high hill looks as little as a childe but bring him down and you shall see his proportion So bring sinne to a present view as it wounds the conscience defaceth Gods image and hindereth our traffick with our God we shall see it big enough to a miracle in it self and all the brats and broods of many secret ones which are as a retinue and hangs upon it Fifthly thou maist finde them out by declining such ways as bring the judgement of God upon thy soul If because thou art filthy God say be filthy still and because thou wilt not see God give thee over to blindnesse of minde thou wilt see but a few of thy sins till destruction come like an armed man It was a fearfull speech hear ye indeed Esa 6.9 10. but understand not and ye see indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted Even so it is a lamentable thing that Gods judgement should seal thy eyes up from seeing thy sinnes for then thou maist suddainly be wasted and made desolate and removed farre away from God Therefore if thou would'st discover thy secret sinnes keep off this judgement of God by sinning against conscience Conscience is Gods deputy and the affront that is offered unto it is offered to God who gave it authority over thee Sinne against it and thou sinnest against Gods officer and God cannot but take it as an unworthy act It makes him angry brings his judgement and then where art thou Thy eyes are blinded thy heart is hardened thy sinnes like Philistims are about thee and thou seest them not Therefore decline this thunderbolt of judgement and God will be eyes to thy blinde soul to see secret sinnes Lastly thou maist finde out thy secret sinnes by not believing the world and the wayes of it If thou believe the world that will praise and flatter thee and offer thee so much profit pleasure Excellens sensibile destruit sensum and honour that the splendour of these will dazle thy eyes and hinder the sight of thy secret sinnes There are none that live in strong Garisons and feel not miseries abroad where sight is more cleer but are so flattered and fawned upon with the lust of the eye the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life to patching painting and a thousand disguises besides other voluptuous sins that their eyes are put out from seeing some open and all secret sins Hence is it that they swim in the Kingdome of pleasure and with their eyes to heaven are going as fast as they can to hell in a feather-bed But take heed believe not the world and thou wilt have leisure to see that and those secret sinnes which will make thy heart ake Thus have I discovered some means by which you may know your secret sinnes It may be now a way is broken open better light may discover better helps Yet in the mean time take these and use them in Gods strength to the glory of God and to the humbling of thy soul But What we must doe when we have found out secret sinnes it may be you will ask me when I have found them what shall I do with them In generall you must make head against them Let them not rest in you as in their proper places but groan under their burthen complain of them to God cast off what you can and use meanes to mortifie the rest But more particularly Zach. 13.1 look to Christ the fountain opened for sinne and for uncleannesse When Alexander the Great saw Jaddus the high Priest comming towards him out of Jerusalem in all his Priestly attire he of reverence spared the City and when God sees you come towards him in the garments of your brother Christ made yours by faith out of love to him Psal 45. whose garments smel of Myrrhe Aloes and Cassia he will spare you We reade that when Antonius the Roman Oratour did uncover the shoulders of Aquileus before the Senate he caused the sentence of death to be reversed from him Much more when you shew the fresh bleeding wounds and merits of Christ rested upon by faith before God your judge he will take off the sentence of death from you pronounced both against open and secret sins and give you life Therefore in the bowels of Jesus Christ take a double prospect First cast your eyes down into your selves and see what you can all your secret sins whose guilts gape for vengeance as well as open being as contrary to Gods nature Next lift up your eyes to heaven and see Christ appearing with all his merits as your Surety and Advocate and making request for you and rest upon him with confidence as those that are weary and heavie laden under the burthen of sinne and are willing to honour the father in him his sonne and the work is past neither open nor secret sins shall appear against you to your confusion But now at length you must not forget Davids Act about this Object that is Act cleanse me his prayer that God would cleanse him Hear a word of this Sinnes have a pollution That even secret sinnes have a pollution as well as other sins from which we must desire cleansing That other sinnes have a pollution is visible enough from many Texts and other grounds The Text doth speak Psal 51.2 Ezech. 16. Wash me from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sinne and makes a fearfull description of the pollution of sinne and compares it to the vomit of a Dog and myre of a Sow 2 Pet. 2.22 yea and makes God look with an ill eye upon his own till they be washed Joh. 13.8 As to other grounds the Father of sin is an unclean spirit Matth. 12. and the mother of it an
Christ because the Church is the royal seat of Christ he is in it as in his kingdom Apoc. 1. Matth. 28. and walks in the midst of the seven candlesticks is with thē always to the end of the world In respect of lawes because the Church hath heavenly laws given by the King of heaven and earth even the everlasting laws of Charitie to God in Christ 1 Cor. 13. and all the Saints In respect of the plants which are planted in it All Gods people in the Church are like trees planted by the rivers of waters Psal 1.3 but to be transplanted in Gods due season to heaven The Church is the nurcery depending upon the great orchard or garden of heaven where onely no weed grows and therefore is it called the kingdom of heaven In respect of the Inhabitants of the Church They are in their better parts Citizens with the Saints Eph. 3. Gal. 6. Col. 3. Eph. 2. and of the houshold of faith who have their conversation in heaven and sit in Christ in heavenly places In respect of the order and reference that God hath made between heaven and the Church As Jacob said of Bethel so may we of the Church Gen. 28.17 This is none other but the house of God and the gate of heaven As a great house which hath an hall for the family to meet in and chambers to rest in for them who properly belong unto it so is the Church and heaven The Church is the place of repast Joh. 14. and heaven of many mansions for rest Lastly in respect of the use that is made of it As heaven doth help these inferiour bodies three wayes by motion and light and influence So the Church doth help to all that she can reach unto moving up and down Man like a company of pilgrims 1 Pet. 2. and strangers for the gathering together of the body of Christ out of all mankinde It carryed the law out of Sion Esa 2. and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem to bring us poore heathens to be of the inheritance of Christ Psal 2. and to make the uttermost parts of the earth to be his possession It is like the heavens and firmament Psal 19. which declares the Glory of God amongst every speech and language that Christ may rule there It carries light to them that sit in darknesse Lumine Matth. 4. and in the region of the shadow of death giving the light of knowledge as from the face of Jesus Christ and the light of life that others seeing their good works 1 Pet. 2. may glorifie God in the day of their visitation It gives the Influences of grace from their faith hope and charitie Influentia 1 Cor. 1◠to warme the hearts of those that belong to Christ and to help forward their new birth and their growing in grace by the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ Jam. 1. 2 Pet. 3. Seeing therefore that the Church is the royal seat of Christ hath the laws of Christ is a nursery for heaven is Jerusalem which is from above full of heavenly Citizens Gal. 4. is the place of repast for Gods servants before their rest and hath such an heavenly use by her motion light and influence it is no wonder that it should be called the kingdom of heaven Use 1 Let every one of us think of it to our comfort and to our exhortation Be comforted I beseech you to see the glorious priviledges of Gods people that even in this world they dwell in the kingdom of heaven yet in heaven on earth not in heaven Travellers tell us that they that are on the top of the Alpes may see showers under them which they overlooke but they come not at them and if you make use of this priviledge to live in the kingdom of heaven ye may overlook your troubles and not be disjoynted by them The very Philosopher could say out of all well pleasance with his morall and naturall fansies unto the tyrant that beat him in sunder piece-meale Beat Beat Tunde tunde Anaxarchum non tundes thou shalt not beat out Anaxarchus He would keep his heart in the ruines of his body Much more may a Christian keep his life of faith when the outer man and all things belonging unto it doth utterly perish and come to this worlds nothing Use 2 Be exhorted also all you Christians who professe your selves to be members of the Church to live like those that are in the kingdom of heaven Some live in a region of darknesse and some live as in the confines of hell God forbid it should be said so of you Heare that fearfull speech the fearfull who dare not shew themselves for Christ but fear man more then him the unbeleeving who Apoc. 21.8 Apo. 22.15 notwithstanding the offers of grace doe stand out against Christ and not rest upon him for salvation the abominable who thinke and doe abhorred things the murtherers who are cruell against Gods peoples bodies and soules and whoremongers who give themselves to the uncleannesses of body and soule and sorcerers who give themselves to spels enchantments delusions conjurations and witchcrafts to dishonour Christ and Idolaters who thinke to convey Gods worship to him by Saints and Angels or Images or any other superstitious way and therefore doe fall down or do other respects before them with reference to God and all lyers who forge and faine devises in hypocrisie to bring in false wayes in hypocrisie or otherwise are enemies to that truth which belongs to their neighbours shall have their part in the lake which burnes with fire and brimstone which is the second death Take heed and be none of these if you would live in the kingdome of heaven Otherwise the kingdom shall be taken from you notwithstanding your strength and confidence and given to a nation which will bring forth amendment of life answerable to this good kingdome of heaven Secondly the Gospel is valued by the person that trades for it A Merchant man The person that trades for the Gospel This doth represent a true Christian in the Church who is more honoured by the Gospel then the Gospel can be honoured by him Yet the honour of the Gospel upon them seemes to reflect upon it self For as the Merchants of Tyrus are called by Ezechiel the companions of Princes so Christians are Christs fellowes who trade for the Gospel Psal 45.7 which surely shews the worth of it Mark then Christians are Meachants That Christians are Merchants and truely this may easily be demonstrated by comparing what we finde to be proper to Merchants with that which answereth in a Christian state First a Merchant hath his sea his ship his Merchandise and his losses and so hath a Christian His Sea that is the world This tosseth him up and down and he sees the wonders of God in this deep As John saith in another case I saw before