should never fade nor faile nor fall away Thirdly give no occasion of offence to wicked worldlings to open their mouthes against us to speake evill both of us and of our profession The Apostle warneth us to cut off occasions from them that seeke occasions 2. Cor. 11. 2 Cor. 11.11 And hee warneth young women to guide their houses 1 Tim. 5.14 and to give no occasion to the adversary to speake reproachfully 1 Tim. 5. These are they that watch for our halting and slipping as the Fowler doth for the Bird or the Hawke for his prey They lay nets and snares to catch the simple and heedlesse soule It is meat and drinke to them if they can take them at any advantage If wee suffer reproofe and reproach wrongfully happy are we and great is our comfort we have no cause of griefe and sorrow but rather of rejoycing resting in the testimony of a good conscience Psal 37. 44.11 12 13 17. and the approbation of Gods Spirit who shall bring forth thy righteousnesse as the light and thy judgement as the noone day Thus wee see in the faithfull Psal 44. Thou hast given us like sheepe appointed for meâ—t thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours a scorne and derision to them that are round about us thou makest us a by-word among the Heathen a shaking of the head among the people c. all this is come upon us yet have we not forgotten thee neither have we dealt falsely with thy Covenant c. But if we suffer as evill doers wee have no comfort at all in any such sufferings but rather much discomfort and matter of sorrow and mourning Fourthly let us from the hatred and harsh entertainment we finde in the world be perswaded to knit our selves more closely to the rest of the faithfull that are brethren of the same Father servants of the same Master and members of the same body Forasmuch therefore as we are hated in the world and of the world let us cleave the more closely to God our Father and to Christ our head Ioh. 15.17 18. 17.26 John 15.17 18. who commandeth us to love one another Hence it is that Christ saith I have declared unto them thy Name and will declare it that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them Touching this brotherly kindnesse observe these three circumstances the manner the time and the persons The manner of it must bee earnestly fervently constantly and in truth not faintly not coldly not hypocritically not in shew onely for so did Cain love his brother The time must be at all times every season is the season thereof fit to practise it not in prosperity onely and when they have little or no need at all of us but chiefely and especially in adversity in time of dearth and famine which is the time of the triall of our love as Pro. 17.17 18.24 Prov. 17.17 18.24 A friend loveth at all times and a brother is borne for adversity And touching the persons whom are wee to love all the brethren not onely the rich and wealthy but the least the lowest the meanest the poorest among them especially whom the Lord hath chosen to be rich in faith Iam. 2.1 2 5. and heires of the Kingdome of Heaven To this end wee are warned not to have the faith of our glorious Lord Iesus Christ in respect of persons forbidding us to despise poore Christians and to respect onely the richer sort of higher places that abound in earthly blessings Now to effect this brotherly love the better Motives to worke true love in us and to worke it the sooner in our hearts wee must consider sundry motives to move us thereunto laid before us in holy Scripture First we shall be all knowne to be the Disciples of Christ by this charity Ioh. 13.35 as a servant is by his livery to what Master he belongeth John 13.35 Secondly hereby we know that we are translated from death to life 1 Ioh. 3.14 and from the state of damnation to salvation because we love the brethren They are all no better then dead men starke dead in sinnes and trespasses and lying under condemnation that are destitute of this love Thirdly whosoever hateth his brother the Son of his heavenly Father is another Cain a very murtherer 1 Ioh. 3.15 and ye know that no murtherer hath eternall life abiding in him If wee would scorne to bee blotted and branded with such an odious name it behooveth us to avoid and beware the like practice as well as the title It is in vaine for us to goe about to shun and shake from us the name so long as we resemble his nature Nay we are like the Devill himselfe Iohn 8.44 who was a murtherer from the beginning Joh. 8. When the Prophet told Hazael of his barbarous and horrible cruelty that hee should shew against the children of Israel he seemed to scorne it and to startle at it as at an hideous matter Is thy servant a dog 2 King 8.13 that he should doe this great thing but what availed this or was he one inch the further from it because he put it away from him No doubtlesse So what shall it profit these men to cast from them those names of Cain and his father the Devill and think they have wrong offered them to be so esteemed wheÌ„ in the meane season they nourish malice and mischiefe in their sinfull hearts Fourthly hereby we know that we are of the truth 1 Ioh. 3.19 and shall assure our hearts before him by the opposition of the world 1 Joh. 3.19 so that from hence we should gather great consolation and assurance to our selves that we are not married to the world but are divorsed from the world Iam. 4.4 If we be the friends of the world we become the enemies of God because the friendship of this world is enmity with God Fiftly love is of God 1 Iohn 4.21 Iohn 17.3 and every one that loueth is borne of God and knoweth God whereas he that loveth not God knoweth him not 1 Joh. 4.21 howbeit this is eternall life to know him Joh. 17.3 Sixtly God hath loved us first when we deserved no love 1 Iohn 4.9 Rom. 5.8 but to bee hated whereas we often hate those that deserve to be loved yea he so loveth us that hee sent his Sonne his onely begotten Sonne whom he loved and in whom he is exceedingly well pleased that wee might live through him Is not this love of his toward his enemies strong enough to worke love againe in us toward our brethren O what a little feeling have we in our hearts of the love of the Father if it cannot worke thus much in us to cause us for his sake to love his children The bright beames of the love of the Sunne of righteousnesse did never shine upon us to quicken us if wee doe not also warme
subordinate unto him Secondly God hath set his whole delight on his to love them above all other people Deut. 10.15 21. and doth great things for them that hee hath not done for the whole world beside Hee hath given his owne Sonne for them and to them which is the fountaine of all his love Joh. 3.16 For he so loved the world Ioh. 3.16 that he gave his onely begotten Sonne that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And 1 Joh. 4.9 10. in this was manifested the love of God toward us because God sent his onely begotten Sonne into the world 1 Ioh. 4.9 10. that we might live through him Herein is love not that we loved him but that he loved us and sent his Sonne to be the propitiation for our sinnes From hence flow all spirituall and eternall blessings as reconciliation and atonement sanctification and likewise our justification consisting in the forgivenesse of sinnes and the imputation of his righteousnesse unto us yea hence doe flow temporall blessings to us as they are blessings so that he careth for us as the Eagle for her Birds Deut. 32.11 12. and tendreth us as the apple of his owne eye Zach. 2.5 Thirdly this truth further appeareth unto us by the titles given to the faithfull For as the Names of God set forth his nature toward us so also doe the names that are given to the Godly The names that he giveth are not like names given by men who onely hope or desire to finde them as they are named but they often prove the contrary as we see in Abshalom who had his name of his Fathers peace but hee sought the destruction of his Father It is not so with God he doth not deceive neither can bee deceived in calling his Children by their names They are called sometimes the Lords portion Deut. 32.9 Exod. 19.5 and the lot of his inheritance Deut. 32. Sometimes his chiefe treasure above all people though all the earth be his Exod. 19 5. sometimes his Sonnes and Daughters 1 Ioh. 3.1 begotten of him to a lively hope of an inheritance unspeakable and glorious 1 Joh. 3.1 sometimes the Spouse of Christ Hos 2.19 23. Ioh. 15.24 Hos 2. sometimes his Jewels Mal. 3. and sometimes also his friends labouring to doe whatsoever he commandeth them Joh. 15.14 All these titles and testimonies teach us how dearely hee loveth and accounteth of his people The uses of this point serve Vse 1 partly for information partly for instruction and partly for consolation First for information or bettering of our knowledge we must consider that from hence wee have boldnesse and confidence in prayer to approach neere to the Throne of Grace that he will give us whatsoever we aske according to his will Hence it is that in the Lords prayer we are willed and warranted to begge the sanctifying of his Name the comming of his Kingdome c. and whatsoever serveth for his glory or our owne good and to call him by the name of our Father Matth. 6. â— to stirre up our faith to come with assurance and without doubting to be heard and helped Will a Father deny his Childe any thing that is good for him God is our Father and we his Children he our Shepheard and we his Flocke hee the Creator and we his creatures Hee seeth what wee have need of and hee knoweth better then our selves what is good for us so that we may boldly come in faith and not waver as the Romanists would have us to doe Now to the end we may approach and appeare before him aright and come unto him as to a Father we must come partly with cheerefulnesse and boldnesse and partly with awefulnesse and reverence And these two must be compounded and mingled together boldnesse with reverence and reverence with boldnesse that we may pray and make supplication to him with a reverent boldnesse and with a bold kinde of reverence lest boldnesse severed from reverence breed basenesse and contempt and reverence severed from boldnesse turne into a slavish and superstitious feare To worke in us boldnesse and willingnesse the Scripture layeth before us the promises of God whereupon we must build as upon a sure foundation To strike in us reverence it propoundeth sundry threatnings and admonitions which we ought to call to minde so often as we goe to praier to prepare us thereunto First we must acquaint our selves with the gracious promises of God which he hath made to us in his holy Word that our dull and dead spirits may thereby be quickned and our unbeleeving hearts may be fully perswaded that hee will deliver our soule from death Psal 116.8 our eyes from teares and our feet from falling For as the amiable Word of a Father implieth a readinesse and willingnesse in God to shew mercy so it should stirre up in us a forwardnesse to come unto him and to aske whatsoever wee want The Scripture is full of such heavenly promises Psal 50.15 Matth. 7.7 Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will heare thee Psal 50.15 Matth. 7.7 If wee humble our selves in his presence and turne from our sinnes and wicked waies then He will heare in Heaven 2 Chron. 7.14 15.2 Esay 65.24 and be mercifull unto our sins 2 Chron. 7. If we seek him He will be found of us 2 Chron. 15. Before we call he will answer and while we speake he will heare Esay 65. If we which are evill can give good gifts to our children Luke 11.13 how much more will our heavenly Father give the holy Ghost to them that desire him Rom. 10.22 Luke 11 He that is Lord of all is rich unto all that call upon him Rom. 10. Draw neere to God and He will draw neere to you Iam. 4.8 Iam. 4. All these are so many encouragements to draw us and to drive us to God who by these and a thousand such other promises inviteth us into his holy presence Againe on the other side we must consider that the Scripture withall giveth us sundry advertisements and threatnings to admonish us to come to him with feare and reverence The name of a Father is a title of familiarity but familiarity many times breedeth too much boldnesse and boldnesse breedeth contempt and contempt a base estimation of God and therefore it must bee seasoned with other considerations lest wee come to him in vaine and to our owne hurt Hence it is that as Christ our Saviour teache thus to call God our Father when we fall down before him so withall he willeth us to remember that he is in Heaven that is of infinite glory power and majesty Let us therefore have before us these and such like meditations If I regard wickednesse in my heart Psal 66.18 26.6 Prov. 1.28 15.8 21.27 the Lord will not heare me Psal 66.18 26.6 and often in the Proverbs They shall call upon me but
wee resolve to hold our peace yet it will breake out This we see in the Prophet when the Word of the Lord became a reproach unto him and a derision daily hee said within himselfe Ier. 20.9 I will not make mention of him nor speake any more in his Name howbeit his Word was in his heart as a burning flame in his bones and he was weary with forbearing so that he could not stay Ier. 20.9 It is not enough for us to mourne in secret for the abominations committed openly but it is our duty to reprove those that dishonour him and such as sinne openly should be reprooved openly as the Apostle teacheth both by precept 1 Tim. 5.20 Gal. 2.14 1 Tim. 5.20 and by example Gal. 2.14 Can a good Childe that loveth his Father heare him in his presence reviled traduced and evill spoken of and yet hold his peace as if he were a deafe man and heard nothing doth he not thereby after a sort give consent to such reproaches and make himselfe partaker of those evils as it were a party and joyne himselfe to his Fathers enemy Or will a good Servant heare his Master disgraced before him and yet say nothing at all How then shall we heare the Lord blasphemed who is both our Father and Master and his Name taken in vaine and yet keepe silence and not answer a word How shall we dare once to call him Father and not blush at the naming of him if there be any shame in us when we have no care to maintaine his honour but suffer it to lye in the dust and trodden under foot as a polluted thing How shall God open his eares at our prayers to powre on us his graces when our mouthes are quite shut up and stopped at his disgraces or how shall we looke to have him confesse us before his Father Matth. 10.32 and the elect Angels in Heaven when we are ashamed to confesse him before the sonnes of men upon earth Alas how jealous are wee of our owne names and upon what nice and tender points of saving credit and reputation doe we stand to maintaine them And ought not the Name of God to be much more deare and precious unto us Either let us cease once to take the name of a Father in our mouthes or else let us shew a more Sonne-like affection toward him in our hearts Either let us forbeare to professe our selves his Children or else let us beare our selves as Children and carry in us a readinesse every way to honour him The sixth signe Sixtly we are bound to love God againe and to answer love for love And so much the rather because he commendeth his love toward us that when we were his enemies hee sent his Sonne into the world to die for us O how great was his love toward us O how little is our love toward him were not he a very unnaturall childe that tasting abundantly of his Fathers kindnesse recompenceth it with unkindnesse stubbornenesse unthankfulnesse and disobedience againe Thus doe we foolish people deale with the Lord and reward him hatred for his love and enmity for his friendship How to knovv vvhether vve love God But how shall we know whether we love him or not Is every mans claime and entituling himselfe unto it a certaine and sufficient rule to know this No doubtlesse this is a marke too generall and may soone deceive us if we leane upon it as a broken staffe or a reed of Egypt If we love him indeed and in truth we will love him even when hee chasteneth and afflicteth us It is an easie matter for us to say we love God greatly when he blesseth and prospereth us and when he mercifully supplieth all things unto us that we desire Such love the hypocrites may pretend and make greater shew thereof then the true Children of God This may all such doe as live in peace and prosperity and yet notwithstanding deceive themselves and others also This corruption doth Satan discover to be in us naturally Iob 1.9 10. Iob 1.9 10. Doth Iob feare God for naught hast thou not made an hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side thou hast blessed the worke of his hands and his substance is increased in the Land but put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath and he will curse thee to thy face But we must testifie our love toward him that we can love him when he chasteneth us and beare the crosse patiently whatsoever hee shall lay upon us and looke for deliverance from him alone And so much the rather because he chasteneth in love toward us and if we endure chastisement Heb. 12.7 God offereth himselfe to us as unto children Heb. 12.7 especially considering hee doth it evermore for our good And if his chastisements proceed from love why should they not worke the same in them that are chastened we have had the fathers of our bodies which corrected us oftentimes for their pleasure and yet we gave them reverence shall wee not then much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live who chasteneth us for our profit that we might be partakers of his holinesse Lastly The seventh signe wee must come out from the society and company of evill men and have no fellowship with the unfruitfull workes of darknesse If wee delight as much in the company of the ungodly as of the godly of the children of the Devill as of Gods we are become one body with them we cannot be assured that we are Gods Children but he that is their Father is become our Father and he that ruleth in them ruleth in us also This note not onely giveth light to our selves but holdeth out the candle to others to know whose wee are and to whom we belong Psal 16.3 15.4 If our greatest delight bee in the Saints we are also ourselves in the number of the Saints and if we honour them that feare the Lord it is an evident token our selves feare him and that a vile person is contemned of us But if wee bee never more merry then with them whose conversation would make us sorry and sigh if the zeale of Gods glory were before our eyes how can we assure our hearts that God is our Father seeing his enemies are our greatest friends and best welcome unto us This doth the Apostle teach at large 2 Cor. 6. who upon the promise that God will be a Father unto us and we shall bee his Sonnes and Daughters concludeth 2 Cor. 6.17 18. Be not therefore unequally yoaked with Infidels what fellowship is there betweene righteousnesse and unrighteousnesse betweene Christ and Belial wherefore come out from among them and separate from them and touch no uncleane thing and I will receive you But it may be said Obiect What needeth this separation to be urged so hotly unto us that live not among any Infidels mingled pell