WILLIAM DYER Preacher of the Gospell Aetat 27 1663 A CABINET OF JEWELS OR A GLIMPS OF SIONS GLORY Written by WILLIAM DYER late Preacher of the Gospel at Chesham and Chouldsbury in the County of Bucks Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things that are written therein for the time is at hand Rev. 1.3 Printed in the Year 1663. TO Those of Chouldsbury Parish Together with all others who did attend constantly upon the Word of God there Preached Grace Mercy and Peace be multiplyed from God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. DEarly Beloved They that love God dearly are dearly beloved of God dearly beloved of Christ dearly beloved of Angels dearly beloved of Saints they are beloved of all and have the love of all whose love is worth the having O my dear Friends I cannot think of you and your condition but it fills my eyes with water and my heart with griefe and with Jeremy I wish O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountaine of Tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the Daughter of my people Jeremiah 9.1 Oh that I am constrained to be from you whom I could live and dye with spend and be spent for so deare a people as you are I would chuse to be doing the work to which I was called amongst you rather then any where else if I might I should not count my Life dear to me so that I might have the liberty to preach Christ to you for your edification and salvation I hope your Consciences will bear me witnesse that whilest I was with you I Laboured as much as in me lay to be a helper of your joy not to Lord it over your faith and I bless God I can with a good conscience safely say I have coveted no mans Gold nor Silver as you your selves know I could do very much for you but I dare not sin against God and my own Conscience But my dear Brethren Though they have separated us one from the other they cannot separate our hearts I hope there will never be a separation of our loves but that will still continue if we do not see one another yet we may love one another and pray for one another And now my desire is that my pen may reach you though my voice cannot reach you That I may still approve the sincerity of my love to you I shall give you twenty Directions for the right ordering of your Lives and conversations in these dangerous and sinful times that you may live in Heaven whilest you are on the Earth and come to Heaven when you shall leave the Earth I. First Loath sin and leave sin He that covereth his sins shall not prosper but whosoever Confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy Prov. 28.13 If we confess our sins he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1.9 There must be falling out with our sins before there be falling off from our sins there must be a loathing of sin in our affections before there be a leaving of sin in our conversations Oh is it not a thousand times better to part with sinne though never so sweet than to part with God and Christ and Heaven one of them you must do One sin will damn a Soul out of Christ but no sin can damn a Soul in Christ Sin is the evill of evils it is worse then the Devill for its that that made the Devil to be a Devil O the love of sin and the lack of grace will ruin and destroy your souls for ever It is better not to be than to be a sinner better to be no people than not to be the Lords people Oh therefore kill sin that sin may not kill you mourn for sin and flye from sin do not commit new sins but repent of old sins Ezek. 36.31 You shall loath your selves in your own sight for your iniquities O poor soul hast thou not served the flesh and the Devil long enough Yea hast thou not had enough of sin is it so good to thee or so profitable for thee Oh what a place will you be shortly in of joy or torment Oh what a sight will you shortly see in Heaven or Hell Oh what thoughts will shortly fill your hearts with unspeakable delights or horror what work will you be imployed in to praise the Lord with Saints and Angels or to cry out in fire unquenchable with Divels Oh therefore dye unto sin confess it mourn for it and be ashamed of it hate it and loath it and flye from it as from a Serpent and though your sins are more then you can number yet they are not more then God can pardon II. Secondly Put off the old man and put on the new Eye not one to another seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the Image of him that created him Col. 3.9 10. And that ye put on the new man which after God is created in Righteousness and Holinesse Ephes 1.14 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but a new creature Gal. 6.15 As new born Babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby 1 Pet 2.2 Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are past away behold all things are become new 2 Cor. 5.17 A new understanding a new will new desires new love new delights new thoughts new words new company and a new conversation he is not what he was before O dear friends be new Creatures that you may be glorious Creatures We can call nothing in Heaven ours till Christ be ours Without regeneration there is no salvation Verily I say unto you except yea be converted and become as little children ye cannot enter into the Kingdone of Heaven John 3.3 Verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God You have heard much of God Christ and Heaven with your ears but this will not bring you to Heaven unlesse you have much of God Christ Heaven in your hearts you must be able to say I was once a slave but now a son once I was dead but now I am alive once I was in darknesse but now I am light in the Lord once I was a child of wrath an Heir of Hell but now I am an Heir of Heaven once I was under the spirit of bondage but now I am under the spirit of adoption A true Believer lives in the Lord 1 Thes 1.1 On the Lord Rom. 1.17 Luke 20.38 From the Lord Joh. 6.57 To the Lord Romans 1â— 8 With the Lord 2 Corinth 13.4 III. Thirdly Make your peace with the Prince of peace Isa 9.6 Psal 2.12 Kiss the Son least he be angry and ye perish from the way
Truth obey the Truth and hold fast the Truth Now Beloved Let me beseech you for Gods sake and for Christs sake and for your Soules sake keep your selves from false Teachers from false Doctrine from false worship from false Opinions If you will be tasting and siping at Babylons cup you must resolve to receive more or lesse of Babylons plagues XVIII Eighteenthly Be one with every one that is one with Christ Endeavouring to keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of peace There is one body and one Spirit even as ye are called in one hope of your Calling One Lord one Faith one Baptisme one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all Ephes 4.3 4 5 6. Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him By this we know that we love the Children of God when we love God and keep his Commandments 1 Joh. 5.1 2. He that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen 1 John 4.26 Oh Consider what a dishonour it is to the Gospel that those that professe themselves Sonnes of the same God Members of the same Christ Temples of the same Spirit Heirs of the same Glory should be at a jarring one with another It is strange and unnaturall that Lillies should prove thorns to one another that those who are Saints in profession should be Devils in practise to one another that Gods Diamonds should cut one another For Wolves to devour the Lambs is no wonder but for one Lamb to devour another is a wonder and monstrous Oh that Christians instead of loving one another should hate one another Oh how unlike are we to that God whom we professe to be our God! He is full of love full of goodness and full of mercy and patience Oh but Christians cannot beare and forbear one with another Oh do not wicked men warm themselves at the sparks of our divisions and say it is as we would have it Oh Beloved hath not God made his wrath to smoke against us for the divisions and heart-burnings that have been amongst us Oh that you would lay this to heart and throw away all discord and divisions and heart burnings and labour for a onenesse in love and affection with every one that is one with Christ Oh labour for a healing spirit You cannot love God if you do not love the people of God If any man saith he loveth God and hateth his brother he is a lyer Let brotherly love continue Heb. 13.1 They that feared the Lord spake often one to another Mal. 3.16 Christs Doves should flock together There be many that cannot love a man unlesse he be of their Opinion or a Member of their Church though he be a Member of Christ Every man hath a good opinion of his own opinion But alas Beloved it is not this opinion or that opinion this way or that way will bring a man to Heaven without faith in Christ and he that hath faith in Christ hath a right to all the Ordinances of Christ and Promises of Christ and Priviledges of Christ therefore let me beseech you to love every man that is a godly man let him be of what way and form he will And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul Acts 4.38 XIX Nineteenthly Love Christ with a Love stronger then life who loved us with a love stronger than death Therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again no man taketh it from me but I lay it down my self I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again John 10.17 18. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 Christs love to us was stronger then death he dyed for love he laid down his life to save our lives he loves us as the Father loves him John 15.9 As the Father hath loved me so have I loved you continue ye in my love Oh the Scripture hath exceeding high expressions of his affection to us Now Beloved if he died for us and suffered for us and set his heart upon us to love us and delight in us how ought we then to love him again Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind Math. 22.37 38. Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee Psal 73.25 Vnto you therefore which believe he is precious 1 Pet. 2.7 Oh let our hearts be full of love and affections to Christ Love will breed courage and cast out fear slavish fear before God and carnal fear before men God can keep us from the torments of men but men cannot keep us from the torments of God Whilest we stand by God God hath promised to stand by us Therefore be not afraid of any Authority that stands in opposition to the Authority of Christ None can promise us better than Christ can none can threaten us worse than Christ can Can any man promise us with better then Heaven Can any man threaten us with worse than Hell Heaven is promised to those that love him and Hell is to be the portion of those that hate him Oh my dear Brethren Let us Love Christ with a love stronger then death so did Paul and the rest of the Apostles Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distresse or persecution or famine or nakednesse or perill or sword Rom. 8.35 Love is stronger than Death many waters cannot quench it neither can the floods drown it Cant. â— 6 7. XX. Twentiethly Be every day as serious in your preparation for death as if it were your last day All the dayes of my appointed time will I wait till my change come Job 14.14 This night thy soule shall be required of thee Luke 12.20 For what is your life it is even a vapour that appeareth a little time and then vanisheth away Jam. 4.14 Behold thou hast made my days as an hand-breadth and mine age is as nothing before thee Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity Psal 39.5 As no Saint knows when that time and hour shall be so no wicked man knows when it shall not be To live without fear of death is to dye living To labour not to dye is labour in vain Men are afraid to dye in such and such sins but not afraid to live in such and such sins Oh the Hell of horrors and terrors that attend those soules that have their greatest work to do when they come to dye therefore as you would be happy in death and everlastingly blessed after death prepare and fit your selves for death Did Christ dye for us that we might live with him and shall not we desire to dye and be
wicked men and Divels nor the better of wickednesse because wicked men love it and follow it and say 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 Mal. 3.14 But there is a time coming when ungodly men would be glad of some of that holinesse that now they despise but they shall be as far then from obtaining it as they are now from desiring it Let us therfore love holiness and hate wickednesse For without holiness no man shal see the Lord Heb. 12.14 Holinesse is the only way to happiness We must not dresse our selves for another world by the Looking-glasse of this world Thou shalt not follow a multititude to do evil Exod. 23.2 For many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the Grosse of Christ whose end is destruction whose god is their belly and whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things Phil. 3.18.19 The Children of God must be harmlesse in their actings and blamelesse in their walkings XVI Sixteenthly Prize the Word of God by the worth of it that you may never come to prize the Word of God by the want of it How sweet are thy words unto my tast Yea sweeter than honey to my mouth Psal 119 10. It is sweeter than the honey and the honey-comb Psal 19.10 Oh how do I Love thy Law Psal 119.97 I love thy Commandements above Gold yea above fine Gold The Law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of Gold and Silver Verse 72. As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby 1 Pet. 1.2 Let the Word of God dwell richly in you not only with you but in you Col. 3.16 Oh let us with Job esteeme the Word of God above our necessary food Job 23.12 and with David above our Gold and Silver The delight of a Saint in Gods Word over-tops all his creature delights Wicked men can delight in the Creatures of God but not in the Word of God they can delight in the gifts of God but not in the God of gifts Oh let us love the word and prize the word it is the Sun of the Christian world As the Sun is the light of the naturall world and without it the world is but a Chaos and a dungeon full of darkness so is the Word of God the light of the Spiritual world without which a Christian is an eternal night Take away the Scriptures and there will be no certain rule to direct men what is to be done or what is to be believed All false wayes are here discovered all sins are here forbidden all holiness is here commanded Here you may see every action and motion of your Lives as a step to Life or a step to Death as a step Heaven-ward or a step Hell-ward Oh therefore prize the word and obey the Word First It is a plain Word Secondly It is a perfect Word Thirdly It is a sure Word Fourthly It is an uniform Word Fifthly It is a powerful Word it is the savour of life unto life unto them that believe Oh Beloved let us read the Word and abide in the Word If ye continue in my Word then are ye my Disciples Joh. 8.31 The lesse now you hear the more doe you read that little Book of the Revelations and Daniel especially XVII Seventeenthly have a care of the Whore of Babylons golden Cup and sweet Wine And the Woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour and decked with Gold and precious stones and pearls having a golden Cup in her hand sull of abominations and filthinesse of her fornication Rev. 17.4 And the Serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the Woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood Rev. 12.15 Let me beseech you to have a care of this and keep your selves from this Be like the Virgin Spouse of Christ which followeth him wheresoever he goeth My Dear Friends keep your selves from four things First From false Teachers The Devil hath his Ministers as well as Christ Beware of false Prophets which come to you in Sheeps cloathing but inwardly they are ravening Wolves Math. 7.15 Yea they are greedy Doggs which can never have enough and they are Shepherds that cannot understand they all look to their own way every own for his gain from his quarter Isa 56.11 Oh false Teachers do not feed the Flock but fleece the Flock they do not convert but pervert they do not season but poison they do not edifie to salvation but edifie to damnation instead of curing souls they kill souls so they have but the peoples goods they care not though the Devil have their soules they are neither rightly called nor rightly qualified nor rightly ordained Their course is evil and therefore is not right Jer. 13.10 They are like Doggs and Wolves combining together to macerate the Flock of Christ Oh therefore keep your selves from Babylons Merchants that make Merchandize of the souls of men Rev. 18.13 Oh the sins of the Teachers are the Teachers of sins Secondly From false Doctrine But there were false Prophets also among the people even as there shall be false Teachers among you who privily shall bring in damrable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction 2 Pet. 2.1 Be not carried away with divers and strange Doctrines for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace not with meats which have not profited them that have been occupied therein Hebrews 13.9 I beseech you also in the Lord my Dear Brethren that you doe not carnally comply with nor superstitiously conform to the Inventions of men But stand fast in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free Gal. 5.1 Thirdly From false Worship If any man Worship the Beast and his Image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand the same shall drink of the Wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the Cup of his indignation and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy Angels and in the presence of the Lamb Rev. 14.9 10. Ye Worship ye know not what God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Iruth Joh. 4.23 24. As there be some in the World that worship false Gods so there be others that Worship the true God with false Worship They that worship the Beast worship the Devil Rev. 13. Oh meddle not with false worship with vain worship and will-worship worship God as he teacheth us to worship him Our work is to depend on Christs work our outward working depends on Gods inward working Fourthly From false Opinions from Errour and Sedition Let your hearts be upright your judgements sound and your lives holy Love the