the Glorified Saints who are the Princes of his Court and the Heavenly Nobility And the nature of the Work that is sublime and excellent becoming an Intellectual Soul that is Spiritual by Nature and Divine by Grace 'T is the most sweet and easy Service This will seem incredible to those who judg of the Delights of the Spirit by the Principles of the Flesh. In this Sense also the Carnal Man understands not the things of the Spirit Who can discover the Pleasure of Musick to one that was born Deaf or describe the Light of the Sun to one that was ever Blind who can see a Taste The Truth is the Life of Carnal Men has the appearance of Joy but not the reality And the Life of the Saints has a gloomy Melancholly appearance but has an inward cordial Joy incomparably above all the vain flashy Delights of the World A Carnal Man that serves divers Lusts and Pleasures is sometimes rack'd and vex'd betwixt contrary Passions Every Lust has a secret Sting with its Honey And as the corrupt Heart is its own Tempter so the guilty Conscience is its own Tormenter Besides the fearful apprehension of what shall follow in the next World when the revenging Justice of God and the cruel Malice of Satan shall concur to make the Sinner miserable is sufficient to poyson the sweetest Pleasures of Sin But the Life of a Saint is regulated by a Law that is always at Union in its Precepts He has Divine Assistance to enable him to perform it His gracious Master will pardon his Infirmities The Content of Conscience the Joy of the Holy Ghost that rewards our Duty here far exceeds all the Severity and Difficulty that the Carnal Nature complains of in obeying the Divine Law The Yoke of Christ is truly easy and his Burthen truly light His Service is the most profitable He will protect maintain and everlastingly reward his Servants Is there any Master so rich so liberal so faithful as Christ How often do the Slaves of the World complain that they have spent themselves in vain As Jacob reproached Laban Thou hast deceived me and changed my Wages ten times so may the Worldlings say whose Hopes have been often charm'd with the specious Promises of the World and deluded in the end Dear bought Experience at last convinces them of their woful Folly in seeking for Happiness where it was not to be found and neglecting to seek it where it was But the Servants of Christ have at the present their Fruit unto Holiness and in the end everlasting Life The Service of Christ here is Freedom Victory Empire and hereafter a triumphant Felicity I shall now address my self to the present Occasion which is to pay our last solemn Respects to the Memory of the Reverend Dr. Thomas Jacomb who was so universally known esteem'd and beloved in this City that his Name is a noble and lasting Elogy I shall not give an account of the time he spent in Cambridg where he was Fellow of Trinity Colledg and worthily esteemed in that flourishing Society But confine my Discourse to his Ministry in London Here the Divine Providence disposed him into the Family of a Right Honourable Person to whom he was deservedly very acceptable and whose real and most noble Favours conferred upon him were only to be equalled by his grateful and high Respects and his constant Care to promote serious Religion in her Family He was a Servant of Christ in the most peculiar and sacred Relation And he was true to his Title both in his Doctrine and in his Life He was an excellent Preacher of the Gospel and had a happy Art of conveying Saving-Truths into the Minds and Hearts of Men. He did not entertain his Hearers with Curiosities but with Spiritual Food He dispens'd the Bread of Life whose vital Sweetness and nourishing Vertue is both productive and preservative of the Life of Souls He preach'd Christ Crucified our only Wisdom and Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption His great design was to convince Sinners of their absolute want of Christ that with flaming Affections they might come to him and from his Fulness receive Divine Grace This is to water the Tree at the Root whereby it becomes flourishing and fruitful whereas the laying down of Moral Rules for the exercise of Vertue and subduing vicious Affections without directing Men to derive Spiritual Strength by Prayer and in the use of Divine Ordinances from the Mediator the Fountain of all Grace and without representing his Love as the most powerful motive and Obligation to Obedience is but pure Philosophy and the highest effect of it is but unregenerate Morality In short his Sermons were clear and solid and affectionate He dipp'd his Words in his Soul in warm Affections and breath'd a Holy Fire into the Breasts of his Hearers Of this many serious and judicious Persons can give Testimony who so long attended upon his Ministry with delight and profit His constant Diligence in the Service of Christ was becoming his Zeal for the Glory of his Master and his Love to the Souls of Men. He preach'd thrice a Week whilst he had Opportunity and Strength He esteemed his labour in his sacred Office both his highest Honour and his Pleasure At the first appearance of an Ulcer in his Mouth which he was told to be Cancerous he was observed to be not much concerned about it than as it was likely to hinder his Preaching that was his delightful Work and when he enjoyed Ease and after wasting Sickness was restor'd to some degrees of Strength he joyfully return'd to his Duty Nay when his Pains were tolerable Preaching was his best Anodyne when others fail'd And after his Preaching the reflection upon the Divine Goodness that enabled him for the discharge of the Service was a great relief of his Pains His Life was suitable to his Holy Profession His Sermons were Printed in a fair and lively Character in his Conversation He was an Example to Believers in Word in Conversation in Charity in Spirit in Faith in Purity He was of a staid Mind and temperate Passions and moderate in Counsels In the managing of Affairs of Concernment he was not vehement and confident not imposing and over-bearing but was receptive of Advice and yielding to Reason His compassionate Charity and Beneficence was very conspicuous amongst his other Graces His Heart was given to God and his relieving beneficent Hand to the living Images of God whose pressing wants he resented with tender Affections and was very instrumental for their Supplies And as his Life so his Death adorn'd the Gospel which was so exemplary to others and so gracious and comfortable to himself The Words of Men leaving the World make usually the deepest Impressions being spoken most feelingly and with least Affectation Death reveals the Secrets of Mens Hearts And the Testimony that dying Saints give how gracious a Master they have served how sweet his Service has been to their Souls has a
Liberty of the Sons of God By dying he destroyed him that had the Power of Death and triumphed over Principalities and Powers on the Cross. We have Freedom of Pardon and of Grace and the natural and necessary Consequence is that we cheerfully serve him that set us free This is expressed by Zacharias in his divine Thansgiving that being delivered from the Hands of our Enemies we might serve him withour Fear in Holiness and Righteousness all the Days of our Lives In what a holy Extasy does the Psalmist break forth O Lord truly I am thy Servant I am thy Servant and the Son of thy Handmaid thou hast broken my Bonds Yet this was but the rescuing of him from some temporal imminent Danger How much dearer and stronger Ingagements bind us to serve our Redeemer who has freed us from the Power as well as Punishment of Sin Love should correspond with Love As Love descends in Favours and Benefits it should ascend in Thankfulness and Duty St. Paul had such a lively apprehension of our Saviour's Love that it had an absolute Empire in his Heart and Life he expresses it in the most significant manner The Love of Christ constrains us because we thus judge that if one dyed for all then were all dead and that he dyed for all that they which live should not henceforth live to themselves but unto him which dyed for them and rose again The Word constraineth signifies properly to be intirely under the Power of another As the Prophets inspired by the Spirit of God only spake and acted according to his extraordinary Motions in them Thus the Love of Christ had such an absolute Empire in his Heart that his whole Life was spent as a vowed Oblation to his Service and Glory And whoever does not live a spiritual Life as the Servant of Christ never yet felt the Misery of this Bondage of Sin nor the sweetness of that Liberty which the Son of God has purchased for his People Lastly We are the Servants of Christ by solemn Covenant and the most sacred Ingagement In the Covenant of Grace God and Man are the Parties And such was his condescending Love that he came down from Heaven and assumed our Nature on purpose to seal his part in his own Blood the Promise of his pardoning Mercy of his sanctifying Spirit and his rewarding Goodness to all that with unfeigned Consent and firm Resolution will seal the Counterpart of their Duty and Obedience to him We are entred into his Family and the Relation of his Servants in Baptism and vowed universal Obedience to our new Master in defiance of all Temptations whether inviting or terrifying in the World For this reason Baptism is called the Answer of a good Conscience towards God We wear his Colours are distinguished from the Heathens by the Title of Christians We ratify in a most solemn manner our Covenant by the Seal of the Lord's Supper wherein we sacramentally eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour Now from hence arises a new Obligation to serve Christ He had a Soveraign Right in us antecedently to our dedicating our selves to his Service but from our voluntary Consent accrues another Title whereby he claims our perpetual Service The Law of God binds us without our Consent but our Consent increases the Obligation and if we are careless of our Duty and desert his Service we break double Bonds and are guilty not only of Disobedience to the Law but of perfidious Violation of our Covenant 'T is observable in the Parable of the Talents they were committed to Servants from whence a double Obligation springs to employ them with intire Fidelity for the Master's Profit A Merchant sends Goods to his Correspondent who is bound to make faithful returns upon the account of commutative Justice that reaches all but a Servant is under a special Obligation and if he wasts or neglects the improving his Master's Goods he does not only break this Trust reposed in him but violates the Duty of a Servant that obliges him to manage them according to his Master's Will and for his Profit The Account will be particular and exact for all our Talents at the last None so high that shall be excused none so mean that shall escape that strict Inquiry For he that knows all things shall be our Judg. The Servant that had but one Talent was called to account for it and condemned for neglecting to improve it He pretended that he hid it out of caution lest it should be lost knowing his Master's Severity but his vain excuse was retorted upon him to aggravate his Sin and Sentence Cast the unprofitable Servant into outer Darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth A Judgment as righteous as terrible For the Guilt of his Rebellion in not using his Talent according to his Master's Order and Unthankfulness in despising his Gifts and an unrighteous depriving of others of that Benefit that was by the Master's Will due to them 3. We are to consider the final Reward of Christ's Servants under two Heads 1. The Order of the Reward 2. The Excellency of it 1. The Order in giving it after the Service of Christ faithfully and constantly performed 'T is the revealed Will of God that all Men should honour the Son as they honour the Father The Son is the Heir of his Love and Glory and in serving him the Father is honoured and obeyed And as our Saviour reigns eternally in Heaven after the finishing his Work injoyned him by the Father so according to his Example we receive the Crown of Life after the course of our Obedience This is the Tenor of the Promise To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am sat down with my Father in his Throne The Order in dispensing the blessed Reward does not in the least eclipse the Honour of God's Grace or afford the least shadow of presuming upon any Merit in our best Services The Wages of Sin is Death 't is the just Desert of it but the Gift of God is eternal Life in Jesus Christ our Lord. The eternal Election of Persons to Life the preparing of them by sanctifying Grace for Glory and the actual possession of it is from the most free Favour of God Election is the first Fountain of Water springing up to eternal Life For what could induce God when all Mankind was equally involved in Guilt and Misery to choose some to be Vessels of Grace and of Glory but his soveraign Pleasure and pure Grace The Elect were in the Eye and Heart of God from Eternity appointed to supernatural Happiness but that free and insuperable Decree is accomplished according to the Law of Faith the unchangeable Order of the Gospel and that is that Heaven shall be the Reward of the faithful Servants of Christ not for the true Desert of their Service but the most gracious and rich Bounty of God The
What the Service of Christ implies In the general Notion to serve Christ implies Obedience to his Will as the Rule of our Actions with aims at his Glory as the End of them His Will revealed in the Scriptures is a Rule eminently and exclusively Eminently for it has all the Perfections of a Rule 'T is clear and compleat sufficient to make us wise to Salvation and to direct us in the Way everlasting 'T is called the holy acceptable and perfect Will of God 'T is a Rule Exclusively To speak strictly no Creature can be a Rule to another for they are all in an equal Line of Subjection to the Creator One may be a Guide or Governour to another according to the Rule of God's Word The Laws of Men cannot reach and bind the Conscience immediately but by virtue of God's Command nor unlimitedly but as they are consonant with his Laws Now a universal respect to the Will of Christ as the Rule of our Lives is truly to serve him And the aiming at his Glory in all our Desires and Endeavours either actually or habitually is an essential Ingredient in his Service The actual Intention in every performance is not absolutely necessary Many good Actions may proceed from the Influence of the habitual Intention An Arrow that is directed by aim may hit the Mark tho in its flight the Eye be turned off from it But the ultimate scope of our Life which ought to be often renewed in our Minds must be to please and glorify Christ according to the Apostle's Expression To me to live is Christ. I will more distinctly open these Things under the following Heads 1. The Church is a distinct Society from the World of which Christ is the Head and the State of Christianity is a high and holy Calling and all who are brought into it by the outward Ministry of the Word or in Conjunction with it by the internal Grace of the Spirit are obliged to the Faith and Obedience of the Gospel the same Duties and the same Rewards are common to all And living according to that Spiritual State in Godliness Righteousness and Sobriety is to serve Christ. Thus the Adoration the Honour the Homage we render to God the making him the sole Object of our highest Love an entire relyance on the Mediator for our Salvation an earnest desire to please him in all Things and an equal fear to displease him the exercise of compassionate beneficent Charity towards Men briefly a Holy and Heavenly Conversation is the universal Duty of Christ's Servants And that our Service be accepted it must be performed with Humility Zeal and Constancy With Humility and Dependance upon the Mediator for Divine Grace and Acceptance Every spiritual Act requires a Supernatural Power Not a holy Thought or Word springs from naked Nature Our Saviour tells his Disciples Without me you can do nothing As the Branches derive Life and active Sap from the Root that makes them flourishing and fruitful so from his sanctifying Spirit that was purchased by his meritorious Sufferings and is conferr'd by him in his Glory we are made fruitful in every good Work And in the beloved Son we are only accepted This general Service due to Christ must be done with Zeal We are commanded to be fervent in Spirit serving the Lord to work out our own Salvation as the Apostle with most lively Emphasis enforces the Duty Our most ardent Affections and active Powers are to be imploy'd in this work remembring that our Lives are short and uncertain Time flies upon the swiftest Wings That the Work is of infinite and everlasting Consequence in comparison of which our fervent Diligence in worldly Affairs is like the throwing of Straws and Feathers with our utmost strength remembring that we are always under the pure Eye of our Divine Master that will call us to an exact Account To be cold and careless in his Service disparages his Excellency and will defeat our hopes The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by violence With Constancy He delivered us from the Hands of our Enemies that we might serve him without Fear in Holiness and Righteousness before him all the Days of our Lives The travail of Faith continues till heavenly Vision be brought forth and the Labour of Love till the Reward be obtained I will not insist on this being to resume the consideration of it afterwards 2. In the various Conditions of Life in this World we are to serve Christ. The entire Man is the Object of God's tender Care and Providence and accordingly he has wisely ordered divers Conditions and special Callings of Men wherein they are engaged and employed for the Support and Comfort of themselves and the publick Good And as in a Circle from every Point of it a streight Line may be drawn to the Centre so in the vast Sphere of this World from every lawful Calling there may be a direct prosecution of our last and blessed End the Glory of God in conjunction with our Salvation There is no state of Life so low and mean but a Christian may so manage it as to excel in Holiness and consequently Honour Christ As Phidias that famous Sculptor expres'd his Art to Admiration not only in Gold and Marble and Ivory but in mean Materials in Wood or ordinary Stone The Apostle often inculcates this Lesson upon Servants to obey their Masters with Fidelity and Cheerfulness for ye serve the Lord Christ Col. 3.24 Eph. 6.7 It was to a mortal Man and if it might be of a perverse humour their Service was immediately addres'd but if from Conscience of their Duty to Christ and a direct intention to please him they performed it that Respect sweetened and ennobled the Service 'T is the Spirit and Perfection of Christianity to transform and elevate the lowest Actions it makes the Service of a Slave to be Divine Obedience which is the most free and noble Act of the reasonable Creature From hence the same Apostle enforces the Duties of Servants that they may adorn the Gospel of God our Saviour The faithful Discharge of their Service redoubles the Lustre of the glorious Gospel and recommended it to their Pagan Masters And 't is equally true that in every lawful Condition of Life when Men are conversant in the Duties proper to it with a respect to the Command of Christ when their civil Actions are ultimately resolved into his Glory they perform Religious Obedience This is enjoyned in that comprehensive Precept Whatsoever you do in word or deed do it in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ that is with a respect to his Will and for his Honour I shall only add that Diligence in our civil Callings must always be in Subserviency to the great End of our general Calling the Salvation of our Souls to which we are primarily and indispensably obliged The Life of a Christian is a walking with God and the way is in the performance of holy and civil Duties And
to the Apostle's arguing it is an impossible Event that Men should believe without hearing the Gospel and hear without a Preacher But the converting and saving of Souls is to be ascribed to God And thus in the Spiritual Husbandry the Occasions of Pride and Slothfulness are equally removed As the same Apostle saith He that plants is nothing and he that waters is nothing but God that gives the Increase This Consideration should be an Incentive in our Breasts to petition the God of all Grace that he will please to give Life and Efficacy to his Word In Jacob's Vision of the mysterious Ladder that reach'd from Heaven to Earth the Angels were ascending and descending An Emblem of a Minister's Duty they must first ascend in Prayer and Contemplation and then descend in preaching to the People 'T is observable that sometimes Men of excellent Accomplishments are blasted in their Ministry and others of meaner Abilities but of more holy Affections are very instrumental to save Souls The Reason is plain those who are most frequent and fervent in Prayer obtain the richest Abundance of the Spirit and are usually most blest with Success When the Apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost descending in the significant Emblem of fiery Tongues what an admirable Influence had their Preaching upon the obdurate Jews The first Sermon presently convinc'd and converted three thousand that were Murderers of our Saviour with the Stains of his Blood fresh upon them Tongues of Flesh are without vigor make no lasting Impression upon the Hearers Tongues of Fire have a divine Force and Operation to dispel the Ignorance and Errors of Mens Minds to quicken the dull Earth of their Affections to refine and purify their Conversations Lastly To sum up all in one general Consideration He serves Christ that employs all his Abilities and uses all Opportunities in the Circle of his Calling as was before spoken of for the Honour of our Saviour This is represented in the Parable of the Talents which the Master committed to his Servants different in their Number but to be faithfully improved for the Master's Interest Under the Talents are comprised all that we have and are whether in the Order of Nature and with respect to our civil State in the World all our intellectual and sensitive Faculties all our innate and acquired Endowments our Time our Health our Dignities and Power our Estates or Spiritual Blessings all the Gifts and Graces of the Spirit the Light of the Gospel all the Advantages we have of doing or receiving Good for our more excellent and immortal part the Salvation of our Souls Every one according to the Character wherewith he is invested in this World and according to his Capacity of doing Good must be diligent in the service of Christ. In what Relations soever Men are as Fathers Masters or Magistrates in a superiour Rank or as Friends and Associates in an equal Line and as they stand related to all Men they are either by Authority and Command or by Counsel and compassionate Care and Encouragements to promote with Diligence their Temporal and Eternal Welfare The Apostle's Advice with respect to Acts of Beneficence for relieving the Poor Let us do good unto all as we have opportunity is by just Analogy binding to all other Expressions of Love to direct to perswade Men to their Duty to comfort them in their Sorrows to assist them in all their Wants and Exigencies Briefly the Wisdom and Goodness of Christ's Servants consists in their faithful improving all their Talents for his Glory as our Saviour declares Who is that wise and faithful Servant and Well done good and faithful Servant 2. We are to shew upon what accounts our Service is due to Christ. If we seriously consider things it will be evident that by all the Titles of Justice and Gratitude by all Divine and Rational Rights we are obliged to serve him intirely and for ever In the present State there are four ways whereby Men become Servants Some are born Servants some are by ransom and purchase some by victorious rescue and deliverance others are Servants by Covenant and Agreement Now all these Titles concur in obliging us to serve Christ. 1. We are his Servants by Nature he has an original and unalianeble Right in us as our Creator God to satisfy the Inquiry of Moses defines himself I am All the intimate and eternal Attributes of the Deity are implyed in that short Title He is the only necessary Being by his Nature and consequently has all Perfections in himself and is the Fountain of all Being His Hands made us and fashioned us he breathed into us a living Soul All our Faculties and their Efficacy are from him He produces this evidence of his Right in us Remember O Jacob thou art my Servant I have formed thee The Psalmist declares Know ye that the Lord he is God 't is he that made us and not we our Selves we are his People and Sheep of his Pasture We owe to him an Obedience as ready unconstrain'd as the meekest Creatures pay to those that feed and conduct them His Perfections qualify him to be our absolute Master for his Will is always directed by infinite Wisdom 't is the Rule of Goodness and his Benefits in making and preserving us acquire to him a supreme Right in us Now if there be a Spark of Reason in our Minds 't is impossible to have the least Shadow of doubt that a derivative Being has a dependent Working and is to employ his active Powers according to the Will of his Maker as the Rule and his Glory as the ultimate End of all The Connexion is indissolvable for of him and through him and to him are all things The Psalmist ardently calls the whole World Bless the Lord all ye his Works in all Places of his Dominion The Angels who by Nobility of Nature are superiour to all his other Works yet are not sui juris at their own disposals but his Ministers that do his Pleasure They employ their excellent Strength in humble Obedience to his Commands they fly with incredible Swiftness to perform his Orders And in the visible World the Heavens in their Motion the Earth in its Seasons with an invariable Tenor observe the Law impress'd upon them in their Creation As the Psalmist speaks they continue this day according to thy Ordinance for all are thy Servants And if the Creatures without Reason and Sense are perfectly subject to his Will much more should Man who understands his Obligations to the Creator Now the Son of God made us and maintains our Beings by his powerful Providence from whence it follows we are under an eternal Obligation to serve and glorify him to the utmost of our Capacities His unexcited and most free Goodness decreed our Beings from everlasting and in time brought us into the World whereas he might have created innumerable other Persons for Omnipotence is without Bounds and left us in
Will and any Reservation of our own Lusts and Appetites He has told us No Man can serve two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other The Commands of Christ and Satan are absolutely inconsistent Obedience to the one is direct Rebellion against the other We may not capitulate with him and think by some good Works to compound for our Exorbitancies and that strictness in some Duties will excuse our Indulgence of some Sins He will not accept of bankrupt Obedience but strictly requires the payment of sincere Obedience to all his Commands The Apostle expresses our universal Duty in active and passive Obedience to Christ None of us liveth to himself no Man dyeth to himself for whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we dye we dye unto the Lord whether therefore we live or dye we are the Lords That is our Lives must be employed in his Service and our Deaths be at his Order and Disposal Is the external acknowledging of him and a specious Homage worthy his most precious Sufferings Can his Death excuse our Disobedience Can his Sufferings that purchas'd his Dominion to Rule us procure a Licence for us to rebel against his Commands Such a Thought is Blasphemy And our Consent must be entire that is we must serve him with all the freedom and force of our internal Faculties with all the diligence of our outward Members with all possible industry to advance his Glory 'T is not the empty Title of Lord nor the performing some slight Observances that will please Christ. The Commands of the Gospel frequently urge us to be fervent in our Heavenly Calling First seek the Kingdom of Heaven and the Righteousness thereof Strive to enter in at the strait Gate Take the Kingdom of Heaven by Violence Work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling Abound in the Work of the Lord Be rich in good Works Add to Faith Vertue to Vertue Knowledg and every Grace in degrees of Eminence Give all Diligence to make your Calling and Election sure We must walk circumspectly and exactly becoming the Dignity and Purity of our high and holy Calling We have many Duties to perform many Sins to subdue and mortify many Graces to perfect and the most intent application of Mind the most zealous industry is requisite for such great Ends. By Diligence and Culture our Souls will be as fruitful Gardens abounding in the Fruits of Righteousness but if we are remiss and careless they will be barren as the Sands of Africa We should with as much Zeal and Vigour serve Christ as ever we served our Lusts those imperious Exactors of our Time and Strength and Affections 'T is the Proportion St. Paul enforces As you have yielded your Members Servants and Weapons to Vncleanness so yield your Members Weapons and Servants of Righteousness But how many that have made a Trade of Sin are as careless in Religion as if it were a slight Recreation How many please themselves with a Mediocrity in Religion and pretend if they be but saved they are content They do not aspire to excellent degrees of Glory nor to higher degrees in the favour of God and are luke-warm and remiss in his Service presuming what they do will be sufficient to secure their Souls But was ever any Person so deserted of Reason that in Worldly Trade when he might gain a hundred Pounds he is contented with ten Besides this Disposition and Language is of one that principally desires Heaven to escape Hell and all that he does Religiously is the effect of servile Fear which is no Saving Grace For were it not for the terrible Punishment such a Person would securely commit the Sin Briefly as the Lord Christ has sav'd us to the uttermost we should serve him to the uttermost We should with such Alacrity and Diligence with such willing Hearts and Earnestness serve him on Earth as he is served in Heaven If we had the Powers of the Angels yet our Service would be short of our Obligations 3. Our Service of Christ must be upon firm Principles and permanent Reasons to our Lives end Sometimes there are Desires and Resolutions kindled in the Breast and the Carnal Passions blow so violently as to quench them Like some Cursed Women that by violent Potions destroy the living Conception in their Bowels Others in the Sunshine of Prosperity will adhere in Profession to Christ but when Storms arise they withdraw themselves Others begin in the Spirit run well for a time but end in the Flesh. Our Saviour has spoke the doom of all such No Man having put his Hand to the Plough and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God He is not worthy the Honour of being Christ's Servant and he will quickly find the fearful Consequences of Christ's Rejection in the next World We read of Shimei that upon Solomon's confining him to Jerusalem with the threatning of Death if he went forth And Shimei said to the King The Saying is good As my Lord the King hath said thy Servant will do What an easy Confinement was it to remain in the Holy City where all the Tribes came twice a Year and when they returned left their Hearts behind them It seems to be a Priviledg and Favour rather than a Punishment Yet a petty Interest drew him out and for the Violation of his Promise he lost his Life This is a representation of those who for Temporal Respects desert the Service of Christ violate their Promises to him and leave the New Jerusalem the City of the Living God Our Saviour will accept of none into his Service but upon his own Terms Whoever will be my Disciple let him take up his Cross and follow me Who would not be ambitious to be the Copy of such a Divine Original We should rejoyce if call'd forth to sharp Tryals for his Name as having an occasion to give the clearest Testimony of our Superlative Love and intire Fidelity to our Blessed Lord. To conclude the Argument Let us be persuaded to dedicate our selves wholly to the Service of Christ and to live according to our Dedication This should be the early act of the reasonable Creature for is it equal to put him off with the Reliques of the World to whom the First-Fruits the best of all we are and have is due But if we have been careless of our Duty let us not any longer defer to make a voluntary Consecration of our Lives to his Glory Remember that Life is but a Spans breadth our opportunity of serving Christ is short and the omission of it is irreparable What is there to recommend a Service to us but is to be found in the Service of Christ 'T is the most honourable Service whether we consider the Divine Majesty of our Master who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords The Quality of our fellow-Fellow-Servants the Angels of Light and
mighty Influence upon those about them Now the Deportment and Expressions of this Servant of Christ in his long languishing Condition were so holy and heavenly that though his Life has been very useful yet he more glorified God dying than living When he was summoned by painful Sickness his first Work was to yield himself with resigned Submission to the Will of God When a dear Friend of his first visited him he said I am in the use of Means but I think my appointed time is come that I must dye If my Life might be serviceable to convert or build up one Soul I should be content to live but if God hath no work for me to do here I am let him do with me as he pleaseth But to be with Christ is best of all Another time he told the same Person That now it was visible it was a determined case God would not hear the Prayer to bless the means of his Recovery therefore desired his Friend to be willing to resign him to God saying It will not be long before we meet in Heaven never to part more and there we shall be perfectly happy there neither your Doubts and Fears nor my Pains and Sorrows shall follow us nor our Sins which is best of all After a long continuance in his languishing Condition without any sensible Alteration being asked how he did he replied I lie here but get no ground for Heaven or Earth Upon which one said Yes in your Preparations for Heaven O yes said he there I sensibly get ground I bless God An humble Submission to the Divine Pleasure was the habitual Frame of his Soul Like a Dye that thrown high or low always falls upon its Square thus whethe hope of his Recovery were raised or sunk he was content in every Dispensation of Providence His Patience under sharp and continuing Pains was admirable The most difficult part of a Christian's Duty the sublimest degree of Holiness upon Earth is to bear tormenting Pains with a meek and quiet Spirit Then Faith is made perfect in Works and this was eminently verified in his long Trial. His Pains were very severe proceeding from a cancerous Humour that spread it self in his Joynts and preyed upon the tenderest Membranes the most sensible Parts yet his Patience was invincible How many restless Nights did he pass through without the least murmuring or Reluctancy of Spirit He patiently suffered very grievous things through Christ that strengthned him and in his most afflicted Condition was thankful But what Disease or Death could disturb the blessed Composure of his Soul which was kept by the Peace of God that passes all Vnderstanding Such was the Divine Mercy he had no Anxieties about his future State but a comfortable Assurance of the favour of God and his Title to the Eternal Inheritance He had a substantial double Joy in the reflection upon his Life spent in the faithful Service of Christ and the Prospect of a blessed Eternity ready to receive him This made him long to be above He said with some Regret Death flies from me I make no haste to my Father's House But the wise and gracious God having tried his faithful Servant gave him the Crown of Life which he hath promised to those that love him His Body that poor Relick of Frailty is committed in trust to the Grave His Soul sees the Face of God in Righteousness and is satisfied with his Likeness The Hope of this should allay the Sorrows of his dearest Friends When the Persons we love and have lived with are to be absent a few Months it is grievous but at the last lamenting Separation all the Springs of our tender Affections are opened and Sorrows are ready to overwhelm us But the stedfast Belief of the Divine World and that our Friends are safely arrived thither is able to support our fainting Spirits and refresh all our Sorrows The truth is we have reason to lay to heart the Displeasure of God and our own Loss when his faithful Ministers are taken away When the Holy Lights of Heaven are Eclips'd it portends sad Things When the Saints are removed from Earth to Heaven their Souls freed from the interposition of their dark Bodies they truly live but we that remain dye being deprived of their Holy Lives their Examples that are a preservative from the Contagion of the World A due Sense of God's afflicting Providence is becoming us But always allayed with hope of our being shortly reunited with our dearest Friends for ever in the better World O that our serious Preparations our lively Hopes and the Presence of the great Comforter in our Souls may encourage us most willingly to leave this lower World so full of Temptations and Trouble to ascend into the World Above where perfect Peace full Joy and the most excellent Glory are in Conjunction for ever FINIS Rom. 12.11 Luke 1.74 75. Et si adhuc viliorum materiarum obtulisses fecisset quod ex illa fieri optimum possit Sic sapiens virtutem si licebit in divitiis explicabit si minus in exilio Quamcunque fortunam acceperit aliquid ex illa memorabile efficiet Senec. Ep. 78. Tit. 2. Rom. 13. Acts 26.18 Col. 1.12 Rom. 1. Phil. 1. 2 Tim. 2.14 Mat. 13.52 Mat. 24.45 1 Tim. 4.14 15. Cui ideo reor veteres pagani tam speciosae appellationis titulum dederunt ut quia in eo non erat numen vel nomen esset Et quia non habebat aliquam ex potestate virtutem haberet saltem ex vocabulo divinitatem Salv. de Provid l. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hippoc. Aphor. Lib. 6. 2 Tim. 4.1 2. Col. 1.28 Acts 20.24 Miser ego semper aeger caloribus impatientiae Confiteor ad Dominum Deum satis temere me si non etiam impudenter de patientia componere ausum cui praestandae idoneus omnino non sim. Esa. 44.12 Psal. 103. Dan. 9. Psal. 118.181 Idoneus sui operis aestimator magno pretio nos redemit Arnob. Luke 11.21 Acts 18.5 1 Pet. 3.12 Rev. 3.21 Deut. 7.8 Col. 3. Nam ut mens per diem veris visionibus avocatur ne dormiat ita falsis nocte ne excitetur Lactant. de Opific Dei c. 18. Quae in ipsis visceribus medicaments epotis Originem futuri hominis extinguunt paricidium faciant antequam pariant Minus Fel. 1 King 2.38 Jussisti Domino sic est ut poena sit sibi omnis inordinatus animus Aug.