in that way that it hath been walking in all this while though never so pleasant a way though never so sutable to the flesh the Lord forbid that I should go on in that way that I have walked in There 's a stop caused Secondly The Lord manifests to the soul the way of life what the way of life is This stop of the soul is just like to that we reade of Saul that when he was posting on in the way of death there did shine a light round about him and caused him to stop so that he could go no further But then I say the Lord manifests to the soul what the way of life is In the 30. of Isa 21. And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying This is the way walk ye in it Oh! how many are there that can tell this by experience that they have been walking in the waies of death of eternal misery and blest themselves in those waies But there was a blessed time wherein God caused them to hear a voice as it were behind them saying This is the way walk-in it you are out of the way but here 's the way of life if you would not perish eternally here 's the way walk in this way It is a secret voice that the Lord causes to be heard in the soul but yet a powerful voice perhaps you have come to the Word and have heard what the way of life is but yet that never hath given a turn to your hearts but when God would have the soul to come in to walk with him he causes the soul besides the outward voice of the Word to hear a voice behind in secret and yet powerfully saying Oh! this is the way Oh thou poor soul that are wandring from the way of life and art going on in the way of eternall death Come in come in here 's another way This is the way walk in it And so the Lord gives a mighty turn to the soul by that secret voice Thirdly The Lord makes peace between himself and a sinner He doth reveal the doctrine of Reconciliation For a sinner at first when he comes to have his eyes enlightened when he comes to know himself and to know God Certainly God at first cannot but appear terrible to a sinner that hath walked in the waies of death formerly and though I see my way to be dangerous and I see another way to be good Oh but God is terrible to me and how can two walk together that are not at peace In Amos 3. 3. Can two walk together except they be agreed saith the text Oh there is naturally an enmity between Man and God every man in the world is naturally an enemy to God and can there be two walking together unless they be agreed Oh! you that are going on in the waies of enmity with God surely you are strangers to this way of walking with God can you walk with God before you are agreed no soul can have this testimony given of it that he hath walked with God but such a soul as is reconciled to him God doth manifest that in some measure to the soul before it's able thus to walk with him as here Enoch did and certainly Enoch came to walk with God by this for the holy Ghost in the forenamed place of the 11. of the Heb. saith It was by faith that he did it and without faith it 's impossible to please God that 's as much as without faith it 's impossible to walk with God The holy Ghost means the same thing when the Apostle saith that he did walk by faith and without faith it 's impossible to please God therefore there must be a work of faith to bring the soul to be reconcil'd and that there may be an agreement between the soul and God before it can walk with him That 's the third thing Fourthly Though there be peace made so that God doth not appear as an enemy against the soul yet there may be some strangness after peace made There was peace made between David and Absalom David was passified towards him yet he would not see his face for a while he would have been gone from his presence there should not be that converse with him in that familier way as a child with the father for a while So though there be peace made yet there 's requir'd a further work of God for the souls walking with him that is That God should render himself in loveliness and fulness of mercy and sweetness and delightfulness unto the soul that there may be a familiarity between the soul and God It 's one thing for me to know God is not as an enemy to me that he doth not intend wrath and misery against me and another thing for the soul to apprehend the sweet delightful countenance of God and the imbracements in the arms of his mercy and those condescentions of God that he is willing to come and deal with us as a friend with his friend in a familiar way Therefore that 's a fourth work the Lord is pleased to manifest himself to the soul in the sweetness of his love and his delight Not only thou art that soul that shalt not be damn'd that shalt eternally be sav'd but thou art the soul that my soul delights in thou art one that I take as my friend and that I love to deal with in all sweetness and to bring into a familiarity with my self This is that that is manifested to the soul for the bringing of it to this walking with God that here the holy Ghost speaks of concerning Enoch Fifthly The Lord is pleased to send his holy Spirit to guide the soul To himself and to guide it in walking With himself In the 8. Rom. it 's said All that are the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God As a father when he walks with the child he gives him his hand and leads along the child with himself when any comes to be a child of God God puts forth his hand and leads him and so they walk together As have you not seen somtimes a father and child walking in the garden the father puts forth his finger and the child takes hold of it and so walks along with him even so the Lord puts forth his Spirit into a gracious soul and God and the soul thus walks together being led by the Spirit of God in the 35. Isa 8 9. there you may see what the Lord speaks of the way of the redeemed ones And an high way shall be there and a way and it shall be called the way of holiness the unclean shall not pass over it but it shall be for those the wayfaring men though fools shall not err therein Though they be very weak and fools yet they shall not err therein And no Lyon shall be there nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon it shall not be found there but the redeemed shall walk there that 's the
Not only to do the same thing to make the will of God to be the rule of it But to have the same ends that God hath What 's the end that God hath in all his waies Surely it is that his blessed Name may be magnified that his glory may be set forth I 'le drive on the same design that shall be the great design of my life it 's that that my soul shall aim at as the highest end of all things and all things shall be subordinate to this end even The glory and honor of God it 's that that God aims at and therefore that which I 'le aim at thus the soul goes along with God as now A man may be said to go along with another man when they do both drive on the same designs Oh! this is a blessed thing indeed We shall speak to that hereafter but the very opening what it is shews much of the excellency of it and I beseech you as you go along examine your own hearts see whether by the very mentioning of these things you be not strangers to God examine by the workings of God in bringing your souls to walk with him or otherwise by the way of the soul in eying God in behaving its self as in the presence of God in making the Will of God to be its rule and in driving on the design that God doth Walking with God is the observing the administrations of God and suting the soul to them Fifthly It is the observing of the several administrations of God and the suting of the soule to the several administrations of God in the world I open that thus God sometimes seems to work in one way sometimes in another way now the soul that walks with God observes which are the several waies and administrations of God in the world and let me saith the soul labor to sute my heart with them that 's thus sometimes the Lord is in a way of judgments in the world heavie and dreadful afflictions yea sometimes against his own Saints and People then let me sute my heart according to this Oh Lord we will wait upon thee in the waies of thy judgments saith the Church in Isa Are we under Gods way of judgments in a way of afflictions Lord we will sute our selves to honor thee there according to that way we will labor to exercise those graces that are sutable to these administrations of thine And Lord art thou in a way of mercy we will sute our selves accordingly and labor to draw forth and exercise our graces that are sutable to those waies of thine And art thou in a way of affliction in my family or in a way of mercy Lord I will labor to exercise those graces that are sutable to those waies of thine This is to walk with God As when we walk with a man if he turn this way then I set my self to go with him and if he turns another way then I sute my self to go with him that way so though the waies of God be never so variōus yet the soul that walks with God is sutable to those waies of God Oh this is a great Art a great Mystery to sute a mans self to these several administrations of God in the world You shall have some that if God go in a way of mercy Oh there they can bless praise God and they think that this is to walk with God but if God turns his back upon thee and takes away thy choisestearthly comfort it may be thy deerest yoke-fellow so comes in a way of affictions how canst thou sute with Gods waies then When God was in a way of mercy then my exercise was in joy and thanksgiving and speaking good of his Name but now the Lord is in a way of afflictions now I exercise faith on God now I exercise patience now I exercise Christian wisdom to know what good I can get out of this hand of God that what courses soever God takes yet still a Christian hath several graces to exercise in several conditions and that not only while God is in a smooth path the soul can exercise Joy and Thanksgiving speaking good of his Name But let God go into a rugged path of very great afflictions yet the soul doth sute it's self unto God according to his several administrations this is to walk with God Walking with God is To have a Holy Dependance upon God Opened in Four Particulars Sixthly Walking with God it is To have a holy dependance upon God in all his waies For one to live in a holy dependance upon God for these Four things First In a holy dependance upon God for Direction Oh lead me in the way of thy truth When a Christian looks up to God and depends upon him in the constant course of his life depends upon him for direction Oh Lord teach me thy way Lord lead me in the way of everlasting life Lord send forth thy light and thy truth to guide me Thou shalt be my guide even unto death when the soul dare not go one step further then it sees God going before it and therefore it saith Lord lead me guide me I beseech you examine as you go along can you say that in the course of your lives this you find That you walk in a holy dependance upon God for guidance and direction in every step whatsoever you meddle with yet your walk is thus in a holy dependance upon God for direction in your bufiness and according as the business is of lesse or greater conscequence the heart works more after God for guidance and direction for that business But now the men of the world they are afraid that God should lead them into hard paths into ttoublesom waies and therefore they are shy of Gods Guidance this is the way of wicked hearts I say they are shy of the guidance and direction of God but a gracious heart saith let God lead me and let the way be what it will The wicked are guided by their own thoughts by their own counsels by the examples of other men what 's most sutable to their own ends but the way of the Saints is this Lord guide me Secondly Their holy dependance upon God it is for protection to protect them in what they do Lord I am in the way that thou hast guided me into I may meet with much trouble and affliction but Lord do thou protect me do thou defend me in this way of thine As the child walking with the father if he hears any noise that doth scare him he looks up to the father and depends upon his father to be protected So when a child of God shall in all his waies walk in a holy dependance upon God for protection this is to walk with God Thirdly The soul depends upon God for assistance in any thing that it undertakes Lord this is the work that thou callest me to Oh let me have strength from thy self in
the place where his friend is to go and is sorry that the walk is so short and still desires to converse with his friend So I say this is the difference for all the world in Professors there are some that have some touch of conscience and they see there is no way for them if they have not mercy from God but they must perish and perhaps they will be seeking of God and following of God and crying to God for mercy but if they have not comfort according as they expect they turn away from him and seek for comfort other waies But a gracious heart that is indeed turned to God it doth not only seek to God for mercy for its self that it might be delivered from misery but it sees an excellency in God and finds sweetness in Converse and Communion with God and loves the presence of God and this is the ground of the constancy of his heart in the waies of holiness Because it loves so much of the presence of God and Communion with God it is for God himself that the soul is in those waies and such a one will hold out in the waies of God Indeed one that meerly serves God in a servile way and seeks himself only in seeking of God such a one I say will be ready to turn aside but where the soul walks with God out of a sence of Communion Sweetness and Good that there is in Communion with God such a one goes on in a constant way to the end and is not tir'd in the waies of God as others are You know If you be walking from place to place if you have good company with you you are not weary you account the journy nothing why because you have good company and especially if you have good discourse all along too so it is with Christians Oh the waies of God come to be very easie to them upon this ground and so they hold out CHAP. V. Twelve several Excellencies of walking with God Opened THe next thing is The Excellency that there is in walking with God The first Excellency And this may be in the first place The walking with God Oh there is an Excellency in it If it were only this That it makes the waies of God easie All the waies of God how easie are they to the soul that knows what this means Of walking with God That hath God in his company continually Oh the easiness that there is in the waies of God! it 's that that is worth a world and it 's a very grievous and sad condition that men and women are in who have convinced consciences and dare not wilfully go out of Gods waies but are alwaies drooping and find them grievous and tedious to them But it is because they have not communion with God in them they are in them meerly upon necessity because they ought to be in them But the Saints find the waies of God more easie to them for they have alwaies good company with then When I awake I am alwaies with thee saith David The very nights are pleasant unto them when he awakes still he is with God There 's many men and women cannot lie alone those that cannot sleep when they awake if they have no company with them the nights are tedious but if they cannot sleep and yet when they awake they have some with them the nights are not so tedious to them When I awake I am ever with thee saith David concerning God That 's the first thing for the Excellency of this walking with God The second Excellency But Secondly This walking with God it is most honorable Oh 't is an honorable thing to walk with God Attendance upon Kings and Princes we know is honorable The Maids of Honor that do but attend upon a Queen it 's a great honor the attendance upon a King yea upon Noble Men But now not only attendance but free converse with Princes that 's more than meer attendance to walk with an Emperour as a friend up and down in his Galleries in his Gardens in his Orchyard So it is with the Saints Abraham is called Gods friend You are not my servants but my friends saith Christ God admits the soul to come as a friend and to have converse with him Oh! this is honorable They were accounted blessed that were in the presence of Solomon that were but his servants to wait at his Table much more to sit at his Table to see the order of Solomons Table Then to be alwaies with God and walking with him what a blessed and honourable thing is this It is the honor of Angels themselves that they do but see the face of God the Angels that are in Heaven do behold the face of God what honor is it then for Christians to be alwaies walking with God Honor 't is that that is the great honor and happiness of the Church when she shall be in her glory Mark how Christ doth expresse himself in Revel 3. 4. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments What 's promised to them and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy There shall be a glory put upon them and they shall walk with me for they are worthy The walking with Christ that 's the greatest honor that Christ could promise unto them And so in the 14. of the Revelation it 's said of those that stood upon Mount Sion with the Lamb having harps in their hands and singing of a new song in the 4 verse These are they which were not defiled with women for they are virgins these are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes these were redeemed from among men being the first fruit unto God and to the Lamb. They follow the lamb whithersoever he goes This is the honor that is put upon them Oh the walking with God it is most honorable The third Excellency Thirdly The Excellency of walking with God consists in this In the blessed satisfaction that the soul must needs have in walking with him to walk with life its self with glory with happinesse and that in a constant way this must needs satisfie the soul must I say bring inconceivable satisfaction and peace unto the soul thus walking with Him You know what Philip said Let us see the Father and it sufficeth us What would it suffice Philip to see God Oh then not only to see him but to walk and be continually with him People will run many times but to have the fight of a great man but to be admitted into the same room and to walk with him this is more in the 33. of Exod 14. And he said my presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest God promised to Moses that his presence should be with him and then when the presence of God is with the soul Oh the rest that the soul hath by the presence of God! Oh the lettings out of joy that there must needs
message of death come to him in the 38. of Isa Remember O Lord saith he how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart he turned his face to the wall and the text saith he wept it was for joy as if he should say Lord it 's true there hath been many infirmities in me but Lord I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart as if he should say I may boldly challenge and I do come now Lord to challenge the good of the Covenant that thou wouldst remember me according to the riches of thy mercy for Lord I have walked with thee as if he should say Lord was not that the thing that thou didst require of my father Abraham why Lord I have walked before thee and I have been upright in some measure therefore Lord be a God alsufficient to me Lord remember thy Covenant be a God to me be All in All to me because of this Oh my brethren Is not this worth ten thousand thousand worlds That the soul may be able to appeal to God that it hath done that which is a special thing that is requir'd in the Covenant on our parts and so upon it may have the assurance of Gods performing the Covenant on his part The Fifth Excellency And then the fifth thing is There is a blessed safety in walking with God As in the 23. Psal 4. there see the Prophet David that was a man much exercised in walking with God saith he Yea though I walk through the vally of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff doth comfort me I am walking with thee and though I be walking in the shadow of death I 'le therefore fear no evil Now is it not a blessed thing to be in safety alwaies with God And in the 138. Psal 7. saith David Though I walk in the midst of trouble thou wilt revive me thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies and thy right hand shall save me No matter what the trouble be so God be with the soul he that walks uprightly walks surely in the 10. of the Proverbs 9. Whereas it 's said of the wicked that they walk upon a snare continually in the 18. of Job 8. The wicked walk upon a snare The waies of wickednesse that you walk in they may seem to be pleasant and comfortable to you but certainly you are upon a snare and you may be catch'd and undone for ever though perhaps thou hast escap'd all this while yet thou art in continual dangers Every step I say thou goest on in the waies of sin thou art upon a snare and in danger to be catch'd to thy eternal destruction But he that walks uprightly he walks surely and this is a great excellency for a man to walk surely I know I am in my way for I am with God A child doth not fear what way soever it goes in if he can but see his father Now the soul may know surely I am in the right way I am with God and I am safe what ever danger comes for I am walking with God The Sixth Excellency The sixth Excellency that there is in walking with God is this From hence the soul comes to enjoy a holy boldness and a holy familiarity with God It may be when the soul comes first to God the presence of the great God strikes some fear there is some dread of the Majesty of God But when the soul hath used to converse with him there is a holy familiarity that the soul hath with God and a holy boldness it can have free liberty to say any thing to him now and this is the reason that some now that never knew what the spirit of prayer meant and what the liberty of the soul in opening its self to God meant before yet when they have come to be acquainted with the waies of God Oh what liberty have they then in their spirits to open their hearts to God yea they can open their hearts to God as one friend to another I remember it 's said of Luther that when ever he was praying he could speak to God as to his friend In Job 22. 21. Acqusint now thy self with Him and be at peace The soul comes to have an acquaintance with God Oh what a phrase is here What acquaint our selves with God that God should be our acquaintance I God is willing to be the acqaintance of the poorest Christian in the world Poor men and women and Servants and others that perhaps some rich men that is by them wil scorn their acquaintance but they account them rather as it 's spoken of some vile people fit to be set with the dogs of the flock yea perhaps though they be poor godly people yet they think it too much debasing themselves to have any kind of acquaintance with them Well but the infinite God though he is so high that he humbles himself to behold the very things that are done in Heaven yet this God thinks not much to be one of thy acquaintance to be of the acquaintance of any one that hath any godliness in them when we see a great man a man of parts and honor come to some poor man and shake him by the hand we will say Look what an humble man is this that will be so familiar with the meanest of all Oh! now acquaint thy self with God This is the blessedness of walking with God the soul comes to have a familiar converse with God and a holy boldness The seventh Excellency The seventh benefit or Excellency that there is in walking with God is this The Communication of Gods secrets He that walks with God shall come to know the mind of God It 's impossible for a man to take delight in walking with another but he must discover secrets from him there 's never any true friendship where there is a closeness of spirit But where there is true friendship they will take one another and walk together and open their hearts each to other this is comfortable walking indeed Thus it is in walking with God this is the blessing of it such souls they have the secrets of God discovered to them they come to know much of the mind of God though they are weak in their natural parts yet I say they come to know much of Gods mind because they are with God We reade in the 13. of Proverbs 20. vers saith the holy Ghost there He that walketh with wise men shall be wise Then what shall he be that walks with God Surely if there be wisdom to be learned from our walking with wise men then there is wisdom to be learn'd in walking with God 'T is from hence that men that are weak in parts they come to have such excellent knowledg in the great mysteries of the Gospel and you wonder at it you see such a mean servant that a while ago could understand
about me to lift up me as the highest good but if there be any thing else that thy soul is set upon as thy highest good that 's thy God and it 's worse than bowing the knee thou bowest thy soul to that thing now the meaner any thing is that we make a God of to our selves the more vile is the Idolatry as when the Egyptians worshiped divers sorts of gods they were accounted the most vile Idolaters whereas other Heathens worshipped more excellent things the Sun Moon and Stars the Egyptians worshiped Dogs Cats Onions and vile things and therefore their Idolatry was vile So the viler any thing is that a man or woman sets their hearts upon the more vile is their Idolatry as for a man that should set his heart upon unclean lusts now to make that to be a god the satisfying of those lusts that 's abominable and to make any earthly thing to be a god to us that 's most vile for of all the things of the works of creation that God hath made the Earth is the meanest 't is the basest and lowest thing and hath the least beauty in it in it's self and it is the most dul and meanest element of all and to make earthly things to be a God to you this is most vile Object You will say for this Idolatry What is there in it Answ There is Two particulars to open the Evil of Idolatry or Earthly-mindednesse First The Evil of your Idolatry it is in this You do depart from God in letting out of your hearts to these things you do as it were go off from God and renounce the protection of God the goodnesse and mercy of God you leave it all by this In the 4. chap. of Hofea 12. verse They are said To go a whoring from under their God It 's a notable phrase that is by going to Idols they did go off from the protection of God whereas while they were worshiping the true God they then were under the protection of God but when they went to Idols they went from under their God from under his protection So when thou settest thy heart upon God and liftest up the infinite First being of all things as the chief good to thy soul thou art under the influence of this Grace and Mercy but when thou doest depart from him and makest other things to be thy Cheef good thou goest from under his protection and from his good and mercy Secondly God is slighted and contemn'd in this When thou choosest rather to make the earth to be thy God than the infinit blessed first-being of all things As a man that doth dispise his wife and it were abominable sin if he should choose to go to a Queen though the most beautifullest woman in the world and forsake his wife but to leave a Queen or Empress that were the beautifullest woman upon the earth and to have the heart cleave to a base dunghil-raker were not this a great contempt to the Queen that were so beautiful Yet so it is when thou doest forsake the blessed eternal God as thy chief good and choosest the things of the earth for the truth is the earth is the fink of all the creatures of Gods making and for thee to leave the most blessed and Eternal One and to make that thy god it must needs be a very vile and abominable thing and therefore the Prophet Jeremiah in speaking of this Idolatry he cals the Heavens and the Earth to be amazed at it Jeremiah 2. 12. Be astonished O ye Heavens at this and be horrible afraid be ye very desolate saith the Lord Why what 's the matter For my people have committed two evils They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters and hewed them out Cisterns broken Cisterns that can hold no water So 't is here thou forsakest the fountain of living waters the blessed God and thy heart cleaves to the dust and seekest thy contentment and happinesse in cisterns that can hold no water let the Heavens be astonished at this horrible wickedness The Third EVIL Thirdly Earthly-mindedness it's enmity against God Thou wouldst be loth to be found an enemy against God certainly it 's a truth and it will be found another day That an earthly-minded man or woman is an enemy to God yea the Scripture makes it to be enmity in the very Abstract James 4. 4. Know ye not that the love of the world is enmity to God Observe this for there 's very much in it if God would be pleased to make us to lay it to heart you will find it by experience that earthly-mindednesse doth make men to be enemies to that that is spiritually good therefore well might the holy-Ghost say 't is enmity to God for whatsoever is enmity to any thing that is spiritually good it is enmity to God so much as my heart or any of your hearts are against any thing that is spiritual so much mine or any of your hearts are enemies to God Now here in the very Text these earthly-minded men are made enemies to the Crosse of Christ that is enemies to the spiritual preaching of Christ and holding forth Christ Indeed If they would have mixt Christ and Circumcision together then they would have been content with it but now this spiritual way of preaching Christ and being justified by faith alone and Christian Religion in the purity of it was that that was not sutable to their carnal hearts and therefore they were enemies to it Oh! earthly-mindednesse doth make us enemies to spiritual things where have you greater enemies unto the things of God unto spiritual things unto the Ministry of the word as we had occasion to hint and to the work of Gods grace upon the hearts of men and women no greater enemies unto these things than earthly minded men men that savour the things of the earth that can go up and down and care not if they can but load themselves with thick clay grow rich in the world and fare deliciously every day with Dives make provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof there is an antipathy in their spirits against Jesus Christ and al goodnesse The Fourth EVILL Then Fourthly There is scarce any disposition more opposite more contrary to the work of grace to the work of godlinesse in a mans own heart than earthly-mindednesse 't is so exceeding crosse to the nature of grace that it may as well put men or women to be at a stand and put them upon examination whether there be any grace or no in their hearts if earthly-mindednesse prevail as almost any other thing if God should suffer your corruptions to prevail over you so as you should break forth into some outward notorious sins then it may be you would begin to think can this stand with grace and how can that stand with such workings as I have had before have not I cause to fear that I am but an Hypocrite a rotten professor But now this
mans nature upon him and died for man Surely there must be some other manner of things that are the fruit of the purchase of the blood of Christ than the things of the earth Oh my brethren had you but this setled upon you that certainly God hath great glorious high and wonderful thoughts about man-kind this would be a mighty means to take off your hearts from the things of this earth when thou hast thy heart grovelling here Oh but are these the things that God made man for had not God higher thoughts in making of the children of men do not I find in the word that when man was made there was a kind of Divine consultation with the Trinity Come let Vs make man according to our own Image God had other thoughts of man than of other things And if man were made for nothing else but meerly to dig in the earth Certainly the thoughts of God about man have been but very low and mean as I may so speak with holy reverence for these are but low and mean things here that men enjoy in the earth The Fourth Consideration As God hath higher thoughts concerning man so the dignity of mans Nature the rational soul of man is of too high a birth for to have the strength of it spent about the things of the earth God breathed into man his soul It 's I may say a kind of a Divine spark the soul of man it is of the same nature with Angels a spirit as Angels are the thoughts of the minds the Faculties and Powers of the soul are more precious things than to be powred out as water upon the ground If a man have a Golden Mill he would not use it only to grind dirt straws and rotten sticks in The mind of man the thinking faculty is too high to be exercised in the things of this earth the mind of man it is of a most excellent capacious Nature it is fit to converse not only with Angels but with the eternal God Himself with Father Son and Holy Ghost and to bestow the strength of such a faculty that God hath put into the soul of man upon such dirtie drossie low base mean things as earthly-minded men and women do bestow it upon this must needs be a great evil Know the dignity of your Nature the excellencie of your Mind the Soul of man it is of a transcendent being Put all the world into the Ballance with it it 's nothing Therefore you know what Christ saith What shall it profit a man to gain the whol world and lose his soul The soul of the meanest gally-slave is more precious than Heaven and Earth Sun Moon Stars and all the host of them Let me add then all the Silver and Golden mines under ground and al the unsearchable Riches of the great and wide Sea yea put all these together and the Soul of the most contemptible beggar that cries for a crust of bread at thy door is unexpressibly more worth than all these Now if mans soul be of such an high-born Nature if God hath put such a Spirit which is a spark of Heaven into the bosom for man of him to imploy it in no other use and service but meerly to be an earth-worm to creep in and upon the ground this must needs be a very great evil The fifth Consideration The fifth Consideration is The Vncertainty of all these things Vncertain Riches How may any Causuality come and take away from thee al the things of the earth that thy mind is upon God sends but a little too much heat into the body and puts thee into a feavour and where 's thy delight then thy body being either too much heated or too much coold what 's become of all thy comfort here in this earth Thou goest abroad and art dangerously wounded by an enemy what refreshing then doest thou receive from all these things Let me tell thee thou art in the midst of a thousand thosand Casualities here every moment ready to take away all the Comforts of the earth and usually at that time observe it when the minds of men and women are most fixed upon the earth that 's the time that God hath to strike them in those things they be then neerest to be depriv'd of the Comforts of the earth when their thoughts and minds be most set upon them As you know it was with the Rich man in the Gospel when he was blessing himself and crying to his soul Soul Soul take thine ease thou hast goods laid up for many years even that night the text saith this message came so him Thou fool this night shall thy soul be taken away from thee and then whose shall al these things be And at that time that Nebuchadnezzer was blessing himself in the pallace that he had built for His Honor then there comes a message to him from Heaven so that he was presently outed of all his Court-vanities to graze among the beasts of the field So you may find it in your own experience that God hath many times then most crost you in the things of the earth when your minds and hearts have been most glued to them and it may be in mercy yea it 's a greater mercy to be crost of these things at such a time than to prosper in the midst of them for it may be a good argument that God intends good to a soul to crosse him at that time when he is most earthly Oh! many that have been godly indeed but yet have bin earthly minded and have found God coming at such a time and crossing them in some earthly Contentment have seen cause to blesse God for thus dealing with them Whither was I going I was going altogether to the earth and minding such things my heart was set upon them and God came in in a seasonable time to shew me the vanity of my heart and of those things that my mind was busied about Oh it was a happy crosse that I had at such a season there was much of Christ that did hang upon it And that 's the fift Consideration The sixth Consideration Do but consider what 's become of those that have been earthly heretofore that injoyed the greatest accomodations of the earth what 's become of those men in former ages of the world that lived here and vapour'd so much in their generation who but they at Court and in Citie and had all the earth according to their desires what 's become of Agrippa and Bernice with al their pagentry greatness now they have acted their parts and are gone off the common stage of the world all their vanity is buried with them in one grave What difference is there between the poor and rich when they die they go all the same way only they were for a little time and flourished in the things of the earth and now are gone but have left a great deal of guiltiness behind them look but to their example and what
meat for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and Luther that accounted the whol Turkish Empire but a Crumb that the great Master of the Family casts to his dog surely here 's an argument that the Saints have their Conversations in Heaven that can look upon the things of the earth as so mean and so little as indeed they are A second Evidence is this That they can be content with so little in this world and can live such comfortable lives in the enjoyment of so little perhaps you cannot tell how to have comfortable lives except you have so much coming in by the yeer and so much provision but now one that is heavenly a godly man or woman can tell how to live a joyful and happie life in the want of the things of this world though they have but little though but bread and water though but mean habitations mean cloathes though but of mean esteem in the world yet can go through the world with a joyful heart blessing God all his daies nothing but admiring praising and magnifying God for his rich mercie and blessing himself in God and accounting his portion to be a goodly portion and his lot to be fallen into a fair ground I verily beleeve that there are very many poor mean people in this world yet their houses are more fill'd with blessings of God in one day than many Rich Great Noble men have their houses in twenty or fourty yeers now this argues that they have their Conversations in Heaven that though they want comfort never so much in this world yet they can live comfortable lives surely it is somthing that doth rejoyce them when they can so rejoyce in the want of these outward things when their joy depend◠〈◊〉 upon the things of this world men that have earthly hearts if they lose but their outward comforts they cry our Oh we are undone And you may see mightie alteractions in their very countenances they have nothing to joy their hearts when they lose the things of the world but it is no◠so with the Saints whatsoever crosses they meet withal here in this world yet still they rejoyce in Christ blessing God the course of their lives is nothing elle but a continual magnifying and praising God for his mercie and goodness to them surely they have their Conversations in Heaven Thirdly Not onlie can live joyfullie in the want of manie comforts but they can suffer the loss of all yea suffer hard things suffer afflictions suffer torments and tortures with joyful hearts reade but that 11. of the Heb. at your leisure 13 14 verses They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth for they that see such things declare plainly that they seek a Country this Scripture is to be annexed to the second evidence Mark They that seek such things declare plainly that they seek a Countrie surelie there is somthing else that they seek after when they set so light by the things of this world For the Saints are not fools but there is some reason for what they do surely there is somthing in it for they have the same nature as you have and they have need of comfort as well as you and had they not some other comfort besides outward comforts they could not live so comfortably in the want of outward comforts but they that are content with a little as pilgrims and strangers they declare plainly that they seek a Country that is the second Evidence And then For the suffering of tortures and pains for the sake of Christ This is another Evidence and so you have in the 10. Heb. 32. But call to remembrance the former daies in which after ye were illuminated ye endured a great fight of afflictions partly whilst ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used and then in the 34. verse And took joyfully the spoiling of your goods Why knowing in your selves that ye have in Heaven a better and enduring substance This made them take joyfully the spoiling of their goods What when their goods were spoil'd did they take that joyfully what were they mad men to rejoyce at the plundering of their estates No it was no madness It was because they knew in themselves that they had in Heaven a better and an enduring substance and that made them be willing to wander about in sheeps skins and goats skins in leather cloathes as in the latter end of the 11. of Heb. reade but from the 36. verse to the end this argued their Conversations to be in Heaven If you reade in the storie of the Martyrs you shall find verie often when they came to the stake still their thoughts were in Heaven and their hearts there and encouraging one another what they should have in Heaven and of the glorie that they should have there that being willing to suffer such hard things for Christ and that being able to undergo all with so much joy is an evidence that there have been Christians in the world that have had their Conversations in Heaven A Fourth Evidence of Christians having their Conversations in Heaven is this That their hearts are so fill'd with Heavenly riches It is an Argument of a man that trades much unto such a place when he hath his Warehouse stor'd with the Commodities of such a Countrie As now though no man should tell me which way his trading lies that such a man were a Spanish or Turkish Merchant yet if I come into his Warehouse find that constantlie his Warehouse is fill'd with those Commodities I may conclude that certainlie this man is a Spanish or Turkish Merchant he hath the Commodities of the Countrie continuallie in his warehouse So the Saints have much of the riches of Heaven in their hearts continuallie they have much grace much holinesse much of the Image of God much spiritual life there is there in a Christian and you may see in his Conversation he doth manifest I say much of the Excellencie of Heaven much of the Glorie of Heaven shines in his face surelie his Conversation is in Heaven who hath so much of the riches of Heaven in his heart The heart of the wicked saith the holy Ghost is little worth Look into the heart of a wicked man or woman what is there thy heart that should be thy storehouse what is it fill'd withal it's fill'd with dirt and drosse and filth and uncleanness the hearts of wicked men are stored with those things but now look into the hearts of the Saints they are fill'd with God with Christ with the holie Ghost with Grace that shews that they have traded much in Heaven in a constant way you shal find their hearts fild with grace and manifesting much in their lives and therefore surelie their Conversation is in Heaven A fifth Evidence is this That they are willing to purchase the Priviledges of Heaven at so dear