a poor low thing in comparison of eternal glory Do not therefore make these transitory things your mark and scope make them not the scope of your intentions you cannot level at them they are transient and will soon have an end I know no such beauty in the face of this fading world so as to draw the eyes of our souls to fix upon it the house of this world is a smoaky house and it bloweth upon our eyes Oh then let us pluck up the stakes of our tent and take our tent upon our back and repair to our best home for here we have no continuing City SECT II. Take heed you do not entertain too high thoughts of these perishing things let us learn to esteem them as wise Solomon did Vanity of vanities Eccles 1.2 as he found them by experience which cost him dear I conceive that the Lord by his wise counsel left him to plunge himself into sensual delights having such a large understanding to contrive what was in the creature to the uttermost that he might teach the Church the nature of them to the end of the world from his own experience Now saith he Eccles 2.12 what can a man do that cometh after the King Is it not a madness for any man to think to finde more satisfaction in them than King Solomon did If any man hath higher thoughts of these things it is not because he seeth more into them than Solomon did but because he dotes so much upon them so as to be besotted with them Judge not according to appearance saith our Saviour Joh. 7.24 He that will judge of these fading things by their outsides may well expect to be deceived but the immortal soul of man being of an intellectual nature and having an understanding faculty being far above sense should look more inwardly into them and see what they are all in comparison to the true happiness of the soul of man they bring not the soul one step the neerer to true happiness Now it is as impossible for the outward man to be happy while the inner man is miserable as for the outer part of the body to be in health while the heart is sick unto death Let us therefore value these transitory things at a low rate esteeming them as vain things that cannot profit 1 Sam. 12.21 as nothing less than nothing and vanity it self Isai 40.17 Oh let us compare our inch of time with vast Eternity and the esteem that we have of this now flourishing and green world with the esteem we shall have of it when worms and corruption shall make their houses in our eye-holes and our flesh and body shall be consumed then our light of this worlds vanity shall be more clear than now it is then shall we see that though the world makes men believe that whatsoever things it offereth them it is of good substance and may well suffice to satisfie our hungry appetites yet when tryal is made there is nothing to be found but winde and vanity and that they that feed upon these Husks feed upon nothing but the winde as the Prophet speaks of Ephraim Hos 13.1 wouldest thou not take him for a fool that when he is hungry would open his mouth and gape and take in the ayr to satisfie his hunger withall Thy folly O man is nothing less if thou thinkest to satisfie the appetite of thy soul with the wind of things visible and temporal neglecting things eternal Such a fool was that rich man Luk. 12.16 17. for so the Holy Ghost calls him wherein did he play the fool but in suffering his thoughts wholly to run after outward perishing things Therefore he thus complaineth I want room to lay up my fruits but never thinketh what room there is for him in heaven be cries out What shall become of my goods but never thinketh oh what shall become of my poor soul Then he cometh to this resolution I will build my Barns to lay up my fruits in But no such thought as this I will lay up for my self treasure in heaven and labour to have a Mansion in heaven for my immortal soul Thou hast goods laid up for many years in store but no such thought as this Thou knowest not whether thou shalt enjoy them one day more for thy soul may be taken away before one night be at an end Soul take thine ease eat drink and be merry but no such thought as this Soul what ease shall I find in eternal torments What if my present mirth and jollity should deprive me of that fulness of joy that is in the presence of God and those pleasures that are for evermore and end in howling and weeping and gnashing of teeth SECT III. Set not your hearts upon these unstable things O yee sons of men how long will ye love vanity Psal 4.2 All the goods of mortals are mortal whatsoever it is that you entitle your selves Lords of it is with you but for a time it is not yours to continue with you there is nothing firm eternal and incorruptible that weak and corruptible men do possess it will as necessarily perish as we must necessarily lose it and this if we well understand is a great solace to lose that indifferently which must perish necessarily the only help therefore that wee shall finde against these losses is not to love them too dearly because in a short time they must bee lost Lift up your soul above humane felicities cast it not away for those things that are below and without it self The soul of man cometh of a more Noble and Divine Stock than to be enamoured with fading and perishing things O what vanity is it so much to dote upon these shadows how fondly do we love them while we have them and how passionately do we lament their loss We part with many things in grief Because we loved them in chief O the unhappiness of mankind saith S. Augustine The world is bitter and yet we love it if it were sweet indeed how should we then dote upon it it is very troublesome yet we love it how should we affect it if it were altogether quiet and peaceable how eagerly then should we gather the flowers of it since we so greedily catch up the thorns Now if as Chrysostome speaks notwithstanding all the evils which compass us about in this world we desire to live long in it when oh when were it free from all disturbances should we seek for any thing else we are so bewitched with these vanities that we prefer our Pilgrimage before our Country and hence it is that God either imbitters our Cups and mingleth our pleasures with vexations lest we should mistake Wormwood and Vinegar for true Nectar or else he takes away these outward comforts from us that we may see our folly in placing so much of our affections upon things that were of no continuance Ah! how much do we smell of the smoak of this lower house of the
heart by the searcher of the heart Doubtless then both had sinned but their sin was not the cause why he was born blind what then ut manifestentâ—r opera Dei that the works of God might be manifested Thus far Augustine upon the same place He saith opera Dei the works of God saith Calvin because as his work of judgement had been seen in his blindness which was opus solitudinis a work of solitude so his mercy might appear in his recovery which was opus reparationis a work of reparation Itaque oum latent afflictionum causae cohibenda est curiositas ne Deo faciasimus Therefore saith he when the causes of afflictions are not manifest curiosity is to be restrained lest we both do injury to God and become cruel toward our Brethren This was manifest in Job a work of power in taking away all his children and a work of his clemency in restoring him so many again and in suffering him to live to see the fourth generation of them and afterward to die old and full of daies for God is able even out of stones to raise up children to Abraham to Job to every true believer When God takes from us those things which he formerly gave us as our habitations food rayment health wealth if any man being thus emptied complain of Gods dealing with him cannot God reply justly to him I owe you nothing what I gave formerly impute it to my meer love My gifts are free I take them now away that you may know whence you had them not that I am any wayes obliged to you hitherto I have shewed my liberality and bounty toward you if I now please to continue so no longer toward you what Law have you to recover upon me May I not do with mine as I please Friend I do thee no wrong take what is thine and depart S. Augustine explaining Gods equity saith thus God takes away from us sometimes things necessary and so fretteth us that we may know him our Father and Lord not only pleasing but sometimes likewise squeezing us And who dareth or can object the least injury done unto him And if God take away necessaries from us yet we cannot accuse God of injury if he taketh them from us even for his own Honour and Majesty and to shew his power and Authority over us let us then cease complaining we are his subjects and must be his Clients SECT III. It may be God in taking away our health wealth honour houses possessions from us intendeth to bestow better things upon us and then we are no losers but great gainers if God take away our goods and give us more grace if he take from us things necessary for our bodies and gives us things absolutely necessary to salvation as pardon of sin peace of conscience assurance of his love and favour what have we lost thereby It is too low to say saith one these are equivalent to temporals they are transcendently more excellent than all temporal goods the whole world is nothing to the grace and favour of God and to pardon of sin if wealth were as necessary as grace every Childe of God should have it therefore godly men have great cause of contentment if God for reasons best known to himself doth either deny them or take from them the things of this life That Christian is not poor that is rich in grace that man is not miserable that hath Christ for his portion though he hath no house to put his head in yet he hath a Mansion in heaven provided for him though he hath no food for his body yet he hath meat to eat which the world knows not of he hath Manna for his soul though he hath no rayment for his body yet he hath glorious robes for his soul What kind of injury is that to take from one a thread-bare out-worn Coat and to give him a new one that is far better It is an excellent change to lose temporals and get spirituals and eternals We many times think that a great estate is best for us but God our heavenly Father both knoweth what we need and what is best for us were we to be our own carvers as to our worldly estates and outward comforts we should do as the young Prophet who being sent to gather herbs gathered poysonous weeds instead of wholesome herbs therefore in all Gods Dispensations toward us 't is good to submit to the wisdome of God who could make all his Children rich and great in the world but doth not because in his wisdome he thinks a meaner portion of the things of this life to be better for them than a greater To have lectum stramineum cibum gramineum straw for our beds and herbs for our food may be better for us than with the rich Epicure to be cloathed in fine linnen and to fare deliciously every day In fine every Christian shall conclude that estate God allotted me was best for me and the poor Christian shall say as Luther did it was better for me that I was a poor Clown and a Christian than if I had been great Alexander and an Infidel SECT IV. Behold another cause of Gods taking away from us Some there were that told Christ of certain Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their Sacrifices an argument of Gods sore displeasure in the eye of man to be surprized with death and that a bloody one even in the act of Gods service but Jesus answered Suppose ye these Galileans were greater sinners than all the other because they suffered such things I tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish Luk. 13.1 2. And he confirmeth it by another parallel to it of the men upon whom the Tower of Siloam fell here you see punishment for other mens instruction and example ut aliorum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that other mens scourges should be our warnings Let every one consider saith Cyprian not what another hath suffered but what even he himself deserveth to suffer In this we may say as he doth Plectuntur interim quidam quò caeteri corrigantur Some are suddenly punished to the end that others may be amended It is a common disease among men saith Calvin to be severe Censors of others when we see the scourge of God upon them and to flatter themselves if they escape unpunished whereas thus they ought to consider First that they ought to behold their own sin and to examine whether they have not deserved the like punishment Secondly in that the Lord in his mercy spareth them and chasteneth others before their faces to magnifie his name in their own behalf and to betake themselves unto speedy repentance Caecus ergo pravus Arbiter est qui hominum peccata ex paenis praesentibus astimat Therefore he is a blinde and perverse Judge who taxeth mens sins from their present punishments Neque enim ut quisque deterior est ita primus
no dangers nor enemies for I am thy shield fear no wants nor losses for I my self am thy reward Are any dangers so great any enemies so strong that I cannot shield thee against them who am ready to cover thee with my wings and defend thee against all the wicked of the world and against all the legions of hell canst thou be undone by any losses or be sunk by any wants when I my self am thy exceeding great reward Hast thou the possessor of heaven and earth in thy possession and hast thou cause to fear any wants if the earth cannot supply thee heaven shall if neither heaven nor earth can yet I will who am the Lord of heaven and earth I my self am thy exceeding great reward So Gen. 17 7 8. I wil establish my covenant between me thee thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be a God to thee and unto thy seed after thee He doth not say only to be a helper to thee or a friend to thee but to be a God to thee I will give myself to thee as I am essentially God so I will be a God to thee thou shalt have me for thy own those that are in Covenant with God they are in possession of an infinite good and they have him in everlasting possession CHAP. VI. Vse 1 THis may serve to discover to us the extreme folly of those whose chiefest care and greatest labour is about the getting worldly goods that may soon be taken from them their shops their trading their wares their plate their jewels their money their corn and wine and oyl their houses lands and possessions their wealth and substance are in their thoughts and God is seldome or not at all in all their thoughts heaven is not in their desires and grace which is the riches of heaven is nothing lookt after these things are the least of their thoughts and endeavours when they are to leave the world then is their time to think of God and to take care for grace and for their immortal souls when they are dying then is their time to study how they may become godly while they are strong and healthy and fit for labour their main care and labour is for the meat that perisheth and to try who can outstrip one another in worldly riches although God can soon clap a pair of wings to them and make them to flee away from them These things are the summum bonum the chiefest good the very God of the world the Paradise the All in All of this world the great Diana that all the world magnifies they think it better to be out of the world than to have no riches esteeming them the only miserable men that are poor and needy Jeroboams golden Calves are still the worldlings God the world is of Jeroboams Religion to this day no lusts are more unsatiable than worldly lusts they are green and vigorous even in old age the love of the world is a sin that never waxeth old when men should think most on the world to come yet then are old earth-worms too mindful of this present evil world O what unspeakable folly is this so eagerly to thirst after and pursue such perishing vanities which may soon be taken from us and which only serve us while we are in this world for if once our soul be taken from us then whose shall all these things be while the rich Glutton lived in the world he fared deliciously every day and wore Purple and fine linnen every day but when he died he left all these things behind him Death turned him out of the comforts and possession of these things He that drank Wine in Bowls is now drinking of the Cup of Gods wrath in hell he that had all things to the full doth now want a drop of water to cool his flaming tongue he that was cloathed with Purple and fine linnen every day is now bound with chains of darkness and cloathed with woe curses and unspeakable wrath he that maintained Hawks and Hounds for his delight and pleasure is now howling and roaring with cursed Fiends and damned Hell-hounds Thus he that had the worlds goods only while he was in the world he hath nothing in hell to enjoy but Gods wrath that is his everlasting portion So again rich Abraham and Job that had this worlds goods have now no need of them in heaven there is no need of the Sun by day nor of the Moon by night for the Lord God is the light thereof What a folly is it in men therefore to labour so eagerly after this worlds goods and to set their minds upon them and to neglect the good of their immortal souls to love riches more than grace and love dross and dung more than Christ when as Christ and Grace will bee their comfort in this world at death and in the world to come when this worlds goods shall be taken from them though your houses and goods be burnt and consumed to ashes yet Grace is a good that fire will not burn nor water drown Justly did our Saviour call the rich man in the Gospel fool and in him all such fools that had more care for this world than for heaven Who ever seeks the world for their bed shall at best find it but short and ill made and a stone and thorns under their sides to keep them waking rather than a soft Pillow to sleep upon O that it were written upon the bags upon the doors upon the chests tables counting-houses of worldlings which holy Job said Naked came I forth of my Mothers womb and naked shall I return I must appear before God not in the worlds goods but in the sins which I have done in this world It pitieth me many times to see the industrious Bees to take such great pains all the Summer to get a little honey for the winter they go abroad daily from flower to flower to suck honey and carry it to their Hives and are burnt in their Hives perhaps before winter cometh and others take the honey Thus worldlings toil and spend their lives and strength for the goods of this world and think in their old age to take their ease and give up themselves to a devout solitude but before that it may be God takes away their goods by fire or water or suffereth thieves and robbers to break in upon them and take away all their wealth and riches from them or it may be death cometh and exerciseth dominion over them and turneth them into hell and there they burn and others enjoy their goods upon earth Will ye then spend most of your care thoughts strength and time for the things of this world and have no care and thoughts for grace and heaven Will ye like Martha cumber your selves about many things that may quickly be taken from you and neglect the one thing necessary that shall never be taken away from you if once you have
committed in the great City of this Land than it hath been within these few years past The Lord might now take up the same complaint against many wanton Gallants as he did by the Prophet Jeremiah of old When I had fed them to the full they then committed adultery and assembled themselves by troops in the Harlots houses They were as fed horses in the morning every one neighed after his Neighbours wife shall I not visit for these things saith the Lord shall not my soul be avenged on such a Nation as this Jer. 5.7 8 9. The Lord chargeth the people of Jerusalem that they had committed fornication with the Egyptians and with the Assyrians and multiplied their fornication in the Land of Canaan unto Chaldea and yet they were not satisfied therewith Ezek. 16.26 28 29. Therefore the Lord threatens to give them up into the hands of those that should strip them of their cloaths and take away their fair jewels and leave them naked and bare ver 39. and ver 41. saith he They shall burn thine houses with fire and execute judgements upon thee in the sight of many women and I will cause thee to cease from playing the Harlot and thou also shalt give no hire any more It had been well if London had not been too true a Comment upon this Text both in the sin and in the punishment SECT VI. A sixth sin is the sin of drunkenness and intemperance How many might have been seen in every corner of the great City who drank daily till they could drink no more who rose up early in the morning to follow strong drink and continued until night till the Wine enflamed them whose frequent walks were from their own Beds and Houses to the Alehouse and from the Alehouse to the Tavern whence being not able to stand by themselves they were led or carried to their Beds again reelling to and fro staggering and being at their wits end and so they who had something of men in them when they arose in the morning were when they came to lie down at night turn'd into Beasts their understandings being departed from them and themselves at their wits end As the old world was swallowed up with the flood so are many mens bodies and souls with liquor as those waters prevailed exceedingly so that all the high hills and mountains were covered and every man as well as Beast that was not in the Ark died so doth the deluge and flood of drink prevail upon drunkards not only their bellies but their brains are covered not only the valleys of their sensitive powers but also the mountains and high hills of their rational faculties are over-topt their reason and understandings are drowned and all their wisdome is swallowed up Every thing of a Drunkard dies in him every thing of a man and for the present he gives up the Ghost nor is there any Resurrection or reviving till the next morning when these strong waters are asswaged and these floods decayed and dried up Sad it is to think how this deluge of excess in drink hath drowned the face of City and Country and risen many Cubits above the highest mountains of Religion and wholesome Laws Oh what swarms of drunkards might be seen in some great Town or City in one day Go but to some great Fair or Market and you may see drunkards lye in ditches or upon the high-way at the Towns end where a Fair is kept as if some field had been fought here lies one there lies another even like unto men that are slain in the field and are stark dead I have read that there was a street in Rome called vicus sobrius because there was never a Drinking house in it but where should a man have found such a street in the great City or in any other populous Town or City in England Multitudes there are who take a pleasure in drinking till their bellies and throats can hold no more yea many there are who by accustoming themselves to frequent acts of immoderate drinking have gotten an habit of being able to drink excessively without being distempered by it notwithstanding that woe that is denounced against them that are mighty to drink wine and strong to pour in strong drink that is woe unto them that by repeated Acts of drunkenness have made themselves like brewers horses able to bear away a greater quantity of drink than other sober healthy persons are or themselves at first were It is a sign of destruction and desolation approaching upon a people when they are not ashamed of such a swinish sin but drink and stagger and reel to and fro in the face of the Sun O fearful condition of those that are not ashamed to go on in drunkenness which is one of the most shameful sins and most contrary to the light of reason Certainly God hath his times of visitation for this as well as for other sins and then the drunkard shall be cast down and shall bee able to stand no longer SECT VII A seventh sin I shall set before you is the sin of Pride especially pride of apparel and to what height of pride in this kinde were people grown every where especially in the great City of this Land who knoweth not it is a note of levity and vanity of minde to be still devising and following new fangled fashions it makes the world beleeve the Moon to be our Mistress and predominant Planet and then it will plainly appear we are no better than lunaticks It is a great reproach to the English Nation to follow all new devised fashions and especially to bee the Frenchmens Apes who are generally haters of our Nation therefore in Forreign parts they paint an English man naked with a piece of cloath under his arm and with a pair of shears in his hand seeking a Taylor to finde him out a new fashion The use of Apparel is 1. for necessity to cover our nakednesse 2. for ornament and comlinesse 3. for distinction of age of sexe of quality for great personages may and should wear rich apparel so it be grave sober and seemly but now people of all ranks almost are grown to an excess in this kind and the servant can hardly be distinguished by his apparel from his Master nor Gill from a Gentlewoman Apparel sheweth what most people are that wear it it uncovers their hearts to the world you may know whether people are chaste or wanton proud or grave sober or fantastical by the apparel they wear Is not he condemned for a very fool that takes more care to be comly proud and rich in apparel than to he healthy Is not he a fool to be laught at that will brag of a clean Band and hath a foul dirty face and will not wash it Strange it is to see the folly of men whose special care is to adorn their bodies with costly apparel that they might appear comely and glorious in the sight of men but regard not how
ugly how deformed how polluted and abominable their souls are in the sight of God As God complained of the Jews Is it time for you to dwell in your seiled houses and this house lye waste Hag. 1.4 So God may complain is it time for the daughtets of England for the daughters of London to be haughty and walk with stretched out necks and wanton eyes walking and mincing as they go when the Lord is pouring out his fury like fire upon them and marring the pride of England and the great pride of London as sometime he threatned to mar the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem Jer. 13.9 Ah! how do many people spend more precious time in dressing their bodies than in trimming their souls and delight more to see their faces in a glass than to view their hearts in the glass of the Word Oh what will become of their souls when God shall strip them of their gaudy cloathes and pampered bodies What confusion will fall on them when their souls shall appear naked before the Lord Then they will cry out the joy of our heart is ceased our daunce is turned into mourning the crown is fallen from our head wo unto us that we have sinned Our crown of honour our crown of pleasure our crown of pride is fallen from our heads wo unto us that we have sinned and walked in pride Pride is the usher of ruine Pride goes before destruction Prov. 16. 18. One asked an Heathen Philosopher what God was doing hee answered Totam ejus occupationem esse in elevatione humiliuÌ„ in dejectione superborum It is Gods whole business to exalt the humble and to abase and cast down the proud Behold the day cometh that shall burn like an tven and all the proud c. shall bee as stubble Mal. 4.1 Though now they are like iron and steel yet then they shall bee like stubble before the fire of his devouring wrath CHAP. VIII HAving discovered those Capital sins for which we have just cause to think God hath been pouring out his anger against City Country let me now in the next place Exhort you to mourn bitterly for these and for all your sins It is not enough that you mourn for the loss of a Husband of a Wife of a Childe of your Goods of your Estate of your houses this sorrow is that which the Apostle calls worldly sorrow 2 Cor. 7. and it is so far from working comfort in the end that it worketh death not only death temporal but also death eternal if this sort of men weep their eyes out and their hearts out for these carnal things yet shall they no more partake of divine joy than the tormented Glutton doth of heavenly comfort David's mourning for his son Absolom was carnal and did no way tend to his true comfort Joab did justly blame him for his bellowing and howling for the death of Absolom This mourning may be found in Pharoah such was Esau's mourning for the loss of his Fathers blessing The Prophet Hosea tells us that wicked men will howl upon their beds for corn and wine for the want or loss of temporal goods Hos 7.14 They can lament for these things but cannot lament for their sins or lament after God the loss of God and of Christ is not such a matter of mourning to them Neither is it available to mourn meerly for the Judgements of God inflicted upon us Oh how did Cain mourn when the wrath of God was upon him So did Pharoah under Judgements and Ahab humbled himself greatly so do the damned mourn to eternity in hell The wicked mourn not because they have sinned but because they are punished God no more regardeth the howling of sinners under Judgement than we regard the howlings of dogs when they are beaten Neither is all sorrow for sin godly sorrow yet this is an high degree of mourning Pharoah lamented his wickedness I have sinned Judas also lamented his grievous sin I have sinned in betraying innocent blood Mat. 27.3 and now he mourneth in hell for his sin and we have some examples of men who sin and mourn and then sin afresh and mourn afresh crying out O my pride O my drunkenness O my swearing O my uncleanness that the beholding their bitter mourning would make a tender heart to mourn with them many such there are that mourn on earth for a fit and mourn in hell for ever Prov. 5. 11 12 13. Death-bed lamentation and mourning for sin is not alwaies repenting mourning Neither are all that mourn under dreadful apprehensions of Gods anger against them and terrours upon them arising from their sense of sin and apprehension of Gods wrath true mourners yet this like the former is an high degree of mourning yet below holy mourning such a mourner was Cain the load of terrours upon his heart pressed forth all his tears and complaints There are such examples still of men who in their fears of death and judgement and agonies of conscience do weep confess their sins resolve to forsake sin and yet when they have ease do sin again and they are again as prophane as irreligious as they were before nay they become more hardned in sin and opposite to God and godliness than they were before Neither do all who mourn after grace and pardon truly mourn yet this is one of the neerest degrees to spiritual mourning that is found in hypocrites An unregenerate man may feel such a load of guilt upon his conscience as that he may mourn after grace and pardon yet not be comforted as there is a temporary sorrow for sin so there is in thâ—m a temporary desire after ease and deliverance from it But all such as mourn in bitterness of spirit under their spiritual wants Mr. Cartwright gives this as a reason why in the Beatitudes our Saviour addeth mourning next to poverty of spirit because the want of grace and Gods favour is such a lamentation that nothing quieteth them so long as they are without it And though God by the hand of his bounty give them all outward things liberally as health strength riches friends yet still they mourn over their spiritual wants these are the true mourners that complain for the want of spiritual riches What is this worlds goods if I have not the grace and favour of God As Moses said What is the presence of an Angel if we have not the presence of God with us so what is any thing what are all things if I have not Gods favour I am undone for ever Again such as mourn bitterly for sin they truly mourn Lam. 5.16 Wo to us for we have sinned Woe is the time that ever I sinned against God Wo is me that ever I did curse swear and blaspheme the holy name of God wo that ever I was drunk wo that ever I sinned against the Lord such a mourning was that of St. Peter he went forth and wept bitterly wo is me that ever I
these fading helps he placed all his trust and hope in God who would heartily embrace those that came unto him and never forsake those that trusted in him SECT IV. A fourth end God aims at in taking away these things from us is to have us to be instructed in this that mans life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth Luk. 12. 15. By life two things are understood 1. That a mans happiness doth not consist in the abundance of the things he doth enjoy only Christ and a right to assurance of heaven that is a mans happiness in this life and the fruition of Christ and heaven hereafter is the eternal happiness of a man Lazarus was an happy man though he had nothing and Dives a miserable man though he had abundance Earthly-minded persons seek for satisfaction from earthly things therefore there be many that say Who will shew us any good 1. Such a satisfying good as may make our souls happy they look downward and think to find this happiness in outward things But David opposeth his resolved choice to their vain wandring desire Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me as if he had said I know where to have enough Lord let me enjoy thee and have the light of thy countenance shineing upon me and I am satisfied Then he speaks of his former experience that formerly he had found satisfaction from God Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine encreased Psal 4.6 7. as if he had said the fullest Barns and Wine-cellars cannot yeeld that content to an earthly heart that my soul hath formerly found in thee when they are as full as they can hold yet their immortal soul is not satisfied but I by enjoying thee am fully satisfied Then David compareth the satisfaction he had found in God not only with the abundance of these things but with the encrease of them for it is the encrease of outward things that is apt to win the heart a lesser estate encreasing doth more win the hearts of natural men than a greater estate not encreasing But David found more content in God than worldlings did not only in the abundance but also in the encrease of corn and wine Lastly saith he Thou hast put gladness into my heart Thou hast infused it into my soul it is God that sheddeth sweet consolation into the spirit of a man he doth not only give matter of joy and ground of comfort to a believer but giveth as it were the very affection of it to the soul As for earthly things they put not comfort into our hearts if a man will have any good from them he must extract and draw it out and when the heart and the world do close most yet it then falls short of satisfaction but God doth put gladness into the heart and he can satisfie it 2. By life is meant likewise that although a man had never so many possessions had an house full of gold and silver yet all his wealth cannot prolong his daies nor adde a minute to his life as if our Saviour should reason thus I wonder to see men take such great pains for the things of this life to toil and labour in a restless manner if every pound they got and had would adde a day or year more to their lives there were some reason why men should thus toil for riches but can a rich man redeem his life from death with thousands of gold and silver for a day would not a rich man that feareth death and hell give a world if he had it that he might not die and be damned and yet ten thousands of worlds cannot redeem a mans soul from death and hell therefore why are men so greedy after these things that cannot make their lives any longer Let us take a view of the Parable which our Saviour spake upon this very occasion of a rich Farmer wherein several things are to be observed 1. His Trade was very gainful intimated by his ground which brought forth plentifully the world was coming on upon him apace 2. He had heaped together abundance of riches he had so much he could not tell where to lay them 3. See what he resolved upon viz. to follow his pleasures and contentments without all controul as the Proverb is What is a Gentleman more than his pleasure he would take his pleasure as well as the best man in his Country he would play the Glutton and Hunt and Hawk and Whore and Drink and Swear and Swagger and let him see what man would dare controll him he would make the Town and Country too hot for him Thus saith he to himself Soul thou hast riches enough and that not for a day or a moneth or a year but for many years go take thy pleasure eat drink and be merry thy abundance of riches will maintain thee in it here you see the prosperity of a rich covetous fool Mark now the end and conclusion of him behold the lamentable Tragedy of an Earth-worm behold what God saith unto him Thou fool He was but a fool for his labour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 insipiens an unwise man so the word signifies one that lived by sense like a bruit not forecasting for the future This night they shall take away thy soul Mark the words This night Thou hast to day promised thy self long life mirth and pleasure thou art deceived thy riches shall not lengthen thy life for this night thou shalt die They i. e. the Devils shall come and take away my soul And thou that didst dream of many years pleasure shalt burn in hell to Eternity Salvian hath a good meditation on this place With his goods he prepareth happiness for others misery for himself mirth for others tears for himself a short pleasure for others everlasting fire for himself His Heirs that enjoyed his riches did game eat drink and were merry and this poor covetous wretch was howling and roaring weeping and wailing in hell Now see our Saviours use of this Parable So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God that is so is every covetous wretch that laboureth more for temporal riches than for grace and godliness such a one is a fool though he gets abundance of riches such a one will God cross in his plots and purposes and when he thinks to enjoy his pleasures then God will cut him off and throw him into hell his children after him shall spend his wealth he shall be tormented in hell when they are merry and jovial upon earth SECT V. A fifth end is that thereby we may learn to mortifie our selves Clemens Alexandrinus spake to the purpose The Vine turneth wild and degenerateth unless it be pruned man proveth exorbitant except he be scourged for as the luxuriancy of the Vine-tree runneth out into wilde branches except it be cut and curbed and bringeth forth
up this very Wormwood this meer Aloes this bitter Gall Why then sayest thou The Cup which my Father hath given me This Cup was the Cup of his sufferings which God put into his hand ut Pater non ut Judex as a Father not as a Judge saith Rupertus amore non irâ voluntate non necessitate gratiâ non vindictâ it was of love not of wrath it was voluntary not of necessity it was of grace not of vengeance that this Cup was given to him This Cup saith Christ cometh to me from a most loving hand is it not fit that I should drink it the Father drinketh to me and though there be many things which commend this Cup as the restoring and redemption of the world the enlargement and augmentation of the Kingdome of heaven yet above all these my Fathers hand doth most of all commend this Cup unto me it is indeed a most bitter Cup but my drinking it will be profitable to many people therefore because my Father gives me this Cup to drink I will drink it As my Father gave me Commandment so I do Joh. 14.31 And saith he Luk. 24.46 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things We are apt under our losses to cry out such a one hath done me a mischief the Devil set such a one on to fire my house to consume my goods Satan himself hath thrown down his Thunderbolt upon me Oh such complaints are foolish as it pleased the Lord so things have been are and shall be done nay so they are best done not so much as one hair of thy head falleth to the ground but God foreseeth and willeth the same What hurt is it if fire consume thy house if God himself be thy habitation What evil is it though an Enemy tear thy body to pieces when as thy God numbreth thy hairs Whosoever was the Apothecary to mingle the Cup yet drink it off if thy Father put it into thy hand The Prophet Micah saith that evil came from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem Mic. 1.12 Behold against this Family do I devise an evil from which ye shall not remove your necks Mic. 2.3 Shall there be evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it All losses crosses all evils of punishment do come from God and from his divine will God is not the Author of any sin but he is the Author of all punishment for sin nor are we hurt by him but only corrected for our amendment saith Origen Remember this word saith S. August The Lord hath given the Lord hath taken away as it pleased the Lord so come things to pass They were unjust who sate by Job on the dunghill yet he was scourged and received they were spared to future punishment God reserveth all to his own judgement Good men labour and are punished as sons the wicked rejoyce and are punished with condemnation That which afflicteth us shall exercise us not hurt us CHAP. XI IF God hath taken all away from you then content your selves with Gods promises if thou hast an interest in the Promises thou hast enough Answer all wicked worldlings as Esau did Jacob I have enough I have enough my Brother so say thou I have a heavenly Mansion in the promise which is more worth than my earthly house which is consumed I have heaven in the promise which is more worth than a thousand worlds in present possession Eternal glory is better than fading honour eternal delights are better than momentany pleasures eternal habitations are better than our Clay-tabernacles what if I have lost my goods in heaven there is a more enduring substance worth more than all present enjoyments What if the world be a Wilderness so long as I have Canaan in the promise and thither I am going Oh how good is it for Christians to store up promises afore-hand and to let the Word of God dwell richly in our hearts especially the promises which are the quintessence of the word we use to say of a rich man he is worth God knows what this may we say truly of him who is rich in promises we are subject to variety of estates and conditions here no mans Mountain is so strong but it may be removed Now as the Astronomers say there is no herb growing on the earth but hath its star in heaven from which it receiveth sweet influences so there is no estate or condition wherein a Christian possibly may be in this life but there is a promise to it in the holy word of God from which he may receive sweet influences by faith And considering that all Promises are yea and Amen in Christ under all your losses and afflictions labour wisely to apply them depend on Christ in them he will faithfully perform all and every promise in due time to thee for faithful is the Promiser urge him with his promises produce to him his hand and seal Lord thou hast promised this or that good thing oh make it good be it to thy servant according to thy word that soul may walk on thorns on tempestuous Seas whose feet are shod with the Promises he may walk in the very valley of the shadow of death who hath the staff of a promise in his hand he may fear no ill but expect all grace glory and every good thing who hath a promise from Christ CHAP. XII STudy to behave your selves Christian-like under all your losses endure them Patiently Thankfully Chearfully With submission to the will of God SECT I. Learn to bear them patiently what the Apostle saith of the distressed Hebrews after the spoiling of their goods Ye have need of patience Heb. 10. So may I say to you that have sustained the loss of your houses goods and possessions ye have great need of patience As Souldiers have need of good Boots or Shooes to save their feet and legs from being hurt with gravel stones thorn-bushes sticks or other impediments that may either lie or be hurled in their way so a Christian-souldier being armed and having his feet shod with patience may by help thereof pass the pikes and go thorow all losses crosses and calamities that may betide or befall him in the warfare of this world In patience possess ye your souls saith our Saviour Luk. 21.19 As faith gives us possession of Christ so patience gives us the possession of our selves An impatient man is so far from possessing himself that he loseth himself and tearing himself in his passion throws all reason out of door whereupon follows a great loss the dominion of the mind is not attained but by patience the soul is not possessed by your deep counsels nor by your prudence nor by your wealth but by your patience Impatience exposeth a man to the greatest hazards and dangers if the Waggoner hath not reason enough to guide the Waggon saith Augustine but suffereth the horses to have their heads they will draw both him and it into destruction The impatient man is
earth because our heart and thoughts are here and how unwilling are we to go out of it albeit we are in danger of being suffocated with the smoak of it It is a great folly so eagerly to love fading and unstable things Gregory speaks well to this purpose We never forego any thing willingly but what we possess inaffectionately and speaking of Job he saith He parted with all with a willing mind which he possessed without inordinate delight You now see the best of this world to be but a Moth-eaten thred-bare Coat resolve now to lay it aside being old and full of holes and look after that house above not made with hands eternal in the heavens Set not your heart upon the world since God hath not made it your portion and your inheritance What misery of miseries is it for the immortal soul of man to be enslaved to the world which is but an heap of fuel kept in store reserved unto fire against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men especially now in this age of the world when it is ready for the fire but in that day when the perdition of the ungodly shall be then shall the world be destroyed the world and all its fond lovers shall perish together in one day How shall this make for the glory of Gods Justice who shall bring destruction upon them that love the world above himself on that day wherein the world it self shall be destroyed Let us therefore endeavour daily to curb and restrain this exorbitancy of affection as King Tarquinius walking in his garden whipped off the tops and heads of the tallest flowers with his staff so must we cut off these rising affections as soon as they begin to peep forth and put up head in our hearts this world which God will not have to be yours O Christians is but the dross and scum of Gods Creation the portion of the Lords poor hired servants the moveables not the heritage of the Sons of Zion It is but an Offal or hard bone cast to the dogs that are thrust out from the new Jerusalem upon which they rather break their teeth than satisfie their appetite Keep your love and your hope in heaven it is not good your Love and your Lord should be in two sundry Countryes as one excellently speaketh he is semper idem alwayes the same yesterday to day and for ever Keep at a distance from the walls of this Pest-house even the pollutions of this defiling and fading world SECT IV. Do not muse too much upon these transitory things do not let your thoughts dwell too much upon them do not mind the things that are beneath do not think often nor think seriously of them so as to say It is good for us to be here let us here build Tabernacles as they are transitory in their own nature so they must be lookt upon in transitu As a Traveller in a Journey may see many fine Towns and stately Edifices with his eye but he mindeth his way he will not stay his horse to take a view of them So he that hath heaven in his thoughts and will seek after a City that is to come must not suffer these fading things to stay him in his course heaven-ward It is the vanity of our spirits that enclineth us to muse upon these transitory things and on the other side the more we dwell upon them in our thoughts the more light and vain our spirits are the more you muse upon them the more you will be ensnared by them What is a soul the poorer to want the lusts and perishing vanities of this present evil world Certainly we have no cause to weep at the want of such toyes as these we have nothing to do in this prison except to take meat drink and house-room in it for a time only this world is not yours let not your heaven be made of such poor mettal as mire and clay Oh where are those heavenly-minded souls that have nothing but their bodies of earth walking up down upon the Superficies of it whose souls and the powers of them are up in heaven Oh mens souls have no wings and therefore they keep their Nest and fly not to that upper Region Could we be deaf and dead to this worlds charms we might deride at the folly of those who are wooing this world for their match and scorn to Court such a withered Princess or buy this worlds kindness with a bow of our knees Alas it is little the world can take from us and it is not much that it can give us but the worst of Christ is better than the worlds best things his Chaff is better than the worlds Corn. Oh let your thoughts dwell much upon that blessedness that abideth you in the other world and upon that continuing City that is to come SECT V. Labour not much for these transitory things Labour not for the meat that perisheth Joh. 6.27 Our Saviour therein teacheth us to look upon all things here below whatsoever but as meat that goes into the belly and is cast out of the draught to the dunghill and exhorts us to labour after that meat that shall endure to eternal life Do not then toil and moil for such uncertainties all earthly things are very mutable they are like a Land-flood which faileth in a time of drought when we have most need of water S. Peter tells us The end of all things is at hand It is true in a two-fold sense 1. In a relative sense in relation to every particular person and his interest in them in relation to thee and me and every one of us when our end cometh then the end of all things is come unto us when thy life endeth then the world and all the things of the world do end to thee it is as much to thee as if all the world were at an end 2. It is true in an absolute sense 2 Pet. 3.10 The day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up So that all these visible things are temporal and shall have an end Now these visible things are of two sorts either first The substances or subjects Or secondly The accidents though in a proper sense the accidents are visible and the substances cannot be discerned but by their accidents You see not the substance of the world but the colour the form and figure of it the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and even this also is temporal and the fashion of it passeth away 1 Cor. 7.31 All visible things though never so pleasing to us as health wealth honours pleasures riches beauty strength all the outward and natural perfections that are in any creatures are not abiding they are temporal only though never so pleasant to us On the other side all
out of which all griefs and sorrows all pains and dolours are banished where there is no place for fears and terrours for diseases or death but all is full of joy and pleasure Happy are they who have passed their hard and wearisome time of Apprenticeship and are now Freemen and Citizens in that joyful high and continuing City the new Jerusalem CHAP. X. Use 2. THe second use that I shall make of Use 2 this point is that of the Apostle in my Text seeing Heaven is a continuing City let us therefore seek this City that is to come You see by experience that we are not to abide for ever in this world neither are men nor any creature of long continuance your health your strength your life your estate your houses your Lands your City your Country are of no duration your pains your aches your weaknesses your sicknesses your Funerals frequently before your eyes do preach that we are not to continue here Oh then make it your work your care your business your one thing necessary to seek after the heavenly City Will ye have everlasting life then seek after this City will ye have happiness that shall continue for ever then seek heaven will ye have pleasures riches honours mansions that shall continue for ever then seek this continuing City that is to come SECT I. Now seek after this heavenly City 1. It supposeth a sense and apprehension that we have lost heaven we were driven out of heaven when we were driven out of Paradise losing Communion with God we lost heaven Sin hath made a wide Gulf between every son of Adam and heaven now till men are under conviction of this loss they will never seek after heaven When the woman in the Parable was convinced of the loss of her groat she made earnest and diligent search after it The Psalmist tells us plainly that men seek not God because they understand not they do not understand they have lost him Psal 14.2 Many a poor creature never cometh to the knowledge of their loss of heaven till they have lost both heaven and their souls for ever and their first entrance into hell is the first tidings of their loss of heaven 2. It implieth a trouble of mind for the loss of heaven it is the fear of hell that puts men upon the diligent seeking after heaven if men were not troubled for the loss of any thing they would never seek after it Let it go say they we care not for it If a man be not troubled for the loss of a friends favour he will never seek to regain it This is one reason why so few seek heaven because few are troubled at the loss of it Oh where is the man that signeth and crieth out woe is me I am undone for I have lost heaven and am in danger of hell I can lay no claim to heaven but hell layes claim to me Where is the man that is troubled in spirit that he is without God without Christ without hope therefore it is that this heavenly City is so little sought after it is only the troubled spirit that is an heaven-seeking soul 3. It supposeth a knowledge of the worth and necessity of the thing we seek for No man will seek for a thing of no value let it go will men say such a thing is not worth a seeking after we can do well enough without it but when men are once convinced of the worth and necessity of a thing which they cannot be without they will earnestly seek after it Now if there be any thing worth seeking for it is this heavenly City Who can be without heaven Is there any thing more precious than God Is there any possibility for our souls to be happy without enjoying God Is not eternal life of unspeakable worth What more precious in this world than life Is not life eternal in heaven most precious O who can suffer the pains of eternal death That man will never be perswaded to seek heaven who never thinks it worth the having and enjoying 4. It implies vehement desires of heaven what a man desireth not that he seeks not earnest longings will put us upon seeking for every thing in other things desires are not seekings but in spiritual things earnest desires of God and heaven are seekings of God and heaven For what are heavenly desires but the reachings of the soul after heaven pursuings after God O God thou art my God early will I seek thee my soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee my soul followeth hard after thee Psa 63.1.8 SECT II. In the second place I will shew you wherein this seeking doth consist 1. It consisteth in an earnest enquiry after the way to heaven Isai 55.6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found the word in the original signifies quaerere interrogatione verbis to seek by words and interrogation as a wandring traveller will be enquiring of all he meeteth the way to such a City So they who seek after this City that is to come they will be very enquisitive about the way to heaven very desirous to be directed in the right way How did divers persons come to Christ Good Master what shall I do to inherit eternal life What shall I do to be saved O that my feet were directed into the wayes of thy testimonies saith David The greatest fear of holy men is lest they should be out of the way therefore none more scrupulous and less confident than they none fuller of holy doubts than they and more frequently putting forth holy questions Usually men are very confident that they are in the right way to heaven therefore they never seek out after it It vexeth them very much when they are put to the question are ye sure that ye are in the right way to heaven I know not any thing in all the world wherein the generality of men are more contentedly cheated than about their state of Grace and their title to Heaven few there be who have a care to buy gold tryed in the fire 2. It consisteth in a diligent and industrious application of our selves to the use of all appointed means leading and directing us to this heavenly City He that diligently prayeth diligently seeketh heaven he that diligently heareth the Word diligently seeketh heaven Hence in the New Testament the Gospel is often called the Kingdome of Heaven and seeking God is frequently put for the worshipping of God Gods Ordinances are a Jacobs Ladder the top whereof reacheth to heaven though the foot thereof be on earth for by it we scale heaven The Ministery of the word are a light and a Lanthorn to our steps to guide our feet in the way to heaven God hath set up the Ministery as way-marks to direct Travellers in the right way those that neglect Gods faithful Ministers do neglect the seeking heaven Take this rule or caution when you come to Gods Ordinances make heaven and salvation and seeking
miseries deformities pains sicknesses shall all be abolished the substance that is the foundation being taken away the accidents that cleaves to them whether ornaments or blemishes must needs vanish with them When a goodly Palace is on fire the beauty of it the painting the engraving the carved work and also the decayes and ruines of it will be abolished with it So the substance of these things being destroyed all the materials whether beautiful or uncomely shall be destroyed together As the iron naturally hath its rust to consume it and each tree its worm and rottenness so all living creatures all Cities Kingdomes have their internal causes of decay Consider things above or below all Trades or Liberal Sciences they all ever had and ever shall have their perishings and as the rivers by a continual course do empty themselves into the Ocean so all worldly things do slide into the Channel of destruction as to their mark they aim at therefore labour not after these perishing things SECT VI. Do not expect much from these unstable things do not build your hopes upon them such hopes are but Cobweb hopes as Bildad speaks Job 8.13 14 15. Such a man may lean upon his house but both he and his house will fall together he may hold it fast but his hope will deceive him Every thing under the Cope of Heaven is but ill ground and an ill foundation every thing except God wanteth a bottom and cannot stand alone of it self and therefore can give no support to any one that shall rest or lean upon it Oh how many are there in the world whose hearts would die within them were these temporal things taken from them take away these temporal things from those that have made them their confidence and they have nothing else to rest upon All these visible things have miscarrying wombs and dry breasts that will deceive those that look for much from them the world still makes many fair promises of much good to us and of long continuance with us but in performances proveth contrary it promiseth joy but cometh accompanied with sorrow and when we have most need of its help it will be farthest from us Grapes never grew out of these thorns nor figs out of these thistles It is not good to trust to lying vanities which ever deceive those that trust unto them and God often strips us of these uncertain things these fading helps and weak-hearted runawayes that we might place all our hope and trust in him who never leaveth nor forsaketh them that trust in him CHAP. VII I Come now to handle the second Proposition which is this Prop. 2. That Heaven is a continuing City In the prosecution of this point I will shew you first how it is a City then how it is a continuing City That it is a City will appear by these demonstrations 1. In a City there be divers streets divers houses in those streets wherein some are bigger some are lesser a City is large and spacious so our Saviour saith In my Fathers house the City of the great King are many Mansions Joh. 14.2 It is a most magnificent City no greatness in the world can be compared with the greatness of it it is the Royal Palace of the great God who inhabiteth Eternity whom the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens are not able to contain there he vouchsafeth to dwell and in a most glorious manner to communicate himself to his Angels and his Saints 2. Heaven is populous as a City If you desire to know the number of the Inhabitants of this City S. John will tell you Revel 7.9 that he saw in Spirit such a great company of blessed Saints that no man was able to reckon them gathered together of all kinds of Nations people and tongues which stood before the Throne of Almighty God and of the Lamb apparrelled in white garments and with Triumphant Palms in their hands singing praise unto Almighty God Hereunto doth that of the Prophet Daniel agree Dan. 7.10 Thousand thousands ministred unto him and ten thousand-times ten thousand stood before him 3. It is full of glorious riches as a City It is said of Tyre that the Merchants thereof were Princes so all the Inhabitants of this City are Noble Personages there is no one among them of base Lineage or extraction forasmuch as they be all the Sons and Daughters of the Lord God Almighty and instated into a rich and glorious Inheritance 4. It is a City compact and at unity within it self We must not think that the greatness of the number of these Citizens causeth any disorder among them for there the multitude is no cause of confusion but of greater order there must needs be good agreement there being none but God and good company there there is no matter of discontent or discord among the Citizens for these commonly arise about partition and division either of honors or offices here is ambition or else of goods or possessions here is covetousness Now neither of these shall ever come there for heavens happy excess shall not be diminished nor any whit impaired by reason of the multitude of sharers in it for as S. August tells us the glory of heaven shall be Tanta singulis quanta omnibus such to every one in particular as it shall be to all in common and although there shall be dispar gloria singulorum yet there shall be communis laetitia omnium they all live so lovingly together that they are all as it were one heart and one soul All the Citizens of heaven live so harmoniously and peaceably together that the very City it self is called Jerusalem the Vision of Peace Although all the Saints shall be like Christ in glory yet one Saint will exceed another in glory God will cloathe all his children alike yet their garments shall be made proportionable to their stature all the Saints shall be Vessels of Mercy yet one Saint shall be a larger and a more capacious Vessel than another Christ in his answer to that curious request of Zebedees wife Mat. 20.23 Granting that some shall sit at his right hand and others at his left in his Kingdome implieth that there shall be degrees of glory to some more to others less they all shall have the same glory and happiness Ratione objecti faelicitat is gloria non ratione participationis In regard of the object of happiness God in Christ is the object of happiness they shall all enjoy God but in regard of the participation of the object one may and shall see him more clearly than another In my Fathers house are many Mansions saith our Saviour Patris Domus the Fathers House is put for one and the same object of glory Pluralitas Mansionum there be many Mansions that sheweth there are divers degrees of glory saith Aquinas This is his comparison there is but one Center unto which all things tend but some bodies are neerer than other bodies so God in
Christ is the Center of all our happiness Seneca calleth God Animae Centrum the Center of the Soul But one Saint tendeth more neer to God than another one shall partake more of glory than another yet notwithstanding they shall be all full of glory and happiness as Christ is Christ will give to every Saint his measure of glory Danaeus saith well the Saints in heaven shall want envy one Saint shall not envy another Saints greater measure of glory because they shall be all full of glory and there shall be no want of whatsoever pertaineth to make a creature happy Every Saint shall have and enjoy such fulness of happiness that nec plus quaeret quam habebit nec minus habere se dolebit quam habet He that hath the least measure of glory shall seek for no more nor grieve that he hath so little 5. The end of building Cities was that people might be free from the fear of their Enemies abroad and live quietly among themselves at home Now this heavenly City is too high for any Adversary to approach to and therefore free from being assaulted with any Forreign Enemy There is no Enemy can shoot an arrow into this City nor scale the walls nor incamp against it nor make any battery in it nor set it on fire nor so much as draw a line about it great is their peace and nothing shall offend them 6. It is a City in respect of its Government A City is a Corporation of men enjoying the same priviledges living under the same Government Heaven is a City saith St. August whereof the holy Angels and Saints are the Citizens the Eternal Father the Temple the Son the Brightness the Holy Ghost the Love How can it be ill in that City where God himself is the Governour his will and pleasure the Law and none but the good Angels and Saints the Inhabitants thereof In this City God manifesteth himself gloriously and ruleth immediately not by outward compulsion but by taking full possession of the soul and body of every Saint and Citizen they esteeming it to be their glory and happiness to be subject to him fully he ruling in love and they obeying in love he governing them as a Father and they yeelding filial subjection to him CHAP. VIII NOw this City hath a high priviledge above all other Cities it is a continuing City The Apostle gives the reason why it is a continuing City because it is a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God Heb. 11.10 1. It hath foundations in the Plural number it hath many foundations firm and immoveable foundations that cannot be shaken 1. It is built upon the foundation of Gods eternal good will and pleasure to his people 2. It is builded upon the foundation of Gods Election to eternal glory 3. It is built upon the foundation of Christs Eternal Merits and Purchase 4. It is built upon the foundation of Gods everlasting Covenant of Grace 5. It is built upon the foundation of Gods great and faithful promises Oh what a continuing City is heaven that is founded upon such strong immoveable rocks and mountains of love II. It is said Whose builder and maker is God All other Cities are builded by mortal corruptible dying men but this City is made and builded by the eternal and immortal God who will uphold it by the word of his power for ever and ever it is the place where he will dwell where he will govern for ever The Psalmist tells us God by his excellent wisdome made the heavens Psa 136.5 There is no tongue able to express the workmanship of that curious building for if that work that appeareth outwardly to our mortal eyes be so goodly and glorious what is there to be supposed of all the rest that is there reserved for the sight of immortal eyes And if certain works of mortal men are made here so beautiful and sightly that they do even amaze the Spectators what a work then must that be that hath been wrought by the immediate hand of God himself in that Magnificent House that Royal Palace that City of joy and comfort which he hath built for the glory of his chosen Ones This City therefore shall continue for ever and they that are once in possession thereof shall never be cast out of those Mansions which God hath appointed them in this heavenly City CHAP. IX Use 1. Vse 1 THese things being so let us not think our selves Cosmopolitae Citizens of the world as the Heathen Phylosophers did but Our anopolitae Burgesses of heaven as all the faithful have done and carry our selves as S. Paul professeth of himself and all his fellow-believers saying Our conversation is in heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our City-like Conversation Phil. 3.20 We carry our selves as the free Denizons and Inhabitants of Heaven so Beza renders it In a word as English Merchants or Citizens of London travelling in France Spain Italy Venice have their hearts and minds at home with their Wives and Children where their friends and freedomes be so should we from these and the like examples learn to have heavenly minds in our earthly Mansions and to fix our hearts and hopes upon our heavenly City even while we be finishing our earthly Pilgrimage The hopes of this happiness sweetens our present discontents and there is not any holy Pilgrim on earth who takes not courage when he thinketh that after his tedious Pilgrimage he shall enjoy an endless felicity in that heavenly City What was a station in the Wilderness among Sands and fiery Serpents to a settled abode in Canaan What is an Inne upon earth to a mans own home in the City of the great King How should every one of us hasten to this City travelling thither with all his might and longing to be there Labour with a spiritual eye to take an exact view of this heavenly City and of the beautiful order that is therein walk about this Celestial Sion daily in thy Contemplations go round about her tell the Towers thereof walk thorow all the streets and wayes therein consider well the beauty and glory of this City the nobleness and worthiness of the Inhabitants thereof salute this sweet and pleasant Country the Land of Immortality the glory of all Lands the Haven of Security the House of Eternity the Garden of never-fading Flowers the Store-house of all Treasures the Crown of the Blessed Ah dear City for thee have I sighed after thee have I thirsted for a long time for thee have I often wept and mourned in thee have I a treasure more worth than the whole world which all the world is not able to deprive me of I have long fate weeping by the waters of Babylon my Harp hangs upon the Willows and is now silent my mind now is all upon that heavenly City Lord I am greatly desirous to be with thee Thy Court and House O Lord is safe enough and large enough