any businesse of the calling generall or speciall and sanctifying every thing by the Word and Prayer Christ could not pollute any thing and yet did thus A good motive to thee for performing this duty 4. In fervent zeale to his Fathers house which even consumed him Hee was daily in the Temple reading praying preaching conferring confirming reforming If hee withdrew from his Parents who had lost him there you might finde him Herein should Christians imitate his piety in a burning zeale to Gods glory How zealous was Phinehas for God! How was Pauls spirit troubled within him Acts 17. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word signifies he was almost besides himselfe to see the Idolatry of the Athenians Alas where is our zeale wee are generally key-cold as Gallio was in Gods causes Christ his zeale was inflamed for the reformation of his Fathers house but much of our zeale is against zeale and reformation And such was his zeale that whatsoever hee saw it affected him deeply either with griefe if evill or joy if well done or pity and compassion in the misery of others Wherever hee was he was well-doing in the City and publike places hee was teaching and instructing in solitary desolate places hee was praying meditating preparing himselfe or enduring temptation in porches and high-wayes he was curing healing helping He went about doing good Acts 10. 38. Our zeale also to Gods glory should move us to watch and take all occasions of doing good of promoting Gods glory furthering mans good and fitting our owne reckoning 5. In his faith and confidence His whole life was an obedience of faith his death likewise an obedience of faith In that dreadfull desertion of his Father that we had deserved he cryed My God my God hee could trust in his Father killing him Herein a rare patterne of imitation in all deeps by faith to give the Lord the honour of salvation and leane upon his love and promise Thus of the piety of our Lord. His charity and love of man shined likewise many wayes 1. In his humility meeknesse patience and gentlenesse beyond all example For first being in the forme of God and equall to his Father yet he came to serve and not to be served So lowly that he disdained not to wash his Disciples feet even Judasses John 13. and hee will have every one look on this glasse If I have washed your feet you must wash one anothers feet that is stoup to the lowest services one of another and Learne of me for I am lowly and meeke Mat. 11. 29. and Phil. 2. 5. Let the same minde be in you which was also in Christ Jesus But alas we strive to go one before another in pride and taking honour because the minde of Christ is not in us Secondly so patient was hee that when hee could have revenged his enemies who came to apprehend him hee strucke them all to the ground with a word but let them rise againe Hee hurt none of them but cured Malchus his eare whom Peter had hurt Hee delivered himselfe into their hands He blessed them that cursed him and prayed on the crosse for his tormentors All to teach Christians to moderate their anger to suffer wrong to offer none to return good for evill blessing for cursing as being heires of blessing 1 Pet. 3. 18. 2. In his beneficence goodnes to every one Hee healed all diseases dispossessed Divels raised the dead gave to his enemies food to eate health to their bodies salvation to their soules So must every Christian do good to all especially to the houshold of faith Gal. 6. 10. yea doe good to enemies and ill deserving thus either winning them or heaping coales on their heads 3. In that hee was an admirable patterne of civill righteousnes in word and deed Never was guile found in his lips or hands no nor ever in the thoughts or desires of his heart did hee detaine any mans right but gave every man his due and taught others so to do To his Parents obedience to the Magistrate subjection to Caesar hee payd tribute for himselfe and his Hee never impaired the estate or good name of any man Thus must Christians give to every one his owne in word and deed honour to whom honour tribute to whom tribute pertaineth and dispensing to every one all offices of justice and love Labouring to live though not without sin yet without just blame out of the testimony of a good conscience able to challenge the Adversary which of you can accuse mee though I can easily accuse my selfe but whose Oxe or Asse have I taken that I may recompence him 4. In that hee never transgressed the rule of love but left a transcendent patterne of it in laying down his life for his enemies Never was there such a copy And this for our imitation who must walke in love as hee loved us Ephes. 5. 2. and 1 John 3. 16. If he layd downe his life for us we ought also one for another Quest. Doth Christs example bind us to dye for our brethren Answ. Yes not onely that Scripture proveth it but the example of Moses Exod. 32. 32. and Paul Rom. 9. 3. and chapt 16. 4. Priscilla and Aquila laid downe their neckes for Pauls life The reason is this The member of the naturall body will save a fellow-member with the losse of it selfe as the hand will save the head though it bee stricken off for it So in the mysticall body the Church The rules these 1. Christians must ayme at such sincerity in love as to bee willing to give their lives 1. for God 2. for his image and stand in a readinesse to undergoe any danger for GOD and his image sake for love seekes not her owne 2. Wee must intend the salvation of our brethren before our owne lives for their soules are better than our lives so did Christ and so did the Apostle Paul 2 Cor. 12. 15. I would most gladly bee bestowed for your soules 3. Not rashly and without calling for Christ died not for us till he was called to it Which when we have we must part with our lives even for their bodies much more for their soules Thus of the matter wherein we must follow Christ. Next of the manner of following him Object How can wee follow Christ seeing he is in heaven and we on earth Answ. Not having his bodily presence on earth wee cannot make any pilgrimage to follow him with the feet of our body but 1. Wee must follow him in faith move after him with the feet of faith which to do know that faith hath a threefold worke in this businesse First it causeth us to know acknowledge our Captaine and the way wherein hee is gone before us for it tels the Christian that he being now set into Christ and become a member of him If hee now live hee must live unto him If he dye
helpes as they are heavie burdens to the owners as Ezek. 7. 19. The rich man shall cast his silver away and his gold shall be farre off nay the greater his wealth is the greater plague the greater griefe and spoile awaites him as a tree that hath thicke and large boughs every man desires to lop him And how many have wee knowne overthrowne by the finenesse of their garments who if they had had a shorter traine had in likelyhood stood out many yeares longer Remember that Riches have wings under which let the Master hide himselfe a while as Esa. 28. 15. making falshood his refuge and hiding himselfe under vanitie yet with these wings will they fly away like a runnagate servant when his Master hath most need of him Secondly in time of sicknesse they are unprofitable The honourable Garter cannot cure the gowt nor the Chaire of Estate ease the collicke nor a Crowne remove the head-ache Can a man by all his wealth buy a good nights sleepe can it help him to a good stomacke or free him of one shaking or burning fitt of an ague Nay as wormes breed in the softest woods and cankers in the most sappie trees so softnesse idlenesse fulnesse intemperance and effeminate delicacie in the rich procure peculiar and most incurable diseases Thirdly in the day of death they cannot profit Job 27. 8. What hope hath the hypocrite when he hath heaped up riches and God takes away his soule for as they cannot help to life or birth in which case some would give thousands or millions for an heir so they cannot help in life to put off death Doe not Princes fall like others and these gods dye like men Could all the rich mans wealth hold his soule one night no the foole found his life stood not in abundance It is righteousnesse not riches that delivereth the soule from death Prov. 10. 2. Nay at death they bring much bitternesse for it is as great a pang of death to part with wealth as to part with life so as a rich man without better hopes dyeth a double death here And one miserie abides with him that while he leaves his wealth hee carries his sinnes with him occasioned in the getting keeping and disposing of them these lye downe in the dust with him Fourthly after death they profit not they cannot keepe the soule from hell nor ease that torment one moment they cannot keepe corruption from the body open the grave and see if thou canst discerne a difference between the rich and poore tell me if the wormes spare either of both but if the living be wronged by cost about embalming entombing or the like it is but a corpes still no sweeter to God if not sweetned by the embalming and buriall of Christ. Fiftly at the day of judgment the whole world cannot profit a man being then set on a light fire then shall gold and silver and precious stones and common stones be all one the Judge will not be corrupted nor can causes be gilded nor sentence pronounced according to our wealth in goods or lands but according to our graces riches in good workes This will be then the only profitable wealth not gold in our chests but faith and pietie in our consciences shall avayle us and not that we had abundance but that wee were abundant in faithfull dispensing shall be our acceptance Pro. 21. 21. Hee that followeth righteousnesse and mercy shall finde righteousnesse life and glory And now after all this say What profit is it to winne the whole world and lose his owne soule Or what recompence shall a man give for his soule Two meditations arise out of these words 1. The soule of a man is a most precious and invaluable thing seeing all the world gained is not comparable to the losse of one soule Pro. 6. 26. it is called the precious soule or life of man See it farther 4. wayes 1. Consider the soule in it self it is a particle of divine breath not created as bodily things consisting of matter and forme but inspired of God For the soule is neither traduced from the soules of Parents and much lesse generated of any corporall seed or matter but the Lord that spred the heavens and founded the earth formed the spirit of man within him Zech. 12. 1. neither was it created without deliberation of the whole Trinitie Gen. 1. 26. Let us make man in our owne image or likenesse as being the exquisite Master-piece above all other 2. Behold it in the faculties of it and wonder that God should put in such a piece of clay so divine a soule And that not onely in regard of supernaturall qualities of holinesse and righteousnesse in the entire nature of it but also in respect of natural qualities and operations resembling God in his understanding and wisedome it hath a facultie to understand and know Him whom it ought chiefely to love and is almost infinite at least insatiable in seeking knowledge a facultie to will even that which God willeth nor resteth it in any thing of this life nor is contented with any thing below but willeth principally things beyond the sight blessednesse and happinesse and respecteth good estimation after death and so argueth it owne immortalitie as God is immortall a facultie of conscience that stands in awe to sin though none looke on or citeth the person before Gods tribunall as Belshazzar and Felix who trembled It hath likewise all his operations above sense to love GOD feare God beleeve in God embrace Religion meditate on heavenly things with an aptnesse to proceed in the knowledge of God which other inferior creatures cannot doe 3. Behold it in the end of it it was not made for the body but the body for the soule and not onely to be the tabernacle of the soule to dwell in but the instrument of the soule to worke by for the soule tyed to the body cannot put forth his faculties without organs and senses of the body to expresse love and dutie unto God But the primarie and proper end of the divine soule is to live to God in this life and with God in the life to come Fourthly behold it as redecmed by Christ and created again to Gods image What a price did God and Jesus Christ set upon it what more precious than the blood of him that was God The ransome of the soule must be a bove all corruptible things 1 Pet. 1. 18. Also as it is sanctified by the Spirit what can bee comparable to his unmatchable graces no pearles are to be compared to wisdome to precious faith to the feare of God which is a rich treasure And if the hangings bee so precious what may we thinke of the roome Then bee so much the more warie to shunne any thing that may hurt the soule We esteeme our naturall lives precious and therefore are carefull to avoyd whatsoever is prejudiciall to the body
But the divine nature of the soule the excellencie of it above the body calls for more care and watchfulnes about it as 1. Abstaine from fleshly lusts which warre against the soule 1 Pet. 2. 11. beware of inward uncleannesse and impuritie the projects of the flesh pleasures of the flesh or pleasing of the flesh which savoureth not the things of God but fighteth against the spirit Rom. 8. 7. and lusteth against it Gal. 5. 17. Once already it hath robbed us of Gods image and our owne happinesse and cannot but serve us so again if we listen unto it 2. Beware of earthly lusts worldly desires and seeking after these transitories which drowne the soule in perdition 1 Tim. 6. 9. How carefull will a man bee of falling into a whirlepit where if good helpe come not in time hee is sure to bee drowned it is the word there used noting a certaine danger of drowning in a well or pit and such a danger as covetous rich men seldome or never get out of 3. Beware of false doctrine errours and heresies against the truth received which are the poyson and plague of the soule A man would not for a world drinke a draught of poyson and a carefull Christian will not willingly drinke-in any poysoned or infected doctrine which is infinitely more deadly to the soule than the other to the body 4. Beware of all sinne but especially of sins against conscience which are called wasting sinnes and of David prevailing sinnes Psal. 19. 13. Presumptuous sins make great gashes in the soule no sword can so gash and cleave the body Who would not avoid a mortall wound from a keene and mortall weapon Every sinne is a mortall wound but these farre more desperate and incurable Againe is the soule so precious then the murder of the soule is the most horrible sinne that can be to destroy the body of a man is to destroy Gods image yet a greater sinne to destroy his soule Ah fearefull sinne of non-residencie which destroyeth so many soules for if vision faile people must perish Prov. 29. 18. The carelesse neglect of so many soules as are under our charge is a fearefull and unregarded sinne Nature teacheth to prevent death and mischiefe from the bodies of all that are within our gates even beasts themselves and shall wee do no more for our brethren and bowells than for our beasts Never a soule thou standest charged withall but if it miscarry by thy default thy life shall goe for his life see 1 King 20. 39. and Ezek. 3. 18. On the other side is the soule so precious then the saving of a soule is one of the best and highest workes of mercy and shall receive the best reward to shine as the starres in the firmament of heaven Dan. 12. 3. How should this stirre up the Ministers to diligence in preaching so to feede and save soules The gaining of one soule is above the gaine of the world Therefore as the Lords nourses be ever laying out your breasts and afford the Lords children his owne provision in the word and sacraments labour to bring them to faith by which they receive the food and pray for the spirit by whose heat it is digested and turned into the nourishment of the soule How should it excite Parents and Masters to tender the precious soules of their children and servants to winne them to God by instruction counsell prayer example every way helping them out of sinne The chiefe love and care should bee set on that which is most precious But great is the sinne of most men who no more regard the soules of their children and servants than if they had no soules at all How should it stirre up able men to set up and hold up the Ministery every where according to their power which is the highest worke of mercie tending to save soules Ordinarily rich men at their death give if any thing to hospitalls or workes of charitie to the poore And these workes of mercy to the bodies of men being fruits of faith are worthy evidences of the power of the Gospell and shall not want their reward Mat. 10. 42. But if any man would runne at the best prize and doe a worke of truest mercie doe it to mens soules provide for their instruction get them food for their soules and the cloathing of Christs righteousnesse this is the better part Luke 10. 42. to shew mercy to the more precious part the saving of one soule is a more happie worke than the provision of a thousand bodies that must bee done and this not neglected More how careful should every one be for his owne soule which is here prized at so deare a rate all other things of price we are charie of for our bodies we are excessively carefull both to free them from annoyance and supply them with abundance of good things how much more would we doe so for our soules if wee prized them above our bodies but generall is the folly of that foole in the Gospell Luke 12. 20. who provided for every thing but his poore soule Consider even in this life the welfare of thy body depends on the good estate of thy soule and if the soule bee well provided for and saved the body is sure to be saved too Remember the promise Exod. 23. 25. If thou cleavest to the Lord hee shall blesse thy bread and thy water and take all sicknesse from the midst of thee And the keeping of the words of wisdome is life to those that finde them and health to their flesh Prov. 4. 22. Hence the godly in death were ever and onely carefull of their soules as Steven Act. 7. 59. Commended his soule into the hands of God and Christ himselfe his spirit into the hands of his Father Luke 23. 46. not mentioning their bodies they knew one cure implyed the other Lastly note the madnesse of men undervaluing their soules and exchanging them for an handfull of earth when indeed the world cannot profit them after this losse Once Adam and all his sonnes exchanged an innocent estate for a sinfull abd miserable and so it is still And with the prodigall sonne wee forgoe willingly our fathers favour for harlots and harlotrie our fathers house for a strange country our fathers bread for huskes What an extreme folly this is appeareth thus lay a man the wealth of a Kingdome a Crowne and all the world in his hand for his life he will not forgoe it at any hand but will readily say what will all this doe mee good when I am dead hee is wise to esteeme his life at an higher rate than the whole world because all the world cannot recompence or make up his losse But offer him a morsell of unjust gaine or a slight unlawfull and stolne pleasure for his soule hee makes a present exchange Ah seely man whose soule is so small a moate in thine eye which
and holiest men can make attonement but onely his blood which removeth the curse of the Law by satisfying for our sins which opens heaven now shut upon us and obtaines a perfect redemption Heb. 9. 2â— Next the Vertue and Preciousnesse of this Cure Oh it was a powerfull and precious blood and that in five respects 1. In respect of the quality it is the blood incorruptible All other diseases are cured with corruptible things but this is opposed to all corruptible things in the world 1 Pet. 1. 18. Yee are not redeemed with corruptible things but with the precious blood of Iesus Christ. 2. In respect of the person it was the blood of God Act. 20. 28. and therefore of infinite merit and price to purchase the whole Church 3. In respect of the subject of it no other cure or remedy can reach the soule All others drugs conduce for healthfull life and worke upon the body but this makes for an holy life and workes upon the soule the sicknesse whereof the most precious thing in the world cannot cure Minister to a wounded spirit Aurum potabile Bezoar Alchermes dust of Pearles all is in vaine it is onely this blood which heales soules and spirits 4. In respect of the powerfull effects of it above all other cures in the world for first they may frame the body to some soundnesse of temperature but this makes sound soules according to the conformity of Gods Law Secondly they may preserve naturall life for a while but this brings a supernaturall life for ever Thirdly they may restore strength and nature decayed but this changeth and bringeth in a new nature according to the second Adam Fourthly they cannot keepe away death approaching but this makes immortall Fifthly they cannot raise or recover a dead man but this raiseth both dead in sinne dead in soule and dead in body Lastly in respect of time All other physicke is made of drugs created with the world but this was prepared before the foundation of the world 1 Pet. 1. 18. Againe all the worke of all other physicke is done in death but the perfection and most powerfull worke of this is after death By all this take we notice of our extreme misery by sinne seeing nothing else can cure us but the blood of the Sonne of God Gold enough can ransome the greatest Potentate on earth but here nothing can doe it but the blood of the Kings sonne If we had such a disease as nothing but the heart-blood of our dearest friends alive suppose our wife husband mother or childe could cure us what an hopelesse and desperate case were it it would amaze and astonish the stoutest heart But much more may it smite our hearts that we have such a disease as nothing else but the heart-blood of the Sonne of God can cure Looke upon the execration of thy sinne in this glasse If any thing can worke the hatred of sinne this may 1. To see the fire of Gods wrath kindled and nothing but this blood can quench it 2. To see the deadlinesse 〈◊〉 the disease in the price of the physicke and the dearenesse of the remedy 3. The danger of sinning against so precious a blood for if Abels blood being shed cryed from earth for vengeance much more will this blood trod under foot But those never saw their sinne in this glasse who conceive the cure as easie as the turning of an hand a light Lord have mercy or an houre of repentance at death and have lived in sinne and loved their sinne as if there were no danger in it passe away their daies and live in ignorance swearing cursing Sabbath-breaking lying covetousnesse filthinesse and all unrighteousnesse whereas had they eyes to see they might out of the price and greatnesse of the remedy gather the danger and desperatenesse of the disease For all the earth affords not any herbe or simple nor drug of this vertue but the Sonne of God from heaven must shed his blood Nay all the men on earth and all the Angels of heaven could not make a confection to cure one sinne or sinner Neither any of Salomons fooles who make a mocke of sinne ever saw it in this glasse Is it not extremity of folly to make a tush of sinne and to take pleasure and delight in it O consider in time that the sinne thou makest so light of cost Christ deare and the least sinne thou delightest in must either cost Christ his blood or thee thine in endlesse torments It is no safe jesting with edged tooles and to east darts and fire-brands and say Am I not in jest In this Cure we may observe a world of wonders First wonder and admire this Physician who is both the Physician and the Physicke Was ever the like heard of in all nature Secondly admire the confection that the Physician must temper the remedy of his owne heart-blood He must by passion be pounded in the mortar of Gods wrath he must be beaten smitten spit upon wounded sweat water and blood be trodden on as a worme be forsaken of his Father the Lambe of God must be slaine the just suffer for the unjust Doest thou not here stand and wonder 〈◊〉 there ever such a Prece 〈…〉 〈◊〉 the world that the wo 〈…〉 〈◊〉 one man should heale ano 〈…〉 〈◊〉 â—ound or that the wo 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Captaine should heal 〈…〉 souldiers The 〈◊〉 suffered darkenesse the earth quaked the rockes rent asunder the graves opened the dead arose to shew the admirable confection of this Cure and are we senslesse still Thirdly admire the power of weaknesse and the Omnipotent worke of this Cure by contraries as in the great worke of Creation there the Sonne of God made all things not out of something but out of nothing so in this great worke of our Cure by Redemption he works our life not by his life but by his owne death he makes us infinitely happy but by his owne infinite misery he opens the grave for us by his owne lying in the grave he sends us to heaven by his owne descending from heaven and shuts the gates of hell by suffering hellish torments He honours us by his owne shame he breakes away our temptations and Satans molestations by being himselfe tempted Here is a skilfull Physician tempering poyson to a remedy bringing light out of darkenesse life out of death heaven out of hell In the whole order of nature one contrary refisteth another but it is beyond nature that one contrary should produce another Wonder Fourthly admire the care of the Physician who provided us a remedy before our disease before the world was or we in it together with his bounty who bestowed on us so precious a balme when there was none in Gilead when neither all the gold in India nor all the metals or minerals in the bowels of the earth could save one soule nor all the wealth in the world oure one
habits and from habits to another nature that is after a sort become the man himselfe that hee can as soone leave to bee himselfe as leave these And therefore wee must subscribe to the wisedome of Jesus Christ who enjoynes it as the very first worke of Christianity fit to bee first set upon 3. As it must be the first so also the continued act of a Christian to stand in the deniall of himselfe seeing the enemy continually useth our owne naturall inclinations against us to our owne hurt he plowes with our owne heifers even those lusts in any kind which he finds not throughly denied Wee must therefore instantly watch them and try them and finding them corrupt presently cut them off and deny them And because they are not denied till the contrary bee practised our care must bee that the roome of our hearts bee taken up with good desires and motions and the lustings of the Spirit which being contrary will keep out and keep under the lusts of the flesh And indeed this is the strongest deniall of our selves when we are strongly resolved in our selves rather to bee sufferers than doers in any wicked motion and retaine with us a stedfast purpose to please God in all things though it be with the displeasure of our selves and all the world 4. Whereas the high mountaines of pride resist this selfe-deniall wee must labour for the grace of humility which onely can bring these mountaines into a plaine To which end consider thy owne estate 1. What it is by nature and that is such as thou hast no cause to be proud of it as what cause hath a condemned rebell to bee proud in going to execution 2. That it can bee no better by grace till thou bee humble God gives grace onely to them and the raines of grace fall off the mountaines and water onely the vallies to fruitfulnesse 3. What it ought to bee by grace Still humble and lowly Grace is as the light in the soule that discovers all our defects and spots and all the nasty corners in our hearts to keep us low 4. What thou art restored to in Christ both in grace and glory but all upon condition of self-deniall for neither Christ nor the Christian have any other way to the crowne but by the crosse and no reigning with Christ but upon condition of suffering with him So of the fourth meanes 5. Whereas distrustfulnesse of heart wedgeth and rivetteth us into the world so as a man cannot easily command his heart off the least unlawfull gain of it and much lesse the whole for Christ Labour daily for the strengthening of faith in the providence of God and bring thy heart to leane upon that and not upon thy self or any inferiour meanes For which purpose First consider what a base folly it is to seek after vaine and earthly contents and in the mean time neglect and despise heavenly What other is it but to catch at shadowes Secondly set the promise ever before thee that to them that seek the Kingdome of God first every good thing shall bee ministred in due season And what an high indignity is it to trust an honest man on his word but not God without a pawne Thirdly observe his speciall providences to thy selfe thine for time past in all things and thou shalt not find cause to distrust him for time to come So Abraham raised that Proverbe God will provide in the Mount and in the Mount God will bee seen David can deny himselfe and his owne strength leaning on the assured experience of Gods strength in the Lion and Beare Quest. But this duty being so difficult we had need have good encouragements to excite our dulnesse and provoke our backwardnesse unto it What spurres therefore or motives have wee to quicken us thereunto Answ. Looke what way wee will wee want not motives unto it 1. Look at Christ he denied himselfe for us hee forsooke all father and mother lands and liberty and life it selfe yea heaven and happinesse for us Wee cannot deny so much for him and all ours is but a thankfull returne to him 2. Looke to the world which hath us in such bands and is so hardly denied It will leave us and deny us the fashion of the world passeth away it denies us any continuing city here denies us a resting place and all that we should deny it It is as Egypt to the Israel of God full of burdens and oppressions as Mesech to David and it should bee their woe that they are forced to dwell in Mesech But this is the folly of men Every one complaines of the badnesse of it but none are willing to leave it neither in affection nor action 3. Looke on the right hand we want not clouds of examples of the Saints who have denied themselves for Christ. Moses denied the honours and profits of the Court desplsed the treasures of Egypt refused to bee called the son of Pharaohs daughter and chused to suffer with Gods people Abraham denied himselfe in his owne bowels in his only son Isaac Others left all to follow Christ as the Disciples Others have followed him out of Jerusalem even to the crosse Others sold all to buy the pearle Others loved not their lives unto death for the testimony of Christ. Neither fire nor sword nor any torment could hinder the Martyrs from Christ they would fetch him out of the fire and exchange all their peace and outward contentments with most exquisite torments 4. Look on the left hand we have hypocrites forsaking much for Gods favour we have Baals Priests lancing and tormenting themselves to uphold their Idolatry And Micah 6. 6. Where with say the hypocrites shall we come before the Lord they will bring thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oyle they will part with the first-borne of their bodies for the sin of their soules Besides these we have the Papists charging us that wee will forsake nothing for our profession while they give all to the Church and betake themselves to voluntary poverty and beate downe their bodies with fastings whippings and watchings Wee are enemies to fasting we feed and fat our lusts and our religion is an enemy to all charity and good workes Wherein although they be lyers and deceivers as well in that they do themselves as that they say of us yet indeed they have too much ground of our reproach in the filthy loose carnall and covetous life of a number of professed Christians But shall hypocrites and Idolaters get before us in selfe-deniall c. 5. Looke to the end of our selfe-deniall there meetes us Gods promise with a full horne and hand and will not let us bee losers by the bargaine All the losse shall be made up with an infinite returne and advantage For Whosoever shall forsake house brethren sisters father or mother wife or
Scripture must be understood with exception of repentance as all promises with exception of the crosse Peter upon his repentance saved his lost life so doubtlesse many in this land were forced under Antichrist to abjure the truth who as they fell with Peter did also rise againe with him And whosoever shall lose his life for my sake Not he that loseth his life as a malefactor as Saul Judas others nor those that for vain-glory or discontent or hope of bettering their estate bereave themselves of life But for my sake that is 1. For the profession of the Gospel as did innumerable Christians in the Primitive Church and many in Queen Maries daies who in love to Christ were prodigall of their lives if they had had a thousand lives they should all have gone 2. For discharge of duty answerable to that profession as David John Baptist the Prophets Apostles Stephen and others who suffered for righteousnesse sake Mat. 5. 10. He shall save it that is he shall have it returned to him wiâ—h advantage of a miserable and temporary life it shall bee changed into an everlasting and blessed life hee hath suffered with Christ and hee must reigne with him Object But then martyrdome meriteth eternall life Answ. No for first the sufferings of this life are not worthy the glory that shall bee revealed Rom. 8. 18. there being no proportion betweene the body and soule betweene life temporall and life eternall Secondly the promise is made not to the suffering but the sufferer being a member of Christ and performed not for any merit for it is but our duty and a thankfull returne of our lives to him who gave his for us but for the faithfulnesse of the promise apprehended by the faith of Beleevers Object But shall none save his life but he that loseth it Answ. Yes many of the Patriarkes and faithfull in all ages lived and died peaceably in a good old age But two rules must bee resolved upon 1. If occasion be offered and God call for the life in the witnesse of faith and well-doing it may not be saved and now if it be saved it is lost 2. If occasion bee not given yet there must bee an expectation a resolution a readinesse of minde to it whensoever it may bee given For we reade among the Ancient of mentall Martyrs or votary Martyrs without fire or bloud in whom the readinesse of minde to lose the life for God and his truth is accepted of GOD as the losing of the life for God accepts the will for the deed and accounts of Abraham as if hee had sacrificed his sonne and saith of him hee spared not his sonne though hee was spared And of David that he had built him an house when hee had it but in his heart to build one for this built him an house Object But it seemes if a man to save his life flye in persecution hee loseth his life by so saving it Answ. Distinguish of persons Some are bound not to flye and these by saving their lives doe lose them Others are free and may safely flye To say something of each of these For the former 1. Some are bound inwardly by an inward call and voice of the Spirit as Paul was bound in spirit to goe up to Jerusalem even to suffer Acts 20. 22. and was endued with such a spirit of courage and fortitude that his life was not deare unto him but he was ready to endure all extremitie for Christ. Such a spirit GOD gave to Luther when hee went to Wormes to dispute that though hee saw nothing but death danger before him yet so many Divels as there were tiles on the houses could not turne him off And to many of the Martyrs in Queen Maries daies God gave in silly bodies noble and stout spirits to contemne all threats and torments These may not flye in persecution 2. Some are externally bound to stand by vertue either of the generall calling of a Christian as when by a mans flight the whole Church and truth is indangered which must be dearer than a mans life or of the speciall calling as when by the worke of it GOD may bee more glorified and the Church edified I must keep mee in the way notwithstanding the perill ensuing For example If the persecution bee generall and common to the whole Church the Minister may not flye for the weak are in great danger most need the support of the strong now the duty of the calling must be dearer than his life Whereas if the persecution were personall directed against the Pastor onely hee were in his owne liberty to withdraw himself only for a time 3. Some are tyed bound not to flye by reason of their present estate especially in two cases First when God hath cut off all law full meanes and wayes of flying and a man cannot escape but by unlawfull meanes as an officious lye hearing of Masse equivocations pealing discovering the brethren or the like Here a man must abide the will of God who hath called him to stand out and do no evill to save his life Secondly when a man is in hand or hold under the custody of the Magistrate though unjustly prosecuted he may not break prison nor use violence but obey the Magistrate in unjust sufferings alwaies counting it thank-worthy to endure griefe for GOD and Christ wrongfully 1 Pet. 2. 19. Quest. But what if the prison-doore be left open as sometime it may be or hath been Ans. If God open a doore this is not a breaking of prison The Apostles Acts 5. 19. used no violence to get out but when the Angel opened the door they went away shifted for themselvs thus not themselves only but the Church was preserved in them Now all these that are thus brought by God to the wrestling-place must strive for the best game without shrinking or starting away But there are a second sort that are more free and have liberty to avoid persecution by flight in these three cases 1. If any have not attained strength sufficient to bear the extremity for Christ our Saviour would have these costs to bee fore-cast as in the Parable of the Builder of the Captain mustering his forces Only in not finding strength bewail thy weaknes use means of further strength 2. If the danger be certain and present not suspected or surmised for a man may not as Jonas by casting feares cast himself out of his calling but if hee see certaine perill to himselfe and no great hope of doing good by his stay he may flye 3. If avoiding private respects as loosing himselfe from duty or out of excessive feare shifting for himselfe hee ayme directly at the furthering of Gods glory and Christs Kingdome for it is a rule in which wisdom conscience must over-rule If it may make more for Gods glory to flie flie if to stay
therefore I spake He hath begun well who hath begun in truth and laid a sure ground It was soundnesse of Faith that carried 〈…〉 ent Beleevers through such extremities They endured racking burning hewing asunder all by faith The just in trouble must live by faith Hab. 2. 4. And every house not founded upon a rocke when flouds beat stormes blow must fall and the fall shall be very great 4. Get sound affection grow up in the love of God and Jesus Christ then all torments shall be sweet for his sake as Jacob for Rachel 1 Cor. 13. 7. love suffereth all things Cant. 8. 6. love is strong as death the coales therof are fiery coales and a vehement flame much water cannot quench it nor flouds drown it Nay where this love is fervent it kindleth a flame of zeale by which if God cannot otherwise be glorified or rather than God should lose his glory the Saints would endure even the torments of hell Moses would rather bee razed out of the Booke of life and Paul separated from Christ rather than God not glorified 5. Christian resignation notably conduceth hereunto Learne to commit thy soule unto God in well-doing as into the hands of a faithfull Creatour 1 Pet. 4. 19. Thus did Paul 2 Tim. 1. 12. I know whom I have beleeved and am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him till that day A childe that hath any precious thing given him the best way to keep it is to put it into his fathers hands to keep Thy soule is the most precious thing thou hast let thy Father keep it it shal be safe whatever befall the body outward man 6. Christian confirmation or corroboration unto all long-suffering and patience with joy Col. 1. 11. Wee must daily out-grow some weaknesse and bee adding to our strength and laying up something to animate and encourage our selves in enduring with Christ that by no meanes in triall we be wonne to deny Christ and his Name Now for our daily strengthening it will be usefull to meditate daily on some of these things 1. On Gods eternall decree who hath appointed an houre for the power of darkness to work before which time not an haire can fall from the head Till it bee come Christ shal withdraw himself from danger but when it is come he is not affraid to meet his enemies to tell them hee is the man whom they seeke deliver himselfe into their hands The enemy can do nothing that God is not aware of nothing beyond his just and wise permission nothing but what shall glorifie himself edifie the Church and turne to the best even to us particularly 2. Meditate on the Word of God predicting and fore-telling of persecutions for the Name of Christ Ye shall be hated of all men for my sake all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution and the time commeth in which they that kill you will think they doe GOD good service Which are good admonitions to keep us in some preparednes to drink of the same cup with Christ our Lord. Commanding to hold fast what wee have and let none take our crowne Rev. 2. 25. as if hee had said Hold fast with both hands that faith and grace which is the pledge of a crowne Promising and fencing the heart with assurance of his presence mitigation deliverance honourable recompence which are all strong sure foundations grounded in his owne truth and faithfulnesse 1. He hath promised his presence in sixe troubles in seven in fire and water and that for their strength consolation the Spirit of grace and glory shall rest upon them 1 Pet. 4. 14. And then he doth more for his Saints when he standeth by them strengthening their faith to suffer the pangs of death than when he opened the prison-doors iron gates to let Peter and Paul goefree Nay the same blessed Apostles were as deare to God and God as neere to them when they were behcaded by Nero as when the one by an Angel was led out the other had the foundations of the prison shaken and the gates cast open 2. He hath promised mitigation it is much more that Christians can with joy clap their hands and sing Psalmes in the flames professe as some of the Martyrs that the fire was to them as a bed of Downe or sweet Roses than to be led out of prison by an Angel 3. He hath promised an happy deliverance for the fire shall not hurt the gold but fine it the flaile shal not hurt the wheat but cleanse it the black sope seems to foyle and fowle the cloth but indeed makes it whiter cleaner There is no danger when Gods Battledore come on his children it serves but to whiten them and parts them from their foulnesse All the enemies cannot hinder thy glory no more than they could Christs they may sever soule and body asunder but neither of them from Christ. They may take our soules from our bodies or our hearts out of our bosome but cannot take us out of the hand or bosome of our heavenly Father 4. Hee hath promised a most ample recompence to him that overcomes I will give him power over the Nations he shall be a pillar in the house of God and shall go no more forth and Christ will confesse him before his Father in heaven Mat. 10. 32. Oh now look often upon this happy end if thou shalt give thy life in Christs quarrell Great shall be thy reward in heaven when a miserable life shall bee exchanged with eternall blessednesse This of the second meditation 3. Consider that thou hast Christ thy companion in suffering yea thou hast him an example also who for the joy set before him endured the crosse Nay he endured thy crosse all thy suffering is but an honest duty of thankfulnesse and a gratefull part to stick to him in trouble whom we have followed in prosperity Polycarp the Martyr at his death said thus I have served Christ 86. yeeres and hee never hurt mee why should I speake evill of him Yea it is but duty to maintaine his cause to death who by death maintained our cause now pleadeth it in the sight of God Neither is it an unglorious service but a precious gift and an honourable advancement 1 Pet. 4. 14. The Martyr that sate downe with Christ at a bitter breakfast expected a better dinner and found it Oh thinke with thy selfe what had become of mee if Christ had kept his life so fast from mee as my corruption would hold my life from him If I would keep it from him to day he may snatch it from me to morrow If I will not give it now to glorifie God he may take it unto punishmēt If I give it freely once it is not to lose it but to receive it for ever I see
when God called Abraham to sacrifice his Isaac Abraham by offering him preserved him The way to preserve my Isaac my joy my life is to offer it to Christ for then it shall not perish but live and be increased and for my Isaac and joy a Ram shal be sacrified that is only my corrupt affections concupiscence but my joy shall none take away Verse 26. For what shal it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his owne soule Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soule IN this Verse our Saviour enlargeth the former doctrine by a second reason drawn from the unprofitablenesse of winning the world with the losse of the soul seems to prevent an objection which might rise up in the minds of his hearers thus But wee see that this is not to provide for the safety and comfort of life for those that care not for following thee live at hearts ease in plenty and fulnesse they are on the rising hand are the only gainers in the world only wee are losers and have left all and betaken our selves to an afflicted despicable condition for following of thee why might not wee looke to bee gainers too To which our Saviour directs his answer They are indeed gainers in the world but if they were gainers of the world there is a greater loss neer them than all that gaine even the loss of the soul which as it is the most incomparable loss so is it the most irrecoverable loss of all but a just punishment of that man who by losing Christ wil save his own stake For the meaning of the words What shall it profit a man That is What shall it any way better a mans estate The English is somewhat too short for the Greeke the word profit being amongst us commonly used for the increase of riches but the Greeke comprehends also the gaine of honours preferments pleasures or any other thing whereby the estate is bettered either indeed or in appearance To win the whole world This is spoken by way of supposition for no man ever wonne the whole world Alexander won much of it Ahasuerus was Lord over 127. Provinces But never any could win the whole yet suppose a man should winne the whole world this would fwell to a great bulk if wee consider both what is included in the word world what in the word gaine the world 1. By the world is meant not only the frame of heaven earth the creatures but all that a naturall mans heart can desire in the world or can wish for his full contentment such as honours pleasures all the delights of the sons of men In which sense Paul saith Gal 6. 14. I am crucified to the world the world to mee that is I have weaned my selfe from the desire of all such worldly contents as naturall men make their only portion yea I am ever dead to such desires This then is the meaning Suppose one man could gain all the world and honours pleasures that all men on earth joyntly or severally have yet what is it to the soules losse 2. In the gaining of the world is included 1. A right title 2. Possession hold 3. Fruition content â—4 A certainty of holding the whole For all these goe to a cleare gain yet were all this nothing to the losse of the soule And lose his soule That is and lose himself for so S. Luke expresseth it ch 9. 25. If he destroy or lose himselfe And so by an ordinary Hebraism the soule is put for the whole person Seventy soules went downe into Egypt that is seventy persons And the soule cannot bee lost but the whole person must perish And the soul cannot be but lost when he is offended who can cast both soul and body into hell Or what recompence shall a man give in exchange for his soul That is no exchange can countervaile the losse nothing in the world can redeeme the soule as if hee had said Devise what you can all the world cannot nor can a thousand worlds redeeme a lost soule And therefore as the losse is the greatest so it is most irrecoverable and impossible to bee made up againe Now something is observable 1. Out of the manner of propounding 2. Out of the matter propounded The maner of propounding is by a continued interrogation which not onely carrieth in it more strength than an ordinary negation but stirreth up the hearer to ponder wel weigh the matter as if he were to give his judgment and answer As if the Lord had said in larger speech Tell mee out of your own judgments best understanding let your owne consciences bee Judges whether the whole world were a reasonable gaine for the loss of the soul or whether the whole world could recover such a loss or no. Wherin note 1. That the Ministers Preachers of the Word after the example of Christ must not only be carefull of the matter what they teach but also of the manner of teaching so to instruct as to sharpen set an edge on the word so as men may bee brought to commune with themselves and enter into their owne hearts to whet upon themselves things delivered to embrace that which is good and hate the contrary Jer. 6. 27. the Prophet must try their wayes the Lord set sent him that hee might know and try their waies To try metall is to bring it to the touch so Gods Minister must bring men to the touch so touch upon their sins and drosse as the guilty person may feele himselfe touched and tryed with the reproofe Thus did Nathan in the Name of the Lord with David his King Thou art the man 2 Sam. 12. 7. Thus the Lord himself Deut. 10. 12. after he had made rehearsall of manifold benefits conferred on his people askes themselves the question And now Israel what doth the Lord require of thee as if he had said Think with thy selfe and say if he deserve not the love feare trust and obedience of thy heart and life Isa. 5. 4. after the Lord had shewed how he had chosen planted hedged and dressed his Vineyard hee summons them to give answer to this question What could I do more to my Vineyard As if hee had said Say within your selves and be Judges your selves whether your wild grapes proceed not from your selvs from your own naughty disposition not from my want of manuring One reason hereof is taken from the love of the Minister Our love must direct particular doctrine to him whom we would profit and help toward heaven Colos. 1. 28. Pauls affection caused him to admonish not all men but every man to teach every man and to present every man perfect in Christ. The other from the fruit pro fit of the Ministry wherein God gives the learned tongue that by speciall
application the doctrine may bee brought home to every mans heart and the heart may bee taught in wisdome It is the life excellency of preaching to be an able Minister of the Spirit by the shril trumpet of the Word to awaken the drowsie consciences and set mens sins in order before them And otherwise let a man teach generally without application long hee shall teach and his people remaine untaught the bellowes shall be burnt in the fire but the drosse remain still A garment fitted for all bodies is fit for no body and so is it with doctrine Or as a loafe of bread set among the children but none can they get cut and given them Which teacheth people how to esteem of such Preachers as labour in application and hold the glasse of the Law before mens faces to see their spots namely not as the world doth troublers of Israel or spy-faults or invective Preachers nor as our Libertines hold them Legall Preachers No but Ministers of Gods rich mercy whose wonderful favour it is to send us a Nathan that will say Thou art the man This hast thou done Were not the Disciples of Christ Preachers of mercy and the best Evangelicall Preachers yet what sharp points had their doctrine to pricke and pierce the hearts of men to make them cry out Men and brethren what shall we doe to be saved Act. 2. 37. Be also contrary to the practice of the world who most distaste that word which comes neerest to the conscience and neerest the bad customes and fashions of times and persons Whereas indeed a good heart honours the Word for nothing more than discovering the thoughts secret speeches and practices in nothing more can it be like to God an Idiot an Infidell now can acknowledge it to bee the Lords 1 Cor. 14. 24. 25. God is in you of 〈◊〉 truth What difference between Gods word and mans if it should not reach the conscience Where were the Spirit in it if it should not discerne the spirits and divide between the marrow and the bone Lastly it discovers the practice of wicked men who shrink more at the curse than at their sin and when they cannot blame or deny what is said then to flie upon the Preachers purpose and affection So ranking themselves among those wicked ones who rebuke the Priest Hos. 4. 4. Such a one wil not appeare an Atheist therefore will approve the doctrine but he remaines an hypocrite enemy therefore reviles the person and in effect rejects the doctrine This of the first note 2. In the manner note another point of wisdome namely in matters of much importance as is the losing of the soule or else of great danger as is the winning of the world to use more than ordinary vehemency The wisdome of God speakes not of tything Mint and Cummin as of the weighty points of the Law Neither hath every Verse in the Bible a verely or a behold in the beginning or a Selah in the end But in matters of greater intention or excitation some star is held over them that he who reades may consider Our Lord expressing such vehemency here shewes it the greatest matter in the world the gaining of heaven and saving of the soule And that the greatest danger in the world is the gaining of the world by the losing of the soule Can a man grapple thornes together and not feare pricking Can a man walk on snares safely and such is the gain of the world Mat. 13. 22. and 1 Tim. 6. 10. And therefore as the end of the whole Ministery is to draw men from earth to heaven so if in any argument we the Ministers could be more earnest perswasive we had need lay weight upon this as in this our Precedent in haling men from the gaine of the world to the gain of themselves from the care of the body to the care of their soules and from the eager pursuit of all false profits to the purchase of the best and surest commodity which shall eternally enrich them to life everlasting 3. Our Saviour in the manner teacheth how naturally wee are all of us inclined to the world to seek it with all greedinesse and so have need of many and strong back-byasses In that this care is implied here to be 1. the first care of a naturall man because it is of a sensible profit benefit 2. the most vehement care in that a naturall man sets his soule light for it 3. the most insatiable in that a man would gaine if it were possible the whole world for hee that sets his heart on silver cannot be satisfied Eccles. 5. 9. And this unmortified desire for the unsatiablenesse of it is compared to the Hors-leach which is never full till he burst Neither indeed can the round world if a man had it all fill the corners of a covetous mans heart Ob. Oh but many naturall men have despised the world Some Philosophers have cast away riches and this some orders of Papists professe and therefore every man is not naturally carried after the world Answ. I answer 1. It was not hard for many to despise riches when they saw they could not attaine them 2. Some by common grace above nature are repressed and restrained for many such common gifts are bestowed on wicked men for the common good of mankinde and upholding of humane society and otherwise every man would bee a wolfe and devourer 3. The vow of voluntary poverty in hope of merit is blasphemous a fruit of pride a grosse hypocrisie and nothing lesse than poverty indeed Well said one The purse is easier left than the will and if you will you may hold it and yet leave it Every covetous man then is a naturall man where covetousnesse reigns and commands there nature swayes and they are not only under this but all their sins A covetous man a godly man are incompatible no more than a man can be in heaven and earth at one time Findest thou thy heart bowed downward and fixed on earth with full desires never deceive thy selfe with profession of religion or godlinesse for religion entertained as well as professed 1. would shew thee better things 2. affect thee with them as with thine owne 3. order unquiet and unsatiable desires True contentment with food raiment if God give no more is the daughter of godlines 4. It would make thee and all thy wealth servants of grace employed for God and thought best saved when well laid out Consider and deceive not thy selfe Againe even professors of Religion and those that in part are gotten out of the world must espy flesh and nature still at worke and returning upon them in this behalfe It is a common and too just an imputation on many who make their profession heare ill their Religion doubted of that they binde up their hands from doing good from furthering their own reckoning yet all this
while professe a farre degree in mortification when for any thing a man can see there is little difference between them and worldlings you may observe them in their trading and calling as intent as untrusty as griping as ordinary in the mysteries and crafts of their trade as the ordinary worldling Move them to pious or charitable duties you finde many of them as barren as grudging as penurious you would thinke you had a flint in hand to fetch out water Pence are pull'd from them as their joynts and silver out of their purses as bloud out of their veins Here is a faint profession of godlines but the life the power the spirits are oppressed May we not say now their riches cares are thorns to them Oh that we were wise to discern how these thorns supplant and unroot the Word while they root themselvs undermine the counsels exhortations of it how they draw away this moisture that should preserve the growth and greennesse of Christians and keep the comfortable heat and shine of the Sunne of grace from us as thorns do Oh see and bewaile the curse of our sin that our earthly hearts should bring forth thorns and thistles to the choaking of the seed of grace and then be ever cropping or unrooting them This of the maner of propounding these truths The matter affordeth sundry instructions 1. The more a man is addicted to gaine the world the greater is the danger of losing his soule They that will be rich fall into many temptations and snares 1 Tim. 6. 9. and surely hee that walketh on snares and on many snares walketh not the safest Ecclus. 5. 12. Solomon observed an evill sicknesse under the Sun riches reserved to the hurt of the owner Pro. 1. 17. In vaine is the net laid before the bird for she is so greedy of the bait that shee forgets the danger and loseth her life So is every one that is greedy of gaine which takes away the life of the owners thereof as in our New Translation Yea so strong a snare the Divell thought this that he assaulted Christ himselfe with it and kept it for his last most violent on-sett if all other should faile him All these will I give thee Matth. 4. 9. and when this would not worke hee departed hopelesse And what else doth our Lord affirme in saying How hard is it for a rich man to be saved For first the gain of the world commonly estrangeth the heart from God from heaven from thoughts and desires of it The love of the world is an Idolatry and spirituall Adultery whereby the heart goeth a whoring from God and as the adulterer gives the strength of his body to a stranger so the worldling gives the strength and confidence of his soule to a strange god the god of the world saith to the wedge Thou art my confidence Job 31. 21. As the Idolater sacrificeth to his Idoll so the worldling is the Priest that sacrificeth to the world and Mammon And as the Idolater serves his Idoll worships it so the lover of gain bestowes his love affection service honour and time upon the world to get or increase it and thinkes all the time set apart to Gods service exceeding tedious and burdensome And is not the Idolater in danger of perdition or else an Adulterer Secondly desire to be rich and gaine the world stuffeth the soule with a thousand damnable lusts every one able to sinke it to hell This one sin brings in a band and army of wickednesses swels the heart with pride deads it with security begets a licentiousnesse and boldnesse in sinning fils the hands with wickednesse robbery the mouth with oaths curses lyes against God and conscience the house with bribes and riches of iniquity the belly with bread of deceit usury and oppression In one word it is a fruitfull root of all evill 1 Tim. 6. 10. and a covetous person is a most vicious person no sin will he forbear that may bring him in gain he is a fit anvile for the Divell to forge hammer out any mischievous device upon as in the examples of Ahab Balaam Judas Demas all carried in the violent stream of this sin to hainous acts against their consciences And doth not so cursed a root endanger the soule Thirdly desire of gaine threatens danger and singular detriment to the soul because it brings it almost to an impossibility of repentance and solvation Matth. 19. 20. It is easier for a Camell to passe through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to be saved the reason is because it commonly frustrates the meanes of repentance and salvation Our Saviour noteth it in those two Parables Mat. 13. that all the seed cast among thornes of worldly cares is choaked the thorns hinder the sun-beames from shining on the blade and stalke and unroot it within And what was it else that kept men from the supper of the great King but buying of oxen marrying of wives and other worldly occasions What pulled good Martha from the feet of Christ and from hearing his gracious words but distractions about many things which made her forget the one thing necessary Doth not our experience shew us that of all other men worldlings who are in their thousands and ten thousands are most dull and uncapable persons in spirituall things Call them to workes of justice piety mercy neighbourhood to uphold the worship of God to exercise bounty and beneficence wee speake to deafe men and shall as soon persw ade the pillars they sit by If they come to Church and heare and get a little understanding and be convinced and prick't a little the cares of the world choake all presently and their covetousnesse suffers them not to profit by any preaching as the Prophets Ezek. 33. 31. Of all men the bitterest enemies and scorners of their teachers are covetous men If Christ himselfe should come and teach them they would scorne him These things heard the Pharisees and mocked him for they were covetous Luke 16. 14. they pretended other things against Christ but it was their covetousnesse that kept alive their malice Fourthly as it keeps ouâ— grace in all the meanes of it so it eates out casteth it out of the heart as the lean Kine ate up the fat and were leane and ill-favoured still How many Apostates and Revolters confirme this truth who in their lower estate could reade pray keep the Sabbaths and their private watches with God could instruct their families and use diligence in good waies meanes but now resemble the Moone which never suffereth eclipse but at her full and that is by the earths interposition between the Sunne and her selfe Better had it been that these had never seen penny of their wealth than to have exchanged such things for it And is not the soule now in danger Quest. Is it not then lawfull to labour for riches for our selves and
ours to live well and honestly in the world Answ. God hath enjoyned man to labour and consequently permitteth him the reward of it for the sustaining and upholding of himselfe and his family Againe there is an honest care for the family which is part of a mans calling enjoyned by the Apostle if any man provide not for his family hee is worse than an Infidell 1 Tim. 5. 8. But the thing condemned is the seeking of the world 1. Out of order 2. Out of measure 1. The former when we seek it in the first place as that which wee can worst want when the unbeleeving heart saith in it selfe secretly I must attaine this and that profit and pitch of estate I must compasse such and such a project and then I will become religious and devout contrary to our Saviours counsell Matthew 6. 33. First seeke the Kingdome of God 2. Out of measure both seeking more than is sufficient and with more care and affection than is warrantable when for the matter nothing is sufficient for their desire but they are as the grave and Horse-leach and say ever Give give Eccl. 5. 9. he that loveth silver shall not bee satisfied with it And for the manner their care is immoderate cutting distracting the heart engrossing the thoughts and desires from better things extinguishing faith consuming the time deadning prayers cutting off testimonies of love resolving to part with nothing for Christ and to suffer lesse for him if it were possible and in a word not knowing any moderation Object But then we are in good case and none of us so bad Ans. It is hard to find a man not entangled for wealth or by wealth and the lesse the danger is seen the more it is All which may lead us into our selves to take notice of our pronenesse and propensity to this sin which no man willingly confesseth and those that are deepest in it and swarm with all sorts of evils flowing from it doe least discern it in themselves For why 1. The Apostle 1 Thess. 2. 5. calleth it coloured covetousnesse it maskes and hides it self by many subtle evasions 2. It is an inward sin lurking in the spirit of a man 3. The dust of earthlinesse putteth out the eye of the minde or at least darkneth the understanding that it doth not easily discerne it Yet Must we be convinced of it in our selves and of our danger by it for first while we have more care for earth than heaven secondly while wee more joy and trust the meanes than Gods promises or providence thirdly while we can compasse our gain by fraud of speech or deed fourthly while we are remisse in meanes of salvation for love of the world fiftly while wee are distracted and discontented with the things we have All the world may see our conversation is not without covetousnesse and where is he that can say his heart is cleane Let us therefore bewaile our selves who thrust our selves into such dangers by so base a vice as should bee found in none but Heathens Infidels Also it may moderate our delights in these outward things We think our selves happy beloved of God when wee prosper in the world We rejoyce in our wealth in-comes and beare up our head aloft because wee have gotten more than many others But may not many see in their wealth how they have endangered hazzarded their souls How many do highly conceit of themselves are well conceited of by others because they are rich but if either themselves or others should see how farre off salvation they are by means of their riches they would soon change their note and minde And why may they not see this Is not the Word a dead letter to them or choaked in them Is not Christ kept out his Spirit beaten out by the god of the world Are not religious duties laid aside they so much the more forgetfull of God as he is more bountifull toward them Is there not as much crop of the seed sowne in a thicket or a thorne hedge as of fruits of grace from them Likewise it may moderate our sorrows in afflictions in losses in the bitter suffrings here below seeing thereby the Lord weaneth us from the world and from the love of those things which are so dangerous to our selves Well we may as children cry when the father takes away a knife from them but it is our safety to want what may hurt us so much Lastly let it moderate our desires to use the world weinedly even as the Mariner the sea he cannot leave the sea only he must avoid the rockes and dangers Quest. How Answ. By foure rules 1. Labour to descry those rockes note the fearfull attendants of this sinne how easily it swalloweth unlawfull things what mischiefes usher it and are perpetrated for mony the poore shall be sold for shooes their faces ground justice perverted little and false measures great and unjust prices Balaam will curse Gehazi will bribe Demetrius will cry downe Paul for his Images Judas for a little mony will sell his Master and Christians will deny their profession for a vile price here is Mammon of iniquity the next odious name to the Divell himselfe 2. Consider the distance of that we desire and that we hazzard for it in the vanity of this life and the eternity of that wee expect in the basenesse of earth which we covet made to tread under our feet and the precious soule of man which is from heaven and hath no earth in it Nay God hath made the body of man upright and his face lifted up from the earth that hee might conceive how high his soule should be elevated from it And why should he take that into his heart which the Lord hath cast under his feet 3. Labour to esteeme of the world as Israel of Manna and that wealth is but for the day and if this dayes gathering or labour will serve this daies food so shall to morrowes labour supply for to morrowes meate Esteem it a moveable but God is the portion Esteem it a meanes but man lives not by bread onely Mat. 4. 4. God is our life and the maintainer of it Why then doest thou not cast over thy care to him and confine it to the day Hee gave thee thy body will hee not give rayment also Hee gave his Sonne for thy soule will hee then deny food for the body He made the mouth and will he not give meat Doest thou trust him for the salvation of thy soule and not for the provision of thy body for heaven and not for earth 4. Pray to finde the extreme need of Christ and his righteousnesse and that all other things are but conditionally necessary Pray that GOD would incline thine heart to his testimonies that it may be so much the more drawn from covetous cares which are
men especially by promise breaking and slipperinesse in contracts and by breaking up their estate to defraud men and cheate their Creditors an horrible theft and an arrow shot lately from hell to the overthrow of many they wil be sure of a rich bootie that shall make them Gentlemen-theeves ever after when their poore fellowes who never did halfe so much hurt goe to the gallows Thirdly in the same sort and ranke are Painters that make idolatrous or filthy inflaming pictures as so many wanton and alluring harlots Stationers that sell filthy and lascivious pamphlets the divels trumpets to spread his poyson and uncleannesse All these will one day prove heavie gains when the eye is open to see the soule lost for getting such an handfull of the world Here is a great deale of the Mammon of iniquitie as profitable as Judas his thirtie silver-pieces We come now to the lastproof Fourthly hee loseth his soule for the world that by the world casteth himselfe back in the way and meanes of salvation as First when his wealth blocks up the way of salvation becomming thornes to choake the word or as water to quench zeale or as weights oppressing the motions of the Word and Spirit when riches distract the owners not suffring them to keep watches with God in reading prayer meditation and the like godly exercises when they are incentives to pride and back-byasses to repentance c. Secondly when they are perverted to hold men and uphold them in a course of sinne and damnable lusts as riot gaming drinking whoring pride idlenesse or the like or when men waste them in contentions and quarrels needlesly as some penurious snake that cannot finde a groat in many yeares to uphold the ministry or any good motion yet can finde pounds and pieces good store to spend against his Minister or neighbours to compasse his rotten and crooked wil. But it is good to consider the doome of such wicked servants that have thus wasted their Masters goods bind them hand and foot cast them into hell there shall bee weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth Now conclude from hence that there is no hope of thriving by iniquity or indirect meanes of getting wealth because Gods curse goes with it and the plague ever accompanies it as if a man should eat good cheere but in a plaguie house or weare silke and sattin but it is all infected apparel or as a felon by robbery gets a bag of money but hath for it lost his life is pursued with huy and cry to be apprehended for judgement Hab. 2. 6. thou increasest that which is not thine But suppose it were thine by good meanes it is but as thicke clay wherewith thou loadest thy selfe as a pack-horse that hath no other benefit of his load than the heavie burden of it What were a man richer for an estate never so great if he were sure it should all bee suddenly consumed by fire yet such is the wealth of wicked worldlings who are well-pleased without any other portion the curse of God as a spark of fire kindles in that estate and moulders and consumes it that oftentimes not the third or second heire rejoyceth in it And it will bee wisedome to consider whether fraud and guile have not brought such a guest as povertie into many houses Looke upon shifters gamesters couseners and deceitful persons who by all their trickes and shifts profit themselves little or nothing in their estate and cannot shift off contempt reproach and beggerie and many unjust persons who have risen and ruffled by deceitfull courses have as suddenly sunke and withered and no reason could be imagined but the falshood of their foundation and a secret and insensible curse of God fretting the very timber of their houses sometimes in their owne dayes sometimes in their heires after them wasting and consuming as wickedly and speedily as ever their father got it whereof our age affoordeth many fearefull examples Now if God have spared the arrest of those goods forfeited by falshood speedily labour to prevent it by repentance by mercy by restitution by reformation Never trust to rise by that which so many others fall by Thinke not to turne that to a cleare gain which is to all others a losse yea and the greatest losse to thy selfe in earthly things and heavenly in body and soule nay of body and soule which is the greatest of all losses and most irrecoverable Againe our care must be to be so far from losing our soules for the world as that by the world we further the salvation of them First for that God gives not these things as snares and hinderances but as staves in our hands to helpe us in our way and as a prosperous winde to him that is sailing to heaven Secondly he hath commanded us to Honour the Lord with our riches Pro. 3. 9. to use them as our Masters talents to our Masters advantage to use them as our servants and a slave is intolerable when he takes on him to rule the house especially when as a rivall he wooeth his Mistresse to gaine her love from his Master so riches are good servants while servants but if they allure the soule and withdraw the heart from the husband they must be turned away Thirdly what a lamentable thing is it to pervert the good gifts of God to our owne perdition as for a glutton to kill himselfe with that which should preserve his life Quest. But how may I by riches promote mine owne salvation Answ. First make friends of them to helpe thy selfe into everlasting habitations Luke 16. 9. First make God thy friend by maintaining his worship and the persons and places belonging unto it buy the meanes of grace and settle the Ministery buy the truth and sell it not Once the people brought too much to the Tabernacle but the fault is now on the contrary side see Exod. 36. 5. and Pro. 17. 16. Secondly make Christ thy friend by relieving his poore members whom wee have alwayes with us not onely to exercise their humility and patience but also the mercy and liberality of the rich and Christ acknowledgeth what is done to them is done to himself and who would not relieve Christ if he stood in need Thirdly make the poore thy friends that they may receive thee by their prayers and testimonie of thy charity The loynes and bellies of the poore blessed Job Obadiah fed the Prophets of God Dorcas made garments for the poore Cornelius his almes came up before God and obtained a remembrance Fourthly make all men thy friends To do good and distribute forget not for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased Heb. 13. 16. Doe good unto all especially the houshold of faith Gal. 6. 10. How fit is it that the necessities of men in want should bee relieved by such as are laden with super fluities to this very end to doe good to others for
inconstancie of them And can these things so vaine in themselves recover so infinite a losse Secondly see them in their properties As they are vaine in themselves so are they not ours but some from parents as inheritances some from Princes as honors some from people as praise name reputation and all in other mens power so long as they will conferre or retaine them But our soules are properly ours as also our sinnes and no man can redeeme the soule of his brother Psal. 49. 7. Againe they are changeable and temporarie For wealth a man may out live a world of it and dye a begger Mens favors are no inheritance Beautie will not stand before one fit of sicknesse nor strength the shake of one ague One snuffe of a candle may suddenly overmaster the greatest estate and the greatest pleasures are but for a season Whereas the soule and faculties of it are immortall and capable of eternall weale or wo. Thirdly that which must ransome the soule must appease the infinite wrath of God which all finite creatures are not able to doe Pro. 11. 4. they avayle not in the day of wrath Only the blood of Christ is a plenarie expiation Againe that which must ransome a soule must buy backe the sentence and procure a righteousnesse answerable to the law but the whole world cannot do that onely Christ frees from the sentence of condemnation and his blood onely obtaines for us better conditions by vertue of a new covenant than the law affords us Lastly that which ransomes a soule must help us out of corruption pull us out of the power of Satan keepe the soule from hell and invest us into life and immortalitie But a world of worlds cannot doe the least of all these and therefore can be no proportionall recompence for a lost soule Fourthly all the world cannot offer a recompence to God of any thing which is not his owne whereas our ransome must be of a thing undue an offering above that the law requireth a free-will offering so that no sinner can offer a ransome of sin And by all this it appeareth that the whole world cannot afford a recompence for one lost soule Which serves to condemne the extreme blasphemie of the Romish Church teaching that masses pardons indulgences satisfactions humane merits pilgrimages and a thousand such toyes can become a recompence for a lost soule whereas no man nor Angell can become a recompence for a lost soule it is too great a price to pay the person must be no lesse than GOD and man 1 Pet. 1. 18. Yee are not redeemed with corruptible things 2. Let such rich men as to whom our Lord directeth this speach consider of their wofull estate while they abound with wealth trustin nothing so much as that A broken reed and for all their wealth being wicked they must to hell their riches cannot ransom thē yea they rather plunge them into the pit than help them out as a wedg of gold helps more to drowne a man that is cast into the sea thā to save or deliver him Which should be of use to all the more willingly to want them the more weinedly to hold them to grow into an holy contempt of them and to raise our desires to better more durable riches 3. It may humble us for that it imports the extreme miserie into which wee have plunged our selves by sin we have lost our soules and cast them into so ruinous a condition as the whole world is not sufficient to ransom them The greatness and desperateness of the cure amplifies the greatnesse and desperatenes of the disease What earthly danger is it which the world cannot buy out but gold and silver cannot purchase a Church no not one soule It must be an infinite ruine and breach the repaire whereof must be of such infinite value and sufficiency 4. It calls us to behold the excellencie of Christ and fixe our eyes upon the wonderfull vertue of his precious blood which did redeeme our lost soules when all corruptible things in the world could not How should it excite us to love him and admire his goodnes and raise the price of grace which is beyond all treasures yea and teach us to esteeme the rebukes of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt Paul would bee set downe a nothing in himselfe that he might finde the vertue of Christ his death and resurrection the worth and value wherof is beyond the worth of many worlds even so farre as infinite is beyond finite which holds no comparison Lastly it may raise in us the true valuation and respect of our owne soules Is the soule at such a rate as being lost a whole world cannot redeeme it what an extreme madnesse then is it for men so to live as if they had no soules or if they have they are but as salt to keepe their bodies sweet void of all care either to keepe or save them never an horse or hog about their houses but their lives are more regarded than their precious soules Certainly there is nothing of price no pearles no grace nothing worthy of care where men are so carelesse Let us bee exhorted to looke better to our soules than to lose them for any baites which the divell or the world layes in our way Prize them above all the world as Christ doth Be serious in the saving of thy soule above the winning of the world Use the ordinary means diligently Get the Spirit of faith love prayer c. which are utterly contemned by the most too much neglected by the best And with thine owne soule pitie and prize the soules of others especially such as are committed to thee as a Pastor as a Parent as a Master lose them not for want of instruction esteeme the soules of thy wife children precious things bring them to the means of salvation teach them pray for them help them out of danger of perdition if by thy default one soule be lost all the world cannot make up the losse either to thee or to that person Verse 27. For the Sonne of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angells and then shall hee give to every man according to his deeds OUr Saviour having enforced his doctrine of selfe-deniall by two strong arguments already the inevitable danger of fayling herein and the unprofitablenesse of that unhappie match of winning the world with the losse of the soule in these words addeth another of no lesse force than the former drawne from the consideration of the last judgment wherein all those his sayings shal be fully accomplished for howsoever he was now abased and rejected as not worth the following and owning yet the time commeth that hee will come in the glory of his Father attended with his most glorious Angells and then shall hee give to every man according to his workes that is to say to the wicked
but then it shall have a lowd voice Blood shall crie and the voice of it ring betweene heaven and earth Oppression shall crie usury shall crie the wages of hirelings and labourers shall crie in the owne conscience It cryes now and thy conscience if thou hast any tells thee of thy wickednesse in defrauding Gods servants his Ministers and Christs members of their right but the voice will not bee now heard but then it will be heard and thou shalt heare it and thy gold and silver and the rust of them shall crie against thee and never be still till they have cryed thee downe into the pit as Jam. 5. 3. 4. Sixtly if all other conviction and witnesse should faile there is one more that will bee a sure and infallible witnesse and that is God himselfe Mal. 3. 5. who can abide the day of his comming for behold I will be a swift witnesse against sorcerers adulterers false swearers and all that feare not the Lord. Thus the Judge is gloriously prepared And he shall be as glorious in execution as in preparation For in passing a righteous sentence and irrevocable hee shall shine in surpassing glory both in respect of the wicked godly 1. Upon all the ungodly he shall get himselfe a greater name than ever he did upon Pharaoh when all the wicked Princes and people that ever lived shall be cited and assembled in the twinkling of an eye before his Tribunall and in terrour of his presence shall flie to the hils and mountaines to hide themselves yea when all the powers and gates of hell all wicked angels and men shall be by one word of his cast out and commanded out of presence and confined to their prison never to molest him or his Church any more 2. In respect of the godly hee shall be marvellous at that day 1. to the Saints 2. in the Saints To the Saints when they shall behold him that was betrayed spitted upon crucified pierced dead buried now advanced above all men and Angels and crowned with honour above all that created nature is capable of But in the Saints also hee shall be marvellous 2. Thess. 1. 10. for when Christ who is our life shall appeare we also shall appeare with him in glory Col. 3. 4. First the members shall partake of the glory of the Head that the Head may bee exalted in the glory of the members Secondly the Saints shall admire not only his glory in himselfe but in themselves How admirable will it be to see themselves who were in the world accounted the out-sweepings and driven out of the world with obloquie contempt fire and sword yea who were but even now dust and ashes newly crept out of the grave and rottennesse so suddainly to attaine that fulnes of the glory of Christ in their soules and bodies In their soules such a wonderfull perfection of Gods image such deepe knowledge of the secrets of heaven and earth such conformitie in their wils unto God clothed with such righteousnesse as God in his presence-chamber is delighted to behold And their whole bodies changed and arayed with immortalitie incorruption and made spirituall bodies like the glorious body of Jesus Christ. And the whole man filled with rivers of pleasures at Gods right hand and swallowed up with that happinesse which eye hath not seene nor ever entred into the earth of man This glory have all the Saints in whom the glory of Christ in his appearing is complete Note hence the long-suffering and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ who for his Elects sake is contented so long to be hid and not shew himselfe in his glory till the end of the world nay not only suffers his glory to bee vailed but trampled on by the wicked For 1. Now the heavens are as a curtaine betweene him and us which then shall bee undrawne that all eyes may behold him in a glorious bodily presence as the head of his glorious body 2. He is now out of sight and out of minde not knowne nor beleeved among the wicked who despise his patience because he sheweth not himselfe in terrour 3. Neither is he so beloved or admired of his Saints as hee should while he seemes to shut up and hide himselfe from their miseries and sufferings as one not wel knowing or weighing them And if he did not preserve a grain of faith in their hearts to make things absent to bee present his delayes would quite dishearten them But yet Christ will not alwayes neglect his owne glory nor will ever bee robbed of it a day comes wherein he shall appeare in surpassing glory 1. In himselfe not onely by that externall and accidentall glory of his attendance and most powerfull manner of appearing but by that internall and personall glory whereby hee shall obscure and darken the glory of all creatures A shadow of which Peter and John saw in the mount when his face did shine as the Sunne and his garments were as the light Mat. 17. 3. not as Moses when he came from the mount very glorious so as Israel could not behold his face for that glory was not his owne but his Lords but Christ shall appeare in his owne glory 2. His glory shall shine out unto and in his Saints in manifesting the power of his mercy as never he did before v. c. Raising them from the dead by a word as Lazarus Gathering them to himselfe as the Eagles to a dead body Loosing them eternally from all bands of sin and corruption Investing them in soule and body with his owne glory And glorifying himselfe as never before not as head of the Church but in his whole body for some of his owne glory was wanting till his spouse be perfectly glorified 3. His glory shall shine out to the wicked but not in mercy but majesty not in grace but in the power of his justice He will be glorified on them as on Pharaoh putting forth his power in their finall destruction Againe let this bee a ground of patience and contentednesse if we also be despised if our glory and worth bee hid and appeare not in the world till that day Shall Christ our Lord bee content to be abused and despised now in his glory till that day and shall the servants bee above their Master 1. Looke upon the Lords condition if wee suffer together wee shell raigne together and if Christ cannot expect the crowne before the Crosse no more may wee 2. Looke on thy condition thou art a stranger here among strangers who know not thy birth from heaven nor thy parents they know not God thy father nor his image on thee nor thy mother the Church and spouse of Christ nor thy worth through Christs worthinesse nor thy inheritance and expectation Bee content therefore as a stranger in this strange countrie with strange and course usage onely let it make thee love thy owne countrie so
every thing but the marke c. But thou must bee wiser than to attend them thou hast thy course to intend and thine umpire and thy prize Passe on thy way therefore through good report and evill resolve with holy Paul I passe not to be iudged by any man it is the Lord that judgeth mee I must stand or fall to mine owne Master So of the fourth rule 5. To attaine this marke thou must be carefull to preserve and renew thy strength for so must a runnner doe Quest. How may I doe so Ans. By three rules First hold fast the doctrine of grace hold it strongly both in thy judgement and in thy affection get not onely knowledge but the love of knowledge sticke conscionably to the meanes both publike and private For spirituall strength is maintained by spirituall meanes as naturall by naturall And by meeting God in Sion in his owne Ordinances Gods people walke from strength to strength Psal. 84. 7. Secondly hold fast the degree of grace that thou fall not from thy first love first zeale and heat What hope of his attaining the marke before him that goeth backward Now the way to keepe grace in the degree is partly to repent of all to cast out and keepe out all sinnes small and great open or secret partly to respect all Gods Commandements even the most difficult costly and dangerous Thirdly hold on the act of grace by keeping al graces in exercise and blowing up every grace which else wil lye hid and covered in corruption asfire in ashes Every new act wil grow into an habit and custome and habits are easie Thou that intendest to attaine must get forward and gaine ground never contenting thy selfe with one gift of grace nor with one degree of that gift nor with one or a few acts or exercises but be adding as to vertue faith so faith to faith see 2 Pet. 1 5. and Rom. 1. 17. 6. A runner through haste in his way may easily stumble and fall and if thou fallest in thy running thou must speedily rise by humble confession prayer and repentance Hee that lyes in his fall shall never attaine the marke Wee say it is no shame to fall but it is a shame to lye still But in our spirituall course it is a great shame in such light and meanes to take a fall but a farre greater to 〈◊〉 still in it Hast thou falne in 〈…〉 y way remember whence thou hast fallen up againe and doe thy first worke repent and arise Rev. 2. 5. which is the onely way to prevent utter shame and confusion Quest. But how may I be encouraged thus to strive to attaine Ans. 1. Consider this whatsoever else thou attainest is nothing but a shadow smoake vanity all thy wealth is but beggery all pleasure but bitternesse all mirth but madnesse If thou attainest not this goale nothing that thou attainest can make thee better every thing makes thee much worse 2. As good never run as not attaine for not attaining thou losest all thy beginnings and proceedings and all thy labour is lost thou hast done and suffered many things in vaine Besides thou loosest all thy talents graces profession hearing prayers sufferings all is lost Finally thou loosest all thy righteousnes charity mercy reward and glory all thy hope and expectation Eâ—ek 18. 24. Righteousnes departed from is soone forgotten 3. It is farre worse and more unhappy to run and not attaine then not to run at all For not to run is a note of an Atheist but to run and not to attaine is a note of an Apostate a dogge a swine returned to filthinesse whose end is worse then thâ— beginning Beside it gives Satan a stronger possession then before he was a slave before to one divell but now to â—even worse then before 4. Consider the goale for which thou runnest both for the excellencie and the eternity of it and if any spurre can pierce and prevaile this will The Excellency is in the worth content fulnesse perfection The worth thou runnest for a crowne of life and glory nothing in earth is so worthy as a crowne and kingdome but these are dead things in comparison and may end in dishonour The content and delight is in enjoying a perpetuall rest from labour an euerlasting Sabbath a lasting feast and supper of the Lamb a marriage-feast for eternity For fulnesse and abundance here we only taste the goodnesse of God there we drinke at the well-head even fulnesse of ioy at his right hand Here wee have drops there we shall swim with rivers of pleasure Here are spoonfuls there a Well of life For perfection we shall attaine spirituall bodies perfectly renewed soules a full image of God perfect vision of God and society with Iesus Christ in perfect glory and this is the top and perfection of our happinesse when in our selves we shall attaine compleat holinesse without spot or wrinckle and ful perfection both of nature and grace Lastly adde to all this the duration which is the crowne of all This good attained shall never perish nor ever change Of this Kingdome shall be no end The pleasurs at our fathers right hand are for evermore The crowne at which we run is incorruptible and so we shall finde it in all eternity If all this will not excite us to earnest labour that we may attaine nothing will THE DIVINE TEACHER AND SCHOLLER PSAL. 119. 33. Teach me O Lord the way of thy statutes and I will keepe it unto the end THIS Psalme notably draweth and allureth men to the study and love of heavenly doctrin in the knowledge and practise whereof consisteth the holinesse and happinesse of every Christian The Sunne in the heavens were unprofitable to us if wee had not some beames from his body The huge Ocean were unusefull to us if some of his streames were not derived unto us So all that light of knowledge and wisdome in God the Sunne and father of lights and all that Ocean of grace and glory in God the full Sea were helplesse and uncomfortable unto us further then the beams of this Sunne and streames of this Ocean are conveyed unto us yea into our mindes and hearts to enlighten and purifie the darke and nasty corners of them This our Prophet well knowing makes no end of study paines prayers search and inquisition how he may store and furnish himselfe with that Divine Doctrin which as a stream may lead him backe to the Sea againe and bring him to the true knowledge of God in the Messiah which is eternall life A good glasse and patterne to see how farre our negligence hath cast us behinde that vvee might and ought to have attained that shaming our selves and bewailing our former security we may now provoke and excite our selves to lay better hold upon wisdome and redeem our future opportunity in the meanes of grace and salvation so graciously still continued
that all true knowledge is from God whence hee is called the God of all grace and 2 Cor. 4. 6. God that commanded light to shine in darkenesse hath shined in our hearts Dan. 2. 20. the God of heaven revealeth secrets And therefore he is called light not onely essentiall in himselfe but by participation Reason 1. Gods way wants a teacher the way of sinne wants none And this teacher must not be man himselfe but God for the naturall man perceives not the things of God 1 Cor. 2. 14. nor can discerne them no more then a blinde man can judge of colours He walketh in the darke of his owne night and nature and knowes not whither he goeth Ioh. 12. 3. 5. The vayle upon the heart must be removed 〈◊〉 Cor. 3. 16. and the Father must draw or else none can â—ome to the Sonne 2. A naturall man is so farre from helping himselfe out of darknesse that hee increaseth his blindnesse every day and thickens the mist of his minde And were it a bodily darknesse â—s that of Egypt it were lesse dangerous but this is far more desperate That was on the body endangering the outward man this on the soule endangering that In that men desiâ—ed light in this they hate the â—ight and love darkenesse In that they would bee glad of guides in this refuse guides 〈…〉 orne and revile them In that they were afraid and sate still three dayes together here adâ—entrous more forward to lead then a seeing man to follow In that they were sensible of their misery in this they thinke themselves in a good case and in the way to heaven till they find themselves at the gates of hell as the Aramites thought themselves going to Elisha his house till their eyes were open and saw themselves in Samaria in the midst of their enemies So as no way can a naturall man wind himselfe out of his natural darknesse 3. True knowledge hath two things above the reach of nature First a sound Object namely holy things Prov. 9. 10. Now all the strength of Nature is too low and weake to reach them A naturall man may bee wise in naturall things or in civill actions yea wise to doe evil but to doe well in spirituall things hee is without all wisedome For nothing works beyond his ability Secondly it must have a sound Agent it must be wrought by the Spirit it is the inspiration of the Almighty that giveth understanding Job 32. 8. Flesh and blood reveales it not Mat. 16. nay the holiest men cannot reach it without Gods teaching Esa. 54. 13. they shall be all taught of God and 1 Cor. 2. 12. we have received the spirit of God that we might know the things of God Then if any want wisedome let him aske it of God with David let him goe to God for the opening of his eyes Salomon begged true wisedome and an understanding heart and obtained it of God 1 King 3. 9. And the rather ought wee to doe the like because we see in Salomon how God is well-pleased with this petition who suffers not a suit so pleasing to him to goe away unanswered And how can it bee other unto the Lord when in this request wee acknowledge the mournfull darknesse and blindnesse of our own minds the infinite depth and boundlesse Ocean of wisedome and knowledge in him and that we depend on him for knowledge which wee professe a treasure in his custody alone and that in the seeking of sound knowledge wee have an earnest desire to obey and please him And as this is a great meanes of Gods glory so also of our owne good for by this meanes as by a key wee unlocke unto our selves the rich treasury and full store-house of grace and wisdome prayer being the key of heaven Obiect But hath not God decreed unchangeably what to doe whom he will teach whom not so as our prayer or not prayer can never alter his decree Ans. 1. God hath decreed as well how to doe things as what he will doe and therefore Gods decree takes not away prayer but stablisheth it 2. God hath decreed to doe some things immediately by himselfe other things mediately by the creature Immediately by himselfe without the concurrence of the creature he decreed to create Adam Mediately by the concurrence of Adam and Eve hee decreed the being of Cain So for the effecting of many things in matters of regeneration and salvation he hath decreed that his servants shall concurre with him or else the thing shall not bee done as in this instance no prayer no teaching Never therefore seeke knowledge in the meanes without prayer to the Lord whose onely it is to give Thou commest to Church to heare the Word to get thine eyes opened to bee taught in the way of Gods statutes why now failest thou of that thou seekest but because thou seekest it at the mouth 〈◊〉 man and failest in seeking God for blessing Many heare and read a long time but the Word thrives not prospers not lives not in their hearts nor lives they are ignorant not infirmed they are prophane and not reformed And why doth that word which prevailes with others doe them no good but because one prayes for blessing and seekes higher than the Minister the other prayeth not or to no purpose And marke such as having heard the Word run out before prayer for blessing never looke the Word should prosper there ye shall never see a sound worke in such persons on whom is the brand of such prophanenesse as to flye from the face and presence of God Luther professed hee got more knowledge by praier then by all his study And thou shalt never prosper in the Word that neglectest prayer Ministers especially must pray for themselves and their people 1. For themselves as Daniel cap. 2. 17. hee and his fellowes beseeched the God of heaves for grace in those secrets and much more need we for grace to open to us the mysterie of this Kingdome Many good wits which are as laborious in study and reading are not so profitable and marvell that they cannot reach to such a gift as some other The very reason is they study read and meditate but pray not or sleightly and not craving a blessing they have none 2. For the people that God would prosper his Word to them and adde his teaching to theirs 2 King 6 20. Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of the Syrians that they might see themselves in the midst of their enemies so must Ministers be often on their knees in secret that their people may see themselves in the midst of their hellish enemies and discerne the danger so as to apprehend the meanes of their safety Thus of the first point 2. In the person praying teach mee David a man after Gods owne heart a Prophet a Teacher a Pen-man of Scripture one that had a singular measure of knowledge already yet hee
out-weig 〈…〉 silver and gold and are in much more request as Diamonds Ruâ—ies and Pearles True yet these are but the shining dust of the earth but wisdome faith 〈…〉 e is better than all pearles be their price never so great Obiect But some things a man may desire above all these â—s life liberty health honor c. Ans. In verse 15. All things thou canst desire are not to bee compared to wisdome The second reason is from the â—ffects shewing what wisdome bestowes and brings with her 〈◊〉 Riches in her left hand 〈◊〉 Length of dayes in her right 〈◊〉 Honour advancement and prosperity 4 Life the sweetest of all Shee is a tree of life 〈…〉 o them that lay â—old on her And so he concluds as he began â—h blessed is hee that retaineth 〈…〉 er We see now what reason the godly have and on what just grounds they most eagerly desire with David to be taught 〈◊〉 the way of Gods statutes The Vse is three fold 1. Of incitation 2. Of reprehension 3. Of examinatiâ—n 1. It serves to incite us to thâ— holy and earnest desire after th 〈…〉 word of God without whi 〈…〉 no man can have any comfort 〈◊〉 any sound grace For first as light was the fir 〈…〉 thing in the Creation so the fi 〈…〉 word of this second Creation i 〈…〉 Fiat lux let there be the lig 〈…〉 of heavenly knowledge a 〈…〉 as the word of God let light i 〈…〉 to all his worke which befo 〈…〉 was a confused Chaos and 〈◊〉 things rolled up in blacke darknesse so till this word of G 〈…〉 let light into the soule t 〈…〉 who le man lyes in a confusion 〈◊〉 blacke darknesse without a 〈…〉 light of direction or conso 〈…〉 on You know no babe is bor 〈…〉 alive into the world but it cryes for the milke and breast and if it doe not it is still-borne So the new-borne babe in grace cryes after the sincere milke of the Word 1 Pet. 2. 2. and without this thou art not borne of God Nor the friend of Christ no acquaintance or kindred of his no Christian but in name unlesse with an hungring heart thou heare the Word and keepe it And an ignorant heart is not only a gracelesse heart but destitute of desire of grace it cannot aske grace Ioh. 4. 10 hadst thou knowne thou wouldest have asked Secondly consider the comelinesse and seemelinesse of sound knowledge in him that professeth himselfe to be the Lords Prov. 4. 9. Salomon calls it a comely ornament and grace for the head and a chaine for the necke yea and a crowne of glory And what else makes a mans face to shine but wisdome whereas what an unseemely thing is ignorance of Gods statutes to a man either as a man or as a Christian 1. As a man God having given a man a minde and reasonable soule beyond a beast whereby he hath enabled him to conceive of heaven and heavenly things and hath elevated him with a particle of Divine nature for this very end that hee should rise above the beasts in high contemplations of Divine things and in the knowledge and obedience of the minde and will of his Creator how unseemely is it that that Divine minde should bee taken up with base transitory and sinfull things that a man should thus degenerate and fall backe to a brutish condition forgetting he hath a reasonable soule which David rates in himselfe whose ignorance or inconsideratenesse in one point of Gods providence and administration makes him as a beast before God 2. As a Christian man yet much more unseemely for a Christian professeth himselfe to be a Citizen of heaven heaven to be his Countrey God to be his King his Word and Statutes to be his Charter now is it not absurd and unseemly that a man should be ignorant of the fashions lawes and customes of his owne Countrey A Christian professeth himselfe a childe of his heavenly father and his fathers house to be his house and is it not unseemely a man should neither know his father nor his fathers name nor pleasure nor how to demeane himselfe in his fathers house A Christian professeth heaven to bee his home and inheritance and the Word the deeds of that Inheritance without which he hath noâ— title to one foot in heaven how unseemely and unreasonable were it for him to cast away the deeds of his land to breake off the seales to bee wilfully ignorant of the clauses that convay such an estate unto him and his So of the second Motive Thirdly consider the delight and pleasure in the Statutes of God which are full of sweet ravishments to such as attaine them and should quicken us to the taste and feeding on them In other things we see what paines men will take to compasse their pleasure Now as ignorance is most uncomfortable fitly therefore compared to darknesse to blindnesse to falling into a pit and to lying in a blacke and stinking dungeon So knowledge and wisdome which is compared to light and the bright shining of the Sunne Prov. 4. is most delightful to the soule as the light to the eye 1. In it selfe because knowledge is the proper worke of understanding and the highest part of man and as a man naturally delighteth in the knowledge of naturall things so an enlightned minde in the knowledge of Divine and spirituall 2. And especially in respect of the Object which is spirituall things This made Salomon say Prov. 3. 17. all the wayes of wisdome are wayes of pleasure For what man unlesse he have an infinite distemper in his soule would not be ravished to know in some measure those infinite perfections of our heavenly Father whereto we are commanded to strive yea to see in some sort the unsearchable depths of Gods wisedome and knowledge and to apprehend in some measure the bottomlesse mystery of mans redemption and salvation Was it not an admirable delight when Moses stood upon the top of mount Nebo and viewed all that land of Promise yet Moses must see it not enjoy it see it a farre off but not come neare it he must dye there and goe no further But for a man to stand here on Mount Sion the Church of God and view all the promised Canaan that heavenly Ierusalem with all her towers and enjoy them together with all the pleasures at the right hand of God can the knowledge of any thing bee so delightful to an heavenly mind The taste of the Word in this one particular maketh it exceed the sweetnesse of the honey and the honey-combe if a David taste it This of the third Motive Fourthly consider the way wherein we are to walke the way of Gods Statutes the properties whereof are such as may allure us into it for 1. It is the old way which wee must enquire of Jer. 6. 16. beaten by the feet of ancient Beleevers and Patriarkes all the Prophets and Apostles
good of the receiver Come hastily without all this knowledge and offer the sacrifice of fooles Eccles. 5. 1. 3. Can God heare thee praying who rejectest his Word Prov. 28. 9. Hee that turneth away his eare from hearing the Law even his prayer is abominable Besides prayer is a seeking of God and canst thou find him whom thou seekest while thou runnest from him who seeketh thee But we have callings to follow and families to maintaine and cannot spare an houre in a week-day to heare a Sermon I say as Salomon Eccles. 7. 20. it is good to lay hold upon this but withdraw not thy hand from that worldly businesse must be followed but never so as to be worldlings and this is when the whole time is ingrossed to prophane or worldly uses and none set apart for holy or the one thing necessary Againe to feed the body men can allot two houres in a day but not one in a weeke to feed the soule as if bread that perisheth were to bee preferred before that which endureth to eternall life or the soule were to be lesse regarded than the body And can these men spend foure five or moe howres at cards dice bowles vaine Enterludes to the destruction of much time with themselves and not one howre in a weeke for their instruction Can some of them watch whole nights and dayes at Satans suit and the service of sinne and not possibly watch one howre with Christ in the day yea in many dayes Cannot they sit up one halfe howre later or rise one halfe howre sooner to redeeme one howre for their everlasting good or will they find it profitable to winne the whole world with the losse of their soules Lastly how have we heard not a few such carelesse men rate themselves on their death-beds with horrible terrors in their consciences that so wretchedly they stopt their eares at so many calls of God and neglected the hearing of so many Sermons and too late wish that they might heare but one Sermon more and now all their hunger and thirst after the world onely enlargeth their hearts sorrow and can no way ease it Others say they are not book-learned and cannot attain this knowledge But thou oughtest to be book-learned God hath given thee both a booke and Teachers and wisdome is easie to him that will understand and she invites thee into her Schoole calling the simple to be wise in heart Pro. 8. 5. and pronounceth those blessed that watch daily at hee gates vers 34. But I am so crossed in the Ministery that I cannot endure it nor will heare such and such Know 1. All the frowardnesse is in thy selfe there is no frowardnesse in the Word Prov. 8. 8. 2. Crosse thy sinne and the Word will not crosse thee but if thou wilt rather crosse the Word than thy sinne thank thy selfe God and his Word will meet with thee as in Ahabs case Now we come to the use of Examination whether God hath taught us in his way or no. The notes of tryall are three First a continuall strife to remove all the hinderers of saving knowledge for light ever fighteth against darknesse And the lets to be removed are 1. Originall corruption a chiefe part of which is darknesse of understanding Labour in mortifying naturall corruption which as a blacke cloud hinders the shine of this Sunne 2. Hardnesse of heart Heb. 3. 10. They erred in heart and have not knowne my wayes and vers 12. Take heed of an evill and unbeleeving heart to depart from the living God The light of the Sunne may shine on the outside of a stone but cannot get within it while unbroken 3. Satanicall temptation the god of the world blindeth Infidels that the light of grace should not shine upon them whom we must therefore resist stedfast in the faith No marvell if Satan can blind the wicked seeing he can raise a cloud of dust to trouble the sight of the godly themselves and let them see every thing in a false glasse all to hide the light of Gods countenance from them 4. Actuall sinnes the nature of all which is to increase ignorance and blind the minde yet further Of these some keepe out knowledge some drive 〈◊〉 out Of the former sort are covetousnesse resembled by choking thornes Luk. 8. and Ezek 33. 32. they heare but jest for their hearts goe after covetousnesse and wrath envy hypocrisie with the like which must be laid aside or there is no growing by the Word 1 Pet 2. 1 2. Of the latter sort are the foule sinnes of flesh as whoredome drunkennesse intemperancy which besot men and diminish even naturall knowledge see Hos. 4. 11. 5. The pleasure of sinne as Eve in tempting and Adam in attempting the sinne the very sight and beauty of the Apple dazelled the cleare knowledge of innocency And as the sinne of the Sodomites smote them with blindnesse of body that they could not finde the doore so doth it much more the soule of the sinner that he cannot find Christ who is the doore of life 6. Custome of sinne the pleasure of which hath begot an habit this keeps and holds under the dominion of the Prince of darknesse and the Lord will not put his precious liquor into so nasty vessels but gives them up ordinarily to reprobate sense Rom. 1. 28. Now as nature teacheth us to fight for all these so grace leadeth us into the field against them for till they be in part subdued there is no possibility of saving knowledge no more then of Sun-shine at midnight This is the first tryall The second is this As all that indisposition must be removed so there must be a disposition wrought in the party whom God teacheth in his way which where it is the Lord hath begunne to teach that man Quest. Wherein stands the disposition to saving Knowledge Ans. 1. In humility God teacheth the humble in his way and he that must receive the Kingdome must be as a little child Esa. 28. 9. whom shall I teach or make to understand not conceited persons who make Divinity onely a matter of discourse or fill their braines and speech with vaine questions and idle speculations or such as come to sit as Iudges or Critickes on their Ministers gifts but such as are weaned from the milke or drawne from the breasts It was a proud and prophane speech of Hermolaus Barbanis and Angelus Politianus that by reading the Bible they forgat Latin 2. A soft and tender heart A sure signe that God hath spoken to it For none can reach the heart to change it but onely that Doctor whose chaire is in heaven He onely can write in the Tables of the heart Ier. 31. 33. 3. A crossing of humane wisdome which nature teacheth not Selfe-deniall is a note of a Disciple For who can frame the affections to hold and fasten on such a doctrine as crosseth nature mortifieth lusts depriveth of deare
religious exercises as thou doest yearely for pleasures How unreasonable a motion were it to call men to a fast of 12. dayes together when could we perswade men to it And yet they will tell you they love religion better then their pleasure But beleeve them who knowes not that the thing a man most loves he will employ most time to enjoy Fourthly the Epicures failed in that all their pleasures were severed from religion they chased away thoughts of God they denyed the resurrection and beleeved no judgement to come They thought this was the onely life and therefore the best religion was to eat and drinke and play and be merry to fill the skin with present delights and powre out themselves upon pleasures while they could enjoy them for after death they looked for no more pleasure or being then the brute beasts themselves So if thou canst then please thy selfe when God is set out of sight and out of mind in thy delights thoughts and speeches of God are unsavoury thou art so exercised as thou wouldst not have God to behold thee or Christ to come to thee thou doest in thy eating drinking and gaming so runne inao excesses of furfetting and drunkennesse of swearing coveting wrath and reviling and so layest the raynes in thy owne necke as no bridle of humanity and much lesse religion ruleth thee Wherein dost thou differ from an heathenish Atheist whose pleasures are as irreligions and as unfavoury as his onely more hatefull then his in that thou knowest there is another life and reckoning he doth not Quest. How then may a Christian rightly use these good things Answ. 1. If he use them religiously Religion must alwaies bind him to the good behaviour even when he lets himselfe loose to pleasures Now the religious use of pleasures is in three respects When wee use them lawfully by warrant from God and are sure wee taste no forbidden fruit no unlawfull game When we use them in the presence of God as the Israelites are said to eat and drink before the Lord still setting God at our right hand and our selves in his sight And when we use them as those that mean to make account of them to God Eccles. 11. 9. Rejoyce oh young man and let thy heart cheare thee in the dayes of thy youth but know that for all these things thou must come to iudgement 2. If hee use them soberly and weignedly and that both in respect of affection measure and time For affection why should reasonable men affect such delights as the natural brute beasts enjoy more freely then man and which are cast in common to good and bad and the worst men enjoy most If grace should not carry a Christians mind to better delights yet reason at least should lift him higher as he is but a man Why should Christians affect those delights which they know not whether they shall taste of or no or whether they will lodge with him all night as that Epicure Luk. 12. 20. Thou hast enough soule for many yeares eat drinke and take thy pleasure but that night was his soule required of him Why should a Christian affect those things as pleasures which being ended leave nothing behind them Of other exercises beside eating drinking and gaming some fruit remains after them whether in our generall calling or speciall But of these no fruit remaines behind them but some sighes or pangs of conscience for wasting that time that ought to have beene better improved and imployed which hath marred all the play These are things to bee used but not affected as it were not used As in affection so in measure Christians must use them all soberly 1. Because God so ordereth his children that in this life they shall rather taste of these delights then feed on them and he commonly scants them in these that they may have a larger appetite to and measure in better delights 2. The abstemious use is better then free fruition both for body and soule 3. They generally never grow in greatnesse but they remit so much of their goodnesse See in Salomon himselfe when hee would addict himselfe to pleasures and wine how his wisedome was abated and grace ecclipsed how he grew into prodigious lusts to get him 700. wives and 300. concubines 1 King 15. 3. And therefore of voluptuous persons that will hold up their hearts with laughter and immoderately follow these outward delights wee may say they are mad men and out of their minds as Salomon by wofull experience said of laughter Thou art madnesse Eccles. 2. 1 2. Time also must be considered if we will use these delights soberly There is an appointed time for laughter and for weeping Eccles. 3. 4. There are times of fasting and times of feasting The rich Glutton was convicted of intemperance that he went in purple and fared deliciously every day He did not distinguish of times as holy sobriety would have taught him And so it teacheth us 1. That the time of Gods worship is not time for unnecessary pleasures because there is a better delight enjoyned 2. That working-dayes are neither wholly nor principally the dayes of pleasure and delight not being appointed for recreation but occupation and the calling You must either prove your gaming an occupation or lay it aside and fall to your vocations or else goe on as many of you doe to play away your dayes and lives in despight of Gods Words and servants 3. That dayes of sorrow and humiliation are on times to addict our selves to naturall and civill delights For our particular estates Are we obnoxious to so many miseries loaded with so many sins beset with so many enemies and yet even now set upon a merry pinne Certainly now to be given to pleasures differs not much from madnesse Is our Towne so afflicted our poore so destitute and yet we still feed up our hearts with merriments and pastimes It were grosse senslesnesse For the publike estate Is the Church of God in distresse doe the enemies breake downe the carved worke of the Sanctuary is the Arke of God and my Lord Ioab in the fields good Vriah cannot now goe home and take his lawfull delights though the King command him so to doe All evils at home and abroad are so many trumpets blowne by the Lord for our humiliation And if now when he lowdly calls us to mourning weeping baldnesse and sacke-cloth yet still there be joy and gladnesse staying of Oxen killing of sheepe eating of flesh and drinking of wine what followes Surely this iniquity shall not bee purged from us till we dye saith the Lord of hosts Esa. 22. 12 13 14. And lastly whole nights or dayes together were unseasonable times for delights It would impaire the health of the body And no man will doe so much for the health of his soule Thus of sobriety in the use of outward delights 3. We must use them wisely and watchfully and that
in three respects First carefully watching against Satans subtilties who most usually layeth his nets to catch us with these baits Hee well knoweth that in nothing we are more prone to unbridle our affections then in these liberties The Serpent lyeth in the greene grasse And this Serpent laid his temptation in the faire apple and Eves appetite And if once we moyle our selves in this birdlime of Satan we are as unable to mount upward in divine meditations as a Bird taken by the twigs which the more she strives the surer she is Satan catcheth more by lawfull liberties than by unlawfull Secondly we must carefully watch our owne corruptions who can easily oppresse our selves by surfetting and drunkennesse and that day come on us unawares and pervert good things to bad ends Now the right ends in the use of all our lawfull liberties are 1. To be matter of Gods praise for his bounty and mercies toward us 2. To set us forward in our Christian race and sit us to the duties of piety Take heed of all that eating drinking and playing which unfits thee for Gods service c. 3. To refresh us and sweeten our labour when body or mind is likely to be oppressed with study or labour But to pursue pastimes too eagerly is utterly unlawfull or when they that need least play most and instead of surfet of labour surfet of idlenesse eating drinking and pastime 4. To put us in minde of those lasting eternall and unconceiveable pleasures reserved at the right hand of God for us For if the pleasures of our prison bee so sweet what are those in our palace and if they be superexcellent wisdome will make us watchfull that we hinder not our selves from those by these Lastly we must watch carefully against evill companies drunkards and gamesters who are principall factors for the divell For being overtaken themselves they never cease to make others the children of hell like themselves and rejoyce in evill Take heed of drinkards a kinde of divellish poysoners who have skill to poyson both soule and body together It is Saint Ambrose his comparison Thou pretendest to reach forth wine but withall thou ming lest poyson greater is the force of wine then of poyson with poyson the body is wounded with wine the soule it selfe Avoyd therefore and abhorre them And chuse such companions as may by godly admonition restraine thee and lay a bridle on thy corruption not spurre or provoke thee be they never so neare or deare unto thee THE PHYSICIAN Of SOVLES LVK. 5. 31. The whole need not the Physician but those that are sicke CHrist is bidden to Levies house hee is ready to come where he is kindly invited The Pharises carpe at his person and his fact he eateth with sinners like to like say they were he not a sinner he could not sort and suit with sinners See the disposition of an hypocriticall enemy of Christ. Neither the Doctrine of Christ can please him vers 21. Who is this that blasphemeth can any forgive sinnes but God nor his life here And both are still quarrelled at in his servants and Ministers Yet dare they not come openly before Christs face whom they knew able to defend himselfe but whisper behinde his backe to his Disciples either because they suppose them not to be so ready to answer them or to bring them into suspition of Christ of whom they conceived reverently And thus do hypocrites spitefully at this day they dare not openly assault Christ and his servants for they know they can defend themselves but shoot arrowes in secret against their Doctrine and practices to wound them in their names estates or persons For all wicked men are led by one spirit against Christ. But marke they want no faire pretences What a man professing such strictnesse and holinesse to eat and drinke and be familiar with finnes may not a man by a mans company know who and what he is A plausible reason and true in the generall but maliciously and falsly applyed to this particular So wicked men have their pretences plausible enough Oh they stand for the Church for holinesse for Gods service and piety for order for charity when all that while they intend mischiefe against Christ and his Ordinances Marke againe If they cannot accuse him of evill they can for well-doing as here for exercising his calling sometimes for casting out divels sometimes for working miracles on the Sabbath day as a man without conscience of the Sabbath And indeed what are the most accusations of enemies against Gods servants but for the performance of their duty and exercise of their calling either generall or particular Lastly these men had learning gifts authority wealth the key of knowledge but all bent against Christ and his Gospell and Religion and grace So wicked men looke whatsoever meanes wealth authority or place they have all is bent against Christ and grace and religion must-looke for no helpe there but hinderance and resistance Now Christ in this verse answereth the challenge The question was not propounded to him but to his Disciples yet he takes on him to answer for them where he shewes his readinesse to take all our causes on himselfe Oh we serve a good Lord who is able and willing to stop the mouth of Satan hell the law and all Calumniators who call in question our righteousnesse and will in the last day much more acquit us of all accusations and make our innocency shine as at noon-day Feare not accusers it is God that iustifieth If the Disciples cannot answer for themselves Christ can and will In this answer 1. He blameth them of hypocrisie who thought themselves so just as that all other were sinners beside themselves the whole need not the Physician 2. He defends himselfe and his fact by a proverbiall speech The sicke need the Physician viz. I came not amongst sinners to boulster them up in their sins but to helpe them out and heale them It is my calling being the Physician of soules to be among sinners Where should the Physician bee but amongst his Patients Thus our Lord by his answer if he can doe them no good yet doth good to the truth confirmeth his Disciples justifieth himselfe convineeth his enemies Which by Gods over-ruling power is the end of all opposition of the truth which in the conclusion must be no loser but a gainer and conquerer The Text hath three parts 1 the Patients 2. the Physician 3. the Cure The Patients are propounded Negatively not the whole Affirmatively but the sicke Quest. Is any man whole Answ. 1. No man is whole by nature in Adam all are deadly sicke No man doth good no not one God hath concluded all dead in sinne Only some are healed by grace as Simeon Ioseph Hanna Zachary and the like 2. Some are whole in conceit onely and thinke themselves found just and
holy enough as did these Scribes and Pharises who needed no Physician they no more saw their need of a Physician then they saw their sicknesse And thâ— there be many whole men in the world and almost al men are generally whole in these daies Hos. 7. 9. Ephraim saw not his gray haires nor the consumption of his strength Revel 3. â—7 Laodicea saith she is rich and needs nothing The Pharisie blesseth God he is not as others he seeth in himselfe no hypocrisie nor pride nor contempt of others he is a whole man Many a civill man liveth honestly he doth no man harme he is beloved of his neighbours he keeps the Commandements as well as God will give him leave This mans case in his owne conceit is sound and good and he hopes he shall live in his righteousnesse And in thousands presumption is as a chaine to the necke who tell us they love God with all their hearts have a strong saith never had any doubt they thanke God no not so much as any grudgings of unbeleefe and it were pitty he should live that doubteth of his salvation These are sound men and whole but as they never beleeved so they never bewailed their infidelity never groaned under the burthen of their sinnes are enemies to God to his Word to all righteousnesse worldlings oppressors deceivers swearers cursors otherwise abominable yet still found and whole men in their owne conceit And another cause of conceited soundnesse is the extenuaation of sinne Some qualmes and grudgings they have and all men are sinners and crazy but themselves are no great sinners or no greater then other men Thus they mince and lessen their sinnes They are not sicke enough to seeke out to the Physician they have ease enough yet if it would hold without Christ. Now see the miserable and damnable estate of these men First they are eaten up with griping diseases and deadly pangs and yet feele nothing Paines of sinne are like the pains of sicknesse the lesse felt the more dangerous and deadly Secondly as they need not the Physician so certainely the Physician needs not them hee came not for them they have as much helpe from him as they seeke He came not to call the righteous He calleth and cureth onely the sicke and heavy laden with the sense and burden of sinne Let this therefore serve to convince these whole men and let them see their estate so as they may seeke to the Physician and not dye senslesse The markes and spots of a deadly disease are these First an ill stomacke argueth bodily disease so Spirituall If the Word the Manna from heaven be bitter if thy minde rise against it and the mouth of thy soule be out of taste if thy memory keepe not the doctrine of God if by meditation thou digestest it not and so sendest it not into all parts of thy life thou art sick iudeed though thou secmost never so whole Secondly when the body consumeth the parts are weakned the knees bowe under a man and with much adoe he draggeth his limbes after him there is certainly a bodily disease though there bee no complaint So in the soule when men are weake to deeds of piety have no strength to conquer temptation to suffer crosses and trials to workes of charity mercy or justice but all strength of grace seems to be exhausted here is a dangerous disease here may wee justly feare a spirituall hecticke which is no sooner discernable then deadly Thirdly when the senses faile the eyes grow dimme the eares dull it is an apparant signe of a bodily or spirituall disease A senslesse man is the sickest man because he is sicke though he be not sensible Even so when the eye-strings of the soule are broken that they see not the light of grace nor of God which as the Sunne shines round about them the eares heare not the voyce of God the feeling is gone they have no sense of the great gashes and wounds of the lusts of uncleannesse drunkennesse covetousnesse swearing lying malice against God and his servants nay no complaint but rather rejoycing in these neither is there any fellowship in the afflictions of Ioseph the soule of such a man lyes very weake as a man for whom the Bell is ready to toll Fourthly difficulty of breathing or to be taken speechlesse is a signe of a disease and death approching So in the soule prayer being the breath of the soule when a man can hardly fetch this breath cannot pray or with much adoe can begge mercy strength and supply of grace or when he is speechlesse a man cannot heare him whisper a good and savoury word but all is earthly fruitlesse or hurtfull here is a living Corps a painted sepulcher not a man of a better world Would men try themselves by these notes they would soone discorne their sicknesse and runne out to the Physician But oh what an hard taske is it to bring a man rightly to know his estate A singer of the body cannot ake but men complaine and bind it up But the soule lies gasping and there is no such care c. Thus negatively of the Patient or party fit for cure Affirmatively it is the sicke man And he is the sicke man that feeles and groanes under the paine and burden of his sin The point this Sinne is the most dangerous sâ—ickenesse in the whole world and fitly resembles bodily sickenesse For First sicknesse comes by intemperance the temperate body is never sick while we were in innocency we were in sound health but through distemperature in our natures we were poysoned at first and ever since our sinnes and lusts conceiving bring forth sinne and death And as some sicknesses be hereditary and propagated so the sicknesse of sinne is propagated from Adam to all his posterity and every man hath added to his disease by his owne wilfull transgression Secondly sicknesse weakneth the body and impaireth the vigor of nature so doth sinne in the soule experience sheweth that after some sinne we very hardly and weakly attempt any good thing for along time Sin hath weakned the faculties darkened the understanding corrupted the will disordered the affections thence this sicknesse Thirdly sickenesse brings paine and torment into the body so doth sinne into the soule first or last There is no peace to a wicked man but terrors soule horrors of conscience and desperate feares doe ever attend him Fourthly sicknesse continuing and lingring on the body threatneth death and without timely cure bringeth it Sinne also not removed by repentance menaceth and bringeth certaine death to body and soule Fifthly sicknesse is generally incident to al men So the soules of all men are diseased by nature even the soules of the Elect till they bee healed by Christ. And these diseases are most foule and incurable compared in Scripture to a gangrene which suddenly eateth up the body 2 Tim.
2. 17. and to the Leprosie the contagion whereof not onely reacheth over all the parts of a man but to others also and for the effect casteth a man out of the Congregation Conceive then of sinne as of a sicknesse and beware of it How carefull are wise men of their health to prevent sickenesse and againe how foolish and negligent are infinite numbers of people who are exceeding carefull to preserve the health of their bodies yet think not at all of their poore soules which lye languishing of lamentable deadly diseases Well prevent beginnings breake off sinne betimes A disease suffered long growes incurable Others may learne to groane under the burden of sinne Little is the hope of him who is deadly sicke and senslesse of it It is the contrite heart and broken spirit onely that is capable of cure one that feeleth and cryeth out of the paine of sinne originall and actuall that feeleth the want of Christ and prizeth him and his merits above gold silver and all He must be sicke that must be well Christ can worke no cure on a sound man The Paschall lambe is to be eaten with bitter herbs signifying that Christ can never be sweet till we have conceived sorrow and griefe of heart for sinne It is observed of the Angels that their sinne is not mentioned in Genesis because they were not to be restored by repentance but the sinne of man is enlarged in all the circumstances that he might bee sensible ashamed and penitent of his sinne As in bodily cures so in spirituall the more sense of paine the better it is to be liked more then if the wound should be ranckled and stuffed with dead flesh A senslesse lethargie is as deadly as the most tormenting disease Cry thou out of thy pride lying deceiving swearing other sinnes as a man in paine longing after deliverance say as Saint Paul O wretched man that J am who shall deliver me from the body of this death and O that I may never feele the like paine againe Or if Christ have given thee any ease or freedome from sin and lusts magnifie his grace How glad are men when they have out-stood a bodily weakedesse How glad was David when he had beene stopped in his rage against Nabal Blessed be the Lord blessed be thy counsell and blessed be thâ—u When Christ had cured a blind man he followed him and praised God and all the people praised him likewise for what was done Luk. 18. 42. And when Christ had cast out the Divell chap. 8. 30. the man would have followed Christ but he bade him goe to his house and shew what great things God had done for him and he went his way and preached those things through all the City Againe beware of relapses being far more dangerous then the first disease Goe and sinne no more lest a worse thing come unto thee Beware of occasions of sinne especially wicked and infectious company no plaguy house so infectious as that Lastly pitty and helpe others We despise not nor scorne nor laugh at a sicke man nor will one sicke man scorne another It is thine owne case and thy brethrens spiritually Were it a jest to see men dying no we pitty them we pray for them we doe them all offices of charity And so it should be here Hitherto of the Patients We come now to the Physician The Physician is our Lord Iesus Christ as in the next words I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance Exod. 5. 26. J am the Lord that healeth thee God challengeth this as a part of his owne glory by Christ to heale us Iob 5. 18. He maketh sore and bindeth up he woundeth and his hands make whole Psal. 103 3. who healed thee of thine infirmities and Mal. 4. 2 of Christ it is said that healing is under his wings For first as a skilfull Physician he kno weth every mans esta te perfeâ—ly hee knoweth what is 〈◊〉 man Iohn 2. so doth no other Physician they can ghâ—sse by inspection and see something but hee seeth our secret corruptions in as much as hee seeth our hearts and thoughts and cannot be deceived He saw the woman at the Well to bee an harlot And Matth. 16. 7. he saw the reasoning of their hearts when they thought he spake because they had no bread Secondly he knowes the cure as perfectly as he doth the disease No Physician knowes all the vertues of all the simples and drugs he administreth and besides he is wholly ignorant of many But Christ our Physician knowes the infallible worke of his remedies so that whereas it may be said of many young Physicians they need a new Church-yard yet never any miscarried under his hands whom he undertooke to cure Of all whom thou hast glven me J have lost none Thirdly as a skilfull Physician he prescribeth the fittest remedies For in his Word hee appointeth physicke for every disease of the soule for pride envy covetousnesse trouble of conscience and other Yea he appointeth most proper remedies What can be more proper to cure the corruption of our nature then the purity of his for our actuall disobedience his actuall obedience for the guilt and curse of our sinnes that himselfe was made a curse for us Fourthly as a Physician prepareth his Patient for his physicke so Christ prepareth the party by faith to apply his remedies by perswading the heart to beleeve and to apply to the fore and wounded conscience the precious Balmes which himselfe hath prepared Else as phyficke not in the receit or box or cupbord or pocket can profit unlesse it be applyed and received though it be never so soveraigne no more can this Fifthly Christ goeth beyond all Physicians two wayes 1. In the generality of his cure Some diseases are desperate and all the physicke in the world cannot cure them But Christ can cure all no disease is so desperate as to foile him The sinne against the holy Ghost is not desperate in it selfe nor to him but onely in the wilfulnesse of the party This was sufficiently testified by those powerfull and miraculous cures which he wrought in the dayes of his flesh both upon the soules and bodies of men casting out divels by his Word pardoning of sinnes working faith curing all sicknesses and diseases restoring all senses yea and raising the dead to life which all Physicians in the world could not doe And all this that it might be fulfilled which is spoken Esa. 53. 4. He tooke our infirmities and bare all our sicknesses both bodily and spirituall 2. In the freedome of his cure For first he offereth his helpe and physicke even daily in the preaching of his Gospell Ier. 3. 2â— O disobedient children returne and I will heale your rebellions This Physician seeketh to the patient Secondly hee takes nothing for his cure Hos. 14 4. I will heale your rebyllions
sinner but onely this blood of an infinite price power and merit Here was a rich and free mercy to part with his owne life and dearest pledge of his love and voluntarily submit himselfe to death which was of more strength then all the lives of men and Angels Wonder Fifthly admire his matchlesse love who to save our soules made his soule an offering for sinne and healeth our wounds by his owne stripes A Phyfician sheweth great love if he take a little care above ordinary though he be wel rewarded and made a great gainer by it But this Physician must be a loser by his love he must lose his glory his life he must lose heaven and happinesse and all and beyond all this be unmatchable in abasement and torment in so much that he calleth all us who are ready to passe by all to consider if ever any sorrow were like to his sorrow Here was a sound love to us who endured to be so afflicted and abased by God men and divels for our sakes when he could have prevented and refused it if it had pleased him but this love was stronger than death and undervalued his owne life to save ours Wonder and wonder for ever And let it stirre us up to love this Physician dearely for great love is a great loadstone and attractive of love What love owe we to God the Father for giving his Sonne to the death for us as it a King should deliver the Prince apparant to death to save a condemned râ—bell What great love made him not account his life deare for us Oh the deadnesse of our hearts that can heare this with so little sense and provocation to love him againe Quest. How may we testifie our love to Christ Answ. We must not love him in tongue and word onely but in deed and truth framing our love in some proportion unto his which was both in word worke and suffering First in profession and word we must magnifie his great worke of Redemption and advance it in the perfection and vertue of it as able of it selfe to purchase the whole Church a blood able of it selfe to save from the destroying Angell and make a perfect peace betweene God and us Secondly as Gods love was actuall so wee must settle our selves to his service If ye love me keepe my Commandements Hee was a servant to doe our worke his love onely made him so And shall we refuse his worke Ours was a painefull taske that he undertooke and he left us an easie yoke to shew our obedience and gives us also strength to beare it Hee hath given himselfe for us and will giue himselfe to us and shall not we give our selves to him Certainly we serve a good Lord and want no encouragement Thirdly according to his example let us not love our lives to the death for his sake Rev. 12. 11. He that hateth not his life in comparison of Christ cannot be his Disciple Luk 14. 26. The direct end of Christs life was our glory the direct end of ours must be his glory He maintained our cause to the death by his death hee now pleads our cause in heaven It is therefore not onely honourable but equall and iust that wee should sticke to him and his causes in life and death and that love which is sound is like his even stronger then death So of the Cure in respect of the Confection Now we are to consider it in the Application For what would it availe to have the most skilfull and carefull Physician and the most rare proper and powerfull medicine under the Sunne prescribed by him if either it be not for me or not applyed to the disease or sore And so our heavenly Physician hath taken care not onely for direction and confection but also for application Medicines must be received for we must not looke to be cured by miracle but by meanes Where consider 1. The persons to whom the cure is applyed 2. The meanes whereby 3. The time when For the persons the Text saith all that be sicke that is sensible and languishing under theirsicknesse And Psal. 147. 3. He heales those that are broken in heart and binds up their sores For the meanes whereby the cure is applyed it is faith we must bring faith to be healed Christ required mens faith in healing of their bodies much more must wee bring it to the cure of our soules By faith I meane speciall faith which is not 〈…〉 w Christ hystorically for so did many Ioh 2. to whom Christ would not trust himselfe viz. that he is the Son of God who shed his blood and died for sinners for this the divels beleeve and tremble Neither is it onely to beleeve him the Iews heard him saw him beleeved many things to be true but received him not But To beleeve in him stands in two things First to receive and apply him for to receive Christ and beleeve in him are all one Ioh. 1. 12. so many as received him But who were they so many as beleeved in his Name Secondly to trust and rely on him for cure and salvation Can. 8. the Spouse leanes on her welbeloved And that we may not be deceived in it this faith hath two qualities 1. It must be proper 2. Impropriate Christ. First it must be thine owne proper speciall faith Hab. 2. 4. the iust man lives by hi 〈…〉 faith The Physician makes his whole confection without thee but calleth thee in to the application and none can apply this medicine but thine owne faith It is no implicit faith of thine own nor the faith of the Church without thine owne that thou canst live by The Ministers may leave it with thee and declare it but thine owne faith must apply it Foolish Virgins they are that thinke to be received with the oyle in the wife Virgins lamps when their owne is spent the answer is We have not enough for us and you and every mans garment is short enough for himselfe the righteous receive Crownes said Leo but give not Crowes Secondly as this faith must be thine owne so it must impropriate Christ and make him thine owne This is that faith in the blood of Christ Rom. 3. 25. applying the blood specially to himselfe for life When the faith of the soule brings home Christ to his owne heart and saith with Thomas My Lord and my God and with Paul who loved mee and gave himselfe for mee and with that Father Totus Christus meus est totus Christus n meos usus impensus est Whole Christ is mine and bestowed for my utmost benefit This speciall and spirituall application was alwayes resembled in Scriptures of the old Testament by the sacrifices of the sinne-offering when the beast was slaine the Party must lay his hand on the head of it and confesse that not the beast but the Owner deserved death and the blood that was shed must
appetite and digestion of the Word every way more hearty and chearefull Thus having received our health by meanes of this Cure wisdome commands us to be as carefull to preserve our health as to attaine it Every wise man will be as carefull to keepe himselfe well as to get himselfe well And to this purpose wee must remember the counsell of our Physician for maintaining our health attained Amongst many directions prescribed I mention foure First not to be tampering with our owne medicines nor the medicines of Egypt merits pilgrimages penance or the like nor any quintessence or minerall from the hand of any libertine Teacher but onely such as wee finde prescribed in the word of God by our great Doctor Secondly to keepe our health we must keepe good dyet both for soule and body The best dyet for the soule is to keepe Gods houres for our daily repast by the Word in reading and meditating on it which David regarded above his ordinary food A liberall dyet is best for the soule but the best dyet for the body is a spare dyet a sober and moderate use of meat drinke and pleasure for beating downe and mortifying corrupt affections and lusts Thirdly to preserve our health we must strive to live in a good and wholesome ayre If thou livest in a corrupt ayre change it for a better The worst ayre that can be is where worst men and worst company are The ayre of an hot plaguy house is not so infectious as the contagious ayre of wicked company The former brings not so many to death of the body as this to death of the soule Live amongst Gods people and where Gods word is purely preached for there is the purest ayre Psal. 16. 3. All my delight is in the Saints excelling in vertue Fourthly to preserve health Physicians prescribe the use of good exercises The beâ—â—â—ercises to use for the health of the soule 〈◊〉 are hearing and reading of Gods Word pray also and meditate when thou art alone with conference of good things in company These are notable helpes to bring thee through weaknesses and keepe thy soule in good plight health and chearfulnesse FJNJS 2. Cor. 6. 4. Jude 19. 2 Tim. 2. 4. Amos 6. 6. 1. Sam. 15. 30. Occasion of the words Summe of them Parts Three duties These belong to all 1. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nimirùm in libertate nostra nobis relinquens utrùm amplecti maluerimus Jansen in loc The Text makes not for free-will 1 2. Notes of a Disciple of Christ. 1. Respect to the word and dependance on it 2. Mat. 4. 22. 23. 8. Joh. 6 68. Respect to Christ dependance on him alone 3. Attendance and obedience to him Joh. 15. 14. Melius est habere paucos discipulos quà m mulios auditores Thriv apoph 105. Luk. 6. 46. 4. Mat. 9. 15. John 16. 6. Joy in him or mourne after him Cant. 5. 6. Inaudita est dilectio quae amicum diligit prâ—sentiam ejus non amat Cassiod in Psal. 18. 5. Make Disciples winne others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 2â— 19 Scimuo quòd viri isti nec sibi vixére nec sibi sunt mortui sed ei qui pro ipsis mortuus est magis autem nobis omnibus propter illum Bern. serm Petr. Paul 1 Joh. 2. 6. Phil. 1. 20. 6. Love of the brethren a speciall badge of a true Christian Gal. 5. 6. Hâ—b 2. 4. 2 Cor. 5. 7. Eph. 5. 2. Rejection of them that want it 1. John 8. 44. 2. Eph. 4. 3. Gal. 5. 22. Jam 4. 5. John 9. 28. 2 Tim. 3. 8. 3. Isa. 11. 6. 7. 8. Gal. 6. 10. John 4. 9. 4. Niltam commendat Christianam animam quam misericordia Ambr. offic l. 1. cap. 11. Joh. 13. 34. Col. 3. 14. The first duty and note of a Disciple Foure things in it I. What is meant by ones selfe 1. Outward things 2. What inward things must be denied 1. Rom. 8. 7. 2. 3. 4. Qui depâ—niâ— vâ—terem hominem cum operibus suis abnegat sâ—ipsum c. Hieron in Matth. 5. Rom. 14. 7. Non dixit neget sed abneget ut hac adjeâ—â—iunâ—â—la plurimum addat c. Greg. Phil. 3. 7. 8. II. The difficulty of this duty Mar. 9 43. 47. Seen in 3. things 1. Luk. 9. 59. Mat. 19. 22 1 Cor. 3. 18. Job 20. 12. 2. 3. Mat. 19. 22 III. The necessity of doing it In sixe respects 1. Si peril homo amando se profectò invenitur negando se. Aug. ser. 77. de diversis 2. Non potes perfectam possidere libertatem nisi totaliter abneges temetispsum De imitat Christi li. 3. cap. 32. 3. Pro. 22. 15. 4. Mat. 9. 12. 10. 6. 5. Mat. 22. 37. 39. 6. Vigila super teipsum excita teipsum admone teipsum quicquid de aliis sit non negligas teipsum Tantum proficies quantum tibi ipsi vim intuleris De imitat Christi l. 1. c. 25. IV. Use. Exhortation to selfe-deniall Mischiefes by not beginning herein Fecerunt civitates duas amores duo terrenam scilicet amorsui usque ad contemptum Deiâ—coelestem verò amor Dei usque ad contemptum sui Aug. de Civ Dei l. 14. 2. Eph. 2. 2. 3. 4. Act. 19. 24. 5. 2 Tim. 3. 4. 6. Qui leviter ac desunctoriè ad pietatis doctrinam accesserunt exaruerunt Naz. orat 3. Quoâ—usquisque haec adimplevit sed quae penes homines difficilia penes Deum facilia Tert. de idol c. 12. Helpes to further this difficult duty 1. Luk. 11. 13. Isa. 44. 3. 2. 3. Self-deniall the first continued act of a Christian. Pensemâ—s quomodo Paulus se abuegaverat qui dicebat Vivo autem jam non ego Extinctus quippe suerat sevus ille persecutor et vivere coeperat pius praedicator Greg. in Evang hom 32. 4. Preservatives against pride which hinders selfe-deniall 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Also against distrustfulnes which hinders it 1 2. Mat. 6. 33. 3. Gen. 22. 14 1 Sam. 17. 37. Encouragements to this harsh work of selfe-deniall 1. 2. Nil me juvabunt fines mundi nec regna hujus seculi melius est â—ihi emori propter Jesum Christum quà m imperare finibusterrae Ignat. ad Rom. Psal. 120. 5. 6. 3. Heb. 11. 25. 26. Gen. 22. 16 Mat. 19. 27. Heb. 13. 12. 13. Rev. 12. 11 Ignis crux diaboti tormenta in me veniant tantummodo ut Jesum nanciscar â—dem ibid. 4. 5. Siâ— olerum plâ—lae traâ—sponuntur ut proficiaeu Unde enin videnturâ—ii perdidsse quod craâ—t inde incipiunt apparere quod non erant Greg. ubi supr Notes of one that denies himselfe 1. 2 Cor. 5. 14. 2. Phil. 4. 11. 12. 3. Foure things that self-deniall doth in respect of the Word Regards whatever God teacheth Act. 10. 33. Loves it all even reproofes Quarrels not but submits Suffers rather than the truth should suffer 4. Resignation to God for prosperity Deut. 8. 18. Of