which succeeds after that An Holy Body is an Orderly Body In the second place this proves and confirms that as we do carry along with us in these our Bodies the Seeds of Mortality and Corruption So if we have already or can get Holiness ingrafâ—ed in them This thing of Holiness is a Seed of Immortality and Eternal Life which the Man or Woman hath abiding in them even at the very same time when he is in this life which is as a Vapour and continueth not To mention again the Apostle's Dehortation That ye yield not your Members Servants to Vncleanness and to Iniquity unto Iniquity and as we naturally receive in Food and put on Raiment to avoid Hunger and Cold and as we would not willingly throw our selves headlâ—ng from an high Tower or Precipice nor yet dash out our Brains against a Stoneâ— Wall nor run our tender Flesh upon sharp Iron Spikes for in all these and alike Instances this would be the ready way to break these our Earthen Vessels And no Man that loves himself or understands how precious they are and what a precious Jewel is contained in them would willingly have them broken or dissolved before their time So by the very same consequence we should abstain from all appearance of Evil but more especially and particularly we should abstain from those Sins and Evils which sooner bring on Diseases and Death than others Agreeable to thâ—s Christ Jesus the Wisdom of the Father and the Captain of our Salvation hath given this word of Command And take â—eed to your selves the manner of expressing it is observable take heed lest at any time your Hearts be overcharged with Surfeiâ—ing and Drunkenness and Cares of this life and so that day come upon you at unawares Now these three especially Surfeiting and Drunkenness and Cares of this Life besides that the two first do overwhelm and drown a Man and the latter waste him out sooner do expose to Sickness and sundry kinds of Diseases and outward Accidents so that the day of Death comes upon such who give themselves unto these sins at unawares or sooner than it would otherwise to which succeeds the day of Judgment and of Account So Adultery Whoredom and following the strange Woman renders People weakly and short liv'd and brings rottenness into their Bones that their Body and their Flesh are consumed as some of us have seen sad Spectacles Examples and Monuments thereof So Anger Wrath Malice Hatred Variance Envyings set People together by the Ears to Wound or Murder one another when they go forth by Armies or single Persons Covetousness and Idleness doth tempt them to Steal and Rob upon the High-way which at length brings them to the Gallows So indeed almost every Sin one way or another is a Destroyer for it hastens sooner into the Pit of Destruction And it is one of those Paths of the Destroyer mentioned in Psal 17. 4. even of Satan the invisible Enemy of Mankind who hath his Name in the Hebrew Tongue Abaddon and in the Greek Apollyon Both which in our English Tongue signifies a Destroyer Which he makes use of to lead the Sons and Daughters of Men into the Chambers of Death the very Pit and Brink of Hell till at last they drop into it This place of Psalm 17. 4. is so excellent and observable and there is so much necessary and useful Truth contained in it that it is worthy to be quoted out at length for the Reader to meditate upon the significancy and the Word of Instruction which arises from thence Concerning the Works of men by the Word of thy Lips have I kept me from the Paths of the Destroyer As much as if David should say let other Men do as they will if they go on to destroy themselves as we see the Works of Men are and by their manner of acting abroad in the World they do as for my part I will make God's Word my Guide and my Rule I will be sure to keep to that and not vary from it and then I shall keep my self from the Paâ—hs of the Destroyer I shall not be in those Paths which the Blood-thirsty and deceitful Men are in who do not live out half their Days and which those Sinners and Workers of Iniquity are in who do not live out half their days for if it had not been for that they might have attained unto the Days of their Fathers But this Rule doth not hold always for sometimes the Wicked grow old and are mighty in Power as Job saith And then chiefly my Comfort is as long as I hold my self to the Word of Gods Lips not to turn aside from it to the Right Hand or to the Left thereby I keep my self from the Paths that lead to Hell the Place of Destruction which is on the other side of the Grave And so to preserve our Bodies from falling into that Place of Destruction is to keep and set them in order for to that end we should have them ordered according to the Word of Gods Lips And this is according to the afore-quoted Place Rom. 6. 22. to have them made free from Sin Let not Sin therefore reign in your mortal Body ver 12. I beseech you Brethren by the Merciâ—s of God that ye present your Bodies a living Sacrifice Holy mark that Epithet Holy acceptable unto the Lord which is your reasonable Service Know ye that ye are the Temple of God and thaâ— the Spiâ—it of God dwells in you If any Man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy for the Temple of God is Holy here we see again how the Eterâ—â—â—â—pirit in a wonderful manner is all along Conâ—â—â—â—nt to it self in promoting this thing of Holiness in us 〈◊〉 Temple ye are And so it is elsewhere writtenâ— Be ye clean that bear the Vessels of the Lord Isa 52. 11. And we carrying these â—arthen Vessels of the Lord that is to say our Bodies continually along with us Having therefore these Commands and Instructions Directions and Promises Dearly Beloved Let us cleanse our selves here must be some Act of our own from all filthiness of Flâ—sh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God And then if this earthly House be thus set in Order as to be free from Sin and to be Holy to be swept and garnished within and kept so And if we touch not the unclean thing but be separaâ—e from all Evil and Defilement then will be fulfilled and brought to pass what God hath said I will dwell in them and I will be their God and they shall be my People Let us hear the summ and substance the Conclusion of this particular Head of Discourse set your Bodies in order That hath been shewed let your Bodies be oâ—dered according to the Word of God's Lips which requires that they be made free from Sin and that they be kept and preserved continually in Sanctification and Holiness The Reason is evident Why Holiness in Particular must be had
out at such a time here it is his Wisdom and Business in the mean while to seek out and provide for himself another good Bargain or way of Livelyhood that he may be at no loss or disappointment This is but what is usually done every day Why all we Inhabitants of the Earth are Tenants at will or Rack-renters God having let out to us Husbandmen this his Vineyard of the Earth and he sits above afar off and out of sight and he sends his Servants to us Husbandmen that he might receive from the Husbandmen of the Frâ—it of the â—ineyard Mark 12. 1. But alas Most of them do not make so good returns thereof as he expects to the great Landlord of Heaven and Earth and we must be â—â—â—ned out for here we are not suffered to continue by â—eason of Death Is it not then our Business and Wisdom all the mean while that we are on this Earth that we may be received up into the Heavens above This leads to the second point heretofore proposed to be spoken unto and that is to shew what mighty force Reasoning and Exhortation is in this Consideration Thou shalâ— die and not live to the intent that we may set all our Worldly concerns Body and Soul in â—rder because that we shall die and not live The whole that Man desires and would have is Happiness and Salvation for if there be any other good thing which he would have or doth wish for it is all comprehended under this word to be Happy and to be made sure of it One defines Happiness to be a gathering or heaping together of all good things Now if one had all the Happiness which this World can give all the Plenty and Variety in each thing the Blessings of Solomon Understanding in the first place and then Riches and Honour and length of Days even what may seem good for the Sons of Men and whatever his Eyes desired I kept not from them I with-held not my Heart from any Joy besides that it is all Vanity and Vexation of Spirit For it doth not at the very time give the Heart and Soul a full and sincere satisfaction for all those good things put together do not yield it at the very instant of Enjoyment But then farther the Spirit is vexed that if they did fully thoroughly and sincerely satisfie her for the time as they do not that she must be at length taken away from all these things And she being an Immortal Essence noâ—â—ing but what is Immortal and Eternal also will indeed content and satisfie her For in her very Thought that can be no Happiness which hath an end For she knows that her self though she began to be will have no end and therefore she craves earnestly and groans within her self and travaileth in pain like unto that Speech of Rachel Give me Children or else I die give me a Happiness abiding as long as my self and commensurate to me or else I had rather die cease to be and return unto my first nothing But this is impossible from the Decree of God who whatever he doth in this kind he doth it for ever and it shall therefore continue in being as long as himself is God which is for ever and ever As Jesus Christ the Lover and Saviour of Souls did once say My Kingdom is not of this World for then would my Servants fight for me So the Soul may truly say my Happiness is not of this World for then would my Servants my Faculties and Powers seek for it here But the former part is evident for the two reasons afore assigned because the utmost Happiness of this World is neither satisfactory nor yet enduring And the Soul would fain have that which is both And therefore it is not worth while to give Command or Direction to my Servants my Powers and Faculties my Reason and Understanding to be wholly employed in seeking after them For indeed we should be no otherwise employed about them at all but only in subserviency and subordination to the greater things to come The time would fail me to mention all those manifold Scriptures which do most discover the Nature of things of any Book of the World For who can better know the very Nature and Order of things than the Word it self which made and established them which contain this very same Reasoning and Exhortation that the Soul is not to have her Happiness in this World but to seek for it in God and what he will do for her in the World to come let us instance in two or three for by the Mouth of two or three Witnesses shall every word be established The first to manifest and shew forth this same Truth is Heb. 13. 14. For here we have no continuing City but we seek one to comâ— From which words it may be truly reasoned and inferred for here we have no continuing Happiness but we seek one to come And then if we consider Mich 2. 10. to which this place of the Hebrews hath reference Arise ye and depart for this is not your rest Both these Scriptures put together confirm these two Reasons wherefore Man's Happiness is not of this World because that in the Hebrews saith it is not his Rest for all the things of this World do not give truerest and full content to the Soul Again another parallel place to this is Deut. 12. 9. For ye are not yet come to the Rest and to the Inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you Which though it was spoken as to the Land of Canaan as a less Type and Signification of Heaven and of that Rest which remaineth to the People of God yet from this same place it may be surely gathered and inferred that it hath relation principally to that Rest which is to be had only on the other side of the Grave and that Inheritance Iâ—corruptible Undefiled that fadeth not away reserved in the Heavens for them which God giveth only unto his People And we are not as yet come to that Rest neither shall we ever arrive to that Rest as long as we are on this Earth As to this the inference is Natural and Reasonable seeing that we cannot have Rest here let us seek for Rest elsewhere For we may sensibly observe that our Spirits are always restless or dissatisfied about one thing or another The Wicked are like the troubled Sea which cannot rest whose Waters cast up mire and dirt and their restlesness is because of Sin and Guilt The Godly also are restless because as Job saith The Wicked cease not from troubling them And also we are restless because People are not so good as they should be Because as yet it doth not go so well with the concernments of God and his Truth so as to reform and bring the corrupt World into Subjection and Obedience to him as we would have it and because through that abundant Opposition of Satan we cannot bring our good devices to pass and for
also Selfâ—Righteousness denoted by this Phrase of the Holy Ghost our Righteousness are the two pâ—iâ—cipal Garments and so must be done of whatever is like unto them which the Soul must be stripped of before she goes out of the Body that she may be set in Order and to the intent that she may be found comely meet and acceptable in the â—ight of God when this Spirit of ours is to return to the God that gave it It is commonly and truly said That it is a great thing to die And so indeed it will appear notwithstanding that the most and generality of People who are in the broad way that leadeth unto Destruction make no more of it than barely to undergo it when it comes as if there was no more than to yield up the Ghost and surrender up their Breath when they can no longeâ—â—old it in In truth there is no great matter to die as People usually die to slip and descend down into Hell But to die as indeed we ought to die sed Revocare Gradum superasque ascendere ad Auras hiâ— labor hoc opus â—st that we may ascend up above and be received up into the Mansions above here is labour and work here is matter enough for all our life foregoing let us do and endeavour and labour as much as ever we can If I should here go about to describe what it is to strip off these Garments spotted with the Flesh to put away the unclean thing and to renounce all our self-Righteousness I am apt to think that I shall pencil and set it forth in higher Perfections and Attainments than People will reach and arrive unto And yet let me say what I can concerning it even according to the Ability and Knowledge God hath given me it will come â—â—â— short of what is the meaning and requiring of God concerning it whereby also it will be seen Thy Word is very pure therefore thy Servant loveth it Psal 119. 140. The consequent to which is to hate yea and strip off the Garment spotted by the Flesh Some may here be apt to say such a State of Holiness Christianity and fear of the Lord is too wonderful for me it is high I cannot attain to it If none will go to Heaven but such Precise Mortified and Self-denying People Lord have mercy upon us For what will become of us Notwithstanding this or the like imagination and saying so frequent in the Mouths of People when they hear strict and hard sayings drop from the Preachers Mouth who can bear them Yet I say and testifie again there is no making our Calling and Election sure Heaven is such a great and lasting Good that we can never make too sure of it and Hell is so sore and abiding an Evil that nothing can be done too much to avoid it without coming up to these Perfections and Excellencies and higher degrees of Grace and Knowledge of Holiness and Innocency which the Scriptures do any where speak of or set forth And truly we should purchase to our selves a good degree and great proficiency in the Christian life and in the Faith which is in Christ Jesus if we have already used the Office of a Deacon well 2 Tim. 3. 13. That is if we did learn and behave our selves well enough in the lower Forms of Christ's School as to be still coming up and making towards the higher yea the top and highest of all As indeed the very top and highest pitch of Christianity and Faith attainable here on this Earth is set forth by those kinds of words that lie before us of hating even the Garment spotted by the Flesh of laying aside every weighs and the sin that doth so easily beset us of resisting unto Blood stirring against sin Shew me any stricter Gospel Precepts or higher Advancements towards the likeness of God and of Christ For this is certain the more like unto God any one becomes the more he doth love Good and the more he doth hate Evil. Ye that love the Lord hate Evil Psal 97. 10. Now this is an hating of Evil with a perfâ—ct hatred when we do not only hate loath and have indignation against Evil but we hate every thing that is in the least stained tinctured and spotted with the Evil. Nay yet further this is true hating of Evil when although the Flesh is not simply and absolutely evil yet it being the Ground or Soil where this Evil the Poysonous Herb grows and springs up we do not only hate the Poysonous Herb it self but even the very Ground that bears it and round about for its sake Wâ—eâ— in our Thoughts and Soul the Ground is by us accursed for its sake That although no Man hates his own Flesh but loves and cherisheth it as the Scripture witnesseth and God would have it so in the State of Innocency yet because of the Body of Sin dwelling therein and because that Evil and Corruption doth root settle and spread it self foâ—th there we hate our own Flesh therefore and could almost destroy it which we must not neither though here we are Commanded also Mortifie your Members which are on the Earth If â—hy righâ— Hand offend thee cut it off if thy right Eye offend â—â—ee pluck it out And even we are to loath and detest those Members which have been yielded Servants to â—ncleanâ—ess and to Iniquity unto Iniquity The Flesh lusteth and striveth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh as may be seen in the seventh and eighth Chapter to the Romans For when we were in the Flesh the motions of sins which were by the Law did work in our Members and by the like consequence of that of 〈◊〉 of hating even the Gaâ—ment spotted by the Flesh we â—ught to hate our Members because of the motions of â—â—s in them to bring forth Fruit unto death But now we are delivered from the Law that being dead wherein we â—â—e held that we should serve in the nâ—wness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the Letter Rom. 7. 5 6. For they that are after the Flesh do mind the things of the Flesh but they that are after the Spirit do mind the things of the Spirit Because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed â—an be So then they that are in the Flesh cannot please God There is no need of citing more places of Scripture these being sufficient and express to the purpose to shew that the Flesh is distinct contrary and opposite unto the Spirit And also the reason of not only hating but even stripping off the Garment spotted by the Flesh to set the Soul in Order before she goes out of the Body will easily appear By the way it is not proper nor yet a true expression to say that the Soul doth die when it goes out of the Body for indeed it doth not die but depart But this is certain and evident that when
she goes out from the Body she is then stripped off from that Garment of Flesh in the general that is the Body For the Soul goes upwards and gets out from and lays aside the Body which then seems as the Mantle that fell from Elijah at his going up to Heaven and then she becomes all and pure Spirit Now as aforesaid the Flesh in it self simply and abstractedly is not Sinful nor Evil. For it was not so in its Original and first Creation But after that Adam fell into the transgression all his Children and Descendants from his Loyns are conceived in Sin and brought forth in Iniquity And they are polluted in their own Blood Ezek. 1â— 6. as soon as they are brought forth from their Mothers Womb. So that this Flesh of ours is become a Seed plot of all manner of Sin and Evil Like Leaven doth leaven the whole lump so it hath spread and diffused it self throughout the whole Flesh and every part thereof From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores Indeed Man was at first the work of God's own hands and truly a noble Creature Yet had I planted thee a noble Vine wholly a right Seed how then art thou turned into the degenerate Plant of a strange Vine unto me Jer. 2. 21. But since that by his Fall he is turned topsie-turvy over what he was then For now he is become Universally corrupt throughout Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually So that until he is renewed again after the Image of him who Created him which is in Righteousness and true Holiness he stands not only distinguished from but as it were in perfect contrariety unto God Said our Saviour to one of his Disciples Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of Men. As if the things which did only savour of Men were a stink and evil smell and a smoke in his Nose Isa 65. 5. which he could not endure and would have behind and far from him And so it is all one of the things which savour of the World and the things â—hat savour of the Flesh the infinite Holiness and Uprightness of God is in no wise reconcileable unto them nor yet doth approve of them For they are all bad and nought they being either the receptacle of Sin and Evil or at least they have a smell taste and tincture thereof which the Holy and Pure God doth not like In this sence it is not as some of the ignorant and foolish Popes did from thence forbid Priests to Marry That they that are in the Flesh cannot please God Rom. 8. 8. for the Flesh as it is now is either Sinful or Evil it self or it hath a savour of Sin and Evil. And it is the Will of God that we should come out even from that By what hath been aforesaid it may be understood what it is to hate and strip off from us the Garment spotted by the Flesh that is spotted by the Sin or Evil which doth usually lodge and dwell in the Flesh And care should be all one taken as to this as we would not willingly have next to our Skin any linnen cloth wherein some poysonous Herb or Flower hath been lately wrapped up or as we would not of our good will and choice wear the innermost Garments soon and immediately afterwards of one that hath died of the Plague or as we would not drink out of a Glass before it is throughly washed and rinsed in which we knew there was immediately before yellow Arsneck or any other most deadly Poyson As we naturally fear and avoid all these so if we were Spiritually minded we would take as much heed of the World and of the Flesh although we are in the midst of the one and wrapped up and encompassed about with the other But to be in the World and not of the World That by these you might be Partakers of the Divine Nature having escaped the Corâ—â—ption that is in the World through Lust From whence it follows that it is imposâ—â—ble to be a Partaker of the Divine Natureâ— unless one hath first escaped the Corruptioâ— that is in the World through Lust So again as long as we are in the Body we are in one sence in the Flesh and accordingly the Scripture calls the time of this life the days of our Flesh But as long as we do not obey yield nor give way unto the motions of sins that are in the Flesh If we keep under and crush even Concupiscence which is the beginning of Lust and so the beginning of each sin or the tendency to each sin if we make not Provision for the Flesh to fulfil thâ— Lusts thereof It is not here said to satisfie the necessities thereof but the Lusts which are excrescencies and superfluities and needless things so long we are safe enough as to the Flesh for though we are in the Flesh yet we walk not after the Flesh The World and the Flesh for the most part in Scripture sence are taken for the Evil thereof for the Reasons afore assigned Because Sin and Evil hath its Root Being and Dwelling in them and they are the occasion thereof God hath therefore suffered yea and placed us in the midst of them both for our greater Proof and Tryal to prove us to know what is in our heart whether we will keep his Commandments or no. By our being in the World and the Flesh and yet to be kept innocent and free from the Evil thereof is just like treading upon Coals and not be burnt which requires much and constant speed skill and care Now for a season God having thought fit that it should be so we are encompassed about with and very near to manifold Temptations arising from the World and the Flesh and the things thereof That the Tryal of our Faith Obedience Holiness and Innocency might be had Which if it be retained for all It is much more precious than of Gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire and so it will be found unto Fraise and Honour and Glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ The Word of God is very Spiritual and Heavenly for it doth teach us as we may find by the Instructions scattered up and down therein that when a great deal of our life is spent and the day of Immortality is at hand and we begin to move off from the Stage of this Earth like as when Soldiers have a mind to draw off from besieging a City of their own accord thinking that either they cannot obtain or it is not worth their while to obtain it then they draw off their Carriages Burdens and Instruments of War before they march off themselves So it is where they do it with advisedness and deliberation and they have sufficient strength Even so many of the
all for it is the Viâ—al Blood wherein our Life consists and so willinâ—ly and by choice suffer every drop of Blood in ouâ— Body to be lost or shed as did the Captain of our Salvation who herein left us an Example that we should follow his steps rather then we will commit yield or consent unto Sin This is worthy and noble indeed not to love our Lives unto Death but Sacrifice up our Life even to God that gave it when it is in his service and to maintain and keep our own Integrity Uprightness and Innocency to preserve not so much our Honour and Reputation as that will follow also for the Righteous shall be had in everlasting Remembrance as our Conversation blameless without spot or blâ—mish Or the meaning hereof may be supposed to be to strive and fight against those Lusts which War in our Members till we fetch Blood of them It is commonly said that if you fetch Blood of a Witch she can never do you any harm Why each and every Lust is an Imp and Instrument of the Devil and if we can so far fetch Blood of that same Lust as to bring out and take away the Power of that same Lust or the thing wherein the strength of that Lust did lie this is to pluck out the sting so that the Lust cannot hurt us As also when the Blood thereof is drained and drawn out that same Lust will faint and die away When thou art tempted to a Lust here if thou wouldst not be led away and enticed by that same Lust then mind and observe wâ—ll wherein that Temptation is most tempting And then if thou wouldst resist and overcome the Temptation do thou apply all the Grace Strâ—ngâ—h and Knowledge that is in thee against it â—lf one was to fight against an Enemy and He would only flâ—â—t on the outside of the Hair of his Head or scare along and aside his Gâ—rments or now and then lightly touch his little finger it might be long enough before He would kill or destâ—oy that Enemy But if He would in good earnest with all his Strength and Power have at his Head and Heart â—nd to that aim and lay on the deâ—â—ly weapon then He may as soon dispatch him Just so as to the first kind of dallying is Peoples fighting with their Lusts They do not conquer and subdue thâ—m but had rather play with them or make a shew of fighting with them Thinking thereby to deceive God who hath commanded them to fight with these Amaâ—ekiâ—es and Canaanites within and destroy them utteâ—ly But they pretend they cannot wherâ—as they will not is the true cause As to these Lusts and sinful Desires and carnal Affections which War oâ— rather have Habitation in their Members when God Commands such to fight and drive them out but they do only sport with them and had rather that they tarry in them they being like a soft or pleasing Dalilah Here such will not escape from what is pronounced against them Cursed be he that doth the Work of the Lord dâ—câ—itfully and cursed be He that keâ—peâ—h back his Sword from Blood Jer. 48 10. Thou art Childish or in Love with thy first original corrupt state which is not haâ—ing even the Garment spotâ—ed by the Flesh if thou art afraid or unwilling by the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God to draw Blood of thy Sin or Corrupâ—ion that it may languish or die away And this thou must do notwithstanding all thy natural Inclinations to the contrary for this is to deny thy self if thou wouldest be a good Souldier of Jesus Christ And if thou wouldst willingly partake of Triumph and Exaltation when thy Soul is slipped and come out from this place of warfare here on Earth and thou wouldst wiâ—ingly be presented before the Lord of Hosts the God of the Armies of Israel this will never be without conqueâ—ing to receive his Acceptance and the Congratulatiâ—n of those who a little before had done the same things But the King of Syria commanded his thirty aâ—d two Captains that had Rule over his Chariots saying fight neither with small nor great save only with the King of Israel 1 Kings 22. 31. Besides the advice and directiâ—n aforesaid of not dallying or only making a shew to fight but to strike home at the Head or Heart This also is to be here learned and put in practice as among the Devils there is one Beelzebub or Prince of the Devils so among the Sins and Lusts the carnal Affections and Desires within our Members There is one commonly Predominant and Reigning which doth appâ—ar forth above all the rest and in this sence may be called King or Prince which signifies Chief of the other Sins and Lusts It is the very Sin that doth so easily beset us As every one doth or may know the Plague of his oâ—n Heart so they either do or may know what Sin it is especially above all the rest which they are most bent and inclined unto According as the Temper and Constiâ—ution of the Body which is a Seed-plot of Sin and Corruption in the General is whether it be excess of Eating secret Lust Covetousness Pride Passion or such like Here the Lord of Hosts commands Michael and his Angels which hath Rule over the Instruments of War He makes use of that is his Grace Word and Spirit which is within thee to fight with neither small nor great save only with the King of Israel that is to fight not so much with the Inferiour Sins and Lusts but especially aâ—d principally with the highest and chiefest â—f them to bring him down for we often hear and read as so it was here that to kill a King or General in the Battel this is to win the Fiâ—ld for thereupon all the rest are forthwith subdued and dispersed as Sheep without a Shepherd or as a Bâ—dy without a Head Even so here it is to vanquish or kill the chief Sin or Lust is to bring under and subdâ—e all the rest for then they will submit and fall of course For it we can once get the Mastery in one Point we shall sooner do it in another and so on to a third Till every Thought is brought into Captivity unto the Obedience of Christ If we can and also do by the Grace Strength and Power given us overcome the stronger much more shall we the weaker If we do once tame the most head-strong and unrâ—ly Beast in us we shall also quickly briâ—g into Subjâ—ction and due Order all the other wild bruâ—ish part of us I have pursued mine Enemies and overtaken them nâ—iâ—her did I turn again till â—hey were consumed I have wounded them that they were not able to rise they are fallen under my Feet Then did I beat them as small as Dust before the wind I did cast them out as the Dirt in the Street Psalm 18. 37 38 39 42. This is making through and effectual Work of it And though
whereby we must be saved For such an one as Socrates who died a real Martyr for the One God in opposition to that Error of Polutheism so common among the Gentiles may be saved by the name of Christ at the last day And so such of the Gentiles which have not the Law but do by Nature the things contained in the Law Rom. 2. 14. although they were before or since Christ or in other Countries there is good ground of Hope from the Mercy Goodness and Truth of God for they are his Creatures as well as we that some of these will be actually saved by the name of Jesus Christ also whom as soon as they shall hear of they shall obey him Psal 18. 44 In the day when God shall judge the Secrets of Men by Jesus Christ according to the Gospel For indeed those Genâ—iles or Mahometans did obey Jesus Christ all along although they never heard of his outward Name when they did by Nature the things contained in the Law they having not seen any written Revelation But this I do Teach and Affiâ—m constantly That inasmuch as Christ is become the Aâ—thor of Eternal Salvation to all that obey him And to them only For God hath Anointed him to be a Prince and a Saviour to be a Prince to give Laws for us Subjects to obey as well as to save us from our sins by yielding and complying with him we do also obey him And inasmuch as the same Jesus Christ hath said If thou wilt enter into Life keep the Commandments Matth. 19. 17 from hence it appears that of all the Sorts and Sects of Christianity such of them and they only will be saved who confirm all the words of his Law which includes both the Law of God and the Law of Christ both the Old and New Testameâ—â— to do them Deut. 27. 26. Fâ—r as every one is cursed that doth not confirm all the words of the Law to do them And as the Prophet David saith They are cursed that err from his Commandments And so unless they confirm that particular Commandment of Christ to do it Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have Commanded you Matth. 28. 20. they will never be saved by Christ And so if they should break one of his least Commandments and teach Men so they will not be saved by Christ But whosoever shall do even to the very least and to every one of them the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven And this is to have Christ formed within them and not in part but throughout and both Body and Soul and Spirit may be preserved blameless unto the coming of Jesus Christ This is to take and receive Christ in all things and not in some things only as the manner of many is who call themselves Christians but they are not but do lye as all such do who name the name of Christ and yet do not depart from Iniquity I will make so far bold with those words of Scripture Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shait be saved which was said to the Penitent Jaylor as to affirm That to believe with an Historical Faith that Jesus Christ was the Messias sent by God will not save any one For suppose a Drunkard or an Unrighâ—eous Man or a Fornicator or any of that black Catalogue which are excluded from the Kingdom of God in Cor. 6. 9. 10. 11. should believe all that as none do commonly deny it will this Historical Faith save him In no wise This makes against that Error and Deceit of the Solifidians and some Dissenters among us have bordered upon and came near to the same Error and Deceit The bare name of Christ will not save any one but it is the thing for several name the name of Christ who have not Christ nor yet the thing signified by him SERMON V. Isaiah 38. 1. Set thine House in Order for thou shalt Die and not live IT was the saying of Abigal unto David Yet a Man is risen to pursue thee and to seek thy Soul but the Soul of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of Life with the Lord thy God 1 Sam. 25. 29. So the case stands as to us all One is risen up to pursue us and seek our Souls even our Adversary the Devil of whom Saul was a kind of Type and Signification in Hunting after and Persecuting of David or rather the Devil acted through Saul in it As a roaring Lyon walketh about seeking whom he may devour And he hath Death and Hell for his Companions or as two Dogs the one to catch and the other to destroy or make miserable But here if we see the Lord 's Christ or have Christ formed within us he is appositely and truly stiled the Prince of Life So that then of certain consequence our Souls are bound in the bundle of Life with the Lord our God This is a great expression containing in it self an unspeakable benefit Then it is that we dying Creatures if we have seen the Lord's Christ or have Christ formed within us we are bound up in the bundle of Life with the ever-living God So that of necessity as fire warms all things that are next unto it and which are capable of warmth we must live also For with thee is the Fountain of Life and in thy Light shall we see Light So it may be truly reasoned also in thy life shall we have life Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Air and so shall we be with the Lord. But when we once see the Lord 's Christ or rather feel him formed within us and we thus have our Souls bound with the Lord our God in the bundle of Life with the Lord our God then we which are now dying and going off from the Stage of this Earth as soon as ever we move off from thence The Eternal God is our Refuge and underneath are the everlasting Arms and he shall thrust out the Enemy before thee Deut. 33. 27. This Enemy is the Devil who was afore spoken of to be risen to seek our Souls Behold how in a wonderful manner all Scripture is consonant to it self at the greatest distance of place and how the goodness of God provides beforehand for the safety and salvation of Israel that is his People and Servants For he hath provided everlasting Arms to reach receive and catch the Soul in just upon its flight and being let out from the Body And whereas it is said That be rideth upon the Heaven in thy help and in his Excellency upon the Sky so that he is above the Prince of the power of the Air who with his Evil Spirits hath his Residence or Habitation thereabouts But we shall also meet the Lord in the Air and so we shall ever be with the Lord To partake of his Life and Happiness his Good and Blefsedness And so
Work and Labour in our general Callings or when we lie on our Bed in our first waking thoughts yea in all our thoughts all the day long whether in company or alone we should sit down at the feet of the invisible God and in our Soul be present before God laying it open and spreading it in his sight But chiefly our selves should be in a continued sence of as much or otherwise all that cannot be done by us and this is to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long But to what purpose should we be thus Even to receive of his words to hear the things that are commanded us of God and to perceive and give heed unto what very thoughts he puts into our Soul so as to obey and do them accordâ—ngly Now here some may imagine that one may do this a long time and yet receâ—ve no Vision or Answer from God Not so long neither as may be thought for Though no Man hath seen God at any time nor heard his Voice yet at this very day he hath three ways of speaking unto Mankind By his written Word by his Spirit in the Heart and Conscience of each Man of Woman and by his Ministers And we should sit down before God and be present before God for to receive and hear from him all these ways It is related of Augustine that about the time of his Conversion from a loose debauched and wicked Life to the Christian Life he heard a Voice speaking unto him Take up the Book and read Which he did accordingly and dipping by chance as he thought but by the speical direction of God upon the four last verses of the 13. Chapter to the Romans they wrought a Conversion in him Even so as often as we take up the Bible to read or hear another read it we are to look upon it as a Letter or Epistle of the Lord God to the Inhabitanâ—s of the Earth Whereby although he is not seen by us yet he speaketh unto us and so we are to receive and hear it with Reverence and Godly Fear and with a Mind to know what the Lord doth say concerning us and also with a Mind to obey and do according to what the Lord doth herein comâ—and us And where is such a Mind as is Willing and Obedient Pure and Holy Sanctified and Cleansed there he doth put his good Spirit or Angel which shall guide us all along to keep thee in the way and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared beware of him and obey his Voice provoke him not for he will not pardon your Transgressions whence note that sins against Conscience are very dangerous for my Name is in him Exod. 23. 20 21. What Man is he that feareth the Lord him shall he teach in the way that he shall chuse Psal 25. 12. And then God doth speak unto Mankind and teach them by his Word and by his Ministers who bring or at least they ought to bring all their Exhortation unto the People from the former For they Preach and make known according as God hath first made known to them by his Word and Spirit But here as appears both from searching and enquiring diligently into the Scriptures of Truth which speak very much concerning them but little that is good or right of them see Isa 30. 10 11. and the twenty third Chapter of Jeremiah and the thirteenth and thirty fourth Chapters of Ezekiel For there are whole Chapters which treat of the Errors and Deceits of the Priests or Ministry in one place of Jeremiah it is said They shall not profit the People at all And compare all this with the flat insipid Preaching of some whose Ministry according to the common Proverbial Speech thereof is as dead and dull as a door-nail For it may be perceived that it hath no manner of Life Power and Efficacy therein This shews that the Lord is departed from and displeased with them and hath wiâ—hdrawn his Spirit from them God himself will make a Reform among them and thoroughly purge his Floor in these latter days which are now coming on For thus saith the Lord behold I am against the Shepherds which as feed themselves and feed not the Flock but then he will cause them to cease from feeding the Flock Ezek. 34. 8 10. instead and in place of whom then he will make good his word And I will give you Pastors according to mine Heart which shall feed you with Knowledge and Vnderstanding Jer. 3. 15. when the Kingdom of God which there signifies the Preaching and Ministration of the Gospel shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof Maâ—th 21. 43. Say I these things as a Man or do not the Scriptures here alledged say so which are fulfilled and applicable at this very day For the Holy Ghost in the penning and giving them forth hâ—th consulted for all Persons Times and Places Yet in the mean while it is again here applicable The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses seat All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe that observe and do but do ye not aâ—ter their Works for they say and do not There is not a Sermon which we usually hear but there is some Scripture in it or somewhat according to Scripture And seeing that all Scripture is profitable we may be certainly edified by that although we throw from it the trash or husk of what is meerly Man's Invention and Composition Though some Pastors are Brutish and void of Knowledge and of the Life of God yet all are not so neither But to such Ministers who have the Knowledge and Life of God in them his Method and Promise is The Lord God hath given me the Tongue of the Learned that I should know how to speak a word in Season to him that is weary he wakeneth morning by morning Isa 50. 4. So he putteth a seasonable and suitable word into them for to speak out unto his People Sabbath after Sabbath and from one Lords day unto another which as it is the Duty of one to utter and declare so it is of the other for to come to hear and receive it Hence it is also though we Ministers know not other Peoples thoughts or secret doings or their hidden things of Dishonesty or the things which are done of them in secret yet we handle that word which is a discerner of the Thoughts and Intents of the Heart And as God speaks concerning the secret deep and hidden sinful doings of some Though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the Sea thence will I command the Serpent and he shall bite them Amos 9. 3. Even so he will guide and command the Ministry of his Word though we his Ministers that handle and speak it forth know not as to whom to fetch up their secret sins to bite or rather prick their Heart and Conscience at the bottom whereof the sin and guilt did before lie