Conscience he lies beholding the Wrath of the Infinite God ready to swallow him up and his Conscience tearing and rending of him and so the black dismal bottomless Gulf ready to swallow him see the fiery Serpent sent from an Angry God twisting himself about his Middle with a Sting at his Heart ready to take away his Life that he might not Live any longer to Dishonour his God he lies cursing himself for his Wickedness and Folly and the Company that he hath Liv'd in and wishing that he had never been Born Now the Godly Man he lies blessing of the Name of God for His Goodness and in that God did shew to him in the time of his Life the things that concern his Eternal Peace He blesses God that ever he knew Him that ever he knew His Wayes He blesses God that the time of his departure is so near and he sees Jesus Christ ready to receive him and the Angels attending about him O the blessed day when I shall go to Enjoy an Immediate Full and Eternal Communion with Jesus Christ that is best of all And there he lies Encouraging all that comes to see him to know Christ and God betimes O here 's the difference between the death of the Godly and the death of the Wicked One is the greatest Terror and the other is the greatest Gain And my Brethren let these Things that I have now Spoken to you let them prepare you for Death and welcome Death whensoever it comes Do not think of what you must Leave in the World but what you are going to It is to go to Christ that is best of all And manifest the Power of those Things lay them up against such a time And let all that hath been said Teach you to be Godly to Prize Christ and the Gospel Here 's that will Recompence all Troubles and Afflictions you meet withal in the Wayes of God to be able upon your Death-Bed to say with Paul To me to Die is Gain It will Recompence whatever Pains you take in the Wayes of Religion And I appeal to you Do you think that there was ever any since the World began that was Sorry upon their Death-Bed that they had taken too much Pains in the Wayes of God There have been Thousands that have Cursed themselves for the neglecting of the day of Grace and Salvation but never sorry for taking so much Pains O no! When thou comest upon thy Death-Bed thou wilt have need of all and thou wilt bless God for any pains that thou hast taken for Christ Lay then this Sentence unto thy Heart it will Teach thee to Live and to Die And Certainly he must needs Live Joyfully whose Life is Christ And he must needs Die comfortably whose Death is Gain A Sermon Luke 10. 5 6. And into whatsoever House ye Enter first say Peace be to this House And if the Son of Peace be there your Peace shall Rest upon it If not it shall turn to you again THese Words are part of Christs Direction unto the Seventy Disciples that He sent forth to Preach the Gospel As Exod. 15. last We Read of Twelve Wells of Water and Threescore and Ten Palm Trees where Israel Encamped after their coming through the Red-Sea for their Refreshing So Christ sends forth His Twelve Apostles and Seventy Disciples for the Refreshing of the World with the glad Tidings of the Gospel There were Seventy I find many Interpreters keep much ado about the Number Austin and Jerom with others They say this Number hath Reference unto the Seventy several Languages of the World For they say That at the Confusion of Languages at Babel there were Seventy and so according in Proportion unto them Christ sends forth these Seventy These are but Surmises and many other such Guesses there are but particular Reason for the Number we have not Exprest in Scripture neither have we their Names We have the Apostles Names the Twelve but not these Seventy Some God is Pleased to make Men of Names Honourable in the World and leave their Names as Honourable Others the Lord Imploys in great Works and Services but their Names are Buried It is enough for these that Christ tells them in the 20th verse of this Chapter That their Names are Written in the Book of Life Let God Imploy us in His Work and Write our Names in the Book of Life it is no matter for to Name us in this World There are many remarkable things in Christs sending out of these Seventy As First He sends them forth by two and two so you have it in ver 1. of the Chap. to the end that they might be a mutual Support Comfort Encouragement Assistance one to another which is the Duty of all Ministers that God by His Providence shall Joyn together in any Service Secondly Christ tells them the great Work that they were sent about The Harvest truly is great saith He and the Labourers are but few I send you out into a Harvest which is a great Labour a useful Labour a joyful Work Isa 9. 3. Joy in the time of Harvest is the greatest Joy in the World It is a Harvest that you are sent into and it is a very great one and therefore you have Encouragement because there is so much Work to do In Mat. 9. latter end There it is said that Christ look'd upon the Multitude with Compassion and said The Harvest is great but the Labourers but few When Ministers look upon great Congregations Multitudes of People and especially such as come readily and willingly to hear the Word of God he should not look upon them without compassion as looking upon them as a great Harvest as much Work to be done there Yea in John 4. 34. After the Woman of Samaria and others were Converted as the first Fruits Christ tells the Disciples of the Regions that they were white unto Harvest As if He should say There are Multitudes here in this Place that are very ready to Entertain the Gospel A great Encouragement indeed it is when the Ministers of God shall see People so readily to attend upon the Word as they shall look upon the Regions as white unto Harvest that they are in a Preparation to receive the Word The Harvest is great saith Christ the Labourers are but few pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest that he will send forth Labourers into his Harvest There were Threescore and Ten sent out together and yet they were few and they must Pray for more It is the Duty of all People especially of Ministers to Pray to God that He will send forth more Painful Labourers And then Thirdly Christ tells them what Difficulties they are like to meet withal in their Work Go your wayes saith He in ver 3. Behold I send you forth as Lambs among Wolves you are to be as I am of Lamb-like Dispositions Innocent among People where you Live But know before-hand lest you be Discouraged with those Difficulties you
be enough to us that we hope that we have that Grace which possibly may bring us to Heaven at last but we should labour to have that Grace that may reign in the Heart now and bring all into a due Order As in a Family when the Governors are Wise you shall have them if there be but the least Disturbance speak but a word and all is quiet And you shall have other Families that where the Reins of Government are loose if there be but a little Disturbance it grows more and more and to such a height that it 's tedious for one that hath a quiet Spirit to be in the Family and so it is in the Heart though the best hath some Disturbance But now where Grace Rules and Governs it stills all presently without any great ado But now in other men though they have some Grace yet if the Heart begins to be in a Disturbance it 's a long time before it can be quieted My Brethren I have gone through these Points briefly and you will say 'T is a harder thing to do this than to speak it It 's true it is yet some of the Saints have done it They have through the Mercy of God been brought to these things that have been spoken and it 's possible to be done Some have attained it and there is strength enough in Christ for the weakest to attain it And He delights as much to Communicate His strength in helping of His poor Servants in the times of Affliction as at any time Consider what hath been said in these several Truths and lay them up against the Day of your Affliction that you may say It is the Lord let Him do what seemeth Him good A Sermon Phil. 1. 21. For to me to Live is Christ and to Die is Gain THis blessed Apostle Paul had in the Course of his Life many things befel him that seem to be very Cross much Opposition great were his Sufferings even unto Bonds And much hard Usage he had not only from open Enemies but from false Brethren whose Spirits were full of Envy against him And who can stand before Envy They were vexed to see how his Ministery prevailed in the Hearts of People to see what great Esteem he had how precious his Name was among the Saints They knew not what course to take to Darken him and therefore among others some of them would set upon Preaching Christ as well as he and see what they could do that way they would be as forward as he Well saith Paul all this makes for my Good and I rejoyce in it so be it I may be any occasion that Christ may be Preached whether of Good-will or Envy I am glad Christ is made known by this and this shall turn saith he to my Salvation to the Glory that I expect from Christ and with Christ That shall be furthered by it so long saith he as Christ is Honoured I shall never be ashamed No matter what becomes of my Body of my Life so that Christ may be Magnified in my Body whether it be by Life or by Death For to me to Live is Christ and to Die is Gain And this is the Coherence of the Words Here then we have a Man of brave Resolution of a truly Noble raised Spirit while other men are Grovelling here in the World in seeking Contentment unto the Flesh Here 's the Spirit of Paul raised above Life and Death To me to Live is Christ to Die is Gain To me to Live is Christ You have it in your English only so To Live and to Die But those that understand the Original know that besides the Word that signifies To Live There 's an Article in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And besides that word there 's an Article 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So that if you would have it Translated according to the Propriety and Elegancy of the Greek it is thus To me the thing that is to Live is Christ and the thing that is Death is Gain As if he should say That thing that you call Life is nothing but Christ If Christ may be Magnified in me if I may be of any Service for Him any way then I am content to Live but if so be that He may be no more Served by me here let me Die and I shall lose nothing by that neither For that same thing you call Death the thing that People keep such a stir about and are so scar'd withal That to Die it 's nothing to me but that which will be Gain So that the words they speak out the frame of Gracious Heart blessing it self in Jesus Christ both in Life and Death To me to Live I 'll not make any curious Definition nor raise more Points than I shall go through at this time and the Points will be nothing but the opening of the Text in both Parts First That a true Godly man accounts Christ to be his Life And Secondly To a Godly man Death is Gain For the First To me to Live is Christ That same thing that you call life It 's Christ all is wrapt up in him I account nothing Life but Jesus Christ As for my natural Life that 's no way considerable but so far as Christ is in it Christ is the life of the Saints It 's more indeed then if he should say Christ is my life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the thing that is to live is Christ It 's a greater Elegancy than to say Christ is my life Christ is the life of the Saints First in this That they are by him freed from a Legal death Every man by nature is under the Curse of the Law he is a dead man as we say of a man that is condemn'd he is a dead man dead by the Law But now the Saints in Christ are dead to the Law Gall. 2. 19. But they live to God they are freed from that Legal death and so Christ brings life to them Secondly Christ is the principle of Spiritual Life in them It 's Christ that brings me to the Fountain of Life that unites my Soul again to God and puts me in a principle of Life to inable me to live to God and to injoy communion with him I in my self am as a dead Carkass without Jesus Christ To me to live is Christ Thirdly Christ is the preserver of this life of mine Notwithstanding all the corrupt and silthy and dead stuff that is in me yet Jesus Christ preserves this life in me And then in the Fourth place which I take to be the chiefe meaning of what the Apostle intends To me to live is Christ that is the great comfort of my Life that 's Christ A man doth not live except he hath Comfort in his Life For so the Scripture calls Life when a man hath Comfort Joy and Contentment in his Life Psal 38. 19. But mine Enemies are lively so you have it in your Books Mine Enemies are living so you
Lord should have Studied and Contriv'd with His own Infinite Wisdom what strong Arguments He would use to work upon the Hearts of the Children of Men one would not have imagined how an Infinite Wisdom should have found out such to perswade Men to come in One may say of the Arguments of the Gospel as the Master of the Vineyard said when he had Let out his Vineyard to Husbandmen and sent for Fruit one Servant was beaten and the other was misused But at last saith he I will send my Son for surely they will reverence my Son Why now this may be said of other Arguments To compare those things that are in the Gospel with all other things that can be Preached unto People Indeed a Minister of God may come with many strong Arguments to draw the Hearts of People from their sin and to draw them unto Repentance But now this Argument will not do it nor the other Argument will not do it they stand out this and that Argument I but saith the Lord I will send the Ministry of my Gospel among them I 'll reveal my Son unto them Certainly they will Reverence this Argument and their Hearts will be taken with this Argument That 's another Reason why there is great hopes when the Ministry of the Gospel comes that there should be some Sons of Peace found there Reas 7. Further Another is this Because it is the Way of God with a People when He sends them the Gospel in the Power of it and the Clearness of it I say the Way of God then is not so much to have regard to any of their sins that ever were Committed before that time but now to go as it were upon a new Score I do not say but if they should perish then they must perish for their old sins too But I mean thus That when the Lord sends the Ministry of the Gospel to a place the Lord now doth not so much look at any sin that they liv'd in before in the dayes of their Ignorance there is none of those sins now that shall Damn them upon condition that they now do Imbrace the Gospel that is offered to them Therefore there is a great deal of hope that there may be some Sons of Peace For the Riches of Gods Mercy hath not yet had the Glory the Turn as it were of it towards this People that yet have not had the Gospel in the Clearness and in the Power of it brought amongst them Now God looks thus upon a People that He sends His Gospel unto It 's true they have liv'd in Blindness in Darkness in Prophaneness in Sabboth-breaking in Ungodliness Alas they did not know what the Councels of my Will were concerning the Eternal state of their Souls which is revealed in that Gospel of Mine They knew no better things that to Eat and Drink and make provision for the Flesh therefore for all that time of their Ignorance I will not regard I will Wink at it But now God Calls for Repentance So you find it in Acts 17. 30. And the times of this Ignorance God Winked at but now God Calleth all men every where to Repent As if the Lord should say As for the times of your Ignorance though you were very Prophane very Superstitious very Ungodly yet I am content to Wink at it but now I am content to go as it were upon a new Score Now come in and Repent and your Souls shall live Now my Brethren when Mercy comes to have a Turn towards a People who knows what may be done As thus Now suppose that a Man hath lain Sick a long time and his Sickness increases upon him and it is very dangerous If you should come to such a Man and say What means have you used What Phisicians have you had Now it appears that he hath not used such a Medicine that is Soveraign for such a Disease it hath not been tried now if that Medicine hath not been used you will have a great deal of hope concerning the Life of your Friend until it be tried and you see it doth no good that it makes no alteration upon the body of your Friend So it is here People that have liv'd Prophanely and Ungodlily and their Hearts have not been brought to God I but what hath God revealed his Grace in Christ unto their Souls Have they known the Blessed things of the Gospel If not there may be a great deal of hope For when Gods Mercy shall come to have its Turn upon this People it 's very like there are many whom God intends Everlasting good unto But now to wind up this Point in a word of Application If this be so O do not frustrate Hope There are hopes that God intends Mercy to a People when He sends the Gospel to be Preached to them at any time though they may say we have had it Preached to us before Yet if He sends it a-fresh it seems that Mercy must have the second Turn to this People I say now do not frustrate Hope First The Hope of God Himself You will say The Hope of God why God knows whether it will work upon People yea or no and that cannot be Frustrated But for the Answer to that We are to know that God is pleased in Scripture to Speak after the manner of Men and God Himself doth Speak after this manner as if He had some good hopes that People would be wrought upon when He sends His Ministers among them As that place which I named before I will send my Son surely they will reverence him I hope that will prevail And a suitable place we have of Gods expressing himself after this manner in Jer. 36. 2 3. Take thee a Roll of a Book and Write therein all the Words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel and against Judah c It may be saith God that the House of Judah will hear all the evil that I purpose unto them Go your way and preach saith God unto the Prophet it may be they will hear and return every Man from his evil way This was not now the Ministery of the Gospel but of Threatings and yet God speaks with some expectation as if so be he did expect that they should it may be they will saith God And so in Zeph. 3. 7. I said surely thou wilt fear me thou wilt receive Instruction so their dwelling should not be cut off howsoever I punished them but they rose early and corrupted all their doings God was frustrated in his Expectation yet I said surely thou wilt fear me Thus the Lord though he knows all his works from all eternity yet he speaks after the manner of Men and saith surely such and such means may do good upon such and such people O therefore let not the Expectation of the Lord be frustrated and let not the expectatitions of the Ministers of the Gospel be frustrated Certainly when they come to any place they are to