sorrow Though it be a Christians sorrow that he hath sin to bewail yet his joy that he hath an heart to bewail his sin Sons of God Gods Sons are his Servants and his Servants are his Sons Speech See Complement Spending He that when he should not spends too much shall when he would not have too little to spend Success Success is the blessing of God on a good cause and is curse on a bad cause Suffering 'T is lesse painful to suffer than to sin for one may suffer without sin but one cannot sin without suffering Superstitious Superstitious men do not fear God but are afraid of God T Testament See Old Temptation He that can repell the temptation of gain gains by the temptations The Saints shall not be tempted above what they are able at least not above that which God will enable them to bear If God do not take off temptations from his people yet he will not so keep them as that temptations shall not take them off from him Thanksgiving In thanksgiving heart-strings and tongue-strings should be tun'd to our soules Things He hath all things who hath God though he have nothing else but he hath nothing who hath not God though he have all things else Those things which have much of our affections when we have them costs us much affliction when we are without them The sweetness of divine things is not in the hearing or praying for or talking of but in the having and enjoyment of them A Saint will part with any thing yea with all things for Christ but will not part with Christ for any thing no not for all things The best things ill used become bad and the worst things well used become good Earthly Things A Christian is not unworthy to manage earthly things but earthly things are unworthy to be managed by a Christian Earthly things ravish more in expectation than in fruition but heavenly things ravish more in fruition than in expectation Time If you would not have time passe too fast use not too much pass-time That which many think their lost time a Christian often finds his best time and that is his thinking time The redemption of time is not in the recalling of it but in repenting for mispent time and in improving the present to best advantage Many men spend their time and strength in seeking that which when they have found they find that it had been better not to have found or sought it Mans idle time is the Devils busie time therefore the Devil hath more service in one holy day than in many working dayes Ill Tongues If ill tongues could make men ill many yea many good men were in ill taking Traytors Traytors alwayes become odious though the treason be commodious Troubles Worldly troubles cannot overcome an heavenly peace Trusting God Our trusting of God should not exclude our endeavours nor our endeavours exclude our trusting of God Truth We may and should go from men to follow truth but we may not go from truth to follow men God doth not onely deliver truth unto his people but he also delivers his people unto truth Truth receiving Many men receive the truth who do not receive it in truth Try Trust Men we try before we trust but God we may trust before we try Types The book of Types in the old Testament hath this common with all other books that the words signifie things but hath this particular end proper to it self that all the things signifie other things V Vanity Solomons Tautologies of vanity are no vain Tautologies All sin is vanity yet all that is vain or all that is vanity is not sin Vertues Vertues confest by foes and vices confest by freinds are commonly true A man may love vertue yet hate grace Though gold cometh from the earth none despiseth it and though drosses come from the gold yet none regardeth it so the vertuous coming from mean parentage are honourable and the vicious coming from noble parentage are contemptible 'T is better to be famous from a contemptible family than to be contemptible from a famous family Vessels Vassals By nature we are the vessels of sin and the vassals of Satan Vngodliness The time is coming when ungodliness shall be as much prosecuted by justice as in times past godliness hath been persecuted by injustice Vnrighteousness He that loves the wages of unrighteousness will do unrighteousness for the wages Vnprofitable See Servant Vnsound men They are unsound men that cannot indure sound preaching Vse of We should use that for Gods glory which God gives us to use for our good Wicked men have but a right to use the Creatures but godly men have a right use of the Creatures Voice of Christ Christs voice is sweet to the Saints and Saints voice sweet to Christ Vsing The non-using is the abusing of favours Vnwilling Man would not when he could and therefore could not when he would enter into paradise Vocation See Calling W Walking A gratious heart desires not onely to walk holily but also to walk wholly with God He is the best Christian not who talks most of God but who walks most with God He doth not enjoy much of God who walks not much with God nor doth nor can he walk much with God who doth nor enjoy much of God A Christian need to walk circumspectly least he give them that are without an occasion to offend or them that are within an occasion of offence Waiting See Grace Gods Warning God warns his people before he strikes them and warnes them that he may not strike them Gods Watching If God watch not over us and over our watchings our watching will be in vain Saints Wants When God seems to wink at even then he seeth his peoples wants and when he seems to be careless he is then careful of his people warfare Some men find the want of comforts and some a comfort in wants Warres 'T is better to be at warres with men and at peace with God than to be at peace with men and at warres with God War Peace The best way for Christians to live in continual peace is to maintain a continual war and to be alwayes fighting the good fight of faith Weak Strong When we are weak we see what we are in our selves when we are strong we see what we are in God Working Salvation Man is to work out his salvation with fear and trembling for God worketh in him both to will and to do which imploies First that a man without God neither can nor will save himself And secondly that God without man doth not save any man Wickedness 'T is the height of wickedness to do ill and to think it well done Wisdom Wisdom is good with an inheritance yea better without an inheritance than an inheritance without wisdom The words of wisdom should be more acceptable to us than the wisdom of words Self-Wise The self-wise are alwayes most ignorant of themselves Many think themselves wise yea
SPIRITUAL FLOWERS FOR SAINTS AND SINNERS Gathered out of the Garden of the sacred Scriptures and Writings of Men famous in their Generations By ROBERT PORT Minister of the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST Eccles 12. ver 11. The words of the wise are as goades and nayles fastned by the Masters of Assemblies London Printed by G. Dawson for George Sawbridge at the Sign of the Bible upon Ludgate-hill 1655. THE EPISTLE TO THE READER Courteous Reader THe Presse I confess is overpressed with some worthlesse works as I may call them raw Eructations of each petty Pamphletor and Readers are cloy'd and surfeited on variety in that kind And Censure being so busie every where blasting hopeful labours in the very bud might make me suspect this of mine Yet at an adventure among such a throng of Writers as pester the world I 'le croud in for company This Book thus compos'd and digested into heads was intended to have attended my service alone for ever but that some worthy friends whose judicious eye might becken me along to any good design attested seriously it would be very serviceable to Church and Common-wealth for the advance of holiness Whereupon I began to think with my self as the four Lepers 2 King 7. 8 9. I should not do well to hide or bury any thing which might do others good and therefore I have now adventured to publish it Yet let it not render the modesty of this Book suspected because it presumes to appear in company unmaned by any Patron if right it will defend it self if wrong none can defend it And now I beseech thee as well by my Epistle as by my Book labour to keep close to God in a loose Age spend not thy time in complaining of the licentiousness of the time in the mean time setting up a toleration in thine own heart and life Take heed in pleasing thy self in a bare formall profession labour to be rooted in Christ he who is but a visible Christian may in a short time cease to be so much as visible He who speaks of Christ but notionally may in time be won to speak against him Lay the foundation of mortification deep Love not the world Reserve no lust from the stroak of Jesus Christ Beware of scandals take them not where they are make them not where they are not the common sin of our times to black Religion and the Religious and then to fear and hate both Despise not the providences of God in the world they are signs of Gods mind though not of his love Delight in the publick Ordinances and highly esteem of faithful Ministers they and Religion are commonly blasted together Shun seducers sit down under a Minister as well as under a Preacher He who will hear every one may at length be brought to hear none Prov. 19. 27. And he who will hear him preach who ought not may soon be left to learn that which he ought not Preserve a tender conscience Every step thou takest fear a snare Read thine one heart in the wickedness of others Be not slight in Closet duties Oft think of God in thy particular Calling for therein thou thinkest thou hast least leisure but sure thou hast most need to do so In a word I wish thee as much delight and benefit in the perusing of my Book as it hath cost me paines in collecting digesting transcribing and reviewing of it And as this shall find acceptance with thee I shall as God shall give strength and more leisure yet further approve my self to be Thy Servant in the Lord to promots thy Faith and Comfort R. P. THE PRINTER TO THE READER REader be pleased to take notice that the Author of these Collections thus digested is preparing for the Presse these Books following viz. I. The holy Bible opened in severall Sermons upon choice Texts out of every Book in the old and new Testament 2 Light and Darkness or Truth by Scripture plainly confirmed and error confuted 3 The Saints rich Cabinet opened and presented to publick view Containing many choice and pretious Jewels all which are reduced into Theologicall conclusions Alphabetically disposed 4 Physicall Gleanings experimentally propounded 5 Emmanuel or God with us being an Annual Chronology from the year 1640. to 165â— methodically composed 6 The faithfull Shepheard guiding his flock to a constant walking with God 7 Evangelicall Legacies for Saints and Sinners tending to settle the wavering to stay the wandering and to strengthen the fainting Spiritual FLOWERS For SAINTS and SINNERS Admiring WE should admire nothing for or in it self but admire al things in God and God in all things Action A good aime doth not make a bad action good but a bad aime makes a good action bad Many times there may be sin in the action when yet the action may not be sin Actions A Christian may usually say that all is not ill in his evil actions nor all good in his good actions Good actions well done better our selves and benefit others Acknowledge It is good to acknowledge God to be just and 't is just to acknowledge God to be good in all his wayes Adversity 'T is better to be preserved in the brine of adversity then to rot in the honey of prosperity Affections When our affections and conversations are in heaven we injoy heaven upon earth Afflictions Afflictions are then a blessing to us when we can bless God for afflictions Sanctified afflictions as sickness crosses and losses are better than unsanctified health and gain Affliction seldome comes without being a temptation but temptation never comes without being an affliction to the Saints Being afflicted doth often discover Hypocrites yet being afflicted is no discovery of an Hypocrite Afflicted We are then truly afflicted for sin when 't is more for displeasing God than for the displeasure of God more that he is displeased by us than that he is displeased with us Alone Some men are least alone when most alone when Jacob was left alone he did wrestle with God All in all It is for none but him who is all and the fulness which filleth all in all to give to all abundantly Angry The world is angry with Saints that they are no worse and the Saints are angry with them and themselves that they are no better It doth not become us to be angry with God though God come to be angry with us He that is angry with his brother without a cause is in danger of judgement and he is likewise in danger of judgement who is not angry with his Brother when there is cause Anger can hardly be silent but that anger is admirable which speaks and sins not Be angry but sin not He that will be angry for any thing will be angry for nothing Antichrist See Maen of Sin Appearance Appearance in good is too little in evill 't is too much Appearing They for whom and to whom God appears much should appear much for God Many men appear righteous who are not righteous as
Saint is not so far above the lowest as the lowest Saint is above the highest of men Every Saint is like God in a degree though not in a perfection and yet he is like God in a perfection of sincerity though not of degrees God expects that Saints should do more for him than for others because God hath done more for them than for others Though it sads us that he is no better yet it glads him that he is no worse The world sees not a Saint though they look him in the face for the Saint is the hidden man of the heart or the man in the Spirit Seeking Though that which thou seekest for be good yet while the way by which thou seekest for it be evill thou shamest the end by the way and by the way wilt thou shame thy self in the end Self-seeking Many men do but seek themselves in seeking God and serve him that they may serve themselves of him Flesh is the Anagram of self and in Scripture it s all one to walk after the flesh and to seek ones self if then men walk after the flesh they shall die for every mans perdition is of himself Self-searching It concernes all men to search themselves and that quickly but withall to take heed they be not so quick in searching as not to search to the quick Secret They who are most with God in Secret know most of Gods secrets Seeing God 'T is good to see God in all things and all things in God Scriptures We may do well enough with the Scriptures though we had no traditions but could not do well enough with traditions if we had not the Scriptures The Scriptures shew us what God hath done for man and what man is to do for God Some men try the Scriptures by the Fathers but men should try the Fathers and all other men by the Scriptures Salvation See Workiâ—g Their salvation may be sure who yet may not be sure of their salvation Faith is as clear a proof that men shall be saved as salvation is a clear proof that men have beleived Scorners They who scorn others are usually scorned by others Service God takes that service most kindly which is most kindly service Sermon To practise the Sermon we hear is the best way of repeating the Sermon Servants If we are unprofitable servants when we have done our duties how unprofitable are we when we do not do our duties When we have done our duty we are but unprofitable servants for our best is so bad and our all so little that it is but little more than nothing at all Though the best of men they being at the best but unprofitable servants deserve nothing at the hands of God yet they may deserve much at the hands of man and if they have not the recompence which they deserve yet 't is a kind of recompence to have deserved Sanctified The Saints even in this life are sanctified throughout that is in every part though every part be not throughout sanctified in this life Sufferings 'T is an high strain of spiritualness in the sufferings we bear or in our bearing sufferings when we can say though I love not that which I suffer and though I love not the burden I bear yet I love to bear the burden There are many that suffer long who are not long-suffering Satan accusing Satan the great accuser doth not onely accuse the Brethren unto God but doth also accuse God unto the Brethren Sin The industrious man hath no leisure to sin the idle man hath no leisure to avoid sin It s one thing to sin another thing to be overtaken with sin another to be overcome by sin Private sins are oft punisht with publick shame Every man brought sin enough into the world to repent of all his dayes though he should never actually sin and sins enough actually every day to sorrow for though he had brought none with him into the world Sin will prove that sinners downfall who falls not down to confess his sin and to give glory to God The sin of man filled the Creature with vanity and the vanity of the Creature fills man with vexation of Spirit Nothing disgraceth a man so much as sin and nothing honours a man so much as grace Some men when they have prayed against sin go and sin against prayer The greatest of sins repented of is pardonable and the least of sins not repented of is damnable Great sinnes forgiven by God must not be forgotten by us God doth not onely take off sin from his people which is justification but God takes his people off from sin which is sanctification Sin Sinners It stands with the justice of God to visit man with a perpetual penalty who if he might would live perpetually in iniquity The wicked sin but for a time because they live but for a time By their good wills they would never die that they might ever sin for they shew they would ever live in sin because they never leave sinning so long as they live Although the lowest beleiver is above the power of sin yet the highest beleiver is not above the confession of sin because not above the practice of sin Every sin against God is great because it is against a great God When our sin is increased Gods grace is not decreased though we may be worse than we were yet God is as good as ever he was Nothing deforms a man so much as sin nothing reforms or adorns a man so much as grace Many men see the evills of their sinâ— who do not see the sin of their evils Many men sin with content and are not content with sin By reason of our sins we have cause to be sorrowful in the midst of our joyes but by reason of Gods mercy we have cause to rejoyce in the midst of our sorrows A Christian hates sin for sins sake and forsakes sin for Gods sake The evill of sin will never deliver us from but alwayes deliver us to the evill of sufferings Sinners Scarlet sinners may by grace be made milk-white Saints The vilest sinners once converted become the strictest Saints 'T is better being in hell with Christ than in heaven with sin If sinners cast not away their sins for Gods sake God will cast them away for their sinnes sake Singing Saints In heaven the Saints shall sing notes of the highest strains but they shall not strain for the highest notes here their prayses are noted with Selah there their prayers shall be a note above Elah Soul and Body In this world the body was first and then the soul but in heaven the soul is first and then the body Sorrow Sorrow for sin is to last as long as there is any sin to sorrow for A true Christian had rather that Christ should take away his sin and leave his sorrow than take away his sorrow and leave his sin That sorrow for sin that keeps us from beleiving and rejoycing in Christ is sinful