me This is answered in 2. Corinth 10. 12. faith the Apostle Wee are not of the number of them that compare themselves with themselves and commend themselves for they that doe thus are unwise for as the hiding of the Sunne brings darkenesse in a moment so in an instant God can turne all upside downe and will doe it on a sudden when you thinke your selves safest I will commit it but once if I might but commit it but once I could desire to commit it no more Remember David numbred the people but once and committed adultery but once Sichem and Dinah committed fornication but once Ammon committed adultery but once Reuben went up to his fathers bed but once Saul offered sacrifice against the Commandement of God but once Moses feared but once at the waters of strife Iosiah disobeyed God in going to warre without a warrant but once Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire but once those two thousand three hundred which were slaine for committing fornication the same day they were destroyed it is likely therefore they did it but once yet upon them and upon all these the Iudgements of God were very heavy for once falling therefore sinne not once Ey but I am a regenerate man and in the state of grace and therefore God will deale tenderly with mee So first were most of these named before yet God spared them not secondly againe thou shalt the rather be sharplier dealt withall because one that draweth neere unto him in profession must be more cleane then others thirdly Iob was in the state of grace yet quickly mooved for hec knew he could not escape as it is in Iob 31. 2. to the 23. verse in which hee concludes that the wrath of God was a terror to him and by reason of his Highnesse he could not indure so also in 1. Pet. 1. 17. though hee bee a Father yet without respects hee judgeth all men therefore thinke not to escape if thou sinne because thou art a sonne but rather expect to be beaten the more But I may recover by repentance I answer It is more then thou knowst and that for this reason because repentance is Gods gift every very time when it is renewed if it be then his gift and in his power then it is not thine nor in thy power to repent in Ioh. 3. 8. the winde bloweth where it listeth and it is certaine when wee have once past limites modestiae wee are in praecipitio wee cannot stay our selves till wee come unto the bottome of the hill except God stayes us David and Salomon thought they could have gone so farre that they might have reclaymed themselves but they were deceived if thou cannot keepe thy soule pure before thou hast committed sinne how wilt thou doe to cast it out when it is once in every sinne hardeneth the heart and weakeneth the strength of the inward man But many have escaped punishment and so shall I. I answer never any escaped but they had it either inward or outward sooner or later though they have beene Gods dearest children Heb. 12. 29. even our God is a consuming fire that is he is zealous of his glory to burne up and purge out by afflictions the corruptions of his children and in 1. Pet. 1. 17. every one to whom he is a Father shall be judged that is afflicted without respect of persons according unto their works so Iob 34. 11. hee rewards men according to their workes only this must be added the more wee judge our selves and the deeper we goe in humiliation the lesser God will afflict us David humbled himselfe so farre that God sent him word that all his sins were pardoned Yet what measure of affliction David did need that his heart might bee more broken that he shall have and every one else that belongs unto God so Ahabs fained humiliation did deferre and lessen his punishment I say lessen it onely for notwithstanding he was slaine Ezechiah tasted of some afflictions yet because hee humbled himselfe a great showre of Gods vengeance fell not upon him humiliation is a meanes to breake the shower and still the winde and calme the waves of the wrath of God The third motive to move you to hate sinne is this because sinne will take away your excellency even as a starre that falleth to the earth looseth his brightnesse so when one that hath beene forward in religion falleth to earthly and carnall delights then all his beauty dignity and excellency vanisheth Gen. 49. 4. it is Iacobs last speech unto Ruben Thou hast lost thy excellency thou art become as weake as water because he had defiled his fathers bed nothing will take away a mans excellency but sinne afflictions disgrace imprisonment or the like doe not hurt a man nay he may shine the more for these as the torch appeareth the brighter the darker the night is so if a Christian keepes his uprightnesse he will shine still bright let men doc or say what they can but it is sinne that blemisheth and taketh away our dignity and excellency when a man keepes his uprightnesse hee walkes in his strength but when he descends unto any vanity or folly it is his impotency and weaknesse therefore if you would not loose your excellency you must loose your sinnes The fourth Motive to moove you to hate sinne is this because the least sinne violateth the peace of conscience which is as tender as the apple of the eye and you know the least mote that is troubles it sinne will fret and grieve the conscience it will inrage and disquiet it if a good conscience be a continuall feast what a losse is it to want it in time of health but in time of sickenesse and afflictions how bitter will it bee to want it If a man admits but of the least evill thing though but an occasion of evill reluctante Conscientia that is against his conscience it doth not onely take away a mans peace but it galleth and vexeth him exceedingly for sinnes in a mans conscience are like thornes in a mans feete though all were pluckt out but one yet that one is enough to trouble and grieve him on the contrary see what comfort Paul had from a good conscience when he was in prison and what sorrow Adam had in Paradise from an evill conscience let this moove you to hate sinne The fifth Motive to moove you to hate sinne is because sinne will bring upon you all manner of miseries all the miseries and afflictions that wee taste of here are measured out to us for sinnes committed and on the contrary all the comforts peace of conscience prosperitie and inward joy are all continued to us according unto the purenesse of our hearts and wayes as in Psal. 18. 23. 24. I was also upright saith David before him and I kept my selfe from mine iniquitie therefore hath the Lord recompensed mee
are wicked men well spoken of in this life but onely because that men dare not speake their minds but then when both envie and feare shall be removed then shall Paul be Paul and Iudas shall be Iudas Now the Vses are these three First If mens names shall be according to their hearts in their life times then take heed that thou keepe not an evill heart in secret for God who sees thy sinnes in secret will reward thee openly God sees thy secret prophanenesse thy secret covetousnesse surely without thou doest speedily amend God in the end will give thee a name accordingly on the contrary art thou secretly upright holy c. God certainly who seeth it will in the end plentifully reward thee for if we have not credit with God surely all glosses and shifts will doe no good so that this is true both as well for the evill as the good Let every man therefore looke to his owne conscience and see how the case standeth with him Art thou an hypocrite God will even set a brand upon thee as he did upon Cain which shall never be seperated from thee no more then the shadow from the body thou shalt never have a good name with men yea and rather then thy wickednesse shall be hidden the very birds of the ayre shall disclose it and although it may be thou thinkest that thy power or authority wil shield thee from an ill report yet I tell thee thy expectation will much be frustrated Secondly This should teach us daily to renew our repentance for our sinnes for although it may be our sinnes be remitted yet unlesse we doe daily by repentance cleanse our hearts God at the length will bring us to shame and as Iosephs brethren who because they did not repent them of their sinne against their brother were many yeeres after grieved and troubled for the same Therefore as you love your names by daily repentance make up the breaches of your heart and life for thus did the Prophet David Who would ever in the least manner have immagined that he after his great sinnes of murder and adulterie would have recovered his name yet because that he unfeinedly even from the bottome of his heart repented behold at the last he recovers againe his name and in the end dieth both full of riches and honours So likewise Iob though he was in his life time very impatient yet because that he repented him of it truly afterward he is honoured for his patience and hence is it that Saint Iames saith Remember the patience of Iob. A good name cannot but must follow grace and vertue no lesse then a sweet smell will needes follow flowers and sweet oyntments If then thou hast committed any sinne either in secret or openly wilt thou have thy good name recovered before thou dye be sure to make thy heart sure by repentance Thirdly Let not good men be discouraged for evill reports that they may here have for a time nor let not evill men be encouraged for the good reports for a time they may have for at the last all evill reports that are cast on the godly shall vanish away and all the good report that the wicked have had shall quite forsake them and every one then shall plainly appeare what he is the reason of this is because the reports of the wicked have no sure rooting Indeede certaine it is that the godly often have an ill name yet most sure is it that at the last God will make their goodnesse to breake forth as the Sunne when it hath beene long darkened Yet here must be one caution premised that our hearts be substantially good I denie not but a man may have some blemishes but we must daily labour to keepe our hearts unspotted of the world We must behave our selves blamelesly but how not by stopping the mouthes of men but we must keepe our selves unspotted of the world and arme our selves against it by abstaining from sinne If paper be well oyled cast inke upon it and it will soone returne off againe but if it be not oyled it will stay on so if our hearts be well oyled against the world by our innocent carriage then if they have ill reports cast upon them they will not remaine qut off againe presently and so againe on the contrary side And thus much for the first part of my Text. 2. The time When he saw he was condemned Hence learne againe That sinnes are commonly covered and glosses put upon them untill they becommitted but after they becommitted they seeme most vile and odious This is plaine here in Iudas before he committed this sinne it seemed a matter of nothing unto him but after behold how hainous it is Sathan herein is very readie to deceive us as wee may see in manie examples Thus delt he with Dauid when he went to number the people when Ioab represented the sinne to him well enough yet it seemed nothing to him but he must needs have it done then afterwards see how hainous it was to him insomuch that it made him cry out saying I have done exceeding foolishly But should we trace the whole Bible we can findeno better example then this of Iudas Christ had given him so manie warnings saying One of you shall betray me And againe I have chosen twelue and behold one of you is a divell And againe It were better for that man by whom the Sonne of man shall be betrayed that he had never beene borne yet all this would not serve but the luster of the thirtie silver peeces had so blinded his eyes that he could not see Now for the Reasons The first Reason is taken from a mans selfe our lusts within us are so strong that we cannot see the sinne as was that in Cain for the properties of these lusts are to cast a mist before our eyes and to blinde-fold us thereby As when a man doth any thing in his anger while his anger lasts he thinketh that he doth it with reason but afterward he judgeth himselfe for it and considers the thing as it is in itselfe so is it when a man is blinded with his lusts he goes on in sinne perit enim judicium cum res transit in effectum The second Reason is from the Divell who covers our sinnes before they are committed with some bairs for hee knowes no fish will bite at a bare hooke so sinne at the first is covered with profit pleasures c. or else he laboureth to minse it with distinctions but when it s committed then he sets it forth in its owne proper colours The third Reason is from God himselfe who giueth men up oftentimes in his just judgement and then use all the perswasions and reasons in the world and you cannot move them from it hence is it that the Apostle speakes Rom. 1. 28. As they regarded not to know God so God gave them over to
feare there is in them the root of comfort remaining There are many examples that may bee brought to prove the same but I know none like that of our Saviour Christ who although he was in such unspeakeable horror of conscience that it made him cry out My God my God why hast thou for saken mee yet this horror was mingled with faith comfort and the assurance of Gods favour So Gods Children may have such sorrow and be so drunken with wormewood that it may make them not to know what to doe yet in all this griefe the fire of Gods love is not quite extinguished but there are some sparkes thereof remaining under these ashes Here is a Caveat to be given of two things First Let those that are in this disposition of minde take heed of that that Satan in this condition may labour to bring us unto for then they are in a disease and those that are in a disease incline unto some thing Take heed then of polluting the Sabbath and other sinnes that hee may intice thee to for Sanus and AEger differ the one desires one thing the other another Secondly Something must bee done positively for the healing of our griefe when that we are in sorrow wee must pitch it upon the proper object to wit sinne and put away all worldly sorrow for that bringeth death but sorrow for sinne that bringeth life All these things thus being expounded the point is manifest That sinne and Gods wrath being charged on the conscience are exceeding terrible Indeed when the burthen lyes on the ground we feele it not but when it lyes on our shoulders So before this horror is charged on the conscience wee feele it not but then is it exceeding terrible It is with griefe as it is with joy There are three things in all joy 1. There is a good thing 2. There is the conjunction of that good thing to us 3. A reflect knowledge thereof So also in griefe there are threethings 1. There is a bad thing 2. The conjunction of that to us 3. The reflecting of the understanding whereby we know the hurt that comes to us thereby When a man feeles and sees and knowes his sinne then is it unsupportable and the reason thereof is because that then a mans spirit is wounded and cannot beare it selfe The Reasons of this point are these three First because that sinne and Gods wrath are in themselves the greatest evill as righteousnesse and Gods favour are the greatest good Men may thinke that punishment were the greatest evill but it is not for that is but the effect of sinne sinne is the cause thereof now we know that the cause is alwayes greater than the effect Now when God shall open our eyes to see this sinne and Gods wrath then it will be an insupportable burthen This is the reason that at the day of Judgement the wicked shall cry Hils and Mountaines fall upon us to hide us from the presence of the Judge because that then God shall open their eyes to see their sinnes which if hee should doe now while they are here on earth would make them cry out as much As it is with comfort so it is with griefe If we know not of it it affects us not As the Army that was about Gebezai it comforted not him because hee saw it not So for griefe although hell and damnation be about us yet if we see it not wee doe not regard it The second Reason is taken from Gods manner of working on the spirit of the creature hee then leaveth it now wee are to know That the greatest comfort the Creature hath is the fruition of Gods presence the greatest griefe is his absence if we want that wee are deprived of all comfort as if the Sunne be absent wee are deprived of all light If there were but a little comfort remaining that would serve to hold the head above the water but if all comfort bee gone it then presently sinketh The proper object of feare and griefe is the absence of good and prelence of evill and both them come by the privation of Gods presence The third Reason is taken from the nature of conscience it selfe when it is awakened because that then it is sensible of the least sinne for every faculty as it is larger so it is more capable of joy and griefe therefore men are said to be more capable of joy and griefe than the bruit beasts and in man the soule is more capable than the body and in the soule conscience of all other parts most capable and as the conscience is capable of the greatest griefe so also of the greatest comfort it is capable of the peace of God which passeth all understanding And surely this horror of conscience is nothing else but a sparke of hell fire which the Heathen had some inkling of when they sayd they were exagitated with the furies Seeing then that the wrath of God is thus insuppartable this should teach us in all things especially to labour to keepe a good conscience and to labour to be free from the guilt of sinne if the wrath of God be the greatest evill then should the whole streame of our endevours be to take heed thereof by labouring for to keepe a pure conscience Proportion your care herein to the good that will come thereby it will bring the unspeakeable comfort without this labour to keepe a good conscience thou wilt neuer have thy heart perfect therefore labour for it consider the good it bringeth Men busie their heads here to the utmost for other things as for Learning Credit Riches Honour and all because they thinke that they are worthy their labour Let us then but consider the fruit that this peace of conscience will bring let us but gather up our thoughts that are busied so much about other things and but consider this a little which if men would but doe they would spend more time about it then they d ee for now these things are done but by the bye and have not that tithe of the time spent about them that should be which we spend about other things But let such know that it is but a folly to goe about that worke with a finger which requires the strength of the whole body When this worke of the building of grace doth require the whole strength of a man and we put not our whole strength thereto it is no marvell if we doe not prosper therein Let us therefore seriously consider our wayes let us consider with what tentations the Devill daily assayeth us Consider that it were as good get ground of the raging Sea as of raging lusts Consider these things with thy selfe I am verily perswaded that the chiefest cause why there is so much deadnesse in those that belong unto Christ is because they consider not their wayes Take time therefore to consider thy wayes It is no wonder to see men complaining of their weaknesse when
loath the creature but sinne all the imperfections and blemishes and diseases and infirmities of the creature makes not God to loath it if there be not a mixture of sinne with it because they are not contrary unto God they fight not against God but sinne fights against the purity and holinesse of God and therefore Gods hatred of the creature is onely a hatred for sinne Secondly to us it is the greatest evill the argument stands thus that which deprives us of the greatest good is the greatest evill but this sinne doth Ergo. for it doth deprive us of all things that are good but especially of two things wherin standeth our chiefest good As first it deprives us of the best outward good which is God as the Prophet saith Your sinnes separate betweene you and your God and they keepe good things from you of all other good especially they hinder the comming of grace into your hearts Now what greater evill can there be then this to keepe both God and his Grace from us Secondly it deprives us of the chiefest good within us as for example First it deformes the beautie and strength of the inward man Secondly it weakens that grace that is within that is it makes us unable to resist evill this is the nature of sinne Thirdly if you cannot see it in these then come unto the effects that it workes and it will appeare to be the greatest evill First it turnes all the faculties and parts of the soule body to evill and is the breeder of all distemperature as feare and horrour in the soule Secondly it brings all the evill that doth befall a man in this life they all come by sinne all shame reproach povertie disgrace punishment comes by sinne now if you will but consider sinne in these you will see it to be evill but especially you shall see the evill of sinne in a distressed conscience what feare what amazement what astonishment and despaire what sorrow what anguish of heart is there as upon Iudas no restitution will serve no comfort will worke no perswasion will prevaile thus if you looke upon sinne it will appeare the greatest evill Fourthly sinne is the greatest evill if you consider the medicine that must come to heale it Christ must lay downe his glory for a time hee must abase himselfe hee must come from heaven to earth he must take our nature upon him and humble himselfe unto a cursed death before sinne can be healed now put them altogether sinne is evill by nature Againe it is evill because it deprives us of the greatest good both within us and without us it is the cause of all diseases shame and reproach such an evill that nothing will heale but the blood of Christ looke upon sinne thus cloathed and it will appeare the greatest evill Make conscience therefore of little sinnes for they bring great evils though the sands of the Seas be but little yet a many heaped together make a great burthen so sinne though but in an idle word thought or behaviour seeme to be but a little sinne yet lay many of them together and they will breake the soule and make it barren and unfit to good if a man owe but little debts yet if they be many if he looke and cast them up in the totall hee will finde himselfe presently to bee but a bankerupt so it is with sinne what though the sinne be but a little sinne yet give this a little vent put it to action and this sinne will proove a great sinne give once consent and in time it will be a raigning sinne and when it is thus then it turnes the soule into evill sets it on a rage imprisons it makes it to obey and to be a slave to Sathan now what greater evill can there bee then sinne thus much for the first meanes to get the Iudgement rectified which will see sinne so as to humble it The second meanes to be humbled is this you must labour to make your hearts fit to be humble and that you may doe this you must doe these things First you must labour to get some sense of holinesse that is you must get the heart in a frame of grace for except a man get the spirit he will not be humbled but when there is holinesse bred in the heart then he will see sinne to be humble hee will see sinne out of his place Take any heavy thing especially water and in its place it is not heavy but let it be remooved out of its place and it will be a heavy burthen even so will sinne bee unto you when you have once gotten the spirit you will then see sinne out of his place and to be a heavy burthen that you will not willingly beare it but you will stoope under it and therefore the more holinesse that any man gets the more will be his sight of sinne and where there is most sight of sinne there will be most griefe for sinne and this griefe is alwayes accompanied with this humiliation that I speake of and where there is the greatest humiliation for sinne there is the greatest doore of mercy opened where there is most sence of sinne there the heart is best fitted for grace and in this case the more tender of conscience the better Christian. Secondly if you would be fit to bee humble consider another thing which is the punishment of sinne if you continue in sinne you shall be damned deprived of glory you were once good consider now wherein your happinesse consists consider that you have an immortall soule and that you must be called to an account the serious considerations of these things will make you to bee humble Nebuchadnezzar when he is brought to be like a beast then he confesseth that the Lord is God and humbles himselfe even so should wee Againe doe but consider that all things are in the hands of God and that every one of you in particular are and that he is able presently to dispose of you as he will Againe consider that God is alwayes every where that hee sees all things and that he will judge all men and that a day of judgement a day of departure to judgement is appointed unto all consider also the severity of the Iudge the sentence that hee will pronounce the punishment that he will inflict the eternity of the time I say if men would but consider these things wishly they would not goe on in sinne as they doe but the want of consideration of these things keepes men from Christ. For if the adulterer would but consider what the Scripture saith that no adulterer shall be saved or if the covetous man or drunkard c. that wholly devotes themselves unto evill would but consider that in 1 Cor. 6. 9. that none of these should inherit the Kingdome of God they would not goe on in sinne as they doe Againe if they did but consider that all sinne ends in paine that
their deaths 2. Be not discouraged for any opposition or hatred that thou shalt meet withall what though they hate thee yet they have that within them that will approve thee Wee cannotapprove our selves to their wils affections or lusts but whether they will or not we may approve our selves to their conscienees It is therfore a basenesse when we labor to approve our selves to any by doing evill the best way is to approve our selves to their consciences and take Davids course who when Micholl scofsed at him for dancing before the Arke sayes If this bee vile I will yet be more vile so shall I bee had in honour of the Virgins So likewise Art thou hated for Religion Labour to exceed in that so shall they honour thee in their consciences and it 's better to approve thy selfe to their consciences for they indure then to their lusts for they are vanishing and their good opinion of thee shall vanish Hee that reproves shall finde more favour in the latter end then he that flatters because he approves himselfe to the conscience this onely to the lusts Now followes the carriage of the Elders towards Iudas they excused themselves saying What is that unto us Looke thou to it although they were the chiefest Agents therein Whence learne this Doctrine That there is a marvellous aptnesse in the nature of man to excuse a sinne when hee hath committed it The Pharises here were the men that moved and hired Iudas to betray Christ Iudas was but the Instrument they used and they had purposed to have put him to death although Iudas had never betrayed him yet they say What is that to us Thus also Adam having done that that was directly contrary to Gods Command yet excuseth himselfe Thus did the Kings of Israel as Asah when hee had committed an evident sinne he would not acknowledge it but when the Prophet comes to tell him of it hee falls a threatning of him Thus also did Amaziah First because all sinne after it 's committed leaves a blot in the minde which is compared to a shadow which darkens the minde so that it cannot see For that that the Apostle sayes of hatred 1 Joh. 2. 9. that such an one as hates his brother liveth in darkenesse the same may bee said of all other sinnes Secondly because actuall sinnes increase the passion which at the first made us commit it now the stronger the passions are the more is the judgement corrupted Thirdly because sinne worketh on those faculties which should judge it weakeneth the judgement and is like a blow on the head that taketh away all sense Fourthly because actuall sinne grieveth the holy Ghost and makes him depart and it is hee onely that convinceth us of sinne and therefore how can we see when hee is gone that enlightneth us And when this holy Spirit is gone then in comes the evill spirit which puts into us false reasons and so we by them excuse our selves The Use is first therefore to let us take heed of declining from God and falling into any sinne seeing it 's so difficult a thing to get out of it againe What makes us to recover but a sight of our sins Now falling into sinne blindeth our eyes wherefore it must needs be very hard to recover Seeing then it 's so hard to recover take heed of first falling into sinne for a man that is a little fallen into sinne is like a man in a quicke-sand ready to sinke deeper and deeper Suppose a man doth pollute Gods Sabbaths at the first there is sorrow for it afterward he beginnes to doe it more and more but at last he doth it with delight What is said of uncleannesse is true of all sinnes Prov. 30. 20. Shee wipes her mouth i. e. excuseth so that although she must needs confesse it to be a sinne yet in that case shee accounteth it none Secondly if thou art fallen into any sinne remember thy aptnesse to excuse it and labour to get out as soone as thou canst 1. Remember what thy judgement was of that sinne before thou fellest into it although now thou judge it small Thy judgement is like a glasse before it is crackt it shewes true but after it is crackt it representeth things otherwise then they are Thinke with thy selfe therefore how ill once thou thoughtest that sinne and seeing thy owne judgement is blinded helpe thy selfe with other holy mens judgements concerning that sinne 2. Labour to abstaine from the acting of that sinne and so will light come in againe by a little and a little and then thou wilt see the uglinesse of it for no man sees the uglinesse of a sinne untill first he comes out of it And now we come to their Answer What is that to us looke thou to it From hence againe learne this Doctrine That for the most part in the time of our extremity wee have least comfort from those which were our companions in evill Iudas here comes to the High Priests which were his companions in the betraying of Christ but they give him poore comfort What have wee to to doe with that looke thou to it Miserable comforters to a man in his extremity Now the Reasons are taken first From Gods Justice it 's just with God when men joyne against him to set them one against another Thus he set Abimilecke and the men of Sechem one against another God sends an evill spirit betweene them he can make enemies to be friends and friends to be enemies There are abundance of such examples in hystories Secondly from mans nature which is apt to love the treason and hate the Traytor he hath a love to the lust and so may love the treason hee hath a principle in him to hate the Traytor Thirdly from the nature of their love it 's for commodity or gaine or some by end or other and therefore when the commodity ceaseth that also ceaseth yea and often turnes to hatred as Ammons love to Thamar did This should teach us to take heed how wee joyne with men to doe evill It 's better to joyne to their consciences in doing well for their consciences will continue then to their lusts for they wil end and then their love to you wil end also Hence it 's said in the Proverbs That he that reproveth shall finde more favour in the end than he that flattereth Many rejoice in the love of evil company but all that love is but like glasse sodered together when God sendeth the fire as he did to Abimilecke to melt that they fall asunder and all their love ceaseth Now the next thing is Hee cast downe the thirty peeces of silver And here the Doctrine is this That that that is the greatest comfort when God once turnes his hand against us proves most discomfortable Iudas here thought these thirty peeces of silver a great matter but when once God moved his conscience he casts them away So suppose a man get
with God who is the King of kings and Lord of lords who hath power to exalt one and pull downe another now if we could but bring our hearts to beleeve this that in strengthning of the inward man wee should get and grow in favour with God then men would be stirred up to set upon this worke yet withall you must know that by the strength of the inward man you doe not please God by merit for so Christ onely and none but Christ pleaseth God but when you strengthen the inward man you please God by object because you chuse grace and holinesse and his favour above all things Merit was the same argument which Christ used unto his Father when hee would have his Father to glorifie him Ioh. 17. 4 5. Father I have glorified thee on earth I have finished the worke c. therefore Father glorifie me that is I have merited this at thy hands that thou shouldest glorifie mee because I have perfectly pleased thee in doing thy will But an argument drawne from the object is that which Christ useth to his Disciples Herein is my Father glorified that you bring forth much fruit when you grow strong in the inward man and can bring forth fruite agreeable unto his will you please God And therefore it is that the Scripture sets forth the members of Christ by the Olive tree and by sweete oyle the one full of fatnesse the other full of sweetnesse so the inward man makes a man fat rich in grace and oyle as the nature of it is to cheere and beautifie the countenance so doth grace it sweetens the soule and makes it beautifull unto God Therefore let this moove you to strengthen the inward man that thereby you may please God The third motive to perswade you to strengthen the inward man is this because this inward strength drawes on the outward strength that is it makes the outward strength more prosperous Now who would not thrive in the things of the world but if you turne it the contrary will not hold so for the outward strength will not draw on the inward strength therefore our Saviour saith Seeke you first the Kingdome of heaven and the righteousnesse thereof and then all things shall be added unto you the way for you to thrive in the outward man is first to get strength in the inward man Seeke you first grace and Christ and holinesse and then the effect will follow All things that is what you shall stand in need of shall be given you and Esa. 48. 18. The Lord saith O that my people had but a heart to consider that is oh that my people would but bee wise First to strengthen the inward man and then as it followes your prosperitie should be as the floods then your outward strength and prosperity should abound like floods againe Prov. 22. 4. The wise man saith that the reward of holinesse is riches and honour and life hee that is strong in the inward man shall have whatsoever may be necessary or good for the outward man and therefore wee should strive to grow strong in the inward man that is to be full of grace and wisedome especially against evill dayes against they come that when they come wee may have strength to beare them now the inward man will beare a mountaine of afflictions and reproches which will presse and squeese the outward man to powder The spirit of a man will beare his infirmities but a wounded conscience who can beare If the inward man be weake who can beare the burthen of afflictions and the like but if the inward man be strong then the Will will beare a part the affections will beare a part with the conscience and so the burthen will bee the lighter but if you be not strong in the inward man it is unpossible that you should beare them therefore let us not busie our selves about fantasies and vaine things that will stand us in no stead but let us labour to strengthen the inward man The fourth motive to perswade you to strengthen the inward man is because a man is that which he is in the inward man a man without the inward man is but as a scaberd without a sword that is worth nothing and therefore the wise man saith That the righteous man is more excellent then his neighbour the excellency wherein he doth exceed him is in the inward man and therefore Christ in the Canticles when hee would set forth the excellency of his Spouse hee saith That shee was fairer then the daughters of men shee is fairer in regard that shee is stronger in the inward man shee is all glorious within Psal. 45. 13. that is the holy man doth as farre exceed the naturall man in beautie as pearles exceed pible stones or gold brasse or silver copper I know any man doth desire to be in some excellency I say it is a propertie in nature to seeke out some excellency then is it not the best wisedome to seeke it in the best things in the inward man Now as there is meanes to bee rich in the outward man so there is meanes to be rich in the inward man therefore I beseech you use the meanes that you may be rich in grace and holinesse Prov. 30. 29 30. the Wise mans speech there may serve to set forth the excellency of that man that is strong in the inward man there are 4. things saith he that are excellent a Lion a Hee Goate a Grey-hound and a King before whom there is no standing So he that is strong in the inward man First hee is as a Lion that is he is strong in grace Secondly he is as a Grey hound that is he is swift in the performance of all holy duties Thirdly he is as a Hee Goate profitable to God and the Church Fourthly he is as a King to rule and over-rule his base affections and lusts Every spirituall man is a King because he beares rule in the soule but it is not so with a wicked man his lusts rule him hee is a slave and not a king and therefore the Apostle saith Let not sinne reigne in your bodies to obey it in the lusts thereof If it once reigne it will rule and if it rule you must obey unto whatsoever drudgery or slavery it enjoynes you therefore labour to get strength in the inward man and know also that you shall not onely be free from the inward slavery of sinne but also you shall keepe your excellency and therefore it may be said of every one that is weake in the inward man as Iacob said of Reuben Gen. 49. 12. thou art become as weake as water as if hee should say thou wast that which thou art not now thou wast excellent but now thou hast lost it So I say unto you if you lose the strength of the inward man you will lose your excellency now no man would willingly lose his excellency