the Creatures in Heaven and Eearth Oh take not away the lives of my Servants and God hath set Angels over them to keep their lives and dost thou account so meanly of thy life wilt thou put away thy life for a trifle for every cross and discontentment that thou meetest with in this world what dishonour is this to God and what undervaluing of that which God counts so highly of But Secondly Take heed that you act nothing against your lives take heed thou dost not go about to shorten thine own life take heed thou dost not go about to cut off thine own life this is a grievous sin and high provocation there is nothing that the Devil seeks more then this and this many times is a very urging temptation a pressing temptation Oh take away thy life Now I beseech you remember how precious life is what a precious Jewel 't is in the sight of God and will you cast it away for nothing will you cast it away to gratifie the Devil at his request But Oh I live a miâ—erable life say some my life is a burden nothing but crosses nothing but troubles in the world it were a thousand times better for me to dye then to live I say Should'st thou rid thy self of thy affliction or shouldst thou not rather wait till God opon a door unto thee what wilt thou break chains wilt thou break Gods chains wilt thou break prison to be gon before God hath set thee at liberty Oh know God hath worse chains chains of darkness But suppose thou livest in the greatest affliction why wilt thou sin to rid thy self of affliction is not the least sin worse then the greatest evil to sin against God an infinite God and if the least sin be worse then the greatest evil shouldst thou sin to rid thy self of affliction Object Ay but I live to sin against God that makes my life a burden to me Oh I bear about me a body of death and I drag it about with me every day so long as I live it makes me weary of my life and I desire to dye rather then to live Well suppose it Suppose thou livest in sin and suppose by taking away thy life thou dost free thy self from sin yet should'st thou have an eye to the word of God hast thou any such rule that God hath prescribed to free thy self this way Oh why dost thou not look to Christ and fetch it from his righteousness from his blood and from his death should'st thou not go thither to be free from sin is there not pardoning mercy and healing grace and washing for all kind of spots to the utmost thou talkest of freeing thy self from sin and thou sinnest the greatest sin that thou canst sin if thou takest away thy life I tell thee thou had'st better live a thousand years and sin all thy time against God then sin this sin and go about to do any thing agâ—inst thy life why this is the greatest thou canst do to God thou givest God the lye God holds forth grace and mercy in the Gospel and thou givest him the lye he tells thee in his word that he is able to save to the utmost and thou givest him the lye and therefore I beseech you remember your lives are precious Jewels remember what account God hath of them and do not act any thing against them do nothing against your lives Thirdly If you would improve life then gain as much of God as possibly you can in the time of life this is the way to gain by life labour to gain the knowledge of God and of his Son labour to get insight into the Mysteries of the Gospel the great Mysteries of Christ manifested in the flesh Oh there is an Infinite depth 't is worth the seeking after Oh the pâ—ecious Mines of grace in the Gospel truly you cannot improve life better then this way seek the knowledge of God and of his Son seek communion with God and acquaintance with him get more grace from him more strength more spiritual good things this is a rich improvement of a mans life and will you not make the best improvement of such a Jewel as life is you will make the best improvements of your estates put off any commodity for the best advantage and will you not put off your lives for the best advantage I tell you 't is a Stock a precious Stock that God hath given you to use Oh why should you let the Stock lye dead by you and do nothing that may advantage your souls another day Consider again this kind of improvement of life makes a mans life more glorious if a man be not thus exercised and thus lay out life to seek after God and to get more acquaintance with him get more communion with him more fellowship of the Spirit more knowledge of Christ more grace more assurance of his love why it will make him scarce a man without this Oh this makes a mans life a noble life an Evangelical life when as he is exercised in such glorious things as these but when a man doth spend his life and doth nothing this way and does not give more of God and Christ he lives like a beast more then like a man a poor low carnal senceless drossie life though he be never so high and excellent in the world though he be in the greatest outward honour that man lives a low life and he will not continue in his honour but in the conclusion becomes as â—he beasts that perish Fourthly If you would prize your lives labour to act as much as you can for God in the time of life this is a prizing of life an improving of life know that life is given you for action and when a man is dead he doth not act for God Oh therefore remember that there is something that God hath given every one of you to do in this tearm of life thereis some service some work in your generation that God expects at your hand even in this life and I beseech you take the wisemans council that he gives you in the 9. of Ecclâ—s v. 10. Whatsoever tâ—y hand findeth to do do it with all thy mighâ— foâ— there is no working no device nor knowledge nor wisâ—dom in the grave wâ—ither thou art a going Improve your lives saith he and what ever you do do it with all your might consider what is the work you have to do for God in your generation what work you have to do for God and what your hand findeth to do do it with all your might do not neglect but do what your hand finds to do do with all your might life is very short the work is long and life is very short you need work while you have time you need work while the day last the night cometh upon every one of you when there is no time for to work there is no device no knowledge nor wisedom in the grave whither thou art going Oh
Kâ—ngs for their sakes Touch not mine Anointed and do my Propâ—ets noâ—â—arm you know what command God gave to Laban and what restraint he laid upon Esau concerning Jacob in Gen 31 33. though it was in the heart of Laban to destroy him and though Esâ—u came out with an intention to take away his life the Lord laâ—d a restraint upon them Again Sometimes you shall finde that God Sixtly upon deadly Diseases hath laid a restraint upon deadâ—y Diseases upon violent sicknesses such as would have been destructive to the bodies of his Servants God hath laid a restraint upon them that though vâ—olent Diseases and Dâ—stempers have pulled down his Servants from their strength to great weakness to the grave God hath given command that they should not destroy them And thus God dealt with David and with Hâ—â—zekiah and David doth acknowledge it in the 30. Psalm 3. saith he O Lord thoâ— hast brought up my soul from the nrave thou hast kept me alive that I shoâ—ld got go dâ—wn â—o the pit He was at the very grave and he Lord delivered him and then a remarkable instance you have of Hezekiah at the 38. of I aâ— at the beginning of the Chapter there is the very sentence of death gone out against him and a deadly Disease seizes upon Hâ—zekian he was gone and quite gone by the course of nature he could not have lived and yet the Lord rescues his life as you shall read in that Chapter at the fift verse Again Sometimes you shall finde that God Seventhly upon the Divel hath laid a restraint upon the very Devil himself and hath given him a charge that he should not meddle nor touch the lives of his Servants and thus God dealth with Job as you may see in the second of Iob there the Divel sought after nothing more then the life of Iob fain would he have had his life but God would not grant it in the 6. vers of that Chapter in the 5. verse saith Satan Put forth thy hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse thee tâ— thy face vers 6. And the Lord Answered Behold he is in thine hand only save his life There is nothing the Divel thirsts more after then the taking away the precious life and therefore he set upon Christ with this temptation If thou beest the Son of God cast thy self down and so the Devil doth set upon many of the poor Servants of God many times with this Temptation Cast thy self down make away thy self and take away thine own life Yet the Lord is pleased to lay a restraint upon him and keep up his people notwithstanding all those stormes and temptations and they are yet in the land of the living and thus you see what care God takes for the lives of his Servants and in what a wonderful manner he doth sometime rescue them from death and destruction But you will say What end hath God in this Wherefore doth God do this First of all and above all in respect of his own Name He respects his own glory in it therefore The first ground of the Point he suffers his people to be brought into such great straits and low conditions as none but God can deliver thence He suffers them to be brought down sometime even to the very dust that it may appear that none can deliver but God that doth raise from the dead and call things that are not as if they were Now Gods name is glorified these 3. ways by such kind of deliverances as these Fâ—rst of all God doth thereby draw forth great praises from his people I say such deliverances How Gods Name is glorified iâ— delivering of his Servants draw forth great praises from his people When God gives great mercies into the hands of his people he is pleased to put high praises into the mouths of his Servants in Ps 149. at the 5. and 6. v. Lâ—t the Saints be â—oyful in glory let them sing aloud upon their beds Let the â—igh praises of God be in their mouth Now my brethren know this That there is nothing on earth that God doth more delight in then in the praise of his people he is pleased to account it as a glory done to him Who so offereth prâ—ise glorifieth me and therefore it is that God is said to dwâ—ll in the praises of his people See that expression in the 22 Psalm it is an expression of Jâ—sus Christ in his Agony 22 3. v. Oh thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel To inhabit the praises of Israel 't is one of the most glorious Titles that is given to God O thou that inhabitâ—st the praises of Israel The Lord delights more in the praises of Israel then in all the world beside He delights there more then in Heaven if it were not for the presence of his Son therefore it is one of the dwellings of God the praises of his people Great Princes and Nobles have their several Palaces so hath God sometime they leave the City and go into the Country and places of Recreation Why thy Lord he is said sometime to come down among his people and he is pleased to dwell there that he may refresh himself in the praises of his people 'T is a house that God doth delight to dwell in for ever and for ever when Faith shall cease and Prayers shall cease the Praises of the Saints the Halelujahs shall never cease but the Saints shall compass the Throne round about with their Praises with their Songs with their Hallelujahs and there shall God delight to dwell there shall God delight to inhabit for ever and therefore because that God doth thus delight in the praises of his people he works great deliverances that so he may greatly draw forth the praises of his people that their hearts may be abundantly inlarged to him He will work such deliverances as there shall be a great deal of God in them that so their hearts may be greatly drawn forth in praises to God 2. Again God gets himself the glory in the second place by confuting the blasphemies of the enemies and therefore 't is that God doth carry on such works of deliverance that he may stop the mouth of enemies and confute all their blasphemies When God brings his people into a low condition many times enemies they rise high in their blasphemies against God and his people sometimes they cry out where is now thy God and sometimes they condemn the generation of the righteous and judge rashly as those in Act. 28. did of Paul when they saw the Viper on his hand they said among themselves No doubt this man is a murderer whom though he hath escaped the Sea yet vengeance suffereth him not to live Now God many times he works great deliverance that he may confute the enemies of the Saints that they shall see if they will not willfully blinde their eyes they shall see that God was in the generation of
as the grass You had need live in a continual converse with your fading condition dye daily see death at a distance and grapple with death at a distance Put your selves into a dying condition and say often Oh! what if this were my last What if I were now to breath forth my soul What if now to shoot the Gulf of Eternity What have I now to rely upon What have I to carry me through How shall death be conquered How shall the sting be taken out for me You had need I say converse with death at a distance and live continually in the sence of your dying condition that so death may not be terrible when it comes that you may know before hand how to conquer it and that it is conquered by the blood of the Lamb. Fiftly Another work that you have to do with your might is to do good to your friends and to your Relations Christians give out the good things to your Relations and do it speedily do it with all your might Impart the knowledge of God to your Relations Christ finds Andrew and Andrew finds Simon Peter Christ finds Philip and Philip finds Nathaniel Oh come saith he we have found the Saviour the Messias 1 Joh. 41. 45. You have but a little while to be with your Relations and they are gone they are taken from you and you from them and therefore with all your might work this work and do them good and give out good to your Relations That is the fifth work that you have to do with all your might Sixthly In all your waitings upon God see that you do there with your might I say when ever you wait upon God in every Duty in every Ordinance whensoever you draw nigh to God the Lord requires you should do it with your might In the second of Samuel the 13. it is said there that David when he danced before the Ark he did it with all his might And so in the second of Chron. 28. It is said there that David when he offered unto the Lord he offered with all his might And so that place in 2 King 23. and 25. It is said that King Josiah turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his might what ever you do in the matters of God do it not lazily If you pray do it with your might and if you hear let it not be done but with all your might and if you speak do with your might because these are mighty things and they have relation to the business of Eternity Seventhly and Lastly To mortifie your corruptions to get your lusts mortified subdued cast out your souls more conformable to Christ this is an other work and the last work that I shall name that you Christians and Beleevers have to do and that with your might To get your lusts mortified and subdued Do it with your might do not look upon it as an easie matter as a frivolous business Do not go out against such Giants with straw and Bulrush But Oh! get the compleat Armour of God go forth in the name of Christ in the strength of Christ with the blood of Christ with with the promises of Christ it is a work of great concernment and therefore I beseech you do it in good earnest go out in the Name of the Lord and do this great work in good earnest that your corruptions may be mortified and more of the Image and likenesse of Christ may be imprinted upon your Spirits And thus have I shewed you my Brethren what it is for a man to do with his might and what are those works the Lord puts into your hands to do with all your might You have heard what works are put into the hands of sinners and what works are put into the hands of Beleevers And now I shall make some short Application and I have two words to speak First The one a word of Caution and Direction The other a word of Exhortation First in the first place a word of Caution and Direction is needful and let this be the first Caution That though God call upon you to work with your might yet he doth not put you upon it to work to pay your debt To discharge that great debt of ten thousand Talents of transgressions My Brethren if you had a thousand hands to work with if you could work as much as the very Angels it is not possible you should work so much as should discharge the debt for you could not pay the least farthing of that which is owing to God No know my Brethren the Father of mercies hath pittyed poor Creatures he sent his Son the Lord Jesus Christ for this end to marry poor Widdow-souls that were left in an infinite debt and could not discharge it he hath sent his Son to to pay the debt of every widdow-soul that is content to be espoused to Christ he came from Heaven for this end he wrought with his hands he had no other way to pay the debt he left himself poor The Lâ—rd Jesus was rich but for your sakes he became poor he had no way to pay the debt but by working with his hands he wrought hard he wrought till he sweat he wrought till he sweat drops of water and blood he wrought three and thirty years together that he might pay this great debt that was owing that his people did owe to the Father And therefore take heed you do not go about to work to discharge your own debt do not work to pay your debt but work because your debt is paid and discharged by Jesus Christ Secondly Take heed you do not work for your living God calls upon you to work with your might but he does not put you upon it to work for your living Life is not from your works neither should Christians live upon their works The life of your joy and the life of your peace the life of your comforts the life of your righteousness it is not from your works the Lord never put you upon it to work for this end no Christ hath wrought enough for his people that they might live as his people he hath provided for their maintenance to fill their cup he hath provided for their cloathing he put mighty righteousness everlasting righteousness upon you It is not now to do and live this is not the Covenant But the Covenant of grace is live and do fetch life from Christ and then do and do with all your might because life is given freely by Christ Thirdly God doth not put you upon it to work to purchase love to purchase favour or to purchase Heaven I say you are not to work to purchase the favour of God by your works to purchase Heaven by the works of your hands Alas Adam in innocency could not do it he could not yearn life by working And how shall poor Creatures in a fallen estate be able to purchase and yearn life by their own works No if