renit yet better and better to perfect our works Rev. 3. 2. Yet more and more that they may shine unto perfect Day even till the breaking forth of the Day of Immortality As long as we are on this Corrupt Earth and sinful sinning Body we are never holy enough to meet with and appear before the holy God but still as long as we have life and being so ought we to be still a doing according to the Exhortation which speaketh on this wise Having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God So we are still to be upon the cleansing and purifying Work according to what is commanded Wash ye Make ye clean So is the mind and endeavour of the true Servants of God even of the Elect and such that shall Obtain Unto which promise our twelve Tribes instantly serving God day and night hope to come Acts 26. 7. Thy God whom thou servest continually Dan. 6. 16. Without more intermission or weariness than what is necessary such Service hath the favour and acceptance of God And so the Apostle Paul saith Not as though I had already attained either were already perfect I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended and so he did not think himself fit for Heaven but this one thing I do forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before This Blessed Saint did take more pains for Heaven than any Christians now a Days and much less formal Worshippers can pretend unto He saith thus of himself That three Years he did not cease to warn every one night and day with Tears The consideration whereof is said to have made Chrysostom who was also a labourer and not a loyterer in God's Harvest as is the manner of too many in these days to tremble because of his own remisness and negligence in the Work of the Ministry compared with that The same Apostle was in labours more abundant in watchings in fastings in imprisonments and tumults Truly and in good earnest all that ever a poor Mortal Creature can do putting forth all his strength imploying all his time using and exerting all that is within and without him is little enough to obtain Heaven If it were not for this real and great end all Men's doings are in vain For nothing remains in a Man but what he doth in the Service of God and for the good of his own Soul The world passeth away and the lust thereof but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever All other Acts and Actions perish in the using and at length come to an utter end and signifie nothing at last It is to be disquieted in vain and to be cumbred about many things in vain and for the people to labour in the very fire and to weary thmeselves for very vanity Heb. 2. 13. And whereas the Prophet doth before ask the question Is it not of the Lord of Hosts that people do thus Thereby is imported forth that the Lord doth leave them and withdraw himself from them and then they do labour in the very Fire and weary themselves for very vanity Which confirms what was aforesaid that although Man indeed is a noble Creature wholly a right Seed considered in his Relation to God yet separated from and forsaken by God he is the meerest vanity that can be Surely every Man walketh in a vain shew Surely they are disquieted in vain He heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them As it is said in the Book of Job that upon the Death of a Man his Sons come to honour and he knoweth it not So we may give a guess how things will be after our Decease all one as we may of the time to come whilst we are in Life The like hath been fulfilled in our Brethren of the same Condition Circumstances and Years yet we know not exactly how it will be As to our own forecasts concerning futurity most commonly it happens contrary but always otherwise than we think or imagine before hand Foreknowledge is the pecular Attribute of God who knoweth all things But it is not for us Creatures to know the things to come But we have heard with our Ears and our Fathers have told us and we have read of several Examples of those who have heaped up Riches and knew not who should gather them For after that they have been Dead it may be their greatest Enemies and those whom they whilst living would not speak a good and kind word unto nor give them so much as a Cup of cold Water and yet either by being next of Kin the right of Inheritance did devolve unto them or by the contention and decision of the Law some way or other it hath fallen unto them There is somewhat alike to this said in Luke 12. The ground of a certain rich Man brought forth plentifully And he thought within himself saying What shall I do because I have no room where to bestow my fruits And he said this will I do I will pull down my barns and build greater there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods And I will say to my Soul Soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years Take thine ease eat drink and be merry And God said unto him thou fool this night thy Soul shall be required of thee Then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God Whose shall those things be which thou hast provided And so he heapeth up Riches and knoweth not who shall gather them They come near to the same sense and signification It is certain that those things which he hath provided and the Riches he hath heaped up are no longer his when once his Soul is required of him and then he knoweth not who shall gather them And whereas that excellent and useful Truth is afterwards added So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God From all this laid and considered together it appears that the heaping up riches which signifies the abundance plenty and superfluities of them is not the proper end of Life Indeed every one ought to be honest and diligent in his Calling and to provide for his own House But saith the Lord Jesus Take heed and beware of Covetousness for a Man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth So if a Man can have the necessaries and comforts of Life by doing that and that only which is Lawful and Right to such the promise is His Soul shall live If he can bring the World about and pay every one his own If he hath neither poverty nor riches but is fed with
way to live for ever more because he liveth we shall live also But on the other hand if Man should be separated from and disowned by God he would thereupon become vile abject and vain But now the Lord saith Them that honour me I will honour and they that despise me shall le lightly esteemed 1 Sam. 2. 30. The Men that have transgressed against me shall be an abhorring unto all flesh Isa 66. 24. For he knoweth our Frame he remembreth that we are but dust He hath so made all Men that as himself saith All their Excellency that is above the other Creatures is of me The Righteous is more excellent than his Neighbour So contrariwise that Man who is without God in the World There is not so pitiful and vile a Creature in the World no not the most ugly Toad as he is For whereas the Beasts perish he shall after Death rise up to everlasting shame and contempt Dan. 12. 2. Our Text is chiefly to be understood of the Natural Man alienated from the Life of God and who hath not the knowledge of God But it cannot be so truly said that the Godly Man is disquieted in vain For he can and also doth cast his Disquiet and Sorrow upon God And he hath that Faith and Consideration that if he heapeth up Riches he knoweth who shall gather them that is to say that is Besides providing for his own and those of his own house 1 Tim. 5. 4. The Poor shall gather them both in his Life-time and also after his Death Every Man walketh in a vain shew This is to be understood of every Natural and Ungodly Man as he is busied only about Earthly things Certain it is that the Natural and Ungodly Man doth more walk in a vain shew than the Spiritual and Godly Man doth for he hath some certain proposed end and is conversant about real things even the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God whilst the other is only employed about vain things which cannot profit nor deliver for they are vain All this World is but vanity so that all they must necessarily walk in a vain shew who do not terminate their thoughts and doings beyond this World who do not in Mind and Heart enter within the vail where indeed and only is the substance of things hoped for For the Creature was made subject to vanity not willingly but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope Rom. 8. 21. From hence it may be truly gathered that the Creature which is now made subject to vanity is in hope to be translated changed and delivered into a more real and much better state of things And then Man who now on this Earth walketh in a vain shew will abide that is to say such who shall be accounted worthy Luke 21. 36. in a glorious and substantial State For so it stands according to the method and appointment of God that Vanity is in order to Reality the Figure or Shew goes before the thing Figured and Shewed And Perfection is to succeed Imperfection and Mortality will be swallowed up of Life and Incorruption is to follow after this state of Corruption here And so likewise Eternity is to succeed Time Thus the Works of God are worthy of himself For as the Psalmist saith Remember how short my time is Wherefore hast thou made all Men in vain Now if God should have made all Men and all things in vain this would not have seemed with reverence be it spoken and conceived so befitting an alwise God for it is an essential part of Wisdom not to do things in vain But when he doth things first in a vain state in order to lead and raise them up from thence into a substantial state this raiseth the highest admiration of the Wisdom of the Agent O Lord how glorious are thy works in Wisdom hast thou made them all It is now an usual thing with Artificers or Builders first to draw the Plat-form or Model of what they intend to build and make In like manner it may be conceived that he who built all things now he who built all things is God did create the Heavens and the Earth and all the things that therein are as a Plat-form or Model of the new Heavens and the new Earth which he will make If we could now have such lively Thoughts and Apprehensions of the new Heavens and new Earth and of the things contained therein as we shall then have a sence and feeling and open sight thereof in the future state all one as we now have of the things in this present state then by reason of the so much exceeding Greatness Duration and Reality of those future things we should be otherwise affected and concerned as to them then now we are Even whilst our Body is on this Earth our Conversation would be in Heaven and our Mind would be always there And like as Strangers and Pilgrims when they are from â—ome in another Country their mind runs still or for the most part on home even whilst they are in the strange and distant place In like manner if we did confess our selves to be Pilgrims and Strangers on the Earth Heb. 11. 13. Our Thoughts Mind and Desire would be wholly taken up about Heaven and Futurity Who then much minds the Figure or Picture when he hath before him the thing Figured or Pictured Then it will appear that the things which are now visible are as the Figure or Shew and only what things are now invisible they are the Realities While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are Temporal but the things which are not seen are Eternal It may now be so brought to pass by the Word of Faith which we Preach which speaketh of those things that be not as though they were and warns of things not seen as yet Heb. 11. 7. That the things which now are not seen might be rendred intelligible unto our Souls all one as the things now sensible are to our outward senses But People are so settled on the lees and sunk down and immersed into sensuality and the cares and concernments of this Life that they are not altogether so much and so continually thoughtful about the other as they should be Here again our Duty to God and care for our Immortal Soul teaches rather to renounce things present as much as possible that we may think and act more after the things to come It is Sin and Sensuality that do now eclipse overshadow as with a Cloud and darken the Soul and hinders from the sight and light of the suture eternal things Although we do Daily yea every Hour and Minute press nearer and nearer unto them The more we think of those suture eternal things the more we are convinced of the vanity and littleness of all present things These are now heightned in expectation and imagination but when we know
food convenient for him Such an one whilst he fears and serves God and fulfils all righteousness shall be more happy and blessed in the end than he that heapeth up Riches and knoweth not who shall gather them or than he that lays up goods for many Years and is not rich towards God The reason and end of things is to be considered Wherefore is it that any one desires Riches If he be one who loves God with all his Heart and with all his Strength and with all his Soul and with all his Mind and who understands throughly the things pertaining to his Kingdom Then it is because he would Honour the Lord with his Substance because he would approve himself as a good Steward of the manifold gifts of God For so much as we have so much we are accountable for Let him that stole steal no more but rather let him labour working with his hands the thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth Eph. 4. 28. Hence it appears that even in the labour of our Hands which is to subminister the necessaries of Life somewhat out of that should be afforded to Alms and good Works Much more a larger Portion should be expended towards the same end out of the Plenty and Superfluities of Life Yea whatever is more than the necessity and conveniencies of each Family the same belongeth to the Poor and is their due Whereupon shewing mercy to the Poor is called Righteousness Dan. 4. 27. The more Riches or Money any one hath committed unto him in this Life proportionably a demand and account will be required of him at the Day of Judgment whether he hath expended accordingly for the relief of the Poor and for the maintenance of good works Titus 3. 8. As it is written Obey them that have the rule over you for they watch for your Souls as they that must give an account So it may be truly said to every one who hath or to whom this Worlds Goods are committed do thou so use expend and distribute them forth as thou that must give account thereof That time will come even upon the Death of each one Give an account of thy Stewardship for thou mayest be no longer Steward And it being afterwards commanded And I say unto you Make to your selves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations For we brought nothing into this World and it is certain that we can carry nothing out So in the Day of our Death and from thence forward throughout all eternity we shall have no benefit of our Money or the Riches we had in this Life but of what we gave to the Poor or distributed towards the maintenance of good Works For my part as I have a God to serve and a Soul to have which I desire as much to have saved as any Man living In that little Money which falls into my hands for the World hateth me because I testifie of it that the works thereof are evil If ye were of the World the World would love his own Besides the necessaries of Life provided for the same is the constant thought of my Heart and endeavour of my Hands so to expend the greater part thereof as that I must give account thereof before God and so that I may give up a good account of my Stewardship and that it may be most acceptable and pleasing in the sight of the Lord and that I may receive a full reward 2. John 8. Even the Reward of such who have done the best works Now of good Works there is a twofold sort either outward Alms which is a temporal kindness to the dying Body And seeing that we have this treasure in Earthen Uessels and by the good health and temperament of our Body we are better enabled to serve God and to follow the Duties of our respective Callings And they would Languish Sicken and Die without necessary Food and Rayment So that the Subministring of these to the Person who really wants them is a very great good in that it doth preserve Life But yet as the Apstle saith Covet earnestly the best gifts and yet shew I to you a more excellent way 1 Cor. 12. 31. As much as the Soul is better and a more enduring Substance than the Body so what doth good immediately unto the Soul is proportionably a better Work than what is a temporal kindness unto the dying Body Hereupon the words of eternal Life are better than Money or Food for the former are all one necessary to the feeding and nourishing up of the Soul unto eternal Life all one as Meat and Drink are necessary unto temporal Life According to what David saith by the Spirit which same Spirit gave him the Faith and Knowledge of the future and invisible things of God The Law of thy mouth is better unto me then thousands of Gold and Silver Psal 119. 72. So that the making known thy Truth Isa 38. 19. Or the words of eternal Life and the multiplying the Copies thereof is consequently the Best of works as much as the Soul is better than the Body Indeed in this ignorant but more especially Corrupt World where we know in part things do appear differently unto Christians although they all pretend to walk by the same Rule of the Scriptures Yet forasmuch as many called Christians who seem to be Religious and to make a fair shew in the Flesh have a secret inward enmity against Publishing the Word and Truth of God for the same and alike Reasons as the Pharisees did take Counsel to put Christ to Death Because they perceived that he had spoken the Parable against them Even so such apprehend that the Word Spoken or Published is against some of their own sinful Corrupt or Hypocritical doings therefore they conceive beforehand an enmity towards and afterwards an opposition or Persecution against it and They do not receive the Love of the Truth 2 Thess 2. 10. Nor will they do any thing for it But for my part though I cannot as yet so fully say as I could wish for that I have made my Heart clean nor have all my doings as yet been perfectly conformable to that great and compleat Rule of Righteousness in Scripture For in many things we offend all And the Scripture is against some of my doings which I desire to cease from once before I die and to bring them all yea every Word and Thought in me unto a conformity and agreeableness unto all the Words of God's Law for I believe and tremble that The Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all unâ—ighteousness of Men. Which word Unrighteousness signifies what is a variation from the great Rule of Righteousness aforementioned Yet nevertheless I am so far from conceiving an Enmity Opposition or Persecution against that form of sound words in Scripture or any of them that I can do nothing against the Truth but for the