sides St. Cyprian saith also that he is either Superbus or Stultus that sayes or thinkes he is perfect And good reason for that which shines in the eyes of mâ—n in Gods esteeme is base In thy sight shall no flesh be justified Now there are divers degrees of judgements in Gods judgement none shâ—ll be justified nor in judgement of lâ—w for in many things we offend all and for the judgement of the world what is it if it cleare us can that â—cquit us if God and the law condemns us for the judgment of our owne consciences if they be cleared they will condemne us Yea the Papists are not satisfied in their own consciences for this point For if there may be a perfect fulfilling of the law in this life by a mans owne inherent righteousnesse why doe they teach the doctrine of Doubting as necessary to salvation But how ever they may brâ—bble in schooles to maintaine this their assertion yet when death comes they must flye those shifts and lay hold onely on Gods love Some will say what are the graces of Gods spirit are the sacrifices the sweet odours and ornaments of the spouse are these dung I answer Things admit of one esteeme simply considered and of another comparatively starres in the day are not seene yet in the night are great lights So workes in regard of Christs workes are not visible are nothing but in themselves are good Secondly I say there are two courts one of justification another of sanctification in the Court of justification merits are nothing worth insufficient but in the Court of sanctification as they are ensignes of a sanctified course so they are jewels and ornaments But the ignorant Papist objects against us saying that we discourage men from good workes because we doe so basely esteeme of them I answer A sick man cannot eate meat but it breeds humours that strengthens the disease shall he therfore forbeare all manner of meats No for meat strengthens nature and makes it able to overcome the power of the disease So by reason of our corruption we have within us we halt in every good worke we put our hand to shall we not therefore worke at all Yes for notwithstanding our weaknesse though we merit not any good yet God he over-lookes the ill-nesse of our workes and accepts and rewards the good that is in them giving us comfort and assurance of our justification by the sanctified fruites which though imperfect yet are true To conclude Seeing we cannot have Christ putting any confidence in outward things Let us labour to get an esteeme of the weaknesse and imperfections that are in them as also in our persons and actions that wee may hunger after Christ. To this end dayly renew we our repentance and examination of our hearts and when we doe any good Examine what weaknesse want of zeale want of affection or attention hath possessed us in our performances of praying hearing reading the Word and the like and want of watchfulnesse in our courses and then shall we be of St. Pauls mind all will be naught And take heed of spirituall pride and conceit of any good in us for it hinders spirituall comfort from us Let us meditate of the greatnesse of Gods love to us and the infinite reward and it will make us ashamed of our weake requitance of Gods love to us Consider the multitude of our sinnes before the time we were called and consider of our pronenesse to spirituall pride let us by all meanes abase our selves For those that God loves he will have them vile in their owne esteeme for it is his method First to beate downe then to raise up And therefore Iohn he comes thundering Hypocrites generation of vipers Then comes Christ Blessed are the poore those that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse as if onely they were blessed that feele their wants We must disdaine any other titles to any good but onely in Gods mercy and accordingly give the glory of all to him Thus did the Church militant Not to us not unto us Lord but to thy Name and thus doe the Church triumphant Rev. 7.12 Honour glory and power bee to the Lambe those that doe not thus are no members of the Church Last of all Let us take heed of extenuating sinne the Papists tell us of divers sins that are veniall such are surreptitious thoughts taking of pinnes stealing of points and the like these they call veniall But we must know to admit that sinne as a sinne to be veniall is a contradiction though God doe pardon it for that is out of his free mercy these surreptitious stealing motions that unawares doe creepe into us though the Papists doe make them of small account God may punish with his fierce indignation Moses his anger kept him out of Canaan Adam his apple cast him out of paradice every sinne is a breach of the law the least sinne soiles us we must give account of idle words and the wages of any sinne though never so small is death VERS 8. For the excellencie of the knowledge of Christ Iesus THat is either all things are losse to me that hinder me from the knowledge of Christ Iesus or all things are losse in comparison of Christ Iesus Wherefore before wee can know Christ as we ought wee must know all other things to be losse for when we learne to know Christ aright we then cast those things out of our affections which would else keepe Christ out of our heart Wherefore it s no wonder that great Schollers should bee erronious in many points of Religion for looke to their lives and we shall see them envious and ambitious they maintaine Idols in their hearts they account not those things losse which must be losse or else they must account Christ losse Secondly This knowledge of Christ is an excellent knowledge better than the Iewes who had all their knowledge shadowed out in ceremonies but this is unvailed and therefore Christ said Blessed are the eyes that see those things that you see And as the estate of the Church growes more excellent now than before Christs comming and shall be most excellent hereafter in heaven even so our knowledge doth and shall grow in its excellent perfection It s better also than humane arts and sciences not in regard of the Authour for all knowledge is from God but First in regard of the manner of revealing therof for whereas we come to the other by the light of nature and reason this is inspired into us by the spirit Secondly In regard of the matter of this knowledge which is farre beyond the other for this teaches the natures and person of Christ God and man in one person which may swallow up the thoughts of man Great is the misterie of godlinesse In the next place It teaches us his offices that he is a King to rule over us and deliver us a Priest to make us acceptable to God a Prophet to teach and
best indeavours it is but a while and it shall not be in vaine is it not better thus to doe and partake of this blessed change than to spare this vile body and pamper it by sacrificing all or to imploy all our time in the serving and pleasing others and to that end not to care to prostitute our selves to all manner of filthinesse what shall we get by these courses but at the resurrection of the just when wee should lift up our heads because our redemption draweth nigh then shall we be overcome with shame griefe terror and horror of conscience But happie are we therefore if in a good course wee can so resigne up our selves so as to bee resolute with Hester If I perish I perish if I live I live to Christ if I die I die to him what I have committed to him he will keepe I am assured thereof and therefore I will not offend him for any pleasure or profit whatsoever these resolutions had the Patriarches and Gods Saints and these made them die with comfort VERS 21. According to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things to Himselfe THe word that is translated working may and doth signifie power and so it was translated heretofore and is to be meant But the words being plaine we will come to some observations And first of all observe That Christ hath a power able to subdue all things to himselfe and this hee hath by vertue of his office of Mediatorship and this in respect of God to reconcile and appease him Secondly in respect of opposite powers to overcome all of them Thirdly in respect of the persons to be saved that he might free them from all ill and raise them to all happinesse and these things requires a power that must be above all created powers for God could not bee appeased but by an infinite price the bloud of one that is God and wee could not bee defended from sinne and hell whose power is the greatest of all finite power but by a power beyond it and such a power as must regenerate and renew us notwithstanding the opposite power of the divell and our corruptions within us which is a greater worke than the worke of our creation And all this he hath done he hath subdued him that had the power of death the Divell Heb. 2.14 He hath subdued diseases and windes with a word and with a word he smote his enemies to the ground he hath subdued all ill of the body and minde forgiving sinnes opening our hearts subduing our corruptions and death hath yeelded to his power O death I will bee thy death In the next place as Christ hath this power so he will use this power for the good of his Saints and this hee will doe because what ever Christ is he is for the good of his Church hee is powerful merciful and loving for his Churches sake And secondly because our bodies doe require it for it must be an infinite power that makes the body of dust and therefore though Christ was the sonne of God declared from the beginning yet it was said hee was mightily declared to be the son of God by his resurrection from the dead for from a privation to a habit there can be no regression by a naturall course and therefore for our bodies to returne from dust must be by a supernaturall infinite power of one that is God Let those that are enemies to Christ his members consider this against whom doe ye strive even against the Almighty who in his humiliation was able with a word to strike his enemies to the ground and now being in glory how fearfull and terrible should his power be to such who should learn betimes to kisse the sonne before they perish in the mid-way And for his children let them comfort themselves that are under the government of so powerfull a majesty for he will bruise all their enemies under them Nay they are already all conquered and let them consider of all his promises and apply them to his power It is a powerfull Saviour that said Come to me all you that are heavie laden I will raise you up it is he that is able to subdue all things to himselfe that promises my grace shal be sufficient for you he is a Prophet to instruct fully a Priest to satisfie Gods wrath to the utmost a King to subdue all their corruptions Thirdly let this incourage us to set our selves against our corruptions some there are that having a little strove with their lusts and finding not that they have gotten any sensible ground against them they as out of hope and heart sit down with this opinion as good never a whit as not the better and so yeeld up the bucklers what a distrustfull incredulous estate is this is not he God that hath promised is hee not truth it selfe hath he said and shall it not come to passe feare not these Anakims nor Cananites depend on God in the use of the meanes and let him alone with the performāce of his promises Fourthly despaire of none though never so weake so long as they use the meanes for Christ hath created all by his word hee will raise us up by his word and will change us by his word and by this word he is able to change others though never so obstinate for so long as they are under the word and meanes they are under the armes of an almighty power and therefore if any be in our power or if wee wish well to any we should perswade them to prize the word and to use the meanes In the next place this is a ground of triall of our estates would we know whether we are of the number of those that shall bee raised up hereafter and changed then examine whether we have found this power changing us and bringing us to grace here for Eph. 1.19 20. the same power worketh in us to beleeve that raised up Christ doe wee then finde our understandings inlightned our wils conformable to his wil do we finde the strong holds of sin in us rased and new spirits new thoughts new desires in us O these are blessed evidences of Christs almighty power in us that will raise us up at the last day By this meanes also wee may try our profession doe we come by faith and religion with pleasure and ease alas this is no signe of any powerfull strong worke in us it s easie to goe to Church to heare the word or reade it to receive the sacraments contrarily if we finde an inward change that our hearts are so altered as we can over rule our members contrary to our lusts and contrary to occasions then stronger is he that ruleth in us than hee that ruleth in the world 1 Ioh. 4.4 it is easie to resist a temptation where none is the mightie power of Christ is seene when being invironed with temptations we are inabled to resist I pray saith Christ that thou should keepe
of abundance and he may live in the world though not to the world which is a dutie easily spoken of yet not easily performed neither was it easily wrought in our Apostle who being a persecutor of the Church was powerfully altered and changed from Heaven and thus doth God deale with his children whom hee doth first cast downe and afflict that they may finde by experience that these outward things can stand us in no stead it may be hee suffers them to fall into some grievous scandalous sinne that they might see the bodie of sinne that lies in them and seeing no good nor help in themselves their desires are stirred up to the imbracing of some better thing wherein they may finde comfort then doth God reveale Christ to us to whom he will have us to flie and say Lord what wilt thou have mee to doe So as this power of changing our selves is not in our selves but it is an almightie power If we thinke therefore that wee are selfe-lovers goe to God present thy selfe in the meanes and then our eyes shall be opened to see and discerne good and evill For God hath promised to annex his spirit to the use of the meanes if that wee in obedience submit our selves to them VERS 8. Yea doubtlesse and I count all things but losse THe words containe a kinde of correction as if in few words he had said All things whatsoever I formerly boasted in nay my very priviledges I count them not onely dung but I doe count them to be losse to me nay I have suffered the losse of them all in comparison and for Christ my â—ord Yea I desire to expresse the earnest intention of my affections by my desire to win him to know hâ—m to be found in him and to formable to his death In generall observe The Apostles resolution and zeale his assured certainty his large heart being not able to expresse his affection but by many words viz. his love of Christ and hate of all outward things whatsoever Therefore we also in maine fundamentall points must be resolute carrying a full saile as in the truth of the thing there is a certainty so in us there must be an assured perswasion thereof For even from these uncertaine irresolute hearts comes Apostacie men being not grounded are carried about with every winde of doctrine and hence also comes different measures of grace in Christians some say with Paul Doubtlesse others are of doubting hearts But the end of the word is to settle us Ephes. 4.13 And though it be never so true yet if we not beleeve it though the foundation be sure yet if we not build on it the tru hand force of it is not good unto us In the second place fâ—om the Apostles example We are to learne in fundamentall truthes to be zealous The Apostle speaking of any thing that â—eâ—kes competition with Christ for value how doth he vilisie it that he hath not words sufficient to eâ—prâ—sse his fervent hatred thereof For zeale is such an affection as causes a constant hatred against any thing that opposes that which we intirely love even such a hatred as will cause us not to indure to heare of it And God therefore promiseth Ephraim he shall so abhorre Idols as he shall not have to doe with them And indeed a jealous God and a zealous heart doe well agree when wee have to doe with any one that opposes God in his â—ruth we are not to be cold but to be zealously affected In the third place Wee are to learne to bee large hearted in expressing our affection wee beare to the truth and therefore we are to bee ashamed of our shortnesse of breath in speaking or meditating of Gods honour and glory and his truth But particularly from our Apostles esteeme wee may learne That Gods children have sanctified and regenerate thoughts and esteemes For with new soules they have new eyes new senses new affections and judgements what they saw before to be gaine they see now to be losse Beasts we know conceive not of mens matters neither doe weake simple men of state matters that which weake silly men admire the Apostle scornes and contemnes Moses accounted of the afflictions with the children of God more than of the pleasure of Egypt We may observe this as a marke to know our estates by what is high in thy esteeme is honour riches pleasure or the like thou art not yet throughly sanctified for if thou wert thou wouldst have a sanctified judgement But some may say did Paul esteem all things to be losse yea his good workes I answer good workes in their own nature are good but weighing them with Christ as Paul did they are also drosse and dung Secondly it teaches us that wee are not righteous or justified by any workes ceremoniall or morall either before or after our conversion The Papists alledge works as meritorious we contrarily doe disclaime them As to that purpose I say they you meane ceremoniall works we say no we meane also morall For Paul was unblameable as concerning the works of the law and yet counts them dung O say they St. Paul meaned those works before his conversion and not those after his conversion I answer yes all things in respect of Christ I doe now account them as drosse and losse To prove this the fuller If nothing after conversion bee perfect then cannot they intitle us to heaven but all our best works in state of regeneration are imperfect to prove this See the examples of David a man after Gods owne heart Psal. 143.2 None righteous in thy sight and who can say his heart is cleane And Esay 64.6 Wee are all as an uncleane thing and all our righteousnesse as filthie ragges O but Bellarmine sayes the Prophet speakes this in the person of the wicked I hope he will not put the Prophet into that number for he saith wee and our and our righteousnesse not our ill deeds and all our righteousnesse Nay of himselfe in particular Esay saith as much in Esay 6.5 And besides the wicked doe not use to pray as the whole Chapter is to that end And Daniel also includes himselfe in his confession Dan. 9.20 And to prove this by reason We know that weake and corrupt principles must needs produce imperfect effects now the principles of all our motions are evilly affected our understandings memomories affections all are corrupt and weake Corruptions make combates in all parts of the soule and body in whatsoever therefore we doe there is flesh and spirit and their owne Authours agree hereunto as Ferus and Catharen a Cardinall of their owne sayes there is donatajustitia and inhaerens When the question is what we must leane to it must be onely on Christ and his righteousnesse wherewith from him we are indowed And a Pope of theirs Adrian the fourth saith that all our righteousnesse is as the reed of Egypt which will not onely faile us if we rest on it but will pierce our
I am who shall deliver me from the bodie of this death and good reason for these spirituall evils of errour in judgement hardnesse of heart securitie seared conscience and the like they leade us the assured way to damnation as it is said in the words following whose end is damnation Contrarily outward crosses being sanctified to us they bring us to heaven as it is 1 Cor. 11.32 Wee are chastened of the Lord that we should not bee condemned with the world For those crosses are occasions of good affections purging the heart from deadnesse and fleshly trust they draw us to God and therefore spirituall danger is the proper object of pitie It is otherwise with us wee lament Christian bloud-shed but how many soules are carried into error dayly turned to Poperie and no remorse no pitie There is great need thereof both in the Magistrate and the Minister that they should bee moved to provide remedies against such mischiefes And let us be farre from envying such as are in ill courses let their outward pompe be never so great rather lament their miserie alas poore soules how are they hurried nay doe willingly runne to destruction while they are blinded with those idle shewes of vanitie But much more miserable is their estate that draw on others to mischiefe that are brethren in evill what other end can they looke for but to bee as tares bound up and cast into the depth of hell being guiltie of as many mens deathes as they are of ill examples in their passed life But for our selves let not our soules come into their secrets le ts mourne at the lewdnesse of some and the danger of all and to this end let us consider duly of the afflictions of Ioseph taking heed of sensualitie which as Hosea saith taketh away the heart Hos. 4.11 Moses saw the miserie of his brethren and pitied them so should we consider of the danger of Popery of Schisme and rebellion and this will breake our hearts and cause us with Ieremie to mourne in secret for the sins of the times Ier. 13.17 VERS 18. They are the enemies of the Crosse of Christ. IN these and the following words is a description of these in ordinate walkers which the Apostle speaketh of they are described by their disposition First outwardly that they are enemies to Christs death Then inwardly their bellie is their God they glorie in their shame and they minde earthly things Then by their end which is damnation They are pointed out and described to us to the end wee might take notice of them by the Crosse is not meant the signe of the crosse as the Papists fondly imagine but Christs death on the crosse whereby was made satisfaction and redemption and reconciliation The enemies of this crosse are first such as added thereto the ceremoniall obedience to the law and their owne satisfactorie workes Secondly such as are carnall denying the power of Christs crucifying in not crucifying their affections Thirdly such as could not indure of suffer for the testmonie of Christs crucifying and therefoe to avoid persecution they pressed circumcision with Christ and so were enemies to his crosse Gal. 6.12 Such were the enemies thereof then and such have wee now of the Papists let them brag never so much of their esteeme and reverence they give to the signe thereof while they seem to kisse it they betray it Iudas like For while they teach merits satisfaction in purgatory indulgences the like they make the crosse of Christ of none effect whic his onely and wholly sufficient in it selfe And whereas they say they doe adde they take nothing from the sufficiencie of Christ I answer circumcision was added here by these who are notwithstanding condemned for as to joyne poyson with wholesome meate takes away the nourishment of the meate so if we be circūcised Christ shall profitus nothing and grace is no grace where there is merit Rom. 11.6 Againe consider the equitie thereof in naturall reason can it be thought likely that God should become man to doe any thing which lies in the power of man to patch up and make good or else its unsufficient shall finite corrupt man be able to make an infinite worke perfect no God will not give his glorie to another and will he part with his glorie in this great worke which propounds his glorie as the maine end thereof Ephes. the 1.6 and 12. verses Fourthly there are another sort of enemies such as cast not themselves on the merits of Christs crosse those whose consciences were never convict of sinne abundance there are who glorie in their proud presumptious swaggering courses shewing that they are either blinde or starke mad they wilfully runne to perditiō they wil not heare nor be controuled Others that see their fore-passed life how wicked it hath bin they are so far from casting themselves on Christs merits as they despair grow more more obstinate therein even to their own destruction either by not seeing the merits of Christ or through want of confidence on thē though they see his righteousnesse to be above their sins and some are so detestably wicked as because they see no salve for them they run desperatly into a custome of sin continue therin to their death As we would desite to avoid this fearfull estate and condition so let us take heed of custome of sinning for that wil make us senselesse and will move God to give us over And therefore let us take heed that we receive no the grace of God in vaine it being so freely proffered to us And to this end know that so far as we suffer our lusts to over rule us we not crucifie them so far we are enemies For while we know and consider Christ as crucified for our sins it will make us if we have any grace think of sin as of a thing that deserves to be crucified and hate that that caused the death of our deere Savious for they were the cruell tormenters of Christ. And if we embrace Christ we shal have the same affectiō to sin that Christ had for Christ wil not lodg but in a hart humbled for sin And the estate of those men is miserable that are so farre from crucifying lusts as they thrust themselves upon all occasions of temptation and sinne and esteeme them as their onely enemies that tell them of their unchristian courses Surely however they may daube for a time yet their outward profession will never administer sound comfort to them but they shall finde bitternesse at their latter end There are yet another sort of enemies namely such as will indure nothing for Christ who notwithstanding bore his crosse and bids us take up our crosse of reproach for religion some will indure any paine travaile danger and watchings for riches or ambition but dare not speake a word or appeare in Christs cause are not these enemies Shall Christ out of his love come from heaven to the basest
of the soule and accepts of it Thirdly this justly layes open the folly of mens censures if a man breake not out into open outragious sinnes they esteeme and commend such for good men though it may bee his soule is full stuffed with Atheisme revenge and all manner of villanie Fourthly this should teach us to condemne our selves even for our sinfull thoughts for know though thou livest without danger of mans law thou maist have a rebellious minde opposite to the divine law of God by which thou shalt be judged Yet seeing for this present life wee stand in need of earthly things and are not to cast off all care of them let us hearken to some directions in the use of them For riches and other necessaries God sends them unto us to be as meanes to sweeten our pilgrimage here In the using them take heed they doe not possesse and take up our whole heart immoderately labouring after them and before any spirituall grace This the Apostle blames in these men he saw they made religion to bee subordinate and to give place to their worldly lusts and that as he cared not if by any meanes he could attaine to the resurrection of the dead so they contrarily cared not if by any meanes through any crosse or losse whatsoever they could attaine to riches honour or the like yea if religion stood in their way though it were with the losse of Religion and a good conscience Secondly we must take heed that wee use these earthly things so as to draw good out of them and to imploy them to good labour we to see God in pleasure in richâ—s and in our abundance knowing and esteeming of them as a beame of the bright Sun-shine of Gods favour to us and thus to be lifted up to admire and praise his goodnesse Thirdly make them instruments of mercie and bountie it s an excellent way to further our accompts so receive the good as wee avoide the snare the way is not to hide our talents in a napkin to enter into a Monasterie to live idle but to occupie use and imploy them in the service of God and of our neighbours To conclude let us so use them as they be helpers of us to a better life not binderers for wee are in an estate betweene two in a warring and conflicting estate even as a peece of iron betweene two loadstones and know not which way to leane and yet may offend in the excesse of either side And therefore let us observe some signes whereby we may know whether we bee right or not And first of all this affection of love being the primarie and principall part is knowne by other affections If therefore our love bee set on the world we shall greeve and vexe our selves for worldly losses and fret and be chafed when wee are crossed in them and this made Ahab so lumpish as nothing could comfort him but Naboths vineyard Secondly let us observe whether our labours and indeavours are carried what wee talke of most what thinke we or meditate wee on first and last morning and evening if wee observe our carriage it will discover our minde Such are also opposite to any religious good course he that is rich bitterly opposeth goodnesse and therefore it is that Christ said Yee cannot serve God and Mammon and concludeth It is harder for a rich man to get into heaven than for a Camell to passe through a needles eye But to cure this sore Let us fetch arguments from the nature of the soule of man and the nature of these things and consider the incongruitie betweene the soule a pure heavenly spirituall essence and base earthly corrupt things dust was made meate for the serpent by a curse and not for man And remember The God of truth hath threatned vengeance against his dearest children that doe not mortifie their carnall lusts Abhorre we therefore the first thoughts of this sinne and divert our soules to higher thoughts and bee humbled shaming our selves for debasing our soules in that manner else will God take us in hand for he will not suffer his children to surfeit on the world but will bring them backe that they shall see and know all is but vanitie and vexation of spirit VERS 20. For our conversation is in Heaven Tâ—e word translated here For in the former translation is But and so it depends on the fore going words some walke as enemies to the crosse of Christ c. But our conversation is in heaven If it be as it is here translated For then doth it follow the 17. ver Mark them that walke as ye have us for an example for our conversation is in heaven Shewing the reason why he was so confident in propounding his example to bee imitated which way it be taken it is not much materiall onely from the opposition between those examples he speakes of immediately going before and is propounded in this verse Note that in the Church there are alwayes men of divers dispositions some ever goe with the current into Mare mortuum and others ever against the streame like the starres that are carried with a secret motion of their owne notwithstanding that in this world they seeme to be carried by the violent motion of the common course of men And this was first in Gods eternall decree that their should be perpetuall enmitie between the seed of the woman and of the serpent Secondly There is a difference in calling some onely outwardly some inwardly by his spirit Many are called but few are chosen Thirdly they differ in their rulers one are governed by the Divell and led captive to doe his will others by God Fourthly in regard of their conversation some are heavenly minded others are altogether earthly Fifthly their ends are different the way of one is upwards to heaven the way of the other is downward tending to the gates of death even to hell But to come to the words The Apostle saith not my conversation but our conversation implying that those that meane not to bee of the number of those that have their end in damnation they must bee of the number of those of a holy conversation The word in the originall signifies most properly a freedome or a Burgership So as from the metaphour we may gather thus much That Heaven is a Citie and all true Christians are Citizens and inhabitants of this Citie for as it is in the Citie of this world so may it be said comparatively of this Citie and the inhabitants First it s under a governour who is the Lord Christ. Secondly it s governed by law which is Gods law Thirdly it hath a store-house of all good things as of food and of other of the like sort which is heaven for it hath bread of life it hath rich and plenteous treasure Fourthly it hath liberties they are free from Sathans tyrannie free from the lawes curse and condemning power and are all Kings and shall all raigne
mindes something to this end that our affections may bee wrought upon to forsake the world with detestation and to love and imbrace heaven and for this dutie wee ought to redeeme some time continually Thus principally Enoch walked with God and David though a King meditated in Gods law day and night And from this dutie let us bee brought to a holy use of soliloquies checking and shaming our selves for following these pleasures for unthankfulnesse and want of cheerefulnesse as David why art thou cast down O my soule why art thou so disquieted By these recollections a Christian is indeed himselfe and for the present even seated in heaven In the last place besides ejaculations use dayly a set prayer for thereby wee ascend into heaven and are fitted thereby to be more and more heavenly it s the trade of Citizens that make them rich this is our trade to trade by prayer with that heavenly Citie where our treasure is and by it wee shall grow dayly in riches Thus is our soule strengthened and our affections stirred up to converse with God and thus come wee to set our faith in heaven together with our love where our father is where Angels and Saints our Citie and eternall happinesse is thus is our hope strengthened which carries us through all afflictions undauntedly and so is a heaven to us before heaâ—ven and thus are our â—esires in heaven to be at rest to bee with Christ which is best of all But some will say wee cannot alwayes intend such things as these we have our callings and are busied about earthly matters and cares I answer true it is yet in the use of these things wee may bee heavenly minded for God in mercie appoints us callings to busie our mindes about which else would bee delving in the idle pleasures of sinne onely he requires that we in the first place seeke for heaven we shall not continue here but wee are travelling still and therefore it is good for us ever to redeeme some time for heaven that wee may come with more speed to our journeyes end Secondly as a helpe to us hee hath left us his Saboths in pitie to our soules which else would altogether be rooting in the earth Let us have a care of the well spending of them for by this we pay homage to heaven and are put in minde thereof Thirdly everie day redeeme sometime for meditation of the vanitie of this world hereby will our untunable soules be still set in tune and for our callings every day sanctifie them by prayer and then all is cleane Fourthly goe about them as in obedience to God knowing that God hath placed us in these callings and he looks for service in imploying those talents bestowed on us and in our serving one another And let us indeavour to shew what our religion is in avoiding the corruptions of our callings Labour also to see God in every thing in crossing us in incouraging and assisting us and this will stirre us up accordingly to pray continually in al things to give thanks and it will make us feare alwayes for the same care and love of God that brings us to heaven doth guide us in our particular actions and callings And in other matters use our selves so as we by these things raise our mindes on high for there is a double use of the creatures First temporall and from thence a spirituall use is raised thus did Christ by considering water he was raised to think of spirituall regeneration and washing and thus we should doe labour to see God in his creatures and thus shall wee helpe our soules by our bodies God will have it thus and therefore setteth downe heavenly things in earthly comparisons Lastly wee must indeavour to make a spirituall use of all things as God doth doth God send crosses on us then before they leave us beg a blessing that they may worke his intended effect in bettering us Doth God blesse us with prosperitie pray that God would sanctifie it to incourage us on to good duties so as in all estates wee may have our conversation in heaven Let no man therefore make pretence that he is poore that he hath no time for this no grace workes matter out of every thing poore Paul nay Paul a prisoner see how he is busied And the truth is that worldly prosperitie is the greatest enemie to a heavenly minde that can bee But the weake Christian will complaine that he cannot finde this in him but he is still carried away with worldly matters though hee strive against it never so much yet the world goes away with him To such I answer strength of grace this way is not in every Christian neither is it at the first Paul had his destractions Rom. 7. from 15. to 24. yet must our labours and indeavors be that way the sinne that is in us cannot hurt us if we strive against it God suffers his children to see their weaknesse as he did deale with Solomon to humble us and make us learne his lesson that all is vanitie and vexation of spirit Let not such therefore bee discouraged but cheerefully goe on in a good course wherein the more we labour and strive the more wee beautifie Religion and credit our Citie and draw on others to bee fellow Citizens with us And thus shall we free our selves from terrors of conscience and from the snares of the divell even as birds when they soare aloft need feare no snares Thus also shall wee get a portion here for its the promise of the God of truth that if we first seek the Kingdome of heaven al these things shal be cast upon us Thus also shall wee be sure of Gods gracious and faithfull protection who hath said hee will keepe us in our wayes And lastly thus shall wee end our dayes with comfort woe bee to him that dies not to the world before hee goes hence but to him that hath his soule in heaven even while it is in his bodie this life is but a pilgrimage and death is advantage VERS 20. From whence wee also looke for the Saviour the Lord Iesus Christ. THese words lay downe such an estate of a Christian as is both a cause and a signe of heavenly conversation and in them we may consider First that Christ is in heaven Secondly that there is a second comming of Christ. Thirdly that Christians expect it Fourthly that this expectation is a cause of heavenly carriage For the first that Christ is in heaven wee have the Scripture to warrant it but the text is pregnant herein we looke for him from heaven ergo he is in heaven And therefore it s a grosse conceipt of the Papists that dreame that his bodie is every where in the bread or with the bread as the Lutherans would hâ—ve it the scripture determines that the heavens must contain him that he sitteth now on the right hand of God that he shall hereafter come to