their bed of death they go to it in vtter darknesse where is weeping and gnashing of teeth So farre for the time which is called largely dayes that which is limitted called the appointed time followeth Of mine appointed time c. By appointed time Iob here meaneth his bounded life which can no more be extended beyond the appointed time then the Sea can passe her bounds Ps 104.9 Doctr. From whence this doctrine may be gathered that we liue by Gods decree not at our owne pleasure So Paul told the men of Athens for hauing taxed their superstition who wold bound the boundlesse presence of God to a temple made with hands and to Idols the worke of mens hands he she wecht hat the Almighty Maker of this Worlds-masse is not to be straitned who hath shut in with the straites of time fore-seâ— by himselfe all men and creatures hauing assigned their times and the bounds of their habitation Act. 17.26 And in this Booke of Iob it is moued by a question but taken for granted that there is an appointed time to man vpon Earth Iob 7.1 or a set time of mans warrefare here that is he is a Souldier and his life militant but how long and for how short a time he shall be and continue in this field of his bodie vnder corruption fighting against the strangelusts that are in the world it is ordered by him who hath summed vp all the number of his daies and measured his short time with a decree or Law which he cannot passe after it is said that God hath set Mans daies and numbred his moneths and limited his time that is that he hath set bounds to all the moments of his life here Iob 14.5 By which it is plaine that the maker of man hath in his hand the whole number of mans time such as it hath pleased himselfe to adde to the Moneths and yeeres that he hath giuen him in this vale of miserie The reasons First if God had not numbred the daies of man vpon earth they who loue the world would neuer leaue it nor they who suffer in it without speciall grace waite till God should worke their deliuerance from it They who liue in pleasure would neuer resolue to die and they would presently seeke their owne death and find it who liue in paine Secondly as wee are not borne at our owne pleasure so it is reason we should liue and die at his pleasure who hath formed vs in the wombe Thirdly God taketh small matters into his hands to order them Mat. 29.30 and shal we think that he hath not taken to himselfe the great matter of life and death to dispose of it A confutation of those who think that man can either shorten his owne life Vse 1 or draw it beyond the Lords score to make it longer Indeed man may by offering violence to himselfe become an vnnaturall instrument of the Lords iustice to cut of those daies that God hath finished but no man can later or sooner die then the Lord of death and time hath set his end Quest But hath not the Magistrate power ouer the life of a Malefactor and is it not in his hand to giue him his life or to take it from him when his sinne hath giuen him into the power of the Law and of the Magistrate vnto death Answ In this case the Magistrate hath no power but what is giuen him as when either the spite of time or sinne of Man shall accomplish what God hath purposed Ioh. 19.11 So Christ told Pilate who because he had the soueraignty of iudgement thought he had also the soueraigntie of life verse 10. But he had no power but what the decree of God and determined moment of mans saluation had then giuen vnto him If then the Magistrate saue a man who is iudged to die it is secretly to fulfill Gods time concerning him which is not yet come or if he cut him of it is because the time appointed to him by God is first come and he is Gods Minister to doe what God hath purposed to be done An instruction Vse teaching vs patience and contentment when any of our friends shall be taken from vs for God hath taken them from vs their time was come which as we cannot preuent so we may not enuie 2. Sam. 12.20.21 c. So for our own death we must willingly beare it seeing that God hath appointed that we shall once die and that once must once come Hebr. 9.27 It is I confesse naturall to all to be loth to lay downe this tabernacle but our obedience to the will of God must correct nature in so direct an opposition to his decree that hath made vs we must call to our remembrance not what we could wish but God hath purposed reasoning euerie man apart and priuately in his heart thus I must needes die because it is Gods ordinance and I will willingly die that I may shew my obedience to his will I must needes die to put of corruption and I will willingly die that I may see God Or I must needs die Looke Deerings 11. Lecture on the Epistle to the Hebrues that sinne may haue his pay the wages of sinne is death Rom. 6.23 and I will willingly die that sinne may be no longer and death may loose his sting and power So much for the mid-times of that naturall life in which Iob became attendant and did waite for a better life the period of time which he expected followeth Till my change were come Here Iob sheweth how long hee would waite by hope in his afflicted estateâ— euen till that period of time should come which he calleth the time of change when hee should finish the daies of his warre-fare on Earth and receaue the Crowne of his sufferings in glorie And here by the day of change he meaneth the day of death which is therefore called a change because it is the remoue of the faithfull from labour to rest in their bodies and from an Earthly to an Heauenly life in their soules which are taken vp to God Somewhere it is called the losing as of a Prisoner from the Prison and fetters of the flesh that hee may be with Christ Philip. 1.23 Also the godly in their blessed death are for this said to be taken away Esa 57.1 In their bodies from their house to graue from feare to security from sense of paine to ease and from their bodies of labour to their beds of rest in their soules from an house of clay to an house not made with hands from Men to Angels from Earth to Heauen from prison to libertie from mortalitie to immortall and from death to liue And we reade of the gathering of the righteous as of things scattered and straying from home to their people fathers Gen. 25 8. Iudg. 2.10 Thus we haue heard why Iob and other scriptures call the death of the godly a change From whence the doctrine is Doctr. That there is nothing in
the good mans death but what is profitable and excellent In the third to the Philippians vers 21. the Apostle calleth this alteration by death not the losse of our body but the change of our vile body that it may bee facioned like to the glorious body of Christ And is there any thing in this but what is excellent and worthy if any thing be worthy our trauell best paines here Iohn speaking of the Saints glorified saith All teares shall be wiped from their eyes Apoc. 21.4 His meaning is that as soone as death shall let them out of the world they shall haue no more sorrow that is sorrow that causeth teares And the same Iohn saith Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord Apo. 14.13 that is they who hauing liued righteously die wel in him are in the hand by the helpe of death leade presently to blessednesse The Saints militant did alwaies with the eyes of faith in the Gospell behold this great honour and preferment by death in the happy ends of the righteous and therefore sighed desiring their house from Heauen 2. Cor. 5.2 for they knew that if it were an honour to be remoued from a base cote to a Princes court it could not but be a double that is singular honour to bee translated from the Cotes of the Earth to the Court of Heauen Therefore they sighed that is could not be merrie till that change should come Paul saith that to be losed to wit from the bonds of his corruptible bodie was best of all Philip. 1 23. which hee would not haue said if any preferment had beene better then that by death which is from basenes into the glorious libertie of the sonnes of God The reasons And further that there is so much good in the godlie mans death which is his change may be and is euident First by the things to which that their happie and blessed change by death is compared as to a hauen that after they haue passed the troublesome waues of the sea of this world carrieth them to their owne key or backe in the which they ride safely to their iourneys end after which they come home to their owne house being strangers here 1. Pet. 2.11 to the medicine that cureth most perfectly the sicknesse of life to the messenger that biddeth them to the marriage dinner of their great King Mat. 22.2.3 to their returne from banishment into their owne countrey and naturall land to their deliuerance from the gaole of sorrow where they are taken with Ioseph out of prison to be set with Princes to the laying downe of their tabernacle and to the putting on of their house from Heauen to a deliuerance like that out of Egypt from the bondage of corruption to the libertie of saints from a land of darknesse to a land where the sunne neuer goeth downe and from a land of destruction to the land of the liuing Now what is there in all these that is not perfitly good and desirable Secondly death abolisheth in the faithfull departed all power of sinning and sting of sinne Thirdly the bodie feeleth no more paine nor shal euer againe be sensible but of that which is excellently good desireable and comfortable and for the soule it shall presently be glorified Luc. 16.22 Fourthly death is but the dore of the soule out of an earthly dungeon such as the bodie is that must be destroied before the wormes into an heauenly kingdome or passage from death to life from a short death to a long life Lastly God executeth his iudgements vpon the damned and purgeth his Church by death An instruction to correct all vnreasonable and faithlesse weeping for our godly friends and brethren departed in the faith of Christ Vse 1 The Apostle to the Thessalonians exhorteth Christians if they sorrow for such not to sorrow for them as men that haue no hope 1. Thes 4.13 When Hester was taken from Mardochay who had brought her vp as his owne daughter to be married to King Assuerus and to receaue the crowne of Queene in the kingdome did he either bewaile or enuie that her great preferment the faithfull are taken from sorrowfullmen to be espoused to Christ and to receaue the crowne of glorie and shall they that liue by such vnmeasurable sorrow and taking on as is too commonly vsed at the graues of their friends vnwish to them in a sort so great happinesse Will a father be sorrie or can he without imputation of enuie repine that his sonne or daughter is with Ioseph taken out of prison to be set with Princes when thou giuest forth thy child to nurse and shee hath kept it long inough should shee because thou takest it home againe complaine thou wilt say she hath no reason for it Then what reason hath any father to murmure against the owner of the child hee taketh for taking of his owne Parents that so lose their children if they may be called lost that are so found are but nurses to them in their absence from their owne fathers house to nurse them with the milke of the Gospel and religiously to nurture them for the Lord who by death sends for them home to himselfe when he seeth time and when he so doth haue they cause to complaine of wrong father mother sonne wife husband brother are but lent goods which we must restore when the creditor and hee that owneth them calleth for them And shall we count our selues spoiled or vndone because they are required If one should lend vs a thing of price or thing that is costly would wee for a recompence of the vse of it vpbraid the owner because he sendeth for it or if we should might not he who was the lender iustly say is this my thanks and shall I be recompenced with so great impatiencie for my so great good will So if God should lend vs tenne deare children as he did to Iob and we should be made to part with them all in one day would it become vs with rough words to receaue that supposed losse or would we complaine of wrong where none is offered and where our good is sought and our childrens gaine be vnthankfull if we should may not the Lord of them and of vs iustly taxe our vnthankfulnesse and complaine of wrong May he not say did Iob my seruant so from whom I tooke ten children in one day and in a few daies all the honour and substance that he had did he not rather confesse my vnquestionable right in such moueables and say the Lord giueth the Lord taketh away blessed be the name of the Lord. Iob 1.21 If a great Lord should call vs and our child promising to both much honour and great wealth would we weepe and take on because our child is gone before and we our selues must shortly follow after would we not rather with much ioy so order our iourney and affaires that we also might with as great dispatch as might be receaue such preferment as wee know
our child hath entred on alreadie And why are we vnquiet seeing the Lord of Heauen and earth hath called our child from a base condition to noblenesse to bestow honours vpon him and ritches that shall not faile promising the like to vs by the way of death should we not rather so dispose our occasions and life that we may ioifully follow him whom wee haue not lost but sent before But you will say my child was young and died in his flowers well be it so yet they who die young so they die well are old inough to goe to God besides did not Ieroboams childe in whom were found good things die young 1. King 14.13 And did not Iosiah die old whom the Lord in a battle at Megiddo tooke from the filthy will of Iudah to plant him before himselfe in the garden of his owne presence in glorie 2. King 24.29 Neither can they be said to die yong whose perfection is growne to a blessed ripenesse before the Lord. But young or old if you haue reioiced in your child as in the Lords interest you will not think it much and why should you that the Lord should haue his owne or will you with Phurao offer to hold in the prison of life as in Egypt any seruant of his whom hee shall send for by death his last messenger and that aâ— supper time when all things are ready Luc. 14.17 While he liued God gane him to you as a pledge of his fauor now that he is taken away you must freely resigne him as a pledge of your obedience But you wil say He was my onely child Indeed the death of an onely childe is very greeuous to the Parents Zechar. 12.10 Am. 8.10 yet Abraham was readie to haue sacrificed his onely sonne Isaac at Gods commandement Gen. 22.3.10 and God gaue his onely sonne Christ to death for our salâ—ation Ioh. 3.16 wherefore as Elkanah said to Annah so and much more may the Lord say to vs am not I better to you then ten sonnes 1. Sam. 1.8 or are not our ten sonnes and all the children of the wombe his gift Ps 127.3 Then though he be your onely child and all you haue whom God thus by death taketh from you there is no cause of griefe or of complaint seeing the Lord hath but his owne when he hath taken him and seeing also that he taketh him and you giue him but as your pledge and earnest to binde vnto you the right of that inheritance that you looke for or as your Feof-fee of trust gone before to take the possession for you A reproofe to those Vse 2 who can see nothing in the death of their friends or in their owne deathes but what is dreadfull beyond measure and simply the end of man Such conceiue death not as he is to the righteous and as Christ hath made him to bee by his glorious death but as fooles iudge of him who behold him through false spectacles as he is in his owne vncorrected nature considered out of Christ that is vgly terrible and hideous So did they behold him in Amos who put the euill day of his comming that which they iudged to bee euill and the godly iudge to bee happie no day happier as far from them as they could by carnall delicacie and wantonnesse Amos 6.3 So did Belshazzar looke vpon him whose heart would not serue him to reade the hand-writing of his owne end so neare Dan. 5.5.6.30 And Nabal had no heart to die who when he must needes die died as a stone that is died blockishly and so faintly that he was as good as slaine before death slew him 1. Sam. 25.37.38 He had no comfort in death which hee could not see one that was as righteous but as churlish and prophane And no maruell for this Aduersarie death armed as Goliah and vaunting as that proud Gyant of Gath commeth stalking toward such in fearefull manner infulting ouer weake dust and daring the world to giue him a man to fight with Therefore at the sight of him the whole hoast of worldlings bewray great feare turning their backes and going backward as men readie to sinke into the earth with abated courages and lookes cast downe stained with the colours of feare death trembling like leaues in a storme and striken with the palsie of a sudden and violent shaking through all the bodie 1 Sam. 17.10.11 But the true Christian armed as Dauid with trust in God and expectation of victory by the death of Christ who by death ouercame death as Dauid cut off the head of Goliah with his owne sword dares and doth boldly encounter with this huge Philistian death supposed inuincible and seeming great but neither with sword nor speare but in the name of the God of the hoast of Israel by whose might onely hee woundeth and striketh him to the earth trampling vpon him in the returne of his soule to the place out of which it first came and singing ouer him this ioiful and triumphant song of victorie O death where is thy sting 1. Cor. 15.55 Hee hath Steuens eyes to looke into heauen and therefore cannot but haue the tongue of the Saints who say Come Lord Iesu come quickly Apoâ— 22 2â—â— For the ioy that is set before him he with his good Sauiour endureth the crosse of death and despiseth the shame of corruption to which the dust of his bodie must bee turned Heb. 12.2 Ob. Quest But you will say Is not death to be feared that worketh so fearefully beeing also enemie to nature and the wages of sinne Rom. 6.23 Ans Answ Indeede death is dreadfull out of Christ and in it selfe and wee haue reason to feare it as it is an effect of sinne for so God setteth his angrie countenance in it and so Aristotle it is simply fearefull and euill Which made an heathen man to say that of all terrible things death was most terrible Hee saw in the darke that death had much euill in it and that it was properly euill and but accidentally good but he could not see through the dark cloud that which made it so euill Therefore euill it is I confesse and fearefull And to this we haue a greater witnesse then the witnesse of man For the Apostle saith the sting of death is sinne 1. Cor. 15.56 Now so farre as it hath a sting and is in it strength it is to be feared The reason is so it is properly death and death in kinde But we speake not of death considered out of Christ or considered in it selfe but of death altered by the death of Christ and which by such a change is made our passage from death to life for so it is no dreadful thing but a thing desireable and so the sting is taken from it which is of force and carieth an edge of second death against all the workers of iniquitie who dying out of Christ die miserably hellishly and with horrible feare By Christ the doore death is made a doore out
Lord and in his feare and word to serue him Iob 28.28 to loue the good and hate the euill that oursoules may liue Am. 5.15 wee can encourage one another in wickednesse and say let vs eate and drinke for to worrow we shal die Esay 22.13 that is we remember our end but we remember it not wisely but as beasts to eate and drinke or we put off and make our end long but who prepareth for it and who is wise and of an vnderstanding heart Deut. 32.29 to consider it The rich man maketh his small barnes big as if he would make his short life endlesse Luk 12.18 The euill seruant saith my master deferreth his comming as if that which is put off would neuer come Math. 24.48 Nabal he that yet liueth in the carnall churles of this age applieth all his mind to riches and forgetteth his sudden end 1. Sam. 25.10.11.38 Absalons whol studie is to mount neuer thinking of his destruction so neare whose bodie though it stand at the lower end of the presence yet heart sitteth vnder the cloth of estate practising for the kingdome 2. Sam. 15.1.2.3.4.5 c. In the daies of Noah they eate they dranke they builded and remembred not the flood Luk. 17.27 In our daies men feede themselues without feare and forget their end Let vs therefore be warned better to remember our few and euil daies Gen. 47.9 to do the workes of God while it is day Ioh. 9.4 before the long night of sleepe come out of which there is no awaking till the last great trumpe call vs vp to iudgement Behold now is the accepted time behold now the day of saluation 2. Cor. 6.2 the rich man in hell once might and would not heare Moses and the Prophets afterward that is too late hee would and could not Luke 16.25.29 The enemie that is prepared for hurteth lesse and hee that maketh himselfe readie for the last enemie which is death neede not feare to such it bodeth no danger for such it hath no sting nor breath that can doe hurt If we first see this Basiliske death armed with repentance and with the shield and target of faith in our last houre by preparing for our end there is nothing in it that shall not be for our preferment and the full conquest of our troublesome life for then we may take it by the hand as a most welcome guest and as that last seruant whom the Master will send to bring vs to his great Supper and that at supper time when all things are readie Luke 14.17 when our warrefare is accomplished and our iniquities are pardoned when our weary course is finished and ioy commeth after the night of life which life was not properly nor can be truely called life but the shadow of death The person to be remembred followeth Thy Greatour c. The person in whose eye Salomon exhorteth his young Man to walke reuerently is God his Maker By which name or title hee doth secretly imply the great power of the Maker of all things and of mans Creatorr and sheweth that the end of Mans creation is to glorifie continually God his Creator as if hee should haue said Hee that gaue vs breath is Mightie and if he take away his breath by stopping our mouth and nosthrils we are gone and wherefore did he put his spirit of life into vs Was it to giue vs some large libertie to liue as wee list or was it not rather to prouoke vs to seeke his glorie that made vs This is Salomons meaning where we first are taught that the Al-mightinesse of the Creator and the worke of our strange and fearfull creation should make vs feare to liue in any forgetfulnesse of God by an impenitent and obdurate heart By such an argument the Prophet Amos stirreth vp a carelesse people to turne to God by repentance saying He that formeth the Mountaines and createth the winde which maketh the morning darknesse and walketh vpon the high places of the earth the Lord God of hosts is his name Ames 4.13 as if hee should haue said if God who is your mightie Lord and shall be your righteous Iudge bee able to create the windes to forme the Mountaines and to turne the morning into darknesse then is he able to persecute you with his storme to tumble the Mountaines vpon you and to couer you with the darknesse and shadow of death and to prepare an eternall iudgement of confusion for you to the destruction of soule and bodie For hee that made hell can cast into hell and he that causeth darknesse punish with vtter darknesse Dauid by a like argument inureth himselfe to the feare and reuerence of his wonderfull Maker saying I will praise thee that is I wil acknowledge thy goodnesse in all my life for I am feare fully and wonderfully made Psal 199.14 the meaning is if he should goe on in sinne the God who is fearefull can open hell to deuoure him and can shew himselfe as mighty in his iudgement to his destruction as hee was great in his loue to giue him being when before he was not So in Psal 119. ver 37. the Prophet hath these words thine hands haue made mee and fashioned me giue me vnderstanding therfore that I may learue thy commandements and he reasoneth thus Lord thou hast made mee in thy image therefore new-make me by thy word and as thou hast giuen me the shape of man so by teaching make me a new-man in the shape and soundnesse of a true worshipper Our Creation therefore should teach vs the life not of libertie but of repentance and holinesse in the feare of God The reasons Our life is nothing but a little breath and how easie is it for God to take away our weake life when weake man by stopping our breath is able suddenly and most certainely to send vs to our dust Gal. 2.22 Psal 104.29 And should not this weake and poore life fed with a little breath breath forth continually the praises of that God that so feedeth it from the shop of his prouidence Secondly God hauing greater power ouer vs then the Potter hath of the clay which he fashioneth who yet hath power to put it to some seruice or if it content him not to breake it to fitters Rom 9.21 Esa 45.9 should not this Clay Dust Man striue to please him in newnesse of life who hath power to bring him to glorie in his presence or if he be in no conformitie with his righteous will hath like power to breake him in peeces like a Porters vessell This condemneth those who set out no time for the dutie of meditating on their fearefull creation that the strange worke thereof may warne them to feare alwaies to doe euill Vse One cause why the people of Israel did so often and presumptuously prouoke God was because they forgate his wonderfull workes Psal 78.10.11 And it is said that the workes of God are sought out of all that loue them Psal 111.2.5
are reputed seruants in Egypt and strangers in the wildernesse being vnhappy to wit in the opinion of worldly men till they come into their happy land and receiue those mansions which are prepared for them The wicked because they serue sinne in their members and short time are happie till they die being for that Lords in Egypt and Citizens here Here in pleasures after death in torments Here Lords of the earth hereafter brands of hell No maruell then if short life trouble the wicked as it comforteth the godly That which is added by Iob to his time of attendance followeth All Iob saith that hee would waite all his daies because he knew not the day nor houre when God would command his apparence by death and send him to his dust As if he should haue said Of my departure hence I know not the day nor houre or I know not when I shall die 1. Pet. 1.17 and therefore euery day shal be as my dying day and I will liue in continuall expectation of that which will come I know not how soone Doctr. This is the meaning And the point taught is though there bee nothing more certaine then death yet nothing is more vncertaine to vs then the houre in which we shall die For this cause the day of the generall as likewise the day of our particular iudgement in death is said to come suddenly vpon worldlings as the snare vpon the bird which commeth when it is not looked for Luke 21.35 And Mathew to shew how little wee know the comming of it till it come compareth it to a Master from home who returneth to his house in a day that the seruants looke not for him and in an houre that they are not ware of Mat. 24.50 And in the 43. verse of the same Chapter he compareth it to a thiefe in the night For as a thiefe giueth no warning so no more doth stealing death He that keepeth the house knoweth not when the thiefe will come and hee that looketh for death knoweth not when he shall die 1. Thes 5.2 The reasons If we knew the day of our death we would put off all till the comming of that day Secondly as it is the glorie of a King to know some things that no man else can know so it is a part of Gods glorie to hide from men and Angels the particular houres of mans death and this worlds doome which hee hath closed vp with the seale of secrecie and put in his owne power Now God will giue no part of his glorie to 〈◊〉 Thirdly if we knew the houre or certaine time of our death it would giue vs too great boldnesse to wallow in sinne till that time or houre came The whorish woman because she knew the rust time when her husband would returne who went into a far countrie did by such a certaine knowledge of the appointed time of his comming backe the more liberally poure out her soule to vice wantonnesse Prou. 7.20 Therefore it is counsell to vs when wee shall die that all the dayes of our appointed time we may wait for this day and in all our time looke for this last time To make good vse of this point Vse we must account of euery presēt day as the day of our death so liue now as if we were now dying doe those good duties euery day that wee would bee found doing at our last houre of the day Death doth come suddenly to many so it may to vs and some who haue promised to themselues many yeeres and long life haue not had a minute of warning giuen them to cal for mercie The houses of their bodies were presently digged thorow when they iudged their time endlesse and when they thought to haue runne a long race of scores Iob. 21.23.24.25 their graues haue met them in their setting out and they haue ended their act before they had plaide one full part on their stage The consideration hereof should make vs carefull to doe good while we haue time seeing we are so vnsure of it Gal. 6.10 The time of making peace with our Aduersarie is while wee are in the way Math. 5.25 And because we know not the day we should watch by doing good euerie day sitting with Abraham in our Tent doore Gen. 18.1 And watching death that watcheth vs. One light before doth more good then many carried after So one fore-thought is better then twentie after wits Death looketh for vs euerie where therfore as one saith wee should euery where looke for him Luke 12.35.36 But further to incite vs to this Christian watch let vs remember that where the tree falleth there it lieth in the East of life or West of second death where the Sunne of peace setteth vpon reprobates for euer Eccles 11.3 As the last day of our life leaueth vs so shall that last day the day of Christs comming August finde vs. How good were it therefore before we runne into desperate arrierages to cast our billes of account the rather because wee shall bee warned out of our office we know not how soone Luke 16.2 Some Emperors among the Heathen were woont as bookes say to bee crowned ouer the sepulchers and graues of dead men to teach them by the certaine but vnknowne end of their short life to vse their great roomes as men that must one day be as they then were whose graues they trode vpon The old Saints who liued in a continuall meditation of their short and vncertaine time were wont alway like wise Merchants to thinke of their returne homeward And therefore tooke vp their treasure by billes of paiment not where they were but where they would bee and meant to make their long aboad that is meant to be for euer And the Philosophers who saw not beyond the clouds of humane reason when they perceiued how much men did decline by course of yeares and wastes of time were woont to say that the life of a wise man was nothing but a continuall meditation of death And were it no more but that it is enacted as by an euerlasting Parliament that all must once die Heb. 9.27 This were inough to cast a cloud yea a whol dark sky ouer the fairest day we see here and passe in our fairest pleasures But when we shall consider that after death commeth the iudgement it must needes moue vs to turne our laughter into mourning and to thinke how to liue and die well in so short and certaine but vncertain time of our expectation of such a day a day of such dread and tertour to carelesse liuers a black hideous and dismall day But carelesse persons like those officers in the Kings house who hauing their allowance of lights consume them in wantonnesse and goe to bed in the dark doe consume on their lusts those good graces as it were lights which they haue receiued for saluation from the father of lights Iam. 4.3 which is cause that when their bodies must goe to
of spirituall death into spirituall life out of vnhappinesse and paines mortall into all happinesse and ioyes eternall Further they who are set in Christ in whom they liue to whose glorie they desire to liue and die seeing they behold death not with carnall eyes but with the eyes of faith in the Gospell doe as hath beene said get heart and reioyce against death in their good consciences and all the terrour of it and so to them it is a disarmed enemie or enemie of no power and hurt For how can that Scorpion hurt that hath no sting Or why should that enemie be feared that hath neither hand to strike nor weapon to kill Such a Scorpion is death when we take sinne from it and death is such an enemie when once wee haue set it downe by reformation of life Contrarily naturall men feare death exceedingly death that bringeth so much good to the righteous and taketh so much euil from the Saints because death in them is not ioined with a godly and well reformed life They haue not done the good for which they came into the world and therefore they feare to diâ— They apprehend death as a strong enemy finding in it through their continuall wickednesse no likelihood of saluation nor signe of peace and therefore desire not to be dissolued but feare to bee dissolued nor thinke death to bee a change but a plague Or they haue all their pleasure and peace in their dayes here nor caring for the dayes of heauen nor fearing the long night of hell Here they are well and they know not where is better Therefore not hoping for a better life no maruell if they leaue this against their will Death to such is the beginning of eternall death and no port-way to Christ but a portall-doore to destruction Let vs therfore so liue that we may not feare death and so learne to die that wee may liue euer not with Diuels in torments but with God in his kingdome That wee may so doe wee must remember how it was said that death as it is an effect of the fall hath a sting which sting of death is sinne This sting we must pull from it by taking sinne from it in our daily repentance and daily turning to God by newnesse of life Hee that hath an enemie will doe what he can to weaken him and if he be fearefull because he is well armed hee will doe what lieth in him to disarme him that he may not feare him This enemie is death the last that shall be destroyed Let vs therefore doe all we can by putting off sinne and putting on righteousnesse to bring downe his strength and by taking away from our hearts and the conuersation of our liues the sinne and sting of drunkennesse whoredome blasphemie pride lying and other abominable lustes let vs put no weapon of malice or edge into deaths hands to feare vs with when wee should leaue this world with comfort and goe to God in peace So shall we neither feare death nor feele the gripes of second death Obiect But the godly haue feared death else why did Eliah flye from it in the persecution of Iezabel 1. Kin. 19.3 and Christ teach his to decline it in the persecutions of men Math. 10.23 and Christ himselfe pray against the bitter cup of it in in his agonie and before his apprehension Mat. 26.39 Ans I answere briefely These Saints did not nor were to fly from death as it is the end of life and blessed end of a good life but vsed the meants of flight onely to preuent violent and hastie death till the houre appointed should come that they were to giue their spirit in peace into the hands of him that made it And because such vntimely death was enemie to the good they had to doe and course they were to finish therefore they went aside by flying for some time and till the time of their departure came that they might do the good to which they were appointed and finish the course for which they were sent But where it is alledged that Christ himselfe prayed against the cup of death I answere two waies And first that hee prayed without sinne and without hauing sinne against it seeing that in that his supplication of teares and much feare he submitted alway to his fathers will and seeing also death was not to him as it is to vs. For to vs the sting of it is conquered and the force broken but to him it was in full power He felt the sting of it and wrastled with the force of it in soule and bodie Secondly I say that it was not meerely a bodily death though vnsubdued saue where himselfe subdued it that he trembled at but by the burden of our sinnes which hee was to vndergoe in which he beheld the whole There hee saw his fathers countenance turned against him and there knew that he must beare his wrath because hee bore our sinnes Besides Christ feared death beeing clothed with our flesh to shew that hee tooke our infirmities and bore our sorrowes and was perfect man And so death in some case may bee feared and at some time prayed against but euer vnder the correction of Gods will Esay 38.2.3 For the rodde of death turned into a Serpent made Moses to feare Exo. 4.3 and the best haue moderately declined and shrunke at the stroke of death when it came in some tempest And who doth not dread all Gods terrours wherof death is one And feare that which is the punishment of sin and curse of sinners And decline that which is the destruction of humane Nature and shrinke at that which hath made the strongest the wisest the richest the greatest to fall downe flatte before it Therefore the feare of death thus reproued is not the naturall feare of it which is in all but the seruile feare of it proper to euill doers and common to those who can haue no hope in death because they neuer cared to liue till they were compelled to die And now that wee haue heard what feare of death it is that Gods children must not bee stained with as namely that which is seruile and cowardly wee will shew and that briefely why such feare of death should fall vpon none of Gods seruants who in so great peace leaue this world and for so precious a crowne of glorie For if wee haue no better resemblance of death then when we sleepe nor better rest then at that time why should it be counted so hydeous a thing when the bodie is toiled and much spent with labour to send it to the sweet and deepe sleepe of death or to lay it in the quiet bed of the earth where no sounds or feare can disease it And if to Gods Children death bee not onely a departing from paine and euril but an accesse to all good nor the end of life but the end of death and beginning of life eternall can Gods children thinke it any disaduantage to exchange the sense
of paine for the fruition of that which is perfectly pleasing and good Or to change death for life Or to passe from a wearie pilgrimage to their desired homes where they shall not onely neuer feele miserie but bee euer happie and blessed with the full sight of that the glimpse wherof shining vpon the face of our Sauiour in his transfiguration made Peter to say Master it is good to be here Math. 17.4 Salomon saith Better is the day of death then the day in which wee were borne Eccles 7.3 And why better except because when we are borne we come into misery when we die we goe out our death beeing changed by the death of Christ and made vnto vs not a death as the Law maketh it but our path and mid-way betweene this life and the other which is eternall or our doore and little wicket out of this world into that world and kingdome which is prepared for the Saints inhabited of the Angels and receiueth honour from God who is the light and temple of that Cirie Lastly death hath lost his sting his hell his victorie I speake in regard of the righteous that which remaineth if wee liue in the spirit and die in the Lord is profitable for vs. For it shall bring an end of all our labours and giue vs vp into the hands of Iesus Christ Now what feare is in all this Let them feare therefore who haue giuen vnto them a spirit of bondage and of feare in which they tremble at their owne estate and which maketh them to carrie in their breast tormenting furies that hold them day and night in the feare of endlesse death Let them feare who rest in sinne liue in errour and ignorance follow the lustes of the world and walke in all the waies of death but let not them feare who are at a couenant with themselues to haue no pleasure in such fond courses and direct waies of death but to haue their pleasure onely in the word of God to vnderstand it and in the mysterie of Christ to bee lightened with it who hate sinne that they may haue hope and walke in righteousnesse that they may walke with Christ Let not such feare for the power of death Satan is broken before such and such may haue boldnesse when they goe out of the world that they shall goe to God A comfort therefore to the faithfull Vse 3 who haue born the brunt of life for such may be comforted in death as a Souldiour who hath endured the skirmishes and scarres of warre is glad and may haue ioy that the enemie is spent and the warre ended where others because they haue spent no time or so little in the Lords seruice and giuen so few strokes if any in the cause of his truth and glorie may feare at the approach of death and iustly complaine of that day as of a day of death indeede and that eternall In the eleuenth Chapter to the Hebrewes the Apostle sheweth what great troubles the seruants of God endured and how ioyfull they were as at a royall feast in all those troubles and sufferings for Christ that they might enter vpon the comfortable death of the righteous They were so farre from fearing death as worldlings feare it that they ranne gladly to it in their hope of the resurrection and reioiced in the welcome day of death as in a day of the greatest good that could befall them The reasons were they knew with Sampson that they should slay moe at their death then they slew in their life Iudg. 16.30 As first that they should slay their last enemie by death which is not slain but by dying And secondly that they should kill the spawne of all enmitie sinne 's sinne which bred death 〈◊〉 4.7 and the miseries of eternall death Which death in the Saints bred by sinne as the worme in the flower killeth the corrupt flower that bred it that is that sinne that caused death And this made c I doubt not but the Prophet here sinned by impatiencie but his hope was in death Eliah to desire death not life and rather to die then to liue saying It is enough 1. King 19.4 It made Dauid to lay vp his flesh in hope Psal 16.9 It made Paul to say I am readie not to bee bound onely but to die at Ierusalem for the name of the Lord Iesus Act. 21.13 And as Simeon said Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace Luke 2.29 So the godly haue such comfort in death that they say with old Simeon and all Saintes Come Lord Iesu come quickly Apo. 22.20 apprehending death as their onely way to Christ and guide to happinesse and applauding death as Iacob applauded the Chariots that Ioseph his sonne sent for the bringing of him out of a land of miserie into a land of plentie and fulnesse where hee should haue foode inough the best in the land Gen. 45.27.48 The hope of Iob and expectation of the Saints is that they shall see God and come to Christ by death presently in their soules and in their bodies at the last day when all the bones in Golgotha shall rise at that voice that shall say returne yee sonnes of Adam Psal 90.3 For though death shall swallow them vp as the Whale did Ionah and shall binde them as the Philistims did Sampson and the shroude did Lazarus hand and foote Ioh. 11.44 yet the Whale of the earth shall not hold them nor the snares of death and shroude of darknesse preuaile against them when God shall speake by his last trumpet to the graues of the earth and they shall cast out all the Lords Ionahs Ion. 2.10 The bands of death shall fall asunder as corruption and rottennesse in that day in which Christ shall command the holds of darkenesse to deliuer his Saints saying loose them and let them goe Ioh. 11.44 This then beeing all that the righteous shall loose by their gainfull death For they shall loose a short miserable life and receiue a long euer blessed life in glorie what losse can there be in death and what greater aduantage then by dying This the godly know and therefore reioyce in death as they that finde great spoiles They finde that their bodie such as it is now in the estate of corruption is an image of golde which is disfigured that it can be brought to no shape till the owner melt and refound it to a new similitude Euen so the bodie that at first was beautifull hauing such a grace and maiestie set in the face of it that after a sort and outwardly it resembled the Creators image fairer then any of Gold they finde so to bee troden in the mire and so mishapen by sinne that it can neuer receiue the beautie and condition of the first worke till it bee dissolued and new-moulded by the hand of GOD at the resurrection of all bodies and therefore they desire death as the first necessary and blessed work-house of this their
repaire from deformitie to fashion and from corruptible to eternall So death was Saint Pauls aduantage and how can it bee our losse if wee make Saint Pauls end If we had no hope after death wee might feare indeed But GOD hauing made their first Adam a liuing soule not a dying soule and all the sonnes of the second glorious soules not reprobate spirits Why should wee dread or feare to receiue our crown and glorie Or why should we be vnwilling with a ioyfull shout to salute our port and hauen after so many tiring stormes as wee haue endured vpon the raging sea of this world And why be sorie that we are going to our house of peace and home of long life which is at the right hand of God where is fulnesse of ioy and pleasures for euermore Psal 16.11 Doth any man feare to fall a sleepe at night that hath laboured hard all day What is the death of the faithfull but their sleepe of refreshing after the toiles of their life when the night is come in which no man can worke Ioh. 9.4 To this blessed sleepe of peace the Lord for his mercies sake lay euerie one of vs whom hee hath purposed to take to rest from labour in his time appointed Amen The end of the second Sermon THE THIRD SERMON ESA. Chap. 57. Vers 2 He shall enter into peace and they shall rest in their beddes euery one that walketh before him or that walketh in his righteousnesse THis scripture is a scripture of much comfort bringing a Gen. 8.11 an oliue leafe of peace in the mouth of it to the righteous that perish and to mercifull men that are shut vp with the flood of death in the Arke of their graues that they might not see the euill the great euill to come when they should see their enemies in the habitation of the Lord and Iuda with her King and inhabitants lead in Chaines of bondage to Babylon The words particularly and those of the fiue verses immediately before foure of them in the former Chapter the fift and sixt at the beginning of this containe two things as a complaint and comfort The complaint which is ioined with a threatning concerneth the vngodly that liued in their sinnes the comfort pertaineth to those that should be taken away in peace walking before the Lord that is in pathes of righteousnesse before him In the complaint the Prophet speaketh of a lamentable and very vniuersall destruction or plague that the Lord was preparing to send shortly vpon that wicked Rebell Iudah which was come to such a brimme of sinne and senslesse wickednesse and that is he would call for the wild beasts of the field and forrest of Babel meaning those Gentils and Nebuchadnezar their King to deuoure them and to execute the Lords iudgements vpon them eating their flesh and inuading their land Therefore where in a figuratiue speech at the 9. verse of the former chapter he calleth the beasts together as to some royall feast hee meaneth to forwarne the people of some grieuous iudgement prepared for them and comming toward them euen a iudgement of desolation and slauerie entended against them by the King of Babel and his great hoast The like we reade Ier. 9.22 Ezech 39.18.19 And because it might appeare that the Lords iudgements are euer righteous as he himselfe is most righteous and holy in the three verses that follow he speaketh of one maine cause that moued the iust God to send so great a storme of affliction and death in the captiuitie then threatned and that was their watchmen who should haue told them of their sinnes and giuen them warning with the Lords trumpet at their mouth of a plague so neere neither kept watch nor gaue warning but liued delicately and fed without feare being also couetous and greedie dogges that could neuer haue inough And indeed when a kingdome is ouer-runne by such in the forme and calling of Teachers it is a blazing-starre to that people and kingdome of some alteration at hand For if the Sun be set vpon the Mountains what shew can it make in the valleys or if the blind lead the blind must not both of them by the darknes that is in them of sinne and ignorance fall into the ditch of the condemnation of the Lord. Mat. 15.14 But all the fault though the greatest was not in those dumme and greedie Dogs the not teaching and ill ruling Ministers of that time the people them selues had their sinne also spoken of in the first verse of this Chapter and that was a carelesse regard of the deaths of the righteous beside their festrednesse and more then stand in sinne and wickednesse wherein they continued and went on carnally not feeling any stroke of Gods hand in that iudgement which he begunne at his owne house by taking away suddenly his best men And now if this complaint may bee vrged against vs and our coldnesse in a like case at this day as it was against them and if it shall make vs no wiser to God nor more carefull of our last end then it could them let vs prepare our selues to a like iustly deserued miserie and to pledge these in the cup in which they haue drunke before vs or begun vnto vs to destruction Thus farre the complaint The comfort entended only to those who should walke before God in their goodnesse fidelitie and truth for such should be sure vpon the remoue of their soules in soule to enter possession of an euerlasting and present peace and in bodie to rest most sweetly in the common bed and house of the earth till the last great day hath two things to be considered in it as a promise made and the persons to whom the promise is made The promise is in two things peace to the soule and rest to the bodie so soone as the soule goeth out of the bodie The persons to whom this promise is made are iust men and mercifull men that walke before the Lord that is that doe his commandements that they may liue Luc. 10.28 and keep his sayings that their part may bee in the tree of life Apoc. 22.14 The text may be resolued thus as a learned man resolueth it He that is the righteous shal enter into peace or vpon peace and they namely the godly shall rest in their beddes to wit immediately and presently vpon their deaths for as their bodies goe to rest so their soules shall enter into peace as Apoc. 14.13 Luc. 16.22 Euerie one that is euery godly one God is no accepter of persons and there is a generalitie of giuing in him as their must be a particularitie of receauing in vs that walketh before the Lord that is that hath his conuersation in the Lord walking in no way but by him nor in any course but after him This being as I take it the true both resolution and sense of this verse the first thing in it promised to the righteous is peace by which as was said
to our waies end or to walke as they who walke to a Citie and therefore goe on till they come thither So must Christians doe and not faint by the way else their labour of setting forth is vaine and fruitlesse For as in our way to a place hee that goeth not forward nor to his waies end is neuer the neare though he haue gone halfe the way or almost the whole way so in the course and way of godlinesse he that walketh not forward with encrease or continually to the end looseth his labour and findeth nothing Lastly if we eate daily that we may liue wee must doe good alway if wee will liue for euer If a man should giue ouer eating and thinke to liue his hope were vaine and as vaine is their hope who giue ouer to doe well and thinke to be saued A reproofe of their follie who Vse 1 haning kept the path of righteousnesse for a while doe afterward walke in no good way or being in noe good way thinke to keepe the path to heauen but he that will keepe the path of life must walke in it by meanes and not without meanes thinke to flie to heauen besides it Now to walke in the way as the scripture speaketh of walking is to vse all good meanes for goodnesse and to auoid all inducements to euill For example Doth any desire grace he must vse by himselfe and with others all holy and religious exercises as prayer hearing reading receauing of the sacraments and the like that may set him forward in the way and to the power of godlinesse Doth any hate wickednesse he must auoid all temptations to it More particularly doth any man hate swearing he must auoid swearing by auoiding the company of swearers Doth he hate Popery he must hate to be among Papists Doth he hate whooredome he must not keepe company with suspected persons nor haunt suspected places Doth he hate drunkennesse he must shun as hell the roomes nay sties where drunkards be If then the exercises of religion doe not affect vs so much as vaine exercises if we had rather be in an Ale-house then in Gods-house and at our wake-dinners then at Christs supper and at the hearing of an enterlude then at hearing of the word and abroad in pleasures then at Church in praier or if we be wearie of an houres preaching and not weary of a dayes play and sleepe at praiers but watch in vanities and refuse to sup with Christ to take a supper with worldlings how shall wee keep the path of grace or not walking in it assure our selues that we walke before God that peace shall come So if we striue not against sinne to master it but onely wish we could if we find onely an vnwillingnesse in vs to commit sinne and no care to resist it or if there be a strife and it be but naturall like that of the twinnes in Rebekahs womb a strife and fight that we rather wonder at then know how to deale in Gen. 25.22 that is if shame or feare or both rather then conscience of sinne make vs bashfull to commit that sinne openly which we boldly doe in corners waiting for the twilight and if this be all our strife and resistance not striuing till we ouercome how shall we be crowned and what difference between vs and those Souldiers who are loth to be ouercome and yet will not striue to conquer He therefore is a Christian conquerour and he onely who striueth against sinne till it be subdued and loueth righteousnesse in a godly life beginning well and daily going forward till he receaue the crowne of righteousnesse But he that keepeth no constancie in the worke of mortification and is good but by fits being hote at hand onelie and humble for a day Esa 58.5 is no conquerour that is man of spirituall valour but a slaue and that to the diuell the basest slaue He that masters not anger but sometime holds it in nor subdueth his lusts but restraines them onely nor loueth chastity but will not be an adulterer for feare is a weake warriour against sinne and in goodnesse an hypocrite Which may be spoken of those professors that are off and on and who because they neuer had foundation well laid stand in no weather nor change Math. 7.27 Such houses are blowne downe with euerie wind And if such perish how shall they thinke to be saued who loue sinne and hate godlinesse if they that goe to meete the bridegroome be shut out because they are not in the way at his comming how shall they thinke to enter who cannot abide those that but seem to meet him and are neuer in the way nay that wickedly deride the way of his comming Math. 25.1.12 If those hearers withered away in destruction whose blade continued not Math. 13.6 how shall they prosper vpon whom neuer plough came and who neuer were tillable but a wild waste If painted tombs hauing rotten bones be odious to God how shall sinkes please him that are foule without and foule within Math. 23.27 And if they be farre from saluation who hauing walked in the good way goe out of it before their death how farre are they who neuer were in any such way neither before their death nor in all their life that they might haue some hope to be saued A doubt resolued But where it hath beene said that they who continue not in goodnesse shall perish and be damned I would not be mistaken as if I had said that they cannot be saued who haue left their good beginnings for a season or being in this way of life haue gone out of it by humane slips and after vpon better aduisement and further grace haue come againe vnto it by righteousnesse and to the Lord by repentance For whensoeuer a sinner shall so turne to God and by such a course God who embraceth penitent sinners will receaue him Neither would I be conceaued to say that they who a long time haue run a large race of sinne if they find mercy in their life time at the Lords hands to be conuerted are excluded from saluation For euen they who at or not long before their death shall be found penitent shall enter into happinesse But let none aduenture so dangerously to tempt God or thus to put all to the successe of the last battle hauing no better weapons then those wherewith so many millions of slumbering christians haue before them lost the field Here an answere for them and that also which teacheth them to answere for themselues who meete with the thrusts of the world for their zeale and care precisely to hold the way of life O say some this is too much nicenesse and what needeth all this adoe To whom we may say againe that all this is needfull and much more that wee cannot doe if we will wait for peace in the wayes of peace and not in the broad way of libertie as they doe of whom it may be truely said the way of
is sufficient for vs to know that such a day will come and it shall be our wisdome alwayes to be ready for it that it come not vpon vs as the snare vpon the bird The reasons of the certainetie of this day of iudgement are First it is the will and decree of God for the Apostle saith He hath appointed a day in the which hee will iudge the world in righteousnesse Act. 17.31 Now the wil and decree of God is vnchangeable His counsell shall stand Esa 46.10 Secondly it is an article of our faith grounded on the word of God But the articles of our faith are all certaine and most certaine Thirdly the scripture saith that God will make manifest euerie mans worke and iudge the secrets of men Eccles 12.14 Luc. 8.17 Rom. 2.16 This is not done here and here many matters are cloked and carried in a mist that deserue iudgement and merit condemnation Therefore and that God may be iust in his sayings there must be a sessions of gaol-deliuery which we call with the scriptures the iudgement of the last day Fourthly the godly doe here groane vnder many miseries and the vngodly wallow in delights the rich liue delicately and Lazarus is in paine therefore is it necessary as it is certain that a day should come wherein the Lord may make knowne his righteousnesse and magnifie his iustice before his glorious throne that they who haue liued merrily dishonouring God might liue in torments of fire and they whose life hath beene miserable seruing the Lord might be comforted for euer Some haue offended deepely and haue not beene touched by the Magistrate some haue suffered great rebuke somtimes death deseruing fauour therefore a day must come and is appointed wherein the Lord that is iust will recompence tribulation to all that haue troubled the righteous and to such as were troubled by them rest 2. Thes 1.6.7 On the other side would it not be hard for the godly who here haue endured the crosse for the ioy that was set before them if there shold not come a time of refreshing from God and would it not too much induâ—rate the wicked who drinke iniquity as water if they should escape all punishments and vengeance here and after death Fiftly this is shadowed out in that housholder who when euen was come called the Labourers and gaue euery man his hire and pennie Math. 20.8.10 And if a wise Master will reckon with his seruants Math. 25.19 shall we thinke that the wisest will not one day reckon with sinners and call them before him for his money that is precious graces of wit learning authoritie wealth and other ontward and inward ornaments of life which they haue consumed on their lusts Sixtly euery wicked mans conscience doth by a trembling feare as in Felix at one time or another iustifie this point of a iudgmeÌ„t to come Act. 24 26. And therefore as the flood of waters once drowned the world except a few who were saued in the arke Gen. 7 1.7.2 Pet. 2.5 So it is certain that the flood and tempest of the last daies fire shall burne it and all in it except such as Christ hath or wil then gather into the little arke of his Church In the euening of this world and when there shall be no more time he will call the labourers before him giuing them the pennie or pay of euerlasting life but for the idle and loiterers forth of the vineyard and out of Christ he will let them goe with sinners to the place prepared for them as they haue liued without the Church or idlie in it so when the labourers receaue their pennie they shall heare depart from mee ye that worke iniquitie I know you not Math. 7.23 Thus it is proued not onely to be certaine but necessarie that there should be a iudgment But some will say Quest seeing men come to their account at their death what needeth any other day of audit or hearing I answere Answ Men at their death receiue but priuate iudgement here they shall receiue publike sentence Then they are iudged in their soules onely here they shall bee iudged in soule and bodie that is but a close Sessions that an open or solemne assise There much of their shame is hid here they shall be shamed to the full And if our owne lawes doe not condemne and execute malefactors in prison but for their greater shame in open place and manner It is great reason that wicked sinners should not priuately in their graues as in prison bee iudged and led to execution but be brought to the publike scaffold and barre of solemne fession there to receiue their shame and sentence together and not to bee executed by a close death in the goale but be broght forth to suffer vpon the high stage of the world in the sight of Saints and Angels where all eyes may see them But is not Christ iudge in this life Quest And is there not a iudgement begun here Indeed Answ there is a iudgement begun already a iudgement that goeth before this of the last day For God hath erected in the consistorie of euerie mans heart a certaine iudgement seat where conscience is iudge The wicked securely despise or scornefully deride this iudge and iudgement seat but it giueth them many secret gripes though they profit not by them Oftentimes Gods children themselues because that the noises and sounds that the ring of the world maketh in them doe too much neglect these loude cals of their consciences to amendment of life But this is the iudgement that the Lord beginneth here with which they must well bee acquainted who meane to stand before Christ the iudge at the last day And this one well compareth to our quarter-Sessions which are kept for mulcts and meddle not in matters of life and death as Sessions of goale deliuerie doe For in this mid-space betweene these Sessions and that day of assise the Lord executeth a kind of iudgement among his houshould people and enemies by taking his grace from his seruants for a season from the wicked for euer Or by taking something from his children that they loued to much and did hurt them and that from the wicked that they seemed to haue The first to prepare the righteous for a better world the other to make the wicked readie for the sentence of their last and iust damnation begunne in this world That we may be fitted for this comfortable meeting of the Lord in the ayre and not liue in sinne as those workers of iniquitie doâ— vpon whom these mid-Sessions haue passed sentence binding them ouer to the close sessions of their death or more publike assise of the last day when all prisons must be rid and graues emptied let vs not sleightly passe ouer those seuerall penalties that the Lord inflicteth at his quarter-sessions in the twitches of our conscience for some good omitted or euill done But when he thus calleth vs let vs answere here am I. A
is caught with the Lime-rodde and the Fish that is taken in the Net the more they striue the more they entangle themselues So the more impatient men are of Gods corrections the more stripes they purchase to themselues in the snare and vnder the net of that their humiliation the more intolerable also they make the tie of their crosse and the more improbable their issue and going out Hee that carrieth a weightie burthen the more he stirres and moues it the more it oppresseth him and so the more vnquiet and vnruly we are vnder the heauy burthen of the Lords chastisements for sinne the more we gall our soules and bruse our flesh in vaine where by our patience wee may auoide such needelesse vexation and tirings out it being truly said which is commonly spoken that of sufferance commeth ease Some haue no faith more then sense teacheth them who beleeue as farre as they can see and further then their sight leadeth them they will not set one foote downe toward faith Some know not the word neither what God hath promised in it to those that feare him and therefore when they come into trouble they despaire of help themselues with shifts and fetches of their owne head not attending the Lords help because they know not his power by his word nor what mercie hee will shew to those who put trust in his saluation as the word doth teach Iob knew his mercie and power and therefore did not fume against the Caldeans nor murmure against the Lord but bore his losse quietly and thankefully trusting in God Iob 1.21.22 Dauid meditated much often in the Lawe and therefore fretted not against Shimei who railed against him but searched his conscience and went vnto his sin making the Lord his hope 2. Sam. 16.10.12 And He who was like a bottle in the smoke forgate not Gods statutes that is knew Gods promises in his word and truth in his righteous testimonies and therfore receiued comfort that is that word or rather the truth of God in that word sustained him in all troubles Psal 119.147 So much for the season of his attendance The attendance it selfe followeth I would wait c. The action of Iobs attendance is deliuered by a word that signifieth to wait or to wait by hope for a thing or to tarie and abide the deferring of it till it come and to looke as seruants for their Master when hee will returne in the euening His meaning therefore is that he will wait and be ready alwaies for his happy death till it come how long soeuer it bee in comming Doctr. The point here taught is Christians must bee alwaies in a readinesse to receiue their change or to speake plainly Christians must euer bee prepared for their death Something hath been spoken of this already in the first Sermon and second doctrine but it is a matter worthy our further search Our Sauiour Christ therefore to shew that this should be the expectation and mind of Christians exhorteth them to bee as men that wait for their Master when hee will returne from the wedding which was in the night as is euident by their receiuing of him with lights and by the custome that was obserued in mariages then which was to bring the Bride from her fathers house to the mans house in the night Luke 12.35.36 And so modestie was the mufler of the maids of those daies Now they that wait for their Master that is that wait diligently for his comming home in the night will set vp lights in the house haue some in their hands These lights are the Word which as a light shineth in a darke place This world is a wildernesse and we naturally blind that is without vnderstanding and therefore we must haue the light which is put in the lanthorne of the Law to guide and direct vs stil in the dangerous waies of it Psal 119.105 and this light must be burning in vs that is wee must adde zeale to our knowledge for it is of no vse if it want fire and burning And it must bee in our hands our hands must handle the word of life 1. Ioh. 1.1 and we must not bee hearers onely but doers Iam. 1.22 Secondly they that wait for their Master stand at the gate or before the doore looking for his returne So they that wait for the day of their redemption must stand with Abraham in their tent doore and with Eliah in the mouth of the caue waiting for it Gen. 18.1 1. King 19.9 that is they must dwell in the world as in tents and as strangers in these caues of the earth wait for their house aboue Thirdly they that looke with attendance for their Masters comming will haue his house in a readinesse against his comming to it and whatsoeuer may offend shall be taken out of the way so they that looke for Christ and wait by hope for the day of his comming will purge by repentance all the roomes of his spirituall house put away sinne and bring in righteousnesse into euerie power and member of soule and bodie Fourthly they that wait for their Master with a louing and chearefull desire of his comming will take vp the time with talking and thinking of him so they that looke for Christ will reuerently talke of Christ and as Christians thinke thoughts of Christ and haue Christian musings or thinke much of death and often that they shall die which must needes keepe them in a continuall loue and expectation of Christ and of death In the booke of Esay one of the exercises of the godly is said to be their waiting for God or which may haue this meaning their waiting for his saluation by death that they may goe to God Esa 25.9 where it is entended that they did not onely reioice in his saluation but so liue that death might bring them in the Charet of their godly life to the God of their saluation Thus did Simeon that embraced Christ and thus did Ioseph that embalmed Christ waite for the kingdome of God Luc. 2.25 23.51 and their saluation by death Luc. 2.25 23.51 They liued not contented with their present estate but waited for a better and as Elijah came out of the caue when the Lord came to him so they were ready alwaies to come out of the caue of their bodies to meet the Lord. 1. King 19.11 And thus they stood in their dore who waited for the appearing of the Lord Iesus Christ 1. Cor. 1.7 that is thus they waited who waited for the day of their death wherein they might goe to the Lord and for the day of the Lords appearing wherein he would come to them Lastly this is the propertie of the sonnes that they waite for the adoption that is looke for the fulfilling of it in death by their owne full redemption Rom. 8.23 The reasons And that the faithfull ought thus to waite and bee prepared for death at all houres may further be proued First they know
waues they came to Christ awoke him saying Master saue vâ— wee parish Mat. 8.24.25 But they had Christ with them in the Ship But some thinke not of Christ to awake him to their saluation being strangers to God through the ignorance that is in them til the ship of their body tossed with the tempests of their last sicknesse bee readie to sinke into death and by many leakes and wearings beginne to receiue into their soules that dead sea that must needs drown them in perditioÌ„ destruction before the Lord for euer For how many thus think of him till they can thinke no longer how many begin to liue that is truely to liue till they be readie to die and how many call to minde that Time of Times till there be no more time at least to them till that last time and houre of the day come vnto them in the which they must come to the barre to receiue their doome and iudgement The reason of all this backwardnesse to a new life in the feare of God is mens ouer-hungrie desire to follow those pleasures of sinne into which Satan putteth himselfe as he did into the Serpent to beguile Heue The subtile enemie knoweth with what bait to take a worldling to all forgetfulnes of God and of the iudgement to come And therefore as the hunter minding to take the Tygres young one is said to set vp certaine looking glasses in the Tygres way that is in the way that she passeth to seek her straying brood that finding in such glasses a perfect resemblance of her selfe the same may cause her to leaue the pursuit and to loose her whelpe So this old huntsman Satan obseruing what care man ought to haue which care but few men haue to saue from hell and destruction his stray soule doth set many goodly shewes or false glasses of pleasures which seeme but are not in the way of his Christian walke that by holding his sight in these deere-prized delights he may more willingly leaue the care of that one thing which is necessarie the saluation of his soule Therefore that wee may not bee taken in this Hunters snare our short life should be often thought of When we goe to bed we should remember our graue and when wee rise in the morning consider that we shall rise out of the graue of the earth at the last day With this key of meditation we should open the day and shut in the night And what befalleth others in the dust of their bodies we should thinke must come to vs we cannot tell how soone in our owne dust mortality Here therefore as the third Captaine sent from the King of Israel to Eliah to bring him and perceiuing that the other two Captains with their fifties were deuoured with fire from heauen at the request of Eliah grew wife by their experience and therefore fell downe and besought fauour for himselfe and his fiftie 2. King 1.13 So we seeing or hearing of so many fifties young and old that in these late yeares of mortalitie haue ended their liues in a fire of pestilence sent from the Lord should make supplication day and night not as that Captaine to the man of God but as true Christians to the man and God Christ Iesu that our liues deathes may be precious in his eyes and that we may not forget that what is done to others may come to vs. And if God haue knocked by many infirmities as by so many messengers at the doore of our fraile bodies wee should not defâ—â—re then chiefly to open to him by present repentance lest he breake in by incurable plagues and make his way by our certain destruction death remedilesse An apologie or defence of those good Christians Vse 3 who considering the vncertaintie and shortnesse of Mans time redeeme as much as may be of it into the band and to the glorie of Him that made and is owner of all their daies in a care of his seruice They know that Satan is a great gainer by the waste of time and that contrarily they shall gaine and Satan be looser by a wise redeeming of their few daies for good duties and therefore they care not to buie time with any redemption temporall so they may haue store of it for the markets of godlinesse and thefeare of the Lord. This would be well obserued for it sheweth the reason why the godly haue so great comfort in their short time and the wicked no true comfort in their few euill daies and so much horror at the end of them when they goe from their house to graue The godly haue much pleasure in their short though troublesom life because they haue bestowed it well and because they are become by such redemption of time citizens in title of a citie that cannot be shaken And therefore though their time bee short their short time here is very comfortable vnto them seeing as Noahs douâ— vpon the waters they waite daily till God open the window of his heauenly Arke to take them to rest from their labors The wicked who haue spent their short time euil must needs greatly feare at the end of their short time seeing when they see death they may doubt if it be peace hauing neuer yet loued the God of peace 2. King 9.22 The righteous are in the world as the Israelites in Babylon who beeing captiues in this prison of life care not how soone they bee deliuered that they may sing the songs of the Lord in their owne Land Psal 137.4 The wicked like spirituall Babylonians and as men at home in their owne naturall soile desire no other life and know no better and therefore it exceedingly grieueth them so soone to depart from this and so much against their wils To the godly by reason of good houres well employed 1. Cor. 15. death is the last enemie and to the wicked by their prophane life the first Gods Children count nothing their own here euerie day they gather Manna and haue but from hand to mouth till the long Sabbath come when they shall eate the fruites of the land of heauen Therefore their losse is nothing when they haue lost all here onely they loose miserie and finde saluation and what losse is that Surely such as they are glad of and the sooner they make the change the better for them The worlds children are here at home in their Mothers lappe here they haue their pleasure Luk. 16.25 and receiue their portion hauing great things for themselues and to leaue to their Babes when they are gone Here they wasted time the fairest and best part of it vpon their profits and lusts and little of it they bestowed if any of it well and what maruel then if they cry out to come to their account for time so precious so much abused The godly because their affection is to do good and God doth so mercifully blesse them that they constantly and heartily doe it therefore they are and
is meant the peace of their soules as by rest is vnderstood the resting of their bodies in their chambers of peace and this peace as by the knitting of this sentence to the former with the tie of reference may appeare doth come presently vnto them vpon their going hence The meaning is righteous persons so soone as they die and mercifull men vpon the instant of their change enter into a more excellent state both of peace and rest then euer they had here Doctr. The Doctrine gathered from hence is Vpon our going hence by death we are presently happie not before So saith the spirit blessed are the dead from that time that is they are immediately and presently vpon their death blessed not some time after nor at any time before but so soone as they die who die in the Lord or for the Lord. Apoc. 14 13. And this we haue confirmed by that which we reade of Lazarus Luc. 16.22 who was carried imme diately vpon his death into Abrahams bosom before his end no man regarded him at it the Angels came from Heauen to fetch him Iob calleth the daies of man that is his daies on earth the daies of an hireling Iob 7.1 as if hee should call them daies of labour and wearines and speaking of the life of man his life here he cals it a life of short continuance and much trouble Iob 14.1 Months of vanitie and nights of sorrow Iob 7.3 Salomon saith all things are full of labour Eccles 1.8 that is all things here And he that is greater then Salomon hath said speaking of the righteous in the world that is so long as yee walke in it as men and soiourne in it as Pilgrimes ye shal haue affliction Ioh. 16.33 The words are plaine and the meaning is there is nothing in it to or for Gods children but sorrow and misery The reasons of this doctrine are First the spirit saith so Apoc. 14.13 the spirit of truth and the spirit which is truth Secondly there is continuall enmitie as it were daggers drawing betweene vs and Satan and betweene Gods children and his cursed children Gen. 3 1â— Apoc. 12.13 Now what may be looked for in the field of a life full of deadly braules skirmishes and battels Surely as it is said there is no peace to the wicked Esa 57.21 So we may say truly nor peace to be had with the wicked Thirdly experience in all the ages of mans life teacheth this truth For from the first scene of our comming vp vpon the stage of this world to the last act of our going downe what part of our life is not full of vanitie and vexation of spirit Eccles 1.14 The first scene is of our infancie when we are in our nurses armes and doth not that beginne with teares and is not all that vnhappy saue that we want reason that is the vse thereof to apprehend that happinesse when we come out of our nurses armes to goe in our nurses hands or to goe by our selues in our next age doe we not weep long vnder the rod and presently fall into the subiection of a Teacher when we come out of the prison of boyes and girles and are set at some more libertie in a young mans life are we not tossed as vpon a sea of vnquietnesse sailing betweene reason and passion as betweene two contrarie waters and crosse winds then commeth perfect age or mans age and what haue wee here but blasts and stormes of greater vnrest then in any age before from one trauell we passe to another neuer ending but changing our miseries And when we come to old age or haue liued so long that we are come to dotage is there any thing in these ages exempt from miserie and the trauell that is vnder the Sun Surely our infirmities do now if in any age before come vpon vs in multitudes yea so load vs with their weight and number that they make vs to bend and goe double vnder them to the earth And can there be any comfort in these diseases as I may call them and daies of euill wherein doe meete and flocke together so many vultures of life the weakenesse of infancie the seruitude of childhood the sicknesse of youth the carkes of mans age all which come againe and come all together as so many stormes vpon one poore old house that is sore shaken already violently in death to ouerthrow it for euer Here the excesse and riot of youth is recompenced wiâ—â— goutes palsies and sundry fearefull aches the watchings and carkes of manhood are punished with losse of sight losse of hearing and losse of all senses except the sense of paine There is no part in man which death in that age of yeeres doth not take in hope to be assured of him as of a bad pay-master which greatly feareth and would put of his daies of payment and therefore it bringeth him lowe in all parts that he may haue power in none to auoid his creditor end so neere Quest But is there no peace in this life Answ Yes a kind of peace there is in this life but it wanteth two things which should make it sound and happy to wit perpetuity and wholenesse For it is not long not entire but by fits and with mixture of crosses and so may be called a kind of truce rather then true peace And good it is for vs that wee haue these outward good things thuâ— scanted and as it were weighed out vnto vs. For the mind cloyed with them would lothe euen the honiâ— combs of peace Besides all earthly things are full of variablenesse and change which hauing no peace in themselues how can they giue any to vs I speake of outward peace or peace in these outward thinges For the peace which the children of god haue is in inward matters and euery way sound though imperfect many waies This is that peace of their consciences whereby they receaue contentment and practise patience in all their troubles by it they are all one with God and with themselues at one with the good Angels and with good men and haue peace with all the creatures The reason is In the flotes of this life they cast their anchor as deepe as heauen finding no fastning for it vpon the earth The peace they haue or seek to haue is in God and from him in the comfortable testimonie and peace of their consciences which they desire to lay vp as a treasure in all the worlds frownes 2. Cor. 1.12 Therefore whatsoeuer commeth their heart is not moued And hereby they take sieson below of which they shall not fully be possessed of till they receiue their inheritance An instruction to the faithfull Vse 1 to looke for no peace here other then that they haue with God in the peace of their consciences with Gods people in the peace of his Church And here let it be noted that the drunken peace of hypocrites is a dreame of peace and no peace indeede For it can
Rahel and life to come So much for the first of those comforts that are promised namely peace that properly concerneth our soules The second which is rest and belongeth to our bodies followeth And they shal rest in their beds c. By beds the Prophet vnderstandeth the places into which the Lord bestoweth the bodies of his seruants in or after their death whether water or fire or the panches of wilde beasts or the chambers of the earth or sea or aire And these he calleth beds because they shall rest quietly in them as men in their beds till the morning bell or loud trumpet of the last great day warning all flesh to rise shal raise them Therefore it is an vsuall thing in the scriptures so soone as men die to say they fall a sleepe Whereby is meant that they are laid in their beds of peace whether Churchyard or Church and that before their bodies are carried forth for buriall thither the places in which God taketh their soules to his presence are their beds and so the beds of their death are the beds of their peace Beds made for them by God himself in the which after their last long sleep of death they presently enter into their last sweet sleepe of peace The Papists say otherwise who hold that the righteous take no possession of their beds of rest till the Priest haue put them into their beds of earth Indeed men giue them burials then but God doth prouide for them their bed of burial lat their death And they are called beds of rest to put difference betweene these beds of our nights-sleepe and those of our sleepe in death For here bee our beds neuer so soft or well made we often take no rest by reason of some disorder in our bodies or fancies in our head but in these sleeping places which the Prophet calleth beds of rest wee may lay vs downe and sleepe in peace Psal 4.8 the Lord of life being our keeper who will make vs dwell in safetie Indeed in it own nature the graue is an house of perdition rather then bed of rest but being altered to the Iewes in promise to vs in performance by Christs graue who was buried in the earth to change the nature of it it is made to vs a chamber of rest and bed of Downe The point here taught is Doctr. The graues of the righteous which by nature are houses of destruction and chambers of feare are by Christ and the graue of Christ made to them chambers of safetie and beds of rest Christ by his buriall hath consecrated and perfumed our graues making them which were prisons to hell gates to heauen Which made the Apostle speaking of the dead in Christ to say they sleepe not they die As if hee should haue said they goe to their beds and not to destruction 1. Thes 4.15 And the same Apostle speaking of the death of the righteous calleth it not a death but a sleepe 1. Cor. 15.51 as if hee had called it not rottennesse but rest For this cause also is our death in heathen Authors called a sleepe as the Scriptures call it and our graue our bed At night wee take our chambers and lie downe in our beds so when death comes which is the end of life as the night is of the day we goe to the chambers of the earth and there make our beds or lie downe in bed till the day of refreshing which is the day of rising come that commeth from the Lord. The reasons are This was figured in the embalmings which the Iewes vsed And this figure as al other figures of the old Testament must bee performed in one which one is Christ As therefore their embalmings did perfume the graues in which they laid their dead for a season so the most precious blame of Christs buriall did for euer sweeten to the Saints their graues of corruption Secondly as the end of Christs death was that he might vanquish death so it was one end why hee was buried that he might after the manner of conquerours subdue death at his own home and as it were pluck him out of his owne den and cabbin Thirdly the bodies of the godly are parts of Christs mysticall bodie while they are in the graue and when they are turned to corruption and therefore cannot but bee precious in his eyes and grauen vpon the palme of his hand till they be restored For as the Husbandman doth make no lesse reckoning of that corne which he hath sowne in his field and lies vnder the clod of the earth then he doth of that which he hath brought into his barnes So Christ doth as highly esteeme of those bodies as it were graines of corne that are sowne in corruption as of those that yet neuer saw corruption nor came to the graue Therefore wee shall not rest in death though we rest in our graues For that God who raiseth the Sunne daily out of his den will one day raise vs out of our graues to stand before him for euer A confutation of that fancie that hath so long deluded the simple world Vse 1 which is that dead bodies walke after their death and appeare to men For how can that be when the bodies of Gods children rest in their beds so soone as their breath departeth and the bodies of the wicked are in their prisons till the day of assise Whereof if any make question let him open their graue and see And seeing the soule returneth not after it hath left the bodie how can the body walke that wanteth a soule or soule be seene if it should walke that hath no bodie Or if death bee a loosing of our soules from our bodies Phil. 1.23 How can there be any death when soule and bodie are not parted and when the man is not dead but liueth But this fancie came from Pithagoras a Philosopher and is but a Philosophers dreame Pithagoras told his dreame to the world which was that the soules of men departed did enter into the bodies of other men good soules into good mens bodies bad into bad mens The world then beleeued him And since that time Satan who can turne himselfe into all formes did in the darke night of Poperie to deceiue that ignorant age change himselfe into the similitude and forme of some person that was lately or had beene long dead and was beleeued by such a transformation to bee the partie man or woman that hee made resemblance off So entred the errour that Spirits did walke and that dead bodies came out of their graues and haunted sundry houses in the night which were not the bodies of the dead but the Diuell in those bodies or shapes as is to be seene in Samuels counterfet shape raised by the Witch at Endor 1. Sam. 28.8.14.15 And this errour as it deceiued the blind world and somewhat troubled the seeing Math. 14.26 Act. 12.15 So it is still in the mouth and faith of credulous superstition at this day But
peace they haue not knowne O we are men and not Angels say some A little to tread awry and a little to goe out of the way is but a humane frailtie and an inch breaks no square But to such we may say it may be our frailtie thus to doe But if wee presume we may so doe or if we striue not to doe otherwise it may bee our destruction that wee so did and the losse of our peace for euer Indeed we are men by nature but we must correct nature by grace and labour to be good men We are not Angels it is true yet wee must imitate the Angels and an inch in finne may so far breake square as it may send vs square and roundly to hell Be perfect saith our Sauiour Christ as your heaneuly Father is perfect Math. 5.48 It was spoken to his Disciples and it is spoken in them to vs. Wee can not neithes could they be perfect in the same measure yet as they were charged so are we commanded to be perfect in the like manner by a kind of conformitie and imitation The meaning is we must endeuour to be what perfectly we cannot be And how can we then iustifie any limping in the way or little going out of the way of grace by small infitmities It is pardonable in Christ but not iustifiable by vs. Therefore where we make such littles of sinne as a little oath a little meriment a little of the fashion and a little must be borne with let vs know that Satan by such littles maketh his kingdome great For as a couetous man gathereth by halfe pennies and by pence till he come to poundes so the diuell getteth his wealth from some by littles here a little and there a little Prou. 6.10 till finne be full and many litles in finne make a great totall There is no dalying with God nor playing out and in our progresse to saluation which is to heape wrath vpon wrath til it come to a mountaine or from some small heapes to come to a treasure Rom. 2.5 The way is to giue the water no passage to pound in sinne and to giue no way to occasion to take heed we be not led away from our stedfastuesse in knowledge and grace 2. Pet. 3.17.18 not to trip if we can chuse but to make straight steps in the way and to hold on our fellowship in the Gospell from this day and hereafter Philip. 1.5 Blessed is the seruant whom his Master when he commeth shall find so doing Math. 24.46 But it is said here that they enter into peace and come to rest that walke before the Lord as it were vpon two legs the right of sound religion and the left of an vndefiled life for where one of these is lacking there is halting in the way as also where they be seuered and where both goe not together The doctrine is Doctr. A good life hath a good death and they who liue well here shall liue well that is blessedly hereafter Dauid made this question Lord who shall rest in thy mountaine that is in heauen not as Pilgrims for a time but as heires for euer Ps 15.1 and God maketh this answere He that walketh vprightly and worketh righteousnesse verse 2. that is he that liueth holily shall die purely and liue for euer He that loueth the face of God in his Church shall see the face of his pleasures in his kingdome The same Prophet with some small alteration of the words asketh the like question to which the like answere is made The question is who shall ascend into the Lords mountaine Psal 24.3 that is who shall be taken from their pilgrimage to their countrey and from this mortall vale to the hils of immortall rest and the answere is He that hath innocent hands and a pure heart verse 4. The meaning is he that liueth charitably with men and holily with God or that is not vniust to men nor an hypocrite to God He that professeth the Gospell and is carefull of his waies not walking vpon a leg and a stumpe as they doe who seeme religious and liue ill or appeare righteous and are prophane hee shall stand before the Lord for euer Esay likewise maketh a question and answere to this effect Who saith he shall dwell with the deuouring fire who shall dwell with the euerlasting burning Esay 33.14 His meaning is who shall abide the presence of God who is a consuming fire Heb. 12.29 and dwel safely before him This is the question and the answere is He that walketh in iustice and speaketh righteous things c. ver 15. that is whose waies are without offence and words without guile he that saith well and doth well shall dwell on high ver 16. or rest safely in the mountaine of peace And Christ our blessed Sauiour telling vs who shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen as the hypocrites of heart who make a stirre with their mouthes and put no good work into their hands who prophecie in Christs name and doe nothing for for his name and call him Lord but make their lusts their Lords telleth vs that they shall enter into heauen who doe his fathers will which is in heauen Math. 7.21.22 All desire to rest in the holy mountaine of God but few behaue themselues as Pilgrims in his tabernacle Yea all desire with Balaam to die the death of the righteous when there are few who take care to liue the life of the righteous that they may so die Num. 23.10 Therefore our Sauiour sheweth that our talking of saluation will not bring vs to it nor our wishing to bee in heauen send vs thither If we will be saued then we must liue as the heires of the grace of life that is as the sonnes of God not as brands of hell The reasons Though nothing be due to a good life by desert on our parts or by debt on Gods yet it being his merciful promise that all such shall be happie both here and hence in this world and in Gods kingdome Psa 112.16 c. 128.1.2 he will not and because it so pleaseth him cannot call backe his word whose promises are all yea and Amen that is no sooner made 2. Cor. 1.20 but as good as done Therefore they that liue godly shall die blessed Secondly they who liue well liue in obedience to God Now they who obey a good master are in fauour and encrease in wealth and shall the seruants of God liue in miserie and die vnrewarded Also they who conforme to Gods commandements are his faithfull scruants and loyall subiects whom a good master and gracious Prince must needs countenance Thirdly the Apostles words are plaine that godlinesse hath the promises of this life and of that to come 1. Tim. 4.8 As much as if hee had said They who walke according to this rule shall be blessed here and blessed in heauen Indeede the godly doe not alway prosper in these outward things yet wanting them or their
fill in them they haue Gods blessing inwardly in the peace of a contented minde outwardly in so much as is sufficient The wicked who haue them in greater measure haue them not vnder Gods hand nor as his blessings but as stolne wares that they shall answere for because they haue no right vnto them by Christ nor hold them in Capite that is in him Therefore their table is a snare vnto them and their prosperitie their ruine They liue to the encrease of their damnation and they die to take possession of it Fourthly they who with the glorified virgins wait for Christ in the life of the righteous are alway prepared for death when it knocketh Mat. 25.10 to open vnto it And what is a prepared death but an happy death And what followes an happie death but an happy life neuer to die againe Such goe in with Christ to his marriage of euerlasting life We see then that the last houres repentance the common refuge of worldlings as it commeth short of a sanctified life Vse so it seldome reacheth to an happy death or life after death For as the tree boweth before it bee cut downe so it falleth and in the place where it falleth there it shall be Eccles 11.3 That is as we liue so wee commonly die Or shall we thinke that men can easily begin righteousnesse at their last houre and that repentance in that houre is ordinarily good and sound repentance Let them well consider this who put off their conuersion to God and send away by hope of repenting old all those good motions that knocke at the doore of their hearts for a sanctified life One saith well While the Lord speaketh to thee make him answere and while he calleth let there bee an eccho in thy heart such as was Dauids who when God said seeke yee my face presently answered thy face will I seeke Psal 27.8 The Lord hath promised pardon to him that repenteth saith another but that hee or any other shall liue till to morrow he hath not promised Many in their puttings off fare as if they should say Lord let me sinne in my youth and pardon me in mine age But where in the meane season is their walking before God yong that peace may come when they are old And is it not a iust thing that men dying should forget themselues who liuing neuer remembred God Surely let them looke for no better who watch not the stealing steps of death in their tower of repentance in the life of the righteous And if moe things belong to repentance then can bee done in an houre and well in a mans life as to bring forth the buds of it young to beare fruits of it at more yeares to ripen it being man and to gather it toward death in the autumne of fruits how can they thinke one poore houre to be sufficient to bring the seednesse the spring the summer the autumne and full crop of these things together in so short time and how can they hope in such a span of life to prepare themselues for the Lord when so many els of long lâ—fe afford so scant measure to the best men to set them in a readinesse for him Let vs therefore while wee haue time laying vp treasures in heauen for our soules store vp in the summer of life for the winter of death which will come Prou. 6.8 In our last sicknesse and vpon our death-bed we are fitter to seeke ease for our bodies then mercie for our faults and grace for our soules Besides how fearefull will it be to be taken then by sudden death as by some vnexpected Officer without baile or warning and by it to bee brought to the goale of the earth in the bodie and in the soule to perpetuall prison in the torments of hell Of this more was spoken in the first Sermon and vse of the last doctrine there But shall they who liue well here Vse 2 liue well hereafter that is blessedly then their desperate and cursed errour is confuted who blaspheme the way of righteousnesse saying that it is to no purpose to bee so deuout godly and that they are most wise who giue themselues most libertie in the pleasures and iollitie of life So say the wicked in Malachy it is invaine to serue God Mal. 3.14 And the wicked in Iob say what profit to pray vnto him Iob 21 15. As if they should haue said we may serue God and we may pray to God but there is nothing gotten by it or they speed as well and are as wise that are cold in these matters as they who kindle and are hottest in them But they Prophet here saith that peace shall come that is they shall see the peace of God in heauen who make peace with God here and they that serue him shall raigne before him The wicked are as the chaffe which the wind driueth away Psal 1.4 That is so soon as God punisheth them with the wind of death their hope is gone But the godly haue a sure foundation and no storme either of death or of mans ill will can blow them to destruction whose house beeing builded by God not on the sand of time but vpon a rocke vnmoueable standeth fast in all changes Math. 7.25 The builder vp of Sion is the wise God whose worke abideth for euer Let the vngodly oppose themselues neuer so much they shall not be able to beate down Gods house and death is their aduantage Phil. 1.21 Or if the Princes Palace be safely guarded we must not think that any of Gods houses shall be left without their keepers sufficient watchmen and the righteous shall flourish when the hornes of the vngodly shall be broken And thus it is no vaine labour nor gamelesse seruice to serue the Lord. Doth a good life bring a good death Vse 3 Then the despairing words of Gods children in a troubled skie and when the waters enter into their soul as that God hath forsaken them that God hath cast them off in displeasure that God will not saue them and such like are words of distemper not of reason and iudgement For will God cast away his people The answere is Godforbid The meaning is hee will not Rom. 11.1 Neither can mans changeable tongue alter the decree of God that is vnchangeable Rom. 3.3.4 And we must not iudge of the estate of any man before God by his behauiour in death or in a troubled soule For there are many things in death which are the effects of the sharpe disease he dieth of and no impeachments of the faith he dieth in And these may depriue his tongue of the vse of reason but cannot depriue his soule of eternall life Which may bee spoken also of a troubled soule For as in a troubled water the face in the water cannot bee perceiued which when it commeth to be cleare is manifest so in a troubled spirit the face of Gods mercie seemeth to be changed against vs and to
be quite gone which out of temptation and in a calme time shineth wonderfully in our eyes Besides for these outward things whether they befall a man in life or death all things come alike to all Eccles 9.2 And so one may die like a lambe and goe to hell and another die in exceeding torments with lamentable vnquietnesse and shrikes of slesh and goe to heauen But you will say They both say and thinke that God hath cast them off And I say againe that it may be their speech and opinion and yet nothing to the preiudice of their saluation by Christ For when and why doe they so speake and thinke It is not then and because they are sicke of that despaire which ariseth either of the weakenesse of nature or of the conscience of sinne toward death And what maruell if then in that taking they vtter some distempered words and haue strange and vnquiet thoughts Therefore though they should thinke they are damned and speake it in such a disturbance and at such times it can be but the voice and opinion of their sicknesse and a sick mans iudgement of himselfe is not to be regarded So much for the act of walking the obiect before whom followeth Before him The obiect of our conuersation is God the righteous walk before him or haue him before them in all their life looking vpon him as vpon a God of glorious maiestie that wil not iustifie the wicked of gracious mercy that pardoneth sinners of speciall prouidence that numbreth our steppes and of infinite knowledge that seeth all our waies or they haue God before them in Christ and Christ in God beholding his iustice behind the skreene of his mercie and perceiuing his mercie through the darke cloud of his iustice And they who so doe Doctr. cannot but do that which is good in his sight The doctrine then is The best meane of a good conuersation is to set the Lord alway before vs. This hath beene partly spoken of in the first sermon and first doctrine The way to walke aright is to behold the Lord in all our waies So did Eliah who therefore saith to Ahab As the Lord lineth before whom I stand 1. King 17.2 Where hee confirmeth his speech with an oath and lest Ahab should thinke he made no conscience of what he said addeth this clause that he stood in the presence of God As if he should haue said I set God before me in my sayings and therefore make conscience of that I say Cornelius in like manner considering that hee was before God in Peters ministery prouoketh himselfe and others with him to a solemne hearing of what shold be spoken from God vnto them and therefore said Wee are all here present before God to heare all things that shall be commanded vs of God Act. 10.33 His meaning was as if he should haue said to Peter though wee much reuerence thee yet wee more reuerence a greater in place then thou art to wit that terrible God and consuming fire that speaketh by thee And indeed who is he that setting alway before him the God who is of pure eyes and cannot behold euill Habac. 1.13 will not loth the practising of iniquitie if he haue any sparke of grace in his heart or blood of shame in his face for what Subiect would dare to walke vndecently and not feare to doe euill in the eye of his Prince or would a man steale in the presence and before him that must iudge him for his theft And how then can we sinne presumptuously if we set him alway before vs Qnest who is iudge of quicke and dead But how shall we set the Lord before vs that we may liue so as is here required and bridle sinne that it haue not the head among vs I answere Answ We must set him before vs in his last assise remember him as our dreadfull iudge and this will much restraine vs from sinning against him The euill Steward when he remembred that hee had a Master who wold shortly take his office from him did wisely though not iustly in it Luc. 16.4.8 The contrary for getting of the iudgement to come and Iudge that will come is the cause why so many so much differre to knocke at the gate of Heauen with the hand of repentance and voice of their praiers putting off till there be no opening Math. 25.11 And therefore as riotous persons who hauing little in their purse doe in their Inne call for all sortes and varietie of Cates forgetting that a reckoning and shot will come so these gracelesse spenders in their Innes of ease forgetting or putting off the shot and doome of the last day doe nothing but bath themselues in the delights of sinne and put inough vpon the reckoning account to come that they may walke securely acording to the course of this world in all manner lusts and vnrighteousnesse contemning God Am. 6.3 Secondly we must set the Lord befóre vs in his word for so shall we doe wisely and not goe out of the good way till he come vnto vs in our death or at his great day Ps 101.2 Ios 1.8 and largely in the 119. Psalm throughout For this cause the word is called a treasure Mat. 13.44 A treasure which is to be found onely in the field of the scriptures of the old and new testament that we may hide it in our hearts as we safely lay vp a treasure Papists therefore who walke in their owne inuentions as in by-waies and Protestants that walke not in the way of Gods commandements but in the blind-way of their ignorant and foolish hearts that are full of darkenesse Rom. 1.21 Set not the Lord but all manner sinne and concupiscence before them to worke the same with all greedinesse Eph. 4.19 Thirdly we must set the Lord before vs in his mercies and louing kindnesse and this will bridle a good nature from sinning against him For the kindnesse of a father manie times ouercommeth a bad nature and then what is it not able to doe with a good nature Gods kindnesse to vs and tendernesse of vs is more then the kindnesse of any father and tendernesse of any mother to the child whom they dearely loue Esay 49.15 And if we doubt of this remember we the stories of Dauid and of the prodigall sonne For how did the fatherly compassion and motherly pitty of the Lord worke nay exceed toward both of them Dauid committed two great sinnes not repenting for them but lying in them and adding diuers other great euils vnto them The Lord did not for all this reiect him but had great care of him and when he sought not his pardon sent it home vnto him by Nathan in these words The Lord hath put away thy sinne thou shalt not die 2. Sam. 12.13 The prodigall sonne had run a long and wild course of errour yet did the pittifull father at his comming backe not driue him away but meete him in the way nor speake roughly to
him but deale kindly with him nor run from him but towards him to bid him welcome not to bid him be gone Luc. 15.11 c. His very miserie was sufficient matter to worke vpon his fathers heart would not this ouercome a man the Lord is kinder to vs and how can we setting him before vs in so great loue but breake of the course of sinne and with a yeeding heart returne to our father Fourthly we must set the Lord before vs in his prouidence not onely generall to all but particular to vs which being well considered must needs doe something with vs for a better course For who will not seeke to please him or her vpon whom he must rely for al the turnes of life Seeing then wee depend on God for all things and that our life is at his only pleasure who breath in the aire of his mercies how can we thinke of this and thinke indeed and earnestly thereof and not striue to obey him in his word of whose prouidence we moue and haue beeing Acts 17.28 Fiftly and lastly for it were infinite to speake of all we must set the Lord before vs in Christ in whom he so loued vs not then friends but enemies Ro. 5.8.10 that he gaue his Son to death for vs Ioh. 3.10 Now what enemie will not bee reconciled and dearely loue him who shall but offer to die for him Christ died and made not an offer onely to die for vs and is not this sufficient beeing well and deepely thought of to reconcile vs to God by submission to Christ by spirituall life By all this wee may easily iudge why God is so little regarded among vs. Vse For we set him seldome before vs and as seldom we appeare before him rather we say Depart from vs wee desire not the knowledge of thy waies Iob. 21.14 So did Dauids enemies of whom hee maketh complaint in diuers Psalmes For he saith they sought not God and which made them more securely to doe euill they thought there was no God And after he giueth this for a reason of their so desperate and bold madnesse The iudgements of God were high aboue their sight that is they set them so farre off that they neuer looked after them nor did remember them Ps 10.4.5 Further speaking of strangers that rose vp against him and of tyrants that sought his life that which made them so cruell as he saith was they set not God before them Ps 54.3 86.14 God was not in their thoughts nor the feare of God before their eies therefore they kept no measure in sinning Let vs for our selues remember this who haue the Lord set before vs in the preaching of the Gospell euerie sabbath day Let vs remember him in his Sonne and not forget him in his iudgements specially in his last iudgement The end of our daies and the beginning of that draweth on the Sun is long since past the meredian line and death we know will not be answered with an I pray thee haue mee excused Luc. 14.19 Let vs not therefore put off till the flood come not of waters but of insufferable fire or till the Lord come with deuouring fire and with his tempest of the last iudgement to kindle it Let vs rather frame that course for our selues now that hereafter may proue in our dying houre or at this worlds last houre an arke for our bodies and a tabernacle for our soules If we would set the word before vs or God in it we should see our dangerous waies and by so cleare a light better direct our steppes Ps 119.105 If we would well remember Gods prouidence ouer vs and care for vs we should not doe as we haue done we would beare euils more patiently and doe euill more vnwillingly seeing whatsoeuer commeth to vs commeth by his appointment and whatsoeuer euill is done against him by vs is done against his bounties and loue And if we would set him before vs in Christ how could we sinne against the sacrifice of such a Redeemer or if we wold set Christ before vs in that day wherein this world that must be destroied shall crackle about our cares being all on fire and the large Ierusalem of the earth be brought downe by him who will send forth his voice and that a mighty voice Ps 50.3.4 how little would we regard the short and deare-prized pleasures of this our momentany and fading life But because God is so farre out of our sight and so late in our hearts therefore doe offenders so multiplie among vs and sinne so abound that the regions begin to grow white and we cannot but thinke that the Angell will shortly thrust in his sicle Men are at no paines and bestow no care in Gods seruice Men are mercilesse without naturall affection false accusers and despisers of them which are good 2. Tim. 3.3 Men want faith and some goe cleane against it both in word and in bookes written Sin is full ripe now which in our fathers daies was but greene in the eare and iniquitie that then stroue with righteousnesse hath now gotten the vpper hand what doe all these shew but that God is forgotten and that the fearefull God is cast behind vs in this age of so great liberty and fulnes of sinne The Lord giue vs the due consideration of these things pardon our great sinnes for his owne great names sake to whom be praise and glory for euer The end of the third sermon THE FOVRTH SERMON IVDES Epistle verses 14.15 Vers 14 Behold the Lord commeth with thousands of Saints Vers 15. Togiue iudgment vpon all men and to rebuke all the vngodly among them of all their wicked deeds which they haue vngodlily committed and of all their cruell speakings which wicked sinners haue spoken against him THis prophecy was ancient for he to whom this testimonie is ascribed was the seuenth from ADAM And it is like it either passed as Enocks from hand to hand by tradition or was found in the daies of the Apostles extant in some booke bearing Enochs name For the Iewes had some vnwritten truths which were profitable and good for instruction and yet were not made articles or rules of faith to saluation This prophecie of Enochs and testimonie of Iudes might bee one yet was it as common water till it passed through the sanctuarie Ezech. 47.1 Till the Apostle Iude or the holy Ghost by him set it down in scripture it was to be receiued but as other truths which are to haue their allowance from the booke of faith But now that the Lord hath brought it into his treasurie among the other golden plates which beare for letters of credence the stampe of his Spirit wee must take it for his owne coine and sacred metall distinguishing it from baser metall that hath receiued but common impression and is marked with the finger of man That which the Apostle would proue by this testimoniâ— is that those seducers of Gods people of whom he had spoken
learned Father compareth conscience which is the knowledge that we haue with our selues of some good or euill to water in a Well which when it is troubled sheweth no image of any face but waxing cleare doth So if we suffer this christall of our conscience to bee mudded with foule trespasses of habit or impenitencie wee shall neuer see our naturall face in it neither perceiue how deadly we sinne against God and our owne soules Where if we purge daily for our daily offences and greatly for our greater sinnes if we haue an eye alway to the Lord and his proceedings in vs making good vse of those priuie secret pinches that our consciences giue vs when we doe amisse wee shall in so cleare a fountaine of our good conscience as in a true glasse behold with sanctified profit the many faultes of our life and so the sooner and more conueniently bee humbled for them Or if when our consciences reproue vs of our waies wee listen vnto them and make present good vse of the strokes of our heart for euill deedes and that while we be tender and sensible of sinne wee shall auoide the plague of a foolish heart or heart past feeling Ephes 4.19 and not goe desperately on with bold sinners in the way that leadeth to destruction Thus may wee profit greatly by the iudgement that is begunne in vs in these mulcts of our consciences or mid-hearings preparing vs with comfort to the hearing of the last day A confutation of all Atheists Vse 1 whether Atheists in iudgement or in life Atheists who deny the iudgement to come or liue as if there should bee none Of such we reade who slandering the footesteps of Christs comming said where is the promise of that day 2. Pet. 3.4 that is what is become of it and of all this talke about it So there were in Esay who said when they heard of such a day Let him make speed let him hasten his worke that wee may see it as if they should haue said if it shall bee at all let it be now Or he had need to hasten it if we shall beleeue it Esay 5.19 And in Amos time there was a large fellowship of these mates who put the euill day the day of their death and iudgement which they called euill farre off Amos 6.3 But haue we none of this knot and conspiracie in our own time Yes too many whom I leaue to the mercie of God to be amended or as the drosse of the earth to bee consumed with the fire of his comming who will come with fire and his chariots like a whirlewinde Esay 66.15 A reproofe of their securitie Vse 2 who by certaine slumbering delaies and puttings off walke in no reuerence of the Lords comming or remembrance of their owne death For the yong man presumeth that he shall liue long and the oldest that he may liue one yeare longer But knowing these terrours of the Lord what care should bee in vs presently to set our house and nature in some good order for the comming of Christ the iudge or for our own last end in which we shall be iudged 2. Cor. 5.11 Schollars who come to render to their Master the lesson or part giuen them doe it not without feare and shall we not feare to thinke of that day in which wee must giue account to Christ the iudge for all the things that hee hath put in our hand and keeping When Paul willed the men of Athens to repent it was vpon this ground that the Lord had appointed a day wherein hee would iudge the world in righteousnesse Act. 17.31 As if he had said yee shall be sure to be iudged and therefore repent And yet wee liue in sinne and our hearts are not turned If we were sure that Christ would come to iudgement the next May day what an alteration would it worke in many of vs and how would it change vs and moue vs who would set his heart vpon riches who would deceiue and oppresse who would spend so much in apparell and so many daies in vanitie who durst be drunke who durst sweare and lie and commit adulterie what would become of our May-games dauncing greenes and bowres and such conuenticles of spirituall fugitiues from God on his Sabbaths who would not rather passe the time that remaineth in Gods seruice and run to sermons and reade and pray deuoutly and bestow good houres well and not spend time in chambering and wantonnesse But we are not sure that that day shall tarrie till May next And we know not that Christs day will come this weeke or the next or this present day and houre or while I am speaking of it and yet we walke in as great security and as desperately in sinne as if we were certaine it would not come in our time If we heare a sudden crie of fire fire we are astonied out of measure and yet hearing by our Preachers the Lords trumpets so many and fearefull threatnings by the word concerning the fires of hell and iudgement when not a few houses but the whole world shall burne like an ouen we are not moued Euerie one almost will giue his best helpe for the quenching of a materiall fire but who regardeth to saue himselfe or to preserue others from the vnquenchable fire of hell and terrible fire of the Lords comming that will most certainely we know not how soone flame out to the burning of this great Sodom of the Earth in the which the heauens shal passe away with a noise the elements shall melt with heat and all things corruptible shall be dissolued most speedily as if they did flee away 2. Pet. 3.10 Apoc. 20.11 Christ euen now standeth at the doore of thy Christian heart to wit as a guest and stranger that would be entertained Apoc. 3.20 and thou by continuing in sinne deniest to receaue him He threatneth by the law he reproueth by the law and condemneth by it all impenitent sinners By these he knocketh ernestly and crieth vehementlie at the dore of thy heart to open vnto him and wilt thou tarrie till by thy death he breake in or by his particular comming If a great man should knocke at our doore what stirring would there bee to receiue him presently and as is meâ—te Is there any greater or more worthy guest then Christ who knocketh by the ministerie of the Gospell at the gate of our heart who reacheth forth the hand of his threatnings to beate vpon our consciences day and night that we might turne with all speed which is our opening to the sonne of God and shall we giue him no entrance after so long a time of waiting at our hearts for our conuersion A great man will not be so abused and shall we thinke that the mighty God will take it well that after so many knocking 's and long standing without he should finde no dore of admission into vs or opening by vs and should still be deferred and put off or can these
bodies bee raised O then let vs so prepare for death by a good life that the day of our resurrection may bee a day of refreshing to vs from the Lord. Act. 3.19 When the wicked as seede that rotteth in the earth which God doth not blesse shall arise without comfort let vs endeuor to lie downe in that fauour of God wherein who so falleth a sleep shal out of the same be sure to awake comfortably and ioifully hauing no more woe nor sorrow And as Christ is the first fruits of them that sleepe 1. Cor. 15.20 there resurrection beeing yet in the blade and greene eare and their bodies at rest in their graues as it were beds of peace in which they sleepe quietly till he shal raise them who raiseth the Sunne daily from his den So let vs so liue in Christ by our good consciences that when the night shall come that night or hour in the night whereof our Sauiour spake when hee said the night commeth when no man can worke Ioh. 9.4 we may goe down peaceably to our sepulchers as into our beds with confidence to stand before God in the resurrection of the iust The day will come let vs thinke of it earnestly when we must meete the Lord face to face It is good therefore to meete him heere in his word and in our honest conuersation seeking the things aboue Col. 3.1 that when we shall goe forth to meet him with the Virgins that had oile in their lampes and store of oile that is grace in their hearts wee may not bee ashamed Math. 25.1.10 If we will attaine to the resurrection of the iust we must begin it here in the New birth of a Christian and new life of one that is so borne For as in the first birth man is brought forth consisting of soul and body so in this second of our spirituall resurrection wee must haue a new soule and bodie as it were new heauen and earth created in vs. Of flesh we must be made spirit and of fleshly diuine so wee may comfortably looke for the last resurrection or our parts in it a day that sweeteneth more then sugar the crosses and miseries of our hard life here The comfortable day of the Saints and Christs glorious and welcome day after which he will raigne in the middes of the people for euer Againe shall the iudgement be of all men good and bad then it concerneth vs all if we meane to receiue from Christ the Iudge a comfortable sentence in that day to looke well to our estate and matters here that we bring a good cause and the witnesse of a good conscience to that iudgement seat He that hath a matter to be heard before some earthly Iudge and vpon some certaine day will at the time and about the day appointed be in some good readinesse That is He will bring his sufficient counsell to the barre be sure that his matter be good and euâ—dence without exception haue his witnesses to speake for him and the truth of the cause to speake for it selfe And shall we negligently deale in so waighty an action as that which must come to hearing before so great a Iudge of quicke and dead The day is set and we know not how suddenly it will come and in how short time Besides the matter to be heard concerneth not lands or goods but life or death eternall Christ is our onely Counsellour or Aduocate in that court our good deedes are our good euidence The witnesses are the word that must iudge vs and our owne consciences And shall we now despise the Son of God and count his couenant a prophane thing shall we crucifie by our sinnes Christ our Aduocate and thinke to haue him on our side and part or dreame that he will be for vs whom we haue crucified should we not rather kisse the Sonne with the kisse of our reconcilement to Christ who must speake for vs and be for vs if euer we be saued our good deedes are our best euidence and shall we follow after vnrighteousnesse doe bad deeds with greedinesse and shew no good euidence why we should not be damned our witnesses are the word and our owne consciences and shall we make a mocke of the word and not regard the witnesse of our conscience whether it be with vs or against vs if we despise the Gospell it cannot speake for vs and if we goe against our conscience it will surely be against vs. And should not man feare to bring a witnesse specially in such a court that will fearefully speake against him Let vs therefore endeuour by making much of the word by preferring it to our chiefe ioy by hearing it diligently by being moulded in it and fashioned like vnto it to get one witnesse for vs that is more worth then all the pleasures and profits of sinne that wretched men so admire And for the waies of our heart and actions of our life let vs so approue them to God who will giue an vpright sentence vpon them and vpon vs for them and doe them in such an integrity before God and innocencie before men when we either deale with God or haue dealing with our Neighbor that wee may haue two witnesses clearely for vs in that great day of hearing Lastly Vse 3 if all matters and persons must be iudged by Christ they are here reproued who take from God his seat and iudge their brother that is iudge him to condemnation For this Christ hath forbidden who is Iudg. Math. 7 1. And the Apostle Saint Paul would not haue vs thus to iudge our brother giuing this for a reason for we must all appeare before the iudgement seate of Christ Rom. 14.10 as if he should haue said by iudging in this manneâ— we would seeme to step before God and to preuent his sentence exposing our brother with great wrong to a double iudgement one which we pronounce another which Christ will giue at the last day So our brother shall be twice iudged once by vs who are vsurpers and againe by Christ who is Iudge indeed or by such manner iudgement we argue Gods righteous iudgement of insufficiencie and iudgement seat of corruption and so wrong the Lord and not only our brother when we so iudg him But though rash iudgement be forbidden yet all iudgement is not For the Iudge may censure a fault that deserueth death with death and may condemne a malefactor to the gallowes whom he may not condemn to hell The Minister may censure faults by the doome of the word of God and by ecclesiasticall correction Nay the priuate man may iudge a wicked person by his life so farre as he may know him by it and iudge him by the word though he may not iudge him to hell nor iudge him before the time 1. Cor. 4.5 we may iudge the tree by the fruit because by the fruit we may know it Math. 12.33 and so as farre as we know we may speake so we speake charitably
Depart from mee I know you not Gen. 27.30.33.38 Mat. 7.23 It is a plague of all plagues and the very bottome of the viall of Gods wrath to bee separated from Christ For as in the presence of God is the fulnesse of all ioy Ps 16.11 So to depart from the Lord is the perfection of all miserie Absalon could say Let mee see the Kings face and if there bee any trespasse in mee let him kill me 2. Sa. 14.32 His meaning was rather let me not liue then liue in disgrace an exile from my fathers court and fauour And what will the wicked say who must in this rebuke of their euerlasting banishment from the face and saluation of Christ depart neuer to returne And if the comming of the Sunne to a place promise ioy and the againe departing of it from the same place cause sorrow and darkenesse what ioy must needs be lacking and sorrow abound where the Sunne and God of saluation shall neuer in the sunne-shine of his presence bee seene any more Where shall be no gleames of fauour but darke tempests of iustice raining snares vpon all the wofull inhabitants of the earth And yet this punishment is not all though insufferable For the damned Cains of hell shall not onely haue this cursed marke set vpon them to goe from the presence of the Lord Gen 4.16 but shall dwell for euer in the Tophet of damnation Esay 30.33 where besides their not endurable pain of losse they shall haue inflicted vpon them paines of sense that are intolerable For spirituall Tophet is a place wherin is fire and much burning Our ordinarie fire the hottest we make and greatest we kindle is but as painted fire to this fire indeede Yet a man would not be in it one quarter of an houre to gaine the world How much then and itolerably shall the wicked suffer who shal be tormented in this fierce fire not a quarter of an houre or yeare only but yeares vppon yeares yea millions of yeares world without end or if a little disease and that but in one part onely so troubled vs lying vpon a soft bed How shall we abide the rebuke of the Lord in all the parts of our body and tender powers of our mind and not vppon our pallats of ease but beds of glowing fire The rage of the fiercest enimy may be qualified or if it might not yet he shall perish and his wrath with him But in this large winepresse of the Lords indignation the worme dieth not and Gods anger endureth for euer as himselfe is eternal The couenant that God hath made with the day and night shall be broken But his iudgment of rebuke is inuiolable They whom he condemneth shall bee euer damned and whom he sendeth to hel shall neuer returne Some doe here idly aske how fire can euer burne the flesh of the damned and neuer consume it To this Ianswere materiall fire cannot but this fire appointed so to doe by the powere and will of the Creator shall The bush that Moses saw in the fire burned and consumed not Exod. 3.2 And it is saide of the Salamander that shee liueth in the fire and is not burnt So why may not these bushes of the curse ordained to burning and hellish Salamanders iudged to perpertuall fire be day and night tormented in a fornace of intollerable heat and yet their flesh neuer be diminished nor their bodie consumed in those flames Some are curious to know what manner fire that shall be Quest that is able to burne vpon not the bodies onely but soules of damned wretches To this curious question I only answere Answ God knoweth And let vs who haue the hope of the Saints endeuour rather neuer to feele it then to know it For as when a mans house is on fire we stand not to enquire how it came but doe our best to quench it so it should be our wisdome hearing that the Lord will rebuke the world with fire and sinners with hell fire rather to quench the matter of it in our so many increasings against God by the meanes of sinne that dwelleth in vs and to take from it the wood-pile that fedeth it then curiously to dispute or search how fire can fasten vpon a spirituall substance and with what kind of burning Thus haue we showed that the Lords comming at the last day shal be a putting of the wicked frō God and a putting of them into hell where they shall be tormented day and night for euer and that therefore it will be a day to all vngodly men of intolerable wrath from God and vexation from the effects of his comming The reasons All things which then they shall see and feele shall be if any thing may be terrible most terrible They shall see and feele sinne on their right hand and Satan on their left hell vnder their feet and an angry Iudge aboue their head the world full of destruction without and a worme gnawing the heart within Or to speake as b Anselme one sometimes fearefully spake Aboue them shall be their Iudge offended with them for their wickednesse beneath them hell open and that burning furnace wide gaping to receiue them on the right hand their sinnes accusing them on the left hand fierce diuels ready to execute this wrathfull sentence of the Lords rebuke vpon them within them their conscience gnawing without them all damned soules bewailing on euerie side the world burning Be not these sights terrible and will not these things worke terribly Secondly the wrath of a Lyon is terrible Am. 3.8 what then when the Lord shall roare from heauen and giue forth his voice and that a glorious voice who will not then be afraid or if the wrath of a King that is if a Kings anger or fire iust kindled burne to death vpon the offendours for Salomon saith The wrath of a King is as messengers of death Prou. 16.14 how terrible to eternall death shall the Lords anger be prouoked by sinners how insufferable to all those who haue by rebellious wickednesse offended him If the King passe sentence who will denie execution For where the word of the King is saith the Preacher there is power Eccles 8.4 And yet the King may command where the Subiect will not see done as when Saul would haue put Ionathan to death and the people would not let him die 1. Sam. 14.44.45 But if God once passe sentence who will stop it nay who will not be readie both good and bad Angels to execute it If Gods wrath be to be feared in man how fearefull is that wrath in the God of wrath Dauid saith if his wrath be kindled but a little blessed are they that trust in him then when it is all on fire how miserable are they who hauing trusted in themselues and prouoked him can haue no hope from him nor comfort from his comming Thirdly the signes that shall keepe company with or be ioined to the comming of the sonne of man to iudgement
helper Let vs reuerence the godly and honour the Lord and we shall stand inuincible in all oppositions or as mount Sion that cannot bee remoued but remaineth for euer Psal 125 1. Our death shall bee comfortable and our iudgement without rebuke wee shall benefit Christs church haue praise of God to whom Father Sonne and holy Ghost three persons and one immortall and onely wise God be rendred all glorie power and thanksgiuing now and euer Amen All glorie to God FINIS POINTS of instuction for the ignorant With An examination before our comming to the LORDS TABLE And A short direction for spending of time well LONDON Printed by William Hall for Francis Burton and are to be sold at his Shop in Pauls Church-yeard at the signe of the Greene Dragon 1613. TO THE Christian Reader the sauing knowledge of that truth which is according to godlinesse Tit. 1.1 * ⎠* CHristian Reader this short Catechisme thus gathered and set downe for the helpe of the ignorant cannot bee called new but renewed for their sakes For I may say in thiâ— case as Salomon in his Ecclesiastes said in a like case What is that that hath beene that that shall be Eccles 1.9 And what is that that hath beene done that that shall be done and there is no new thing vnder the Sunne The portion of meate which is heere offered to the tasle of the simple is no other then that which he hath already tasted of if he haue tasted any thing of the things of God and it is but the substance of other Catechismes set before him in another kinde of seruice that is with some difference of Cookery and dressing which considering our too great distaste with one kinde of meate though neuer so wholsome if wee be continuallie fedde withit without diuersitie may not be without some good vse at least for some short time For the affections of men stand no lesse diuersly affected towards the variety of Gods gifts in deliuering one and the same matter then doth the stomacke towards the dressing of one and the same kinde of meate in a diuers maner by some alteration of forme and manner of doing it And yet it is no part of my meaning to hold vp the market of nouelty by any schey-seruice as tendeth rather to tikle the eare then to satisfie the sounder iudgement or to say any thing for those who make books like to the apparell which they weare and fashions that they are weary of when a newer comes Onlie hauing taught these Principles most of them to a few priuately and finding it more easie to print them then to write them for the surer keeping of them in their memories who had learned them and the good of some abroad that desired them I was not vnwilling thus to giue them content by the benefit of the Presse and of Printing Neither haue I done this far any want for there is store of Catechismes abroad to which this worme of mine is no way comparable and God hath dealt mercifully with our age for the meanes of knowledge but we famish spiritually at the full measure of these meanes either by not vsing them at all or not as wee should This mite of instructions I could haue made much larger but that I considered in my Cruse of store the vessels that I had to fill King 4.4.6 which could not well receiue more and so left pouring as I perceiued their filling Accept therefore Reader what is heere offered to thy gentlenesse and take it in as good part as it is meant vnto thee And so I command thee and thy grouth in godlinesse to the grace and assistance of Al-mighty God and rest Thine in all Christian good will ROBERT HORN POINTS of instuction for the ignorant WHat is true happinesse To know God Ioh. 17.3 Ier. 9.24 Luk 15.17 and to know my selfe Can you knowe God Not so plainely and fully heere as wee shall heereafter by face Exod 33.20 1. Cor. 13.12 but as hee hath reuealed himselfe vnto vs. How is that By his workes without vs and within vs Rom. 1.20 1.19 and by some description of his nature and effects in his word How doth the word describe him Generally thus â—xo 3.14 Ioh. 4.24 â—xo 34 6. Psa 90. 〈◊〉 1. Tim. 1 17. Isa 5.5 Psal 103 8 â—m 4.13 1 Pet. â— 19 Psal 99 1 2 â— Heb. 1 3 Act. 17 25 26 1 Iob. 5.7 Mat. 〈◊〉 16.17 2. Cor. 13 13. He is what he is And more particular thus a Spirit euery way infinite goodnesse it selfe Creatour Preseruer and Ruler of all things distinguished into three persons Father Sonne and holy Ghost So much for the knowledge of God What say you of the knowledge of your selfe It may bee considered before the fall or since What are you by creation in Adam before the fall A reasonable Creature Mat. 10.28 Ge. 1.27 Col 3 10 Ephes 4.24 consisting of soule and body made after the image of God in knowledge righteousnesse and true holinesse What are you since by Adams fall A sinner Rom. 3 9 10 Iob 14.4 Rom. 6 23 5.18.19 Gal. 3.10 and by sinne subiect to all kind of misery and punishments as to the death of my body and the death of my soule which is endlesse damnation What are your sinnes A guiltinesse in Adams first offence that is Rom. 5.12.18 7.18 Ier. 17.9 Gen. 6.5 Matth. 15.19 Rom. 7.5 a depriuation of all good thereby and a disposition of my whole heart to euery thing that is against the Lawe of God with innumerable corrupt fruits thereof in thought word and deede What doe you consider in Man thus falling His recouery to saluation and duty for it What say you of his recouery It may bee considered in the worker thereof or the meane of apprehending it What say you of the worker The worker or substance of it is Christ Iesus the Sonne of God 1. Iohn 2.1.2 Ioh. 1.14 Iohn 3.16 Philip 2.7.8 Galat. 4.4.2 Cor. 5.21 Iohn 1.12 who in Mans nature which hee tooke in the wombe suffered the death of the Crosse and fulfilled the Lawe for all that receiue him What is the meane wherby Christ is apprehended Faith Galat. 2.20 Acts 6.31 which is a speciall perswasion of Gods fauour in his word Ioh. 1.12 Luk. 2.29 Ephes 3.17 1. Cor. 1.30 Ioh 20.28 2. Tim. 1.12 wrought in my heart by the holy Ghost whereby I doe truely and in particular beleeue that Christ is made vnto me wisdome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption When doth this faith beginne to breede and take place in your heart When by Gods grace I begin to be touched in conscience for my sinnes Psal 51.17 Isa 55.15 Math. 5.6 Phil. 3.7.8 Math. 15.25.27 Mark 9.24 to hunger and thirst after Christ and his merits aboue al things in the world and against all doubtings doe begin to beleeue By what meanes is this wrought It is begunne ordinarily