Discipline amongst themselves if any of their company did commit any grosse sinne they did cast him out of their company and provided a coffin for him intimating hereby they looked upon him as a dead man This heavenly spiritual life whereby a man doth all things by supernatural and holy principles to holy and godly ends deserveth the name of life Hence Ephes 4.18 it 's called The life of God either because of the conformity and likenesse of it to Gods life or because God is the Authour and worker of this life in his children Tell us not then that such a man liveth richly and happily having a great Estate a glorious Seat large Revenues he liveth that liveth this spiritual life and without it as the Apostle saith of those wanton widows They are dead while alive 1 Tim. 5.6 Oh now thou wouldst weep over thy husband thy child if they were corporally dead why doest thou not much more for their spiritual death We reade of the Aegyptians what an outcry they made for the death of one in every family But how many families are there that have none but dead persons in them Alas thou must needs be dead for thou seest not with thy eyes the beauty of spiritual things Thou hearest not with thy ears the lively word of God neither canst thou walk with thy feet in the way to Heaven Thirdly The godly man onely liveth Because he only hath the true blessednesse and comfort of this life He onely hath true joy and peace of conscience and this not onely the Scripture cals life viz. a prosperous happy estate as when they said Live ô King but the Heathens also Vivamus mî amica vixit dum vixit bene vita non est vivere sed valere There are some men who live this life and yet Job saith they long for death Their life is a burden and a torment to them when it 's day they wish it were night and when it 's night they wish it were day This God threatens as a curse to every one that shall not keep the Law Now the godly man he onely liveth so as to have true joy real happinesse because his sinnes are pardoned God is only his portion and delight At thy right hand are pleasures for evermore said Dâ—vid Psal 16.11 And although the godly may sometimes through their own sinne or for their exercise be deprived of this joyfull and blessed life yet that is for their good as Lazarus's death was that his Sisters faith and Gods glory may be the more magnified And besides as Christs body so their souls shall not alwayes be kept under the cords of this death This is therefore by accident The promise to godlinesse is joy and gladnesse of heart They are called upon to doe it they are commanded to it Lay this then downe for a sure Rule That thou doest not live thou hast not a prosperous joyfull and happy heart till thus sanctified Fourthly The godly only live or life is theirs Because they only know how to improve the dayes of their life for God They make the right uâ—e of their life and time here which is to provide for eternity to glorifie God and save their souls When Paul could say I have fought a good fight I have finished my course 2 Tim. 4 7. This was an argument he lived Our Saviour spake many Parables to shew how we should improve our Talents and be alwayes gaining till our Master come whereas if thou spendest thy time on thy losts and pleasures of sinne if thou art idle and negligent thou hast not lived Idlenesse is the burial of a man alive We do not account our time of sleep so properly part of our life because we do nothing then And this is a full proof that only godly men live because they only make honey while the Summer shines they onely husband their time while it's day calling upon God They onely accomplish that work and errand for which God sent them into the world Remember this he liveth that is active for God in his generation that moveth continually for the good of his soul Let it not be said of thee as Seneca of one who kept close in his house Hic situs est Bascia as if he were buried there Fifthly Life is onely the godly mans Because he hath an interest in eternal life John 5.24 He hath passed from death unto life He shall never die that liveth this life Now alas this temporary natural life doth not deserve the name of a life The very Heathens thought so and the Scripture cals it but a shadow not a substance What are a few evil dayes here and full of misery Shall we judge it a life No surely eternal life deserveth only that name where there is no fear of a change where no power or violence can overcome where mortality is swallowed up in immortality This is the life that the Scripture inviteth all unto Did Dives live though he boasted good things were stored up for him No This night thou fool thy soul shall be taken away Wilt thou call this a life to have a few pleasures of sinne for a season and then to go into eternal torments Do not the damned in hell wish they had never been born that this natural life had never been bestowed upon them Do not thou then matter this moment but set thy heart upon eternity Is not this life a vapour a bubble but the life to come that must make me happy When God promised several outward mercies to Abraham O saith Abraham that Ishmael might live before thee All these outward things are nothing if he live not this spiritual and eternal life Sixthly The godly man only liveth Because he taketh his life from God and referreth it to his glory Whether we live we live to the Lord said Paul Rom. 14.8 They receive their life thankfully from God and they live to his glory Now we say he hath a thing that knoweth how to make the right use of it and thus because the godly know how to receive their life from God and to return it again to him Therefore it is that they have life yea they have it because they can readily part with it at Gods Command I die daily said Paul 1 Cor. 15.31 And this is our Saviours sure Rule Luke 17.23 He that will lose his life shall save it and he that will save it shall lose it You see the way to have life is to part from it he hath it that hath it not as the Martyrs who as willingly laid down their lives as we our garments Seventhly The righteous only live Because they mortifie and subdue those sinnes that kill our bodies that take away our lives Wrath and quarrelling that depriveth a man of the peace of his life now he refraineth his tongue he is of a meek spirit whereas anger is like a fire burning in the bowels and so grief is a waster of the very bones Worldly sorrow worketh
them meeting in this they bring good to the godly man And 1. There are happy and prosperous events Or 2. Adverse and afflicting ones And For the first What ever mercies or good things come about they are the godly-mans in these respects First They are for his necessary use and supply They come as so many gifts immediately given by God for thy necessities And when I say use I mean a sanctified use All the food raiment and wealth he hath are sanctified in their use to him and this the Scripture speaks of as a property to the godly only Wicked men may abound in wealth honours greatnesse but they are a curse to them they have them not from God as intending good to them thereby But as the Rule is Corpora impura quantò plus nutrias impuriora reddis The more you nourish unwholsome bodies the better food they have the more doth their disease increase So these worldly mercies draw out the lusts of wicked men the more Take notice of these two Texts Tit. 1.15 and 1 Tim. 4.5 There we may see a curse is upon every creature It 's unclean to a wicked man though he hath a civil right to his estate and comforts yet he can make no sanctified use of them for their own persons are not pure and sanctified and so nothing belonging to them is pure Seeing therefore there is a curse by Adams fall upon every creature Thy food thy raiment thy goods thy estate they neeâ—â—anctification by the Word and prayer Therefore the godly only have the sanctified use of them because they are humble in prayer for the cleansing of them But how atheistical are the men of the world They labour to have this state and that state still more and more not at all enquiring whether this come sanctified to them or not Doth not health wealth and all outward mercies come with the curse upon them they had at first The Devils Have not they a life Are not they preserved in their being Yet this is no mercy to them And thus it is with all wicked men We see what Paul saith Rom. 11.9 Let their table be made a snare and a trap and a stumbling block It 's a terrible place A mans table his dainties his greatest pleasure may be made a snare to thee Wouldst thou receive the richest goods that are brought into thy house if the plague or infection were on them Couldst thou endure to have one at thy table to lay a snare to catch thee in thy words to bring thee in temporal danger And art not thou afraid thy house thy estate thy wealth may be made by God a snare to thee But how happy are the godly that how great soever the outward mercies are yet they are pure and sanctified to them The danger is taken off by Christs death Secondly These prosperous things are not only in a sanctified way to the godly but God alâ—o requireth that with joy and gladnesse we should make use of them for his glory It 's lawfull for them to eat and drink and enjoy the good mercies they hâ—ve with a cheerfull joyfull spirit I speak not of carnal and sinfull joy which quickly ends in terrour and trembling and is like the crackling of thorns that make a blaze but immediately go out No but of a well-ordered gladnesse and joy in the good things God bestoweth on them For God doth not call his people to a worldly dejected sorrow which worketh death but to a godly sorrow which causeth great joy and serenity of spirit Insomuch that Scripture speaks of it as a provoking sinne if we do not serve the Lord with joy and and gladnesse of spirit when he bestoweth these outward mercies upon us Deut. 28 47. Many terrible curses are there threatned to Israel Because they did not serve God with joyfulnesse and gladnesse of heart for the abundance of all things If therefore God giveth thee plenty of outward things and thou doest not serve him with joyfulnesse and thankfulnesse of heart it is a provoking sinne God doth not only love a cheerfull giver but a cheerfull receiver also of his mercies So then when prosperous things befall thee thou mayest with great joy of heart make use of them Thirdly These prosperous things are not only sanctified to them but they are also made sanctifying of them God giveth them those good things of the body to make their souls better Abraham had many outward mercies but these also were helpfull to his graces he was rich in faith as well as in cattel and great substance Thus Godlinesse hath the promise of this life and the life to come 1 Tim. 4.8 To have the good things of the world and not the gracious things of the Gospel and the glorious things of Heaven is to have a cistern but to be without the fountain to have a starre but to want the Sunne Art thou drawn near to God more improved in holinesse by all the mercifull things thou hast Then art thou beloved of God God hath chosen the poor of this world rich in faith Jam. 5. And The poor receive the Gospel Be afraid lest wealth and greatnesse make thee reject the Gospel When thy outward mercies are sanctified then art thou happy Fourthly These prosperous present things are theirs Because they know how to make the present use of them for Gods glory As life was theirs and death theirs because they only could live well and die well so present riches present death present comforts are theirs because they know how to make the present improvement of them The Scripture still presseth While we have opportunity to do good to lay hold on it and while it is called to day 2 Heb. 3.15 Do good with thy present wealth improve thy present strength thy present health for who knoweth how long thou mayest enjoy it especially of all present things the present time is a godly mans Redeem the time Ephes 5.16 And now is the acceptable time 2 Cor. 6.2 This is a great part of wisdome to make the present time ours even now to turn to God now to reform and amend One Heathen complained that his friends were fures temporis the thieves of his time they stole that precious jewel away from him by their visits Oh take heed that no lusts no pleasures no enticements and worldly delights steal away thy present time it is all thou hast and it 's but a moment yet on this moment depends eternity Well therefore is it for the godly who knoweth how to make the best improvement of all prices put into his hand A Christian is not called to ease but labour to a spiritual merchandize to make profit of every thing And thus it should be with every godly man there is nothing befals thee no good comes to thee but thou shouldst bethink thy self how can this be improved for God How may I make heavenly advantages of these things Thus be like the Bee sucking honey out of every herb
rejected Tit. 3.10 Those then are nearest to perdition who after Admonition and Information do still continue refractory Lastly Of all those who defile the Temple and are marked out for perdition Antichrist it is and his party that are the great defilers of Gods Temple He is alled The man of Perdition 2 Thes 2.3 both actively and passively Actively because he is a means to destroy so many thousand souls and passively because he is appointed by God to remarkable destruction Take heed therefore thou art not found in the number of that Antichristian society which is marked out by God for destruction Come out of Babylon least you be partakers of her plague Rev. 18.4 If you ask why God should be thus provoked by corruptions in truth or worship the Reason is plain Because his Glory is more immediately interrested in these things Practical godlinesse and obedience are acceptable but his truth and his worship are that which immediately relate to him Herein his jealousie is said to be drawn out Vse of Admonition Pray and take heed you fall not from your stedfastnesse and be led aside with the errours of the wicked You see here is no dallyance no wantonnesse allowed in this matter God will destroy Art thou not afraid of Gods wrath of Gods vengeance If it were but the anger of a man or the persecution of a man it might be endured but God who is a consuming fire he will never bear this He will not endure this This Text would be like a flaming sword to keep men from false and erroneous waies if duly considered This is that which undoeth us people are either very sottish and stupid not regarding any thing of Religion at all or if they do they do not with that sobriety that humility that fear and trembling addresse themselves to know Gods truths as they ought to do There is a prophane proud unmortified frame of heart upon us and then then no wonder we defile his Temple Him shall God destroy This is the punishment threatned to the Temple-defilers and though but two words God destroy yet both have their weight There are many evils and calamities that yet are not a destruction that is the utmost of all paenall evils and then it 's a destruction from God whose wrath is like himself Incomprehensible It 's not man but God shall destroy Now what this destruction is we have told you not an annihilation of soul and body as Socinians would have it not a Physical destruction but moral viz. depriving the wicked man of all happinesse and comfort We have handled this relatively already as it is the Portion of the Temple-defilers I shall now consider it absolutely Eternal wrath and damnation is described here under the name of destruction which is the reward of every wicked impenitent man whether his sinnes be intellectual or bodily And the Doctrine I shall raise is That Eeternal Damnation is the Destruction of a man It 's the undoing of a man for ever This Doctrine or Truth hath a sting in it and because men are generally so bruitish and feared in their evil waies I do the rather pitch upon it because truths that are of a more sublime nature do not so easily penetrate Let us then improve this Eternal Damnation is the Destruction of a man It 's the eternal undoing of a man To clear this consider First That it is the Scriptures way to represent Hell and Damnation under all those evils that are most terrible to sense as on the contrary Heaven is described by such nams as do usually delight most men Hence it 's called a Kingdom and a Crown of Glory and a City paved with precious stones These are condescending expressions to us who are apt to apprehend nothing great and admirable but what is so to sense and were not our natural corruption so greatly prevailing over us such Scripture baites would soon take us As it is thus for Heaven so for the contrary Hell and eternal damnation is described by all such terrible Objects that the very naming of them should fill us with great horrour and do not think these are vain scare-crows no these expressions do no more represent to the full the torment and pain of the damned indeed then a painted fire doth a reall burning fire Whatsoever the Scripture saith of this destruction of wicked men doth not arise up in the least manner to the torment indeed Therefore that the meditation and preaching of this subject may be profitable set Faith on work believe there is such a state of destruction coming upon impenitent men that all the undoing we can have in this life is nothing to that eternal undoing Let Faith warm and heat thy heart with this and it will work wonderfully to thy reformation If to die be a thing of terrour what is eternal death What is eternal destruction If skin for skin and all that a man hath he will give for his life how much rather for this eternal life Secondly This destruction consists in two things The good it 's privative of And The evil it 's positive of Schoolmen call it the punishment of losse and the punishment of sense The Scripture brings in God inflicting both in that terrible sentence at the Day of Judgment Depart from me into eternal fire Mat. 25.41 Depart from me there is the privation of all good Into eternal fire there is the position of all evil and misery Divines have disputed which is the greatest evil of these two but Chrysostome answers The privation of Gods face is farre worse then all the torments in Hell That Depart from me is more terrible then eternal fire Certainly seeing such a destruction is coming how much doth it concern all to watch and pray about it Descendamus in infernum viventes ne descendamus morientes said Bernard Let us descend into Hell while alive by meditation lest we really descend thither when we die But singularia sunt quae pungunt Let us therefore consider What losse it is First that this destruction doth consist in And First It 's the losse of God in whom only is all happinesse Depart from me At his right hand are pleasures for evermore Psal 16.11 To be with God and to enjoy him is that happinesse which eye hath not seen nor can the heart of a man conceive For such as God himself is such is the enjoying of him He is the bonum in quae omnia bona bonum quo nihil melius cogitari potest The Jehova The beings of all created comforts that are scattered up and down and parcelled in creatures with their several imperfections are united and conjoyned in him in transcendent perfection only To represent what God is and the enjoyment of him would be to empty the Ocean with a shell Then do we best esteem of him when we judge him inestimable Now our destruction lyeth in being deprived of all that good which God would have been to us Oh
there is nothing which would be for their good that God denieth them Whatsoever is in all the world if it be good for the godly man he shall have it No good thing will he with-hold from them that fear him Psal 84.11 Now the godly mans good is two-fold either that which is Absolutely and Necessarily good so that it cannot be evil nor it cannot do a godly man any hurt to have them such as Christ is Pardon of sinne and Heaven and these are bestowed on all godly men There is no man that feareth God though he may say I want riches I want health I am without this or that that can say he is without Christ and justification and the Covenant of Grace 2. There is a limited Good that which in its self is good but doth not make good those that have it yea it may be turned to evil As wine is good but give it to the feavourish man you hurt him And thus it is with all the temporal good things of the world they do not make the possessours good yea they may be turned to sinne and increase thy corruption And then it 's no wonder if God out of his love to thee with hold these things from thee If they were as necessary and as good as Christ is and Heaven is thou wert sure to have them Rom 8.32 If he hath given us Christ How shall he with him but give us all things else Now this very particular should rebuke all the winds and waves of fears and discontent within thee Art thou repining and carnally muttering thou hast not this thou hast not that Oh look Hast thou godlinesse Hast thou the fear of God in thy heart than thou hast all things because there is nothing that is good for thee that God keeps from thee Do not thou blame God but thy own corruptions if thou wantest such temporal mercies say rather God seeth I should make them a poison to my soul I should grow drunk with this sweet wine Secondly A godly man may be said to have all things Because he hath a right and a claim to the Covenant of Grace wherein is a deed of Gift of all things both spiritual and temporal The Covenant of Grace lieth in this That God will be our God giving remission of sinne healing of our corruption and blessing us with all temporal blessings This God made with Abraham and so with all believers Therefore Godlinesse is said to have the promise of this life and the life to come 1 Tim. 4.8 All heavenly and earthly things are by promise made to the godly only heavenly things absolutely earthly things conditionally and with subordination and exception So then it is with thee as some man who hath all his estate lying in Bonds and Covenants though for the present he cannot command such a summe of money yet he is rich in Bonds Thus the godly man hath sure Bonds and Promises even of Gods own making who cannot lie or deceive and therefore he may be as much supported as if he had the things themselves Hence ariseth that life of faith Habakkuk and godly men have in their great extremities and necessities Thirdly All things are the godly mans Because he hath God for his God who hath all things Qui habet habentem omnia habet omnia He that hath the Sunne hath the light of all the starres He that hath the Ocean hath all the streams Deus meus omnia as he said Hence our happinesse is said to be in this if we have the Lord for our God David in all his exigencies supported himself with this That God was his portion and his inheritance Now he is such a portion that there is nothing else good beside have him and ye have all Though a child hath not money and raiment at his command yet because he hath a rich father who can procure all these things therefore he may be well said to have them all Thou shalt not want as long as God hath it If God have it thou shalt have it and what can be more desired Fourthly A godly man may be said to have all things Because godlinesse worketh such an holy contentation and satisfaction of spirit that in what estate he is he is as well pleased as if he had all things as if he had the whole world Therefore it 's called Godlinesse with content 1 Tim. 6 6 viz. which worketh and causeth contentment it is the proper effect and fruit of it Thus Paul I have learned to be content in all conditions I have all things I want nothing Phil. 4 11 12 That which pride and presumption putteth some upon to say they wanted nothing for which God severely reproveth them here true grace puts the godly upon Here is a godly Dives that may say Soul take thy spiritual ease for thou hast not many but all good things laid up for thee Thus all things are theirs because through contentation they have all things Fifthly All things are the godly mans Because they were made finaliter for him They are all for his spiritual use If you regard the Offices and Ordinances in the Church they are all for the Church either to begin increase or consummate grace If you look upon the whole Creation there is no creature therein but the godly thereby do or ought to glorifie God and to draw nearer thereby unto him If every thing thou lookest upon thou hearest thou treadest upon doth not make thee more godly thou losest the good use for which they were made Every gift is given to profit withall 1 Cor. 12.7 And every creature was also made to profit withall At the first we see the whole world with all things therein were made for man which made the Psalmist spend an whole Psalm in the admiration of Gods goodnesse and bounty What is man that thou art thus mindfull of him Psal 8.4 yet that was chiefly because the starres in Heaven and the creatures on earth were made for him But with what praises may the mouths and hearts of Gods people be filled with in that not only the things of the world but that all the Offices and Ordinances of the Church are made for them But this excellent point will be more improved in the particular enumeration Let us now consider Why God should make all heavenly and earthly things for the godly And First We need not wonder at it if we consider That Christ himself took our nature upon him and did undergo that shamefull death and those terrible conflicts with Gods wrath for his Church he gave himself for his Church So that Christ being theirs no wonder if all things else be theirs If ever God would have denied any thing would have with-held any thing it would have been his only Son in whom he was so well-pleased But this he parts with for his Church Yet we cannot say Christ is ours as Paul and Cephas and other things therefore he addeth We are Ghrists and
death 2 Cor. 7. the godly therefore take heed of it as that which murders the body So inordinate and worldly cares we see how such do even devour men they have so many thorns in their flesh and what life do such live Impatience is a sudden Devil possessing a mans soul In patience possesse your souls Luke 21.19 A man doth not possesse himself he is not master over his own spirit that is passionate and furious So that men in such sins they live but as those that have been thrown to wilde beasts or serpents to be devoured by them Lastly The godly man only liveth Because even in the last breathings of this life his hopes and comforts do most remain The righteous hath hope in his death Prov. 14.32 And this hope is called A lively hope yea the godly die not at all because all live to God their very dead bodies if you regard the Covenant of Grace and Gods power are alive Luke 20 38. At that moment when all a wicked mans hope perisheth his life faileth him his comforts his friends all forsake him then are the godly to lift up their heads for their redemption draweth nigh Though they were dead they shall live Dives had the good things of this life but doth he not lose all with his soul at his death Lazarus may say Soul take thy ease when dying which Dives could not But In the second place How can it be said that the wicked do not live when they are said to have their portion chiefly in this life And David by many Psalmes informeth us they do not onely vivere but valere not onely live but flourish Their eyes stick out with fatnesse yet they doe not live because 1. They are dead in their sins And hereby their faith their Religion their Christianity is all dead as you heard 2. They do not live Because they are in a condemned estate they are appointed to wrath As Adam is said to die in the day he did eat of the forbidden fruit and as the Scripture cals some the sonnes of death or dead men because appointed thereunto Oh this should enter deep into thy heart As long as thou livest in thy sinnes thou art a dead man a damned man as the malefactor condemned to die is a dead man though he live a day or two before execution 3. They doe not live Because all their time is lost so all the time of a mans unregâ—neracy is no life All those dayes were lost those duties lost all that time lost 4. They make every thing an instrument of death Their health their wealth their honours are all deadly herbs in the pot their tongue speaks the words of death their hands work the works of death Vse of Instruction to the Godly so live that your life may appear to be yours not the Devils not sinnes that thou doest not live to the world Let thy mouth be a Well of life Be thou a tree of life Prov. 11.20 as Solomon speaks of the righteous Do not thou only live but cause others to live Let thy life put life in others as one candle lightens another one candle kindleth another Vse 2. Of Terrour to wicked men You live not you rejoyce not you have no true mirth or gladnesse False joy is real misery A man that hath an estate of brasse for gold is not rich thou art a dead man as yet even condemned to Hell every day the sentence may be executed on thee and it 's plain thou art dead because thou feelest not thou complainest not under this heavy burden Or Death all things are yours We are upon the third part of the Apostles Enumeration and that is the different conditions which are in the world expressed under those two titles Life and death Not only life is yours but death also And in this later lieth the greater wonder For how Death which was inflicted at first as a curse and punishment for sinne and is the period of all outward comforts in this life should be for our advantage is hard to imagine and then that two contraries should meet in the same issue both life and death produce the like effects makes it still the greater paradox But the more unlikely and impossible it is to humane reason the easiâ—r it is to a divine faith In the Scripture Death admits of several senses 1 Sometimes it 's taken for the spiritual death of the soul in sinne Thus men are often said to be dead and well may this want of grace be called Death because such a man is like Lazarus buried and even putrified in the grave of sinne There is no sense no motion there is nothing but loathsomnesse they are putrifying carkasses and not living men though never so externally glorious in the world 2. There is an eternal Death often mentioned in the Scripture as the reward of every sinne who though they live yet it is a dying life 3. There is the natural Death viz. the dissolution of those two dear friends the soul and the body Lastly Death is put for any great extremity and misery in which sense God is said to raise the dead 2 Cor. 1. And the Israelites captivity is expressed under the similitude pf dead men dead bones and their restauration is a resurrection or living again Ezek 37.1 In these two later considerations we may take it as death comprehends all outward afflictions and miseries as also the separation of soul from body Observe That even Death which in it self is so terrible yet is for a godly mans advantage It 's his mercy it 's his gain as well as life is He may call it his death in a comfortable sense as well as he may call any mercy his To open this consider First That God created man at first after his own Image in righteousnesse and true holinesse and thereby he was immortal Not as God who is absolutely immortal and therefore said Only to have immortality 1 Tim. 6.16 Now as the Angels who are immortal from their intrinsecal constitution having no corruptible principles only God can annihilate them but he was made immortal conditionally had he continued in that state of integrity he had not been capable of death as appeareth by the commination In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt die Gen. 2.16 And the Apostle Rom. 5. concludeth That by sinne death reigned over the world where by death is not only meant actual death but potential also or a state of mortality Now the original of death or how it came into the world was not known by the Heathens They called it a tribute that all must pay to nature but why men should die and how it came about at first that they were ignorant of Secondly Vpon Adam 's fall In quo uno omnes peccarunt whose sinne was the sinne of all mankind as Rom 5. Death was inflicted as a punishment upon all So that if we consider death in the abstracted nature of it it is