Is this your case I pray you answer these few Questions and suffer the truth to have its proper work upon your mind Quest. 1. Who was it that deprived you of your friend was it not God Did not he that gave him you take him from you Was it not his Lord and owner that call'd him home And can God do any thing injuriously or amiss will you not give him leave to do as he list with his own Dare you think that there was wanting either wisdom or goodness justice or mercy in Gods disposal of your friend Or will you ever have Rest if you cannot have Rest in the will of God 2. How know you what sin your friend might have fallen into if he had lived as long as you would have him You 'l say that God could have preserved him from sin It 's true but God preserveth sapientially by means as well as omnipotentially And sometime he seeth that the temptations to that person are like to be so strong and his corruption like to get such advantage and that no means is so fit as Death it self for his preservation And if God had permitted your friend by temptation to have fallen into some scandalous sin or course of evil or into errors or false wayes would it not have been much worse then death to him and you God might have suffered your friend that was so faithful to have been sifted and shaken as Peter was and to have denied his Lord and to have seemed in your own eyes as odious as he before seemed amiable 3. How know you what unkindness to your self your dearest friend might have been guilty of Alas there is greater frailty and inconstancy in man then you are aware of And there are sadder roots of corruption unmortified that may spring up into bitter fruits then most of us ever discover in our selves Many a Mother hath her heart broken by the unnaturalness of such a child or the unkindness of such a husband as if they had died before would have been lamented by her with great impatience and excess How confident soever you may be of the future fidelity of your friend you little know what tryal might have discovered Many a one hath failed God and man that once were as confident of themselves as ever you were of your friend And which of us see not reason to be distrustful of our selves And can we know another better then our selves or promise more concerning him 4. How know you what great calamity might have bifallen your friend if he had lived as long as you desired When the Righteous seem to men to perish and merciful men are taken away it is from the evil to come that they are taken Isa. 57. 1. How many of my friends have I lamented as if they had died unseasonably concerning whom some following providence quickly shewed me that it would have been a grievous misery to them to have lived longer Little know you what calamities were eminent on his person his family kindred neighbours country that would have broke his heart What if a friend of yours had died immediately before some calamitous subversion of a Kingdome some ruines of the Church c. and if ignorantly he had done that which brought these things to pass can you imagine how lamentably sad his life would have been to him to have seen the Church the Gospel and his Country in so sad a case especially if it had been long of him Many that have unawares done that which hath ruined but a particular friend have lived in so much grief and trouble as made them consent that death should both revenge the injured on them and conclude their misery What then would it have been to have seen the publick good subverted and the faithful overwhelmed in misery and the Gospel hindered and holy worship changed for deceit and vanity and for conscience to have been daily saying I had a hand in all this misery I kindled the fire that hath burned up all What comfort can you think such friends if they had survived would have found on earth Unless it were a comfort to hear the complaints of the afflicted to see and hear such odious sins as sometimes vexed righteous Lot to see and hear or to hear of the scandals of one friend and the apostasie of another and the sinful compliances and declinings of a third and to be under temptations reproaches and afflictions themselves Is it a matter to be so much lamented that God hath prevented their greater miseries and wo 5. What was the world to your friends while they did enjoy it Or what is it now or like to be hereafter to your selves was it so good and kind to them as that you should lament their separation from it was it not to them a place of toil and trouble of envy and vexation of enmity and poison of successive cares and fears and griefs and worst of all a place of sin Did they groan under the burden of a sinful nature a distempered tempted troubled heart of languishings and weakness of every grace of the rebukes of God the wounds of conscience and the malice of a wicked world And would you have them under these again Or is their deliverance become your grief Did you not often joyn in prayer with them for deliverance from malice calamities troubles imperfections temptations and sin and now those prayers are answered in their deliverance and do you now grieve at that which then you prayed for Doth the world use your selves so well and kindly as that you should be sorry that your friends partake not of the feast Are you not groaning from day to day your selves and are you grieved that your friends are taken from your griefs you are not well pleased with your own condition when you look into your hearts you are displeased and complain when you look into your lives you are displeased and complain when you look into your families into your neighbourhoods unto your friends unto the Church unto the Kingdome unto the world you are displeased and complain And are you also displeased that your friends are not under the same displeasedness and complaints as you Is the world a place of Rest or trouble to you And would you have your friends to be as far from Rest as you And if you have some Ease and Peace at present you little know what storms are near you may see the dayes you may hear the tydings you may feel the griping griefs and pains which may make you call for Death your selves and make you say that a life on earth is no felicity and make you confess that they are Blessed that are dead in the Lord as resting from their labours and being past these troubles griefs and fears Many a poor troubled soul is in so great distress as that they take their own lives to have some tast of Hell and yet at the same time are grieving because their friends are taken from them who
then begin their perfection The Hopes of the ungodly are like an addle egge that when it is broken sends forth nothing but an odious stink when another sends forth the living bird O all you worldlings rich and poor you dream you play you trifâ—le because you labour not for Eternity Even worldly Princes and Nobles of the earth your glory is but a squib a flash a nothing in comparison of the Eternal glory which you lose you are doing Nothing when you are â—â—iving for the world you are trifling and befooling your â—mmortal souls while you are grasping a shaddow the uncerâ—â—in Riches 〈…〉 is the Believer whom you despise that seeks â—â—â— something thâ—â— loseth not his labour that shews himself a â—an of reason who is caring and studying and labouring and 〈…〉 watching and suffering for Eternity why is a 〈…〉 courts of God so much better then a thousand in 〈…〉 oâ— palaces of wickedness but because it is the Exâ—… where we have News of Heaven and trade for an Eternity And why is it better to be a door keeper in the 〈…〉 of God then to floursh in the prosperity of sinners but because Gods house is the porch or entrance of an Eternity â—â— delights and the lowest room among the saints affords us a better prospect into Heaven then the Highest state of worldly 〈◊〉 The ungodly are neer to cutting down when they flourish in their greatest glory Psal. 37. 2 20. Stay but a little and hâ— that flourisheth will be withered and cast into the fire and the Righteous shall see it when he is out off and shall seek him but he is not to be found vers 34 35 36 38. For the enemies of God and all that are far from him shall perish Psal. 92. 9. 13. 27. their desire shall perish Psal. 112. 10. their hope shall perish Prov. 11. 7. Job 8. 13. their way shall perish Psal. 1. 6. and himself and all that they sought and loved and delighted in shall perish Job 20. 7. 2 Pet. 2. 12. Rom. 2. 12. Heb. 1. 11. Even the visible Heavens and Earth which they abused shall be consumed with fire Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking towards and waiting for the coming and appearance of our Lord 2 Pet. 3. 11. Shall any man be accounted wâ—le that is not wise for Eternal happiness shall any man be counted Happy that must be most miserable to Eternity In the name of God Christian I charge thee to hold on and look to thy soul thy words thy wayes for it is for Eternity O play not loyter not do nothing by the halves in the way to Eternity Let the careless world do what they will they despise and know not what they do despise they neglect and know not what they do neglect but thou that seekest and labourest and waitest knowest what thou seekest and labourest and waitest for They sin and and know not what they do They know not what they are treasuring up for an Eternity But tâ—â—n knowest why thou â—â—test and avoidest sin Sinners be awakened by the Call of God Do you know where you are and what you do You are every man of you stepping into Eternity Will you sin away will you loyter away will you sell-for nothing an Eternal Glory Is thy sinful lust and gain and mirth and gluttony and excess of drink a price to set upon Eternity If Heaven be no more worth to thee art thou not as bad as Judas that for thirty pieces of silver would sell his Lord O Eternity Eternity what hearts have they that can so forget thee neglect thee and disesteem thee when they stand so neer thee O sleepy souls do you never use to rub your eyes and look before you towards Eternity And doth it not amaze you to see whither it is that you are going Merrily you run down the Hill but where 's the bottom If you look but down from the top of a steeple it may occasion an amazing fear what then should it cause in you to look down into Hill which is your Eternity No good can possibly be small that is Eternal And no hurt or pain can be called little that is Eternal An Eternal tooth-ake or an Eternal gowt or stone or feaver were a misery unspeakable But O what are these to an Eternal loss of Heaven and to an Eternal sense of the burning wrath of God Almighty To be out of Heaven a day and in Hell that day is a misery now unknown to sinners But if it were as many thousand years as the earth hath sands it were a greater Misery But to be there for Ever doth make the Misery past all Hope and all conceiving O me thinks the very name of Eternity should frighten the drunkard out of the Alehouse and the sleepy sinner out of his security and the lustful sportful voluptuous sinner out of his sensual delights Methinks the very name of Eternity should call off the worldling to seek betime a more enduring treasure and should take down the gallants pride and bring men to look after other matters then the most do look after Me thinks to hear the name of Eternity should with men of any faith and reason even blast all the beauty and blurre the glory and sadden the delights and weaken the temptations of the world and make all its pleasure pomp and splendour to be to our apprehensions as a smoak a shaddow as the dirt that we tread upon Methinks to hear the name of Eternity should lay so odious a reproach on sin and so nakedly open the folly and shame and misery of the ungodly and so lively shew the need and worth of faith and Holiness that men should be soon resolved in their choice and soon be at the end of an ungodly course and need no more words to make them the resolved servants of the Lord before to morrow O me thinks that a thought of Eternity should with a Believer answer all temptations and put life into all his prayers and endeavours If we were never so cold or dull or sleepy one would think a serious thought of Eternity should warm us quicken us and awake us O Christians shall we hear carelesly or speak carelesly of Eternity shall we pray coldly or labour negligently for Eternity O what an Ocean of Joy will Eternity be unto the sanctified It hath neither banks nor bottom O what a gulf of misery and woe will Eternity be to the ungodly wonderful that on their dying beds they quake not with the horrour and that they cry not out with greatest lamentation to think what a bottomless gulf of misery their departing souls must be cast into To be for Ever Ever Ever under the most heavy wrath of God! This is the appointed wages of ungodliness This is the end of wicked wayes This is it that sinners chose because they would not live to God!
make him sin against his knowledge And when Conscience hath frighted him into some kind of Penitence and made him cry out I have sinned and done foolishly and caused him to promise to do so no more yet doth the Devil prevail with him to go on and to break his promises as if he had never been convinced of his sins or confessed them or seen any reason or necessity to amend He doth but imprison the truth in unrighteousness and bury it in a senseless heart whereas if you could but awaken all the powers of his soul to give this same truth its due entertainment and take it deeper into his heart it would make him even scorn the baits of sin and see that the ungodly are beside themselves and make him presently resolve and set upon a holy life And hence it is that sickness which causeth men to receive the sentence of death doth usually make men bewail their former sinful lives and marvail that they could be before so sottish as to resist such known and weighty truths and it makes them purpose and promise reformation and wish themselves in the case of those that they were wont before to deride and scorn Because now the Truth is deeplier received and digested by their awakened souls and appeareth in its proper evidence and strength There is no man but must acknowledge that the same truth doth at one time command his soul which at another time seems of little force It is a wonder to observe how differently the same consideration worketh with a man when he is awakened and when he is in a secure stupid case Now this is his advantage that walks with God He is much more frequently then others awakened to a serious apprehension of the things which he understandeth The thoughts of the presence of the most Holy God will not suffer him to be as secure and senseless as others are or as he is himself when he turneth aside from this Heavenly conversation He hath in God such exceeding transcendent excellencies such Greatness such Goodness continually to behold that it keepeth his soul in a much more serious lively state than any other means could keep it in so that when ever any truth or duty is presented to him all his saculties are awake and ready to observe it and improve it A Sermon or a good book or godly conference or a mercy when a man hath been with God in prayer or contemplation will relish better with him and sink much deeper then at another time Nay one serious thought of God himself will do more to make a man truly and solidly wise then all the reading and learning in the world which shuts him out 6. Walking with God doth fix the mind and keep it from diversions and vagaries and consequently much helpeth to make men wise A stragling mind is empty and unfurnished He that hath no dwelling for the most part hath no wealth Wandering is the beggars life Men do but bewilder and lose themselves and not grow wise whose thoughts are ranging in the corners of the earth and are like masterlesse dogs that run up and down according to their fansie and may go any whether but have business nowhere The creature will not fix the soul But God is the center of all our cogitations In him only they may unite and fix and rest He is the only loadstone that can effectually attract and hold it steadfast to himself Therefore he that walks with God is the most constant and unmoveable of men Let prosperity or adversity come let the world be turned upside-down and the mountains be hurled into the sea yet he changeth not Let men allure or threat let them scorn or rage let laws and customs and governments and interest change he is still the same For he knoweth that God is still the same and that his Word changeth not Let that be death one year which was the way to reputation another and let the giddy world turn about as the seasons of the year this changeth not his mind and life though in things lawful he is of a yeilding temper For he knoweth that the interest of his soul doth not change with the humours or interests of men He still feareth sinning for he knoweth that Judgement is still drawing on in all changes and seasons whatsoever He is still set upon the pleasing of the most Holy God whoever be uppermost among men as knowing that the God whom he serveth is able to deliver him from man but man is not able to deliver him from God He still goeth on in the Holy path as knowing that Heaven is as sure and as desirable as ever it was Psal. 112. 6 7. Surely he shall not be moved for ever the Righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance He shall not be afraid of evil tydings His heart is fixed trusting in the Lord His heart is established he shall not be afraid 7. He that walketh with God hath the great master-truths upon his heart which are the standard of the rest and the stock as it were out of which they spring The great truths about God and Grace and Glory have a greater power then many hundred truths of an inferiour nature And moreover such a one is sure that he shall be wise in the greatest and most necessary points He is guilty of no ignorance or errour that shall keep him out of heaven or hinder his acceptance with his God And if he be wise enough to please God and to be saved he is wise indeed as before was â—inted 8. Walking with God doth take off the vizar of deluding things and keepeth us out of the reach and power of those objects and arguments which are the instruments of deceit When a man hath been believingly and seriously with God how easily can he see through the sophistry of the tempting world How easily can he practically consute the reasonings of the flesh and discern the dotage of the seeming subtilties of wicked men that will needs think they have reason for that which is displeasing to their Maker and tends to the damning of their souls so far as a man is conversant with God so far he is sensible that all things are nothing which can be offered as a price to hire him to sin and that the name of preferment and honour and wealth or of disgrace and imprisonment and death are words almost of no signification as to the tempters ends to draw the soul from God and duty It is men that know not God and know not what it is to walk with him that think these words so big and powerful to whom wealth and honour signifie more then God and Heaven and poverty disgrace and death do signifie more then Gods displeasure and everlasting punishment in hell As it is easie to cheat a man that is far from the light so is it easie to deceive the learnedst man that is far from God 9. Walking with God doth greatly help us against the deceitfulness
at their displeasure and should expect that your friend should befriend your sin or carry himself towards you in your guilt as if you were innocent you will but shew that you understand not the nature of true friendship nor the use of a true friend and are yet your selves too friendly to your sins 14. Moreover those few friends that are truest to you may be utterly unable to relieve you in your distress or to give you ease or do you any good The case may be such that they can but pitty you and lament your sorrows and weep over you you may see in them that man is not as God whose friendship can accomplish all the good that he desireth to his friends The wisest and greatest and best of men are silly comforters and uneffectual helps you may be sick and pained and grieved and distressed notwithstanding any thing that they can do for you Nay perhaps in their ignorance they may increase your misery while they desire your relief and by striving indirectly to help and ease you may tye the knot faster and make you worse They may provoke those more against you that oppress you while they think they speak that which should tend to set you free They may think to ease your troubled minds by such words as shall increase the trouble or to deliver you as Peter would have delivered Christ and saved his Saviour first by carnal counsel Matth. 16. 22. Be it far from thee Lord this shall not be unto thee And then by carnal unjust force by drawing his sword against the officers Love and good meaning will not prevent the mischiefs of ignorance and mistake If your friend â—ut your throat while he thought to cut but a vein to cure your disease it is not his friendly meaning that will save your lives Many a thousand sick people are killed by their friends that attend them with an earnest desire of their life while they ignorantly give them that which is contrary to their disease and will not be the less pernicious for the good meaning of the giver Who have more tender affections then Mothers to their children And yet a great part of the calamity of the world of sickness and the misery of mans life proceedeth from the ignorant and erroneous indulgence of Mothers to their children who to please them let them eat and drink what they will and use them to excess and gluttony in their childhood till nature be abused and mastered and clogged with those superfluities and crudities which are the dunghill matter of most of the following diseases of their lives I might here also remember you how your friends may themselves be overcome with a temptation and then become the more dangerous tempters of you by how much the greater their interest is in your affections If they be infected with errour they are the likest persons to ensnare you If they be tainted with Covetousness or Pride there is none so likely to draw you to the same sin And so your friends may be in effect your most deadly enemies deceivers and destroyers 15. And if you have friends that are never so firm and constant they may prove not only unable to relieve you but very additions to your grief If they are afflicted in the participation of your sufferings as your troubles are become theirs without your case so their trouble for you will become yours and so your stock of sorrow will be encreased And they are mortals and lyable to distress as well you And therefore they are like to bear their share in several sorts of sufferings And so friendship will make their sufferings to be yours Their sicknesses and pains their fears and griefs their wants and dangers will all be yours And the more they are your hearty friends the more they will be yours And so you will have as many additions to the proper burden of your griefs as you have suffering friends When you do but hear that they are dead you say as Thomas Joh. 11. 16. Let us also go that we may die with him And having many such friends you will almost alwaies have one or other of them in distress and so be seldome free from sorrow besides all that which is properly your own 16. Lastly if you have a friend that is both true and useful yet you may be sure he must stay with you but a little while The godly men will cease and the faithful fail from among the children of men while men of lying flattering lips and double hearts survive and the wicked walk on every side while the vilest men are exalted Psal. 12. 1 2 8. while swarms of false malicious men are left round about you perhaps God will take away your dearest friends If among a multitude of unfaithful ones you have but one that is your friend indeed perhaps God will take away that one He may be separated from you into another Country or taken away to God by death Not that God doth grudge you the mercy of a faithful friend but that he would be your All and would not have you hurt your selves with too much affection to any Creature and for other reasons to be named anon And to be forsaken of your friends is not all your affliction but to be so forsaken is a great aggravation of it 1. For they use to forsake us in our greatest sufferings and streights when we have the greatest need of them 2. They fail us most at a dying hour when all other worldly comfort faileth As we must leave our houses lands and wealth so must we for the present leave our friends And as all the rest are silly comforters when we have once received our citation to appear before the Lord so also are our friends but silly comforters They can weep over us but they cannot with all their care delay the separating stroak of death one day or hour Only by their prayers and holy advice remembring us of everlasting things and provoking us in the work of preparation they may prove to us friends indeed And therefore we must value a holy heavenly faithful friend as one of the greatest treasures upon earth And while we take notice how as men they may forsake us we must not deny but that as Saints they are precious and of singular use to us and Christ useth by them to communicate his mercies and if any creatures in the world may be blessings to us it is holy persons that have most of God in their hearts and lives 3. And it is an aggravation of the cross that they often fail us when we are most faithful in our duty and stumble most upon the most excellent acts of our obedience 4. And those are the persons that ofttimes fail us of whom we have deserved best and from whom we might have expected most Review the experiences of the choicest servants that Christ hath had in the world and you shall find enough to confirm you of the vanity of