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A42552 The mount of holy meditation: or a treatise shewing the nature and kinds of meditation the subject matter and ends of it; the necessity of meditation; together with the excellency and usefulnesse thereof. By William Gearing minister of the gospel at Lymington in the county of Southampton. Gearing, William. 1662 (1662) Wing G436B; ESTC R222671 88,628 217

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Domini in Mat. 13. whereby they say signified the manner of the last judgement which they make types thereof thus at the general Deluge commonly called Noah's Flood a very few escaped and a small number were preserved but eight persons Gen. 6.18 At the destruction of Sodome there escaped fewer but three onely viz. Lot and his two Daughters Gen. 19. and at the destruction of Jericho not many preserved but onely Rahab and her houshold as was promised Josh 2. and performed Josh 6. 2 Esdras 8.1 An Apocriphal Writer tells us That the most High made this world for many but the world to come but for a few he illustrateth the point by a plain familiar similitude saying As the earth yeeldeth much matter for pots but little for gold so there be many created but few that shall be saved yea Christ himself affirmeth That the gate is wide and the way broad that leadeth unto life and there be but few that finde it Matth. 7.13 14. and St. Paul out of the Prophet Isaiah tells us That though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand on the Sea yet a remnant onely shall be saved A Learned man divideth the world Priorw into thirty parts and he saith bu● eleven parts only have the means of grace the rest remain in darknesse or that have not had the Gospel purely preached unto them now without faith there is no salvation and without the Word preached ordinarily no faith and then how many Jews how many Turks Pagans Infidels must needs perish for as out of Noah's Ark there was no safety from the Floud so out of the Church no salvation or escaping of eternall destruction Act. 4.12 And Vide Aquin. Ainsw Moller in Psal 14.1 1. Among those that professe themselves to be Christians how many secret Atheists be there who perhaps are afraid or ashamed to say it with their tongues yet never blush to say it in their hearts yea to proclaim it by their lives that they believe there is no God for if they confesse his Essence at least they deny his providence thinking that he never provideth Heaven for the godly nor Hell for the ungodly all which persons be of the fraternity of fools 2. How many Hypocrites be there who be like Nebuchadnezzar's image Dan. 2.22 23. whose head was of gold the brest and arms of silver the belly and thighs of brasse the legs of iron but the feet partly of iron and partly of clay a fit emblem of the retrograde courses of some seeming good Christians whom the longer a man is acquainted with the worse he will like them for many times they have holy words and hollow hearts not caring to be good but only to be thought so 3. All such persons as turn piety into policy make profession of Religion only for preferment and other by-respects howsoever they be in the Church yet they be not of the Church Joh. 2.19 Now if all these and their like be cut off from the account we shall see that Christ's flock is but a little flock and that there are but few that shall be saved But it may be said Object that our Saviour saith Mat. 8.11 Many shall come from the East and the West and from the North and from the South and shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the kingdome of Heaven and we read likewise Rev. 7.4 that there were twelve thousand sealed out of each tribe of Israel except the tribe of Dan all which put together make an hundred forty four thousand besides those numberlesse numbers that come out of other Nations in long white robes in token of their inn●cence and palms in their hands the ensigns of victory over worldly vanities and Christ is said to be the first-born among many brethren Rom. 8.29 how then doth it hold that Christ's flock is but a little flock and there are but few that shall be saved Resp. 1. You are to know that all things in the Scriptures are not spoken or to be taken simply but sometime by way of comparison as for example when Iacob is brought before King Pharaoh and questioned by him about his age he told him that his dayes had been but few and evil which must be understood in comparison of his ancestors for otherwise an hundred and thirty years had been a fair age Gen. 47.9 so Christ's flock is but little in comparison of the Devil's drove and there are but few that shall be saved in comparison of the multitude that shall be damned Thus Austin expounds the words of our Saviour on Mat. 13. Multi salvabuntur pauci multi simplicitèr pauci comparativè pauci comparatione periturorum multi in societate Angelorum Aug. Serm. 32. de verb. Domini Many shall be saved yet but few many simply few comparatively few in comparison of those that perish there are many in the society of Angels the distinction may be made plain by this similitude If a man should suddenly see a thousand or two thousand armed men in the field he would surely think them a great Army but if but turning his head he should see ten thousand or twenty thousand in another company he would alter his opinion and think the first company but small even an handfull only in comparison of the latter the Prophet complaineth of the number of God's elect to be like the summer fruit and as the grape gleanings of the vintage Mic. 7.1 2. They are many in relation to Christ their Head for he is a King and a King is not attended with a few he is a Saviour and his bloud was shed for many Mat. 26.28 By his obedience he hath justified many Rom. 5.19 God the Father is also Master of a great Family as the Devil who is the God of this world hath many vassals so God hath many Sons and Daughters that must be brought to glory Heb. 2 ●0 they are a numberless number that are to follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes Rev. 14.1 In this respect the Elect are many yet as I said before compared with the multitude that shall perish they are but a very small number 1. Here we may meditate on the folly of the Papists in making universality a note of their Church the consent of the multitude a note of true Religion whereas Christ himself tells us His flock is but a little flock all Abab's false Prohets are against Michajah all Zedekiah's Courtiers against Jeremy all Darius his Nobles against Daniel all the Scribes and Pharisees against Christ and his Apostles all the Arrians against Athanasius In a word if number and multitude might carry it neither the Papists nor the Protestants would have 〈◊〉 Church but the Turks would take it from us both 2. The meditation on the small number of them that shall be saved will make us take heed of following the multitude and doing as the most do lest we go to the Devil for company as it