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A32052 Saints memorials, or, Words fitly spoken, like apples of gold in pictures of silver being a collection of divine sentences / written and delivered by those late reverend and eminent ministers of the gospel, Mr. Edmund Calamy, Mr. Joseph Caryl, Mr. Ralph Venning, Mr. James Janeway. Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.; Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.; Venning, Ralph, 1621?-1674.; Janeway, James, 1636?-1674. 1674 (1674) Wing C263; ESTC R13259 89,295 292

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the neglect of that Soul-saving duty will rise up in Judgment against you The Righteous and the Wicked will be tried by their Consciences and that will discover the whole truth Study that Lesson which the Apostle Paul hath set before you To have always a Conscience void of offence towards God and towards man The powers that are are of God therefore be subject for Conscience sake Let your rejoycing be in the Testimony of a good Conscience Put on Charity out of a pure Heart a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned Justice hath leaden feet but iron hands and it is but just that they that encourage one another to sin should at last condemn each other It will be but cold comfort at the great Tribunal for sinners to remember their past follies Satan that now spreads abroad his temptations will then witness to their neglect of wholesom exhortations The holy Quire of Angels will point to the sinners Conscience and that will answer I am acquainted with all your sins The Spirit of Christ will testifie how often that hath moved the ungodly to repent The abused creatures that have been forced to promote sin will continue in the hearts of sinners the Beast of the field will rise up against the Glutton and the Wine against the Drunkard Pray often for Prayer is a sheild to the Soul a sacrifice to God and a scourge to Satan Shun all appearances of evil resist the Devil and he will flie Seek not after Riches they have wings and flie away but study for Wisdome it 's price is above Rubies To seek after the Riches of this World is vanity But the fear of the Lord is wisdome and to depart from evil is understanding The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdome and instruction What can be more pretious than Wisdome for it is the gift of God Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding What can be stronger than Wisdome that buildeth houses and heweth out its pillars Who can be more pious than the wise man He that getteth Wisdom loveth his own Soul What can be more clear than Wisdome for that excelleth folly as far as light excelleth darkness The wicked mans fate is to be wise too late The Veil of Hypocrisie cannot hide our sins from God he will make us know that it is his Christ that we resist What is gotten by resisting our Saviour Or what shall a man gain if he get the whole World and lose his own Soul What are the Riches of this life to the Joys of heaven And who is a better Guide to that happy place than the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World And why should not we love God since he so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Was one Guest found out that had not a Wedding-garment and will not God then find out every unholy Soul The Righteous themselves are pardoned sinners but the wicked are impenitent Each Soul that labours in the Lords Vineyard shall receive his reward according to his merit Let your acquaintance be few and good Cousins Country-men and School-fellows are spenders of money and time Let your study be furnished not with many but with choice books Let wisdom direct your actions the wise man takes care for necessaries not for superfluities Wisdom is Riches indeed it teacheth a man the Art of contentment in all conditions It makes a man not onely Master over others but Conquerour of his own passions Premeditation is commonly accompanied with Wisdom The wise man sees his own faults by the follies of others He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he that ruleth his Spirit than he that taketh a Citie Wisdome is more useful in a City than the strength of mighty men So true is that of Solomon This Wisdom have I seen under the Sun and it seemed great unto me 14. There was a little City and few men within it and there came a great King against it and besieged it and built Bulwarks against it 15. Now there was in it a poor wise man and he by his wisdome delivered the City yet no man remembered that same poor man 16. Wisdom is better than strength nevertheless the poor mans wisdom is despised and his words are not heard However he that getteth wisdom loveth his own Soul and he that keepeth understanding shall find good 18. For Wisdom is better than Weapons of war but one sinner destroyeth much good Ingratitude is the Epitomy of Impiety To render a good deed for a good deed becomes a man to give evil for good is diabolical to repay evil for evil becomes a sinner but to return good for evil is the Quality of a Saint Injuries should be wrote in dust but Kindnesses in marble Nothing more spurs a man on to be ungrateful than the sin of covetousness Set not your heart upon wealth For the love of money is the root of all evil The wicked borroweth and payeth not again but the righteous sheweth mercie and giveth To be always begging or borrowing and never paying is the disposition of a covetous and ingrateful man and doth oftentimes set the dearest friends at variance Nature excuseth the follies of a fool but the ungrateful man hath no Apology To be courteous to one that is ungrateful is like ones hiding his treasure in the Sea Neer Relations that are strongly bound by the bonds of Affinity and Consanguinity are oftentimes divided by this black sin of ingratitude He that will forget a kindness is ungrateful but he that renders a discourtesie for a courtesie is impious And blessed is he that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble Wo be unto the covetous rich man that hath his heart fixt upon his heaps the poor man is happier than he For the Lord heareth the poor The needy shall not alway be forgotten the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever There is an evil under the Sun saith Solomon and it is common among men A man to whom God hath given riches wealth and honour so that he wanteth nothing for his Soul of all that he desireth yet God giveth him not power eat thereof but a stranger eateth it this is vanity and an evil disease He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver nor he that loveth abundance with increase 12. When goods increase they are increased that eat them and what good is there to the owners thereof saving the beholding of them with their eyes The poor mans labour rocketh him to sleep but the cares of the rich man keepeth him awake 13. There is a sore evil under the Sun namely riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt 14. Those riches perish by evil
of Gospel-worship I confess it is a sad sight to see a bad man do that which is bad or a wicked man do that which is wicked yet I say it is a sadder sight to see a bad man continuing in his state having no spiritual principles to go on doing good God often declares himself very highly against such as do good themselves continuing evil The good that you do will not profit you 't will not advantage you 't will be no plea at the Great Day You may have Iehu's Penny a deliverance from an outward Judgment but there is no deliverance from Wrath and Eternal Judgment Thus those that are not far from Heaven shall never come there yet I would exhort the worst of men to do good though they please not God in doing it yet they displease him in not doing it And thus faln man if he neglect to do good sins If he doth good he spoils it in the doing of it Hence we see the necessity of regeneration we are not born with a pure Heart A pure Heart a good Conscience Faith unfeigned are the Issues of the new birth Education cannot make the Heart pure it must be Revelation which makes the Heart pure Education may change a mans Course but it cannot change his Nature that 's only done by Regeneration He must be good before he can do good spiritually God works us before we can work for him he makes us good before we can do good We by Union to Jesus Christ come to have a spiritual Principle to carry us out in the doing of all good works Here 's your way you must be Gods workmanship before you can do Gods works As we are grafted into Christ he changes the Branch Then all your Fruits are sweet Fruits and pleasant Fruits they are well-tasted Why It is done first from a Principle of life in Christ. And secondly It is done from a Principle of love unto Christ. The Heart of man is the greatest cheat in the world The Heart of man received such a crack in the fall that there is no mending of it It must be new made The Heart is made wholly new by the power of God Meritoriously by the Blood of Christ that cleansing Blood it is made pure by the Spirit of Christ the Spirit is a purifier The Word of God is a purifier Instrumentally Applicatorily the Heart is made pure by Faith When the command of every sin When the custom and practice of every sin And when the love of every sin is gone such a Heart is free from these powers that Soul is Evangelically pure He that indeed hath this pure Heart is really sensible that once his Heart was very impure And also is as sensible that to this day there remains much impurity in his Heart He also that hath a pure Heart loves every thing that is pure and the more pure it is the more he loves it A pure Heart will be full of pure thoughts a pure Heart converses with God in purity of thoughts Whereas the wicked they have not the Pure God nor the Holy God in all their thoughts A pure Heart is full of pure desires he desires to be more good to be better he desires to know more of God and to honour God more he desires to enjoy God more he hungers and thirsts after God A pure Heart hath pure purposes and pure resolves and by resolves the Heart is more settled and fixt Resolution is the establishment of the Soul He resolves let the Winds blow high or low to cleave to Christ. There is a purpose in a pure Heart against all that 's evil He will neither defile his Heart nor his Life and these purposes he carries quite thorough all unto the end A pure Heart hath pure ends in all it doth a holy aim a single eye not self-profit not self-applause not pleasure but he purposes the profit of many that they may be saved Weigh it well whether you have this pure Heart The hardest thing that we have to do and the greatest kindness which God can do to us is to cleanse our Hearts Our hearts are the filthiest part of us If there be impurity in the hand there 's much more in the Heart Till the Heart be made pure nothing can be pure God is a friend indeed to those who have a pure Heart Keep pure Hearts with all diligence for the Devil comes a Heart-stealing continually unless you wash it weed it sweep it Cobwebs will grow Spiders will creep in they will be weaving their Webs To the impure Heart there is nothing pure Holy Ordinances honest Callings great Possessions all these to an impure Heart are not pure The pure in Heart are onely fit for Communion with God they onely are fit to call upon God who have a pure Heart Onely the pure in Heart shall see and enjoy God Impure eyes cannot behold God they cannot bear the Glory the excellence of his Presence THE HEART ANATOMIZED THe wicked search out Iniquities they accomplish a diligent search the inward thoughts of their Hearts are deep The Heart is commonly hard Harden not your Hearts as in the provocation in the day of Temptation in the Wilderness The heart of a godly man may be said to be perfect for David saith of himself I will behave my self wisely in a perfect way Oh when wilt thou come unto me I will walk within my house with a perfect heart The heart is said to be sound A sound heart is the life of the flesh but envy the rottenness of the bones The heart is sometimes merry sometimes melancholy A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken The heart hath many devices Nevertheless the Counsel of the Lord that shall stand The heart of an Holy man may be said to be pure He that loveth pureness of heart or hath grace in his lips the King shall be his friend The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked Who can know it The heart is said to be stony I will give them one heart saith the Lord and I will put a new spirit within you and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and I will give them an heart of flesh The heart is the chiefest Jewel which the Lord requires of a Christian My Son give me thine heart and let thine eyes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my Laws He that keepeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Lord shall be 〈…〉 Law of his God is in his 〈…〉 none of his steps shall side Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the Law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his Testimonies and that seek him with the whole heart Mr. Caryl's DIVINE SENTENCES OR A GUIDE TO An HOLY LIFE HE prepareth a fit Habitation for the Lord whose Reason is neither deceived nor Will perverted nor Memory defiled Happy is that Soul
have in the World They who defile their Garments lose their Honour with men and they lose the Joy they should have hereafter Nay the Saints also shall walk in the white of peace and joy and inward comfort that keep their Garments white what ever becomes of the other white of Honour in the world they shall walk in the inward white of joy and peace with Jesus Christ. They who have a good Testimony from their own Consciences walk in white they that have that greater Testimony than our Conscience the Spirit they walk in white this witness doth cause wonderful joy This joy doth arise from that well-grounded hope which that Soul hath that keeps himself clean Thus David walked and appeals from man to God to judge him he had so much of a well-grounded confidence So Iob walkt in white though his friends blacken him exceedingly yet he walkt in white in his Conscience he walkt in white notwithstanding all his afflictions from God and his friends Hence we may see the happiness of all those who are true to Christ and his ways Oh how much better is it than the peace and joy of this World and the comforts of this life A good Conscience and indeed a merry Heart do but one explain the other Here is no surfeting in this Feast but a continual Musick Oh the Rivers of Consolation that flow to them that keep themselves out of the Puddles of this World though the World give thee nothing but the Water of Affliction yet let thy Garments be always white This gives us an account why the Servants of Christ stand so strictly upon their terms with the world because they understand in some measure what it is to walk with Christ in white and it hath left such a tincture and relish upon their souls that they would not lose it for all the dainty morsels of the world They had rather indeed walk with Christ in white than walk with the world in scarlet They will run any hazard and undergo any affliction rather than do any thing that will not please God or be hurtful to their own Consciences The Conscience is a busie faculty and hath many offices it records what we do and comes as a witness The Conscience is Judge of what we do and accordingly approves of what we do and reproves us when we do amiss I am more afraid of the report of Conscience than of any man whatsoever therefore I will not do any thing that may reproach me as long as I live Christ hath threatnings for those that defile their Garments in the place of rewards for those who keep them clean They who defile their Garments shall walk in Garments of black in the black of dishonour Oh take heed of the after-claps of Conscience I may say of the thunder-claps of Conscience for they will come upon you one time or other if you defile your Garments They who venture to do things displeasing to God shall not long be pleasing to themselves The Hypocrite shall lose his own hope that is he shall lose it despairingly 't is a dreadful Judgment This is the Suburbs of Hell For this will be the Portion of the Damned for ever 't is next to the Regions of Hell for their worm dieth not and that is the worm of Conscience Seeing there is such a reward promised as this white wherein we shall walk with Christ it is an Angelical Happiness 't is Heaven before Heaven This white is such as conquers all the black of the world 'T is not possible for the world to alter the colour of this white how much dirt soever they put upon it this white will be white still They cannot take away this peace this joy from us they cannot strip off this habit It is a conquering joy turns all sorrow into joy They who keep their Garments undefiled here shall be sure of that to walk with Christ in glory hereafter Here are three whites The white of Honour is Good the white of Peace and Joy is very good the white of Glory is best of all Mr. Caryl ON GOSPEL-CHARITY THe pure Heart is a gratious Heart The end doth denominate the Action It must have a good end else though the matter be never so good the work is not good The principle or spring of the work must be good 'T is possible for one to do a work that 's good for the matter of it and to have some good ends in it and yet not to do it out of a right principle Unless the principle be good the work 's not good As the Fountain is such are the Streams that come from it As the Tree is such is the Fruit that grows upon it The Thorn hath not a principle in Nature to put forth a Grape The Thistle hath not a principle in Nature to put forth a Figg An ill-scented Vessel whatsoever passes from it must be ill scented Bad men will often tip their tongues with good words and appear golden-mouth'd speakers when their Hearts are nothing but Brass and Dross Evil men they spoil good speaking with their ill manner of speaking or their ill meaning in speaking Good words do as it were lisp in the mouth of a bad man and his Heart never keeps pace with his tongue Good things done by those who have not good principles though their box of Ointment may have a fragrant smell among many men yet there are many dead flies in it especially one great one call'd Unbelief which makes their whole box of Ointment very unsavory in the Nostrils of God Gospel-Charity is of a nobler extract than to be found in the whole Compass of Nature and Godliness moves in a higher Sphere than the best dress that the gayest Moralist ever reacht unto This is to be lamented that Christian Acts should be done and not from a principle spiritual It is very possible and very ordinary to follow Christ yea to call upon Christ with Carnal affections 'T is very sad to see good men do according to the works of the wicked David did so in the matter of Vriah and thus did Solomon when his Heart went after strange Gods and he built high places to their abominations Good King Asa imprisoned the Prophet and in his disease sought to the Physitians and not to God That Holy Apostle Peter he denied and forswore his Master This is to act the old Creatures part in the new Creatures state There 's another sight as bad to see bad men plod on and do good things but never mind to become good themselves Thus did Saul when he was amongst the Prophets and thus did Ahab when he humbled himself and thus did Iehu when he destroyed Idolatry thus did Iudas when he preacht the Gospel and thus did Demas when he professed the Gospel a very good work but he himself an Hypocrite and a lover of the world And thus indeed do all Hypocrites and meer formalists in their performing
though to your familiar Friend Charity suffereth long and is kind Charity envyeth not vaunteth not it self is not puffed up Keep your Vertues secret rather than your Vices and be ever ready to hear another man praised rather than discommended Let your Discourse be of few words and those compounded of Truth and Piety If any person discoursing with you proposeth impertinent Questions cut off his discourse as soon as you can and divert your speech to other matters Shun prophane and vain Bablings for they will increase unto more ungodliness Whatsoever doth happen to your friend or to your self be neither grieved nor over-joyed but praise God and be content for godliness with contentment is great gain When you see any thing in another which misliketh you mark whether the same be in your self and amend it But if you observe any thing which pleaseth you mark whether that be in you if so retain it if not assume it By this means you shall make all things as a mirrour or a looking-glass to your self Prove all things hold fast that which is good Never affirm or deny any thing with over-much eagerness but let your assertions and denials be always seasoned with the salt of doubtfulness Abstain from immoderate laughter Sorrow is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better When sloath or idleness doth surprize you stir up your Spirits with reading some part of Scripture or some other book of Devotions When you are in Tribulation consider that they that are in Heaven feel no such things for there are pleasures for evermore Choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season When you are merry and joyful remember those which are in Hell feel no comfort at all Consider the words of Solomon I said in my heart Go to now I will prove thee with mirth therefore enjoy pleasure and behold this also is vanity I said of laughter It is mad and of mirth What doth it Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee to Iudgment Death doth daily threaten us the Devil waits to seize our Souls as soon as they depart our bodies but the Lord is above them both He is faithful to those that hope in him neither doth he forsake them unless they forsake him O love the Lord all his ye Saints for the Lord preserveth the faithful and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer Be faithful unto death saith the Lord and I will give you a Crown of Life Have God often in your mouth but more often in your heart and manners Lest the Lord should say of you as of the Jews For as much as this people draw neer me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me but have removed their hearts far from me and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men Therefore behold I will do a marvellous thing among this people for the wisdome of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid If with your Tongue you speak and with your Heart you meditate on the Law of God all the day long and your works do contrary to the same your zeal is counterfeit and blind The days of man are as a shadow upon the earth and there is no abiding and when he seemeth to be most firm then he is properly nothing Why then doth man heap up Treasures upon earth since that which is gathered and he that gathereth passeth away and perisheth Therefore labour not for the meat which perisheth but for that meat which endureth to everlasting life What profit hath man in his labour whose fruit is Ruine and whose end is death O that men were wise and that they understood this and would prudently provide for their latter end Know ye not that to day you are at the brink of danger then let not your Repentance be deferred that you may be preserved by the hand of your Mediator To day you are in the way to Hell Repent that you may finde the way to Heaven Repentance and Conversion are the Fabricks of Salvation Bring forth therefore fruits meet for Repentance But what do these admonitions avail unless you blot out of your Conscience the spots of sin and iniquity Apply your heart therefore to an inward reading of your Conscience that so you may come to understand your self Study the practice of that great Apostle of the Gentiles Paul To exercise your self to have a Conscience voyd of offence towards God and towards man Study to say as Simon Peter said to Jesus Behold we have left all things and followed thee So shall you eat and drink at the Table of the Lord Iesus and sit on a Throne of Glory judging the twelve Tribes of Israel Obedience certainly is a most faithful and familiar help to Salvation To obey is better than Sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of Rams It is a Vertue which our Saviour himself preferred before his life choosing rather to yield that than not to fulfil his obedience The great opposer of Obedience is Pride and that is not onely the Original of all Vices but the Ruine of all Vertues It is the worst of sins for it captivateth the minde of man Other Vices assault those Vertues only by which they are destroyed as Lasciviousness Chastity Anger Patience c. but Pride like a contagious Plague corrupts every Vertue of the mind Pride goeth before Destruction and an haughty Spirit before a Fall He that feareth the Lord must hate Pride and Arrogancy And those that walk in Pride he is able to abase Pride is never found in a noble nature nor Humility in an unworthy mind It is a sin that our Saviour abhor'd for in his Birth Life Death he was all Humility nothing of Pride The fear of the Lord is the instruction of Wisdome and before honour is Humility Wherefore O Lord teach us so to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom LONDONS LOSS OR An ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF THAT Reverend Servant of God AND Minister of Christ's Gospel Mr. IOSEPH CARYL Late Minister at Magnes London-bridge ROom for our Tears for here are thousands come To vent our Founts at his commanding Tomb. But oh what Mortals Genius can devise A decent Flood for such a Sacrifice His Pious worth must in our Hearts be writ For 't is above the reach of Head or Wit Happy 's that earthly Closet keeps in trust The Reliques of a Saint now turn'd to dust 'T is one whom flatt'ry knows not how to paint Londons Divine and Londons Magnes Saint
See see the day by sable Clouds orespread And bids us Weep for Caryl now is dead But by and by do's seem to say This Globe Could not detain him from his patient Job Calamy went before but there 's no odds Since each design'd to be a Child of God's Observe the hours how striving to retire Caryl and Comfort seeming to expire Bids Night and Nature hang the Vniverse With Black due Obsequies for such an Herse He ne'er was cruel to exhaust a Tear All Weeping was reserv'd to spend it here Those flattering Arts which Poets use to save Decaying Reputations in the Grave Are here but vain for no Hyperbole Can tell the World how great his Merits be And Chronicles themselves can say no more Than what his Learning told the World before His Pious Sermons did declare his worth His Expositions set his Learning forth And whilst we here lament his being gone Angels with Anthems welcome him at home And I my self a Catholick could be At least to Pray to such a Saint as he Caryl whose Conversation free from ill Can be express'd but by an Angel's quill As in some mirrour you might clearly see In him a perfect Map of Piety The Beauty of whose Vertues may incite The World to imitation and delight Let us lament our loss and blame his fate For not allowing Life a longer date Reverend Caryl may his Vertues shew As bright hereafter as they 're Glorious now Who when he through this Earthly Globe had past He dy'd left he should idle grow at last For when grown Ancient he would even then Both study Piety and use his Pen He like an Artist did true Patience paint To us on earth now to some Glorious Saint He shews the same who can no longer cease That to extol as Caryl's Masterpiece His EPITAPH HEre lies the Earthly Carkass of a man Whose life too justly may be call'd a span He liv'd converting those that went astray But Death now snatcht this Heav'nly Guide away Then careful Earth unto his Corps be just A Divine Soul was once within his trust But being call'd away it now is flown From hence to take Possession of a Throne A SPIRITUAL GARDEN OF Sweet-smelling FLOWERS OR Mr. VENNING's DIVINE SENTENCES THat Soul that is settled in the love of God is blessed in the peace of Christ. When such a Soul suffereth an outward War she looseth not her inward peace No troubles whatsoever which do outwardly make a noise do violently enter into the silence of her inward repose She coveteth nothing abroad and therefore resteth wholly within by love Such a Soul the Angels do visit and honour she being the Temple of the Lord and the Habitation of the Holy Ghost Happy is that Conscience in which Mercie and Truth are met together for there Justice and Peace have kissed each other God is a God of Mercie and will take pity on him that is truly sorrowful for his sins By Mercie and Truth Iniquity is purged and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil The Kiss of Justice is to love our Enemies to forsake Parents and Possessions for the love of God to endure with Patience injuries inflicted and in all places to flie from honours that are offered The Kiss of Peace is to invite Foes to friendship peaceably to sustain Adversaries lovingly to instruct such as do amiss meekly to comfort those that mourn and to be at amity with all men It is our Saviour's command Love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you For all that will live godly in Christ Iesus shall suffer persecution The Almighty hath three degrees of Wrath his threatning Wrath his punishing Wrath and his condemning Wrath. Adam sinned and was cast out of Paradice the Angels sinned and were cast into Hell We have many sins to repent for viz. our Church-sins our Sermon-sins our Sacrament-sins and the sins of our very Prayers Is any man rich let him not put his trust in them for riches make themselves wings and flie away Lazarus was poor but was received into Heaven Dives was rich but however was carried into Hell Moses went up unto the Mount to pray and took the Rod of God in his hand because with that Rod God had formerly done wonderful things for his people If any mistake through a vain hope of Heaven let him be earnest in the examination of himself to be deceived in this necessitates damnation To hear Sermons to commend them or admire them and not to practice what we hear and understand is to make Sodom and Gomorrha's case at the day of Judgment better than our's Then will the world discern the Blessed from the Wretched when the wrath of God is throughly kindled Those that are now so idly busie in heaping up their Treasures of an Ant-Hillock and building up the tottering Fabricks of a child remember not that the foot of death is coming to spurn it all abroad and to trample down both you and it Let us study how to answer the great and last Question Hast thou performed the condition of the Gospel Let us search our hearts that God may finde them in a condition to receive him For thus faith the Lord I the Lord search the heart I try the reins even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruits of his doings Make not sale of Heaven for the false pleasure of a few sins for a little delight and ease that vanisheth in a moment Repent before thou becomest Old left thy Repentance should come too late for thou leftst not thy sin but thy sin left thee Take heed of dissembling with thy God lest he so discover thy craft that thou shalt not be trusted by man Accommodate Nature withthings convenient but beware of nourishing a lust for that is to hug a Devil in thy bosom To acknowledge God to be just is good and it is just we likewise acknowledge him to be good When thou Prayest rather let thy heart be without words than thy words without an heart Prayer will make a man to cease from sin or sin will intice a man to cease from Prayer It is good to have a good Name but it is better to have a good Conscience It is good to be great but it is better to be good Teach thy heart to walk wholly with thy God as well as holily Only a profession of Christianity is not the only profession of a Christian Your words and works may satisfie the judgments of men but God is the great Judge of our hearts Pray for mercie before you receive and forget not to praise when you have received It is common to have the name of Christ in common The Swearer swears by it the Begger begs by it the Jester joyns it to his jest but wo be to them that shall tremble at it Vain sinner
live is Christ but to dye is gain The children of this World may be cast out but the heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven shall be as Olive-plants about the Table of the Lord. To commit sin is the part of an humane Nature to lament for sins committed is Christian-like but to continue in sin bidding defiance to the Divine powers is Diabolical There are three sorts of Faith the Faith of Sence which is seeing the Faith of Reason which is knowing and the Faith of Revelation which is believing And this last is properly called the Gospel-Faith Believe in the Lord your God so shall you be established believe his Prophets so shall ye prosper We ought seriously to consider two things the sin of our Nature and the Nature of our sin The Natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neican he know them because they are spiritually discerned But he that is spiritual judgeth all things yet he himself is judged of no man Let us follow after Christ he is our guide and will not shake us off but if we do not follow him we despise him and our own salvation Be ye therefore followers of God as dear Children If the heart of man be hard and stony it makes the softer cushion for the Devil to sit on To day if ye will hear the voice of the Lord harden not your hearts as in the provocation Since the days of mans life are as a shadow our suffering will be sudden and our sinning short We are but of yesterday and know nothing because our days upon earth are a shadow If man be for us God may be against us but if God be for us who can be against us If we are among our friends without God we are in continual danger but with God a man is safe though in the midst of enemies Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell The Saints ought to do more for God than others because as they are expected to be the best servants they are like to have the better wages The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is Eternal life through Iesus Christ our Lord. A modest behaviour and a portion of Morality without Holiness is but a golden Incredulity But sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every one that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear Let young Women put on Piety instead of Paints Sanctity instead of Sattin Modesty for their Morning and dayly dress so shall God and every good man love them more and more Let Women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shame fac'dness and sobriety not with broidred hair or gold or pearls or costly array But which becometh Women professing godliness with good works As God made man without the help of man so will he likewise save them that come unto him by his own Almighty power Hear how familiarly he invites them Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest And ye shall finde rest unto your Souls If we endeavour for Salvation it is God must give it but if we do not endeavour he will shorten his own hand though we cannot do it For thus saith the Psalmist with thee is the Fountain of Life in thy light we shall see light How lovely is God in all his Creatures how much more lovely in his Ordinances but most lovely in Christ who is the God of love Brethren be perfect be of good comfort be of one mind live in peace and the God of love and peace shall be with you The Christian hopeth for the world to come but the sinner feareth it For every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour Not to be chastened is an ill signe but not to bear a chastening is a worse Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest O Lord and teachest him out of thy Law He that hath a tender Conscience will not be prodigal of his Credit for a good Conscience is a continual Feast to a chearful heart So likewise he that hath a good name hath the savour of a pretious Oyntment which gives a chearfulness to his countenance He that detaineth a penny from the poor puts a Plague into his own purse He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker but he that honoureth him hath mercie on the poor Let the precepts of God be neer to our hearts lest he stop his ears to our Prayers Who so stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor he also shall cry himself and shall not be heard In prosperity we forget the threatnings of God and in adversity we are apt to forget his promises The prosperity of fools shall destroy them If we intend to suffer evil for God's sake in the day of Adversity let us do good for God's sake in the day of Prosperity Here lies the true point of Gentility to fear God scorn the World and conquer Sin Nay in all these things we are more than conquerours through him that loved us Doth any man fear to dye it's an easie thing to live slaves and beasts do so but it ought to be every mans study to live and dye well Man's life is more full of grief than glory and it is a seasonable time to dye in when to live is rather a burthen than a blessing Be obedient and do good they are the works and the wages of a Christian and he will delight in doing good though he doth it only for his delight Gathering of Riches is a pleasant torment the trouble of getting the charging of the conscience the care of keeping and the watching over them when gotten takes away a great part of the expected enjoyment Wherefore if Riches increase set not your heart upon them A gratious person is usually as apt to desire to understand what he is to do as what he is to enjoy The work of a Christian while he lives in the body is to crucifie the body of death Man is God's creature God formed man of the dust of the ground Sin is man's creature Man is like to vanity his days are as a shadow which passeth away Misery is sins creature The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is Eternal life through Iesus Christ our Lord. God made man in his own likeness man hath made sin in his likeness and sin hath made misery in his own likeness Adam who was the Father of mankind was of earth and therefore earthy Our Saviour who was the Redeemer of mankind and the second Adam was from Heaven and therefore Heavenly As is the earthy such are they
wall● after the heart of sin Sin is contrary to God's Image wherein man was made sin is as unlike God's Image as Darkness is to Light as Hell to heaven yea and more too sin is the Devil's Image Such as the Devil and his Angels are who once knew good but now know evil both by doing it and suffering the sad effects of it Thus he that runs may read the Picture Image and likeness of the Devil in sin sinners are as like the Devil as any thing Sin is contrary to the Children of God they are near and dear to God God's heart is set upon them for good and sin sets its heart against them for evil Sin is always warring against the Seed of God in them By sins ill will God's people should neither enjoy nor do any good in the world Sin like the Devil hath not such an evil eye or aking tooth at all the sinners of the world as it hath at the Saints in the world The Devil is a Man-hater but more a Saint-hater Sin is contrary to and set against the Glory of God Faith would give Glory to God now that men may not believe sin imploys the Devil to blinde their eyes Good men would do all they do sin will let them do nothing at all to the Glory of God Sin is contrary to and opposite against the being and existence of God It makes the sinner wish and endeavour that there might be no God for sinners are haters of God And as he that hates his Brother is a murtherer so as much as in him lies he that hates God is a murtherer of God What 's said of sin is to be considered by the sinner and is meant of thine and my sin Poor Soul canst thou finde in thine heart to hug and imbrace such a Monster as this is Wilt thou love that which hates God and which God hates Wilt thou joyn thy self to that which is nothing but contrariety to God and all that 's good Oh say to this Idol yea to this Devil Get hence what have I to do with thee thou Childe yea Father of the Devil Thou that art the founder of Hell an enemy to all Righteousness that ceasest not to pervert the right ways of the Lord. Sin is contrary to the good of man it is a separation betwixt God and man The Commandment of which sin is a transgression was given not onely for God's sake that he might have glory from man's Obedience but for man's sake that man might enjoy the good and benefit of his Obedience These two were twisted together and no sooner is the Law transgrest but God and Man are joynt-sufferers God in his Glory and Man in his Good Man's suffering follows at the heels of sin yea as he suffers by so in sinning suffering and sinning involve each other No sooner did sin enter into the world but Death which is a privation of good did enter by it with it and in it For 't is the sting of Death so that sin saith Here is Death and death faith Here is Sin No sooner did Angels sin but they fell from their first State and Habitation which they had with God in Glory not a moment between their sin and misery And as soon as man had sinned his Conscience told him that he was naked and destitute of Righteousness and Protection Sin crosseth Glory and is cross to man's Happiness Sin is against the good of man's body it hath corrupted his blood and made his body mortal and thereby rendered it a vile body Our bodies though made of dust were yet more pretious than fine Gold but when we sinned they became vile bodies Before sin our bodies were immortal For death and mortality came in by sin But now alas they must return to dust and it 's appointed to all men once to dye and 't is well but once and the second death have no power over them they must see corruption or a change Sin is against the good of man's Soul 'T is not very ill with a man if it be well with his Soul but it can never be well with a man if it be ill with his Soul So that we can more easily and cheaply dye than be damned and may better venture our bodies to suffering than our souls to sinning Nothing but sin doth wrong a man's Soul and there is no sin but doth it Sin is against man's well-being in this life Well-being is the life of life and sin bears us so much ill will that it deprives us of our livelyhood Man came into the world as into an house ready furnished he had all things ready and prepared to his hands All the Creatures came to wait on him and payd him Homage but when man sinned God turn'd him out of house and home like a Pilgrim a Begger Ever since it hath been every man's lot to come into and go out of this world naked When Christ came into the world for the recovery of man and stood as in the sinner's stead he had not where to lay his head Though Christ were Lord of all yet if he will come in the likeness of sinful flesh he must speed not like the Son of God but Son of man Sin is against that good which God left us and fills it with vanity and vexation with bitterness and a curse God left Adam many Acres of land to till and husband but he hath it with a curse sweat and sorrow many a grieving Bryer and pricking Thorn stick fast to him God left him ground enough but 't is curst ground sin is so envious it would leave man nothing And if God be so good as to leave man any thing sins eye is evil because God is good and puts a sting in it Sin is against man's rest 't is a sore Travel which the Sons of men have under the Sun Man's ground is overgrown with Thorns that he hath many an aking head and heart Many a sore hand and foot before the year come about to get a little livelyhood out of this sincursed ground Sin curse and toil keep company Sin is against man's comfort and joy In sorrow shalt thou eat all the days of they life not one whole merry day The woman hath a peculiar sort and share of sorrow for the time of conception breeding bearing and birth are tedious Sin is against man's health hence come all diseases and sicknesses till sin there were no such things Let a man take the best Air he can and eat the best food he can let him eat and drink by rule let him take never so many Antidotes Preservatives and Cordials yet man is but a crazie sickly thing for all this Sin is against the quiet of a man's natural Conscience for it wounds the spirit and makes it intolerable A merry heart doth good like a Medicine no Cordial like it but a broken spirit drieth the bones and sucks away the marrow A good Conscience is a continual Feast but sin mars