Selected quad for the lemma: honour_n
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A65296
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The godly mans picture drawn with a scripture-pensil, or, Some characteristical notes of a man that shall go to heaven by Thomas Watson ...
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Watson, Thomas, d. 1686.
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1666
(1666)
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Wing W1124; ESTC R38514
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176,068
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382
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our eyes shall indeed be opened to see God The third promise is Rev. 2. 17. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it This Promise consists of three branches 1 I will give to eat of the hidden Manna This is mysterious it signifies the love of God which is Manna for its sweetness and hidden for its rarity 2 I will give him a white stone that is absolution it may be called a precious stone saith Hierom. 3 And in the stone a new name That is Adoption he shall be reputed an Heir of Heaven and no man can know it saving he who hath the privy seal of the spirit to assure him of it The fourth promise is Rev. 3. 5. he that overcometh the same shall bee cloathed in white raiment and I will not blot his name out of the book of life but I will confess his name before my Father and before his Angels The persevering Saint shall bee cloathed in White This is an Emblem of joy Eccles. 9. 8. He shall put off his mourning and be cloathed in the white robe of glory and I will not blot his name out of the book of life God will blot a Believers sins out but he will not blot his name out the Book of Gods Decree hath no Errataes in it But I will confess his Name he who hath owned Christ on earth and worn his colours when it was death to wear them Christ will not bee ashamed of him but will confess his Name before his Father and the holy Angels Oh what a comfort and honor will it be to have a good look from Christ at the last day nay to have Christ own us by Name and say these were they who stood up for my truth and kept their garments pure in a defiling age These shall walk with mee in white for they are worthy The fifth promise is Rev. 3. 12. Him that overcometh will I make a Pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall goe no more out and I will write upon him the Name of my God and the Name of the City of my God Here are many excellent things couched in this Promise I will make him a Pillar in the Temple of my God The Hypocrite is calamus a Reed shaken with the wind but the conquering Saint shall be columna a glorious Pillar a Pillar for strength and a Pillar in the Temple for sanctity and he shall go no more out I understand this of a glorified state Hee shall go no more out that is after he hath overcome hee shall go no more out to the Wars hee shall never have sin or temptation more to conflict with no more noyse of Drum or Cannon shall bee heard but the Believer having won the field hee shall now stay at home and divide the spoil And I will write upon him the Name of my God That is he shall bee openly acknowledged for my Childe as the Son bears his Fathers Name How honourable must that Saint bee who hath Gods own Name written upon him And I will write upon him the Name of the City of my God That is he shall be enrolled as a Denison or Citizen of the Ierusalem above hee shall bee made free of the Angelical society The sixth promise is Rev. 2. 26. He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end to him will I give power over the nations this may have a double mystery either it may be understood of the Saints dwelling upon earth they shall have power over the nations their zeal and patience shall over-power the adversaries of truth Act. 6. 10. or principally it may be understood of the Saints triumphing in heaven they shall have power â—ver the nations they shall share with Christ in some of his power they shall joyn with him in judging the world at the last day 1 Cor. 6. 2. Know ye not that the Saints shall judge the world The seventh promise is Rev. 3. 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me upon my throne 1 Here is first the Saints dignity they shall sit upon the throne 2 Their safety they shall sit with Christ Christ holds them fast and none shall pluck them out of his throne the Saints may be turned out of their houses but they cannot be turned out of Christs throne men may as well pluck a star out of the sky as a Saint out of the throne The eighth promise is Rev. 2. 28. I will give him the morning-starre Though the Saints may be sullied with reproach in this life they may be termed factious and disloyal St. Paul himself suffered trouble in the opinion of some as an evil doer 2 Tim. 2. 9. yet God will bring forth the Saints righteousness as the light and they shall shine as the Morning-star which is brighter then the rest I will give him the morning-star This morning star is meant of Christ as if Christ had said I will give the persevering Saint some of my beauty I will put some of my splendid raies upon him he shall have the next degree of glory to me as the mornning Star is next the Sun O what soul-ravishing promises are here who would not persevere in godliness he that is not wrought upon by these promises is either a stone or a bruite CHAP. X. The third Vse referring to the Godly Use 3. LEt me in the next place direct my self to those who have a real work of godliness upon their hearts and I would speak to them by way of 1 Caution 2 Counsel 3 Comfort 1 By way of Caution that they do not blur these Characters of grace in their souls though Gods children cannot quite deface their graces yet they may disfigure them too much carnal liberty may weaken their evidences and so dim their lustre that they cannot bee read These Characters of the godly are precious things the gold and christal cannot be compared with them O keep them fair written in your hearts and they will be so many living comforts in a dying hour it will not affright a Christian to have all the signs of death in his body when he can see all the signs of grace in his soul he will say as Simeon Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace 2 By way of Counsel you who are inriched with the treasures of godliness bless God for it This flower doth not grow in natures garden when you had listed your selves under the Devil and taken pay on his side fighting against your own happiness that then God should come with converting grace and put forth a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a loving and gentle violence causing you to espouse his quarrel against Satan when you had lain many years soaking in wickedness as if you had been par-boild for Hell that then God should lay you
profession The Samaritans sometimes sided with the Iews when they were in favour afterwards they disclaimed all kindred with the Iews when they were persecuted by Antiochus and no wonder they did shuffle so in their religion if you consider what Christ saith of the Samaritans Ioh. 4. 22. Ye worship ye know not what they were inveloped with ignorance blinde men are apt to fall so are they who are blinded in their mindes 4 If you would persist in godliness enter upon it purely out of choice Psa. 119. 30. I have chosen the way of truth espouse godliness for its own worth he that would persevere must rather choose godliness with reproach than sin with all its worldly pomp he who takes up religion for fear will lay it down again for fear he who imbraceth godliness for gain will desert it when the â—ewels of preferment are pulled off be not godly out of a wordly design but a religious choice 5 If you would persevere in godliness labour after integrity this will be a golden pillar to support you a tree that is hollow must needs be blown down the hypocrite sets up in the trade of religion but he will soon break Psa. 78. 37. Their heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast Iudas was first a sly hypocrite and then a Traitor if a peece of copper be guilded the guilding will wash off nothing will hold out but sincerity Psa. 25. 21. Let integrity preserve me How many storms was Iob in not only Satan but God himself set against him Iob 7. 20. which was enough to have made him desist from being godly yet Iob stood fast because he stood upright Iob 27. 6. My righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live those colours hold best which are laid in oyle if we would have our profession hold its colour it must be laid in the oyl of sincerity 6 If you would hold out in godliness hold up the life and fervour of duty Rom. 12. 1. 1. Fervent in spirit serving the Lord We put coals to the fire to keep it from going out when Christians grow into a dull formality they begin to be dis-spirited and by degrees abate in their godliness none so fit to make an Apostate as a lukewarm professour 7 If you would persevere in godliness be much in the exercise of self-denial Mat. 16. 24. let him deny himself self-ease self-ends whatever comes in competition with or stands in opposition to Christs glory and interest must be denied Self is the great snare self-love undermines the power of godliness The young man in the Gospel might have followed Christ but that something of self hindered Mat. 19. 20 22. Self-love is self hatred he will never get to heaven that cannot get beyond himself 8 If you would hold on in godliness preserve an holy jealousie over your hearts Rom. 11. 20. Be not high-minded but fear he that hath Gun powder in his house fears lest it should catch fire sin in the heart is like Gun-powder it may make us fear lest a sparkle of temptation falling upon us should blow us up There are two things may make us alwaies jealous of our hearts the deceits of our hearts and the lusts of our hearts When Peter was afraid hee should sink and cried to Christ Lord save me then Christ took him by the hand and helped him Mat. 14. 31. but when Peter grew confident and thought he could stand alone then Christ suffered him to fall Oh let us be suspitious of our selves and in an holy sense cloathe our selves with trembling Eze. 26. 16. 9 If you would continue your progress in godliness labour for assurance 2 Pet. 1. 10. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure He who is sure God is his God is like a Castle built upon a rock all the powers of Hell cannot shake him How can he be constant in religion who is at a loss about his spiritual estate and knows not whether he hath grace or no it will be a difficult matter for him to dye for Christ who doth not know that Christ hath died for him assurance establisheth a Christian in shaking times he is the likeliest to bear witness to the truth who hath the spirit of God bearing witness to his heart Rom. 8. 16. Oh give diligence be much in prayer reading holy conference these are the oyle without which the lamp of assurance will not shine 10 If you would hold out in godliness lay hold of Gods strength God is called the strength of Israel 1 Sam. 15. 29. It is in his strength we stand more than our own the childe is safest in the Nurses hands it is not our holding God but his holding us preserves us a little pinnace tyed fast to a rock is safe so are we when we are tyed to the rock of ages CHAP. IX Motives to persevere in Godliness THat I may excite Christians to persevere in the profession of Godliness I shall propose these four considerations 1 It is the glory and Crown of a Christian to be gray-headed in godliness Act. 21. 16. Mnason of Cyprus an old Disciple What an honour is it to see a Christians garments red with blood yet his conscience puâ—e white and his graces green and flourishing 2 How do sinners persevere in their sins they are setled on their lees Zeph. 1. 12. The judgements of God will not deter or remove them they say to their sin as Ruth to Naomi Ruth 1. 16. Where thou goest I will go the Lord do so to me and more if ought but death part thee and me so nothing shall part between men and their sins Oh! what a shame is it that the wicked should be fixed in evil and we unfixed in good that they should be more constant in the Devils service than we are in Christs 3 Our perseverance in godliness may be a means to confirm others Cyprians hearers followed him to the place of his suffering and seeing his stedfastness in the faith cryed out Let us also dye with our holy Pastor Phil. 4. 14. Many of the Brethren waxing confident by my Bonds are much more bold to speak the Word St. Paul's zeal and constancy did animate the beholders his Prison-chain made converts in Neroes Court and two of those Converts were afterwards Martyrs as History relates 4 Wee shall lose nothing by our perseverance in Godliness There are eight glorious Promises which God hath intailed upon the persevering Saints The first is Rev. 2. 10. Be thou constant to the death and I will give thee a Crown of life Christian thou mayest lose the breath of life but not the Crown of life The second promise is Revel 2. 7. To him that â—vercometh will I give to eat of the tree of life This Tree of life is the Lord Jesus This tree infuseth life and prevents death in the day we eat of this tree