that to come short of Heaven This is a very awakening Truth but I shall by Gods assistance make it clear to you and confirm it in the three Branches of it First That it is possible for many Professors of the Truth or true Religion to come short of Heaven Secondly That it is possible for many that are confident that they are in a state of Grace to come short of Heaven Thirdly That it is possible for many that come very near to Heaven yet to come short of Heaven I shall prove these three and let your hearts go along with me and oh that you and I could follow the counsel of the Prophet Isaiah To hear the word of the Lord with trembling For the first That it is possible for many that profess the Truth and true Religion to come short of Heaven I shall give you two instances for this the Scribes and Pharisees were those that professed the truth and true Religon they sate in Moses Chair our Saviour commanded his Disciples to hear them because they opened the Law they were Expounders of the Law and our Saviour commanded his Disciples to hear them although they should not do as they did they professed the Truth and true Religion and in the outward acts of Piety these Scribes and Pharisees went exceeding far I will shew you how far they went in these six particulars First They searched the Scriptures they were very diligent in reading the Law of Moses they gave themselves so much to the study of the Law that they could tell exactly almost every verse in the five books of Moses nay they could tell you how often every letter in the Hebrew Alphabet was repeated in the Law of Moses for example the Letter Aleph was repeated Three-hundred seventy-seven times in the five books of Moses Secondly They were frequent in prayer they prayed in the Streets and in the Synagogue and made long prayers for a pretence to devour Widows houses Matth. 23.14 Thirdly To Prayer they added Fasting also hear what one of them saith Luke 18.12 I fast twice in the week and this he did for the taming of the body Fourthly They were very strict in the observation of the Sabbath insomuch that they quarrelled with our Saviour because his Disciples did but pluck the ears of Corn upon the Sabbath day nay they were so superstitious in the observation of the Sabbath that if one had got a thorn in his foot they would not pull it out upon the Sabbath-day for fear of breaking the Sabbath Fifthly They were very industrious in teaching of others they compassed Sea and Land to make a Proselyte Matth. 23.15 they would have taken any pains to win others to the same Sect or Religion with themselves Sixthly They were very exact and unblameable in their outward conversation for 1. They were free from more gross and scandalous sins which stare a man in the face God I thank thee saith the Pharisee that I am not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this Publican Luke 18.11 Nay they separated themselves from notorious sinners they would not come into the company of Drunkards and Sabbath-breakers they were of the strictest Religion amongst the Jews their Religion was the most strait Sect Acts 26.5 which knew me from the beginning if they would testifie that after the most strait Sect of our Religion I lived a Pharisee insomuch that it was generally conceived among the Jews that if there were but two men in all the world that should go to Heaven a Scribe was one and a Pharisee the other and yet those Professors for all that fell short of Heaven and our Saviour saith That except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of heaven Matth. 5.20 Let me give you another example of the five foolish Virgins which you read of in Matth. 25 Our Saviour tells us That five Virgins were wise and five were foolish By Virgins there are meant Professors and they are called Virgin-Professors because they were not tainted or defiled with any gross or scandalous sin even those five foolish Virgins they notwithstanding in their own opinion and in the opinion of others were waiting for the coming of the Bridegroom Christ and yet for all this those Virgin-professors fell short of Heaven Matth. 25.10 And while they went to buy the Bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him to the Marriage and the door was shut the door of Heaven the door of Mercy was shut against them so you see the first Branch proved 2. Let me prove the second Branch That it is possible for many that are confident that they are in a state of Grace and that they have an interest in and belong to the Lord Jesus Christ to come short of Heaven in Matth. 7.22 23 Many will say to me in that day at the great day of Judgment Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out Devils and in thy name have done many wonderful works and then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Mark how confident they are have we not prophesied in thy name and cast out Devils in thy name We have eaten and drunk in thy presence Luke 13.26 To whom Jesus Christ will say Depart from me ye that work iniquity get you out of my sight I cannot abide to look upon you these were confident What a deal of confidence express they as if they had been as really acquainted with Jesus Christ as any were Lord Lord have not we prophesied in thy name c Again in Rom. 2.17 18 19 the Apostle speaks there to that boasting Jew Thou restest in the Law and makest thy boast of God and knowest his will and approvest the things that are more excellent being instructed out of the Law and art confident that thou thy self art a guide of the blind a light of them which are in darkness an instructor of the foolish a teacher of babes which hast the form of knowledg and of the truth in the Law thou therefore which teachest another teachest thou not thy self Such a one as teacheth others and teacheth not himself such a one is stark naught so that it is possible for a man to be a teacher of others and confident of coming to Heaven and yet for all that come short of it that 's the second Branch 3. Let me prove the third branch of the Doctrine That it is possible for men to come very near to Heaven and yet for all that to come short of Heaven Let me give you some Examples for that This was the case of the young man in the Gospel which you read of Matth. 19 20 21 when our Saviour bid him to keep the Commandments saith he Lord all these things I have kept from my youth up the meaning is this as to his outward
conversation he was unblameable he came so near Heaven that as St. Mark relates the story Mar. 10.21 Jesus beholding him loved him that is he looked upon him in a very friendly manner and pitied him that such a one should come so near to Heaven and yet come short of it by resting on his own self-righteousness he came near Heaven but yet he came short of it so Herod came near Heaven Mar. 6.20 he heard John Baptist gladly and he did many things that John Baptist bid him and yet he came short of it So you read of a Scribe Mar. 12.34 that answered very discreetly to our Saviour our Saviour tells him Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God and yet he came short of it What a sad thing was that So Agrippa Almost thou perswadest me to be a Christian Act. 26.28 but yet he was not a whole Christian so he came near to Heaven but yet he came short of Heaven But here it may be demanded Quest But how far then may a man go on in the profession of the truth and true Religion and yet come short of Heaven To this I answer Truly a Professor may go so far that the hearing of it may make some of you tremble and to say What will become of me Now I shall shew you that in three particulars A man may have 1. A very glorious shew of grace and holiness and yet have no true grace at all 2. Admirable gifts and parts and qualifications and yet have no true grace at all 3. Some superficial beginnings and tasts of Grace and Holiness and yet have no truth of Grace but come short of Heaven First A man may have a very glorious shew of holiness and yet have no true grace and so come short of Heaven he may have something like grace as in a Garden Weeds may be so like good Herbs that it may be hard to know one from the other a man may have such a shew of grace that he may be thought to have grace in truth Let me give you instances in these four particulars First A man may be a fair civil carriaged man very innocent and inoffensive in his conversation one that doth not oppose the Gospel nor oppose the Truth this is something Some there are that are Lions of whom David complains Psalm 57.4 My soul is among Lions and I lye even among them that are set on fire Some there are that have Lion-like Spirits whose hearts are all set on fire that would overthrow Magistrates and Ministers and Sabbaths and Ordinances and all it is something for a man to be civil and inoffensive in his carriage that he is no Enemy to the Gospel Secondly A man may be a frequenter of Ordinances and a man may be a countenancer of Religion and an owner of Magistracy and Ministry and yet all this while have but a shew of grace and no true grace at all In Luke 13.26 27 there you have some that will say to our Saviour Lord we have eaten and drunk in thy presence and we have heard thee teach in our streets There are many that frequent Ordinances that come to the Assemblies of Gods people day after day and wait upon God in the use of his Ordinances some that honour the Ministers of God and yet for all that come short of Heaven Thirdly They may go farther they may be maintainers and supporter of Ministers both by their Persons and Purses and thus it was with Ananias and Sapphira they went and sold their possessions and laid them down at the Apostles feet and yet come short of Heaven Fourthly They may go so far not only to have a good opinion of themselves but they may gain the good opinion of others Nay they may be well thought of by those that are men of judgment those that are godly may think well of them that they are real Saints and that their names are written in the book of life as is meant by that Scripture in Psalm 69.28 where David saith Let them be blotted out of the book of the living and not be written with the righteous It cannot so be understood that a man that hath once his name written in the book of Life can have it blotted out but the meaning is this Blot them out of the book of Life that is discover their names were never written in that book discover them to be but Hypocrites though they carry themselves so fairly that for the present others do think that their names are written in the book of Life Judas carried the matter so fair that the rest of the Disciples questioned themselves rather than Judas Master is it I saith one of them Master is it I saith another they never dreamed that Judas should betray their Master Simon Magus carried the matter so fair that Philip that was one of the Deacons reckoned him to be a true Believer and was baptized and continued with Philip. This is the first particular That a man may have glorious shews of grace and holiness and yet have no true grace at all Secondly The second thing is to shew that a man may have admirable gifts and parts and qualifications that are like to grace and yet are not true grace For example A man may have an admirable gift in Preaching he may be a very able Preacher having a very acute and quick Invention a profound Judgment a retentive Memory a clear Elocution Judas I make no question was as good a Preacher as the rest of the eleven Apostles a man may preach to others and yet he himself in the mean while be a cast-away Oh we that are Preachers we may preach against Pride with proud hearts against Covetousness with covetous hearts press Self-denial with self-seeking hearts press Repentance with impenitent hearts we may preach these things and yet not feel them at all in our own hearts So a man may have an admirable gift in Prayer I do not say the grace of Prayer there is a great deal of difference between the gift and the grace of Prayer the gift of Prayer makes a man proud the grace of Prayer makes a man humble the gift of Prayer abounds in outward expressions the grace of Prayer consists in inward impressions upon the heart the gift of Prayer vents its self in publick but the grace of Prayer is most enlarged in private the gift of Prayer makes a man pray in his own strength but the grace of Prayer makes a man pray in the strength of Jesus Christ the gift of Prayer makes a man expect an eccho of praise from men but the grace of Prayer expects only the approbation of God the gift of prayer that may be lost but the grace of Prayer is never lost I say a man may have admirable gifts in Prayer excellent Expressions and seeming-impressions upon the heart some may pray like Saints and in the mean time live like Devils I am confident this deceives many Some there are that have
Thirdly May a man come near to Heaven and yet come short of it O then take heed of these two sins Slothfulness and Apostacy Take heed of Slothfulness Be not slothful in business but fervent in spirit serving the Lord Rom. 12.11 The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force Matth. 11.12 Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure set to the work with all your might put your whole strength to the work shake off all drowsiness and dulness And then take heed of Apotacy this makes many that come near to Heaven to come short of Heaven because they do not hold out to the end He that endures to the 〈◊〉 shall be saved blessed are they who notwithstanding all difficulties and discouragements that they meet with in Heavens way are resolved to hold out to the end and in the end Thus I have dispatcht the first Doctrine That it is possible for many that profess the Truth and are confident that they are in a State of Grace and seem to come near to Heaven and yet for all that to come short of Heaven Now I come to the second Doctrine in this last Branch of my Text from these words Come short of it And the Doctrine is this To come short of eternal Rest is such an unvaluable and unconceivable and irrecover able loss that it is to be trembled at by all sorts of persons whatsoever It is a loss to be trembled at by all those that have not quite lost their sense and feeling For the confirmation of this truth there are these two Queries I shall speak to First What it is to come short of this eternal Rest Secondly How it may appear that this coming short of Heaven is such an unvaluable irrecoverable and unconceivable loss For the first What it is to come short of this eternal rest What is it Oh! God grant that neither you nor I nor any soul here present may ever experimentally know what it is to come short of Gods eternal rest let me shew you what it is that you may avoid this dreadful danger The Original word here used is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it signifies to come too late just as those five foolish Virgins that had no oyl in their Lamps they came and knockt Lord Lord said they open to us but the door of Mercy was shut they came too late Matth. 25.10 11. It signifies likewise to fail of that which a man expects Heb. 12.15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God Or it signifies this for a man to miss the Gole or Prize that he runs for and so it is a Metaphor from runners in a Race if they be heavy or lumpish or careless they lose the Prize they miss the Gole So Christians that are secure and careless and slothful and mind every thing more than that one thing that is necessary they come too late they fail of Grace and Glory they miss the Gole they lose the Prize they are deprived of that eternal happiness they expected this is to come short of this eternal Rest Second It may be demanded How will it appear that this coming short of eternal Rest is such an unvaluable unconceivable and irrevocable loss that it is to be trembled at I answer It will appear by these three reasons They that come short of Heaven they lose 1. The Presence Of God in eternal happiness They that come short of Heaven they lose 2. The Favour Of God in eternal happiness They that come short of Heaven they lose 3. The Fruition Of God in eternal happiness First They that come short of this Eternal Rest they lose the presence of God how great how unconceivably great this loss is it passeth my skill to tell you But conceive it thus David tells us in Psalm 16. ult In his presence is fulness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore Now if in the presence of God be the fulness of joy then certainly in the want of his presence is the fulness of misery If at his right hand are pleasures for evermore then certainly at his left hand is wo and misery and calamity for evermore even such misery as the Prophet Ezekiel speaks of Ezek. 2. ult A roll of a book was written within and without lamentations and mourning and wo And it stands with reason it should be so for if God be light then a separation from God must needs be darkness If God be life then a separation from God must needs be death If God be the fountain of Bliss then the separation from him must needs be the possession of all misery and wo and calamity and distress that can possibly be expressed or conceived This punishment of loss in the opinion of all Divines doth incomparably torment the soul more than all the punishment and tortures and torments of Hell-fire Nay the loss of that heavenly and unconceivable Joy the loss of one hours communion with the crowned Saints in glory the loss of one glimpse of the glorified Body of Jesus Christ is a greater and far more and considerable loss than the loss of all the Kingdoms of the World besides I know that carnal men have very carnal conceits of Heaven and happiness because they look usually upon heaven and spiritual things with carnal eyes but if they did but look upon them with such an eye as Moses did Heb. 11.27 By the eye of Faith he saw him that was invisible if they would not look upon things that are seen but upon things that are not seen For the things that arn seen are themporal but the things that are not seen are spiritual and eternal as saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 4.18 If they could but look upon them with spiritual eyes then they would acknowledg that a thousand thousand rendings of the body from the soul are far less than one rending of the soul from God It was the speech of one Nicostratus a curious Painter to one that admired at him for looking so wishfully upon a curious Picture Oh said he if thou hadst but my eyes thou wouldst admire what I admire so may I say to men that will not now believe that the loss of Gods presence is such a loss hadst thou but spiritual eyes thou wouldst acknowledg the truth of what I now say That the loss of Gods presence is such a loss as can never never be sufficiently bewailed no not with tears of blood It was the speech of Chrysostom and it was a savoury speech I had rather endure a thousand Hells than to hear that one dreadful sentence Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels And suitable to this was the speech of Augustine I could be contented to endure the torments of Hell for a while so I might but see the glorified body of Jesus Christ in Heaven for you know what our Saviour saith Father I will that they also whom thou
hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me John 17.24 The sight of Christs glory in heaven is that which makes heaven to be Heaven It was a good speech of Luther Heaven without Gods presence would be but as a Box without a Jewel Now if this Beatifical Vision as it is called the beholding of the glory of Christ in Heaven be such a happiness Oh what is it to be excluded and thrust out from the glorified presence of Christ never to see his face You know when Saint Paul told the Disciples at Ephesus Acts 20.25 38 And now behold that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God shall see my face no more This cut them to the heart this occasioned so much sorrowing and sadness because he said You shall see my face no more Now if that were matter of so much sadness never to see the Apostles face more Oh what will it be when Jesus Christ shall say to such an one Thou shalt never see my face Go thou cursed wretch get thee away from me go to Hell to the Devil and damned spirits there there shall be thy portion for ever and ever This is the first Reason to shew how unvaluable how unconceivable this loss is the coming short of Heaven is the loss of Gods presence 2. The second Reason is this They that come short of Heaven as they lose the presence of God so they lose the favour love mercy and compassion of God the favour of God is better than life Psalm 63.3 Because thy loving-kindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee because when this life is gone the favour of God towards his Elect will last to all eternity therefore it is better than life but they that come short of Heaven lose this favour of God all pity all mercy all compassion all hope of favour shall then be utterly taken away God will be so far from shewing favour to them that he will laugh at their destruction and mock when their fear cometh as desolation and their destruction as a whirlwind when distress and anguish cometh upon them as it is Prov. 1.26 27 They shall lose not only the favour of God but the favour of all their Friends that they have enjoyed here upon earth they shall lose the favour of their Fathers and Mothers of Husbands and Wives and Children and bosom-Friends for although they were nearly related to them yet if they come to heaven and themselves excluded those glorified Saints that are in heaven will abandon them with detestation and derision nay they will rejoyce in their destruction and in the execution of Gods justice and vengeance upon them Psal 58.10 The righteous shall rejoyce when he seeth the vengeance a glorified Father in Heaven shall rejoyce in the destruction and condemnation of a damned Son a glorified Yoke-fellow in Heaven shall rejoyce in the destruction and damnation of such a Yoke-fellow as is condemned No prayers no tears no sobs nor supplications no cryings to the mountains to fall upon them shall one whit avail there shall be no Mediator none in heaven or earth to plead for them or to speak one word on their behalf This is the second Reason They that come short of Heaven lose the favour of God 3. They that come short of Heaven as they lose the presence of God and the favour of God so they lose the fruition of God the enjoyment of God in eternal happiness they lose a Crown that is incorruptible undefiled that fades not away that is reserved for the Saints in light they lose an inheritance an everlasting inheritance If the loss of an earthly comfort suppose it be of a dear Wife or hopeful Child or a bosom Friend or an outward Estate of an Inheritance of a thousand pounds a year if the loss of a stately House or the loss of a rich Ship at Sea doth many times so affect a man that it goes to his very heart you know what Jacob said If Benjamin be taken away my dearly beloved son Benjamin then said he shall I go to my grave mourning my gray hairs will be brought with sorrow to the grave Gen. 42.38 If an earthly loss the loss of an earthly comfort do so affect and afflict a man O what will the loss of an everlasting Kingdom of everlasting Glory of everlasting Happiness of those everlasting Pleasures that are at the right hand of God which eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive O how will this loss torture and torment the soul and make such a one cry out in anguish and extream bitterness Oh cursed beast that I was to me was the Gospel preacht in power and purity I lived in a City where heavenly Manna was dropping down every day on the week-day as well as on the Lords day to me was Jesus Christ proffered in all his beauty and imbroidery nay the Ministers of the Gospel did woe me intreat me invite me and beseech me as if Jesus Christ himself had been upon his knees beseeching me to be reconciled to me was Salvation tendred but I neglected all I slighted all and now must I for ever endure those torments that might have been escaped and must for ever be deprived of those joys that might have been gained I might have been what now I am not O that I might be any thing rather than what I now am O that I might be a Toad or a Serpent or any thing or nothing The consideration therefore of this loss the loss of happiness the loss of such a happiness the loss of an eternal happiness will rend the caul of their hearts in a thousand thousand pieces the tears of hell will not be sufficient to bewail the loss of Heaven especially if you take in but these three aggravations of this loss 1. They that lose this eternal happiness shall look upon others that have gained it they shall look upon the Saints and Servants of Christ that are now in joy in that unconceivable Glory whereof themselves come short and this will be an eternal Corrosive to their consciences so saith our Saviour Luke 13.28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and you your selves thrust out All the blessed Saints and Servants of God received into Heaven and themselves shut out that is one aggravation 2. Take in this aggravation also That this loss of eternal happiness is ever accompanied with the punishment of sense if it were only a punishment of loss it was a dreadful punishment but the punishment of loss never goes alone they that lose Heaven must have Hell for their portion they must have those unconceivable tortures and torments which infinitely surpass the capacity and comprehension of such poor creatures as we are Alas we know not
that pleasant Land this was a grievous provocation indeed so the Doctrine I shall give you from the words considered in this notion or sense is this Doct. That despising or undervaluing that Heavenly Inheritance that God hath prepared for the Saints in light is a very grievous God-provoking sin it is a sin of the first magnitude For the proof of this Point that one place of Scriptue will be sufficient Heb. 2.2 3 For if the word spoken by Angels was stedfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation By Salvation there he means the Gospel which is the cause of our Salvation for it is observable that both the Gospel of Grace and Grace wrought by the Gospel and Glory which is the perfection of Grace they all come under one name The Kingdom of God in Scripture because those whom God by the Gospel brings to Grace he will by Grace bring to Glory now says the Apostle How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation It is a marvelous strong Negation he does not say We shall not escape or hardly escape if we neglect so great salvation but How shall we escape It includes the strongest Negation that can be as if he should say It is impossible for us to escape eternal Condemnation if we do neglect so great Salvation not only if we do despise this eternal Salvation but if we neglect it Salvation it self will not save that man that despises or neglects it But for the clearing of this Point that you may a little better understand it there are these three Queries I will endeavour to speak to in opening of the Doctrine First When may a man be said to despise or undervalue that Heavenly Inheritance that is prepared for the Saints in light Secondly How comes it to pafs that men so lightly regard and undervalue that eternal Salvation Thirdly How may it appear that this despising or undervaluing of this Heavenly Inheritance is such a God-provoking sin First When may a man be said to despise or undervalue the Heavenly Inheritance that is prepared for the Saints in light I shall answer this Query and shew it you in these four Particulars First Then doth a man despise and undervalue this Heavenly Inheritance when he is an Earthly-minded man when he does over-value earthly things and under-value Heavenly things when he does set his affections so much on things below that he cannot set his affections on things above for these two are inconsistent they cannot stand together as appears by that in 1 John 2.15 Love not the world neither the things that are in the world If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him As if he should say The love of God and the love of the world are inconsistent So in Col. 3.2 Set your affections on things above and not on things on the Earth as if he had said If you set your affections on things below you cannot set them on things above Now when a man prefers a present possession before a future expectation when he says Give me a Bird in hand rather than two in the Bush give me the pleasures and profits and honours and contentments of this life let me have prefent pay but as for that glorious Inheritance you speak of for the time to come let them look after it that will as he said Let me have my part in Paris let who will look after a part in Paradice This is an undervaluing of this Heavenly Inheritance Secondly Then may a man be said to despise and undervalue this Heavenly Inheritance when he is sluggish and sloathful and will not stir up himself to take hold of God when he will not set about those means that God hath appointed for the attaining of those glorious hopes that are laid up in Heeven True nothing is to be done by us in a way of merit but much is to be done in the use of means for the attaining of this Eternal Happiness Phil. 2.12 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling Mark it is not said Work out your salvation Christ hath wrought out our salvation for us by way of merit but we must work out our salvation in the use of means Orig 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Work it out as it were out of the fire Now when a man will not be contented to take that pains that the Lord requires in this working out of his salvation when he sits still and is idle or when he is sloathful or negligent in Duty when he does either neglect Duty or sleepily and carelesly perform every Duty this is a despising and undervaluing this Salvation For you must know the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a Race 1 Cor. 9.24 and he that would win the Crown by first coming to the Goal must run for it It is compared to a Kingdom Luke 13.24 and he that would win it must strive for it Strive to enter in at the strait gate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Strive as in an Agony And it 's compared to a Crown 1 Cor. 9.25 and he that would obtain it must fight for it I have fought a good fight saith the Apostle I have finished my course I have kept the Faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judg shall give me at that day 2 Tim. 4.8 The Crown of Glory there is called a Crown of Righteousness not because it was merited by Pauls righteousness you must not understand it so but it is called a Crown of Righteousness because it was promised and because it was purchased it was freely promised by the Father and it was fully purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ says he Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judg shall give me at that day But says he I have fought a good fight first and I have finished my course Now when men will neither so run as that they may obtain nor so strive as that they may gain a Kingdom nor so fight that they may get a Crown that is laid up in Heaven for the Saints then they may be said to despise and undervalue the Heavenly Inheritance That is the second Thirdly Then may a man be said to despise this Heavenly Inheritance when he is a self-seeking Christian or rather a pelting Chapman as I may so call him that will not come up to the price of Salvation that will not be contented to take the pains that must be taken if so be he may be the master of his own desires then he would be content to enjoy those glorious hopes But when a man will not with the wise Merchant sell
all that he may buy the Pearl for as Jesus Christ may be called A Pearl of Price so may this Heavenly Inheritance be called A Pearl though not of that price that Jesus Christ is of yet a Pearl of price too Now when men will not part with all in cafe it come to that point to get this Pearl they despise and undervalue this blessed Inheritance Every man would be contented to come to Heaven so he might come in his own way on his own terms and in his own time If he may come to Heaven in his own way that is Heaven and the World Heaven and his lusts Heaven and his own ends and interests together Or if he may have Heaven upon his own terms namely to live as he list to take Jesus Christ as a Saviour but not as a Prince to take him as a Redeemer but not as a Ruler Or if he may have Heaven in his own time namely when he lies upon his Death-bed when his sick Bed is ready to deliver him over to his cold Grave but all his life long he would prosecute his own ends and interest and live to himself more than to Jesus Christ every man on Earth would be contented to have Heaven on these terms But now when it comes to this that a man that will have this Heavenly Inheritance must have it in Christs way in a way of Holiness Be ye holy for I am holy 1 Pet. 1.16 And without holiness none shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 And when it comes to this that if a man will have Heaven he must have it on Christs own terms which is that thou must be contented to serve me as well as to be saved by me and to be contented to be ruled by me as well as to be redeemed by me thou must be contented to bear my Cross as well as to wear my Crown And when it comes to this that a man must have Heaven in Christs own time what time is that To day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts Heb. 3.7 Put not off your repentance from day to day set about the work with all your might set about it without any further procrastination or delay Now here it sticks rather than men will have Heaven on these terms they resolve they will never have Heaven they will let it go Fourthly Then men may be accounted or said to despise Heaven when Heaven is not accounted worthy those difficulties or discouragements that they must fustain in the pursuit of those glorious hopes Thus with the Israelites when the Spies came from Canaan and told them True the Land is an excellent Land but let 's tell you there are Giants Anakims walled Towns there will be a great deal of difficulty before you get possession and if you will possess the Land you must fight for it it will cost you the lives of many of you before you obtain it Oh now upon this report they were ready to stone Caleb and Joshua those two that told them that they were able to conquer the Inhabitants and that they were but as bread for them and their strength was departed they were ready I say to stone them when they heard of the difficulties of obtaining the Land of Canaan and they would rather go back again into Egypt than fight for Canaan we will rather go back to our Leeks and Onions and Garlick than have this pleasant Land if we must fight and adventure our lives for it So here when faint-hearted cowardly Christians hear that through much tribulations we must enter into the Kingdom of God Acts 14.22 Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution 2 Tim. 3.12 And when they hear that truth which our Saviour tells them Mark 8 34 If you will be my Disciples you must take up your Cross and follow me As good Soldiers that follow their Captain through dirt and mire and blood And that they must be hated of all men for the sake of Jesus Christ Matth. 10.22 And that they must endure hardship in the World Matth. 5. Though their sorrow shall be turned into joy Say they If we cannot have Heaven but upon these terms we will have none of it we will rather have the pleasure of sin for a season we will lye and swear and cozen and cog and flatter and temporize and swim with every stream and lose the peace of our Consciences we will rather chuse to sleep in a whole skin though with gauled Consciences before we will have Heaven upon such terms we will have our ease we cannot abide difficulties and discouragements which are in the way that leads to Heaven this is a despising of the pleasant Land That is the first Query When may a man be said to despise this heavenly Inheritance But in the second place Secondly For Explication How comes it to pass that men are so ready to despise and to undervalue such a glorious Inheritance an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away reserved in the heavens 1 Pet. 1.4 A Kingdom that cannot be shaken Heb. 12.28 To despise those glorious and unconceivable joys that are at the right hand of God for evermore Psalm 16.11 I profess a man would wonder that any unless they were bereav'd of their reason unless they had lost their senses feeling that ever any man should part with such glorious hopes hopes of such a glorious Inheritance that surpasses what eye hath seen or ear heard or whatever the heart of man can conceive 1 Cor. 2.9 But I will tell you the reason the Reasons briefly are these First Men despise this glorious Inheritance because they know not the worth of it John 4.10 Jesus answered and said unto her If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith unto thee give me to drink thou wouldst have asked of him and he would have given thee living water So if men did but know what this heavenly Inheritance is Oh were they but with Moses Deut. 32.49 to stand upon Mount Nebo to see this Land afar off to see but a glimpse of it Or if they were with Paul 2 Cor. 12. wrapt up into Heaven one day nay but a few hours they would adventure to get through the narrow Wicker the narrow Dore though an Angel with a drawn Sword kept the passage as you read an Angel did keep the Gate of Paradise Gen. 3.24 If a man saw but one glimpse of that eternal glory he would cry out as that Father Dominus hic affligas hic corrigas corpus maximis doloribus afficias c. modo in eternum parcas Oh Lord Cut me here wound me here burn me here let all the pains of Hell come upon my body so my poor Soul may be saved so I may come to that eternal Inheritance But men are ignorant and know not the worth of it therefore they do not prize it Secondly Men undervalue this heavenly Inheritance because they
will you not run do you not strive to enter Again You say you do not undervalue Heaven I beseech you consider What are you content to part with for Heaven will you sell all to buy this Pearl Will you part with any thing that stands in opposition to your hopes Will you take Christ in his own way and on his own terms and in his own time Can you be content to swallow down some discouragements and difficulties and temptations and bless God for them and say One smile of thy face will recompence a thousand years of adversity If I have Christ for my portion and Heaven in reversion though I carry a Rod of affliction at my back every day though I am fed with the water of affliction and with the bread of adversity Heaven will make amends for all But alas How many have weak hands and feeble knees and are not able to go on in the way of Salvation and will not come up to the price of Salvation Do not deceive your felves These are plain down-right Truths bottomed upon Scripture if I speak not the truth believe me not but if I do some of you have cause with serious self-reflection to smite upon your Thighs and you have cause greatly to fear this despising and undervaluing this heavenly Inheritance is your sin and Oh that it might be your sorrow and shame Secondly This Doctrine may justly serve for to reprove and I profess I know no reproof sharp enough for such persons as despise and undervalue that heavenly Inheritance that God hath prepared for the Saints in Light Let me say to some of you as God speaks Acts 15.41 Behold ye despisers and wonder and perish So say I Hearken ye despisers hearken ye secure careless sensless sottish Atheists I can call you no better Oh you that have such slight thoughts of Heaven you that look upon this heavenly Inheritance but as imaginary a Fools Paradise or as a meer conceit rather than any real existent thing you that never yet set your hearts and souls to seek the Lord Jesus Christ and his Kingdom you whose hearts are buried in Earth and Earthly things who mind nothing but Earth nothing in the World but raising great Estates and satisfying the brutish part of your selves Tell me Do you think that ever you shall enjoy this external Inheritance which you have despised Shall you ever taste of that everlasting happiness which you have so much undervalued Will the Lord cast Pearls before Swine Will he hang such a Jewel such an unvaluable Jewel which is better worth than ten thousand Worlds will be hang such a Jewel on a Swines snout No no you deceive your selves if you think so Do you think that Heaven will drop into your mouths as you lie a-dying Do you think our Saviour speaks in vain when he says Matth. 11.12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force If Heaven could be purchas'd with a Lord have mercy upon us if it could be procured in such a cold lazy luke-warm way as you walk in then certainly our blessed Saviour did not know what he said his exhorting to strive to enter in at the strait gate was to no purpose But if prizing of this Salvation and striving or this Salvation to the end of your lives if these must go before enjoying then as sure as the Lord lives you careless secure sottish Sinners that mind nothing less than that one thing necessary assure your selves you shall never have a portion in that Inheritance which is prepared for the Saints in Light no there is another place prepared for such Dogs and Swine as they are called that place without Rev. 22.15 For without are Dogs and Sorcerers and Whoremongers and Murtherers and Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a lye You all cry out of Esau a prophane wretch the Spirit of God brands him for it a prophane Atheist that sold his Birth right for a Mess of Pottage he sold his Birth-right which was a Type of Heaven he sold this for an old Song as we say And you that neglect and undervalue and despise Heaven you are guilty of the same sin and have you not as prophane spirits as he You cry out of Judas because he sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver Oh hearken impenitent sottish Sinner It may be thou sellest Christ and Heaven and Glory and all may be for a base lust a base lye thou sellest it for some considerable advantage as thou conceivest for the present though at last it will be like Gravel in the Throat Take home this reproof with you the Lord set it home upon your Souls you that never set your hearts souls to seek the Lord. I have done with a word of Exhortation That is I beseech you and exhort you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that you would take heed of this God-provoking Soul-damning sin take heed of undervaluing this heavenly Inheritance Let it not be said of any of you that you despised the pleasant Land instead of despising it do you highly prise it and say as David Psalm 119.174 I have longed for thy salvation O Lord and thy Law is my delight And what a kind of longing was it Not a cold wish such a wish as Balaam had O that I might die the death of the Righteous that Heaven might drop into my mouth then but I would live as I list it was not such a desire no says David I have longed for thy salvation what then Thy Law is my delight That is a right longing that is accompanied with an endeavour he rightly longs for the Salvation of God that delights in the Commands of God In the 123 ver of the same Psalm Mine eyes fail in waiting for thy Salvation Look as the Lord Jesus Christ will never bestow himself upon that Soul that does not pant and breathe and break with longing desires after him So likewise he will never bestow this heavenly Inheritance upon that Soul that does not most earnestly wishfully and industriously pant after him and long for him and seek him that you may prize him Take heed in the fear of God of those four causes of undervaluing this Salvation First Take heed of Earthly-mindedness beg that you may be digged out of the thick Mire and Clay say Give me not my portion here O Lord How sad will it be with me if thou puttest me off only with these outward things Secondly Take heed of sloathfulness and sluggishness in the service of God and in seeking this Salvation Rom. 12.11 Not sloathful in business sèrvent in Spirit serving the Lord. Seek the Lord and seek his Salvation with all your might mind and strength Thirdly Be content to part with any thing for Christ take heed of placing your love upon the Creature be content to part with any thing that stands in opposition to or in competition with
poured upon Aarons head run down to the skirts of his cloathing so from that fulness of Grace which is in Jesus Christ Believers receive and grace for grace a continual supply of grace from him he is the Author of all their graces he is the Author of their Faith he is called The Author and Finisher of their Faith Heb. 12.2 He is the Author of their Love Christ first warms their hearts with a sense of his Love before they can love him We love him because he first loved us 1 John 4.19 He is the Author of their Repentance God hath exalted him to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and remission of sins to his people Acts 5.31 Thirdly And then they receive spiritual comforts by him too My peace I give unto you my peace I leave with you not as the world giveth give I unto yon let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid John 14.27 He gives Believers that peace that the World can neither give nor take away from them that peace and comfort that can hold up their heads in all outward storms In the world says he you shall have tribulation but in me you shall have peace John 16. ult At the same time when they have tribulation in the world they may have peace in Christ at the same time when there is ratling upon the Tiles there may be Musick in the Chamber outward tribulations and inward consolations they may stand together at the very same time In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy Comforts delight my Soul Psalm 94.19 So though there may be multitude of troubles within yet there may be comforts to refresh the Soul This is the third Reason why Jesus Christ is so precious to Believers Because they have much in hand from Christ they have Temporal Mercies and Spiritual Mercies Spiritual Priviledges Justification Sanctification and Adoption and Spiritual Graces and Spiritual Comforts Reas 4. Jesus Christ is very precious to Believers because they expect much from him As they have much in hand by him so they have more in hope from him they have much for the present but more for the future for what do they expect from him but an Inheritance incorrupted undefiled reserved in Heaven for them an everlasting Kingdom a Kingdom that cannot be shaken everlasting Communion with himself bosom-Communion with himself in Glory to have their Souls bathed in those Rivers of pleasure that are at his right hand for evermore yea the following the Lamb. wheresoever he goes to be triumphing in his Praises to be sounding forth those Hallelujahs to him that sits upon the Throne for ever to live and lie in his continual embraces Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive what God hath laid up for them that love him Now because with the eye of Faith they look upon these things and they fully expect to enjoy them therefore hence it is they do so highly prize Jesus Christ Reas 5. Jesus Christ is very precious to Believers they do most highly prize him Because Faith you must know is a uniting grace an espousing grace it is the Wedding-Ring as I have sometimes told you that makes up the Match between Jesus Christ and the poor Soul as soon as ever a man comes to be a Believer to take Jesus Christ to be his Head his Husband his Portion then is the Match made up between them Christ dwells in our hearts by Faith Ephes 3.17 Now then Believers being thus espoused to him thus united to him they cannot but dearly love him As a Wife that hath pitcht her affections upon a Husband and forsaken all others and hath vowed to cleave to him and him only while they both shall live therefore she does prize him above all the men in the World so when the Soul is once united to Christ marryed to him Thy Maker is thy Husband when the Soul is espoused to Christ it cannot but dearly love him and forsake all others in comparison of him Reas 6. Jesus Christ is very precious to Believers Because true Faith ever works by Love Gal. 5.6 For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Vncircumcision but Faith which worketh by Love True Faith will make a man dearly love the Lord Jesus Christ now if we love him we cannot but prize him whom we love so dearly The Use I shall make of this Point briefly First For Examination And O that you and I could engage our own hearts a while and call our selves to account in sad and serious thoughts whether Jesus Christ be precious to us yea or no Is he highly prized by you even by you that hear me this day Can you say with the Church My Beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest of ten thousand And with St. Paul I esteem all things but dross and dung in comparison of Jesus Christ the whole World the glory the beauty and treasures and pleasures of it but as a heap of dung in comparison of him this pitch and frame you must come unto or else you can never have any assurance that Christ is yours and that you are his for as our Saviour saith in the like case He that loveth Father or Mother more than me is not worthy of me c. Matth. 10.37 So here if any thing be more prized than Jesus Christ you can have no assurance that Christ is your portion if any thing be preferred before him or prized more highly than he is there not great need then that you should enquire whether Jesus-Christ be precious to you yea or no That I may press you to this enquiry consider but this one Motive this is one of the surest Characters to distingnish between a sincere-hearted Christian and an Hypocrite For he that is sincere and upright-hearted does lay Jesus Christ the nearest to his heart and says None but Christ nothing but Christ whereas ever observe it and you shall see a Hypocrite hath always something that lies nearer to his heart than Jesus Christ does however he may shew much love to Christ with his mouth yet his heart goes after his covetousness or after some base lust or other as God told the Prophet Ezek. 33.31 And they come unto thee as my People and they sit before thee as my People and they hear thy words but they will not do them for with their mouth they shew much love but their heart goeth after their covetousness So that Jesus Christ hath not the heart of a Hypocrite he may have the mouth of a Hypocrite a shew of love but there is something still that doth lie nearer his heart than Christ does Look into the parable of the Sower and you will find that Seed that was sown in the stony-ground it sprung up and made a fair shew for a while but there was something that lay between the seed and the Soil so there is something that lies between
vanity of it are ready to draw away our hearts to it O then have a care to do Gods will Deut. 6.11 12 When thou hast eaten and art full when thou art in a prosperous condition then beware lest thou forget the Lord which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt c. The Apostle Saint Paul had learnt a great Lesson when he said I have learnt in whatsoever state I am in therewith to be content I know how to be abased and I know how to abound Phil. 4.11 12. There is more danger in prosperity than in adversity as in a croud a man is in danger to lose his Purse so in a croud of worldly businesses and prosperity a man is in greatest danger to lose his God Secondly In a time of danger then God calls you to do his will that you should not decline Duty for danger sake that you should not break a Hedg to miss a foul way See a singular example of this in Daniel when he knew the doing of his duty would be the hazard of his life when he knew the writing was sealed and that snares were laid for his life yet he would not omit duty for the saving of his life he prayed three times a day as he was wont to do his Window being open in his Chamber towards Jerusalem Dan. 6.10 So those three Noble Worthies who were so highly honoured by God as to be miraculously preserved they would not deeline duty for dangers sake Be it known unto thee O King our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from this burning Furnace but if not we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden Image which thou hast set up Dan. 3.17 18. So singular was the courage of Saint Peter and Saint John Acts 4.20 We cannot but speak the things that we have seen and heard Threaten or not threaten imprison or not imprison we cannot but speak the things that we have seen and heard Thirdly A third Season when God calls us to do his will is this when he puts an opportunity into our hands of doing some special piece of service for him now is a price put into your hands now a man should do the will of God especially This is that which Mordecai told Esther Esther 4 Who knows whether thou art come to the Kingdom for such a time as this It is as if he should say It may be God hath put an opportunity into thy hand to help his Church at this time The third thing by way of Explication is this But why must the Disciples of Christ be Doers of Gods will The Reasons are these First Because the whole Body of Religion as I may say consists in these two things namely in Believing and Obeying take away one of these and Religion is a lame Religion Secondly By doing the will of our Father we shew our selves to be Disciples of Christ indeed because we now imitate our Lord and Master for thus did he see that remarkable Scripture John 6.38 I came from Heaven not to do my own will but the will of him that sent me Thirdly Because if we do not do the will of God we shall certainly do the will of a worse Master if we do not work in Gods service we shall do the Devils drudgery if we be not workers of righteousness we shall be workers of iniquity as appears by that in Matth. 7.21 23 He that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven compare it with verse 23 And then will I say unto them I never knew you depart from me ye workers of iniquity It is as if our Saviour should say Because you would not be workers of righteousness to do the will of my Father therefore it is that you are workers of iniquity Fourthly Christians must do the will of God because this is that which makes for the honour of God John 15.8 Herein is my Father glorified if ye bring forth much fruit Look as by believing we give honour to the Truth of God so by obeying we give God the honour of his Soveraignty As obedient Children we shall shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light 1 Pet. 2.9 Before I come to the Application there are two or three Objections that lie in the way which I shall endeavour to remove Object 1. It may be some will say You do so cry up Duty and doing the will of God that you infringe or eclipse the Free grace of God this is not Preaching Free grace Answ I answer This is not an infringing or an eclipsing of the free-grace of God because you must know Faith and good Works are not opposite one to another but they are subordinate they are consistent and may stand one with another very well Secondly I answer The grace of God doth not exclude all works but it excludes those works only that are meritorious Good works therefore we may say truly are Causes without which we cannot be saved though they are not Efficient Causes nor instrumental Causes yet they are Causes without which we cannot be saved as the Apostle saith Without holiness no man shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 So may I say here Though we be not saved for our good works yet we shall never be saved without good works I would have you to remember this Good works though they are not necessary to our Justification yet they are necessary to our Salvation there is a great deal of difference between these two to be saved by faith and saved for faith this is certain we are not saved for our faith this is the errour of the Socinians that say The Act of believing is our righteousness Though we are not saved for faith yet the Apostle saith We are saved by faith So here we are not saved for our good works yet we are not saved without good works as the Apostle saith He that is a Doer of the Word shall be blessed in his deed James 1.25 He doth not say for his deed so you may be blessed in your good works though not for your good works Thirdly I answer Although faith alone doth justifie yet that faith that is alone doth not justifie though no man is justified for his works yet that faith that is a justifying faith is a working faith Secondly It may be objected But why do you press us to do the will of God when of our selves we are not able to do it we cannot of our selves think a good thought nor speak a good word much less do the will of God in that manner as you have laid down how it must be done To this I answer Our inability doth not nullifie or make void the Commands of God God for example bids you believe 1 John 3.23 And this is his Commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ and yet Faith it is the gift of God
and say Lord what will become of me Lord what will become of me Vse 2. Of Exhortation I shall close this Point with a word of Exhortation If it is possible for many that profess the Truth and true Religion and are confident that they are in a state of grace and seem to come very near to Heaven and yet for all that to come short of it then as you love your God as you love your Souls as you love your Peace as you desire to appear with comfort before your Judg rest not in any bare outward profession rest not in a naked name of Religion Be not contented that you have the Lamps of Profession unless you have the Oyl of saving Grace Consider what advantage will it be for you to come near to heaven to come to the brow of the hill as it were and afterwards to drop down into hell What advantage will it be for a man to be lifted up to heaven and not lifted up into heaven it is the greatest curse that can possibly be expressed Oh what a cutting Corrosive what a gnawing Worm will this be to all Eternity for a man to say I came near to Heaven to the top of the Hill and yet I fell short of those glorious hopes that are laid up for the Saints in light O what a stinking Cockatrice will this be to them that have but a bare naked name of Religion an outward profession only It may be thou art no Swearer nor Lyar nor Sabbath-breaker but it may be thou art a covetous wretch over head and ears in the world tumbling up and down in dirt and clay as if there were no other happiness but here below It may be thou art but a formal Christian it may be thou art but a picture that hath hands and eyes but no legs it may be thou hast eyes but no feet to run the ways of Gods Commandments It may be it may be said of some of you young men that hear me this day what was said of the young man in the Gospel You are not far from the Kingdom of God what will this advantage you if you do not follow Jesus Christ fully and obey him sincerely that you may enjoy him eternally O that my counsel this day were accepted by you in the fear of the Lord give no rest to your eyes nor slumber to your eye-lids until you can say Blessed be God I am more than the best Hypocrite in the world though he can outstrip me in shew yet for the inside I outstrip him But it may be you will say What is this inside of Christianity this essential Religion wherein you would have us outstrip Hypocrites and those that come short of Heaven I will tell you in three words To the Essentials of Christianity there are these three things required 1. Union with Christ 2. Renewing Grace 3. A Compliance with the Will of Christ First Union with Christ Till you are united to him you have no interest in him nor benefit by him therefore look this that you have the Spirit of God to unite you to the Lord Jesus Christ Our Saviour saith John 15.4 As the branch cannot bear fruit of it self except it abide in the Vine so neither can you bring forth fruit unless you abide in me O labour for this Union when the Soul is once united to him then it hath communion with him in his life in his death in his resurrection in his intercession in his graces and comforts and all What is that which knits the Cistern to the Fountain You know it is the Leaden Pipe that is it that is the conveyance from the Conduit-head to the Cistern so here What is it that knits thy Soul to Jesus Christ that thou mayst be continually partaking of him who is the Fountain of light and life and peace and consolation What is it but this Pipe the Union that is between Christ and the soul Now a Hypocrite hath not this Union he is not united to Christ it may be he bears the name of Christ but never was ingrafted into him it may be he is tyed to Christ by the thred of an outward profession as the Seions is tied to the stock but yet he is not ingrafted into the stock Secondly It consists in renewing Grace If any man be in Christ he is a new creature 2 Cor. 5.17 An Hypocrite may have many trinkets and bables as we say I but a Regenerate man he brings forth one Jewel worth ten thousand of them An Hypocrite may have restraining grace but a truly Regenerate man he is renewed in the spirit of his mind he hath a new name which I spake of in so many Sermons the white Stone and the new Name Rev. 3. Thirdly This Essence of Christianity consists in a total compliance with the Will of Christ he that is a true Believer a true Regenerate man an inside Christian he can say Lord not my will but thy will be done Lord Rule in me as thou pleasest so I may be but thine take possession of my heart and dispossess sin and Satan he will say Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee But now an Hypocrite it may be he gives up his name to Jesus Christ in profession but he doth not give up his heart to Christ in subjection and submission it is one thing to give up the name to Christ and another thing to give up the heart to Christ when you give up the key of the Castle to Christ then you will say Lord I will do what thou wouldst have me do and suffer what thou wouldst have me suffer and forsake what thou wouldst have me forsake there is nothing I have though it be as dear to me as my right-hand and right-eye but I will part with it at thy command To shut up all If you would not come short of them that come short of Heaven then rest not in a bare profession in a bare naked name of Christianity labour to be united to Christ labour for renewing Grace labour to give up your selves to Jesus Christ let there be a compliance in your will to the will of Christ Again If many may be confident that they are in a state of Grace and yet come short of Heaven O then take heed of self-delusion and self-flattery to think your selves something when you are nothing and so deceive your own souls It is better a thousand times for a man to think himself nothing when he is something than to think himself something when he is nothing saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 15.10 I have laboured more abundantly than they all and yet not I but the grace of God which was with me Beg earnestly of God that you may know the worst of your selves and the best of Jesus Christ and pray O Lord let me not be deceived in this great business of Eternity let me not go to hell with vain hopes of Heaven