threaten sometimes in the Name of God Now therefore That they might convince people that they aim onely at good unto them in this therefore they must be of as loving and gentle and quiet and patient Spirits as possible may be especially in their own cause and that 's the tryal You sometimes prehaps hear a Minister preach hard things and you think they come with much harshness to you and your hearts are ready to rise against them But examine whether in all their dealings else and in things concerning themselves whether they be not of loving and gentle Spirits and full of Bowels of Compassion And they must be of such dispositions that they might win upon people and draw their hearts as in Hos 11. 4. I drew them with Cords of a Man and with the Bands of love And indeed this is one special reason why God sends Men to be the Ministers of the Gospel rather then Angels that there might not be any terror strook into the hearts of people If Angels should appear they would be exceeding dreadful and terrible but God doth rather choose Man to be a Minister that so he might sute himself to the dispositions of Men and draw with the Cords of Man And what 's that That 's with the Bands of love Mans Nature will rather be drawn then driven And my Brethren As it ought to be in Ministers to be of such dispositions so you that are the people should shew your selves to be of the like dispositions towards them again of Sweet and Loving and Gentle and Fair Dispositions towards them not of rugged and ridged tempers We read of the building of the Temple that there was not one whit of Iron us'd in it which is observable We do not read I say of Iron that was brought to the Building they made their Pinns of Wood and other things and Plates of Gold and Silver but brought no Iron God when he is about to build a Church and call a People home to himself he will call such as are of gentle Spirits or make them such God doth either refuse such ridged Spirits or else he doth change their natures that 's the First Note Say Peace be to this House The Second is this That Ministers ought to bless their People for so these words are to be considered not onely as to manifest their dispositions to give them a taste of their Spirits but as a Benediction to them Peace be to this place We in the Name of the Lord Bless you with Peace And this is more than to pray for them Ministers are to pray for People God forbâ—d saith Samuel That I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you But Ministers should do more They are in the Name of the Lord to Bless them Prayer it is a Speaking unto God but Blessing it is to Speak from God to Man and that with some kind of Authority Therefore we find in Scripture that The Lesser is Blessed of the Greater And That the Ministers were appointed to Bless the People in the Old Law Numb 6. 23. Speak unto Aaron and to his Sons saying On this wise ye shall bless the Children of Israel saying unto them The Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make His Face to shine upon thee and be Gracious unto thee the Lord lift up His Countenance upon thee and give thee Peace Here was Blessing in the Old Law And they retain'd some part of it in coming to any place when they said Peace be to this Place We read of Men of great Esteem among the People of the Jews that were wont to Bless those that they came unto As you find that of Boaz in Ruth 2. 4. He Prays for them and they Bless him Here was a sweet Salutation of a Man that did set other Men on work Boaz came into the Field and said unto the Keepers The Lord be with you And they answered him The Lord bless thee Many Men when they go among their Work-men they go with Raging and Cursing if things be not done according to their Mind Now what an unseemly thing is this among those who profess themselves Christians But on the other side this is Gracious-like to come among their Servants and Work-men and thus to Bless them The Lord be with you And they to pray for them And the Lord bless thee And so we read of pure Parents to Bless their Children And it hath been the Use of the Church to Bless the People Therefore in all Congregations where you meet with the Exercises of Religion you use to have a Blessing before you go and you are not to flight it And except God call you out by extraordinary Occasion you are to abide and stay the Blessing We read of some that were appointed by God to stand upon Mount Gerisim in Deut. 27. and their work was only to bless to Bless the People and there were some who stood upon Mount Ebal and they were to Curse But now Mark If we search who they are that are appointed to Bless you shall find them to be more Honourable than those that were appointed to Curse For those that were appointed to Curse there was Reuben he had lost his Birth-right and Gad and Ashur and Dan and Napthali they were Children of the Hand-Maid they were not begotten in the way of Marriage but only by the Hand-Maid or by a Concubine Most of these that were to stand upon Mount Ebal for Cursing they were of the meaner sort of the Tribes This notes thus much That Blessing is the chief work that Ministers should Rejoyce and Delight in Therefore though they do sometimes pronounce the Threats of God against you to awaken Secure Drowsie Sinners which is their work likewise yet certainly there is nothing more sutable unto the Heart of a Godly Minister than to be alwayes Blessing of his People and to be bringing of the Message of Blessing unto them And if this be so then certainly the Ministers of the Gospel they are a great Blessing in the World And you that are People you should Encourage your Ministers to Bless you and to Bless God for you your Carriage towards them should be such as they may with Chearfulness in the Name of God Bless you and they may in secret when they are between God and themselves Bless God for you O when as the Minister shall first look upon the People and Bless them in the Name of God and Bless God for them and the People shall look again upon the Minister and pray to God for a Blessing upon him and Bless God that ever they knew him I say happy is the Minister that thus Blesses and Blesses God for a People and happy likewise the People that do thus pray for a Blessing upon and Bless God for a Minister But more Blessed is that God that shall joyn such Ministers and People together And that 's the Second Note That Ministers are to bless People when they
in fulness than in other wayes as extremity of heat is harder to bear than cold though it be very cold yet by exercise we may get our selves a heat but when it is extream hot weather that 's very tedious and it breeds diseases And so it is easier to carry a Cup that is but half full steadily than to carry a Cup that is brim-full And a Traveller you know the expression the storm and the tempest makes him to get his Cloak closer together and to hold it faster but when the warm beams of the Sun comes and shines upon him that makes him cast off his Cloak You know the Fable of the Sun and the Wind to get the Travellers Cloak which should do it when the Wind came blustering that could not do it but the warm Sun beams that made him throw it off So many times those that can hold fastest in the time of adversity yet in the time of prosperity they lose the seeming graces that they had before and so let all go Now there are divers reasons that I should give you why it is thus difficult to learn this lesson as First Because we are most of us flesh we are more flesh than spirit of our selves Now because we have so little spirit in us therefore all those things that shall come for to joyn with the flesh I do not now speak of corruption but to joyn with our natural part and sensual part we having so little spirit in us it must needs be dangerous for us to manage those things that joyn with our natural part that is flesh though it were not corrupt yet because we have so little spirit That is First We have lost the Image of God The best of us have but little of the Image of God others have lost is quite and then our very reason is wounded by our fall therefore having so little strength in our spirits all those things that come to joyn with the flesh do very much endanger us and do indeed very much weaken our better part Now adversity that pulls from the flesh that takes from the flesh and many times the spirit is much the stronger but what doth add to the strength of the flesh doth endanger us as it is more dangerous to set a Child upon a pamper'd Horse than upon a Horse that is wearied out with work And so for us that are weak in our spirits to have our flesh to be pampered and satisfied I now speak but of our natural flesh and sensual part to be pampered and fully satisfied there 's a great deal of danger in that And then farther In prosperity there are more duties required than in adversity A man that is in a mean estate and condition there are not so many duties required of him but a man that enjoys a fulness there 's abundance of duties required of such a man every comfort that he enjoys is an obligation to some special duty A poor man that works hard at his dayes labour he hath nothing to do but to bless God when he comes into his Family and look to his own heart and to see that the service of God is in his Family But now take a man that is full that is of an estate in the world God requires of him to look abroad in the publick and God gives him charge Look that my Worship be set up look that Justice be executed I will require these things at your hand look that my Sabboths be not prophan'd look that Godliness be countenanced look that Sin is discountenanced But perhaps you will say Every man that is rich he is not a Justice of Peace or in place I but by your countenance you may make friends to this and the other every one is tied to be a friend to those that are rich There are a great many duties that lie upon you that do not lie upon those that are poor If indeed a man that had an estate had nothing else to do but to sit by the fire side and have his servants to bring him his provision if this were all to be full it were easie for a man to know how to be full but you must know that there is much more lies upon you then so which you must answer for and give an account of before God now this is the thing that makes the difficulty And then the third thing is The variety of Temptations that do attend upon a full condition O abundance of temptations there are in a full estate more than there are in a mean estate I confess extream poverty hath many temptations with it very sore and grievous temptations that do attend extremity of poverty but yet not so many as do attend upon a full estate As the flies come in abundance to sweet things honey and the like so Belzebub that signifies the God of Flies O the Devils that have that name they come in abundance where they see sweetness where they see is much prosperity Rats and Mice come to full Barns not to empty ones and so the Vermin of temptations as I may call them do attend upon full estates A Tree that hath nothing on it the Traveller that comes by will not fling at it but a Tree that is full of fruit a Traveller flings at that so those that are in a mean and low condition the Devil passes by them but he especially labors at those that he sees hath much of the world and he hath more hopes of gaining of them As it 's a very observable place concerning Joseph do but consider the Scripture that speaks of the condition of Joseph and his Blessing we may compare two Scriptures together for it the one is in the Book of Genesis where you have Jacob blessing of Joseph and the other is in the Book of Deuteronomy where Moses's Blessing was chap. 33. 13. and of Joseph he said Blessed of the Lord be his land for the precious things of heaven for the dew and for the deep that coucheth beneath And for the precious fruits brought forth by the Sun and for the precious things put forth by the Moon and for the chief things of the ancient Mountains and for the precious things of the lasting hills and for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof c. Here 's for all his outward blessings what a many precious things are here that Joseph had and the fulness thereof But mark of all the Tribes what is said concerning Joseph Gen. 49. 22. Joseph is a fruitful bough even a fruitful bough by a Well whose branches run over the wall But now mark in the 23. verse The Archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him There 's none of the Tribes where it is said that the Archers did so shoot at as at Joseph and there is none of the Tribes that is blessed with so many several pretious things as Joseph is blest withal So that by comparing these two Scriptures you see
Therefore surely it 's Gain to die for a Godly Man 7ly Further It 's Gain in this respect When they receive immediately they shall receive all United in one and all together They shall have such Influence from Christ as hath all Good united in one Beam of Excellency and so receive it all together As now a Man may take the Quintesence of several Herbs there 's this Herb hath this Virtue another another and a third a third but now if you Still all these Herbs together you will have the Virtue and Quintesence of all in one Drop So Christ here scatters His Excellencies one in one Creature another in another but when we come to enjoy Him immediately then we shall have all in one because all His Excellencies whatsoever is united in one in Him Eighthly Further all our Good shall be in continal Act. Here we have a great deal of Good in the Habit but now when we come to have this Immediate communion with Christ there all our Graces shall be Acted continually The Sun you know how it doth Act the Earth whatsoever there is in the Earth it draws it forth and makes it flourish So the Presence of the Sun of Righteousness Oh how Gloriously will it Act all our Graces In Numb 17. 7. We read of Aarons Rod it Blossom'd And the Text saith It Blossom'd before the Lord. When the Souls of the Saints shall be before the Lord and be in the Presence of the Lord Christ O they shall Blossom and Flourish and all their Graces shall Flourish in a most Glorious manner Ninthly And then lastly We shall enjoy what is in Christ without any Intermission What 's the reason of any Intermission here But something that comes between Christ and our Souls But now when there shall be nothing between Christ and the Soul then there will be no Intermission That Sweetness and Comfort thou hast in communion with Christ at any time thou shalt have it at all times And how good is that O saith many a Soul could I have but the communion with Christ at all times as I have at some times O that would be comfortable Now when the Soul hath Immediate communion with Christ it shall have it at all times What 's the reason of Ecclipses It is the Interposition between the Moon and the Sun or some Interposition between the Sun and us So our Ecclipses of the Light that we have from Christ it is some Interposition Take away the Interposition and then there will be no Intermission Now put all these together and is it not Gain to Die and to be with Christ Now by way of Use It is Gain thus to be with Christ Hence then If it be Gain for one that doth so much Service for Christ as Paul did surely than those that are Believers and are made little Use of in any Service for Christ they will get by their Death Paul was a Man that one would wonder how the Churches could spare him he did so much for Christ and yet Paul would get by Death If thou beest a Believer thou shalt have thy Immediate communion with Christ as Paul had Alas here while thou Livest thou hast but little communion between Christ and thee and doest Him but little Service in the World Then why should you so much desire to Live in the World that have nothing to Countervail the Trouble that you have and the Sin that is committed in the World O surely it will be gain for you Secondly Hence it follows That it is a Self-denial to a Believer to be willing to Live here in the World You will say If it be so much Gain why should any be so desirous to Live It 's this first Nature will have its work though in their Judgments they are convinc't that it 's better to be with Christ yet the Body will be working and the Affections will follow the Body very much Further Though they be convinc't that it is Gain yet God lays a Tie upon them to preserve their Lives as long as they can here in this World in Obedience to God They do desire to avoid Dangers and Preserve their Lives It is not for them to be where it is best for them to be but to be where God would have them to be and therefore God doth charge them to seek to Preserve their Lives and to go on till He Himself shall Dissolve the Body and Soul It 's God that is the Lord of our Life and as God gave us our Lives so it is He that must take them away and not any Body else But yet I say there is some Self-denial in it We must look upon our selves here as in a very Low and Mean condition in comparison of what we hope to be within a while after Therefore observe this one Note Those that do believe the Gain of Death they had need Labour what they can to countervail the Forbearance of the Gain by somewhat or other If a Man hath a great Gain and it comes not in his present Possession he thinks What shall I have for my Forbearance You will say What is it that any Believer can have in lieu of his Forbearance of that Gain Truly the most Excellent thing is this that he may do Christ Service while he Lives Now then Is that the main thing O learn from hence to be of as much use in your Lives as possibly you can for you have nothing else to speak of in Forbearance of that great Gain Why Lord I expect to enjoy Thee for ever before long but thou art pleased to Prolong my Life here for a while in the mean time I meet with many Temptations and Troubles and Vexations and much Sin I have But yet Lord thou knowest it 's my desire to Honour Thee and Serve Thee and through Thy Mercy I am some way or other Serviceable to Thee in the Place where Thou hast set me and Lord this is the thing contents me while I am absent from Thee Thirdly Hence we see the great Difference that there is between the death of a Believer and the death of a Wicked Man I shewed you I remember in the death of an Ungodly Man when the siery Serpent comes with his Sting and takes him in his Natural Estate Death is not Gain to such a one O no death takes away all his Gain But now death is the greatest Gain to the Saints That 's an excellent Scripture you have in 1 Cor. 3. the latter end Whether Paul or Appollos or Cephas or the World or Life or Death or Things present or Things to come all is yours In Christ Death comes to be made yours Death is part of the Possession of the Saints O the difference between the death of the Saints and the death of Wicked and Ungodly Men Do but put two Men a Wicked Man and a Godly Man lying both together upon their Death-Beds you must take a wicked Man that hath an enlightned