God and his doctrine be evill spoken on through your vain conversation As ye have received this righteousness of Christ so walk as those that are arrayed in these long white robes Get into the number of the righteous Beloved I know that ye desire it at least when you come to die I know there is none in this congregation but could wish with Balaam Num. 23.10 O let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his And if we desire it at our deaths why should not we endevour it in our lives What a folly is it nay do but consider seriously what a desperate madness that we should desire this so seriously at our end and yet never look after it till we come to die that this should be the first the chief in our desires and yet the least the last in our endevours Nay whilest thus we cast off the care of Christ and of his righteousness in our health is it not just with him so to cast off the care of us when we lie upon our beds of languishing Go cry unto the gods whom ye have chosen let them deliver you now in the time of your tribulation Whilest we disown him in our lives have we not just cause to fear that so he will disown us at our deaths Depart from me ye workers of iniquity verily I know you not If there be yet a profane heart in this congregation Oh do not deceive your selves with the righteousness of your faith nor flatter your selves with the hopes of joy As Peter to Simon Magus I perceive thou art yet in the gall of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquity and hast neither part nor lot in this matter for thy heart is not right in the sight of God Repent therefore of thy wickednesse and pray God if perhaps the thoughts of thine heart may be forgiven thee This is a messe provided only for a Benjamin Rejoyce ye righteous Beloved we have now found out the righteous man I have been long in this discovery So it concerns us A wise builder will be carefull to lay his foundation firm And a steward must be faithfull to give every man his own portion So here lest on the one hand we should take the childrens bread and give it unto dogs or on the other hand lest we should withhold bread from the children Having therefore thus clear'd the way now we may more cheerfully proceed to The joy of the Righteous Be glad in the Lord and rejoyce ye righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart In these words we finde a Trinity in Unity a trinity of expressions in an unity of sense Be glad and rejoyce and shout for joy all to set forth the greatnesse of the joy of these happy men Yet here not only to word it to the ear but to lay it open to the eye let us look about us Where can we fix our eye but we finde matter of the greatest joy I shall now give the reasons of it 1. While we look above us God is our father and have ye not here Homers Iliads in a nut-shel Heaven in a word 2 Cor. 6.18 I will be a father unto you and ye shall be me sons and daughters saith the Lord God Almighty Is not here matter of great joy How did it raise the spirit of David when Saul had given him his daughter Seemeth it a small thing unto you to be the son-in-law of a King But then 1 Joh. 3.1 Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us that we should be called the sons of God But farther as God is our Father so Christ is our Saviour The birth of Christ is glad tidings of great joy so it was sung by a whole quire of Angels O ye that are highly favoured climb up into the Sycomore-tree Do ye not hear his voice and it is sweet This day is salvation come unto thy house Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace saith old Simeon for mine eyes have seen thy salvation And the blessed Virgin My soul doth magnifie the Lord and my spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour So the Ethiopian Eunuch when he had got but a glimpse of Christ he went on his way rejoycing Nay 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love in whom though ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce even with joy unspeakable and glorious But yet further as Christ is our Saviour so the Holy Ghost our Comforter Joh. 14.16 I will pray unto the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive but ye know him Do we not finde the comforts of this Spirit confirming the Adoption of the Father He hath given us the earnest of the Spirit even the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father So sealing the redemption of the Son Oh grieve not the Spirit by which ye are sealed unto the day of redemption And now do not your hearts leap for joy whilest thus you behold God your Father Christ your Saviour and the Holy Ghost your Comforter the whole Trinity of Persons in the unity of your consolation Perhaps the world frowns upon you And what a poor thing was that of Haman so to vex and fret himself for want of the knee of Mordecai when he had the favour of the King himself But then what a pitifull thing is this in us to vex and torment our selves at the frowns of men whilest we have the love and favour of the Lord himself Why art thou cast down Oh my soul As once Elcanah to his wife Am I not better to thee then ten sons So is not the love of God better to us then ten thousand worlds Psal 4.6 Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us This puts gladnesse in the heart more then in the time that corn and wine and oyle increaseth Oh ye Favourites of heaven be not awanting to your selves If Haman had cause to pride himself in the favour of Ahasuerus that great King of Assyria how much more may it cheer up your spirits that ye have the favour of God the great God of heaven Rejoyce ye Righteous 2. Whilest we look below us Behold the Pit that bottomless pit Are you not affrighted with the horror of it such a fearfull pit So think upon that place of darknesse that blacknesse of darknesse Oh how comfortlesse how frightful to be reserved in everlasting chains under darknesse with the prince of darknesse And think upon those chains those everlasting chains Ah wofull eternity Were it on a bed of down if chain'd upon that bed how wearisome but there bound for ever Oh what heart is able to conceive the horror of this word for ever Nay yet worse Go ye cursed into everlasting fire Do not your sinews shrink to think upon this fire this everlasting fire Oh how afflictive and tormenting
there is at the least a rejoycing of hope Heb. 3.6 If ye hold fast the confidence and rejoycing of the hope firm unto the end Nay Luk. 21.28 Lift up your hands for your redemption draweth nigh Our Saviour in that place is speaking of the worst of times Mens hearts failing them for fear and for looking after the things which are coming upon the earth and then lift up your heads saith he then is the time of the Saints greatnest hopes So is the night the darkest at the approach of day and Saints joy the greatest in that darkest night But perhaps there is yet something else that troubles you Beloved as Joab removed the dead body of Amasa so would I take all lets out of your way that nothing might hinder your rejoycing David's complaint is sad Psal 38.3 There is no soundnesse in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sin This indeed is the sad ingredient that imbitters all But so let me advise you to weep still and then rejoyce that ye can thus weep If it hinder your rejoycing I must tell you that it is a sin Though it may seem strange yet it is a truth A man may sin in sorrowing for sin I suppose but few are guilty in this kinde Yet it is a fault when we think of sin so much and mourn so unmeasurably that it unfits us for those other duties God requires at our hands when it cools our devotion that we cannot pray or infeebles our faith that we cannot believe when it carries us from God and deprives us of that hope which is laid up for us in Christ Jesus In a word when it takes us from this duty Rejoyce evermore Why art thou then cast down O my soul and why art thou thus disquieted within me I will yet trust in God who is the health of my countenance and my God So now I shall call upon you as upon my self Rejoyce ye righteous And the rather I call upon you 1. In respect unto your selves that ye may have the comfort of those blessings God hath bestowed upon you beyond other men As ye heard before whilest ye look above God is your Father whilest below God shall tread down Satan under your feet shortly whilest without all 's yours whilest within the Kingdom of heaven's there whilest upon the left hand all things work together for your good whilest upon the right you have God in your enjoyments whilst behind you the winter is past whilest before you an eternity Oh joyful eternity But till you rejoyce in these things you do but live besides your wealth as that covetous worldling Eccles 6.2 A man to whom God hath given riches wealth and honours so that he wanteth nothing that his soul desires yet God gives him not power to eat thereof but a stranger eateth it Besides you disable your selves for the performance of those duties God requires of you under such enjoyments at least you perform them not with that cheerfulnesse and alacrity as ye ought whilest your affections flag ye lose the grace of your performances They come from you but as water forced against the hill because ye have no pleasure in them Whereas those that rejoyce in God they run the waies of his commandements and therein is their delight That therefore you may have the comfort of his mercy roward you and the honour of a cheerfull service it concerns you to attend this duty Rejoyce ye righteous 2. In regard of others to encourage them in the waies of righteousnesse Numb 13. we read The spies which were sent into the land of Canaan they brought an evil report upon the land insomuch that the people began to think of making themselves captains to return again into the land of Egypt so whilest we are of that heavy heartlesse and uncomfortable disposition we bring an evill report upon Religion as if it were but some sullen fit or melancholick humour and no joy to be taken in it Thus we discourage those that were entring in Besides we encourage enemies Psal 13.2 How long shall I be so vexed in heart How long shall the enemy triumph over me then they triumph over us when they see us vexed at the heart Aha so would we have it and this hardens them in their wickednesse But when they see our undanted spirits and that we go on with cheersulnesse and courage this is a trouble to them So lest you discourage friends and encourage enemies Rejoyce ye righteous Lastly In regard of God that he may have the praises due unto his name Psal 33.1 Rejoyce in the Lord ye righteous for praise is comly for the upright This is added as the reason why we must rejoyce because praise is comely implying indeed that we cannot be thankful to him except we rejoyce in him Whilest we are sad and melancholick it appears that either we take no notice of his mercies or that we do but lightly esteem of them but when we rejoyce in them this argues that we highly prize them and the more we rejoyce the more thankfull for them Oh take heed of that base sin the sin of ingratitude an odious and provoking sin It not only robs God of his glory but our selves The more thankful we are to God the more bountiful is God to us Ascensus gratiarum est descensus gratiae As vapours drawn out of the earth return in showres to the earth so our thanks ascending up to heaven God showres down upon us more abundant mercies Because thou hast been faithful in a little be thou ruler over much But then on the contrary Deut. 28.47 Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulnesse and with gladnesse of heart for the abundance of all things therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee in hunger and in thirst and in nakednesse and in the want of all things Thus whilest we look upon God whether we eye his favour or his frown it concerns us to be joyfull that we may be thankfull Nay whilest we look upon that sacred Trinity that we may give him his due praises so might we double and treble our rejoycings Be glad in the Lord and rejoyce ye righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart Thus to God the Father in whom we rejoyce to God the Son by whom we are made righteous and to God the Holy Ghost through whom we are upright in heart To the three Persons and one God be the glory of our joy for ever and ever Amen The Resolution of a Case of Separation MADAM YOur Ladiships Case if I rightly understand you is this Whether a woman separating from her Husband for want of maintenance and the Court adjudging her an allowance he be not bound in conscience to confirm it in case she be willing to live with him and if he will not whether she may not lawfully continue in a separation
if but a minute in it How mercilesse and cruell is the fire above all other clements but then to be thrown into those unquenchable flames the fire that shall never go out who can dwell with everlasting burnings But yet further Go ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devill and his Angels Lord have mercy upon me saith the woman in the Gospell for my daughter is grievously tormented with a Devill But one Devill yet grievously tormented and it was her daughter yet Lord have mercy upon me Do not your ears tingle and your hearts tremble to think of that heavie doom when sentenc'd amongst all those hellish Fiends those infernal Furies amongst all the Devils in that pit of darknesse in those everlasting burnings and for ever and ever Oh what ghastly looks what fearfull howlings and what hideous yellings Then shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth indeed Take yet another sight Isa 5.14 Hell hath inlarged her mouth wide and their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he that rejoyceth shall descend into it He that now rejoyceth in his pomp and glory and with all his multitude for hells mouth is wide Mat. 7.13 Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat But strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that finde it Beloved here is our rejoycing that we are not in the number of those many but in the number of these few that we are prepared for life and delivered from that sad destruction Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ So no pit nor darknesse nor fire nor Devill to torment them Luk. 1.74 He hath delivered us out of the hand of our enemies that we might serve him without fear We are delivered from them and the more we consider the horror of that bottomlesse pit that blacknesse of darknesse that unquenchable fire the more we consider those fearful howlings and those hideous yellings with the Devil and his Angels the greater is our joy especially whilest we take notice of the multitudes that go down to hell That so many millions are devoured in that pit and that we are delivered where so few escape the more they are the more cause we have to rejoyce in that great deliverance As the Israelites whilest they stood safe upon the shore and beheld the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea or as they when delivered from the bloudy plot of that cruel Haman wheresoever the word came the Jewes they had light and gladnesse a feast and a good day If they for a deliverance from that which kils the body how much more we for a deliverance from that which casts both soul and body into hell The greater the deliverance is the more is our joy Rejoyce ye Righteous 3 Whilest we look without us Whilest we behold the glory of the heavens above us the riches of the earth below us that variety of all creatures round about us Psal 8.3 When I consider the heavens the work of thy fingers the Moon and the Stars which thou hast ordained What is man that thou art mindfull of him or the son of man that thou visitest him Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands thou hast put all things under his feet all sheep and oxen yea and the beasts of the field the fowls of the air and the fish of the the sea and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea All things to serve Man that goodly canopy of heaven that covers us so bespangled with variety of stars that rich green mantle of the earth that supports us so bestudded with variety of plants those vast dominions both of air and water so peopled with an infinite variety of creatures not only for mans necessity but his recreation and delight All under mans command So in their first creation Gen. 1.26 Let us make man in our own image after our own likenesse and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowle of the air and over the cattell and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth It is true indeed man by his fall as he hath defaced Gods image so hath he forfeited his rule But here is the joy of Saints Christ hath renew'd their title 1 Cor. 3.21 All things are yours whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come all are yours and ye are Christs and Christ is Gods All are yours ye are the heirs of God and joynt heirs with Christ who is heir of all things And is not here matter of great joy We see the men of the world how they rejoyce when they have gotten but a little but a very little in comparison of the whole world when Alcibiades viewed his Kingdoms in a Map they seemed but as the prick of a pin in comparison of the Globe But the whole world is yours As Paul in another case If any man have cause to glory I much more O ye that are highly favoured be not awanting to your selves Are ye in distresse in necessities in wants Do ye murmur and complain It is because your eyes are held as Elisha's servant Behold the mountain is full of horses of fire and chariots of fire round about Elisha You have the wealth of the whole world about you All 's yours Do ye want something as ye think but ye want nothing as God thinks Though ye have it not in your own hands yet is it in his hands who knowes what is better for you then you do your selves Every man is not an Abraham fit to be exceeding rich And what good doth a long garment on the back of a little child you have his word Psal 34.10 The Lions lack and suffer hunger but they that fear the Lord shall want no good thing The Lion is a beast of prey he can feed upon dead carkasses whilest others perish in the famine yet sooner shall the Lion lack then they that fear the Lord any thing which may be for Gods glory or their good Do we not see a Daniel as fair and as well liking with his pulse and water as those that feed at the Kings table So God suites a portion to their mindes and they are content with what they have They desire no more And here 's a wealth beyond that of Alexander Who so rich as he that hath as much as he desires Godlinesse with contentment is great gain Without ifs or ands it is so it is gain gain with a witnesse great gain Nay more what can you desire more here 's gain with contentment O ye covetous muck-worms ye that still feed upon the earth that toyle and sweat and vex and fret rising up betimes going late to bed eating the bread of carefulnesse scarce giving rest unto your bodies nor yet peace to
his Disciples I have meat to eat that ye know not on So the Saints have joyes that the world sees not nay that they cannot see The natural man perceives noâ— the things of God so nor are they able to perceive the joy of the Saints of God They are so far from prceiving them that count them but a burden It is the joy of Saints to see the light of Gods countenance this puts gladnesse in their hearts more then in the time that corn and wine and oyl increaseth But they think not upon God God is not in all their thoughts When the thoughts of God are brought into their mindes it marrs all their mirth The thoughts of God are melancholick thoughts therefore they think as seldom of him as they can It is the joy of Saints to think of those sweet experiences of Gods love and kindnesse Thy loving kindnesse is better then life and it is their delight to recount his favours I will remember the years of the right hand of the most high But these live by chance they never regard the works of the Lord nor the operations of his hand therefore they mock the Saints He trusted in God that he would deliver him let him deliver him seeing he delighted in him It is the joy of Saints the knowledge of the Word of God His delight is in the Law of the Lord and in that Law doth he meditate day and night Nay thy Commandements are my delights saith David not delight but delights a plurality of delights One man pleaseth himself in this thing and another in that but here he meets the pleasure of all recreations a multitude of delights But these they grow weary of it Whilest their ears are tyed to the Scriptures they are as a Bear tyed to the stake Therefore they say unto God Depart from us we desire not the knowledge of thy waies It is the joy of Saints to meet God in his Ordinances My soul thirsteth for God yea even for the living God Oh when shall I come and appear before God! So they count the Sabbath a delight But these how quickly they are tired of it When will the new Moons be gone that we may sell corn and the Sabbaths that we may set forth wheat As the Heathens thought so think they that the Jewes lost a seventh part of their time because they kept the seventh day a holy rest unto the Lord. It is the joy of Saints to attend Gods service As their Lord and Master It is my meat and drink to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work So David I delight to do thy will O my God yea thy Law is within my heart But these say they let us break his bands asunder and cast away his cords from us It is in vain to serve the Lord and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinances In a word It is the joy of Saints to think of heaven Where the treasure is there will the heart be also So their conversation is in heaven all their thoughts longings desires and endevours after it But these their affections are set upon the things below And as that French Cardinal they prefer their part in Paris before that in Paradise And Gallio cares for none of these things Thus we see their mistakes accounting that a joy which is indeed their sorrow and that a burden which is the only joy Oh but secondly say they Do not we hear your complaints and see your tears and your lives are bitter Do we not read the lamentations of a Jeremy and David's soul melts with weeping All the night long wash I my bed and water my couch with my tears For answer to this It is true indeed and as well may you desire mirth from a dead man as from the Saints in some conditions But 1. Take notice this is their weaknesse So David doth acknowledge it Psal 77.10 This is my infirmity It is their ignorance of Gods fatherly love toward them Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth Sorrow is sometimes as necessary for us as is joy The truth is whilest we carry flesh about us such is the frailty of our sinful nature either of both endangers if they be not tempered God therefore in the wisdom of his providence such is his care over us he mixes the cup for us He sweetens our sorrow with some joy lest we should despair and imbitters our joy with some sorrow lest we should presume Either of both might ruine us but of the two sorrow may seem lesse dangerous or rather that which brings us the more good A pleasant potion is more delightful but a bitter pill is sometimes more healthful Eccles 7.2 It is better to go into the house of mourning then to go into the house of feasting And lest you should think this a word rashly spoken for who would not prefer the one far before the other therefore he seconds it vers 3. Sorrow is better then laughter Nay not only sayes it but proves it For by the sadnesse of the countenance the heart is made better In mirth many times we are apt to forget our selves but sorrow puts us in a godly frame It is our ignorance therefore of Gods fatherly care over us that deprives us of our happinesse Besides it is sometimes with us as with Elisha's servant Alas Master what shall we do for his eyes were held Or as it was with old Jacob when they brought him the newes that Joseph was alive and Governor over the whole land of Egypt His soul fainted in him and he believed them not Or as with the Disciples when they brought the first newes of Christs resurrection Their words seemed but as idle tales and they believed not the women So it is our ignorance our infidelity it is not our righteousnesse but our weaknesse which brings all this sorrow But 2. Are you not again mistaken You hear their moans and you see their tears and is there not a joy in weeping The weeping of the Saints doth not intermit their joyes This may seem a paradox but they understand it As sorrowing saith St. Paul yet alwaies rejoycing We finde something even in natural experience It is sometime an ease unto a troubled soul Est quaedam flere voluptas When the vessel 's full and begins to work if it want a vent it soon bursts asunder When the heart is sore opprest with grief and ready to sink under the burden happy man that can give vent unto his soul with tears that can empty himself with weeping But further sometimes we finde it even that which is the matter of our tears is also the matter of our joy We shall see a man in reading of some sad story how the tears trickle from his eyes he weeps and reads and reads and weeps and the more he reads still the more he weeps yet is he delighted in his reading Ipse dolor voluptas That