for it is a good thing that the Heart be established with Grace not with Merits which have not profited them that have been occupied therein 2 Cor. 2.11 2 3 4. I am zealous over you with a Godly jealousie for I have espoused you to one Husband that I may present you as a chast Virgin to Christ but I fear lest by any means as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his Subtilty so your Minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ For if he that cometh perceiveth another Jesus whom we have not prepared or if ye receive another Spirit which ye have not received or another Gospel which ye have not accepted ye might well bear with him Gal. 1.8 Though we or an Angel from Heaven Preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have Preached unto you let him be accursed Contend for the truth against all that shall corrupt or oppose it Jude 1. Let no Ordinance be lost or adulterated with your good will restore all to their primitive purity and keep them in it Let the word of the Lord also go forth from you unto others that you being the Lord 's Holy Mountain may be a rich Blessing to all places round about Ezek. 34.26 Psal 110.2 Think your selves of some expedient how to propagate the Gospel according to your capacities abilities and as present Providences will permit after the pattern of the Church of Thessalonica 1 Ep. 1 Chap. v. 6 7 8. Yea become followers of us and of the Lord having received the Word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost so that ye were examples to all that were at Macedonia and Achaia for from you sounded out the word of the Lord. 6. God has fenced you with many Hedges and strong Fortifications to wit with his own Power Providence Spirit Word Angels and other Creatures insomuch that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against you Let therefore Mount Zion be glad and the Daughters of Judah be glad walk about Zion go round about her tell the Towers thereof mark well her Bulwarks consider her Palaces that ye may tell it to the Generations following for this God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide unto Death Ps. 48. to the end Isa 4.5 6. The Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon the Assemblies a Cloud and Smoke by Day and shining of a Flaming Fire by Night for upon all the Glory shall be a defence and there shall be a Tabernacle for a Shadow in the Day-time from the Heat and for a place of Refuge and for a covert from the Storm and Rain And 41.10 11 12. Fear not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the Right Hand of my Righteousness behold all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded They shall be as nothing and they that strive with thee shall perish Thou shalt seek them and shalt not find them even them that contended with thee they that were against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of nought 7. As God has made many Promises to you my indeed all Promises are Yea and Amen to you that believe 2 Cor. 1.20 So suck the Breasts of these Consolations and let the Word of Christ dwell Richly in you in all Wisdom Col. 3.16 Chuse Promises as a part of your Portion Psal 119.111 Acting Faith and Patience for the accomplishment thereof and comforting your selves therewith in all your Affictions Distresses and Tribulations Get some compendious Catalogue not only in your Heads but also in your Hearts of such promises especially which may afford you some comfortable relief against the temptations and troubles that do ordinarly attend a Church-state â—â—le instance in a few to shew you how to make improvement of the rest 1. Are you at any time under perturbation of Mind fearing the Rage and Rejection of the Men of the World for your separation not walking with them in the same way of visible Worship Let that of 2 Cor. 6.17 18. be ready at hand as a present remedy Come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and will be a Father to you and ye shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord God Almighty It s true this Scripture is principally understood of separation from Idolatry and Idolaters but not exclusive of other separations where there is visible Righteousness and Unrighteousness Light and Darkness Christ and Belial Piety and Tolerated Profaness As you may see v. 14.15 2. Is the want of able Officers or being de prived of such as ye had your grief Make use of Ezek. 34.15 16. I will feed them in a good Pasture and upon the high Mountains of Israel shall the Fold be I will seek that which was lost and bring again that which was driven away and will bind up that which was broken and strengthen that which was sick Jer. 3.14 15. I will take you one of a City and two of a Family and I will bring you to Zion and I will give you Pastores according to mine Heart which shall feed you with Knowledge and Understanding If it be for God's Glory and your good you may believe that some time or other that of Isa 30.20 21. shall be fulfilled I limit not the Holy One to Days Weeks Months or Years Though the Lord give you the Bread of Adversity and the Water of Affliction yet shall not thy Teachers be removed into a Corner any more but thine Eyes shall see thy Teachers and thine Ears shall hear a Word behind thee saying this is the way walk ye in it when ye turn to the Right Hand and to the Left 3. Are you a reproach to Neighbours vile and contemptible in the Eyes of all that are round about See Isa 28.5 The Lord of Hosts shall be for a Crown of Glory and for a Diadem of Beauty to the residue of his People And 62.3 Thou shalt also be for a Crown of Glory in the Hand of the Lord and a Royal Diadem in the Hand of thy God 〈◊〉 Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken neither shall thy Land any more be termed desolate but thou shalt be called Hephzibah and thy Land Beulah for the Lord delighteth in thee and thy Land shall be Married Isa 51.7 Hearken un to me ye that know Righteousness the Peoplâ— in whose Heart is my Law Fear ye not the reproach of Men neither be afraid of their Revilings for the Moth shall eat them up as a Garment and the Worm shall eat them as Wooll but my Righteousness shall be for ever and my Salvation from Generation to Generation Isa 54.4 5. Ezek. 36.15 â— 4. Is it so that Ordinances do you but little good your Souls are still Barren and Unfruitful
THE Christian Directed IN HIS RACE to HEAVEN OR A Short ACCOUNT of that Knowledge and Practice that leads thither By JAMES FORBES Minister of the Gospel at Glocester LONDON Printed by J. Brudenell for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three-Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers-Chappel 1700. THE CHRISTIAN Directed IN HIS Race to HEAVEN FIRST Consider often the Great End of your Creation and Redemption by Christ The great Jehovah was no more a Debtor to you than to the most worthless Worm that creeps upon the Earth the Distinguishing you from Brutes Sensitive and Imanimate Creatures is a meer Act of Favour in Furnishing you with such an Excellent Immaterial Immortal Spiritual and Divine Substance the Soul consisting of Understanding Will Conscience Memory and Affections whereby you are capable of the Knowledge of and Communion with the High and Lofty One that Inhabits Eternity Your Body is also wonderfully framed Ps 139.14 and fitted by the hand of an infinite Skilful Artificer both for Services and Sufferings I beseech you therefore by the Mercies of God that you Consecrate your selves Souls and Bodies a Living Holy and acceptable Sacrifice to the Author of your Being which is your Reasonable Service Rom. 12.1 And Glorify him with both as knowing you are not your own you are Bought with a Price 1. Cor. 6.20 O remember you were sent into the World for Higher Ends than meerly to Eat Drink Sleep and satisfy the Lusts of the Flesh Study to Answer the Ends of your Creation and Redemption The Second Thing I commend to you is in the Words of the Wise Man Prov. 2.3 4 5 6. If thou Cryest after Knowledge and liftest up thy Voice for Understanding if thou seekest her as Silver and searchest for her as for hid Treasures then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the Knowledge of God For the Lord giveth Wisdom out of his Mouth cometh Knowledge and Understanding Be well Grounded in the Infallible Assurance of a Deity s being the first Letter in the Alphabet of Christianity Believe that there is a God Heb. 11.6 Give Credit to Scripture-revelations concerning him that he is such a one as is there Described and let the Knowledge of his Incomprehensible Perfections leave some suitable Impresses upon you Spirits Contemplate often the Infathomable depth of the Divine Glory of his Attributes and you will find it to be an Exercise both Pleasing and Profitable John 17.3 This is Life Eternal to know God 1. Look upon him as an Eternal Being which knew no beginning and shall have no end the Alpha and Omega the First and the Last Gen. 21.33 Isa 44.6 and 57.15 Rom. 1.20 Revel 1.8 Such an Antiquity as is Eternity is truly Honourable This will make you have an undervaluing Esteem of the Choicest Creatures which are of Yesterday and at best but Breathing nothings in Comparison of him Ps 103.15 16. As for Man his Days are as Grass as a Flower of the Field so he flourisheth for the Wind passeth over it and it is gone and the place thereof shall know it no more but the Mercy of the Lord is from Everlasting to Everlasting to them that fear him and his Righteousness to Childrens Children And 102.25 26 27. Of old hast thou laid the Foundation of the Earth and the Heavens are the Work of thy Hands they shall Perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shall wax Old like a Garment as a Vesture shalt thou Change them and they shall be Changed but thou art the same and thy Years shall have no End The Children of thy Servants shall continue and their Seed shall be established before thee 2. Survey his Glory as he is the being of beings both as to their original and continuance Acts 17.24 25. The Apostle there brings a practical inference from this Position that seeing God is the Being of Beings all acts of Adoration should be sutable to so glorious a Being God that made the World and all things therein seeing that he is Lord of Heaven and Earth dwelleth not in Temples made with Hands neither is Worshipped with Mens Hands as though he needed any thing seeing he giveth to all Life and Breath and all things v. 29. For as much then as we are the Offspring of God we ought not to think that the God-head is like unto Gold or Silver or Stone graven by Art and Mans device John 4.24 God is a Spirit and they that Worship him must Worship him in Spirit and in truth 3. Take some view of the Infiniteness of his Wisdom Prov. 3.19 20. The Lord by Wisdom hath founded the Earth by Understanding hath he established the Heavens by his knowledge the Depths are broken up and the Clouds drop down the Dew Such a Survey will cause a Soul-humbling reflection upon your own folly and ignorance Prov. 30.2 3. Surely I am more brutish than any Man I neither learned Wisdom not have the knowledge of the Holy Who hath ascended up to Heaven or descended Who hath gathered the wind in his fists Who hath bound the waters in a garment Who hath established all the ends of the Earth What is his name and what is his Sons name if thou canst tell This will make thee believe that he can make thee wise unto Salvation notwithstanding of all that darkness and folly that 's upon you Job 12.13 With him is wisdom and strength he hat counsel and understanding And you must needs break forth into admiration Rom. 11.33 O the depth of the Riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! And into that Apostolical Doxologie 1 Tim. 1.17 Now unto the King Eternal Immortal Invisible the only wise God be Honour and Glory forever and ever Amen Jude 25. 4. Survey him in the Glory of his Immensity Ubiquity Omnipresence and Omniscience And your great care will be at all times and in all places to walk as under his All-seeing eye saying with the Psalmist Psal 139.2 3. Thou knowest my down-sitting and my up-rising thou understandest my thought afar off whither shall I go from thy Spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence If I say surely the darkness shall cover me even the Night shall be light about me yea the darkness hideth not from thee but the Night seemeth as the Day the darkness and the light are both alike unto thee 1 Sam. 16.7 1 Chron. 28.9 The Lord searches all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts Psal 7.10 Heb. 4.13 Acts 17.27 28. God is not far from e-every one of us for in him we live This also would much heighten your apprehensions of God in all addresses to him as being one that filleth Heaven and Earth Jer. 23.24 1 King 8.27 Will God indeed dwell on the Earth Behold the Heaven and Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee how much less this House that I have built Is 66.1 with Acts 7.49 Thus saith the Lord the Heaven is my Throne the Earth is my Footstool
raised from the Dead according to my Gospel wherein I suffer as an evil-doer even unto bonds but the word of God is not bound Therefore I endure all things for the elects sake that they may also obtain the Salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal Glory Phil 2.17 Yea and if I be offered up upon the Sacrifice and service of your Faith I joy and rejoyce with you all 1 Tim. 12 13 14. 2 Tim. 1.8 Be not ashamed of the Testimony of our Lord nor of me his Prisoner but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the Power of God Are you now Members of a Gospel-Church and in Communion with Saints Consider the Duties of this relation 1. In Reference to God and the dignity of a Church state 2. To those that are over you in the Lord. 3. One to another Duties of the first sort are these 1. God hath made over himself by a most solemn covenant-engagement unto you put a high estimate upon this more than ordinary privilege and make a due improvement thereof let the thoughtful remembrance of this overaw you to a constant walking in his Holy ways and observation of his Statutes Deut. 26.17 18 19 20. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God and to walk in his ways and the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar People and that thou shouldest keep all his Commandments and to make thee high above all Nations in Praise and in Name and in Honour that thou mayest be a Holy People unto the Lord thy God Let the memory of this be always recent and fresh upon your Spirits and it will much influence persiverance in Holiness and prove an excellent Antidote against Apostasy 2. The Gospel Church is often called the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 3.2 and 5.19 and 11.12 and 13.14 and 16.19 And if God hath made you Members hereof it is a vertual declaration of his Mind and Counsel concerning your Election from Eternity and Salvation to all Eternity which calls aloud upon you for Spiritual Rejoycing more than if you had been made Earthly Kings and Queens Luke 10.20 In this rejjoyce not that the Spirits are Subject unto you but rather rejoyce because your Names are written in Heaven 2 Thes 2.13 14 15. We are bound to give thanks unto God alway for you Brethren Beloved of the Lord because God hath from the beginning chosen you to Salvation through Sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth whereunto he called you by our Gospel to the obtaining of the Glory of our Lord Jesus Ephes 1.4 5 6. 2 Tim. 1.9 10. 3. Though once ye were Darkness yet now ye are all the Children of Light and of the Day Therefore sleep not as others but watch and be sober 1 Thes 5.5 6 7. They that sleep sleep in the Night and they that are Drunken are Drunken in the Night but let us who are of the Day be sober putting one the Breast-plate of Faith and for a Helmet the hope of Salvation Rom. 13.12 13. The Night is far spent the Day is at hand let us therefore cast off the works of Darkness and put on the armour of Light let us walk honestly as in the Day not in Rioting and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness not in Strife and Envying but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the Flesh to fulfill the Lusts thereof 1 Pet. 2.9 10. Ye are a chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood an Holy Nation a Peculiar People that ye should shew forth the praises of him that hath called you out of Darkness into his marvellous Light which in time past were not a People but are now the People of God which had not obtained mercy but have now obtained mercy Dearly beloved I beseech you as Strangers and Pilgrims abstain from Fleshly Lusts which war against the Soul having your conversation honest among the Gentils that whereas they speak against you as evil doers they may by your good works which they shall behold Glorifie God in the day of visitation Math. 5.16 4. You are made sharers and copartners with Christ in all the Privileges and Precious things which he has purchased with his Blood 1 Pet. 1.18 19 20. And wherein will you testifie your thankfulness to him Has he Died for you and will not love constrain you to live unto him 2 Cor. 2.5 14. As he Died for your sins so he Rose for your justification Rom. 4.25 And will not you Dye to Sin and ascend in your Hearts after him Will not you study to know the Power of his Resurrection and the Fellowship of his Sufferings being made conformable to his Death Phil. 3.10 11 Rom. 6.10 11 12 13. In that he Died he Died unto sin once but in that he Liveth he Liveth unto God Likewise ye also reckon your selves to be Dead unto Sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord Let not Sin therefore reign in your Mortal Bodies that ye should obey it in the Lusts thereof neither yield your Members as Instruments of unrighteousness unto Sin but yield your selves unto God as those that are alive from the Dead and your Members as Instruments of Righteousness unto God He hath now broke the Serpents Head triumphed over Principalities and Powers taken away the Hand-Writing of the Old Covenant that was against you Nailing it to his Cross has conquered the World and delivered you from it Has made Death stingless and has swallowed up the Grave in victory has abolished the condemning Power of the Law himself being made a curse for you What hinders then but that you take up that Apostical Triumph Rom. 8. to the end Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect It is God that justifieth who is he that condemneth It is Christ that Died Yea rather that is risen again who is even at the Right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us Who shall separate us from all the Love of Christ shall tribulation who are the Enemies and what are the evils which the Church redeemed with the Blood of God should be afraid of Heb. 10.19 21 22. Having therefore Brethren boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he has consecrated for us though the Veil that is to say his flesh and having a high Priest over the House of God let us draw near with a true Heart in full assurance of Faith having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our Bodies washed with pure water with the thing it self that was signified by legal washings 5. God has reposed this great trust in you to be Instrumental conservators of his Truths and Ordinances Rom. 3.2 1 Tim. 3.15 Shew fidelity in preserving truth among your selves keeping your Understandings and Judgments untainted with errours and heresies Acts 20.19 30 31. Eph. 4.14 Heb. 13.9 Be not carried about with strange Doctrines
for all their droppings and bedewings Act Faith upon Psal 92.13 14. The Righteous shall Flourish like the Palm-Tree he shall grow like a Cedar in Lebanon Those that be Planted in the House of the Lord shall Flourish in the Courts of our God they shall still bring forth Fruit in Old Age they shall be Fat and Flourishing to shew that the Lord is upright Isa 27.3 6. I the Lord water the Vineyard of Red Wine every moment He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take Root Israel shall Blossom and Bud and fill the Face of the World with Fruit And 35.5 6 7. Then shall the Eyes of the Blind be opened and the Ears of the Deaf shall be unstopped Then shall the Lame Man Leap as an Hart and the Tongue of the Dumb shall speak For in the Wilderness shall Waters break out and Streams in the Desert The parched Ground shall become a Pool and the Thirsty Land Springs of Water in the Habitation of Dragons where each lay shall be Grass with Reads and Rushes And 44.3 4. I will pour Water upon him that is Thirsty and Flouds upon the dry Ground I will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed and my Blessing upon thine Off-spring and they shall Spring up as among the Grass as Willows by the Water side Mal. 4.2 Unto you that fear my Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his Wings and ye shall go forth and grow up as Calves of the Stall 5. Are you troubled with any bad Members the Loosness and Carnality of whose Conversation proves a scandal to the Gospel and a reproach to your profession Comfort your selves with the promised purity of such a Church-state yet to come which will admit of no Persons visibly unholy Zech. 14.20 21. In that Day shall there be upon the Bells of the Horses Holiness to the Lord And the Pots of the Lord's House shall be like Bowls before the Altar yea every Pot in Judca and in Jerusalem shall be Holiness unto the Lord of Hosts and all they that Sacrifice shall come and take of them and seeth therein and in that Day shall there be no more the Canaanite in the House of the Lord of Hosts Isa 35.4 5. And a High-way shall be there and it shall be called the way of Holiness The unclean shall not pass over it but it shall be for those The way-fairing Men tho' Fools shall not err therein No Lion shall bethere nor any Ravenous Beast shall go up thereupon but the Redeemed of the Lord shall walk there Isa 60.21 Thy People shall be all Righteous Zeph. 3.13 The remnant of Israel shall not do Iniquity nor speak Lyes neither shall a deceitful Tongue be found in their Mouth 6. Are you troubled with intestine divisions carnal discords strises emulations and envyings by reason of which you cannot cordially joyn together in Acts of Worship See Zeph. 3.9 I will turn to the People a pure Language that they may call upon the Name of the Lord to serve him with one consent Zech. 14.9 The Lord shall be King over all the Earth In that Day shall be one Lord and his Name one Jer. 32.39 I will give them one Heart and one Way that they may fear me for ever for the good of them and of the Children after them Isa 11.13 Ephraim shall not envy Judah and Judah shall not vex Ephraim Though this promise does more particularly relate to a Reconciliation between the Ten Tribes and the Two yet by converting it into a Prayer it is applicable to your case Thus Lord hast thou said that thou wilt do and so for the Jews and will not thou do so also for us Are not we made partakers of the fatness of the Olive are not their privileges ours And their promises in some degree ours Eph. 3.6 And 2.13 14 15 16 17 18. 7. Are you so poor in temporals that you know not how to Subsist your selves nor how to maintain your Poor See Psal 132.13 14 15. The Lord hath chosen Zion he hath desired it for his Habitation This is my rest for ever here will I dwell I will abundantly bless her Provision I will satisfie her Poor with Bread And 33.18 The Eyes of the Lord is upon them that fear him to keep them alive in time of Famine And 34.9 10. Ther 's no want to them that fear the Lord The young Lions do lack and suffer hunger but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing 8. Have you much ado to trust God for your Children and Posterity how they shall be provided for as to Spirituals and Temporals See 5 Gen. 17.7 I will establish my Covenant between me and thee and thy Seed after thee in their Generations for an Everlasting Covenant to be a God unto thee and to thy Seed after thee Isa 59.21 My Spirit and my words shall not depart out of thy Mouth nor out of the Mouth of thy Seed nor out of the Mouth of thy Seeds Seed Deut. 4.40 Thou shalt keep his Statutes and Comandments which I command thee this Day that it may go well with thee and with thy Children after thee Psal 103.17 The mercy of the Lord is from Everlasting to Everlasting upon them that fear him and Righteousness unto his Childrens Children Acts 2.39 The promise is to you and to your Children Isa 44.3 and 65.23 and 66.22 Psal 102.28 and 89.30 31 32 33. 9. Are you at any time under despondency because of persecution for the Gospel See Math. 5.10 11 12. Blessed are they which are persecuted for Righteousness sake for their's is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are ye when Men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of Evil against you falsely for my Name sake Rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven So perfected they the Prophets which were before you Mark 10.29 30. Verily I say unto you there 's no Man that hath left Houses or Brethren or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Children or Lands for my sake and the Gospels but he shall receive now an hundred-fold in his time Houses and Brethren with persecutions and in the World to come Eternal Life 1 Pet. 4.12 13 14. Beloved think it not strange concerning the fierce tryal which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you but rejoyce in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's Sufferings that when his Glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy If ye are reproached for the Name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you Are you convented before Courts and called before Magistrates and know not how to carry it in such a case See Math. 10.18 19 20. Ye shall be brought before Governours and Kings for my sake for a Testimony against them and the Gentils But when they deliver you up take no thought how or what ye shall
speak it shall be given you in that same hour For it is not ye that speak but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you 10. If the Lord should suffer you to be Imprisoned or Banished be comforted from Jer. 15.11 The Lord said Verily it shall be well with thy Remnant verily I will cause the Enemy to entreat thee well in the time of Evil and in the time of Affliction Psal 12.5 For the oppression of the Poor for the Sighing of the Needy Now will I arise saith the Lord I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him Isa 35.10 The ransomed of the Lord shall return to Zion with Songs and Everlasting joy upon their Heads they shall obtain Joy and Gladness and Sorrow and Sighing shall flee away Jer. 30.18 19. 20 Thus saith the Lord behold I will bring again the Captivity of Jacob's Tents and have mercy on his dwelling places and out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry I will Multiply them and they shall not be few I will also Glorifie them and they shall not be small Their Children also shall be as aforetime and their Congregation shall be established before me and I will punish all them that oppress them And 33.10 11. 11. Are you afraid that you may so Apostatize and fall away as cease to be a Church and God's People See Isa 54.9 10. As I have Sworn that the Waters of Noah shall no more go over the Earth so have I Sworn that I would not be Wrath nor Rebuke thee For the Mountains shall depart and the Hills be removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the Covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy one thee Jer. 31.35 36 37. Thus saith the Lord which giveth the Sun for a Light by Day which divideth the Sea when the Waves thereof Roar If those Ordinances depart from before me saith the Lord then the Seed of Israel also shall cease from being a Nation before me for ever Thus saith the Lord if Heaven above can be measured and the Foundations of the Earth be searched out beneath I will also cast off all the Seed of Israel for all that they have done Joh. 10.27 28 29. My Sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and they shall never perish neither shall any Man pluck them out of my Hand My Father which gave them me is greater than all and no Man is able to pluck them out of my Father's Hand Lastly Would you be comforted with some grounded assurance that God's work in the latter Days shall go on and prosper maugre all oppsition The Kingdom of Christ shall be advanced i. e. There shall be a glorious reformation in Doctrine Worship and Discipline Antichrist and Antichristianism shall gradually be extirpated God's ancient People the Jews shall be converted and a more abundant measure of the Spirit of the Lord shall be poured forth See Isa 2. Begin Micah 4. Begin In the last Days it shall come to pass that the Mountain of the House of the Lord shall be established in the top of the Mountains and it shall be exalted above the Hills and People shall flow unto it and many Nations shall come and say Let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord and to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths For the Law shall go forth of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem v. 5 6 7. All People will walk every one in the Name of his God and we will walk in the Name of the Lord our God for ever and ever In that Day saith the Lord will I assemble her that halteth and I will gather her that is driven out and her that I have afflicted And I will make her that halted a Remnant and her that was cast far off a strong Nation and the Lord shall Reign over them in Mount Zion from hence forth even for ever Psal 2.6 7 8. 2 Thes 2.8 9. Then shall consume with the Spirit of his Mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming Rev. 14.6 7 8 9. Rom. 11.25 26. Rev. 11.15 Would you know how to demean your selves to them that are over you in the Lord 1. You owe them Love and Respect for their Office and Works sake as they are the representeves of Christs Person 1 Thes 5.12 13. We beseech you Brethren to know them which labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly for their works sake Gal. 4.13 14. Ye know how through infirmity of the Flesh I Preached the Gospel to you at first and my temptation which was in the Flesh ye despised not nor rerejected but received me as an Angel of God even as Christ Jesus I bear you record that if it had been possible ye would have plucked out your own Eyes and have given them to me 2. Be not too credulous of every calumny and report that 's raised against them without due Examination of the truth or falshood thereof 1 Tim. 5.19 Against an Elder receive not an accusation but before two or three witnesses 3. Walk according to their example so far as they are followers of Christ Phil. 3.17 Brethren be followers together of me and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example 1 Cor. 4.15 16. Though ye have Ten Thousand instructors in Christ yet have ye not many Fathers for in Christ Jesus have I begotten you through the Gospel therefore I beseech you be followers of me And 11.3 Be ye followers of me even as I also am of Christ 1 Thes 1.5 6 Jam. 5.10 Take my Brethren the Prophets who have spoken in the Name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience 4. Pray heartily for them Ram. 15.30 31 Now I beseech you Brethren for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake and for the Love of the Spirit that ye strive together with me in your Prayers to God for me that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea And that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the Saints that I may come unto you with joy by the will of God and may be refreshed with you Ephes 6.19 20. And for me that utterance may be given unto me that I may open my Mouth holdly to make known the Mistery of the Gospel for which I am an Ambassador in bonds that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak 2 Thes 2.1 2. Brethren pray for us that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is with you and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked Men for all Men have not Faith Heb. 13.18 19. Pray for us for we trust we have a good conscience in all things willing to live
Nature Temper Talents Disposition and Inclination Prov. 20.11 Even a Child is known by his doings what way he is inclined whether to good or evil 4. Provide Temporals for them by all Lawful and Honest ways without wronging your own Consciences or others Prov. 19.14 House and Riches are the Inheritance of Fathers 2 Cor. 12.14 The Children ought not to lay up for their Parents but the Parents for their Children 1 Tim. 5.8 If any provide not for his own specially for those of his own House he hath denyed the Faith and is worse than an Infidel 5. As much as in you lieth transmit a Blessing to your Posterity with Temporals being chiefly Sollicitous that they may become the Children of God having true Grace wrought in their Souls Prov. 8.10 11. Receive my Instruction and not Silver and Knowledge rather than choice Gold For Wisdom is better than Rubies and all things that may be desired are not to be compared to it Psal 37.16 6. Improve not your parental Authority with too much rigour lest they be driven to take desperate courses Col. 3.21 Fathers provoke not your Children to anger lest they be discouraged When once they are of Age deal with their Consciences convincing them of the sinfulness of their ways mixing lenity and tenderness with your Authority Ephes 6.4 Bring them up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord. Charge them to serve the Lord God of your Fathers 1 Thes 2.11 Gen. 18.19 I know Abraham that he will command his Houshold and his Children after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do Justice an Judgment Deut. 32.46 Set your Hearts unto all the words which I testifie amongst you this day which ye shall command your Children to observe to do all the words of this Law 7. Provide fit matches for them being carefull that they Marry in the Lord Gen. 24.2 3 4. Abraham said to his Servant thou shalt not take a Wife unto my Son of the Daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell but thou shalt go to my Country and to my Kindred and take a Wife unto my Son Isaac 8. Be much in seeking the Lord for them that they may be abundantly Blessed with all Blessings Spiritual and Temporal Parents Prayers may prove their Childrens best Portion even a Treasure laid up in Heaven for them Children of many Prayers seldom miscarry Be affected towards your Children as Paul to the Galatians Chap. 4. v. 19. My little Children of whom I Travel in Birth again until Christ be formed in you Job sent and sanctified his Children Chap 1. v. 5. i.e. He sent up Prayers to God for them he offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all Duties of Children to Parents 1. Give them all due Reverence and Respect Ep. 6.2 Honour thy Father and thy Mother which is the first Commandment with Promise that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the Earth 2. Obey their counsels and commands Prov 23.22 Harken unto thy Father that begat thee and despise not thy Mother when she is Old And 30.17 The Eye that mocketh at his Father and despiseth to obey his Mother the Ravens of the Valley shall pick it out and the young Eagles shall eat it Col 3.20 Ephes 6.1 3. Submit to their correction Heb. 12.8 We have had Fathers of our Flesh which have corrected us and we gave them reverence v. 7. What Son is he whom the Father chasteneth not 4. Trace the steps of your godly Parents Joh. 8.39 If ye were Abraham's Children ye would do the works of Abraham 1 Pet. 3.6 Whose Daughters ye are as long as ye do well 2 Tim. 1.5 When I remember the unfeigned Faith that is in thee which dwelt first in thy Grandmother Lois and thy Mother Eunice and I am perswaded that in thee also Rom. 4.11 12 19 20 21.22 5. Dispose not of your selves in Marriage without their consent Where Parents consent is wanting as one saith there God's blessing is away Yea a Curse comes often upon such Matches Seth's Sons Marrying with Cain's Daughters without the consent of their godly Parents had a wretched Posterity Juda Marrying a Canaanite without his Father's advice contrary to the principle of the pious Patriarchs which was against the mixed Marriages of an Israelite with a Canaanite had two such Sons that God would not suffer them to live but slew them himself Gen. 38.2 3. and 26.34 34. with 27.46 Esau marrying after the same manner his Wives were a grief of mind to his Father and Mother Rebecca said to Isaac I am weary of my life because of the Daughters of Heth if Jacob take of them for a Wife what good shall my life do me 6. If Providence do so impoverish your Parents that they have not a competence for a subsistence you ought to provide for them and supply their wants 1 Tim. 5.4 If any Widow have Children or Nephews let them learn first to shew Piety at home and to requite the Parents for that is good and acceptable before God v. 16. If any Man or Woman that believeth have Widows let them relieve them and let not the Church be charged that it may relieve them that are Widows indeed Joseph nourished his Father with all his houshold and Brethren Gen. 47.12 Ruth gave of her gleanings to her Mother-in-law Naami ch 2.18 Matth. 15.5 Be not more unnatural than the Stork which feeds her aged Parents carrying them on her Shoulders into the Meadows and bringing them back again Duties of Masters to Servants 1. Be Christianly affectionate both to the Souls and Bodies of your Servants Catechise and Instruct them in the knowledge of God Exhort them to serve God with their Souls as well as your selves with their Bodies Allow them time for Reading the Scriptures and Private Prayer See that they Sanctifie the Sabbath in hearing Sermons and in other religious exercises craving an account how they have profited Be not too rigorous in imposing hard labour upon them which they cannot perform Do not over-task nor over-work them like the Egyptians to the Israelites Exod. 5.7 8. A righteous Man is merciful to his Beast how much more to his Servant If they fall Sick in your service be wanting the use of no means that may be for their recovery not like the hardhearted Amalekite that left his Servant in the Field because of Sickness 2 Sam. 30.13 but like the Centurion who besought Christ to cure his paralytick Servant Mat. 8.5 6 7. 2. Give unto your Servants that which is just and equal knowing also that you have a Master in Heaven Col. 4.1 Let them have Food an Rayment Meat Drink and Wages according to their deserts and your agreement with them Luke 17.8 Gird thy self and serve me till I have Eaten and Drunken and afterwards thou shalt Eat and Drink Prov. 31.15 And 27.27 Mt. 20.8 The Lord of the Vineyard saith unto the Steward call the Labourers and give them
their hire beginning from the last unto the first To withold the Labourers Wages is a crying sin Deut. 24.14 Thou shalt not oppress a hired Servant that is poor and needy thou shalt give him his hire at his Day neither shall the Sun go down upon it lest he cry against thee unto the Lord and it be sin unto thee Jam. 5.4 Behold the hire of the Labourers which have Reapt down your Fields which is of you kept back by fraud cryeth and the cryes of them which have Reaped are entred into the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoths 3. Bear with many infirmities and small faults in Servants not being too couriosly sollicitious to pry thereinto Eccl. 7.21 22. Take no heed to all words that are spoken lest thou hear thy Servant curse thee for often times also thine own Heart knoweth that thou thy self hast cursed others 4. Do the same things unto them forbearing threatning knowing that your Master also is in Heaven neither is there respect of Persons with him Ephes 6.5 Deal by them as you would have your Heavenly Master deal by you and as you would have Earthly Masters deal by you if you were Servants They are to obey you in the Lord so command them only in the Lord command them nothing against their own consciences You would have them serve you not with eye-service but sincerly and in singleness of Heart so shew your selves kind to them not dissemblingly or fraudulently but uprightly and conscionably You would have them leave nothing of your work undone so leave nothing of their Wages unpaid Carry not your selves Imperiously Harshly Churlishly nor Nabal-like to them give them not provoking or irritating Language 5. Walk exemplarily in all Holiness and Righteousness of conversation before them especially in the performance of Family-duties The eyes of Servants are much on their Masters and Mistresses to mark what they say and do Prov. 29.12 If a Ruler hearken to Lyes all his Servants are wicked Ps 101.2 3 4. I will walk within mine House with a perfect Heart mine Eyes be upon the faithful of the Land that they may dwell with me He that walketh in a perfect way he shall serve me he that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my House he that telleth Lyes shall not tarry in my sight Let not wickedness dwell within your Tabernacles that so God may make the Habitation of your Righteousness prosperous Job 8.6 Col. 4.12 Masters continue in Prayer and watch in the same with Thanksgiving Duties of Servants 1. Honour your Masters 1 Tim. 6.1 Let as many Servants as are under the Yoke count their own Masters worthy of all Honour that the name of God and his Doctrine be not Blasphemed 1 Pet. 2.18 2. Do in all things Lawful according to their command Ephes 6.5 And Col. 3.22 Obey in all things your Masters according to the Flesh Tit. 2.9 3. Do their work chearfully and readily at all times when their eye is off as when upon you and as remembring you are still under God's eye Col. 3.22 23 24. Not with eye-service as Men-pleasers but in singleness of Heart fearing God And whatsoever ye do do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto Men knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the Inheritance for ye serve the Lord Christ Ephes 6.5 6 7 8. Doing the Will of God from the Heart with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to Men knowing that whatsoever good thing any Man doth the same shall he receive of the Lord whether he be bound or free 4. Disclose not their secrets neither discourse of things out of the Family to their prejudice Servants must not be as spies in the House nor Tale-tellers out of it for such are worse than Thieves 5. Be diligent in the quick dispatch of their bussiness and speedy execution of their commands Gen. 24.31 Abraham's Servant vvould not eat till he had told his errand and as soon as he had done he sayes thus v. 54. Send me away that I may go to my Master 6. Do for them as for your selves nay prefer their business before your own Gen. 30.30 The Lord faith Jacob to Laban hath Blessed thee since my coming to thee and now when shall I provide for mine own House also See Gen. 37.38 Do not Purloin Steal or Wast their Goods by riotous Eating Drinking or any unnecessary expences you must not wittingly or willingly cousen them of a Farthing Tit. 2.10 Not purlonging but shewing all good fidelity that they may adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour in all things Mat. 25.23 7. When you are Rebuked or Chid for your faults do not return any proud or sawcy replies but rather answer with silence Tit. 2.9 Not answering again Prov. 15.1 A soft Answer turneth away Wrath but grievous words stir up Anger 8. If Providence cast you upon such as are harsh and untoward who both in words and deeds do misuse you carry it meekly and patiently towards them 1 Pet. 2.18 19. Servants be subject not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward for this is thankworthy If a Man for conscience towards God endure grief suffering wrongfully for even hereunto were ye called 9. If ye are Servants to such as are Godly shew them not the less but rather more respect upon that account 1 Tim. 6.2 3 4. They that have believing Masters let them not despise them because they are Brethren but rather do them service because they are Faithful and Beloved partakers of the benefit These things Teach and Exhort if any Man Teach otherwise and consent not to wholsome words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Doctrine which is according to Godliness he is Proud knowing nothing but doating about questions and strifes and words whereof cometh envy Thus you have had some delineation of the Duties which you owe unto God and others The Conclusion of all shall commend some few things which concern every particular Christian in reference to the right orderâ—ing of his own Conversation 1. Let God have the first Fruits of your thoughts every Morning you will find it profitable and advantageous to your Souls to begin and end every day with some Godly meditations As soon as you awake let this or some such thought enter into your Heart O what mercy is it I am yet out of Hell that the Lord has given me any comfortable refreshment this last Night my awaking thus after Sleep and rising after a lying down may serve as an Ebmleme to put me in mind of the Resurrection of the Body after it hath slept the sleep of Death in the Grave for some season O how comfortable to the Eye is the Light of the Sun after a dismal Darkness but how much more comfortable would the Light of God's countenance prove to my dark and disconsolate Heart shewing himself as a reconciled God to me in the Blood of a Saviour What is the end of God