hanging on How great a task to escape the Corruption that is in the World and to escape so many Snares as are set in all places How great a work to get a free and enlarged Heart How hard to walk constantly in the Spirit How hard to do the Work and perform the Service of God in the Power of the Spirit How difficult to walk in a constant communion with the Lord What diligence then ought we to use in the Service of God being so much straightned with time and having so much to do and so great a task laid upon us Moreover the shortness of Life compared with the greatness of the Account that is to be given up at the end of this Life should move us with great diligence to hasten in the Work and Service of God A great account is to be given up to God after a short Life and therefore great diligence must be used that it may be an happy and joyful Account and that we may be sure to have all our Sins crossed out of the Account and to have many works of Obedience many pleasing Services acceptable to God through Jesus Christ put upon the Reckoning Every Master calls his Servants to account for what they put into their hands as to the improvement thereof And God will call every Man to a reckoning for every Talent they have in their hands how they have improved them what they have done for the Glory of God for the Interest of Christ and for the good of their own and others Souls All our Talents are written down our using our abusing them our spending our mispending them All the times of God's Patience Forbearance and Long-sufferance are registred in God's Account-Book All the Mercies and Blessings we have received all the Ordinances of God and means of Grace we have enjoyed all the powerful Sermons we have heard all these are written down in the Book of God's Remembrance and in the Book of our Consciences We shall all be called to give an account Mat. 25.15 16 17 18 19. Let us all mind the day of Account and not put it far from us in hope that our Master will defer his Coming But let every one labour so to do as he desireth to be found at his Coming Furthermore Consider that everlasting Estate which followeth upon so short a Life and which shall be according to this short Life and suitable unto it Now when everlasting Life followeth upon a short Life well spent to the Glory of God and everlasting Woe and Misery upon a Life spent according to the course of this World by those that live in the Flesh Oh what Speed Industry and Diligence should Men use in improving their short lives in the Service of God that they may inherit everlasting Life and escape everlasting Torment Finally After this short Life we shall have no more such opportunities as now to glorifie God here on Earth we shall hear no more Sermons enjoy no more Sabbaths his Spirit shall strive with us no longer Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do do it with thy might for there is no Work nor Device nor Knowledg nor Wisdom in the Grave where thou goest Eccles 9.10 Death will take away those opportunities which the life of Man affordeth therefore every Man ought to put forth his might and best strength in improving his short life to the Glory of God How may this reprove our prodigal and lavish mispending of our short Lives Men that have but a little store of such and such things are sparing and thrifty in dispensing and disposing them Scarcity of any sort of Provision moveth Men to make spare of it What is more scanty than time What hath a Man less store of than of Life No Man knoweth how little he hath and he that hath most hath but little Many reckon upon many Years of Life to come who perhaps have not so may Days it may be not so many Hours as they reckon Years The truth is no Man is sure of any more than the present time of his Life All the time past which was ill-spent is lost and whether any be yet remaining to thee thou art uncertain And if any be it is as like to slide away from thee without profit as that which is past if now thou be lavish and careless in losing and casting away the present time How easily may Satan lead thee on step by step to Hell whilst thou pleasest thy self with thoughts afar off for Heaven with remote purposes for Heaven and newness of Life Hast thou not passed over many Weeks and Days already when thou hadst a purpose to have turn'd unto the Lord and to have broken off thy Sins by Repentance Thou hast the same deceitful Heart still to flatter thee with hopes and purposes of Repentance for time to come The same Devil there is still to draw thee on from Day to Day from Week to Week to perswade thee from time to time to take longer Day until the days of thy short Life waste away and thou perish in thy Sin and find no place for Repentance Oh how should this make Men tremble Thy whole Life is but as an Hand-breadth Psal 39. a short space of time Oh then think how wretchedly lavish thou hast been already of this short precious time It may be thou hast not so many Weeks behind as thou hast lost Years already and all the Daies of thy Life which thou hast spent in a state of Impenitency and Vnregeneration are lost and thou hast no fruit of them in respect of Salvation The longer thou hast lived in the Flesh and hast not been led by the Spirit thou art the nearer Hell and Condemnation and all this while thou hast been heaping up Wrath against the Day of Wrath. And is not this time wofully cast away Howsoever thou hast thrived in the World encreased thine outward Estate gotten Things about thee c. yet all thy time is lost and it were better for thee never to have seen those Days if thou hast lived an Impenitent and Vnregenerate Life Oh then waste no more of this precious time of this short Life There is so much of this precious Oyl spilt on the Ground there are but a few drops left to nourish the flame and to keep light in the Lamp Take heed lest that also be spent and consumed and thy life go out like a Candle with a stinking Snuff and end in perpetual Shame and Misery If yet thou art not turned unto the Lord by sound Repentance and hast not yet begun to do the Work of God then now whilst it is called to Day hearken to the Voice of God and speedily turn unto him defer not thy setting about this Work till to morrow Lose not so many precious hours about the World spend not so many in carnal Delights and vain Pleasures in idle Talk or in doing nothing so many in Eating Drinking and Sleeping more than thy weakness requireth redeem time
must work in his Vineyard Mat. 20.6 And he that worketh receiveth Wages and gathereth Fruit unto Life Eternal John 4.36 No Man therefore must be idle or ill employed He must work the Works of God that is such as God sets him about and approveth without picking and choosing his own Work He must work while it is Day before the Night cometh wherein no Man can work Let me advise thee O Christian to improve Time and Business that even thine Idleness if I may so call thy vacant Hours that is thy necessary rest thy leisure may not be without some Diligence because it tendeth to fit thee for Business When thou liest down to sleep let it be to this end that thou mayst rise and go about thy Work not to pamper Sloth If thou eatest do it to the same end as Elias did to walk in the strength of thy Food the way that God sends thee not to gratifie thy Belly or thine Appetite And when God puts thee at any time upon doing his Will be thou never better pleased than when God gives thee thy Hands full of work nor more restless than when God doth not employ thee It is the diligent Hand that maketh rich Prov. 10.4 cap. 13.4 And the Soul of the Diligent shall be made fat If thou walkest in God's Way thou art in God's keeping But if thou stragglest from the way of Duty thou art like enough to meet with a Lion 1 Kings 13.24 as the disobedient Prophet Or with a Storm a Wrack a Whale as Fugitive Jonas Jonas 1.17 to swallow not to save But if thou walkest diligently in thy Calling thou art within the Hedg and Pale of Providence Psal 34.7 and under the Guard of the holy Angels Idleness is the enemy of Health the consumption of Thrist the foil of Vertue the hindrance of Wisdom and the hatred of God as a Reverend Divine of ours termeth it No Man ever had larger Possessions than Adam who was the only absolute Monarch of the whole World nor was any meer Man more Noble for he is stiled the Son of God Luke 3.38 If any exceeded him herein it was only Jesus Christ the Natural Son of God and Heir of all Things Yet God would not that either Adam in Paradise in the state of Innocence or his own Son appearing in our Flesh should be without a Calling or idle in it How many are there of the Gentry that are possessed with this Opinion that they must live at the height of their Estates and spend all their time in Pleasures and Idleness no way conducing to the Common Good but much to the Prejudice of it as if God like Augustus had built an Apragopolis a City void of Business and a Nursery of Idleness and Prophaneness Multitudes there are in the City that like the Athenians find little to do but to busie themselves to hear and tell News Others spend most of their time in Plays and in Visits in the study of the Times Fashions Modes and Compliments c. erecting as it were an Academy of Idleness to busie all vain Persons like that Office set up at Rome by Tiberius stiled A Voluptatibus But this will be the Doom of all Idle Persons Cast the unprofitable Servant into utter Darkness where shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth Mat. 25.30 Every one though never so Great and Honourable standeth in God's Family as a Servant as David professeth himself to be Psal 116.16 Moses was faithful in all God's House as a Servant and Servants are not idle Every one must serve in some particular Calling wherein he must abide with God whether it be in the Magistracy ruling with God 1 Cor. 7.21 that is for God and being faithful with the Saints Hos 11.12 and so he must be a Servant unto all Thus as David he may serve his Generation by the Will of God Acts 13.36 Or whether it be in the Ministry so he is to be a Servant of Jesus Christ Thus St. Paul in the behalf of all faithful Ministers We preach not our selves but Christ Jesus the Lord and our selves your Servants for Jesus sake 2 Cor. 4.5 Yea the Master of the Family must be a Servant to the Family else the Family will not abide in good Estate and Order He that is idle and neglecteth the care of his Family is worse than an Infidel See that you do not only labour but that the thing you are diligent in be worth your Labour joyn Choice with Diligence and see that you guide all your Affairs with Discretion Meddle with nothing till you are able to answer your selves that Question Cui bono What is it good for Is it my Calling or within it or in the way to it Doth it prepare me for it or quicken me in it Doth it make me work more cheerfully or fruitfully See that ye do your own Business as St. Paul adviseth 1 Thess 4.11 I do not mean that ye should refuse to do Business for others if they desire it and that it may be for their Good but look that what ye do for your selves or others be confined within the limits of your Duty Place and Calling Meddle not with things beside your Calling God furnisheth every Man with Abilities suitable to his Calling because therein he works for God but not with sufficiencies for another Calling because therein he works for himself or rather indeed against himself as a Reverend Divine notes For he that steps out of his Calling offendeth God and so runs himself into danger He is as a Souldier who having his Station appointed him by his General goes to another Or as a Bird wandring from her Nest where she is safe becometh liable to be caught in Nets to be shot or made a prey to other ravenous Fowls As Christians ye must seek the Kingdom of God in the first place and do God's Work before your own but in business of your own particular Calling see that ye not only abide with God as not starting from him or it but labour for God that so ye may please him that hath called you Among all Businesses set upon that which most concerneth you to look after having an eye to God's Command and the good of Humane Society And in the midst of outward Employments labour to have your Conversation in Heaven and to do your earthly Business with an heavenly frame of Heart Let not your Hearts be taken up nor taken away with the things of the World but set your Affections on things above and not on things on the Earth And when ye are most diligent in the works of your Callings aim at the gaining of Time and Liberty for vacancy to holy Duties In your working-Working-days Labour prepare for the Sabbath's rest and daily so endeavour that you may gain time to solace your selves with the Lord in Reading Meditation or Prayer See that ye manage all Businesses without overmuch Carking and Vexation I have read of a
Liber cui Titulus The Sacred Diary c. Imprimatur George Thorp Rev mo in Christo P. D. Dom. Gulielmo Archiep. Can. a Sacris Domesticis Ex aedibus Lambethanis Julii 29. 1678. THE Sacred Diary OR SELECT MEDITATIONS FOR Every part of the Day and the Employments thereof WITH Directions to Persons of all Ranks for the holy spending every ordinary Day of the Week Propounded as Means to Facilitate a Pious Life and for the Spiritual Improvement of every Christian London Printed by J.D. for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1679. THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY To the Right Worshipful Sir JOHN HOBART of Brickling in the County of NORFOLK Baronet AND TO WILLIAM WINDHAM of Felbridg in the same County Esq AND To the Vertuous Ladies their Wives Right Worshipful PLato accounted him not worthy the name of a Philosopher that studies not to know God Divines go farther and account him not worthy the Name of a Man that studies not to fear and serve him To do this is totum Hominis the whole of Man Parisiens totum Officii totum Conatus totum Faelicitatis In Scripture this Fear of the Lord is often called the beginning of Wisdom because an awful Reverence of the Divine Majesty in our Hearts makes us industriously careful to know his Will and to do it And these Phrases are frequently coupled together To fear the Lord and walk in his Ways Deut. 8.6 and Chap. 10.12 This holy Fear of God will make Men meek and humble and careful in all things to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing It will command our Thoughts bridle and govern our Tongues and regulate all our Actions This will quicken us to holy Devotion and reduce all our devotion to Practice In all Actions St. Bernard would have us put these three Queries An liceat an deceat an expediat Whether it be lawful whether it be that which becometh us to do whether it be expedient to be done All our actions in passing pass not away for every good Work is a grain of Seed for Eternal Life We should say with Xeuxes that famous Painter Aeternitati Pingo I Paint for Eternity It is very necessary for us to follow the Counsel of our Saviour and work whilst it is Day A long Night will shortly cover us with its shadow in which we shall neither have ability nor opportunity to Work Much Honoured in the Lord We have at this present many Books which eccho one another This Age is as fruitful in Words as barren in Works enclining to speak much to do nothing Yet in matters of Devotion one cannot say too much of that which we can never do enough I present you with this Sacred Diary I hope it may be useful to you to carry it in your Hands as the Clock which a great Prince wore in a Ring It strikes every Hour of the Day and agreeth with holy Scripture and Reason as Dials with the Sun By frequent reading it and doing what it directeth you shall the better know what this Treatise is For my part I should not have been so bold as to make an offering hereof unto you did I not perswade my self that you would have less regard to the Hand that presents it than to the Affection which renders me Sept. 18. 1679. Your Worships most Humble and Affectionate Servant in the Gospel W. Gearing TO THE READER THe Scripture calleth upon us to redeem Time Now to redeem Time is 1. To see that we cast none of it away in vain but use every minute of it as a most precious Thing and spend it wholly in the way of Duty 2. That we be not only doing good but doing the best good we are able c. 3. That we do the best things in the best manner and in the greatest measure and do as much good as possibly we can 4. That we watch for special Opportunities 5. That we presently take them when they fall and improve them when we take them 6. That we part with all that is to be parted with to save our Time 7. That we forecast the preventing of Impediments and the removal of our Clogs and the obtaining of all helps to expedition in Duty This is the true redemption of Time according to the judgment of a Reverend Divine And indeed the consideration of the shortness of our time in this World should hasten us in the Work and Service of God I must work the Works of him that sent me saith our Saviour whilst it is Day the Night cometh when no Man can work John 9.4 I have but a short Day the time of this Life to do the Work which my Father hath sent me to finish here upon the Earth and now I must hasten it for the time is at hand I shall shortly be delivered into the hands of Sinners to be Crucified When the Master of the Vineyard saw some standing idle at the eleventh hour he checketh them for it Why stand ye here all the day idle Do ye not know that it is but one hour to Night eleven parts of your Life are already gone there is but one of twelve remaining Is it not a shame for you yet to be idle How ought ye now to hasten when but the twelfth part of your short Life yet remaineth A great part of this short Life is taken up in that manner that little of it is well spent All the time of our Life till the time of our Conversion may be laid by as no Time or Life to us And after our effectual calling sleeping takes a large part of our time eating and drinking another part and far more of it is spent in doing nothing or in doing that which is evil Let a Man be as frugal and as thrifty of his Time as he can yet much of his Life will go this way In our old Age many weaknesses draw on and when we would do good we are disabled by Age and Sickness We are long ere we begin to do the Work of God and are soon weary of well-doing Our Glass is almost run before we begin to live indeed and at the entry of our Spiritual Life we begin to die by Infirmity So that by a just survey of our time we shall easily find that God who craveth the Tithe of our Substance scarcely getteth the hundredth part of our Time and that of those who best spend their time Consider we the greatness of the Work that every Christian hath to do in this short time How great a work is it to get a broken Heart our Hearts being naturally hearts of Stone How great a task to get an established assurance of the Love of God we having such evil Hearts of unbelief How great a work to get forward and grow in Grace our Hearts being so full of corruption eating out and wasting the strength of Grace so inclined to Back-sliding and Declining having so many things to press down so many weights
then cannot a Man forget God Who lives under a continual sence of the want of God his Soul is still breathing and panting after God Love causeth an emission of the Thoughts it will not suffer him to dwell at home but to be where it is best of all to be There 's a Necessity a Man should mind what he most affecteth and a Man that loveth God cannot live in a Course of Forgetfulness of God either as an holy Man noteth Want brings him or Love constrains him or Christ draws him and Christ will not be long from his if their Hearts come not up to him he will come into them and if he be there all is taken up with attending upon him SECT II. A Soliloquy at Waking HOw pretious are thy thoughts unto me O God! how great is the Sum of them c. When I awake I am still with thee Psal 139.17 18. O God thou art my God early will I seek thee my Soul thirsteth for thee my Flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty Land where no Water is To see thy Power and thy Glory so as I have seen thee in the Sanctuary Because thy Loving-kindness is better than Life my Lips shall praise thee Thus will I bless thee while I live I will lift up my hands in thy Name My Soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my Mouth shall praise thee with joyful Lips when I remember thee upon my Bed and meditate on thee in the Night-watches Because thou hast been my Help therefore in the shadow of thy Wings will I rejoice My Soul followeth hard after thee thy right hand upholdeth me Psal 63.1 to 9. O God my Heart is fixed I will sing and give praise even with my Glory Awake Psaltery and Harp I my self will awake early or in the Morning I will be up first and raise the Morning out of its Bed that I may come to the Celebration of thy Praises Psal 108.1 2. My Soul waiteth for thee O Lord more than they that watch for the Morning I say more than they that watch for the Morning Psal 130 6. He waited for the Lord more than they that watch for the Morning either as one Expositor saith more than they who in the Sanctuary of the Lord heedfully observ'd the Morning watch that they might offer the Morning Sacrifice in due season or more than they that are appointed to keep watch all Night do watch and long for the Morning as another Expositor hath it SECT III. Directions how to begin the Day GIve GOD your first waking Thoughts Suffer no Wordly Thought to enter till God first come in The First-fruits of the Mouth and of the Heart are to be offered unto God Primitiae oris cordis Deo offerendae Ambros in Psal 119. saith St. Ambrose So all evil and vain thoughts either will not dare to intrude or shall more easily be kept out The Mind of Man is never idle it will be always active either about God or the World Christ or Vanity Good or Evil. It is always busied in thinking devising pondering on somewhat or other Therefore it is necessary that first of all in the Morning we set our Minds to the Meditation of Divine and Heavenly Objects How will the Devil busy himself in injecting Multitudes of other thoughts into your Minds to divert your Minds from the sweet Meditation of God if you give not God your waking thoughts Multitudes of thoughts will run into your Minds like People running to a Bull-baiting or to see some strange Sight but you must watch against them and drive them away as Ahraham did the Fowls from his Sacrifice 2. Lift up your Hearts to God in a reverent manner and give him thanks for the rest of the Night past that his Compassions have not failed you but are renued every Morning that even in the Night you have received an apparent Evidence of his Love and whereas for your Sins committed the day before God might even in the dead of Sleep have taken your Souls from you and so have suddenly brought you to your account bless him that it hath been his good pleasure yet to spare you 3. If God's Glory be dear unto you you will or ought to begin every Day in this manner before you do any thing by offering to God's Glory what ye are about to do setting before him premeditately the Actions of the ensuing Day in this or the like manner My God whatsoever I shall this day speak or do yea whatsoever I shall think I offer wholly to thee these Prayers these Meditations these Alms these Devotions this Fasting these Works these Businesses these Actions these my Affairs I dedicate and consecrate unto thee nor desire I any thing else than what I shall perform this day may turn to thine Honour How sweet is it in the beginning of the day before a Man takes any new Matter in hand to lift up his Heart to God and to say thus within himself Lord I will undertake this or that Action by thy help and for thee this day for thee will I labour I will think this for thee for thee now will I hold my peace and now I will speak for thy Honour and Glory I will cast my self on thee for the following Day Use your selves constantly to this Course that your Consciences may check you when you neglect it Such a constant Course will keep off divers Temptations that may otherwise surprize you and engage your Hearts to God for all the day following SECT IV. At the Dawning of the Day and Rising of the Day-Star MEditate how the Gospel is tanquam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a Day-Star and the Work of the Spirit enlightning the Mind is as the dawning of the Day or rising of the Day-star in the Heart of a Christian So St. Peter commends those to whom he writeth for making use of the Old Testament of the Truth whereof they were assured in the mean time 2 Pet. 1.19 until by a further Work of the Spirit of Illumination their Hearts and Minds are more effectually instructed and more strongly assured of the Truth of the Gospel of Christ The Old Testament is as a Torch-light in a dark Room the New Testament revealed by the Spirit is as the Dawning of the Day or Rising of the Day-Star in comparison of that Light which shall appear at Christ's second Coming which shall be as the bright Rising of the Sun of Righteousness Consider that as the Dawning of the Day is in respect of the Night so is a Soul enlightned with the saving Knowledg of the Gospel to one in his natural Blindness And First If we compare such a Soul to those poor Creatures that want the outward Means of Knowledg it is manifest for these have no Light offered them whereby to come to know God in a saving way therefore in respect of this Knowledg there is a meer Night of Ignorance among them The
Condition of those that want the Means of Knowledge is plainly expressed by the Apostle Eph. 4.17 18. where he sheweth that the Gentiles walk in the Vanity of their minds having the Vnderstanding darkned being alienated from the Life of God through the Ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their Heart Where you may consider that they are so far from having such knowledge as doth guide them unto Life and Salvation that they are alienated from the Life of God through the Ignorance that is in them 1 Cor. 1.21 It is said that the World by wisdom knew not God They had a kind of Wisdom wherein many of them excelled whereby they knew many Secrets of Nature many Affairs of State and Government c. But all their Wisdom for want of the Word did not teach them the right Knowledg of God in a saving way Consider also that as the Heathens that wanted the Word so the Unregenerate that live under the Ministery of the Word do remain in darkness the Day doth not dawn unto them nor doth the Day-Star arise in their Hearts or elss if the Day do dawn in their Brains it is dark Night in their Hearts if they do get some knowledg of the Gospel and Mysteries of Salvation yet this Light doth not pierce so as to win them to the Love of that Truth and Light which appeareth unto them and to subject their Hearts unto the Power of it Now in the Regenerate the Gospel being revealed to them by the Spirit is as the dawning of the Day and the rising of the Day-Star in their Hearts in comparison of that Night of Blindness which was in themselves before Regeneration and is yet in others that are unregenerate for first the Day dawns in their Understandings and then the Day-Star ariseth in their Hearts then the Night begins to wear away and the Day breaks and dawns upon them then they begin to see what they could not see before and to see that far more clearly and effectually which they saw in some imperfect measure before Now the Spirit having caused the Day to dawn in their Understandings he proceedeth also to enlighten the lower Region and to cause the Day-Star to arise in their Hearts as in the Night time when the Sun is on the other side of the Earth it shineth brightly and enlightneth the Stars as we see yet the Body of the Earth being between the Sun and us maketh it dark here below so when the Spirit enlightens the Understanding of an unregenerate Man with the knowledge of the Gospel even at the same time there is a Body of Death in his heart and a Mass of sinful Corruptions which casts a Shadow and keeps the Heart and Affections in miserable darkness Now as every Coruption is a degree of Darkness so every Grace is a Beam of heavenly Light for God is Light and every Grace is a Part of the Image and Likeness of God and so is Lumen de Lumine Light issuing from the Fountain of Light Consider what St. Paul saith to the faithful Ephesians Ephes 3.8 Ye were sometimes Darkness but now ye are Light in the Lord their present Condition Ye were Darkness dark all over dark Understandings dark Judgments dark Hearts and Affections they had a dark Vail of natural Blindness upon their Judgments a dark Cloud of worldly and fleshly Lusts and Corruptions upon their Hearts but now they are Light in the Lord lightfom Understandings and lightsom Hearts and Affections SECT V. At the Breaking forth of the Light COnsider with thy self that there is a fourfold Light spoken of in Scripture and that God is called Pater Luminum the Father of Lights James 1.17 1. There is Lux materialis a material Light that which God created in the beginning and of which he made the Sun and Moon to be as Fountains and Vessels that with the Beams proceeding from them the World might be illuminated Consider how God was the Father of this in the first place Gen. 1.3 God said let there be Light and there was Light He commanded Light to shine out of Darkness saith the Apostle And it is said Gen. 1.15 He set two Lights in the Firmament of Heaven a greater Light to rule the Day and a lesser Light to rule the Night 2. There is Lux naturalis that which we commonly call the Light of Nature and it is that same knowledg and Conscience that was at first planted in the Mind of Man by which he was made able to distinguish between Good and Evil. Of this also God is the Father it is he that hath created in us Understanding to discern and Conscience to bear witness of Good and Evil. 3. There is Lux supernaturalis or spiritualis that which we commonly call the Light of Grace and from this there arise two Beams 1. That which shines into our Hearts to dispel the darkness of Sin in us of which I have spoken before It is in this sence that the Children of God are called the Children of Light and the holy Conversation that they lead is said to be a walking in the Light Now of this also God is the Father it is he that by his Spirit enlightens our Hearts with Grace as I spake before 2. There is a Light that shineth in our hearts to chear us with the assurance of God's Love and Favour Light is sown to the Righteous and joy to the upright in Heart Psal 27.11 Light and Joy are sown together in the same Furrow Of this also God is the Father it is he only that can make us to hear the voice of Joy and Gladness So David prayeth Lord do thou lift up the light of thy Countenance upon me The light of his Countenance is the light of his Favour where the light of his Favour shineth no clouds of Affliction can darken our Joy it will make our Hearts merrier than Corn and Wine 4. There is Lux immortalis or Coelestis we may call it the Light of Glory It is that same Light which God dwells in the Light inaccessible the Light that none can approach unto 1 Tim. 6.16 Yet that Light that God's Children shall one day dwell in also Light we may call it for it is where Darkness never made his Pavilion a Light more glorious than the Sun or Moon For it is where though no Sun shall be yet where no Night shall be The Glory of God lightens that place and the Lamb is the Light of it Rev. 21.23 Now of this Light likewise God is the Father He that Inhabits it he Created it and he hath prepared it to be an Habitation for his Saints that as many as shall be Citizens of the New Jerusalem may rest under the Glory of it The Sun shall be no more thy Light by Day saith the Prophet nor for brightness shall the Moon give light unto thee but the Lord shall be unto thee the everlasting Light and thy God thy Glory Isa
sweetly refreshed by the manifestation of Christ as a glorious Day-spring and a most blessed Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in his Wings whereby they saw the way of Peace and the means of Reconciliation with God and everlasting Salvation by the Remission of their Sins in the Blood of Christ 5. Consider that the Day-spring or Sun rising is a Cause of Health The Night is cold and moist and for want of heat to purge the Air is the Cause of many thick Fogs and Vapours but the Sun arising cleanseth the Air and overcometh those foggy Vapours So consider what is said of Christ that he being the Sun of Righteousness should arise with healing in his Wings dispelling those unwholsom Vapours which the Devil the Prince of Darkness had raised to poison the Souls of Men and Women This Sun of Righteousness did by the Sovereign Balm of his most precious Blood cure the Wounds of Guiltiness which were upon their Consciences and by the precious Sun-beams of his Spirit did heal them of those Corruptions and Soul-sicknesses giving them Spiritual Health even the Spirit of Love and Power and of a sound Mind 6. The Day-spring or Sun-rising calleth Men out of their Beds and rouzeth them from their Sleep so Christ by his manifestation unto the World doth call Men from sleeping in Sin to awake unto Repentance unto Righteousness This St. Paul sheweth plainly Acts 17.30 c. The times of this Ignorance God winked at but now commandeth all Men every where to repent That Night-time which was before the Day-spring and coming of Christ God winked at but now commandeth all Men every where to repent It was the time of Sleep and God suffered the World to lie sleeping and snorting in Sin and Wickedness he winked at them and awaked them not but now he calleth upon to awake that is to repent now it is Day the Night is past yea saith he he commandeth all men every where The Lord sent his Messengers from Nation to Nation from City to City to awake the World at the Day-spring and at the rising of the Sun of Righteousness 7. The Day-spring or Sun-rising giveth Men light and sheweth them both how to walk and work He is that Light which enlightneth every one that cometh into the World John 12.35 36. Then Jesus said unto them Yet a little while is the Light with you walk while ye have the Light lest darkness come upon you for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth While ye have the Light believe in the Light that you may be Children of the Light Christ's coming sheweth the way wherein we must go if we will be saved The World for want of this Light groped and lost the way to true Happiness 8. The Day-spring and Sun-rising doth cause those things that are harmful to hide themselves The wild ravening Beasts that prey upon others use to get to their Caves and Coverts at the Sun-rising shunning the light Thieves and Murtherers which in the Night use to break through and steal do retire themselves and refrain at the rising of the Sun So at the coming of Christ Herod and his company were troubled and all Jerusalem with him The Scribes and Pharisees were troubled and the Devil himself especially that Prince of Darkness and that great Worker of the works of darkness was troubled and cried out Art thou come to Torment us before the time 9. The Day-spring or Sun-rising is welcome to those who are well busied and diligently walk in an honest Course of Life So the coming of Christ as a Day-spring and Sun of Righteousness was very welcome to those that walked uprightly before the Lord it was the time which they had long looked for more than they that watch for the Morning Therefore their Eyes were upon this Day-spring So Zechary Elizabeth Joseph Simeon Anna the Godly Shepherds and the rest flocked about our Saviour like a company in the dark about a Torch or Candle Yea the Wise Men of the East by a lesser light were brought to this great Light by the light of a little Star were conducted to Christ the great Light of the World John 8.12 I am saith he the Light of the World he that followeth me shall not walk in Darkness but shall have the light of Life II. Meditate how his second and glorious Coming shall be like the Day-spring or Sun-rising 1. Meditate on the brightness and glory of that Day which shall spring as it were out of Darkness What darkness possesseth the World at this Day in comparison of the Light of that great and glorious Day How great and gross is the Ignorance of Men in comparison of the knowledg which then shall be revealed How many things now lie hidden like things covered in Darkness How many things concerning the Mystery of Christ are yet unknown and many things imperfectly known How many reasons of things that fall out in the World are now hidden from Men How many secrets are there in the ways of God's Providence and his dealings with the World and with his Church which in this Night-time of blindness and darkness we cannot see Yea how little do we see of the Excellency of Christ of the beauty of Heavenly Things and of the Glory of his Kingdom These are dark Times and little of these things is discovered Yea how little do Men see into the Vanity Vileness of Earthly things Who seeth the exceeding sinfulness of Sin and odiousness of it How many secret sins are now committed every hour which are hid in darkness These are Times of darkness which now we live in before the last coming of Christ 2. Consider That Christ's last coming like a Day-spring shall remove this darkness of the World and lay open things that were hidden and dispel all the dark Clouds that now hide the Light from us It shall remove the Ignorance of heavenly things from the minds of Men Christ himself shall be the Light of that Day Then the things which are now imperfectly shall then be perfectly known then shall the Saints put away childish things imperfect beginnings of Heavenly Knowledg and shall have the understandings of Men in them a perfection of Light not seeing through a Glass darkly but Face to Face How clearly shall the light of that Day shew unto the Saints the Beauty and Glory of Christ and represent him to his Church as a most glorious Bridegroom Consider how that Day shall declare the equity of all the Lord's proceedings in dealing with his Creatures How shall it cause all doubting and objections against it to vanish as a Mist How shall it lay open the folly and vanity of Men in cleaving to the things of this World and in following their Lusts How evidently shall it make it appear that the Godly have chosen the better part that they were truly wise that preferred the Gospel of Christ the Glory of Christ yea the Reproach of Christ above the pleasures of Sin or
the greatest things in the World How shall this Day set forth all secrets in the clear Light How shall all Sins not washt away by true Repentance be set before the eye of the World How then shall the Righteousness of the Upright be brought forth after it hath been many years hidden by Slanders and false Accusations How shall all their works of Faith all their labours of Love and all the fruits of the Spirit be laid open and manifested There are no false lights that can have any place at that Day to make bad Wares seem better every thing shall then appear as it is O my Soul how shouldst thou labour in thy most secret places and in thy most secret thoughts to bear in mind the light of that great Day when Christ shall appear as a Day-spring unto the World Will these thoughts which I cherish in my Heart these Affections these Words these Deeds be able to abide the great light of that Day when Christ shall come Are they such as may be presented with boldness before the Face of Christ and offered to the view of the holiest Angels and Saints in Heaven and be brought to the open Light when the Son of Righteousness shall shine in his Strength 3. Consider That Christ's second coming shall be in Power and great Glory Matth. 24.30 The Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout with the voice of the Arch-angel and with the Trump of God 1 Thess 4.16 He shall sit on the right Hand of Power and come in the Clouds of Heaven Mat. 26.63 He shall come in the Glory of his Father with his Angels Mat. 16.27 The glory of the Sun Moon and Stars when they shine most gloriously is nothing to this Glory of Christ which at that Day he shall shew forth to the World O my Soul labour now to behold his Beauty and Glory in the Spirit by Faith and by that glimpse raise thy thoughts to consider of that height and brightness of Glory wherein Christ shall shew himself at that Day and how thine Eye and thy Soul shall be filled with a most sweet delight in his perfect Beauty and Glory Could our Hearts be throughly taken up with Christ's Glory at that great Day it would be a means to mortifie our fond desires towards these things wherewith our fleshly Eyes or Hearts are apt to be ensnared It would greatly support us under Afflictions What should not I suffer with patience who look to see the Beauty and Glory of Christ at the last Day Yea to see the glorious Face of Christ turned to me in love might I not pass through Troubles Prisons Famine Nakedness Banishment Fire Sword any thing in hope to behold the Beauty and Glory of Christ and to enjoy the light of his Countenance for ever when he shall come as a Day-spring from on High 4. Consider how Christ at his second coming shall most sweetly refresh all those which â—â—roughout the World belong unto him he shall give them everlasting rest from all their Labours which here they have undergone everlasting peace from all Cares and Conflicts with the World the Flesh and the Devil freedom from all Troubles deliverance from all Persecutions when many millions of Souls shall throng about him and appear in his sight being such as have believed him and cleaved to him in sincerity Some of them having been sawn asunder burnt to ashes some slain with the Sword some kept in Bonds and Irons some mocked some scourged some driven out of House and Home and spoiled of their Goods tossed to and fro persecuted from City to City some destitute afflicted tormented for his Name-sake he shall sweetly ease and refresh them as a Day-spring when they shall appear before him And for those of his Saints that have been burdened with much Sickness painful Diseases with Poverty and outward Wants not having whereon to lay their Heads nor wherewith to fill their Bellies to them shall he give to drink of the full River of his Pleasures yea he himself shall be their Refreshment and they shall so fully enjoy him that they shall need nothing which may make them truly and perfectly happy 5. Consider That Christ as a Day-spring at his second coming shall Cure all the Sicknesses both of the Souls and Bodies of his He shall deliver the very brute Creatures from the Bondage of Corruption Rom. 8.19 For the earnest expectation of the Creature waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of God for the Creature it self was made subject unto Vanity c. Ver. 21. The Creature it self also shall be delivered from the bondage of Corruption into the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God For we know that the whole Creation groaneth and travelleth in pain until now Where you see that the whole World is sick and diseased by reason of the Sin of Man it is pained and groaneth as a Woman in Travel longing for the time of Deliverance and that is the time of Christ's coming when this Day-spring shall appear from on high An universal Corruption and as it were Contagion hath overspread and seized upon the whole body of Nature and all the Limbs the whole World and all its parts and all the Creatures in it and that by reason of the Sin of Man Now Christ's coming shall refine all the Creation and shall set up a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness The Beasts Birds Fishes the Corn the Fruit of the Vine c. shall no longer be abused to Gluttony Drunkenness and Epicurism and to be as Fuel to cherish the flame of unclean Lusts The wedg of Gold or bag of Silver shall no longer be defiled so as to be made an Idol to the dishonour of its Maker to carry away the Heart from him Other Metals and Minerals shall be no longer defiled so as to be turned into Instruments of Death and Cruelty and to be stained with Innocent Blood Other Creatures shall not be abused so as to set forth the Pride of Vain Men and Women Christ shall heal the Sickness and Corruptions of the World and free it from the bondage of Corruption his coming shall heal the World much more shall it heal all the Infirmities of his Members At the last Day the Lord at his coming will heal the Sick and Diseased give sight to the Blind strength to the Lame and Weak hearing to the Deaf beauty to the Deformed yea he shall cure them of Death and Mortality it self Death shall no more hang about them nor have to do with them Much more shall his second coming bring perfect and perpetual health to their Souls Sin shall then be fully Cured and the Soul shall be made altogether sound and no Sin shall pain the Soul with the remembrance of it nor afflict it with fear of Punishment And sence of Guiltiness shall be taken away as if Man had continued as holy as the Angels and had always kept his first Estate 6. Consider That
this Day-spring at his second coming shall awaken all that sleep in the Graves and in the Sea and in all places whatsoever all the Dead from Adam to the last Day all that lie sleeping in their Graves from one end of the World to the other shall be awakned All Kings and Princes and other great Men who shall be found sleeping in their sumptuous Tombs and Monuments and all that are buried any where The Trump shall sound and the Dead of all sorts degrees Ages Nations shall awake live arise and come before the Son of God coming in his Glory O the wonderful Change that shall be at that Day-spring When those Eyes that have been shut up so many hundred Years shall be opened and those Bodies that have been long buried in a silent Grave and covered with the darkness of death shall be brought forth into the Light of the great and glorious Day O my Soul awake thou beforehand that then I may awake full of Joy and Comfort and be satisfied with the Image of my dearest Saviour and lift up my Head to behold my most glorious Redeemer and the bright and blessed Day of my full Redemption The Angels Trumpet shall then awaken the most secure Conscience that ever composed it self to sleep in Sin yea then all their sins will awake with their awakened Conscience and rage fiercely against their Souls Awake then O Sinner to Repentance awake to Holiness and Righteousness that thy Conscience may be at peace with him and thy sins may be abolished for ever that Christ may not find thee sleeping at his coming 7. As the Sun at his rising causeth harmful Creatures to hide their Heads so this last coming of Christ is grievous to the Wicked it will make them to call to the Mountains to fall upon them and upon the Hills to cover them from the Wrath of the Lamb and from the Presence of him that sitteth upon the Throne then they would be glad to hide their Heads in the center of the Earth when the Light of this Day-spring shall appear O my Soul do thou now cast off the works of darkness and then the Light of that Glorious day shall not be grievous unto thee which none of the Children of darkness can behold without confusion of Face 8. Consider how welcome the second coming of Christ will be to the Godly The Faithful are described by this Property that they love his Appearing It is said That every one is a Friend to him that giveth Gifts Oh! how welcome shall Christ be to all the Faithful when he cometh with both his Hands full of rich and precious Gifts such as surpass the thoughts and understanding of Man When Christ cometh to bestow a Crown of Immortal Glory an everlasting Kingdom Oh! what Heir of the Kingdom would not with a glad Heart bid him welcome But chiefly Christ shall be welcome to them in respect of himself for then they shall see him as he is Consider what a blessed sight will this be O my Soul to see thy dear Saviour who hath died for thee loved thee and washed thee with his own Blood to see him now so Glorious To see him on the Throne who was nailed to the Cross to see him Reigning and Judging who was Judged and Condemned to see him most Blessed who was made a Curse to see his Righteousness shine forth to all the World who was numbred among Transgressors to see him in such excellent Majesty and fulness of Glory this will be most welcome Oh! how blessed is the condition of that Soul who being fitted for Christ hath a longing desire of his coming and can from his Heart say Come Lord Jesus come quickly 9. As the Day-spring sheweth Man his work and his way so the glorious coming of Christ shall shew unto the World which way they have gone and to what issue their way and works are come Many now do imagine that they go the way of Salvation and the way of Life and that they shall have Peace and will not be convinced otherwise by the Word But this Day shall declare it it shall shew that many such have trodden the Path of destruction and have been going down to the Chambers of death yea now the end and issue of all will appear to be Death and Condemnation on this Day the Lord will shew who is Righteous and who is Wicked he will shew by the Light of that Day who are Wheat and who are Tares which are for the Fire and which are for the Gardner which are for the right Hand and which for the left SECT VII Whilst thou art yet lying in thy Bed REmember that Almighty God is about thy Bed and that he observes all the secret thoughts and workings of thy Heart Commune with thy Heart upon thy Bed Psal 4.4 Consider That we lie in our Beds as it were within our Graves and the Sheets between which we lie may put us in mind of our Winding-sheet It is good to remember God upon our Beds as David's practice was and the Law of God was his Meditation by night as well as by day When he meditated on God in the night Watches he was as one satisfied with Marrow and Fatness Psal 63.5 Meditation and Prayer may best be practised Chrysost in Gen. Hom. 3. when we are freest from disturbance in the Night or upon our Beds after we awake no Body then is troublesome to us then we have a greater freedom and tranquillity of our Thoughts when we are not molested with Business when there is none that can hinder us from having access to God when our mind knitting it self together is able diligently to make reference of all to the Physician of Souls At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang Praises unto God being thrust into an inner Prison having their Feet made fast in the Stocks Acts 16.24 25. Behold the Doctor of the World saith Chrysostom fast in Prison praying notwithstanding at midnight with Silas Neither the renting of their Clothes nor their Stripes and Bonds could hinder them from it nay they did so much the more shew their fervency toward the Lord. I have remembred thy Name O Lord in the night saith David Psal 119.55 The Night presents us with many opportunities of deeper Meditation Ambros de bono Mortis p. 245. We more sincerely in the Night-time and upon our Beds do bethink our selves saith St. Ambrose Beware of plotting ill designs upon your Beds It is said of the Wicked man that he deviseth mischief upon his Bed Psal 36.4 he there employs his time of rest and freedom from business to devise wicked acts to execute the next day Take heed of abusing your Beds to satisfie your Lusts and to draw others unto Adultery and Wantonness Remember that the Bed undefiled is honourable but Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judg SECT VIII When thou risest out of thy Bed in the Morning THink then how Almighty God can as easily raise
when Health is gone The want of Health and vigour of Spirits must needs be a great disadvantage where-ever it lighteth yet where Grace is and ruleth the Heart is lifted up to God the Soul breaths after him and his bodily Infirmities are an help to Mortification to Patience to the neglect of Worldly Things and a provocation to long for his Salvation as old Jacob did upon his Death-bed David attained to the best temper and measure of Spiritual Health when he was most overlaid with Bodily Sickness 2. To Health we may joyn Bodily Strength which is a great help to Spiritual Assaults which work more upon Weakness Age c. than upon others in whom Nature sanctified can afford more helps to the inner Man assaulted by Frowardness Timerousness or the like as one well noteth Young Men have more strength than others over-worn by Age and if they have the Word of God abiding in them they are strong indeed to overcome the evil one Many Men out of their strength of Body might spare more time from their sleep to spend in Religious Duties which others of weaker and feebler Bodies cannot spare who if they should miss of sufficient refreshment in this kind would be unfit for any holy performance Many occasions also may the strong take in travel for the doing of many good Services which cannot be so well performed by the weaker sort Yea such Men may wrestle the more earnestly with God in Prayer and in performing other holy Exercises may be the more vehement which weak Bodies are unable to perform But it is sad to see wicked Men notwithstanding their bodily weakness to be never the weaker Servants of Sin The Adulterer rolls over his sin in his Heart though disabled by his own Wickedness as well as by Age from the actual committing of that Sin he is a filthy person still as in his greatest bodily vigour and a greater teacher and provoker of others to the same Wickedness So Witches and other envious Persons Malice in them supplieth the defects of natural abilities or want of power or opportunity And rather than fail they summon in Satan to assist them in their hellish designs So others in time of their Weakness grow more cross and froward to all about them and being more impatient do murmur against God and are ready to Curse and Blaspheme because they have not Health Limbs Strength as well as others These are not unlike the Vassals of Antichrist justly suffering extraordinary Plagues for their voluntary Slavery That gnawed their Tongues for pain and blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores and repented not of their deeds Rev. 16.10 11. But the weakest Body must labour to be strong in Spirit that the power of God's Spirit may be manifested in its Weakness whilst the inner Man is renewed day by day though the outward Man decayeth 3. Youth also is an advantage in the Service of God Young Men have more abilities and helps than Old Persons their Wits being fresh their Affections lively all the powers of Nature are then in their prime and God requireth more of them in regard of outward performances Let young Men now remember their Creator in the days of their Youth and the prime of their Days while the evil days come not The days of Old-age are evil Days but thou must serve God in thy best Days give him not the dregs of thy time let him have the principal and choicest of thine Age think thy best days not good enough The Years will approach wherein thou wilt say I have no pleasure in them Dost thou think God will delight and take pleasure in that Age of thine if thou then begin to serve him when as thou thy self canst find no pleasure in it The Lord is to be served with gladness of Heart for the abundance of all things and wilt thou hope to serve him and be accepted of him if thou begin not till then when thou thy self shall take contentment in nothing when Old Age shall take away the joy of thine Heart and comfort of thy Life Yet must the Aged labour to excel in a settled Constancy in Gravity in holy Examples in ripeness of every Grace and holy Affection But the Younger sort must do more than the Aged can do in regard of the exercises of Religion and that in many respects 4. So also in respect of outward Estate and therein in regard of Wealth Honour the Lord with thy Substance and with the first-fruits of thine Increase Prov. 3.9 St. Paul bids Timothy Charge them that be rich in this World c. that they do good that they be rich in good Works ready to distribute willing to communicate laying up in store for themselves a good Foundation against the time to come Where ye see the Lord requireth an open Hand and Heart in them who are enriched with outward Blessings Every one is to lay by him as the Lord hath enabled him There be many things here required of the Rich which the Poor cannot do as to maintain the preaching of the Gospel where Means are wanting to relieve the Poor and Needy to strive against the danger and deceitfulness of Riches in the possessing and enjoying these outward things to be as if you possessed them not being as ready to leave all for Christ as they that have least and to be ready according to your portion of Wealth to set forth the Glory of Christ to make Riches the fuel of your Graces and the instruments of your Duty towards God and Man To have the House full of Riches and the Heart full of Grace this is an happy Conjunction and causeth matter of great admiration It is an evidence of much Grace when a Man is very holy in the midst of abundance of outward Riches As Pineda speaks of Job That the holiness of Job Exingentibus Jobi divitiis valdè locupletatur ejus sanctitas Pineda was enriched by his great Riches But usually Riches do impoverish the Soul and devour all care of Heaven they make Men to forget God yea to kick and spurn against him as it is said of Jesurun They are often made the Bellows of Pride the fuel of Luxury and Wantonness the instrument of Revenge and cause their owners to contemn despise and oppress their poor Brethren and to make no other use of them but to satisfie their Lusts and clog their Souls fastening them to the things below 5. Hereunto we may add Respect and Esteem from the World wherein some Men have a greater part than others and if they would rightly use it a greater advantage to glorifie God and so accordingly the Lord requireth more at their hands than can well be performed by others First of all Some have favour with great Men So Nehemiah had with the Persian King and he might be bold to speak for Jerusalem the City of the Lord when it lay desolate and so he did An ordinary Israelite had not
asleep to keep his Sheep from the Wolf God is the Keeper of his Flock he is always vigilant to defend them Behold He that is the Keeper of Israel shall never slumber nor sleep the Lord is thy Keeper Psal 121.4 5. St. Peter feared not to sleep in Prison Acts 12.6 Mr. Rogers our Proto-Martyr in Queen Maries dayes could scarce be waked when the Keeper came to warn him to prepare for the Fire having been condemned to be Burnt alive When the Lord undertakes our Protection we may sleep as our Saviour did in the midst of a Storm and Tempest As a good Nights rest is the Gift of God so it deserves daily acknowledgments by us SECT XLI When you compose your selves to Sleep HAving Prayed immediately before you go to Rest offer your Rest it self to God in this or the like manner My God! I desire as often as I shall draw breath this Night so often all my Respirations may praise thee Drexel de rect intent lib. 2. Drexelius adviseth a Christian to suppose that he heareth Christ speaking to him in these words When any one will repose himself to Sleep let him meditate somewhat of Me or confer with Me For so although he sleep in Body yet he shall watch in Mind unto Me Yea let every one which is ready to close his Eyes desire that I would receive every breath which he shall fetch that Night as it were to my exceeding Praise and I who cannot be wanting to the holy Wishes of a pious and loving Soul will fulfil his desires in Truth It is of great advantage to a Christian to reduce all things in this manner to the Honour of God and there is no moment of time but we might be on the getting hand It is good to empty your selves before you sleep of all that troubles you It was Pythagoras his rule to his Scholar Non te prius somno tradideris quam diurna opera ter mente revolveris Betake not thy self to sleep till thou hast in thy Mind gone thrice over the works of the Day The sleep of a Godly Man is sweet but the sleep of many wicked Men is very troublesome Richard the Third King of England after the murder of his two Nephews had fearful Dreams and would leap off of his Bed and take his Sword in his hand as if he had been seeking an Enemy And Charles IX King of France after the French Massacre was laid to sleep every Night and wakened by Musicians But good Men sometimes through Grief and Pain may find little ease or refreshing from their Beds Thus Job amplifies his Sorrows instancing in those ordinary Ways which give sick and distempered Bodies some abatement or intermission of their Pain lying down upon their Bed or Couch When I say my Bed shall comfort me Job 7.13 14. my Couch shall ease my complaint then thou scarest me with Dreams and terrifiest me with Visions As if he had said Whilst I was all Day conflicting with my Sorrows I yet had some hope to find comfort at Night that I should find rest on my Bed Or whilst in the Day my Spirit is overwhelmed within me I think sometimes to deceive my Pains a little by taking a Nap on my Couch Consider here That the most probable and proper Means are unable of themselves to minister any Ease or Comfort to us A Man may go to his Bed and lie down upon his Couch in vain unless God command a Bed to comfort us it shall yield us no Comfort and unless he say to a Couch Ease such a Man's Complaint it shall not do it But if God will say to an hard Stone give such a Man rest he shall rest and sleep sweetly upon it as Jacob did when he journeyed from Beer-sheba towards Haran making Stones his Pillows in the place where he lay down to sleep Gen. 28.11 12 13 14. there dreaming of a Ladder set upon the Earth the top whereof reached to Heaven and the Angels of God ascending and descending on it and the Lord standing above it promising to give the Land whereon he lay to him and his Seed and to multiply his Seed exceedingly and that in his Seed all the Families of the Earth should be blessed How often doth God scare some Men with Dreams and terrifie them with Visions as Job speaks concerning himself Sometimes Satan causeth sinful and filthy Dreams August Confess lib. 10. cap. 30. as St. Augustine bewails in the tenth Book of his Confessions Sometimes treacherous and deluding Dreams Some conceive that the Dream of Pilat's Wife Mat. 27.19 was from the Devil because Satan would thereby have hindred the work of Man's Redemption She comes to Pilat and desires him to have nothing to do with that Just Man For saith she I have suffered many things this Night in a Dream because of him As our waking times are in God's Hand so our sleeping times Sometimes God makes sleep an Affliction to us Job's Dreams were Terrifying and Scaring to him Some Dreams are for Warning and Admonition The Lord warned Joseph in a Dream the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a Dream whilst he thought on those things and gave him Counsel what to do Mat. 1.20 Holy Meditations even upon our Beds do many times meet with the Lord's Messages The Angels are at God's Service to assist his Saints as here of Joseph he helps him out of his perplexed Thoughts He was contriving how to please God in that Business of so great Importance and God sends an Angel to assist him No time is unseasonable for God to help his Children No time but he watcheth over them When they are sleeping when they think neither harm nor good then doth the Lord watch over them for good God can give us better direction sleeping than we can find out waking Many a one hath tasted more of Heaven in a Night-dream than in many Days attendance on holy Ordinances Yet this is no Pillow for Laziness If we do our best while we are waking God will relieve us sleeping Let us go to God and not distract our selves nor be careless Joseph thought what to do yet his thoughts were not so distracting as to break his sleep God helps him sleeping God will have us be doing and yet it may be he will do his own Work without us Let every Christian labour to be well employed in the Day-time for as Aristotle speaks it is possible that our Fancy in the Night may hold some conformity with the Days employment Fâ—â— Four Mind in the Day-time be intent upon good Employment and well fixed thereon our sleep may relish of the same Employment also and our Fancy may make return of something whereof we so fastened on in the Day as well as it will do in other Vanities The Wise Man saith In the multitude of Dreams and many Words there are also divers Vanities but fear thou God Eccles 5.7 If thou fearest God thou needest not fear thy Fancy nor thy Dreams I shall Conclude with the Advice of Chrysostom Chryfost in Gen. Serm. 6. Close thine Eyes with the thoughts of God and his Goodness and thou shalt have sweet Dreams thy Fancy shall not be troubled FINIS Some Books lately Printed for and Sold by Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church-Yard FOLIO JOsephus's History of the Jews with Cuts Bishop Vsher's Body of Divinity with his Life and an Alphabetical Table the seventh Edirion Parthanissa a Romance In QUARTO Dr. Dillingham's Sermon at the Lady Alstons Funeral Dr. Bate's Harmony of the Divine Attributes Dr. Jacomb on the 8th of the Romans Dr. Tuckney 40 Sermons on several Occasions His Praelectiones Determinationes Lat. now in the Press Mr. Haworth's several Pieces against the Quakers In OCTAVO Mr. Tho. Gale his Philosophy Anatomy of Infidelity Mr. Baxter more Proofs for Infant-Baptism His Treatise of Justification Mr. Whiston his 4 Books in Defence of Infant-Baptism Mr. Wills his 3 Books in Defence of Infant-Baptism against Mr. Danvers A Contest for Christianity or A Account of two great Disputes between the Anabaptists and the Quakers Mr. Barret The Christian Temper or A Discourse on the Nature and Properties of the Graees of Sanctification Mr. Shelton's Discourse of Superstition with respect to the present Times A Catechism according to the Doctrine of the Church of England with Scripture Proofs at large together with Directions for plain Christians to pray on most occasions and to receive the Lord's Supper by the use and knowledg of the said Catechism A Catechism or the Church-Catechism inlarged and the Doctrine proved by Scripture for the use of such as were not Baptized in their Infancy or had no God-Fathers and God-Mothers Mr. Ranew on Divine Meditation In TWELVES Mr. Pearse's Great Concern or Directions for a timely preparation for Death recommended as proper to be given at Funerals The best Match or the Souls espousal to Christ Mr. Case his Treatise of Afflictions useful for these Times Mr. Hook's Doubting Christian drawn to Christ The Barren Fig-Tree or the Fruitless Professors Doom By John Bunyon The Epitome of the Bible briefly explaining the Contents of the Old and New Testament penned in Metre for better remembrance useful for Children