excellencie is there in that soul which is united to a Saviour It is called the life of God Eph. 4.18 Surely no life can be more honorable than the life of God yet in their measure the sanctified ones live the very same life that the glorious God the fountain of all true honor liveth David though a King thought himself honored by being Gods subject and therefore as others before their works mention those titles which belong to them and speak their honor David stileth himself before the six and thirtieth Psalm a servant of God as his most honorable title Constantine and Valentinian two Emperors subscribed themselves Vasallos Christi Socr. A Psalm of David a servant of the Lord. If it be such an honor to serve an Earle a King what is it to serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Godlinesse is called a walking with God Gen. 5.24 a conversing or having fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ his Son 1 John 1.3 For God to walk and converse with us is his greatest humiliation but for us to walk or converse with God is our highest exaltation The righteous saith the wise man who had judgement to set a due price upon persons is more excellent then his neighbor Prov. 12.26 Let him live by never so rich or great men yet if they want grace they are not comparable to him Sumus Domini non tantum in Genitivo singulari sed etiam in Nominativo plurali Luth. The godly man hath the most honorable birth he is born of God John 1.13 the most honorable breeding he is brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord the most honorable Tutor and Teacher the good Spirit of God John 14.16 the most honorable Attendants the glorious Angels the most honorable employment his main work is to wait upon God The most honorable Relations A King for his Father 2 Cor. 6. ult A Queen for his Mother Gal. 4.26 The excellent of the earth Psal 16.3 Lords in all Lands Psal 45.16 Higher then the Kings of the earth Psal 89.27 Those Worthies of whom the world is not worthy for his Brethren Hebr. 11. Numa second King in Rome though an Heathen could say That he held it an higher honor to serve God then to rule over men The Jews say That those seventie souls which went down into Egypt were more worth then all the seventie Nations of the world beside If the glorious Angels in heaven are more honorable than the Devils sure I am it is holinesse that maketh the difference The most gaudy and goodly fruits of moralitie springing from the soil of nature manured and improved to the utmost The Heavens bespangled with those glittering Stars and adorned with that illustrious Sun are nothing glorious in comparison of the heart of a poor Christian that is embroidered with grace It is godlinesse alone that addeth worth and value to all our civil and natural things as the Diamond to the Ring Nothing doth really debase and degrade a man but sin and nothing doth truly advance or innoble the soul but holinesse Job scraping himself on the dunghill and Jeremiah sinking in the mire were more honorable and glorious than Ahab and Ahaz on their Thrones with their Crowns If the respect we have from others makes us honorable then they that are most precious in Gods sight are most honorable Isai 43.4 If it be some internal excellencie that makes men honorable then they that have the Image of God must be most honorable It is worthy our observation that sin is so ignoble and base that those wicked ones who love it most are ashamed to own it openly but because of the excellencie of holinesse will set that forth for their colours their banners though indeed they fight Satans battels That forlorn hope for hell 2 Tim. 3.5 of covenant-breakers blasphemers men without natural affection yet they will have a form of godlinesse though they do sins drudgery yet they are ashamed of their base master and therefore wear the Saints livery having a form of godlinesse Nay the Devil himself will appear in Samuel's mantle and transform himself into an Angel of light But holinesse is so excellent that God is pleased to esteem it as his own beauty and glory How often is he called The holy One of Israel The Angels ascribe holinesse to him by way of eminencie Holy Holy Holy Isai 6.3 we read not in Scripture of any of Gods other Attributes thrice repeated to shew that the Dignity of God consisteth in this And so doe the Saints in heaven praise him for it as his Excellencie Rev. 6.10 and the Saints on earth Exod. 15.11 Holinesse is the character of Jesus Christ The Image of the infinitely glorious God nay it is called the divine nature Surely then they that have most of it are most honorable and they which want it how full soever they are of all other excellencies are base and contemptible Secondly As this spiritual life is most honorable so it is most comfortable There is no life so pleasant and delightful as the life of a Saint The merry grigs and jolly gallants of the world whose sinful mirth is worse than madnesse will needs tell us that godlinesse makes men mopish and melancholy that when once we salute Religion we take our leave of all delight and consolation whereas indeed there never was true peace born but it had purity for its parent All other is spurious and illegitimate But the world like the Primitive Persecutors put Christians into the skins of Beares and Buls and then bait them as if they were really such And the hand of the Devil is in all this who like the Indians maketh great fires to fright Mariners from landing at such Coasts as would be most for their comfort and contentment Believe Reader the true and faithful Witnesse His wayes are wayes of pleasantness and all his paths are peace Prov. 3.17 It is not sanctity but their want of it or mistake about it which maketh them sorrowfull It is confest Saints may be sad they doe not cease to be men when they begin to be Christians It was in thy company it may be O sinner No wonder Fish cannot sport themselves when they are out of their element Birds do not sing on the ground but when they are mounting on high towards heaven And probably their hearts were heavy out of compassion to thee whom they observed to be hastening to hell and dancing merrily over the very pit or destruction and easeless misery Thou seest their sorrows sometimes thine eyes may behold their tears but thou dost not see their joys thy heart cannot conceive them Saint Austâ—ne relateth concerning an heathen that shewed the father his idol gods saying Here is my God where is thine and then pointing up to the Sun he said Here is my God but where is thine I shewed him not my God saith Austine not because I had none to shew but because he had no
robes of glory Mr. Thomas Wilson Minister of Maidstone in Kâ—nt an eminent servant of the Lord Jesus I remember I have sometimes heard an able holy Minister now with Christ say that that sight of five hundred Saints and Jesus Christ among them 1 Cor. 15.6 was one of the bravest goodliest sights that ever eyes beheld on earth Sure I am they that are in heaven see a far better beholding Jesus Christ in the midst of many thousands Secondly A Christian shall gain by death the neerest communion with the Lord Jesus Christ and O what happinessâ— is included in this Head The presence of Christ on earth can make a mean cottage a most delightful court to the three children it turned the fiery furnace into a delectable palace what will it do then in Heaven Bernard saith he had rather be in his chimny-corner with Christ Mallem in camino meo cum Christo quam in coelo sine Christo Bern. than in heaven without Christ Luther saith he had rather be in hell with Christ than in heaven without Christ communion with Christ can sweeten the bitterest condition Christ alone is the salt which seasons all the Saints comforts without which nothing is savoury to the spiritual taste A duty without Christ is like a body without a soul which hath neither loveliness nor life in it Communion with Christ is one great motive which inciteth the Saint to and encourageth him in the Ordinances of God He attendeth on Scriptures because they are they that testifie of Christ the pearl of price is hid in that field Cant. 5.1 In them the lips of Christ like lillies drop sweet-smelling myrrhe and O how his heart burneth within him with love to Christ whilst Christ is opening to him the Scriptures He frequenteth prayer because therein Christ and his soul converse together in that Ordinance he enjoyeth much of Ch ists quickning presence he speaketh to Christ by holy supplications and Christ to him by heavenly consolations He mindeth fasting because therein his soul may with Jesus Christ have a spiritual feast or the greatest cause of his weeping is with Mary They have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him The means of grace are therefore so desirable and delightful because rhey are the Galleries wherein he walketh talketh feedeth and feasteth with the Lord of glory The highest duty without Christ is as a dish without meat from which he goeth as empty and unsatisfied as he came to it It is to him as Tullies Hortens to Austine of little worth if the Name of Jesus be not there If he love the Saints with a love of complacency 't is because they are Christs seed if he love the sinner with a love of pity 't is for Christs sake his affections are contracted or enlarged towards any thing as it hath lesse or more relation to Christ and nothing is of true value or worth in his esteem which hath not aliquid Christi something of Christ in it Now consider Reader if the presence of Christ be so precious so pleasant to the Christian here when he can see so little of his excellent beauty and receive so little of his infinite bounty what will it be when he shall appear to the soul in all his royalty and fill the water-pots of the soul up to the brim with the riches of grace and glory Demorrhathus of Corinth saith they lost the chief part of their lives happinesse that did not see Alexander sit on the throne of Darius if that were such an happy sight what a sight shall the Saints have to see Christ on his Fathers Throne O how much is included in those few words To be with Christ which is the description of the Saints gain by death Philip. 1.23 This was the great Legacy and portion which Christ bequeathed his in his last Will and Testament John 17.24 This was the great promise and sweet meats which the tender father provided to comfort his fainting children with at his own Funeral John 16.22 This was the great prayer which Paul maketh for his beloved Timothy 2 Tim. 4.22 This was the enlivening cordial which the good Physician administred to the dying patient Luke 23.43 This is the great reason for which the godly long for death Philip. 1.23 I desire death saith Melancthon that I may enjoy the desirable fight of Christ Ut desiderato fruar conspectu Christi and O when will that blessed hour come when shall I be dissolved when shall I be with Christ said holy Mr. Robert Bolton on his Death-bed Surely then this gain is great which the Saint shall have by death He that hath Christ with him by grace may say with Peter Master it is good to be here but he that is with Christ in glory may say with Paul To be with Christ is far better without doubt best of all They were blessed which saw him in his estate of debasement Luke 10.23 but much more blessed will they be that shall see him in his estate of advancement Thirdly the Saint by death shall gain the full and immediate fruition of God The former were excellent but this as the Sun among the Planets surpasseth them all The other were as Rivers this is the Ocean they were as branches bearing goodly fruit but this is the root upon which they grow they all as lines meet in this center this is the top-stone of the celestial building this is the highest stair the apex of the Saints happinesse This is the greatest gift which the creature can possibly ask or the infinite God bestow The boundlesse God cannot well give a greater mercy than this Is any thing yea are all things in heaven and earth equal to God God alone is the highest object of faith 1 Pet. 1.21 and therefore the greatest ground of joy and satisfaction to the soul Psalm 17. ult The Vision of God is the beatifical vision 1 John 3.3 and therefore the fruition of God will cause perfection in the soul The enjoyment of God is the great desire and delight of the Saints on earth Psalm 42.1 2. nay it is the happinesse of the humane nature of the Lord Jesus Psalm 16.5 6. without question then it will be the Heaven of Heaven That excellent description of Heaven mentioned by the Apostle 1 Cor. 15.28 That God may be all in all 1 Thess 4. ult is a being ever with the Lord. This is all the most fluent tongue must be here silent and the most capacious understanding will be soon at a stand in the consideration of the felicity which floweth from the fruition of God The presence of this King will make the Court indeed For the Lord to be with us is our chiefest security though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death I will feare no evil for thou art with me Psal 23.4 but for us to be with the Lord will be our choicest felicity In his presence is fulnesse of
he shall eat bread in the Kingdome of God They are before the Throne of God and serve him day and night in his Temple and he that sitteth on the Throne shall dwell among them they shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them nor any heat For the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters Rev. 7.15.16 17. Observe Reader I say a Christian shall gain by death Immediate fruition of God a full immediate fruition of God now the Saint drinketh of the waters of life and they are pleasant though through the Conduits and Cisterns of Ordinances but with what joy will he draw water immediately out of the Well of salvation Dulcius â—x ipso fonte c. We read in Joshua 5.12 when Israel came to Canaan Manna ceased and they did eat of the fruits of the Land While the Saint is in the Wildernesse of this world he needeth and feedeth on the Manna of the Word Sacraments Prayer and the like but when death shall land him at that place of which Canaan was but a type the Manna of Ordinances shall cease he shall eat the fruits of that Land Ordinances are necessary for and suitable to our state of imperfection Jacob drove his flocks as they were able to go so doth Christ his sheep Here we are in a state of uncleanenesse and therefore want water in Baptisme to wash us saith an Eminent Divine in a state of darknesse and therefore want the light of the Word to direct us in a state of wearinesse and therefore want a Lords day of rest to refresh us in a state of weaknesse and therefore want bread in the Supper to strengthen us in a state of sorrow and therefore want wine to comfort us in a state of beggery and therefore want prayer to fetch some spiritual alms from the beautiful Gate of Gods Temple Whil'st the Saint is as a child he thinks as a child speaks as a child understands as a child but when he shall come to be a perfect man he shall put away these childish things when every earthly member shall be mortified and the body of death wholly destroyed when the faculties of the soul shall be enlarged and the sanctification of the inner man perfected when the rags of mortality shall be put off and grace swallowed up in glory The Sun shall be no more thy light by day nor the Moon thy light by night but the Lord thy God thine everlasting light and thy God thy glory Isa 60.19 Apostles Prophets Pastours Teachers are for the perfecting of the Saints for the edifying of the body of Christ no longer then till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulnesse of Christ Ephes 4.11.12 13. When God shall be all in all then and not till then Ordinances will be nothing at all When the Saint comes to his journeys end he may throw away his staffe Now how much will this adde to the former that the Christian shall without ordinances enjoy God! How lovely is the face of God though it be but in the glasse of the Gospel 2 Cor. 3.18 this was the one thing which David begg'd that he might dwell in the house of the Lord to see the beauty of his face Psal 27.4 Ah how lovely will he be when the Christian shall see him face to face 1 Cor. 13.12 If it be so good to draw neer to God on earth Psal 73. ult and if they are blessed that watch at Wisdomes gates and wait at the posts of her doors Prov. 8.34 how good will it be to draw neer to God in heaven and how blessed are they that wait not at the door but dwell in that house How pleasant will it be for the soul when it's eyes shall be strengthened to see God as he is without the spectacles of Ordinances We esteem that honey sweetest which is suckt immediately out of the comb though hony out of a dish is sweet and we do with more delight eat that fruit which we gather ourselvs from the tree than we do that which is brought to us through others hands The enjoyment of God is so sweet in the dish of a Duty that a Christian would sooner lose the best friend he hath than it But O how sweet will it be in the comb of immediate communion This fruit is very delightful and pleasant as it is conveyed through the hands of Ministers though the liquor will sente of the cask but O with what delight Christian canst thou read it and thy heart not warmed with joy with what pleasure wilt thou with thine own hands gather this fruit from the Tree of life that standeth in the midst of Paradise Rev. 22. Thus I have given thee a little of that great gain which a Saint hath by death death will free him ftom all evil both of sin and suffering it will give him the fruition of ali good in the enjoyment of perfect Saints and the blessed Saviour and in full immediate communion with the infinite God who is blessed and blessing his for ever This is the heritage of a righteous man from God and this is the portion of his cup thus shall it be done to the man whom the King of heaven delights to honour There is but one thing more required to make the Christian perfectly happy and that is the eternity of all this but I shall speak to that in the last use I now proceed to the application of the Point The first use which I shall make of this Doctrine shall be by way of information If such as have Christ for their life shall have gain by their death it informeth us of the difference betwixt the deaths of the sinner and the Saint the one is an unspeakable gainer the other an unconceivable loser by death Death to the good is the gate through which they go into the kingdome of heaven death to the bad is the trap-door through which they fall into hell The godly dyeth as well as the wicked but the wicked man dieth not so well as the godly The metal and the drosse go both into the fire but the metal is refined and the drosse consumed As the cloud in the wildernesse had a light side to the Israelite but a dark side to the Egyptian so death hath nothing but light and comfort for the Israel of God nothing but darknesse and sorrow for the sinful Egyptians Death to every one is a messenger sent from the Lord of life it cometh to the regenerate as the young Prophet to Jehu I have an errand to thee O Captain and what was his errand he poured the oil on his head saying Thus saith the Lord I have anointed thee King over Israel 2 Kings 9.5 6. It is a messenger from God to call
art young It was a wise answer of one that wa invited to dinner on thâ— morrow saith he A multis annis crastinum non habui thou deferrest it till to morrow but suppose thou dye to day and God say to thee as to the rich fool This night thy soul shall be required of thee Boast not thy self of to morrow thou knowest not what a day may bring forth Pro. 27.1 It is a good saying of Aquinas That though God promise forgiveness to repenting sinners Waldus he the fâ—tâ—er of the Walden es seeiâ— one suddenly fâ—ll â—own dead was converted wenâ—â—ome and â—ecame a new maâ— yet God promiseth not to morrow to repent in think how many hundred casualties thou art liable to how many others dye suddenly and take the counsel of Michal to David Save thy self to night to morrow thou mayest be slain Save thy soul today to morrow thou maist be damned 6. Art thou sure that God will accept thee hereafter if thou shouldst now delay and dally with his Majesty It is good seeking the Lord while he may be found and calling upon him while he is near Psal 55.6 There is a time when men shal call but God will nor hear cry but he will not answer and that because when God called they would not hear but set at naught his counsel Prov. 24. to 29. Whilst thine eyes are open the things which concern thy peace may be hid from them Luke 19.41 Thou maist live to have thy soul buried long before thy body Ezek. 24.13 14. God would purge thee now and thou wilt not take heed he clap not the same curse upon thee which he did on some others that thou shalt never be purged till thou diest The Spirit of God probably now stirreth thee to turn presently and offereth thee its help if thou lovest thy soul do not now deny it least the spirit serve thee as Samuel did Saul Saul disobeyed him and Samuel came no more to Saul to the day of his death 1 Sam. 15. ult i. e. never So take heed of quenching this motion of the holy Ghost least it depart in a distaste taking its everlasting leave of thee and thou never feel it more to the day of thy death Now is the accepted time now is the day of salvation 2 Cor. 6.2 This day if thou wilt hear his voice harden not thy heart least he swear in his wrath that thou shalt never enter into his rest Psal 95.7.11 My second request is that thou wouldst make the attaining this spiritual life the whole business of thy natural life that thou wouldest esteem it as the great end of thy creation preservation and of all the mercies and means of grace which God bestoweth on thee as the great end why God is so patient towards thee so provident over thee so bountiful unto thee that thou mightest repent and return unto him from whom thou hast gone astray Shall I intreat thee for the sake of thy poor soul to let thy greatest labor be for thine eternal welfare Is not this a business of the greatest necessity of the greatest excellency It is the unum necessarium Luk. 10. ult The primum quaerendum Mat. 6.33 The totum hominis Eccl. 12.13 and of the greatest commodity and profit that thou didst ever undertake To be everlastingly in heaven or in hell to enjoy endless and matchless pain or pleasure are other manner of things than men dream of Good Lord that men did but believe what it is to be happy or miserable for ever how then would they flie from the wrath to come and strive to enter in at the strait gate Mat. 7.14 Surely things of the greatest weight call for the strongest work matters that concern thine unchangeabe felicity require the greatest industry Demost Non taâ—ti emam poenitere The Philosopher would not buy repentance at too dear a rate Sure I am thou canst never buy this inheritance too dear though thou spendest all thy time and strength and sellest all thou hast to purchase it Friend if ever thou art saved thou must work out thy own salvation Phil. 2.12 God giveth earth to the meek and patient but heaven to the strong and violent Mat. 5.5 Mat 11.12 It is a saying of Lombard God condemns none before he sins nor crowns any before he overcomes The blind carnal world thinks that a man may go to heaven without so much ado as Judas said of the ointment so they of diligence in duties To what purpose is this waste Mat. 26.8 They tell us it is waste time to pray so frequently and it is waste strength to pray so fervently to what purpose is this waste They presume that godly men might spare a great deal of their pains heavenward As Seneca told the Jews that they lost a seventh part of their time by their sanctification of the Sabbath So the earthly-minded man will tell us that such and such men spend all their time almost in reading or hearing or praying or instructing their families or neighbors and they count it but lost time These men if you will believe them have found out an easier and a nearer way to heaven then ever Jesus Christ did they are the right brood of wicked Jeroboam that told the people 1 King 12.28 It was too much to go up to Jerusalem to worship he had found out a cheaper and an easier way of worship The Calves at Dan and Bethel would save them much labor and in his conceit serve to as much purpose Thus they delude themselves that their lazy cold trading God-ward their slight indifferent prayers will bring them in as much gain as the most zealous performances of the Saints But Reader I hope thou wilt obey the voice of God and not of men in this Consider his promise is to the laborious They that seek him early shall finde him Prov. 8.17 He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Heb. 11.6 So Prov. 2.3 4. His precept is for labor Agaâ—hocles gâ—t to be King of Sicily by his industry so may the Chrstian by violence attain the kingdom of heaven Mat. 7.13 Strive to enter in at the strait gate be diligent to makâ— your calling and election sure 2 Pet. 1.10 So John 6.27 nay he curseth them that put him off with their lame sacrifices For I am a great King saith the Lord of hosts and my name is dreadful Mal. 1.13 14. Further he is peremptory that the slothful shall be for utter darkness Mat. 25.26 The Egyptian King would have men of activity and industry to be his servants and will God thinkest thou who is a pure act accept of those that are not active Canst thou imagine that he should ever bestow pardon of sin eternal life the sanctification of the spirit the precious contents of his own promise the invaluable fruits of Christs purchase upon those those do not judge them worthy of all their strength and time and hearts and pains
there how high and noble their works how holy and pure their worship and hadst known the infinite power holiness wisdom and justice of God as they do and God should turn thee again into this world wouldst thou slubber over thy duties and play with his Ordinances as now thou dost wouldst thou pray to this God as if thou prayedst not or hear from his Majesty as if thou heardest not or attend on him so carelesly as if thou didst not attend on him at all or wouldst thou not rather think I can never be too serious in the service of such a God I can never wait on him with humility enough and with watchfulnesse enough with uprightnesse enough and with care and diligence enough Shouldst thou not be laborious in the service of such a good God Give me leave to urge this thought a little farther and to give thee a Scripture or two which through the free grace of God have sometimes helped me against deadness and dullness in duties The one is 2 Chron. 2. and 5. where Solomon telleth us The house I am to build must be great mark the reason for great is our God above all gods If God be so great a God how greatly is he to be reverenced canst thou do too much service for him or give too much glory to him Can thy love to him be too great or can thy fear of him be too great or can thy labor for him be too great when this God is so great That he measureth the ocean in the hollow of his hand and meteth out the heavens with a span and comprehendeth the dust of the earth in a measure and weigheth the mountains in scales and the hills in a ballance Behold the Nations are as a drop of the bucket and are counted as the small dust of the ballance Behold he taketh up the Isles as a very little thing And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering All Nations before him are as nothing and they are counted to him as lesse then nothing and vanity Isa 40.12 15 16 17. God is a great God and therefore greatly to be feared Psal 89.7 God is a great God and therefore greatly to be praised for his greatness is unsearchable Psal 145.3 If he be a great God he may well require a great house to be his material temple and if he be a great God may he not justly call for a great part of yea all thy heart to be his spiritual temple It is likely the Son Solomon learned this of his father David who giveth us this as the reason why he danced before the Arke of the Covenant of the Lord of the whole earth with all his might 2 Sam. 6.14 21. It was saith he before the Lord as if he had said Had it been before men only or in their service I might have been cold and careless slothful and sluggish but it was before the Lord the infinite incomprehensible and holy God to whom I am unspeakably obliged for his distinguishing mercy and therefore all my might and all my strength was little enough for such a God I might mind thee further that thou hast wrought hard in thy slavery to the world and thy flesh in thy drudgery to the devil and thy lusts whose reward and wages is nothing but disappointment and vexation hell and damnation and shouldst thou not be fervent fiery seething hot as the word signifieth in spirit when thou art serving the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 11.12 Rom. 11.12 I might also ask thee to whom thou owest thy whole strength and thy whole heart if not to God Art thou so much indebted to the world and thy flesh those enemies of thy salvation as thou art to the blessed God and who will at last pay thee best for thy strength and time God or the world Christ or the flesh But I may speak more to this in another place Well Reader have I yet or rather the Lord by me perswaded thee to set about this great business upon which thy eternal felicity dependeth timely that is presently throughly that is withal thy strength as the main chief and onely work thou hast to do Art thou resolved to do thine utmost endeavor and through the strength of Christ faithfully to follow the directions which I shall commend to thee from the Lord in order to thy recovery out of that bottomlesse misery into which thou hast plunged thy self Is there not abundant reason in what thou hast read Are they the words of a sinfu◠dying man or of the jealous everliving God Is it I only that call upon thee to mind this spiritual life or do not the daily and nightly mercies which thou unworthy wretch injoyest do not the dreadful judgements which others feel and thou hast too much cause to fear do not thy sweet babes thy dear children cry often and aloud in thine ears O thar there were an heart in our Father in our Mother to fear the Lord and keep all his Commandements alwayes that it might go well with them and with their children for ever Deut. 5.29 Nay doth not the Almighty God who observeth all thy wickednesse in whose hands thou art every hour who can with a word speak thee into that place of wo where the worth of grace and holinesse is better known and where the weight of sin and ungodlinesse is more felt In hope that thou wilt not be such an enemy to the God that made thee that thou wilt not do that despight to the Spirit that moveth thee that thou wilt not be such a wilful murderer of thy precious soul as to neglect them I shall set them down the Lord set them home to thy heart Come along with me and I will shew thee the Bride the Lambs Wife how she must be trimmed and adorned for the marriage First Get thine understanding inlightned in the knowledge of thy sins and misery 1. Direction Illumination The knowledge of thy disease and danger must precede thy recovery and cure O how many thousand souls have miscarried in the dark of ignorance Did men know surely they would not daily by their sins crucifie the Lord of glory Did they know their misery they would not be so merry as they are in wayes of iniquity they rush into sin as the horse rusheth into the battel not knowing it will be to their death to their destruction I have sometime read a story of a King that was ever pensive and never seen to smile and being asked by his Brother the cause of it he put him off till the next day for an answer and in the mean time caused a deep pit to be made commanding his servants to fill it half full with fiery coals and then causeth an old rotten board to be laid over it and over the board to hang a two-edged sword by a small slender thred with the point downwards and close by the pit
to set a table full of all manner of delicacies His Brother coming next day for an answer was placed at the board and four men with drawn swords about him and with all the best musick that could be had to play before him Then the King called to him saying Rejoyce and be merry Brother eat drink and laugh for here is pleasant being But he replied O my Lord and King how can I be merry being in such danger on every side Then said the King Look how it is now with thee so it is alwayes with me for If I look above me I see the great and dreadful Judge to whom I must give an account of all my thoughts words and deeds if I look under me I see the endlesse torments of hell whereinto I shall be cast if I die in my sins if I look behind me I see all the sins which I have committed and the time which I have spent unprofitably if I look before me I see death every day drawing nearer and nearer unto me if I look on my right hand I see my conscience accusing me of all the evil I have done and good I have left undone in this world and if I look on my left hand I see the creatures on their Makers behalf crying out for vengeance against me a Rebell Now then cease hereafter to wonder why I cannot rejoyce in the things of this world This is the condition of every unsanctified man and woman and did they but know it they would see but little cause to spend their dayes in pastimes and pleasure but what the eye seeth not the heart greives not Had Haman known he had been so nigh his funeral he would hardly have boasted so much to his friends but it is the policy of the God of this world to blind mens eyes least they should see and avoid damnation As when a Malefactor is for some capital crime cast at the Assize Diogenes being demanded what burthen the earth did dâ—d beaâ— most heavy answered An ignorant man he is then carried into a dark dungeon and thence to execution So the Devil knowing that all the Sons and Daughters of Adam are cast by the Law of God the Law shutting them all up under sin and wrath endeavoureth to keep them in the dungeon of ignorance till the day of their execution When Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Zedekiah 2 Kings 25. and 7. he put out his eyes bound him in fetters and then carried him away to Babylon Thus Satan as soon as he entereth into the soul laboureth to put out the eyes of the understanding and so to lead them hood-winkt to hell Did men know what they had done against God and how they had undone themselves they would be restlesse till they attained a remedy Did the sinner but know the purity jealousie power and justice of that God whom he daily provoketh Did he but know the love and kindness the blood and bowels of that Saviour whom he undervalueth Did he but know the pleasures and joy and happinesse in heaven which he neglecteth Did he but know the beauty and amiableness the delights and comforts of grace and holinesse which he despiseth Did he but know the emptinesse and vanity of this deceitful world which he so heartily embraceth Did he but know where sin is in the premisses sorrow and hell without faith and sanctification must be in the conclusion Did men I say but know these things how quickly would they turn from sin unto God giving a bill of divorce to their most beloved lusts and entring into a most solemn covenant with the Lord But having their understandings darkned they are alienated from the life of God that is a life of holinesse through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindnesse of their hearts Eph. 4.18 Observe how expresly the Spirit of God speaketh ignorance to be the reason why men are such strangers to the power of Religion Reader thou mayst by all this see the necessity of knowledge if ever thou wouldst be converted and saved The Devil as I said before carrieth men hood-winkt to hell but God will never carry thee blindfold to heaven The end of a Saint is the inheritance in light Col. 1.12 and the way thither is a way of light The path of the just is as shining light Prov. 4.18 and surely in respect of knowledge as well as in other respects Do not please thy self that though thou art not book-learned yet thou hast as good an heart as others as thy foolish ignorant neighbors will prate for when thou thus speakest thou speakest beside thy book for the Book of God telleth us otherwise The soul without knowledge is not good Proverbs 19.2 There may be a clear head without a clean heart the light of knowledge without the heat of grace but a gracious heart in a grown person not distracted was ever accompanied with a competency of knowledge in the head And indeed knowledge is so near a kin to grace that it is often in the Word of God put for it John 17.3 It is life eternal to know thee to be the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent So 1 Cor. 2.2 Phil. 3.8 Isai 53.11 If thou would be sanctified and saved get knowledge seek knowledge as silver and search for it as for hid treasure Prov. 2.3 4. This is the first thing to be done it is first in the Ministers Commission Acts 26.18 I send thee saith God to Paul to open the eyes of the blind and to turn men from darkness unto light and this is first in the Spirits operation on the soul It convinceth the man of his sins John 16.10 11. It presenteth to the understanding a catalogue of its many and bloody provocations Imprimis thus Guilty in Adam of high treason against Heavens Majesty and thereby of want of original righteousnesse and of a deep deadly pollution in the whole nature Item so many hundred ungodly actions so many thousand unholy and idle expressions so many millions of evil thoughts and suggestions Item so many omissions and so many commissions Item so much precious time mis-spent a moment of which cannot be recalled or purchased with the revenues of the world Item so many talents of health strength food rayment esteem riches and the like misimployed Item so many Sacraments Sabbaths seasons of grace mis-improved Item so much uncorrigiblenesse under afflictions so much unprofitablenesse under mercies Thus the Spirit inlighteneth the sinners mind to see his sins with their circumstances and black aggravations as also what is like to be the fruit and effect of sin even nothing lesse than suffering everlasting perdition from the presence of the Lord. It may be the Spirit may cause him as it were to see the smoak that ascendeth from the bottomlesse pit to smell the scent of that infernal brimstone and fire to hear the roarings and howlings of the damned nay possibly to feel a very hell in his own conscience
by his Lord Gen. 24. to provide a Wife for my Masters son I do here in the presence of the living God by commission from his Majesty tender thee the most honourable profitable delightful match that was ever offered to mortals It is the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of life and glory the onely begotten of the Father the fairest of ten thousands to be thy head and husband hereby thou shalt have the King of Kings the Lord of heaven and earth for thy Father a Queen the Church for thy Mother the Saints those truly excellent noble illustrious ones higher then the Kings of the earth for thy brethren and sisters the Covenant of Grace in comparison of which all the gold of the Indies is but dirt and dung for thy treasure glorious Angels for thy servants the flesh of the Son of God for thy meat and his precious blood for thy drink perfect Righteousness which is more beautiful then the unspotted innocency of Adam or Angels for thy rayment a palace of pleasures a place of glory a building of God an house not made with hands but eternal in the heavens for thy habitation And all this only upon these termes that thou wilt be a loving faithful and obedient Wife which the poorest beggar in the country expects from his wife that thou wilt heartily give up thy self and all thou hast to his service and glory and this he desireth also for thy good and benefit that he may make thee a more excellent creature and render thee more acceptable to God and more capable of his dearest love and eternal embraces as the rain is sent up from the earth in thick and foggy vapours but the heavens return it in pure and silver showers so though thou givest an unbelieving hard earthly heart unto Christ he will return it unto thee again believing tender heavenly such an heart as shall be more pleasing both to God and thy self and for this he is pleased though ten thousand Suns united into one are but darkness to him so great is his glory to condescend to become a Suiter to thee to beseech thee to accept of him who knoweth thy portion to be misery and beggery who seeth thy person to be full of ugliness and deformity who gaineth no addition to his happiness by thine acceptance of his love nor suffereth the least diminution by thy refusal Well what sayest thou to this match Art thou heartily willing to take Jesus Christ for thy wedded Husband to protect and direct thee to purifie and pardon thee to sanctifie and save thee to guide thee by his counsel and afterwards to receive thee to glory And wilt thou here in the presence of the Lord and before thy conscience which is as ten thousand witnesses promise and covenant to obey him universally to love him unfainedly to resign up thy self and all thou hast to his disposal unreservedly What sayest thou Art thou willing or no Take heed of dallying in a match that is so unquestionably and infinitely for thy advantage Believe it thou shalt not have such offers every day Doe not stick at any of his Precepts for he can require nothing but what is equal excellent and honorable doe not trifle or defer it if thou lovest thy soul for this may be the very last time of asking If thou wilt deal kindly and truly with my Master tell me or if not tell me that I may return an answer to him that sent me Gen. 24.49 These four directions which I have laid down already are without question the whole of Christianity and that soul shall be certainly saved by whom they are uprightly practised yet there are two special means which God hath appointed for the enabling the soul to perform them which I shall speak briefly to and for method sake joyn them altogether Five Directions Attendance on the Word Fifthly If thou wouldst attain this spiritual life be much conversant with the Word of God be often reading it meditating on it but especiall frequent it in publick where it is preached by losing one Sermon for â—ought thou knowest thou mayst lose one soul Death at first entred into the world by the ear Gen. 3. and so doth life Faith comes by hearing Rom. 10.17 thou seest in the Gospel that Faith and Repentance are this spiritual life Mark 16.16 Gal. 2.20 and thou mayest see as clearly that they are both the fruits of the ministery of the Word For Faith that fore quoted place Rom. 10.17 is full and for Repentance that of Acts 2.37 speaketh home When they heard these things they were pricked to the heart mark When they heard these things The Word of God is an hammer with which God is pleased to break the stony heart and a fire wherewith he melteth the hard mettal Jerem. 23.29 In this respect it is that the Minister is called the Father of some Converts namely those whom he begetteth through the Gospel 1 Cor. 4.15 Joâ— Isaac a Jew was converted by reading the 53. of Isaiah Junius by the first of Johns Gospel Augustine by the 13. of Romans I will never forget thy precepts for by them thou hast quickened me David Psal 119.93 There is a resurrection of souls at this day when Ministers lift up their voice like a trumpet Isai 58.1 Acts 2.37 as well as there shall be a resurrection of bodies at the last day by the Trump of the Archangel This is the net which God is pleased to cast into the sea of the world and wherewith he harh caught many a soul three thousand at one draught Acts 2.41 Spiritual life is the gift of God as well as eternal the gift of all grace is of grace but ordinarily of his own will he begetteth souls by the word of truth Jam. 1 18. If thou wilt have Wisdomes dole thou must wait at Wisdomes gate for there it is given Prov. 8.34 Grace is the law written in the heart and usually the ministry of the Word is the pen wherewith the Spirit of God writes it That is the bed wherein the children of God are begotten Cantic 1.16 That is the school wherein the Disciples are taught of God and learn the truth as it is in Jesus The Ministers Commission doth abundantly evince this I send thee saith God to Paul to open the eyes of the blind and to turn men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to the living God God indeed is a most free Agent and can work when and how he pleaseth but it hath pleased him to make the Gospel of Christ his own power unto salvation Rom. 1.16 and it pleaseth him by the foolishnesse of preaching to save them that believe 1 Cor. 1.21 Abana and Pharpar Rivers of Damascus to the eye of sense may seem better then all the waters of Israel but Jordan can cleanse and heal when those cannot because it hath a divine precept and promise annexed to it Nay observe how God is pleased to dignifie his Word
yet he doth not see the wealth the infinite riches that lye buried in them So wicked men see the waters the afflictions the conflicts but not the wealth the comforts the inward joy of the children of God Thirdly as this spiritual life is the most honorable and comfortable so it is the most profitable life no calling bringeth in such advantage as Christianity godliness is profitable unto all things 1 Tim. 4.8 There is an universal gainfulness in real godliness Plutarch telleth us that the Babylonians make above three hundred several commodities of the Palme-tree but there are many thousand benefits which godliness bringeth no Merchant ever had his vessels returned so richly laden as he that tradeth heaven-ward Observe Reader after the Apostles affirmation his full confirmation of it Godliness saith he is profitable unto all things It hath the promise of this life and that to come i. e. It hath heaven and earth entailed on it and therefore it must needs be profitable It giveth the Christian much in possession the promise of this life but infinitely more in reversion the life that is to come The promises of God are exceeding great for their quantity and precious for their quality promises and they all belong to a godly man he is called an heir of the promises Heb. 6.17 Whensoever the tree of the Scripture is shaken whatsoever fruit of those precious promises falleth down it falleth into the lap of a godly man If at any time that box of costly ointment be broken and sendeth forth its fragrant sent and vertue it is to the refreshment only of the Saints Godliness is profitable to thy self If thou art wise thou art wise for thy self and if a scorner thou alone shalt bear it Prov. 9.12 The sinner is no bodies foe so much as his own the murdering peices of sin which he dischargeth against God miss their mark but do constantly recoyle and wound himself The Saint is no bodies friend so much as his own others fare the better for his great stock of grace but the propriety in all the comfort of all and the profit by all is his own It enables him to give away the more at his door but how rich a table doth he thereby keep for himself Godliness is profitable for thy children the just man walketh in his integrity and his children are blessed after him Prov. 20.7 personal piety is profitable to posterity yet not of merit but mercy Though grace come not by generation but donation and though God hath mercy on whom he will yet the seed of the Saints are visibly nearer the quickning influences of the spirit then the children of others When God saith he will be a â—od to the godly man and his children I believe he intendeth more in that promise for the comfort of godly parents then most of them think of Acts 2.36 Gen. 17.7 The children of believers are heirs apparent to the covenant of grace in their parents right Godliness is profitable in prosperity it giveth a spiritual right to temporal good things a gracious man holdeth his mercies in capite in Christ that is his tenure as Christ is a co-heir of all things he being married to him by this spiritual life is a co-heir with him he enjoyeth earthly things by an heavenly title and one peny enjoyed by special promise is far more worth than millions which ungodly men enjoy by a general providence as the beasts of the field do their provender It is godliness that causeth a sanctified improvement of mercies Grace alone like Christ turneth water into wine corporal mercies into spiritual advantages The more God oiles the wheels the more chearfully and swiftly he moveth in the way to heaven the more showers of heaven fall down upon him the more fruitful and abundant he is in the work of the Lord as we see in that gracious King Iehosophat 2 Chron. 17.5 6. The Lord established the Kingdom in his hand and all Iudah brought presents unto him and he had riches and honor in abundance and his heart was lift up in the wayes of God Mark the more Gods hand was enlarged in bounty the more his heart was enlarged in duty The more highly God thinks of David the more lowly he thought of himself 2 Sam. 7.18 Outward mercies to a believer are a ladder by which he mounteth up nearer to heaven Thus godliness like the Philosophers stone turneth iron and every thing into gold but the want of this spiritual life causeth a cursed hellish use of mercies ungodly men like the spider suck poison out of those flowers out of which the Bees the Saints suck honey Their mercies are like cordials to a foul stomach which do but increase the peccant humor He feedeth on such plenty that he surfeits himself because of their abundance Job 21.7 8 9 to 14. Therefore they say unto the Almighty Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes like the Israelites they make of the jewels which God giveth a golden Calf and worship that in stead of God Godliness is profitable in adversity it maketh a Christian like a Rabbit to thrive the better in frosty weather The child of God learneth the better for the rod Before he was afflicted he went astray but now he keepeth Gods word Psal 119.67 Well may grace be called the divine nature for it can bring not onely light out of light spiritual comfort and good out of outward good things but also light out of darkness good out of evil gain out of losses life out of death It will like Sampson fetch meat out of the eater like the Ostrich digest stones like Mithridates fetch nourishment out of poison When wicked men like Ahaz in their distress sin more against the Lord as fire the more it is kept in in an Oven the more it rageth so doth corruption but godly men far otherwise are by the fire of affliction the more refined and purified for their masters use Godliness is profitable to thee while thou livest In doubts it will direct thee as a light to thy feet and a lanthorn to thy paths In dangers it will protect thee by setting thee on high and giving thee for a place of defence the munition of rocks in wants it will supply thee by affording thee bread in the word when thou hast none on the boord and money in the promise 1 Tim. 4.8 which is by thousands the better when thou hast none in thy purse in thy pain it will ease thee in disgrace It will honor thee in sorrows it will comfort thee in sickness it will strengthen by causing thee to count the crosses of this life as nothing and unworthy to be compared to the pleasures and glory which shall revealed in all distresses it will support thee and make thee more then a conqueror over all through him that loveth us Rom. 8.37 Lastly godliness will be profitable to thee when thou diest death which is the terrible of terribles to
pitiful thing was it that Alexander that was Lord almost of the world should be troubled that Ivy would not grow in his garden at Babylon And is it not a poor thing for thee that art a Child of God the Spouse of Christ the Temple of the Spirit an Heir of the most glorious rich and delightful Kingdom that ever was to lie whining and pining if thy head do but ake or thy estate decrease or thy friend forsake thee For shame remember who thou art and to what thou art called and say as the Martyr Hold out Faith and Patience your work is almost at an end Thou shalt ere long leave this world and all its evils and go where there is neither sorrow nor sin and indeed there can be no affliction there because there wil be no corruption there which is the original of all miseries As there cannot be any thunder or lightning in the upper Region because the vapours which are the materials of it cannot ascend so high So because no unclean thing can be there therefore no sorrow no suffering can be there How may this comfort thee Basil tels us Basil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 how the Martyrs that were cast out naked in a winters night being to be burned the next day solaced their souls with these words Sharp is the cold but sweet is Paradise Troublesome is the way but pleasant shall be the end of our journy Let us endure cold a little and the Patriarchs bosome shall soon warm us Let our feet burn a while that we may dance for ever with Angels 2. It is a comfort against the temptations of the Devil Whilst thou livest in this world thou art liable to his wiles If thou wilt go to heaven so boundless is his malice that he raiseth all the powers of hell against thee and forceth thee to fight every foot of the way He is the strong man that hath full possession of carnal unregenerate ones and therefore all is at peace with them Matth. 12. What need a Captain bend his Forces against a Town which hath delivered up it self into his hands What need he plant his Canons and batteries against these gates which are already set open to him This Gaoler doth not trouble himself much about those prisoners which are fast in his dungeon with his irons on their legs and are led captive by him at his will 1 Tim. 2.26 But for thee who hast by the help of Christ broken prison and in part got out of his power he raiseth all the Country with Hue and cry to bring thee back to thy old place of bondage But be comforted Christ hath conquered him already in his own person as thy head is daily conquering him in thee his member by his Spirit and will shortly crush him fully under thy feet Rom. 16.20 Paraeus in loc Some refer that shortly to the day of judgement which will come shortly and wherein Satan shall be utterly crushed under all the Saints feet for ever And it is as true of the day of death in reference to every particular Saint As when a man dyeth all those vexatious law-suits with which he was before molested do cease So when the believer dyeth all those false actions which Satan had commenced against him in the court of his conscience and all that inward trouble which did arise thereupon do all cease It is no bad sign now O Christian if thou resistest that thou art assaulted by the wicked one A Theif will not break into an house that is empty A Pirate will not fight but for some considerable prize A Father will not seek to destroy his own Children Temptation is no sign of Gods hatred but of the Devils But let this be thy solace that within a few dayes thou shalt be at rest not only from thy own labours but also from Satans snares and suggestions God doth thee much good by them now the noise of those guns causeth the Conies to hasten to their burrowes and the Birds to their places of refuge The more the tops of sound trees are shaken with the wind the more deeply their roots are fixed in the earth the more eagerly Satan followeth thee the faster thou fliest and the closer thou clingest to Jesus Christ But God will do thee the greatest good without them and when that shall be thou shalt be wholly freed from them Since the Devils were cast out of Heaven we read of their being sometimes in the Sea Matth. 8.33 sometimes in the Earth Job 1.7 and sometimes in the Air Eph. 2.3 and they are called Principalities and spiritual wickednesses in high places Eph. 6.12 but never in Heaven They aspire to get as high as they can but they can get no further than the Air Satan and his Angels find no more place in heaven Rev. 12.8 Now what comfort is this O Christian that thou shalt serve the Lord without distraction without temptations 3. It is comfortable against the corruptions of thine own heart What is it now that is thy greatest sorrow Is it not thy sin These are the weights which hang on the clock of thy heart and will not suffer it to rest day or night Well rejoyce in hope at death all these Achans which are the troublers of thy peace shall be stoned to death all these Jonahs which cause such stormes in thy soul shall be cast over-board all these Hamans which seek the ruine of thee and thy people shall be executed Now it is thy great care in every Ordinance to kill thy sins Dost thou not like Joab set the Uriah of thy beloved lust in the fore-front of every duty and retire from it out of pious policy that it may be slain And when at any time it pleaseth the Captain of thy salvation to send the supplies of his Spirit and wound mortally thy corruption that it lyeth gasping and dying before thee dost thou not look up to Christ and say as Cushi to David concerning dead Absalom Would to God that all the enemies of my Lord the King and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt were as that young man is Lord that all my sins might drink of the same cup and be served the same sauce Blessed be the Lord my God which hath avenged me this day of mine enemy If God should thrust the knife of mortification up to the haft in the very hearts of all thy sins that thou couldst see thy pride distrust unthankfulnesse hardnesse of heart and every corruption in a goar-blood fetching their last breath would it not be a lovely sight to thee Wouldst thou not look upon it with as much content as Hannibal did upon a pit full of the blood of men when he cried out O beautiful sight O formosum specta culum Or as that Queen that cried out when she saw her Subjects lie dead before her eyes The goodliest tapestry that ever she beheld At death all this shall be done for thee One touch