alike Reasons as the Jews did reject and not receive the Words of Christ Herein we shall have boldness in the Day of Judgment which will be fear and shame and confusion of face to them in this matter Because as he was so are we in this present World Namely because that in my Preaching and Writing I have so learned from him my Lord and Example whose steps herein I follow I do also teach the way of God in truth neither care I for any Man for I regard not the person of Men Mat. 22. 16. For if I yet pleased Men I should not be the Servant of Christ Wherefore holy Brethren partakers of the heavenly Calling consider the Apostle and high Priest of our Profession Christ Jesus Who was faithful to him that appointed him as also Moses was faithful in all his house Heb. 3. 1 2. And so I do make it my sincere and actual endeavour to be faithful to that God who appointed me to the Ministry of his Word by his having enabled me and given me a knowledge thereof and by putting words into my Mouth and so I make it my endeavour to be faithful in all the Ministration thereof He that hath my word let him speak my word faithfully Jer. 23. 28. Moreover it is required in Stewards that a Man be found faithful 1 Cor. 4. 2. And because I have not shunned to declare unto the People of this my Generation and Country all the the counsel of God But in the things I have written unto them I have mentioned some Scriptures which other Preachers and Scribes have omitted Mat. 23. 23. Therefore they reject and receive not that part of the Word of God which hath been committed to my Ministration Speaking evil of me Who for this their falshood and Partiality Mal. 2. 9. Stubbornness and Rebellion shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead Thirdly Seeing that all things here on Earth are vain and Man the chief inhabitant thereof walketh in a vain shew How should this Knit and Unite our Hearts up unto God himself and also towards the future state of things for all there is Reality and Substance God himself is the most real and substantial being that can be for he created all things and now upholds them by the Word of his Power If any thing is real God himself is much more so and so likewise are all the things pertaining to his Kingdom in Heaven The Creature was made subject to vanity God made all things on this Earth so vain to the intent to draw off our Desires and Affections yet more from the things of this World to fix and set them on himself and the things above that in our earnest continued seeking after Earthly things they are Enemies to the Cross of Christ who mind Earthly things we may meet with this kind of Check and Reproof from our Creator O ye Sons of Men How long will ye turn my Glory into shame how long will ye love vanity and seek after leasing Selah Psal 4. 2. Importing that whilst the Sons of Men do love vanity and seek after leasing So long they turn the glory of God into shame In that hereby they do quite pervert the very design and order of things For whereas God designed his own Glory in making Man a reasonable Creature that is one capable to seek after himself and the things of the other and better World But by loving vanity and seeking after leasing Man doth degenerate himself And being made in Honour he abideth not When it would be for the Honour and Glory of God if he did pursue the right end but by not doing or intending that he doth properly turn the Glory of God into shame For it would be a shame if an alwise God should make reasonable Creatures for no better and higher an end than to love vanity and seek after leasing Whereas here the fault is in the Creatures themselves and in no wise in God who Created them In like manner every act of Sin doth turn the Glory of God into shame for the same Reason because it is a perverting of things from what he first made and designed them for he Created Man to serve God and do Good and not that he should Corrupt himself by committing Sin and Evil or by loving vanity and seeking after leasing Vanity is displeasing unto the Lord as Sin and Evil is For this is the Will of God even your Sanctification that not so much as Vain thoughts should lodge within ye Jer. 4. 14. And that People should not speak vanity Psal 12. 2. nor trust in vanity Isa 59. 4. Much less commit or do the same But as we are commanded Not to touch the unclean thing So we are to refrain from all vain things as much as it is possible to do in this vain World which passeth away According to the Exhortation which speaketh on this wise If ye then be risen in Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the Right hand of God Set your affection on things above not on things on the Earth For ye are Dead and your Life is hid with Christ in God When Christ who is our Life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in Glory Beloved when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common Salvation it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you and put you in mind of the vanity of all things of this World that People should not forsake God and depart from the Faith once delivered to the Saints nor go aside from the Truth out of Love to this present World but that ye should Love God more and the World not at all For if any Man loveth the World the love of the Father is not in him So Witnesseth and Exhorteth RICHARD STAFFORD a Scribe instructed in the Law of God and in the Gospel of Jesus Christ LONDON Printed in the Year 1700. And are to be Sold unto such who will receive the love of Truth that they might be Saved Advertisement THese are to give notice That I have several other Practical Sermons or Discourses of mine own Composing lying by me in Manuscript Which if they who have the Plenty or Competency of this World's Goods would According to their several Ability Acts 11. 29. Thus Consecrate some part of their gain and substance unto the Lord Micah 4. 13. So as to be ready to distribute and willing to Communicate towards the outward Labour and Charge of the Printing and Publishing of them it would be for the Glory of God in making known his Truth Isa 38. 19. And for the Edification and Benefit of his Church and People and consequently it would be a Good work in such Persons who shall be helpful and any ways assistant herein for which they would be rewarded by God in the Life that is to come And I say unto you Make to your selves Friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness that when ye fail they may receive you into Everlasting Habitations Luke 16. 9. Charge them that are rich in this World 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 tbe time to come that they may lay hold on Eternal Life 1 Tim. 6. 17. 18. 19. This is a faithful saying and these things I will that thou affirm constantly that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain Good Works these things are Good and Profitablsi unto Men Titus 3. 8.
the utmost of them then they do clearly appear to be vain They are not only vain but also they soon pass away so that the vanity is also infolded in the transitoriness of them It they were real and substantial good things yet they ought not to be much esteemed or sought after because they do soon pass away and come to nothing Hence doth appear forth the truth of the following words Surely they are disquieted in vain For People are disquieted about things which properly should not disquiet them at all and also the matter and cause of their grief so soon passeth away that upon this account it should not disquiet them All Sorrow and Disquiet should be indeed turned into Sorrow and Disquiet for Sin We should walk softly all the residue of our Years in the bitterness of our Soul because we have sinned against the Lord the Habitation of Justice the Hope of our Fathers and this only would not be to be disquieted in vain according to what is written Now I rejoyce not that ye were made sorry but that ye sorrowed to repentance for ye were made sorry after a godly manner that ye might receive damage by us in nothing For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death For behold this self-same thing that ye sorrowed after a godly sort what carefulness it wrought in you yea what clearing of your selves yea what indignation yea what fear yea what vehement desire yea what zeal yea what revenge in all things ye have approved your selves to be clear in this matter 2 Cor. 7. From all which it appears that Godly Sorrow or such Sorrow which arises towards God because of having sinned against him is not Sorrow or Disquiet in vain for it produces all these real good Effects aforementioned But the Apostle there saith The sorrow of the world worketh death So all Sorrow which arises meerly from the things of this World is to be disquieted in vain As it is elsewhere written Notwithstanding in this rejoyce not that the Spirits are subject unto you but rather rejoyce because your names are written in Heaven So this should be the standard and measure of all our Sorrow and Vexation to be sorry or vexed only for such things which hinder our going and entrance into Heaven and that is Sin committed or Sin remaining unpardoned or the oppositions temptations and hindrances of Satan Hear what Jesus Christ saith Let not your heart be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me So let not thy Soul be vexed or disquieted within thee altho' thou art in Prison or Poverty or in pining Sickness or near to Death it self For all these put together cannot make thee utterly miserable unless God hath forsaken thee and withdrawn his Mercy and Loving-kindness from thee But be thou troubled and disquieted in good earnest Weep and Howl for your miseries that shall come upon you If thou art in a state of Sin and it hath dominion over thee for this will really consign thee over and sink down into everlasting Punishment All our rejoycing and disquiet should hence be according as we apprehend from true signs and evidences whether God be in favour or is displeased Isa 59. 15. with us As aforementioned Man and all things seperated from God is the meerest and utmost vanity So here if it was not in Relation to God there is nothing in all the World worthy to be disquieted about no more than it becomes a Man to groan or cry for the scratching of a Pin. In truth considering the perpetual Flux of time which is always carrying and forcing us off from the Stage of this Earth however we take it in good or evil part whether we are pleased or displeased thereat yet away we must So that it is not much matter in which of the two tempers of Mirth or Sorrow Contentment or Vexation we are in But this ought to be most minded and cared for whether we Sin or not and how much good we do for this is not to be concerned or disquieted in vain in that it doth tend to realities in the end They that have done good shall come forth to the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil to the Resurrection of Damnation Wherefore Brethren give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure Heaven is so exceeding and eternal a good that it can never be made too sure off Here as Solomon saith In the multitude of counsellors there is safety holds true in things pertaining to future and endless Life all one as in things of this present Life In the multitude of Godly Books and Sermons there is safety in order to instruct or exhort or put in mind of any thing to make sure of that blessed Place The Wisdom of God hath said and ordained For precept must be upon precept precept upon precept line upon line line upon line here a little and there a little Isa 28. 10. And as the Scriptures were given by inspiration of God to make us Wise unto Salvation so every thing which is truly opened and alledged from thence as I do this day in what I write and publish unto the World doth also pertain and help to the same great and good end But this is one difference between the formal Worshipper and the real Christian The first thinks it an easie thing to make sure of Heaven and that it is presently done like Saul who did say to Samuel Blessed art thou of the Lord I have performedâ— the Commandment of the Lord So such are apt to flatter and deceive their own Souls as if they were fit for Heaven And like the Young Man in the Gospel All these have I kept from my youth up what lack I yet As to both of which the answer of God by his Son and Prophet doth point out somewhat further and more to be done What meaneth then this bleating of the Sheep in mine ears and the lowing of the Oxen which I hear What mean those unmortified Sins and carnal Passions and Lustings after evil things And so it ye were indeed perfect and fit for Heaven ye would sell all that ye had and give to the poor Ye would part with all the Guilt and Corruption that is in your Nature not only the actual breakings forth of Sin but even the inclinations and tendences to Sin or Evil for as long as there remain any of them in the Body in the Sight and Acceptation of God ye are not fit for Heaven For flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God neither shall in any wise enter into it any thing that defileth As long as we are on this Earth which is the place of warfare and waiting No people are absolutely fit for Heaven but still there is somewhat more and further to be done for it As long as we have time so there is space given us for Repentance Rev. 2. 21. And to
Truth And considering in my Mind the exceeding preciousness and necessity of the Truth in order to bring others and my self unto eternal Life it being equally necessary for that end as Meat and Drink to keep and preserve temporal Life as eternal Life is much beyond and better than this present temporal Life yea more then Ten Thousand fold here to allude unto those words of the Apostle Yet I had rather speak five words with my understanding that by my voice I might teach others also than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue In like manner if I had so much Money I had rather bestow five Pounds towards the Publishing of God's eternal Truth which is to feed up the Soul unto eternal Life then Ten Thousand Pounds to feed the Poor that is to feed their Bodies only Or suppose I had wherewithal and I did bestow five Pounds towards the Publishing of God's eternal Truth and also I did indeed bestow Ten Thousand Pounds towards feeding of the Poor yet I should have more expectation of a better Reward from God for the five Pounds expended that way than from the Ten Thousand Pounds distributed the other way because of the so much more Excellency and Preciousness of Truth which is for the saving of the Soul over outward Alms which is only for feeding of the Body It is the Command of God Buy the Truth and sell it not also Wisdom Instruction and Understanding For should not People lay out their Money to help forwards the saving of their Souls as the Truth doth Yet contrariwise People do day after day buy Meat and Drink to feed their Bodies but they grudge and will not lay out their Money for such Books wherein are contained the Words of Truth which are requisite and necessary to feed up the Soul unto eternal Life and to make it prepared for the Lord all one as Meat and Drink are necessary to nourish and keep the Body in Life The reason why People do not alike in one Case as in the other is besides that enmity against the Truth which is a Root of bitterness springing up and troubling them and thereby many are defiled Heb. 12. 15. Because also they are not alike sensible of the necessity of the Truth to the saving of the Soul as they are sensible of the necessity of Food in order to feed the Body But when that time is come which hasteneth upon all us living when now Meat is for the Belly and the Belly for Meats but God shall destroy both it and them The Grass withereth The Flower fadeth and so all material visible things come to an utter end and shall be no more at all but the word of our God shall stand for ever Then shall ye return and discern of what necessity the knowledge of the Truth would have been to the saving of your Souls much more than ye can now discern in these Days of your flesh and ye will then be more sensible of that reproof of the Spirit of God Wherefore do you spend Money for that which is not Bread and your labour for that which satisfieth not Isa 55. 2. Wherefore do People spend all their Money for that Bread which was only for the support of this dying Life whereas it it is his requiring also that they should Consecrate their gain unto the Lord and their substance towards the Lord of the whole Earth Micah 4. 13. And towards the making known his Truth Even then at the very time of receiving it might be perceived that the outward Bread though indeed it did feed the Body yet it did not satisfie the Soul and so it was not Bread to the Soul as it was to the Body Man doth not live by Bread only but by every word that proceedeth out of the Mouth of the Lord doth Man live By the Word of God the Soul is to live eternally This is that Bread which cometh down from Heaven not as your Fathers did eat Manna and are Dead and so they that have what can be desired for Food and Rayment must die He that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever Now we are taken up chiefly if not wholly with things sensible then we shall be let into things Spiritual and they will by their remaining always before us be then the whole of our Thoughts although perhaps now it be none or the least of all It will be the Question and Reproof in the state of Eternity Why People did in the Days of their Flesh bestow their labour for that which satisfieth not The Scene will then change things will then appear opposite and contrary to what they do now O thou that dwellest upon many Waters abundant in Treasures thine end is come and the measure of thy Covetousness Jer. 51. 13. Then it will appear how little it doth sifnifie to have heaped up Riches and gotten Gain or to have been Cumbred abovt many things when one thing was needful and we should have chosen the better part which would not have been taken from us now all other things shall fail Then also it will most eminently and clearly appear how that Man did throughout this Life on Earth walk in a vain shew And he disquieted himself in vain He heapeth up Riches and knoweth not who shall gather them There is somewhat alike to this in Hab. 2 6. Wo to him that increaseth that which is not his How long And to him that ladeth himself with thick clay O that such People would consider of this who make it their main and principal end of Life and consume almost all their time in getting of Money or Riches They know not or are not sensible of as much or at least they do not take such warning so as to refrain how that the Spirit of God doth pronounce a Wo against them To Build and another shall Inhabit or to Plant and another shall eat the Fruit thereof is according to the Curse of God in the Book of Deuteronomy as also it is a Discouragement Vexation and Disquiet to the Creature in its seeking and labouring thereafter That increaseth that which is not his Ay but saith the Creature it is mine when I have it To which the Answer of God presently and immediately succeeds How long That is How long will it be before it is taken from thee Or how long will it be before thou shall be taken from it One Day will certainly come when it shall be no longer his when he shall be dislodged from this Tenement of Clay that is the Body and then he can no longer lade himself with thick Clay that is heap up Silver or Gold Let People be never so much Busied or Employed in heaping up Riches or getting Estates yet the Forty Ninth Psalm lies express against them For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away his Glory shall not descend after him By reason that Death is to succeed and shut up all Therefore Man walketh in a vain shew Surely they