it is for good use as well to remember and consider it as to understand it But now I go on to tell ye what the Scripture teacheth concerning Death for that giveth a perfecter and larger information of the thing then the dim light of Nature The scripture then over and above that which Nature sheweth telleth us concerning Death these things First it sheweth better what it is and then It sheweth whence it cometh and what are the causes of it Thirdly it declareth the consequences what follow upon it And lastly and bestly it tellech us the remedy against the ill of Death In all which Nature stumbleth and can do little or nothing First the Scripture telleth us what it is It telleth us how that it is the disolution of a man not the annihilation It doth not make him cease to be but takes asunder awhile the soul from the body It carrieth the one to the earth and the other to another world so that both continue to be though they be not united as before The word of God teacheth us that he hath created the world as it were a house of three Stories The middle is this present life where we be And there is a lower place the Dungeon a place of unhappiness and destruction there is a higher place a pallace of glory According as men behave themselves in this middle room so Death either leadeth them down to the place of unhappiness or conveyeth them up to the pallace of glory and blessedness This Nature is ignorant of but the Scripture is plain in The rich man dieth and his soul is carried to Hell the poor man when he died his soul was advanced to Heaven So that Death is nothing but the messenger of God to take the soul out of the body and to convey it to a place of more happiness or more misery then can be conceived Secondly the Scripture acquaints us further with the cause of death Philosophers wondred since nature desireth a perpetuity and continuance of it self that man should be so short a time in the world The Scripture endeth this wonderment and tels us that man indeed was made immortal to continue for ever and should not have died but sin came into the world and by sin death Death is the mother of sin and of all misery that by little and little draweth to death I say sin the first sin of our first Parents whereby they transgressed that most easie and equal mandate about eating the forbidden fruit That transgression that was the treading under foot the covenant of works and the disanulling of it that sin let in Death at a great Gap and now it triumpheth and beareth rule over all the world Nature cannot tell which way in the world a man should die so soon and that he that is the Lord of all creatures should be inferiour to a great number of them in length of life But the word of God unriddleth this riddle and telleth us that God made man that he might and should have lived for ever but Sin coming and coming in the person of the first man it brought death and made all men mortal and when sin entred Gods curse came and that working upon us poor and miserable creatures it is the cause that we cannot continue long here It was equal that death should follow sin for since God made man to obey his will when man had unfitted himself for Gods service it was reason that he should have a short continuance of life for the longer he endured the more he would abuse himself Ye see then two things that the Scripture teacheth concerning death The third thing it sheweth is what followeth after death and that is plain It is appointed for all men once to die and after death cometh judgment Narure never dreamed of judgment after Death but the Scripture telleth us there is a judgment after Death Judgment what is that Judgment ye know is a calling of a man before Authority a looking into his wayes a considering of his actions a finding out whether he be a sinner an evil-doer and if he find him so to passe sentence according to his evil deeds When God hath took the soul from the body he takes the soul first and after both soul and body and presents them before his own Tribunal and there searcheth into every mans life ransacks his conscience looks deep into his conversation and inquireth into his secrets openeth his actions and whole carriage from his infancy to his last breath and findeth out the things that he hath done and passeth sentence according to that he hath done This Indgment hath two degrees First assoon as a man dieth No sooner is the soul separated from this case as it were the body but instantly it is presented before the Lord Jesus Christ and there he passeth sentence either that it is a true beleever a godly liver a person united to Christ that walked as becometh the Gospel of Christ and then it receiveth glory and joy and bliss for the present more then tongue can express Or else it findeth against him that he was a sinfnl man a wicked man a hyyocrite a dissembler one that named Christ with his tongue but did not depart from iniquity nor live according to the Gospel of Christ and then he is delivered up to Satan to be hurried down to Hell and there to suffer the wrath of God according to the desert of so great wickedness This particular judgment passeth upon every soul assoon as it leaveth the Body Then followeth the great universal Judgment when soul and body shall be reunited and stand before God every particular man that ever hath been is or shall be every man shall appear in their own persons their whole lives shall be laid open all secret things shall be made known for God faith the Apostle shall judg the secrets of all hearts by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel This is the third thing that the word of God informeth us concerning death that nature could never do The last that is the best the Scripture giveth us a remedy against the ill of death It is a pittiful thing to hear of mortality and sickness if there were not a good Potion or Phisick prescribed to ascape the ill of it To hear tell of Death and so tell as the Scripture saith that it is a going to another world of weale or woe and not to hear of a remedy it is woful tydings and would wring tears from a hard heart But the Scripture makes report of death not only tollerable and easie but comfortable and gladsome to a Christian heart for it sheweth by whom and by what means we may infallibly and certainly escape all the hurt that Death can do Nay by what means we may order our selves so that Death may be beneficial to us What is that In one short word It is Christ I am the resurrection and the life he that beleeveth in
Lord the Lord that sheweth judgment and righteousness upon the earth there is a mercy shewed to the creature but it is I that do it faith the Lord. If you meet with a merciful man God is merciful in that man If you meet with a bountiful man God is bountiful in that man If you meet with a man whose lips feed many God instructeth that man I say seeing all things we have though they have divers channels and pipes and conveyances whereby God conveyeth goodness and mercy to men yet nevertheless it is in God and from God we receive all let us therefore look upon every creature as instruments in Gods hand that can do us neither good nor hurt without him What good it doth it doth by the influence of the supream cause working by that creature let us so look upon and conceive of every creature Thus the Saints have done in all times Jacob when he saw Esau I have seen thy face as the face of God saith he He saw God in the face of Esau So in all good men we should say God is good in them This should make men not to seek themselves not to study men more then God not to study gain with men with the loss of God to please men with the displeasing of God but to venture the loss of all men that they may please God if they cannot keep men and God together For the affections of men are in Gods hand and he fashioneth and frameth them according to his own pleasure either to love or hatred as David observed in the case of Shimei God hath bid him curse Be convinced I say of this that if we get all the men in the world to be our freinds with the neglect of God if we get all the treasures and wealth of the world if a man were advanced to the Monarchy of the whole earth yet these things are more in Gods hand then in ours When a man hath wealth it is not in his own keeping riches have wings When a man hath favour God gives it not into his own keeping whatsoever we have it is secured to us by Gods protection and made good to us by his blessing Let this be our care and work therefore how we may live to God how we may enjoy God in the things we enjoy and possess God in all things we possess in the things we have still to keep God and that will keep our estates and names and comforts and lives and all That is the first Again secondly There are certain graces to be exercised if a man would not live to himself for indeed it is the property of a Christian and none else to live to God and not to himself and he doth it by vertue of those graces in his heart that empties him of himself and draws him to God therefore I say there are certain graces that every one should exercise if he would not live to himself What are those First the knowledg of God in Christ Get a more full and particular and experimental knowledge of God All our looking to the creature is because we know not God perfectly if we did know him we would account him the chiefess of ten thousand the Church when she knew Christ said so we would account him as Elkanah said to Hannah Am not I better to thee then ten sons better then ten friends then ten worlds Get therefore a more full knowledge of God that all power is in him One thing have I heard once and twice that power belongeth unto God saith he Psalmist Secondly Get faith in the exercise more All the worthies of the Lord in Heb. 11. What made them live so to God and not to themselves as they did because they beleeved they did it by faith by faith Abraham denied himself by faith Moses for sook the pleasures of Egypt by faith those Worthies of whome the world was not worthy wandred up and down in sheeps skins and goats skins and would not be delivered When a man getteth interest in Christ by faith he shall see that in him that will satisfie all his desires and answer all his losses Thirdly exercise Love Faith works by love The more we love God in Christ the more perfectly we shall cleave to him Love is a uniting grace that uniteth the soul to Christ The love of Christ constraineth me faith the Apostle 2 Cor. 5. for we thus judge if one died for all then it is fit they that live should not live to themselves And the truth is the more a soul loveth Christ the more it will live to him Lastly a word of the last Use and that for instruction Being convinced that such is the estate of most men that they live to themselves and that whose estate soever it is it is a sinful estate and argueth a man out of Christ and that there is a possiblity of getting out of this estate Let it be for instruction to all those that in some measure live to God and not to themselves let it be to teach them and perswade them more fully to live to him and less to themselves A man simply censidered without any relation to others or dependance upon an another man he may please himself but when a man is considered in his dependance upon God and his relation to men he must then observe the will of his Creatour in that relation God hath set him he must carry himself as his creature and observe the end that the creature is appointed to Nay he must carry himself as a Christian and observe the good of the body he must carry himself as a member to do good to the whole Let every Christian labour to do this if he would have comfort to his soul that he doth not live to himself that he is of the number of those that are accepted of God in life and death Labour to imploy his time and strength and gifts and whatsoever he is and hath to the good of others As every man hath received the gift let him minister to others as faithful dispencers of the manifold grace of God If you have received gifts you have received them from God you have received them for the good of others you have received them as dispensers let every man faith the Apostle dispense the manifold grace of God if the Apostle had said be dispensers of the grace of knowledge that you have for the feeding of the souls of many and not of your estates or relieve as many as you can with your estates but take no care for their souls but when he saith be dispensers of the manifold gifts of God his meaning is that whatsoever I have wherewith I am able to do men good with whether it be inward or outwards gifts the gifts of the mind or of the outward man any thing whereby I can be advantageous to others I must serve God and men in improving of that He that will not
avoids the corruptions that are in the world through lusts But this looking for the second coming of Christ This Argument John the Baptist used to press upon his hearers the Doctrin of repentance because the king dome of God was at hand This is that upon which Saint Peter groundeth his exhortatoin unto the people Acts 3.18 Repent saith he and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord Therefore repent and return unto God do away your sins because there will a time of refreshing come and you had need then to be found in another hue in another state then in your old rotten withered condition and sinful lusts This is the Argument that the Aposte used to the Athenians to bring them from Idolatry to serve the living God because God hath appointed a time to judg the world in righteousness by that man whom ho hath ordained Even for that reason because God hath appointed a time to judg the world in righteousness therefore they should turne from their Idols to serve the living God There is nothing that doth so unbottome the heart nothing so shakes and looseneth a mans hold of sin and unrighteousness as the consideration of Christs coming to Judgment What will it boot me will the soul reason to keep my sins when Christ will come to judg me for my sins What shall I get by going on in a course of sin when I can look for nothing then but a sentence of wrath to be denounced against me This then is that that doth settle a man in a holy conversation in that respect Nay fourthly this is that also which quickneth a man to the practise of all holy duties in his place both in his general and particular Calling It is the very argument which the Apostle Saint Peter useth to stir us up to holiness of conversation Seeing saith he that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for the coming of the day of God wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat As if he should have said Look now about the whole world and see what it is that now can comfort you if you be such as go on in a course of sin It may be you will say I fear not much for I have many friends Yea but all these shall die It may be thou hast store of lands but all that shall be burnt with fire It may be thou hast many pleasures but then there shall be nothing but Judgment The coming of the Lord that shall then put an end to all these and turn the course of things the expectation thereof is a special means to take us off from a course of sin and put us on to a course of obedience to make us walk in another kind of fashion while we are in the world Therefore the Apostle Saint Paul when he would â—…ir up Timothy to the work of the Ministry what is the Argument that he useth I charge thee before Christ who shall judg the quick and the dead As if he should say there shall be an appearing before the Lord and therefore if thou wilt give thy account up with joy at that day I charge thee to look to thy Ministry So may I say to every man in his place I charge thee that art a Master of a Family look to the business of thy family to the salvation of the souls of thy people I charge thee that art a father or a mother to look to the salvation of the souls of thy children I charge thee that art a Christian to look to the salvation of thy own soul And how is the charge I charge thee before the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judg the quick and the dead Because there shall come a time when both thou and they shall be present before Christ at his appearing therefore if thou wilt have comfort in them and in thy self and in Christ be careful to do the duty that concerns thy place Looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus So then you see in this respect also there is nothing so forcible an Argument to settle a man in a holy conversation in a heavenly course as this for a man alwayes to look for the second coming of Christ Lastly there is nothing fixeth a man so constantly in a holy course as this Our conversation faith the Apostle is alwayes in heaven We alwayes walk on earth as those that aspire to heaven because we alwayes look for the coming of Christ Wert thou carefnl to serve God yesterday do it to day also it may be Christ may come now and take thee away by death to day and there is no preparation for judgment afterward Little children saith Saint John now abide in him that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming What is it that giveth a man boldness and takes away shame from him at the coming of Christ What is the reason that a man hath not that spirit of fear and trembling upon him that shall be upon the hearts of all those that go on in sin when they shall cry to the mountains to fall upon them but this that he hath continued in a holy conversation and constantly walked before the Lord with an upright heart I have finished my course saith the Apostle I have fought a good fight I have kept the faith hence-forth is layd up for me a crown of righteousness which Christ the righteous Judg shall give to me and to all them that love his appearing Still the servants of God have incouraged themselves to persevere in a holy course from the expectation of the coming of Christ that will give them a reward for their constancy in his service It is the Argument that the holy Ghost useth to the Church of Philadelphia Rev. 3.11 Hold fast that thou hast and let no man take thy crown As if he should say There is a time coming when Crowns shall be given but to whome to those that hold out that persevere in a godly course Be thou faithful to the death and thou shalt receive a crown of glory This is that I say that will make a man go on will make him that is good in youth be good in age also because whensoever he dieth he shall receive his Crown This will make a man that he shall not begin in the spirit and end in the flesh this will make him that having put his hand to the plough he will not look back because he no further looks for comfort in the appearance of Christ then he hath had care to walk on constantly in a good course Thus you see the point proved to you that a Christian soul hath a main benefit by his looking for the second coming of Christ
overcoming of all sin and by the vertue of Christ he shall prosper in this I beseech you therefore set your selves awork about this great business to get Repentance and Faith and New Obedience it is much more needful then sleep then meat then attire there is nothing in the world so requisite for thy welfare as these things Scrape thou riches together in the same quantity that Solomon did and ten thousands times more yet thou shalt see Death once within a hundred or half a hundred years Get wisdome yet thou shalt see Death after a few years Take pleasure with as much greediness as he did once when he forgat himself for a space yet thou shalt see death These things that the foolish world hunts after with so much earnestness of desire will not secure thee from the sight of the King of feares Death as Job calleth it But if thou once get Faith and Repentance and new obedience then thou hast obtained that that all the riches and honour and pleasures and learning or whatsoever seemeth desirable in the world will not help their possessors to What will you do brethren Grovel still on the earth and still be mad after back and belly Or will you now begin to think I must die I must shake hands with that dismal enemy pale-faced Death that is able to strike terrour into the strongest heart and amazement into the stoutest soul that is not well confirmed and if this Death find me destitute of true Repentance and Faith and New Obedience it will seize upon me and dragg me before the Judgement seat of God where I shall be Henced away with a malediction and curse and be forced to take my place with the Divel and his Angels in unquenchable flames Oh what shall I do then to secure my self from the great from the strong arme of death I will repent now I will begin Lord draw me help me that I may do it I will beleeve now Lord do thou work Faith that requirest it I will obey Lord inable me to preform such needful duties as thou commandest me Shall this be your practice when you come home Will you thus study to practise Repentance and Faith and Obedience and study to cry and call for it and use all your endeavour Or what will you do will you be as idle and careless as negligent and slothful in making after these graces as before Will you be as greedy of the transitory vanities of this life as in former times Oh abuse not the word of God If thou go out of the Church without a full purpose to apply thy self from hence forward either to begin or to proceed in the practise of the saying of Christ Cursed be thou in thy hearing cursed be that hour that thou hast spent and cursed be thy misbestowed labour thou dissembling hypocrite But if thou labour to practise this of Christ namely to keep his sayings the Doctrine of the Gospel to repent to beleeve and to obey blessed art thou in thy hearing and in thy doing and in thy obedience happy is the time and the place and all things that concur together to draw thee to so needful a work I pray Brethren set not your labour upon gold and silver and money and trash not upon the pleasures and delights and contentments of the world not on any other thing but mainly and principally above all things let your chief care be for Faith and Repentance and Obedience If you strive for these things earnestly and heartily and constantly as sure as the Lord is in heaven he will bestow them upon you and with them the benefit of benefits Freedome from Death And now I shall speak comfort to those few that are in the world that keep these sayings of Christ Let them be of good comfort if their capital enemy the King of fears and the King of Afflictions be held from a possiblity of doing them harm nothing can harme them He that Death cannot hurt paine cannot hurt poverty and disgrace cannot hurt nothing can hurt him You know if the King of an Army be reconciled to a place he will keep his Souldiers from spoyling and burning and destroying that place If Death be put out of power to do thee hurt and God be reconciled in Christ because thou keepest the saying of Christ nothing can hurt thee thou art the happiest man under the Sun Why should the poor sad afflicted grieved mourning lamenting Saints of God envie them that are rich and jolly and merry worldlings any of their pleasures and profits any of those things wherewith they like Idiots make themselves laugh at What hath not God given thee better things then he that thou shouldest murmure and whine and weep for want of them art thou still complaining for want of them Remember what Saint James faith Let the brother of low degree that is abased and dispised in the world rejoyce yea rejoyce with great boasting and glory in his Exaltation This is the exaltation of the Saints Christ writing his sayings in their hearts and inclining them through the operation of his Spirit and the powerful work of his Word to repent and beleeve hath freed them from the danger of Death and interessed them into eternal happiness and that blisse that no tongue can expresse nor no heart conceive This is thy happiness it is not to be rich or to be great for these cannot deliver the owner from the hurt of Death natural nor from the danger of Death eternal But to have Faith and Repentance and Obedience this is riches and exaltation for he that hath them shall not alone escape the Dungeon of eternal darkness but be advanced to the Palace of everlasting felicity The Saint is the happy man the penitent beleever and true practiser of Christian obedience he is the sole and only happy man under the Sun for whatsoever storme he suffereth in this present world he shall certainly escape Death and obtaine Glory Blesse God and bless thy self in God magnifie him rejoyce in him take comfort in thy lot and portion Death that devoureth Kings that destroyeth Emperours that conquers Captaines and men of valour shall not be able to approach thee for thy hurt for thou keepest the saying of the Lord Jesus Christ Rejoyce I say in this magnisie him that is the Authour of it and account thy self happy that thou hast receâ—…ed from him so excellent a gift as to be in some measure inabled to keep his saying Yea if it were so may some Christian heart object then I should esteem my self the happiest man alive â—… but alas where is this Repentance you describe where is this New Obedience in me that still still find my self captive and thral to passion to this and that and the other lust and divers corruptions Where is I say that Repentance when I find so much fin Where is that Faith when I find so much wavering and quaking so much aptness to distrust and almost
continual readiness that which may furnish us abundantly with meditations in this kind It was a custome in former times for men to make their Sepulchres in their Gardens to mind them of death in the midst of the pleasures of this life This present Work may not unfitly be termed a Garden wherein whosoever takes a dayly walk may gather in the several beds thereof those wholsome flowers and hearbs which being distilled by serious meditation will prove water of life to a fainting spirit in some he shall find instruction in some incitation in others consolalion in all profit Here thou shalt find that Lethall Gourd sprung up by Adam his trausgression that makes all his posterity cry out There is Death in the Pot. There thou mayst gather Hearbs of Grace as a counterpoyson against the malignity of death in a third there is the spiritual Heliotropium opening with joy to the Son of Righteousness the hope of a blessed Resurrection Do the glittering shews of outward things make thee begin to over-fancy them here thou shalt find how little they will avail in death the consideration whereof will make them like that precious stone which being put into the mouth of a dead man loseth its vertue art thou over-burthened with afflictions here thou art supported in the expectation of a far more exceeding weight of glory art thou ready to faint under thy labours here thou shalt find a time of rest and of reaping doth the time seem over-long that thy patience begins to flag here thou hast a promise of thy Saviours speedy coming In a word be thy estate and condition what it will be here thou mayst have both directions to guide thee and comforts to support thee in thy journey on earth till thou arrive at thy Country in Heaven Certainly there is no man can sleight and undervalue so deserving a Work but he shall discover himself either to be ignorant or idle or ill affected especially when so judicious and learned men have thought it a fit concomitant for their several Labours which they have added for the accomplishment of it Therefore take it in good worth improve it for the good of thy Soul that being armed and prepared for death when it shall approach thou mayst have no more to do but to die and mayst end thy dayes in a stedfast assurance That thy sins shall be blotted out when the time of Refreshing shall come from the presence of the LORD Thine in Him who is the Resurrection and the Life H. W. THE TABLE THE Stewards Summons Page 1. TEXT LUKE 16.2 Give an Account of thy Stewardship for thou mayst be no longer Steward The Praise of Mourning Page 17. ECCLESIASTES 7.2 It is better to go to the House of Mourning then to the House of Feasting for that is the end of all men and the living will lay it to his heart Deliverance from the King of Fears Page 33. HEBREWS 2.14 15. 14. For as much then as the Children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil 15. And deliver them who through the fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage The Perfection of Patience Page 47. JAMES 1.4 But let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing A Restraint of exorbitant Passion Page 61. 2 SAM 12.22 23. 22. And he said while the Child was yet alive I fasted and wept for I said who can tell whether God will be gracious to me that the Child may live 23. But now he is dead wherefore should I fast Can I bring him back again I shall go to him but he shall not return to me The Sting of Death c. Page 73. 1 COR. 15.56 The sting of Death is Sin and the strength of Sin is the Law The Destruction of the Destroyer c. Page 81. 1 COR. 15.16 The last Enemy that shall be destroyed is Death The Worlds Losse and the Righteous Mans Gain Page 91. ISAIAH 57.1 And merciful men are taken away none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come The Good-Mans Epitaph c. Page 107. REVEL 14.13 I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their Works do follow them The Christians Center c. Page 117. ROM 14.7 8. 7. For none of us liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself 8. For whether we live we live to the Lord and whether we die we die unto the Lord whether we live therefore or die we are the Lords The Improvement of Time c. Page 129. 1 COR. 7.29 30 31. 29. But this I say Brethren the time is short it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none 30. And they that weep as though they wept not and they that rejoyce as if they rejoiced not and they that buy as though they possessed not 31. And they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away Security Surprized c. Page 143. 1 THESSAL 5.3 For when they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape A Christians Victory or Conquest over Deaths Enmity Page 159. 1 COR. 15.26 The last Enemy that shall be destroyed is Death The great Tribunal or Gods Scrutiny of Mans Secrets Page 171. ECCLES 12.14 For God will bring every work into Jungement with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evill A Tryall of Sincerity c. Page 181. ISAIAH 26.8 9. 8. Yea in the way of thy judgments O Lord have we waited for thee the desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee 9. With my soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early for when thy judgments are in the earth the Inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness The Expectation of Christs Coming c. Page 195. PHIL. 3.20 21. 20. For our conversation is in Heaven from whence we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ 21. Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself Christs Precept and Promise or Security against Death Page 211. JOHN 8.51 Verily verily I say unto you if a man keep my saying he shall never see Death The Young-mans Liberty and Limits c. Page 223. ECCLESIAST 11.9 Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee in the dayes of thy youth and walk in the wayes of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these
things God will bring thee into Judgment Abrahams Purchase c. Page 233. GEN. 23.4 I am a stranger and a sojourner among you give me a possession of a burying place with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight Gods Esteem of the Death of his Saints Page 243. PSAL. 116.15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints The desire of the Saints after immortal Glory Page 251. 2 COR. 5.2 For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be cloathed upon with our house which is from heaven The Careless Merchant c. Page 265. MAT. 16.26 What is man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his soul Christs second Advent c. Page 273. REVEL 22.12 Behold I come shortly and my reward is with me to give every man according to his works The Saints longing for the great Epiphany Page 263. TITUS 2.13 Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Lifes Apparition and Mans Dissolution Page 291. JAMES 4.14 For what is your life it is even a vapour that appeareth for a little while and then vanisheth away Saint Pauls Trumpet c. Page 303. ROM 13.11 And that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep The Righteous Mans resting-place c. Page 313. GEN. 15.1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abraham saying Fear not Abraham I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward The righteous Judge c. Page 323. JAM 2.12 So speak ye and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty Sins Stipend and Gods Munificence Page 335. ROM 6.23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Profit of Afflictions c. Page 343. HEB. 12.10 For they verily for a few dayes chastened us after their own pleasure but he for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness Spiritual Hearts-ease c. Page 355. JOHN 14.1 2 3. 1. Let not your hearts be troubled believe in God believe also in me 2. In my Fathers house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you 3. And if I go to prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self that where I am there you may be also Faiths Triumph over the greatest Tryals Page 367. HEB. 11.17 By Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up his Son Isaac and he that had received the promise offered up his only begotten Son The Priviledge of the Faithful c. Page 377. IPET 3.7 As Heirs together of the grace of life Peace in Death c. Page 387. LUKE 2.29 Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word The Vital Fountain c. Page 399. JOHN 11.25 26. 25. Jesus said unto her I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live 26. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die Death in Birth c. Page 411. GEN. 35.19 And Rachel died The Death of Sin and life of Grace Page 419. ROM 6.11 Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hopes Anchor-Hold c. Page 433. 1 COR. 15.19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable The Platform of Charity c. Page 445. GAL. 6.10 As we have therefore opportunity let us do good to all especially to them that are of the houshold of faith Death prevented c. Page 463. JOB 14.14 All the dayes of my appointed time will I wait till my change shall come Iter Novissimum or Man his last Progress Page 473. ECCLESIAST 12.5 Man goeth to his long home and the mourners go about the streets Tempus putationis or the ripe Almond gathered Page 485. GEN. 15.15 And thou shalt go to thy Fathers in peace thou shalt be buried in a good old age Io Paean or Christs Triumph over Death Page 493. 1 COR. 15.55 O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy victory Fato Fatum The King of Fears frighed c. Page 501. HOS 13.14 O Death I will be thy plagues Vox Coeli The Deads Herauld Page 509. APOC. 14.13 And I heard a voyce from Heaven saying unto me Write blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth c. Victoris Brabaeum or The Conquerours Prize Page 517. APOC. 14.13 So saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works follow them Faith's Eccho or The Souls AMEN Page 527. REVEL 22.19 AMEN Even so come Lord Jesus Deaths Prerogative Page 539. GEN. 3.19 For dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return The Patriarchal Funeral Page 549. GEN. 50.10 And he made a mourning for his Father seven dayes The true Accountant Page 559. PSAL. 90.12 So teach us to number our dayes that we may apply our hearts to wisdome The Just-Mans Funeral Page 575. ECCLES 7.15 All things have I seen in the dayes of my vanity there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness The Righteous Mans Service to his Generation Page 587. ACTS 13.36 For David after he had served his own Generation after the will of God fell asleep c. The Crown of Righteousness c. Page 597. 2 TIM 4.7 8. I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but unto them also who love his appearing THE STEVVARDS SUMMONS SERMON I. LUKE 16.2 Give an account of thy Stewardship for thou maist be no longer Steward IN the Chapter going before our blessed Lord and Saviour had preached the Doctrine of the Free Grace of God in the Remission of Sin and receiving of Repenting and Returning Sinners in the Parable of an indulgent Fathers receiving of a prodigal Son The Pharisees were a People that hardned their own hearts and scoffed at every thing that Christ delivered therefore now in this Chapter he cometh to summon and warn them to appear before God the great Master of the world to give an account of their stewardship that by the consideration of Gods proceeding in the day of Judgment they might know the better how to prize the Remission of Sins in the day of Grace This he doth by presenting to them a Parable of a certain rich man that had a steward who was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods calleth him to an account and to the end that the Pharisees might not think that it was a matter to be jested withal and that such considerations
therefore goe about it now Reckon with others also for works of mercy what thou hast been wanting in to thy brethren thou hast lived thus long in a plentifull estate what hast thou done wich thy estate Josephus reckons up three several tenths that were expected and exacted of the Jews Wouldest thou be less liberal now in the time of the Gospel then they were under the law Is God lesse merciful or hath he less interest in thy estate Thou hast so many thousands What hast thou done out of this to releeve the poor or to set up those in a course of traffique and trade that want a stock Beloved you cannot if you look about you want objects of mercy and means to further your reckoning at the day of the Lord. And if you would be faithful stewards to God say thus I have been thus much behind-hand in paying the due I owe to the poor to the Church c. I will pay it while I live and if that be not enough when I die I will pay it But I hasten That is the second thing Let every man reckon thus with his own heart The third thing is the daily exercise of repentance upon the sight of your former evils God now saith the Apostle calleth all men every where to repentance because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness Let this then stir us up to repentance God expects that men should judge themselves now Fourthly If you would stand at that great day of Judgement when there shall be such an exact reckoning Interest now your selves in Christ There is no way to escape the Judgement to come but by making peace with the Judge now There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus This was prefigured in the Mercy-seate that was to be compassed about with the wings of the Cherubins all covering the two tables of the Testament one Cherubin to look toward another shewing us thus much that there is no covering of our transgressions committed against the commandements of God the tables of the Testimony but by the great Mercy-seat the Lord Jesus Christ upon whome the Fathers of the times before Christ and Beleevers since look expecting the covering of the guilt of their sins from the wrath of God by no other means but by this propitiator or Mercy-seat that covereth the Arke of the Testimony Lastly it serveth also for instruction in another point that is To teach us to lead a holy conversation This use the Apostle Peter made of the Doctrin of the day of Judgement Seeing saith he that we locke for these things what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godlidesse Alas beloved little do you know whether this be the last Sermon that many of you may heare whether this be the last day wherein God will ever call upon you to repent and amend your lives There shall be a fearful dissolution and destruction of all things that you see There shall be a naked appearance made before the Judge at that day of reckoning let every man therefore say within himself How shall I stand at that time at that Judgement All our care should be that of the Apostle Pauls Whether we be absent from the body or present in the body we labour that we may be accepted of the Lord Whether we live a day longer or die this day before the morrow that we may be found acceptable before the Lord. And for this cause saith he in another place because there shall be a resurrection from the dead both of the just and unjust I exercise my self to have alwayes a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men Look to it in your places and in your hearts that you may have a good conscience void of offence toward God and men for the time shall come that nothing in the world shall stand you in stead but a good conscience and if then when the books are opened it be found that your reckonings are even and the accounts clear between you and your Master by obedience and repentance by works and by faith happy shall that servant be whome his Master at that day shall find so doing The last Use is a use of comfort to all the servants of God Let them quietly and cheerfully suffer that portion of miserie and affliction that the Lord dealeth out unto them Let them not grudge at the prosperity of ungodly men or at the variety of changes that themselves are exposed unto because there is a day of reckoning and account when all things shall be made even The Apostle Saint James exhorteth Christians to patience upon this very ground because the day of the Lord draweth nigh If therefore you see wicked men prosper and bring their enterprises to passe be not troubled at the matter A man doth not much envy an enemy that is now in prison though he have some good chear there though he have some friends that come and see him there because he knows he is but a Prisoner and he shall be brought out at the Assizes and then he shall be righted The world is the common Jayle whereinto Adam was cast after he had sinned and we are all prisoners in this prison-house the enemies of Gods glory and of his Church and people they cannot escape out of this prison here they are tied Gods chains are upon them and he will bring them to an account before his Judgement seate and that before all men and Angels With these things let us comfort and support our selves A word concerning the present occasion Yee have heard that all men are Gods Stewards yee have heard that God hath a time wherein he will call all his Stewards to an account the fore-runners of this great account shall be in this life and after death when God strikes men down by death it is that they may be brought into his presence and there receive the sentence either of absolution or condemnation as I shewed you before concerning the soul o man in that intelectual manner receiving the sentence It is appointed to all men once to die and after that the Judgement You have now a spectacle of mortality before you one of Gods stewards took away and called by death to give up his account Concerning whom it cannot be expected that I should say much or any thing at all specially by those that know both the condition of his living and of his dying For his living It was not in the Citie but for the most part it was from us in the Country For his dying He was here but a day or two before he was taken hence Hee came to the Citie in the extremity of his weaknesse and it took him with some violence as the nature of that disease the stone is There was much expression expected from him but it pleased God to make a sudden change more then we looked
of doing holy duties Would you be found praying pefunctorily and carelesly Would you be found coming to the Sacrament unprepared What though you do holy actions that are good for the matter would you be found doing of them with unfit and unprepared hearts You see what the Apostle saith 1. Cor. 11. For this cause many are sick and weak and many sleep they slept they were dead for this even because they came unworthily to receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Would you therefore be found doing of holy duties and not in a right manner The serious consideration of this that Death is the end of all men with the particular application of it to a mans selfe that as it is the state of all men so it is mine in particular I must die and I may die now it hath an influence into all the actions of a mans life To conclude In the last place This point is of use to us also in the death of others First to moderate the mourning of Christians for the death of others Why It is the end of all men it is that that is the common condition of all men it should not be too grievous not too doleful to any man We would not have our freinds to be in another condition in their birth then others we would not have them have more fingers or more members then a man and would we have them have more dayes Let this serve as a brief touch upon that Secondly it teacheth us to make good use of our fellowship while we are together Not only we may die but those that are useful to us may die also let us make good use of one another while we live therefore This will make the death of others bitter and will be worse than the death and losse of our freinds the guilt upon a mans conscience that he hath not made that use of them while they were alive that he might have done let us therefore make the death of our freinds easie by making good use of them while they live It did smite the heart of those Ephesians that they should see the face of Paul no more specially above the rest it grieved them that they should see him no more how would it have grieved them think you if they had alwayes hardned themselves against his ministry before Think with your selves seriously here is such a Minister such a Christian freind that husband and wife that parent and child a time of parting will come let us make it easie now by making good use of one another while we live that when freinds are took away we may have cause to thank God that we have had communion and confort of their fellowship and society the benefit of their graces the fruit of their lives and not sorrow for the want of them by death So much for that I come now to the second and principal reason why it is better to go to the house of mourning then to the house of feasting it is this because the living shall lay it to his heart What shall he lay to his heart That that is the end of all mèn he shall lay the death of all men to heart The point I observe from hence is thus much It is the dutie of those that live to lay to heart the death of others That is seriously ro consider and make use for themselves of the death of others You see the Text is clear for the point And there is good reason why it should be so First in respect of the glory that cometh to God Secondly in respect of the good that cometh to our selves by it First God is glorified by this when we lay to heart the death of others there is a dishonour to God to slight any of his actions this is one of Gods works in the world the death of men this is a thing wherein Gods hand is seen he saith to the sons of Adam Return The spirit returneth to God that gave it It is he that hath the power of life and death If a sparrow fall not to the ground without the providence of God much lesse the servants of God the precious ones upon the earth the excellent ones as David calleth them I say God is seen much in these works and it is a great dishonour to God when men do not consider the works of his hands David by the spirit of prophesie in Psal 28.5 wisheth a curse upon ungodly men and for this reason among the rest because they consider not the operation of his hands this is that that puts men into a curst estate and exposeth them to the wrath of God when they regard not the works of the Lord. The actions of Princes and great men upon earth every man considereth of them and weigheth them It is that wherein we give God the glory of his wisdome and of his truth of his power of his justice of his mercy of his soveraignty and dominion and Lordship over the whole earth when we labour to draw to a particular use to our selves the works of God in the world specially the death of men of all men good and bad for we must give it the same latitude and extent and scope that the Text doth here he speaks here of the death of men in general and he saith of all men that their death shall be laid to heart by the living Secondly as their is reason that we should take to heart the death of others in respect of the glory that cometh to God thereby so in respect of our selves also much benefit cometh to our selves by laying to heart the death of other men There be three special things considerable in the death of any one that is matter of profit and benefit to those that live and survive after them Therein we see the Certainty of Death Therein we see the Nature of Death Therein we see the Cause End of Death First therein we see the certainty of death For now we have not only the word of God that tels us that we shall die but the works of God taking others before us that as the Sacraments are called visible instructions because they teach by the eye and the outward senses so the death of others are visible instructions to the living it teacheth by the eye a man is guided by the eye to see his own condition and as it were in a glasse there is represented to him his own state what we are they were once the time was that they converst with men as we do that they spake for Gods glory upon earth as we do and what they are now we shall be there will come a time when our works shall cease as theirs do when we shall be in the place of silence as they are I say it confirmeth to us the former certainty and assurance of our death when we see others fall before us And there is great profit and benefit that
off of all holds and takes us off from all sensible and visible props and humane supports and makes us to see nothing in the creature to do us that good we look for to make us eternal happy therefore we were taught saith he not to trust in our selves if a man trust any he might trust himselfe first yea but we are dying and cannot enjoy our selves long therefore we trust in him that raiseth us up from the dead Thirdly another end that God aymeth at in holding his servants many times under the fear of death is that he may make them more watchful and holy in the course of their lives This our Saviour expresseth under two parables the one of the Virgins that were to watch for the coming of the Bridegroom they knew that he would come but they knew not when therefore they were alwayes to keep their watch with oyle in their lamps And the other of a Master that left Talents with his servants he told them that he would come but he told them not when that they might be sure to employ them to the best advantage And the Apostle Peter raiseth an exhortation to this purpose on this very ground Since saith he that all these things must be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godlinesse looking for and hastning to the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ We know that the Lord Jesus Christ will come but he hath concealed the particular time of his coming that we might alwayes keep our watch and be prepared for him whensoever he cometh Now this is necessary for all the servants of God for they are apt to be secure and to be carried away with worldly business and delights and to neglect that which concerns their eternal good and therefore God will affect them with the fear of death that they may be stirred up to more watchfulnesse and holinesse in a godly course of life Fourthly God doth it that by the fear of Death they may be better prepared for death that it may not come upon them as a stranger that they never thought on before that it may not come as an armed man upon them therefore is it that God will have thim not onely to have thoughts of it but fear of it fear you know is an affection that quickneth a man to action keeps him to a constant observing of God Jehosaphat when God did not onely bring a multitude of enemies upon him but also sent the report of them to him and that in such a manner as he might be affected with fear What did all this work in him The text saith Jehosaphat did seek the Lord with all his heart and proclaimed a fast in Judah and provided such other defence as was necessary he saw nothing but fear and danger in the creature We know not what to do with this great company that cometh against us this set him awork to seek the Lord with all his heart and to make other provision against them So the Lord will have his servants apprehend death as an Armed enemy coming upon them that they may be better prepared to receive it that they may get evidences of comfort and assurance of heaven and so may be fitted upon good grounds to entertain death with joy when it cometh And this the servants of God have need of because if there be not somewhat to quicken to this there are other things enough to pervert them from it and then when men are most weak and full of pain and wearinesse the divel takes advantage to cast them off from all comfort so that at the least we shall die uncomfortably if not miserably if they be not prepared beforehand to receive Death and have gotten assurance and evidence of a better condition afterward Thus you have the first thing that is Gods act and for what reasons he keepeth his servants in this bondage of the fear of death Again secondly another cause from without is from the malice of Sathan His main aim is to keep men from a Christian course altogether if that cannot be done his next work is to make men go on as uncomfortably in it as he can possible therefore he will present them with as many fears as may be and because that this is that that nature most abhorreth for it is the most natural desire of man to preserve his beeing I say because nature most abhorreth this this dissolution and destruction of it self therefore the striveth to affect them with the fear of death especially and above all other I say this is Sathans malice Saint Paul when he came to Macedonia that he might do the work of the Lord with lesse diligence and comfort saith he We had fears on every side horrors within and terrors without It was Sathans devise that the Apostle might do the work of the Lord with lesse strength and comfort to afflict them with as many fears and horrors as he could And he hath the same malice still and still getteth much advantage of men making men to go on with lesse comfort in a godly life adorning their profession of religion lesse with unchearful walking because they have been held under the fear of death These are the causes that are from without Secondly there are some causes from within from the servants of God themselves And these causes whence the fear of death ariseth are either natural or sinful First the natural causes of it are The apprehension of Death as a thing contrary to nature and according to the strength of mens apprehension so is there fear Now Death in this natural respect is fearful to every man whether we consider the object or the subject the thing or the person in whom it is we shall find a natural cause of this even in the servants of God First for the object look upon Death it self it hath all that in it which makes it a fit object of fear There be three things which makes a thing the object of fear which makes a thing affect the heart with fear First when it is considered as an ill Secondly when it is considered as an ill difficult and hard to be avoided Thirdly when it is considered as an ill to come For if it be not conceived a thing that is ill but good it is not feared but rather desired And then again if it be but a slight ill such as hath but a weak strength in it which a man may easily master it is not fearful but disdained And then thirdly if it be an ill that hath strength in it and can hardly be resisted and overcome if it be present it is not feared but grieved for It must be evil apprehended as future appreheneed as difficult and apprehended as ill if it be a thing that is to be feared Now all these things are in Death in the apprehension of Gods servants while they live First I say they apprehend
and the same person arising from divers principles In every renewed soul there is is a principle of nature and a principle of grate I speak not now of corrupt nature but of pure nature for we may so speak There is a desire that ariseth from nature and that tendeth to the conservation of a mans beeing and to the conservation of a man in all the comforts and contentments of his beeing This is and may be in a child of God But then it is overswayed by grace which makes a man now resign up this will of his to Gods hand to be content against his own natural desires to be disposed of according to Gods will This we may see in our Lord and Saviour Father faith he if it be possible let this cup pass from me Hear is a desire to keep not onely in his natural beeing but to keep in the comfort of nature and life And this is lawful and a good desire for these affections are the works of God upon the soul of man The will of man moveth naturally by these affections these desires they are the fruits of nature and so the works of God in nature and therefore not simply to be blamed But now that which keepeth them within compass is an over-ruling work of grace whereby the creature is made to acknowledge his distance from the Creatour and that subjection he oweth to God as the soveraign Lord of nature and of all creatures And in this sense our Saviour Christ doth check his natural desires if it be possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt faith he So here is a work of grace ordering and over-ruling nature that it might not exceed that proportion of the creature and those desires that should be in nature So then you see what kind of willingness we mean such a kind of willingness as in the issue and close resteth in Gods will The object of this Patience is Afflictions and the changes of this life Affliction is properly any thing that is grievous to a mans sense any thing that crosseth a mans will There are some things that indeed are Afflictions but not to this or that person because he is not sensible of them or because he is not carried with any desires against them But when a man is crost in his will that is an affliction to him but specially when this is set on him with a change when God brings as Job speaks changes upon him when a man is in another turning and course of life this is an affliction indeed A man that hath tasted the sweetness of prosperity now to be left in affliction this was Jobs case and this is specially the object of Patience You have heard of the Patience of Job But how did Jobs Patience appear in the Afflictions in the changes of his life That notwithstanding he had felt the sweeness of a prosperous estate and the comfort of freinds yea and the comfort of Gods favour shining upon his heart and many other particular mercies yet when God turned his hand and took away the comforts of his life the comfort and society of his freinds the comfortable expressions of his own love to his soul and threatned the taking away even of life it self Job could now in this case resolve to rest in the determination and appointment and will of God Here is Patience now Thus briefly you have heard what the duty is to which the Apostle exhorteth It is Patience that is a willing resigning of our selves to Gods appointment in the changes of our life But now that is not enough the Apostle contents not himself to say Have Patience but let Patience have her perfect work He would have them grow in Patience to grow from one degree to another to abound in Patience as the Apostle speaks of Hope and Joy in Rom. 15.13 that they might not only have patience but have it brought to perfection which in Coll. 1. 11. is called all long suffering that there might not be the least defect that they might have a measure of patience proportionable to the measure of Tryals that look as God increased the measure of their tryals upon them so they might have patience to answer those tryals somewhat to support the heart when the greatest weight should be laid upon the soul to press it down so the word Hipomene that is translated patience signifieth to bear up a man to support him under a burthen that he be not prest down by it So he would have them have such a measure of Patience as might bear up the soul in the greatest pressures that though they were afflicted they might not be broken in their afflictions Thus you have the duty opened Let Patience have her perfect work The reason is that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing That you may be intire Some understand it thus that you may be intire in respect of every grace in respect of all gracious habits that you may have one grace as well as another that as you have knowledge and faith so you may have Patience too that which is so necessary a grace for a Christian as well as any other Others by intireness here and wanting nothing think that the Apostle meant this that they might have that which might supply comfort to their souls in all their wants A man is then said to want nothing when he is content and satisfied with that estate wherein he is as if he had all things So David when Ziglag was burnt his Wives carried away captive his souldiers began to mutiny and threaten him yet nevertheless he seemed to want nothing when he could comfort himself in the Lord his God Godliness is great gain but how with contentment that is there is such a sufficiency with contentment of heart as if a man had the things he wants So then hear is the thing that you may be intire in respect of all gracious habits necessary to the beeing of a Christian that you may have that inward store and supply of comfort that may support your hearts in all outward wants Thus you have the meaning of the words The parts are two An exhortation to duty An argument to enforce that exhortation The duty whereto they are exhorted is that they should be perfect in Patience let Patience have her perfect work The Argument whereby they are perswaded to this duty is that they may be intire and wanting nothing that they may have all that is necessary to a Christian We will observe two Conclusions hence which we shall follow at this time The first is this That Patience is necessary to the perfection of a Christian Or A Christian is not perfect without patience The second is this That every Christian should strive for a perfection of degrees of Patience Or that a Christian must labour to attaine the highest degree and perfection in Patience These two Conclusions we
will handle apart in the Explication and proof and joyn them together in the application and use For the first then that A Christian is not perfect without patience Our Saviour exhorting his Disciples to patience in the fifth of Matth. because they should meet with many enemies injuries in the world he concludeth be perfect faith he as your heavenly father is perfect What perfection speaks he of here Such a perfection such a work of Grace as might inable them to carry themselves as became them in the middest of those many enemies and opposites they should meet withal I will not stand upon this I will endeavour to make it appear to you First it may appear thus There is a twofold perfection of a Christian There is a perfection of parts and a perfection of degrees A child is a perfect man in respect of parts but not in respect of degrees because it is not come to that measure of strength for that age is not capable of it which a man hath Now there is a necessity that there should be a perfection of parts First perfection of parts in a Christian is but the making up of all those graces which are necessary to a Christian and without which he cannot obey God nor walk according to the rule All these are necessary Now Patience is one of those parts one of those habits of grace with which every renewed soul is indowed and without which a man is not truly sanctified without which a man expresseth himself not to be regenerate And for this observe what the Apostle Peter saith Ad moreover to your faith vertue to vertue knowledge to knowledg temperance to temperance patience to patience godlinesse to godlinesse brotherly kindnesse to brotherly kindnesse love What is the reason of it If these things be in you and abound you shall neither be idle nor unfruitful in the work of the Lord. As if he should say you will be idle and unfruitful professors unlesse that these graces be in you and abound in you Now what are the Graces you shall see the necessity of every one of them The Apostle exhorteth beleevers there to the giving all diligence to the making their calling and election sare to make it certain to themselves that they are effectually called But might some say there are many graces necessary to a Christian but there is one principal which we call the radical and main grace of all Faith I but saith the Apostle there are many others necessary besides that as you must have faith towards God so you must also carry your selves so as may adorne your profession among men therefore adde vertue to faith But they might say vertue that is that that guideth a man in all Morrals in all the course of his life and conversation You shall have many provocations to sin therefore adde to vertue temperance But we have many discouragements to good therefore adde to temperance Patience But what though you should have both temperance and Patience these are but moral vertues Therefore adde to Patience godlinesse that you may in all things you doe ayme at God and approve your selves to him But when we have carried our selves in a holy manner according to the rule and word of God yet nevertheless there are many Christians that require offices of love from us and what shall we doe to these Therefore adde to godlinesse brotherly kindnesse But then again beside that conversation we have with beleevers there are many men in the world that expect certaine duties from us Therefore adde to that Love that extendeth to all men according to their necessities So you see how the Apostle takes all graces as it were into several parcels and sheweth how they cannot be without one parcel of grace they cannot goe through the course of Christianitie except they heve every thing they cannot carry themselves toward God without faith they cannot adorne their profession without vertue they cannot escape temptations without temperance neither can they be encouraged against discouragements without patience Therefore he bringeth patience in amongst the rest as a necessary part and dutie of a Christian without which he cannot goe through the worke of Christiantie and religion Again in the second place as it appeareth by the parts of a Christian and Christianity that a man cannot be perfect without Patience so it appeareth by another argument and that is this A Christian cannot be perfect without that without which he cannot keep that grace he hath Look what ever grace is in the soul a man cannot keep it without Patience By Patience possesse your souls The soul which is the seate and subject of Grace cannot it self be kept without Patience therefore neither can any grace be kept in the soul without Patience because as the riches and treasures in a Castle cannot be kept when the walls are beaten downe so those treasures of grace in the heart of man cannot be kept when once patience which is as the wall of the soul that keeps it from the battery of tentations from the enemie that would steale them away while men sleep I say unlesse these walls these supporting graces specially this of Patience be in the soul it cannot stand intire For indeed let impatience once into the soul and you let in all sin with it impatience is a destroying of all grace a pulling downe of the wall Nay what is sin indeed but impatience in a sense What is pride but the impatience of humilitie What is uncleannesse but the impatience of chastity What is drunkennesse but the impatience of sobrietie Every sin beginneth in impatience when a man cannot bear with that abstinence and forbearance as formerly cannot keep that strict course in his wayes but groweth impatient against the rule of God he runneth into a course of sin presently So you see that for the very preserving the soul the subject of grace and grace the treasure of the soul it is necessary that we should have patience And then again thirdly It will appear thus to you that a Christian cannot be perfect without patience because he cannot doe his worke without Patience he cannot doe the works of Religion the taske that God layes upon him without Patience Looke in what measure Patience is defective in that measure he halteth in his dutie in the very actions of Religion he goeth about Take any one duty of Religion that you can name see whether a man can doe that without Patience Suppose it be Prayer How can a man goe on in the duty of prayer without Patience Sometimes God delayeth the grant of a mans petition A man will now sink and give over in discouragement if he have not Patience to support the soul The Canaanitish woman when she came to Christ and spake once to him and he did not answer a word she had so much Patience as to make her speak the second time to him then he answered her
beyond and short and above and below us in those that are elder and younger and richer and poorer all forts he will strike us at last this thing I say should stirr us up to prepare for our own dissolution A man would think that there were no need of such a thing the very bare sight of a Corse or a Hearse the bare sight of a deed corpse the bare ringing of a bell or a Funeral Sermon should be warning enough to the living to tell him of death When a man sees a company carrying a dead body to the grave he should say to himself It may be the feet of these may carry me next But how cometh it to pass hat it is not thus Certainly there is not power in all examples to work this it is the work of Gods spirit Though a man observe the death of never so many before him yet his cannot work in him a serious care to make preparation for his own death except God adde a further work to it We may see this in the expression of Moses when so many died in the Wilderness Lord teach us to number our dayes that we may apply our hearts to wisdom As if he should have said Though so many thousands died in the Wilderness and that by so many several kinds of death yet we shall never apply our hearts to wisdom by those examples except God teach us that wisdom Therefore we should pray to God to teach us by his Spirit to make use of Examples Men must give account for examples as well as for rules men must give account for examples of mortality as well as for Sermons of mortality therefore let the example of others mortality stir you up to prepare for your own and that you may do so be much in calling upon God Lastly He shall not return to me that is in this sense to converse on earth as he had done before I shall return to him but he shall not return to me He doth but reitterate and repeat what he had said before in effect This is the thing then that Parents must make account of both for themselves and their children For their children It should make them moderate therefore in their sorrow for them God now hath shewed his purpose and declared his will therefore we should rest in that will of God This is the thing that David aymed at Gods will was not only to take away his child but so to take him away as never to return to him again in that manner Now God had declared his will and therefore Why should I fast saith he as if he should say I will now rest in the will of God In all the things which we account crosses and losses in children and friends c. The main business of a christian is not to expresse sorrow but submission and subiection to God to exercise and inure his heart to patience and to rest in Gods good pleasure and will As Eli though he failed in his carriage to his sons yet he shewed a dutiful respect to God his heavenly father When Samuel told him the judgement of God that should come upon his house It is the Lord saith he let him do what seemeth him good in his own eyes though it were a heavy judgement such as whosoever should hear of it both his eares should tingle yet it is the Lord let him do what seemeth him goad As if he should say I have nothing to do in this business but to subject my self with patient submission and contentedness to his will it is the Lord it becometh not me to contend with him and to reason with God concerning his work I confess he is righteous let him do what see meth him good in his own eyes And so Aaron There was a heavy judgement befallen him his sons were consumed with fire yet the text saith Aaron held his peace When God manifested so great wrath to his house in wasting and consuming and burning his sons for offering of strange fire yet Aaron held his peace that is he did only mind how to glorifie God by a contented submission to his will So Job he heard not only of the losse of his children but that he lost them in such a manner by a violent death by a house falling on their heads yet the Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. Whereas a carnal worldly man would have fallen to strugling and contending and quarrelling against God and so trouble and perplex his own spirit We do exceedingly imbitter Gods cup by mingling with it ingredients of our own passions and so make the affliction more heavy and grievous then God intends it Here is the reason we possess not our souls with Patience When we are sensible of the losse of friends and children c. let us learn to make it our business to think I have a greater work to do to prepare for my own death God in the death of this man speaks to me to prepare for my own And then to glorifie God by submission to his will make it appear that thou acknowledgest a power in God to dispose of thy house to do every thing by patiently resting in his will And yet this comfort is added though children be took away that they shall not return in an earthly manner yet they shall in a better manner Parents are contented to part with their children for a time for their preferment Children though they are very young that are commended by the prayers of the godly Parents into the hands of God these whose hearts God hath inlarged and quickned fervently and faithfully to pray in the besalf of their children they may rest in this assured that they shall meet at the Resurrection in a better manner their children shall be better preferred then if they were on earth and shall be raised up to perfection Here you see there is not a tooth bred in a child without a great deal of pain and every tooth cost some pain but this mortal body shall put on immortality and this corruption shall put on incorruption This weak body shall be made strong weak children strong without pain Death endeth these things and the Resurrection shall present him in a perfect measure of strength in a glorified estate So much for this text and for this time THE STING OF DEATH OR THE STRENGTH OF SINNE SERMON VI. 1 COR. 15.56 The Sting of Death is Sin and the Strength of Sin is the Law SOlomon telleth thus that there is a season for every thing there is a time to be born and a time to die These two are the two great seasons of all men we are as sure to die as we are sure we have lived and every degree of our life is but a step to our death Every man of us hath but a part to act here in the world when we have done that that God hath appointed us we are drawn off from
conscience hath so wrought on thee that it hath stung thee for such a sin thou yet approvest thy self in it and thou wilt go on in thy pride still in such and such sins stil thou wilt do so do but know this that stand thou never so much upon thy resolution Death will certainly come and if he find thee in such a sin against thy conscience thou hast reserved in thy self a sting for Death Secondly a man shall know if Death come with a sting by this trial that Solomon giveth us in Ec. 11.9 Rejoyce oh young man in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee in the dayes of thy youth and walk in the wayes of thy heart and sight of thine eyes but know that for all these things God will bring thee to judgment If thou live a voluptuous life Death will certainly come with a sting Dives he lived a voluptuous life had he not a sting for it So others in Scripture did not their plentiful tables and voluptuous courses bring a sting on them A voluptuous life makes a sting for Death When a poor wretch is a dying and shall begin to reflect back on his life what have I done how have I lived so much time I have spent or mispent in apparel in vanity in eating in drinking in swaggering What comfort is this to his soul how can he answer this before God this is the very thing that will sting him at such a day when he can read nothing in his life but barrenness and unfruitfulness nothing that hath honoured God in all his life Certainly my brethren if there be an Epicurious voluptuous life this life will provide a sting for Death Alas you will say Is it so then we may fear that Death will seize on us thus for we confess we have gone on in a voluptuous life gone on in sin that our conscience hath condemned us for how shall we do to pull out this sting I would to God you were thus affected that you were convicted what a fearful thing it will will be if sin remain But wouldest thou have the sting of death pulled out before death come I. How shall I disarme it that I may look death in the face with comfort I. shall give you some wayes and means remember them and practise them First get but a part in Christ and the sting of death is gone thanks be to God saith the Apostle here that hath given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ It is he that in the Revelation is said to have the keyes of Hell and of death they are under his command and subjection he is victorious over them he hath vanquished them so that if a man have Christ he hath victory and power over Hell and Death I told you in the beginning that that which giveth a sting to Death is the guilt of sin It is so and it is a fearful sting Now that which takes away the guilt of sin is Christ If Christ be mine I have enough to answer the guilt of sin Therefore the Apostle saith Death cannot separate from the love of God in Christ What shall then Indeed nothing it is not the guilt of his sins Christ hath satisfied from them So that if thou wilt have the sting of death out get faith in Christ if thou be not hidden in the clefts of that Rock in the blood of Christ if Christ be not thy Justification and thy righteousness what hast thou to answer the Justice of God you must die and stand before God and how can you stand before God in your sins you cannot without Christ why do you not then study more for Christ Why do you not labour for faith in him It will be your wisdom to labour earnestly to make sure of him if you have him the sting of death is gone Death cannot hurt a person that hath Chriâ—… Get faith in Christ therefore that is the first Secondly 〈…〉 would not have Death terrible and fearful to you labour for sincerity 〈◊〉 â—â—ethren it is a marvellous thing and yet the truth uprightness and sincerity 〈…〉 is an enabling grace All the particular things that we account particulaâ—â—â—â—â—â—wise they have not an inabling vertue in them Some persons have a great dâ—â—â— of learning and wit and many friends much riches and the like yet there cometh an occasion sometimes that puzzleth all these there cometh an occasion sometimes that a mans learning is of no use and natural parts and wit cannot help and riches cannot inable him What time is that The time of death the heart of a man is put to it at such a time and now these shrink nothing can inable a man agaiâ—â— fear so much as sincerity and uprightness When the Prophet Isaiah told 〈◊〉 from God that he must die he flieth to this Lord remember how I have 〈◊〉 fore thee with an upright heart and done that which was good in thy sight When Death cometh to a wicked voluptuous person and telleth him I am here come for thee thou must appear before God what can this man say Lord I have lived before thee a voluptuous proud wretched life I was a scorner of thy Word a contenâ—…er and persecutor of thy people a swearer c. What though perhaps he can say Lord I have heard so many Sermons I have been so much in conference and the like will this inable a man against the fear of Death No nothing but this that he hath a sincere heart that his heart is unmixed that sin is not affected in his soul that there is no sin that he would live in no duty that he wonld not do Lord remember I have walked before thee uprightly I say nothing will inable a man more against fear then sincerity and nothing disgraceth perplexeth the soul in an exigent more then 〈◊〉 It is sincerity that takes away the sting of Death The Apostle in Râ—…m 14. saith he No man liveth to himself but if he live he liveth to the Lord and if he die he dieth to the Lord whether we live or die we are the Lords Here is the comfort we are the Lords saith he How proveth he that We live unto him That is the work of a sincere heart A true Christian liveth not to himself but to Christ Now if thy conscience give thee this testimony I have lived unto Christ then whether I live or die I am the Lords the Apostle concludeth it So right is that of Solomon Riches availeth not in the day of wrath but righteousness delivereth from death Thy righteousness and sincerity delivereth thee not from dying but from death It takes away the sting and power of Death Death shall not be death to thee it is only a passage to thee Therefore remember as to get a part in Christ so to get a perfect and sincere heart and then the sting of death is gone But a hypocritical divided heart a heart and a heart that will
be greater then I can give warrant for they that die thus die eternally And we had need beseech God with all earnestness of spirit to keep us from such a fearful temptation as this for they that die thus die not in the Lord and therefore cannot be blessed for my Text saith it of no other but of those Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. This is the first point I come to the Restriction Die in the Lord. It may be construed two wayes the preposition is Ambiguous for the preposition many times in Scripture signifies In Domino or propter Dominum As Rom. 16.1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister that you would receive her in Domino in the Lord that is for the Lords sake as becometh Saints And in the twelfth verse of the same Chapter Salute the beloved Persis which laboured much in the Lord that is laboured much in Gods cause for the Lord. So again Say to Archippus look to the ministery that thou hast received In Domino that is for the Lord for the Lords service for his work I might give you many more instances There is one place most pregnant Eph. 4.1 I Paul a prisoner in Domino so saith the vulgar Latine and so is the Greek interpretation In the Lord. What meaneth Saint Paul A prisoner in the Lord what is that A prisoner for the Lord a prisoner for the Lords cause And thus you may take the word here in the Text Blessed are they that die in Domino that is such as die in causa Domini and thus Judicious Beza to whose judgment I attribute much in translations he readeth it so Blessed are the dead qui moriuutur causa Domini and then in his Annotations propter Dominum And if you take it thus then the Martyrs only are blessed That Martyrs are blessed the Church of God is so far from making a question that they set it down as a Rule Injuriam facit Martyri qui orat pro Martyre A man doth wrong to a Martyr that prayes for a Martyr their blessedness is so sure for He that loseth his life for my sake and the Gospels shall find it saith Christ If he loseth a temporal life he shall find an eternal If he lose a life accompanied with sorrow he shall find another life that is with joy such joy as cannot be conceived such joy as shall never be ended Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his Saints There are two things saith S. Bernard that makes the death of a Saint precious the one is a good life before the other is a good cause for which he dieth A good life will make it a precious death but a good cause will make it a more precious death But that is the most pretious death that hath both a good life before it and a good cause coming next The Matyrs are blessed but they must be such Martyrs as suffer for the Lord be sure of that or else they are not blessed There be some that would be accounted Martyrs a great company of such we have had of late that have died for broaching of reason and some for sowing of sedition some for absolving subjects from the oath of Alleageance some for attempting to blow up Parliament houses Such as these are not Martyrs It is not the punishment it is the cause that makes the Martyr Our blessed Lord himselfe that never did evil was crucified between two evil-doers there was an equal punishment there was not an equal cause It must be the cause that we must look to if we look to be blessed But I cantot stand upon that Here is the first interpretation To die in the Lord is for the Lord. But there is a second and that is more large die in the Lord that is die in the faith of the Lord. Salute Andronicus and Junius my fellow prisoners which were in the Lord before me Saith S. Paul that is that were Beleevers that were in the faith before me And to let pass many other places if there be no resurrection of the dead saith the Apostle then we that are asleep in Christ c. If we beleeve that Jesus died then those that sleep in Jesus shall he bring with him c. and Again He shall descend from heaven with a shout and they that are dead in Christ shall rise first Now what is it to die in Christ in a large sense I will tell you He that would die in Christ first he must die in obedience There are many works of obedience that we are to doe Our last and greatest act of obedience is to resign up this same spirit of ours willingly chearfully into the hands of God that gave it If we have not attained to that strength that some have done that is to live patiently and die willingly yet we should labour to attain to thus much strength to live willingly and to die patiently So as Christ may be magnified in my body saith the Apostle I pass not it makes no matter let it either be by life or by death When we have done the work that God hath set us to do we must be gone and thus must every one say with himself Lord if I have done all the work thou hast appointed me to do call me away at thy pleasure Here is the first In obedience Secondly Die in repentance I remember what Possidonius said of Saint Augustine a little before his death that it was necessary that men when they died they should not go out of the world absque digna competenti resipiscentiâ without a fit competent repentance He himselfe did so for he caused the penitential Plalmes to be written and they were before him as he lay upon his bed and he was continually reading those penitential Psalmes and meditating upon them with many tears he died even in the very act of contrition I do love to see a man chearful upon his death-bed but I do more love to see a man penitent There is a day indeed when God will wipe away all tears from our eyes When that cometh then he will wipe away these tears of repentance too these tears of godly sorrow But the Lord grant he may find me with tears in mine eyes Thirdly Die in faith Indeed if ever Faith had a work to doe it bath then a work to do when all other comforts in the world fail us and freinds go from us then faith to lay hold on the promises I know that my Redeemer liveth and that I shall rise again at the last day and be covered with my skin and shall see God with these same eyes Thus faith And then fourthly Die with Invocation calling upon the name of God Thus have all the Saints of God done continually commending of their souls to God in prayers Saint Paul would have us commend our souls to God in well-doing And it is a necesary thing every morning
feed this people with Wormwood and give them water of gall to drink and I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them Do not many cry out as they in Jer. 23.33 What is the burthen of the Lord Where is it that the Ministers have not been threatning judgement and telling you that God is coming out to be avenged upon a sinful nation have they not been crying thus this seven ten twenty years Where is that burthen of the Lord Well you shall find what it is when the day of the Lord cometh a day of blackness and terrour it hasteneth and this very security is an evident sign thereof even as in the dayes of Noah that Preacher of righteousness and in the dayes of Lot that vexed his soul with the unclean conversation of the Sodomites they would not beleeve their words but they seemed unto them as if they mocked and then came the judgment of the Lord upon them If this be not the estate of this Land at this day what means the complaints the heaviness of the spirits of the Prophets What means their tears and cries and prayers because of the obstinacy and hard-heartedness of people that will not be drawn from their sins by any means This is a second evidence or sign when all this crying and calling will not awaken that we are in a deep sleep of security Thirdly another evidence is the vain hopes of this Land It is a signe of carnal security and that we are all in a dead sleep when we have such idle dreams out of idle fancies and vain confidence that delude and deceive men What do men rest on to secure and perswade themselves of immunity from wrath and impunity Certainly this that we have the ordinances of God amongst us Oh the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord. Alas had not the people of Israel the Ark and yet the Philistims took the Ark and slew the sons of Eli. Had they not the Temple and yet the Lord in Jer. 7.11 Sendeth them to Shiloh Go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh where I set my name at the first and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel And now because you have done all these works saith the Lord and I spake unto you rising early and speaking but you heard not and I called unto you but you answered not Therefore will I do to this house which is called by my name wherein you trust as I have done to Shiloh Had not the Churches of Asia the golden Candlestick and yet are they not now tributary to the Turk The ordinances of God beloved are means to increase and hasten a judgment when we shut our eyes and will not open them but walk in darkness Oh but there was never so many Preachers nor so many means there seems to be a new spring of the Gospel there are abundance of men that come daily furnished for the Ministery and are zealous and forward and powerful Prophets and the like and therefore it is a sign that much good is intended towards us and that no judgment shall come But do we not read that immediatly before the seventy years captivity there were more Prophets then in many years before Why should we rest in such things as these But nevertheless we have many good people that are full of prayers and tears and they shall deliver the Island It is true there are many blessed be God and we have cause to wish that there were many more and to say as Moses said to Joshuah when he would have had him forbid Eldad and Medad that prophesied in the Camp of the Israelites Would God that all the Lords people were Prophets and that he would put his spirit upon them So we of such godly men that walk with an upright heart would God that there were many such But yet are not these as Lillies among Thorns a few amongst many men Are not these the objects of reproach and contempt amongst an unrighteous generation Who are the men that are cryed down most by the world that are most opposed and injured by all men Are not these they that support the land by their prayers and hold up all by their standing in the gap May we not rather fear that God will avenge the quarrel of his servants upon an ungracious and ungrateful people they live amongst What shall we speak of other things Did no Bozrah in Jer. 49.16 boast her self of her scituation that she dwelt in the clefts of a rock Saith God though thou hidest thy self in the clefts of the rock though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the Eagle I will bring thee down from thence It is not talking that our Island is scituate in the Sea and environed with walls Judgment can leap over the Sea as well as the pestilence hath done our walled Towns It is a vain thing and yet if you hearken to the discourse of most men you shall see that this is that that keeps them secure Or it may be as some in Isa 48.15 We say they have made a covenant with death and with hell are we at agreement when the overflowing scourge shall pass thorow it shall not come unto us Well saith the Lord your covenant with death shall be dissanulled and your agreement with hell shall not stand when the overflowing scourge shall pass thorow then you shall be trodden down by it When judg ment cometh of all the people in the world it shall certainly meet withyou What mean these idle dreams and vain-conceits that when we go on in an unreformed condition and in a course of sin and impenitency yet because you have the Ministers and the ordinances and the people of God amongst us because we are convenient for scituation and such like things These are vain things they will do us no good at that time and for the present they shew our security our horrible security Fourthly take another evidence and that is the abounding of the sins of the Land Were it possible that at such a time as this of shaking the Rod the Sword over us when judgments are upon the Nation that there should be such abundance of iniquity in all places if men were not in a dead sleep How doth drunkenness stagger and reel in every street How doth pride vaunt and boast it self in every Church and Assembly though it be cryed down never so much Alas beloved are these times to pride up our selves in vanity Are these times to run after the sensual and sinful courses of an ungodly generation These are times wherein God calleth for fasting and brokenness of heart Lay aside thy fine apparrel saith God to the people that I may know what to do unto thee We shouldlay aside these things that we may shew our selves to be men awake But men generally do so abound in wickedness and ungodliness that we may rather conclude
the men of darkness as Job calleth it the place of oblivion the pit of stinch and rottenness this is another thing that nature shrinketh and relucts at For there we must bury out of our sight that that once was the delight of our eyes as Ezekiel said by his wife And though it were never so lovely before yet it quickly becometh loathsome Our Beds must be made in darkness where corruption and wormes must be the Mattress and Coverled to lie under us and spread over us Thou shalt say to Corruption thou art my father and to the worme thou art my mother and my sister That body of thine that God in the wombe so wonderfully made that thou all thy life-time paradventure hast delicately cherished lapped in Silk in Fur pampered with sweet wines Death as a proud Tyrant will set his foot upon it and throw thee down to the horrid dungeon where thy flesh shall putrifie and thy bones rot and the beauty of it though somtime it were as the Rose and the Lilly of the field shall soon become as loathsome as the dung in the streets This is another thing that makes the face of Death dreadful and terrible when we think of such privations and annihilations as these that we shall come from a beeing to no beeing These cannot but make Death look with the face of an Enemy Fourthly The loss and deprivation of all worldly contentments and worldly imployments that is another thing that makes Death terrible and fearful to us Look whatsoever contentment we took in any thing here we must bid it farewel then Farewel to all to prophets and pleasures and honours we shall carry none of them away with us None of our pomp and glory shall descend after us as the Psalmist saith Farewell to all the gold and silver we have gathered together to all the goodly lands we have purchased to all the stately houses we have built to all the pleasant gardens and orchards we have planted to all the sports and pastimes we have had to all our merry consorts we have kept company with to all our Jewels and wardrope to our dauncing and feasting and musick Death pulleth us from all these and layeth us levell with the Dust It mingleth shovels and Scepters together It makes rich and poor the Prince and the Peasant alike I shall see man no more All relatians we have now shall be broken off then between Husband and Wife Parents and children Master and servants neighbour and neighbour friend and friend we shall dwell apart with our selves and not so much as shake hands one with another All the services and imployments we are took up with here shall cease then there shall be no frequenting of the Exchange no exercising of Trade no bearing of Office no working in our Calling Death is the night that no man can work in and Death is the place of silence where all affairs are cut off Where there is no work nor invension nor wisdome nor counsel as Solomou saith in the book of the Preacher Oh saith good Hezekiah I shall see the Lord no more in the Land of the living There is no more service to be done to the Lord nor no more in the Church in that manner as it is now there is no exercise of Religion no Word no Sacraments no Fasting no Almes no Preaching no Prayer no Confession and thanksgiving The Corse cannot praise thee the Grave cannot give thanks they that go down into the pit cannot honour thee Oh Beloved how careful and active and vigilant and diligent should this make us to be when we consider it for the well improving of that time that we have lent unto us and for the well-discharging of those places and offices and duties that are now laid upon us Considering that Death is an enemy that will cut us off from all affairs and bereave us of all opportunities of receiving or doing or performing any service to God at all either in Church or Common-wealth Fifthly and lastly Conscience of sin and certainty of judgment and uncertainty of salvation for brevities sake I put them together these things come along with Death and make the face of Death terrible and fearful Conscience of sin first of all For Sin it is the sting of Death And which of us is there that doth not arm Death with that sting Who can reflect on the passages of his life but he shall find it as full of sin as the Leopard of spots We find nothing in sin now but oblectation and delight and therefore we hide it under our tongue and hugg it in our bosomes Oh but when Death cometh once it thrusteth these things out and oh the horrour and anguish that the poor conscience is tormented and made to smart with Again with conscience of sin certainty of judgement that is another dreadful Arrow in Deaths quiver After Death cometh judgement And we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ to receive according to what we have done in our bodies First the particular judgement that passeth upon the soul it shall never be reverst for as the Tree falleth so it lieth And then the General judgement when the Body and Soul shall both be wrapped up in the same condemnation Oh who can dwell with devouring fire with those everlasting burnings And then lastly The uncertainty of our future estate For how many thousands be there that die that can not tell what becometh of them when they die but they must sing that Farewel to their souls as Adrian to his My poor wandring soul whether art thou going What will become of thee Death then being accompanied with such an Army of Terrours as these the Apostle might well call it as it is in the Text an Enemy That is the first thing Secondly we are to consider how it is called the last Enemy For two reasons First because it is the last that shall assault us So Caietan Secondly because it is the Last that shall be destroyed So the common stream of Interpreters It is the Last Enemy that shall assault us And here I have to note two things First that while we live in the world we have more Enemies in the world For when there are some last there must be others going before If Death be the last Enemy there are some others beside I we have so God knoweth Enemies on every side Without us within us The Divel he is an Enemy to us and vollies of tentation he hath to discharge against us So many tentations so many Enemies The World is an enemy to us An enemy when it seemeth a friend When it smileth it betrayeth it kisseth and killeth On the right hand it hath prosperity to allure on the left hand adversity to affright in every corner wicked counfell and company and examples to seduce and insnare us Lastly our own flesh is an enemy It is a Serpent
is called His because by it he bringeth life and immortality to light as I said before which in former times was hid as it were in the dark and not made known so publikely to the sons of men The Gentiles knew little or nothing of it The Jewes knew what they knew with much darkness and obscurity He that was almost the first Preacher of this Gospel in clear terms without any vail or darkness John Baptist who was as it were between both he did delives this doctrine not so darkly as the Prophets before him nor so clearly as after it was by our blessed Saviour and those that succeeded him Therefore I say it is the Saying of Christ by an excellency because he did in a manner first begin to teach and declare the same in the cleareness and sweetness thereof and he sent his Apostles abroad to make it plain and manifest to all the world that a man may run and read it And His likewise it is called because he is the Author of it for he is the worker of that salvation which it declareth to us Now his Doctrine of the Gospel hath two parts The first acquainting us with our misery The second with the Remedy For as the Bond and Acquittance specific the debt but to different purposes the one to 〈◊〉 the Debtor to the payment the other to absolve and acquit him even so the Law and the Gospel both declare the misery of man the one to tye it fast upon him the other to help him the better to lease it from him The Physitian intreateth of the sickness as well as the Cure but of the sickness alone for the cures sake The Judge passeth a sentence of condemnation and then largly rehearseth the crime and punishment due to the offender the Pardon likewise makes mention of the fault and the punishment but in a different manner and to a different end So the Gospel declareth mans misery and borroweth so much of the Law that may lay down our wretched estate in our selves and so draw in that which is the main and principal part of it the remedy of our souls And this part of the Gospel the Apostle St. Paul succinctly delivereth in a few words Rom. 3.23 All have sinned and are come short of the glory of God All have sinned and All have sinned in such a short and measure and degree that they are fallen short of the glory of God by which the Apostle I think meaneth life Eternal that Glory that had it not been for sin he would have bestowed upon the sons of men by vertue of the first Covenant he made with them The second part of the Gospel the words of Christ is concerning the Remedy whereby a man may be helped against this misery And for that purpose it sheweth us Who helpeth us And how he helps us And what is to be done by our selves that we may obtaine and enjoy this help The Person that helpeth us is the Son Manifest in the flesh the Son of God taking our nature upon him and cloathing himself in the similitude of sinful flesh the Eternal Son of the Father assuming I say the very nature of man into the unity of his Person so becoming God and Man in the same Person he is the sole Redeemer neither is there any other name under heaven by which we can be saved but by his alone Again it sheweth us by what means he saveth us as the Apostle speaks plain enough in the next verse to that I spake of before being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ To the intent that he might free us from the Curse of the Law and wrath of God and the danger of eternal Death he vouchsafed to be made sin for us to satisfie the justice of his Father by enduring the Curse of the Law and to accomplish the Righteousness of the Law by being made in our stead under the Law so he became a Propitiation for the sins of the sons of men as the Apostle saith in that place Thus Christ by his perfect satisfaction made to his Father and by that perfect Righteousness whereby he was subject to the Law for our sakes hath absolutely and fully delivered us from the power of sin and of Death and performed the work of our Redemption by vertue whereof by the merit and worth and value whereof we are delivered and saved and Redeemed from this Death and from all other evils that crosse our eternal happiness And thirdly the Gospel sheweth us by what means we may become partakers of this happiness and Redemption in Christ and telleth us of three things as it were Conditions of the Covenant of Grace of the New Covenant which is ratified by the bloud of Christ I say of three things the Conditions on our parts of that Covenant which if we do we shall certainly be saved by the Redemption in Christ. The first is Repentance The second is Beleeving The third is our New obedience All and each of these plainly exprest in the word of God As for Repentance it is that where with John the Baptist began his Preaching It is that that our Saviour commanded his Apostles to declare to the Jewes Repent for the kingdome of heaven is at hand It is that which himself preached at the first as Saint Mark witnesseth chap. 1.15 It is that which Saint Paul began with when he came to the Athenians Acts. 17. and now he admnisheth all men every where to repent It was the first of the foundations of the Doctrine of the beginning of Christ that was wont to be taught in the Ancient Church as withesseth the Authour to the Hebrewes chap. 6. not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and then he proceedeth to the rest This Repentance is that which the Lord requireth absolutely of the sons of men as a condition of the new Covenant the Covenant of Grace without which they cannot possibly be made partakers of the same And this Repentance hath four parts every one of which is so needful that without it the rest is little worth First lamenting for our sins and being sorry for our iniquities as David said of himself Psal 38. I will declare my iniquity and be sorry for my sins And so the Apostle Saint James expresseth it chap. 4.9 Afflict your selves mourn and weep let your laughter be turned into sorrow and your joy into tears Therefore Christ you know was sent to Preach glad tydings to the Prisoners and Captives and the opening of the prison to the prisoners and to bring the oyle of gladness to those that mourned in Sion A man must first be a Mourner in Sion one that simiteth on his thigh and saith with Jeremy Woe to me because I have sinned Secondly to this Sorrow must be joyned acknowledgement and confession of sin to Almighty God
Christ was placed in the summity and height of their souls and the desire of the full fruition of him caused that fainting that earnest longing in their spirits You will say if this be so what will become of the greatest part of Christians who are afraid to die who are so far from groaning to depose this Tabernacle that they groan at the least intimation of dissolution It is true that all men receive not this saying neither is it for every one to attain to this perfection As there are two forts of faith so there are two forts of Christians there is a strong faith and a weak faith and there are strong Christians and there are weak Christians the strong Christian is willing to die and patient to live the weak Christian is willing to live and patient to die he goes when God calls but he could wish that God would defer his calling he hath good hopes of heaven but he desires a little more to enjoy the earth he loves God more then all yet his affections are not fully taken off from all he is not perplexed with the fears of Hell yet he is not ravished with the joyes of Heaven he hath much strength but knows it not as many a Spectator of a prize is better able to performe it then he that undertakes it but either through faintness of heart or ignorance of his own strength dare not put it to the hazard but had rather commend another mans valour then trie his own whereas a strong Christian a man grown in Christ sends a challenge to this Gyant Death singles him out as a fit object of his valour grapples with him not as with his match but as his underling insulteth over him setteth his foot on the neck of this King of terrours and by conquering him captivates with great facility all other petty fears of ignominy poverty and the like which therefore are dreadful because they tend to Death the last the worst the end the sum of all feared evills this is the unconquerable crown of Faith this is the glory of a Christian this is the Diadem of honour wreathed about his Temples advancing him above all other men whatsover But you will say may a man desire death Is this now a question what means the agony of the Apostle I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ What means the earnest longing of the Spouse Apoca. 22. The Spirit faith come and the Bride faith come and let him that hears say come What means her fainting in the Canticles I am sick of love let him bring me into his chamber Let me see his face I am sick unto death Let me dy lest I dy that I may see him for ever What means the Character of a true Christian As many as love the appearance of the Lord which cannot be without death What means the incredible contempt of death in ancient Christians insomuch that it was a received Maxime with the Heathen Omnis Christianus est contemptor mortis What means the heroical incouragement of old Hilarion Egredere anima egredere quid times Go out my soul go out why tremblest thou What means the words of old Simion in the flames Thus to dy is to live What means the rapture of Saint Chrysostome that he would thank that man that would kill him as transmitting him more speedily to those unconceivable Joyes What means this groaning and thirsting in my Text Do not these demonstrate that it is lawful to desire death Not simply in it self or for it self it is the separation of those two whom God hath coupled it is a cessation of being it is an evil of punishment the daughter of sin to desire it simply were to desire evil which is abhorrent to nature much less ought we to hasten our death by violent means Let their memories be buried in perpetural silence as the botches and ulcers of Christianity who out of impatience have perpetrated this heinous sin a sin against God and man against nature against grace against the Church against the common-wealth against all things The Heathen man could say that we are the possession of God to be disposed of by him not by our selves the body is the structure of God the work of his hands the Tabernacle which he hath made and not to be removed or to be taken down but by his command while we live we may advance the glory of God the good of others we may impeople heaven make up the ruines of Angels to hasten our death were to envy this glory to God this good to others In that distraction of our Apostle between two good things his own glory and the good of others you know which way the scales inclined to the good of others as if he had said let my glory be deferred so Gods glory be increased let my joy be increased let my joy be sulpended so the joy of Angels and of the Court of heaven be intended by the conversion of sinners Nay more this is a small thing Let me be an Athema so Israel be blessed let me be blotted out of the book of life so thousands be inserted let the bowels of Christ be streightned to me so they be enlarged to others this is life indeed this is the end of our life this will comfort us in this life and crown us in the life to come He that can truly say that while he lived he lived to God not to himself that he sincerely propounded the glory of God and the good of others unto himself this man may write upon his Tombe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have lived take this out of the life of man and what is it but a meer death if not worse though it be protracted to the years of Methusalem twice told Thus simply to desire death is not good but cloath this with some circumstances and then to desire death is not only warrantable but commendable when we have done all the good we can when our lives will be no more serviceable to Church or Common-wealth when we have with all fidelity done our Masters work when we have the testimony of a good conscience that we have fought a good fight that we have kept the faith that we have finished our race then may we say with old Simeon Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace then may we with our Apostle lift up our eyes to the crown of righteousness which the righteous Judge hath laid up for them that fear him then we may expect the Euge of the good servant Well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy of thy Master Again when we are called to be Holocausts or sacrifices oblations of sweet savours the Frankincense of the Church to perfume others to deliver up our lives unto God to seal his Truth with our bloud to encourage others then we ought to run unto death with all alacrity rejoycing that we are counted worthy to suffer for his Name to triumph to boast
the spirit Earnestness that is one A second thing is Patience If quoth the Apostle we hope for that we see â—…ot then do we with patience wait for it There is patientia spei The Thessalonians are commended for it in 1 Thes 1.3 The patience of hope And as the Apostle saith Heb. 10.36 Opus est vobis patientia you have need of patience in this looking for considering First of all that the time is not known to us when this Lord will appear It is not for you to know the times and the seasons that the Father hath kept in his own power And considering secondly that that time either longer or shorter may seem to be long omnes celeritas in desiderio All hast that can be made is but delay to a man that languisheth in desire hence comes those often usque quo how long Lord how long Thirdly considering as the very heathen man could call them those wondrous workings of God It is many times seen that Gods working seems to go against his word And then fourthly considering how busie the Divel is to discredit the truth of Gods promise and to weaken our faith I say again with the Apostle you have need of patience There is the second thing There is a third thing necessary that is Joy to think of this same day Saith the Apostle there is a crown of righteousness laid up for me and not for me only but for all them that love that appearing and where love is there will be joy joy is a sweet motion of Gods spirit spiritual joy I speak of that either upon the fruition of some good thing present or the expectation of future there is rejoycing under the hope of the glory of God Rom. 5.2 And faith the Apostle Peter whom you have not seen and yet love whom though you see not you beleeve and beleeving you rejoyce with a joy unspeakable and glorious It is such a joy as the world cannot give us and such a joy as the world cannot take from us Lastly this looking hath also with it a care and diligence to prepare our selves against that coming Mark the Apostle 2 Pet. 3.14 faith the Apostle Seeing we look for these things let us use all diligence that we may be found of him in peace You know how the wise Virgins because they looked for the Bridegroom they had trimmed their lamps and made all things ready to meet him So then where this excellent looking for this blessed hope is there will be all these An earnestness first And then a Patience And then a Joy And then a diligence to meet him to make our selves ready for him Dost thou not look earnestly And dost thou not look with patience And dost thou not joy to think of this coming Then thou dost not look as thou shouldest do But the next word is Looking for what The blessed Hope Hope is put for the thing hoped for the blessed hope is the hoped for blessedness and this consists in two things A freedome from all ill both of soul and body And a fruition of all good both in soul and body in the whole man First this blessed hope consists in this in a freedom from all ill First that there shall be no more blindness in our understandings no more rebellion in our wills no more terrour in our consciences no more weakness in our memory no more sin no more power to sin here is a non posse pecari No more temptations of Satan no more allurements of the world no more frailties of the flesh no more hunger no more thirst no more weariness no more sickness no more megrome in the head no more palsie in the hand no more gout in the feet no more diseases and no more death For if we shall be freed from corruption how much more shall we be freed from vexation and infirmity and deformity Here is freedome from ill Well here is not all it is not enough to be freed from ill but here is the second part of this blessed hope to enjoy all good First this is our blessed hope that the Image of God shall be wondrously perfected in our fouls and all the faculties of it This is our hope that God shall be to our understandings fulness of light that he shall be to our wills abundane of peace to our memories a continuation of eternity In a word God shall be All in all This is our blessed hope that this vile body of ours as vile as it is as the Apostle calls it a body of vileness it shall be raised up again and made like the glorious body of Christ by that mighty working that this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this very mortal shall pus on immortality I and this is the blessed hope that both in soul and body being blessed we shall be gathered together to the Congregation of the first born Where we are sure never to find any enemy and we are sure never to lose a friend Where we shall have the society and company of Gods Saints and of the blessed Angels And in the beatifical vision and fruition and communion of God we shall have such joy as neither eye hath seen nor ear hath heard nor tongue can express such joy as cannot be conceived and shall never be ended Oh blessed be that God that is the author of this hope and blessed is the man that is partakers of this hope But when will this be for quoth the Apostle If our hope were only in this life of all men living we were most miserable Why but when must we look for it then At the appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ At the glorious appearing The word is at the Epiphany at the appearance of glory at the glorious appearing There is a twofold Epiphany of Christ an Epiphany of grace that was his appearing in our flesh to work the work of our redemption And then there is an Epiphany of glory here spoken of There was no glory in the first Epiphany and appearing of Christ It was no glory for the Creator to become a creature for the Lord to become a servant for the Word to become an Infant He was our joy and yet he sorrowed he was our strength and yet he was weakned he was our confidence and yet he seared he was our Saviour and yet he suffered he was our life and yet he died There was no glory in that He came to be minor Patre less then his Father but that is not all yet he might have become a glorious creature as the Angels are glorious creatures No it was less then thus he was a little lower then the Angels in that he was made man But in that he suffered he was a great deal less then a man he was a little less then an Angel in that he was made man but in that he suffered he was a great
the Lord hath taken into his own teaching that they cannot abide the place of the Sun-shine the place where the Sun of the light of grace shines they remove themselves from it they absent themselves upon any occasion as if a man should set himself to run from the light of the Sun So likewise do we not see that men cannot abide the society of godly men of religious men fearing God that deal truly with them in exhortations and admonitions and loving rebukes c. They will none of this So do we not see how ready and willing natural men are to chase away if it were possible all the Lords Cocks and all his servants that they might not cry against their sins that they might not awaken them nor come neer them They are set so fast asleep that they cannot abide any servant of God And for the ministery of the Law which Jeremie calls as a Hammer to break the hard heart and to knock and rap the sleepy soul it is an intollerable thing they cannot endure this hammer they cannot abide these doggs that bark against their sins whereas dumb doggs that can neither bark nor bite those they can like well enough Somewhat they would have they are content with a formal fashion but these men that speak against their sins that discover their estate in sin these they cannot endure Now tell me if these men live not in a carnal sleep and are found in the Cell and Cave of darkness wherein they desire to sleep for ever To come from these in the second place let us consider that not only these natural men and worldlings are cast into a dead sleep but would not a man marvel that even Christians should sometimes be cast a sleep Would not a man wonder that the Disciples of Christ that were so neer to the side of their Master that were following their Masters exhortation in the former Precept that he taught them that were so neer temptation that the yoak was even upon their neks would not one think it a wonder that they should not watch one hour with Christ Therefore Brethren let us take notice of our security much more that are infinitly behind the Disciples in grace let us rate our selves for the heaviness and dulness of our hearts But because we are Baptized and hear Sermons c. we can make no man beleeve that he is asleep Therefore let us try and consider whether those that hear the Word and are Professors of the life of grace those that are already awakened be not in such a fearful slumber as may well be called asleep First of all therefore this is one mark of a man that is asleep he hears not he understands not the things that are spoken to him so it is a mark of a sleepy heart and conscience when a man hears not nor understands the word that he doth hear when he hears not that which is spoken It is one Judgement upon wicked men the Book of God is clasped to them such a man reads and hears and discerns not If the Book be open his heart is clasped fast he takes no good by it And this is not the least part of the misery upon the Saints that this book is not so open to them nor they do not so understand it nor discern that which is in it as they might We hear the word many of us many times and we seem to receive it but yet who is he that may not find in himself that the sleep and security of his mind and soul makes him not much to attend and regard it that he is not careful and industrious in the keeping and maintaining of that he hears and the framing himself according to it And so it comes to pass that it is with Gods word that we hear as it is with Physick when it is given to a man that is dead it works not or when he sleeps immediately upon it so when we hear the word of God and fall into a sleep upon it into the sleep and sluggishness of earthly cares the Word is unprofitable if works not that effect that else it would Again a man that sleeps you shall know it by this he doth not mind his ordinary business he neither troubles his head nor his hands with it his business sleeps with himself he doth nothing but sleep while he is asleep he can do nothing else So hereby we may know our selves to be in a marvellons sleep of sin when we give not our serious thoughts to God and to the practice of piety and godliness it is an argument of sleep and slumber in us The mind of man should intend the principal thing for which God hath put us in the world when we give not our thoughts to God and mind not the things of Gods Kingdom it is a sign we are asleep When we move not nor stir not our hands and our feet in the wayes of Gods Commandements as we should it proceeds from this sleepiness and drowsiness Whereas would we be wise for our selves and awake as we should We should neither be idle nor unfruitful in the work of the Lord. We should ever be doing somewhat that might glorifie God and further our own reckoning But this is a signe of a sleepy person in the main and principal things his heart is not upon them his hands and feet move not in the wayes of God he works not to the principal end for which he came into the world Thirdly you shall know a sleepy man by this he knows not of the passing of the time but so much time as he sleeps he wastes it is as the time of death to him for what is sleep but the shadow of death Even so it is with many of us that profess the teaching of Grace Alas how do we waste time insensibly and pass away the time some deck away the time some play away the time dayes and weeks and months together as if time were not made for some other business as if we had received time for such imployments as these for our recreations and sports and pleasures and not rather that we might further our Repentance and our Reckoning and help the servants of God and get Oyl in our Lamps and Faith in our Souls and patience against the time of trouble and get assurance of a blessed inheritance when we shall be turned out hence Time is given us for these ends and yet we silly men as we are devise pastimes to our selves as if our life did not pass away whereas Job saith it is as a Weavers shuttle Let us consider Brethren time will pass that we may improve it and not waste our time Fourthly and lastly to conclude this Point a man that is addicted immoderately to sleep you shall know it by this it destroyes natural heat and that being destroyed by immoderate sleep as by a sudden mighty shower this man grows pursie and fat and lazy he
are without we leave them they are condemned in the sight of all the world but we speak of those that are now in the Church of those that go somewhat forward in the profession of Religion and hope and are perswaded that they are in a good case and yet have little care to set things right between God and themselves but though such and such actions be condemned by the Law yet they hope that there is a general mercy that will pardon it though they never sue out their pardon I say the Law shall pass on thee till thou do that that concerns thee to be released from the rigour and sentence of the Law he that confesseth and forsakes his sins shall find mercy Prov. 28.13 This must be done and so in other particulars the Scripture is large in these things and somewhat must be done by us to sue out this pardon that though there be an act of pardon in God a free act yet there must somewhat be done by us to sue out this pardon for our selves or else we stand in the state of condemned persons But these things I leave to your meditations and so I fall upon the next point which I will briefly touch and that is no more but thus that since there shall be a proceeding in the day of judgement by the Law wherein mens actions and words shall be brought to account therefore The consideration of the day of judgement should be an effectual insentive and provocation to stir men to a holy and conscionable walking in this life So speak and so do as those that shall be judged by such a Law Since the Apostle makes this use of it to direct us both in our speeches and actions I say we may learn hence that the consideration of the judgement to come wherein Christ will proceed according to the Law it should be an effectual means to make us careful of holiness and new obedience so to speak and so to do as those whose words and actions must be brought to judgement Now that this is so and is intended so and hath prevailed with the servants of God I might prove many wayes I will rank and order the proof under these heads First I will shew you how this hath been a means to draw some to the wayes and duties of obedience Secondly how it hath been the way to direct and guide others in those actions Thirdly how it hath confirmed and strengthned them in those actions and by this we shall see what it should be to us Frst we shall see how it hath been a way to draw men to the actions of obedience How are men drawn to be obedient First they are drawn from their own sins from their own evil wayes Now the consideration of the judgment to come it hath prevailed and been used for this purpose to draw men from their sins As we see in Eccles 11. saith Solomon to the young man Rejoyce now in thy youth it is Ironnically spoken but now saith he that for these things thou shalt come to judgment That is let this cool thy courage and moderate thy excessive joy know that thou shalt come to judgment Act. 17.30 Now saith he God calls upon all men every where to repent because he hath appointed a time in which he will judge the world He calls men to repentance by this argument because he will judge the world and hath appointed a time for it You know repentance it is nothing else but to forsake our former evils Now he calls them to repentance because he will judge the world and so calls as he draws men from sin First he draws men from the world to God by this You know that even worldly affections hinder men from coming to the obedience of Christ therefore saith the Apostle I account all as dung c. Philip. 3.7 Why because he looked for a Resurrection his thoughts were upon that and saith he vers 20. our conversation is in heaven from whence we look for the Lord Jesus Christ Therefore we are drawn to this holy course of obedience because we look for Christ from heaven And then again in the disposing of men to new obedience there is not only a forsaking of sin and the world but besides that there is an inward qualifying of the heart Now the heart is qualifyed that is it is fitted by certaine qualities to the service of God by the help of this consideration as we see Eccles 12.10 You see the sum of all fear God and keep his Commandements for God will bring every work to judgment Upon this ground he minds them to fear God which is that quality that disposeth a man to keep his Commandements he perswades them upon this ground because God will bring every work to judgement Let us have grace in our hearts to serve the Lord with reverenee and fear Heb. 12. I say this qualifies and disposeth us to the service of God and we are fitted to seek and to serve God with due reverence and fear by the consideration of the judgment to come that he is a God that will judge the world So in Revel 14. he would have the Nations to fear God because he will come to judge the world So much for the first thing you see the consideration of the judgment to come prepares men to holiness Secondly besides that it quickens them to all the actions of obedience when they are in it when now a man is in a good course and his heart is prepared to seek God aright yet nevertheless there are many temptations and many corruptions that sometimes indispose and unfit his heart again Now then the consideration of the judgment to come it serves to revive and quicken the heart to these actions too Those of a mans particular Calling Those of his general Calling For his particular calling the Apostle exhorts Timothy and charged him before God and Christ that shall judge the quick and the dead to be faithful in his ministery He would have him faithful in his ministery upon this ground because Christ will come with his elect Angels to judge the quick and the dead And so for our general Calling Act. 24. I desire to keep a good conscience before God and men upon this ground because I beleeve the Resurrection and so a judgement to come So in 2 Pet. 3.11 Seeing all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness Why all these things shall be dissolved therefore we had need to be other manner of persons then we are to be better kind of persons then we have been Thus I say the servants of God quicken themselves to more holiness upon consideration of the judgment to come Thirdly they have been confirmed and strengthened upon this ground for when the heart of man is brought to this plight that he must be ever chearful and
lively and active in the service of God yet there are many discouragements and temptations to draw him out of the way again that it may be he may fall if he have not somewhat to support him and hold him up therefore the consideration of the judgment to come it hath kept the hearts of Gods servants in a good frame when they have been in it Saith the Apostle be constant and immovable alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord 1 Cor. 15. As if he had said You know this that there will a time come when it will appear that you serve not God in vain therefore for the present be constant in the good you are in Hold fast that thou hast till I come saith Christ to the Church of Philadelphia and let no man take thy crown Rev. 3.21 Christ will come and it is but holding fast a-while and then the Church shall have a crown and the servants of God shall have a crown of glory an abundant recompence of all that they have done in the service of God therefore hold fast Hereupon Jam. 5. the Apostle exhorts co patience because they should meet with many persecutions and oppositions be patient for the coming of the Lord draws neer Bear the injuries that you suffer for the present and the indignities and the unkind usage of men for the coming of the Lord draws neer when you shall have a plentiful harvest so he goes on illustrating this by a comparison taken from a Husbandman that waits for a harvest and then he shall have a plentiful crop and increase for all his pains in Winter and in seed time so saith he the Lord will come and then you shall have a plentiful increase A word or two for the Use of this Since this is the Use that the servants of God have made and that we should make of the Judgment to come therefore to be more careful in the duties of obedience and holiness so to speak and so to doe as those that shall be judged It first shewes the cause of the discouragements of Gods servants and the prophaneness of the world is because they perfectly beleeve not the judgment to come The hearts of Gods servants would not droup so they would not be so faint so dejected and discouraged if they beleeved that there were such a judgment to come wherein Christ will abundantly recompence all their sorrows and labours wherein he will bring his reward with him plentifully Again the wicked world would not be so prophane as they are drunkards and swearers and Sabbath-breakers and all sorts of wicked persons they would not give themselves so to sin as they do if in truth they did perfectly beleeve there were a judgment to come when all their words and actions their company their time and every thing shall be brought to account I say the cause of all prohaneness is this here it begins men beleeve not the judgment to come The Apostles were troubled with these kind of scoffers Where is the promise of his coming So they hardened themselves upon the observation of the continuance of the seasons upon the face of the earth in like manner from the beginning Well saith the Apostle God is not slack as men count slackness but is patient and forbearing that men may repent but at the last he will come and come with flaming sire So this is certain whatsoever you think and put the evil day far off from you yet there is a judgment coming wherein all your actions and affections and speeches and your whole conversation shall be scanned and brought to the rules of this law that you have despised Therefore let men take heed and know it is a device of Satan to harden their hearts either to think that the law is a dead letter I mean in respect of the directing use of it that it is of no use to direct them it is a device of Satan to put them off for they shall find that that law will judge them that now should direct them And then again for men to think that there shall be no Judgment or not such proceedings according to the law this is a trick of the Divel to keep men in prophaneness and hardness of heart Therefore secondly if we would grow up in holiness in the fear of God Let us prefect and strengthen our faith in assenting to this truth that there is such a judgment to come wherein our words and actions and all shall be brought to account Therefore so speak and so do as those that shall be judged Thou art now in company and thou speakest amongst men but thy words are with God they are written in thy conscience as it is in Jeremy upon the Table of thy heart there they are written the words that thou hast for gotten seven years agoe it may be twenty years agoe and never tookest a course to get them blotted out by repentance there they are written and these words shall be brought to judgment and so many actions as thou hast neglected therefore look to it First bewail those words and actions past as things that else will come to judgement if thou judge not thy self before-hand And then again for the time to come set on a resolution to walk daily as one that may die every day and then shall be brought to judgment Therefore judge thy self daily renew thy Covenant settle thy peace on a right ground daily and perfect holiness in the fear of God daily as one that expectest a Judgment Saint Jude condemns those that feasted without fear They were at their Tables companying and feasting as men without fear S. Jerome speaks of himself that whatsoever he was doing he had a fearful apprehension of the day of Judgment Alwayes saith he whether I eate or drink or whatsoever I do I here the Trumpet and the voyce of the Arch-Angel saying Arise ye dead and come to judgment Well I say do thou so let this be thy serious thought and do it not slightly but think that this may be thy last word and thou must be brought to judgment for it this may be thy last opportunity and thy last action and thou must be brought to judgment for that Do things in this manner as those that so speak and so do that they must be judged Wouldest thou be content to have thy oaths brought before Christ in judgment if not take heed of swearing for it is judged already by the law therefore judg and condemn thy sins in thy self and forsake them that thou maist find mercy Wouldest thou be found guilty of Sabbath-breaking at the day of Judgment if not repent of thy former guilt and be more conscionable of sanctifying the Sabbath after And so I may say of every sin Wouldest thou be found an Usurer a Deceiver unrighteous in any course a scoffer a prophane person Wouldest thou appear
man that gives a thing upon merit he gives it not freely I answer it is free in respect of us whatsoever Christ hath done we did not merit it If it be replyed Christs merits are made ours and we merit in him and so it cannot be free I answer this reason were of force if we our selves could procure the merits of Christ for us but that we could not do but that also was of free gift Ioh. 3. God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that he that beleeves in him should not perish he gave him freely of free gift so that though eternal life be due to us by the merits of Christ yet it is the free gift of God I will stand no longer in proving the truth of the Doctrine I come to the application and use to conclude with the time First it serves to confute our adversaries of the Church of Rome in the point of merit They look for heaven and eternal life as wages we see the Apostle teacheth us otherwise that eternal life is not given in that manner but another manner of way It is not given as wages it is the free gift of God And in Rom. 8. he saith that the sufferings of this life is not worthy of the glory that shall be revealed all our sufferings all our works they are not worthy of the glory of God we connot properly merit them This was the constant Doctrine of the primitive Church that a good life when we are justified and an eternal life when we are glorified they all grant that all that is good in us is the gift of God that eternal life is not a retribution to our works but the free gift of God When God crowns our merits he crowns nothing else but his own free gift these and many other sentences we find among the ancient Fathers plainly convincing our adversaries that in this point they swerve not only from Scripture but from all sound antiquity Secondly then to come to our selves this should humble us in respect of our own deservings do all the good thou canst take heed it do not puff thee up think not to merit heaven alas thou canst not do it for what is it to the Almighty as it is said in Job that thou art righteous Thy well doing extends not to him thou canst do him no good therefore thou canst look for nothing at his hands since thou canst do him no good but all that thou dost in his service it is not for his but for thy good yet he commands thee and thou art bound to do it but all thou canst do is no more then thou art bound to do Therefore when thou hast done all that thou canst acknowledge thy self to bean unprofitable servant and thou hast done no more then thy duty If thou hast many good works yet thou hast more sin and the least sin of thine in the rigour of justice will deprive thee of thy interest in God Therefore thy appeal must be to the throne of grace and thy only plea must be that of the Publican every one of us God be merciful to me a sinner when we have done all we can it must be mercy and not any merit of ours that must bring us to heaven Thirdly here is comfort for the children of God in that this inestimable treasure of eternal life is not committed to our keeping but God hath it in his keeping It is his gist it is not committed to the rotten box of our merits then we could have no certainty of it the devil would easily pick the Lock yea without picking he would shake in pieces the crazy joynts of the best work we do he would steal it from us and take it away and deprive us of this excellent benefit but the Lord hath dealt better for us he hath kept it in his own hands he hath laid it up in the Cabinet of his own mercy and love that never fails for with everlasting mercy he hath compassion on us Isa 54. he loves us with an everlasting love It is his mercy that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not and whom he loves he loves to the end It is laid up in the mercy of God he will have it his gift lest we should keep it and it should be lost he hath reserved it in his own hands Therefore in temptations when they drive us to doubt of our attaining of eternal life let us cast our eye upon the keeper of it it is the Lord he is wary to discern and faithful to bestow it therefore let us comfort our selves and say every one of us as Saint Paul 2 Tim. 1.12 I know whom I have trusted and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day Lastly seeing eternal life is the free gift of God it must make us thankful to him for it which we should never do if we deserved it doth a master thank his servant for doing his duty So if we did think heaven were our due we should never be thankful for it Pride is a great enemy to thankfulness therefore the way is to humble our selves and to consider that we deserve no good thing at Gods hands then we will take this great benefit at Gods hands most thankfully Especially when we consider it is all that God requires of us as he saith Psal 50. Call upon me in the day of trouble I will hear thee and deliver thee and what shalt thou do Thou shalt glorifie me Glorifying God and being thankful to him is all the tribute we are to pay to this our royal Lord and shall we deny him this It is a small benefit that is not worth thanks We set eternal life at too low a rate if we forget to be thankful There was never a precious Jewel afforded so cheap as eternal life for our thankfulness If we did know what it were to want it we would give ten thousand worlds rather then be without it Therefore as Naamans servants said to him concerning his washing in Jordan if the Prophet had commanded thee a greater thing wouldest thou not have done it So if God had commanded us a great matter for eternal life we should have done it how much more when he saith take it and be thankful be but thankful Thus I have described to you this twofold service the wages of sin that is death temporal eternal The service of righteousness the wages and reward of that eternal life which is not wages but the gift of God So that I may now say to you as Moses did to Israel Deut. 30.19 Behold I have set before you life and death cursing and blessing Therefore choose not cursing chuse not sin nor the wages thereof it is death but choose life that you and your seed may live If we follow sin the wages will be death if we apply our selves to righteousness in the
all the Angels and Saints in Heaven the spirits of just men made perfect to Abrahams bosome to be with Christ Et quanta 〈◊〉 felicitas What greater happiness It was much that Moses obtained to see the back-parts of God but how much greater favour is it to see him face to face to have eternal fellowship with God the father with Christ the Redeemer with the Holy Ghost the sanctifier The knowledg of this benefit of Death makes the face of it comfortable to Gods servants and causes them to strive with their own natural weakness that so they may even long for their day of dissolution But now against this point divers Objections may be alledged For first the Apostle Paul sayes that Death is the wages of sin And else-where he stiles it Christs enemy the last enemy that he shall subdue is Death How should not death then be rather a day of misery to be trembled at then a day of happiness to be longed for To this I answer that we are to distinguish touching Death for it must be considered two wayes First as it is in its owe nature Secondly as it is altred by Christ in the first sence it is true that Death is the wages of sin and the very suburbs and the gates of hell But in the second taking of Death it ceases to be a plague and becomes a blessing inasmuch as it is even a door opening out of this world into Heaven Now the godly look not upon Death simply but upon Death whose sting and venome is plucked out by Jesus Christ and so it is exceeding comfortable But then secondly it is objected that we read of many that have prayed against death as namely first David Return O Lord faith he and deliver my soul oh spare me for thy mercies sake for in death there is no remembrance of thee Secondly Hezekiah when the message of death was brought to him Thirdly Christ himself Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me To all these I answer first touching David that when he composed that sixt Psalm he was not only grievously sick but also exceedingly tormented in mind for he wrastled and combated in his conscience with the wrath of God as appears by the first Verse of that Psalm therefore we must know that he prayed not simply against Death but against death at that time in asmuch as the coming of it was accompanied with extraordinary apprehensions of Gods wrath for at another time he tells us that he would not fear though he walked through the valley of the shaddow of Death And the like I say touching Hezekiah that his prayer proceeded not from any desperate fear of Death but first that he might do more service to God in his Kingdom And with such a kind of thought was Saint Pauls desire of dissolution mingled Secondly he prayed against Death then because he knew that his death then would be a great cause of rejoycing to evil men to whom his reformation in the State was unpleasing Thirdly because he wanted issue God had promised before to David that there should not fail a man of his seed to sit upon the throne of Israel so that his children did take heed to their wayes Now it was a great discomfort to him to die chidless for then he and others might have thought that he was but an Hypocrite in as much as God had promised issue to all those Kings that feared him and for this cause God heard his prayer and after two years gave him a son Manasseh by name And so I say the same touching our Saviour Christ that he prayed not against Death as it is the separation betwixt Body and Soul as appears by what the Apostle faith that he was heard in that he feared for he stood in our room and became a Curse for us it was the Curse of the Law which went with Death and the unspeakable wrath and indignation of God which he feared and from this according to his prayer he was delivered But thirdly we see in most good men a fear of Death and a desire of life and I my self may some godly man say do feel my self ready to tremble at the meditation thereof and yet I hope I belong unto God I answer that there are two things to be considered in every Christian Flesh and Spirit Corruption and Grace and the best have many inward perplexities at times and doubtings of Gods favour Now it is a truth which our Saviour delivers that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak And as in all other good purposes there is a combate betwixt the flesh and the spirit so is there in this betwixt the fear of Death and the desire of Death sometime the one prevails and sometimes the other but yet alwayes at last the desire of Death doth get the victory Carnal respects do often prevail far with the best care of wise children and the like These are their infirmities but as other infirmities die in them by degrees so these also at last are subdued and the servants of God seeing clearly the happiness into which their Death in Christ shall enter them do even sigh desiring to be clothed upon with their house which is from Heaven Here then is a good Mark by which we may know our selves to be Gods servants viz. by the state of our thoughts and meditations touching Death I will so deliver it as may be most for the comfort of those that truly fear God I demand therefore of thee Dost thou know that the confident and comfortable expectation of Death is the work of the Holy Ghost in Gods servants Dost thou desire unfeignedly that the same may be wrought in thy heart Dost thou labour to know what happiness comes by Death to those that feare the Lord Dost thou grieve at thine own weakness to whom the thought of Death is sometime troublesome and unsavory Dost thou pray the Lord so to assure thee of his favour in Christ that death may be desired before it comes and welcome when it is come Dost thou when thou hearest this speech of Simeon wish that thou wert able to use the like words with the like resolution Surely these things shew that thou art Gods servant and that by Death the Lord will draw thee to a place of rest If these thoughts which I have now named be strangers to thy heart and thou dost not love to trouble thy self to study about Death it is an evil sign The servants of God are not wont to be so secure in matters of this quality And thus much for the first particular in the first general part the desire in the godly of death the second is their care for it the point thence is that It is the care of Gods servants to be alwayes so prepared for death as at what instant soever the Lord shall send it they
means and sanctifieth all these means Therefore well saith the poor man God is my help and the sick man God is my health and the weak man God is my strength and the blind man Christ is my light and even the dead man the distrest man God is my life and the good man Christ is my Hope and the happy man Christ is my love And so it is to Christ that the wings of a mans Hope doth lift him up This is the first It sheweth us that the wings of Hope that is in the faithful soul lifteth him up above all means No more of that Secondly observe in this object the very Crown of a Christians comfort I say the Crown of all his comfort and that cometh only from this object of his hope For what is there in all the World that can comfort a man indeed besides this much less compared with this Begin where you will when you have gone round about you will conclude with that of the Apostle I count all things but loss and dung in comparison of Christ and all things to be vanity and vexation of spirit as the preacher saith Put the case thou art a sick man or a sick woman and I find thee much affected afflicted dejected cast down in thy self I would fain give thee some comfort now I tell thee of the vanity of this present life therefore being content I tell thee of the hope of of a better life I tell thee of the joyes that are to be revealed I tell thee of the promises of God which he will make good to thee if thou wilt trust in his mercy I tell thee of all the sure mercies of David as they are called and all this while I have told thee nothing at all to comfort thee till I come to this the object of this Hope which I have in hand and that is Jesus Christ in whom all Gods promises are Yea and Amen and till thou canst learn this lesson of life concerning the Lord Jesus thou hast learned nothing come and learn this and my life for thine thou art then happy He is the Way the Truth and the Life the Way and Truth and life it self and whither shall I go from thee Lord thou hast the words of eternal life I have done with that point and so pass on to the third We have Hope we have Hope in Christ we have Hope in Christ in this life This life-time then is our hope-time that is it you learn hence Here we have the seed of Hope but the harvest of Hope that is hereaster when we shall have in re what now we have in spe as ordinarily we speak when we shall have in possession what now we have in expectation then there will be no more use of this Grace there hope shall cease Now it is indeed in this life time that we sow the seeds of Prayer that we plant the roots of Faith that we water all of them with our hope when our joy shall spring up when the end and fruit of our faith shall come when the possession of our hope shall appear then we have done with hope hope serveth no longer then therefore it is now in this life Hope shall end for the action of it understand that aright as Faith shall but it shall never end for the object of it that end shall last still and rest ever Now then in the interim this is the Prophets and this is the Princes and this is the Peoples posse I wait and I wait too and I trust the Lord over all Now is your posse time as I may call it now is the seed time wherein we sow the seeds of love of joy of hope wherein we sow the seeds of sobriety and innocency and chastity and charity and all manner of vertues whatsoever now is the time Is this so then here is the issue of this plea It is this that therefore now if ever now or never we must seek to see whether we have these seeds of Grace in us yea or no We must get them and we must set them and we must see to them both that they come up and how they come up and how they come on Now is the time when the special care must be taken concerning these seeds of Grace If we will believe we must believe now for hereafter there will be no time to believe any more If we will be children of Grace we must be it now for hereafter there will be no space for Grace therefore faith the Lord now while he will be found and he will be found of those that seek him and seek him now for now is the acceptable time now is the day of salvation when the date of this day when the day of this life of salvation is down is past then there is no more seeking then there is no more finding therefore if thou wilt be faithful be it now if thou wilt be fruitful be it now now we are the Sons of God as if he should say if we be not the Sons of God now we shall never be Is this so add a further degree to this duty in the next place and that is when you have gotten these seeds in you to examine and prove your selves whether they be there not only so but whether they abide there not only so but whether they live there and not only so but whether they grow and live there they must not only be but they must continue there and abide and they must not only be and abide but they must be alive there and not dead and they must not only be alive but they must thrive too and not be idle for if these things be in you they will make you neither idle nor unfruitful in the work of the Lord. Hast thou Faith be sure thou hast it and then shew me thy faith by the fruits of it shew me that it is not a dead faith that faith cannot save thee do not think it shall for Saint James explodeth it for a Jest that any Christian should think so Hast thou love look thou hast it and let thy love abound let thy love be love unfeigned for as there is a work of faith so there is a labour of love Hast thou hope let it be stedfast entring into that within the vail as an Anchor firm and stable so the Apostle faith Hast thou knowledge Look it be saving knowledg sanctifying knowledge such as will savour and season all the rest of thy knowledge And let not thy knowledge be only so but let it be growing too let it thrive and prosper get more to it or else thou dost not husband the business well thou must go according to the phrase of the Holy Ghost in the Psalm from strength to strength as a good Souldier and Commander goeth from one watch-tower to another to see if all be well Go from strength to strength
the sum agreed upon for his ransome and the person in whose power the captive is and who accepteth of the ransome Which of these is the Redeemer you will all say he that is at the cost of all so it is in our redemption from spiritual thraldome the holy Spirit draweth the condition sealeth the Bonds the Father receiveth the ransome the Son both mediateth for the ransoming and layeth down the sum For we were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold but the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb withouâ— blemish he took part of our nature that through death he might destroy him that had tthe power of death that is the devil and deliver them who through the fear of death were all there life-time subject to bondage Hence we gather that he that destroyed death must die but to affirm that the immortal and eternal Spirit of God expired is blasphemy and to say that the Father suffered is heresie long ago condemned in the Patro-passions we conclude therefore with the Apostle that the second person Christ Jesus hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel And so I fall upon my last Observation the judgment here mentioned Davorica 3. Thy plagues there is no tittle or iota in holy Scripture superfluous some mystery therefore lyeth in the number plagues in the plural not plague in the singular which I conceive to be this that Christ put Death to many deaths and foyled and conquered it many wayes first in himself secondly in his members First in himself by destroying sin the sting of Death Secondly by breaking the bonds thereof in his powerful Resurrection wherewith it was impossible that he should be held Secondly in his members by changing the nature of it to them and making it of a curse a blessing of a loss a gain of a punishment either a great honour or a special favour or a singular advantage a great honour as to the Martyrs who thereby acquired so many Rubies to their crown of glory as they shed drops of blood for their Saviour A special favour as to Abraham Josiah and Saint Austin who were taken away that they might not see and feel the misery that after their death fell on the posterity of the one the subjects of the other and the diocess of the third A singular advantage to all the faithful who thereby are discharged from all cares fears sorrows and temptations and presently enter into their Masters joy For blessed are the dead that die in the Lord for they rest from their labours and their works follow them Now the means whereby Christ conquered death utterly destroyed it are diversly set down by the learned some argue a contrariis contraries say they are to be destroyed by their contraries as heat by cold moysture by drought sickness by health Death therefore must needs be destroyed by life as the contrary but Christ is the resurrection and the life in him was life and life was the light of men Saint Austin declareth it after this manner Life dying contended with Death living and got a glorious and signal victory Nysscen thus the Devil catching at the flesh of Christs humane nature as a bate was cought by the hook of his divine Saint Leo and Chrysologus thus if a Bayliff or Sergeant arrest the Kings son or a priviledged person and lay him up in a close prison without commission he deserveth to be turned out of his place for it So Death Gods Serjeant seizing upon his Son in whom there was no fault without warrant or commission was justly discharged of his office Is Death thus discharged hath Christ changed the nature of Death and freed all his Members from the sting of the temporal and fear of eternal death hath he of a postern made it a street-door of an out-let of mortal life an in-let of immortality why then are we so much afraid of death which can no more hurt us then a hornet or wasp after her sting is plucked out Christ fought with a living death we with a dead death which doth not so much sever our souls from our bodies as joyn them to Christ not so much end our life as our mortality not so much exclude us out of the Militant as render us to the Triumphant Church Nothing is more dreadful I confess to the natural man then Death which dissolveth the soul and body and the Grave which resolveth the body into dust and ashes To cure this malady of the mind there is no vertue in any Drug of nature the Philosophers in this case are Physitians of no value they tell us that sickness and death are tributa vivendi and the Grave the common house of the dead But what of this what comfort is here doth this speculation discharge us from the tribute or make the payment thereof the easier doth it inlighten the darkness of these prisons of nature or take away the stench from these under-ground houses no whit Yet God be thanked there is a magazine in Scripture to pay these tributes there is light in Goshen to enlighten these houses there is Specknard to perfume these dankish rooms there are Cordials in holy Scripture to strengthen the heart not only against deadly maladies but also against death it self for there we hear of a voyce from heaven not only affirming the happiness of the dead but confirming it with a strong reason for they rest from their labours and their works follow them we hear of Tabernacles not made with hands but eternal in the Heavens we hear that when we are absent from the body we are present with the Lord we hear the Lord of life opening the ears and chearing the heart of the dead and saying I am the resurrection and the life whosoevor believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live There we hear death not only disarmed of his sting but also slain down right O death I will be thy death O grave I will be thy destruction Secondly hath Christ destroyed Death and hath he both the keyes of Death and of Hell then beloved when we lie on our death-bed let us not have recourse after the Popish manner to any Saint or Angel no not to the blessed Virgin her self but to her Son who is the Lord of life who satisfying for our sins at his death thereby plucked out the sting of death and after his resurrection quite destroyed this serpent In which regard he is stiled stella matutina the Morning star because he ushereth in the day of eternity and primitiae dormientum the first fruis of them that slept because in him the whole lump is sanctifyed When therefore the fiery Serpent hovereth over us to sting us to eternal death let us look upon the Brazen Serpent and the other shall not hurt us Lastly hath Christ conquered Death and Hell and that for us let us then
give him the honour of the greatest Worthy and noblest Conquerour that ever the World saw Cyrus and Alexander and Caesar were no way to be compared to him for they subdued but mortal enemies he immortal they bodily he ghostly they with great Armies and power of men but he alone they when they were alive and in their full strength and vigour but he at the hour of his death and afterwards I conclude therfore with Saint Jerome his insultation over Death and thanksgiving to the Lord of life O death thou didst bite and wert bitten thou didst devour and art now devoured by him whom for a time thou didst devour by his death thou art ssain by his death we live everlastingly thanks be rendred unto thee O Saviour who hast subdued so powerful an adversary and put him to death by thy death and passion The Ethiopians as Herodotus relateth made Sepulchres of glass for after they have dryed the corps they artificially paint it set it in a glazed Coffin that all that pass by may see the lineaments of the dead body but surely they deserve better of the dead and more benefit the living who draw the lineaments of their mind and represent their vertues and graces in a Mirrour of Art for I am not of their judgment among us who properly and deservedly are called Precisians because out of the purity of their precise zeal it a praecidunt they so neer pair the nails of Romish superstition that they make the fingers bleed who out of fear of praying forsooth for the dead or invocating them are shie of speaking any word of them or sending after them their deserved commendations for it is piety to honour God in his Saints it is justice suum cuique tribure to give every one his due it is charity to propose eminent examples of heavenly graces and vertues shining in the dead for the imitation of the living Such jewels ought not to be locked up in a Coffin as in a Casket but to be set out to the view of all and surely they deserve better of the dead who set a garland of deserved praises on their life then they who stick their Hearse full with flowers Tapers made of pure wax burn clearly and after they are blown out leave a sweet savour behind them so the servants of Christ who have caused their light so to shine before men that they may see their works and glorisie their Father which is in Heaven leave a good name like a sweet smell behind them and why may we not blow it abroad by our breath Deo Patri c. The rest concerning the life and death of the party is lost Vox Coeli OR THE DEADS HERAULD SERMON XLV APOC. 14.13 And I heard a voyce from Heaven saying unto me write blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth c. VBi Vulnus ibi manus From whence we took our Wound from thence we receive the Cure a voice from Heaven struck all the living dead saying All flesh is grass and the glory or goodliness of it is as the flower of the field The grass withereth c. But here a voice from Heaven maketh all whole again and representeth all the dead in the Lord living yea and flourishing too saying Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord. To give a touch at the Wound that the smart thereof may make the sense of the cure more delightful Omnis caro foenum omnis homo flos All flesh is grass and every man is a flower There is difference in grass some is longer and some is shorter so some men are longer lived some shorter some grass shooteth up with one leaf some with three some with five or more so some men have more in their Retinue some fewer some none at all Some grass withereth before it is cut as the grass on the house-top some is cut before it withereth as the grass of the field so some men decay before the Sythe of Death cuts them all other after Likewise there is a great difference among flowers 1. Some are for sight only not for the smell or any vertue in medicines as Tulips Emims and Crown Emperials 2. Some for sight and smell but of no use in Medicines as Sweet-williams the painted Lady and July-flowers generally 3. Some are both for sight and smell and of singular use in Medicines as Roses and Violets So some men are of better parts and greater use in the Church and Common-wealth others of less Some flowers grow in the field some in the garden so some mens lives and imployments are publike others private Some flowers are put in Posies some in Garlands some are cast into the Still so some men are better preferred them others and some live and die in obscurity Lastly some flowers presently lose their colour and scent as the Narcissus some keep them both long as the red Rose So some men continue longer in their bloom grace and favour others for a short time but all-fade and within a while are either gathered cut down or withered of themselves and die And for this reason it is as I conceived that we stick hearbs and flowers on the Hearse of the dead to signifie that as we commit earth to earth and ashes to ashes so we put grass to grass and flowers to flowers For omnis caro foenum All flesh is grass and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field the grass withereth and the flower fadeth away But the comfort is in that which followeth But the word of the Lord endureth for ever and this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you Whereof this verse which I have read unto you for my Text is part Which Saint John inferreth as a conclusion or corrolary upon the conclusion of the Saints and Martyrs lives this conclusion is inferred upon two premises 1 The end of their labours 2 The reward of their work The Syllogisme may be thus formed All they who are come to an end of their labour and have received liberally for their work or are paid well for their pains are happy But all the dead that die in the Lord are come to an end of their labour for they rests rom their labours and receive liberally for their works follow them Ergo all the dead that die in the Lord are happy As in other Texts so in this we may borrow much light from the occasion of the speech which here was this Saint John having related in a vision a fearful persecution to falt in the latter times whereby the earth should be reaped and the Saints mowen like grass and true beleevers like grapes pressed in such sort that their blood should come out of the wine-press even to the horse bellies breaketh into an Epiphonema verse 12. here is the patience of the Saints that is here is matter for their patience and faith to work upon Here is
for the Lord so they Others will have the words not to be restrained to Martyrs only but to belong to all that die in the fear of God and the faith of Christ And they alledg for themselves also a parallel Text 1 Cor. 15.18 where to fall a sleep in the Lord is spoken generally of all true believers departing this life Besides Saint Bernard and other of the Ancients apparantly distinguish these phrases mori in Domino mori propter Dominum to die in the Lord and to die for the Lord mori pro Domino martyrum est mori in Domino omnium confessorum si beati qui in Domino moriuntur quanto magis qui pro Domino moriuntur to die for the Lord is the glory of martyrs but to die in the Lord the glory of all Confessors if they are happy who die in the Lord how much more they that die for the Lord Thirdly the reward here promised is common to all believers and not peculiar to the Martyrs for all true believers when they die rest from their labours and their works follow them If the Spirit had meant Martyrs only he would rather have said they have ease from their torments then rest from their labours and their trophies and victories follow them All that die for the Lord die also in the Lord but all that die in the Lord do not necessarily die for the Lord we deny not that the Martyrs have the greatest share in this blessedness but all Confessors have their parts also the Martyrs Crown is beset with a Rubie or some richer jewel then ordinary their Garland hath a flower or two more in it to wit some red flower as well as white yet the Crown and Garland of all Confessors are compleat And therefore not only Beda and Bernard and Richardus and Andreus and Primasius and Haymo and Ansbertus and Ioachimus but also the Greek and the Roman Church yea and the reformed also understand these words of all that die in Gods favour for they read these words at the Funerals of all the dead and not only at the Funeralls of Martyrs Yea but how can any be said to die in the Lord that is continuing his Member sith Christ hath no dead Members I answer that the faithful die not in the Lord in that sense in which they live in him but 〈◊〉 ther they die not spiritually nor cease to be his mystical Members but naturally that is they continuing in Christs faith and love breath out their souls and so fall asleep in his bosome or die in his love laying hold of him by faith and relying on him by hope and embracing him by charity All they die in the Lord who die in the act of contrition as Saint Austin who reading the penetential Psalms with many tears breathed out his last gasp sighing for his sins Or in the act of charity as Saint Jerome who in a most fervent or vehement exhortation to the love of God gave up the Ghost Or in the act of Religion as Saint Ambrose who after he had received the blessed Sacrament in a heavenly rapture and a holy parley with Christ left the body Or in the act of Devotion as Aquinas who lifting up his eyes and hands to heaven pronouncing with a loud voyce those words of the Spouse in the Canticles Come my beloved let us go forth went out of this world Or in the Act of gratulation and thanks-giving as Petrus Celestinus who repeating that last verse of the last Psalm Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum Let every breath or every one that hath breath praise the Lord breathed out his soul Or in an Act of divine contemplation as Gerson that famous Chancellor of Paris who having explicated fifty properties of divine love concluded both his Treatise and his life with fortis ut mors dilectio Love is strong as death To kint up all six sorts of men may lay just claim to the blessedness in my Text. First Martyrs for they die in the Lord because they die in his quarrel Secondly Confessors for they die in the Lord because they die in his faith and in the confession of his name Thirdly all they that love Christ and are beloved of him for they die in the Lord because they die in his bosome and embracings Fourthly all truly penitent sinners for they die in the Lord because they die in his peace Fifthly all they who are engrafted into Christ by a special faith and persevere in him to the end for they die in the Lord because they die in his communion as being members of his mystical body Lastly all they that die calling upon the Lord or otherwise make a godly end for they die in the Lord because they die in the works of the Lord and happy is that servant whom his Master when he cometh shall find so doing From hence-forth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beza and some other render the word in the original perfectly because the dead obtain the blessedness they hoped for but this Exposition cannot stand unless we restrain this blessedness to the soul For the persect and consummate happiness of all that die in the Lord consisteth in the glorisication of their bodies and souls when they shall see God face to face and the beams of his countenance directly falling upon the soul shall reflect also upon the body and most true it is which Paraus observeth the deads blessedness far exceeds the blessedness of the living for here we have but the first fruits of happiness but in heaven we shall have the whole lump here we hunger and thirst for righteousness there we shall be satisfied To this we all willingly assent but it will not hence follow that they have their whole lump of happiness till the day of judgment blessed they are from the hour of their death but not perfectly blessed but not consummately blessed intensive as blessed as the soul by it self can be for that state in which it now is not blessed extensive not so blessed as the whole person shall be when the soul shall be the second time given to the body and both bid to an everlasting feast at the marriage of the Lamb. Others therefore more agreeable to the Analogie of faith render the original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from hence-forth and refer the hence-forth not to the time of the uttering this Prophesie as if before it none were blessed for before this prophecie all the Apostles Saint John only excepted and thousands of Saints and Martyrs had dyed in the Lord and were at rest from their labours but to the instant of their dying in the Lord they no sooner lost their lives for Christ then they found happiness in him So soon as Lazarus dyed his soul was carryed by Angels into Abrahams bosome So soon as the Thief expired on the Cross he aspired to paradise and was with Christ So Nazianzen teacheth concerning every religious soul I
ill in this fain he would stisle the light in his conscience which if he would open his eyes would clearly discover unto him a future tribunal yet sometimes he cannot smother it and therefore as Tully who saw a glimering of this truth observeth he is wonderfully tormented out of a fear that endless pains attend him after this life Well let the flesh and fleshly minded men deem or speak what they list concerning the state of the dead the Spirit of truth faith that all that die in the Lord are blessed But where faith the Spirtt so In the Scriptures of the old and new Testament and in this vision and in the heart and conscience of every true believer First in the Scriptures let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like unto his refrain thy voyce from weeping and thine eyes from tears for thy works shall be rewarded and there is hope in thine end faith the Lord precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints the Righteous shall wash his foot in the blood of the wicked so that a man shall say verily there is a reward for the righteous Christ is in life and death advantage for I am in a straight between two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Secondly in this vision for Saint John heard a voyce from Heaven saying Write it as it were with a Pen of Iron upon the Tomb of all that are departed in the Lord for so faith the Spirit Lastly the Spirit speaketh it in the heart and soul of every true believer lying on his death bed or on the Gridiron or in the dungeon or on the gibber or on the saggot did not the Spirit seal this truth above all other at such times to his servants were not then their hope full of immortaility they could never have welcomed death embraced the flames sung in their torments and triumphed over death even when they were in the jaws of it When Job was in the depth of all his misery the Spirit spake in his heart I know that my redeemer liveth and that he shall stand in the latter day upon the earth though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shal I see God whom I shall see for my self and mine eyes shall behold and not another though my rains be consumed within me offered and the time of his departure was at hand the Spirit spake in him I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but to them also that love his appearing Likewise when Gerardus was giving up the ghost the Spirit spake in him O death where is thy sting Mors nonest stimulus fed jubilus And though Robert Glover the Martyr all the night before his Martyrdome prayed for strength and courage but could feel none yet when he came to the sight of the stake he was mightily replenished with Gods holy comfort and heavenly joyes and clapping his hands to Austin the Spirit the Comforter himself spake in him He is come he is come You have heard where the spirit faith so give ear now to a voyce from heaven de claring why the Spirit saith so for they rest from their labours 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth as well pain as pains broyls as toyls as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in greek so pain and pains in english are of kin for labour is pain to the body and pain is labour to the spirit and therefore what we say to be punished and tormented with a diseafe the latine say laborare morâ—…o and the throngs and throes which women endure in Child-bearing we call their labouring Here then the dead have a double immortality granted them 1 From the labours of their calling 2 From the troubles of their condition freedome from pain and pains taking What then may some object do the dead sleep out all their time from the breathing out their last gasp to the blowing the last trump as they suffer nothing so do they nothing but are like Consul Bibulus who held onely a room and filled up a blank in the Roman fasti Nam bibulo factum consule nil memini or like mare mortuam without any motion or operation at all that cannot be the soul is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a most perfect act or as Tullie renders the word a continual motion as the word is taken in that old proverbial verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it can no more be and not work then the wind can be and not blow the fire and not burn a diamond and not sparkle the sun and not shine therefore it is not said here simply that they rest from all kind of motion or working but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but from toilsome labours sore travels and again from their own labours or works not the Lords They keep an everlasting Sabbath in not doing of their own works but Gods they rest from sinful and painful travels but not from the works of a sanctified rest for they rest not day and night saying holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which was which is and is to come The rest of the soul is not a ceasing from all motion or opperation that cannot stand with the nature of a spirit but a setling it self with delight upon an all-satisfying and never satiating object such was the rest the sweet singer of Israel called his soul unto return unto thy rest O my soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee Bodies rest in thier proper places but spirits in their proper object in the contemplation fruition admiration and adoration whereof consisteth their everlasting content This object is God whom they contemplate in their mind enjoy in their will adore in both and this is their continual work and their work is their life and their life is their happiness which the Divines fitly express in one word glorification which must be taken both actually and passively for they glorifie God and God glorifyeth them God glorifieth them bycasting the full light of his countenance upon them and they glorifie him by reflecting some light back again and casting their crowns before him saying Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created They rest from their labours This Text of holy Scripture containeth in it the waters of Siloah not so much to refresh those that are tyred with their former labours having born the heat of the whole day as to lave out the false fire of Purgatory for blessedness cannot stand with misery nor
fit for nothing but the common Dunghil In so low a state of abjection and in so vile an esteem were those very Ambassadors of Heaven among an Atheistical and crooked generation our very Apostle here professeth 1 Cor 15.32 That he fought with beasts at Ephesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some would have meant Literally of his being dilaniated and rent in his body as many Primitive Christians were in the first Cruel times of raging persecution by wild Beasts to which Nero that Dedicator Damnationis as Tertullian slyles him being himself a Lyon was wont Tyrannically to cast the bodies of the Christians But others better in my poor understanding expound it of those Ethical or Moral Beasts who with Demetrius and the rabble that cryed up the great Diana of the Idolatours Ephesians so violently withstood and opposed Saint Paul who cryed down that their abhominable superstition at Ephesus Act. 19. in which place a great door and effectual was opened unto him but there were many Adversaries 1 Cor. 16.8 9. those Apostles indeed experimenting the proof of what their Lord and Master foretold them that they must be sent forth even as sheep among Wolves who would attempt to tear them in pieces and which of us in particular encounters not his discouragements Yea woe is me We seem to be fallen into those times wherein many men as if directly infatuated from Heaven out of a grosse misprision apprehend the Ministery it self the greatest inconvenience and that great cheat that grand Pantomime of Christendome the cunning Jesuit now almost bare-fac'd hath instilled as is feared so pernitious a principle into such as are for ought we can see willing to be deceived as to question the office it self and to dispute the Institution as if they would have men scorn the Physitian when sickest and shun the Chirurgion when forest And which must be forgotten there not wanting some who are apt to charge on that secret Calling the occasion if not the cause of all the Calamities of this latter Age Just as those of whom Suidas reports that they were wont to write with Ink or blood on a glass and so set it against the Moon making all those spots or blurres that were in the glass to be in the Moon and not at all in the glass upon which alone they were written mean while never at all anatomizing their own Ulcerous Corrupt insides or repenting for their loathsome self-abhominations and among them as principle for the contempt of Gods faithful Ministers Which sins becoming so Epidemical and National as they are call for Wrath and Indignation from the Lord who is here styled in my Text the Righteous Judge And yet though this be a Fight nevertheless it is for the quality a good Fight and that for these reasons First of all because it s undertaken for the Faith of Christ and for the Salvaof Souls whereof even one single one is more worth than a whole World O what comfort will it be in the day of retribution when a faithful Minister after all his sharp conflicts with the wayward oppositions of corrupt men shall say Loe me and the people which thou hast given me as the fruit of all my labour in thy Gospel being able thus to give up an account with joy and not with griefe Secondly Because it s undertaken for a good reward which is no less than a Crown of Kighscousness What Saint Gregory said of afflictions for a good Conscience will hold here alone Consideratio proemii minuit vim flagelli The consideration of the Reward abates of the Difficulty of the Fight even so it s noted of Moses that having respect unto the recompense of the reward he preferred the reproach of Christ to all the richest treasures in AEgypt Heb. 11.26 the same was it likewise that animated that noble Prophet under all his discouragements and fruitless endeavours among men Isa 49.4 I have laboured in vain and spent my time for nought yet surely my Judgment is with the Lord and my work that is the reward of my work is with the Lord who rewardeth his Ministers secundum laborem though not secundum proventum as Saint Bernard speaks according to their Labour and pious endeavours which themselves undergo in the Gospel though not according to the success of their Labours which is Gods alone to bestow And thus farr of the words in their first acception uttered by Saint Paul as an Apostle I might next consider them also as spoken in the name of all other Christians at large even of all such as who love the appearing of the Lord. Christ Jesus at his coming And under that notion of them we may observe That the Life of a Christian is a continual warfare upon the Earth so Chrysologus Christiano militars est id quod vivit in seculo suitable unto that of Job Chap. 7.1 Where the word rendered an appointed time is by many translated a Warfare which was hinted to us in the first enmity between the two seeds after again in Esau and Jacob strugling together in the same womb and to this effect is that speech of our Saviour I came not to send Peace on the Earth but War Division and variance namely between Grace and Corruption which was experimented mightily in the breast of this our Apostle when the Law in his Members rebelled against the Law of his Mind Rom. 7.23 it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a warring Law and elsewhere he faith The flesh lusteth against the spirit as the spirit lusteth against the flesh Gal. 5.17 and to the same purpose also Saint James Chap. 4.1 From whence come Warres and Fightings among you Come they not hence even of your Lusts that Warre in your Members Surely Contention comes from Corruption see likewise 1 Pet. 2.11 Now I might here take occasion to treat of the Doctrine of the spiritual Warfare and pursuing the Metaphor present you with those several things that concurre to make up a compleat Battaile as 1. A Bickering and encounter it self Nisi proecesserit pugna non potest esse Victoria as Saint Cyprian there cannot properly be said to be a Victory where never was a fighting delicata jactatio est vbi periculum non est it s but a fond or effeminate kind of boasting of a Conquest where never was danger 2. In a Warre there must be Enemies with whom to encounter quis enim oertat nisi inimicum habet saith Prosper there cannot be a Contention where there is not an Adversary Now in this Warfare the great and the grand Adversary is the Devil who with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is styled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Adversary 1 Pet. 5.8 Jam. 4.7 He is as the chief Champion the World also and the Flesh as under him Sunt tria quoe tent ant Hominem Mundus Caro Doemon And in relation to the several Temptations
sight and Contemplation he found it so sweet that it was good to be there longer 3. Lastly To all this may be added Immortality as the Diamond set in the ring of all the rest their Mortality hath put on Immortality the Body never more after it is cloathed upon therewith being subject unto Corruption Death it self is then struck dead and swallowed up in a final Victory unto all Eternity To which purpose ye may do well to meditate at leisure those very apposite and pertinent Scriptures 1 Pet. 5.4.2 Cor. 5.1 Rev. 2.11.1 Cor. 15.54.55 compared with Hos 13.14 and to this purpose the places of blisse are styled c mansions or abiding and resting places John 14.2 And this is the reward couched under this Metaphor of a Crown the Bliss whereof indeed transcends the skill and tongue even of Angels themselves to express Saint Paul speaking of the excellent goodness was treasured up but in the gifts and graces of Regeneration in this life saith even of them that the natural eye hath not Seen nor the ear Heard nor hath it entred into the Heart of an unspiritualized man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. 2.9 Much less surely can this be done Excellent glory above in Heaven Wherefore the joy thereof being so incomprehensible as it is when it could not enter into the faithful servant mentioned in the Gospel then he was bid to enter into it even into that joy of his Master Mat. 25.21 And thus far of the remuneration it self at large both in the Certainty and the Dignity thereof It is a Crown of Rightiousness I come next to consider the Donor or the Bestower of the same the Lord set forth unto us here under the periphrasis of being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Righteous Judge Where note saith the Roman Catholique that the Reward is a Reward of Justice not of favour rendeâ—…ed as a due debt not given as a gratuitous benevolence so Cajetan on the Text Dicendo reddet Justus Judex debitum jus significate and so by consequent the good works to which its rendered are properly meritorious and God shall be unjust if he deny them his due reward even due of debt But whilest these overweening spiders suck poyson the Humble Bees draw honey from these fragrant and sweet flowers To Cajetan though none of the meanest Schoolmen we may oppose Primasius who hath this more solid expression quomodo â—…st acâ—…rona bebita redderetur nisi prius illa gratuita donaretur How can that Crown be said to be rendered as due unless first it was bestowed as free and again oper a Bona sunt Dei bona The Lord in crowning our good deeds doth but reward us with his own gifts in this case we must be all constrained to say as David on another occasion 1 Chron. 26.14 All things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee Wherefore Saint Paul the great Assertor of free grace hath styled most fitly life eternal it self wherein consisteth the absolute consummation of all graces 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a free gift Rom. 6.23 a word not used in any Heathen Author but peculiarized to the inspired penmen of Holy Writ besides the manner of the Apostles expression is very remarkable even in this very Text where the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is laid up and the other of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall give both these expressions imply a free donation no meritorious purchase at all elsewhere our reward in heaven is called an inheritance Ephes 1.14 Act. 26.18 which is a thing comming freely by descent unto the rightful Heir Moreover works meritorious according to the determination of the Patrons of merit themselves They must be 1. Nostra our own works wrought out of our own strength and done by our own power whereas the Evangelical Prophet hath otherwise assured us Isa 26.12 Thou O Lord faith he hast wrought all our works in us He means gracious works Alas we are not such Silk-worms as to spin a thred of Felicity out of our own bowels we must remember that the highest style which the Scripture gives the Saints is but to be Vessels of Salvation to receive the graces of God distilled into them from above Not Springs or Fountains to derive them to our selves and by the very Schoolmen themselves the graces of the Spirit are called Habitus infusi Habits not acquisite by frequent Acts as moral vertues are but infused by God into the Heart Every good and perfect gift descending from above as Saint James saith Jam. 1.17 Yea it was the positive assertion of our Saviour himself John 15.5 Without me ye can do nothing He means Acceptably He doth not say as Saint Austin observes sine me difficulter potestis or non potestis persicere without me ye can hardly do any thing or ye are not able to bring any act unto perfection but simply and expressely thus Without me that is without leaning upon me having my special and gracious assistance Ye can do nothing at all that is good and gracious and our Apostle also elsewhere professeth that all our sufficiency namely in things supernatural is meerly and solely of God alone 2 Cor. 3.5 Therefore we may well conclude that whatsoever good works there are in us they be none of our own Secondly As they must be our own so likewise are they in the sense of those grand Impostors of the Christian world to be perfect as in which nothing is to be found defective nothing redundant whereas all our righteousness as it is inhaerent in us Alas it is but as a defiled nasty and polluted menstruosity Isa 64.6 the highest pitch or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of perfection that whilest we are clad with the raggs of our vile flesh we the very best of us all can attain to in this life is as I have shewn elsewhere but to see and to acknowledge our imperfections as in the clearest serenity of the Firmament some speckling cloud may be discovered so in our most accurate and exact performances either in the Matter or in the Manner or in the Degree measure or end of doing we all prove some way defective even the very best things that we do have enough in them to be pardoned if the Lord should discusse them without mercy in a rigorous severity and be so extream as to mark what in them is done amiss To this effect the forementioned School Divines have styled the greatest Saints as they are yet Members but of the Church militant on earth but Viatores walkers in the way whose motion is but only progressive not Comprehensors till actually instated Members of the Church Triumphant above in glory in the mean while that maxime in Divinity is Orthodox and solid Successivâ—…rum non simul est esse perficere Those things which admit of a succession in their motion or degrees of growth their being
Scriptures pretended for his conceit Apostolical Traditions and by reason of the venerable name of Antiquity it is not to be denyed but that some of the ancient Fathers received some tang of the same opinion from him as may be seen or collected of Justin Martyr and in the end of Trajans time Apollinarius Tertullian too much misled by Montane and Lactantius who were in part spiced with this Millenarisme so perilou a thing it proves to the Supine and out of a secure or careless disregard to suffer Humane Tradition to become a Diotrephes and to have the preheminence above the infallibity of the undoubted Scriptures which sacred and unerring written Word of God doth hold forth as of certaine credibility inspired by the Divine and first verity that can never deceive no such clear truth that the Lord Christ shall in Person before the General Resurrection come visibly and corporally upon the earth and as by a first resurrection cause all those who died in and for him to arise and with him in a peaceful tranquility and glory to reign and to beare sway over the wicked as Vassals for a thousand years which date of time being expired immediately shall ensue the General Resurrection and the day of the last Judgement No such evidential verity is demonstrated in Holy Writ as of Absolute Necessity to be believed unto salvation But whatsoever is alledged out of the propherick Scriptures for the stablishing of that opinion is to be understood either of the first coming of Christ in the flesh or of the state of the N.T. in general or else of the glorious estate of the Church triumphant to be expected hereaster in the eternal Kingdome for ever in Heaven as Gerard judiciously I have not time to alledge or you patience to hear on this occasion the several Texts cited by the Chiliasts or of the Orthodox many reverend and renowned Divines have eased us all of that labour let it suffice at the present to take notice from our Saviours own lips that his Kingdome is not of this world John 18.36 but within us Luke 17.21 and from Heaven and besides we find in our Creed which is founded on the Scriptures and may in every article thereof be proved by them we find I say in our Creed mention made but of two visible comings of Christ the first in Humility to suffer and to be judged the other at the end of the world but not before in the glory of his Father to judge the world both quick and dead in righteousness and unto them that look for him faith the great Apostle shall he appear the second time without sin that is without suffering any more as a sacrifice for sin unto salvation Heb. 8.28 Leaving then those Millenarian conjectures to such as abound with leisure rest we in the solid determination of Orthodox and stable judgements who resolve by the day and by the appearing here mentioned in this text to be meant the last great day of the general Judgement according to that Scripture Acts. 17.31 and the Lord Christ his second coming upon that day in glorious Majesty unto the judgment of all the world so that however those who labour in the Word and Doctrine meet often with so great discouragements that they seem to labour all in vain and spend their strength for nought as the Prophet speaks Isa 46.4 yet surely their Judgement is with the Lord and their work that is the reward of their work is with the Lord his goodness is laid up for them O how great Psal 31.19 In the mean time let it be our delight and contentment that we do our Masters work not as by constraint but willingly sith indeed such a vertuous service ever carryeth its own reward with it as being a thing to be desired and embraced for its own worth and certainly that sweet comfort and complacency that a righteous soul findeth in the sincere discharge of this duty within its proper station in conscience of God is infinitely more valuable than all the treasures the earth can afford without it only as the Husbandman we may not anticipate the season of the Harvest but we must wait and then in due time we shall reap if we fant not Gal. 6.9 Heb. 10.36.37 and when the reward actually cometh it being so large will abundantly recompence all our work yea end all our patience too sith the manner of it will be the more manifest and conspicuous before all in that great day when all of all sorts both great and small shall upon the general summons stand before the last Tribunal and then upon the appearance of the Chief Shepheard we shall raceive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away 1 Pet. 5.4 Hereof S. Paul had a particular assurance in his own person when he faith Henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness and if for him why may it not be also possible for others to be in like manner assured of the same especially provided that we are such as do love his appearing This question I confess is solid yet such as wanteth not its intricacies The Roman Catholicks in this controversie are wont to resolve thus that indeed for so great a Saint as S. Paul was this assurance might be possible yea was attained to by Revelation extraordinary by means of his sides privilegiata his special and priviledged faith which as an Apostle and a chosen vessel of honour he was endowed and adorned withall from Heaven for that God had a great service for him to do who was selected as it were to take up the Gauntlet in the quarrel of the Gospel against the manifold fierce and potent Adversaries of the same so that as I said in the beginning to steel his resolution with the greater courage he was fortifyed before-hand and armed with an extraordinary assurance of a glorious reward after his work and warfaring therein was over But now whether this assurance be possible for an ordinary Christian by the use of ordinary lawful means to attain is the next disquisition To which the resolution is affirmative the thing is possible though confessedly very difficult and this possiblity is both Certitudine Objecti and also Certitudine Subjecti both as it is sure in its self as it is determin'd by God and likewise in the particular evident and special experience of the same in the soul of a true believer and this is proved partly from those Scriptures which exhort unto a diligent endeavour after it 2 Pet. 1.10.2 Cor. 13.5 Now the nature of Evangelicall precepts and exhortations in a contradistinction to those of the Law is that they carry a spirit a secert energy vertue and power with them inabling through grace unto observation therefore the Gospel is called life and spirit 2 Cor. 3.6 and I can do all things