you are a dead man it would make him call in his thoughts and compose his spirit so if thou hast a slight and wandring heart this is said to thee this day friend poor soul know what thou art doing even this dayes work concernes thy life thy eternal estate and take your selves off from all creatures til you have done so great a work so saies the Apostle 1 Cor. 7. 29 30 31 32. Brethren the time is short it remaineth that both they that have Wives be as if they had none and they that weep as though they wept not and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not and they that buy as though they possessed not the time is short The word is the time is wrapt up it is folded up it is a Metaphor taken from cloth that is folded even to the very fag end the time is all folded up sayes the Apostle therefore let your hearts be taken off from the creature Truly brethren whatever you think of this point yet those that understand themselves aright would not venture to be in an unconverted estate one half houre for ten thousand worlds for they know that when death comes then judgement also comes And you that are poor people who live hardly and in great extremity in this world yet so long as you live here your condition is comfortable for you have time to doe that worke that is of such mighty consequence for the good of your souls And indeed upon the consideration of this point peoples hearts should be taken off from the creature for a man had better live here in order to that great work though as a stock or log in the fire then to be taken away before he hath done that work he was sent into the world for When men are in paine they would faine dye I but did they know what will be the state and condition of a wicked man immediately after his death they would rather live though as the miseablest creature in the world And consider all you young ones now while God gives you time of this great work of making your peace with him If a man were to goe over Sea about a businesse of great weight after he comes upon the shore what should his first thought be let him first make sure of his great work and then be merry afterwards If thou hast made sure of this great work that thy peace is made up with God and that thy everlasting estate is secure then thou mayest be merry amongst thy friends and mayest live joyfully and comfortably all thy dayes It was the complaint of one that Art is long and life short but surely the art of providing for eternity is a long and difficult art and thy life is short and uncertaine O therefore doe not put off this great work as Seneca speakes of some they are alwayes about to doe they will and they will and are about to live but never live O that you that are young ones would begin betimes and this point setled upon the hearts of young ones would cause them to apply themselves with all their might to the great work of their souls And that which you do be sure you do it with all your might which is the Argument of the Holy Ghost Eccles 9. 10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to doe doe it with thy might for there is no work nor device nor wisdome in the grave whither thou goest If ever thou hadst a work to put forth thy strength about O doe it here doe not onely have some faint wishes and desires and some sudden good moods as perhaps at the hearing of such a truth as this is you have some sudden wishes and inclinations no but work out your salvation with feare and trembling and be sure to take hold of all opportunities seeing so much depends upon the short time of your lives If a man were to goe over Sea for his life and had a faire day and winde it were desperate madnesse for him to say Well I have two or three dayes more to goe over in and therefore I will not go now and so neglects his gale and when those days are past and the last day comes he thinks to go over but cannot have a wind for a world so many think they will repent when they come to dye O but take heed when thou hast a gale that thou doest not neglect it for feare it never come again and know that if the Lord stirres any of your hearts this day or any other day by his word and you neglect it and goe to your businesse and shops and to your sensual pleasures and delights you may hereafter desire to have such a time of the working of Gods spirit againe and if you would give a thousand worlds for it were it in your power you cannot have it therefore take heed you doe not neglect this great work And upon this ground labour to make sure work for if a man had a work to doe and having done it amisse he might mend it afterwards he need not be so exact about it but if a man be set about a work and he knowes when it is gone out of his hands he can never mend it he will not be carelesse in it but will lay his work to the rule and labour to make all sure Know it is so with you about your eternal condition that which you doe in this world must be available for ever you cannot mend it afterwards If after you see your selves cast you should say O Lord give me farther time and let me come into the world againe and then I will mend this and the other fault that I was rebuked for God will say no you cannot returne into the world again therefore it neerly concernes you to make all sure while you have time And doe not rest upon blinde hopes and desperate adventures I hope it will be thus and thus with me but entertaine this thought What if it should prove otherwise what if I should miscarry this will mightily daunt the heart of a man especially if he knows that upon his miscarriage he is undone for ever Yet further which is another branch of the exhortation my brethren never baulk any way of God for feare of suffering be willing to suffer any hardship for Gods way How doth that follow thus If the time of thy life be that upon which the stating of thy eternal condition depends then it concerns thee to goe through stitch whatever comes in thy way as for instance suppose a man were going to such a place and he must be there at such a time for his life and riding apace through the streets the dogs bark at him as usually the dogs bark most at those who ride fastest how little doth he regard the barking of the dogs but did a man ride onely for his recreation then it would be a little troublesome to him And when a man rides for his life though the clouds gather
JEREMIAH BVRROUGHES Late Minister of the Gospell J. Croâ—s Sculpsit THE SAINTS TREASURY Holding forth 1. The incomparable Excellency and Holinesse of God 2. Christs All in All. 3. The glorious enjoyment of Heavenly things by Faith 4. The Naturall mans bondage to the Law and the Christians liberty by the Gospell 5. A preparation for judgement Being sundry SERMONS preached in LONDON By the late Reverend and painfull Minister of the Gospel JEREMIAH BURROUGHES LONDON Printed by T. C. for John Wright at the Kings head in the Old-baily 1654. TO THE HONOURABLE FRANCIS ROUS Esq Speaker of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England and Provost of Eaton-Colledge Honoured Sir IF a Heathen Poet could say Non omnis moriar I shall live though I die supposing his Works immortall though himselfe were mortall Upon how much better an account may a Prophet of the Lord say Non moriar sed vivam I shall not die but live both in respect of his immortall soule to which death is as the gate of life and in respect of the immortall travell of his soule being conversant in the Word of the Lord that abideth for ever The workes of the Saints of God in whom is the spirit of prophecie not onely live when they are dead but are instrumentall in the hand of grace both to plant life where it is not and water it where it is that it may spring forth more abundantly The chosen Vessell of the Lord by whose Ministry he was pleased to give out the Heavenly treasures laid up in these Sermons hath some yeares since put off his earth and put on that Inheritance of the Saints in light for which the Lord seemed earlie to have fitted him by his earnest and assiduous Travail in sitting others But though the Vessell be broken or rather indeed refined and translated to his masters more immediate use yet the Treasures abide for the common enrichment of the Saints For spirituall Treasures like the loaves blessed by our Saviour multiply in their use and when thousands have been enriched by them doe still remaine sufficient to enrich thousands To you honoured Sir is this small but Precious treasury presented not as though your own store were not already full for who knowes not how many precious Jewels through the riches of Christ in you you have richly set and polished for the adorning the Bride the Lambs wife Surely the spirit of Christ seemes to have chosen and sealed your Spirit to celebrate his own Nuptials in your Mystical Marriage and song of loves But as gold besides its own internal worth receives an Authentick impression from the Image and Superscription of the Prince And as in honouring the Lord with the best part of our substance An humble acknowledgement of his Interest both in the whole and our selves not any Addition to his fulnesse is intended So is this Treasury presented to the touch and test of your Judgement First as the Standard of approving things that are excellent And then as an humble testimony how much he owes himselfe to you that presents it That the Lord would make you long an Ornament and defence to his Saints and prosper his own pleasure in your hands is the prayer of Honoured Sir The most humble and most obliged of your Servants J. W. To the Christian Reader THe Authour of these ensuing Sermons hath so abundantly approved himselfe to the Church of God by his former labours both in preaching and writing that it would be rather a disparagement to him to offer any thing by way of commendation His name is yet like a precious Oyntment and so may it be so long as the Sunne and Moon endures These Sermons will discover themselves to be his genuine issue the severall lineaments and proportions of his stile though stiles differ as much as faces are here discernable Those that had the happinesse to be conversant with him and auditors to him are able to say Sic oculos sic ille manus sic ora ferebat So he opened his Text so he handled his Doctrine so he delivered his Application It is true these fragments of his are under the prejudice of being Posthumus works yet we may say of them as Paul said concerning himselfe We suppose they are not inferiour to the rest of his Works though they are born out of due time and fragments though they are yet are they to be esteemed Ramenta auri sunt pretiosa These Sermons are to be prized for their own worth and intrinsecall excellency whoever was Authour And this Authour is to be honoured for his reall worth whatsoever he is the authour of We shall adde this also for thy encouragement that these Sermons have been very happily taken by the pen of a ready writer Mr. Farthing now a Teacher of Shortwriting one who hath given ample testimonie of his great skill and dexteritie in writing Short-hand We think we may say there are not many words delivered by the Author that are left out However confident we are that there is nothing materiall which was by him preached but is here by the care and faithfulnesse of the Scribe presented to thy view The desire of the publishers is that the name of this worthy man of God may be kept in honour that thou maist transferre these things to thy own use and expresse them in thy life that what was spoken to some may be common to all what was accepted by them that heard it may be received and improved by those that read it This is all we have to communicate to thee it would be an injury to detaine thee longer from the reverend Author we only commend thee to the grace of God which is able to make thee abound in every good work and bid thee Fare-well Ja. Nalton Wil. Cooper Tho. Jacomb Matthew Poole Allen Geare Ralph Venning Septemb. 29. 1653. Imprimatur EDM. CALAMY THE SAINTS TREASURY EXODUS 15. 11. Who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods who is like unto thee glorious in holinesse fearfull in praises doing wonders THis Scripture is this day fulfilled in our Eares and before our eyes that which God hath already begun to doe for this Kingdome and the neighbour Churches doth shew unto us that there is none like unto the Lord Who is glorious in holinesse fearfull in praises doing wonders The words though they be in the middle of the song yet they are a kinde of an Epiphonema which usually is at the end but the spirit of Moses being raised in admiring at and blessing God for the great things he had done for his people he containeth not himselfe till he comes to the end but breakes forth in the very middle with this applause of the glory of God Who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods who is like unto thee glorious in holinesse fearefull in praises doing wonders You see then the words are a part of Moses his song occasioned upon the goodnesse of God in delivering of his
people from Egypt and carrying of them through the Red-sea And this song is the most ancient song that ever was in the world it is the first in Scripture and we know of no Author before Moses those that were skilfull in the way of Poetry were many hundred yeares after Moses It is a spirituall and most excellent song the stile of it is full of Elegancy the matter of exceeding variety it is Eucharisticall Triumphant Propheticall and 't is pitty we have not such an excellent song as this is turned into Meeter to be sung in our Congregations And it is a most delightfull song and therefore you shall observe when God promised a great mercy to his people in which they should exceedingly rejoyce he hath reference to this song Hosea 2. 15. And I will give her Vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for a doore of hope and she shall sing there as in the dayes of her youth and as in the day when she came up out of the Land of Egypt When God intended any great mercy to his people he would have them sing according to this song of Moses So then if God be in a way of mercy if he be opening a doore of hope to us you see how seasonable this song is And 't is a Typicall song as of the deliverance of Gods people out of Egypt so a Type of the deliverance of Gods people from the bondage of Antichrist therefore it is very observable that this song was to be sung againe when the people of God should be delivered from Antichrist In Revel 15. and the beginning you may see Gods judgements upon Antichrist and in vers 3. it is said they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb saying Great and marvellous are thy workes Lord God almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints By this you may see that God would shew us that the bondage under Antichrist is like the bondage in Egypt and therefore Rome is called Egypt in the Revelations because when we shall be delivred from Antichristian bondage we shall renew this song of Moses So that if we now expect deliverance from bondage under Antichrist it is good for us to acquaint our selves with this song because it is that which shall be sung over againe when the bondage of Antichrist is removed It is a miraculous song according to the opinion of Austin he brings in this song as one of the miracles that is that God did at the same time by the spirit inspire all the people of Israel that they sung together one and the same song and therefore it was miraculous true if it had been so but the Scripture is not cleere in that But we leave generalls and come to the words though there be many excellent things in the Chapter to make way to that I have read yet because I would not be hindered I will come instantly to the words which are as it were a recapitulation of all containing the substance of all as if he had said I have spoken of many particulars that God doth for his people but there is none like unto the Lord who is glorious in holinesse fearefull in praises doing wonders There are four things you see then wherein the name of God is advanced here First there is none like the Lord Secondly glorious in holinesse Thirdly fearefull in praises Fourthly doing wonders I confesse when my thoughts were first to speake upon this Text I intended onely the third particular the opening of that Title of God fearefull in praises we finde not any such Title that I know of in all the book of God but onely in this place but because I saw there was much of God in the two former therefore I thought it might be usefull to shew you what there is of God in them and was unwilling to passe them by For the two first then who is like to thee O Lord amongst the Gods who is like unto thee glorious in holinesse who is like to thee this you see is put by way of interrogation now interrogations in Scripture are especially brought in two wayes First by way of admiration Secondly by way of negation Sometimes by way of admiration Isaiah 63. 1. Who is this that cometh from Edom with died garments from Bozrah Many others we might name by way of admiration and by way of negation you know there are hundreds of examples and both these we are to understand here in the Text First by way of admiration who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods c. The spirit of Moses and the people being struck with astonishment at the glory of God now manifested by the great workes he did they â—â—mire and say who is like unto thee O Lord and then by way of negation who is like unto thee O Lord that is there is none like unto thee that is the first expression of the glory of God the lifting up of the name of God above all things whatsoever there is none like to God And God doth much glory in this expression of his glory that there is none like to him we have it very often in Scripture 1 Chron. 17. 20. O Lord there is none like thee neither is there any God besides thee according to all that we have heard with our eares So in Psalm 86. 8. Among the Gods there is none like unto thee O Lord and Psalm 89. 6. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord we might name divers other places where God glories much in this expression of his glory and the people of God have gloried much in it and there is great cause they should doe so It is said of the godly Machabees that at first by reason their name was an offence meeting with this sentence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods and being much taken with it they wrote the first Hebrew Letter of every word in this sentence in their ensignes of warre and carried them about with them and upon this ground they were called the Machabees glorying in this Title of God who is like unto thee And upon this ground the Holy Ghost concludes that all should honour and glorifie God because there is none like unto him Psal 86. 8. Among the Gods there is none like unto thee O Lord neither are there any works like unto thy works Mark what followes in 9. 10. 11. 12. verses All Nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee O Lord and shall glorifie thy name for thou art great and doest wondrous things for thou art God alone teach me thy way O Lord I will walke in thy truth unite my heart to feare thy name I will praise thee O Lord my God with all my heart and I will glorifie thy Name for evermore Thus you see how the
to wish the time of thy life at an end thou mayest meet with another manner of discontent then ever thou metst withall here for after death comes judgement Amos 5. 18. Wee unto you that desire the day of the Lord to what end is it for you the day of the Lord is darknesse and not light So I say woe to them that in a froward mood desire the day of the Lord which is not a day of light but like to be a day of darknesse unto them for ought they can tell Instead of giving God the praise of thy life upon every sullen mood doest thou wish thy self dead this is a great dishonour to the grace and mercy of God extended towards thee Again this concernes those that upon every drunken occasion for a word or two will venture their lives t is true fooles will venture their lives for trifles because they know not the worth of them but those who know the worth of their lives will not doe so I remember a story of a Philosopher being at Sea and in danger of his life he was mightily afraid and the Marriners were not at all afraid what say they are you a Philosopher afraid when we rude Marriners doe not feare I says he there is reason for it for if I dye a Philosopher is gone but for you your lives are not worth much so they that are ready to venture their lives in a drunken quarrel and will venture nothing for God and a good cause know not what their lives are worth and that is the reason they are so willing to throw them away Again it concernes those that in trouble and anguish of conscience are ready to lay violent hands upon themselves to take away their lives one would think this point thus opened and applyed might for ever keep back such a temptation for time to come What an infinite desperate folly is this that I that am made sensible of Gods wrath and am afraid of it shall yet doe that which may put me irrecoverably into it and state me eternally in it as they doe who lay violent hands upon themselves If any people in the world should desire the continuance of their lives and prize them at a high rate those that are troubled in conscience should doe it they should pray Davids prayer Psalm 39. 13. O spare me that I may recover strength before I goe hence and be no more And use Gods own argument Psalm 103. 13 14. where it is said God is merciful to his people because he remembers they are but dust So doe thou plead with God and say O Lord spare me I am but dust and as a winde that passeth away and shall never returne againe now is the time wherein thou hast said thou wilt be intreated O let my life be continued for if this time be out I am gone for ever Lastly this concernes those that have been as they thought upon their death beds that have apprehended themselves as dying and have had this truth somewhat setled upon them that have seen eternity before them and have been in danger as they conceived of everlasting ruine and in their own hearts have received judgement but God hath magnified his mercy towards them and restored them againe perhaps in this condition when thou sawest and hadst the judgement in thine own heart that thy time was gone thou then madest promises and saydest O if God would spare my life what a new man would I be I would be sure to make use of my time in another manner then ever heretofore Well God hath raised thee up againe and what then why now thou wilt venture upon Gods patience and his wrath too O woe to thee when thy dayes are ended and this judgement comes it will fall dreadfully upon thee Wherefore my brethren let me speak to you all for I am not come this day onely to spend an houre with you but to doe your souls some good be it known to you this is your day the day of grace and salvation And yet once againe in the name of God I declare unto you this truth supposing you have heard it many times before that there is not the worst the vilest in the congregation that is come through the providence of God before God this day but for ought we know it is possible for thy sinnes to be pardoned it is possible yet for thy soul to be saved for God to be reconciled to thee and this day it is once more declared to thee that thou art not yet stated in eternal misery which might have been thy condition before now O that when you are gone home you would get into your closets and fall down before God and blesse him for this message once more preached to you Beloved if I or any of the servants of the Lord should be sent by God to the gates of hell with this message O you damned spirits know from the Lord that there is a possibility for you to be saved certainly they would with joyfulnesse hearken to such tidings Now this cannot be preached to them but this may be this is preached to the vilest and wickedest wretch and enemy to God and goodnesse that is in the congregation and God declares this now to you but how long it will be before judgement comes to state thee in another condition thou canst not tell therefore know in this thy day the things of thy eternal peace and who knows what may depend upon one day yet prayers and teares may doe thee good but stay a while and though streames of bloud should flow from thee and thou shouldest cry and howle to God to all eternity it would never doe it therefore know your time it is a happy thing for a man to doe a businesse in such a time wherein he may have the benefit of it amongst men though a thing be done yet if not in the season of it it loses of its worth and efficacy so now prayers and teares and mourning and crying to God for mercy the efficacy of these things are gone except they be done in time and for ought thou knowest unlesse they be done this day or to morrow or very shortly they may doe thee no good at all therefore now take your time God proclaimes and sayes to every one of you this day Poor creatures as ever you expect to receive mercy in the day of Christ look to it now for now the golden scepter is stretched forth now is the acceptable time and the day of grace and salvation come in and accept of the offers and tenders of grace and mercy now or else you are gone for ever Wherefore then let this take off all slightnesse of heart and those roving dispositions of your spirits that run so after vanities If a man that were wilde in his thoughts and that had his eyes roving up and down should have one say to him Sir consider what you doe for it concernes your life if you miscarry