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A02741 Tvvo treatises I. The purchase of Grace, shewing the excellency of Christ, and the graces of his spirit. II. The soules delight in Gods tabernacles, shewing the excellency of time, spent in duties of God's solemne service. Instances in the chiefe, viz. prayer, word, and sacraments. Motives and directions for right performance. Lastly, the chiefe usurpers of time discovered, with apt remedies against each of them. The contents of the booke are methodically exprest in the margent, which to the diligent reader may serve instead of a table. By William Harrison, Mr. of Arts, and minister of the Gospell at Canwicke neare Lincolne. Harrison, William, minister at Canwick. 1639 (1639) STC 12871; ESTC S103879 208,196 400

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rich and wealthy Oh! then in any case blesse God for it and strive to walke worthy of such a precious favour I tell thee God hath not dealt so with every person how many thousand hath God left poore and blind and naked and yet hath set his love upon thee and made thee truely and spiritually rich who wert by nature the childe of wrath and as poore and miserable as any other And indeede the favours of God on this kinde should not be so much as mentioned without speciall praise and thankesgiving unto God See the Apostolicall practise of Gods people in this kinde Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in heavenly things in Christ saith the Apostle Paul Ephes. 1. 3. See the like practise in Peter to this purpose 1 Pet. 1. 3. Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which according to his abundant mercie hath begotten us againe to a lively hope by the resurrection of Iesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance immortall c. Thus David Psalm 103. 1 2 4. Blesse the Lord O my soule and all that is within me blesse his holy Name Blesse the Lord O my soule forget not all his benefits and Ver. 4. Who did redeeme thy life from destruction and crowned thee with mercy and loving kindnesses Blessed be God that daily more and more even lodeth us with his benefits especially of this kinde Psal. 68. 19. If wee did but seriously consider our former povertie and misery and how freely and undeservedly the Lord hath bestowed this spirituall wealth and riches upon us it cannot choose but presse us to thankfulnesse This made Paul thankfull 1 Tim. 1. 13 14. I thanke Christ Jesus our Lord that he hath judged me faithfull and hath put me into the Ministery who was before a blasphemer a persecutor and injurious c. i. e. I was a poore wretched and gracelesse persecutor of Gods blessed Saints but the Lord according to the riches of his grace and mercy hath made me a rich and glorious Apostle and Minister of Iesus Christ. So in the like forme and manner he maketh mention of Gods singular goodnesse to the Romans Chap. 6. 17. But God be thanked that yee were the servants of sinne but yee have obeyed from the heart the forme of Doctrine which was delivered c. Blessed be God that whereas once yee were poore base slaves and servants of sinne and Sathan God hath enriched you with the glorious libertie of the Sonnes of God It is the Lord that Raiseth up the poore out of the dust and setteth him with the Princes of his people It is the Lord that maketh poore and maketh rich oh then blesse God for his singular goodnesse towards thee in that he hath so enriched thee with the golden merits of his dearest Sonne and the excellent graces of his holy and blessed Spirit Secondly Seeing true saving grace is the chiefe and onely meanes to make us truely and spiritually rich this serveth also to exhort all such as have any measure of true saving grace to labour to grow in grace and endeavour to increase in this spirituall wealth and riches O let us imitate the rich misers of the world that are never satisfied with what they have but still hunger and thirst after more here is a most lawfull and commendable kinde of avarice Covet after the best things 1 Cor. 12. 31. Covet after Christ and earnestly thirst after a more neare communion with him and the graces of his thrise blessed Spirit But grow in grace sayth the Apostle 2 Pet. 3. 18. So Paul to the Thessalonians 1 Thes. 4. 1. Wee beseech you brethren and exhort you by the Lord Iesus Christ that as you have received of us how yee ought to walke and to please God so you would abound still more and more The like exhortation he directeth to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 15. last Alwayes abounding in the worke of the Lord for as much as yee know how that your labour is not in vaine in the Lord. Never thinke that you shall loose your labour in this kinde Vp therefore and be doing labour to grow in grace and the Lord will be with us and will blesse our endeavours Now for the perfecting of this point give me leave briefly to shew unto you first The Motives that may perswade us and secondly The chiefe meanes to helpe and to direct us to grow in grace First Because God commands it secondly because the Lord commends it thirdly the Lord is much honoured by it fourthly the Lord will most surely reward it First Let us labour to grow rich in grace and not content our selves with some small measure of pietie because the Lord as you have heard doth expresly require it 2 Pet. 3. 18. But grow in grace c. Now the very bare command of God should be unto us an argument of sufficient strength to perswade us to obedience See how the Lord propoundeth his very ●are command to Iosuah as an argument of sufficient strength to perswade him to be of courage and to abandon all carnall feares Ios. 1. 9. Have not I commanded thee be strong and of a good courage c. So here Have not I commanded thee Oh therefore grow in grace and labour to increase in godlinesse This is the Lords expresse command an evangelicall precept and therefore let us in any case make conscience of it because the LORD requireth it Secondly Because the Lord himselfe expecteth it he looketh for it at our hands It is not enough to get some grace but he expecteth our growth and increase in it When God hath once planted a Vineyard he looketh that it should bring forth grapes as Isa. 5. 2. yea he daily and yearely expecteth it Luk. 13. 7. yea the Lord Jesus goeth into his garden of purpose that he may see how the trees flourish and prosper Cant. 6. 10. I went downe into the garden of Nutts to see the fruits of the valley to see if the Vine budded and the Pomgranates flourished The Lord expecteth and looketh for fruitfulnesse at the hands of his people Yea further the Lord expecteth and looketh for fruits in some measure answerable to the meanes he hath used and the paines which he hath taken to make them fruitfull Heb. 6. 7. The earth that drinketh in the raine that cometh often upon it and bringeth forth fruit meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God Oh let us therefore let us labour to be rich in grace and full of good workes that wee may not frustrate the LORDS expectation Thirdly As the Lord commandeth and expects it so the Lord doth highly commend and prize it when it is so See how the Lord commendeth the diligence of those servants that had encreased their Talents by the holy employment of them Luk. 19. 17. Well done good and faithfull servant thou hast beene faithfull
every Nation not he that is rich and full of gold and silver but he that feareth God and worketh righteousnesse is accepted with him See here that righteousnesse and the true feare of God are farre better then gold and silver in this respect Indeed among men riches prevaile much gold and silver are in great esteeme for men looke onely upon the outward appearance but the Lord seeth not as man seeth but beholdeth the heart if that be well qualified there is hope of acceptance with God but otherwise all the gold and silver in the world will not doe it 1 Sam. 16. 6. 7. Lastly A man may have great store of gold and silver and yet perish eternally and loose his soule for ever but so cannot he doe that hath true saving grace as faith and such like and persevereth therein unto the end He that beleeveth shall never perish but have everlasting life Ioh. 3. 16. As he that beleeveth not is condemned alreadie so he that truely beleeveth shall never be condemned but hath alreadie passed from death to life Oh the precious excellency of saving grace in this regard it saveth the soule Heb. 10. last We are not of them that draw backe to perdition but of them that beleeve to the saving of the soule What were a man better if he had all the gold and silver in the world if he loose his soule according to that of our Saviour Mat. 16. 26. What is a man profited if he should gaine the whole world and loose his own soule as the rich Glutton Luk. 16. and the Churle Luk. 12. 19 20. but God sayd unto him Thou foole this night shall they fetch away thy soule and then what art thou the better for all thy gold and silver c But rather giving all diligence adde to thy faith vertue and to thy vertue knowledge c. for so an entrance shall be made unto thee exceeding abundantly into the everlasting kingdome of Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 1. 5. with v. 11. Grace therefore is farre better then gold also in this respect it is able to save a soule from death and cover a multitude of sinnes Jam. 5. 20. Secondly Is true saving grace so fitly resembled unto gold This sheweth the worth and excellency of all true Christians such as have store of true saving grace they are the excellent upon earth Psal. 16. 3. In a word they are golden persons they weare cloth of gold for their apparell their cloathing is of wrought gold Psal. 45. 13. they are even golden persons Job 23. 10. He knoweth the way that I take and when he hath tryed me I shall come forth like gold golden Job So that in these cases most true is that of Salomon Prov 12. 26. The righteous is more excellent then his neighbour I tell you there is as much difference as betweene gold and drosse Psal. 119. 119. Thou shalt cast away the wicked like drosse Drosse is scarce good enough for the dunghill when the gold is layd up in the chest So that in this case it is evident that every godly poore man is better then any ungodly rich man whatsoever See upon what ground and warrant I speake it Pro. 28. 6. Better is the poore that walketh in his integritie then he that is perverse in his wayes although he be rich there is as much difference betweene them as betweene the chaffe and the wheat Psal. 1. 3. and what is the chaffe to the wheat sayth the Prophet Ier. 23. 20. Yea as betweene gold tryed in the fire and drosse golden David though in the poore barren wildernesse but drossie Nabal though in rich and plenteous Carmel drossie Dives but golden because godly Lazarus By this we see who are the noblest and richest persons in the world even they that are most godly and religious Grace ma●eth a man more precious then gold even more precious then the golden wedge of Ophir Isa. 13. 12. Gods people are precious persons they are even the Lords jewels Mal. 3. 17. And they shall be mine sayth the Lord in the day that I make up my Jewels Seest thou a man that feareth God that hath true saving grace thou mayest say oh there goeth a jewell of God a golden person there is a soule worth gold yea farre more precious So that the estate of Gods people is farre more glorious if well considered then the estate of the wicked how full of pompe and bravery soever they may seeme to be Give me leave to shew you this briefly in foure particulars 1. They come of farre more glorious and golden parentage they have the God of heaven and earth for their Father Matth. 6. 9. they can truely say as Isa. 63. 16. Doubtlesse th●u art our Father though Abraham know us not and Israel be ignorant of us yet thou art our Father But as for the wicked it is not so with them they come of base and unworthy parentage their Father is an Amorite and their mother is an Hittite yea worse then so they are children of wrath yea children of Sathan the Devill is their father see how expresly Christ himselfe doth avouch this to the Jewes Ioh. 8. 44. Ye are of your father the Devill and the lusts of your father ye will doe But oh the golden parentage of such as are religious and beleeve in Christ To them he giveth power to become the Sonnes of God which are borne not of flesh and blood nor of the will of man but of God Joh. 1. 11 12 13. Even Christ himselfe and all true beleevers have all but one Father the father of our Lord Iesus Christ is also the father of all true beleevers Marke that sweet speech of our Saviour immediately before his ascension But goe and tell my brethren behold I ascend unto my Father and your Father and unto my God and your God Ioh. 20. 17. So that Gods people are most noble persons because they come of most noble parentage 2. They are borne to a farre better inheritance then any ungodly person whatsoever they have a golden inheritance they are the members of Christ and children of God and inheritours of the kingdome of heaven whereas all ungodly persons they have but worldly and earthly houses and inheritances unlesse they repent they can never inherite the kingdome of God 1 Cor. 6. 9. But oh the blessed inheritance that is reserved for such as are godly and religious they inherite no lesse then a kingdome Luk. 12. 32. Feare not little flocke for it is my Fathers pleasure to give you a kingdome yea a kingdome which they have by inheritance as being the co-heires with Christ Mat. 25. 34. Come ye blessed children of my Father inherite the kingdome which was prepared for you from the beginning of the world It is a most excellent inheritance 1 Pet. 1. 3. 4. Blessed be God c. which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us againe unto a lively hope c.