God the glory of his mercy And so much for the first direction that is to acknowledge God in all the changes of life that befalleth thee Secondly look to sin as that deserving cause that draweth on all the afflictions of this life Consider thou hast fallen by thy sin into Gods displeasure therefore whatsoever affliction befalleth thee thy sin hath deserved that at the hands of God The Lord now dealt with the as a just God though not in the extermity of rigor yet neverthelesse there is a righteous proceeding in it as the Church confesseth Righteousnesse belongeth to thee O Lord though they were in great affliction yet God was righteous in it It is profitable to consider this nay and not only that thou sufferest righteously as the Theif on the Crosse said We suffer according to our deserts but thou sufferest not so much as thy sins deserve thy sins deserve greater things at the hands of God then yet he hath infflicted on thee We see that a commutation and change of punishment a less for a greater hath the place of a mercy upon a malefactor that deserveth greater when he deserveth to be executed and to die he is not only content to be burnt in the hand but the confesseth it to be a mercy of the Prince So it is with us whatsoever affliction God hath laid on thee thou maiest conclude I have deserved greater Therefore saith the Church Why is the living man sorrowful Man suffereth for his sin let us search and trie our wayes and turn again to the Lord. So let this be the main businesse of thy life in this case rather bethink thy self how to get the favour of God then to be eased of such a trouble Let a man look to sin in all this Lastly consider the gratious and comfortable fruit of Affliction that is born with patience For first patience lesseneth the judgment impatience increaseth it on a man The strugling child hath more stripes A man in a Fever the more he strugleâ—…h and striveth the more he increaseth his pain The more patiently a man yeeldeth himself to the hands of God the more by the mercy of God he findeth ease and mitigation of the affliction And this God promiseth Because thou hast kept the word of my patience I will deliver thee in the time of trouble God will take off the affliction when once he hath perfected Patience by affliction for you must know this that all that God aymeth at in all afflictions that he layeth on men is to perfect patience in them therefore the issue will be good There will for the presene be more ease to the heart and afterward a gracious issue and deliverance from trouble when thou art exercised by patience Secondly there are other afflictions of our life and that is not only in those cases wherein some positive evil as we account it naturally some affliction grievous to nature and sense are upon a man but mercies are delayed and hope deferred maketh the heart faint It is an affliction to a man to be kept and delayed in the expectation of that good he hath not if he seem to catch at it it is drawn from him further and further There are many men that have sent many a prayer to God yet the thing they ask is not granted to this day Many a man hath waited long and sought the Lord yet he hath not that his soul desireth How shall a man come to exercise patience in such a case as this In such a case when God delayeth know first that Gods delayes are not danyals though God delay the thing he may and will in time certainly grant it yea though he delay it a great while As we see in other servants of God we may see it in David in Job in Paul in the Canaanitish woman and in others The Vision is for an appointed time saith Habakkuk wait for it it will come and it will not tarry it will not lie God will be known a God of truth what he hath promised he will performe in due time only what doth he expect of thee to wait for the present Now this is an act of faith He that beleeveth will not make hast Glorifie God by beleeving put to thy seal that he is true Whatsoever God hath promised in the Word and thou hast a warrant to beleeve wait for it Secondly Gods delayes are not only not denials but improvements of Gods favour God increaseth and commendeth the excellencies of his mercies by delayes he recompenceth our expectation and waiting for them with putting in greater sweetness into those favours when they come I say God increaseth the comfort answerable to the delay as in the 61. Isa 7. God to comfort the distressed Church in the time of calamity for their affliction faith he they shall have double Double what Double comforts for their tryals Our light afflictions faith the Apostle that are but for a moment cause us a farr more excellent and sxrpassing weight of glory A weight of glory for light Afflictions an eternal weight of glory for momentary afflictions Here is the issue As our afflictions have abonnded so our consolations abound much more This is the course of God Thirdly know that Gods delayes are never long at the longest they are but for a short time what if he delay a year what if twenty thirty forty years what if the the life of a man this is no great delay Compare this time of thy waiting for mercy with the time to come of thy enjoying of mercy A small time of waiting on earth to an eternity of recompence in heaven Compare eternity with the time of thy suffering Alas how little what a small or no agreement is between them A moment to eternity If the life of a man should extend to a hundred years to a thousand yeares to which age never man yet lived yet that is but a point a moment to eternity A thousand years past and to come they are but as yester-day to God Take the eternity past in God himself that is without all beginning and the eternity to come that shall be without all end and put the life of man in the middest of these two and we will conclude it is as a point in the middest of a circumference it is but a moment nay not so much as a moment of time Stretch out the duty of Patience then hast thou waited a week wait a month a year seven years seventy years nay seventy Ages all the ages of the world if it were possible All these are but a moment to eternity And where is there a man that hath waited so long but God that his servants may not faint in their expectation either supports them with other comforts lest they should faint in their desire or else giveth them that which they desire before their hearts faint Know therefore that it is no such great matter for
for so witnesseth the Wise-man Prov. 28. If we confesse and leave our sins we shall have mercy So David saith Psal 32.3 4. I said I will confesse my sins and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin And Saint John telleth us in his 1. Epist 1.9 If we confesse our sins God is faithful and true to forgive us our sins So you see Confession as well as sorrow absolutely required to obtain remission A man must even Arraigne and as it were indite himself before God plead guilty acknowledg his trespass whatsoever it be and judge himself worthy to be destroyed for them or else he repents not though he weep out his eyes with mourning and lamentation The third thing requisite is a firm purpose of amendment of life Whosoever will have God to accept his teares and bend a favourable care to his humiliation and acknowledgement he must so acknowledge what evil he hath already done that he put on a stedfast purpose of doing so no more according to the direction that our Saviour Christ giveth to the man that he had healed Joh. 5. Goe thy way and sin no more and as Saint Paul speaks Let him that stole steal no more And therefore the Wise-man putteth on this part to the former in the before alledged place If we confesse our sins and leave them we shall find mercy There must be I say a settled purpose and a fixed flat determination in the soul of every man to cast off those transgressions that he hath confest and to return no more to commit them at least not to allow those sins that he hath acknowledged Lastly there must be added to the former three or else they will not availe neither an earnest supplication to God for mercy and forgiveness through the mediation of his wel-beloved Son Jesus Christ which was wont to be craving mercy without this mentioning of Christ before he was offered and revealed to the world But now it must be so done as we must specially and particularly prefer our thoughts and desires to him in begging mercy at his Fathers hands for his sake alone So David after the numbring of the people I have done exceeding foolishly but Lord blot out for give the sin of thy servant So God commandeth Hos 14.2 Take to you words and say to the Lord receive us graciously So did David when he renewed his repentance and so must all men do when they begin to repent Have mercy upon me according to the multitude of thy mercies and blot out my transgressions c. These are the parts of repentance And this is the first thing required at our hands as the condition of the Covenant of Grace without which we can never obtain life eternal And this repentance consisteth of sorrow for sin and acknowledgment of it to God with a firm purpose of amendment and earnest petition of pardon for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ And this is such a Doctrine as the Covenant of works the Law never taught to the sons of men Nay verily it will not admit it the Law scorns as it were to admit repentance for it excludeth sin Repentance implieth sin in all the degrees and kinds therefore it is far from accepting Repentance if thou hast once broke the Law repent or not repent amend or nor amend be sorry or not sorry thou shalt never be pardoned or forgiven It is a rough and stern School-master that will whip and scourge offending children though they crave pardon never so much It is a rough Creditour that will throttle the Debtour and cast him into Prison though he confess the debt and be never so importunate in asking favour and patience But the Covenant of Grace it is a sweet Doctrine a comfortable Doctrine Thou hast sinned oh man and broken the Law and fallen from the favour of God and all possibility of salvation in thy self but come be sorry for thy sin acknowledg it to thy Maker resolve to run on in it no longer cry to him for pardon of it he will graciously pardon thee This is a sweet Doctrine you see full of comfort and consolation yet it is a Doctrine that tendeth to the honour of the Justice of God as well as to the honour of his grace and love the Lord could not prescribe other conditions for receiving us to favour but that we should repent What Judg would so abuse mercy as having past the sentence of death upon a Malefactour will yet pardon him and save him from the halter if he be not sorry for his crime and come and intreat for mercy and favour and confess that he hath offended and promise never to do so again there is no mercy and pardon for such a one because mercy must not oppose Justice though it may somewhat as we may say mitigate Justice The bloud of Christ if it were shed ten thousand times over it could never corrupt the Justice of God it may satisfie it but not corrupt it now the Justice of God were corrupted if it should admit an impenitent and hard-hearted sinner to favour and bestow upon him remission of sins and life everlasting that would never leave it nor forsake it nor be sorry for it but still go on to offend God and trample under foot his authority this being coutrary to Justice in the very nature and essence of Justice it cannot possibly be effected no not by the shedding of the bloud of Christ the bloud of Christ is of that vallue that it satisfieth the Justice of God and causeth him upon the penitence and humiliation of a sinner to receive him to grace and favour You see now what is the first part of the Condition required on our side for the obtaining of life by Christ that is Repentance The next is Faith in Christ This we are taught every where If thou beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ saith the Apostle to the trembling Jaylour thou shalt be saved And saith our Saviour this is the work of God that ye beleeve on him whom he hath sent This beleeving on Christ is I suppose nothing else bnt a staying and resting and depending and relying upon the merits and satisfaction of our blessed Saviour by the vertue and merit thereof to obtain remission of sins and eternal life and all good things promised in the New covenant at the hands of God He that goeth quite out of himself forgetteth all his own actions casteth behind him whatsoever seemed good in him and wholly claspeth on Christ and cleaveth to him staies on him resteth on him for the remission of sins and for the favour of God and for grace and salvation this man beleeveth in the Lord Jesus Christ and this man performs that duty which makes him one with Christ that causeth him to become a member of that mystical body whereof Christ is the head and that causeth him to be one with the Father and to be the child of
it is you do not know when your consciences a little awaked shall make report of your life past how in matters of God you have been ignorant superstitious careless neglecting his worship despising his Word blaspheming his Name mispending his Sabbaths in dealing with men you have been cruel false unmerciful oppressing in the usage of your own bodies unchast vicious lustful proud wanton wallowing in excess what peace can your souls have when these things be thought upon what calmness of spirit what hope of entring into rest how can you think that the end can be comfortable when the life hath been abominable What answer made Jehu to Joram when he demanded Is it peace Jehu What peace said he so long as the whoredomes of thy mother Jezabel and her witchcrafts are so many So when Death comes like Jehu marching furiously against you and you enquire of him whether he comes with peace or no he will answer what peace when your whoredoms and your gross and crying sins are yet in great number What peace when these make a partition betwixt your souls and the Lord Certainly there can be no peace but a fearful expectation of judgement and violent fire to devour Suffer me then to conclude this exhortation as Daniel did his speech to Nebuchadnezzar O King break off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor So say I break off your sins by repentance your ignorance by seeking after knowledge your contempt of Gods word by a reverent yeelding to it your security by a standing in awe of God your neglecting the exercises of Religion by careful using of them your whoredom by chastity your drunkenness by sobriety your malice by charity your oppression by mercy your falshood by fidelity this is the way that will bring peace at the last thus and thus only you may find rest for your souls THE VITALL FOUNTAIN OR LIFES ORIGINAL SERMON XXXV JOHN 11.25 26. I am the Resurrection and the Life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die THese Words that I have read to you they are part of the conference between Martha and Christ when Christ was coming to Bethany to awake Lazarus from the sleep of death The conference is laid down from the beginning of the 21. Verse to the end of the 27. and Martha meeting with Christ begins the conference as we may see verse 21 22. Then said Martha to Jesus Lord if thou haddest been here my brother had not died but I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God God will give it thee Here Martha manifests her affection to her dead brother and her faith in her living Master she manifests the strength of her natural affection and the weakness and imperfection of her faith The strength of her natural affection appears in this that she was perswaded if Christ had been there present her brother Lazarus had not died he would not have suffered Lazarus to have dyed which for ought we know is more then she had sufficient ground for Then the weakness and imperfection of her faith appears in this that she rested too much upon the corporal presence of Christ that she ascribed no more power to Christ then that by his prayer he could attain at Gods hands as much as ever any holy man did namely the life of her brother I know saith she that ever now whatsoever thou askest God will give it Whereas Christ being true God was able to work any miracle by his own power Now the answer of Christ is laid down verse 23. Jesus said unto her thy brother shall rise again Christ to comfort Martha passeth by her infirmity and promiseth to her that he will restore her brother to life again that she shall enjoy her brother again but this promise is only laid down in general and indifinite termes Thy brother shall rise again Christ doth not say expresly I will raise up thy brother to life but he speaks only in general terms Thy brother shall rise again which we are to ascribe to the modesty and humility that alwayes may be observed in the speeches of Christ Thy brother shall rise again Then we have the reply of Martha laid down in verse 24. Martha said unto him I know he shall rise again in the Resurrection at the last day Martha was not satisfied with this promise of Christ for it seems she durst not take it in the full extent of it therefore she replies that as for the last Resurrection she knew indeed that her brother and all others that were dead should then rise again this did comfort her but for any other matter of comfort she could not gather any from the answer of Christ and his promise therefore Christ replies again in the words of my Text And Jefus said unto her I am the Resurrection and the life he that believes in me though he were dead yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die Christ would have Martha know that he was true life yea the fountain of all life and such a fountain of life that whosoever did believe in him and cleave to him nothing should hurt him no not Death it self Thus you see briefly the coherence and the scope of the words We come now to shew you the meaning of them In these words we may observe these two parts First here we have laid down a compound proposition And then the distinct Exposition or explication thereof First here we have laid down a compound Axiome or Proposition a copulative Proposition wherein Christ affirms two things of himself First I am the Resurrection Secondly I am the Life I am the Resurrection I am the Life Now the difference between these two we may conceive with reverend Calvin to be this I am the Resurrection That is I have all quickning power in me I am able to restore and give life to those that are dead And then I am the life I have such quickning power in me that I am able to preserve and continue the life that I have given or restored to any I am the Resurrection and the life And then follows the Exposition of this Proposition and of the several members of it for the truth of a copulative Proposition depends upon the truth of both the parts and members of it therefore there followes the Explication and confirmation of both the parts of this Proposition First of the first part I am the Resurrection this is explained and comfirmed in these words He that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live I have such a quickning power in me faith Christ that I am able to restore spiritual life to that soul that is dead in sins therefore I am able to raise up the body that is dead in the grave I am able to give spiritual life to the soul which is greater
the Saints in Heaven that live in the fruition and sight of God wherein they are blessed such a life we perswade you to A life infinitely above this if this life had all the contentment the earth could give it it were not worthy to be compared though a man might live a thousand years in the confluence and abundance of all prosperity it were not to be compared with one moment of the happiness of the spiritual life that we shall life in for all eternity with Christ Now consider take things and compare them together here is such a particular sin that I was given to to pride to covetousness to prophaneness to wickedness of this fort or of that fort if I go on in it I die eternally I lose God and heaven and my soul and happiness what shall I get by this when I have done it I gratifie Satan I destroy my soul I have lost my self and am undone for ever And what a madness is this for a man to venture the eternal ruin and destruction of himself and that for a thing of nothing for that that will make him miserable now and more miserable eternally Consider and know to whom I speak I speak to you that have heard the Word and many times received the Sacrament What did you when you received the Sacrament was it not a pledge to you of your interest in Christ and of your union with him and that Christ is as truly united with you as that you eat and drank Now let it appear make you account whatsoever you were before make you account reckon ye go not by guess and say I hope it will be better with me then it hath been no but reckon conclude made account I must be another man I may not be what I was I must leave those things that are ill I must apply my selfe to another course Indeed I walked in a way of enmity to the wayes of God in estraingement from God in worldly wicked wayes but it must not now be so I must make account now that Christ is mine I am now dead to sin and therefore dead to sin that I may live to God if there be any life of grace in me it will appear by my death to sin I must make account of this I must do this and this is the best way of making a right use of the Sacrament Why are men as bad after the Sacrament as before because they reckon not they make not account for themselves that they are dead to sin Make account you have received life from Christ and you must act that life and now set your selves to it reason with your own hearts why do I thus and thus As Ezra reasons Ezra 9.13 Lord since thou hast kept us from being beneath for our iniquities should we sin more So consider hath the Lord kept me from hel and admitted me to his Table where he hath spoken peace to me he hath spoken reconciliation in Christ shall I return to sin against him certainly he will be more angry now then ever he was before the sins that I commit now will be greater then all the sins I have committed hitherto for now I sin against more grace and against greater mercy for God hath again renewed the Covenant of peace whereas he might have cast me off for my former breach and shall I provoke him again hath the Lord washed me and shall I defile my self again God forbid Reason with your selves I must not be as I was it is not for me to do as others that know not God and that are not in Covenant with God or as I was wont to do before I know what it is to bind my self in covenant to receive the Sacrament I must be in another fashion and course of life then ever I have been Therefore when temptations come to sin for you must not think to be rid of all motions and temptations to sin and whensoever there comes new temptations not to conclude you have received the Sacrament in vain say not so but rather say now comes the tryal this is that whereby God will try what fruit comes of the cost and pains and mercies he hath bestowed on me here is a messenger sent for fruit If I can withstand the commands of sin and resist the motions and look on it as a hateful thing I make it manifest that I am indeed dead to sin as the Scripture saith here reckon that you are dead to sin Therefore as when a man is delivered from being a Galley-slave under the Turks and his ransome is paid if his old Master come and command him to the Galleyes he saith no my ransome is paid I am free and I will not any more be a slave So reckon thou art no more to be such as thou wert wont to be for now reckon your selves saith the Apostle if you be in Christ that you are dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. HOPES ANCHOR-HOLD OR THE HELMET OF SALVATION SERMON XXXVIII 1 COR. 15.19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable I Will not detain you with the Argument of this Chapter nor in the Coherence of this Scripture The scope of it in a word is thus much If in this life in this World onely for the present we have hope and confidence in Christ and the aim of our confidence and the height of our hope reach no further then we we poor Christians we the faithful in the World we are of all men most miserable yea we are more miserable than any other men The words contain in them two parts of a Hypothetical Proposition of which the first is an Antecedent as we call it and the other is the Consequent You may call the first a Condition and the last a Conclusion The Antecedent or Condition is this If in this life onely we have hope in Christ What then then the Consequent or Conclusion is this then are we of all men the most miserable But now against the Antecedent there ariseth this Assumption to make up the sence to make it perfect But not in this life onely have we hope in Christ for that is the meaning of the Apostle therefore against the Consequent ariseth this Conclusion Therefore we are not of all men the most miserable nay we are not miserable at all You see here are terms in the Text of great consequence here is life here is hope here is Christ here is men here is misery and here is all things almost that can be said either concerning Heaven or earth Now mark it is not said If in this life we have hope we are miserable neither if we have hope in Christ in this life then are we miseable not so but if our hope be onely in this life and stick there and go no further then so then we are miserable There are two Emphatical terms in the Text we must take notice of and
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
present calamities of a mans life For crosses of any kind in name state freinds or families or in whatsoever a man hath or goeth about they may all be reduced to this one head when a man cometh from a state of health to a state of sickness from a state of comfort to a state of sorrow from acquaintance and society to be as a Pelican in the wilderness as David speaks destitute of all freinds and helps from inward rejoycing in his heart in the assurance of Gods love to spiritual disertions wherein he seemeth to be as in a cloud under the frowns of God When a man is in this case how shall he exercise Patience how shall he come to it Briesly the way for a man to get patience in such cases as these is this First to consider that there is no change in my life there is no condition whatsoever that I am cast into but it is ordered by God Set thy soul awork now to give God his glory in that change of thy life First give God the glory of his absolute Soveraignty and Dominion Secondly give him the glory of his wisdome Thirdly give him the glory of his mercy in those changes of thy life that seem most grievous to thee First I say give him the glory of his absolute soveraignty Acknowledge him an absolute in-dependant Lord that doth what he will among the creatures His will is the rule of all his actions upon the creatures here below and uncontroul'd unquestionable It is high arrogancy and presumption and pride of spirit for the creature to contest with his Creator concerning his actions on earth Let every man reason thus I must give God the glory of his Soveraignty and acknowledge that he hath power and right to rule all the families of the earth and why not mine as well as another Why not my person as well as anothers Why not to order all the changes of my life as well as another mans That which Benhadad spake proudly to Ahab thy silver and thy gold thy wives and thy children and thy house and thy Citie are mine That may God speak truely and by right All that thon hast and all that thou art is mine therefore give him that glory that Job did in the change of his life The Lord hath given the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. The Lord that gave hath right to take what he will There is nothing that will keep the creature in his due place but the consideration of Gods absolute soveraignty This consideration was that that meekned the spirit of Eli when that heavy message was brought to him that there should come such misery upon his house that whosoever heard it both his eares should tingle well saith he It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good It is the Lord and it becometh not servants to stand and contend with their Lord. So David when the Priests offered him their service to go along with him to the field from Absolom If saith he I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord he will bring me back to Jerusalem and his tabernacle but if he thus say I have no delight in thee behold here am I let him do to me as seemeth good unto him Here was that that humbled the spirit of David when he considered that he was under the hands of an absolute Lord let the Lord do with me what seemeth him good Secondly as thou must give him the glory of his soveraignty so of his wisdome Know that God ordereth all his wayes with wisdome and counsel he knoweth what is good for his children Ye are content when ye are sick that the Physitian should diet ye because ye account him wise and one that hath skill in that course If God diet thee for the purging out of some corruption and for the curing of some spiritual disease in thy soul submit to God in this case be willing to resigne thy self up to be ordered by him A man that hath a Gangreen or such a dangerous disease in his body submitteth to the Surgeon in his course though it be to the cutting and sawing off a limb though it be never so painful and the losse be never so great yet he is for the saving of his life willing to have that taken away God is a wise God that knoweth what estate is best for thee not onely when tryals are better than comforts but what one kind of tryall is better then another it may be it is better to exercise one with poverty another with disgrace another with spiritual trouble another with restraint of liberty which particular tryall is necessary to cure that disease and which this that is in my soul the heavenly Physitian will bring that upon thee as a spirituall prescription and a heavenly course that he takes in insinite wisdome to cure thee Lastly give him in all this the glory of his mercy What hast thou lost but thou maiest have lost a great deal more What dost thou suffer but thou maiest have suffered a great deal more As Alcibiades when he was told that one had stollen half his plate I have cause faith he rather to be thankeful that he took no more then to be troubled that he took so much I am sure it is true of God in this case what hath God took from thee some part of thy estate some friend some comfort of thy life some one or other particular comfort could he not have done more He afflicteth thee in thy body he might have afflicted thee in thy soul and a wounded spirit who can bear He hath afflicted thee in some one member of thy body he could have cast body and soul into Hell There is not a tryall upon thee but God could have made it heavier let that make thee therefore to submit with a more meek heart and willing spirit to God as a merciful God as the Church in the Lamentations It is the Lords mercy that we are not consumed the Church was in great affliction when the Babilonians came upon them and they were driven from the house of God and their own houses but yet it was Gods mercy that they were not consumed So the Prophet Jeremy telleth Baruch in the captivity Seekest thou great things for thy selfe thou shalt have thy life for a prey Baruch was wondrously disquieted he complained that the Lord had added grief to his sorrow What grief was that that He must go to Egypt and after to Babylon Well saith the Prophet thy case is not so heavy as thou seemest to make it thou shalt have thy life for a prey in all places wheresoever thou goest God might have taken away life and all but thy life thou shalt have for a prey Therefore be content with so much So I say to thee when great afflictions comes upon thee they might have been greater therefore consider that that thou maiest give
too he is a man that liveth to himself This was the case of the second and third grounds they received the seed with joy that is when they were sensible of comfort they followed Christ but afterward when persecution arose for the Gospel they fell off and took offence Such as these live to themselves they seem to live to God but it is to themselves and therefore when self-respects fail they fall off too Secondly take another instance for the clearing of it Suppose that not only sensible advantages fail but sensible disadvantages come in the world A man is sensible that he shall disadvantage himself much if he go on in the wayes of obedience to God It may be if he make conscience of his wayes he must make restitution of his estate unjustly gotten He must deny himself in a greater measure of pleasures that he hath unlawfully pursued He must empty himself in works of mercy and piety of a great part of his estate for the good of others that God may be glorified by his substance He shall lose some worldly friends some esteem among men Here are sensible disadvantages to a man Now the Question is what he resolveth to do Here is the command of God and here is the thing whereupon the heart of man and his affections are set upon disadvantages in the world These come together Here is an occasion for a lust a sinful affection to express it self If that be laid in the ballance and shall prevaile above the other that rather then I will endure disadvantage in the world I will neglect the way of serving God this party liveth to himself whatsoever good he did before in matters of religion all was done to himself I say when these two come together as you know when two men walk together and one servant followeth them a man knoweth not whose servant he is till they part but then when they part a stranger may know whose servant he is he followeth his own Master and leaveth the other So when God and the world go together God and a mans own advantages go together when their is nothing commanded but standeth with his own advantages so long a mans deceitful heart may flatter and delude and misguide him he may go on in a false perswasion and in a strong conceit that he is in Christ in a blessed estate But when these two part that I shall not only not advantage my self but sensibly disadvantage my self in outward things Here now I say the the Question is what a man doth If I resolve to cleave to my outward advantages and leave God and leave the wayes of God I live to my self A man that liveth to God you shall see it is otherwise with him as for instance David when he might have had the kingdome of Israel somewhat sooner by sin he would not do it his heart smote him for cutting off the â—…appe of Sauls garment though he might have gained the kingdome of Israel by it he would not lay his hands on the Lords anointed And what was the reason of it because he would not advantage himself by disobedience to God he would rather want himself What was the reason that Daniel when he saw he was in an apparent hazard not only of the loss of honour but of his life and that for the performance but of one duty prayer and that but for a short time yet would not omit it no not for a short time though he might by that not only have saved his life but kept his honour in the Court he prayed to God even at that time when he was forbidden Why so because he lived to God and not to himself Had Daniel lived to and sought himself more then God he would have dispensed with this and saved both his life and honour though he had offended God in that particular of omission But this is the disposition of a heart that is faithful and upright with God it will not dishonour God for the greatest advantage that can come to it self it will not neglect a duty to God whatsoever loss it have in the world Thirdly Take another instance whereby we may see what we intend in this tryall Let the will of God and the bent of a mans own will come in competition together God will have me leave this I will hold it God will have me forsake this I will keep it It is a comfort a wordly benefit I lose my comfort if I part with it He that now liveth to himself he will please his own will and be disquieted and vexed against Gods will that crosseth his But he that liveth to God will be contenâ—… that God should cross him in his will because he would glorisie God in his own will in his soveraignty in his purity in his holiness and justice c. See it in the case of Abraham Abraham had a strong love to Isaac and good cause yet nevertheless though he could see a comfort to himself in this son when God telleth him thou must sacrifice thy son Isaac when he had the revealed will of God Abraham now resolveth to shew that he lived to God and not to himself therefore he would part with any comfort of his life for God when he required it So David If the Lord will saith he he can bring me back that I shall see the Tabernacle and the Arkâ—… if not If he say I have no pleasure iâ—… thee loe here I am let the Lord do with me as seemeth good in his owneyes When the case is this when the will of God crosseth thy will what now prevaileth Doth the desire of having thy own will prevail against the desire of submitting to Gods will Doth it raise murmuring and impatiency of spirit So far thou livest to thy self Therefore consider this Here is an occasion now for a lust and a sinful affection to shew it self either a man may advantage himself in an evil course or he cannot but disadvantage himself in a good course or when God crosseth a man in that he desireth and delights in in the world That is the first tryal whereby a man may know whether he liveth to himself Secondly another tryal will be this Consider if their be any part of the truth of God of his revealed will that for self-respects thou art willing to be ignorant of least the knowledge of it should make the do somewhat to thy own disadvantage in this thou livest to thy self See this to be true in all that live to themselves Balaam though he profest that for a house full of gold he would not go beyond the word of the Lord yet notwithstanding he was willing not to take notice of Gods will but to go on rather to curse Johanan in Jer. 42. professeth deeply that he would obey the will of the Lord but when he understood the will of the Lord when it crost his will then saith he to Jeremy It is not the Lord that hath bid
the Gospel and you shall prove your selves to have begun to have kept Christ saying if you be thankful for his making of it known unto and for writing of it in your hearts This is the first Vse Next I beseech you let me take boldness to reprove I fear a great number of you of a sin whereof I will make it appear you are guilty Men there are that make large promises to themselves that they shall never be damned they shall not go to Hell they hope Death shall not have power to dragg them from this world to the place of darkness Thou hopest so Come render a reason of thy hope To hope without a ground is to deceive ones self with extream folly As for example there are a number of prisoners in New-gate or in some other Prison should they hope for some man of great wealth to pay their debts and save them from hanging should they not be arrant fools to hope except they could shew some ground for their hope and some evidence for their expecting of such a kindness Thou that hopest thou shall never see Death come answer God in thy conscience dost thou keep the saying of Christ or no Where is the knowledge of the Doctrine of the Gospel Dost thou beleeve that which concerns thee touching thy misery and so apply that to thy self to make thee a penitent sinner Dost thou beleeve the Doctrin concerning the Remedy and so apply that to thy self to make thee perfect thy repentance by being not only grieved for sin but taking boldness to confesse it and ask pardon and by framing thy self in thankfulness to amendment of life and new obedience Dost thou I say know this Doctrine and so know it as to practise it Hope and spare not the more thou hopest the better thy hope is the stronger and surer it is the more thou glorifiest God and the more it shall comfort thee But oh unhappy man if thou findest not in thy self the care and power in some measure to do these things cursed be thy hopes because they be disgracefull to Almighty God tending to make him a lyar and an unjust person and because they are dangerours to thy own soul tending to rock thee asleep in the cradle of security Cursed be those unsound and sandy-built hopes of most men that never yet applied themselves to confesse and lament their sins that never applied themselves to crave pardon and to resolve upon amendment that never studied to throw themselves into the Armes of Gods mercy in Christ for pardon that never intended to mortifie the deads of the body and to subdue the flesh with the lusts thereof and yet they hope they shall not be damned thou maist as well hope that the Divel shall come out of Hell into Heaven as thou to go out of earth into Heaven If thy hope be not grounded upon the workings of these graces because thou findest thy self penitent because thou findest thy self careful to strive to rest wholly upon Christ for salvation because thou findest thy self industrious in the study of newness of life except I say thy hope be thus grounded it is the vainest thing in the world and it will never do the good at the last hour Brethren give me leave to tell you that there are two Gospels in the world the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Belzebub as I may call it the Gospel of the Divel that comes from Hell and tendeth to bring men thither Christs Gospel is Repent and beleeve and obey and be saved The Divels gospelis say you beleeve make your selves imagine that you have faith and then never care for repentance and obedience and you shall be saved Christs Gospel is summed up thus by the Prophets Return to him and live But the Divils goeth thus Assure thy self thou shalt live though thou care not for repentance Oh let not the Divel beguile you with that false and counterfeit Gospel of his whosoever leaneth to it shall find it like the Authour of it a Lyar and when he hath trusted to it that confidence and hope of his shall be as the Spiders web the Beesome of destruction shall sweep it and him down to the depth of Hell Death shall have dominion over him and carry him from this present world to the region of darkness into eternal torment he shall see Death in the grimness and terribleness of it he shall feel it in all the extremity that the wrath of God can inflict upon the children of disobedience Thirdly I have to command and require you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that you apply your selves to a thing tending so much to the honour of him and to the commodity and comfort of your own souls I have shewed you that Jesus Christ hath revealed a way how you should escape the danger of Death eternal and the hurt of Death natural I beseech you now fall a doing one while as you have been busied in hearing To what purpose is it that you flock to hear Sermons and throng to receive the Word except you lay it up in your hearts and apply your selves to practise If thou hast not begun before now begin if thou hast begun before now resolve to proceed with more life and courage Either begin or persist in the practise of the Doctrine of the Gospel If thou hast not repented I require thee in the name of the living God to make this hour the first beginning of thy repentance and apply thy self to lay the foundation of that work before thou lay thy head to sleep Go and call to mind thy sins and make thy cheeks wet at least thy heart heavy for the multitude of thy great offences down on thy knees in thy Closet make thy confession of them to God sigh for them mourn for them labour to weep for them afflict thy soul with great sorrow and remorse then cry for pardon and remission as the thiese begs at the bar for mercy so do thou for the forgiveness of thy sins through Christ Jesus and put upon thy self a firm resolution and stedfast purpose to go on no more in the wayes of wickedness to practise grosse sins no more nor no more to allow any sin that thou knowest to be a sin though it be never so small Doe thus my brethren and then you may and will it will follow almost of it self rest on Christ for salvation He that so seeth his own sins as unfeignedly to lament for them and to judge himself before God if he apprehend the truth of the Doctrine of the Gospel he cannot for his life but come on amain and throw himself down before Christ to imbrace and receive and entertain him and lie in his Bosome And that man cannot for his life when he seeth the sweetness of the grace of God in Christ but resolve to obey him and determin to walk in the wayes of holiness and take pains and use industry for the
receive the sentence either of Come ye blessed or go ye cursed After which sentence once pronounced there shall never question be made of the end of the joy of the one or the ease of the torments of the other But here ariseth a question you know the world consists but of two sorts of persons beleevers and unbeleevers For the beleever it is evident and plain Joh. 5.24 He is passed already from death to life he hath everlasting life already he shall not come into judgement And for the unbeleever it is as plain Joh. 3.18 that he is already condemned even already both are judged already both the beleever and unbeleever the beleever is saved already the unbeleever is damned already what need therefore a general a second Judgement To this I answer that there is a very great need of it both in respect of the justice and of the mercy of God whose property it is alway to reward the godly and to punish the wicked which seeing he doth not to the full in this life it must needs be that a day will come that he will fully do it You know the course of the Lord as David speaks good men have bands in their death and wicked men are lusty and strong good men are in evil condition and wicked men in prosperity Diogenes the Cinnick seeing Harpalus a thief long in prosperity he was bold to say that wicked Harpalus his living long in prosperity it was an argument to Diogenes that God had cast off his care of the world that he respected not mens affairs And indeed the prosperity of the wicked hath brought the Saints of God to a stand Davids foot slipped almost in seeing the prosperity of the wicked It made Job to say Job 24.12 Men groan out of the City by reason of oppression and the souls of the slain cry out and yet God chargeth them not with folly This made Jeremiah to expostulate his cause with the Lord Jerem. 12. Let me talk with thee of thy judgments Why doth the wicked prosper and they that transgress thy commandements This makes the godly take up that passionate complaint Psal 73.11 How doth God know it is there any knowledg in the most high Certainly we have cleansed our hearts in vain in vain we have washed our hands in innocency in vain we labour to live godly lives Why Every day we are chastened for the Lord corrects us every morning And these have the wealth of the world they have the world at will We in Christianity know this to be true Dives hath the world at will while poor Lazarus is shut out of doors hungry and thirsty cold and naked full of necessity every way This being so the day must needs come that the one shall have fulnesse of glory and the other of misery But to answer those places before cited To the former Joh. 5. where it is said The beleever is passed already from death to life he hath everlasting life already It is true he is passed already from death to life by faith he hath it already and by hope he shall not come into judgement that is of condemnation so we must understand it but there is a judgement of absolution that is to be executed and so when the Lord Jesus Christ shall descend from heaven with the sound of a Trumpet and the voyce of the Archangels then the dead in Christ shall rise first and be caught up in the clouds to meet Christ and then they shall be set at his right hand and hear that heavenly sentence Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the beginning of the world You see the answer to that that beleevers shall not come into judgement that is not the judgement of condemnation but of absolution at the last day Now for the other place where it is said Joh. 3.18 the unbeleever is condemned already It is true he is condemned already and that three wayes First of all he is condemned already in the counsel of God Secondly he is condemned already in the word of God Thirdly he is condemned already in his own conscience First in the counsel of God God hath made an eternal decree of Predestination whereby he hath elected some to salvation and predestinated them thereto and others to damnation In this Gods eternal decree the unbeleever is already condemned nay before ever he came into the world as you have it in the example of Jacob and Esaâ—… Rom. 9. before ever they had done good or evil God hated the one and loved the other Secondly in the word of God he is condemned Jo. 3.18 Why because he hates the light and loves darkness Thirdly in his own conscience he is condemned for the continual horrour thereof gives him no rest day nor night there is a worm continually gnawing there and a sting tormenting him but the full execution thereof is to be in the day of wrath when he shall be set at the left hand of Christ and hear the sentence Goe ye cursed into eternal fire prepared for the divel and his Angels O what a terrible day will this be to all the wicked workers of iniquity for Christ Jesus the Judge shall come then to give them their reward This shall be a black a sad a woful dismal day to them they shall not be able to look on the Judge he shall be so terrible to them You see the terriblness of the Judge set down by Saint John Revel 20.10 11. where it is said he saw a great white throne and one sitting thereon from whose face fâ—…ed heaven and earth and their place was no more found Heaven and earth are great and mighty creatures insensible creatures that have not sinned they flie and tremble and hide themselves at the coming of the great Judge and shall man silly sinful man think to stand before the Judge without trembling Indeed if a man could present himself spotless without blame he needed not to fear but alas it is far otherwise there is none that doth good and sinneth not saith Solomon The most righteous before men are stained and poluted in the sight of God and may cry with the Leper Unclean unclean what is man that he should be pure or the son of man that he should be just with God The Angels of heaven are impure in his sight how much more filthy man that drinketh iniquity as water Job 15. So in Psal 14.2 When God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there were any that would uuderstand and seek after God Will he find any that frames themselves according to the rule of perfection that he requires surely no but this he finds they are all corrupt and abominable in their doings there is none that doth good no not one so sinful is man in his whole race sinful in his conception he is conceived in sin before ever he sees light in this
he was out of the way the Angel watcheth him and catcheth him in this corner and in that corner he could go into no corner but the Angel with his drawn sword was ready to meet him and to slay him And the Apostle saith of those that were led away by false teachers Their damnation sleepeth not Gods judgments are alway waking thou maist sleep on both sides in sin but Gods justice sleepeth not And thou that art the Lords if thou sleep know that correction and chastisement sleepeth not and they will awake thee thou wert better to awake by slighter means To conclude all consider that all of us there is no man upon the earth but we are all going to meet the mortal sleep of death and if we shall when that meets us have our own consciences tell us that we have also a spiritual sleep within us that we carry a spiritnal sleep to meet that mortal sleep what a miserable and mournful state will that be when the heart of man or woman that is coming to die shall say and speak aloud and witness against his Master O thou hast been a sluggish and sleepy Christian thou hast had good means but thou hast not kept thy watch thou wouldest sleep do what the exhortations of the Word could thou wouldest be a drowsie Christian Hence it comes to pass that so many when on their death-bed they come to grapple with that mortal sleep and then conscience porclaims against them then they cry Oh that I had but one day but one hour more that I might waken and strengthen the things that are ready to die and that it might be better with me then it is But alas now their short day is past and one perpetual night to come and now it is too late as it proves many times Therefore let not time go but know that that mournful day must come upon us we must meet that mortal sleep Let us labour to shake off spiritual sleep drowsiness of spirit and make our peace in the mean time that conscience may witness with us and for us at the day of death and judgment Let us labour to be watchful and desire to be ready for the Lord and to have our accounts ready for him This shall suffice for the words Now for our occasion because this is my first occasion of this kind I must enter with a preface and that is this that as I have ever been in the course of my ministery so I shall be very sparing in the praise of the dead because I know that these exercises are appointed for the instructing of the living and the consolation of those that survive and not for the praise and commemoration of the dead Besides I know and see by daily experience every where how few there be that in their life time deserve the praise of Religion in their death For my part I never did nor never will gild a rotten post or a mud wall or give false witness in praising to give the praise of Religion to those that deserve it not I desire those of my congregation would make their own Funeral Sermons while they be living by their vertuous life and conversation As the Apostle saith He hath not praise that is praised of meh but he that is praised of God THE RIGHTEOUS MANS RESTING-PLACE OR AFENCE AGAINST UNNECESSARY FEARS SERMON XXVII GEN. 15.1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abraham saying Fear not Abraham I am thy shield and they exceeding great reward THe tender mercy of God is seen in nothing more than in afflicting his own people for he proportions his castisements not to our deserts but to our streugth and you shall ordinarily observe where Almighty GOD laies a heavy affliction he gives an extraordinary assistance when he leads any of his people through a hot fire he is with them in extraordinary manner This holy Saint Abraham as he was the Father of the Faithful so he was a pattern to all the faithful in both these both in his tryals and in Gods assistance There was never any man called to more tryals than he to leave his Country and his Kindred and his Fathers house and after to sacrifice his own Son And there was never any man more assisted from God as we see in those many apparitions that God vouchsafed him Comforting him sometimes in Dreams and Visions Sometimes he appeared to him in an admirable and most friendly manner talking with him as a man doth with his Friend One of them are in this Chapter The Lord appeared to Abraham and comforted him in the midst of his tryals and troubles Where you may see an admirable incouragement that God gives to his servant Abraham You may note First the incouragement it self that is not to fear Secondly note the time when God gave him this incouragement when he had encountred with those Kings immediatly before as we see in Chapter 14. And when he was to encounter with many evils and troubles after then the Lord appeared to him Thirdly note the manner how God is pleased to reveal this comfort that is by way of vision God appeared by vision Fourthly note the ground of this comfort and incouragemeat that God gives him and that is taken from a twofold Argument First what God was to him in regard of any evils that he did feel or fear he was his shield to bear them off Secondly in regard of all the good things that Abraham could lose in the world an exceeding great reward he would be to him all in all So you see this portion of Scripture affords plentiful matter for instruction and consolation All that I will speak of at this time I will wind up in this proposition that is that They that are in covenant with God and labour to keep his covenant as faithful Abraham was and did they may be a people without all carnal and inordinate fear For Abraham felt much and had just cause to expect more but in the middest of all God appeared to him and bid him he should not fear And what was spoken to Abraham is spoken to us for he was the Father of the faithful and they that are of the faith with Abraham are blessed with him So then the blessing of Abraham and all the incouragements that were given to him they belong not to him only but to all that are the spiritual seed of Abraham to all the faithful so that the Proposition is not limitted to him but extends to all A Doctrine if ever needful it is now We know how it is with all men that are out of Covenant with God Adam as soon as he had sinned he runs from God he was afraid and hid himself from the face of God so every unregenerate man is except his conscience be ignorant in a dead sleep and cauterized for he seeth God on the one side a revenging Judge and he knows himself on the other side to be guilty and
discouragements on him that he desires Secondly another advantage he hath for this end is this that is he wondrously prevails upon the heart of man by a careless neglect that is in men every man loves ease There is such a spirit in man such a disposition in the spirit of man that he avoids the things ordinarily that have great labour this disposition to ease and rest Satan serves himself on and makes great use of so when a man hath come from hearing the Word and reading the Scriptures whereas he should now be exercised and labour in meditation to work those things on his heart that now the root might fasten and things might settle on the soul he passeth by these easily now the heart of a man lies open as the high way you know the parable Matth. 13. when the seed fell on the high-way the Fowls of the ayr came and picked it up and it was gone presently where there is no pains taken with the heart of a man as there is none taken with the high way that the seed that falls there might grow as in the plowed ground when there is no pains taken with the heart now every notion every direction and every spiritual instruction it lies lightly there and is soon carried out this is the advantage that Satan makes of a mans love of ease But there is another thing concerning the way that Satan takes not only to steal it out of the mind by those two wayes but again by presenting the very truths of God to men in false glosses so as a man cannot discern them in their own shape and nature but in such colours as he presents them to them If the time would have served I might instance in several particulars I will but touch upon one or two and leave the inlargement to your own meditations Sometimes things that are great and of precious use shall be presented small and of no account and things again that are small and little shall be presented wondrous great The mercies of God the Attributes of God the promises of the Gospel the sufficiency of the merits of Christ these shall seem small things little to be regarded less then ever God intended them to be And on the contrary a mans own sins his own distempers shall be made exceeding great Worldly things shall be presented as things of the greatest consequence and spiritual things as meer accessories as things that depend upon them and that come in after Sometimes again things that are most necessary to be understood and known things that should be particularly applyed shall be presented obscurely and confusedly and sometimes things of lesser consequence the knowledge whereof is not so necessary shall be presented with more clearness and with strong perswasions to the study and knowledge of them But I will not stand on this this is enough to give you a taste of Satans subtilty this way whereby he wondrously prevails in bringing trouble upon the spirits of men Thirdly it is from our selves and so it comes to pass from that general corruption that is in our natures from whence all other sins flow that the spirits of men are troubled and disturbed by things that fall out from day to day And first it comes to pass that the soul of man is miserably in bondage and captivated and inthraled and is deprived of liberty as it were through the distemper of the body as in Melancholy and sickness we see how the soul is disâ—…urbed by the very diseases and distempers in the body it self and that by vertue of that simpathy in the soul with the body it riseth from the union of it to the body by the spirits but this I will pass by Sometimes we see the soul subdued with lusts and corruptions somestrong lust some strong sin or other prevails And then as it is with the Fowl that is now flying in the air it may be there is bird-lime cast upon the wings of it it falls down presently and can flie no further so it is with the soul somewhat presseth it down somewhat compasseth it about and coups it in as that expression is used Heb. 12.1 Let us cast off the sin that compasseth us about and that presseth so heavy down that we may run with patience the race that is set before us And sometimes the soul is disturbed by inordinate passions which arise from that general distemper that is diffused through every faculty and so the understanding looks upon things as through a mist it sees nothing clearly and in most common things it is blind and it is led by blind affections too and when the blind leads the blind both fall into the ditch saith Christ and so the memory that should retain the precious treasures the promises of the Gospel to relieve the soul in all cases it is like a leaking vessel that lets things run out as it is Heb. 2. Take heed that the things you have heard run not out saith the Apostle alluding to that Metaphor And the very conscience it self that should be conclusive it now rests in generals and uncertainties conscience should determin what my case is whether I be the child of God or no whether I be in the state of grace or no to put a man to bring things to particular now for the most part by mans own neglect it remains in doubt it may be I am it may be I am not it may be I have a right in the Covenant of grace it may be not c. And now because conscience is not come to that resolute conclusive act that a man may determine of his own particular case hence it is that every thing troubles and disquiets him Thus beloved you see the reasons of it We will briefly pass it over with a word of Application And first it should teach us compassion towards those whose spirits are troubled our Saviour Christ saith here Let not you hearts be troubled He considered of them in their weakness and doth not much upbraid them with it but helps to bring them out of it in much mercy and love and so should we There is such a disposition rising from the pride cruelty and uncharitableness of the hearts of men that they are apt to add to the burthen of the afflicted and to make their afflictions more by their censuring of their troubles You know the speech of old Eli a good man but yet he failed in that when he saw Hannah in great trouble of spirit uttering her heart before the Lord Lay away thy drunkenness saith he he thought she was drunk at lest with some passion and all came but from perplexity and disturbance of spirit and in that manner he rather added to her grief then eased hen So Jobs friends you see what they said they presently judged him in that case as one that God had cast off for hypocrisie and for his pride and covetousness or for some one
we must part and in this respect a man who wants a lively faith may acquit himself in a tryal when he sees that floods of tears will not help him specially when he sees it is past recovery he resigns up a comfort when he can keep it no longer he will part with a blessing when he cannot avoid it But then there is a pious acquitting of our selves when God calls for a comfort back the hand of Faith presents the comfor to God again when God calls for Isaac Abraham presently resigns up his beloved Son again upon this ground God is the Lord who gave him and now the Lord calls for him back again I and the Lord shall have him thus Faith acquits the soul in great tryals and joyns with God against all our own contentments to set down with much patience in great losses to submit to Gods call and Gods appointment Now the reasons why Faith can acquit a man in great tryals may be these First Faith can exalt Gods will above all and submit our wills to Gods will remember this God is the Author of mercy when he will he gives us and when he pleaseth he takes it away again It is well to have abundance saith nature and sence we cannot be without it no saith Faith I will yeeld to Gods will it is good to enjoy this saith Sence it is better to part with it saith Faith when God calls for it Secondly Faith can give God the glory of all outward comforts this is a great occasion of stilling our souls to find out the right owner of our comforts if a man did once discern that by faith that God is the Author of all comfort and that all mercies come from God this would make us submit in the day of tryal this is certain God is the God of our bodies and of our souls and of our comforts who hath more right to a possession then the owner all our comforts are but Gods servants God is the great Land-Lord of heaven and earth the God of all our possessions what if he be pleased to gather a flower we are but tenants at will and whatsoever our outward estate is Faith over-looks all and submits all to God and receives it by Gods permission and doth as it were hear the Lord say I must do what I will with mine own Faith makes a man say nothing is mine own my Child is not mine own my Wife is not mine own it is Gods possession when God calls for it Faith resigns it up as Gods due faith renders unto God the things that are Gods Thirdly Faith can make the soul acquit it self in great tryals because faith finds no loss by obediencial submission for all our unwillingness to resign up and to part with any comfort it doth arise from infidelity or from the stubbornness that is in a person when a man haves and holds his comfort contrary to Gods will or else it doth arise from a conceit that some dammage will redound to our selves â—…parting with such a blessing but faith sees safety enough to yeeld up all into Gods hands who is the Father of mercy and God of all consolation Thus we see Abraham being put to it about his only son he gives up his child his Isaac and God bestows Isaac upon Abraham again nay a further degree of blessing confirmed with an oath In blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thee and will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven This is ever true faith makes a man give back a blessing with this conclusion either God will continue the comfort to a person or else he will give him more or a better for it Fourthly a fourth reason why Faith can make a man acquit himself in great tryals because Faith can find all losses made up in God alone Faith can find God as a most ample and universal good Faith doth look upon God as a particular good and such a good that answers all again that abundantly makes up all losses There be many broken peeces of comfort that must concur to make up our outward good for our good here below is a compounded good the Wise is a part that makes up our good below and our children are a part that makes up our good below and our health and our riches and our friends many of these concur together to make up our good here below is a compounded good the Wife is a part that makes up our good below and our children are a part that makes up our good below and our health and our riches and our friends many of these concur together to make up our good below but God is all this in himself and much more whatsoever good whatsoever comforts are in a Child a Wife a Husband or in friends in riches in health all that is in God and much more to faith what is that thou seest in a Husband or in a Wife or in a Child that thou mayest not see in God What is that thou findest in a friend that thou mayest not find in God and what is there in riches that thou mayest not have much more in God the Husband can do thee no good without God who can do thee so much good as God the Husband can comfort thee who can comfort thee so much as God a friend may counsel thee and direct thee but he cannot deliver thee Faith sees more in God than in riches more in God then in all outward blessings bring all the outward comforts together they cannot make up a Christians comfort Faith is never satisfied with these things it is not a Child alone nor a Husband alone nor a Wife alone nor a friend alone that makes up a Christians comfort but God alone can do it whatsoever is in any outward comfort Faith find it much more in God God and his favour God and his gracious countenance these make up a Christians comfort this alone supports the Christian and in the want of all things Faith can comfort it self in the favour of God in the loss of all things Faith can find all again in the favour of God This is a fourth reason why Faith makes a man acquit himself in great Tryals A fifth reason why Faith makes a man acquit himself in great troubles because Faith knows upon what terms we possess all these outward comforts upon what small grounds we possess them upon moveable and changeable titles Faith looks upon all these things as upon things that he must part from we have here no abiding City our place and being here is but for a short time and remember this God never bestowed any comfort upon thee and me with an assurance of an immortal possession all the assurance that he hath given thee is nothing all the creature is but vanity it is of a shifting nature and therefore it is said of riches that they do take to themselves wings they skip away honour is soon
gift that he doth give and the freeness of it For who can give life but the God of life that hath life in himself And then again to do this altogether upon meer grace upon his own good pleasure it is a divine property And this is it that doth encourage us to come unto God notwithstanding our unworthiness And in this respect in the second place we have here a Use of instruction to acquaint our selves with God with the freeness of his Grace to plead it unto God when we come unto him and notwithstanding our unworthiness and our wretchedness yet to press this Lord what thou dost thou dost for thy own sake out of thy meer grace this makes me bold to come unto thee Specially upon the consideration of that greatest evidence of Gods free grace and rich mercy in giving his Son to do whatsoever is requisite for the satisfaction of his Justice so that here Grace Justice do sweetly go together for the strengthening of our Faith Grace in regard of our unworthiness Justice in regard of our rebellion God doth what he doth for his own sake his own Son hath made full satisfaction to his Justice And finally this should the more enlarge the heart to God again a gift the freer it is the more worthy of praise it must needs be the more acceptable to him that receiveth it when he receiveth it from meer Grace and he that giveth it is thereby the more worthy of praise so that lay these two together life and the grace of life and then tell me what sufficient thanks can be given to him who out of his Grace doth bestow this life Thus from the priviledge in the second part thereof come we to the partakers of this priviledge And first of the simple consideration of it Heirs so that we come to a right unto that eternal life by inheritance as we are Heirs So do the Texts before-noted expresly set it forth We are justified by his grace that we should be heirs of eternal life Tit. 3.7 And Saint Paul giveth thanks to God for the Collossians that he had made them partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light And our Lord when he doth give us possession hereof inducts us thereunto with this inherit the Kingdom prepared for you Mat. 25.34 take it by inheritance here is your right Now we may not think that this ground of right to our eternal inheritance cometh by our natural generation for so we are heirs and children of wrath as the Apostle noteth in Eph. 2.3 It cannot come by nature for so it is Christs prerogative the true proper natural Son of God and thus as the Apostle faith God hath appointed him heir of all things Heb. 1.2 but it is by another grace whereby we are made children A double grace in this respect a grace of Adoption and a grace of Regeneration A grace of Adoption for God giveth to us the spirit of Adoption whereby we are moved to cry and call Abba Father and by this grace we are children and being children we are heirs Co-heirs not only one with another but as it is there noted heirs together with Christ Co-heirs with him by vertue of this grace of Adoption So likewise by the other grace of Regeneration we are qualified hereunto Saint Peter in his first Epistle chap. 1. verse 3. blesseth God Blessed be the God saith he and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again to an inheritance incorruptible c. We are begotten to this inheritance This might again be pressed as a further Argument against the fore-mentioned presumptious Doctrine of Merit that that cometh by Inheritance cometh not by Desert But I pass it over This doth afford to us matter of consolation for this Text is full of consolation every word of it against the baseness whereunto in this world the Saints seem to be subject that are scoffed that are despised howsoever they appear here in mortal mans eye yet notwithstanding in truth they are Heirs they have an Inheritance And as it doth administer to us matter of comfort and a ground of holy boasting and glorying in the Lord so it affordeth to us direction to carry our selves as becometh Heirs not to set our love too much upon this world not to dote upon it but to be lofty minded to have our heart and affection where our inheritance is namely in Heaven to wait with patience for it Be followers of those saith the Apostle that through saith and patience inherit the promise And likewise to make sure to our selves our inheritance look to our evidences Give all diligence saith the Apostle to make your calling and election sure Do but make your Calling sure that you are truly and effectually called then it solloweth by just and necessary consequence you were elected before the foundations of the world and shall be saved Many other Meditations do arise out of this right we have to that life which by Grace is conferred upon us Consider we the extent hereof Heirs together joynt-heirs so as all of all sorts have a right to the life of Saints I speak here of outward conditions whether they be great or mean rich or poor free or bond whatsoever they be they have all a right they are joynt-heirs they are heirs together As it is with us in some places there is a title of Gavil kind that giveth a joynt-right to all the Sons that a man hath and so for Daughters all Daughters are co-heirs so this tenour is as I may say Gavil kind all have a right thereunto no exception of any because God is no respecter of persons This my Brethren serveth as an admonition to those that are great or may seem to be higher than others here in this world if they be Saints let them not despise others who are Saints too they are Co-heirs with them they are fellow-brethren there is not an elder Brother among them Christ only is the Elder Brother There may some have a greater degree of glory there may some have greater evidences thereof in this world and greater assurance yet not withstanding they have all a right to the inheritance they are all Co-heirs And this again is another comfort to the meaner and weaker sort that howsoever there may be some difference in regard of outward condition here yet notwithstanding in the greatest priviledge there is no difference at all and therefore to conclude concerning these and other consolations ministred to you I will use the Apostles words Comfort your selves with these things 1 Thes 4.18 And particularly concerning the Female Sex because the Apostle here applyeth it to them and saith of them as well as of men that they are Heirs Co-heirs of the same inheritance this therefore is to be applyed to them for when the Apostle makes distinction of outward conditions in Gal. 3.28
clay and then to sum up a large Bill of the particular goods he intends to Religion for Churches and for Hospitals and the poor with other such like benevolences makes but a simple satisfaction for thy unjust courses in procuring such wealth to the prejudice and detriment of others this is nothing to thy advantage all this while thou art a thief and givest stoln goods Nay thou maist further assure thy self that Hell shall be the greatest recompence of thy charity because thou bestowest that which is not thine Thou oughtest first to have made thy estate clear and have restored the things that belonged unto others and reserved thine own by it self and then to give free scope to thy charity to the doing of any good action which time and occasion could propound This is the first duty of any man that will do good in giving he must give justly Secondly he must give wisely too it is made the marke of a man fearing God He considers wisely of the poor and he orders his affairs with judgment What is that Judgment hath a twofold respect it hath respect to the quantity of a mans gift and to the quality of the person to whom he gives There must be a judgment a wise ordering of things in respect of the quantity which a man bestowes according to that expression of the holy Ghost in Acts 11.29 They gave according to their abilities they kept within the limits of their estates and exceeded not So must thou or else another man may perchance lose by thy liberality Again there must be respect had to the quality of the person to whom he gives My goodness extends to the Saints that are on earth to the faithful ones as the Text faith here to the houshold of faith It is not necessary to give to every one that comes next to hand There be some persons I told you before that are not to be releeved except in case of extream necessity We must extend our Benevolence to those of the houshold of Faith Give unto Christ and to the naked and hungry members that belong unto him and thou shalt not want a sweet and comfortable return of thy charity Again as it must be done justly and wisely so if we desire to do good in releeving we must do it simply In the simplicity and plainness of our hearts Let him that distributes do it in simplicity faith the Apostle What is that simplicity when a man looks up to God with a single eye as the eye may be said to be single when it viewes but one object at once so the heart is small when it respects God onely in this action of charity and makes no other reckoning of any outward object A double-minded man he looks up to God and yet carries some respect to the outward honour which he expects of the World and more often times to the World then to God at least he joynes them together But if a man be desirous to bestow his benevolence with a purpose to receive recompence from above let him do it for his sake that commands it and reflect upon God in all things This is the testimony of our Conscience faith the Apostle that in simplicity and sincerity we have had our conversation among you not affecting the praise of men but aiming to approve our selves to God in that we do This is that which Christ advised the Pharisees that they should not admit their right hand to know what their left hand did Lastly as it must be simple so it must be chearful God loves a chearful giver And this is a perfect sign of chearfulness when a man doth not only give without grudging upon all opportunities but when he will be careful to prevent them in his willingness to seek them as I said before So much for the second point the duty it self Now I proceed to the last thing that is the description of the persons to whom this must be done First generally All and then particularly The houshold of faith First generally Do good to all It is as I have told you to all that endure such wants and necessities as that it may be a work of mercy and no transgression of the rule to releeve them for those that live unprofitably and become burthens to the Common-wealth except in case of extream necessity it loses the name of mercy to relieve them and deserves neither reward nor commendations Yet if they live in extream necessity then take the Rule of the Apostle Do good to all even to them also We have the Parable of our Saviour to direct us in this path where the good Samaritan lends his assistance to the Jew that fell among theeves We cannot but know of the opposition and enmity between the Samaritans and the Jewes yet we see that in case of extremity the Samaritan helps the Jew Therein our Saviour teacheth us that every man in this case is a mans neighbour and therefore the same law that commands to love thy neighbour as thy self intends we should do good to all if necessity require The Reason is in regard there is the same maker of one as of another We have all one Father saith the Prophet and hath not one God created us Then by Creation we are all alike Children though not by Adoption and especial Grace and as they are the Creatures of God and bear the Image of their Maker there ought to be some consideration extended toward them in case of extream necessity Again there dwels a part of Gods Image in all man-kind and that resemblance makes us alied to each other by the bonds of Nature then if we love not our brother whom we see daily how shall we love him whom we never saw faith the Apostle To make some use briefly of this Is it so that doing of good is to be extended to all when necessity requires it Then let it teach us without all evasion and protraction of those duties commanded to embrace every object and occasion that may invite us to do good and to be merciful But some man may reply in this fashion my intent is very plyable that away of goodness I could willingly extend it toward such a man but he is a stranger unto me and one with whom I was never acquainted What is this but the churlish reply of Nabal to the servants of David there are divers men abroad whom I know not there are some servants that are run from their masters shall I give my bread and that I have provided for my shearers unto them Nabal was his name and folly was with him Abigai did truly interpret his nature to be answerable to his name which signified a man of folly for if his conditions had been otherwise he would not have sent them empty to their Master knowing their absolute necessity in which case a stranger ought to be relieved and we cannot thrust
to duties and incouragements by promise were likewise inserted therein that I am perswaded I cannot do better then to commend this duty to the practice of all the servants of God that when they come to peruse the Scriptures they would furnish themselves with pen and inke and then upon all occasions they may be noting down somewhat for their own advantage that they may have a manual or little book of observations for their guide and direction in the course of their lives She was a hearty hater of sin and of all evil and the appearance thereof being careful to do good so far as she was convinced in any thing to her revealed and willing to receive instructions and to be informed in those things that were not revealed Those that knew her may well witness with me that she never neglected the smallest occasion conducing to the improvement of her soul in the wayes of goodness But for the second the main intent of this Text and the reason for which I took it in this particular duty I may resolve you as it is said of the vertuous woman and may speak truly in the simplicity of an honest heart Many daughters have done excellently but thou surmountest them all I never knew any woman in my life more active and ready to do the works of charity according as opportunity and her ability made way for the same Not only of her own wherein she took her Husbands consent with her But where she prov'd unable of her self to supply the necessities of others her labours and endeavours to incite and stir up others made full satisfaction in the room of her benevolence and she became an industrious Christian in that kind That I have observed herein she was ever large and boundless sowing her seed in the morning and her hands ceased not in the evening she gave a portion to seaven and also to eight and as any came in her way that were in extream necessity she became a present helper of every of them according to their several necessities She was very tender hearted and that which she bestowed to relieve others was done in compassion of heart towards those that endured misery But as she saw any of the houshold of Faith and the servants of God which she took notice of by some infallible sign she did not only relieve them with her Purse but receive them into her heart which was still open and enlarged to give them entertainment She was not straitned in her bowels toward them but was large hearted and large handed full of Almes when that might help and when it could not she provoked others to exercise the like charity Besides she had other wayes to succour them in speaking for them and stirring up others to speak for them when words might availe them and do them good relieving them with money and provoking others thereunto when such contributions were needful and therein she would not let slip the least opportunity but would take the advantage of great and solemn meetings seasoning those feasts which she frequented with some acts of mercy before they parted that the company and society she conversed with might savour of this sweetness of mercy as a precious oyntment and become good examples unto others and improve the gifts and abilites which God had given them to the same purpose She was not only mindful of those at home but her goodness extended to the Saints abroad And not in respect of Nature only because they were come into the Countrey where she was born I speak now of those that live in distress and exile of the Palatinate and Germany but in respect of Grace She was wondrous industrious and laborious to procure all the means that might be to send over to help them and even refreshed the bowels of the Saints that I may truly say the loynes of the poor blessed God for her in many places In what place hath she lived and hath not left a savour behind her nay almost in what company hath she conversed but this particular duty hath been as a precious oyntment to sweeten the conversations of all that were about her and to work in their minds a vertuous intention and propenseness to this duty Beloved here you have her in her carriage and example What she was in her behaviour towards her Husband and her Children I need not speak there are enough can witness it she carried her self as became a Wife to him and a helper of the servants of God with prayers and desires and often provocations and incitings that way But for her Children she seem'd to undergo a second travaile with them till Christ were formed in them being full of earnest desires and petitions for the working of Grace where it was not begun and for the persecting thereof where it was newly entred She rejoyced exceedingly in any expression of good and more for that of Grace then any other inclination or respect Beloved this was obvious and common to all and any man might take special notice thereof daily and observe it constantly In her servants as there appeared the more grace in any so much the more respect she extended towards them In the poor as she perceived the more grace in any the more reliese they received from her c. I say nothing what in all this she suffered those that were acquainted with her disease know what paines she under-went in respect of her body and with what patience she submitted to the hand of God in all things And many know the wrong she endured from the World for her desire and care to do good when she obtained opportunity Some thought her over-bold some too busie others thought her proud and vain-glorious because of her often frequenting of company and speaking openly for the provoking of others to the exercise of goodness The Lord smite their hearts that are guilty of mis-judging that which we are to suppose in respect of her forward disposition is this She was naturally of a free spirit which being sanctified with Grace and sharpned with love and zeal for the glory of God made her the more resolute and familiar in frequenting good company not to magnisie her self by their society but that her continual conversation with them might give her the better occasion to incite and stir them to goodness Let those that are guilty of misprision leave to censure her Vertues and convert them into an example for themselves to walk in if they do not the neglect will load their souls with more woe for such contempt then she hath received joy for her labour What concern'd her in her sickness briefly I have not much to say in that they which were about her daily know more then I can relate She did not only express a satisfaction and assurance of heart that her reconciliation was made with God in Christ but besides that a willingness and desire to be dissolved for that reason that she might be with Christ A
Saint Paul 1 Cor. 15.55 his words have no reference to this Text in the Prophet for the last Translation approved by our Church in the marginal note upon the 1 Cor. 15.55 sends us to this verse in Hosea and we find no other place in all the Scriptures of the old Testament to which the Apostle should allude but this And although Calvin endeavouring to untie this Gordean knot saith peremptorily that it is evident that the Apostle 1 Cor 15. doth not alledg the testimony of the Prophet to confirm any Point of Doctrine delivered by him yet Calvin hi◠evidence for it seems to me obscure and inevident his satis constat minime liquet for the express words of the Apostle 1 Cor. 15.53 54 55. are for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality so when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in victory O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy victory What shall we say then hereunto With submission to those who out of better skill in the original and upon more exact examination of all Translations may bring them to a better accord for the present I thus resolve First that Rabbi Iarchi his translation is utterly be to rejected for it is like the white of an egg that hath no taste what sense can any man pick out of these words ero verbo tua ô mors I will be thy words O Death unless we help them with our English phrase I will do thine errand Secondly Aben-Ezra is to go packing with his fellow Rabbin for his interpretation is a manifest contradiction to the former words of the Prophet I will ransome them from the power of the grave I will redeem them from death he that will redeem them from death can in no sense be said to be the cause why they die but why they die not Besides both he and Iarchi stumble at the same stone to wit the word Deborica which they derive from dabar signifying verbum or causa whereas they should have derived it from Dever signifying pestem or a plague Thirdly for Saint Jerome his translation though it differ somewhat from the original yet it is no Antithesis to the Text but an elegant Antanaclasis or at least a Metonymie generis pro specie mors pro peste I will be thy death for I will be thy plague Fourthly for the translation of the Septuagint which Saint Paul most seemeth to follow because writing to the Gentiles who made use of that translation and understood not the original he would not give them any offence nor derrogate from it which was in great esteem among all in regard of the antiquity thereof and it stood the Christians in those dayes in great stead to convince the unbelieving Jewes It well agreeth with the Analogie of faith and the meaning of the holy Spirit and the Hebrew letter also will bear it for Ehi as Buxtorphius the great Master of the holy tongue out of David Kimchi observeth signifieth ubi where as well as ero I will be and a venemous sting and pestis the plague differ but little so that although the words in the original seem to be spoken by an affirmation but in Saint Paul and the Septuagint by an interrogation in the one by a commination in the other by an insultation yet both come to one sense and contain an evident prophesie of Christ his conquest over Death and Hell I have pluked away the thorn and now I am come to blow the flower and open the leaves of the words O death I will be thy plauges that is I will take away from Death the power of destroying utterly and from the Grave the power of keeping the dead in it perpetually If we take the words as spoken by way of insultation ô mors ubi est aculeus tuus O death where is thy sting thus we are to construe them as a hornet or serpent when his sting is plucked out can do no hurt to any other but soon after dyeth it self so Death is disarmed by Christ and left as good as dead for as David cut off Goliahs head with his own sword and Brasidas ran through his enemy with his own spear so Christ conquers over Death by death in as much as by his temporal death he satisfied both for the temporal and the eternal death of them that believe in him And as he conquered Death by his death so he destroyed the Grave by his burial for suffering his body to be imprisoned and afterwards breaking the gates and barrs of the prison he left the passage open to all his members to come out after him their head These sacred and heavenly mysteries are shrined in the letter of this Text for although the Prophet speaketh to the Israelites and maketh a kind of tender unto them of redemption from temporal death and deliverance from corporal captivity yet to confirm their faith therein he bringeth in the promise of eternal redemption from whence they were to infer if God will redeem us from eternal how much more from temporal death if he will deliver us out of the prison of the grave how much more out of common Goals what though our enemies have never so great a hand over us what though they exceed in their cruelty and put us to all exttemity and do their worst against us their cruelty cannot extend beyond death nor their malice beyond the Grave but Gods power and mercy reacheth farther For he can and he promiseth that he will revive us after we are dead and raise us after we are buried he will pluck deaths sting out of us and us out of the bowels of the Grave Death hath not such power over the living nor the grave over the dead as God hath over both to destroy the one and swallow up the other into victory For therefore the Son of God vouchsafeth to taste death that Death might be swallowed up by him into victory Although Death swallow up all things and the Grave shut up all in darkness yet God is above them both therefore when we are brought to the greatest exigent when nothing but death and torments are before us when we are ready to yeeld up the buckler of our faith and breath out the last gasp of hope let us call this Text to mind O death I will be thy plagues neither Death nor the Grave shall be my peoples bane because I will be both their bane and change their nature which destroyeth all nature For to all them that believe in me Death shall not be a postern but a street-door not so much an out-let of temporal as an in-let of eternal life and though the grave swallow the bodies of my Saints yet it shall cast them up again at the last day Thus the words yeeld us
telleth us that as the Spirit and the Bride say come so he that heareth saith come that is not only the Church of God that is now present here upon the face of the earth but the successive parts of the Church in all future Ages they are all of the same mind having received the same Spirit they all say come Whosoever heareth this Prophesie whosoever heareth of these promises in any Age or Country of the World all they having the same spirit they must needs say come he that heareth saith come he that is acquainted with the promises that cometh to the knowledge of them and doth mingle them with the faith of his soul this man must needs say come to the accomplishment of them And lastly He that is a thirst saith come too that is whosoever hath tasted of the sweetness of Christ in any measure whatsoever and thereby hath wrought in him a vehement thirst after more this man will say come Whosoever hath such a sense of Christ in his promises as to taste of the sweetness of these never so little as he that hath tasted a drop of hony wisheth for more so he that hath tasted of the sweetness of Christ a drop of his grace and mercy this setteth upon his spirit a heavenly thirst he saith come he would have more he is never quiet till he have the promise accomplished to him These are the persons every particular member of the Church that hath the Spirit the whole Church in general not only the particular part of the Church now in the World or in any Age but the several parts of the Church in several Ages whosoever is a thirst that hath tasted of Christ must needs say come Even so come Lord Jesus These are the persons The second thing is the matter of this acclamation of the Church First the matter contained in it it is a vehement and earnest desire of the people of God after Christs most happy return in these words Amen even so come Lord Jesus The matter of it therefore is either infolded and implicite in the word Amen even so or unfolded and explicite in the latter words Come Lord Jesus It is infolded I say in the word Amen This word signifieth in the Scripture either the Author of the truth himself or else it is an affirmation of the truth In the Revelation thus saith the Amen the faithful and true witness here Christ himself is called Amen because he is the Author of all truth and verity the faithful and true witness Sometime this word is used and most frequently in Scripture for the affirmation of the truth either witnessing of the truth or wishing the truth For the witnessing of the truth as in all those vehement speeches of our Lord and Saviour Christ Amen Amen I say unto ye or verily verily I say unto ye this is a vehement asseveration and a witnessing to the truth which a man ought to believe or would have to be believed Or otherwise for a wishing and earnest desiring of the truth to be accomplished So in the conclusion of the Lords prayer and all our prayers we add this word Amen that is so be it or Let it be so we wish it with earnestness of affection and desire and with a confidence and faith of our hearts we hope and believe that this shall be so This is that we profess when we say Amen In this place this word is used both for affirmation and witnessing of the truth and likewise it is a vehement wish and desire of the accomplishment of these promises with an earnest and certain hope and expectation of faith that all these promises and good things shall be accomplished to the soul of a Christian Again the matter of this Acclamation is unfolded and explained in the latter words Come Lord Jesus Where there is both the Action and the person to be considered The Action Come Christ cometh to his Church many wayes He cometh in his Word He cometh in his Spirit He cometh in his mercies He cometh in his Judgments and Justice None of these are here meant But he cometh to his Church in person and appearance even in the appearance of his body and humane nature Thus Christ cometh two wayes to his Church in person First in his Incarnation he appeareth to the world in the similitude of sinful flesh he came in humility he came to suffer to die That is not here meant for that was past when as the Evangelist Saint John wrote this prophesie But the Second coming in person of our Lord and Saviour Christ is his coming in the flesh in glory in exaltation to judge the quick and the dead to shew himself a mighty God from heaven This is the coming which is here meant Christs second coming to Judgment in glory That is the Action The person is described by these two Titles Lord Jesus Wherein the Church desireth that he may come both as a Lord and as a Jesus That he may come as a Lord to vindicate the Church and revenge him upon his enemies to destroy the kingdome of darkness the kingdome of the Devil the kingdome of Antichrist which hath been a great argument in this book of the Revelation And not only come thus as a Lord but as a Jesus to save his Church to vouchsafe to her comfort and peace and joy that he would come to cloath her with immortality and glory which she cannot expect on earth in a mortal state This is the sum and substance of this Petition and request that the Lord would come in majesty and glory both as a Lord against the enemies of the Church to destroy them utterly and as a Saviour to bestow upon the Church even all saving mercies especially that great mercy of everlasting blessedness that is not mixed with sin and corruption that is not mixed with any infirmity and defect whatsoever This is the sum and substance of the Text which I have in few words shortly explained to ye Whence the point I observe wherein we will insist by the grace of God at this time is this That it is the nature and property of every true member of the Church of God earnestly and longingly to desire the second coming of Christ for the full redemption of his Church The Spirit saith Come and the Bride saith Come and whosoever heareth saith Come whosoever is a thirst saith Come therefore every godly man that hath the Spirit of God that is a part of this Bride that is partaker of those promises that hath a caste of Jesus Christ every one of these must necessarily say Come Even so Come Lord Jesus This is so proper to believers and to every one of them as they are all of them described by this property in Scripture 2 Tim. 4.8 The Crown which the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not only to me but to all them that love his appearing The Apostle he might have said to all saints
but his proceedings which before wanted not clearness in themselves but clearing to our eyes shall then be pronounced declared and adjudged just in the presence of Devils men and Angels so that ignorance shall not doubt nor impudence dare to deny the truth thereof But before we take our final farewel of the words in our Text know they are also capable of another sence I have seen the righteous man perish in his righteousness that is I have seen a good man continuing in goodness and snatched away in the prime of his years whilest wicked men persisting in their profaness have prolonged their lives to the utmost possibility of nature I confess Saint Paul will in no case allow the word perishing to be applied to the death of the Godly but startles at the expression as containing some Pagan impiety therein pointing at it as an Atheistical position Then they also which are faln asleep in Christ are perished However in a qualified sence not for a total extinction but temporal suspension of them in this world the Prophet pronounceth it of a just mans death The righteous perish and no man layeth it to his heart Yet as if suspecting some ill use might be made of that term perishing in the next words he mollifieth the harshness thereof and who best might expounds his own meaning The righteous man is taken away from the evil to come Indeed when a just man dyeth with Abraham in a good old age he is not properly said to be taken away but in Scripture-Phrase to tarry till God comes Thus when Peter was very inquisitive to know how John should be disposed of Christ answered him If I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee John of all the Jury of the Apostles dyed in his bed a thorow old man of temper and temperance of a strong and healthful natural constitution moderate in diet passions and recreations Ahijah and Josiah may be instances are cut off by an untimely death such are properly said to be taken away Now even such men God not only without the least stain to his Justice but in great manifestation of his mercy may cause to perish or if that be too harsh a tearm may take them away from the evil to come And that in three several acceptions First to keep him from that evil of sin which God in his wisdom foresees the good man would commit if living longer and left to those manifold temptations which future times growing daily worse and worse would present to and press on him True it is God could by his restraining and effectual Grace keep him though surviving in sinful times from being polluted therewith but being a free Agent he will vary the ways of his working sometimes keeping men in the hour of temptation sometimes from the hour of temptation The later he doth sometimes by keeping the hour from coming to them or rather from coming to the hour making them to fall short thereof and preventing their approach thereunto by taking them away in a speedy death Thus mothers and Nurses suspecting their children would too much play the wantons disgrace them and wrong themselves when much company is expected at their houses haste them to bed betimes even before their ordinary hour Secondly From the evil of sin which other men would commit and he beheld to the great grief and anguish of his heart Lot-like for that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds Manifold Uses might be made of the Just mans thus perishing in his righteousness First men ought to be affected with true sorrow yet the Prophet saith The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to his heart Surely his wife or children will or else the more unworthy haply he hath none when dying His kindred will except which is impossible with Melchisedech he be without father without mother without descent His friends will though rather the rich than the righteous have friends whilest living and leave them when dying But to satisfie all objections at once By none are meant very few inconsiderable in respect of those multitudes that pass the righteous mans death unrespected Parallel to that place in the Proverbs None that go to her return again neither take they hold of the path of life Not that adultery is the sin against the holy Ghost unpardonable but vestigia pauca retrorsum Be thou by an holy Riddle One among that None I mean a mourner in Sion for the righteous mans death amongst these very few who lay it to their hearts Secondly Men from hence are seriously to recollect and apply to themselves the doctrine of their mortallities when thee see the righteous man perish in his righteousness There is a bird peculiar to Ireland called the Cock of the Wood remarkable for the fine flesh and folly thereof All the difficulty to kill them is to find them out otherwise a mean marksman may easily kill them They flie in woods in flocks and if one of them be shot the rest remove not but to the next bow or tree at the furthest there stand staring at the shooter till the whole covy be destroyed As foolish as the bird is it is wise enough to be the embleme of the wisest men in point of mortallity Death sweeps away one and one and one and the rest remain no whit moved at or minding of it till at last a whole generation is consumed It fareth with the most mens lives as with the sand in this hypocritical hour-glass behold it in outward appearance and it seemeth far more then it is because rising upon the sides whilest the sand is empty and hollow in the midst thereof so that when it sinks down in and instant a quarter of an hour is gone in a moment Thus many men are mistaken in their own account reckoning upon three-score and ten years the age of a man because their bodies appear outwardly strong and lusty Alas their health may be hollow there may be some inward infirmity and imperfection unknown unto them so that death may surprise them on a sudden Thirdly They are to take notice of Gods anger with that place from which the righteous man is taken away Solomon speaking of the death of an ordinary man saith The living will lay it to heart But when a righteous man is taken away the living ought to lay it to the very Heart of their hearts especially if he be a Magistrate or Minister of eminent note When the eye-strings break the heart-strings hold not out long after and when the seers are taken away it is a sad symptome of a languishing Church or Common-wealth Lastly Men ought to imitate the vertuous examples of such as are dead The cloud and pillar at the Red-sea was bright toward the Israelites to guide and direct them with the light thereof but
a man to wait upon God it is but a short time and resolve in the time of thy waiting upon this that when thou art fittest for mercy it shall come and when it cometh it shall come with an abundant weight and sweetness such as shall countervail all thy expectation and waiting Thus I have told you how men should exercise patience by exercising their faith and how they should strengthen patience by hope and how they should perfect patience by selfe-denyal The reason why I took this Text for the present occasion is that there might be a concurrence between the rule and the example Here is the rule Let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and intire wanting nothing One reason among others was this because we know not what changes and tryals God hath reserved any of us to therefore we had need of patience Our Sister here is the example a pattern to others of those tryals of life whereto a Christan may be exposed even to extremity Howsoever it pleased God to give many other mercies to her yet nevertheless she had a continual exercise of patience in extream anguish of body in a vexing tormenting pain that a long time for many years together held her under such extremity of torture that a man on the rack or in any other extremity could hardly have greater torments then she sometime felt in the time of that extremity upon her God laid this affliction upon her to perfect her patience and that she might be a pattern of patience to you that you might study and pray for Patience and endeavour after it that when afflictions fall upon any of you you may not be found wanting and destitute of patience So much for this time A RESTRAINT OF EXORBITANT PASSION OR GROUNDS AGAINST Unseasonable Mourning SERMON V. 2 SAM 12.22 23. 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 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 THese Words contain Davids answer to a question that was put to him in the Verse going before the Text by some of his servants The question was grounded upon their observation of his divers carriage when the child was sick and when the child was dead When the child was sick he fasted and wept and lay upon the ground and prayed When the child was dead he forbeareth weeping washeth himself calleth for bread c. And now they ask him the reason for they thought rather that he would have exprest a greater sorrow then he had done before as it may be discerned in the consultation among themselves every man was loth to tell David of the great losse that was beâ—…llen him that his child was dead When he heard of it and altereth his carriage and sheweth himself more chearful contrary to their expectation they plainly put the question to him What should be the reason of this The words I have read to ye 〈◊〉 an Answer to that question He telleth them the reason both of his fasting and weeping in the time of the sicknesse of the child and of his calling for meat and forbearing to weep now at the death of the child The reason of his former carriage he giveth in the 22. verse While the child was yet alive I fasted and wept for I said who knoweth whether the Lord may be gracious to me that the child may live The reason of the alteration of his carriage why he exprest himselfe in another manner upon the death of the child he giveth in the 23. verse But now he is dead wherefore should I fast 〈◊〉 shall return to him he shall not return to me In the former part the reason of his sad and mournful carriage during the time of the sicknesse of the child then saith he I did fast Yea have first the declaration of his action and behaviour and carriage at that time While the child was yet alive I fasted and wept And the reason of this action and carriage for I said Whoâ—… aâ—… tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me that the child may live I shall be brief in speaking of this part only First for his carriage I fasted and wept These are â—…ut external actions fasting of it self is not a worship of God but as it helpeth and furtheâ—… another 〈◊〉 as it helpâ—…th a man in prayer as it fuâ—…eretâ—… the work of humination and declareth that For neither if we eat are we the better nor if we eat not are we the worse as the Apostle speaks And the kingdom of God consisteth not in meat and drink There is a fast inforced by necessity that which either is by sicknesse or want and is meerly civil and outward without any respect to God And there is a fast too which hath a pretence of respect to God which is not acceptable as that of the Pharisees that rested only in the external action There is a fast that is religious and accepted of God and that is that which is both a testimony of the inward humiliation of the soul as also a help and furtherance of it Such a fast was this that David speaks of here A fast that did arise from a sense of his unworthinesse of the creature and did expresse the sorrow of his heart for sin A Fast which he did set upon only for this end that he might be more free and more fit for prayer And so likewise for the mourning and weeping he speaks of It was not such a weeping as ariseth meerly from the temper of the body as in some that are more apt for tears are such as the tears of Esau to his father he lift up his voice and wept hast thou not one blessing more blesse me even me also oh my father But they were tears that did arise from a holy affection from a gracious disposition of heart from inward contrition and sorrow like the tears that Peter shed when he went out and wept bitterly They were tears that discovered the inward vehemency of his spirit in prayer like those tears of Jacob when he wrestled with the Angel the Prophet Hosea telleth how he wrestled he prayed and wept Such tears were these as did expresse the fervency of his spirit in prayer the earnestnesse of his desire in putting up this request he had now to God like those of Hezekiah I have heard thy prayers and seen thy tears saith God such tears as God putteth iâ—…to his bottle such tears as he takes special notice of There are no tears that are shed for sin our of an inward sorrow of heart that are shed in prayer to exprese a holy desire that proceed from an inward inflamed affection and fervency of spirit but they are very precious with God as far I say as