It is a deep impression of infinite wrath and fury on every member of the Body and faculty of the Soul And O what a fearful thing is it to fall into the hands of the living God for our God is a consuming fire Heb. 12.2 ult The wrath of God is sometimes compared to that of a Lion roaring after her prey which tears and rents and kills and slays without the least pity And to a Bear robbed of her Whelps which claws and wounds and destroys whatsoever comes near her But alas the wrath of a God is infinitely more cutting more killing The Mountains are moved the Rocks are rent in pieces the stoutest Oaks are rooted up the Foundations of the Earth tremble the great Luminaries are darkned the course of Nature is over-turned when he is wroth Thou even thou art to be feared for who may stand when thou art angry If his wrath be kindled but a little how wofully do his own Children cry out Job 6.4 The Arrows of the Almighty are within me Job 13.24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face and holdest me for thine enemy Psal 88. Their Spirits are drunk up while they suffer his terrors they are distracted What then will be the condition of them on whom he will pour out all his wrath If a small degree of God's anger be so terrible when it is mingled with Love what will a full Cup of pure wrath be 3. They differ in the ends of their Creation Our fires were created for our Service and Comfort God made these for the use and benefit of man to fence us against the cold to melt and mould metals and form them into several moulds c. But the fire of Hell is created for the torment of Men and Devils God makes it of such a nature as may best suit his end For every wise Agent fitteth his means to his end and the more wise the Agent is the more proper means he findeth out for his end Now when the only wise God to whom Angels themselves are Fools shall set his infinite Wisdom awork about the most proper means of racking and torturing the poor Creature surely it will be done to purpose As when his Love sets his Wisdom awork to find out a way to comfort his Children what Rivers of Pleasures VVeights of Glory Crowns of Life fulness of Joy doth he provide So when his wrath sets VVisdom awork to find out a way for the afflicting his Enemies what stinging Adders and gnawing VVorms and Chains of Darkness and Lakes of Brimstone doth he provide 4. They differ in the Fewel that feeds them Our fires are maintain'd and preserv'd in burning by wood or coals or somewhat that is combustible and the fire must be suitable to the meanness and limitedness of the fewel But the fire of Hell is fed with the Curse of a righteous Law and the wrath of an infinite God and the lusts of the damned Ah what work will sin back'd with the Curse and wrath of God make in the Souls and Bodies of men If David beloved of God under the weight of sin and sense of Divine displeasures went mourning all the day and cryeth out so mounfully Thine Arrows stick fast in me and thy hand presseth me sore There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine Anger nor rest in my bones because of my Sin Mine Iniquities are gone over mine head as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me Psal 38.2 3 4. O what will they suffer and how will they roar and howl whose Sins are as a Mountain of Lead shall press and oppress their Consciences all whose lusts shall gnaw their Spirits set home and close to their Souls by the fury and malediction of God 5. They differ in this that our fires are accompanied with Light but the fire of Hell though it hath heat to torment hath no light to comfort It is a state of darkness of utter darkness Matth. 25. Of Blackness of Darkness Jude vers 13. They have only light enough to see themselves endlesly and easelesly wretched and miserable Darkness is dreadful but what darkness like utter darkness or blackness of darkness The Egyptians did not move out of their places in the time of their darkness but what will men do in the dark in the midst of ravenous VVolves and roaring Lions and stinging Adders and fiery Serpents and frightful Devils 6. They differ in their Operations 1. Our fires work only on the Body they cannot pierce the Soul but Hell fire pierceth the Soul Spirits burn in it as well as Bodies Go into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels If it seise on Devils it will also on the Souls of men The Spirit whose senses are most acute will feel the greatest pain in the unquenchable fire 2. Our fires destroy and consume their fewel they turn their wood and coals into dust and ashes the bodies of men are by them turn'd into ashes and hereby the pain ceaseth with the life of the Creature But the fire of Hell will never consume though it be ever consuming it will always be destroying but never destroy the Sinner The damned will be always dying but never die The Almighty hand of God will preserve them to undergo that wrath that is intollerable and those flames that are unquenchable CHAP. XII The fulness of wicked mens misery in that it 's positive and privative with some Cautions against it Vse LEarn hence the full misery of the wicked in the other World They shall not only be deprived of all good in their banishment from the presence of God but also be afflicted with all evil in their suffering the pains of Hell fire The godly in the other World shall be perfectly blessed in their freedom from all poenal and all moral evil and their fruition of all that is truly good for they shall ever be with the Lord who is an universal good So the Wicked in the World to come shall be perfectly cursed in the absence of what ever is comfortable and in the presence of whatsoever is dreadful and may render them miserable Snares Fire Brimstone an horrible Tempest shall be rained on them as their portion woful are the fruits of Sin oftentimes in this World It keeps good from men here strips them of their Estates Relations Liberties Limbs Health Names nay of the Gospel Ordinances and seasons of Grace and brings on them much evil here Aches Pains Diseases in their Bodies Horrors and Terrors in their Souls But these are nothing to the effects of Sin in the other World Here in the midst of Judgment Mercy is remembred there is no state on Earth of mear or pure wrath All good things are not removed nor all evil things inflicted on any In the worst Estate there is Life and that cloathed with some Favours The pained have some intermission or at least remission of their pains In the lowest estate there is hope of better and that is no small Cordial
to a poor Creature there is no Condition so bad but might have been worse both for its intention and duration But now in the other World the wicked have Judgment without a mite of Mercy and Misery without any Ease either in regard of degree or intermission All good banished from them and all evil inflicted on them Ex. If the wicked shall be thus punished with the loss of Christ and the pains of Hell fire it exhorts us to flee from the wrath to come Ah who would fry one hour in flames for a Kingdom How dreadful is the hearing of fire fire in the night How doth the very sound of it fright men and women Ah then what will the feeling of it be in utter darkness in that black long night of eternity Sinner when thou art tempted to sin consider whether the satisfaction of thy Lust will make thee amends for and ballance the loss of God and thy suffering the flames of Hell Alas how little is the pleasure of Sin but how terrible how intollerable is the pain of it What wise man would be rack'd a day for a moments delight much less suffer the wrath of an infinite God for the dreggy pleasures of a Beast Dost thou think thou canst bear it art thou able to endure it Canst thou suffer the pain of our fire if not how wilt thou endure the pain of that fire which the breath of a God kindleth and keepeth burning which tortures the Soul as well as the Body and which was prepared of God for the afflicting and punishing his Creatures O Friend flie to Christ if thou wouldst flee from the wrath to come 1 Thess 1. ult He is the only skreen between thee and the fire of Hell Flie from sin if thou wouldst flie from Hell fire Flie the Cause and thou fliest the Effect Take away Sin and you take away Hell Whatsoever thou sowest now thou shalt reap hereafter Gal. 6.7 Sow Lust and reap the Lake that burns with fire and brimstone for ever Sow Holiness and reap Happiness They who sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap Corruption but they who sow to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting Gal. 6.8 CHAP. XIII The eternity of the Sinners misery in the other World with the grand Reason of it I Come now to the eternity of the Sinners punishment in that word Everlasting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word is refer'd to God and then is used for that which is eternal à parte ante or that never had a beginning Sometimes it 's refer'd to the rational Creature and then signifieth an eternity a parte post or that which never hath an end The word comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Age because what is everlasting endureth through all Ages and Generations and infinitely beyond them The Doctrine which I shall draw from this property of ungodly mens punishment shall be this Doct. 3. That the punishment of the wicked in the other World will be everlasting It will not only be extream in regard of its intention but also eternal in regard of its duration Their privative punishment will be eternal They shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord 2 Thess 1.7 8. And so will their positive punishment be Jude vers 7. Sodom and Gomorrah and the Cities about them are set forth suffering the vengeance of the eternal fire And Christ tells us There the worm never dieth and the fire never goeth out Matth. 18. And again it 's called the Lake that burns with fire and brimstone for ever It were no small ease to the damned if they had hopes of any end of their misery though after as many millions of millions of years as have been moments since the Creation and as are Creatures small and great in both worlds but it may not be it cannot be after all these years they are not to remain one moment the less in Hell I shall only give the Reasons of it and proceed to the Use There are several Reasons given why the Sinners temporal fault should have an eternal punishment 1. Some tell us He refused eternal Life and therefore it 's but reason he should be punished with eternal death They had eternal pains and eternal pleasures set before them and they chose eternal pains In choosing the way they chose the end they chose the way of the Flesh the way of their own Hearts and so consequentially they chose Hell to which that way led Now if a man hath but his own choice whom can he blame but himself If a man have what he desireth and loveth if it be ill with him he must thank himself He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own Soul all that hate me love death Prov. 8. ult Jer. 4.17 18. 2. Others tell us That if they should live here for ever they would sin for ever therefore God taking the will for the deed punisheth them for ever They die eternally for sin who would have lived eternally in sin Vellet sine fine vivere ut posset sine fine peccare Greg. Man would live here for ever if he had his will that he might sin for ever Scotus and Aquinas tell us Peccant in aeterno suo puniuntur in aeterno Dei They sin in their eternity and God punisheth them in his eternity If God would give them an eternal abode on Earth they would imploy it in disobeying and dishonouring him eternally And because they would sin for ever therefore they shall suffer for ever Jer. 8.5 The Children of Israel are slidden back with a perpetual back-sliding they hold fast deceit and refuse to return How loath are they to forsake their Lusts 1. They hold them fast As a Fountain sendeth forth water so doth the Sinner send forth wickedness Jer. 6.7 Now a Fountain sendeth forth water freely without constraint and constantly without cessation What any thing doth naturally it doth easily and unweariedly The Sun shines naturally and he shines without any pains or tiresomeness The Fountain sends forth water naturally and doth it with ease and constancy So the Sinner sins naturally and doth it delightfully and unweariedly When the Body and its members the instruments of sin are tired and worn out and unable to execute the lusts of the flesh the body of sin is still fresh and vigorous in plotting and conspiring evil and in embracing and cherishing evil motions whence it appears that man sinning naturally would if he lived sin eternally and thence say they He is tormented for ever But 3. The principal Reason of the eternity of the Sinners misery and indeed the only reason in my Judgment with due respect to others is the infinite demerit of sin as committed against an infinite Majesty Because the Sinner is not capable of bearing a punishment infinite in intension therefore he must have it infinite in duration I doubt not but if the Sinner were able to bear the infinite stroak of Divine
to the Text. THough the Wise God is pleased now and then to keep a Peti-Sessions at this day and to execute Vengeance on some Sinners lest men should question his Providence and but on some lest they should question his Patience Yet the Great Assize when Justice shall have a solemn publick and general Triumph will be the last Day This World is the Theatre whereon Mercy is acting its part every moment if Justice peep out a little as the Sun out of a Cloud it is quickly recall'd and hidden again it will not appear in its full beauty and glory and brightness till all Nations appear in the other World Here all things come alike to all there is one event to the Righteous and to the Wicked to the Clean and to the Vnclean to him that sweareth and to him that feareth an Oath Eccles 9.2 The Sun of Prosperity shineth and the Showers of Adversity fall on both promiscuously If there be any difference for the better it is commonly on the worser side Psal 73.3 to the 8. vers But there when the last Trump shall sound the living be changed the dead raised and all shall appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ when the Saints shall be called honoured acquitted and rewarded when the Sinner shall be arraigned accused condemned and executed when the Judge shall say to the Saints on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World And to the Sinners on his left hand Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Then men will see and say Verily there is a reward for the Righteous Surely there is a God that judgeth in the World Then men shall return and discern a difference between the Righteous and the Wicked between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not In relation to this great and general Judgment we may consider 1. The Efficient or Judge vers 31. The Son of man shall come in his glory with all his holy Angels and shall sit on the Throne of his Glory He that was judged by man shall be Judge of men 2. The Subject or Persons to be judged all the World vers 32. And before him shall be gathered all Nations The Congregation of the whole World together shall follow upon the sound of the Trumpet In a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last Trumpet for the Trumpet shall sound the dead indefinitely shall be raised 1 Cor. 15.52 Some understand the sound of the Trumpet Metaphorically for the Virtue and Power of Christ whereby he shall cite and cause all the World to appear before him Others take it literally and properly as God appeared on Mount Sinai when he gave the Law with the long and loud sound of a Trumpet Exod. 19.19 So he will appear at the great Day with the sound of a Trump when he comes to reckon with men for the breach of the Law Matth. 24.31 And he shall send his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet The Jews gathered their solemn Assemblies together with the sound of a Trumpet And God will gather the greatest assembly of men that ever was with the sound of a Trumpet Adam shall then see all his Children to the hundredth and thousandth and hundred thousand Generation 3. The Form or Proceeding at that day from vers 32. to the end 4. The Event or Execution of the Sentence vers 1. And these shall go into everlasting punishment as Hamans face was covered when the Sentence was given and presently led forth to Execution and the Righteous into life eternal About the Form or Process of this Day wherein the Text lieth these four particulars are observable 1. The separation of Persons 2. The setting them in their places 3. The manifestation of persons and things 4. The pronunciation of the Sentence 1. The separation of Persons Now the Tares and Wheat grow together but then they shall be parted asunder vers 32. And before him shall be gathered all Nations and he shall separate them one from another as a Shepheard separateth his sheep from the goats Here they mingle together in the same House and Family and Society but there the Devils Herd of Goats shall be by themselves and Christs Flock by themselves The Wicked shall be gathered together and he shall bind them in bundles Matth. 13.41 and the Godly gathered together The Sinner shall have his desire not to be troubled with Admonitions or Singularity of the Precise and the Saint shall have his Prayer not to be vexed with the filthy Conversation of the Prophane Psal 26.4 5 6 7. I have not sate with vain persons neither will I go in with Dissemblers I have hated the Congregation of evil doers and will not sit with the Wicked c. 2. The setting them in their places Now the vilest men are exalted and the most virtuous debased but then it shall be otherwise And then he shall set the Sheep on his right hand and the Goats on his left vers 33. Here the Godly are set in low places on foot-stools the Wicked in high places on Thrones But there the Godly shall be honoured and the Wicked disgraced The right hand is a place of the greatest honour To sit at a Kings right hand is the highest Seat next him To sit on King Solomon's right hand was the honour he gave his Mother 1 King 2.19 To sit at the right hand of God is peculiar to Christ whom he hath honoured and exalted above Principalities and Powers To which of the Angels said he at any time sit thou on my right hand Ephes 20.21 Heb. 1.13 And to sit on the right hand of Christ will be the honour of his Spouse his Queen At thy right hand was the Queen in Gold of Ophir Psal 45.9 They who are now placed at the left hand of earthly Princes will then be placed at the right hand of the King of Kings of the blessed and glorious Potentate and they who are now placed at Kings right hands will be placed at Christs left hand 3. The manifestation of Persons and things 1. Of Persons 1. Of Men. All men shall then be pellucid and transparent as Christal We must all appear 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Cor. 5.10 For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word signifieth a clear and a permanent manifestation Such a clear manifestation of men that every one may see into them what they are and what they have been and such a permanent manifestation as will last for ever according to the Greek Scholiast on 1 Tim. 3.18 Good men shall then be manifested their Principles their Practices their Designs and Purposes and their uprightness in all to their glory and praise They who are now accused of Hypocrisie and Obstinacy and Pride and Peevishness because they could not swim with the stream nor run with others
If some kind of Food be wanting another kind may possibly do as well so if some sort of Drugs or Herbs for Physick be wanting there may be others found of the same Virtue and Operation but if once the Soul be sentenced to depart from Christ there is nothing to compensate this loss He is the Saviour and indeed the only Saviour Act. 4.12 He is the Mediator between a Righteous God and a guilty Creature and indeed the only Mediator 1 Tim. 2.5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus CHAP. V. The reasons of the Sinners privative Punishment Thirdly I Proceed to the Reasons of this Doctrine and shall name but two 1. Wicked men in the other world shall be sentenced to depart from Christ because of their wickedness or unworthiness of his presence The Judge himself gives this Reason in the Text vers 42 43. For I was hungry and ye gave me no meat c. Sin is the great Wall of Partition between God and his Creatures Evil cannot stand in thy sight neither canst thou behold the works of Iniquity Psal 5. They must lose the light of his Countenance who never minded the light of his Commandments the holy Jesus cannot abide the Company of unholy Creatures Shall the Throne of Iniquity have fellowship with thee No it may not it cannot Psal 94.20 It 's contrary to his Honour who hath threatned their banishment from him and it 's contrary to his Nature who hates their Company If God depart from his own people in this world in part and for a time it is for their sins Your Iniquities separate between me and your Souls Isa 59.2 Thus they are the Cloud that interpose between the Soul and the Sun of Righteousness Isa 44.22 and hinder the light of his Favour from shining on us Job knew and acknowledged this in Job 13.24 25 26. Why hidest thou thy Face Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess the sins of my youth And if wicked men depart totally and eternally from God in the other World it is for their sins Depart from me ye Workers of Iniquity I know you not Matth. 7.23 Luke 13.27 Departure from Christ is the Wages which the Workers of Iniquity earn Deeds of darkness merit utter darkness Wicked men now desire Christ to depart from them They besought him to depart out of their Coasts Matth. 8. ult But what is now their Pleasure shall then be their Punishment He will go from them who bid him be gone and hide his Face for ever from those who turn their backs upon him in time He that prepares for Sinners the Torments of Hell will not bestow on them the Joys of Heaven 2. Because of their unfitness for the presence of Christ A carnal heart cannot savour a spiritual Heaven The vitiated nature of man cares not for the pleasures joyn'd with the holiness of the Coelestial Paradise When Angels kept not their first Estate they left their own Habitation Jude vers 6. As soon as they lost their primitive Purity they lost the place of their Glory and Felicity When once they turn'd haters of God and Holiness of their own accord they forsook Heaven Distemper'd Palats cannot rellish the choicest Dainties How can the wicked delight in God which is the Heaven of Heaven who have in them a predominant enmity against him Heb. 12.14 Follow after holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. It 's holiness that makes the Soul sit and meet for Heaven Col. 1.12 Giving thanks unto the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light The Blind are as capable of seeing and the Deaf of hearing and the Dead of eating and drinking as wicked men are of seeing God as he is and hearing the melodious Songs of Saints and Angels and of feeding of the Tree of Life that groweth in the midst of Paradise and of drinking of the pure Water that floweth from the Throne of God and the Lamb. If the Tabernacle on Earth wherein are the Saints of God and holy Institutions of Christ and the Divine Worship for four or five hours in a week be a Prison to earthly carnal men surely the Temple in Heaven wherein is the holy One of Israel in the greatest manifestion of his holiness holy Angels perfect Spirits pure Service of the blessed God without interruption or cessation would be a Purgatory yea an Hell to them Communion with God is impossible in natura rei without conformity to him 2 Cor. 6.14 They tell a broad lye who say They have fellowship with God here and walk after their own lusts 1 Joh. 1.6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked Our delight in God is ever proportionable to our desires of him Now wicked men desiring above all things the absence yea the dethroning of God can never take any delight in his presence though they should be admitted thereunto If suitableness be wanting that which is never so excellent is no way joyous or pleasant to us All Creatures delight only in what is suitable to their natures Barzillai refused the pleasures of Davids Court because they were so unsuitable to an old man that they would be no pleasures to him he could not tast their Meat nor hear their Musick So all the delights of the Coelestial Court would be no delights because of their unsuitableness to sinful sensual natures Ungodly men could not rellish the spiritual Dainties at the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb nor hear with pleasure the heavenly Quire singing the Song of Moses and the Lamb. I grant that wicked men are naturally capable of Heaven as they are rational Creatures but they are morally uncapable as they are predominantly carnal and sinful so they want that holiness which should prepare and dispose and fit them for Heaven CHAP. VI. Vses concerning the hainous nature of Sin and grievous misery of Sinners Vse I Shall now apply this Doctrine It may be useful by way of Information and by way of Exhortation 1. By way of Information 1. It may inform us If the Wicked in the other World shall be banished the presence of Christ then how hainous is the nature of Sin and how odious to God God is love it self and delights in Mercy yea takes pleasure in the Prosperity of men Joh. 1.4 In him was life and the life was the light of men Micah 7.18 Who is a God like unto thee who pardoneth Iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the Remnant of his Heritage he retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercy Therefore it must be some grievous Crime and somewhat which is very offensive to him that provokes him to sentence them to an eternal banishment from him O how horrid a thing is Sin It brings all evil Rom. 2.7 8. And deprives of all good Isa 59.2 It s formal nature is a
voluntary departure from Gods Precepts Heb. 3.12 Jer. 2.5 And its woful Effect is an eternal total departure from his gracious presence His partial temporary departure from his own people who are the Objects of his eternal Choice and infinite Love which makes them go mourning all the day and lie roaring all the night because of their sins speaks much of the evil of sin but his full everlasting departure from others which leaves them naked and stript of all Comfort and exposed to all Misery and Mischief doth more abundantly proclaim its filthiness and loathsomeness It can be no ordinary Cloud or Vapour that can obscure the Sun at noon-day in all his beauty and brightness and turn the clear day into a black night And it can be no little or small thing which provokes the Father of Mercy and God of all Grace to deal so severely with the works of his own hands 2. It informs us of the unconceivable misery of Sinners They must depart from Christ for ever To depart for ever from loving and lovely Relations is no mean misery to them who have no other Kindred than those on Earth It was no small trial of Abraham to leave his Kindred and Fathers house Gen. 12.1 To depart for ever from dear and intimate Friends is a sore trouble to him whose heart is knit to them The failure and distance of Friends was grievous to Job Job 19.13 14. And David Psal 38.11 To depart for ever from all the Saints the Children of the most high the excellent of the Earth from the Members of Christ of whom the World is not worthy will cut deep in them who have any eyes to see the amiableness of their Persons and any hearts to underderstand the benefit of their Prayers and Patterns But to depart for ever from Christ the Prince of Life the Lord of Glory the Heir of all things the richest Treasure and highest Honour and sweetest Pleasure is doleful and dreadful indeed How may the damned cry out Ah whither do we go now we are going from thee thou hast the words of eternal life The presence of Christ is the happiness of the Soul on Earth Deut. 4.7 I will see you and your hearts shall rejoyce Joh. 16.22 And ye now therefore have sorrow but I will see you again and your hearts shall rejoyce and your joy no man taketh from you No such hearty comfort as in the gracious presence of Christ And the presence of Christ is the happiness of the Soul in Heaven I desire to be dissolved though death simply consider'd be not desirable and to be with Christ Finis conciliat mediis amorem His presence is the Heaven of Heavens It 's the excellency of the new Jerusalem that there the Tabernacle of God is with men and God himself shall be with them Rev. 21.3 And the felicity of the Citizens there They shall see his Face Rev. 22.4 In the presence of Christ is all good and in the absence of Christ is all evil If it were death to Absolom not to see the Kings face what death will it be to the damned to be denied for ever the blissful sight of the face of Christ If God depart from his people in some degrees for he is their God still Psal 22.1 Psal 88.1 and but for a time as a loving Father to make his Children more sensible of their folly and of the worth of his Favour How sadly have they cried out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me How horribly will they screech and roar from whom he departs wholly and eternally as a supream and righteous Judge It will greatly aggravate their misery to consider these particulars 1. The greatness of their loss It 's not the loss of an House or Estate or bodily good but the loss of a Soul the loss of a Saviour the loss of a God yea the loss of all good and that for ever It 's such a loss as never had its fellow or equal It 's such a loss as cannot admit of any addition to it It 's a loss that never had the like before it nor shall have the like after it It 's an incomparable loss that the damned may say as he Ye have taken away my God and what have I more 2. For how small a thing they lose the blessed Jesus If they had lost Christ for somewhat which might have countervail'd the want of him or had in any degree equal'd him it had been the better but to lose a God a Christ a Soul fulness of Joy for a little aiery Honour or bruitish Pleasure this will cut to the heart O how will it wound the Soul in the other World to think for how small a toy for how pitiful a trifle have I lost a Crown of Glory and Rivers of Pleasures for ever Ah what a Fool have I been to lose Substance for Shadows Bread for Husks a Fountain of living Waters for broken Cisterns their own Mercies for lying Vanities Christal streams for puddle Water the choice Dainties of Gods House for the Devils scraps Heaven for Earth and all things for nothing Was any in Bedlam ever half so distracted 3. It will much aggravate their misery to consider that it was their own voluntary act to lose so much for so little They shall then think with themselves that this woful condition in which they are was their own choice All the power and policy of Earth and Hell could not force them to destroy themselves The Cords that bind them were of their own twisting the Rods that scourge them were gather'd with their own hands The Web in which they are caught and kill'd was spun out of their bowels God may say to them as once to Israel Ye have destroyed your selves Hos 13. Ye are your own Murtherers I put your Salvation so far into your own hands that ye could not be damned against your wills Your own Iniquities correct you and ye are holden with cords of your own sins Prov. 5.22 Jer. 4.18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee this is thy wickedness because it is bitter because it reacheth unto thine heart Jer. 2.19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee and thy back-slidings shall reprove thee know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God 4. It will exceedingly increase their anguish to know perfectly the greatness of their loss Here they know not the worth of a Christ and thence they are little troubled at the want of Christ but then their eyes shall be opened to see the Beauty Excellency and Amiableness of him whom they have lost and to see the costly Delicacies choice Dainties pure and perfect Pleasures which the Godly enjoy in him and with him and so by the increase of their knowledge will be an increase of their sorrow They shall see Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven they shall see their Neighbours whom they
strangers to the Covenant of Promise and aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and without hope in the World In which words we have their dreadful estate how far they are from any Saviour and so from any hope of Salvation which would not be if their negative holiness were sufficient to make them happy Third Use of Information 3. If Christ will condemn men for sins of Omission at the Great Day then it may inform us of the Justice and Righteousness of Christ It 's said of Christ That he loveth Righteousness and hateth Iniquity Psal 45. And again That he shall judge the world in Righteousness Act. 17.31 Herein it appears 1. Because he spares no Sins He condemneth those that live in Omissions little light sins in the imaginations of men as well as those that live in Commissions He sends to Hell those that do not relieve as well as those that rob his people He poureth out his wrath upon them that do not visit his Members in Prison as well as those that cast them into Prison Those sins that are Peccadilloes in the Worlds eye have felt the heavy weight of his hand The man that gather'd a few sticks was destroy'd with stones Vzzah touch'd the Ark out of kindness but God smote him with death for it Moses for omitting the Circumcision of his Child was like to have lost his life Aarons two Sons Nadab and Abihu neglected as is supposed by Expositors to fetch fire from the Altar to burn their Sacrifices and were destroy'd with fire from Heaven Levit. 10. The impartiality of Christ is evident herein that at the Great Day he will bid the Civil as well as the Scandalous Sinner depart from him into everlasting fire 2. Because he spareth no Sinners He saith to all those on his left hand whether Rich or Poor Great or Small High or Low if guilty of these Omissions Depart from me into everlasting fire He is no respecter of persons he spareth none for their greatness and strength His hand reacheth the tallest Cedars and plucks up the strongest Oaks Neither Power nor Majesty can free or exempt persons from his severity If Princes and Potentates will omit their Duty they must expect to feel his Fury Pharaoh Jeroboam Ahab Ahaz Rev. 6.15 Nebuchadnezzar Herod might neglect their Duties to men and escape punishment from men but could not neglect their Duties to God at so easie a rate As all their sins were within the view of his Omniscience so all their persons were within the reach of his Vengeance and that found them out to their cost He spareth none for their nearness to him He beholdeth them afar off that are very near to him when they make bold with him Judges on Earth may sometimes though sinfully always favour their Kindred in an unrighteous cause but he judgeth otherwise Though Coniah be to be as the signet on my right hand I will pluck him thence Jer. 22.24 Israel was the nearest people to God of any people in the world Psal 148. ult with Deut. 4.7 and Moses was the nearest to God of any of the people of Israel yet they were excluded his Rest for not believing his Word and he was denied entrance into Canaan for not sanctifying Gods Name 3. He judgeth all according to Law This is another requisite to suffice He will not condemn any for their Omissions or Commissions but according to Law We count that Judge just indeed that keeps the Law and will not upon any account swerve from that Our Lord Jesus when he sentenceth those that neglect to feed the Hungry and cloath the Naked c. to everlasting fire proceedeth according to Law exactly These persons as hath been before proved are under the Law of Works and so must stand or fall for ever as they obey or disobey that Law Now that Law condemneth for Omissions and not doing our Duties as well as for Commissions and abounding in enormities It saith Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the Book of the Law to do them Gal. 3.13 Observe the Law curseth those that omit that continue not to do their Duties as well as those that do the contrary 4. He will render to every man according to his Works He may punish and doth in this World less but neither in the other nor in this more than our Inquities deserve All mens sins are not equal therefore all mens sufferings shall not be equal According to the degree of mens defilements such shall be the degree of their punishment He distinguisheth between sins and sins between them that afflict his Children and those that relieve them not in their Afflictions between those that hale them to Prisons and put them to death and those that visit them not in prison He exacteth not of men more than is meet He will put a difference between Heathens who have little means to know and worship him aright and Jews To whom were committed the Oracles of God to whom pertained the Adoption and the Covenant and the giving of the Law and the Promises These have greater Means and Mercies and therefore greater Wrath and Severity Tribulation and Anguish Indignation and Wrath on the soul of every man that doth evil on the Jew first and also on the Gentiles Rom. 3.2 Rom. 9.4 Rom. 2.7 You only have I known therefore you will I punish of all the Families of the Earth for your Iniquities Amos 3.2 He will distinguish between Jews and Christians that live under the Gospel Omissions are more tollerable and less punishable among Heathens than Jews and among Jews before Christs coming than those Jews that lived under the Gospel and saw Christ's Miracles and heard his Sermons with those Christians that enjoy the Gospel Matth. 11.21 22 23. It will be more tollerable for Tyre and Sidon than for Corazin and Bethsaida and for Sodom and Gomorrah than for Capernaum because these lived under greater Light and Helps and yet continued in the neglect of Faith and Repentance He will not punish those that omit their Duties ignorantly when they are diligent to improve what advantages they have for knowledge so severely as he will those who neglect their Duties knowingly God expects a life answerable to that Light which he hath given us and if we imprison his Truth in unrighteousness we provoke him in the highest degree He that knoweth his Masters Will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes He that knoweth not his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with few stripes Both shall be beaten but the former suffer more stripes than the latter It 's cold comfort yet herein the Righteousness of the Judge appeareth that some who are guilty of Omissions shall have a cooler Hell than others For he rendreth to every man according to his Works Rom. 2. CHAP. XXVIII Practical godliness necessary Fourth Use of Information 4. IF Christ will condemn men at the Great Day for Sins of
sins of Ignorance But those who live under the clear and plain and full discovery of the Gospel must know that these Omissions are sins Their Ministers are not so ignorant or unfaithful as to leave them in the dark about such necessary Duties Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is sin James 4. ult The second thing in this allowance is to continue in these Omissions though we know them to be Sins and to be little or nothing troubled for them And I say those who do so are in no good Condition they shall be condemned at the Great Day And my reasons are partly because its proper to a wicked man to continue in sins A sheep may fall into the Ditch and defile himself but he hastens out of it as soon as he can but the Swine chooseth a dirty place walloweth all the day long in the mud and mire A Saint may fall into sin but he hasteneth to recover himself by repentance A Sinner lives in it day and night Prov. 4.17 It 's their Food in the day and their refreshment in the night Their sleep departeth from them unless they cause some to fall Hence we read That sin is their Way or Work or Conversation Isa 55.7 Partly because allowance of any sin is inconsistent with Grace Sin and Grace are contrary each to other and therefore though they may be and are in the same Subject yet they are not they cannot be there together but as Enemies seeking the destruction one of another The Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against Flesh for these are contrary the one to the other Fire and Water are not more contrary than Vice and Grace so that he who suffers Vice without opposition declares plainly that he hath no Grace for these Enemies never meet but they fight Therefore Reader examine thy self thou hast laid down the Commission of Evil but hast thou taken up every known Duty Thy Reason will tell thee he is a bad Husband who drains his ground and then neither soweth nor planteth it It 's all one as if it had continued under water as good be undrain'd as unimproved when drain'd CHAP. XXXIII A Caution against sins of Omission in regard of the matter of Duties Ex. IF Christ will condemn men at the Great Day for sins of Omission It may exhort us to mind the doing of Good as well as the forbearing of Evil to be as watchful against sins of Omission as well as against sins of Commission and make Conscience of Affirmative as well as Negative Commands Do not think it sufficient to forbear what is Evil unless also thou dost what is Good It 's good not to be evil in doing what the Law forbids but it 's evil also not to be good in doing what the Law enjoyns The Minister is not a good Minister because he doth not seduce or mislead or deceive his people by false Doctrine or scandalous living if he do not teach them the right ways of the Lord and be not instant with them in season and out of season to Know and Adore and Honour their Maker and Redeemer A good Shepheard must look to good Pastures for his Sheep as well as defend them from Lions and Wolves Paul proves his Integrity by this That he kept nothing back that was profitable for his people but taught them publickly and from house to house and that he declared unto them the whole Counsel of God Act. 20.21 22 27. The Magistrate is not a good Magistrate who can only say that he never oppressed or persecuted the Innocent He must be able to say with Job that he relieved them in their Necessities and redressed them in their Grievances I delivered the Poor that cryed and the Fatherless and him that had none to help I was eyes to the Blind and feet to the Lame I brake the jaws of the Wicked and pluckt the spoil out of his Teeth Job 29.12 15 17. The Christian is not a good Christian that can only tell us that he is an harmless man he doth no mischief he wrongs none in thought word or deed The barren Tree brings forth no bad fruit yet it 's cut down for the fire He is an evil man that neglects what is good as well as he that follows what is evil Ezek. 18.31 Therefore Reader Cease to do evil but let not that suffice learn to do well Isa 1. Remember to watch against what is evil But also to do good and to distribute forget not for with such Sacrifice God is well pleased Heb. 13.16 To do good and to pray in thy Closet and Family and to read the Scriptures and to instruct thy Children and Servants and to sanctifie the Lords-Day and to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their Afflictions 2 Cor. 7.1 forget not for with such Sacrifice God is well pleased Forsake the foolish this is well but not enough and walk in the way of Vnderstanding The Law of God must be kept tenderly as the very apple of our eyes Prov. 7.2 The smallest dust will offend the eye and the smallest Omission will offend the Law If thy Conscience be dispensatory it is unholy Friend thou hast largely heard how far short a Negative Religion will bring thee of Heaven and canst thou content thy self a moment therewith Nay thou hast heard that for all that thou shalt be sent to Hell and wilt thou rest one day or night therein O Friend be wise in time and mind positive godliness whilst thou hast opportunity In these days of the Gospel God is quick and speedy sharp and severe with men that are barren and unfruitful Behold now saith the Baptist the Ax is laid to the root of the Tree Behold Consider now at this time when the Redeemer is coming whose way I am preparing Now the Ax is laid to the root of the Tree Matth. 3.10 He is now laying aside his Basket and taking up the Ax yea he lays his Ax at the root of the Tree as one taking aim where to strike and how to fell the Tree with the greatest advantage therefore it concerns thee to be fruitful Again the Apostle tells us That former times of gross darkness were over-lookt by God but now saith he Now his Son is come into the World and he reveals his Mercy and our Duty so fully and clearly Now he commands men every where to repent Act. 17.29 30. Now he exhorts fruits meet for Repentance or he will not wink at your Disobedience but judge you to Hell flames And believe it the Valley of Vision will prove the heaviest burden and the highest means will cast thy Soul into the lowest misery Opportunities of doing good to our own and others Souls are choice Mercies They are Talents that must one day be reckoned for Therefore saith the blessed Redeemer in the justification of Mary about the Oyntment Me ye have not always the poor ye have always and may do
them good when ye will but me ye have not always Mary did well to improve the season she had in her hand as knowing if once lost it was lost for ever The Apostle Paul upon this account adviseth the Galathians While ye have time do good to all Gal. 6.10 Nothing more sads and dulls the heart when one comes to die saith a Divine now with God than his neglect of such opportunities which God's Providence Essex herse p. 19. or his own Place have put into his hands of doing or receiving good Nor is there a sharper Corrosive than the reflection upon those days and times that have passed over him Male aliud nihil agentem Ah how sad and uncomfortable will it be for thy time to be gone when thy work is not done when thy Sun is setting and the shadows of the Evening are stretching themselves upon thee for Conscience to give thee this salute Thy day is passed thy time is wasted the business of life is neglected and now thine Errors can never never be amended Ah what a dreadful hour will a dying-hour be to thee when Conscience shall plead against thee with Whips and Scorpions and Flames and not the dearest Friend or Relation thou hast be admitted to plead for thee or be able to comfort thee But if the day of death will be so uncomfortable how terrible will the Day of Judgment be Then it is that the Saint shall reap the benefit of all the good he hath done and the Sinner shall reap the mischief of all the good he hath omitted or left undone Then the idle Servant that did not trade with his Talent will be found an evil Servant and as such condemned to the Worm that never dieth and the Fire that never goeth out Mat. 25. Then the unfruitful Factor will be found an unfaithful Factor and as such disown'd and condemned by his Lord. Reader believe it though thou mayst live by a Negative Religion yet thou canst not die by it much less stand before the Judgment-Seat of Christ with it It 's true even such a Religion is of high price with men but if alone it's abomination in the sight of God Reader let me reason the case with thee In other things all are for fruitfulness in what is good The Husbandman would have his ground fruitful in good Corn as well as empty of weeds He would have his Cattel labour and do him service and thinks it not enough that they are in the stable or fields and do him no hurt The Master would have his Servant industrious in his Shop or Field or some way or other about his business and is not pleased to see him sit still all day and forbear to purloin his Goods or fight with his fellow Servants The Father who sends his Child to School would have him learn the Languages and profit daily therein and without this will not be satisfied to hear that his Child sits still all day at School learns no Oaths or Blasphemies calls no Names abuses none of his Companions And Reader why should God be contented with thy harmlesness when thou art barren and unprofitable Hath not God as much right to thee as thou hast to thy Ground or Cattel and art not thou as much bound to God as thy Servant or Child is bound to thee and why then shouldst thou think to put God off with that in thy self which thou wilt not be put off with in thy ground or Cattel or Servant or Child Besides I must tell thee thou art not harmless if thou dost no good though thou livest not in the Commission of gross Evils The Tree in the Garden that brings not forth good fruit is hurtful though it bring not forth evil fruit partly because it cumbers the ground and takes up room to no purpose partly because it draws the moisture of the earth to it and so hinders the thriving of those Trees that are near it who but for them would be more fruitful So if thou neglectest what is good though thou dost no open scandalous evil thou art mischievous and hurtful in the place where thou livest Thou takest up the room of a Member that might be serviceable to God and his Country If thou wert gone there might be one in thy House Place Lodging kept and maintain'd by the Great House-keeper of the World with the same Mercies with which thou livest that should adorn the Gospel glorifie the Name of God and edifie the Souls of others and dost thou no harm then by hindring such a one Is not the Drone hurtful which idleth all the day and lives upon the Bees labour and forceth them sometimes to want because of her Theft Is not the Wem in the Body hurtful when it serves to no use yet sucks away the nourishment from other parts of the Body Doth not that Factor wrong the Master who imploys him if he let his stock lie still though he do not waste it in Riotousness and Drunkenness and Filthiness when the Master might have had one in his place who would have traded with it and probably have improved it to his great advantage Did ever any Merchant trust a Servant with a stock to lie by him Nay is Nature it self content with the removal of what is oppressive doth it not long and breath after what is perfective Is not the presence of malum what is evil a burden So the absence of bonum what is good occasion of complaint There is ingrafted within us not only Bados a depth of distast against feared Evils but also Hiatus large desires after known Good As Nature much more doth Religion call men off what is bad and provoke men to what is right and just and good Reader let me come up a little closer to thee What is it that I am advising thee to Is it any thing that is evil If it be reject and renounce it Is it not to be good and to do good I will tell thee what I would desire of thee and then do thou judge whether I advise thee as a Friend or whether my Counsel be worth hearkning to or no 1. Take heed of external Omissions If thou hast been faulty herein I would advise thee every day to mind Prayer Scripture watchfulness over thy Heart Tongue and Actions diligence in thy Calling faithfulness in thy Relations and to do good to others as thou hast opportunity Hereby thou wilt acknowledge thy dependance on and subsistance by the blessed God to whom thou art bound by millions of Obligations Hereby thou wilt procure his Protection of thy Person Provision for thy Family and Benediction on thy Calling and all thine Undertakings And is this ill Counsel to direct thee to the way how to procure his Favour which can sweeten the bitterest Condition and turn the most loathsome Prison into a lovely Palace and an Hell of misery into an Heaven of Mercy Friend do I advise thee for thy hurt when I advise thee daily to
against the first and second Table but that is not all we should live righteously soberly and godly righteously towards men soberly in relation to our selves godly in the Duties that concern God in this present evil world The Gospel allows of Omissions no more than the Law and is so far from indulging men in sin because it hath mercy for the penitent Sinner that it addeth stronger Obligations to Obedience and threatneth more severe condemnation to the Disobedient 2 Cor. 5.15 16. Heb. 10. Again the Promises which have in their bowels all the good of Heaven and Earth all the blessings of this Life and a better which are as much worth as both worlds 1 Tim. 4.8 which are exceeding great in their quantity and precious in their quality 2 Pet. 1.4 and the peculiar portion of Gods own Children Heb. 6.17 who are the only Heirs of them and all others strangers to them and therefore miserable and in an hopeless and desperate Condition These Promises are so far from excusing or exempting from these positive Duties that they engage us the more firmly to them 2 Cor. 7.1 Having therefore dearly beloved these Promises that God will be our Father and we shall be his Children c. Chap. 6. vers 18. let us cleanse our selves from all pollutions of Flesh and Spirit but this is not all and perfect holiness in the fear of God The Promises do not only bind to Purity but also to Proficiency therein till we come to perfection And perfect holiness in the fear of God The Covenant of Grace which is a Mine of unsearchable Riches a Book wherein every leaf nay every line speaks Love and Life which contains more mercy in it even the boundless God than Heaven and Earth are able to contain this requires positive as well as negative holiness Deut. 26.17 nay it engageth for both Ezek. 36.25 From all your Idols and from all your filthiness will I cleanse you But more than this 26 27 verses I will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh I will put my Spirit into you and ye shall keep my Commandments and do them So that all these Priviledges are to no purpose if we be not provoked by them to do good and perform the Duties which are the Conditions of them Reader think of it why should God give thee Precepts to direct thee about the matter and manner of performing thy Duties and Promises to encourage thee to diligence and faithfulness therein if thou mayst live in the Omission of them Surely such infinite cost calls for some great care and conscienciousness in thy Conversation Might not God by virtue of his Dominion over thee as grand Proprietor of the Universe have required this at thine hands but when he is so gracious as to sue to thee and to allure thee and seek to draw thee by such Cords of love wilt thou stand out and deny him O blush for shame that thou hast neglected so long the wooings and beseechings and intreaties of such a glorious Gospel and such precious Promises and such an inestimable Covenant The greater the Charge God is at with thee the greater should be the Service thou dost him Where the ground is well dunged and dressed and watered and manured a greater Crop is expected by the Husbandman I must tell thee Friend that thou wilt one day find That to whom much is given of him much will be required Luke 12.48 and that God expects Returns answerable to thy Receipts Do not imagine as some vainly have done that the bare enjoyment of these Priviledges will save thee I must tell thee and that from Gods own mouth they will be so far from it that they will make Hell fire the hotter for thee and much deepen thine eternal condemnation Matth. 11.21 22 23. Jer. 7.3 4. Amend your ways and yours doings and trust not in lying words saying the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord are these Such Priviledges without positive holiness do but usher men to an hotter Hell CHAP. XXXVI Arguments against Omissions We profess our selves Gods Servants and all our Religion will come to nothing without positive holiness 5. COnsider you are the professed Servants of God and will you not do your Masters business You are baptized in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost you own your Baptism by your attendance on God though but sometimes in publick Ordinances You wear the Livery of Christ before the World and if any ask you what you are you say a Christian or whose you are you say you belong to Jesus Christ And Friend will you pretend to be Gods Servant and neglect his business This is but to put a mock and cheat upon him like him in the Gospel who when he was bid go work in the Vineyard said I go but went not If I be a Master where is your fear Mal. 1.7 If God be your Master where is your fear of displeasing him either by neglecting what he enjoyns or doing what he forbids True Servants are not at their own but at their Masters pleasure and disposal as the Centurions Souldiers when the Master saith Go they go when he saith Come they come when he saith Do this they do it Matth. 8.9 The Redeemer himself when he took upon him the form of a Servant and became so to his Father Phil. 2.7 Isa 53.10 did not what he himself would I came not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me Joh. 6.38 And as the Father gave me Commandment so do I Joh. 14.31 And to shew his faithfulness in that relation when he came to die he tells his Father I have glorified thee on the Earth and finished the work thou hast given me to do Joh. 17. Nay the very irrational and inanimate Creatures are the Servants of God and as such do him positive service The Psalmist speaks of the Heavens and the Earth with the Creatures therein All are thy Servants at thy beck and bidding at thy call and command Psal 119.91 If thou speak to the Sun it riseth not if thou speak again it will stand still if thou speak a third time it will move faster or slower which thou pleasest If thou commandest the Stars they will fight in their courses against thine Enemies and serve thee faithfully after their manner as their Lord of Hosts Nay those Creatures which seem most stubborn and rebellious being Gods Servants are pliable to his pleasure Fire and Hail and stormy Winds fulfil his Word Psal 148.8 Reader what dost thou think of these examples thou seest the Highest the Heir of all things when he became his Servant did his Will and Work for thee fulfil'd all righteousnes and went about doing good Act. 10. And thou seest the lowest Beings Gods Servants do not only forbear doing evil but after their manner analogically they do good and positively serve God and wilt thou content thy self with
and honoured with his Masters own happiness Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. No less will content his large liberal heart than his own joy for his holy Ones a joy so great that it cannot enter into them their narrow Vessels can never hold such an Ocean therefore they must enter into it and be immerst and swallow'd up as it were in this vast Sea of Pleasure and Solace But Reader consider in this Chapter before the Text vers 34. What will be the profit of this sort of Piety how infinitely the gains will exceed the pains were they ten thousand times more than they can be Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World For I was hungry and ye gave me meat c. How doth every word speak Love and Life every syllable drop Myrh and Mercy In which we may observe the welcome those that are fruitful Christians shall find from Christ in the other World We have 1. The estate they shall be invested with and that is a Kingdom 2. Their Title to it and that is by Inhetance from their Father Ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom 3. It s preparation for them Prepared for you from the Foundation of the World 4. Their formal introduction into it Come ye blessed of my Father 5. The qualification of the persons that shall inherit this Kingdom I was hungry and ye fed me such as feed the Hungry and cloath the Naked 1. Observe Reader for thine encouragement to mind positive Holiness the estate thy loving and bountiful Father hath provided for thee when thou comest to age It 's no less than a Kingdom thou shalt be a King now and enjoy a Kingdom then He hath made us Kings and Priests unto God Rev. 1.6 with Palms in thy hand Rev. 7.9 of which the door of the Holy of Holies was made 1 Kings 6.33 an emblem of perfect Victory over all thine enemies and Robes on thy back Rev. 19.8 of perfect Purity spotless Innocency and Meridian Glory and a Crown on thy Head James 1.12 such a Crown as will never wear never waste but endure and therefore called Incorruptible 1 Cor. 9.25 and reign with Christ for ever and ever Reader hath a Kingdom nothing of amiableness in it to allure thee What fighting and killing and swearing and forswearing is there for an earthly Kingdom O what shouldst thou not do for an heavenly Kindgom Where 1. Is the greatest Glory a far more exceeding Weight of it 2 Cor. 5.17 18. 2. The strongest Security a Kingdom that cannot be shaken Heb. 11. No Devil or subtile Serpent can crawl into the Coelestial Paradise 3. The brightest Splendor transparent as Christal Rev. 21. Wherein the Inhabitants shall shine as the Sun and much more lustrously Matth. 13. 4. The highest Attendants Cherubims and Seraphims standing as Servants or Porters at the twelve Gates of the City Rev. 21.12 5. The greatest Power the Saints shall inherit all things Rev. 12. Judge that World which now censureth and judgeth them 1 Cor. 6.2 3. 6. the most pure and perfect satisfaction in every power and part of Soul and Body There is fulness of Joy and rivers of Pleasures and vers 7. eternity to compleat their felicity 2 Pet. 1.11 So an entrance shall be administred into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2. The Title Inherit the Kingdom It comes to them not by their Purchase but by Christs Purchase therefore called the purchased Possession Ephes 1.14 Vntil the Redemption of the purchased Possession It comes not to them by their goodness but by Gods Gift Fear not little Flock it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you a Kingdom Luk. 12.32 It comes not to them by their Obedience but by Inheritance from their Father Christ is Gods natural Son and Heir of all things by him Believers are Gods adopted Children Gal. 3.26 Ye are all the Children of God through Faith in Jesus Christ and if Sons then Heirs Heirs of God and Joynt-Heirs with Christ Rom. 8.17 3. It s preparation for them from the Foundation of the World When God first erected the stately Fabrick of Heaven and Earth probably he made the empirean Heaven the place of the blessed for at first when he laid the Foundations of the World the Morning-Stars sang together and all the Sons of God shouted for joy therefore it 's likely the place of their Residence was made Besides it was prepared in the Decrees of God they were destinated to a Diadem before they had a being 4. Their formal admission into it Come ye blessed of my Father Come from all Sin from all Sorrow all Sufferings Come from Babylon to Sion from a barren Wilderness where is no water for a thirsty Soul to a fruitful pleasant Paradise where are all sorts of luscious and heart-chearing Rarities Come where have ye been all this while how could ye bear my absence so long what have ye done in a Valley of Tears a Bochim a place of weeping so many years When he calls them to die his Voice need not be unpleasant to them He doth but call them as a Father his Child out of the shower into his house Come my people enter into the Chambers shut the door hide your selves for a very little moment till the Indignation be overpast Isa 28.20 Come Child go to bed I will cause the dust to be a soft Couch of repose to thee and when thou awakest in the Morning of the Resurrection all shall be well with thee but his Voice at the Resurrection will be sweet indeed Come Child O come dear Child into my Arms and Embraces come into my Heart come into my very Soul Come and take possession of my dear bought Purchase Come and inherit the Kingdom prepared for thee Come Child and enjoy all that Honour and Treasure and Joy and Delight and Happiness which thou hast so often pray'd and wept and watcht and sighed and sob'd for Come Child to thy Fathers House sit down at his Table drink of his new Wine and eat of his hidden Manna and feast of the Tree of Life that groweth in the midst of Paradise for ever and ever 5. The qualification of the Persons that shall partake of this Possession they are such as feed the Hungry cloath the Naked c. For I was hungry and ye gave me meat thirsty and ye gave me drink Reader dost thou not observe that those who mind this positive Holiness are the blessed of the Father and the Heirs of the Kingdom and wilt thou neglect A Kingdom makes the greatest difference among men The height of any ones ambition can be but a Kingdom and will not a glorious joyful eternal Kingdom move thee CHAP. XL. Arguments against sins of Omission God delights chiefly in our doing good and our opportunities for doing good will quickly be gone 13. COnsider God takes most pleasure in our positive Holiness It 's
true he is pleased to see men deny ungodliness and worldly lusts but nothing to that pleasure which he takes in seeing them live righteously soberly and godly in this present evil World He likes ceasing from evil because it 's agreeable to his Word but he likes better doing of good because it 's more conformable to his Will Isa 64.5 Thou meetest him that rejoyceth and worketh righteousness Thou meetest him with the riches of Mercy who worketh what is good with alacrity If he come to thee thou wilt not cast him away nay thou wilt run to meet him and embrace him As the Father of the Prodigal ran to meet his returning Son Luke 15. And as one at odds but willing to be reconciled tells us He will meet his Opposite half-way And I may say of Gods meeting a Soul that worketh Righteousness as God tells Moses Behold Aaron thy Brother comes to meet thee and when he seeth thee he will be glad at his heart Behold thy God and Father cometh to meet thee and when he seeth thee working Righteousness he will be glad at his heart nay so glad that the disadvantage of a mans Country shall not hinder him of this kindness Acts 10. And Peter said I perceive now that God is no Respecter of persons but in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh Righteousness is accepted of him God proclaimeth to all the World That he delighteth in such a mans way Psal 73.23 and therefore his Word which he hath given us for our Rule herein is called his good and acceptable Will Rom. 12.2 And the reason is because such persons are most like God therefore they have most of his love and delight God is a pure Act and so cannot but approve of them that are active He is ever at work Joh. 5.17 Hitherto my Father worketh and I work And its righteousness he is always working The Lord is holy in all his Ways and righteous in all his Works Psal 145. He is good and doth good so that those who are positively holy do most resemble him and so do most delight him We all take most pleasure in those Children that are our exactest Pictures Reader art thou negatively holy Canst thou say I am no Drunkard no Glutton no Adulterer thou mayst say this and be like the Devil for the Devil himself may say as much Canst thou say I am no Thief no Swearer no Blasphemer no Sabbath-breaker no Trader with false Weights or false Measures no Bearer of false witness against my Neighbour A Beast may say as much and thou mayst be free from these sins and yet like a Beast But if thou livest in the love and delight of the blessed Majesty doing his pleasure this is to be like an Angel Psal 103. And doing good to others this is to be like God and this is that which takes his heart Common humanity is much affected with one that aboundeth in goodness and is rich in good Works therefore the Apostle tells us That for a good man possibly some may even dare to die Rom. 5. The reason of which is because the people of the Jews were divided into three sorts of Persons there were Reshagnim or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the wicked or ungodly those who lived without the Worship of God and walked in prophane courses there were also Tsidikim or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the just or righteous men of rigid righteousness or severe innocency and Chasidim or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the good and liberal men of large Hearts and open Hands to do good to others who as publick Conduits are of publick advantage in the places where they live Now saith the Apostle Scarcely for a righteous man that is for a man of austere Justice will one die but for a good man a man full of good works one that is bountiful to others and useful in his Generation a man would even dare to die Humanity is so taken with doing good that a man can be contented almost to die for such much more must goodness it self and the Fountain of all Goodness be affected therewith He tells us That he is a God who executeth Kindness Judgment and Righteousness For in these things I delight saith the Lord. Both in doing them my self and seeing them done by others Psal 11. ult Mich. 6.8 What thinkest thou Reader of this motive to good Works wouldst thou not delight the heart of God How long hast thou by thy Omissions grieved him and is it not yet time to rejoyce him How often hast thou displeased him how many millions of times and wilt thou not now please him Thou daily seest that though he hath no Obligations to his Creatures but the contrary he doth them good and gives them food and fruitful seasons and fills their Hearts with gladness And wilt thou not do thy utmost to glad his Heart who hath above all apprehensions obliged thee Truly he doth not deserve the name of a rational Creature who doth not above all things seek to please his Maker and there is no way hereunto like abounding in well-doing Therefore the Apostle begs for the Colossians That they may be filled with the knowledge of his Will Why that they might keep their Light in a dark Lanthorn or have it as men wear a Glass-eye for shew and not for use or that men might be able to talk the more of Religion and the things that appertain thereunto No That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to his whole liking and delight that ye might please God I but how may this be done he presently tells us how That ye may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work There is no such way to please God as fruitfulness in every good Work It rejoyceth the Husbandman to see his Trees laden with fruit to see his Fields cover'd over as the Psalmists phrase is Psal 65. ult with Corn and to see his returns answer his Cost And it rejoyceth the blessed God to see an Heart that hath long lain fallow and been barren full of faith and love and humility and heavenly-mindedness and all the fruits of Righteousness and so a Life that hath been idle and unprofitable abundant in acts of Piety Charity and the like David who served the Wills of God in his Generation he of all men was the man after Gods own heart 14. Consider thou hast but a little time to do good in therefore it concerns thee to set speedily upon it and to be diligent at it Alas how short is thy whole Life from the Womb to the Tomb It 's but a shadow that fleeth away and continueth not a Vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away it 's nothing Job 14.2 James 4.14 Psal 39.6 And how much of this time is gone hath been spent as a tale that is told impertinently and to no purpose in doing nothing or in doing that