the body than to enjoy bodily comforts and have none for the soul Jobs friends could do no less than come to comfort him yet when they came they did nothing less than comfort him 'T is very rare that God takes outward comforts from them who are not taken with their comfort but if he take them that shall be their Comfort Company Many are pleased with the company of them who are good that are not pleased with the good of the company 'T is to be feared that they that love wicked men doe not hate the wickedness of men or That they that love the company of the wicked do not hate the wickedness of the company He that loves ill company will learn it if not the ill of the company No man should do ill for company nor good onely for company Communion Communion with God is more in conversation with God than in contemplation with God That God might have communion with us Christ was made partaker of the humane nature and that we might have communion with God we are made partakers of the divine nature Complement Compleat speech is no Complement if men speak as they intend and intend as they speak Complaint Saints have not such often occasion to complain that what they have done is ill as that what they have done is ill done Many complain of their sufferings without a cause wherein they should rather rejoyce for 't is better to suffer without a cause than that there should be a cause for our sufferings Confusion That which is confusion to us is no confusion to God for God hath the ordering of and an order in all confusion Commandements All Gods Commandements are alike holy just and good and therefore we should like them all Condemnation If that servant was condemned that gave God his own what will become of them that rob God of his own Conscience A good conscience without a good name is better than a good name without a good conscience A Saint will hazard his credit to save his conscience rather than hazard his conscience to save his credit Contentation We should be so content with every condition as to think the present best yet many times it 's best to think it so but for the present Contentment without the world is better than the world without contentment The lowest condition in the world with the love of God is better than the highest condition in the world without the love of God A Saint is content not onely that the will of the Lord should be done but that it should be also done to Gods content How little soever we injoy there is great reason we should be contented and how much evil soever we undergo there 's no reason we should be discontented Conversion Before conversion men are willingly willing to sin but after conversion men are willingly unwilling to sin There are many convictions without conversion but there is no conversion without convictions Before conversion sin hath dominion over us but after conversion we have dominion over sin and we lead that into captivity which did before lead us captives Covetous Usually covetous men need money least yet most affect it and prodigals who need it most do least regard it Covenant The tie of the Covenant is sure for Christ is the surety of the Covenant In the Covenant of works God did first accept of the works and then of the person but in the Covenant of grace God doth first accept the person and then the work Contradictions It seems to many that there are contradictions in the Scriptures but they are not but so many seeming contradictions Creation In creation God gave us to our selves but in redemption he gave himself to us Creature-Comforts When we take comfort in Creatures without God he takes away the Creatures or the comfort of it Crosse Christ did bear the curse and therefore 't is but reason that we should bear the cross Crosses See Afflictions Changes of conditions are but exchanges of mercy to a gratious soul Crucified If we be not crucified with Christ Christ being crucified will not deliver us from death for we may die in our sins and be damned notwithstandihg if we do not rise with Christ Christs resurrection will not save us it is not Christ without us but Christ within us who is our hope of glory Col. 1. 27. D Death That man can never die an evill death at least no kind of death can be evill to that man who hath lead a good life Death comes in by sin and sin goeth out by death The death of the body frees us from the body of death Death hath nothing terrible in it but what our life hath made so When Saints die they leave all their bad behind and carry all their good with them but when a Sinner dieth he leaves all his good carries all his bad the one goes from evil to good the other from good to evill Our sin delivered Christ to death and Christ's death delivers us from our sin It s appointed for all men once to die and to some men its appointed to die but once the rest shall have their share in a second death wherein they shall find no rest The natural death is the separation of the soul from the body the spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God and the eternal death is the eternal separation of the soul and body from God Think of death as a thing thou must meet with and of life as a thing thou must part with and therefore not to love that life too well that keeps thee if a Saint from a better nor at all to fear that death that leads thee to a better life Deeds That deed is ill done wherein God is no sharer No evill action can be well done but a good action may be ill done Debts paying While we are paying Gods due debts we make our selves the more his debtors Lord let me be thus in debt The more we pay God the more we owe him seeing we give nothing to him but what he first gives to us Last Dayes A Christians last dayes should be his best dayes and his fruits at last more than at first Defie Deifie Many defie the devil sin and the world with their mouthes but deifie them in their lives Die He that 's fittest to die is fittest to live and he that 's fittest to live is fittest to die When a Saint comes to die his greatest grief is that he hath done no more for God and his greatest joy is that God hath done so much for him Dead-living Some are alive and dead at the same time for they that live in sin and the pleasures of sin are dead while they live Saints are living dead men Gal. 2. 19. 20. and sinners are dead living men Ephes 2. 1 2. yea they are both dead and alive alive and dead at the same time Delayes Denials Delayes are not denials and denials are not alwayes refusals
yet he is not proud of it Excepâ—ions 'T is a wonder to see how many exceptions the Christian makes againsâ—â—imself and how few exceptions God makes against the Christian A man should not willingly give nor easily take exceptions F Faith 'T is not the work Faith nor the work of Faith but a working Faith or rather he who works faith by which we are justified As without faith 't is impossible for works to please God so 't is impossible for faith without works to please God There are many poor in this world rich in faith and many rich in this world poor in faith Faith gets most humility keeps most and love doth most The more full of faith and the more painful men are the more they please God Though Abraham's faith were not a faith of miracles yet it was the more miraculous for it was a miracle of faith Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Many mens faith is but fancy and many men will fancy their faith to be but so Faith glorified God hath in this world glorified faith most above all other graces and above all other graces faith glorifies God most in this world Faithfulness Though our faithfulness to God doth often fail yet Gods faithfulness to us doth never fail Faults finding We should take care that that which we find fault with in others should not in others be found to be our fault Some men will be finding fault when and where there 's no fault to be found The reason why Christians do find so much fault with themselves is because they find themselves so much in fault or because they find so many faults within themselves Flesh Spirit Though the Saints live in the flesh yet they are not flesh for that which is born as the Saint is of the Spirit is Spirit and walketh in the Spirit As it sads the Saints to find the flesh lusting against the Spirit and the law of the members warring against the law of the mind so it glads him to find the Spirit lusting against the flesh and the law of his mind warring against the law of his members Failing Falling Saints may fail and fall in the way but Saints cannot fall away Though Saints are not preserved from failing no nor altogether from falling yet they are preserved from falling altogether They may part with Christ for a time but shall not depart from Christ for ever Fool. He is not so much a fool who hath no wit to use as he that doth not use the wit he hath or he that abuseth it by playing the fool in wit A fool speaks with an open mouth but a wise man openeth his mouth and speakes Forgiveness God promiseth forgiveness of sins to all that repent but God doth not promise repentance to all or any that sin It s a greater vertue to forgive one injury than to do many curtesies because its harder and harder because more against nature for many a man will do for another that will not suffer for him Fear God To fear God and keep his Commandement is all that we have to do and that we all have to do Freinds He is happy that finds a true friend in extremity but he is happier that knows no such extremity wherein to try his friend Though we prize our freinds much we should praise them but little and to their faces not at all Find See Heaven Following God Many men follow God for the worlds sake but few men follow the world for Gods sake Food Man turns natural food into his nature but spiritual food turns man into its nature Fortunes High fortunes are the way to high minds and high minds are the high-way to great fortunes for pride goeth before but not far before a fall Freedom by Christ Jesus Christ hath delivered us from this present evill world though we are not at present delivered from the evill of this world Friendship That freindship will not indure to the end which is begun for an end Fulness The wicked in the fulness of their sufficiency are in straits but the godly in the fulness of their straits have a sufficiency G Getting Gain All that a man gets is not gain few men get profit by their getting they will have but a bad bargain that get the world and loose their souls Gain Loss Men gain most by loosing and they loose most by gaining Mat. 16. 25. Gifts All the gifts and graces which God laies in our souls should not be laid up as in a napkin but laid out for Gods glory and others good Hypocrites are apt to think that they have grace because they have gifts and Saints are many times thinking that they have no grace because they have no gifts No gift coming from God is so mean as to be despised nor is there any so great as to be gloried in God good God is good to us when he sends us evill because he sends us evil for our good If God be good to them that seek him what is he then to them that find him Oh how good God may as soon cease to be God as cease to be good as soon cease to live as cease to love Gods indearing This indears God to a Saint and makes him pretious in his eyes that he is so dear and pretious in the eyes of God God lovely God is lovely in all his Creatures more lovely in his Ordinances but most of all lovely in Christ who is altogether lovely 'T is not mans loveliness but Gods lovingness that engageth God to love and save him God loves his people when he strikes them as well as when he stroaks them God resting God rested not till he had made man like himself and man should not rest till he be made like God or partaker of the divine nature God giving God is a giving and a forgiving an open-handed and open-hearted God open-handed in giving to us and open-hearted in forgiving of us Gods putting down God usually puts down that which man exalts because what man exalts doth usually tend to the putting down of God All the world cannot put down an humble man because God will exalt him and all the world cannot exalt a proud man because God will pull him down Men Gods The Heathen made Gods of men and men of their Gods attributing divine vertues to men and humane vices to their Gods Good He that thinks he was ever good was never good He was never so good as he should be that doth not strive to be better than he is It s a good proof that a man is good when he labours to approve himself good to God and to men and yet approves of himself more according to Gods approbation than mans approbation of him As we must not attribute to God the ill that proceeds from man so we must not attribute to man the good which proceeds from God Some men are unwillingly willing to do good thats's bad others are willingly
cross Psal 50 15. and together with the thing cast all your care fear sorrow and trouble of mind about it wholly upon the Lord Matt 6 31. 1 Pet 5 7 Psal 55 22. IV. Renew your faith in those promises every day which most concerns your present state As 1. In promises of supplyes if you be in want Psal 34 8. Psal 37 3. Ps 84 11. Matt 6 30. 2 Of direction if in doubts Iam 1 5. 3. Of deliverance if in trouble Iob 5. 19. Of a good end and ductified use of all Deut 8 16. James 5 11. Rom 8 28. Heb 12 10. V. Lastly labour to see Gods hand Psal 34 9. Believe Gods love Heb 12 6. Rev 3 19. and with all meekness patience to resign up your self wholly to Gods will in every affliction Maâ—t 2â— 39. CHAP. VII GEt and keep a savory relish continually of your Christian priviledges wherewith you are invested as you are new creatures in Christ more especially of these six I. Of your dignity that you are Gods Sons 1 Iohn 3 1 2. Christs brethren Heb 2 11. Heavens heirs Iohn 20 17. Partakers of an high and heavenly calling Iam. 2 5. II. Of your liberty that you are the Lords free men Phil. 3 14. delivered out of the hands of all enemies 1 Cor. 7 22. 2 Kings 17 39. III. Of your victory that you are through Christ more than Conquerors over all the world of creatures Rom. 8 37 38. 1 Iohn 5 4. of evils temptations persecutions IV. Of your safety that you have an almighty God for your place of refuge Psal 18 2. an hedg of providence Iâ—h 1 10. a guard of Angels Psal 91 11. an inclosure of mercy Psaâ— 32 10. and Gods promise as a writ of protection for defence Heb 13 5. 6. V. Of your riches as durable substance in heaven Heb 10 34 an incorruptible inheritance 1 Pet 1. 4. a kingdom of glory Luke 12 32. and a crown of life Rev 2 10. for you are heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ VI. Of your joy and pleasure pretious for kind and plentiful for measure Psal 16 11. peace unconceivable Phil 4 7. joy unspeakable 1 Pet 1 8. the Masters joy O get your hearts affected with all these as being yours Chew and suck them by serious meditation work and warm them upon your hearts by close applycation rubbing them into your affections Oppose these your spiritual priviledges to your temporal pressures setting the one against the other as your heavenly friends to your earthly foes your high dignity in Christ to your meanness in outward condition your wealth above to your want below your future joy and rest to your present troubles and sorrows This will not onely make you patient under your afflictions in this life Rom 12 11. but joyful in them Rom 5 3. and triumphant over them 1 Cor 15 55. Thus did Paul Rom 8 18. 2 Cor 4 17. Chap 6 8 9 10. These will provoke to duty 1 Pet 2 9 11 12. and preserve from fainting 2 Cor 4 16 17. and from trouble of heart Iohn 14 1 2. CHAP. VIII SAnctifie God in your hearts dayly 1 Pet 3 15. make him your fear Ps 37 4. To this end do these four things I. Have often high and honourable thoughts of God serious meditations of his glorious attributes as his wisdom power mercy justice c. and work them upon your hearts that they may eccho to thee with pure and melting affections this will encrease and nourish up the divine nature fast in you 2 Pet 1 4. II. Labour to be affected with all the works of God As 1. To behold and admire the works of God Iob 37 14. in the Creatures Psal 136 5. 2. To see and tast Gods goodness in every mercy Psal 34. 8. 3. To take notice of and tremble at the anger and displeasure of God in every affliction or judgment Ps 119 120. Hab 3 16. That so you might answer the dispensations of Gods providence with suitable despositions your hearts carrying a countenance in affection to all Gods actions Isa 26 8. III. Wrestle with God by praying and believing for an heart of flesh Eze 36 26. which will receive impression from the very thoughts of God in the mind IV. Apply promises to particular affections as 1. Of love Deut 30 6. 2. of fear Ier 32. 40. 3. of delight Isa 58 14. There is heat and life in these promises sufficient to quicken and warm thy dead and frozen affections CHAP. IX GEt a publick spirit to mind things of Jesus Christ as rationally as if they were your own things Phil 2 30 31. to look on the things of others prefer Jerusalems welfare before your chiefest joy Ps 137 5 6 the Gospels liberty before your own as Paul did Acts 21 13. To mourn for the sins of the times as the godly in Jerusalem did Ezek 9 4. Especially lay to heatt I. The Churches misery when Gods ordinance go down and herisie and superstition go up when any thing fals out which gives a blow to Religion or prove an impediment to the Gospel If the Ark be taken call your comforts Icabods 1 Sam 4 21. II. The afflictions of Joseph Amos 6 6. the sufferings of Gods servants ' whether Magistrates Ministers or people O simpathize with them Heb 13 3. Nehe 1 4. labour to feel their troubles and sorrows at your very hearts and pray earnestly for them as the Church did for Peter Acts 12 5. III. The signs of the times which Hipocrites cannot discern though they be well verst in the face of the sky h. e. The sad simptomes and presages of approaching judgments as these seven following signifies 1. The commonness of sin for all sorts transgress in all kind of open sinfulness with an high hand against light and nature and meanes of grace Gen 15 15. Ezek 12 3. Chap 22 4. 2. Contempt of Gods ordinances misusing of his Ministers 2 Chron 36 16. 3. The departure of Gods glory from his house Ezek 9 3. 4. Incorrisibleness after former and under present judgments Levit 26 15. 5. The death of many righteous men Isa 57 1. The carrying away of others to hiding places 6. The Vials of Gods wrath powred upon the Churches beyond the Seas Ier 17 12 14. 7. An Inundation of spiritual judgements as a spirit of error Appostacy superstition c. which do commonly conclude and end in temporal plagues Isa 6 10 11. Now O Christian the Holy Ghost is a publick spirit breathing and acting in all the members of the body mistical pray for it Luke 11 13. believe for it Gal 3 14. CHAP. X. LAstly get your heart renewed from the world and from those creature comforts in it which are dearest and sweetest to you wife children friends goods liberty house life this Christ requires of those that follow him Luke 14 26 27. Mark 10 29 30. This will prepare you either to suffer or to die elther of which may put you upon it to love all To this consider seriously these four things As I. All the world and all Creature comforts cannot satisfie the heart when thou hast injoyed them to the full Eccl 1 8. Chap 5 9 10. you soon grow weary of them or glutted with them so that you desire some new delights or more of the old or some over again II. Nor can they sastisfie you but expose oft to many lusts 1 Tim 6 9 10. temptations destractions to a spirit of the world and they hinder from following Jesus Christ Matt 19 22. III. Nor can they save you from Gods wrath from death or judgment Prov 11 4. The wicked whose portion is onely here oft have the greatest share of them Psal 17 14. Iob 21 7 to 14. IV. They serve onely for this life whil'st we are on this side of the grave they shall not be the least ingredients into our celestial happiness O Christians when we come to be happy in heaven we shall stand in no need of food raiment physick marriage Matt 22 30. for we shall be like the Angels of God in heaven we shall then hunger no more nor thirst any more Revel 7 16. we shall then and there live by the alsufficient spirit of God which needs no refreshing we shall be cloathed then with long white robes of immortality Revel 7 9. To Conclude when we come to heaven the place of Gods habitation we shall enjoy the face and beatifical presence of the most glorious Jehovah blessed for ever as an object wherein all the powers of our souls will be satisfied with ineffable delight and everlastingness God will be to us all in all 1 Cor 15 28. O come LORD JESUS Revel 22 20. FINIS