not upon their freedome from condemnation So much for that I come now to a second use You see here the way whereby men aggravate afflictions and get causes of impatience in themselves and if we seriously consider it wee shall find one of these the ordinary causes of all distempers and impatience in losses in sicknesses in distresse of mind in crosses upon a mans name or whatsoever befalleth him amisse in the world that which makes him flie out that which makes him that he cannot submit unto God it is some of these particulars here spoken of Let it therefore in the second place stirre us up every one in the presence of God to set our selves upon this taske of Christianitie to labour for Patience that we may be perfect Christians and to be perfect in Patience Let Patience have her perfect worke But all the question is how a man may get it As there are two sorts of afflictions in a mans life so Patience hath two offices One affliction is those present evils that a man undergoeth and suffereth here Patience is to support him in those present miseries and calamities Another sort of tryall is when the good that a man expects is delayed and is not presently granted and here patience is necessarie in this case also I will shew yee how a man may set patience a worke in both these and so conclude First for the present calamities of a mans life For crosses of any kind in name state friends or familie or in whatsoever a man hath or goeth about they may all be reduced to this one head when a man commeth from a state of health to a state of sicknesse from a state of comfort to a state of sorrow from acquaintance and societie to be as a Pelican in the wildernesse as David speakes destitute of all friends and helpes from inward rejoycing in his heart in the assurance of Gods love to spirituall disertions wherein he seemeth to be as in a cloude under the frownes of God When a man is in this case how shall he exercise patience how shall he come to it Briefly the way for a man to get patience in such cases as these is this First to consider that there is no change in my life there is no condition whatsoever that I am cast into but it is ordered by God Set thy soule aworke now to give God his glory in that change of thy life First give God the glory of his absolute Soveraignty and Dominion Secondly give him the glory of his wisdome Thirdly give him the glory of his mercy in those changes of thy life that seeme most grievous to thee First I say give him the glory of his absolute soveraignty Acknowledge him an absolute in-dependant Lord that doth what he will among the creatures His will is the rule of all his actions upon the creatures here below and uncontrould unquestionable It is high arrogancy and presumption and pride of spirit for the creature to contest with his Creator concerning his actions on earth Let every man reason thus I must give God the glory of his Soveraignty and acknowledge that he hath power and right to rule all the families of the earth and why not mine as well as another Why not my person as well as anothers Why not to order all the changes of my life as well as another mans That which Benhadad spake proudly to Ahab thy silver and thy gold thy wives and thy children and thy house and thy Citie are mine That may God speake truely and by right All that thou hast and all that thou art is mine therefore give him that glory that Iob did in the change of his life The Lord hath given the Lord hath taken away blessed bee the name of the Lord. The Lord that gave hath right to take what he will There is nothing that will keepe the creature in his due place but the consideration of Gods absolute soveraigntie This consideration was that that meekned the spirit of Eli when that heavy message was brought to him that there should come such miserie upon his house that whosoever heard it both his eares should tingle well saith he It is the Lord let him doe what seemeth him good It is the Lord and it becommeth not servants to stand and contend with their Lord. So David when the Priests offered him their service to goe along with him to the field from Absolom If saith he I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord he will bring me back to Ierusalem and his tabernacle but if he thus say I have no delight in thee behold here am I let him doe to mee as seemeth good unto him Here was that that humbled the spirit of David when he considered that he was under the hands of an absolute Lord let the Lord do with me what seemeth him good Secondly as thou must give him the glory of his soveraignty so of his wisedome Know that God ordereth all his wayes with wisedome and counsell he knoweth what is good for his children Yee are content when yee are sicke that the Phisitian should diet yee because yee account him wise and one that hath skill in that course If God diet thee for the purging out of some corruption and for the curing of some spirituall disease in thy soule submit to God in this case be willing to resigne thy selfe up to be ordered by him A man that hath a Gangreene or such a dangerous disease in his body submitteth to the Surgeon in his course though it be to the cutting and sawing off of a limbe though it bee never so painfull and the losse be never so great yet hee is for the saving of his life willing to have that taken away God is a wise God that knoweth what estate is best for thee not onely when tryals are better then comforts but what one kind of tryall is better then another it may be it is better to exercise one with povertie another with disgrace another with spirituall trouble another with restraint of libertie which particular tryall is necessary to cure that disease and which this that is in my soule the heavenly Phisitian will bring that upon thee as a spirituall prescription and a heavenly course that he takes in infinite wisdome to cure thee Lastly give him in all this the glory of his mercie What hast thou lost but thou maiest have lost a great deale more What dost thou suffer but thou maiest have suffered a great deale more As Alcibiades when he was told that one had stolne halfe his plate I have cause saith he rather to bee thankefull that hee tooke no more then to be troubled that he tooke so much I am sure it is true of God in this case what hath God tooke from thee some part of thy estate some friend some comfort of thy life some one or other particular comfort could he not have done more Hee afflicteth
Spirituall change wrought in the soule by the Spirit of God nothing makes in this life such a change as true grace Wee all with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3. 18. This change is like the tuning of a disordered instrument or like the refining of corrupt mettall or like the clearing of the darke ayre or like the quickning of a dead Lazarus but neither is this change that the text intends Fourthly there is a change of the life and this I call a mortall change we shall all be changed saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 15. 5. life hath the first course but death will have the second As in a Comedie severall persons have severall parts to act which when they have dispatched they all draw off of the stage so though in life we all present our selves on the stage of this world and act severall Scenes and parts yet at length we must all retire and passe away through one and the same doore of mortallity This is the change which Iob speakes of to wit a change of his life by Death Here then are two things to bee demonstrated and proved for the making good of the point in hand viz. 1. That death is a change 2. That this change of death will befall all the sonnes of men First that Death is a change not an anihilation A change is a different and a divers order or manner of being Anihilation is one thing and mutation is another thing there the thing ceaseth utterly to be here the thing only ceaseth to be as once it was so it is with Death it doth not reduce us to nothing but alter our former something it changes our manner or order of being not our being absolutely Now observe Death is a change in five respects First it changes that neere union of the Soule and the body and makes of one two severalls they that were as the hands mutually clasping or as two persons conjugally tyed together when Death comes it plucks them asunder and divides one from the other as farre as heaven is from the earth Secondly it changes our actions or worke Whiles life remained here in our bodies while our day lasted we might have fedde the hungry clothed the naked visited the sicke râ—…ved the distressed frequented the ordinances bewailed â—…nnes but when death once enters the night is come in which â—…an can worke thou art then turned changed into an insenâ—…ble rotten and loathsome carkasse Thirdly it changes our countrey Whiles we live here wee are as children put abroad to schoole in a strange place hence it is wee are so often in the Scripture called Pilgrims and strangers This earth this lower world is not the proper home of the Soule But when Death comes wee change our countrey wee goe home to our owne place to our owne Citie the wicked shall goe to their owne place as it is said of Iudas and the godly to their owne Mountaine to their owne Kingdome Fourthly it changes our companie In this life we converse with sinfull men emptie creatures infinite miseries innumerable conflicts but when Death comes all this shall be changed wee shall goe to our God and Father to our Christ and Saviour and to the innumerable company of blessed Angels and Saints and the spirits of just men made perfect Fiftly it changes our outward condition When Death comes thou shalt never see the wedge of gold againe thou shalt never find thy delights in sinne any more all the excellencie of the creature and the contentments of them and the sensuall rejoycing in them shall goe out with life Death shall shut and close them up in an eternall night which shall never rise to another day So much for the first thing that Death is a change I come now to speake briefly of the second that this change of Death will be fall all the sonnes of men Psal. 89. 48. What man is hee that liveth and shall not see death shall hee deliver his soule from the hand of the grave We love to see most things the eye is never satisfied with seeing and yet many things there are which we shall never see Every man cannot see that which one man doth but there is one thing which every man shall see hee must see death There are many enemies from whom wee can deliver our selves and many more from whom we may be delivered but yet there is one enemie from which wee cannot defend our selves nor bee defended by others he will be to strong for every man let him strive repine order his dyet intreate doe what hee will or can No saith the Psalmist none shall deliver his soule from the hand of the grave And he puts a Selah a note of observation at the end of the verse That all the sonnes of men are subject to this change by death will appeare to you by these familiar Arguments The First may be taken from the qualitie of our lives which is sweetly set out in the Scripture under the termes of changeable things all which point out unto us the certaintie of death Sometime our life is compared to a shew Psal. 39. 6 Surely every man walketh in a vaine shew In a shew you know there is some devise or other opened carryed a-while about but at length it is shut up so it is with our lives Sometime againe it is compared to a shade or a shadow Iob 8. 9. Our dayes upon earth are a shadow a shadow is but an imitation of a substance a kind of nimble picture which is still going and comming and will set at last perhaps it is suddenly ecclipsed so is our life Sometimes aâ—…aine it is compared to a vapour Iames 4. 14. What is your life it is even a vapour that vanisheth away like 〈◊〉 poore cloude sometimes looking white sometimes blacke sometimes quiet and settled sometimes againe tossed up and downe with every wind and at last consumed and brought to nothing so it is with our lives Sometimes also compared to a Tale Psal. 90. 9. Wee spend our yeares as a tale that is told a meere discourse of this thing and that thing and indeed but a very parenthesis of a more tedious discourse and many times it is broken off in the very telling so it is with our lives Sometimes againe it is as grasse as in Esay 46. The voyce said crie aloude what shall I crie all flesh is grasse and the goodlinesse thereof as the flower of the grasse And verse 7. The grasse withereth and the flower fadeth because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it And Iob in this chapter calleth it a Flower Hee commeth forth saith he like a flower and is cut downe A flower is a sweet thing but of an earthly breed fedde with showres at its best when it is in all its glory it is but to day and to morrow it
now manifested that hee did not acknowledge him to be so holy and righteous So thus you see the inclination in the heart of man to uncharitable judging of those that God hath cast downe and suffers to bee exercised under many afflictions and troubles Let us learne then spirituall wisedome let us learne love and spirituall mercie to judge more favourably of the state of those whom wee see troubled in spirit Many times God infeebleth and distresseth the spirits of his best servants to abate the pride of men that none might exalt himselfe before God Nay in the very thing wherein they have excelled in the same thing hee sometimes abaseth them you see Abraham he is called the Father of the faithfull his excellencie was his faith yet faithfull Abraham is detected in Scripture of much unbeliefe in some particulars Who would thinke that hee should expose Sara as he did to save himselfe that he should doe it that was called the Father of the faithfull you have heard saith the Apostle Iames of the patience of Iob the very excellencie of Iob was his patience who would thinke that ever patient Iob should utter such things as hee did sometime even cursing the very day of his birth David a man of a cheerefull spirit a man full of the praises of God a man wondrous large when hee comes to speake of the glory of God at severall times A man would have thought him of an invincible fortitude and courage yet neverthelesse you shall have David so cast downe as that hee thinkes the Lord had forgotten him and that the Lord would shew no mercy upon him that the Lord had hid himselfe from him and that hee would never regard him more who would thinke that ever David that abounded so in the comforts of the spirit sometimes should bee so dejected at such times as those were when he was in such a conflict Why doth God doe this To shew thus much that the very best of his servants in the chiefe of their excellencies are dependant on him still they have nothing of themselves or from themselves Therefore they shall sometimes seeme to want that they have that the very having and using of it may be ascribed to his glory Then let us now reason thus when wee see the servants of God in trouble exercised under disquiet Let us conclude now God is glorifying himselfe This the Apostle inferres Hee will rejoyce in his infirmities because the power of Christ is manifested by it For our selves it should teach us according to the intent of this place above all things to labour that our hearts may bee kept in that blessed plight of spirituall joy that we may be strengthened with freenesse of heart to serve God in our inward man Let not your hearts be troubled How should this be done The Text tells us here and so I come briefly to the second thing observable in the Text the means you believe in God saith he beleeve also in mee As the words are read in the translation they seeme to be uttered by way of concession as much as if Christ had said since you already beleeve in God now beleeve in mee The Syriack seemes to expresse it otherwise and so render it by way of command and to make here an intimation of two duties as a helpe of quieting the heart and so it reades it Let not your hearts bee troubled beleeve in God beleeve also in mee propounding a twofold object whereabout faith should be exercised that the heart may bee quieted in the time of any trouble The first is God considered in the Trinitie of persons in the unitie of Essence The second is Christ Mediator God and Man Now saith he beleeve in God that is the first rest upon God Then the second is beleeve in mee also as one that is the Mediatour betweene God and you now making your peace with God So the second part seemes to be the prevention of an objection For when he saith Let not your hearts bee troubled beleeve in God they might say Alas shall wee beleeve in God that are sinfull men The sinners in Sion cry out Who shall dwell with consuming fire c. Therefore saith Christ beleeve also in mee that is know that God will bee your God in and for my sake he is reconciled and well pleased with you Therefore in all your approaches to God take me with you looke up to God pray to him depend upon God through mee still keepe mee as a Mediatour betweene God and you and this will preserve your hearts in peace The time would not serve if I should goe over things particularly and in a full way Therefore I will touch the heads of things and it shall be thus much that A speciall meanes to preserve the heart of man from excessive sorrow and feare from trouble and disquiet of spirit is faith Let not your hearts be troubled But how shall wee helpe it Beleeve in God beleeve also in mee And this wee shall see through the Scriptures David found it thus Psal. 40. hee speakes to his disquieted soule Trust in God I will waite on him hee is my God Iehoshaphat in that excellent speech to his Souldiers that were now troubled for the multitude of their enemies against them Beleeve in God and you shall prosper beleeve his Prophets and you shall be established that is the way to stablish the heart to beleeve in God revealing himselfe in his Word It is noted of Moses in Heb. 11. 27. Hee therefore indured all that he did because hee looked on him that is invisible And those three companions of Daniel Dan. 3. Our God say they whom wee serve is able to helpe us but if hee will not wee will not worship thy golden Image There was matter of trouble and disquiet in the heart to be put to such a plunge that they must either worship or bee cast into the Furnace heated seven times hotter Well this eased them of all trouble and disquiet they know whom they had trusted and bee was able to keepe that that was committed to him to the comming of Christ. As Saint Paul expresseth it with which hee also rested abundantly satisfied On the other side the want of this hath beene the cause of that perplexitie and disquiet that hath beene upon the hearts of Gods servants at all times That was the reason that Abraham was so disturbed and disquieted in that feare of what should be done to him in Egypt certainly he failed in this in resting upon God Moses was wondrously troubled when the Lord bad him goe to Pharaoh and deliver Israel out of Egypt saith he Lord send by him whom thou shouldest send I am a man of a stammering tongue saith the Lord I will be with thy tongue Hee bids him quiet his heart in that perplexitie and rest on him that made the tongue to be with his tongue And because there was another secret that troubled him the Lord
hath beene and feare for what hee shall bee mingles and sowers all the joy and delight in that hee is And what is hee at the best a poore tennant â—…t â—…ill of a ruinous cottage of loame or house of clay readie to fall about his eares with a Grashoppers leape in a spot of ground His apparell is but stolne ragges his wealth the excrements of the earth his dyet bread of carefulnesse got with the sweat of his browes and all his comforts and recreations rather as Saint Austine tearmes them solati a miserorum quam gaudia beatorum sauces of misery then dishes of happinesse For albeit a good conscience bee a continuall feast and the testimonie of the Spirit an everlasting Jubile in the soule yet the most righteous man that breathes mortall ayre either by frailty or negligence or diffidence or impatience or love of this present life or suttletie of perswasions or violence of temptations so woundeth his conscience and grieveth the Spirit of grace that this feast is turned for a time into a fast and the Jubile into an ejulate or howling All things therefore layd together the scornes of the World assaults from the flesh temptations from the Devill rebukes from God checks from conscience sensible fayling of Grace spirituall dissertions with many a bitter agonie and conflict with despaire I cannot but perfectly accord with the Poet in his dolefull note Faelices nimium quibus est fortuna peracta jam sua they are but too happie whose glasse is well runne out and with the Evangelist in my Text beati mâ—…rtui blessed are the dead for they rest from their labours and their workes follow them they rest from those labours which tyreus that live and the workes which wee are to follow follow them A threefold cable saith the Wiseman is not easily brokn and such is this here in my Text on which the anchour of our hope hangeâ—…h 1 The testimonie of Saint Iohn Yea 2 The testimonie of the Spirit so sâ—…th the Spirit 3 A strong reason drawne from their rest and recompence they rest from their labours and they receive the reward of their labours they are discharged of their worke and for their worke If they were discharged for their worke and not discharged of their worke they could not bee said blessed because their tedious and painefull workes were to returne And much lesse happie could they bee tearmed if they were discharged of their worke but not for it for then they should lose all their labour under the Sunne they should have done and suffered all in vaine but now because they are both discharged of their worke for they rest from their labour and discharged for their worke for their workes follow them they are most blessed The Spirit here taketh the ground of this heavenly musick ravishing the souls of the living and able to revive the very dead either from the labourers pay or the racers prize If the ground be the labourers joy for their rest and pay the descant must bee this our life is a day our calling a labour the evening when wee give over our death the pay our penny If the ground be the racers joy for their prize the descant may bee this the Church is the field Christianitie is the race death is the last poste and a garland of glory the wager let us all â—…o run that we may obtaine Yea sayth the Spirit Wee read in the Law and the Prophets Thus sayth Iehovah the Lord in the Gospell Thus spake Iesus But in the Epistles and especially in the Revelation thus sayth the Spirit now the Spirit speaketh evidently heare what the Spirit sayth unto the Churches hee that hath an eare let him heare what the Spirit sayth unto the Churches and the Spirit and the Bride sayth come While Christ abode in the flesh hee taught with his owne mouth the Word of life but now since his Ascention and sitting in state at the right hand of his Father hee speaketh and doth all by his Spirit By the Spirit hee ordainâ—…th Pastours furnisheth them with gifts enlighâ—…h the understanding of the hearers and enclineth their wills and affections and so leadeth the Church into all truth In which regard Tertullian elegantly tearmeth the Spirit Christi Vicarium Christ his Vicar preaching in his stead and discharging the Cure of the whole World Secondly so sayth the Spirit not the flesh the earth denies it but Heaven avereth it when a man removeth out of this World the flesh beholdeth nothing but a corpes brought to the Church and a coffine layd in the Grave but the spirit discerneth an Angel carrying the soule up to Heaven and leaving it in Abrahams bosome till the Father of spirits shall give her againe to the bodie arrayed in glorious apparell There is no Doctrine the Devill the flesh and the World more oppose then this here delivered by the Spirit concerning the blessednesse of the dead for all Atheists all Heathen all carnall men all Saduces and sundrie sorts of Heretickes deny the Resurrection of the bodie and the greater part of them also the immortalitie of the soule A wicked and ungodly person beleeveth not his soule to bee immortall because hee would not have it so hee would not that their should be another World because hee can have hope of no good there having carried himselfe so ill in this faine hee would stifle the light in his conscience which if hee would open his eyes would clearly discover unto him a future tribunall yet sometimes hee cannot smother it and therefore as Tully who saw a glimering of this truth observeth hee is wonderfully tormented out of a feare that endlesse paines attend him after this life Well let the flesh and fleshly minded men deeme or speake what they list concerning the state of the dead the Spirit of truth sayth that all that dye in the Lord are blessed But where sayth the Spirit so In the Scriptures of the old and new Testament and in this vision and in the heart and conscience of every true beleever First in the Scriptures let mee dye the death of the righteous and let my last end bee like unto his refraine thy voyce from weeping and thine eyes from teares for thy workes shall bee rewarded and there is hope in thine end saith the Lord precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints the righteous shall wash his foot in the bloud of the wicked so that a man shall say verily there is a reward for the righteous Christ is in life and death advantage for I am in a straight betweene two having a desire to depart and to bee with Christ which is fâ—… better Secondly in this vision for Saint Iohn heard a voyce from Heaven saying Write it as it were with a Penne of Iron upon the Tombe of all that are departed in the Lord for so saith the Spirit Lastly the Spirit speaketh it in the
heart and soule of every true beleever lying on his death bed or on the Gridiron or in the dungeon or on the gibbet or on the faggot did not the Spirit seale this truth aboveall other at such times to his servants were not then their hope full of immortality they could never have welcomed death embraced the flames sung in their torments and triumphed over death even when they were in the jawes of it When Iob was in the depth of all his miserie the Spirit spake in his heart I know that my Redeemer liveth and that hee shall stand in the latter day upon the earth and though after my skinne wormes destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my selfe and mine eyes shall behold and not another though my reines bee consumed within mee Likewise when Saint Paul was now readie to bee offered and the time of his departure was at hand the Spirit spake in him I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is layd up for mee a crowne of righteousnesse which the Lord the righteous judge shall give mee at that day and not to mee onely but to them also that love his appearing Likewise when Gerardus was giving up the ghost the Spirit spake in him O Death where is thy sting Mors non est stimulus sed jubilus And though Robert Glover the Martyr all the night before his Martyrdome prayed for strength and courage but could feele none yet when he came to the sight of the stake he was mightily replenished with Gods holy comfort and heavenly joyes and clapping his hands to Austin the Spirit the Comforter himselfe spake in him Hee is come hee is come You have heard where the spirit saith so give eare now to a voyce from heaven declaring why the spirit saith so for they rest from their labours 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth as well paine as paines broyles as toyles as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greeke so paine and paines in English are of kinne for labour is paine to the body and paine is labour to the Spirit and therefore what wee say to bee punished and tormented with a disease the Latine say laborare morbo and the throngs and throes which women endure in Child-bearing wee call their labouring Here then the dead have a double immortalitie granted them 1 From the labours of their calling 2 From the troubles of their condition freedome from paine and paines taking What then may some object doe the dead sleepe out all their time from the breathing out their last gaspe to the blowing the last trumpe as they suffer nothing so doe they nothing but are like Consul Bibulus who held onely a roome and filled up a blancke in the Roman fasti Nam 〈◊〉 factum consule nil memini or like mare mortuum without any motion or operation at all that cannot be the soule is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a most perfect Act or as Tullie renders the word a continuall motion as the word is taâ—…en in that old proverbiall verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it can no more bee and not worke then the winde can bee and not blow the fire and not burne a diamond and not sparkle the sunne and not shine therefore it is not sayd here simply that they rest from all kinde of motion or working but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but from toylesome labours soretravells and againe from their owne labours or workes not the Lords They keepe an everlasting Sabbath in not doing of their owne workes but Gods they rest from sinfull and painefull travells but not from the workes of a sanctified rest for they rest not day and night saying holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which was which is and is to come The rest of the soule is not a ceasing from all motion or opperation that cannot stand with the nature of a spirit but a setling it selfe with delight upon an all-satisfying and never satiating object such was the rest the sweet singer of Israel called his soule unto returne unto thy rest O my soule for the Lord hath dealt bâ—…untifully with thee Bodies rest in their proper places but spirits in their proper object in the contemplation fruition admiration and adoration whereof consisteth their everlasting content This object is God whom they contemplate in their mind enjoy in their will adore in both and this is their continuall worke and their worke is their life and their life is their happinesse which the Divines fitly expresse in one word glorification which must be taken both actually and passively for they glorifie God and God glorifieth them God glorifieth them by casting the full light of his countenance upon them and they glorifie him by reflecting some light backe againe and casting their crownes before him saying Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created They rest from their labours This Text of holy Scripture containeth in it the waters of Siloah not so much to refresh those that are tyred with their former labours having borne the heate of the whole day as to lave out the false fire of Purgatorie for blessednesse cannot stand with miserie nor rest with trouble nor reward with punishment but all that dye in the Lord are blessed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is à tempore mortis from the time of their death as venerable Beda and other expound the words and so blessed are they that they rest from all paine and paines and so rest that their workes follow them that is as I shall declare hereafter the reward of their workes If this lave not out the Romish fire which scareth the living more then the dead and purgeth their purses and not their soule wee may draw store of water to quench it out of divers other Texts of holy Scripture as namely First If the tree fall towards the South or towards the North in the place where the tree falleth there it shall bee Which Text Olympiodorus thus illustrateth in whatsoever place therefore whether of light or of darknesse whether in the worke of wickednesse or of vertue a man is taken at his death in that degree and ranke doth he remaine either in light with the just and Christ the King of all or in darknesse with the wicked and prince of the world To little purpose therefore is all that is or can be done for the dead after they have taken their farewell of us after wee are gone from hence there remaines no place for repentance or penance no effect or benefit of satisfaction here life is either lost or obtained but if thou O Demetrian saith Saint Cyprian even at the very end and setting of thy temporall life dost pray
which may furnish us abundantly with meditations in this kind It was a custome in former times for men to make their sepulchres in their gardens to mind them of death in the midst of the pleasures of this life This present worke may not unfitly be tearmed a Garden wherein whosoever takes a dayly walke may gather in the severall beds thereof those wholsome flowers and hearbs which being distilled by serious meditation will prove water of life to a fainting spirit in some hee shall finde instruction in some incitation in others consolation in all profit Here thou shalt finde that Lethall gourd sprung up by Adam his transgression that makes all his posterity cry out There is death in the Pot. There thou mayst gather hearbs of grace as a counter-poyson against the malignity of death in a third there is the spirituall Heliotroâ—…ium opening with joy to the Sunne of righteousnesse the hope of a blessed resurrection Doe the glittering shewes of outward things make thee begin to over-fancie them heere thou shalt finde how little they will availe in death the consideration whereof will make them like that precious stone which being put into the mouth of a dead man loseth it's vertue are thou over-burthened with afflictions here thou art supported in the expectation of a farre more exceeding weight of glory art thou ready to faint under thy labours here thou shalt finde a time of rest and of reaping doth the time seeme over-long that thy patience begins to flag heere thou hast a promise of thy Saviours speedy comming In a word be thy estate and condition what it will be heere thou mayst have both directions to guide thee and comforts to support thee in thy journey on earth till thou arrive at thy Countrey in Heaven Certainely there is no man can sleight and undervalue so deserving a Worke but hee shall discover himselfe either to be ignorant or idle or ill affected especially when so judicious and learned men have thought it a fit concomitant for their severall labours which they have added for the accomplishment of it Therfore take it in good worth improve it for the good of thy soule that being armed and prepared for death when it shall approach thou mayst have no more to doe but to die and mayst end thy dayes in a stedfast assurance That thy sinnes shall be blotted out when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the LORD Thine in him who is the Resurrection and the life H. W. THE TABLE THe Stewards Summons Page 1. TEXT LVKE 16. 2. Give an account of thy Stewardship for thou mayst be no longer Steward The praise of Mourning Page 29. ECCLESIASTES 7. 2. It is better to goe to the house of Mourning then to the house of Feasting for that is the end of all men and the living will lay it to his heart Deliverance from the King of feares Page 55. HEBREVVES 2. 14. 15. 14 For asmuch then as the Children are partakers of flesh and bloud hee also himselfe likewise tooke part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Divell 15 And deliver them who through the feare of death were all their life time subject to bondage The perfection of Patience Page 79. IAMES 1. 4. But let patience have her perfect worke that you may bee perfect and intire wanting nothing A Restraint of exorbitant passion Page 101. 2 SAM 12. 22. 23. 22 And he said while the Child was yet alive I fasted and wept for I said who can tell whether God will be gracious to me that the Child may live 23 But now he is dead wherefore should I fast Can I bring him back againe I shall goe to him but he shall not returne to me The sting of Death Page 121. 1 COR. 15. 56. The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the Law The destruction of the Destroyer Page 135. 1 COR. 15. 16. The last enemie that shall be destroyed is death The Worlds losse and the righteous mans gaine Page 151. ESAY 57. 1. And mercifull men are taken away none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evill to come The good mans Epitaph Page 177. REVEL 14. 13. I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their workes doe follow them The Christians Center Page 193. ROM 14. 7. 8. 7 For none of us liveth to himselfe and no man dyeth to himselfe 8 For whether we live we live to the Lord and whether wee die we die unto the Lord whether we live therefore or die we are the Lords The improvement of Time Page 213. 1 COR. 7. 29. 30. 31. 29 But this I say Brethren the time is short it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none 30 And they that weepe as though they wept not and they that rejoyce as if they rejoyced not and they that buy asthough they possessed not 31 And they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away Securitie surprized Page 235. 1 THESSAL 5. 3. For when they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction commeth upon them as travaile upon a woman with child and they shall not escape A Christians victory or conquest over deaths Enmitie Page 263. 1 COR. 15. 26. The last Enemie that shall be destroyed is death The great Tribunall Gods scrutinie of Mans secrets Page 283. ECCLESIAST 12. 14. For God will bring every worke into judgement with every secret thâ—…ng whether it be good or whether it be evill A Triall of Sinceritie Page 299. ESAY 26. 8. 9. 8 Yea in the way of thy judgements O Lord have wee waited for thee the desire of our soule is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee 9. With my soule have I desired thee in the night yea with my Spirit within me will I seeke thee early for when thy judgements are in the earth the Inhabitants of the world will learne righteousnesse The expectation of Christs comming Page 321. PHIL. 3. 20. 21. 20. For our conversation is in Heaven from whence we looke for the Saviour the Lord Iesuâ—… Christ. 21. Who shall Change our vile body that it may bee fashioned like unto his glâ—…rious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himselfe Christs Precept and Promise or security against death Page 345. IOHN 8. 51. Verily verily I say unto you if a man keepe my saying he shall never see death The Young-mans liberty and limits Page 367. ECCLESIAST 11. 9. Rejoyce O young-man in thy youth and let thy heart cheare thee in the dayes of thy youth and walke in the wayes of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into
judgement Abrahams Purchase Page 385. GEN. 23. 4. I am a stranger and sojourner among you give me a Possession of a burying place with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight Gods esteeme of the death of his Saints Page 401. PSAL. 116. 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints The desire of the Saints after immortall glory Page 415. 2 COR. 5. 2. For in this wee groane earnestly desiring to be cloathed upon with our house which is from Heaven The carelesse Merchant Page 437. MAT. 16. 26. What is a man profited if he shall gaine the whole world and lose his soule Christs second Advent Page 449. Behold I come shortly and my reward is with me to give every man according to his workes The Saints longing for the great Epiphanie Page 467. TITVS 2. 13. Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Iesus Christ. Lifes Apparition and Mans Dissolution Page 481. IAMES 4. 14. For what is your life it is even a vapour that appeareth for a little while and then vanisheth away Saiâ—… Pauls Trumpet Page 499. ROM 13. 11. And that knowing the time that now it is higâ—… time to awake out of sleepe Tâ—… 〈◊〉 manâ—… resting place Page 51â—… GEN. 15. 1. After these things the word of the Lord came to Abraham 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abraham I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward The righteous Iudge Page 335. IAM 2. 12. So speake yee and so doe as they that shall be judged by the law of libertie Sinnes stipend and Gods munificence Page 555. ROM 6. 23. For the wages of sinne is death but the gift of God is eternall life through Iesus Christ our Lord. The profit of afflictions Page 571. HEB. 12. 10. For they verily for a few dayes chastened us after their owne pleasure but hee for our profit that we might be partakers of his holinesse Spirituall Hearts-ease Page 591. IOHN 14. 1. 2. 3. 1 Let not your hearts be troubled beleeve in God beleeve also in me 2 In my Fathers house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I goe to prepare a place for you 3 And if I goe to prepare a place for you I will come againe and receive you unto my selfe that where I am there you may be also Faiths Triumph over the greatest trialls Page 611. HEB. 11. 17. By faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up his sonne Isaack and hee that had received the promise offered up his onely begotten Sonne The Priviledge of the Faithfull Page 627. I PET. 3. 7. As heires together of the grace of life Peace in Death Page 643. LVKE 2. 29. Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word The vitall Fountaine Page 693. IOHN 11. 25 26. 25. Iesus said unto her I am the resurrection and the life he that beleeveth in me though he were dead yet shall he live 26 And whosoever liveth and beleeveth in me shall never die Death in Birth Page 713. GEN. 35. 19. And Rachel died The death of Sinne and life of grace Page 727. ROM 6. 11. Likewise reckon ye also your selves to bee deadunto sin bâ—…t alive unto God through Iesus Christ our Lord. Hopes Anchor-Hold 751. I COP 15. 19. If in this life onely we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable The Platforme of Charitie Page 769. GAL. 6. 10. As we have therefore opportunity let us doe good to all especially to them that are of the housâ—…ould of faith Death prevented Page 799. IOB 14. 14. All the dayes of my appointed time will I wait till my change shall come Iter novissimum or Man his last Progresse Page 817. FCCLESIAST 12. 5. Man goeth to his long home and the mourners goe about the streetes Tempus putationis or the ripe Almond gathered Page 835. GEN. 15. 15. And thou shalt goe to thy Fathers in peace thou shalt be buried in a good old age Io Paean or Christs Triumph over death Page 847. I COR. 15. 55. O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory Fato Fatum The King of Feares frighted Page 859. HOS 13. 14. O Death I will be thy plagues Vox Coeli The Deads Herauld Page 869. APOC. 14. 13. And I heard a voyce from Heaven saying unto me write blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth c. Victoris Brabaeum or The Conquerors Prize Page 881. APOC. 14. 13. So saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their workes follow them Faith's Eccho or the Soules AMEN REVEL 22. 19. AMEN Even so come Lord Iesus The end of the TABLE The ERRATA PAge 825. line 15. read not posse p. 826. l. 30. r. summe p. 841. l. 4. r. â—…ror p. 839 put out the promise of p. 842. l. 29. r. Gibiline in marg r. hominis ultimam resurrectionem p. 843. l. 14. r. the Goats p. 846. in Marg. r. Poâ—…id p. 150. l. 34. r. â—…raines p. 853. l. 33. r. Anacreon p. 860. in marg r. â—…s venenati p. 870. l. 4. r. Emines p. 874. l. 44. r. nullas p. 879. l. 24. r. Lapide p. 885 l. 15. r. immunitie p. 886. l. 10. r. actually p. 887. l. 18. r. Hell p. 889. l. 13. r. can be in Marg. r. qui assignat singulos domicilio infra regno 〈◊〉 p. 891. l. 12. r. import no leâ—…e p. 892. l. 22. r. faithfull p. 894. l. 14. r. Eurypum Eurypuâ—… THE STEVVARDS SUMMONS OR THE DAY OF ACCOVNT MAT. 25. 19. After a long time the Lord of those servants commeth and reckoneth with them ROM 14. 12. So then every one of us shall give account of himselfe to God LONDON Printed by Iohn Dawson for Ralph Mabb 1639. THE STEWARDS SVMMONS SERMON I. LVKE 16. 2. Give an account of thy Stewardship for thou maist bee no longer Steward IN the Chapter going before our blessed Lord and Saviour had preached the Doctrine of the free grace of God in the remission of sinne and receiving of repenting and returning sinners in the parable of an indulgent Fathers receiving of a prodigall Sonne The Pharisees were a people that hardned their owne hearts and scoffed at every thing that Christ delivered therefore now in this Chapter hee commeth to summon and warne them to appeare before God the great Master of the world to give an account of their stewardship that by the consideration of Gods proceeding in the day of judgement they might know the better how to prize the remission of sinnes in the day of grace This hee doth by presenting to them a Parable of a certaine rich man that had a steward who was accused unto him that hee had wasted his goods calleth him to an account and to the end that the Pharisees might not thinke that it was a matter to be jeasted withall and that such considerations as these were to
crazie body or a full well-fed body is a hindrance to the soule because of that tie that is betweene the body and the soule and the spirit so there is a simpathy the soule is affected some what in this sense But it is not so then the soule shall bee loosed from the body and so freer for spirituall actions then now it is The soules under the Altar they crie How long Lord holy and just wilt thou not revenge our bloud upon them that are upon the earth The soules of Gods servants you see then are glorified when they are out of the body and therefore shall glorifie God more perfectly and enjoy God more freely and fully then now while their soules are in these mortall bodies And at that very instant when the soule of Gods servant is carried out of the body to heaven it more perfectly injoyeth Christ and is more sensible and more fit to answer the love of Christ to him then ever when it was in the body So then here is a cessation of baser actions and imployments to give place to more noble and heavenly and excellent actions wherein the soule shall bee employed in heaven There is then no losse of actions neither Againe there is no losse of company This is a thing that troubleth men husband and wife to part friends to part But we lose no company by death howsoever we lose the company of men that we cannot assure our selves are friends indeed for of all the friends we speake of in the maine point when they come to be tryed there are few to be found to be friends But then we goe to them whose love is perfect that you may be sure of and have the truth of their love Againe how little comfort nay how little have you company with those friends you desire Is not much part of our life spent without any fight of our friends is not halfe of it spent in sleep in the night and the other halfe in businesse and pleasure Alas how little time have we to enjoy our friends we rest on But then we shall perfectly enjoy them when there shall be no need of sleepe when there shall be perfection of love and freedome from distraction and imployment when the servants of God shall fully and freely and sweetly and comfortably enjoy one the other Abraham and Isaac and Iacob and the meanest of the Saints shall meet in the expression of love in such a perfection as we cannot speake of And this is certaine you shall goe to many Who can tell the dust of Iacob Now you have some one or two or three or a few men or women that you account friends and dote much upon but then you shall have ennumerable company a world of friends of men and women multitudes they cannot be numbred they are as the starres of heaven for number I say there is no losse of company by this meanes Againe you shall lose no pleasures by death it may be you shall lose some few sensuall bruitish pleasures a few mixed corrupt pleasures pleasures that have the mixture of sorrow and feare in them that imbitters them to the soule of a man but it shall not be so then you shall be freed from imperfect pleasures and have perfect ones at Gods right hand for evermore pure pleasures Againe you lose no necessary convenience neither the rich man loseth no riches by death he loseth his money doth he lose his riches therefore No The Angels are rich but they have no money the Saints are rich they want nothing but they have no money It may be thou losest a child thou shalt find a Father it may be thou losest a weake friend that loveth not long or it may be not so truly as thou thinkest he doth and thou findest friends that are many and perfect and pure in their love that love with a perfect heart And what then are all those losses when you enjoy that which shall make the soule happy for ever Thus I say you should rectifie your opinions concerning Death looke upon it aright have true apprehensions of it Get an intrest in Christ and looke on death through him get faith and then all these things that I haue spoken shall be your advantage so the Apostle concludeth Christ is to us in life and in death advantage If we live he is gaine to us in life and if we die he is advantage to us in death And death is reckoned amongst the speciall favours and priviledges Christ hath given to his Church All are yours what all life and death things present and things to come all are yours and you are Christs and Christ is Gods So we see that Death is amongst the priviledges that Christ hath given his Church therefore rectifie your opinions concerning Death make good that I spake before and you shall find this good that I now speake And for the last the unacquaintance with Death let not that trouble you none come from the dead to tell you what is done there but looke on the servants of God before and when they die and you shall find enough how they apprehended Death when they have looked on it in the glasse of the Gospell Looke upon them before death Iacob being to close up his dayes with blessing of his children Lord saith hee I have waited for thy salvation Hee looked upon Death through Christ the Saviour of the world that he should bee saved by him and though it be true that there is a further meaning for the Tribes in those words of Iacob yet this was proper to Iacob himselfe hee looked upon Death now approching as that that he was delivered from and set into that freedome purchased by Christ. So old Simeon Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word for mine eyes have seene thy salvation Iacob accounted it his salvation old Simeon a departure from a worse place to a better from worse company and comforts to a better A change for the better still and a departing in peace Againe secondly looke on the servants of God in death see what they have said too Iosiah a man that was upright in heart he went to the grave in peace he was gathered to his fathers in peace that he should not see the evill that should come upon his people here is all it was but a peaceable taking of him away from a more troubelous condition if he had lived longer Beloved he died in warre yet it is said he was gathered in peace he had inward peace with God though he failed in that particular action And the Apostle in the 2 Cor. 5. 4. This is our desire that wee may bee clothed upon not that we would be unclothed but clothed upon that mortalitie may bee swallowed up of life A strange speech he counteth death life to him he counteth the death of this life to be the death of mortalitie by laying aside this earthly tabernacle as he saith in
what world with the world of ungodly men God hath borne with the world many Ages of yeares many thousand yeares already and yet beareth still with the world The most holy God that perfectly hateth wickednesse yet to shew his Patience he beareth with ungodly ones Yea and he beareth with men too the mighty God that is able to destroy all the world with the very breath of his mouth that as with a word hee made the world so with a blast he is able to bring it to nothing yet this mighty God beareth with men this holy God with ungodly men yea and this God that might suddenly destroy the earth as hee did the old World with water he beareth so many thousand yeares with the world of ungodly men that his Patience and long-suffering may appeare You have God for an example then And Christ for an example too and you are predestinated for this very end to be like the Image of the Sonne to be made conformable unto Christ Wherein In all imitable and necessary graces I say in all those graces that are necessary by vertue of a rule and that are imitable wherein we may or can follow him Amongst the rest this is one his Patience See the Patience of Christ. In his carriage toward his Father how he bore the displeasure of his Father In his carriage toward men when hee might have commanded fire from heaven yet you see how hee bore with them and rebuked his Disciples You know not of what spirit you are Hee was lead as a Lambe dumbe before the shearers and hee opened not his mouth Againe you have the examples of the servants of God Take my brethren saith Saint Iames the Prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an ensample of suffering affliction and of Patience The Prophets suffered long and endured the frownes of the world and the rage of Princes they endured a thousand miseries and all to discharge their duty But amongst all the servants of God You have heard of the Patience of Iob and what end the Lord made with him Every man can speake of the patience of Iob but this was written for our ensample to teach us to be patient as hee was Whatsoever things were written afore-time were written for our learnings that wee through Patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Againe secondly as it is necessary for a Christian to strive for the perfection of Patience in the degrees of it because of the conformitie that should be betweene him and those examples of God of Christ and of the Saints betweene God the Father and beleevers his children betweene Christ the head and beleevers his members betweene the Saints of God children of the same Father and servants of the same Master that should honour him in the same grace of Patience So there is a necessitie likewise of it in respect of the tryals whereunto a Christian may be put you had need to strive that you may be perfect in Patience because you know not what tryals yee shall be put to what times yee are reserved to Every man must expect troubles and afflictions they are called Tribulations and you know what Tribulum was the Iron ball that was full of pikes round about so that wheresoever it was cast it did sticke an Engine used in warre Tribulations are unavoydable they will fall and sticke yee cannot escape them on any side by any turning to the right hand or to the left It is the will of God that through many tribulations wee should enter into the kingdome of heaven and whosoever will live Godly in Christ Iesus must suffer persecution Now beloved is this so that this is a Statute in heaven decreed and ordained by God and will not be reversed like the lawes of the Medes and Persians that every man must passe to heaven through tribulation and affliction upon earth then it concernes every one to be armed to get such a measure of patience as may support him in such afflictions Yee know not what afflictions yee may have what particular tryals God may put yee to In what a miserable case then is a man if he be to seeke of his armour when he is in the middest of the pikes if he be then to get patience when he is in the middest of tryals when he is disturbed and distracted with vexation of spirit What foolish disorderly speeches proceed from men in the time of affliction We may see it in David so foolish was I and ignorant and in this point a beast before thee What foolish sensuall beastly speeches unreasonable absurd passages proceed from men in those times of trouble if they have not got to themselves before hand this grace and are not fitted to a Christian caraiage in time by patience Thus yee see the necessitie of patience to the perfection of a Christian and the necessitie of the perfection of patience to the ornament of a Christian. Now we come to make use of both these together First it serveth for the just reproofe of Christians that are carefull for other parts and acts of religion and are not so seriously mindfull of this duty of Patience as they should be but are so farre from striving for patience that they seeme rather to strive for impatience that make their crosses more heavy and their afflictions more bitter then they would be Indeed we make Gods Cuppe that of it selfe is grievous enough to nature and to sense by putting into it our owne ingredients that are inbred in our owne passions and pride and selfe-will and our owne earthly mindes farre more bitter then else it would be But how doth a man make afflictions worse There are divers wayes that men take wherein they are so farre from perfecting patience in themselves that they wholly destroy patience The first is by their agravating of their afflictions by all the severall circumstances that possibly they can invent All their eloquence is used in expressing the grievousnesse of that crosse and affliction that is upon them They that in the times of mercy could scarse ever drop a word in thankfulnesse and acknowledgement of Gods goodnesse to them now they can poure out flouds of sentences in expression of Gods bitter and heavie dealing with them in such afflictions and crosses and distresses that befall them As the Church speakes in the Lamentations Consider all that passe by is there any Affliction like my affliction wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me The like speech you have ordinarily in the mouthes of persons Is there any affliction like mine there is no body so wronged in their name as I nor hath such paine in their body nor never went with such a heavy heart as I never any man suffered so many injuries by friends and enemies and all sorts of people as I have done as if all the afflictions in the world the flouds and waves of tryals were
thee in thy body hee might have afflicted thee in thy soule and a wounded spirit who can beare Hee hath afflicted thee in some one member of thy body he could have cast body and soule into Hell There is not a tryall upon thee but God could have made it heavier let that make thee therefore to submit with a more meeke heart and willing spirit to God as a mercifull God as the Church in the Lamentations It is the Lords mercy that wee are not consumed the Church was in great affliction when the Babilonians came upon them and they were driven from the house of God and their owne houses but yet it was Gods mercy that they were not consumed So the Prophet Ieremy telleth Baruch in the captivity Seekest thou great things for thy selfe thou shalt have thy life for a prey Baruch was wondrously disquieted he complained that the Lord had added griefe to his sorrow What griefe was that that Hee must goe to Egypt and after to Babylon Well saith the Prophet thy case is not so heavy as thou seemest to make it thou shalt have thy life for a prey in all places wheresoever thou goest God might have taken away life and all but thy life thou shalt have for a prey Therefore be content with so much So I say to thee when great afflictions come upon thee they might have beene greater therefore consider that that thou maiest give God the glory of his mercy And so much for the first direction that is to acknowledge God in all the changes of life that befalleth thee Secondly looke to sinne as that deserving cause that draweth on all the afflictions of this life Consider thou hast fallen by thy sinne into Gods displeasure therefore whatsoever affliction befalleth thee thy sinne hath deserved that at the hands of God The Lord now dealeth with thee as a just God though not in the extremity of rigour yet neverthelesse there is a righteous proceeding in it as the Church confesseth Righteousnesse belongeth to thee O Lord though they were in great affliction yet God was righteous in it It is profitable to consider this nay and not only that thou sufferest righteously as the Theefe on the Crosse said Wee suffer according to our deserts but thou sufferest not so much as thy sinnes deserve thy sinnes deserve greater things at the hands of God then yet he hath infflicted on thee Wee see that a commutation and change of punishment a lesse for a greater hath the place of a mercy upon a malefactor that deserveth greater when he deserveth to be executed and to die he is not only content to be burnt in the hand but he confesseth it to be a mercy of the Prince So it is with us whatsoever affliction God hath layed on thee thou maist conclude I have deserved greater Therefore saith the Church Why is the living man sorrowfull Man suffereth for his sinne let us search and trie our wayes and turne againe to the Lord. So let this be the maine businesse of thy life in this case rather bethinke thy selfe how to get the favour of God then to be eased of such a trouble Let a man looke to sin in all this Lastly consider the gracious and comfortable fruit of Affliction that is born with patience For first patience lesseneth the judgement impatience increaseth it on a man The strugling child hath more stripes A man in a Fever the more he strugleth and striveth the more he increaseth his paine The more patiently a man yeeldeth himselfe to the hands of God the more by the mercy of God he findeth ease and mittigation of the affliction And this God promiseth Because thou hast kept the word of my patience I will deliver thee in the time of trouble God will take off the affliction when once he hath perfected Patience by affliction for you must know this that all that God aymeth at in all afflictions that hee layeth on men is to perfect patience in them therefore the issue will be good There will for the present be more ease to the heart and afterward a gracious issue and deliverance from trouble when thou art exercised by patience Secondly there are otherafflictions of our life and that is not onely in those cases wherein some positive evell as wee account it naturally some affliction grievous to nature and sense are upon a man but mercies are delayed and hope deferred makes the heart faint It is an affliction to a man to be kept and delayed in the expectation of that good he hath not if he seeme to catch at it it is drawne from him further and further There are many men that have sent many a prayer to God yet the thing they aske is not granted to this day Many a man hath waited long and sought the Lord yet he hath not that his soule desireth How shall a man come to exercise Patience in such a case as this In such a case when God delayeth know first that Gods delayes are not denyals though God delay the thing hee may and wil in time certainly grant it yea though he delay it a great while As we see in other servants of God we may see it in David in Iob in Paul in the Canaanitish woman and in others The Vision is for an appointed time saith Habakkuk waite for it it will come and it will not tarrie it will not lie God will bee knowne a God of truth what he hath promised he will performe in due time only what doth he expect of thee to waite for the present Now this is an act of faith Hee that beleeveth will not make hast Glorifie God by beleeving put to thy seale that hee is true Whatsoever God hath promised in the Word and thou hast a warrant to beleeve waite for it Secondly Gods delayes are not onely not denyals but improvements of Gods favour God increaseth and commendeth the excellencies of his mercies by delayes hee recompenceth our expectation and waiting for them with putting in greater sweetnesse into those favours when they come I say God increaseth the comfort answerable to the delay as in the 61. Isa. 7. God to comfort the distressed Church in the time of calamitie for their affliction saith he they shall have double Double what Double comforts for their tryals Our light afflictions saith the Apostle that are but for a moment cause us a farre more excellent and surpassing weight of glory A weight of glory for light Afflictions an eternall weight of glory for momentany afflictions Here is the issue As our afflictions have abounded so our consolations abound much more This is the course of God Thirdly know that Gods delayes are never long at the longest they are but for a short time what if he delay a yeare what if twenty thirty fourty yeares what if the life of a man this is no great delay Compare this time of thy waiting for mercie with the
the body Spirituall death when God and grace are severed from the soule The Text speakes of the corporall death Sinne is not the sting of the spirituall death for the spirituall death is sinne it selfe And here I will not contend with any man if he be full of enquirie but I will distinguish two parts of spirituall death and I grant in one of them is this sting In spirituall death therefore there are two parts or two degrees The first is called the first death That I take to bee the death of the soule in sinne The second part is when soule and body are for ever closed up in Hell And in this part sinne is the sting And remember this by the way Sinne is not onely a sting now but it will be a sting to men in Hell the sting the deadlinesse the extremity of punishment that is in Hell it is received all from sinne for the damned in Hell when they come there as they cease not to sinne so the sting of sinne ceaseth not to be with them and it may be delivered by conjecture I thinke Hell were no Hell if there were not the sting of sinne there So then you see what death the Apostle speakes of principally of corporall death but it may be extended to the second part of spirituall death for there sinne continueth and so the sting remaineth The next question is what sinne the Apostle speakes of when he saith the sting of death is sinne This is not a time to stirre controversies therefore those ancient controversies and such as are lately stirred up about originall sinne how farre it is the sting of death I let them goe In a word to let you see what sinne is the sting of death remember this Sinne may be considered two wayes either as it is intire untouched uncrushed Let that sinne be what it will be whether it be originall onely or whether it be any actuall sinne streaming from originall whether it be a sinne of ignorance or knowledge whether it be of pleasure or of profit A sinne immediatly that respecteth God or immediatly respecteth our neighbour whatsoever the sinne be if it bee not touched if it bee not crushed if it scape uncontrouled if it be in its native power and keepes in his kingdome if it rule in a man that sinne will certainly be the sting of Death Euery sinne vertually is the sting of death there is an aptitude in every Sinne. But in the event that Sinne proveth the sting of death that is untouched uncontrouled Not every sinne in the event proveth the sting of death but that Sinne that liveth in us or rather that Sinne that we live in that ruleth in us that we affect and love this is the Sinne that putteth a sting into death That very sinne that thou lovest and likest so much and pleadest for that sinne will make death terrible Secondly Sinne may be considered as it is galled and vexed and mortified in the Soule When a man setteth upon the root of Sinne and the way of Sinne and falleth a crucifying the body of Sinne and the members of it I say howsoever there bee divers motions and stirrings of Sinne in the soule yet if these be disavowed disaffected and mortified if there be a crucifying vertue passe over them if they come not within the judgement to approve them or within the affections to embrace and like them if they come not to be a mans trade and way and walke but fall within the improbation of the judgement to disavow them and the misliking of the affections to sorrow for them These shall not be the sting of death whatsoever the motions are But these untouched unmortified sinnes these are the sting of death Now these are the sting of death in a double respect First in respect of the guilt Secondly in respect of the corruption First they are a sting in respect of guilt Every Sinne remaining unsatisfied for remaineth with his guilt and when Sinne is not satisfied for there is the sting of death When the sinner hath nothing to oppose to the justice of God for the sinne he hath committed if the Sinne be in the booke of God uncrossed bee a debt there not blotted out by the blood of Christ if Christ have not satisfied for it if the sinner have not part in him as we shall heare anone then Sin is the sting of death And then secondly they are a sting in respect of the corruption and filthinesse of Sins unmortified Those filthy sinfull motions those depraving qualities inthy soule that thou likest and practisest in thy conversation they give thee up into the hands of Death to execute his Sting upon thee And therefore you that applaud your selves in Sinne and will goe on in Sin doe so But know this when thou commest to the full strength of thy Sinne let it be what it will when Death commeth it findeth the strongest weapon it hath in thy sinne the very power of thy sinne armeth Death against thy soule No man is more obnoxious and open to the sharpest dart of Death then that man that will goe on in Sinne. So you see what Sin is spoken of that is the sting of death that Sin is the sting of Death that a man loveth and doteth on The third Question is in what respect Sin is the sting of Death First by way of Eminencie because that then the sting of Sin beginneth most sensibly to worke in a man Not but that Sin hath a sting before Death but then the deluded sinner feeles his sinne there be divers times that Sin can sting a person before that but then howsoever the sinner hath deluded himselfe and the word of God and the world he can delude them no more Death then most ordinarily fixeth his sting in the soule and makes the sinner feele the smart of his sinne There be three times wherein Sinne can sting a man Before death At death After death Before Death God sometimes letteth loose the conscience of a man even of the most resolved sinner of him that beares himselfe up aloft in his owne eyes in scorne and contempt of the ministrie of the Word sometime I say God singleth out such a person and rippeth up all his heart strikes his Arrowes into his very soule and stings his conscience so irresistably that he knoweth not which way to turne from the wrath that boyleth in his soule And it is one thing to deale with the Minister and another to deale with God When God strikes his Arrowes of uengeance into the soule of a sinner then such a one is stung indeed this God doth sometimes before death Nay sometimes God stingeth the consciences of his owne children for sinne David cries out hee roared for the disquitnesse of his spirit his bones were broken he was sore vexed Lord how long saith he If there be such deepe disquiet by reason of this sting in the consciences of good persons
doth not bethinke how he is armed If God have fitted his servants for death he hath done most for them if they have not riches yet they are fit for death if they have not an estate amongst men it mattereth not a whit if they be fit for Death if they be miserable here in torments and sicknesse when others have health it is no matter all these increase their repentance makes them labour for Faith and Hope and Charitie whereby they are armed against Death Nothing can save us from the hurt of Death but the Lord Jesus Christ put on by Faith and that furnished with Hope and Charitie If God give a man other things and not these graces Death is not destroyed to him But if he deny him other things and give him these graces he doth enough for him Death is destroyed to him His body indeed falleth under the stroake of Death as other mens but his soule is not hurt Death layeth him a rotting as the common sort but the soule goeth to the possession of glory and remaineth with Christ When hee is absent from the body hee is present with the Lord. Nay when the last day shall come Death shall bee utterly swallowed up then the poore and fraile and weake body that sleepeth in corruption and mortalitie shall bee raised in honour and in immortall beautie and glory a spirituall body free from all corporall weaknesses that accompany the naturall body it shall be made most glorious and blessed even as if it were a spirit all the weaknesses that accompany the naturall beeing of the body shall be taken away and it shall enjoy as much perfection as a body can and therefore it is called spirituall Therefore I beseech you rejoyce in the Lord if your soules tell you that you are armed against this death FINIS THE VVORLDS LOSSE AND THE RIGHTEOVS MANS GAINE EZEKIEL 22. 30. I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before mee for the Land but I found none therefore have I poured forth my indignation upon them PHIL. 1. 21. For to mee to live is Christ and to die is Gaine LONDON Printed by Iohn Dawson for Ralph Mabbe 1639. THE WORLDS LOSSE AND THE RIGHTEOVS MANS GAINE SERMON VIII ISAIAH 57. 1. And mercifull men are taken away none considering that the Righteous is taken away from the evill to come WHen I first began this verse I did never thinke that all things would have beene so sutable to the finishing of it as now I find they are For there is no circumstance that can be required to make a correspondencie betweene a former and a latter handling but is to be found in the two surveies I tooke upon this Text. The occasion of handling it now is the same that was before I began it at a Funerall and now at another Funerall I shall end it The place of handling the same as it was before I began the former part of the verse in this very street at the other end of it Now I shall finish it at this And the time it is the same and every way answerable to that it was before It was begun in a time of Mortalitie feared and now will be finished in a time of mortalitie certaine And that there should be no part of correspondencie wanting this latter part of the verse is answerable to the former it is but the same againe in other words In the former part there is mention of the righteous man here of the mercifull man they are both one In that hee is said to perish here to bee taken away they are both the same There No man is said to lay it to heart and here no man is said to consider it Both the same So that loke upon the whole both parts joyne together they walke on by paires two and two as the living creatures into the Arke Male and Female The first paire sets forth to you the state and condition of a godly man he is righteous and mercifull those are the male and female of Pietie The second sets forth to you the state and condition of a dying man hee perisheth and is taken away those are the Male and Female of death The third sets out the state and condition of a worldly man he layes it not to heart he never takes it into consideration those are the Male and Female of carnall securitie And that all the paires should now be made up the former part was handled at the buriall of a good old Man this latter now at the buriall of an old and verteous Gentlewoman those are the Male and Female of nature The former part that is a complaint that the Prophet made and so is the second and this second is set as a Commentarie to the first this latter part is as Eve created as a helpe to Adam for every word in this latter helpes to expound some word in the former The first word in the latter part tells us of the mercifull man that is the Exposition of the first word in the former part the righteus man Lest any man should make question who this righteous man was that the Prophet speakes of how we should know him and define him and find him find me a mercifull man and hee is truly a righteous man The second word in the latter part is taken away that hath reference to the second word in the former and it is a qualification of the harshnesse of the former there it is said The righteous man perisheth but lest any man should scandal at this word shall we thinke that he perisheth whose life it hid with Christ in God Shall the Scripture say that hee perisheth whose name is in the bundle of life written in heaven To lay aside therefore the rigour of the word here is the Qualification hee is taken away The third word of the latter hath reference to the third of the former too No man considereth it If any man aske the reason how it comes to passe that people should be without naturall affection that they take it not to heart that they are not grieved for Ioseph that they are not striken with any sense of their owne losses what should be the reason of it The reason is in this word they take it not into consideration They trouble not their heads and therefore not their hearts with it That it may make an aggravation of that They were so farre from taking of it to heart that they never propounded it to the examination and scanning of their judgement they consider it not So every word in the latter part is serviceable to the first I shewed concerning the first part who this Righteous man is how great the dignation of the Spirit of God is that hee will stile holy men that are so imperfect in holinesse yet because of their holy endeavours to walke in the wayes of God blamelesly the Spirit stiles them Righteous men Secondly I shewed how this Righteous
some that hung themselves I pray give me leave a little to speake upon this Saint Austin tells me of five causes for which persons doe usually lay violent hands upon themselves The first is this Some doe it to avoide some shame or some dishonour or miserie or beggerie that shall befall them Thus did Achitophel when he saw that his counsell was defeated hee went home and hanged himselfe Thus have many done to avoide shame and dishonour Alas poore wretches While they seeke to escape temporall punishment they runne into eternall like our fishes in the Proverbe Out of the frying-pan into the fire into hell fire where the worme dieth not and where the fire never goeth out Secondly some have done it to avoide the terrours of a guiltie conscience Thus Iudas troubled in conscience after hee had betrayed Christ he went and hung himselfe Poore wretch He had more need he had lived that hee might have healed that sinne of his by repentance This is not a way to expiate thy sinne this is a way to increase it Iudas when he killed himselfe hee killed as wicked a man as was upon the earth and yet hee shall answer to God as well for that nocent bloud of his owne that he spilt as hee shall for the innocent bloud of the Son of God that he betrayed Thirdly wee find some that have done this to avoide some vilanie that they feared should bee offered them As for example Pelagia a noble Ladie that we reade of in Ecclesiasticall stories when shee was followed by some barbarous souldiours that would have abused her she speaking nothing but never a villaine of them all shall touch me threw her selfe over a bridge and drowned her selfe Some of the Fathers doe little lesse then commend her for this Saint Augustine condemnes her so should I. For why should she that had done no hurt doe hurt to her selfe why should she to escape the hands of the Nocent lay violent hands upon her selfe that was innocent Our chastitie of body is not lost when the chastitie of our mind remaineth inviolated Fourthly Some have done this to purchase to themselves a name of valour Rasis in the booke of the Machabees did thus And if there were no other thing in the world to shew that booke to be Apochriphall Scripture this is enough in that the Author of that booke commendeth Rasis for it It is not valour for to flie a danger it is valour to beare it If any example can bee alledged to this purpose that of Sampsons may But Saint Austin hee answereth The Spirit of God secretly commanded him to doe it And wee may verily beleeve it for if the Spirit of God had not commanded it yea and assisted him in it too hee had never done that he did in pulling downe the house upon himselfe and the Philistims Lastly some have done it or they might have done it because Blessed are the dead Some will die that they may be blessed Poore wretches They that deprive themselves of this life may not looke for a better when this is ended I will not judge particulars I leave them unto God But in the generall considering that life is Gods blessing it is hee that giveth it and it is hee that must take it away Considering that man is not lord of his owne spirit Considering that God hath set us here in our stations and we may not move out without leave from our Generall Considering that we are set here to serve God and we must serve him as long as he will and not as long as wee will Or specially considering that God hath forbidden us to kill others therefore forbidden us much more to kill our selves therefore surely except Gods mercie bee greater then I can give warrant for they that die thus die eternally And wee had need beseech God with all earnestnesse of spirit to keepe us from such a fearfull temptation as this for they that die thus die not in the Lord and therefore cannot bee blessed for my Text saith it of no other but of those Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. This is the first point I come to the Restriction Die in the Lord. It may be construed two wayes the preposition is Ambiguous for the Preposition many times in Scripture signifies In Domino or propter Dominum As Rom. 26. 1. I commend unto you Phebe our sister that you would receive her in Domino in the Lord that is for the Lords sake as becommeth Saints And in the twelfth verse of the same Chapter Salute the beloved Persis which laboured much in the Lord that is laboured much in Gods cause for the Lord. So againe Say to Archippus looke to the ministerie that thou hast received In Domino that is for the Lord for the Lords service for his worke I might give you many more instances There is one place most pregnant Eph. 4. 1. I Paul a prisoner in Domino so saith the vulgar Latine and so is the Greeke interpretation In the Lord. What meaneth Saint Paul A prisoner in the Lord what is that A prisoner for the Lord a prisoner for the Lords cause And thus you may take the word here in the Text Blessed are they that die In Domino that is such as die in causa Domini and thus Iudicious Beza to whose judgement I attribute much in translations hee readeth it so Blessed are the dead qui moriuntur causa Domini and then in his Annotations propter Dominum And if you take it thus then the Martyrs only are blessed That Martyrs are blessed the Church of God is so farre from making a question that they set it downe as a Rule Injuriam facit Martyri qui orat pro Martyre A man doth wrong to a Martyr that prayes for a Martyr their blessednesse is so sure for Hee that loseth his life for my sake and the Gospels shall find it saith Christ. If he loseth a temporall life he shall find an eternall If he lose a life accompanied with sorrow hee shall find another life that is with joy such joy as cannot bee conceived such joy as shall never be ended Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his Saints There are two things saith S. Bernard that makes the death of a Saint precious the one is a good life before the other is a good cause for which he dieth A good life will make it a precious death but a good cause will make it a more precious death But that is the most precious death that hath both a good life before it and a good cause comming next The Martyrs are blessed but they must be such Martyrs as suffer for the Lord be sure of that or else they are not blessed There be some that would be accounted Martyrs a great company of such we have had of late that have died for broaching of treason and some for sowing of sedition some for absolving subjects from
the oath of Alleageance some for attempting to blow up Parliament houses Such as these are not Martyrs It is not the punishment it is the cause that makes the Martyr Our blessed Lord himselfe that never did evill was crucified betweene two evill doers there was an equall punishment there was not an equall cause It must be the cause that wee must looke to if wee looke to be blessed But I cannot stand upon that Here is the first interpretation To die in the Lord is for the Lord. But there is a second and that is more large Die in the Lord that is die in the faith of the Lord. Salute Andronicus and Iunius my fellow prisoners which were in the Lord before mee saith S. Paul that is that were Beleevers that were in the faith before mee And to let passe many other places if there bee no resurrection of the dead saith the Apostle then wee that are asleepe in Christ c. If wee beleeve that Iesus died then those that sleepe in Iesus shall hee bring with him c. And againe Hee shall descend from heaven with a shout and they that are dead in Christ shall rise first Now what is it to die in Christ in a large sense I will tell you Hee that would die in Christ first hee must die in obedience There are many workes of obedience that wee are to doe Our last and greatest act of obedience is to resigne up this same spirit of ours willingly chearfully into the hands of God that gave it If wee have not attained to that strength that some have done that is to live patiently and die willingly yet wee should labour to attaine to thus much strength to live willingly and to die patiently So as Christ may bee magnified in my body saith the Apostle I passe not it makes no matter let it either bee by life or by death When wee have done the worke that God hath set us to doe wee must be gone and thus must every one say with himselfe Lord if I have done all the worke thou hast appointed mee to doe call me away at thy pleasure Here is the first In obedience Secondly Die in repentance I remember what Possidonius said of Saint Augustine a little before his death that it was necessarie that men when they died they should not goe out of the world absque digna competenti resipiscentiâ without a fit competent repentance Hee himselfe did so for he caused the penitentiall Psalmes to be written and they were before him as hee lay upon his bed and hee was continually reading those penetentiall Psalmes and meditating upon them with many teares he died even in the very act of contrition I doe love to see a man chearefull upon his death-bed but I doe more love to see a man penitent There is a day indeed when God will wipe away all teares from our eyes When that commeth then he will wipe away these teares of repentance too these teares of godly sorrow But the Lord grant he may find mee with teaees in mine eyes Thirdly Die in faith Indeed if ever Faith had a worke to doe it hath then a worke to doe when all other comforts in the world faile us and friends goe from us then faith to lay hold on the promises I know that my Redeemer liveth and that I shall rise againe at the last day and bee covered with my skin and shall see God with these same eyes Thus faith And then fourthly Die with Invocation calling upon the name of God Thus have all the Saints of God done continually commending of their soules to God in prayers Saint Paul would have us commend our soules to God in well-doing And it is a necessary thing every morning wee rise and every night wee goe to bed but especially when wee see some harbingers of death sent unto us then to have nothing to doe but with our blessed Lord Father into thy hands I commend my spirit And with Saint Steven Lord Iesus receive my spirit And next to this let me put in also Mercie Charitie Die forgiving one another Thus our Lord taught us to doe when he cried out Father forgive them for they know not what they doe And Saint Steven taught us to doe so too Lord lay not this sinne to their charge And then lastly for I cannot stand upon these things there must be a death in Peace Peace with God Peace with our owne consciences and Peace with all the world And now the man that dieth thus dieth with willingnesse Dieth in repentance dieth in faith dieth with invocation dieth in charitie dieth in peace this man dieth in the Lord and such a one is blessed They that would thus die in him must live in him A man cannot bee said to die in London that never lived in London A man cannot be said to die in the Lord that never lived in the Lord. If thou dost not live in obedience in faith in repentance in invocation in charitie in peace thou canst not die in these A man must first live the life of the righteous before he can die the death of the righteous And then againe if a man would die thus Hee must bee well acquainted with death grow familiar with him by meditation Many things more I might have said to this purpose but I am loth to transgresse the houre I have done with that Give me only leave now to speake in a few words unto the present occasion You have brought here beloved the body of your wellloved neighbour Mistris S. H. late the Wife of your late reverend Pastour Doctor R. H. to be layed up together with her Husband in hope of a blessed and glorious resurrection It is long since that I did in this place performe this service at the buriall of his former Wife a woman of whom I may not speake for though I hold my peace the very stone here in the wall will say enough of her and you that know her cannot but assure the truth of it I am intreated to performe now the like duty to the second Wife And I was easily intreated to doe it for that name of brother and sister that was usually betweene us for many yeares continued may very well challenge of me any dutie I am able to performe I am straitned in time and I cannot speake what I would and I doe perceive alreadie by this that I have spoken that if I should speake much more my passion would not give me leave Let me tell you one thing amongst many others it is a thing extraordinary and it is for imitation The Vertuous woman in the last of the Proverbs is commended for many things Amongst others this is one Shee doeth her husband good and not evill all the dayes of her life And marke it I pray you It is not all the dayes of his life and yet peradventure some woman might bee thought a good
of the Father dwelling in him This shall suffice for the clearing of the point I have spent the more time in it because I would faine lay as good a foundation as I might that the Application may take the deeper impression in your hearts Wee that live in the Countrey when we come up by occasion into the Citie and here see all men so full of trouble every man so toyled in his worke so full of businesse and so little time taken for any thing else me thinkes that such a point as this to Brethren to beleevers should be of speciall use Now beloved this is the summe of that I have to say Bee in all these things as if not Shall wee all resolve as obedient children to carry this point home and examine in deed and in truth whether wee be in these things as if not But alas what shall I say I remember a story of one Thomas Lennot a learned English man who reading once in the fifth sixth and seventh Chapters of S. Mathews Gospel how our Saviour Christ saith You have heard how it hath beene said of old you must doe thus and thus but I say unto you you must love your enemies pray for them that curse you doe good to them that hate you and persecute you and so hee goeth on in injoyning such strange duties to flesh and bloud Hee breakes out Oh Iesus either this is not thy Gospel or wee are not Christians Truly beloved I would to God a Minister might not have just cause to say so in this point that when hee commeth and reades this of the Apostle It remaines brethren that hee that hath a wife bee as if hee had none hee that useth the world as not abusing it and hee that buyeth as if hee possessed not c. And must it be thus if wee meane to be Christians I would to God I say a man might not breake out and say Oh Paul either thou art not the writer of this or wee are no Christians Wee talke and professe it in words that we purpose to doe it but if wee come to the deed and the truth it is cleane contrary wee are not at all moderate in the use of these things In matters of Heaven and in things that concerne our everlasting welfare where God would have us take the kingdome of heaven with violence Where wee should cry out as the Horse-leach his daughter Give give and never say it is enough Wee are even like children that goe to schoole that care not how little they have for their money In hearing if the Sermon bee but halfe an houre wee thinke it enough and in prayer and in conference a little will serve the turne Like the Jesuit that when he thought he had a revelation he cryed out Satis Domine Enough Lord I have revelation enough So wee in matters of religion Enough Lord. But turne us to wives to children to clothes to honours to preferments to riches to ease to pleasures and the like there wee are as the barren wombe that never saith it is enough Brethren is it not thus But me thinkes I should bring you some particular instances to convince you that it is thus and I would to the Lord I could throughly convince you of it that thus it is with you But to instance a little Suppose now a man comes and meets with a Citizen in his businesse and say to him How have you spent this day Truly he will say I am so full of businesse that I have not time so much as to eat my meat But I hope you have beene at prayer in your family have you not Alas will hee say I cannot get so much as a quarter of an houres time Doe you call this as if not brethren Come to another that hath a wife all his care is for her oh my wife and children if I should die and leave them poore what should I doe when I sleepe I dreame of them when I awake in the morning my thoughts are of them Is this to be as if you had no wife and children Another hee is ever a complaining and mourning oh I have such crosses I am so full of afflictions I have lost such and such friends and such and such an estate and though I goe to Church and heare such and such comfortable doctrines one after another and all telling me of the all-sufficiency of God of the comforts and joyes of the Spirit of the good things that are layed up in Heaven yet like Rachel they will never bee comforted for their brother for their sister for their children c. What shall we say to these things Doe you thinke the Lord speakes not as he meaneth or that the Apostle when he saith here absolutely and determinatly that thus and thus you must doe if you be Christians if you be brethren Shall wee doe the contrary to all this and yet thinke that all will bee well I know you may put it off many of you and alledge many things wee have callings and wee must follow our Callings if God brings me in imployment blame me not if I follow it And I know not how to live if I doe not doe thus and thus But be not deceived God is not mocked In a word therefore to put you on the tryall If thou findest in the middest of thy trading and merchandizing or whatsoever calling thou art of thy heart daily gathering towards heaven that thou canst say blessed be God for this and other commodities but Christ is my darling this is good And then in these things if thou hast a care to use them aright as well as to get them and to thanke God for them and that thy project is how thou shalt doe good with that thou hast that thou art alwayes saying with thy selfe Lord how shall I doe good with so much as I have got by such a bargaine God forbid I should say against thee though thou bee full of businesse from morning to evening But alas there are many good people and godly that give hope that they serve God yet if they goe home and examine themselves throughly their owne consciences will tell them that in the things of this world they are not as if not but rather that they have beene over-carefull and too full of distractions in businesses And so for matter of joy if a man have a little pleasure or preferment given him his heart is so up that hee knowes not where he is hee is so transported that he hath cleane forgot himselfe This cannot stand this is not to be as if not and therefore I beseech you in the feare of God thinke of it Now if a man would know how hee should come to have his heart in a good temper to bee in these things as if not In one word let me tell you that rule of Saint Paul In all things bee filled with the Spirit and then thou wilt not take thought
he 〈◊〉 the hand of God was upon thy father for this and this yet thou hast done the like and hast not humbled thy heart So may I say You have knowne what God hath done to your brethren in other countries yet you doe still the same your selves for the which they have beene punished Is not this security Looke likewise upon our selves and wee shall see a generall neglect of those judgements of God that have beene upon our selves How hath God smitten this Land this Citie especially with the Pestilence and may we not say wee have beene smitten and yet have not felt it is not this securitie and a dead sleep God threatneth those in Ier. 31. 9. That escaped the pestilence that they should fall by the sword by the hand of Nebuchadnezar Why so because they did not reforme and amend by the pestilence What cause have we then to feare lest wee fall into the hands of the sword of some Nebuchadnezar or other when the pestilence hath done no more good among us when it hath not awakened and reformed us Looke upon your selves upon your houses upon your dealings your company your conversations see if there be any reformation since there was such a mortall calamitie as drove you from the Citie and frighted you from your owne houses and from the house of God Well these are fearfull prefages that when former Judgements prevaile not worser are a comming I have smittenthem saith God in the fourth of Amos with cleannesse of teeth and yet they have not returned unto me What then I have smitten them with blasting and mildew and yet they have not returned unto mee What then I have smitten them with the pestilence after the manner of Egypt and yet they have not returned unto mee What then Therefore I will come against them and because I will doe this prepare to meet thy God Oh Israel As if hee should say I have now stood out and tried you at one or two weapons and found you obstinate and rebellious I have stroke at you with the sword of Famine I have shot at you the Arrowes of pestilence I have smitten you with other judgements You should now meet me if not I have more weapons yet I will come and bid the battell against you and it shall appeare who is the stronger you or I And since you will stand out against me notwithstanding the Judgements executed upon others and afflictions upon your selves see if you can stand out against my last stroke you have escaped some lesser sicknesses upon your owne bodies you have escaped the Pestilence already but you shall find it a hard taske when God biddeth battell to escape his last stroke if you will not now be reconciled and come in and seeke his face This is the first demonstration whereby it appeares that we are sinfully secure which is a fore-runner of Judgement because we are not awakened by the judgements of God upon our selves and others Secondly another signe is this The contempt of Gods ordinances the slighting of the Prophets This is an evident demonstration that wee are under this carnall security I now speake of Marke how the Lord describeth a people whom he meaneth to destroy Zach. 7. 11 12. They refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped their eares that they should not heare Yea they made their hearts as an Adamant stone lest they should heare the Law and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former Prophets therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts A great wrath what is that Therefore vers 13. it is come to passe that as Heecryed and they would not heare so they cryed and I would not heare saith the Lord of hosts Well beloved little doe you know what time and wayes God hath to make you cry and roare in the anguish of your hearts because of Judgements and afflictions when you will not now heare God that striveth with you and cries unto you with the voyce of his Spirit in his Prophets from day to day When men will not heare God speaking to them in his Word it is alwayes a fore-runner of judgement In the sixth of Amos the Lord challengeth his people and telleth them that hee had used many meanes for their reclaiming but nothing would doe them good well now saith he heare the rod and him that hath appointed it As if hee should say there is no more dealing with you with the Word but I must come with the rod with judgement Is it not thus with us at this day May not the Lord say of us as hee did of the people in Ieremies time You have forsaken my law which I set before you and have not obeyed my voyce neither walked therein but have walked after the imaginations of your owne heart And then what followes Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts Behold I will feed this people with wormewood and give them water of gall to drinke and I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them Doe not many cry out as they in Ier. 23. 33. What is the burthen of the Lord Where is it that the Ministers have not beene threatning judgement and telling you that God is comming out to bee avenged upon a sinfull nation have they not beene crying thus this seven ten twentie yeares Where is that burthen of the Lord Well you shall find what it is when the day of the Lord commeth a day of blacknesse and terrour it hasteneth and this very security is an evident signe thereof even as in the dayes of Noah that preacher of righteousnesse and in the dayes of Lot that vexed his soule with the uncleane conversation of the Sodomites they would not beleeve their words but they seemed unto them as if they mocked and then came the judgement of the Lord upon them If this bee not the estate of this Land at this day what meanes the complaints the heavinesse of the spirits of the Prophets What meanes their teares and cries and prayers because of the obstinacie and hard-heartednesse of people that will not be drawne from their sinnes by any meanes This is a second evidence or signe when all this crying and calling will not awaken that we are in a deepe sleepe of security Thirdly another evidence is the vaine hopes of this Land It is a signe of carnall security and that we are all in a dead sleepe when we have such idle dreames out of idle fancies and vaine confidence that delude and deceive men What doe men rest on to secure and perswade themselves of imunitie from wrath and impunitie Certainly this that we have the ordinances of God amongst us Oh the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord. Alas had not the people of Israel the Arke and yet the Philistims tooke the Arke and slew the sonns of Eli. Had they not the Temple and yet the Lord in
in a carnall and sinfull security wee see then so many of us at least that are children of the light and of the day what cause we have to be awakened and to doe that for others which they will not doe for themselves to bee more earnest in prayer more frequent in humbling our soules for our owne sinnes and theirs that God may lay aside and cast away his judgements and displeasure that either are feared or lie upon us It is not a fearfull thing that when the Lyon roareth the beasts of the Forrests tremble Yet the God of heaven roareth against the world at this day and the proud hearts of men doe not tremble before him Shall the beasts of the Forrests bee afraid of the Lyon more then the poore wormes of the earth of the mighty God of heaven and earth But this is the horrible Atheisme and infidelity that is in the hearts of men that they beleeve not Gods power and justice nor his threatnings I beseech you let every man be exhorted to stirre up his soule to this businesse to awaken himselfe in his owne particular person Consider that there are others that are awake that may bring you sorrow enough bee you awakened to prevent those miseries Sathan is awake to tempt you Bee sober and watchfull saith Saint Peter for your adversary the divill goeth about seeking whom hee may devoure Sathan is busie and watching to make you his prey watch you therefore that you enter not into tentation Your owne Corruptions are alwayes awake The concupisence and depraved disposition of the soule it is awake still to further every evill motion to draw you aside by its tentations Therefore saith the Apostle I beseech you abstaine as pilgrims and strangers from fleshly lusts that warre against the soule Doe as men in warre when they know that they have a waking enemie against them they will be sure to keepe their Watch. Beloved you cannot but know that your corruptions are awake you may perceive it in your sleepes and dreames take heed that you bee not found in a spirituall sleepe that corruption prevaile not over you Besides these the enemies of the Church are awake Heretiques are awake every where to bring men from the faith to pervert the faith of many oh be awake to prevent those Besides others are awaken to ransack houses to destroy Cities oh be awake that you may bee at peace with the Lord of Hosts the God of Armies that hath all power in his hand to keepe you safe Againe secondly consider the evill of this security you are in of this disposition of heart when you cry peace peace to your selves in the middest of Gods displeasure It is an evill disease a spirituall lethargie That disease we know in the body it takes a man with sleepe and so he dieth Oh how many are in this spirituall lethargie in this deepe sleepe of sinne at this day the Lord awaken them It is the more dangerous because it is a senslesse disease A disease that takes the senses from the soule and diseases we know that take away the senses are dangerous for it is not only a signe that nature is overcome by the disease but besides it draweth men from seeking for cure Thus it is with the spirituall lethargie it shewes not only that sinne hath prevailed in the heart that it hath overcome grace and thereupon you have yeelded unto it to your pride and covetousnesse and vanity as those that are subdued under a disease but it hindreth you from seeking the meanes to escape out of it Thou saist saith Christ to the Church of Laodicea that thou art rich and needest nothing and that was the reason shee sought not to Christ. It is our condition we have knowledge enough therefore we care not for the ordinances of God Wee have faith enough and therefore wee care not for increasing it though none of us say thus with our tongues yet most of us beleeve thus with our hearts As David saith of the ungodly man the wickednesse of the wicked saith in my heart So may I say the neglecting of the ordinances the carelesnesse of men in the use of the meanes of salvation saith in my heart that there is abundance of securitie that they are in a spirituall lethargie that leadeth to death As it is an evill disease so it causeth much evill It is that which driveth away the Spirit of God It is the counsell of the Apostle Grieve not the Spirit quench not the Spirit When wee neglect the motions of the Spirit the Spirit withdraweth it selfe Doth not your owne experience tell you this Consider a little what motions you have had how God by the checks of your consciences sometime by secret incitements as it were a spurre upon your hearts hath moved you to dutie and to leave your sinnes How have these moved you you have had purposes it may be to performe these duties to walke in the wayes of God to please him in all things the neglect of these purposes hath driven away the Spirit it may be God now leaveth you to finall hardnesse Againe it letteth in Sathan When the uncleane spirit is driven out hee goeth about seeking rest and finding none at last hee returneth from whence hee went and findeth the house swept and garnished and he entreth in and bringeth seven spirits more worse then himselfe Alas how many men are there that for a fitt in some particulars have altered their course and have thought to become new men yet rushing upon former occasions and temptations to sinne they have growne secure and carelesse and now Sathan hath gotten stronger hold of them with seven spirits worse Nay this is that that drives away Christ and the comfortable influence of his Spirit in the heart The Church in Cant. 5. was asleepe was in a spirituall slumber and Christ goeth away Shee seekes him whom her soule loved but shee could not find him I speake now to those that were awake and are now asleepe their hearts it may be are awake but they walke not with that watchfulnesse and humility of spirit before the Lord as they ought therefore now they are heavy and destitute of the comforts of the Spirit Well they may thanke themselves Christ hath hid himselfe to teach them to be more watchfull And to conclude This is the cause of positive Judgements You know what came upon the old world and upon Sodome and Gomorrah for their securitie And likewise of future Judgements it is that which casteth men from heaven to hell That servant that saith in his heart my Master deferreth his comming and therefore hee eates and drinkes with the drunken what is the issue of it Hee shall have his portion given him with hypocrites where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth Mat. 24. Here is enough I suppose to awaken you Whensoever the heart of man is held downe with secure
true to their owne way And if they doe live amongst wicked men to be rather gainers by them to grow the better rather then to receive infection and corruption from them They say that Lillies and Roses or such like things if they be planted by Garlicke or Onions or such like unfavourie things they doe increase in sweetnesse the Rose and the Lillie are sweeter so it should be when godly men are planted and hemmed about with wicked men the vilenesse and odiousnesse of their wicked wayes may make them to loath wickednesse the more and to love godlinesse and to blesse God that hath kept them that they have not run to the same excesse of ryot with them In stead of all other Application which I thought to have added as for example and for instance to shew us the true Analogie of a Christian that we may discerne who is a right Christian and who is not we must not discerne it by our fancies but by those Characters God hath set And a just apologie in the second place for those that are branded with nick-names If this be the description of true pietie and of a true Christian to have the heart and soule breathing after God and seeking night and day after him and setting themselves wholly to walke in the way of uprightnesse with sincerity before God then certainly they are unjustly branded whose consciences doe aime at these things and the consciences of other men may tell them that they doe so and they see no other And so for conviction of those men that are in the Bosome of the Church they may see if they be not according to this stampe if they either faile of it that there is none of these liniaments to be found in them nothing toward God and his name no understanding no affection no endeavours working that way and so for the rest if they utterly faile of this they utterly come short and are not worthy the name of Christians but much more if they doe deride and oppose and contemne the mind and the wayes of God which God hath chalked out to us for our rule and direction that is a high degree of fayling and comming short and therefore they may be convinced that they cannot bee right I doubt when the Bookes shall bee opened and every one judged according to the booke of God which shall be layed for the tryall of our lives if our lives be not according to that whatsoever our words bee and howsoever wee carry it it will not beare us out then And it might have beene a Use also of Examination let every one of us examine our selves and what our estate is according to this rule and what degree of this we have attained too And then for comfort for those that are such according to this rule whether it be in the perfection or in the affection If they have not the perfection yet if their affections stand and runne this way and that they can truly and ingeniously say that they are such in sincerity there is a great deale of comfort for them And for Exhortation out of the severall branches of the duty which I cannot meddle with And out of the severall Motives that I propounded out of the words of the Text. But I say in stead of all these this present Sister of ours whose Funerall we now solemnize I might fetch an Argument as a Motive to all these severall duties from her example To returne now therefore to the present occasion I will speake something concerning Her in honour of whose Funerall solemnities we are at this time met together that gave us the occasion I shall according to my custome dispatch it briefly When any children of God die the last offices of Love are performed to them by three severall sorts or rankes The Angels they convey their soules into the bosome of their father Abraham into the blisse of eternity The Bearers attended with the Mourners they carry their bodies to the bosome of their mother earth to rest in tranquility The Preachers as it were a middle betweene God and them they commend their name to the mindes of their friends the hearers to live in their memories My part at the present is to doe this and I shall doe it not so much to trumpet out her commendation as to take a hint of something for your instruction which may be usefull But I must intreat you to remember that you doe not use to lace or adorne your mournings and therefore you have little reason to expect any eloquent adorning any Festivall ornament in such a Funerall argument My language must be blacke and patheticall sutable to our sad occasion it must not be pleasing to the fancie in the fresh flowers of Rhetoricke my language I say must be in blacke but in blacke layed upon a ground of truth which shall not blush for blame speaking any thing besides what I doe really conceive As I dare not doe you so much wrong as to paint or guild a rotten post so I am willing to doe her so much right as to set a rich Pearle in gold To passe other circumstances as that shee was descended of an honest and worthy Familie and of good qualitie that Shee had a full and hopefull issue descending from her selfe and such like circumstances which I leave for Oratours as unfit for a Divine to meddle withall All that I shall say concerning Her shall bee out of the Text in which you may behold a true picture of her in all the linaments of her and out of it you may be able to draw and take a good patterne for your selves The Byas of her spirit was toward God and toward his Name whose lively Image shee bare graven in her memorie living in her desires and beyond all pictures moving also in her endeavours to seeke after God The very quintescence of her spirit was carryed this way and that intimatly sincerely universally and constantly With her soule shee desired him in the night and with her spirit shee sought him in the morning the light of the morning and the evening starre as sometime the Starre did the Wise men conducted her to the Sunne of righteousnesse In mercies Shee was not wanton but thankfull and fruitfull In judgements as in a fatherly way of correction Shee had a deepe share wherein being exercised with many yeares weaknesse as those that knew her knew very well but yet in such fatherly dealings shee shewed her patience her perseverance her proficiencie and being a Mourner for the stubbornnesse of the wicked shee was a gainer likewise by them too and all because shee looked up to God who sees and weighs all our paths In which I have briefly recollected upon the matter the summe of the whole things conteyned in the text so that so long as this Text is in the Bible and so long as the Bible is in the Church and so long as any thing though unworthy of this Sermon remaines in your memories
with patience waite for it saith the Apostle Rom. 8. 25. If we have hope and expectation of Christs comming if it be right it will stay the heart and calme and quiet the spirit in the middest of all injuries and crosses and afflictions in the world it will make us to waite with patience Hee that beleeveth will not make hast When a man beleeveth that there is a time when Christ will put an end to all these things it is that which mortifieth and subdueth the rising of his spirit and discontentednesse in afflictions it makes him possesse his soule in Patience There is a kind of impatient waiting of men in the middest of discontent and revilings and evill speakings and threatnings of others and then Oh that Christ would come But when Faith workes kindly in the soule of a man there is a calme composednesse of heart a submission to God in the present tryall and yet neverthelesse a rejoycing in hope of the comming of Christ and of that glory that shall bee revealed That is the first thing there is Patience accompanying it The second thing that accompanieth it is Love No man can in truth and aright hope for and waite for the comming of Christ but he that loveth Christ and his comming Now this Love must be grounded on our tast of Gods love Not that wee loved him but that he loved us first saith the Apostle no man loveth Christ but first he is loved of Christ no man loveth God but first he is loved of God and the tast and rellish of Gods love in my soule workes love to God againe as from the heate that commeth from the Sunne there is a reflection that boundeth backe againe to the Sunne so Gods love in us reflects love to God againe This Love will appeare in the secret sighings of the heart All the creatures groane yea we also sigh in our selves saith the Apostle waiting for the adoption even the redemption of our bodies There is I say a secret sighing of heart and that not only in the time of trouble and affliction but in the time of comfort and prosperitie when a man hath abundance of outward things about him yet then because his love is set upon Christ and the perfection and end of love is the fruition of the object loved therefore there is a sighing a holy discontent as it were a kind of yearning of the heart toward Christ When shall I come and appeare before God saith David how long Lord how long saith the Church in the Revelation If a man love Christ and his comming only because it shall end those miseries and those troubles that are upon him in this life this is not so much love of Christ as love of a mans selfe of his owne ease and peace and rest But the love of Christ is this when for the injoying of himselfe I long for the fruitton of him whom my soule loveth and I account nothing amiable in comparison of Christ nothing delectable nothing comfortable nothing sweet to Christ this is it that putteth the soule out of tast and rellish with any thing makes it sigh as it were under the enjoyment of all the comforts of this life and long for the appearance of Christ because then hee shall be perfected in the perfect enjoyment of Christ himselfe This is that love of Christ that is accompanied with Faith in a Christian and hope and expectation of his comming Now then if thou waite for Christ in truth how commeth it that thou dost not love him thou canst not waite for him aright except thou love Christ himselfe and for himselfe And if thou love Christ it will appeare by thy care to walke in Christ to derive vertue from him in all holy actions to derive all heavenly wisedome all heavenly disposition of heart from him to please Christ in all thy wayes to doe that whereby thou maist aprove thy selfe to God in Christ. This is the disposition of a heart loving Christ and this is that loving of Christ for himselfe and in himselfe that giveth me assurance that I love the appearance of Christ. That is the second companion of this waiting for Christ if it be right there is a love to Christ. The third and last companion of a mans waiting for Christ is the continuall affection of the heart those same ejaculations that intercourse that holy and heavenly communion which the soule hath with Christ here First in his ordinances having a holy communion with him in them waiting at the Posts of the dore of wisedomes house to heare what Christ who is wisedome it selfe will speake to us waiting if that hee will come now in the ministrie of his Word in his Spirit whom we hope to enjoy fully in glory Wayting for him likewise in the Sacraments to receive a further confirmation of our faith in him wayting for him also in prayer to receive further consolation and strength from him Thus Annah it is said that She was one that waited for the consolation of Israel and served God in the Temple in prayer day and night So where there is a waiting for Christ there will be a continuall intercourse of the soule with Christ a heavenly and holy communion with him in duties Dost thou waite for Christs comming and yet runne from Christs ordinances How can these stand together There is no man that can ever waite with comfort for Christs comming in glory but hee that now waiteth upon Christ in his ordinances If thy delight be in holy duties in the worship of God and that in such religious performances thou waitest for a further conveyance of the Spirit of Christ into thee thou hast warrant to waite for and to expect with comfort the second comming of Christ. Try yourselves therefore by these things It is not every one that saith I would that the Lord Iesus would come or I would that these dayes were full and finished It is not every one that saith thus that rightly lookes for or desires the comming of Christ. But he that thereby becommeth patient and stayes and composeth his heart in a calme and quiet temper in the middest of all crosses and troubles and afflictions that befall him and that upon this ground because Christ will come and put an end to my sinne as well as to my sorrow therefore I will waite with patience till hee come And againe hee that loveth Christ that sigheth for his comming And hee that now delighteth in his ordinances this man only waiteth for the comming of Christ. There is yet a third Tryall and that is the effects and fruits of our waiting for the comming of Christ And that is threefold to goe no further then the Text. The first is a heavenly Conversation The second is a mans resting on Christ as his Saviour and Lord. The third is the change of the body which shall bee in the great day when the soule and body shall bee united together Who shall
the Doctrine of repentance because the kingdome of God was at hand This is that upon which Saint Peter groundeth his exhortation unto the people Acts 3. 18. Repent saith he and bee converted that your sinnes may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord Therefore repent and returne unto God doe away your sinnes because there will a time of refreshing come and you had need then to be found in another hue in another state then in your old rotten withered condition and sinfull lusts This is the Argument that the Apostle used to the Athenians to bring them from Idolatrie to serve the living God because God hath appointed to judge the world in righteousnesse by that man whom he hath ordained Even for that reason because God hath appointed a time to judge the world in righteousnesse therefore they should turne from their Idols to serve the living God There is nothing that doth so unbottome the heart nothing so shakes and looseneth a mans hold of sinne and unrighteousnesse as the consideration of Christs comming to Judgement What will it boote me will the soule reason to keep my sins when Christ will come to judge me for my sins What shall I get by going on in a course of a sinne when I can looke for nothing then but a sentence of wrath to be denounced against me This then is that that doth settle a man in a holy conversation in that respect Nay fourthly this is that also which quickneth a man to the practise of all holy duties in his place both in his generall and particular Calling It is the very argument which the Apostle Saint Peter useth to stirre us up to holinesse of conversation Seeing saith he that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought wee to be in all holy conversation and godlinesse looking for the comming of the day of God wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heate As if hee should have said Looke now about the whole world and see what it is that now can comfort you if you be such as goe on in a course of sinne It may be you will say I feare not much for I have many friends Yea but all these shall die It may bee thou hast store of lands but all that shall bee burnt with fire It may be thou hast many pleasures but then there shall bee nothing but Judgement The comming of the Lord that shall then put an end to all these and turne the course of things the expectation thereof is a speciall meanes to take us off from a course of sinne and put us on to a course of obedience to make us walke in another kind of fashion while wee are in the world Therefore the Apostle Saint Paul when he would stirre up Timothy to the worke of the Ministrie what is the Argument that hee useth I charge thee before Christ who shall judge the quicke and the dead As if hee should say there shall be an appearing before the Lord and therefore if thou wilt give thy account up with joy at that day I charge thee to looke to thy Ministrie So may I say to every man in his place I charge thee that art a Master of a Familie looke to the businesse of thy Familie to the salvation of the soules of thy people I charge thee that art a Father or a Mother to looke to the salvation of the soules of thy Children I charge thee that art a Christian to looke to the salvation of thy owne soule And how is the charge I charge thee before the Lord Iesus Christ who shall judge the quicke and dead Because there shall come a time when both thou and they shall bee present before Christ at his appearing therefore if thou wilt have comfort in them and in thy selfe and in Christ be carefull to doe the dutie that concernes thy place looking for the comming of the Lord Iesus So then you see in this respect also thereis nothing so forcible an Argument to settle a man in a holy conversation in a heavenly course as this for a man alwayes to looke for the second comming of Christ. Lastly there is nothing fixeth a man so constantly in a holy course as this Our conversation saith the Apostle is alwayes in heaven Wee alwayes walke on earth as those that aspire to heaven because wee alwayes looke for the comming of Christ. Wert thou carefull to serve God yesterday doe it to day also it may be Christ may come now and take thee away by death to day and there is no preparation for judgement afterward Little children saith Saint Iohn now abide in him that when hee shall appeare wee may have confidence and not bee ashamed before him at his comming What is it that giveth a man boldnesse and takes away shame from him at the comming of Christ What is the reason that a man hath not that spirit of feare and trembling upon him that shall bee upon the hearts of all those that goe on in sinne when they shall cry to the mountaines to fall upon them but this that hee hath continued in a holy conversation and constantly walked before the Lord with an upright heart I have finished my course saith the Apostle I have fought a good fight I have kept the faith hence-forth is layd up for mee a crowne of righteousnesse which Christ the righteous Iudge shall give to mee and to all them that love his appearing Still the servants of God have incouraged themselves to persevere in a holy course from the expectation of the comming of Christ that will give them a reward for their constancie in his service It is the Argument that the holy Ghost useth to the Church of Philadelphia Rev. 3. 11. Hold fast that thou hast and let no man take thy crowne As if hee should say There is a time comming when Crownes shall bee given but to whom to those that hold out that persevere in a godly course Be thou faithfull to the death and thou shalt receive a crowne of glory This is that I say that will make a man goe on will make him that is good in youth be good in age also because whensoever he dieth he shall receive his Crowne This will make a man that he shall not begin in the spirit and end in the flesh this will make him that having put his hand to the plough hee will not looke backe because hee no further lookes for comfort in the appearance of Christ then hee hath had care to walke on constantly in a good course Thus you see the point proved to you that a Christian soule hath a maine benefit by his looking for the second comming of Christ and that this is it that makes him carefull to mortifie his secret lusts that this is it that makes him carefull to purge himselfe from worldly affections that
vexation of spirit Againe God will abolish this humane wisedome 1 Cor. 1. 19. I will destroy the wisedome of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent Where is the wise where is the Scribe where is the disputer of this world Hath not God made foolish the wisedome of this world Besides all your humane wisdome it shall not goe downe to the Grave it shall leave you when you die There is no worke nor device nor knowledge nor wisdome in the grave whither thou goest Eccles. 9. 10. This is the first thing in which young men oft rejoyce they are prudent and wise And you see that this is a vaine thing In the second place if a young man rejoyce in his honour and credit amongst men this also is vaine Solomon hath shewed it Eccles. 2. 16. Hee declareth to us that all the honour of the world will end in oblivion there is saith he no remembrance of the wise more then of the foole for ever for that which now is in the dayes to come shall bee forgotten and how dieth the wise man as the foole Againe if a man rejoyce in honour and much glory hee cannot beleeve so saith Christ Iohn 5. 44. How can you beleeve since you seeke honour one of another and not the honour that commeth of God only And it is noted to bee the reason why many of the chiefe Rulers that beleeved on Christ did not confesse him without which faith cannot be unfeigned because they loved the praise of men more then the praise of God John 10. 43. Nay further the Apostle sheweth us that this is the cause of envie Gal. 5. 26. Bee not desirous of vaine-glory envying one another Envie is a vexing affection this vaine-glory is the cause of this envie whereby we shall pine away when we see the happinesse and welfare of our brethren Further if young men delight in pleasures which is the common course of youth these also are vaine things I said in my heart saith Solomon Eccles. 2. 2. Goe to now I will prove thee with mirth therefore enjoy pleasure and behold this also is vanitie Kings that have had the greatest wisedome to invent them and the greatest leasure to use them yet they never found full contentment in the same I made mee saith he vers 4. great workes I builded mee houses I planted mee vineyards I made mee gardens and orchards and planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits I made me pooles of water I got mee servants and maidens also I had great possessions of great and small cattell above all that were in Ierusalem before mee I got mee men-singers and women-singers and the delights of the sons of men as musicall instruments of all sorts Here were the pleasures of Solomon But verse 11. Behold saith hee I looked on all the workes that my hands had wrought and on the labour that I had laboured to doe and behold all was vanity and vexation of spirit and there was no profit under the Sunne The wise Solomon that had beene trying every creature whether it had any thing in it that might give him a true rellish profest that there was no profit under the Sunne Yet further these pleasures shall cease there shall bee an end of them 1 Cor. 7. 29. The time is short it remaineth that those that have wives bee as though they had none they that rejoyce as though they rejoyced not they that buy as though they possessed not they that use the world as not abusing of it for the fashion of this world passeth away Lastly our Saviour Christ in Luke 8. 14. sheweth that the pleasures of this life choake the word of God that it cannot bring forth gratefull fruit to God Fourthly if young men delight in riches and rejoyce in their estates that God hath given them this likewise is a vaine thing For first many times wealth is gotten by deceit and then God bloweth on it Ier. 5. 27. As a cage is full of birds so are their houses full of deceit therefore they are become great and waxen rich shall not I visit for these things saith the Lord and shall not my soule be avenged on such people as this Againe wealth is kept with much sorrow Eccles. 5. 12. The sleepe of the labouring man is sweet whether hee eate little or much but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleepe Thirdly wealth is lost with a great deale of sorrow and vexation Rev. 18. 18. when the smoake of Baby lon ascended up to heaven Oh what lamentation there was they cryed out What city is like unto this great city and they cast dust on their heads and cryed weeping and wayling saying Alas alas that great city wherein were made rich all that had shippes in the sea by reason of her costlinesse for in one houre is shee made desolate But suppose further that a man should get and keepe his wealth in the feare of God yet these things are most uncertaine as the Apostle saith 2 Tim. 1. 16. Charge them that are rich in this world that they trust not in uncertaine riches Lastly these riches cannot preserve our life so saith Christ himselfe Luke 12. 25. Take heed and beware of Covetousnesse for no mans life is preserved by the abundance of that hee possesseth In the last place If young men rejoyce in friends and Allies this also is a vaine thing For Psal. 62. 9. The man of low degree is vanitie and the man of high degree is a lie to bee laid in the ballance they are lighter then vanitie Againe no friend can deliver us from Death Psal. 49. 7 8. No man can by any meanes redeeme his brother nor give to God a ransome for him for the redemption of their soule is precious and it ceaseth for ever that hee should still live for ever and not see corruption Thus I have shewed severall things that young men rejoyce in and have shewed likewise that their joy is founded upon vanity upon nothing And this is the second meanes to heale young men of the inordinatenesse of their Joy to meditate with themselves how vaine and frivolous all things are that they delight in The third meanes is to betake themselves to seeke spirituall joy The well-head of this Joy is God whom the Scripture calleth the God of consolation The instrument to convey this Joy is Faith Rom. 5. 1. Being justified by faith wee have peace with God The grounds of this Joy are twofold First the good things exhibited Secondly the good things promised The good things exhibited That God hath written our names in the booke of life Here is the fountaine of spirituall joy to a true Christian Rejoyce saith Christ not that the divels are fallen before you but that your names are written in the booke of life Secondly the other ground of spirituall
losse a man may lose his owne soule Thirdly the compossibilitie of outward prosperitie hee may lose his soule in gaining the whole world And then lastly the wofull bargaine in such an exchange What is a man profited Of these in order First of the surpassing excellencie and dignitie of mans soule it is valued and prized here above the whole world It was the plausible conceit of certaine Philosophers that the world was a great man and that man was a little world a little world indeed but as Saint Austin tearmes him a great wonder for within this little world there is a reasonable soule worth all the world To render an exact definition of the soule it requires the tongue of an Angell rather then of a man it passeth the comprehension of travellers to apprehend the nature of the soule for these three God Angels and mans Soule they are unknowne to us we may sooner admire their excellencie then conceive their nature and argue of their opperations then attaine their knowledge of such sublimitie is the soule of man so Angelicall and Divine the excellencie whereof is commended to us by three distinct voyces of Nature Grace Glorie For first in the order of nature it is the greatest thing saith Plato that we may conceive in a narrow roome the most noble thing that all the frame of nature affords and that In respect of the Originall Image In respect of the Originall the soule of man hath no beginning here there was no voyce directed to the earth or to the water for the production of Adams soule but a serious consultation of the sacred Trinitie and a breathing into his nostrils the breath of life Saith Saint Austin he created it by infusion and infused it by creation And the Philosopher well concludes that the soule as it is not from without it is only Divine Therefore the Manichees extolled it too high when they deemed it a portion of Gods substance let not others abase and depresse it too low to thinke it is derived from Parents it comes not of their substance it is enough for them to be the fathers of the flesh God alone is the Father of spirits as the Apostle makes the antithesis Heb. 12. 9. Secondly for the Image the soule is most like God saith Plato Saith Aristotle it is of the neerest kinne of the greatest consanguinitie as I may say and the Lord himselfe signifies so much After our Image let us make man Then the soule of man is not stamped with a Roman Caesar but with Gods owne Image and superscription and that First in respect of the substance being not only a spirituall intellectuall incorporeall invisible essence but explaining by the pluralitie of Powers in the unitie of Essence the pluralitie of Persons in the unitie of the Deitie Secondly being furnished with singular indowments as in the state of innocencie with perfect wisedome and holinesse and righteousnesse Yea still in the state of sinne some generals are left some broken fragments of the creation morall qualifications that may lead us by the hand to the knowledge of our Master Lastly in regard of the commanding power it hath over the body It is to the body as Moses was to Pharoah a God to the body it actuates it and mooves and commands and restraines it whereby next and immediatly under God wee live and moove and have our being Seeing then the soule is the immediate worke and character of God himselfe so excellent for the Originall and for the Image let nature conclude that the soule in these regards is of greater value then the whole world Secondly in the Kingdome of grace the price of the soule is farre above the dignitie of the world and that in the grace of Redemption and the grace of renovation For first in the soules redemption the soule amounts so high as that the whole Creation is not able to discharge it It is not gotten for gold nor silver is not weighed for the price of it it is not valued with the gold of Ophir or the precious Onix It cost more to redeeme the soule of sinfull man the precious bloud of the eternall Sonne of God hee could only redeeme it that at the first created it Yee are bought with a price the precious bloud of Christ. Secondly in the grace of renovation nothing is able to cleanse it from sinne but the Spirit of God The Spirit alone must enlighten the understanding and rectifie the affections and purifie the will and sanctifie the conscience and seale up the Image of God in righteousnesse and true holinesse And the soule thus renewed is as a Garden inclosed a spirituall Paradise where the God of heaven delights to dwell the Spouse of the Beloved and in the phrase of the Church As the Lillie among the thornes so is my love among the daughters Seeing it appeares that the universall World is not able to redeeme or being redeemed to renew or renewed to paralell the soule let grace subscribe to that which nature concludes that the soule is of greater value then the whole world Lastly for the passage of glory the contents of the whole Universe are not able to come neere the soule Saith S. Bernard well well it may be busie and tooke up with other things but it cannot be satiate and replenished with them And Democrates imagined that if there were millions of worlds it were all one in comparison of the soule for blessednesse The world is transitorie like the dew of the morning it fades as the grasse and as the flower of the field whereas on the contrarie the soule of man is the subject of immortalitie capable of an exceeding surpassing eternall weight of glory For if in the time of grace we bâ—…ld as in a glasse the glory of the Lord and are changed into the same Image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord. How resplendant shall the soules of the righteous bee in the beatificall vision of Gods excellencies How wonderfull shall that divine capacitie be that shall be capable of God himselfe for a perpetuall residence Insomuch that the most ancient of dayes shall give fulnesse to the Soule of knowledge and wisdome and his sacred Spirit that shall fill it with the fulnesse of God with contentation and the sacred Trinitie shall be all in all to it Seeing then the Soule is capapable and is the subject of the happinesse and joyes of heaven and partner with the glorious Angels in the fruition of the chiefe good let the sentence of glory joyne to Grace and nature that the Soule is of greater value then the whole world Behold then O man out of the moutâ—…â—…ee witnâ—… for I may say in this case as Saint Iohn saith 〈◊〉 â—…other Tâ—… 〈◊〉 three that beare record in heaven the Father the â—…d and 〈◊〉 â—…y Ghost Behold out of the mouth of three Wiâ—…ses the sâ—…passing excellencie and
owne soule Secondly consider when a man sleepes and slumbers in sinne how unfit he is for any Christian dutie and exercise for the maine parts of Godlinesse and Christianitie How unfit is a sleepie man for the actions of life and of his calling and how unfit and unable and indisposed is a man that slepes in sinne to the actions of spirituall life There be some maine parts and branches of our generall Calling to which this sleepe makes us unable The first of them is the exercise of godlinesse the maine thing in the profession of a Christian to exercise himselfe in godlinesse how unfit is a sleepie Christian for this who sees a man that is asleepe that workes in his Calling that can doe any good in it So how can a Christian exercise himselfe in the actions of his generall Calling when he sleepes in his praying in his hearing in his reading if these duties be done coldly what are they worth Actions that are done in a mans sleepe they come to nothing so a man that sleepes in sinne let him doe never so many good actions they are of no value A second maine branch of our Christian Calling is the spirituall combate to fight against our corruptions Now alas how unfit is a sleepie man either to expect or to repell an enemie when he is asleepe hee lies open to all disadvantage Sisera himselfe a strong and noble Captaine was so weake that a silly woman Iael slew him when he was asleepe therefore we know this part of our Christian calling cannot hold as long as wee sleepe in sinne Thirdly another part and maine branch of Christianitie is to expect our Masters returne to waite for the comming of our Lord that we may enjoy that sweet blessednesse that he hath promised and made us expect and waite for now how unfit is a sleepie man to waite for his Masters comming to set things in order Thus we see in these particular maine duties of Christianitie they cannot be performed by men that are asleep therfore we had need to wake our selves if we will either honour God or profit our selves if will be fit to doe service to God or to his Church wee must keepe our selves awake especially in the maine duties of Christianitie Thirdly consider while we sleepe and are secure the enemie never sleepes he is then most watchfull against us We may sleep and thinke we doe well enough to take our ease but Satan sleepes not we have a watchfull enemie to deale with And then he hath some advantage by our sleeping in Mat. 13. in that Parable The enemie sowes tares while men slept hee comes into the field of the heart where the word of God the good seed is sowne and what doth he doe there he sowes a croppe of thornes and they make the heart of a Christian like the field of Solomons sluggard Prov. 24. I passed by the field of the sluggard and it was all thornes c. Thus is the heart that is neglected of a man that is sleepie and secure in sinne When doe robbers and theeves assault the house In the dead time of the night when they may take men at advantage in their first sleepe then they come and breake into the house Shall theeves and burglaries watch at midnight to breake the house and cut mens throates and wilt not thou watch to save thy selfe Further consider as the enemie never sleepes so Gods mercy never sleepes Gods mercie is ever watching over us to doe us good and it watcheth to keepe us watchfull for what should all the mercies of God doe to us but keepe us watchfull Our God that we serve is not as Baal the God of Idolaters perhaps hee is asleepe and must be awaked or hee is chasing his adversaries No no the strength that keepes Israel slumbers not nor sleepes Therefore let not Israel slumber nor sleepe because God watcheth over his children let them watch with him and keepe themselves neere to him Fiftly if this will not move thee then consider as Gods mercie sleepes not so Gods judgements sleepe not That man that sleepes in sinne let him know that Gods judgements sleepe not As Balaam when he was out of the way the Angell watcheth him and catcheth him in this corner and in that corner he could goe into no corner but the Angell with his drawne sword was ready to meet him and to slay him And the Apostle saith of those that were led away by false teachers Their damnation sleepeth not Gods judgements are alway waking thou maist sleepe on both sides in sinne but Gods justice sleepeth not And thou that art the Lords if thou sleepe know that correction and chastisement sleepeth not and they will awake thee thou wert better to awake by slighter meanes To conclude all consider that all of us there is no man upon the earth but we are all going to meet the mortall slâ—…epe of death and if we shall when that meets us have our owne consciences tell us that we have also a spirituall sleepe within us that we carrie a spirituall sleepe to meet that mortall sleepe what a miserable and mournfull state will that be when the heart of a man or woman that is comming to die shall say and speake aloude and witnesse against his Master O thou hast beene a sluggish and sleepie Christian thou hast had good meanes but thou hast not kept thy watch thou wouldest sleepe doe what the exhortations of the Word could thou wouldest be a drowsie Christian Hence it comes to passe that so many when on their death-bed they come to grapple with that mortall sleepe and then conscience proclaimes against them then they crie Oh that I had but one day but one houre more that I might waken and strengthen the things that are readie to die and that it might be better with me then it is But alas now their short day is past and one perpetuall night to come and now it is too late as it proves many times Therefore let not time goe but know that that mournfull day must come upon us we must meet that mortall sleepe Let us labour to shake off spirituall sleepe drowsinesse of spirit and make our peace in the meane time that conscience may witnesse with us and for us at the day of death and judgement Let us labour to be watchfull and desire to be readie for the Lord and to have our accounts readie for him This shall suffice for the words Now for our occasion because this is my first occasion of this kind I must enter with a preface and that is this that as I have ever beene in the course of my ministerie so I shall bee very sparing in the praise of the dead because I know that these exercises are appointed for the instructing of the living and the consolation of those that survive and not for the praise and commemoration of the dead Besides I know and see by daily
crazie and all things are out of order yet this man can incourage himselfe in the Lord his God he can say to himselfe feare not Saith Daved though I walke in the valley of the shadow of death a dolefull condition yet I will feare none ill Psal. 23. And in another place though ten thousand should compasse mee in on every side I would lay mee downe and rest Though the Apostles were watched by souldiers layd in the stocks and for ought they knew the next day should be brought to execution yet they sing as merrily and sleepe as heartily as if they had beene on a Throne and had beene Kings in a Pallace Thus a good conscience will make a Christian happy if he be not his owne foe but our hearts are intangled with the world and wordly things that for the most part wee see not this priviledge But I leave that Next it may serve to reprehend and chide the most of us yea all in that we are distracted with feares unnecessary such as spend our spirits and consume our precious time such things as make our lives uncomfortable and dishonour God and our Religion and profession and all to no purpose Some things we feare a great while before wee neede perhaps that we neede not feare at all One saith Lord what would become of me if I should loose my wife if I should loose my children or loose my estate What would become of me if the times should be hard if there should be a deare yeare I can scarse bring both ends together now Another saith what shall I doe when I am old and cannot take paines for my living thus men feare a thousand inconveniences What neede wee meete evills halfe way what neede wee create to our selves such troubles sufficient for the day are the troubles of it But in regard of carnall feare all things make us afraid more then we neede and the feare of ill oft times perplexeth a man more then the ill it selfe that lights upon him And men of a melancholly disposition they frame to themselves such strange Chimera's Imaginations of things that perhaps shall never come to passe and so trouble themselves with a great deale of feare Thou art afraid of such and such losses perhaps thou maiest die first and such things perhaps shall never befall thee labour to prepare thy heart before hand and then feare them not I will shew you the inconveniences of this briefly First of all these feares of losses and crosses and the like they often bring a great deale of ill to men nay it brings a great deale of ill as the naturall event and consequent of it partly by the judgement of God Esay 66. 4. I will bring their feares upon them And that that wicked men feare shall come upon them This is the way to bring ill upon them when men will needs bee miserable is it not just with God they should The Romans will come and take away our Empire and so it was Saul was afraid that David should succeede him and so hee did When men will not learne to live by faith it is just with God to bring that that they feare upon them because they dishonour him by unbeliefe In the second place it not onely brings ill but it makes the heart unfit for ill when it comes In the feare of man there is a snare but in the confidence of the Lord there is a sure reward In the feare of man there is a snare what doth feare doe it insnares a man it binds a man hand and foote and layes him flat before his enemie when he comes and then his enemy tramples upon him It so weakens the Spirits and disheartneth a man before it comes that when it comes he is no way able to beare it For the feare takes away all the joy and content that a man may take in the present good that hee enjoyes at the hand of God that he cannot enjoy that because hee feares I know not what ill that may come and then when that ill comes he is not able to beare it his spirit is so weake I might shew much hurt that this feare doth both to the soule and to the body of man To the body of man how doth it weaken and contract the Spirits and bring diseases and some times death it selfe Feare doth much hurt to the soule Naturally Spiritually Naturally it weakens a man in regard of the operations of his soule that the body is not a fit instrument for the soule to worke by It makes a man doe diverse things rashly and inconsiderately and divers things out of incogitancie that hee knowes not what he doth he is unfit for holy duties unstable in all his wayes As he is thus in regard of his place and calling so in regard of the duties of Gods service he cannot doe these with a quiet heart with a peaceable spirit while he is possest with these feares You shall see almost all the sinnes in the world come from this feare What was the reason that Abraham and Sarah did equivocate was it not feare in that particular of men more then God and so they put God upon a miracle to preserve Saraahs chastitie in the case of Abimeleck What was the reason that Aaron yeelded to make an Idoll for the people of Israel and so joyned in Idolatry with them he was afraid of the people that they might doe him some hurt he durst not trust God with his preservation So Peter denyed his Master out of feare What is the reason that a Minister doth not sometimes reproove sinne that a Magistrate doth not sometimes reforme that that is amisse It is slavish feare they will not trust God to maintaine them in his owne cause What is the reason that many servants lye c. it is out of a slavish feare of their masters And so in regard of the things of the world men are inordinately afraid that they shall loose somewhat they possesse and therefore they take indirect courses Still this slavish feare and horrour and distrust of God it is almost the cause of all sin as wee may observe in the world This being so prejudicall in the last place let us fence our hearts against this feare By this meanes we shall honour Religion and make our lives comfortable incourage other Saints of God and draw people to like Religion when it yeelds such sweet contentment to the soules of men For doe but once againe muster together all our enemies and see if we have cause of feare For our spirituall enemies Will any man feare a wounded foe for the Lord God hath wounded Satan and trampled him under our feet and brought us as Ioshua did his Captaines to set our feet upon the necke of principalities and powers that through the mightie power of God wee are more then conquerours and shall we feare such an enemie as this Shall we
pressures and many sore and grievous temptations that lay upon him If so be his setled resolution concerning his spirituall estate and the satisfying of others in many doubts and disquiets of spirit that rose within him If so be the due respect to the Lords day the desire of promoting the sanctifying of it both by himselfe and others with a continuall griefe proceeding from a sense of his owne disabilitie to answer to the occasions and duties of the day If there bee any thing to bee concluded of concerning Religion from such passages as these then brethren I have all these as so many materialls put into my hand to builde withall and so to reare up a testimony before you concerning this disceased And thus in briefe have I testefied of him and to you all hee though dead now speakes but in a more speciall manner to you that are young men his death and that example wee have in him of mortalitie is as a loud Sermon preached unto you concerning the care you ought to have to bethinke your selves in your younger yeares of the things that concerne your spirituall and eternall welfare and how much it concernes you now to give all dilligence to make your calling and election sure Your thoughts it may bee are too much upon your patrimony and inheritances your houses and possessions your great estates and your matches that thereby you may as you use to say rayse your fortunes too too apt you are to be taken up with these considerations and to pursue thoughts of this nature but you see by this example how God may come and prevent the accomplishment of all these and in that day in that very day all these thoughts will perish death may come and marry you to the dust and call you not to your fathers mansions but to the common house appointed for all living where you must say to corruption thou art my father and to the worme thou art my mother and my sister this was his condition and so may yours bee too Therefore you young men remember you your Creatour in the dayes of your youth and know you that God hath provided instructions and counsels in his Word that are directed to young men that they may know how to cleanse their way and to flie the lusts of youth and betimes to beginne with God that so whether they live to old age or be cut off in youth they may be gathered to their Fathers in a good and a full age like a Shocke of Corne and so receive the blessing of the promise FINIS SPIRITUALL HEARTS-EASE OR THE WAY TO TRANQILITIE PSAL. 42. 5. Why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted in mee JOB 5. 24. Thou shalt know that thy Tabernacle shall be in peace LONDON Printed by Iohn Dawson for Ralph Mabbe 1630. SPIRITUALL HEARTS-EASE OR THE VVAY TO TRANQVILITIE SERMON XXXI JOHN 14. 1 2 3. 1 Let not your hearts be troubled you beleeve in God beleeve also in me 2 In my fathers house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I goe to prepare a place for you 3 And if I goe and prepare a place for you I will come againe and receive you unto my selfe that where I am there yee may be also IN the 33. verse of the former Chapter our Saviour Christ told his Disciples that he must now goe away from them Little children yet a little while I am with you and you shall seeke mee and as I said to the Iewes whither I goe you cannot come so say I now to you This message of the departure of Christ from the earth of his being tooke from them did exceedingly sad their hearts and very much perplex and disquiet their spirits they knew what a comfort they had in the presence of Christ they knew what a faithfull Teacher hee was what a mightie Protector hee had beene how gracious and full of heavenly comfort hee had manifested himselfe to them at all times in his being with them And they could not now thinke of parring with him without much perplexitie and disquiet and trouble of spirit Therefore the words that I have now read are the speech of our blessed Saviour to comfort them strengthening their hearts against those disquiets under which they were exercised In which words you may briefly observe these three things for time will not suffer mee to stand much upon them First a dutie whereunto they are exhorted Secondly the meanes whereby it may be performed Thirdly the letts that were to bee removed that hindered them in the performance of the dutie in the use of these meanes The dutie that is to bee performed is in the beginning of the first verse Let not your hearts be troubled The meanes whereby to performe it in the words following You beleeve in God beleeve also in me The letts and impediments of the performance of it in the use of these meanes are so many objections and doubts as are wisely prevented by the wisedome of God in the two verses following I shall take them as I come to them in order and but give a briefe touch upon every one of of them First the dutie that is to be performed it is this to stablish and comfort their hearts Let not your hearts be troubled The word that is here translated trouble it signifieth such a trouble as is in water when the mudde is stirred up or when the waves and surges are raised by some tempest or storme It signifieth such a trouble as is in an Army when the Souldiers are disranked and routed when they are disordered and it shewes thus much that those distempers that are in the hearts of men in the affections of men doe exceedingly hinder their judgements that they can see no more nor discerne things no better then a man can doe in a muddie water All the affections are as so many Souldiers in an Armie disordered that keepe not their due subordination to their leader and guide by reason that the understanding that should guide the will and affections is now made a servant to them And this distemper of spirit ariseth from the inordinacie of the affections the inordinate motion and agitation of them This is called trouble Let not your hearts be troubled Bee not disturbed thus and disquieted and disordered So that no facultie of the soule can performe its owne worke So as that it is disabled to judge of things according to truth but that you are mis-led and deluded by mists and appearances It is with the mind in sorrow as it is with the eye in teares that cannot see a thing clearely so the mind cannot judge of things distinctly when the soule is disturbed Let not your hearts be troubled But that which our Saviour aymes at here hath a particular respect to the affections of feare and griefe when these are in the excesse the mind is troubled when a man over-feares any thing
or over-gries any thing hee is troubled and disquieted Let not your hearts be troubled that is grieve not for things more then they are to be grieved for and feare not things more then they are to be feared For all these will dis-joynt the soule as it were it will put the spirit to much paine and disquit as a bone out of joynt Therefore by all meanes keepe your hearts in a right state in that order that God hath set them Let not your hearts be troubled That that I will briefly note here shall be but thus much that Men are wondrous prone even the very best men to be disturbed in their passions and affections Our Saviour Christ speakes it here to his Disciples to those that he had taught before whom hee had gone as an excellent example all his dayes yet these holy men these followers of Christ that had followed him through so many dangers and after so many teachings and instructings of them hee had need to call upon them to stirre them up to consider of their owne estate that their hearts might not bee troubled You may see the Maladie in the Medicine Every prohibition in the word supposeth a corruption and an aptnesse in the naturall heart and spirit of man to sinne and transgresse in that particular Therefore when Christ speakes to his Disciples and tells them they should not be troubled It shewes that even the best men are subject to excesse of passion and affection to be disturbed and troubled through immoderate feare or griefe for that was the case of the Disciples Now briefly I will shew the grounds of it and come to the Application because I will hasten This trouble that is upon the spirits sometimes of the best men it ariseth Partly from Gods providence and hand upon them And partly from Sathan And partly from themselves I will shew you the causes in these in particulars and then applie it First it riseth many times from the hand of God The Lord is said to bee a Sunne and a shield The Lord will be knowne to bee a Sunne and a shield to his people Now looke as it is with the earth when the Sunne withdraweth his light it is all darke and cold and dead So it is with the hearts of the best men when God withdrawes the light of his countenance from the soule it is as the earth at midnight And as it is with Souldiers in the battell if their shields be taken from them they are exposed to every dart and danger every thing may annoy them and wound them So it is in the state of the soule if God withdraw himselfe from it and doe not now support it as before and doe not fence and strengthen it as at other times the fierie darts of Sathan will pierce deepe into the soule and the spirit will not bee able to uphold it selfe against these assaults Now God withdrawes himselfe sometimes from his servants and that in speciall wisedome In respect either of the time past present to come Sometimes God doth it in respect of the time past and so hee doth it by way of correction First to correct his children for their former wantonnesse they have abused the expressions of love and now as a Father takes away the light from his child when hee sees hee makes no better use of it then to play with it So God sometimes takes away the light of his countenance that is he casts cloudes before himselfe he doth not manifest himselfe in that loving favour when his servants neglect that reverence and feare that hee expects from them in the midst of his mercies Secondly this hee doth sometimes as a correction of their negligence when God hath called on them from time to time and they have neglected calling on God hee hath called upon them for dutie and for the leaving of such particular evils and they have neglected it Now God withdrawes himselfe to make them know what it is to doe so And because they will not know what it is to heare his voyce when hee calls hee will make them feele it by his not hearing their voyce when they pray Sometimes hee calls to them as hee did to the Church in the Canticles Open to mee my sister my Spouse my love c. The Church is negligent and carelesse I have put off my cloathes how shall I put them on I have washed my feet how shall I defile them Now hee withdrawes himselfe from the soule and what is the end of it The Keepers strike her and the watch-men take away her vaile and now shee is left to trouble and perplexitie because Christ had absented himselfe whom shee would not entertaine when hee offered himselfe Thus God doth to correct that that is past And farther God doth it sometimes to correct that carnall confidence and securitie whereunto men are wondrous prone when they goe on in a cleare way with much comfort with wind and tide I said in my prosperitie saith David I shall never bee mooved thou Lord hast made my mountain so strong but what followeth upon it saith he Lord thou hidest thy face and I was troubled now trouble came upon him trouble of Spirit because he rested too much in that outward mountaine in that outward condition whereunto God had exalted him and he placed his hope too much on this and thought it should be alwaies thus now God turnes his hand then David is troubled and that is the first particular in the first cause But Secondly God hath a further ayme and that is for the time present and that is First to informe all his servants where their strength lies where all their good lies it lies not in themselves it lies not in any creature And therefore God will have them seeke it in him that they may do it he drawes them to it by sence they shall be deprived of comfort in respect sometime of outward conveniences and in respect sometime of the light of his countenance shining upon their soules How doe wee know that the Moone shines on the earth by a borrowed light but because wee see it is not alwayes alike in its light we see sometimes it hath a full light and sometimes it is enlightned but by the halfe and sometimes by some little part where wee see this disproportion that it is not alwayes alike wee know by this that the light of the Moone is borrowed from somewhat else from the Sunne Now how doe wee know that the heart of man is fed and releeved and supported with comfort from without it selfe with borrowed and received comfort but by this Because the state of Gods servants in respect of the spirituall quiet and satisfaction and contentment of heart is not alwayes alike but sometimes they have aboundance of joy that they seeme to bee as it were in heaven Sometimes they are perplexed with many disquiets and griefes that they seeme to be cast
things ordinarily that have great labour this disposition to case and rest Sathan serves himselfe on and makes great use of so when a man hath come from hearing the Word and reading the Scriptures whereas he should now bee exercised and labour in meditation to worke those things on his heart that now the roote might fasten and things might settle on the soule hee passeth by these easily now the heart of a man lies open as the high way you know the parable Matth. 13. when the seede fell on the high-way the Foules of the ayre came and picked it up and it was gone presently where there is no paines taken with the heart of a man as there is none taken with the high way that the seed that falls there might grow as in the plowed ground when there is no paines taken with the heart now every notion every direction and every spirituall instruction it lies lightly there and is soone carried out this is the advantage that Sathan makes of a mans love of ease But there is another thing concerning the way that Sathan takes not only to steale it out of the mind by those two wayes but againe by presenting the very truths of God to men in false glosses so as a man cannot discerne them in their owne shape and nature but in such coulours as hee presents them to them If the time would have served I might instance in severall particulars I will but touch upon one or two and leave the inlargement to your owne meditations Sometimes things that are great and of precious use shall be presented small and of no account and things againe that are small and little shall be presented wondrous great The mercies of God the Attributes of God the promises of the Gospell the sufficiencie of the merits of Christ these shall seeme small things little to be regarded lesse then ever God intended them to be And on the contrary a mans owne sinnes his owne distempers shall bee made exceeding great Worldly things shall be presented as things of the greatest consequence and spirituall things as meere accessories as things that depend upon them and that come in after Sometimes againe things that are most necessarie to be understood and knowne things that should be particularly applyed shall be presented obscurely and confusedly and sometimes things of lesser consequence the knowledge whereof is not so necessary shall bee presented with more clearenesse and with strong perswasions to the study and knowledge of them But I will not stand on this this is enough to give you a tast of Sathans subtiltie this way whereby he wondrously prevailes in bringing trouble upon the spirits of men Thirdly it is from our selves and so it comes to passe from that generall corruption that is in our natures from whence all other sinnes flow that the spirits of men are troubled and disturbed by things that fall out from day to day And first it comes to passe that the soule of man is miserablie in bondage and captivated and inthralled and is deprived of libertie as it were through the distemper of the body as in Melancholie and sicknesse wee see how the soule is disturbed by the very diseases and distempers in the body it selfe and that by vertue of that simpathie in the soule with the body it riseth from the union of it to the body by the spirits but this I will passe by Sometimes we see the soule subdued with lusts and corruptions some strong lust some strong sinne or other prevailes And then as it is with the fowle that is now flying in the ayre it may be there is bird-lime cast upon the wings of it it falls downe presently and can flie no further so it is with the soule somewhat presseth it downe somewhat compasseth it about and coupes it in as that expression is used Heb. 12. 1. Let us cast off the sinne that compasseth us about and that presseth so heavy downe that we may runne with patience the race that is set before us And sometimes the soule is disturbed by inordinate passions which arise from that generall distemper that is diffused through every facultie and so the understanding lookes upon things as through a mist it sees nothing clearely and in most common things it is blind and it is led by blind affections too and when the blind lead the blind both fall into the ditch saith Christ and so the memorie that should reteine the precious treasures the promises of the Gospell to relieve the soule in all cases it is like a leaking vessell that lets things runne out as it is Heb. 2. Take heed that the things you have heard runne not out saith the Apostle alluding to that Metaphor And the very conscience it selfe that should bee conclusive it now rests in generalls and uncertainties conscience should determine what my case is whether I bee the child of God or no whether I be in the state of grace or no to put a man to bring things to particular now for the most part by mans owne neglect it remaines in doubt it may bee I am it may bee I am not it may be I have a right in the Covenant of grace it may be not c. And now because conscience is not come to that resolute conclusive act that a man may determine of his owne particular case hence it is that every thing troubles and disquiets him Thus beloved you see the reasons of it Wee will briefly passe it over with a word of Application And first it should teach us compassion towards those whose spirits are troubled our Saviour Christ saith here Let not you hearts bee troubled Hee considered of them in their weaknesse and doth not much upbraid them with it but helpes to bring them out of it in much mercie and love and so should wee There is such a disposition rising from the pride crueltie and uncharitablenesse of the hearts of men that they are apt to adde to the burthen of the afflicted and to make their afflictions more by their sensuring of their troubles You know the speech of old Ely a good man but yet hee failed in that when hee saw Hannah in great trouble of spirit uttering her heart before the Lord Lay away thy drunkennesse saith hee hee thought shee was drunke at least with some passion and all came but from perplexitie and disturbance of spirit and in that manner hee rather added to her griefe then eased her So Iobs friends you see what they said they presently judged him in that case as one that God had cast off for hypocrisie and for his pride and covetousnesse or for some one thing or other and therefore it was thus with him Nay Christ himselfe the censure of all men was thus much concerning Christ himselfe Wee did esteeme him stricken smitten of God and afflicted The intent of the phrase is as one smitten for his owne ill as if God had
upon this how they may die with comfort and end their dayes in peace How many prophane ones that set light by Death being apt to say like those Epicures Edamus c. Let us eate and drinke for to morrow wee shall die How many that doe put all to a desperate adventure God made us and hee must save us and wee shall doe as well as please God and there is an end How many are there whose hearts albeit they be in the house of God and in his presence are notwithstanding fraughted with malice with envie with worldlinesse with disdaine with secret scorning repining at the Word which they heare with wearisomenesse with spirituall sleepinesse and securitie You that are such as I have now said thinke in your consciences what would you die if God should now stop your breath and ascyte you by Death presently to appeare before his Majestie being thus full of ignorance of securitie of presumption of unsanctified of vicious of malicious of covetous thoughts could you find in your hearts to say Lord now let us depart Sure wee could not but Death must needs be to us as it is said to be to the wicked Rex terrorum the King of terrours if it should come upon us and find us in this case And yet what know wee how soone how suddenly wee may be overtaken some of us drop away daily some young some old some lie sicke longer some lesser time and how soone it will be our turne wee cannot tell Our breath is in our nostrills wee are all as grasse If the breath of the Lord blow upon us we doe suddenly wither as the flower of the field and returne agaâ—…e to our first Earth Why will we not labour to be now ready sith it may be alwayes truly said We may now depart either while we are here or in our way home or in our beds or at our meat Who can truly say to himselfe I am sure I shall not die this houre It may be now thou wilt demand of me What shall I doe that I may be ready To insist upon particulrs would be too long onely therefore in a word The best preparation for death is are formed life He that lives religiously cannot but die preparedly And it is a thousand to one if a wicked liver make a gracious end The Scripture makes mention of a double Death and so likewise of a twofold Resurrection the first Death is the death of the body which is the separation of it from the soule The second death is of the soule which is the separation of it from God The first Resurrection is the rising from the Death of sinne to a new life the second is that which shall be of the body out of the Grave at the day of Judgement Now what saith the Scripture Blessed and holy is hee that hath part in the first Resurrection on such the second Death hath no power Wouldest thou then bee freed from the second Death hell and destruction when thou art dead Now that thou art yet alive labour to have a part in the first Resurrection Note what Saint Paul saith of the wanton widow that shee is dead whilst shee lives So he that lives in the pleasures of sinne and in the wayes of his owne heart and after his owne lust hee is dead in soule though hee be alive in body and if hee seeke not to come out of this grave eternall death shall be his portion Well then wouldest thou prepare for Death wouldest thou be able alwayes to say Lord now now I am ready labour to know God our of his Word that is eternall life Labour to feele Christ live and reigne in thee by his Spirit labour to renounce every sinne doe not goe on in any knowne sinne against conscience renew thy repentance daily and still survey the state of thy soule that wickednesse may not get dominion over thee Let Death come when it will though the Lord should so visit thee that thou shouldest drop downe suddenly yet it shall not find thee unprepared thou hast a part in the first Resurrection there is no feare of the second Death But if thou wilt cherish thy heart in evil thou wilt goe on in thy ignorance in thy carelesse worship of God in thy prophaning the Sabbath in thy whoredome oppression malice drunkennesse excesse voluptuousnesse thou makest ready for hell and it is not thy Lord save me or I cry God mercy c. that shall serve thy turne I will tell thee who thou art like unto even to a man appointed after a yeare or two to be burned and in the meane space must carry a sticke daily to the heape so thou heapest up wrath against thy selfe and makest thy score so great that when Death comes thou shalt not know how to be prepared And thus have I finished the first generall part of my Text touching the disposition of the godly in respect of Death I proceed now in a word to the second the ground rule or warrant of this desire and preparation for death according to thy word as if Simeon had said this desire that I have now to end my dayes proceeds not from any carnall discontentment because I am now old and can take no great comfort in worldly things but the ground of it is thy Word and Promise thou Lord hast revealed unto thy servant that I should not die before I had seene my Saviour This word is now fulfilled and the sweetnesse thereof hath given mee that encouragement that I doe even long to bee dissolved and to be united unto thee Or againe thus Oh Lord this care that I have had to provide thus for Death and to be alwayes in a readinesse it hath not come from my selfe nature never taught it mee but thy Word hath instructed mee If I had not proceeded according to thy Word I should never have knowne how to have prepared my selfe to the time of dissolution This is the meaning of the words and so the Doctrine is plain viz. that Men ignorant in Gods word can never take comfort in death nor bee truly prepared to undergoe it This is plaine if we consider the Exposition which I have already given of that part of Simeons speech It is a generall Rule that of our Saviour Yee erre not knowing the Scripture A man ignorant in the Scripture can never rightly performe any spirituall dutie Hence was that of David Thy testimonies saith he are my delight and my counsellours If any matter came in hand that concerned his soule straight to the word of God went hee to know thence how to doe it as a man for his Lease or conveyance goeth to a Counsellour for direction So againe he confesses that if Gods Law had not beene his delight hee should have perished in his afflictions And so no comfort no true quiet in any trouble much more at Death without the guidance and information of the Word The
from all both former and following miseries and that is this If in the time of our life here our being subject to corruption and sinne hath seemed unto us the greatest burden and bondage They which have groaned and mourned under their owne naturall corruptions as it were under some heavy and tyrannous yoke or as the Israelites mourned under their Egyptian Task-masters to them only shall the day of death be a day of freedome If sinne be not a burden to thee if thou dost not many times lament and even mourne to thinke how thou art carried captive unto evill if thou dost not with griefe feele how thou art clogged with corruption and hindred by it from doing the good which thou shouldest certainly death will bee to thee the beginning of thy thraldome and after it thou shalt be a perpetuall bond-slave unto Sathan in the kingdome of eternall darknesse Marke this all yee that take delight in evill to whom it is a pastime to doe wickedly and who seeke rather how to satisfie then how to suppresse your owne corruptions who repute it a kind of happinesse to follow the swinge of your owne Iusts and to have libertie to doe as your owne hearts doe lead you when you dye this shall be your reward even a most miserable and endlesse captivity under Sathan him have you served in the lusts of sinne while yee lived his slaves shall you be without hope of releasement world without end This is the right Application of this Doctrine death is a day of enlargement to the godly it is a dismission The next particular is that it is a dismission accompanied with peace the lesson we are taught hence is that The servants of God have at their going out of the world a comfortable quiet and peaceable departure Thus Simeon here hee prayed for no other thing but that his end might be as the end of the Righteous is ever wont to bee even a departure hence in peace Hence is that generall rule of the Psalmist Marke the perfect man and behold the upright man for the end of that man is peace Agreeable whereunto is that of Solomon that the righteous hath hope in his death And memorable to this purpose is that which is storied of old father Iacob shewing unto us the quiet end of the Righteous Hee gathered up his feet into the bed and so gave up the Ghost It was the blessing promised to Abraham that he should goe to his fathers in peace And the same was made to good Iosias There is a twofold reason hereof First the assurance which they have of the favour of God in Christ. This must needs breed quietnesse when I am perswaded in my soule and conscience that all cause of danger after death is removed and that God is and will be gracious unto mee in his Sonne What cause of feare is here left what occasion of perplexitie If any man shall doubt whether the servants of God have this assurance I prove it thus that all of them first or last have it in some good measure If any man saith the Apostle have not the Spirit of Christ hee is none of his Hence it necessarily followes that all that are Christs have the Spirit of Christ but now the office of the Spirit is to beare witnesse with our spirit So that all that are the Lords as they are endued with Gods Spirit so they feele this Spirit bearing witnesse to their soules of this Adoption Secondly the comfortable Testimonie of their owne consciences touching their former care to glorifie God by a Religious and godly conversation Hence came Saint Pauls peace I have saith he fought the good fight I have kept the faith Therefore I am sure there is laid up for mee a Crowne of life Hence Hezekiahs I have walked before thee oh Lord in truth and with a perfect heart Not that they doe ground their hope upon the desert of their fore-ranne courses but because they know good workes to bee the way and doe understand by the Scripture that a holy life here is the first fruits of a glorified life hereafter Thus we see the truth of this point and the reasons upon which it is grounded Now here some may object first Wee see many worthy men that have made a great and an extraordinary profession of Religion in their lives and which have also carried themselves unblameably yet to give appearance of much angiush and perplexitie and even of a kind of despaire in their death How can wee say then that all good and holy persons have a peaceable departure I answer first Wee ought to remember the Rule our Saviour gives not to judge according to the outward appearance It is a very weake argument to say that this or that man dyeth without peace because to the standers by hee makes not shew of peace Certaine it is that as a man may have peace with God and yet himselfe for a time by reason of some tentation not feele it so a man being sicke or going out of the world may feele it and yet others that behold him cannot perceive it Secondly wee must know that these outward unquietnesses which doe many times accompany sicknesse doe happen as well and as ordinarily to good men as to the most wicked such as are ravings idle-talkings and strange accidents in the body in this sence all things come alike to all God hath made no promise in Scripture that those that serve him shall be freed in their deaths from violent sicknesses Therefore these things must not bee thought to be any abridgement of their peace Thirdly wee must consider that with the best servants of God Sathan is most busie when his end is neerest and when hee is as it were out of all hope of prevailing The red Dragon in the Revelation had greatest wrath when he knew his time to bee short When the evill Spirit was commanded once to come out of the child then it rent him sore Now these temptations though for the time they be very violent and extreme so that the party may hapily utter out some words and speeches of dispaire yet be they no finall prejudice to the inward peace Interrupt they may but utterly quench it they cannot because the power of God is made perfect through weaknesse And so even in death Sathan receives the greatest foile when hee thinkes to get the greatest victorie Thus then I answer in one word The peace of Gods servants at death is not ever in the like measure felt by them but yet it never dieth in them they which behold their death doe not alwayes see it yet they themselves sooner or later are sure sweetly and secretly to feele the same My reason for my assertion is grounded first upon that of the Apostle God commands light to shine out of darknesse Hee brings his servants to Heaven by the gates of
Mother But consider the World as it is in it selfe and there is nothing in it but true bitternesse and false sweetnes certaine paine and uncertaine pleasure tedious labour and timerous rest nothing in the World but vanitie and miserie for saith Saint Iohn Love not the World hee that makes himselfe the friend of God makes himselfe an enemie to the World O you lovers of the World sayth Saint Austin I wonder at you O foolish men who hath bewitched you for what wrestle you why doe you strive and contend so much what thing is their in the World that is worthie your labour there is sayth hee nothing in the World but that which is foolish and frothie and frayle and false and vaine and full of danger full of disaster suffer your selves therefore to bee weaned from the World And yet notwithstanding all that wee can say wee know there are some persons that will not bee taken off from the Worlds breasts they have a better opinion of it then so Let such enjoy their owne errour till they runne to ruine and till their owne overthrow take them off Yet notwithstanding wee know that which an Ancient hath that to whom God is once sweet the World must needs bee bitter 2 On the other side the knowledge of this serveth to winne us to the Lord that as the one draweth us off so the other may drive us on When I consider the mercies of the Lord and the goodnesse of God in the land of the living when I consider how infinite he is in his love I am ravished in spirit I am taken up in the minde and taken off in the flesh I have set my heart and affections on Heaven and on heavenly things And now when I think on the Lord there is my hope and there is my helpe and there where my helpe is there is my love and there is my life and there is my Lord there is Christ at the right hand of God Hee is the life of them that beleeve hee is the resurrection from the dead hee is the right hand where there is pleasure for evermore for there shall be no more paine no more death for the first things are past away saith Saint Iohn in the Revelation and all things are become new Oh hee that did but know the joyes that are reserved for such as are received to the Lord would soone bee taken up from all conceits of the things of this life Thinke you but of that great convocation house of Heaven that high Court of Parliament that great place of Majestie and honour where all the spirits of just men made perfect are where all the Saints departed live where there are all the blessed Patriarches godly Prophets the glorious Apostles the blessed Kings and the goodly fellowship of Martyrs and Confessors where there are the holy Angels and Arch-Angels Thrones and Dominions Seraphims and Cherubins in those glorious Orbes Where there is God the blessed Trinitie the King of Glorie whose Glorie is more then can be seene be sayd conceived to be where the joy of the Saints is such as eye hath not seene no sayth Saint Austin eye hath not seene for it is no colour nor eare hath not heard for it is no sound nor never entred into the heart of man to conceive for the heart of man must enter into it where all shall bee filled with abundance of peace so the Prophet they shall not only taste and see how good the Lord is but they shall be filled with abundance and they shall drink out of the River running over with infinite and transcendent pleasures where there gold shall be peace and their silver shall bee peace and their land shall bee peace and their life shall bee peace and their joy shall be peace and their God shall be peace and the God of peace hee shall fill them with the peace of God and that peace is it which passeth which is infinitely beyond all understanding Glorious things are spoken of thee thou Citie of God where the King is veritie and the Law is charitie and the State is felicitie and the Life is eternitie The comparing of these two things together of this lifes miserie and that lifes felicitie and eternitie would make a man sing and to sigh too It would make him sing I singing is in the Temple and sighing is in the Tabernacle singing in the Temple Blessed are they that dwell in thy house they shall be alwaies praysing thee here is singing but sighing is in the Tabernacle for while wee are in this Tabernacle therefore sigh wee desiring to be dissolved and to be clothed upon with our house which is from Heaven for while wee are here we cannot be happie for this life is miserie This bee spoken for our selves The second application of this plea is for others seeing this life is such a life of miserie and that life is such a life of glory and immortality our present hap so base our future hope so excellent this should stay us and take us off from mourning for such as are departed as if wee were without hope of them Hope is in the Text the principall thing and to lament and mourn for those that are departed wee should bee so farre from it as to rejoyce in our spirits for the blessed translation of such into eternall rest from this vale of miserie I say we should rejoyce in their very translation What dost thou mourne and lament and hang downe the head and all for losse of such as are departed and gone to rest with God Oh but thou wilt say thou art not heavie for their gaine but for thine owne losse but seeing thy losse is the lesse and their gaine the greater why dost thou not observe a meane and a proportion in these things I confesse it is very fitting both in Civility and Divinity and agreeable to the lawes both of Grace and Nature that there should be mourning especially in the house of mourning at times and occasions offered in this nature it cannot otherwise be But for Rachel to mourne for her Children so as that shee would not be comforted not but that shee could have beene comforted but shee would not that is not well But I say here is comfort in abundance and here is that which must stay us from being transported with impatient griefe wee must overcome all our griefe with patience with a blessed expectation of our owne dissolution for we must thinke we shall goe to them they shall not returne to us let us desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is best for them and for mee I and for thee too Enough of the fift Point The last which I will but name that so I may runne through this whole Scripture at this time is this that The righteous and the hopefull they are not miserable they are not most miserable not the most miserable of all nay they are not miserable at all
more then that such a numbring as is joyned with an applying of our hearts to wisedome and the reason is because wisedome it directs to the choyce of such particular actions and works as tend to happinesse so should a man after his serious consideration of death applie himselfe to such wayes and such actions by which hee may comfortably close up his life with death it is a great point of wisedome to sute actions with their ends to fit and square the wood before wee build the house to learne and discipline a troope before they goe to battell to rigge and trimme and furnish the shippe before wee launch to sea this is preparation indeed Now this preparation for death consists in two things First in an undoing of that which unfits us to dye Brethren hee who is not fit to live hee is not yet fit to dye and that which ever masters the life will be of greatest force in death The Father spake it boldly on good grounds I am not ashamed to live nor afraid to dye now that which unfits a man to dye is sinne it makes him finde a bitter enemie of death Oh when this King of terrours shall present himselfe by thy bed side with his arrowes in his hands I meane thy sinnes hee will wound thee with infinite amazement and horrour the sting of death is sinne saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 15. Thou dost not prepare thy selfe for death if thou dost not undoe thy sinnes which thou hast done in thy life the which consists First in a narrow search of thy sinfulnesse both of nature and practice Secondly in a secret humbling of thy soule for them Thirdly in an unfeigned repentance and forsaking of them Fourthly in a constant imploring and obtainig of mercie for them in the bloud of Christ. If thy soule doth give sinne its discharge now death shall give thy soule a discharge hereafter Secondly in the quallifying our persons for the conquest of death there are three things by which wee shall bee able cheerefully to meet and assuredly to conquer death First by having interest in the Lord Jesus The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the Law but thankes bee to God who hath given us victorie through our Lord Iesus Christ. If thou hast gotten Christ into thy armes by faith thou carriest thy peace strength and advantage both through life and death For wee are more then conquerours through him that loved us sayth the Apostle Rom. 8. 37. And to mee to live is Christ and to die is gaine sayth the same Apostle Phil. 1. 21. if thou hast a good Christ thou mayst bee confident of a good death Secondly renewednesse of our nature What Saint Iohn spake of the Martyrs as some conjecture Blessed and happie is he that hath part in the first resurrection on such the second death hath no power that say I of a person renewed by the sanctifying qualitie of Gods Spirit I happie is hee hee shall have power even over the first death The Spirit and the Bride sayth come if a man hath gotten the heavenly Spirit which beautifies the soule with the ornaments of Grace as the Bride is with her ornaments hee is a fitted person hee may well say to Death come and to Christ come Lord Iesus come quickly Thirdly uprightnesse of conversation Righteousnesse delivers from death sayth Solomon and the righteous hath hope in his death if a mans worke be Christs service if hee have a heart enclined to keepe a good conscience in all things to keepe himselfe exact to the rule and to walke with God Blessed is that servant which his Master when he commeth shall find so doing that man that hath looked to Gods Word to guide his life may confidently look up to Gods mercie to comfort him in death Remember O Lord sayth Hezekiah Isa. 39. how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart Now all this doth the wayting for our change import in the Text to wit a serious expectation of it first by undoing those sinnes of ours which else for ever will undoe us and by interesting our persons into Christ from whom we must likewise receive the Spirit to change our hearts and uprightnesse to forme a-new our conversation But then you will say Why must there be such a wayting for this these grave clothes are too sadde for the freshnesse of our life and would you have us be like the mad-man in the Gospell who lived among the Sepulchres Nay I beseech you let us consider and settle our thoughts a little and you shall be stayed with reason there are many strong Arguments and reasons why we should thus waite both by expectation and preparation First it is the maine errand of our life God did not send us into this world to sinne and to adorne our selves with the creature but to bring him some honour and then to dye the factor is not imployed to take his pleasure abroad but to doe his Masters worke and then to returne home Tertullian confesseth he was a great sinner and therefore borne to repentance therefore doth God give us life as the Master allowes the servant a candle to worke by that we may repent of our sinnes and get our hold in Christ and worke out our salvation and doe the great businesse of beleeving to be good and to doe good and so by Death to goe up to heaven Secondly death is but once and that needs to bee well done which can be but once done if there might be another space after death a second edition to correct the faults and escapes of the former then a present and speedie preparation were not altogether so necessarie but saith the Apostle It is appointed for all men once to dye and after death to come to judgement Heb. 9. 27. no more but once Wee usually shadow out Death with an houre-glasse A fit Embleme but that when an houre-glasse is runne out it may bee turned againe but this once out can be set up no more thou shalt never live to amend thy errours in dying O then how needfull is it before-hand to prepare for Death Thirdly when death hath done with thee then God will begin with thee thou must once die and after this come to Judgement Heb. 9. 27. To judgement what is that thou must bee presented before the holy and just and great God who is the Judge of the quicke and the dead and with all that thou art and with all that thou hast done there must appeare then before him all the courses of thy life all the bent of thy affections all the secrets of thy heart shall then be pulled in peeces and opened and all thy workes and all thy words shall bee exhibited scann'd and surveyed and that with severity and righteousnesse how say you then is it not fit to be preparing for Death to fit thy soule to reforme thy heart and life wilt thou
saith the spirit Or because this asseveration concerning the condition of the Saints departed is propositia necessaria as the Schooles speake we will cloath the members of the division with tearmes apodicticall and in this verse observe 1. A conclusion sientificall whereof the parts are 1. The subject indefinite mortui the dead 2. The attribute absolute beati blessed 3. The cause propter quam the Lord or dying in the Lord. 2. The proofe demonstrative and that two-fold 1. A priori 1. By a heavenly oracle I heard a voyce c. 2. A divine testimonie So saith the spirit 2. A posteriori by arguments drawne 1. From their cessation from their worke They rest from their labours 2. Their remuneration for their workes Their workes follow them Where the matter is pretious a decision of the least quantitie is a great losse and therefore as the spie of nature observeth the Iewellers will not rubbe out a small clowde or specke in an orient Rubie because the lessening the substance will more disadvantage them then the fetching out of the spot advance them in the sale Neither will the Alcumists lose a drop of quintessence nor the Apothecaries a graine of Bezar nor an exact Commentatour upon holy Scriptures any syllables of a voyce from heaven the eccho whereof is more melodious to the soule then any consort of most tuneable voyces upon earth can be In which regard I hold it fit to relinquish my former divisions and insist upon each word of this verse as a Bee sitteth upon each particular flower that wee may not lose any drop of doctrine sweeter then the honey and the honey combe any leafe of the tree of life any dust of the gold of Ophir 1. I there were three men in holy Scriptures tearmed Iedidiah that is Beloved of God Solomon Daniel and Saint Iohn the Evangelist and to all these God made knowne the secrets of his Kingdome by speciall revelation and their prophecies are for the most part of a mysticall interpretation This Revelation was given to Iohn when hee was in the spirit upon the Lords day and if wee religiously observe the Lords day and then bee in the spirit as hee was giving our selves wholly to the contemplation of Divine mysteries wee shall also heare voyces from heaven in our soules and consciences Heard with what eares could Saint Iohn heare this voyce sith hee was in a spirituall rapture which usually shutteth up all the doores of the senses I answer that as spirits have tongues to speake withall whereof wee reade 1 Cor. 13. 1. Though I speake with the tongues of men and Angels so they have eares to heare one another that is a spirituall facultie answerable to our bodily sense of hearing The Apostle sayth of himselfe that hee was in the spirit and as he was in the spirit so he saw in the spirit and heard inthe spirit and spake in the spirit and moved in the spirit and did all those things which are recorded in this Booke When Saint Paul was wrapd up into the third Heaven and heard there words that cannot be uttered and saw things which cannot bee represented with the eye hee truely and really apprehended those objects yet not with carnall but spirituall sences where with Saint Iohn heard this voice A voyce from Heaven The Pythagoreans taught that the Calestiall spheares by the regular motions produced harmonious sounds and the Psalmist teacheth us that the Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy worke and that there is no speech nor language where there voyce is not heard but that was the voyce of Heaven it selfe demonstrately proving and after a sort proclaiming the Majestie of the Creatour But this is vox de coelo a voyce from Heaven pronounced by God himselfe or formed by an Angell so Gasper Melo expresly teacheth us Saint Iohn heard a voyce not sounding outwardly but inwardly framed by that Angell who revealed unto him the whole Apocalypse Saint Iohn here heard a voyce from Heaven commanding him to Write and Sain Austin heard a voyce from Heaven commanding him to Read Tolle lege and most requesite it is that where Heaven speakes the earth should heare and where God writes that man should reade There never yet came any voice from Heaven which it did not much import and concerne the earth to heare The first voice that came from Heaven was heard on Mount Sinai and it was to confirme the Law to bee of divine authoritie and establish our faith in God the Creatour A second voice from Heaven we heare â—…o in Saint Peter on the holy Mount when the Apostles were there with Christ and it was to confirme the Gospell and to establish our faith in Christ the Redeemer A third voice or sound was heard from Heaven in the upper roome where Christs Apostles were assembled in the day of Pentecost and it was to confirme out faith in the holy Ghost the Comforter A fourth voice that came from Heaven was heard by Saint Peter in a vision and it was to confirme our faith in the Catholike Church and the Communion of Saints and the incorporating both Iewes and Gentileâ—… in one mysticall bodie Lastly a voice was heard from Heaven by Saint Iohn in this place to establish our faith in the last Article of the Creed concerning the happinesse of the dead and the glorious estate of the Tryumphant Church and the life of the World to come If wee desire to bee informed concerning the affaires of the Abissens or those of China Sumatra or Iapan wee conferre with those that are of the same Countrey or have travelled into those parts and for the like reason if wee desire to bee instructed concerning the state and condition of the Citizens of the Heavenly Ierusalem their infinite number their excellent order their singular priviledges their everlasting joyes their feasts their robes their palmes their thrones their crownes wee must enquire of them who either are inhabitants there or have brought us newes from thence nothing but a voice from Heaven can enforce our assent to these heavenly mysteries Now as all words of Kings are of great authoritie but especially their Edicts and Proclamations so all voices from Heaven are highly to bee regarded and religiously obeyed but especially Decrees and Statutes which are commanded by the authoritie of the high Court of Heaven to bee written for perpetuitie such as this is in my Text I heard a voyce from Heaven saying Write with a Pen of Diamond in letters never to bee obliterated write it so that it may bee read of men in all succeeding Ages even to the last man that shall stand upon the earth Here I cannot sufficiently admire the boldnesse of Cardinall Bellarmine who to disparage the necessitie of holy Scripture and cry up unwritten traditions which are the best evidence hee can produce for his new Trent Creed blusheth not to publish it to the World in
print that the Apostles and Evangelists had no command from God to write their Gospells or Epistles but that they wrote upon the entreatie of some friends or some emergent occasions Were there no other Text in all the holy Scriptures but this nor word in this Text but this one Write it were alone sufficient to convince him of grosse ignorance if not rathâ—…r giving the lye to his own knowledge But yet farther rather to confound him with shame then convince him with evidence doth not the Apostle affirme in generall of the whole Scripture that it is given by Divine insâ—…iration and what is inspiring but a kinde of dictating to all the Pen-men of the holy Ghost and doth not hee that dictateth to another both tell him what hee shall write and bid him write it Besides in the 1. of the Apocalypse vers 10. 11. Saint Iohn heard a great voyce as of a trumpet saying I am Alpha and Omega the first and the last and what thou seest write in a Booke Thirdly besides the generall command of committing the whole Word of God to writing and a speciall mandate for the writing the Apocâ—…lypse wee have a singular precept for the writing the precise words of this Text and must not that needs bee thrice worthy our observation which is written by a threefold command and what is that Blessed are the dead If the dead are blessed the dead are for â—…n argument à tertio adjacentâ—… ad secundum ever holdeth if the teaâ—…es bee taken in the proper sense The Metaphisicks demonstraâ—… non entis nullus esse affectiones that such things as have no existence have no qualities nor reall attributes but blessednesse is here attributed to the dead the dead therefore are And the Philosopher who being demanded whether the living or the dead were more in number answered that doubtlesse the living quia mortui ne sunt quidem because the dead were not to bee reckoned upon inregard now they are not at all spake without booke and uttered that which is most false as wee learne from the mouth of Truth himselfe who not onely affirmeth that the dead are but that they are also living though dead to this World yet not to the World to come dead to men but not dead to God have yee not read sayth our Saviour what is spoken unto you by God saying I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaack and the God of Iacob God is not the God of the dead but of the living for all live to him but are all the dead blessed the Text answereth all the dead that die in the Lord That dye in the Lord Yea but you will say those that are already dead cannot dye what then is the meaning of this phrase the dead that dye in the Lord Saint Ambrose answereth hee that is dead alreadie cannot dye in the same sense that hee is dead but hee that is alreadie dead in one sense may bee sayd to dye in another hee that is dead to the World as all the regenerated who have mortified the deeds of the flesh may afterwards dye to the bodye and so dye in the Lord that is breathe out his soule into the hands of the Lord. This is sound Divinitie and a true proposition but no true exposition of this place in which the latter seemeth to bee a limitation of the former as God is neare to all that call upon him yea all that call upon him faithfully so here blessed are the dead what all dead howsoever they dye no but all that dye in the Lord. There is much varietie among the interpreters about the interpretation of this phrase to dye in the Lord. Some will have the meaning thereof to bee those that dye for the Christian faith and seale the truth thereof with their bloud And they alleage for themselves first paralell texts of Scripture wherein the preposition in is put for pro for as Gen. 18. 13. omnes in tâ—… benedicentur all Nations shall bee blessed in thee that is for thee and in thy seed that is â—…orthy seed and Gen. 28. 18. servivi Berachel word for word I served in Rachel that is for Rachel Next they alleage the anteâ—…edents together with the occasion of these words verse 12. here is the patience of the Saints here are they that keepe the Commandements of God and the faith of Iesus Christ and truly the maine scope of the Text seemeth to bee to arme the godly with patience and to encourage them to fight against the Beast upon whom before God execute vengeance if it so fall out that many of Gods faithfull servants loose their lives Yet that none should be dismayed therewith because all that so dye are blessed for they exchange a temporall life in this World for an eternall in another Thirdly say they it cannot bee well conceived how any can dye in Domino in the Lord who is the Lord of life if wee take the preposition in the proper sence for though in the naturall bodie a member may bee cut off and dye the head being alive yet it is not so in the mysticall bodie of Christ no true Member thereof can bee cut off much lesse dye while it continues in that bodie by dying in the Lord therefore wee must understand dying for the Lord so they Others will have the words not to bee restrained to Martyrs onely but to belong to all that die in the feare of God and the faith of Christ. And they alleage for themselves also a paralell Text 1 Cor. 15. 18. where to fall a sleepe in the Lord is spoken generally of all true beleevers departing this life Besides Saint Bernard and other of the Auncients apparantly distinguish these phrases mori in Domino mori propter Dominum to dye in the Lord and to dye for the Lord mori pro Domino martyrum est mori in Domino omnium confessorum si beati qui in Domino moriuntur quanto magis qui pro Domino moriuntur to dye for the Lord is the glory of martyrs but to dye in the Lord the glory of all Confessors if they are happy who dye in the Lord how much more they that dye for the Lord Thirdly the reward here promised is common to all beleevers and not peculiar to the Martyrs for all true beleevers when they dye rest from their labours and their workes follow them If the Spirit had meant Martyrs onely hee would rather have sayd they have ease from their torments then rest from their labours and their trophies and victories follow them All that dye for the Lord dye also in the Lord but all that dye in the Lord doe not necessarily dye for the Lord wee denie not that the Martyrs have the greatest share in this blessednesse but all Confessours have their partsalso the Martyrs Crowne is beset with a Rubie or some richer jewell then ordinary their Garland hath a flower or two more in it to
at her death Her life was well knowne to most of this place and her death was every way answerable to her life all that visited her in her sicknesse might behold with sorrow a pittifull anatomie of fraile mortalitie and yet with joy a perfect patterne of Christian patience and a heavenly conversation and though shee were full of divine conceptions and shee had a spring by her of the waters of life in the devotion of her dearest helper especially in the best things yet when I came to her shee desired shee might be partaker of some of my meditations they were her owne words and when I prayed with her and for her shee joyned not so much with me with her tongue as her affections and answered more in sighes and teares then in words often shee complained of her tuffe heart that would not yeeld to her dissolution and long long sheethought it till shee should come to appeare before the God of Gods in Sion Her last words were sweet Father helpe me and shee had her request for presently hee helped her both by the zealous and most feeling prayers of her Husband and by the holy spirit assisting her in her owne prayers with sighes and groanes that cannot be expressed and immediatly her swâ—…et Father released her of her pangs and received her to himselfe on his owne day On the Lords day morning before the morning watch I say before the morning watch shee entered into her rest and began to keepe her evarlasting Sabbath in heaven where shee reapeth what she sowed and seeth what shee beleeved and enjoyeth what she hoped for and is now entered into those joyes which never entered fully into the heart of any living on earth nor shall into ours till wee with her be made perfect and all of us come to Mount Sion and the heavenly Ierusalem and innumerable company of Angels and to the Congregation of the first-borne whose names are written in heaven and to the spirits of just men and women made perfect Whether the God of peace bring us in our appointed time who brought againe from the dead the great sheepheard through the bloud of the everlasting Covenant To whom with the holy Spirit c. FINIS FAITHS ECCHO OR THE SOVLES AMEN ISAY 64. 1. Oh that thou wouldest rent the Heavens that thou wouldest come downe IER 11. 5. So bee it O Lord. Printed by Iohn Dawson for Ralph Mabbe 1639. FAITHS ECCHO OR THE SOVLES AMEN SERMON XLVII REVELA 22. 19. Amen Even so come Lord Iesus THese words they afford to us a comfortable and sweet argument to bee conversant in From the sixt verse of this Chapter is set down to us the confirmation of the whole Prophesie and booke of the Revelation partly by the affirmation of God as likewise of Jesus Christ and of Iohn himselfe that heard and saw all these things and likewise of the Church of God in the 17. verse it is likewise confirmed by the promise of blessing and happinesse pronounced upon them that shall doe all these things and shall faithfully expect the accomplishment of them This verse a part of which I have read to you is the repetition in few words of all that matter that goeth before from the 6. verse to it and hath in it First an attestation of our Lord and Saviour Christ in the former part of the verse Behold I come quickly Secondly an acclamation of the Church in the latter part these words I have read to ye Amen even so come Lord Iesus In the attestation of Christ hee promiseth hee will come to his Church hee will come shortly both for the accomplishment of all his promises and likewise for their safety and deliverance from all enemies and all miseries and molestations whatsoever To this the Church makes an acclamation and saith Amen even so come Lord Iesus In this acclamation of the Church to which wee must now come we are to consider First the person of the speaker whose words they bee Secondly what is the matter or substance contained in them Yee shall see whose words they bee if ye looke backe but to the 17. verse of this Chapter there ye shall finde that first it is sayd the Spirit sayth come By the Spirit is not meant the third Person in Trinitie the holy Ghost because hee is not subject to these passions to these desires but hee resteth himselfe in the execution and present disposing and dispensing of things according to his owne will and pleasure Neither by Spirit here is meant any wicked spirit or Angell for they doe with feare and horrour expect the same comming of our Lord and Saviour Christ because his comming shall bee the accomplishment of their miserie and eternall infelicitie But by Spirit here is meant the spirit in all the Elect and holy people of God in whomsoever the Spirit of God is that Spirit doth say come and doth wish the accomplishment of all these most gracious promises For this is not the desire of the flesh or of nature but an earnest and vehement desire of the Spirit of God in the Elect that saith come Againe secondly the same verse telleth us that the Bride sayth come That is the Church of God in generall the Catholike Church the whole Church of God being now hand-fasted to Christ and entred into a spirituall contract with him Shee desireth the consumation of the Marriage the solemniation of the Marriage which is alreadie begun in the contract of it and not onely every particular member of the Church in whom the Spirit of God is saith come but the Church of God in generall the Bride sayth come the whole Church saith come wishing and desiring the accomplishment of the Marriage which is already begun In the third place the same verse telleth us that as the Spirit and the Bâ—…ide say come so hee that heareth saith come that is not onely the Church of God that is now present here upon the face of the earth but the successive parts of the Church in all future Ages they are all of the same minde having received the same Spirit they all say come Whosoever heareth this Prophesie whosoever heareth of these promises in any Age or Countrey of the World all they having the same spirit they must needes say come hee that heareth sayth come hee that is acquainted with the promises that commeth to the knowledge of them and doth mingle them with the faith of his soule this man must needs say come to the accomplishment of them And lastly Hee that is a thirst sayth come too that is whosoever hath tasted of the sweetnesse of Christ in any measure whatsoever and therby hath wrought in him a vehement thirst after more this man will say come Whosoever hath such a sence of Christ in his promises as to taste of the sweetnesse of these never so little as hee that hath tasted a droppe of honey wisheth for more so hee that hath tasted of the sweetnesse of Christ a
droppe of his grace and mercie this setteth upon his spirit a heavenly thirst he sayth come hee would have more hee is never quiet till hee have the promise accomplished to him These are the persons every particular member of the Church that hath the Spirit the whole Church in generall not onely the particular part of the Church now in the World or in any Age but the severall parts of the Church in severall Ages whosoever is a thirst that hath tasted of Christ must needs say come Even so come Lord Iesus These are the persons The second thing is the matter of this acclamation of the Church First the matter contained in it it is a vehement and earnest desire of the people of God after Christs most happie returne in these words Amen even so come Lord Iesus The matter of it therefore is either infolded and implicite in the word Amen even so or unfolded and explicite in the latter words come Lord Iesus It is infolded I say in the word Amen This word signifieth in the Scripture either the Author of the truth himselfe or else it is an affirmation of the truth In the Revelation thus sayth the Amen the faithfull and true witnesse here Christ himselfe is called Amen because he is the Authour of all truth and veritie the faithfull and true witnesse Sometime this word is used and most frequently in Scripture for the affirmation of the truth either witnessing of the truth or wishing the truth For the witnessing of the truth as in all those vehement speeches of our Lord and Saviour Christ Amen Amen I say unto yee or verily verily I say unto yee this is a vehement asseveration and a witnessing to the truth which a man ought to beleeve or would have to bee beleeved Or otherwise for a wishing and earnest desiring of the truth to bee accomplished So in the conclusion of the Lords prayer and all our prayers we adde this word Amen that is So be it or Let it be so we wish it with earnestnesse of affection and desire and with a confidence and faith of our hearts wee hope and beleeve that this shall bee so This is that wee professe when wee say Amen In this place this word is used both for affirmation and witnessing of the truth and likewise it is a vehement wish and desire of the accomplishment of these promises with an earnest and certaine hope and expectation of faith that all these promises and good things shall bee accomplished to the soule of a Christian. Againe the matter of this Acclamation is unfolded and explained in the latter words Come Lord Iesus Where there is both the Action and the Person to be considered The Action Come Christ commeth to his Church many wayes Hee commeth in his Word Hee commeth in his Spirit He commeth in his mercies He commeth in his Judgements and Justice None of these are here meant But he commeth to his Church in person and appearance even in the appearance of his body and humane nature Thus Christ commeth two wayes to his Church in person First in his Incarnation he appeared to the world in the similitude of sinfull flesh he came in humilitie he came to suffer to die That is not here ment for that was past when as the Evangelist Saint Iohn wrote this prophesie But the Second comming in person of our Lord and Saviour Christ is his comming in the flesh in glorie in exaltation to judge the quicke and the dead to shew himselfe a mightie God from heaven This is the comming which is here meant Christs second comming to Judgement in glory That is the Action The Person is described by these two Titles Lord Iesus Wherein the Church desireth that he may come both as a Lord and as a Iesus That hee may come as a Lord to vindicate the Church and revenge him upon his enemies to destroy the kingdome of darknesse the kingdome of the Divell the kingdome of Antichrist which hath beene a great argument in this booke of the Revelation And not only come thus as a Lord but as a Iesus to save his Church to vouchsafe to her comfort and peace and joy that he would come to cloath her with immortalitie and glory which she cannot expect on earth in a mortall state This is the summe and substance of this Petition and request that the Lord would come in Majestie and glory both as as a Lord against the enemies of the Church to destroy them utterly and as a Saviour to bestow upon the Church even all saving mercies especially that great mercie of everlasting blessednesse that is not mixed with sinne and corruption that is not mixed with any infirmitie and defect whatsoever This is the summe and substance of the Text which I have in few words shortly explained to yee Whence the point I observe wherein wee will insist by the grace of God at this time is this That it is the nature and propertie of every true member of the Church of God earnestly and longingly to desire the second comming of Christ for the full redemption of his Church The Spirit saith Come and the Bride saith Come and whosoever heareth saith Come whosoever is a thirst saith Come therefore every godly man that hath the Spirit of God that is a part of this Bride that is partaker of those promises that hath a taste of Jesus Christ every one of these most necessarily say Come Even so Come Lord Iesus This is so proper to beleevers and to every one of them as they are all of them described by this propertie in Scripture 2 Tim. 4. 8. The Crowne which the righteous Iudge shall give mee at that day and not only to me but to all them that love his appearing The Apostle he might have said to all Saints and godly whatsoever and to all faithfull beleevers but he makes choyce of this Epithite hee describeth them by this that they are such as love his appearance Heb. 9. 28. Unto them that waite for him shall he appeare the second time for salvation The godly are there described by this very propertie they waite and long and desire after his appearance the second time In the 24. of Saint Matthews Gospell it is made the propertie of a good and faithfull servant there that he waiteth for his Masters comming and prepareth all things in a readinesse it is opposed to the slothfull servant that doth cleane otherwise Yee see the truth of it in Scripture But yee will say Is this the propertie of the Elect and faithfull Doe not ungodly men and sinners beleeve the comming of Christ and that he shall come to judge the quick and dead Doth not every man make this profession of his faith I beleeve that Iesus Christ shall come to judge the quick and the dead Why then doe yee make it the propertie of Beleevers since every man beleeveth and lookes for it To this I answer There is a twofold expectation of Christ his returne to
or that reversion when any thing commeth betweene our hope wee grieve for it any thing that commeth or falleth out to further our hope wee rejoyce in it And thus it will bee likewise in this expectation of Christ if it bee true whatsoever it is that may further our hope and further Christ his comming that wee desire and pray for that wee rejoyce in that wee promote and put on with all our power and strength and because a powerfull ministrie of the Word promoteth the kingdome of Christ and fetcheth in the company that shall bee saved and hasteneth his comming therefore wee will withall our power and strength hold up the ministrie of the Word of GOD that Scepter of Jesus Christ for the gathering in of people to God for the perfecting of the number of the Elect that so Christ may come and finish our salvations And whatsoever it is that may hasten this his comming and appearing we are glad to see it in the meanes of it when the Word is preached when the Sacraments are administred when people are gathered to God when grace appeareth in the hearts and lives of men when wee see the power of godlinesse manifest it selfe any where when wee see godly men incouraged and entertained when wee see the feare of God to prevaile in Families and the like we rejoyce at this Why so because this increaseth and confirmeth our hope it gathereth in the number that must be accomplished before our finall deliverance And contrarily when we see things to impaire and hinder the comming of the kingdome of Christ that hinders the salvations of men when we see the Church of God left without able teachers and in stead of them to come in unprofitable and unsufficient ignorant men when we see the free passage of the Gospell hindered many excellent lights shut under a bushell and their light hid from the people of God and the Gospell from the Church of God when we see faction prevaile and both Civill and Ecclesiasticall government despised when Heresies are countenanced and the people of God discouraged and disheartened when we see the state of the Church of God abroad that many sad blowes are given by the enemies and the sword of the enemie is sharpe upon the Church when we see these things these dazle our hopes they come betweene us and the kingdome and second comming of Christ the hastening of it therefore there must be griefe for it Thus it will be We pray for every thing that may hasten it and pray against every thing that stands betweene and hinders the conversion of men and the glory of God and the proceedings of Christs kingdome thus I say it will be with us But where is the man that takes these things to heart who setteth himselfe on these holy and conscionable courses If this be so it appeareth manifestly that this expectation though it be every where exprest is hard to be found any where there be very few that beleeve our report few there be that set themselves to sift and examine the soundnes of their expectation and desire after Christ yet where it is not these attendants it is not sound and sincere In a word to stirre us up to this as the Church and the Spirit and the Bride and he that is athirst here saith Come to stirrâ—… up I say our desires to this we will use a Motive or two Doe wee not see by all this discourse a plaine difference betweene godly men and unbeleevers A godly man that hath the Spirit of God in him sayth come A wicked man hath no such spirit in him with his tongue hee may say come sometime when hee is forced but hee hath not the spirit to say come Here is the difference in their present estate but afterward the difference is greater when the evill servant will not wayâ—…e for his Masters comming but sits with the drunken and Libertines hee shall bee made a spectacle of his Masters surie The Lord of that servant will come in a day when hee looketh not for him and at an houre when hee is not aware and will cut him in sunder and will appoint him his portion with unbeleevers Ther 's then another difference Againe consider though the comming of our Lord Christ bee certaine yet the particular time to our knowledge is uncertaine but though the particular time bee uncertaine yet it is hastening it is not farre off In the time of the Apostle there was but an houre sayth Saint Iohn now is the last houre if it were the last houre in the Apostles time certainely it is the last minute now the very last minute of an houre now And I beseech you let us consider the promise that is made to persons that expect the comming of Christ Blessed is that servant whom his Master when hee commeth shall finde so doing how doing watching and preparing for and expecting of his Masters comming Blessed is the servant that his Master shall finde so doing hee speakes there in the singular number there are not many that hee shall finde so doing therefore hee speakes of one that is blessed one of many that shall bee found so doing Blessed are they that watch and keepe their garments cleane that purge themselves as hee is pure that labour to bee holy as hec is holy blessed is hee that doth so If it were not for these promises how were it able for Christians to get over the rubbes and hinderances that lye in the way of this expectation how were it possible for a Christian to leape over the brunt of reproaches the execution of sentences and persecutions that the Saints of God goe under onely because they have an eye upon this White the expectation of the comming of Christ. The faithfull Martyrs in this Kingdome and in other Countreys what did drive theem to embrace the flames and the cruellest death and torments that Persecutors could devise but onely this was in their eye this bore them out against all the threatenings and sufferings of the World this was that that did give them encouragement and comfort above all discouragements And to conlude above all let us encourage our selves by the fruit and recompence of all this expectation what is that the Apostle Saint Iohn sayth that when this hope shall come into our hand when our faith shall meete with fruition then we shall see Christ so as to bee like him here is such a sight of Christ as never the eye of flesh saw nor can see to see Christ and to bee like him to see him as hee is here is such a sight as would ravish us if wee knew what it was and wee cannot know while wee are on earth eye hath not seene that which wee shall see in Christ but when wee shall enjoy this expectation wee shall see him as hee is and see him so as to bee like him Father sayth hee Iohn 17. 24. I will that where I am they may bee that they may see
my glorie Wicked men see his glory what priviledge then betweene them and the godly It is true indeed wicked men see the glory of Christs person and they shall see and feele the glory of his justice but the godly see the glory not onely of his person not onely of his justice but the glory that no wicked man ever shall see the glorie of his Mercie and goodnesse and grace here is the difference God getteth himselfe glory upon Pharaoh in drowning of him but God getteth himselfe the glory of his Mercie in Israel in saving them in the bottome of the Sea so the godly they see the glory not onely of the person of Christ and that is infinite and surpasseth apprehension but they see the glory of his Mercie of his eternall goodnesse and they see it so as to bee like him to be translated into that glory to get a part and share of it as much as they are capable of they make themselves all glorious with his glory and shine with his brightnesse and beauty Alas brethren all the sight we can get of Christ in this world it is like the sight of the blind man that Christ cured hee bad him looke up and lift up his eyes and he saw men walking as trees an imperfect sight so wee have here but an imperfect glimpse of Christ we see him through a glasse through the Word and Sacraments and these meanes that he hath appointed an imperfect sight till Christ give us a cleere sight and makes us see perfectly and this is in the day of his returne All the sight and vision of Christ in this life it is but to see him in a glasse saith the Apostle as in a looking-glasse but then we shall see him face to face wee shall see him as he is What difference there is betweene the shadow in a glasse and the face it selfe so much difference there is betweene the sight of Christ here and hereafter when we shall see him as he is when we shall see him with open face and not in a mirrour Therefore let this incourage us and stirre up our hearts to expect and waite for the comming of Christ with vehement and daily prayers with fervencie of spirit with the Church and the Bride and the Spirit to say Even so Amen Come Lord Iesus FINIS The coherence Devision of the words Propos. 1. Every man in the world is Gods Steward Proved 1. By what every one receiveth from God 2. By what God expects from every one Psal 24. 1. mâ—…n doe not waste his goods 2. That they doe not abuse them to ill ends Luke 19. 27. Iames 4. 3. 3. To doe him Homage Acts 10. 33. 3. To returne him fruit Matt. 21. 33. Vse Two things required of a Steward 1. Dispensation Rom 1. 3. 4. Rom. 1. 14. 1 Tim. 5. 8. 2. Right ordering of his dispensations Luk. 12. 42. 1. Faithfully Heb 3. 5. Exod. 32. 19. 2. Wisely Rom. 8. 7. 1 Tim. 3. 17. Gen. 18. 19. Propos. 2. All Gods stewards must give an account Two dayes of reckoning 1. In this life By the Word Gen. 3. 11. 1 King 19. Mar. 3. Acts 2. By the Rod. Iob 33. 14. Mic. 6. 9. Iob 33. 19. 1 Cor. 11 30. Psal. 31. 5. 2. After this life A necessitie of a day of judgement 1. In respect of God his decree Acts 17. 31. Isa. 46. 10. His honour Eccles. 3. 16. 2. In respect of the Saints 2 Thes. 1. 5. For the manifestation of their innocency For the reward of their workes Mal. 〈◊〉 1â—… 18. 3. In respect of the wicked For the manifestation of Gods righteous proceeding against them Rom. 2. 5. For the persecting of their punishment Why God is said to call all men to an account 1. Because he will proceed in particular Job 27. 18. Jam. 5. 1 2 James 4. 3. Mat. 16. Mat. 5. 22. Mat. 15. 19. 2. Because he will proceed by method and order Psal. 50. Psal. 51. Rom. 7. A direction in the exercise of repentance 3. Because he will proceed by books Dan. 10. Rev. 20. Ioh. 12. 48. Ier. 17. 1. 4. Because God will exact of every one according to what he hath been trusted with Luke 12. 48. Vse 1. For confutation Atheists in the Church 2 Pet. 3. Vse 2. For instruction 1. Not to judge others Rom. 14. 10. 1 Cor. 4. 5. 2. To judge our selves here A twofold reckoning to be made here 1. Reckon with our selves Jer. 8. 6. Lam. 3. 39. Psal. 4. 2. Reckon with others 2 Sam. 12. 3. Acts 20. 26. Iames 5. 3. 3. To Exercise daily repentance Acts 17. 31. 4. To get an interest in Christ. Rom 8. 1. Exod. 25. 21. 5. To lead a holy conversation 〈◊〉 Pet. 3. 11. 2 Cor. 5. 〈◊〉 Acts â—…6 15 16. Vse 3. For Comfort James 5. Heb. 9. 27. The Coherence The meaning of the words The devision of the words Obser. 1. The death of others is a just occasion of Mourning Gen. 23. 2. Gen. 27. 41. Gen. 50. 10. 2 Sam. 25. 1. Zach. 12. 10. John 11. Act. 20. 38. Reas. 1. Reas. 2. Ier. 5. 3. Vse Object Answ. A twofold distemper in mens affections 1. 2. 1 Thes. 4. 13. Deut. 14. Observat. 2 Death the end of all men Iob 3. 14. Zach. 1. 5. Reas. 1. In regard of Gods decree Heb 9. 27. Reas. 2. In regard of the matter whereof men are made Job 13. 12. Reas. 3. In regard every man in him hath the cause of death Object Hâ—…b 11. 5. 2 King 2. 11. Answ. 2. Obiect Joh. 11. Answ. Rom. 8. 38. Matt. 22. Vse 1. Make account of it for ourselves The benefit of the particular application of death to a mans selfe 1. Sin will be made more odious Rom. 5. â—…1 2. The truth and justice of God will bee the more acknowledged 3. Death will be the better prepared for Job 14. 14. Three things wherein there is to be a particular application of death to a man 1. In matter of sinning Acts 5. 2. In redeeming of the time of life 1 Cor. 10. 35. Heb. 3. 13. Gal. 6. 10. 3. In the manner of our conversation Vse 1. In respect of the death of others 1. To moderate our mourning for the death of others 2. To improve the life of others Obser. 3. It is the duty of the living to lay to heart the death of others Reas. 1. 1. God is glorified by it Psal. 28. 5. Reas. 2. Our selves are benefited by it 2. Thereby we come to see the certainty of death 2. Thereby we come to see the nature of death The proper worke of death 1. To separate the body from the soule 2. To separate a man from his estate 3. To separate a man from his friends Gen. 23. 2 Sam. 1. 9. 1 Cor. 7. 19. 3. Thereby we come to see the end and cause of death 1 King 14. 13 2 Chro. 34. 28 Isa. 57. 1. Ezek. 9. 4. 5. Vse 1. For reproofe of the genetall neglect of this duty Vse 2.
in their jollity and merriment they never thinke of God or dreame of the world to come Nay the serious apprehension of God Almighty would quench their joy and make it altogether put out Secondly the carnalnesse of the joy of young men appeareth because they rejoyce where they ought not in riot in drunkennesse in surfeiting in voluptuousnesse many times in obscenity of words and phrases in making jeasts of the word of God in deriding their superiours behind their backes As Solomon saith of laughter thou art madde so wee may say of this merriment it is madde merriment hee is a madde man that rejoyceth in that for which except he betake himselfe to serious and bitter mourning hee cannot be saved Thirdly the inordinatnesse of the joy of young men may appeare in this because they rejoyce excessively in lawfull things for any joy when it is inordinate and excessive it is carnall It is lawfull to rejoyce in recreations a whetting is no letting as the Proverbe goeth But for a man to let out himselfe to the hinderance of the service of God to the disturbance of his duty to men it is unlawfull It is lawfull to delight in the blessings and comforts of God that hee affordeth us wee reade of the Joy of harvest in Isa. 9. But for a man to delight in the gifts of God more then in the giver it is unlawfull Now if young men examine themselves they shall find their hearts mount not up to God in their joy and jollity and that they are excessive in the joy of the creature but altogether cold without joy of the Creatour Fourthly the carnalnesse of the Joy of young men may well appeare in this because they terminate and conclude not their joy in God This followeth on the former for it is impossible that what beginneth not in God should end in God Now when Joy beginneth in sinne it cannot end in God but in the Divell Secondly let young men take notice of themselves how they walke after their owne hearts The heart that sayes Come put away pensive thoughts trouble not your selfe about the day of reckoning and Judgement enjoy the time present what need this strictnesse of conversation zeale is but rashnesse there is no need of it take thy fill of pleasures thou hast goods laid up for many yeares Thus they judge and thus they walke after their carnall heart This heart is as no heart as wee reade of Ephraim in Hosea 7. Hee was a silly dove that had no heart Certainly the heart that doth not guide men in the right way and direct men to the feare of God it is no heart For as the eye that will not lead us in the right way that performes not its office is no eye so the heart that leadeth not men to God and to goodnesse it is like the heart of Ephraim it is as no heart Againe in the third place Let young men take notice of themselves how they walke after the sight of their eyes That is they stand gazing on things temporall and neglect things eternall they see a beautie and lustre in these outward things and perceive no glory and brightnesse in Christ Jesus and in his precious ordinances Beloved if we follow our owne heart and our owne eyes it will be thus We should rather labour with Iob to make a covenant with our eyes Oh how few young men are there that make a bargaine and agreement with their eyes that they shall not bee as open Casements to let sinne into the soule Oh how few young men are there that like Ieremy have their eyes as fountaines of water to weepe day and night for the afflictions of the people of God Oh how few young men are there that with Moses have an eye to the recompence of reward that they may suffer affliction with the people of God rather then to enjoy the pleasures of sinne for a season Now I beseech you take a survey of your selves in these things These are the vices and sinnes and deformities of young men to be seene and lamented by all those that hope to dwell in Gods holy Hill The second use of this point is for exhortation to young men they should labour to be reformed in their affections and hearts And away away with this carnall joy wee ought to cast it out of us Carnall Joy will you know what the event of it will bee It will end in carnall sorrow and without repentance in hell it selfe Woe unto you saith our Saviour Christ that laugh now you shall weepe and mourne The triumphing of the wicked saith Zophar in Iob is short and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment though his excellencie mount upto the heavens and his head reach unto the clouds yet hee shall perish as his owne dung they which have seene him shall say where is hee Hee shall fall away as a dreame and shall not bee found yea hee shall bee chased away as a vision of the night But not to give you this only in precept but also to shew you how to reforme your selves in these vices that Solomon specifieth to beare sway in young men let mee lay you downe these few directions First you must betake your selves to mourning for your sins as Saint Iames saith Bee afflicted and weepe and mourne let your laughter bee turned into heavinesse If we be not reconciled to God if we have not assurance that we are interested in Christ there is no time for us to rejoyce wee should rather betake our selves to bitter mourning for the wrath of God is due unto us and wee know not how soone it may fall upon us In the second place Consider how vaine all things are in which youthfull persons rejoyce If young men rejoyce in humane wisedome and understanding this is a vaine thing For first it is gotten with a great deale of trouble and vexation of spirit so saith Solomon Eccl. 1. 13. I gave my heart to seeke and search out by wisedome concerning all things that are done under heaven this sore travell hath God given to the sonnes of men to bee exercised therewith And verse 18. in much wisedome is much griefe and hee that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow God doth so punish the pride and boldnesse of the wit of men even from the fall of our first Parents Secondly this humane wisedome it must needs be a vaine thing for Eccles. 1. 15. that which is crooked cannot bee made straight and that which is wanting cannot bee numbred by humane wisedome The meaning is this that the naturall wisedome of man cannot supply the defects of nature which are innumerable much lesse can it furnish the soule with grace or salvation Thirdly it is but vexation of spirit Solomon though he had gotten wisedome and understanding and had experience more then all the Kings of Hierusalem that were before him yet saith he Behold this is