as laid forth in the ensuing Sermon in which your obsequious friend being dead yet speaketh Many be the Epistles which whilst he lived he wrote to you by my hand Accept I beseech you of my appearing his Amanuenlis once more And keep this by you First as a Remembrance of him that honoured you and was faithfull and diligent to serve you in your employments in our Countrey And Second as a Funeral Ribband for your soul to wear which may daily minde you of your mortal condition and stir you up to get such necessaries and preparatives to go hence that when you shall be no more seen on earth you may enjoy the beatifical vision of our Lord Jesus in Heaven So prayeth Sir your Worships Servant in our great Master Iohn Preston A SERMON preached at the BVRIAL OF Mr. JOHN BERRY August 23. 1654. Luke 12. â—7 Blessed are those Servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall finde watching HEre Christ compares himself to a man lately married solacing himself preparing a place for his Spouse leaving a servant at home to wait for his return Christ hath married his Church to himself is gone into heaven to solace himself after his sufferings for he â—ught his Church with his bloud In the mean time we are to â—atch for the coming of our Lord Blessed are those servants whom â—â—e Lord when he cometh shall finde watching Where you have 1. The Master 2. the Servants 3. their Works 1. Here is our Relation Servants 2. our Condition a wayting a â—â—tching Condition 3. The encouragement Blessed are those Serâ—â—nts c. 1. Our Relation Servants Doct. Our greatest Title of honour in this life is to be Gods Servants his servants are Kings To serve him is to reign that is over lusts over sin His service is perfect freedom He is greater than Alexander the great that subdueth his passions and corruptions And hath made us Kings Revel. 1. 6. us his servants not onely in adopting us to be the Heirs of his Kingdom but also through the power of the Holy Ghost hath made us Conquerours over sin death Hell Sathan and all our enemies as it is written in all these we are more than Conquerours Rom. 8. 37. and he will Crown all his Members with glory and honour Vse 1. Account it so make great account of and glory we in this Title And indeed this is all our glory our joy and rejoycing that the Lord hath vouchsafed to call us forth to serve him to wear his Badg and Livery And it is a rich and beneficial service we serve a Lord that hath the Scepter of Heaven and Earth that will reward to a cup of cold water A poor man beg'd a penny of Alexander he gave the poor man a City what will our munificent most magnificent Lord do if we ask in faith He will give us a Kingdom a glorious Kingdom a Kingdom of glory that cannot be shaken Ask of me and I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for thy possession Psal. 2. 8. said God to his Son Aske of me in my Sons name saith the same God to his servant whosoever he be and I will give the Heaven for thine Inheritance and the uttermost parts of the boundless Inheritance which is above for thy possession so that Gods servants may say every one of them I am a Citizen of no mean City I am a King of no mean Kingdom I am a servant of the great God of heaven He will not set us to gather stubble as Pharaoh to work of our selves but he will enable us to work where we fail he will pardon and when we do his works by his own help he will reward Crown his own works in us and when our enemies oppress he will take our parts Vse 2. Do we our duty as servants else the Lord will not own us When David was contriving to build a Temple to the Lord then 't is Go tell my servent David but when out of Gods work numbring the people then onely Go tell David So when the people of Israel did well then Go tell my people but when they committed Idolatry Go tell thy people Exod. 32. 7. The Lord will not own us if we be away from his work and service But is it for nothing that God so highly honoureth his people Seemeth it a small thing saith David to be King Sauls Son in law So say I seemeth it to you a small thing to be the King of Sauls Sons by grace to be his Servants Nay dignity calls for duty this honour looks for service and Gods servants must be watching which is the 2. part The second part of the Text is the condition Watching Doct. It is the office of every Christian constantly to watch and wait for the Lords coming All wakers are not watchers There is a natural waking and there is a spiritual waking and so there is of watching Waking natural is when the obstructions of the spirits being dissolved the spirits return into the senses for sleep is the binding up of the senses when upon the discessation of vapours that stopped the senses before there is a return of the spirit into the senses which may be done by some call some motion some stirring up of the body or by some great shining light In a spiritual sense Worldly thoughts and fleshly thoughts as foggy vapours do obstruct the workings of Gods spirit and cause the soul to sleep in sin God calleth by his word stirs up good motions of his spirit sends a proclamation by his messengers scatters a light either the light the delightsome light of his mercies or the startling terrifying light of his judgements or the light of divine truth and awakens these sleepers And this waking is a preparative to waching as watching is a I reparation for the Masters Advent Watching natural is when upon waking we have our senses exercised and are intent and carefully look about us to prevent some mischief or inconvenience which careless security would let in upon us Spiritual watching of which in the Text is when upon our waking our souls are exercised the faculties and powers bent and intent in the work which God hath set us to do when we do quicken actuate and raise up our graces avoiding of evil preparing for God to prevent that hurt and dammage which a sleepy State brings upon men Here 't is spoken of the vigils of the soul yet the body may so far be taken in as it is an Instrument of the soul in the action In the Primitive times they had their vigils because of present persecution or when they had some great business in hand to seek the Lord for direction or for preparation to the Sacrament In process of time it fell into superstition and the Papists rise up to their blinde devotions at certain hours of the night which they call canonical hours But how are we fallen from the zeal and piety of
CHRIST'S REVVARD OF A CHRISTIANS WATCH and WARD OR A Sermon preached at the Burial of Mr. JOHN BERRY of Thorverton in the Countie of Devon Aug. 23. 1654. By JOHN PRESTON Minister of the Gospel there Upon these words of our Saviour LUKE 12. 37. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching LONDON Printed by W. Bentley for F. Eaglesfield at the Marygold in S. Pauls Church-yard Anno Dom. 1655. To the Worshipfull THOMAS BROWN Esquire Alderman of LONDON Grace and Truth by JESUS CHRIST SIR IT may be said of your famous City as sometimes of Tyre She is the Crowning City whose Merchants are Princes whose Traffiquers are the honourable of the Earth Isa. 23. 8. But what became of Tyre that noble and ennobling City her Crown was laid in the dust and her Honourable in the streets And why They were haughty and knew not the Lord neither regarded they the God of Jacob They did not know in their affairs they eyed not the Crown of Righteousness neither were Traffiquers with Heaven therefore they perished from off the Earth Your City as a stately Princess wears a goodly rich Crowns on her head Crowns her Merchants and inhabitants with wealth and honour and you confess that it is not for your Righteousness that the Lord hath spared you but that It is of the Lords mercies that ye are not consumed because his compassions fail not Lam. 3. 22. I will not accuse you for Pride and haughtiness for trampling under foot the glory of England the Preaching of the Gosple of Righteousness nor for Blasphemy Heresie Apostasie Oppression self-love and self-seeking serving your selves upon Christ and upon his Gosple for I have often heard you upon your publick fasting-daies and daies of humiliation to accuse and condemn your selves for these and the like City sins onely I grieve to see these Rebels and Traitors against God to get a Reprieve and I heartily wish that the day of their Execution were come for the putting of these to death will be your life For the Prophet Micah tells you how you shall be still renowned the Crowned and the Crowning City To do justly to love mercy and to humble thy self to walk with thy God Micah 6. 8. You must meet God every day upon the Royal Exchange Here you must barter Nature for Grace Error for Truth your own Righteousness for Christ and who will not part with dross for Gold Pibbles for Pearls Rags for Robes you must put off saith the blessed Apostle concerning the former conversation the Old Man corrupt through the deceitfull lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your minde and put on the New Man which after God is created in Righteousness and true holiness Ephes. 5. 22 23 24. Your main case must be for your religious Factorage and to keep up your noble Trade with Heaven Your Merchandize must be for them that dwell before the Lord to eat sufficiently and for durable cloathing Isa. 23. 18. Let Prayer continually go forth with your loaden vessels and the Spirit of God will Pilot ye Then shall ye have good Markets indeed and Oh the rich returns that will flow in unto you Blessed are the Merchants that walk and talk with God daily upon the Exchange When God and the Soul are Partners Oh the sweetness and fullness of that Communion and entercourse See how our Saviour loveth such a soul as is busied in heavenly negotiations when he likens the Kingdom of Heaven to such a Merchant who seeking goodly Pearls when he had found one Pearl of great Price he went and sold all that he had and bought it Matth. 13. 45 c. The true Christian is this Merchant a Merchant adventurer he ventures riches honours pleasures life and all he trades for Pearls that is he seeks with labour cost and danger for heavenly knowledge the Pearl of great Price or the peerless Pearl is Christ Iesus A Pearl is bred of a caelestial humour or dew in shell-fishes Christ by heavenly Influence was formed in the womb of the Virgin Emanuel God with us or God-man is this Pearl The value and worth of this Pearl no Arithmetician can sum up it is infinite of wonderfull virtue most precious A Pearl that makes Pearls it makes vile sinners to be Pearls and costly Jewels Malac. 3. 17. and turns every evil thing into Good for us Rom. 8. 28. as the Philosophers stone turns every thing it toucheth into Gold This Pearl Christ Iesus with all his gifts graces virtues merits and Priveledges is derived to us by the means of his ordinances These are the Cabinets and Caskets of this Pearl God offers Christ in his word he is willing to barter with us Come buy Isa. 55. 1. I Counsel thee to buy Rev. 3. 18. In it God desires us to be good to our own souls to receive the soul-saving soul-enriching Pearl thus offered as these Texts 2 Cor. 5. 20. Deut. 5. 29. Luke 13. 34. do testifie As there the Merchant went and sold all so doth the true Christian sell all That is first he parts with the estimation of all in comparison of Christ Secondly he hath a heart prepared actually to part with all if he cannot enjoy it and Christ too Thirdly and especially he parts with his sins all not reserving a Zoar or a Rimmon not keeping any one beloved lust or forbidden pleasure Yea Fourthly he parts with his Affections with all their Branches and Objects if they will not stand with Christ Whatsoever comes into competition with Christ whether honours riches pleasures yea his own life he declineth it and looseth all for Christs sake And the gain of this Merchandize no tongue is able to express Thus do wise Merchants traffique whilst they live here on earth a Countrey that is not theirs venting their Commodities and transmitting all they can into Heaven their own Countrey against their Arrival and Receit there with joyfull acclamations of Saints and Angels and most rich and most honourable dwelling with their blessed Redeemer soul-solacing and hearts-satisfying friends in perfect joy compleat comfort and fullness of all good things for evermore The Lord remove and take out of the way whatsoever letteth you in this blessed Merchandize which is better than the Merchandize of Silver and the gain thereof than fine Gold Prov. 3. 14. Let your Merchandize be HOLINESS TO THE LORD Isa. 23. 18. here so in the ballancing of your Accompt at the last day you shall be clear out of debt with your heavenly Creditor and receive a full and final discharge together with a full remuneration of eternal happiness to you and all carefull Accomptants with him wayters and Preparers for him Which negotiation and traffiquing with Heaven O sedulous and rich Merchant is set forth under many other Notions in Scripture Amongst which is that of Watching for the Masters coming What it is How this watch is to be set and kept Motives to it and the Reward of it is
the primitive times O quantum mutatus ab illo Pectore O where is the heart and life and spirit the vivacity the constancy and continuance in the service of God Sathans watch and play is more used than our Saviours watch and pray But to the doctrine It is the office of every Christian to keep a constant and continual watch over his soul Reas. 1. Because we are in danger of sin and in danger by sin In danger of sin besides many other sins of that deadness and drowsiness and heaviness of spirit which hangs upon the best In danger by sin more than I can express offending of God the good Angels giving advantage to Sathan exposing our selves to his darts grieve the good spirit of God and put a sting into all other troubles yea sin makes the Blessings of God to be no blessings birdlimes or clips the wings of our prayers hinders us from praysing God for his blessings Sin is the continual make-bate between God and us it separates all good from us it withdraws our good God from us It cankers our gold blasts our good embitters our comforts It is cunning and will steal into our hears unless we keep a Guard and set a diligent watch What is it but the powerfull command of sin which like the Devil in the man possessed casts us sometimes into the fire where we burn and boyl with lust sometimes into the water where either we swim with vain delights or are drowned with the drunken pleasures of this flattering world sometimes it blows us up into the air with a giddy desire to hunt and hawk after the honours and preferments of the world and anon throws us down groveling on the ground nailing our affections to this earth with the covetous desires of worldly goods Sin lies daily and hourly at our doors at our beds at our boards in solitariness in company in the house in the field watching to surprize us therefore we ought constantly to keep our watch because of the danger Reas. 2. Because the life of man is a Pilgrimage and we travel through our enemies Countrey This is Sathans Empire we had need to watch when we are in the midst of our enemies and a traitor a bosom-enemy within us Alas our precious Iewel is in a fraile pitcher therefore keep thy heart with all diligence Prov. 4. 23. In the 2 Kings 20. 39. A disguised Prophet cries to the King and said Thy servant went out into the midst of the Battel and behold a man turned a side and brought a man unto me and said keep this man if by any means he be missing then shall thy life be for his life or else you shall pay a Talent of Silver to our purpose thus As thou camest into the midst of the Army the militant Church God gave thee a soul to make thee a man with this charge Keep this soul safe if it be missing when I come about the business of the world or sin or Sathan look to it thy soul goes for it and thou hast in all the world but one soul if unprepared and unappointed the Lord will cashier it and cast it into hell whence thou shalt not come forth till thou hast paid the utmost farthing It will be in vain for thee to say as the man of his prisoner vers. 40. As thy servant was busie here and there he was gone Lord I had much to do in the world many businesses much to look after c. So my soul was missing when thou calledst The Lord will say as the King to the delinquent there So shall thy judgement be thy self hast decided it Reas. 3. We are Runners in a race The price set before us is eternal Glory According as the price is above all other so in our running we should be more quick more yarr and circumspect Reas. 4. We are in a Warfare and souldiers can never promise to themselves security without a strong and diligent watch 't is certain the General of the enemies horse never sleeps Sathan is alwaies waking and watching to take advantage Simon dormis tu Christian souldier sleepest thou The poor Disciples slept when their Lord was in an Agony but Iudas slept not Ah! our husbandmen slept and the envious one hath sowed Tares Christs Disciples have left Christ alone to his own cause saying as sometimes the Israelites To your own tents Now look to thine own house O Son of David Reas. 5. We are Stewards and must shortly give an account how we have improved our talents The estate of an Account is a watchfull estate Our account will be strict our thoughts words and works shall be weighed in the impartiall scales of the Judge of heaven and earth and if they be found thoughts of the Flesh words of the world and works of the Devil we shall be sent away from the presence of God With a Go ye cursed c. Hell will be our Prison eternity our shackles fire and brimstone our Torment the breath of the Lord like a River of brimstone will kindle it Reas. 6. The daughter of Improvidence notably set forth Luk. 12. 45 46. If the servant say in his heart My Lord delayeth his coming and shall begin to beat the men-servants and maydens and to eat and drink and to be be drunken The Lord of that servant will come in a day he looketh not for him and at an hour when he is not aware and will cut him in sunder and will appoint him his portion with unbelievers Swift destruction is at the heels of promisers to themselves Peace and Safetie Yea then is the time of pouring down divine vengeance when men are dissolved to a secure negligence When they shall say Peace and Safetie then sudden Destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape 1 Thess. 5. 3. Lastly we are perpetually under Observation 1 Conscience is an Observer of us 2 Sathan observes what we speak or do that he may accuse us to God and witness against us 3 God observes us his eyes behold his eye-lids trie the children of men Psal. 11. 4. he knoweth our thoughts he writes it down in his book and the faults can never be blotted out without Repentance If Conscience fail as for a time she may and lye asleep at the door of our heart and neither bark or bite she will awake at last and tear thee Assure thy self God will not fail to set thy sins in order before thee if now thou do not examin and set them in order before thy face judge and condemn them The case being such we had need to keep a perpetual Watch and Ward over our souls These Reasons are so many Motives to this necessarie dutie of a Christian watchfulness I shall now give you a few Directions For and In Watching First Labour to have waking Considerations Consideration is a help to Watchfulness 1 Know and believe that there is a God that eyeth thee an enemie