his tryals and oppositions in an evil day and this and that was the Rule he walked by For he was a wise Man or she was a wise Woman and very consciencious and tender-hearted and sincere and active and stirring and zealous for Jesus Christ and fearful to give the least offence and ready to every good work and pitiful to the poor Saints his Heart and Purse and House were open for Jesus Christ And he was a just and peaceable Man and one that could govern his Spirit and Tongue and that could keep down his passions and one that was a mortified person dead to the world and the things thereof c. Now what a blessed example is this and what a glorious report what an edifying patern and for the glory of God and our Lord Jesus Christ Yea this example will preach your funeral Sermon you need no other to do it and it will keep you alive when you are dead and immortalize you upon Earth make you of blessed memory indeed and to be had with the righteous in everlasting remembrance when the names of others shall be written in the Earth which will soon be obliterated and quite blotted out and when it shall be said of them as of Hezekiah's Father by way of reproach This is that King Ahaz And such a good example many have left behind them and we are ever and anon speaking of such as these are whose names are as a precious Oyntment and which were embalmed when they dyed with the Graces Vertues and good Works of their Lives that still they send forth a sweet savour to surviving posterity And thus was that good Womans name embalmed who poured out a very precious Oyntment on the Head of Christ against his burial Verily saith Christ wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world there shall also this that this Woman hath done be told for a memorial of her So that this good Woman is still alive in her memory and she 〈◊〉 thus lived these 1600 years and more and shall never dye so long as the world standeth And such another was Tabitha And the like I may say of many more whose names are recorded in holy Writ who obtained a good report and though they are now dead yet still they both speak and are spoken of Brethren will ye think upon these things And will ye now study endeavour to live exemplarily and to live lives for posterity and so to live converting lives and convincing and edifying lives yea and to live the lives of such as must be the world's Judges And will it not be greatly to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and to your Eternal Consolation to hear of your lives and examples in that great day of Christ's appearance when your examples shall have their resurrection as well as your bodies when Christ shall produce your paterns before all the world and convince and judge the ungodly world by them As if he should say to those on his left hand who lived in your dayes and saw your examples Loe do you see these Men and Women on my right hand who lived thus and thus in your sight and gave you a blesse◠example which either you censured or were unwilling to follow they lived and conversed in direct opposition to you they lived so and so when you did thus and thus Therefore they shall be your Judges Methinks I cannot speak enough of this Subject which is of very great moment viz. the transmission and recommendation of paterns to posterity as one grieved that I can see no more of it but rather such a common and ordinary kind of walking as hath little or nothing of singularity in it Alas How few that profess the fear of God this day are writing of Copies for posterity to walk by And where is singularity of life to be seen Yea how many are there among the Professors of the Gospel by whose failings we may learn more than by their Vertues and this I speak to my grief Oh let your light so shine before Men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven Jesus Christ there speaks of the light of good works and good examples which are visible to standers-by and such as do occasion them to glorifie our Heavenly Father And know thus much also That Men live much by example either on the one side or other And where good examples are given God expecteth that others should follow them and that not only the examples of the living but of the dead also For what saith the Apostle Remember them which have the rule over you who have spoken unto you the Word of God whose Faith follow considering the end of their conversation The Apostle there speaketh of such as had been their Guides but were now dead for the words in the Original are not remember them that have the rule over you but remember your Rulers i. e. Ministers of the Gospel who are now with the Lord. And he exhorts the Hebrews not to forget their Faith and holy lives who had no other end in their conversations and good examples but God's Glory and the Salvation of them that beheld them But I must pass from this Particular though somewhat loth to leave it and should much rejoyce if what I have said of it may take place in all your hearts and lives Live exemplarily that your paterns may outlive you and edifie others when you are dead And this is a work which cannot be done in Heaven And take heed of scandals and visible infirmities which edifie beholders to ruine For there is a sinful mischievous edification of which the Apostle speaketh 1 Cor. 8. 10. For if any Man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the Idols Temple Shall not the Conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to Idols The word rendred Emboldened is Edified in the Original You may so live in your Examples that you may edifie and teach beholders to sin in following them as Jeroboam the son of Nebat did who made Israel to sin And many that profess to the Gospel do so live and walk the Consideration whereof is very sad and miserable O beware of giving such examples for they will diminish your glory in Heaven if you shall be so happy at least as to arrive there But so much for this 3d Particular Embrace and improve all opportunities of appearing and speaking for Christ another service peculiar to the Saints on Earth who cannot speak a word for Christ in Heaven And many such seasons are providentially administred to us viz. sometimes of reproving sin both in such as fear God and such as fear him not In the Scriptures you find the Saints reproving one another Moses reproveth Aaron and Nathan David and Hanani Asa his son Jehu Jehoshaphat and Paul Peter and one private
when you hear of a Church bereft of its Pastor pray to the chief Shepherd to supply the empty room with a meet successour As Moses said in another case Let the Lord the God of the Spirits of all flesh set a man over the Congregation which may go out before them and which may go in before them and which may lead them out and which may bring them in that the Congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no Shepherd Oh sirs There is a great service to be done for Christ by prayers during the opportunity of our intercession which dieth together with us What great things have been and still are done by prayers By these was the Church delivered out of Babylon and Peter out of Prison By these was Zion built By these is the Gospel upheld the enemies thereof brilded and liberty obtained c. And when God will do great and wonderful things he will gather his praying Saints together and pour out a mighty Spirit of prayer upon them Sixthly Comfort the feeble minded and support the weak Speak a word in due season to the weary For sometimes you shall meet with such as want it and who walk in darkness and see no light and are ready to complain like Heman Psal 88. at large In such cases Strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees and say to them that are of a fearful heart be strong fear not And this it seems was Jobs practice He strengthened the weak and his words upheld him that was falling And if they were in affliction the moving of his lips asswaged their grief For heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop but a good word maketh it glad And this savoureth sweetly of the Spirit of Christ who would not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax. The words are diminutive for the meaning is he would strengthen the bruised Reed and blow up the smoaking Flax. For he carries his Lambs in his bosom that is he tenders them and laies them near his heart As when the Church was in affliction and sick of love he stayes her with flagons and comforts her with Apples his left hand is under her head and his right hand embraceth her Not his right hand under her head and his left hand embraceth her for that is not next the heart of Christ He is our High Priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities hath compassion on us in just proportion He speaks to the heart of the trembling Haemorrhoiss when she fell down at his feet and saith unto her Daughter be of good comfort thy Faith hath made thee whole go in peace And he takes part with that brokenhearted sinner that sate behind him at his feet weeping and washing and wiping and kissing them and rebukes censorious Simon and saith to her Thy sins are forgiven thy Faith hath saved thee go in peace Oh the sweet Spirit of Christ Let the same mind then be in you which was in him And comfort them that are in trouble with the comforts wherewith you your selves have been comforted of God And be kindly affectioned one toward another in brotherly love And when the case requires it shew your self a son of Consolation Seventhly In Heaven you know are no necessities whereas here are many which will give occasion therefore to such service as Heaven hath no need of For here are poor Saints and the poor are always with us who sometimes want Food sometimes Clothing sometimes Lodging sometimes Money c. You then that are able must follow Job's example saith he I have not with-held the poor from their desire nor caused the eyes of the Widow to fail nor eaten my morsel alone but the Fatherless hath eaten of it also Neither have I seen any to perish for want of clothing or any poor without covering but his loynes have blessed me and he was warmed with the fleece of my sheep The stranger did not lodge in the street but I opened my door to the Traveller c. and the eyes of our Lord Jesus are much upon such good works as these for he beheld how the people cast their money into the Treasury Heaven affordeth no such objects of your Love and Compassion There are indeed many Beggers at Heavens Gates but never a Begger within Heavens doors And there are many Widows and Fatherless Children here but never a Widow nor Orphan there Brethren Be ye then merciful 〈◊〉 your Father in Heaven is merciful And blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy And it is that which will lengthen out your lives Mercy even to the bruit creatures shall prolong your dayes much more then to Men especially to the houshold of Faith Lazarus shall rise and have a new lease of his life to entertain Christ again And so shall Tabitha to make Coats and Garments for Widows again Life is well bestowed upon merciful ones And life is the time of acting this Grace for bowels are shut up in Heaven and no pity shall be shewed to the nearest perishing relations in the day of Christ Again Here you may entertain Jesus Christ in his Members and Ministers Here you may be fellow-helpers to the Truth and Gospel And what says John of that We ought therefore to receive such that we might be fellow-helpers to the Truth And saith the Apostle Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained Angels unawares We cannot entertain Angels in Heaven for they have their places there as well as we and there we are rather entertained by them Zech. 3. 7. but here it hath been done as by Abraham and Lot And though we cannot expect to entertain them as they did yet if we could what is that to the entertainment of Christ himself And if we entertain his Members at our houses or do any Office of Love for them we do it unto Jesus Christ Eighthly Let us be willing also if need be to suffer for Christ which is a service peculiar to this life But I say If need be because we are not to cast our selves upon suffering uncalled We must take up but not make a Cross But when the providence of God and his Word calleth us to witness for Christ to the loss of ought that is nearest and dearest to us let us remember that this is one of the services which termineth with our lives and cannot be performed in glory It hath indeed been our portion hitherto to escape those sufferings which many of our brethren have undergone But have we been sufferers in affection Have we been prepared for the Cross Or have we not been among the fearful And have we sympathized with our Brethren in their sufferings and have we accounted them happy that have endured yea and their sufferings honourable for the sake and in the quarrel
THE PRIVILEDGE OF THE Saints on Earth BEYOND Those in HEAVEN In respect of Gifts and Graces exercised Duties and Services performed sufferings and Tryals undergone by them which the Glorified are not capable of BEING The Sum of a Discourse upon a part of Hezekiah Song of Thanksgiving after his Recovery from his Sickness To which is added A short Discourse of the Nature and 〈◊〉 of the Gospel-day reaching from the Destruction of the Old to the 〈…〉 of the New Jerusalem out of 〈…〉 By WILLIAM HOOKE Preacher of the Gospel LONDON Printed for John Wilkins and are to be sold at his Shop in Exchange-Alley next door to the Exchange-Coffee-House over against the Royal-Exchange 1673. Courteous Reader Thou art desired to correct with thy Pen these following Errata's PAge 9. Line 15. for imparted read imported P. 11. in the Margin r. Eph. 3. last P. 13. l. 6. f. hence r. here P. 16. l. 10. for Spiritual r. special P. 22. in the Margin r. Job 7. 2. P. 23. l. 10. for the r. this P. 35. l. 13. blot out yet P. 51. l. 28. r. bridled P. 53. in the Margin r. Luke 8. 48. Luke 7. 50. P. 65. l. 9. for the r. your P. 91. l. 23 24. for Argumentations r. Augmentations P. 92. l. 8. for for r. so P. 92. l. last for were not the r. were it not for the. P. 95. l. 20. f. from plain to Plain r. from Place to Place P. 101. l. 22 for lon r. long In the second Sermon in the Epistle for go r. therefore TO THE READER THe greatest and highest Honour of the reasonable Creature is to serve him who is the best Good and last End Herein do we communicate with Angels whose glory it is that they are Ministring Spirits always beholding the face of God our Father for this very purpose How diligent then should we be to lay hold on and to improve all opportunities of service seeing our time is so short our work so great and our salvation nearer than when we first believed The Son of God hath given us a glorious pattern herein I must work the work of him that hath sent me c. Christ Jesus our Master improved all opportunities went up and down doing good filling all places where he came with the favour of his Doctrine and Miracles because he knew his time was short and the recompence of reward at hand The serious thoughts hereof would exceedingly spur us to a holy diligence especially considering that Heaven is a place not of work but reward where the Saints will be divested of serving and honouring God in many of these ways wherein now through grace they are enabled to bring much glory to his Name Many Graces Duties Gifts have here their place while we are Viatores but shall have no room when we come to be Comprehensores And this is the design of the worthy Author in this little Tract viz. to set before thee the great opportunities thou hast of service to God while thou art on this side Heaven beyond what are to be enjoyed there Were this throughly weighed how would Holiness be promoted Saints thrive Families flourish Churches revive we should not so passionately desire death meerly to be rid of all sufferings but should prize life if with it Christ Jesus might be magnified It is glorious work that God calls his Saints to ' ere they get to Heaven Is not suffering for Christ glorious work is not the exercise of Faith Hope and Patience glorious work To do good and to communicate both to the bodily and spiritual necessities of Saints and others is not this glorious work In a word to propagate pure Religion undefiled to the generations to come is not this glorious work Why herein are the Saints on Earth priviledged beyond those in Heaven where there is no room for the exercise of these Graces and Duties Oh! who would not pray that he might live to do God service spin not out precious time unprofitably Pray that thou mayest be counted worthy of this calling which is indeed a high calling and fulfil all the good pleasure of his Goodness and the work of Faith Hope and Patience with power that the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and ye in him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ Isaiah 38 18 19. For the Grave cannot praise thee Death cannot celebrate thee They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth The living the living he shall praise thee as I do this day The Father to the Children shall make known thy Truth THe words are a part of Hezekiah's thanksgiving for his recovery from his sickness beginning at the ninth verse This good King was not simply afraid of Death as appeareth ver 3d. But First He had then no Son to succeed him in the Kingdom for Manasseh was not then born and he was sollicitous for a Successour and the fulfilling of God's Promise to David which we have four times expressed viz. 2 Sam. 7. 12 13 16. 1 King 8. 25. Psal 89. 28 29. 132. 12. In all which places we find this Promise to David that there should not fail a Man of his Seed to sit upon the Throne of Israel so that his Children took heed to their wayes to walk before the Lord in truth as David their Father had done Here was a Promise with a Condition And hence it is I suppose that Hezekiah in his Prayer vers 3d makes mention of his fulfilling that Condition viz. That David's Children must take heed to their way if they desired to sit upon his Throne that they walk before him as David had done For saith Hezekiah Remember now O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart have done that which is good in thy sight As much as to say Lord I hope thou wilt not cut me off and leave the Kingdom without an Heir of the Seed of David seeing thou did'st promise him that thou wouldest not provided that his Children took heed to their way that they walked before him as David did And through thy Grace I have so walked in my measure and therefore I hope thou wilt not take me away who have performed the Condition So that Hezekiah though a very good Man was afraid of Death yet not simply but lest the Kingdom should want an Heir of the Seed of David And this that I have said confirms the Opinion of those that say that Hezekiah was loth to dye because then he had no Heir though that was not all the reason For Secondly He was also loth to dye in God's displeasure so as a Child of God my do For God doth testifie his temporal displeasure many times against his own Children If his Children forsake my Law and walk not in my Judgments If they break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments Then will I
that which God is pleased to grant to some and it is a great mercy where it is vouchsafed for it is not so eminently granted unto all that fear the Lord. Had Hezekiah now dyed his Distemper was so violent that he could not have dyed so comfortably I reckoned till morning that as a Lion so he will break all my bones From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me Like a Crane or a swallow so did I chatter I did mourn as a Dove Mine eyes fail with looking upward Oh Lord I am oppressed undertake for me But they that have done but little for the Lord and are not now like to do much had need to pray more especially that thus they may finish their course And if God grant you this mercy you may perhaps do as much good dying as ever you did living The few words of the penitent Thief have done good to thousands though he was a Man that never did good but much evil till he was converted upon the Cross And thus much for the Exhortation to value Opportunities and to make the best improvement of time while it lasteth 3d Vse of Exhortation If there are opportunities of performing service to God in this world which are not to be enjoyed after death and that the Saints do that for God here which they cannot do in Heaven Then be not too eager in your desires to dye It was Jobs weakness though indeed he was then in great distress and misery He longed for death and digged for it more thân for hid Treasures We must not be too forward to dig our own Graves We may prepare them as Joseph of Arimathea did and also we must prepare for them but let us not dig them impatiently or importunately Life is a great mercy yea and length of dayes It is annexed to the obedience of the fifth Commandment With long life will I satisfie him and shew him my salvation Why will not a Child of God be satisfied without length of dayes Yes he is satisfied to dye when God pleaseth If God will take him away sooner or later he he is satisfied It is said of Abraham Isaac David and Job that they dyed full of dayes And it was true both passively in that they were old Men and actively in that they were well satisfied to live so long And therefore Job left off digging for death long before he dyed Peradventure you have your exercises both outward and inward and withall you have good hopes of a blessed state in a better world and now you long for death and would fain be gone Take heed it is time enough to go to a glorious Eternity and when you are there you will never say you came not thither soon enough Here is more service for you to do Do not love your Reward beyond your Work A lazy servant will be often listening to the Clock or looking upon the Sun and longing for the Evening not minding so much his Work as his Wages It is said of Jehojada also that he was full of dayes when he dyed being one hundred and thirty years old He was full of days passively and full actively he was satisfied with this great length of dayes and very well contented and thankful to live so long He was deep in years I suppose about if not above an hundred years old when his Nephew Joash came to the Crown For he lived to see Joash married and after that the Temple repaired And he died not long before Joash who reigned but forty years But few men lived so long in those dayes and yet he did a great deal of good service unto the last And when he died they buried him in the City of David among the Kings because he had done good in Israel both towards God and towards his house And the most of it was done in his old Age. 4th Use of Exhortation If the people of God can do more service for him on Earth than in Heaven Be exhorted to prize their lives pray for them and improve them If Hezekiah here had died of his sickness the people of God would soon have missed him as when at last he died they did for you know what came after Consider what a deal of good ceaseth with the liâ—e of a good Man It is true his Works live but his working is dead Ministers shall preach no more Church-Officers rule no more dispense no more Benefactors lay out themselves no more publick Spirits act no more True their Examples Sayings Writings Memorie Fruits of their former Works may survive But their persons personal actings delightful presence sweet fellowship wholesome Counsels and ready helpfulness are dead and gone Whereas these are great mercies and many will say so when they are gone who made but little of them while they had them You know how the Elders of Ephesus and the Brethren at Miletus wept at Paul's parting sorrowing most of all that they should see his face no more and yet after that he lived many years and wrote an Excellent Epistle to the Church at Ephesus Oh how would they have wept had he then dyed at Miletus But few precious ones are prized enough till dead and perhaps not then neither The Israelites did not sufficiently value Samuel when he grew old but when they had tasted what Saul was and that Samuel also was taken away by death then they all lamented him Yea and Saul himself also wanted him who little regarded him whil'st living Bring me up Samuel saith he to the Witch at Endor He that before would not go to Samuel will now go to the Devil for him Bring me up Samuel Yes Rake him by all means out of his Grave And oh that Saul could but once more speak with Samuel How few are they who have a just valuation of these living mercies or that duly lay to heart the loss of them For it is our duty also to bewail the death of such as when the Church lost Stephen devout Men carried him to his burial and made great lamentation over him Oh know the price of living Saints especially the most useful ones You that are Children and have godly Parents who have made known the Truth to you take heed you think not they have lived too long but know that it is your mercy if they dye full of years and come to their Graves in a full age like as a shock of Corn cometh in its season Improve their lives and lament their deaths Sarah was an hundred twenty and seven years old when she dyed and yet Isaac lamented the loss of her for the space of three years and nothing could comfort him but his marriage with a dear Rebekah I beseech you love and honour your godly Parents beg their continuance with you and your profiting by them and be very obedient to the first Commandment with a Promise Joash had that benefit by his old Uncle Jehojada who was