MEDITATIONS OF INSTRVCTION OF EXHORTATION OF REPROFE INDEAVOVRING THE edification and reparation of the house of God 1. PET. 4. 10. As euery man hath receiued the gift so minister the same one to another as good disposers of the manifold grace of God LONDON Printed by I. L. for George Gibbs and Francis Constable 1616. TO THE RIGHT NOBLE THE SONNES of the most High his blessed Brethren by the best that is the second Birth TRuly Honorable whose Father is God and whose Inheritance a Kingdome the diuers sparks of holy fire which haue issued from the Spirit that baptizeth with fire I haue gathered together by their vnited heate to kindle a flame where is none or to increase it where it is alreadie kindled This blessing must come from God and therefore of God haue I desired it And surely the best as ye well know haue turnes of winter euen vpon their hottest zeale and then woe to him that is alone for how should he haue heate Therfore if in the time of cooling some spirituall worke be ioyned to the heart it may bee warmth will grow betweene them So haue I often from Elisha applied euen some Prophet of God receiued life and I wish that some quickning may proceede also from this worke which in all writings is more or lesse as the Spirit therein more or lesse speaketh These Meditations are indeede diuers in their matter being diuersly borne both in regard of time and occasion yet tend they to one ende and this profit often comes from variety that some one thing among many fitteth euery one and giues an answere to the particular question of his heart The glorie of God by your benefite is that which I seeke desiring also to be holpen by you both in prayer and exhortation As for an idle name made vp still of perishing and often of corrupt breaths I leaue it to them for an end to whom God is not an end sufficient But let our chiefe ioy and glory be to glorifie God and by being written in heauen to bee admitted vnto the beholding of his glory To that mark my beloued let vs steadily aime and sending our hearts before vnto Christ let vs goe on lustily to ouertake them Let vs draw hard vp the hill toward heauen and though the flesh presse downe the world and Satan draw backe yet strengthened by the Spirit incouraged by the word and fortified with the mutuall and vnited force of mightie loue let vs carry the Arke of God euen the soule wherein Gods Image dwells and his will is written from the Countrey of the Philistims to the Land of promise And though heere our fleshly brethren Ismael and his heires mocke and despise vs though Esau with his foure hundred men looke big vpon vs yet are we sure that their time is short and but for life whereas wee haue an inheritance eternally glorious Thither the sonnes of the flesh though with long pedegrees and large treasures can neuer enter but sitting without where is weeping and gnashing of teeth they shallsee despised holinesse triumph vpon magnificent and powerfull wickednes God our strength whose cloud and pillar guided Israel to Canaan guide vs to the heauenly Ierusalem by the grace of his Spirit This I humbly desire through Christ his first borne the purchaser of our inheritance and doore of all the mercy that issueth from God vnto man One of your least worthy brethren but a great louer of you and your peace F. R. 1 THe maine Faultinesse of these Times is a Disproportion betweene Knowledge and Action or rather a meere resting in knowledge short of Action So are we come from no knowledge to knowledge alone which will not lessen but increase our iudgement and from the ouerualuing of workes to the Neglect of them Surely the errour of workes without knowledge is lesse dangerous then the error of knowledge without works But this is the best of it it is the doctrine of our Nature not of our Diuinitie For while it is taught that workes deserue not some are content to thinke they are vselesse others being truly perswaded of their vse yet slouthfull to goodnesse lie down in knowledge and will not goe on to the labour of action But as hereafter the paine will follow the fault so now let the shame for certainly it is a great shame that so much knowledge should be idle and that skilful men should sleepe in this Midday light for the light was made for walking and working not for idlenesse The Father sheweth his will because he will haue it done wee are called to be sonnes because we should do the will of our Father and Nebuchadnezzar giues the greatest title when hee calls the three children the seruants of the most high God In the Spirit wherein is Life is also Actiuenesse If we nourish not the actiuitie of it we decay the Life so kill our selues with eternall Death Christ hath no dead or vnprofitable Limbes they all beare fruite or are not his and Faith which our slouth would magnifie by resting in her thrusts vs on for her life to action for shee liues onely when she is actiue If then faith not working bee dead and dead faith quickens not the vnactiue beleeuer may speedily with a Heathen see himselfe without life As these things may driue vs so the value of workes may draw vs for by Christ who worketh them in vs they are accepted of God and haue a valuation stamped vpon them by his Grace for Grace And first though workes iustifie not vs they iustifie our Faith in the day of iustice they shall goe so farre toward iustifying vs that they shall declare vs iust In the meane time they please and glorifie God the giuer of such gifts vnto men and then euen the least of them shall haue a reward of glory which they shall set as a crowne on their heads that wrought them Let vs not therefore bee wanting to this glorie belonging to God from vs and issuing from God to vs. Besides if we will cōsider what works are in themselues we shall finde that they are streames of the Deity their fountain and sparkes of that heauenly and eternall fire Accordingly they present and expresse something that is Diuine and supernaturally excellēt whence it was that a Reuerend Ancient wel said The deedes and conuersation of the Primitiue Christians had in them a perfume and sweetnesse wherwith they exceedingly delighted those with whome they conuersed And how can it otherwise be for whē he that is blessednesse and excellence powreth vertue from himselfe into these workes they must needs haue a resemblance partaking of their original And surely there are two things in them which as they are the most pleasant of all other so they most resemble and approach to the Creator One of these is Light and the other is Loue both which put life and soule into euery good worke God is Light and God is Loue and it is a pleasant thing to behold the Light and Loue is as the precious oyntment which was powred on the head of Aaron Wherefore good workes beeing a Diuine heauenly off-spring let them bee highly respected and carefully cherished by vs. Againe workes are to vs strong euidences of the Spirit of Life and therefore as sure as wee would be of our saluation so carefull let vs be of good works shamefull
dogs they runne away with the crie and barke out this terme against euery honest man they meete But a lamentable persecution of tongues is this the whiles especially among Christians that a man should be reuiled for being a Christian and that regeneration the worke of the holy Ghost should bee reproched Cursed is hee that despiteth the Spirit of grace euē that Spirit which gaue his tongue that power by which hee is able to speake against the Spirit Cursed is hee that reuileth the holy Ghost and raileth on the power of the liuing God Know that the time shall come when thy words shall returne vpon thee as so many Lyons yea the diuell who now sets thee on worke shall come to worke vpon thee with torments but especially that blessed Spirit whom thou hast reuiled shall come against thee and teare thee in pieces and there shall be none to deliuer thee Thou seest in the whole course of such a mans life a maine current of honestie and goodnesse and who would thinke that any should bee so shamelesse to raile on goodnesse and to oppose against it For the verie opposing against goodnesse giues thee the title of wickednesse which alone is the enemie thereof It shewes thou art a souldier of the Dragon who goes out to make warre with that blessed seede that keepes the commandement of God But I doe know thy vsuall defences thou wilt say that there are none worse then such as make such a shew of purenesse and withall thou art furnished with some merry tales that shew many mad trickes of these ouer holie brethren Heere a little discretion and iudgement in stead of salt would be of very good vse to amend the sauour both of thy heart and tongue For an vpright iudgement as it findeth many truths so toward the true discouerie of this businesse it findeth these First that whosoeuer is indeed good shall and must also seeme good for his works wil praise him whether he will or no his fruits wil shew what tree he is they must shine before men that men seeing them may glorifie God their heauenly Father Hence first we conclude that euerie one that seemes good is not an hypocrite but contrarily he may bee one of Gods chiefest seruants Therefore thou canst not presently fall to thy nickname only for the shew of goodnesse Secondly that there is indeede a dissembled holinesse worne for a cloake to wickednes that the shape of an Angell of light some times couers a foule diuell yea the foulest diuels are they that most vse need this couer Now for this fellow if thou findest him puritā is too good a name for him for the Scripture hath sharper names as generation of Vipers Wolues in Sheepes clothing and painted Sepulchers full of rotten bones These bee they whereon the diuell sets the one foote when he kickes at true Christians with the other iustifying by these his railings on those who especially hate these as the diuels chiefest seruants But now there needs some discretion to know these from the other that thou call not good euill nor euill good nor a Christian Hypocrite nor an Hypocrite Christiā Toward this thou must looke to the fruites of both and that not a few particulars but to the generall For a Godly man is subiect to infirmitie hath some fals and an Hypocrite knowes that to couer his wickednesse hee must shew some goodnes But looke to the continuall course of both and thou shalt finde one good generally though sometimes fraile and the other often grosly transgressing though much couering his rotten heart The things wherein especially thou shalt try the difference may be these First a loue to Christ secondly a loue of Christs voice thirdly a loue of the members of Christ and a reioycing in them who excell in vertue Now these things will againe appeare if for the loue of Christ the loue of his word and the loue of his members a man be ordinarily contented to lose sinfull profits or pleasures and with the steward to write 50. for an 100. This is the touchstone of a Christian euen the taking vp of the Crosse forsaking all and following Christ. But this the hypocrite cannot abide he serues Christ that Christ may serue him to get pleasure and profit by him not to lose by him Part. 8. But now heere come in the many stories which condemne these purer men to bee guiltie against these duties and so to be hypocrites Yet runne not away too fast with this neither but euen in the point of hearing reports take also some discretion with you For against good men very commonly are bold and confident slanders raised which by their stoutnesse might seeme to bee truth it selfe But let not the wise beleeue them before examination For most commonly in the very telling of them will appeare a venom and malice the true issue of the old Serpent and vpon farther triall falshood and lying the naturall brother of the former and a truly begotten sonne of the Accuser of the Brethren He began the rule in Paradise and will continue euen to the new Ierusalem lie boldly for some of it will sticke fast for euer And how can it be otherwise since the lasinesse of men is such that they will beleeue a report at the first telling rather then trouble themselues to examine and finde out the truth which onely should be belieued withall their maliciousnesse is so great that they are willing and readie to receiue euill reports yea they delight in them But the seruants of Christ know that the last iudgement shall be by words and that a rash and a bitter iudge shall though not rashly yet seuerely be iudged Therefore according to the Psalmist The good man is merciful and guideth his words with discretion He inclineth naturally to beleeue good rather then euill yet auoiding to condemne the iust hee also shunnes to iustifie the wicked Therefore that his iudgement may bee righteous hee searcheth both the matter how probable it is in it selfe and next he examineth the re-reporters whether they bee those in whom the truth dwelleth and who themselues haue a good report of the truth not being like Pilate ignorant and yet to learne what is truth For it is a kind of murther of our neighbour in his name and reputation which is almost as his life both to beare false witnes and to receiue false witnesse against him Lastly a good man if hee may conueniently will inquire of the partie himselfe or of some of his acquaintance whether such things haue beene done by him and if done in what manner and vpon what occasion for many times the maner of things wholly alters the matter and the matter may be good in the manner in which it was done yet euill in the manner bestowed on it by the reporter Againe the thing being true yet the occasion and cause may though not iustifie yet excuse the fact for many euill deeds are done by infirmitie which yet prooue
cause loue the effect Therefore is earthly Paradise wiped out and the Sunne shall be taken away and worldly pleasure eaten vp by death And from hence haue wee infinite cōfort for besides the blessed end which comforteth all labours wee haue other comforts in our way thither For if some temporall effects of God be now wanting yet in God they are ready for vs and farre more excellent things when it shall be best for vs for God hauing cōmunicated himselfe to vs we may certainly beleeue he cannot denie things small in comparison of him when they shall be for our good Therefore when he withholds them hee doth it as not beeing good for vs yea we may reioyce in griefe knowing that a louing God and our God is the very cause of it and that to our good So while our flesh by nature is sad at the effect our heart by grace may reioyce confidently in the cause For God vnchāgeable through all our changes aymeth vnchangeably to this end our good Let all seeke God with their whole heart since himselfe is our exceeding great reward since all things attend vpon him ready to cast themselues vpon them whom they see fauored by him And since all things of what time soeuer that are cast on vs are turned into good by him who dwelleth in vs. 79 If a good name be better then a small parcell of goods then he that sits as iudge of a mans good name ought to proceede to sentence vpon as firme euidence as the iudge of a mans goods If this were obserued men would heare sufficient witnesses before they fall to their censures Surely it is a great fault of these times that men are sooner condemned to bee wholly naught then a publikely accused-man is to haue stollen a sheepe The reason hereof is There is a drop of the great Serpents venome powred into our hearts which breeds in vs a willingnesse to heare euill of our neighbours But let vs thirst for the medicinable drops of grace sucke thē into our hearts which will fill vs with that loue which reioyceth not in euill It is a pitiful thing that creatures of one forme of one condition should delight in the blemishes and miseries of each other But when the diuell brought vs to fall out with God he also brought vs to fall out among our selues that loue the fulfilling of the Law might be perfectly broken Yet they that are new made by Christ must learne Christs new commandement which is loue and be slowly and vnwillingly led to beleeue euill of their neighbour 80 It is a good degree of happinesse to haue a nature inclining yea in different to those waies to which the spirit bends it selfe and would bend it Thence it seemes a great aduantage when a man hath in his nature a coldnesse to Ambition to the glory of this world to the pleasures of the world and when it draweth and contracteth it selfe into a narrower content being satisfied euen with things necessarie For if we haue not this naturally in vs we must striue to make it naturall by custome because there is an absolute necessity that wee be such or still striue to bee such For God must reigne in vs if we will reigne with him how doth he reigne in vs but by moderating guiding the minde within the compasse of reason curbing and restraining wilde and inordinate affections And this it seemes is much the end of afflictions on the men whom God loues that there by taming swaging and cooling their nature and as it were washing and taking away by a priuation the head-strong affections which it beareth to the world the spirit may vnresisted enter in and quietly worke his nature into the afflicted And as for these naturall vertues though they bee not Christian nor in themselues acceptable to God while they are meerely mooued by nature to a naturall mans ends yet when nature is mooued to do them by the spirit from a right cause which is the loue of God vnto the right end which is the glory of God then the actions so done by the seruice of nature are good acceptable to God As for those whose crooked and more vnmannagable nature standeth stiffe against the discipline of the spirit and their owne desires let them not therefore despaire because their euill ground bringeth forth lesse fruite more bryers then the others It pleaseth God indeed to make thee one of those to whom he appointeth more labour for the promised penny yet be not wearie of well doing for if thou faint not thou shalt in due time receiue thy wages If thou striue heartily against thy euill and hate it God is pleased with thy will and affection as much as the others action Therfore striue hopefully according to the might which thou hast praying for more and his grace is sufficient for thee 81 The wisedome of man and the wisedome of God are exceeding different and no maruaile one being infinitely pure and purely infinite the other narrow but great in corruption As in all things therefore wee should forsake our owne wisedome and leane vnto Gods so not with the least care in the matter of reuenge when thou hast suffered some euill thine own wisedome bids thee returne euill to the doer but the wisedome of God bids thee to returne him good notwithstanding this euill Hereat thou wondrest and thy flesh finds no wisdome in this to returne good for euill to helpe him who hurts thee yet is the counsell of thy wisedom indeed folly this of Gods excellently wise For 1. in reuenging thy self thou dost foolishly for God hauing taken to him self alone the name power of being iudge of the world thou steppest into this place and wilt bee thy owne iudge And God hauing delegated part of this power for a time vnto Magistrates thou intrudest into their place and so art Rebellious both against God and man And indeed as thou hast made thy selfe a iudge so thou makest thy selfe an executioner and art the hangman to execute the sentence of thy own malice surely if a man had robbed thee though with some blowes and were apprehended and condemned by the Magistrate thou wouldest take it a great disgrace to be appointed for a hangman or executioner of him who thus offendeth thee yet heere is nothing but iustice but when thine owne wrath vsurping the place of Iudgement condemnes a man for a blow or a word to die then it is a part of honour to bee the executioner of thy own vniust and vnlawful sentence Be not deceiued this latter is the worse hangman of the two But to examine thy folly neerer how art thou indeede auenged by this which thou thinkest and callest reuenge By intruding into Gods office thou hast taken the matter out of Gods hands into thine owne but so where before a God and an offended God was thy enemies Iudge who in his wrath could cast both soule and bodie into hell fire now a man hath
not the men euill that did them It were pittie that men should go to work this way with Dauid and onely iudge of him by his murder and adulterie but it rather becomvs to see whether his course of life being different from his fact do not manifestly prooue that these sinnes were of infirmitie of sinne cleauing to him not reigning in sinne And in this point should euery man be the milder for as it is said commonly in other matters it is euery mans cause this mans to day and thine to morrow And though thou sweare with Peter that if al the world deny Christ thou wilt not denie him yet I wil neuer beleeue thee no more then Christ did Peter for in many things we sinne all and as the Apostles said We are also men subiect to the same infirmities Part 9. But if these cautions wil not yet moderate the sauages of this world as indeed a foole though braied in a mortar will not grow wise Yet O thou man of God whosoeuer thou art that sufferest for Christs sake binde this rebuke to thine head for a crowne and reioice that thou art such a one as the diuell and his followers hate for hee cannot be but good whom the diuell hateth Reioyce when men speake all euill of thee falsely and know thou art now a brother of Christ and his Saints in tribulation and in the kingdome for if thou suffer with him thou shalt also bee glorified with him The spirit whose shame now thou bearest shall hereafter cause thee to beare his glorie and the more shame for his sake the more glorie So shall these Balaams whose hearts are so ready to curse the people of God be the very meanes to procure a blessing vnto them For so many curses so many blessings therfore if there were no offēce to God nor hurt nor pittie to themselues we might well suffer them to curse apace for they curse vs as fast to glorie Part. 10. From Christs time place is approoued by truth not truth by place Hee that freed true worship from being tied to Ierusalem and tied it to the seruice in spirit which may be in all places gaue true religiō a large scope euen as large as the world it selfe Therefore Ierusalem being broken vp and true worship being set free into the whole world let not Rome seeke to captiue her againe and tie her to the chaine thereof for they that worship in spirit and truth haue God pleased with them though such worship bee in places that know not Rome to bee on earth 74 The Word of God is an vndefiled Word rightnes it selfe and therefore the most perfect rule Let therefore sinfull men frame their liues to it not seeke as many doe to frame it to their liues and so to sinne by the authoritie of righteousnes And let fraile and falling man though many of them thinke they be the Church not trie this VVord by themselues whether it bee right or not but by the VVord trie whether they bee right euen the right and true Church which is knowne by this that they heare Christs voice and walke according to this rule of Christ Galathians 6. 16. 75 Silly and foolish is the pride that any man takes in his seruice toward God For first the whole man being from God wee can giue him out of man nothing but his own Againe the whole man being due to God there can returne no good thing from man to God but what is his due Thirdly it is Gods free choise that vouchsafeth to vse thy seruice who refuseth the imploiment of many men excellent in naturall abilities Certainly we haue seene many such of great hope turned into earth before any or small vse of thē God Al-sufficient who can raise vp seruants of stones thus often sheweth that men haue need of God and his choise to doe him any good seruice but hee needeth not them Therefore let vs rather thanke God then boast before him if he imploy vs in his seruice Let vs with humilitie readily performe it as to that great Lord who hath refused infinite better to be serued by vs and whom therefore to serue is a happines priuiledge of ours frō him not a benefit of ours to him 76 Many seuerall women were made for many seueral men if many had bin allotted to one there would haue bin fewer of the masculine sexe for euen among heardsmen this rule is obserued But now there is a kind of equality in number that euery one might haue his mate diuidedly without diuiding with another And this which was indeed best was first for then there being but one woman to one man the sin which is now vnlawfull was then vnpossible What bare necessitie was to man by creation let necessarie obedience vnto God bee to the children of regeneration whose speciall vertue is to auoide the ill which may be done Surely as running after lust beyond this one is endlesse in regard of satisfaction so hath it a bad end in regard of retribution euen tormented old age that it can sinne no more and eternall death for hauing so much sinned 77 When a man is possessed by any lust be it of couetousnesse concupiscence or the like there is set vp an image in him though not a grauen one which is to him a God This image wholly filleth his minde to it he committeth idolatry for he offereth his whole heart in sacrifice to it and if he can obtaine the thing therin represented he accounteth himselfe happy as in the obtaining of God Such an image was there in Ahab of Naboths vineyard and such a one of Bathsheba in Dauid But let vs take heede of this worship of images for it is but a vaine shadow which steppeth into to the place of God It telleth vs of happinesse but it selfe obtained goeth into nothing robs vs of true happinesse Let vs rub out therefore the print thereof with prayer and holy meditations filling vp our hearts with profitable and eternall truthes to keepe out these dying and killing vanities let nothing posses our hearts but God himselfe who will one day glorifie the place wherein he dwels and make it looke like a temple of God And surely nothing but God is worthy of a man 78 God is the cause of all vnder-causes and of all effects in him is the fulnesse of all things the spring of all beings This world is a determinate measure of his effects The naturall life at the best is but a certaine number of these effects during a certaine peece and limit of time But the spirituall life caused by our vnion with God is an euerlasting and infinite enioying of the infinite cause of all things Hereby shall wee finde the Christian to bee most perfectly happie who possesseth all things in their cause and beyond al things that are shall enioy the cause it selfe Infinite is the difference betweene wisedome the cause and wisedome the effect light the cause and light the effect loue the