The Cross Crowned OR SHORT AFFLICTION Making way for ETERNAL GLORY Opened in a SERMON Preached at the Funeral of DANIEL WALDOE Esq in the Parish-Church of Alhallows Honey-lane May 9. 1661. By JAMES NALTON Minister of the Gospel and Pastor of Leonards Foster-lane London 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 London Printed by D.M. for SA GELLIBRAND at the Golden Ball in St Pauls Churchyard 1661. To my Honoured Christian Friend Mris Anne Waldoe Relict of Mr Daniel Waldoe lately deceased IT was the desine of your dear Husband while yet living that I should perform the last Office of Love to a Deceased Friend in preaching his Funeral Sermon The honour that I bore to him not the ambitious humor of appearing in Print ha's made me willing against my own inclination to expose these poor worthless Meditations to publick view This I have done the rather that thereby I might be an Instrument to perpetuate the memorial of so worthy and mitable a Christian and to commend his practise to posterity And for so doing I look't on that passage of Solomon as a sufficient warrant Prov. 10.7 The memory of the just is blessed yea the righteous saith David shall be had in everlasting remembrance Psal 112.6 Wicked men though they be like Nimrod mighty hunters before the Lord Gen. 10.9 he great Oppressors and dare do this before the Lord as if they would provoke him to his face and though they have been the terror of the mighty in the land of the living as the Prophet speaks Ezek. 32.27 Yea though they use all means possible to perpetuate their memorial calling the lands after their own names Psal 49.11 as Absolom reared up a pillar and called it Absoloms place 2 Sam 18.18 and Cain built a Citie and called it after the name of his Son Enoch Gen. 4.17 and some men at this day can build Hospitalls with the money which they have got by force and fraud and crushing the needy Yet all this will not make their memory last the name of the wicked shall rot and their Remembrances shall be like ashes Job 13. 12. that is Those things by which they would be remembred and mentioned among the Sons of men as Wealth and Honour and Power and Greatness shall be but as ashes of no value but trodden under the foot of men but the remembrance of the godly even when they themselves are dead shall still be kept alive with men to be renowned and with God to be rewarded How precious is the memorial of Moses and Aaron though dead so many hundred years ago The Spirit of God sets a Star of Honour upon them Exod. 6.27 These are that Moses and that Aaron And certainly among all those Christian Vertues which do en balm the memorial of the dead there is none of a more sweet and fragrant savour then the Grace of Charity Witness the Speech of our Saviour concerning the woman that annointed his feet with precious ointment Matth. 26.13 Verily I say unto you 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 Maries name now smells as sweet in all the Churches of Christ as her ointment did in the house where it was poured out such an honourable remembrance did blessed Paul leave as a Legacy to Onesiphorus and his family on the same account 2 Tim. 1.16 The Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus for he oft refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain And Greg. Nazianzen speaking of Rahabs entertaining the Spies has this remarkable Passage 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Her charitable hospitality conduced not only to her commendation but to her eternal salvatition I knew not to whom the Dedication of this Sermon so properly belonged as to your self who was so nearly related to that eminently charitable Citizen whose death occasioned the preaching of it Such as it is I here present unto you not that the view of this Monument should renew your sorrow but that the frequent Commemoration of those vertues wherewith God was pleased to enrich him and the pious fruitful and exemplary conversation wherin he walked before you might not only moderate your grief for the loss of so dear a Husband but also provoke you and all that knew him to tread in the same steps according to the counsel of the Holy Ghost Heb. 6.12 Be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises The Lord Jesus reveal himself more fully and graciously to your soul fill your heart with joy and peace in believing sweeten your outward loss with those inward comforts of his Spirit which may enable you feelingly to say with the Psalmist In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul Psal 94.19 And this will be better to you then the comfort of all Relations yea it will be Marie's portion that shall never be taken from you And that it may be so is and shall be the hearty prayer of Your much obliged Friend and Servant in the Gospel James Nalton â—HORT AFFLICTION Making way for ETERNAL GLORY 2 COR. 4.17 â—â—r our light affliction which is but for a moment The Text. worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory THe holy Apostle in the fore-going Verse layes down an excellent Lesson for us all to learn by his â—â—ample though there be sew very 〈◊〉 that have learnt to write after 〈◊〉 Copie in these words For this cause â—…faint not as if he should say Though 〈◊〉 meet with sorrows and sufferings 〈◊〉 all sorts temptations afflictions persecutions reproaches fightings without and fears within yet we do not sit down in despondency and despair but we bear the burden that God hath laid upon us without fainting and without fretting It is true indeed our outward man doth perish that is our body together with our bodily health strength and welfare doth decay and decline but yet our inward man that is our soul together with the powers and faculties of it being renewed by the spirit of grace and strengthened by the graces of the spirit is in the midst of all these troubles and tryals more and more repaired and revived day by day this is strange may some say But would ye know how it comes to passe The Apostle answers in the words of the Text and renders a reason of his not fainting under all his sufferings For our light afflictin which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory The Text contains in it the twofold state or condition of a believer One in this life The other in the life to come And both these ballanced or compared one with the other in a threefold computation First The state of a Beleever in this life is a state of affliction his condition in the life to come is a condition of glory Secondly The afflictions of a beleever in this life are light and
ye are elected Therefore get evidences of your effectual vocation by returning an Eccho to Gods call that when he saith Seek ye my face if thy heart can answer thy face Lord will I seek Psal 27.8 When Christ saith Come to me poor dejected sinner thou that art weary of the work of sin and heavy laden with the weight of sin Come to me and I will give thee rest Mat. 11.28 If thy heart can answer Lord I would creep to thee on hands and knees when the spirit of God whispers in a voice behind thee saying This is the way walk in it Isai 30.21 If thy heart can return a yeelding answer Lord if it be the way though it be a narrow way and full of difficulty yet I will walk in it this is an evidence of thy effectual calling So likewise Get Evidences of your Adoption that ye are the children of God because ye are like your father and get evidences of your justification and sanctification by feeling the Lord Christ coming neer your hearts both by blood and water pacifying your Consciences and purifying your hearts and lives this is the way to clear your Title to this everlasting Inheritance In brief There are two things will exceeding much conduce to the clearing of your Title Viz. 1. The Adding to your Graces Viz. 2. The Acting of your Graces For the former Hearken to the counsel of the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.5 7. Give all diligence to adde to your faith vertue that is a well composed life saith Judicious Calvin and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience Godliness and to Godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness Charity This adding to your Graces is a Laying up in store for your selves a good foundation for the time to come that you may lay hold on Enternal Life as St. Paul expresseth it 1 Tim. 6.19 That as wicked men are said to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath Rom 2.5 So ye on the contrary by these Additionals will be treasuring up grace against the day of glory For the latter Be still acting of your Graces and exercising of your selves to godliness 1 Tim. 4.7 For example 1. Let Faith be in exercise still feeding upon the Promises and making vigorous application of them to your own Souls If the Promises feed your faith your faith will feed your Assurance and carry you with comfort and confidence to your journeys end 2. Let Repentance be in exercise by renewing that godly sorrow which comes from God and leads the soul unto God looks on God offended and ends in God reconciled Holy Job though he had a strong faith as appears by that much admired speech of his Job 13.15 Though he slay me yet will I put my trust in him yet in the same verse ye may see he was frequent in renewing his repentance I will saith he reprove my own wayes before him so some read the phrase and the Hebr. word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will well bear it q. d. I will be so far from justifying my self that I will disallow mine own wayes and disavow my own righteousness yea repent daily and abhor my self in dust and ashes Job 42.6 3. Let Love be in exercise Love the Lord Jesus dearly and sincerely Be sick of Love towards so sweet a Saviour as the Spouse was Cant. 2.5 Love nothing much but onely him whom you cannot love too much And if you love him see what he himself saith in that comfortable Scripture John 14.21 He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him Now if Christ manifest himself to thy Soul then certainly thy Title to heaven is cleared 4. Let fear be in exercise Happy is the man that feareth always Prov. 28.14 and the more ye walk in the fear of the Lord the more ye walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost Acts 9.31 This is the first Duty Duty The second The second is this Be more eager and earnest instant and constant in the pursuit of this Eternal Glory than ever ye have been to this day Oh that ye and I could go up to the top of Mount Nebo as Moses did Deut. 32.49 and view the pleasant Land afar off and tast some of the Grapes of Canaan by serious Meditation Oh that we could seriously consider 1. From what we are Redeemed 2. To what we are appointed Redeemed from wrath appointed to meâ—cy Redeemed from the pit ot hell and appointed to the glory of heaven Redeemed from those infernal flames and everlasting burnings but appointed to those everlasting joyes which no heart can conceive nor tongue express Were these things soundly digested and seriously considered they would awake our drowsie spirits and set the wheels of the soul a going that we should not onely walk in the way that leads to life but we should cheerfully run the race that is set before us Heb. 12.1 The truth is we might do a great deal more in the pursuit of our glorious hopes than we do if we did but put forth our strength to do what we are able and we might put forth our strength more than we do if we were not sick of a spiritual Lethargy and we are sick of a spiritual Lethargy because we do not prize those glorious hopes that are set before us according to the worth of them In Gods fear therefore let us hearken to the Counsel of the Holy Ghost Heb. 6.12 Be not slothfull but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promses This is the second Duty Duty The third The third is this Let us call off our affections from the world the pomp and glory and vanity of it that they may be set upon that Eternal Glory which is prepared for the Saints in light To you that are called with a holy calling and have had a tast of that everlasting Consolation and good hope through Grace God seems to speak in that language wherein Joseph spake to his Brethren Gen. 45.20 Also regard not your Stuff for the good of all the Land of Aegypt is yours So faith God to you set not your hearts on trash and trifles there is a Crown of eternal glory set before you Is it fit for Kings Children to be raking in dunghills This duty of weanedness from the world is seasonable at all times but most suitable to the times whereinto God has cast us for now God seems to say to us as he did to Baruch Jer. 45.4 5. Behold that which I have built will I break down and that which I have planted I will pluck up even this whole Land And seekest thou great things for thy self Seek them not Oh that we had such a spirit as Moses had he refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter he trampled upon all the honours and pleasures of Egypt Because he had an eye to the Recompence of Reward Heb. 11.24 26.
easie the glory of beleever in the life to come is a weighty glory Weighty did I say Yea It is an hyperbolical or transcendent glory The Apostle useth such a high-flown expression here in the Text as is not to be found in any other Author sacred or prophane 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an exceeding excessive weight He could not find a word high enough to express the greatnesse of it Deus coeâ—um non patiuntur hyperbolen God is so â—nfinitely great and heaven is so unconceiveably glorious that we cannot either think or speak too highly of them for eye hath not seen nor ear heard neiâ—her have entred into the heart of man then things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. 2.9 Thirdly The Afflictions of a Beleever in this life are but for a moment the glory wherewith he shall be invested in the life to come is an everlasting glory The words being thus opened and cut out there are three points of Doctrine especially observable in them which will draw out the strength of the Text Viz. Doctr. 1 1. The Afflictions which the godly meet with here on earth make way for that glory and happiness which is laid up for them in heaven Doctr. 2 2. The Afflictions of this life are but light and eafie The glory of the life to come is a weighty and transcendent glory Doctr. 3 3. The Afflictions of this life are but for a momenty The glory prepared in the life to come is an everlasting glory To begin with the first Doctrine which is this The Afflictions which the godly meet with here on earth make way for that happinesse which is laid up for them in heaven For the explication and confirmation of this truth there are three Queries would be satisfied 1. What those afflictions are which the godly meet with here on earth 2. Why God will have his children exercised with those afflictions 3. How or in what respect these afslictions make way for that glory and â—appiness that is laid up for them in â—eaven For the first Querie What those afâ—lictions are Ans The godly meet with afflictions of all sorts both inward and outward â—roubles 1. They are exercised often with inward troubles viz. temptations and spiâ—â—ual desertions the tumblings tosâ—ings and disquietments of their own pirits which lye as a heavy burden upâ—n the soul far more afflictive and inâ—upportable then any outward crosse or â—ffliction on the body or estate can be for a wounded spirit who can bear Prov. 18.14 Thus ye hear Heman that godly wise man complaining Psal 88.3 My soul is full of troubles and David crying out Psal 42.5 Why art thou cast down O my soul and why art thou disquteted within me yea it sometimes falls out that the terrors of the Almighty do set themselves in battel array against them Job 6.4 and come upon them with that violence that they are distracted under them Psal 88.15 While I suffer thy terrors saith Heman I am distracted so that a godly man ye see may be brought to the condition of distraction and a child of light may for a time walk in darkness without the least sense or apprehension of peace or comfort Isa 50.10 Secondly The godly are exercised with outward troubles such as the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the five terrible things that Aristotle speaks on Viz. Ignominy poverty persecution sickness and death For the first of these viz. Ignominy the best of Gods children have been reproached and reviled counted troublers of Israel as Elijah was 1 Kings 18.17 and men of contention is Jeremy was Jer. 15.10 and pestilent fellows and movers of sedition as Paul was Acts 24.5 Yea they are counted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the scum and off-scouring of all things to this day 1 Cor. 4.13 Was not the lord Jesus reviled to his very face John 8.48 Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a Devil Yea accounted an Impostor or deceiver Matth. 27.63 a blasphemer Matth. 26. 65. he hath spoken blasphemy and a sad-man John 10.20 He is mad and â—ath a devil why do ye hear him For the second of these Viz. Poverâ—y it hath been the condition of the Saints here on earth God hath kept them very low that by the poverty of their condition they might be brought to poverty of spirit God usually keeps his soundest sheep on the shortest Commons Ye read of poor Saints 〈◊〉 Jerusalem Acts 15.26 They were precious Saints yet very poor yea some of whom the world was not worthy yet wandred about in sheep-skins and goat-skins being destitute wanting some necessaries for a time afflicted and tormented Heb. 11.37 For the third particular viz. Persecution it hath been the portion of Gods most eminent servants as our Saviour has foretold Matth. 10.23 They shall persecute you from one City to another yea all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution 2 Tim. 3.12 Christ himself was no sooner born then banished Matth. 2.13 It was the Motto of famous Mr. Rothwel who was called the Apostle of the North Persecutio est pignus futurae gloria Persecution is the pledge of that eternal glory which we expect For the fourth viz. Sickness the best of Cods servants are exercised with it Timothy was a rare yong man eminent for piety nourished or nursed up in the words of faith and of good doctrine 1 Tim. 4.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if he had sucked piety with his mothers milk yet he was much acquainted with bodily sickness and distempers as appears by Pauls counsel to him 1 Tim. 5.23 Drink no longer water but use a little wine for thy stomacks sake and thine often infirmities He had not onlyone infirmity but divers infirmities and those not once but often disturbing his health yea God will have it so that the sickness of the body may conduce to the health of the soul A very Heathen could say Tunde Anaxarchi manticam nam Anaxarchi minime teris Beat my sack saith he meaning his body but thou canst not hurt my soul So here God will have the body which is but the sack for the soul is the treasure in the sack beaten and bruised with sickness aches and infirmities that the soul may be preserved and kept without hurt till the day of the Lord Jesus For the fifth particular viz. Death The best of Gods servants are not exexempted from it for what man is he that liveth and shall not see death shall he deliver his soul h. e. his life from the hand of the grave Psal 89.48 It is true the Lord Christ has delivered his members from the sting of death but he hath not exempted them from the storke of death and the reason may be this because he will have his members conformable to their head that as the Captain of our salvation was made perfect by sufferings Hebr. 2.10 and by the gates of death entred into glory so must all his
and the more it is emptied the more capable it is of Gods grace and mercy it is the humbled soul that prizes the Lord Jesus at the highest rate saith of him as the Church does Cant. 5.10 My beloved is white and â—uddy white in his innocency and ruddy â—n his passion the choicest of ten thousand â—t is true our humiliation does not serve â—o make us more precious to Christ but it â—â—…vs to make Christ more precious to us 2. Thy affliction is sanctified if it make thee more holy and heavenly minded if the hardship thou meetest with here in the wilderness make thee long to be at thy Fathers house If the losse of earthly treasures or outward advantages make thee lay up treasure in Heaven where neither moth can corrupt nor theeves break in and steal if the disappointments thou meetest with here on earth and the uncertainty of outward riches make thee more eagerly seek for the durable riches which Solomon speaks of Prov. 8.18 Riches and honour are with me saith Wisdome yea durable riches and righteousness why what are those durable riches surely such as these peace of Conscience joy in the Holy Ghost assurance of Gods love and favour an evidence of Christ Jesus dwelling in us the saving sanctifying graces of the spirit of God and inward comfort flowing from those graces these are such commodities that the world can neither give us nor take from us they are Maries portion that shall never be taken away Luke 10.42 If I say affliction make thee drive a trade for heaven more vigorously certainly affliction is sanctified to thee and thou art much bettered by thy affliction Sign 3 3. If thy affliction teach thee obedience to thy heavenly Father 1. Active obedience to do what he enjoyneth If thou canst say with Paul after he was unhorst and humbled What wilt thou have me to do Lord Acts 9.6 as if he should say though it be never so crosse and contrary to my carnal and corrupt nature though it be a parting with my right hand or right eye a sin as dear to me as either of them I will be content to do it 2. If it teach thee Passive obedience patiently to suffer what he inflicteth as it was said of our dear Saviour Hebr. 5.8 Though he were a Son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered so if thou canst say It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth I will put my mouth in the dust if so be there may be hope Lam. 3.17 29. In brief if thou canst say as the Church does Mic. 7.9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him certainly affliction has a kindly work upon thy soul 4. If affliction teach thee to prize mercies more and to surfet on them lesse to be more thankful in using them and more fearful of abusing them then thou hast been heretofore it is a token thou hast profited by thy affliction we usually in the Sun-shine of prosperity fall asleep and forget God and our duty to him yea forget our selves and the vows we made in time of trouble it fares with us as with little children the pap makes us wanton Hos 13.6 According to their pasture so were they filled h. e. when God had brought them out of the wildernesse into a land flowing with milk and honey and had fed them to the full they were filled and their heart was exalted therefore have they forgotten me Ephraim and Manasseh ye know were brethren Ephraim in Hebrew signifies fruitful Manasseh signifies forgetful fruitfulness and forgetfulness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are sworn brethren but if the Lord by imbittering our comforts or mingling water with our wine teach us temperance or a spiritual moderation in our carnal desires that which the Scripture call 1 Cor. 7.29 31. That they who have wives be as though they had none and they that rejoyce be as though they rejoyced not and they that use this world is not overusing it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then certainly such an imbitterment is in mercy Sign 5 Fifthly If Affliction help to melt and mollifie thy heart as Job spake though in another sense God maketh my heart soft and the almighty troubleth me Job 23.16 God sometimes softens our hearts by troubling of us If the bitterness of sorrow make thee to tast the bitternesse of sin and feelingly cry out O what a bitter thing it is that I have forsaken the Lord my God who is the fountain of living water and have been digging broken cisterns that will hold no water Jer. 2.19 13. O what an evill and bitter thing it is that I have so often parted with my peace for the tickling pleasures of sin for a season But it is bitter and bitter again that I have grieved that holy Spirit of God wherewith I am or might have been sealed up to the day of redemption Eph. 4.30 If thy soul can bespeak it self in that language which Josephs brethren used one to another after their consciences were awakened for that sinful and injurious act of selling their innocent brother into the hands of the Ishmaelites Gen. 42.21 We are verily guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear so if thou canst say thus to thy soul Ah vile unworthy wretch that I am verily I am guilty deeply guilty before the Lord for my unkindness and undutifulness to the Holy Spirit of God when he besought med in his heart-melting motions saying Oh do not that abominable thing that I hate Jer 44.4 Do not go on in a way of pride and presumption security and formality brutishness and earthly mindedness but I would not hearken I turned a deaf ear to all his piercing motions and pressing commands Alas alas Is not this that sweet spirit of grace whose counsels I have despised whose secret whisperings I have slighted whose warnings I have resisted and whose warmings I have quenched Might it not be just with God to say to his spirit Never knock more at this sinners heart never strive more with him to bring him to repentance but seeing he will be filthy let him be filthy still Oh that for this my eyes could run down with tears and my eye-lids gush out with waters as the Prophet speaks Jer. 9.18 If thy heart be thus melted with some penitential thawings and heart-irking grief for thy miscarriages certainly affliction has had a kindly work upon thy soul such a softning and sanctifying affliction is an evident sign of thy adoption Sign 6 Sixthly Then is affliction sanctified when it makes thee more fearful of offending such a gracious God and Father If it have taught thee that lesson which Elihu lays down for us all to learn Job 34.31 32. Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born chastisement I will not offend any more that which I see not teach thou
me if I have done iniquity I will do no more If thou canst say with David who had been trained up in the School of affliction My flesh trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy judgements Psal 119.120 Burnt child we say dreads the fire If it be so with thee that thou canst say I dare not be bold with those sins for which I have formerly smarted I dare not be bold with the fire wherewith I have been scorched nor stumble on the same stone whereon I have been bruised then thou mayest conclude thy affliction is sanctified to thee and thou art sanctified by it But now on the contrary If after God has made thee smart under many rods and exercised thee with various afflictions in thy body or in thy soul or in thy estate or in thy relations and yet thou be as proud and self-confident as ever as carnal and earthly-minded as ever as stubborn and inflexible to Gods commands as ever as unthankfull in the use of mercies and as ready to abuse them as ever as hard hearted and unbroken as ever and as fearless of offending God and careless to please him as ever thou hast been heretofore doubtless thy afflictions are not at all sanctified to thee neither art thou one jot made better by them they are but the fore-runners of thy everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power whereof the Apostle speaks 2 Thes 1.9 they are but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the prelibations or foretasts of the punishments in Hell fire I have dealt somewhat plainly and freely with you in this Use of Examination O that you would deal freely and unflatteringly with your own souls Oh that you would be true to your own spirits and that ye did but love your selves so well as not to beguile your own souls in the latter end Vse 3 The third Improvement that may be made of this Doct in is for Exhortation To put us upon the practice of three needful Duties Duty 1 The first is this If afflictions make way for glory we should justifie the Lord in all his providences and proceedings toward us Though the rod be never so sharp and the burthen we groan under be never so heavy yet let us keep up good thoughts of God and say with the godly Levites in their confession Neh. 9.33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us for thou hast done right but we have done wickedly Lord thou smitest not without cause thou seest we stand in need of such sharp physick else thou wouldst deal more gently with us It was the speech of Mauritius the Emperour when that bloody and treacherous phocas slew his children before his eyes using the words of David Psal 119.137 Righteous art thou O Lord and upright are thy judgments And it was the Legacy that Mr. Ezekiel Culverwel an ancient grave Divine in this City gave to his daughter after he had been many years bed-rid and sore afflicted with the Gout and Stone Be sure saith he in every condition that God casts you into keep up good thoughts of God and speak well of his name Wicked men in the day of their calamity are ready to dispute the cross which they should take up and quarrel with every rod that God laies on them Though their condition be above their worth yet their pride is above their condition and therefore they are ever murmuring in such language as the Israelites used Numb 14.3 Wherefore hath the Lord brought us into this Land to fall by the sword that our wives and our children should be a prey to our enemies the Canaanites were it not better for us to return into Egypt And when the Prophet Jeremy threatned them with the Caldean Army that should even in their dayes and before their eyes take away the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness the voice of the Bridegroom and the voice of the Bride Jer. 16.9 10. All that they replyed was this Wherefore has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us What is our iniquity or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God But the godly have another spirit and a better language for they say with holy Ezra chap. 9.13 After all this is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespasse Thou O our God hast punished us lesse then our iniquities do deserve Yea saith David Psalm 119.75 I know O Lord that thy judgments are right and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me This is the first Duty Du ∣ ty Second Secondly We should learn to bear every rod not only patiently but also thankfully 1 Bear it patiently because we have sinned so did the Church Mic. 7.9 I wil bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him until he plead my cause and execute judgment for me It was a savoury and submissive speech of Jo Brown a Martyr in Q. Maries daies Lord I will bow and thou shalt beat me 2 Bear the rod thankfully because God can order it to our advantage for all the paths of the Lord all the passages of his providence are mercy and truth to them that keep his Covenant and his testimonies Psal 25.10 Even paths of severity are paths of mercy and we know saith the Apostle we can speak it by experience Rom. 8.28 that all things shall work together for good to them that love God c. Though the passages of providence taken singly by themselvs alone seem to work against us as Jacob said on a sad occasion Gen 42.36 Me ye have bereaved of my children Joseph is not and Simeon is not and ye wil take Benjamin away also All these things are against me yet take these providences together they are all for us not against us As Letters in a Printers shop if ye take them singly by themselves they will make never a word but if you put them together they wil make first one word and then another one line and then another till the whole book be printed A needle woman if she take one colour alone can make no curious work of it but if she put many colours together then she makes an excellent piece So here we must put all providences both of goodness and severity as the Apostle phraseth it Rom. 11.12 together and not judge of Gods working by one act but by many acts together and then we shall find them all tending to our salvation and ending in it For 1. Either by a Temporal evil God will work a Spiritual Good to make us more holy humble and heavenly-minded 2. Or secondly By a lesse temporal evil God will work a greater temporal Good as Josephs imprisonment was the way to Josephs advancement Jobs great losses were recompenced with far greater gain for he lost but seven thousand sheep and three thousand Camels and five hundred yoak of oxen Job 1.3 14 16. But God
in the Kingdome of their Father Matth. 13.43 Vse For the application of this Doctrine If the glory of the life to come be so weighty and transcendent then we learn this undoubted truth That the service of God is no unprofitable service It was a lying slander that those Blasphemers cast upon the ways of God when they said Mal. 3.14 It is in vain to serve God and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts Just like some at this day What good is got by fasting and praying and that precise walking that Preachers presse us to from day to day O had these men ever seen but one glimpse of that beauty that is in grace which is glory begun or one tast of that heavenly glory which is grace ferfected then they would acknowledg we can serve no such master as God is either for work or wages as he is the best master so is he the best pay-master To thee therefore that walkest after the course of this present evill world and according to the will of the Prince of the air the fpirit that worketh mightily in the children of disobedience Eph. 2.2 Let me propound that Question which Saul did to his servants that stood about him 1 Sam. 22.7 Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds So say I to you Can sin or Satan or the world give you such wages as this such transcendent glory as this in seeing God enjoying God and being made like to God No no they will pay you with sorrow and vexation with shame and confusion and condemnation to all eternity Consider seriously of it before it be too late for the time will come when you will befool your selves and say O what sots and senseless wretches were we that willingly deprived our selves of that weighty and transcendent glory for a few stinking lusts and the pleasures of sin for a season We thought the service of God unprofitable and burdensome saying What A weariness is it Mal. 1.13 But now Oh that we had been a thousand years fasting and praying mourning and weeping Oh that we had been ten thousand years excercising the strictest duties of Religion self denial renewing repentance mortification contempt of the world and the like rather then have lost this weight of glory for it is an invaluable unconceiveable and irrecoverable loss the tears of Hell are not sufficient to bewail the loss of Heaven Thus will it be I say it again thus will it he with all you that neglect so great salvation and account Gods service an unprofitable service The Lord of his infinite mercy awaken you to Repentance So much for the second Doctrine Doct. 3 The third Doctrine is this viz. That the afflictions of this life are but for a moment the glory of the life to come is an everlasting glory That the Afflictions of this life are but for a moment appears in this Because our life if it were ten times longer then it is in comparison of Eternity is but a moment of time Mine age is nothing before thee Psal 39.5 It is but as a drop of water in comparison of all the water in the Ocean That the glory of the life to come is an everlasting glory the Scripture brings in abundant Testimony the Righteous shall enter into everlasting life saith our Saviour Matth. 25.46 And heaven is called a Kingdom that cannot be shaken Hebr. 12.28 Earthly Kingdoms are quickly shaken to pieces the great King of Kings and Lord of Lords can as easily tosse Kingdomes as we can toss a Tennis ball where are the four great Monarchies of the world the Babylonian Persian Grecian and Roman They devoured one another and death devoured them all but this heavenly Kingdom cah never be moved neither is it capable of any change corruption or alteration Doth not the Apostle call it an inheritance incorruptible and undesiled and suck a one as fadeth not away 1 Pet. 1.4 Doth he not call it a crown of glory that never withers of waxethold 1 Pet. 5.4 O this ETERNITY ETERNITY ETERNITY It is such a great depth or bottomless Ocean that it swallows up all our thoughts it is that which makes every mans condition either infinitely happy or incomprehensibly miserable In reference to the wicked such as have no interest in Christ no work of grace upon their hearts no fear to offend God nor care to please him It may smite their hearts with that fear and consternation that gastly horror and doleful confusion that if I had the tongue of men and angels I were not able to express it suppose a little Bird should every thousandth year fetch a drop of water out of the Ocean how many millions of years would it be before this bird could empty the Ocean Surely this is but a picture of eternity so long and infinitely longer shall those damned wretches suffer the torments of Hell fire without end or ease without mitigation or intermission In reference to the godly this Eternity may ravish their hearts with admiration and holy exaltation or rejoycing in Spirit that the glory prepared for them is such as shall never have end After a million or thousand thousand years expired their glory is but begun and when ten thousand millions are past their glory is not hear to an end That golden speech of Bernard Momentaneum est quod delectat aternum quod cruciat The pleasures of sin are but for a moment the punishment of sin is everlasting may by way of Inversion be fitly applyed to all true beleevers the sufferings they meet with are but for a moment the pleasures at the right hand of God which they expect are for evermore at thy right hand saith David Psal 16.11 are pleasures for evermore In brief it is the highest pitch of the misery of the damned in Hell that their punishment is everlasting and yet their torments are so great that every moment seems an eternity On the contrary It is the highest pitch of the Saints happiness in heaven that their joyes are everlasting and yet these joyes are so fresh that their eternity seems but a moment Vse For the Application of this Point There are four duties of infinite concernment that I would presse upon you in reference to this eternal glory O that I could prevail with you to put them in practise Duty 1 First Give all diligence to clear your title to this eternal glory that you may know it is prepared for you I say for you Quest But how may we clear our title to this Inheritance Ans Ye must labour to get evidences of your election make your calling and election sure saith the Apostle 2 Pet. 1.10 that is make your Election sure by your calling prove one and prove both if ye be called with an internal as well as an external vocation ye may be confident
It is Storied of Alexander that when he heard of the riches of the Indies he gave away all his present Possessions that he had in Macedon and being asked why he did so He answered I hope and look for far greater things than these Oh that we could imitate this Heroick Resolution To contemn our present enjoyments in comparison of our future hopes This is the third Duty Duty The fourth The fourth and last is this Let us frame our selves to a Heavenly Conversation Though our commoration or abode be upon earth let our Conversation be in heaven Phil. 3.20 For hereby we shall be sitting our selves for that Glory that shall be revealed If one of you were to have an Inheritance in Spayn you would learn the Spanish tongue and the Spanish fashion you would frame your selves to the custom of that Country or Kingdom where you were to spend your dayes Why surely ye look for an Inheritance in Heaven among the Angels yea to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Equal to the Angels Luke 20.36 Why do you not frame your selves to an Angelical Conversation You look to be like them in dignity strive to be like them in duty To do your Fathers Will on earth as the Angels do it in heaven To this end Let us every day take a turn or two with Christ on Mount Tabor take a prospect of heaven and turn every Solemnity into a school of Divinity Let us say as Fulgentius did when he saw the Nobitity of Rome sit mounted in their bravery Si talis est Roma terrestris qualis est Roma caelestis If Rome be such a glorious place what is Heaven If the Musick on earth be so delightfull how unconceivably sweet and melodious will the Musick of heaven be Thus a Sanctified fancy may make every creature a ladder to heaven Use 2 To close up al with a word of Consolation This Doctrine may be as an Alabaster box of precious oyntment to refresh and revive the spirits of all true Believers all the Saints and Servants of Christ in the midst of all the troubles and trials sorrows and sufferings that can befal them There is a Crown of Eternal Glory prepared for you which may make your hearts dance for joy yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry and when he comes he brings his Reward with him Rev. 22.12 Then shall ye hear him speaking comfortably to you he will speak to your hearts and say Come ye blessed of my Father receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world Enter ye into the joy of your Lord and Master Mat. 25 20. q. d. This joy cannot enter into you because of your straitness but ye may enter into it because of its fullness The Sea cannot enter into a Hogshead because the Vessel cannot contain it But the Hogshead may enter into the Sea because the Sea can fill it To conclude There are 4. principal Names whereby the Holy Ghost expresseth the felicity of the Saints in heaven 1. It is called a Life and such a Life as is Eternal 2. It is called a Glory and such a Glory as is a Crown 3. It is called a Kingdom and such a Kingdom as is Immutable and Unmoveable 4. It is called an Inheritance and such an Inheritance as is Immortal Now tell me poor fainting drooping Soul What is it that thy heart can wish Or what can bear up thy spirit under all afflictions reproaches difficulties and discouragements whatsoever if this cannot do it Is there any thing thou lovest better than life Is there any better life than a life of glory Is there any glory greater than a Crown of glory Is there any Crown so desireable as that which comes by Inheritance Is there any Inheritance so admirable or delightfull as that which is immortal undefiled and such as newer shall fade away Lift up thy head therefore because thy Redemption and eternal Glorification are so near at hand say to thy own Soul as that godly man did on his death-bed Hold out faith and patience thy work is almost at an end Encourage thy self as Basil tells us the Martyrs encouraged one another when they were cast out naked in a Winters night being to be burned at a stake the next day Sharp it the cold but let us endure a while and Abraham's bosom will warm us Troublesond is the way but the end of the journey will be sweet and pleasant Let our feet burn awhile that we may dance for ever with the Angels Let our hands feel they fire that we may lay hold on Eternal Life The Lord Jesus work these things upon our hearts that they may make an abiding Impression Amen I have done with the Text. Let me speak something to the Occasion How seasonably this Text may be applied to our dear deceased Brother Daniel Waldoe Esquire one that fined for Alderman in this famous City whose Funerals we this day solemnize ye that knew him and his Conversation may easily conceive He was a man trained up in the school of affliction for many years together being exercised with that acute and tormenting disease of the Stone about 30. years And doubtless God by that long and sharp affiction was preparing him for eternal glory partly by purging out his dross and making him white as the Scripture phraseth it Dan. 11.35 and partly by teaching him the exercise of Patience and perseverance For that speech of the Apostle was verified in him Rom. 5.3 Tribulation worketh patience It is a Paradox to Reason for affliction in its self and its own nature worketh Impatience and makes a man fret and fume like a wild Bull in a net as the Prophet speaks Isa 51.20 But when God works with it then it worketh patience and makes a man say with David Be silent unto the Lord O my Soul Psal 62.5 Do not utter an impatient word Yea his Afflictions taught him not onely Patience and submission but also self-denial and sympathy or a fellow-feeling with others miseries He could sigh in their sorrows and bleed in their wounds and be affected with their sufferings as if they had been his own In brief the Rod taught him that excellent Lesson To have a heart weaned from the world for the Rod has a voice Micah 6.9 and it spake to him in that language which the Prophet used to the Jewes in Babilon Micah 2.10 Arise ye and depart for this is not your rest The Testimony therefore that I may give of this worthy Citizen without flattery or partiality is this First He was a very humble man low in his own eyes no way self-consident or self-conceited And I am of the same opinion with that famous Divine Dr. Harris late of Oxford that was wont to say He valued no man for his gifts but for his humility under them Certainly the more Grace any man hath in his heart the more base he will be in his own eyes Did ye