duty being encouraged thereunto by that Eternal recompence of reward which the Lord hath set before us The Lord allowing us a respect in our obedience to the recompence of the reward will expect that we should always have an open ear and an obedient willing frame of Heart to fall in with every work that he calls us to not pleading the greatest difficulty against the faithful preformance of any duty Discouragements against the Commandments of Christ and difficulties apprehended against our duty to him must never be pleaded But whatever oppositions whatever flames hardships and fiery tryals stand betwixt us and Christ we must break through them all to come unto Christ in a way of dutiful obedience to his righteous Will And let me tell you in vain shall any Man seek his own safety out of a way of duty or think to be freed from that which is evil by neglecting the doing of that which is good The Worlds greatest politicians they think to dissemble conscience to comply with every prevailing faction and to turn their backs upon the most necessary Duty if the times will not bear it is the way to live secure and be at rest But Believe it to hold fast our integrity is the surest way to safety and if ever we would keep out of harm's way we must be sure to keep in the way of God's commandments Jonah might at first play the fugitive but having payed for his learning he found by his own experience that Nineveh was his safest way (a) Psal 91.11 In a way of duty we have the promise of the faithful God for our security But out of that we lie open every moment to all the hostile incursions of Men and Devils Lot kept his integrity in Sodom and vexed his righteous Soul in seeing their obscene conversation (b) Gen. 19.21 22. The righteous God therefore kept Lot from Sodom's Misery and made Zoar a Sanctuary to him against their destruction Let therefore the safety and everlasting encouragement which may always be found in a way of duty make us all study Heart-integrity endeavouring to run the way of Christs commandments with what dangers and difficulties soever they may be attended If out of a way of duty you have the like promise of safety protection and an Eternal reward of Glory to what the faithful God hath made you whilst walking in all dutiful obedience before him then dissemble â—onscience and consult your duty no longer but turn your back upon the ways of Christ and spare not But if Christians you have only the promise of safety from God and a Crown of life set before you whilst walking in the way of your duty then take heed lest neglecting duty upon any pretence you put yourselves from under Heavens protection and another take your Crown Oh we think Sirs that Crown of life that Heavenly Kingdom that far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory which the Lord hath allowed us to take incouragement from in all our obedience should make us resolve to hold fast our integrity to obey Christ in the face of all dangers and to go on in the faithful performance of every duty whatever it cost us Though Christians our Province be difficult yet our recompence is sure And tho our discouragments in a way of duty be many yet our encouragments are infinitely more What though there be hardships attending the commandments of Christ yet doth not obedience thereto pave the way to Glory and is not this the gate of Heaven through which thou shalt enter at length into the Kingdom of God What though Men frown upon thee forbidding thee to follow the Lord in the way of his judgments yet is it not beâ—ter to obey God than Man and will not his Eternal smiles make amends for the Worlds frowns What though in a word thy obedience to Christs commandments should expose thee to reproach persecution and sorest calamities in the world yet having Heaven and Eternal Glory always in thy Eye look not shy upon any duty but hold on in the way of obedience not doubting but the Lord who allows thee so great encouragement in the way of duty will be sure to Crown thee in the end after all thy afflictions with a far more exceeding and Eternal weight of Glory 6 WALK Zealously as willing to spend and be spent in the service of God You may well put your hands to God's Plough and give diligence to abound in the work of the Lord so long as he allows you for your better encouragement to have Heaven and Eternal Glory always in your Eye (c) Numb 33.29 The Israelites removing their Tents they went from Mithcah to Hashmonah from sweetness to swiftness as those names if paraphrased upon according to their true notation signify Thus Christians they should go from the sweetness of God's favour manifested in giving them a prospect of their future Glory to swiftness in running the way of his commandments The end of God's bounty is Man's duty so that the goodness of God's discovering the Kingdom of Heaven and setting that before you (d) Mat. 11.12 your own duty should make you offer violence to it endeavouring to take it by force The industrious Husbandman he refuses no labour but doth willingly spend and â—â—haust his strength in tilling the ground for the hope that he hath of a plentiful Harvest wherein he shall reap the benefit of all his endeavours And should not Christians much more lay forth themselves in the service of God with all diligence having no less for their encouragement than a Crown of Glory an Heavenly Kingdom than the recompence of Eternal life set before them We live I confess in declining times and because iniquity doth abound amongst us the love of many begins to wax cold But yet we must still remember that the People of God are to live not by example but by rule which requires that we should always strive to be best in the worst of times that when others are outsided and formal we should be fervent in Spirit serving the Lord (e) Rom. 12.11 giving diligence to have our Zeal for God and his Glory by an holy Antiperistasis kindled from the coldness of others And truly there is that in the recompence of reward which if carefully eyed would make us burn in Heavenly Zeal for God and cause us to run with all diligence and holy contention the Race which he hath set before us Let Men of a formal Spirit reproach thee count all thy zeal for God an holy frensy and thy diligence in his ways no better than a symptom of a religious dotage yet keep thy Eye stedfastly fixed upon the recompence of the reward and thou needst not slack thy pace in Heavens way but mayst well continue †1 Cor. 15.58 stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord. For what should more strengthen our Hearts and Hands to all diligence in the ways of God than to
are only for our Imitation Christ bid us not to Redeem the World to raise the Dead nor to walk upon the Sea But in the Works of Piety and Holiness he saith to us as Gideon to his Souldiers Look upon me and do likewise Judg. 7.17 We are always to look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith Heb. 7.26 giving diligence to be holy as he was holy to be pure as he was pure Mark 14.36 to be self-denying as he was self-denying to be upright and without guile as he was without guile 1 Pet. 2.22 to be humble and lowly of Spirit as he was humble Mat. 11.28 to be zealous for God's Glory as he was zealous Joh. 16.17 And by the Joy which is set before us we may lawfully be incouraged to indure the Cross despising the shame as He also was For to be sure Christians in following Christ the only authentick Rule of Righteousness you can never do any unrighteous Action In imitating Christ the Holy One of God looking in all your Obedience at Heaven and Glory as he did before you you can never become unholy The Life of Christ is a fair Copy without any Blot or uneven Letter in it So that indeavouring to Write after him you can never come under the Blot of being Disingenuous and Mercenary in the Service of God Let Christ be the Rule by which you draw the Lines of all your Actions and then they will never prove crooked or uneven Let him be the Glass by which you adorn and dress yourselves and then you will never appear in any other Attire but what will be most Graceful Decent and Amiable in the sight of God Let him in a word be the Primum Mobile turning about by the sweet impulse of his own most holy Self regulated Example both the superior and inferior Orbs of your Souls and then though you seek your own Happiness longing to Feed upon that heavenly Ambrosia in the Hesperian Vales though you fix your eyes never so wishly upon the Recompence of the Reward Steering a right Course towards the Tartesian Shore of eternal Rest yet your motion can never be excentrical nor irregular * Christiani a Christo nomen acceperunt et operae pretium est ut sunt haeredes nominis ita sint imitatoris sanctitatis Bern. Sent. p. 496. For there is nothing more becoming Christians than to make their Lives a Transcript of that fair Copy which Christ by the hand of his own holy Example hath set them Nor is there any thing more intrinsick and essential to Christianity than for the Professors thereof to walk as Christ himself walked 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The very name of a Christian is so apposite and significant that it doth fully interpret and clearly comment upon his Essence teaching us that the Epitome of Religion the Abridgment of true Piety the Quint-essence of real Holiness the Compendium of all Virtues and the whole Substance of a Christian is to have the Signature of Christ's Holiness upon his Soul indeavouring to express in his Life the Virtues of the Lord Jesus And certainly since our Christianity doth mainly stand in Conformity with Christ we can never make a Forfeiture of it nor be Impeached of Mercinariness in looking at heavenly Glory as He did whilst we walk in Obedience before God on Earth 4. WE may lawfully have Respect in our Obedience to the Recompence of Reward because the Lord doth frequently incourage his People by the consideration of eternal Glory to all Dutiful and Vpright walking before himself As God affords his people Happiness at the end so he allows them Comfort in the way of Duty sweetning all his Commandments with Promises and incouraging to all upright and holy walking before himself by giving his People the Assurance of an everlastingly glorious Reward God doth not exact Obedience from his People upon terms of absolute Sovereignty but upon terms of Bounty and remunerative Goodness He doth not appoint them their Work and hide from them the Reward But to make them go through with it the more Cheerfully he often tells them of the Reward wherewith having finished their Course they shall eternally be Crowned As God gives the best Wages to those who are his Servants so He likewise holds out the best Incouragements to draw us into his Service and to make us willing to Spend and be Spent therein Man is a Rational Creature and of such a Sequacious Temper that fetching your Arguments out of the Topicks of Profit and Pleasure you may carry him whither you will And therefore the Lord who knows our frame he leads us on in ways of Obedience by Rational Comforts and Human Incouragements assuring us that in keeping his Commandments there is great Reward Psal 19.11 God knows that Blessedness is the Alpha and Omega of every man the Centre wherein all our Desires meet and that no man can wittingly make light of much less give the Repulse to his own Happiness He therefore stands like a faithful Guide to give Aim to all those amongst us that would fain bend their Course to the safe Harbour of Happiness and like an auspicious Herald proclaiming upon Mount Gerizim the Mount of Blessings with Wisdom in the Proverbs Hearken unto me O ye Children for Blessed are they that keep my wayes Prov. 8.32 The Lord knows we have many tall Anakims to encounter before we can take possession of the heavenly Canaan and therefore he incourageth us as Caleb did him that should smite Kirjath-Sepher Josh 15.16 whom he promised his Daughter Achsah to Wife So in case we shall quit ourselves like Men induring Hardship as good Soldiers of Jesus Christ he will give us his Daughter Achsah to Wife he will give us the Ornament as that name may signify of eternal Glory he will give us to eat of the Tree of Life Rev. 2.7 in the Paradice of God 'T is Storied by the Hebrews of Joseph That when he had gathered much Corn in Egypt he threw the Chaff into the River Nilus that so floating down to the neighbouring Cities and Nations they might know what Plenty there was in Aegypt and be provoked thereby to seek thither So God to make us know what Glory is in Heaven and the more to incourage us to seek thither he hath thrown some Husks to us here that so tasting the Sweetness of Heavenly Glory in the Husk of a Promise we might aspire after it Be ye stedfast saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 15.5 8. be ye unmoveable be ye always abounding in the work of the Lord. And why so Stedfast why so Unmoveable why such care to abound in the Work of the Lord but because saith he you know that your Labour shall not be in vain in the Lord God doth not deal with us as Crater the Philosopher did with a certain Virgin that was in Love with him and would needs Marry him He did what in him lay to discourage her shewing her his Crooked Back
delight in Sin or take pleasure in it 10 A due respect had to this glorious Reward it will comfort your Hearts in all your Afflictions and make you greatly rejoice under them how many and grievous soever An Eye stedfastly fixed upon heavenly Glory this will bring down Heaven inro your Souls causing your consolations to abound by Christ (c) 2 Cor. 1. when ever your sufferings abound for him A bright prospect of the celestial Canaan as it bears up the Spirits of God's People with invincible patience under all their Pressures and Calamities which befal them in the Wilderness of this present World So it anoynts their Head with Oyl causeth their Cup to overflow with Gladness and makes their Hearts to rejoice with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory (d) 2 Cor. 7.4 Thus we find Paul professing of himself I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I do overflow saith he with Joy I have more than Heart can hold (e) Acts. 16.25 Nor is this profession of his any hyperbolical strain but an experimented Truth whereof we have full assurance from Paul and Silas his Prison vouches when in bonds together then brim full of Joy so full that their Hearts could not hold it from breaking out and running over at their Mouths into Psalms of Praise Like the Tree cast into the bitter Waters of Marah Faith eying the recompence of the Reward it sweetens all Afflictions enabling the Soul not only to stand it out in a fiery tryal but to glory for Gladness of Heart under the Cross at the Stake in the Flames of Martyrdom The Soul that can rejoice in hope of the Glory of God will easily glory in all the tribulations that it suffers for God (f) Rom. 5.3 So saith the Apostle we glory in tribulation also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that word implieth the triumphant act of Joy a Joy expressed with holy Boasting and exultation of Spirit such a Joy as the Soul is not ashamed to own and make her boast of let Earth and Hell let the Devil and wicked Men do their worst This Truth I might give you subscribed by all the holy Martyrs and confessors of Christ who thought Famine dainty fare for Christ that complemented wild Beasts to devour them that snatcht at Torments as if they had been rich Treasures that laid down their Bodies as a Man would lay off an old Garment to put on a new that went as gladly to their Flames as a labouring Man to his Bed and embraced the most cruel Martyrdom as an holy stratagem to escape the stroak of Death (g) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to pass from Life to Life as Basil hath it (h) Euseb Eccles Hist lib. 5. cap. 1. Hence when Juliâ—n the Apostate had caused Marcus Bishop of Arethusa to be tormented one of his Nobles admiring that holy Man's Joy cries out we are ashamed oh Emperour the Christians laught at your Cruelty growing more resolute thereby so that these things are more fearful to the Tormentors than to the sufferers (i) Acts and Mon. vol. 3. pag. 177. Were it needful I might tell you of Dr. Tayler Martyr in the Marian persecution who drawing nigh to the place of Execution leapt for Joy as Men do in dancing professing himself never better in all his Life for now I know saith he I am almost at home I have but two Stiles to go over and then I am at my Father's House With like holy Joy was Cicely Ormes Martress filled (k) Acts and Mon. vol. 3. pag. 853. who when brought to the Stake came and kissed it saying Welcome the sweet Cross of Christ and when now the Flames were kindled upon her my Soul quoth she doth magnifie the Lord and my Spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour (l) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil Orat. in 40. Martyr After the same manner we find certain Martyrs that were cast out naked in a Winters night and to suffer the next Day comforting one another from this Recompence of Reward in these Words sharp is the Cold but sweet is Paradise troublesome is the way but pleasant will be the end of our Journey let us endure cold a little and the Patriarchs Bosom shall refresh us for ever Nor is the story of Theodoret unworthy our remembrance who found so much sweetness in this even when he was upon the Rack in the midst of his grievous Torments that he found not the least anguish in his torture but a great deal of Pleasure Insomuch that when they took him off from the Rack he complained that they had done him much wrong in ceasing to torment him For said he all the while I was tortured upon the Rack me thought there was a young Man in white an Angel from the Lord stood by me who wiped off the sweat wherein I found much sweetness which now I have lost In these and many the like instances which might be given we see how an Eye fixed upon Heaven's Glory in our sufferings brings down much of that Glory into them making the cruel Tortures of God's People infinitely more sweet than their ease and more desirable to them Let Faith but reallize the Glory of Heaven behold the Reward of Eternal Life and observe the infinite Pleasures which are at God's right Hand for evermore and then the Soul cannot choose but rejoice taking Pleasure in Reproaches in Persecutions in Exile in Imprisonments in Death itself for the sake of Christ This good Mr. Glover found true who going to the stake though before he were a Man of Sorrows yet now he is a Man of Joys and so filled with divine Consolations that he can no longer contain but crieth out speaking of the Comforter making his Heart to rejoice in hope of this glorious Reward he is come he is come Oh little can you now conceive what Comfort what Gladness of Soul what Joy in the Holy Ghost God's People have in their sufferings when stedfastly eying the Glory that shall be revealed in them NOW they find an Hony-comb in the Lyon's Carcass they suck sweetness out of the bitterness of Herbs now they gather Grapes of Thorns and Figs of Thistles now they have a warm Sunshine of Comfort from God to make glad their Hearts Would you therefore have Comfort Christians and be able to smile when the World frowns upon you Would you have your Prison be turned into a Paradise Would you if banished into a strange Land find a spiritual Eden a Garden of all heavenly delights in every howling Wilderness through which you may wander When reproached when fawn asunder when cruelly scourged tormented and dying in the hottest Flames of Martyrdom would you then triumph rejoicing with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory Oh see then see that you look within the veil fixing your Eye upon that Crown of Life which is set before you This will turn your Sorrow into Joy this will give you the Oyl of