heaven but their full portion he reserves for them till they come to heaven and truly the portion of a Child of God is very great God is the portion of his people and believe it God will never see his people want so long as he hath it and Gods treasure is inexhaustible it can never be drawn dry All things are yours saith Saint Paul 1 Cor. 3.21 peaking to the believing Corinthisns whether Paul or Apollo or Ceahas or the world or life or death or phings present or things to come all tre yours and ye are Christs and Christ as Gods Having thus briefly run over the words I come now to give the practical Observations which flow from hence for our edification And first of all I observe from henc the transcendent excellency of savin faith by faith Moses did thus and thus Secondly I note from hence tha the condition of Gods Children in this life is an afflicted condition Thirdly I observe likewise from hence that the people of God should rather suffer any affliction than commit the least sin it is better to suffer than sin And then fourthly I observe hence the great vanity of sinful pleasures they are but for a season Fifthly I observe that the reproaches of Christ are better yea as the Text sweetly expresses if are greater riches than all the honours of the world And then lastly I observe from hence that God hath a recompence of reward for his people he will make them amends for all their losses at the last he that loseth any thing for Christ shall be no loser by the bargain Every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my Name sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life Mat. 19.29 Before I proceed to Application I shall a little open and confirm these several truths by way of Doctrinal Explication And to begin with the first viz. What faith is a most transcendent excellent and saving grace and this you may see all along this whole Chapter First it brings the people of God into a good report By faith our services become acceptable in the sight of God And without faith it is impossible to please God For whatsoever is not of faith is sin By faith Noah being warned of God prepared the Ark to the saving of his house and thereby became an heir of righteousness By faith Abraham forsook his Countrey for by faith he saw the heavenly City which God had prepared for him And all along the whole Chapter you may see the excellency of faith in the several effects of it in the faithful Saints and servants of God who of all others best deserve the name of Worthies Who through faith subdued Kingdomes wrought righteousnesse obtained promises stopped the mouths of lions quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the Sword And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings yea moreover bonds and imprisonments They were stoned sawn asunder were tempted slain with the sword They wandred about in sheepskins and goat-skins being destitute afflicted and tormented These all obtained a good report through faith By faith the sick are healed Luke 7.50 Dy faith the people of God are purified justified and by faith they are saved Rom. 5.1 Ephes 2.8 By faith we have access to God by prayer Rom. 5.2 By faith we believe the word of God and they that by faith do believe in God shall at the last receive the end of their faith even the salvation of their precious souls 1 Pet. 1.9 In the next place to come to second point which is this That the condition of Gods children in this life is an afflicted condition God had but one Son without sin but God hath never a son without affliction Our blessed Saviour himself was not free from afflictions nay he was despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief he was oppressed and he was afflicted Isa 53.3 7. The Prophets they were afflicted and imprisoned and slain Likewise the Apostles and Primitive Christians as you may see at large in this Chapter where my Text is Heb. 11. They were stoned sawn asunder cruelly scourged and imprisoned yea as the Psalmist saith Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them out of them all Psal 34.19 Our Saviour tells his Disciples what they must look for in the world at his departure from them If the world hate you saith our Saviour John 17.18 19 ye know that it hated me before it hated you If ye were of the world the world would love his own but because ye are not of the world that I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hateth you Remember the word that I said unto you the servants is not greater than their Lord if they have persecuted me they will also persecute you and all these things will they do unto you for my names sake Yea saith the holy Apostle St. Paul reckoning up his manifold persecutions in 2 Tim. 3.12 All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecutions Many more Scriptures I might give you for the confirmation of this excellent truth but these I hope may suffice this being a truth which the people of God in all ages have born testimony unto with their blood Nay this truth is so clear that it even may be read by the light of these fires in which the Saints of God suffered death those glorious fires which ever burneth fresh in the memory of Gods people even those fiery chariots which carried out heavenly Elijahs our blessed Martyrs to heaven In the third place the third Observation to be considered is this That the people of God should rather suffer any affliction than sin This you may see in Joseph who rather than he would commit folly with his Mistriss rather then sin against God he would run the hazard of all afflictions How shall I do this great wickedness aad sin against God Gen. 39.9 And this truth is most eminently confirmed by holy Job who rather than he would curse God and dye would willingly with patience undergo all his afflictions Job underwent all afflictions and it is said of him In all this Job sinned not Let God afflict saith Job I will suffer with patience it is the Lord let him do what he pleases my afflictions shall never move me to forsake my God Though God afflict me all the dayes of my life yet will I wait with patience till my change come And in the thirteenth Chayter he resolves though God should kill him yet he would trust in him So likewise we finde an eminent example for this in holy Daniel as you may read Dan. 6.14 15 16. Daniel rather than he would sin against God in ceasing to call upon God by prayer would suffer himself to be cast into the Lions den So likewise the three children in the third Chapter of Daniel
and believe me though there may be a great deal of weight in the reproaches of Christ to press us down yet there is abundance of worth in them to inrich us though they may be as thorns here yet they shall be as a crown of glory to us hereafter See what our Saviour saith in Matth. 5.11 12. Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness sake foe theirs is the kingdome of heaven Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven Christ doth not say if ye be rich and honourable in the world you shall be blessed but Christ saith if thou art reproached thou shalt be blessed Thou mayest be rich and honourable in the world and yet be everlastingly miserable but if thou art reproached for Christ thou shalt be rewarded with Christ If we suffer with him we shall also reign with him 2 Tim. 2.12 Sixthly and lastly I observe from hence That God hath a recompence of reward for his people If we suffer for Christ we shall also reign with Christ If we be reproached with Christ here we shall be rewarded with Christ hereafter See what our blessed Saviour saith Matth. 19.29 Every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or friends for my sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit eternal life I might be longer on this point but I procéed to the Vses which shall flow from hence for our edification And the first Vse is this Is it so then that Faith is such an excellent grace then let me exhort you all in the name of Christ to believe to get Faith Beloved Faith is not onely excellent in it self but it will also make you excellent The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour Prov. 15.26 Believers were the onely excellent persons in whom David delighted Psalm 16.3 Without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 For whatsoever is not of faith is sin and God cannot be pleased with sin In a word if ever you would be saved get faith for without faith there is no salvation it is unbelief which is the soul-damning sin He that believeth shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned The Sentence of damnation is already past against all unbelievers He that believeth not is condemned already John 3.18 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him John 3.36 For the Lords sake sinners believe if you have any regard to your own good believe if you have any love or pitty to your precious souls believe if you would not be eternally miserable believe in the Lord Iesus Christ and thou shalt be eternally blessed Secondly Is it so that the condition of Gods Children in this life is an afflicted condition what then shall the condition of wicked men be in the life to come If judgment thus begin at the house of God what then shall be the end of sinners If the righteous be thus scarcely saved where then shall the sinner and ungodly appear If God be thus severe to his Children how terrible will he then be to his enemies If through so many tribulations the people of God enter into heaven then into what woeful miseries doe sinners plunge themselves into for a few sinful pleasures for a few séeming sinful pleasures they heap to themselves eternal torments O consider this you that forget God In this life the people of God are afflicted but in the life to coure they shall be rewarded Lazarus he was afflicted with hunger and sores yea scorned and contemned by Dives but in the life to come Lazarus is rewarded but Dives is tormented The time will come when Gods people shall have pleasures everlasting pleasures when the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the Nations that forget God Psalm 9.17 The Lord tryeth the righteous saith David but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth Upon the wicked he shall rain snares fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest this shall be the portion of their cup Psalm 11.6 Thirdly Is it better to suffer than to sin then this may inform us of the great evil of apostacy they that will turn from the truth rather than suffer for the truth such I say never did imbrace the truth in the love of it they went out from us but they were not of us Many will own Christ and the word of Christ when they may do it without fear but when trouble and persecutions come then they fall away But whosoever they are that in this case go about to save their lives shall lose them they that deny Christ for fear of persecution Christ will deny him before his Father Apostacy was the sin of the Devil and they that apostatize from Christ for fear of persecution shall have the Devils reward Thou wilt not suffer for Christ but Christ will make thée suffer eternally Thou thinkest life is swéet and indéed so it is but remember eternal life is much more sweeter and the soul is more precious than life Christ laid down his life to save souls therefore Christians should lay down ten thousand lives if it were possible to have so many rather than lose their souls By apostacy from the truth thou mayest save thy life but in so doing thou losest thy soul which is of more value than ten thousand lives Did Christ lay down his life for us and shall not we much more lay down our lives for him Did Christ who is the prince of life become obedient unto death even the death of the Crosse for us then let nothing separate us from the love of Christ Christians should shew themselves to be the servants of Christ by afflictions persecutions be the way what it will fair or foul thick or thin Christians should persevere The Apostles loved not their lives unto the death in the cause of Christ and he that is afraid of his life in the cause of Christ is surely afraid of heaven If he that endures to the end shall be saved then certainly he that falls away shall be damned If we fear them who can onely kill the body more than God who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell what will become of us In a word let me encourage you all in the words of the holy Ghost as you may finde it Revel 3.10 what saith God there Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer behold the Devil shall cast some of you into prison that you may be tryed and ye shall have tribulation ten dayes But be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life Fourthly Is it so that all sinful pleasures are short and vain are they but for a season then
I note from hence by way of Vse the great folly of sinners in neglecting eternal life for a few momentary pleasures Sinners spend their time in gathering pebbles and yet they trample upon pearls How many grievous sinners are there who with that wretched Cardinal are ready to say they will not lose their part in Paris for their parts in Paradice Sinners had rather lose heaven than part with their sins as if they could enjoy the pleasure of sin for ever never considering how soon death may come upon them and turn all their pleasures into pains Sinners are apt to flatter themselves in their own folly and to fancy that they shall live for ever or at leastwise that they may enjoy their pleasures till death come and yet go to heaven it is true God suffers many to go on in their sins and never awakes their souls at all but this he doth in judgement Sinners despise Christ now but Christ will hereafter despise sinners They who say unto God depart now we will have none of the fear of the Lord God will say unto them depart ye cursed hereafter When death comes sinners must bid farewel to all their pleasures they rejoyce in their worldly pleasures here but when death comes farewell pleasures not one laughter more then never another jovial meeting then no more ranting and singing then all pleasures will be turned into pains Consider I beseech you sinners will your pleasures profit you in the day of wrath surely no they may torment you as they did Dives How many are there now in hell who had as much pleasure as thou canst have who had as many merry méetings as much drinking and sporting and other sinful partimes as thou hast had Oh but what pleasure is it now to them to think of those things for which they are now tormented The Lord awaken every secure sinner for the Lords sake be not such fools as to damn your souls for such trifles as these are which are not only vanity but vexation of spirit also even horrour and dread to all eternity Fifthly Is it so that the reproaches of Christ are greater riches than all the honours in the world then I observe from hence that a Crown of life is more worth than all the Crowns and Kingdomes in the world Moses he looked upon Pharaohs crown and he sées that to be fading and tottering but Moses he looks upon the crown of life and sees that to be everlasting Kings by the permission of God for the sins of a Nation may be deprived of their earthly Crowns as by sad experience we have found in this Kingdome but the Crown of life which God shall give his people is beyond the reach either of men or devils to deprive them of God shall give it them and none shall be able to take it from them There shall be no Vsurpers in heaven to rob Gods people of their Crowns there shall be no petitioning nor remonstrating against the Saints in heaven the Devil who is now their accuser shall then be thrown down into the bottomlesse pit The Saints Crowns shall not be voted uselesse and dangerous in heaven God may for our sins suffer high Courts of Injustice here to take away the lives of Kings but it is beyond the power and policy either of them or devils to take away eternal life from the people of God Hereafter they are kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto salvation Men may take away the life of a Saint but this now takes not away their Crown Your joy no man taketh from you saith our Saviour John 16.22 Men cannot deprive the people of God of their joy here and certainly therefore neither men nor devils can take away their eternal joy which shall be without sorrow and without ceasing even for ever to all eternity Sixthly Is it so that the reproaches of Christ are such great riches yea greater riches than all the honors of the world how great then are the rewards of Christ If Christ crucified be so lovely how unspeakable lovely then is Christ in Glory If the Saints be so glorious here under reproaches how glorious than shall they be in heaven when Christ himself shall put his glory unto them If the people of God are so glorious here what shall they be when they come to their kingdom where they shall be clothed with the glorious white robes of Christ For when Christ who is our life shall appear saith the Apostle we shall also appear with him in glory At the day of judgement O how glorious shall the people of God then appear they shall have Crowns upon their heads yea they shall be clothed with glory and honour immortality and life eternal for ever Rom. 2.7 Seventhly Is it so then that God hath a recompence of reward for his people hereafter then let me exhort you all to make choice of the Lord for your God they that make choice of the Lord for their God here shall be sure to have him for their reward hereafter It was a good resolution that of Joshua as you may read Joshua 24.15 As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Let the men of the world run after Idols and inventions of their own fancies a child of God a Joshua he will worship God in spirit and in truth And if ever we would be rewarded with Christ the let us chuse Christ and the wayes of Christ Labour to grow in grace and to abound in holiness for godliness is the way to glory Godliness saith the Apostle is great gain Godlinesse hath the promise not onely of this life but of the life to come Were the wades of God never so hard and difficult yet they have a glorious reward Godlinesse brings the best gain eternal life and glory Wouldst thou in the day of Iudgement chuse heaven rather than hell then chuse God and walk in his ways imbrace holiness although it be never so much despised by profane sinners if ever thou wouldst be imbraced by Christ in heaven Eightly is it so that there is such a glorious reward for the people of God then let us live and dye as becomes the heirs of Glory Let us then walk worthy of God as the Apostle saith 1 Thes 2.12 that hath called us to his Kingdom and glory Is it so that the Saints of God shall shine as the stars in heaven then let the people of God labour to shine as lights in the world If thy inheritance be in heaven then let thy conversation be in heaven if your reward your treasure be there then let your hearts be there also Is thy name written in heaven let the world sée it then in the legible Character of Holinesse Think of that Crown of Glory which thou shalt everlastingly enjoy in heaven and then so live that thou mayest be in a readinesse to receive it Get oyl in your lamps grace in your souls that when Christ who is your life shall appear ye also may appear with him in glory receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls Lastly is there such a reward for the people of God hereafter than be content with what God gives thée in this life be thy portion what it will if heaven be thine thou hast that which is better than all the world they that have Christ for their portion have no want The Lord is my portion saith David Psalm 23.1 therefore I shall not want Saint Paul accounted all things but dross and dung in comparison of Christ Remember it is better to be poor and godly than rich and miserable Riches never made one soul happy they have made many a soul miserable Let the people of God then take off their affections from the world it becomes not the heirs of glory to look after such trifles it is enough for Swine to be routing in the earth Children who are fed at their fathers table will never regard the bones that are thrown to the dogs they that are daily fed with the fat things of grace and glory should never regard the vain and transitory things of the world The glory of this world is but the portion of a reprobate take them at the best they are but uncertain here to day and gone to morrow they may be destroyed by fire they may be stoln away by thieves thou mayest lay up treasures here and when thou hast done all they may be cousumed by rust and moths Therefore take Saint Pauls counsel and set your affections on things that are above and not on things below Let your conversation then be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have for God hath said I will never leave you nor forsake you Heb. 13.5 So to conclude I beséech you fear the Lord all ye his Saints for there is no want to them that fear him FINIS Courteous Reader THere is lately published an excellent and profitable Sermon called Christs last Sermon or The everlasting estate and condition of all men in the world to come Likewise the Christians best Garment Christs first Sermon The Christians Blessed Choice Heavens Glory and Hells Horror And a warning-piece to the Sloathful Idle Careless Drunken and Secure Ones of these last and worst of times Very godly Books and are but three pence price Likewise 1. The Fathers last Blessing to his Children 2. This Devils disease or the Sin of Pride arraigned and condemned 3. Englands faithful Physician 4. Death Triumphant 5. Peters Sermon of Repentance 6. The dreadful charecter of a drunkard 7. Dooms-day at hand 8. The Charitable Christian 9. The Plain Mans Plain Path-way to Heaven 10. The Black Book of Conscience All very necessary for these Licentious times They are to be sold by Elizabeth Andrews in Little St. Bartholmews Court West-Smithfield