of this rotten cottage of ours meate and drinke take a great deale of our time And the labour of a mans particular vocation all these must needs take up a great deale more of a mans time for the world then a man doth immediatly for the service of God and without blame well suppose that Thoughts and cares But now examine in the next place the proportion of thy paines especiall with the concurrence of thy affections and thy heart which hath the most full gale of thy paines and which art more eager upon I say if thou dost neither give God the principall of thy time nor bestow the greatest part of thy time upon him yet dost thou give him the principall of thy heart and affections that though thou art necessitated to converse more about the world then for God why yet if thou dost it more eagerly and with a greater eagernesse of affections towards God and thy heart doth infinitely more prize and love and esteeme of God and goeth with more alacrity and cheerefulnesse and more heate and delectation of spirit when thou art about God and about heavenly things than it doth about worldly things this may be some thing indeed but if there goeth together with the flower of thy time the eagernesse of thy heart and affections towards earthly things that thy heart is corrupted with them and thy judgement and thy estimations drawne after them and thou art builded more on them and pleased more with them and in a word all thy affections runne more to them than to heavenly things I cannot see then how there can be any colour of excuse Now therefore examine thy selfe in this and doe thou deale truely with thy selfe and by that wee may discerne a greater streame running for the world than for God and so a great disorder in the affections And lastly it is an evident character Neglect of that there is an inordinate love going a whoring after the world and of placing our felicity in them more than we should doe and more than we doe in God when wee can facilitate and further our prosecution of these worldly things with a neglect of our duty to God Duty to God when I can neglect my duty to my God when I can neglect my duty to my owne soule To our owne soule when I thus runne after the world that I care not if I doe trample upon God in the way and trample upon Christ in the way upon my owne soule upon heaven and all in the way so that I can make so much the more speede towards these worldly things This is an evident signe that my heart is addicted to them and that my heart is over-growne with a desire of them Marke this and if thou findest I say that thou canst dispense with thy duty towards God or any service of his for the prosecution of thy worldly estate if thou findest that thou canst dispense with thy duty towards thy neighbour because thou wilt not diminish thy estate or that thou canst dispense with thy duty towards thy owne soule neglect the spirituall edification of it because it doth take thee from the prosecuting of the world This is an evident signe that thy heart runnes out wonderfully inordinatly after them Exhortation 3. Vse In the last place let me adde briefely the summe of the Exhortation which if time had not prevented I would have propounded more particularly The exhortation shall be to presse this duty upon us that wee knowing our felicitie doth not consist in these worldly things would regulate and square our selves by this rule I will briefely touch these two things I will briefly touch 1. The duties that may be inferred upon the consideration of this Point 2. The motives that may be used for the inforcing of those duties upon us to set us upon the performance of them 1. Duty Now there be divers duties that might be inferred very naturally upon the consideration of this truth and are worthy to be learned As 1. Abate for the world Abate for the world If this be so that our happinesse doth not consist in these worldly things Let us learne then to abate our selves something in our eagernes towards the world that we would not be so eager for it Tanquam hac sit nostri medicina doloris follow not the world as though that would cure our maladie and heale our misery and bring a happinesse to our soules and therefore they that have such erronious thoughts and finde themselves convinced let them shew it by abating of their eagernesse towards these worldly things 1. Abate our actions Action the eagernesse of them learne hence not to be so busie not so early and so late and so thoughtfull and so carefully for and about these worldly things not to be so anxious in our spirits for them I say learne hence to abate our actions not to incumber our selves too much with worldly things doe but as our duty and conscience require so farre as we are bound by the rule of dutie to provide for our selves and family do it in duty and inconscience to God but doe not over-doe it doe not too much trouble not your selves about too many things as Martha did Affections 2. Abate at least if not our actions if wee cannot forbeare any one of our actions but our charge and calling require it yet I say abate in our affections coole our affections towards these things that though I doe use them for necessities sake yet my heart longs to be freed from this necessitie O when shall my minde be perfectly freed from these things and O when shall that happy time be that God will free me from the burden of these worldly things that I may not soile my soule still with these worldly things that I may not converse in this present world alway but that I may live continually in the injoyment of that blessed presence of God and behold his face continually and exercise my selfe in nothing but serving and praising of him and having nothing else to doe Abate at least your affections doe not so much esteeme these worldly things and this world though you cannot leave it yet despise all these worldly things and contemne them and trample them and have them under our feete as God hath given them to us so esteeme them but as in the Psalme 8. Hee hath put all things under our feete In respect of worldly things it is true of the godly man in this sense it is true I say in regard of Christians they have them all under their feete but worldly men have them as a crowne on their head and they esteeme it so but indeede it is a burden that presseth them downe that they cannot arise in any noble thoughts and therefore to prevent this abate your affections towards these worldly things 3. Learne to abate your estimation Exhortation or else these cannot doe it For so long as
yet more often bestow yet more time in meditating upon our wayes Reinforcing and reinforcing our selves upon new resolutions humbling our selves for what wee have failed and even as a horse will do after every stumbling make so much more speed so after al our stumblings and failings let us recover and inforce our selves so much the more To omit all extraordinary cases and extraordinary persons and extraordinary times and motions of Gods spirit and all other extraordinary occasions wee must take this course of serious examination and strong resolution Speedy execution 3 And then there remains nothing but speedy execution to let upon this which is the third thing in the generality and which I will expresse a little more particularly And there bee but two things that I will mention as most considerably helpfull to set a man upon and strengthen him in a way of obedience In speciall First of all Repaire and increase in Knowledge the repairing and increasing of those former things in the poynt as namely your knowledge labour for a new improvement every day increase your knowledge Let the word of God dwell plenteously among you strive more to know what the good and acceptable will of God is build your selves up more in your knowledge and this is one step toward our obedience Increase your faith and beliefe Faith cleaving and assenting to the word of God beliefe that is a good helpe It is unbeliefe that is a great rubbe hindring us from setting upon the wayes of obedience for because wee doe not beleeve therefore we doe not doe But the more firmely we beleeve the more strongly wee shall runne the wayes of Gods Commandements Againe increase your holy affections of feare and love Increase a holy feare of God Feare often set his Majesty before your eyes often thinke upon the holinesse the excellencie and the purity of his nature thinke on his Majesty in all respects think upon his All seeing eye and upon his All-knowing knowledge that he takes an account of all a mans wayes and all his actions and this will worke a holy feare of his Majesty and that holy feare will put it upon holy obedience Increase also your love and sweet affections towards God labour to see Love not only excellencie to astonish but beauty in God to move us to love and sweetnes to inflame our love labour to see all the goodnesse and sweetnesse that is in him and this will wonderfully raise our thoughts to love him and that love infinitely set us on in a way of obedience to him This I say will be a great helpe for the truth is nothing in this kind commeth off hansomly from us if it comes not from love it is against the hair if it come not from a principle of love whereas on the otherside as the saying was Marti arma non sunt onera The commandements of God will not be burthensome to us if we love God so that now the increasing and the renewing of every one of these former things wil be a meanes to set us upon obedience for every one of them servs proportionably for the watering of the very root of obedience to make it thrive and prosper though I doe not now for it is not necessary if I would make a young tree grow that I have planted that I should goe to the top or boughes of the tree and cast water there it is but frivolous for it sufficeth to cast the water at the root for it is the root that nourisheth all the branches and all the sap it is first at the roote and so conveighed to the boughes and branches So it is in this case I doe not speake of watering the top of obedience to make it flourish outwardly but water the root with this knowledge and these affections which are the root of all the actions of obedience and then there will naturally issue forth the fruit of obedience For if these be kept well and strong if these be renewed and furthered the other will be a naturall issue out of it 2. But yet to speake a little more particularly Exercise these The maine thing that will helpe us in obedience is the very act and exercise of obedience Every act is strengthned and every habit is strengthned by the exercise of many acts of that habit and it groweth to be strengthned by frequent use obedience is a thing that cannot bee otherwise strengthned but only by meere practice So that this is the Maine viz. the setting upon the worke not only meditating and pondering upon it and thinking what I ought to doe to obey God but when I doe know what his will is I must set upon the doing of it I must not dispute about the thing but fall upon the doing of the thing which I know I ought to doe And now in this there be two things Some things must bee taken heed of that will hinder us in the practise of obedience Take heed And some things that we must take care of that will exceedingly further us in a course of obedience I will but touch upon some few things in either Reasoning Take heed of such carnall things Of Carnal as will choak us in the very thoughts when we are to goe about a course of obedience I say will choake the very thoughts as 1. Carnall Reason It is a wonderful thing to see and yet no wonder when we consider our naturall condition how many things will boyle as it were out of the heart how many foolish excuses and how many vain pretences to keepe a man off from duty when a man hath some thoughts to goe about it as when a man hath some thoughts to goe and heare the Word of God then ariseth such an hindring thought as thus I can sit at home and reade the while and save my labour of going I know what the Minister wil say viz. that it is but faith and obedience we must labour for And so many other things there may be and indeed so many as that they will take us off from the thing we should and indeed otherwise would doe It is strange to thinke of the infinit reaching and racking a mans wit to make excuses some thought of other is in the way either it is not now time or some thing else there is alway some disputes that reason wil suggest by which wee contradict our intents and choake our purposes of doing this or that duty Take heed therefore of canall reason it is a dangerous thing to word it with God but when a man once seeth his way before him then it is hast to fall upon it let there bee no cunctating no delaying in the work for some foolish respect Remember this there is nothing in the world but may be spoken against if a man would give way to every reasoning Is there any truth in the world but may be reasoned against is there any truth so cleare but
with Object 1 Knowledge in 1 Generall 2 Speciall of 1 God in his 1 Excellent Nature shining in his 1 Attributes 2 Workes 2 Revealed Will. Covenant which he 1 Commands in the 1 Law Obedience 1 Holinesse 2 Righteousnesse 2 Gospell 1 Faith 2 Repentance 2 Commends by 1 Menaces 2 Promises 2 Divine things 2 Faith Assent 1 To Gods truth 2 On Gods Word 2 Manner Sound for 1 Matter Extension Sufficient of Necessaries 1 Respectively 2 Absolutely 2 Manner 1 Substantiall Penetrative 2 Effectuall Operative 2 Soveraigne feare and love 1 Act. 1 Feare 2 Love 2 Manner 1 Sonne-like 2 Soveraigne 3 Sincere Obedience repentance 1 Act. 1 Repentance 1 Morall Legall 2 Evangelicall 2 Obedience 2 Manner sincere 1 Characters 1 Rise 2 Rule 3 Race 2 Cognizances 1 Vniversality Currant Adequate to the 1 Act eschewing all evill doing all good 2 Rule Decalogue first second Table 3 State in generall Particular Calling 2 Perpetuity constant 2 Generall All these 1 Are required both 1 Absolutely 2 Comparatively 1 Knowledge and Faith 2 Feare and Love 3 Repentance and Obedience 2 Must be regulated by the light and line of the true Religion 1 None but that can teach these 2 These are all that that teacheth 2 These are the way to all happinesse 1 What way 1 Sufficient 1 Effectually 2 Onely 2 Necessary 2 To what happinesse 1 True 1 Inchoate 2 Consummate 2 All. 2 Probation 1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Scripture 1 Knowledge Faith Joh. 17.3 2 Feare Love Prov. ◠7 Rom. 8. 3 Repentance Obedience Psal 15. 1 Distinctly 2 Conjunctly 1 Knowledge and faith Ioh. 13.17 2 Knowledge and feare Prov. 9.10 3 Feare and obedience Deut. 3.29 4 Knowledge love obedience 1 Chron. 28.9 2 Conscience 2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Happinesse in Gods Favour 2 Gods favour by these 2 Application 1 Confutation 2 Conviction 3 Examination 4 Reprehension 5 Exhortation 1 Particular Get 1 Knowledge 1 What for the 1 Object divine 2 Act. 1 Apprehension 2 Assent 3 Degree 1 Extensively 2 Intensively 3 Proportionally 2 How 1 Preparatives 1 Humility 2 Ingenuity 1 Freedome from 1 Partiality 2 Prejudice 2 Full 1 Estimation 2 Affection 2 Perfectives 1 Conscience 2 Diligence to allow time 1 Imploy parts 2 Improve meanes 1 Publike 2 Private 3 Prudence 3 Wherefore Consider the 1 Thing which is a 1 Speciall ornament 2 Initiall Lineament 3 Perpetuall Regiment 4 Effectuall Instrument 2 Times of 1 Gospell 2 Reforamation 2 Get feare love 1 What for the 1 Object placed on God 2 Act tempered together 3 Degree Soveraigne 2 How in 1 Generall by taking 1 Heed to chase away other 1 Feare 2 Love 2 Care to chafe in these 2 Particular by 1 Constant Application 2 Vigilant Caution 3 Frequent Excitation 4 Pregnant Meditation of 1 Vanity of world 2 Excellency of God 3 Nobility of Man 1 Immortall soule 2 Mortall body 3 Wherefore these 1 Best fruit of knowledge 2 Next root of obedience 3 Only grace of either without which neither 1 Knowledge saving 2 Obedience pleasing 3 Get repentance obedience 1 What for the 1 Act in all parts 1 Thought 2 Word 3 Deed. 2 Manner sincere 1 Intrinsecally in the true 1 Rise from 1 Knowledge Faith 2 Feare Love 2 Rule 3 Race 2 Extrinsecally 1 Vniversall in 1 2 Negative Affirmative 3 Thought Word Deed. 2 Perpetuall 2 How in 1 Particular by 1 Increasing forme 2 Excercising these 1 Knowledge 2 Faith 3 Feare 4 Love 2 Generall 1 Serious consideration whereto take 1 Heed of 1 Carnall 1 Reasonings 2 Feare 3 Sloth 2 Worldly distractions 2 Hint of 1 Outward occasions 2 Inward motions 2 Strong resolution 3 Speedy execution 3 Wherefore these are the 1 Scope of Both. 2 Seale of Truth 3 Scale of all our 1 Owne consolation 2 Neighbours edification 3 Gods glorification 2 Generall Seeke 1 All these 1 How in the due 1 Order 2 Temper 3 Manner 2 Wherefore 1 Each of them in conjunction 1 Beautifies 2 Fortifies 3 Beatifies 2 Neither of them in separation can 1 Subsist in sincerity 2 Support in anxiety 3 Suffice in felicity 2 True Religion 1 Magnifie 2 Certifie 3 Satisfie 3 Happinesse in these 1 What happinesse which is 1 Desirable attaineable 2 Miserable in world 3 Incomparable in God 4 Indubitable in this way 2 Why. 1 Necessity of thing 2 Mortality of man 3 Mutability of times 4 Excellency of gaine 5 Oppurtunity of grace THE RIGHTEOVS MANS PLEA TO TRVE HAPPINESSE SER. 1. Preached in Ten Sermons PSAL. 4.6 There be many that say who will shew us any good Lord life thou up the light of thy countenance upon us WEe have treated formely of the use and benefit of a forme of sound and wholsome words The last time I gave you that forme which I did in a prudentiall way The summe of which consisted of 52. Heads or Particulars partly belonging to the Porch and Frontispice and partly to the Pile and Edifice it selfe There were foure things that I desire to premise in the Frontispice Concerning Happinesse Concerning Religion Concerning the Church Concerning the Scriptures And they are all of generall importance in the first gate and entrance as being the first grand inquiries that will be made as it were in the entry How shall a man attaine to true happinesse That is the very first thought the very first desire of the soule and the very scope and summe of all a mans labours and endeavours and the very scope and summe of Religon And the resolution of that brings in the second That the onely happinesse is how ever men mistake I say the onely way to attaine true happinesse is by the Knowledge Feare and Service of God according to the true Religion And that as I said leads to the second Inquirie which is There be many Religions in the world How shall a man know which is the true Religion Which of all the rest is that that the soule may rest upon And the answer will be That neither the Pagan and Heathenish nor the Iewish nor the Mahumetane but in a word the Christian Religion which is professed in the Church of God that is the true Religion And that brings us to the third which is But there be many pretenders to the Church and a man knowes not which of them is the true Church The resolution will be the Protestant Church That Church that submits its selfe to be regulated by the Scriptures is the true Church and then the fourth will be concerning the Scriptures I am now to beginne and therefore have chosen this portion of Scripture for that purpose concerning the first of these foure viz. Concerning Happinesse Now I will but briefely acquaint you with one thing which I did not doe the last time and so goe on There be as I have said 52. Heads in the whole for I framed it so at the first that if it might be possible I might goe thorough it in the compasse of one yeare There be these
into a compendious mould so as it might have gone along with the other time prevented me and now I shall resolve not to inlarge it but to deliver it in the same compasse and with the same brevitie I then intended partly because I finde some weakenesse which makes me not altogether fit to inlarge much and partly because what ever may seeme to be defective or short in this place there will be sufficient opportunity in the next Point to bring it in wherein wee shall treate of the possitive part of happinesse wherein it lies indeede if it doe not lie in these worldly things to make us happie 2. Application 2. There be but three things in generall which I intend to inferre by way of Vse and Application out of the consideration of this divine Truth The first shall be for Instruction The second for Reproofe The third for Exhortation which are indeede the most generall heads which may helpe to regulate and guide our practise to which all Application tends 1. Instruction 1. For Instruction briefely to touch upon that for that is not the thing that I intend 1. It may convince the errour of worldly Philosophers Wee may here receive a good principle by which we may convince all the erronious conceits which men are ready to fasten upon and which doe fasten upon men many times ere they are aware wee may see here the broad and wide errour of all Philosophicall fancies concerning happinesse Convince the errour of worldly Philosophers Augustine reckons up no lesse than 288. severall opinions of severall learned Philosophers that placed happinesse one in one thing and another in another thing every one being different and opposing one another every one contradicting what others had said and being confident of his owne But as the Apostle speaks of the Romanos in the like cause Rom 1.22 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. The conceit of their owne wisedome and their ambition made them fooles i. e. even befooled them and they grew infatuate And indeed this is a point that it is not to be expected that the conceit of naturall reason or the naturall light of a man should ever be able to guide a man steadily to No marvell that they did speake like blinde men like drunken men and runne in a labyrinth in a misse maze and were not able to get out of it having not the lanthorne of the light of divine revelation to lead them out It is not worth the while to speake particularly of them I shall content my selfe onely with a briefe touch of them We see all the opinions of Philosophers all their knowledge cleane out of the way yea and the wisedome of all naturall men is too shallow by farre and all naturall abilities to come to shew steadily wherein true happinesse lies If nature could have done it then the learnedst wits and wisedome might happily have found it out But they could not they groped in the darke as the Sodomites when they were strucken with blindnesse groped to find Lots doore so they groped to see if by any meanes they might finde out happinesse but they had not light enough to doe it In the second place to mention that which is not so farre out of the way wee will not meddle here now with Philosophers Godly professors 2. It may convince the errour of godly Professors and of those that pretend to Christianitie and have more than naturall men being alienated from them in their principles yet even among them will appeare a great deale of the reliques of that wound by that blow which our nature received by our fall In this I shall bring the application nearer to our selves Wee may see here our blindnesse in this by the experience of all Christians and in some degree of the best sort too Who is there that doth not place too much in these worldly things that hath not too high an esteeme and makes too precious account of them and doth not retaine many times in his minde and nourish too some secret thoughts at least that there is some extraordinary vertue in those things to make a man happy There be many caracters that doe evidently discover the reliques of this disease that it is not fully cured even where grace begun his worke But I shall better touch on this afterward and shall therefore passe it now 2. Correct our judgements concerning the happinesse of Others It may rectifie our judgements concerning the happinesse first of others secondly of our selves 1. Of others We may learne to judge what is true happinesse and who are the happy men And if we will doe this aright wee must not doe it Populari trutina not weigh it in the ballance of the world but come to the ballance of the Sanctuary and weigh things there by which it will appeare evidently as out of this truth that wee have named and treated on who are happy and who not We should not thinke those the happy men that have either the excellency or the confluence of these worldly things As when I see a man suppose one that hath a very great estate and hath plenty of all in this world Suppose he hath with that many perfections of body as beautie and strength Suppose hee with all this hath many excellencies of minde that hee is pregnant in understanding and admirable in many such abilities We are ready as Samuel was in the cause of David wee are ready to mistake the true happy man and to set the crowne of happinesse upon the wrong head as he was ready to powre out the Oyle upon Eliah the eldest sonne and a goodly man and least of all though upon poore little David that was an out cast and abroad in the field as a Shepheard and this man Eliah was a Gentleman a Gallant home with his Father and hee keeping his Fathers sheepe but God placed the crowne upon him though as I said Samuel was ready to mistake And we are ready to doe so in this cause that wee now speake of But now this point will and should helpe to rectifie and guide our hands aright in placing of the crowne of happinesse and it teacheth us not to measure by worldly things not to count those the happy men that are the darlings of Fortune that are lulled asleepe in the lap of the world and are dandled there and have all plenty and abundance of worldly things Our owne happinesse 2. This may rectifie our judgements concerning our owne happinesse in this the deceit is more dangerous As this will helpe us to judge of others so of our selves wee should not therefore if wee will be true to this Point and doe remember it well be in danger to blesse our selves and sooth up our selves as though wee were in estate of happinesse when things goe smoothly with us I besech you to remember this present point and keepe the truth of it in your minds that it may be a charme
against all enchantmens in this kinde that doe fascinate our minds and bewitch us with the things of this world Doe not thinke the rich man or the honourable man or the wise man that because he hath these indowments therefore he is happy not you your selves if you have them Deceive not your selves your happinesse hath not in these things although you are rich and witty and beautifull c. these are indeede great things but these make not the man doe not thinke so as to befoole yourselves and not looke out after the maine It is an observation a man were better be deceived in the darke than have a false glimmering light because the confidence of the one will make him carelesse and so fall whereas otherwise hee would weigh more how hee goeth and ponder every steppe carefully and so avoid the danger A man were better be in a bad and blind estate and condition than in such a condition as hath a kind of glimmering of happinesse which keepes him off from the true happinesse and makes him runne many times upon the rocke of true misery out of a false conceit that he is already in the state of happinesse But of these things I have spoken enough for the present 2. Vse Reprehension of As we have something here for the rectifying of our judgements in the point of happinesse so in the second place this affords matter pregnant enough of Reproofe Reprehension to reprove the practise of many men in the world I will first name the practises and then a little unmaske the pretences by which men thinke they have a nooke to runne out at and thinke that this truth doth not touch them with any just reproofe The practise of worldly men 1. The practises of worldly men It is cleare enough that all worldly men that are made up of dirt and who carry about them the curse of the Serpent Vpon thy belly shall thou go dust shalt thou eate They are like the woman in the Gospel that had a spirit of infirmity for so many yeares that grew crooked downward towards the earth These are worldly men men that doe minde the things of the world onely which makes them grow crooked downeward who make it their great worke and onely study because they place the onely happinesse in it and so spend and ravell out all their time and spinne out all their bowells for the purchasing and the getting of worldly things They are cleane out of the way and mistake foully as the Father speakes Vitam beatam quarunt in regione mortis It is a foule mistake to looke to finde heaven in hell happinesse in misery such are they that minde nothing but worldly things And they are clearely to be reproved Of Godly men 2. The practises of the godly men here reproved There are many that doe not onely pretend to godlinesse but doe participate it may be in some degree of godlinesse that are blame worthy too If our happinesse lie not in worldly things as it doth not why then doe godly men soule their hands and disparage their names in being so greedy in their pursuit of these worldly things in being too having and taking too much delight and contentment in them and being infinitely grieved at the losse of them and so for all other the symptomes which argue an adherency of the soule to them It argues a roote of bitternesse in them in some degree and that they place more happinesse in these worldly things then God would have them or then hee ever did for every man doth proportion his care in seeking after any thing according to his estimation of the conjunction of that thing which hee seekes after with his happinesse happinesse being the end of all a mans aimes Hee would not minde over much or be greedy over-much of any thing but that there is a secret estimation in a mans breast that it is very neere alyed and of very neere kinne to his happinesse Now it is cleare and evident amongst us that there is this fault even in godly men that they doe too much licke up the dust and doe too much groape after worldly things and set too great a price upon them and therefore the reproofe reacheth to them also I may well make use of that which Chrysostome said sometime that if he were the fittest in the world to preach a Sermon to the whole world gathered together in one congregation and had some high mountaine for his pulpit from whence he might have a prospect of all the world in his view and were furnished with a voyce of brasse a voyce as loud as the trumpet of the Arch-angell that all the world might heare him he would chuse to Preach upon no other Text then that very one even in this Psalme O mortall men how long will ye love vanity and follow after leasing those deceitful things of the world which promise happinesse when they cannot make it good It is that which would make a Sermon of a generall reproofe to all the world and come home to every one Pretences there 2. But now to come to the second thing I propounded which I will but briefely touch on Besides those Practises Men have pretences to excuse themselves upon some faire colours and such possibly may be in them yet for all these pretences we may otherwise discerne well enough that they place their happinesse too much of it at least in these worldly things yet that they may not deceive themselves we will examine them The best plea of all is that they doe but make conscience of their duty we are to seeke these worldly things in some measure because God appointed every one to doe it and the hand of the diligent shall make rich God hath made us our owne executioners our owne instruments to be fabirs fortunae in some sense to be servers of our selves and to helpe our selves with the necessaries of this life And the consideration of a mans charge and family and estate and such like will afford a man plausible glosses and probable arguments to defend themselves even those that are most deeply tainted with this poyson and guilty of this fault yet thinke to wind out of all reproofe and escape the blow thereof with such faire pretences But briefely in a word for answer for I intend not to sift things to the branne and to prosecute them so close in a word therefore for answer I shall give but a touch There be two things that I desire every one to consider against all their pretences beside one thing which I desire may be considered in generall I desire no man would deale with me or with any other that should cal on them to take heed of immoderate love of worldly things or an immoderate prosecution of them I say not deale with us as many wil deale with man for though men have no such art as to enter into the hearts of men men have not a window
we nourish such an erronious thought that this is the only happinesse Ministers may talke what they will they disparage riches and honour c. that have it not themselves they disparage pleasure that have not beene acquainted with it but yet when all is done happinesse lieth in these things For so long as there is such a roote of bitternesse within us such a corrupt opinion it will not onely overflow like the gall to imbitter and poyson our affections but also our actions and so all things will be disordered As in a Watch if the spring wheele be out of frame all runnes wrong so if this be poysoned all will be in danger The very spring of every thing in a man is a mans judgement and if that be tainted and corrupted that will soone corrupt and poyson our affections and our actions for there is a naturall connexion betweene them and the intellectuall part is the guiding part of all the rest and therefore if you would keepe all the rest aright that your actions may be moderate and your affections may be moderate you must labour to get and keepe moderate opinions moderate your apprehensions of them thinke not too highly of them but rather thinke on these things that may most of all disparage them and blocke them and take off the beauty of them and that glory that is on them that may dazle our eyes Learne to abate the world in our prosecution of it in our actions in our affections and in our estimations this is the first thing that we may learne from this 2. If this be so then as wee must learne to abate what possibly wee may abate our actions Translate to better things affections and estimations of this world so in the second place let us take a hint from hence to translate all these above these earthly things and set them upon those things in which indeede our felicity lieth If felicitie be not in this world and if happinesse be not in these worldly things it is no inconsequent counsell But we have shewne it doth not lie in these worldly things it lies therfore in some other and we have mistaken the box all this while and taken quid pro quo as the saying is Then let us translate our affections which we have spilt upon these earthly things and place them upon better things in which our felicity lyeth translate them upon God upon Heaven God Heaven Holinesse upon Holinesse these are undoubted felicity and the way unto it The other things of this world are nothing neere the thing happinesse it selfe no nor the way unto it but those are undoubtedly such and therefore they are worthy to possesse and inherit all those excellencies of our judgement and affection and actions And the streame of them should run currantly after heavenly things But I shall touch on these things more when I come to the next point 3. Moderate Labour to moderate our joy and our sorrow and moderate our hearts and compose them aright in many cases which doe depend upon this truth and principle and for want of which many do oppresse themselves and afflict themselves very unworthily and undecently 1. Learne then here first to moderate our griefe and sorrow in a double case Griefe of First of want Secondly of losse 1. Suppose we want these worldly things Want let us not be over sorrowfull and hang downe the head because we are at a low ebb in these worldly things Remember this to moderate it my felicity is not in this thing nor any part of it no nor any way unto it And therefore I can spare them and be without them if God doe thinke it fit I can live well without them I can well afford to want them since I lose never a whit of my felicity by them It is neither annihilated nor eclipsed by the want of them let us not therefore be overmuch cast downe if we want them Losse 2. Let us not be too much cast downe for the losse of them which is indeed the worse O that I had them once that is a sad word to thinke I had them once but now have lost them It is more grievous to be stript of what a man had then simply to be naked to be stript of all the injoyment a man had and tooke some pride in and wherein he thought himselfe happy and afterward to be brought to a low ebbe from that as the Prodigall was to be brought to the huskes of the Swine so farre degraded from that injoyment and contentment a man had before this cuts more deepe and pierceth the soule more grievously but yet this consideration may helpe to mitigate and moderate it and compose our hearts in this case It is true I have lost but I have not lost so much of my blood or my speciall happinesse no nor any thing that is essentiall or rituall to it And may not a man comfort himselfe in such a case as this Suppose a man had beene in travell upon the way and had met with theeves and he had some loose money in his pockets but had in a private place which the theeves were not aware of some precious jewell and the theeves should come and take away onely the loose money and not finde his jewell would that man rejoyce or be sad thinke you when he is gone from the theeves would he be sad and hang downe the head because he had lost it may be two or three shillings or rather be thankefull and glad that he had saved his jewell And so it is in this case that man hath no reason to be sad though he lost any worldly thing if he lose not part of his happinesse It is not my jewell that I have lost it is onely something that did fit loose about me a little worldly thing it may be which was not connaturall with me but more easie to be separated from me and so without a diminution of happinesse This might helpe to compose and to bring the heart in a right frame when I consider I have lost somthing but it is but a poore thing that is not any part of my happinesse 2. This may teach us to moderate our envy Envy we are ready to repine at those that have more then we and when we finde any want in our owne estates we can cavill with God for others because they are higher or better then we therefore God deales unkindly with us and we begin to repine at this and many times the heart is ready to miscarry in such an estate with such childish thoughts But now this point will rectifie a man and tell him he hath no reason to envy him for having that which is so poore that it makes not a happy man Alas poore miserable man that hath never so much I thinke with sad thoughts of him when I consider this man is counted a happy man by the world but yet he is farre from it