any act of Prophaneness Sin and Wickedness a fit Action for Christ to take and present unto his Father for Divine Acceptance Certainly our Actions must have the Truth though not the Perfection of good Works for otherwise 't were a Thing unbeseeming Christ to present them and unbecoming God to accept them for in so doing Christ must become a Patron of Sin and God an Owner of the Works and an Encourager of the Workers of Iniquity O then take care that your Actions be such as may be fit to be presented by Christ unto his Father and to be accepted by God in and thorough Christ This is the Way to honour Christ considered as a Priest 2. Accept of Christ as a Prophet to teach and instruct thee thorowly to teach both thy Head and Heart and be willing and forward to learn of Christ and to be taught by him the Truth as it is in Jesus and to profit both by his Doctrine and Example 3. Accept of Christ not only for thy Priest and Saviour and for thy Prophet Teacher and Instructour but for thy wise and holy Law-giver and for thy soveraign King and Governour to rule and to reign over thee Give up thy self in hearty Subjection to the Person and Authority of Christ and [c] Credere se in Christâ—m quomodo dicit qui non facit quod Christus facere praecepit aut unde perveniet ad praemium fidei qui fidem non vult servare mandati Cyprianus de Eccles unit Quid est credulitas vel fides opinor fideliter hominem Christo credere id est fidelem Deo esse hoc est fideliter Dei mandata servare Christiani homines infideles sunt si bona sibi à Deo assignata corruperint Salvian de Gubern Dei lib. 3. vow and be ready to perform sincere Obedience to all the Particular Commands of Christ When others cry these are hard Sayings who can bear them do you profess that his Commands are not grievous and do thou say from thy very Heart I delight to do thy Will O Christ Love and Delight in the Laws of Christ and choose and strive to keep and observe them when others censure break and violate them While other Men dishonour Christ and put him to an open Shame and cause his worthy Name to be blasphemed let thy Life lead Men to high and excellent Thoughts of Christ and of his Laws and Waies and Government This is the right Acceptance of Christ so * Coloss 2.6 to receive Christ Jesus the Lord as to purpose and endeavour to walk in him And then for the other Act of Faith Have not only a bare Opinion of Christ's Fidelity but trust in Christ with a practical Trust So thoroughly trust him as to venture all thy Happiness on him in his own way Trust him so far as to be sincerely and heartily willing to leave and forsake all to follow him to part with Sin and the World yea Life it self for him who will not suffer thee to be finally a Loser by him to be ready to relinquish all that thou seest and possessest here for things invisible which Christ hath promised to render to the Believer in the other World And so believe what is said concerning the Holy Ghost as heartily to believe in the Holy Ghost Consent to take him for thy Teacher and Guide Sanctifier and Quickner Advocate and Comforter Enter into solemn Covenant with resign and give up thy self to the Worship and Service of the sacred Trinity Be fully resolv'd to live to God and Christ and to worship in the Spirit to be led by the Spirit to walk in the Spirit and to bring forth the Fruits of the Spirit Believe and learn to live by Faith and let thy Faith work by Love and shew it self by good Works and be productive of the Obedience of Faith And let thy Obedience be voluntary and cheerful uniform and universal constant and perpetual Thus thus improve the precious Season of Gospel-Light Grace and Strength by plainly and fully coming up to the Terms and faithfully performing the great and necessary Conditions of the Gospel Honour and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by entertaining and walking worthy of the Gospel of Christ There was a memorable Statue set up in the Isle of Rhodes in honour of the Sun which once a Day is said to shine upon that Island be the Air in all other Parts never so overcast with Clouds But we enjoy a greater and higher Priviledg than they The Sun of Righteousness shines upon this our Island and affords the Light of the blessed Gospel not only once every Day but all the Day long every Day And now shall we be so blind and unthankful as to take no notice of it so idle and careless as to make no use of it Since the Light of the Gospel does clearly and sweetly beam out in our Faces when the Air is dark abroad and many other places are cover'd with the thick Clouds of Ignorance let us * Joh. 5.35 rejoice in the Light and †1 Joh. 1.7 walk in the Light of the Glorious Gospel as Children of the ‖ Eph. 5.8 Light and of the (*) 1 Thess 5.5 Day and then we shall be as so many Statues set up in Honour of Christ the Sun of Righteousness that shines in his Lustre and Strength upon us But besides the General Opportunity of the Continuance of the Gospel which is afforded to many all their Life long I say besides this there are some Parcels and Portions of our Lives some Daies and Hours of our Time that are Particular and special Opportunities above others as namely these following The first Particular Opportunity to be redeemed 1. The Morning of our Age the Time of Youth and Health and Strength this is an Opportunity of providing for Eternity this is a fit Season of working out our Salvation of laying up in store against a Time of Sickness an Hour of Weakness and the Day of Death This is a Time wherein [a] Juvenes possumus discore possumus facilem animum adhuc tractabilem ad meliora convertere hoc tempus idoneum est laboribus idoneum agitandis â—er studia ingeniis exercendâ—s ter opera corporibus Quod superest segnius languiaius est propâ—â—◠â fine Primus quisquo tanquam optimus dies placeat redigatur in nostrum Sen. ep 103. both Body and Mind are strong and vigorous This is an Age meet for Impression capable of Instruction and fit for Action The Wise Man calls young Men to redeem this choicest Part of their Time to think of him early who lov'd and minded us so early Eccles 12.1 Remember now thy Creator in the Daies of thy Youth thy choice Daies while the evil Daies come not nor the Years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no Pleasure in them The Daies of Youth are good Daies the Time of Health and Strength is a good Time indeed
one another's sinning and to promote the Work of Grace and Holiness in one another's Hearts Take Occasion to warm not so much one another's Houses as one another's Hearts Visit one another in the Evening meet together and confer one with another at leisure hours and on daies of Recreation * Mal. 3.16 Speak often one to another concerning the things that belong to the Peace of one another's Souls and concern the Conditiion of the Church of Christ Build up †Jude 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be put for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one another on your most holy Faith ‖ 1 Thess 5.11 Comfort your selves together and edify one another (*) Heb. 3.13 Exhort one another daily while it is called To day Let your Exhortation be mutual and reciprocal frequent and continual seasonable and speedy lest any of you be hardened through the Deceitfulness of Sin Take the first Opportunity of dealing with thy Friend as the case and need of his Soul requires lest Death remove him unexpectedly out of the reach of thy Charity to all Eternity Consider with thy self that should thy Companion live longer yet he may continue in the omission of some Duty because you only purpose to put him upon it Or he may go on in the commission of some Sin grow more and more in Love with it and fall more under the Power of it because you have only some thought and intention to turn him from it Support preserve and keep one another from falling and in the Spirit of Meekness raise and recover (†) Gal. 6.1 restore and (‖) Jam 5.19 convert one another when overtaken and fallen in any degree and measure either into Sin or Errour * Le◠19 17. Hate not your Friend or Brother in your Heart in any wise rebuke your Neighbour and never suffer Sin upon him when you find him offending against God or Man And * Mat. 18.15 if a Friend or Brother shall plainly trespass against thee go and tell him his Fault between thee and him alone not seeming to reproach him by chiding and reprehending him in publick nor offering to back-bite him by talking privately to others against him †Col. 3.16 Rom. 15 14. Teach and admonish one another and let it appear that you practise your own Precepts and take your selves the Counsel you give to others Follow Tertullian's excellent Advice [p] Oportet constantiam commenend proprtie conversationis autheritate dertgere ne icta faciis aesictent thus crubescant Tert. de patientia initio strengthen your friendly Admonition and Exhortation with the Authority of your own Conversation that your want of Deeds may not make you blush at your own Words and let me add that your Friend and Companion may not neglect and reject your Sayings because he knows too well your Doings As oftentimes you thrust away the good Light of a Candle for the ill savour which the stinking Tallow yields Let none have reason to retort and say ‖ Luke 4.23 Physician heal thy self (*) Rom. 2 21. Thou which teachest another teachest thou not thy self What Mr. Herbert speaks of Ministers may be sitly accommodated to the Exhortations and Admonitions of Christian Friends [q] The Windows Doctrine and Life Colours and Light in one When they combine and mingle bring A strong Regard and Aw but Speech alone Doth vanish like a flaring thing And in the Ear not Conscience ring (†) Heb 10 24. Consider one another to provoke unto Love and to good Works or to [r] Dr. Ham of frat Admon or Correp p. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sharpen or provoke in one another Charity and good or laudable Works You are apt to forget and prone to neglect your selves you have need enough of one anothers spiritual Care and Help 't is necessary that others should watch and observe incite and assist you be at some trouble and take some pains with you your own and others Consideration and Provocation of you is little enough to stir and move you Ponder and [s] Dr. Hum. Par. in loc weigh all Advantages that you can have one upon another to excite and extimulate to engage and quicken one another to the Exercise of Charity and all Actions of Piety whensoever you find any thing of fainting or growing cold in one another Search and enquire into one anothers spiritual Estates mind and study the Cases and Conditions of one anothers Souls the Causes and Cures of one another spiritual Distempers Be very solicitous for one anothers present and future Good carefully consult the spiritual Prosperity and eternal Welfare of one another Consider one another to provoke one another not to Sin and Wickedness to Vanity and Folly to uncertain Opinions to Faction and Division to Siding and Party-taking not to that which is highly provoking but exceeding well-plealing to God not to Wrath but to Love not to Evil but to Good Works Consider and provoke one another not as the Devil considers and provokes Men by his Temptations but as God considers and provokes Men who watches over us continually prevents us daily with his Grace strengthens us against Temptations affords us his Counsel instils many good Motions into our Minds and often incites and stirs us up to the Duties incumbent on us And as Christ consider'd and provoked Sinners when he was here on Earth to Faith and Repentance good Works and Obedience who went about doing Good doing good to Mens Souls as well as Bodies who freely convers'd with them frequently instructed them affectionately exhorted them powerfully press'd them plainly reprov'd them was grieved for the Hardness of their Hearts lamented and wept over their Impenitency and Insidelity Consider thy Companion at such a season when it is most likely that he may consider what you say to him Provoke him to Good when in all probability it may do most good Remember to consider and provoke one another in a serious manner Never offer to utter a few cold dull dead Words between Jest and Earnest but earnestly perswade and pathetically expostulate one with another and let one another plainly see that every Application does arise and proceed from Love and Compassion and that it is the Desire of your Souls to save one another's Souls Let your Words be as * Eccl. 12.1 Goads as the Wise Man speaks to prick one another forward in the way of Religion Instead of detaining one another unnecessarily from the Publick Assembly stir up one another with an holy Zeal and say one to another in the Words of the Prophet * Zech. 8.21 Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of Hosts I will go also Be not Quench-coals but as live Coals begetting Heat in those that are next you Let Christian Acquaintance use their utmost Endeavours to bring one another more acquainted with God and with their own spiritual States and Conditions Let Christian Neighbours study
hearty Thankfulness to Christ for it your Obedience to your Lord who does not only vouchsafe it as a Priviledge but command it as a Duty Do this in Remembrance of me Perform this easie sweet Command of thy dying Lord and Saviour who has freed and delivered thee by his Death from the heavy Yoke and grievous Bondage of Jewish Sacrifices and Observances O let our Hearts at such a Time be broken and bleed at the Remembrance of our Sins which brake Christ's Body and shed his Blood Behold in the Sacrifice and bloody Death of Christ represented in this Sacrament the odiousness and baseness of your own Sins and resolve to be the Death of that which was the Death of Christ and rather to die than willingly to do that for which Christ died Abhorr the Thoughts of wilfully choosing so great an Evil as once brought so great a Punishment upon so great a Person as the holy Jesus the well-beloved Son of God Consider seriously upon this Occasion that if God would not spare Christ when he who knew no Sin was by voluntary charitable Assumption of our Guilt to answer for our Sins to be sure then he will not spare us if we wilfully run on in Sin and obstinately allow our selves therein notwithstanding so convincing a Demonstration of his sin-hating Holiness and vindicative Justice Upon due Meditation draw this Conclusion which is the excellent Reasoning of the [p] Facilis est collectio si Deus ne resipiscentibus quidem peccata remittere voluit nisi Christo in poenas succedente multò minùs inultos sinet contumaces Grot. de Satisfact Christi learned Grotius that if God would not pardon the Sins no not of penitent Persons unless Christ did substitute himself in their Room and stand in their Stead to bear the Punishment much less will he suffer unreclaimable Rebels and contumacious Sinners to go unpunished When Christ is set forth in this Sacrament crucified before your Eies think how he intended and aimed at our Mortification and Sanctification in his Death and Passion * Tit. 2.14 Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and purify to himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works †Pet. 2.4 Who his own self bare our Sins in his own Body on the Tree that we being dead to Sin should live unto Righteousness Let us yield that Christ should have his End in his Death and never allow our selves to live in Sin which will render us uncapable of receiving the Benefit of Christ's Death Think how the Unholiness of our Lives is a greater wrong to Christ than the Jews being the very Death of him because as the [q] D. Jackson Vol. 3. p. 343 344 345. learned Dr. Jackson notes it is more against the Will and Liking and good Pleasure of our Saviour whose Will was regulated by Reason and was a constant Rule of Goodness for though a painful shameful Death and that inflicted by his own People went much against his human Will yet he chose rather to die and to suffer the most afflictive Circumstances of Death for us than to suffer us to live and die in our Sins and in the Servitude and Power of Satan Shall we pretend when we approach to the Table of our Lord affectionately to remember a loving dying Saviour and to desire to have his Memory continued and transmitted to Posterity and yet so much forget him upon the return of any Temptation as to repeat that which was the Death of him Shall we weep at the Sacrament and seem to be hugely troubled for those Sins which were the Cause of Christ's Sorrows and yet go about again to destroy and to crucify Christ afresh Shall we commemorate at the Lord's Supper our wonderful Redemption by the precious Blood of Christ and when we have done shall we do the Devil more work and service than the Lord Christ O what a Reproach is this to Christ and what a Sport to the Devil that they that pretend to remember Christ's Dying for them should not find in their hearts to live to him [q] Ego pro istis quos mecum vides nec alapas accepi nec flagella sustinui nec crucem pertuli nec sanguinem fudi nec familiam meam pretio passionis cruoris redemi sed nec regnum illis coeleste promitto nec ad paradisum restitutâ immortalitate denuò revoco Tuos tales Christe demonstra vix tui meis pereuntibus adaequantur qui à te divinis mercedibus praemiis coelestibus honorantur Cypr. de Opere Eleemosynis p. 220. St. Cyprian brings in the Devil boasting and bragging against our Saviour and insulting over us silly and sinful Wretches in this manner I have endured no Buffetings nor born Smitings with the Palms of Men's Hands I have suffer'd no Scourgings nor under-gon the Cross for any of these nor have I redeem'd my Family with the Price of my Passion and Blood-shedding yet shew me O Christ so many so busy so painful so dutiful Servants of thine as I am able to shew thee every where of mine Bring forth if thou canst such a Number of Persons who devote themselves and give their Labours Estates and Time to thee as I can easily produce of those who do all this to me When thou professest to remember that Christ died for thee O die to that for which he died Offer thy self to him and lay out thy self for him who once offered himself for us and in the Sacrament offers himself to us Think no Duty too much for him For Shame for Shame do not serve any longer a bloody Murtherer instead of a blessed Saviour and merciful Redeemer Let our Thoughts and Meditations dwell upon the Demonstration given us in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper of Christ's exceeding incomparable Love to Mankind See there how contrary the sweet and kind Nature of Christ is to the cruel and execrable Nature of the old Tyrant the Devil For as the learned [r] His Mystery of Godliness p. 133 245. Dr. More very well observes whereas the Devil who by unjust Vsurpation had got the Government of the World into his own hands tyrannizing with the greatest Cruelty and Scorn that can be imagined over Mankind thirsted after humane Blood and in most Parts of the World required the Sacrificing of Men which could not arise from any thing else but a salvage Pride and Despight against us This new gracious Prince of God's own appointing Christ Jesus was so far from requiring any such villainous Homage that himself became at once one grand and all sufficient Sacrifice for us to expiate the Sins of all Mankind and so to reconcile the World to God Shall not all this disengage us from Sin and Satan and win and gain us over to Christ And let Christ's Death make thee study to do something answerable to the dearest Love of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has
and solemn-Prayer this is the right instant for Ejaculations whether orally utter'd or only poured forth inwardly in the Heart Fuller's Medit on all kind of Prayers p. 77. This is an excellent way to redeem the Time in the want of a proper Place for larger Prayer Wherever thou art though never so far from a Church or Oratory yet as to the Use of this kind of Prayer thou maiest be the Temple of God thy self and pray within thy self Yea once more This is an admirable way to redeem the Time in the greatest straits of Time in the midst of much Company in the Multiplicity Croud and Hurry of worldly Businesses and Employments For this is the Advantage and rare Priviledg of Ejaculation that the Work of God is performed in it and [a] Media inter praelia semper Stetlarum coe ique plagis superisque vacavi Caesar apud Lucan l. 10. v. 185. no secular Affair or worldly Occasion hindred or retarded impeded or interrupted by it It is a gaining of Time for the Exercise of Religion without any Prejudice Let or Hindrance to your Calling It is a taking Time for a spiritual Duty without taking it away from your civil Employment [b] The Field wherein Bees feed is no whit the barer for their biting when they have took their full repast on Flower or Grass the Or may feed the Sheep fat on their Reversions The reason is because those little Chymists distil only the refined part of the Flower leaving the grosser Substance thereof So Ejaculations bind not men to any bodily Observance only busy the spiritual half which maketh them consistent with the prosecution of any other Employment Fuller loc cit p 78. VVe should make some improvement of that Time in which we do the works of our particular Callings to some spiritual Advantage if our Employments be such as exercise the Hand and not the Head by some useful Meditations as some will plant their Hedg-â—owes with fruit-fruit-trees reckoning that what they get thereby is clear Gain because they take up no room which might be put to any other Use so what we get by such Meditations is clearly gained because it doth not hinder any other Employment Lukins Pract. of Godl p. 53 54. Art thou as much against this that worldly thoughts should mingle themselves with thy solemn Prayers as that holy thoughts should be mingled with thy worldly Business This shews the rottenness of thy Heart that thou wilt admit the VVorld to come and speak with thee in the midst of thy solemn Duties or converse with God but wilt not afford God a word or a look while thou art conversing with the VVorld White 's Power of Godl p 214. You may at the same instant follow your particular proper Vocation and send up an holy Ejaculation The Husbandman may dart forth an Ejaculation and not make a Balk the more The Tradesman may mind his Shop never the less for minding God in such a way as this Thy Ejaculatory Prayers will sanctify instead of hindring thy Employments will influence thy Conscience and keep thee from sinning in thy Calling and will draw down a Blessing upon every Business and Undertaking In a Word To give our selves to holy and heavenly Ejaculation this is the way * 1 Thess 5.17 to pray without ceasing And surely the Frequency and Number of Ejaculatory Prayers will bring us in very great and large spiritual Gains and notable rich Returns 'T is a noted and approved Saying That much Meditation short Prayers and often make an excellent Christian The eminently learned and holy Andrew Rivet did much accustome and inure himself to these short Prayers He used in his old Age as he himself declares [c] Ego sanè mi srater à multis annis hanc orationem singults diebus saepe hor is repoto qui sentio mihi haec eadem convenire Andr. Rivet ep ad Guil. Fratr De Senect bon p. 1260. in an Epistle to his Brother for many Years every Day and often every Hour to repeat * Psal 71.17 18. those Words of the divine Psalmist which were suitable to the Circumstances of his own Condition O God thou hast taught me from my Youth and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous Works Now also when I am old and gray-headed O God forsake me not until I have shewed thy Strength unto this Generation and thy Power to every one that is to come The seventh Direction If we would redeem the Time we must set our selves to the daily frequent diligent Reading and serious studying of the sacred Scriptures for 1. This is a gaining and making Advantage of all that Time past which the Scripture gives you the History and Account of Seneca advises his Friend Lucilius by the Peregrination of his Mind to go to the ancient Worthies and renowned great Men and by Cogitation to behold them in order to an Imitation of them This he proposes to him as a prudent way to get Vice extirpated and Vertue farther planted in him He would have him by Contemplation go live and converse with the Cato's with Laelius Tubero Socrates Zeno Chrysippus Posidonius These will instruct you saies [a] Hi tibi tralent divinorum humanor â—â—mque netitiâ—â—m Hi juâ—tbunt in opere esse Sen. ep 104. he in the knowledg of things divine and humane and will command and enjoin you to be busied and employed in some good Action Let me advise and counsel you that are Christians to travel srequently through the holy Scriptures to keep a constant Course of attentive reading those sacred Writings and they will give you the happy Advantage of spiritual and fruitful Converse with the Patriarchs and Prophets with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob with Moses and Elias with Noah Job and Daniel with David and Solomon with St. Peter and Paul and James and John with Christ and his Apostles and the Primitive Christians There you may get Acquaintance with and make use of those rare Persons that have been most exemplary and serviceable in their Generations and most deservedly famous in the several Ages of the Church of God and Christ and may take the Benefit of their holy Discourses their excellent Lives and vertuous Actions And what the same Philosopher wisely Discourses in his excellent Book of the Brevity of Life encouraging Persons to a daily familiar Acquaintance with Zeno Pythagoras Democritus Aristotle Theophrastus What he saies there to invite and engage Men to reade the Writings of such as excess in useful Philosophical Learning and good Arts is more truly applicable by way of Motive to prevail with Men to give themselves to the reading of the Pen-men of the sacred Scriptures and of the Sayings of those wise and holy Persons that are introduced discoursing therein [b] Nemo horum nen vocabit nemo non venientem ad se beatiorem ama 〈◊〉 émque sui dimittit Hi tibi dabunt ad aeternitatem iter te in iâ—um iocum ex
Rel. p. 170. rule and govern the rational World by giving notices of future Rewards or Punishments which all must unavoidably be adjudged to And that God may one day salve the Honour of his own Attributes that though Things seem to be carried very unequally here in this World and Judgment be never fully executed here but the Wicked are often suffered to escape and the Good and Upright are frequently afflicted and evil-intreated yet all may be rectified and regulated at last and God may openly and evidently appear to be just in punishing the Wicked and Ungodly and good in owning and rewarding every truly vertuous and righteous Person And so may not only vindicate and right himself but justify and right his People too in the Eye and Face of all the World And then go on to think of Scripture-evidences and Testimonies That * Heb. 9.27 after Death the Judgment immediatly after Death a particular Judgment Think of that awakening startling Summons †Luke 16.2 Give an Account of thy Stewardship for thou mayest be no longer Steward Alcibiades in Plutarch coming to Pericles his Door and hearing that he was busie and solicitous about making his Accounts to the Athenians [c] 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plut. Apophthegm p. 180. said It rather concer'd him to study how he might best put by his Accounts and avoid the giving of them up But assure thy self there is no declining of it here Consider that God has * Acts 17.31 appointed a Day a Day of general Judgment in the which he will judg the World in Righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained And that we †2 Cor 5.10 must all appear and ‖ Rom. 14.10 stand before the Judgment-seat of Christ not only appear in Person as those do that are cited into a Court but be laid open and made manifest as the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies have our Heart and Life ript up and all our Thoughts Words and Works presented to our own view and expos'd to the view of others disclosed and discovered before Men and Angels That (*) Rev. 20.12 the Books shall then be opened the Book of God's Omniscience and the Book of every Man 's particular Conscience That the Rolls or Records of all our Actions shall be produc'd and we shall be judg'd out of those Things that are written in the Books That we must all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ that every one may receive the Things done in his Body that is the due Reward of the Works done in his Body or in the State of Conjunction with the Body according to or by way of Retribution to what he hath done whether it be good or bad The sober serious Consideration of a most impartial Judicature and Tribunal will mightily awe thy Soul Felix himself trembled when St. Paul reasoned (†) Acts 24.25 of a Judgment to come I have read a [d] M. Marshal's Serm. on 2 Kings 23 25 26. p. 20 21. Story of a certain King of Hungary who being on a Time marvellous sad and heavy his Brother would needs know of him what he ailed Oh Brother saies he I have been a great Sinner against God and I know not how I shall appear before him when he comes to Judgment His Brother told him they were but melancholy Thoughts and made light of them The King replied nothing at the present but in the dead Time of the Night sent an Executioner of Justice and caused him to sound a Trumpet before his Brother's Door which according to the Custome of that Countrey was a Sign of present Execution This Royal Person hearing and seeing the Messenger of Death sprang pale and trembling into his Brother's Presence beseeching the King to let him know wherein he had offended O Brother replied the King thou hast loved me and never offended me and is the sight of my Executioner so dreadful to thee and shall not I so great a Sinner fear to be brought to Judgment before Jesus Christ The frequent Meditation of a Judgment to come will exceedingly move and affect thee and cause thee to live and act suitably and answerably to thy belief of it 'T will keep thee from spending thy Time and talk in rashly judging others * Mat. 7.1 lest God severely enter into Judgment with thee 'T will awaken thee to endeavour to do every Thing as one that is [e] Semper it a vivamus ut rationem reddendam nobis arbitiemur Tussius apud Lactant. de veto coltu l. 6. §. 24. accountable for all he does 'T will put thee upon examining and calling thy self to an Account and cause thee to get all thy Accounts ready against the great Audit 'T will help thee to judg thy self here that thou maiest not be judged and condemned hereafter at the great and last Day It will excite and stir thee up to Repentance and provoke thee to the Performance of a course of new and sincere Obedience to make that Law the Rule of thy Life which God will make the Rule of his Judgment The Wise Man makes this an Argument to induce Men to * Eccl. 12.13 fear God and keep his Commandments that God will bring every Work into Judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil St. Paul very earnestly press'd the Athenians to Repentance by this most powerful and cogent Argument drawn from the Certainty of a future Judgment †Acts 17.30 31. God now commandeth all Men every where to repent because he hath appointed a Day in the which he will judg the World in Rigteousness And this was the Reason of the Apostles Labour of all his Ambition and Design to be ‖ 2 Cor. 5.9 10 11. acceptable to God whether living or dying because we must all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ Yea this was the Ground of all his Industry and Painfulness in the Ministry Knowing therefore the Terrour of the Lord we perswade Men saies he Considering the Dreadfulness of this Appearance of God we strive to bring Men to embrace the Truth and to live as those that are thus to be judged And in Hope of a Resurrection to a Judgment of Absolution (*) Acts 24.15 16. herein did he exercise himself to have alwaies a Conscience void of Offence toward God and toward Men he knew if Conscience absolv'd him in this Life it would also under God acquit him in the other Thy †Tit. 2.12 13. earnest looking for the glorious Appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ is apt to engage and prevail with thee to deny Vngodliness and worldly [f] Nec me revoeabat à profundiore voluptatum carnalium gurgtte nisi metus mortis futuri judicit tut qut per varias quidem opiniones nunquam tamen recessit de pectore meo Aug. Conf. l. 6. c. 16. § 1. Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godlily in
to us For if we take up Christ's Burden betimes we shall account it a light Burden Vse will alleviate it to us If we enter early into God's Service we shall more easily reckon his Service perfect Freedom The sooner we turn our Feet unto God's Testimonies we shall run the way of them with more Freedom The sooner we address and apply our selves to the keeping of God's Commandments we shall bring our selves with so much less pains to keep them and shall taste more Sweetness in our Observance of them We shall not meet with such Difficulties when we set upon the Work nor have so great and vast Prejudlces against God's Laws and Waies to remove such strong Biasses to sinful Courses to knock off such grown and radicated sinful Habits to root out We shall enter into the Way of God's Commandments and fall upon the Practice of Piety with less reluctancy and contranitency and the longer we have walked in the holy Path the better we shall like it the longer we have kept the Divine Precepts the more we shall experience the Goodness and find and feel the Comfort of them and so still be more and more pleased and satisfied with them and delighted in them 3. The more haste we make to redeem the Time it will prove the more profitable and benesicial to us We shall get the more Grace the more Peace here and a greater reward of Glory hereafter The more we shall get of God's Grace Grace is encreased by degrees and this is the Method of the Divine Wisdom for God ordinarily to give out his Grace as a help and encour agement to usefulness and Diligence a Reward and Remuneration of it God does not use to communicate his Grace to drousy sleepy idle lazy-Loiterers but to impart it to waking and stirring active and busy Persons Habenti dabitur * Mat. 25.29 Vnto every one that hath and industriously useth what he hath in a faithful improvement of his Time and trading with his Talents to him shall be given and he shall have abundancè The more work we do the more strength and Grace we shall receive and therefore let 's early be up and quickly be doing Again The sooner we do redeem our Time the more peace we shall have as well as the more Grace An early painful a constant laborious Christian must needs be ordinarily a comfortable Christian [d] Se. Dr. Sll bs's Preface to the Soul's Conflict Some degree of comfort attends and follows every good Action as Heat accompanies Fire and as Beams and Influences issue from the Sun and many degrees of comfort will certainly usually accompany many good Actions The more we hasten to redeem our Time as we ought we shall the sooner attain to a high degree of Probability and a comfortable Assurance of our Justification and Right to Salvation But as long as we wilfully waste our Time and mis-spend our Hours so long we shall be troubled with disquieting Doubts and perplexing Fears * â—s 57.21 There is no Peace saith my God to the Wicked saies the Prophet But †Ps 119.165 great Peace have they which love thy Law saies David which love it so well as to make very great haste to keep it Once more As the sooner we redeem our Time and Opportunities the more Grace and Peace we shall get here so we shall receive a greater Reward of Glory hereafter God will remunerate us according to our Works The more we have done for him the more we shall receive from him The more acts of Obedience we have persormed we shall be recompensed with the higher Degree of heavenly Glory The sooner you do it so much the better That 's the first Consider 2. We must make haste and not delay to redeem the Time because they that make most haste to redeem it do find they have work enough to fill up all their Time and take up all their Daies and Hours The Well-doing the business of Religion will fully employ us all our life long 'T is a strange thing for any to think that the work of a Day of an Hour of an Instant which Wisdom's Children the most understanding People of God think a whole Life little enough for Do you dream of believing in an Instant of repenting in an Instant Repentance has many Acts and Exercises belonging to it To remove and expel long contracted habits of Sin to arrive to a confirmed setled state of Goodness to give an Example of Christian Graces in all Relations and Conditions of Life certainly these are things that require a large and very considerable tract of Time and cannot be crouded into a narrow Room If we do but consider that they that have entred the most early into the Service of God and have done many Years work for God do acknowledg themselves even after the pains and industry of thirty or forty Years Piety to be but very imperfect Christians If the most devout religious Persons after their using so much Diligence do find at last so much Indevotion and Vnholiness in themselves many bad reliques of Selfishness Worldliness Pride and Passion many initial excesses in Meats and Drinks much Coldness and Deadness in holy Duties much Slackness and Remisness in the waies of Godliness some strong Temptations which sometimes shake them and are ready to foil and overbear them some Weaknesses and Untowardnesses which they can never free themselves wholly from If we well and seriously consider this we shall be forced to confess that the Redemption of Time and Business of Religion is not to be delaied and put off to be a late much less the last Work to be done by a Christian 3. We must make haste and not delay to redeem the Time for Delaies are Vnworthy and disingenuous Delaies are Hazardous and dangerous Delaies are Foolish and unreasonable 1. Unworthy 1. In respect of God 1. Unworthy 2. In respect of our selves 1. Vnworthy in respect of God Every Delay of the Redemption of our Time for God's Service it argues our want of Respect our lack of Aflection and Love to God It shews we prefer our Sins before him * See p. 25. What an unworthy thing is it that we should put God off who should be served in the first place by us if we had Christianity or Reason That we should ever expect to receive the Reward of Eternal Life and unconceivable Happiness from him and yet grudg to devote the few Daies of this temporal Life to him That we should refuse to give our good Daies to God and strongly presume that God at last will be contented well-pleased and satisfied with the weak and faint and sickly Service of those evil Daies which we our selves †Eccl. 12.1 shall say we have no pleasure in What a disingenuous thing is it not to go to God till we cannot tell whither to go Just as Men go into an Hospital when they apprehend they are quite useless and find themselves utterly