Scripture is a Rule before us to shew us where we must go the Spirit is a word behind us to enable us to go according to the Directions of that word The Word of God is a Compass by which we are to Ship our Course the Spirit is the great Pilot that steers us in this course We have no eyes to see the Word till the Spirit enlighten them we have no ears to hear the Word till the Spirit open them we have no hearts to obey the Word till the Spirit bow and encline them By the Word of God we know the mind of the Spirit and and by the efficacy of the spirit we feel the efficacy of the Word The Word of God shews us the way and the Spirit of God leads us in that way which the WOrd points out The Spirit of God is able to expound the Word of God and to make it plain to our understanding The Holy Ghost is the Churches Interpreter he gives the Scripture and he can reveal unto us the sense and meaning of the Scripture The word is Gods Counsellour to discover the path in which we are to walk the Spirit is the Counsel of God that teacheth us how to walk in that path The word is a Chrystall-Glass which shewes us our duty the Spirit gives us sight to see our duty If God had not put his Spirit into our hearts as well as his word into our mouths we should never have arrived at the fair Haven of peace Austin calls the Scriptures The Epistle of God to the Creatures by which we understand the very heart of God God Almighty hath in the secret Scriptures as it were unbowelled himself and unfolded all his Counsel to the Creatures as far as it is necessary to be known for their direction and guidance to everlasting life There be many that walke by false Rules First Some by Opinions Secondly Some by Customes Thirdly Some by Providence Fourthly Some by Conscience Fifthly Some by their own Reason Sixthly Some by mens examples Seventhly Some by their Lusts But O my dear friends let me beseech you to walke by none of these false Rules but keep close to the word and spirit of God VII Seventhly Be faithfull and fruitful Therefore my beloved brethren Be ye stedfast and unmoveble alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as you know your labour is not in vain 1 Cor. 15.58 Every Tree that beareth not good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire Christians must be fruitfull and not slothful See that you bring forth good fruit and much fruit First Sincerity which is not a single Grace but the soul of all Graces Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts Psal 51 6. Secondly Humility A Grace most prevailing with God for the obtaining of all Graces Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls Thirdly Prudence The patient Christian is the best for waiting but the prudent Christian is the best for working Be ye wise as Serpents and harmless as Doves Mat. 10.16 We must have innocency with our wisdome else our wisedome is but craftinesse and we must have wisdome with our innocency else our innocency is but weakness we must have the harmlesnesse of the Dove that we may not wrong others and we must have the prudence of the Serpent that others may not abuse and circumvent us Not to wrong the truth by silence here is the innocency of the Dove not to betray our selves by rashnesse here is the wisdome of the Serpent Fourthly Patience Here is the Patience of the Saints Rev. 13.10 Rev. 14.12 The way to bring the world under us is for us to be patient under them Fifthly Self-denyal If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his crosse and follow me Math. 16.24 Be faithful in your promises in your purposes by faithful to the wayes of God and cause of God O do not begin with the Lamb and end with the Beast but be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a Crown of life Rev. 2.20 Keep your Lights burning your Lamps shining your Loyns girded your Consciences wakned your Garments unstained and your Spirituall Armour constantly on and closely girt VIII Eightly Have a care of reporting and believing the worlds reports of the people of God Those that have a good conscience have not alwayes a good name The people of God in this life are called the troublers of Israel seditious rebellious and what not An old device of that old serpent to perswade the troublers of Israel upon Elijah the Charret of Israel 1 Kings 18.17 2 Kings 2 12. Jeremiah for speaking against their sins and wickednesses and denouncing Gods judgements against them is judged worthy of death Jerem. 26.8.9 So Jerem. 38.4 The wicked Nobles petition the King to murder him under the pretence that he sought not the good of the people but the hurt So Amos for speaking against the Abominations of the Kings Court is charged with treason against the Kings person Amos 7.10.13 So Paul and Silas for preaching up the Kingly power of Jesus Christ are accused by the envious Jewes and rude multitude for turning the world upside down and breaking the decrees of Caesar Yea Christ himself had this laid to his Charge mark what the Jewes say of him And they began to accuse him saying We found this Fellow perverting the Nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar saying that he himselfe is Christ a King Luke 23.2 Math. 72.18 And for this have the servants of God in all Ages been accused and persecuted killed and stoned Math. 27 37. Acts 7.52 Now if they did so to the green Tree no wonder if they do it to the dry If the Lord and Master was called an enemy to Caesar no wonder if those of his houshold be called so Our integrity will not secure us from infamy The choicest of Professors have had black marks in the worlds Kalender It is usuall for those who live in treason and rebellion against the King of Heaven to slander his servants with treason and rebellion against the Kings of the Earth But my dear Brethren take heed of this for as the death of the Saints is precious so the names of the Saints are precious in Gods account The world will father a hundred Lyes upon the Lords people Men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake Math. 5.11 2 Tim. 2.9 Wicked men hate them most that God loves most But God will roul away the reproaches of his people he will cause their innocency and righteousness to break forth as the Sun at noon day and their names shall be in everlasting remembrance Yea at that great day God will clear their innocency before men and Angels and all the world IX Ninthly Keep in with God now men are out with
WILLIAM DYER Preacher of the Gospell Aetat 27 1663 A CABINET OF JEWELS OR A GLIMPS OF SIONS GLORY Written by WILLIAM DYER late Preacher of the Gospel at Chesham and Chouldsbury in the County of Bucks Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things that are written therein for the time is at hand Rev. 1.3 Printed in the Year 1663. TO Those of Chouldsbury Parish Together with all others who did attend constantly upon the Word of God there Preached Grace Mercy and Peace be multiplyed from God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. DEarly Beloved They that love God dearly are dearly beloved of God dearly beloved of Christ dearly beloved of Angels dearly beloved of Saints they are beloved of all and have the love of all whose love is worth the having O my dear Friends I cannot think of you and your condition but it fills my eyes with water and my heart with griefe and with Jeremy I wish O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountaine of Tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the Daughter of my people Jeremiah 9.1 Oh that I am constrained to be from you whom I could live and dye with spend and be spent for so deare a people as you are I would chuse to be doing the work to which I was called amongst you rather then any where else if I might I should not count my Life dear to me so that I might have the liberty to preach Christ to you for your edification and salvation I hope your Consciences will bear me witnesse that whilest I was with you I Laboured as much as in me lay to be a helper of your joy not to Lord it over your faith and I bless God I can with a good conscience safely say I have coveted no mans Gold nor Silver as you your selves know I could do very much for you but I dare not sin against God and my own Conscience But my dear Brethren Though they have separated us one from the other they cannot separate our hearts I hope there will never be a separation of our loves but that will still continue if we do not see one another yet we may love one another and pray for one another And now my desire is that my pen may reach you though my voice cannot reach you That I may still approve the sincerity of my love to you I shall give you twenty Directions for the right ordering of your Lives and conversations in these dangerous and sinful times that you may live in Heaven whilest you are on the Earth and come to Heaven when you shall leave the Earth I. First Loath sin and leave sin He that covereth his sins shall not prosper but whosoever Confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy Prov. 28.13 If we confess our sins he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1.9 There must be falling out with our sins before there be falling off from our sins there must be a loathing of sin in our affections before there be a leaving of sin in our conversations Oh is it not a thousand times better to part with sinne though never so sweet than to part with God and Christ and Heaven one of them you must do One sin will damn a Soul out of Christ but no sin can damn a Soul in Christ Sin is the evill of evils it is worse then the Devill for its that that made the Devil to be a Devil O the love of sin and the lack of grace will ruin and destroy your souls for ever It is better not to be than to be a sinner better to be no people than not to be the Lords people Oh therefore kill sin that sin may not kill you mourn for sin and flye from sin do not commit new sins but repent of old sins Ezek. 36.31 You shall loath your selves in your own sight for your iniquities O poor soul hast thou not served the flesh and the Devil long enough Yea hast thou not had enough of sin is it so good to thee or so profitable for thee Oh what a place will you be shortly in of joy or torment Oh what a sight will you shortly see in Heaven or Hell Oh what thoughts will shortly fill your hearts with unspeakable delights or horror what work will you be imployed in to praise the Lord with Saints and Angels or to cry out in fire unquenchable with Divels Oh therefore dye unto sin confess it mourn for it and be ashamed of it hate it and loath it and flye from it as from a Serpent and though your sins are more then you can number yet they are not more then God can pardon II. Secondly Put off the old man and put on the new Eye not one to another seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the Image of him that created him Col. 3.9 10. And that ye put on the new man which after God is created in Righteousness and Holinesse Ephes 1.14 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but a new creature Gal. 6.15 As new born Babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby 1 Pet 2.2 Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are past away behold all things are become new 2 Cor. 5.17 A new understanding a new will new desires new love new delights new thoughts new words new company and a new conversation he is not what he was before O dear friends be new Creatures that you may be glorious Creatures We can call nothing in Heaven ours till Christ be ours Without regeneration there is no salvation Verily I say unto you except yea be converted and become as little children ye cannot enter into the Kingdone of Heaven John 3.3 Verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdome of God You have heard much of God Christ and Heaven with your ears but this will not bring you to Heaven unlesse you have much of God Christ Heaven in your hearts you must be able to say I was once a slave but now a son once I was dead but now I am alive once I was in darknesse but now I am light in the Lord once I was a child of wrath an Heir of Hell but now I am an Heir of Heaven once I was under the spirit of bondage but now I am under the spirit of adoption A true Believer lives in the Lord 1 Thes 1.1 On the Lord Rom. 1.17 Luke 20.38 From the Lord Joh. 6.57 To the Lord Romans 1â— 8 With the Lord 2 Corinth 13.4 III. Thirdly Make your peace with the Prince of peace Isa 9.6 Psal 2.12 Kiss the Son least he be angry and ye perish from the way
you But it is good for me to draw near to God I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all thy works Psal 73.28 He that dwelleth under the shaddow of the most High no plague shall come nigh him He will give his Angels charge over thee Psal 91.10 Though the Fig-tree should not blossome and there be no fruit in the Vine though the labour of the Olive should faile and the fields should yield no meat the flock should be cut off from the fold and the herd from the stalls Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will triumph in the God of my salvation Hab. 3.17.18 The Name of the Lord is a strong Tower and the righteous runneth into it and are safe James 4.8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you This is a great comfort to the people of God though they be as Lillies amongst Thorns and as sheep amongst Wolves that they have a God to go to Come my people enter into thy Chambers shut thy doors about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment until the indignation be overpast Isa 26.20 Let the world frown and friends forsake you God can sweeten all your enjoyments keep in Gods way and you will be sure of Gods protection doe you keep Gods precepts and God will keep your persons do what God commands and avoid what God forbids and then you need not fear what men can doe unto you If you would have God to take care of you you must cast your care upon God wait on him and walk with him obey his precepts and believe his promises Oh beloved Let wicked men fall out with us and hate us and reproach us and punish us as much as they will if we keep in with God therefore my beloved above all things get communion with God and keep communion with God Communion with God will yield you two Heavens a Heaven upon Earth and a Heaven after death all Saints shall enjoy a Heaven when they leave the Earth some Saints enjoy a Heaven whilest they are on the Earth He enjoyes nothing that wants communion with God he wants no-nothing that enjoyes communion with God X. Tenthly Live above the love of Life and the fear of death For whosoever will save his Life shall lose it and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it Matth. 16.25 If any man come unto me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters yea and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple Luke 14.16 He that loves not Christ more than his life will be sure to save and to keep both He that goes out of Gods way to avoid danger shall certainly meet with danger Ye are not your own for ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods 1 Cor. 6.19 20. My dear friends Let us live above suffering and fears though we cannot live without suffering In the world you shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world I have overcome the world for you and I have overcome the world in you John 16.33 He that loves Christ above his life will let life go rather then Christ Consider my beloved Christ and the cloud of Witnesses and Martyrs that are gone before and are passed over and through all those floods and safely arived to shoar and are now in Heaven with God and Christ and holy Angels where there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore Thou wilt shew me the path of Life in thy presence is fulnesse of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore Psal 16.11 Oh the joy that they enjoy Oh the rivers of consolations that flowes from God! Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell amongst them They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them nor any heat for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them shal lead them into living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes Rev. 7.15 16 17. Who are they that have all this honour and glory and joy and blessedness in Heaven For this see verse 14. These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The sweetnesse of the Crown which Believers shall receive will make them amends for the bitternesse of the Crosse they carried XI Eleventhly Desire better hearts more then better times O Jerusalem wash thine heart from wickednesse that thou mayest be saved how long shall thy vaine thoughts lodge within thee Jer. 4.14 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications thefts falsewitness blasphemies Mat. 15.19 The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it Jer. 17.9 Oh Beloved instead of reforming we are complaining of wicked men more then of wickedness of their cruelty more than our Apostacy of their injuries against us than our injuries against God We pore too much upon second causes or complaine of instruments not of our selves We have been a long time in sinning and we had need be a long time in repenting the times had not been so bad had not we been so bad and the times would soon be better if we were but better Alas Beloved we have sinned such sins as unrighteous men could not sin against the clearest Light and dearest Love the better God hath been to us the worse we have been to him he hath loaded us with his mercies and we have wearied him with our sinnes Oh let us blame our selves more and the times lesse Let us turne unto the Lord that he may turne to us in love and mercy Let our hearts go out to him that his heart may come unto us Oh beg and cry for better hearts that you may serve God better for broken hearts for sincere hearts for that is that God looks at and calls for Prov. 23.26 My Son give me thy heart Our hearts are alwayes out of tune to serve God but never out of tune to serve sin for if we had never so good times and not good hearts it would rather hurts us than blesse us XII Twelfthly Grow downward in humility and inward in sincerity Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ Ephes 3.8 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted Mat 23.12 Put on therefore as the Elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercy kindnesse humblenesse of mind meeknesse long-fustering Col. 3.12 Be cloathed with humility for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble Humble
your selves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time 1 Pet. 5.5 6. Bring up your will to God that God may bring down his will to you Be low in your own eyes keep a low esteem of your selves abhor pride and flye from it be inwardly sincere as well as outwardly humble Do not look Heaven-ward by your profession and Hell-ward by your conversation He that lives in sin is dead in sin Ephes 2.1 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity Ephes 6.24 Let your hearts be upright with God and walk as those that have God for their portion Knowing there are many eies upon you the eye of God the eye of Christ the eye of Angels the eye of Saints the eye of the world and the Divell eyes you too therefore walk wisely and sincerely be like the Kings Daughter all glorious within Psal 45.3 She is all glorious within though within is not all her glory Her cloathing is of wrought gold Doe not think your selves good because others think so Alas the best mens confidences of us are poor Evidences for Heaven the best Testimony is that within us and above us See therefore that ye grow in grace and delight in holiness bring forth much fruit live still as before the living God take heed of Hypocrisie and Apostacy make it your daily business to walk with God be much in the exercise of humility Humility will exceedingly adorn your profession Doe not place Religion in a few good words when the substance is neglected but live as you would die live to day as if you were to dye to morrow XIII Thirteenthly Doe good to those that be good He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God Micah 6.8 That they do good that they be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate 1 Tim. 6.18 But do good and to communicate forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased Heb. 13.16 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the fatherlesse and widdows in their affliction James 1.27 Forget not to contribute to the necessities of the poor Saints think that God hath given you your Estates for such a time as this Oh Beloved what an opportunity have you now to do good if Satan do not hinder you are there not many of Christs Ministers now in want and Members in want some in prison and others out of prison Remember those that are in bonds as bound with them and them that suffer adversity as being your selves also in the body Heb. 13.3 There be many men that have a great deal of this worlds wealth and riches and goods in their hands and in their houses but they have no grace in their hearts and therefore they do no good with the goods of this world they live so unfruitfull that their lives are scarce worth a prayer not their deaths scarce worth a tear Men may as well go to Hell for not doing good as for doing evil he that bears not good fruit is as well fuel for Hell as he that bears bad You may not be outwardly bad and yet not inwardly good you may be as far from grace as from vice Men are not so much sent to Hell for doing evil as for not doing good For I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink Math. 25.42 The rich glutton was in Hell torments not for persecuting Lazarus but not relieving Lazarus Merozzarus was cursed by the Angel not because they fought against the Lord but because they came not to help the Lord against the mighty Judges 5.23 It is one of the greatest mercies in the world for God to give a man a heart to doe good with that he hath given him Oh Beloved be always a doing good and hating evil Look not only where you may get good but where you may do good Labour to be helpful to the souls of others and to supply the wants of others XIV Fourteenthly Chuse chastisement before defilement Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the Sonne of Pharaohs daughter chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Heb. 11.24.25 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods knowing in your selves that ye have in Heaven a better and an enduring substance Heb. 10.34 So the three Children chose burning in the fiery furnace before bowing to the Golden Image Daniel 3.17.18 We are not careful to answer thee in this matter If it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thy hand O King But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the Golden Image that thou hast set up So Daniel chose suffering before sinning And it is said of those in Heb. 11.35 they accepted not of deliverance and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtaine a better resurrection Oh Beloved there is more evill in the least sin against Christ than in the greatest suffering for Christ First Our sufferings for Christ are but light 2 Cor. 4.17 Secondly But short but for a moment Thirdly Christ stands by us in out sufferings Fourthly Our sufferings are ordered by the Father Fifthly Our sufferings shall not hurt our souls Sixthly God gives us the best of comforts in the worst of times we have most of consolations from God when we have most of tribulations from men as our sufferings do abound so our consolations do abound When the burden is heaviest upon the back when the peace of conscience is sweetest and greatest within Therefore my dear brethren keep your selves out of the puddle of this world and from the evil of this world and if you must sin or suffer chuse suffering before sinning XV. Fifteenthly Think not the worse of godliness because it is frowned upon nor the better of ungodliness because it is smiled upon For bodily exercise profiteth little but Godlinesse is profitable unto all things having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come 1 Tim. 4.8 Yea doubtlesse and I count all things but losse for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the losse of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ Phil. 3.8 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darknesse but rather reprove them Ephes 5.11 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6.23 Oh Friends think not the worse of holinesse because it is reproached and scorned and persecuted by