them Sure it was some great guilt in the former verses we find it to be their Hypocrisie Apostacy and Idolatry any taint of this kind will make the jealous God forsake our solemn meetings Secondly Pray God and Christ into all your Civil affairs The Greeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with God in their entrance upon every work was a commendable practise It is reported of Publius Scipio the Roman that he would alway go first to the Capitol and then to the Senate So we should begin our Civil Imployments with Spiritual duties And do as Abrahams Servant when he was to take a wife for his Masters Son he took God along with him and thus to abide with God is to have God to abide with us Therefore sayes the Apostle 1 Cor. 7.20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called and in the 24 verse Brethren let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God And God will abide with him Thirdly Pray God and Christ to your Tables at your eating and drinking For man doth not live by bread onely If these be Guests at your Tables you must needs have Cheer enough there 's more sweetnesse in a morsel with them then in all dainties without them And then you may be sure also your Tables shall not become a Snare unto you Theophrastus reports of the Heathens that they did first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they did first Sacrifice and then Kill lay on their meat entertain and eat And it is the Apostles rule seeing all things come of God through Christ That God and Christ should not be Unbidden Guests but as in 1 Cor. 10.31 Whether you eat or drink or whatsoever ye do do all to the Glory of God Fourthly Pray God and Christ along with you in Morning when you rise and at Evening when you lie down visit him Morning by Morning and Evening by Evening this is the way to have a Prosperous day and a Safe night David took this course Psal 4.8 I will both lay me down and take my rest for thou Lord only makest me dwell in safety and this gave Jacob such a pleasant Dream Gen. 28. that having God with him he was an night within view of Heaven Dir. 2 Secondly Love God and Christ above all and then God and Christ will not depart from you For He shews mercy to Thousands of them that love him and hath made over Himself and Heaven and All to them that love him It is reported of Ignatius that his Love was such to God and Christ that he had the name of Christ Cordi ejâ—…s inscâ—…iptum Graven upon his heart It is such a Heart-love that He requires for He is a jealous God and will have all our Love If we Love any thing better First It will steal away our Hearts from God And Secondly It will take off the Heart of God from us so that God and Christ will set themselves against us Dir. 3 Thirdly If we would have God and Christ to make their constant abode with us Delight in the Society and Fellowship of the People of God with whom they dwell Never be ashamed to converse with them whom God and Christ do own for theirs The Apostles argument why we should entertain Strangers in Heb. 13.2 because thereby some have entertained Angels unawares is but mean and inconsiderable to this Reason why we should entertain and own the Saints of God for thereby we are sure to entertain Christ as in Mat. 25.40 For this cause the Gibeonites made a League with Israel For we have heard that God is with you And there is a promise in Zech. 8.23 That Ten men out of all Languages shall take hold of the skirt of a Jew saying we will go with you for we have heard that God is with you Mal. 3.16 They that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkned and heard it c. He was with them and indeed God dwells in the Tabernacles of the Righteous Dir. 4 Fourthly If we would have the constant abode of God and Christ with us Let us keep our selves clean from Sin our Hearts pure Consciences undefiled and as the Apostle sayes voyd of Offence towards God and towards Men very careful not to Sin against God and very circumspect not to Sin against Man that this may be our Comfort that the world must needs say of us as they did of Daniel that they could find nothing against him save in the Law of his God as in Daniel 6.5 Whatever others doe beware of Sin Say as Joshuah I and my House will serve the Lord. Watch against Sin Chuse any Suffering rather then the least Sin Consider in that choice two particulars First Consider in all your sufferings God will be with you but in any of your Sins he will not abode with you as in the example of Israel Exod. 32.23 When the Calf was got into the Camp God forsakes the Hoast of Israel When Saul forsook the Lord the Spirit of the Lord forsook him That was an excellent Saying of Azariah the Son of Obed in the 2 Chron. 15.2 and Oh that all England could hear it Hear thou me Asa and all Judah The Lord is with you while you be with him If you seek him he will be found of you but if ye forsake him he will forsake you Secondly Consider 'T is an Act of high presumption reflecting much upon the Purity and Holynesse of God for 〈◊〉 to imagine that God will own and prosper them with his Presence while they go on to do wickedly in their Whoredomes Drunkenesse Blasphemy and all manner of Prophanesse which God can no more own then disown himself So they foolishly promised themselves Peace Deut. 29.19 though they walk in the imagination of their Hearts and add Drunkennesse to Thirst But the Lord will not spare but his Anger and Jealousie shall smâ—ak against them till he hath brought them down from their high Mount of a Sinful and Carnal Confidence Therefore the Prophet reproves that wicked people Mich. 3.11 where the Judges the Priests and the Prophets were corrupted Yet they say Is not the Lord among us none evil can come upon us Therefore shall Zion be plowed as a Field c. as Abner said to Joab This will prove an evil thing and a bitter in the latter end as Galen sayes of Meats Quae dulcia sunt facile in bilem amaritudinem convertuntur Sweet meats generate Choller and Corrupt matter So Sin that is a sweet morsel now will be Shame Death and Hell at last Dir. 5 Fifthly With an humble acknowledgment of former Barrennesse under Gods gracious presence with you resolve and endeavour to be more fruitful God never left his Vineyard and pull'd up the Hedge and commanded the Rain not to fall upon it in Isai 5. till it became Barren or did bear corrupt fruit The exil'd Confessors in Queen Maries dayes confessed that
such a store that he is alwayes full He hath an Antarchy in himself and saies to his creatures as in Psal 81.10 Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it ask what you will and there 't is to be had There be full Treasures of temporal and spiritual good things with them with whom God and Christ do make their abode As the Ark of God brought all kind of blessings to the house of Obed-edom so when God comes he brings all things Deus meus omnia My God and all things When Jesus Christ came to Zacheus he tells him This day is Salvation come to thine house that is both temporal and spiritual preservations and deliverances Salvation doth consist in the total absence of all evil and in the presence and possession of all good Secondly God and Christ have left with us the promises of the Covenant to live upon till we come to the inheritance of the purchased Possession These be like the Widows Cruse that never fails this like the Manna will not be with-held while we be in the wilderness till we come into Canaan to feed on the fruits of that Land Heb. 13.5 That 's a sure Promise in which we may by faith see present supplies I will never leave thee nor forsake thee and in Phil. 4.19 we may possesse in that Promise whatever we want My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus Thirdly God hath given us his Son and Jesus Christ hath given us himself as an ensuing pledge of all mercies contained in the promises Rom. 8.32 He that spared not his own Son but gave him for us how shall he not with him also freely give us all things He that hath not spared his Son will not with-hold any mercies he that hath given us the best of blessings will not with-hold smaller mercies He doth alway tell his people as in 2 Cor. 12.9 My grace is sufficient for you Thirdly The abode of God and Christ with Believers is their Heaven upon Earth All our happiness is in the abode of God and Christ with us First Consider it is a wonderful mercy of the great God that by his common Providence he is with the works of his hands which is mans safety and David admires at this Psal 8.4 Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him and the Son of man that thou visitest him Secondly Consider it is a mercy of the greatest worth and to be for ever admired that God and Christ do not only visit us by common Providence and Inspection as his creatures but make their abode with us as with children and friends O this is our glory God doth not come with a short visit for a day for a few days but makes an everlasting abode The Church complained when she thought God was departed because he had been with them and made so short a stay Jer. 14.8 Why shouldst thou be as a stranger in the Land and as a way-faring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night c. but when she remembred the Covenant of eternal abode she comforts her self in the 9. verse Yet thou O Lord art in the midst of us To be ever with the Lord is all we can hope for and it is mans contemplative happinesse to converse in his thoughts with that Glory First Consider Jesus Christ hath promised this as our great Glory and full reward I will take you to my self they shall behold my glory 17. Joh. verse 24. 1 Epist Joh. 3.2 We shall be like him 〈◊〉 we shall see him as he is Secondly This abode with God and Christ is the highest option and aim of all the people of God This was Pauls pressings in Phil. 3. That he might attain to the resurrection of the dead i. the state of them that are risen and with God and Christ Therefore resolves after a long debate with himself Phil. 1.21 To be with Christ is best of all and David in Psal 73. at the latter end professes He had none in Heaven but God and there was none upon earth that he desired in comparison of him Use 1 Use First of Lamentation and laments three sorts of persons First Let us lament such as be without God and Christ in the world all ignorant and ungodly persons yea this is the sad case of all the Sons of Adam ever since he sinned and lost communion with his God They be brought forth into the world with their backs upon God and with Gods face against them What was Cain's grief how was his heart hurried into a world of inconceivable distempers and distracting thoughts when he must be turn'd out of Gods presence from the enjoyment of God in his Ordinances Gen. 4.14 Behold thou hast driven me out this day saies poor Cain from the face of the earth but this is as nothing and from thy face shall I be hid and now where is my comfort and safety it shall come to passe that every one that findeth me shall slay me Such persons be as Lambs in a large place Hos 4.16 Without a Keeper in their most plentiful state What hope have such to escape Hell and Destruction Consider these two particulars First Consider it is a very sad case when God and Christ withdraw or depart but for a moment 't is a sad and intolerable moment as we see in the complaint of Christ when God withdrew himself from him My God my God why hast thou forsaken me and in the example of David Asaph and Heman in Psal 77. and Psal 88. and the whole Church laments in Jer. 14.8 Secondly Consider if God and Christ do never come to make their abode with us here we are never like to make our abode with them hereafter and then it were better we had never been born Psal 73.27 They that are far from thee shall perish And this is Hell to be separated from God and Christ 2 Thes 1.8.9 They i. the wicked shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power It is Heaven where-ever God is in his special abode and that is Hell where He is not present in his mercy and grace Secondly Use of Lamentation Let us lament over a worse sort of men and they be such as in Job 21.14 That say to God depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes That refuse the word of Christ and be weary of God and his Ordinances and so reject God as if one house could not hold them both as the peoin Isa 30.10.11 Who say to the Seers see not and to the Prophets prophecy not c. Cause the Holy one to cease from before us They that stop the mouths of them that speak the word of Christ or turn away their ears from harkening to that which is spoken say in effect Let God be gone let Christ depart from us First Consider what an evil frame of spirit it
seeking The Prophet complains No man stirreth up himself to seek the Lord. It is a businesse of the greatest concernment and most not be attended with a cold indifferency but as one set on by a true love and where that is Non quieâ—… 〈◊〉 sed querâ—… 〈◊〉 Love will he restless in the purâ—… of the thing or person beloved See with what heat men seek the world with much more heat seek God and Christ We must do as the woman that had lost her Groat she lights a Candle sweeps the House seeks diligently so we must set up the light of the Word and to work with the 〈◊〉 of a serious repentance and thorough â—…ation and diligently enquirâ—… Thus David with a very vigilant eye seeks him whom his soul loved Psal 130.4.5 I will not give rest to mine eyes nor slumber to my eye lids till I have found out a plâ—… for God c. Lastly Resolve with your selves never to give over till you come to the perfect and full enjoyment of them As Job said I 〈…〉 all the dayes of my appointed time So do you seek all the days of your appointed time If we would find God and Christ we must seek all the dayes of our lives They that will find what they seek must seek till they find As God in the Creation did not rest till he had made Man so Man should not rest till he hath found God And as in the Redemption Jesus Christ did never cease seeking till he had found all the lost sheep of the House of Israel so we should never give over till we have made God and Christ our own This should be the work of our lives and upon this work I must leave you For now I must tell you That perhaps you may not see my face or bear my voice any more in this place yet not out of any peevish humour or disaffection to the present Authority of the Kingdom I call God and Man to witness this day it being my own Practice and Counsel to you all To Fear GOD and Honour the KING but rather a real disatisfaction in some particulars imposed to which notwithstanding all endeavours to that purpose my conscience cannot yet be espoused Wherefore I hope in this and in all my abode with you I may say without ostentation with the Apostle in the 2 Cor. 1.12 Our rejoycing is this The testimony of a good Conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world especially to you words And as he said in Acts 20.26.27 So I take you to record this day that I have endeavoured to be pure from the blood of all men for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God both by my Life and Doctrine because I knew this very well that as one sayes Sâ—… loquâ—…is vita non oratia that the Preachers life is the most lively preaching I shall only adde this my Friends That though my lips be sealed up that I may not speak from God to you yet I shall not cease to speak to God for you as ever I have done And though I cannot have you in my eye yet I shall lodge you in my heart And asking nothing of you but your Prayers shall hope to meet you daily at the Throne of Grace and that at last we may enjoy one another in Heaven And because they say The word of a Dying man wake the deepest impression before I am altogether Civilly dead I shall give you one Exhortation more Exh. 2 Secondly Let it be your endeavour to keep God and Christ with you that they may make their abode with your hearts and houses that whatever you lose you may not be undone In the General First Take heed you do not slight or abuse his Providences Secondly Do not Despise or neglect his Ordinances Thirdly Be sure you do not grieve his Spirit Secondly Observe more particularly these ten directions which I would leave with you That God and Christ may make their constant abode with you First Endeavour to please God and Christ and to walk as the Gospel commands In all well-pleasing And for this purpose Observe these three Rules First Entertain God and Christ like themselves Now they are come to you say as Solomon did of his Temple which he had prepared for his God The Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee much lesse this poor Tent so with the most humble frame of spirit admire his greatnesse and infinite condescention for he is the King of Glory as in Psal 24. And so give him suitable entertainment for he will dwell with the humble and contrite spirit If Elizabeth wonder'd at the visit which Mary gave her with a whence is it that the Mother of my Lord is come unto me then admire that the Lord himself should come not only to visit your hearts but to make such a gracious abode with you And as the Centurion said to Christ in the Gospel I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my Roof So acknowledge your unworthinesse of so rich and unparalleld a grace that God and Christ should come in unto you to abide with you Secondly Wait upon God and Christ with all readinesse of mind to observe every intimation of the Will of God to you Stand alwayes ready as Servants wait upon the hand of their Master saying in your hearts Lord what wilt thou have me to do or what wilt thou have me to suffer It is the frame and posture which Christ commends to his Disciples Luke 12.35 Let your loyns be girded about and your lights burning to do his will as it is done in Heaven Thirdly Take pleasure and delight in the company and society of God and Christ above all the pleasures in the world Do nothing without first calling God and Christ into the action Remember this in These four cases especially First Pray God and Christ along with you into all your spiritual duties that you may be sure to perform them all according to the mind of God None knows better what will please God than himself don't enquire so much what others say but what God appoints 't is not what this or that man sayes how we must serve God but what God sayes himself as Agustine said to the Manichee in another case Nec egote nec tu me sed ambo audiamus Apostolum So hear what God and Christ say to us as to the performance of all our duties If we will entertain God and Christ and have their company we must set before them such savoury meat as they like lest we be like them Mat 15.9 of whom Christ sayes In vain do they worship me c. and our service be like theirs of which the Lord said Who hath required these things at your hands O what was that great evil the people were guilty of for which there comes that heavy judgement Psal 78.60 He forsook the Tabernacle of Shiloh the Tent which he placed among
as Ursin sayes in the Preface to his Catechisme the cause of their present suffering was their former Barrennesse and Unprofitablenesse under the Gospel and a sad example of this is Jerusalem over whom Christ laments O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou c. if thou hadst known in this thy day c. but now they are hid from thine eyes and when once a people grow up to this heighth to reject the Gospel then expect some fearful Judgement Read the last Chapter of Chronicles the Second Book and at the 16 verse and then you will see when the wrath of God is like to break out upon a People without a remedy Dir. 6 Sixthly If you would have the continual abode of God and Christ with you Let God have all your Thoughts let Him be your meditation this is the way to have the best Company when you be alone David would meditate of him day and night and professed the meditation of him should be sweet to him Here consider two particulars First Consider that no Place State or Condition can hinder the Soul of this way of secret Communion with God and Christ This priviledge could not be denyed to a benighted Jacob to an Imprisoned Jeremiah to an Exilâ—d John in Patmos by this saies Jerom Solitudo fit Paradisas a man may turn a Wilderness into a Paradise and therefore we read in Cant. 11.12 how the Spouse invites Christ to go with her as Isaac did into the Fields to meditate Come let 's go into the Fields and lodge in the Villages Secondly Consider In these secret silent visits of the Soul God and Christ do take abundance of delight Our Night thoughts our Field thoughts our Closet thoughts are very welcom to Them yea when we can do no more but think of God our very thoughts shall be an accepted service Cant. 2.13 He loveth the Fig-tree that putteth forth her green Figs. The ripe fruit is in the â—…d so holy endeavours in pure breathings and desires God accepts when our Infirmity or the Iniquity of the Times may be such that we can do no more Direct 7 Seventhly If we will have God and Christ to make their constant abode with us then let us walk humbly with God He that beholds the proud afar off will be nigh to them that humble their souls under his mighty hand Isa 57.15 Thus saies the high and lofty one that inhabits Eternity whose Name is Holy I dwell in the High and Holy place with him also that is of an humble and contrite spirit God hath two Heavens in which he dwells First His Glory dwells in the high and holy place in Heaven above Secondly His Grace dwells in the humble and lowly spirit Here will I dwell saies God Dir. 8 Eighthly If you would have the constant abode of God and Christ with you be sure to look to your hearts that you walk in your uprightness be true to the Word of God be true to your profession There is not in the world a more lively representation and Image of God than the heart of the upright therefore God loves so much when he hath drawn his likeness upon them to walk with them therefore David resolves Psal 101.2 I will walk in the midst of mine house with a perfect heart O when wilt thou come unto me This was the comfort of the Apostle that in simplicity and godly sincerity he had his conversation in the world God will be with such and such shall be with God Psal 37.37 Mark the perfect man behold the upright the end of that man is peace And thus God appointed Abraham to walk that he might be with him a God in Covenant Gen 17. Walk before me be thou perfect and gives him this encouragement I am God All-sufficient Gods All sufficiency being sufficient to keep the Soul upright being rightly improved There be two things which usually Bias the Soul away from God and makes it warp from its holy principles 1. The Frowns 2. The Flatteries of the world Against both which there is a sufficient remedy in the All-sufficient God First That which often perverts the Soul from the truth is the fear of troubles and wants If I keep my integrity saies the Soul I shall be Undone I shall Lose my estate Embroyl my self in many Troubles perhaps a Prison Exile or Death comes next But what force is there in this Tentation If we hear on the other hand God saying if thou wilt be upright fear no troubles no wants I am a God All-sufficient as in Job 22.25 to the end of the Chapter The Almighty shall be thy defence then fear no force thou shalt have plenty of Silver thou shalt gather Gold as dust and the Gold of Ophir as the stones of the Brooks Then fear no wants Secondly There is another thing in the world that hath a very great influence upon the spirit of a man to pervert him and turn him from his integrity and that is The hopes of preferment and greatness of the world But this is but a poor bait if we look upon the All-sufficiency of God Doth the World promise thee Riches God will out-bid the world and gives Eternal Riches Will the World give Pleasures God will give better with him is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore Will the World give Gold God will give Diamonds Will the World give all its Glory God will give thee the Glory of a better World rather than that shall be a snare unto thee Dir. 9 Ninthly Pray much pray continually God will be in the hearts and houses of his Praying people when he hath a Curse in store for Prayerless Families in Jerem. 10. the last verse First That God will abide with you and the Kingdom in his Gospel and pure Ordinances that you may dwell in Beth-el and not in Berl-aven a house of vanity and grief Pray that God will not remove his Candlestick from you nor utterly extinguish the light of the Kingdom Secondly Pray and I shall pray with you that God will give you a faithful Pastour after his own heart not according to your hearts that he may teach you by his Doctrine and his Life too A faithful Teacher to go in and out before you to shew you the Word of the Lord One that may be among you as it was said of Athanasius that he was Magnes Adamas 1. Magnes As a Load-stone to draw your Souls with a gentle hand and melting heart from your sins Heaven-ward 2. Adamas As an Adamant of an invincible courage and zeal against all sin and prophaness one that will not spare Sin That he may save your Souls Pray that God would give you a Star a Star out of his right hand not a Churlish Orion that brings a Cold Barren and Cloudy Winter but a Benevolent and Friendly Pleiades that there may be many Sons brought into God and your Souls may find a continual Spring and that you may be as Trees of Gods own planting and may flourish in the Courts of the house of our God and may bring forth more fruit in old age Dir. 10 Tenthly and Lastly If you would have the constant abode of God and Christ with you Conform Conform universally and fully to the Gospel of Christ Consent and Assent Unfeignedly to all the Truths and Doctrines thereof that you may walk worthy of God and all that Grace which hath been revealed to you for Christ hath said If a man keep his Word the Father will love him and both Father and Son will come to him and make their abode with him Wherefore I shall conclude this Exhortation with that of the Apostle in Philippians 1.2.7 Only Let your conversation be such as becometh the Gospel of Christ that whether I come and see you or else be absent from you I may hear of your affairs that ye stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel And so shut up all with that in Acts 20.32 And now Brethren I commend you to God and to the Word of his Grace which is able to build you up and to give you an Inheritance among all them which are Sanctified FINIS