sight will easily see there is enough in it alone to produce such an effect But besides that there are four other sights which will contribute exceedingly towards such a willingness in such a person 1. This man seeth enough in the World to render that bitter to him There is Wormwood enough laid upon the breast of the Creatures and he tasts it Here I shall not take notice of those outward troubles and afflictions in which he finds great exercises for his Faith and Patience though these are the principal and only things about which the carnal unregenerate heart is concerned If there be no cloud upon his Tabernacle no thorn in his side nor gall in his cup he sings a lullaby to his Soul and concludes all well But sin sin is that which sowrs and imbitters all to a Godly man both other mens sins and his own sins without doors and within First Other mens sins that wickedness which the World lyeth in Oh it goeth to his very heart to see the profaneness and abominations of those among whom he is constrained to converse and how that blessed and most holy God whom he so dearly loves is neglected abused dishonoured and affronted by them Upon this account it was that good Jeremiah's Soul wept in secret and Rivers of Tears ran down David's eyes and just Lot was vexed from day to day with the filthy Conversation of the wicked Such men cannot take their rest here because the place is so shamefully polluted and the villanies of others are such a stink in his Nostrils Secondly That which doth yet much more pain him is his own sin a foul World without and a wretched heart within the plague of that which is not perfectly cured the sin that dwelleth in him the pravity and corruption of his nature the old man that he cannot possibly shake off that troublesome old man together with many and great Transgressions of his Life Hence such complaints and grounds as these Oh what a wretch am I should be so unmindfull of God so unthankfull to God so unfruitfull before him That I should walk so unworthy of him that hath laid such Obligations upon me Oh! that I should offend him so much and glorifie him no more and serve him no better Oh! this goeth near indeed this is a sword in his bones a burden to heavy for him to bear this extorted from holy Paul that bitter cry O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of Death This is my plague but whence or by whom cometh my deliverance And when he considers that deliverance is wrought by Christ he blesseth God for him and since a perfect deliverance is to be brought to him by death he thanks God for it and this is one thing that makes this grim Messenger so lovely and acceptable to him because he knows by that all the shackles of corruption shall be knocked off and he shall be troubled with sin no more When he shall once lay down the body of flesh he shall also lay down the body of sin and death 2. The Godly man sees enough to render all the comforts of this present life cheap to him So that he doth not love them too much nor value them at too high a rate They are not so cheap as that he doth slight and despise them or is not thankfull to God for them He admires the goodness of God in all his mercies even the very least the coursest garments he wears and the brownest bread he eats and the meanest lodging the hardest bed he hath I am less said good Jacob then the least of all thy mercies But they are so cheap as that he is not unwilling to part with them or to go from them Whensoever God pleaseth he can part with them The primitive Christians took joyfully the spoiling of their goods and he can go from them Paul desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ he could without any regret or reluctancy leave the World behind him so long as he did see his God and Saviour before him Those comforts which God is pleased to afford unto his people while they are here are of two kinds Spiritual and Temporal 1. God is pleased to afford unto his People outward Themporal comsorts These he hath in the creature from the hand of common providence which feeds and cloaths him and provides for him and sometimes wrings out to him waters of a full cup But be his portion here never so fat his outward enjoyments never so large yet they are but low enjoyments they are but for a vile body we do consume and wast and will shortly moulder away and crumble into dust Be they never so delicious and pleasant yet still they are perishing bread it perisheth in the using And besides there is a snare in these things so that we must use them with caution and fear there is a snare in Relations and in possessions a snare in Riches and Pleasures a snare in Worldly Honours and Dignities Oh how often do these things divert the mind from God and distract the thoughts and deaden the heart and embase the affections and clog the heels and hinder holy motions these are weights that press down so that the Christian moves Heavily in the way of God and cannot do those things that the would nor any thing as he would and it doth speak a great deal of wisdom and calls for no less care so to enjoy the world and take the comfort of it as to avoid the snare in it and to keep our selves unspotted by it Secondly God is pleased to give unto his people here inward and spiritual comforts from the hand of his Spirit in the way of the Gospel and Gospel-Ordinances and Duties He gives them some clusters from Canaan some Pisgah-sights of the Land of promise some praelibamens and foretasts of those Pleasures which are at his right hand for evermore there are the kisses of his Lips the manifestations of his Love the witnessings of his Spirit the unspeakable joys of Faith and these are sweet indeed and inestimably precious to the gracious Soul One day in thy Courts said David are better than a Thousand elsewhere What a day of gladness doth a smile of God make and what melody is there in the sofest whisper of Divine Love No such day in the week as that of a Sabbath and no such meeting in the World as that with God at an Ordnance it affords sweetness beyond expression But alas Here is something to allay that sweetness the good man doth too too often find himself unfitted for these things his Soul is out of tune he cannot hear nor can he pray nor meditate as he would nor keep up so warm and intimate a communion with God as he would Wandering and dulness and deadness do adhere to his duties and he blushes and mourns to see and consider the iniquities of his holy things And then again he doth too frequently miss of that
will sanctifie you as well as well as save you He will Rule you and Govern you as well as save you He will bring you to his Foot if ever he bring you to his Throne God the Father hath exalted him to be a Prince as well as a Saviour and he will be both or neither Vse 3. Be sure to flie to this Jesus in all your dangers and distresses When your Enemies without you are furious and fears within you are high so that your hearts are almost overwhelmed then run to this Rock that is higher than you When you find Corruptions are stirring within you and you know not how to master them and when you find Temptations are violent upon you and you are not in your own strength able to resist them then go to Christ and beg ye of him that he would be your Salvation Thus Paul did when he had a Thorn in the Flesh and a Messenger from Satan buffetting him then he besought the Lord thrice and had this assurance that Christ's grace was sufficient for him and Christ's power should be made known in his weakness And that gracious answer which was given to Paul may be an incouragement to you and all the people of God to take the same course in the time of their need and as this is a most proper course so it is most prevailing for the Lord is good to them that wait upon him and to the Souls that seek him And if you will consult your own experiences they will tell you that you get most of your comforts and most of your victories upon your knees And our Lord Jesus himself by his own example directs you to this means For when Peter was to be Tempted then Christ prayed But there remains one thing more very observable in the words upon which I shall more largely insist than I have done upon all the foregoing points The sight which this good man old Simeon had of Gods Salvation was the reason why he was so willing and ready and desirous to depart and take his last farewell of this World From hence I offer to your consideration this truth Doct. 9. Those that have had a sight of Gods Salvation may very well be desirous of Dissolution and think long till that happy day comes which will convey them into the other World Some men wish for Death meerly in a fret or discontented fit They meet with disappointments and crosses and troubles their estates fail them their trading grows dead their friends unkind A Ship at Sea is cast away or taken by Pirates they are vexed at this and the other and hereupon they are weary of Life and now whether they be fit or no they would fain dye thus it was with passionate Jonah when that a Worm had smote his Gourd that it withered and the Sun darted his scorching beams upon his head that he fainted he wished in himself to dye and said in his hast that it was better for him to dye than to live Poor man he had been put out of sorts and did then quite forget himself But this is very ordinary among people as if every trouble of life should make life it self a burden And as if though our comforts be consumed it were not still of the Lords mercies that we our selves are not consumed And certainly as ordinary as it is it is exceeding sinfull It speaks a wofull impotency and weakness of Spirit yea and there is in it a Spirit of rebellion against God when men would live no longer than God useth them as they themselves please and orders all things concerning them according to their own mind and humour If we did but seriously consider the Sovereignty of God and that as we are his creatures we must be at his dispose we should see reason enough to submit to him and be silent under all his providences How great and how heavy soever our Cross is we should carry it patiently and be content to bear it so long as our God will have us But now a sight of Christ and of Gods Salvation by Christ is a just and justifiable ground of such a desire so that still it be with submission to the vvill and good pleasure of that God in vvhose hand our lives are In the handling of this point I shall do these three things 1. I shall shevv hovv or in vvhat vvays a Soul may see God's Salvation 2. That one vvho hath had the sight of Gods Salvation may very vvell be vvilling and desireous to dye 3. And then improve it by vvay of use and application First What is it to see God's Salvation or in vvhat vvays doth a man or woman see this blessed sight Unto that I shall return this fourfold answer 1. There is an ocular vision or a sight of God's Salvation with the eyes of the body This sight those Saints had vvho savv Christ vvhen he vvas here upon Earth and Tabernacled among men and vvho beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father This sight Simeon had vvhen his Parents brought him into the Temple then Simeon took him up in his arms and said mine eyes have seen thy Salvation And upon that sight he was raised and his heart so ravished that he vvas vvilling immediately to set sail for the other World His Soul vvas ready to take its flight he thought he had lived long enough and had seen enough of these inferiour objects he cared not for beholding the vanities of the World any more Jesus in his svvathering bands did outshine Princes in their Robes and Thrones And having once got a sight of him he thought there was nothing else upon the face of the Earth worth seeing Having seen Christ upon Earth he had a mind to go see God in Heaven Now this sight we cannot have and we need not have it now In this respect the Lord Jesus is gone out of our sight The Heavens do contain him and so they must until the time come wherein there shall be the restitution of all things And there is not any necessity of our seeing him in this manner we are no losers by his absence It was expedient for us that he went away for it was upon his going that the Comforter came who is to abide with us for ever All the work which Christ had to do upon Earth was finisht before he went away what remains further to be done he can do it in Heaven as he sits upon his his Throne at the right hand of his Father And his bodily presence would contribute nothing at all to our advantage and comfort We have a great deal more cause to please our selves with the thoughts of his being in Heaven by which we see that justice is satisfied yea that he entred there as our Fore-runner to make way for us and to take a place up for us and that he doth there ever live to make intercession for us And upon these accounts though now we see him
good and comfort which he expects and waits for he goeth out full of hopes and returns home blank He looks for much but gets little he cannot see his Fathers face that is covered with a Cloud nor can he hear his Saviours voice for he hath withdrawn himself and is gone he cannot find those kindly meltings and warmings and quickenings and enlargings that he desires but he goeth with a pittifully cold hard straitned dead heart so that he begins to question Gods Love and his own Faith If he doth at any time meet with his gracious God and is sensible of his doing so If he can say God was with me of a truth I have this day sate under the shadow of my dearest Saviour with great delight and his Fruit hath been sweet to my taste Alas it is but short Rara hora brevis mora it comes but seldom and it lasts not long It is but a little visit and no sooner it may be hath the gracious Soul done blessing himself in his enjoyments but he sees cause to bemoan himself for his loss But however it be with some particular Saints upon whom the Sun of Righteousness stands and shines with constant beams yet this is most certain as to all the Saints that the most sweet and full enjoyment which they have of God while they are here the most pleasant and comfortable communion they have with him is but mediate Christ looks upon him through the Lattice and they see him but as in a glass darkly All their refreshings are conveyed by Pipes they do not lie at the Fountain-head When they are most present with the Lord they are even then absent from the Lord and upon this account it is no matter of wonder to see or hear that they are willing to exchange a dark vision for a clear one seeing in a glass for a seeing face to face to exchange interrupt pleasures for permanent and abiding ones and mediate fellowship for that which is immediate Love is an uniting affection and is set for the strictest and closest embraces of it's indeared object And so a Soul that truly loves God cannot but desire to be as near to him as it can be and ready to exchange the comforts of the way for the joys and pleasures of the Countrey 3. He that hath seen God's Salvation hath seen enough to deliver him from the dread and terrour of Death for this is evident and obvious that if Christ be any mans Salvation it is utterly impossible that Death should be his destruction A man that is in Christ is not out of the reach of Death but he is secured from the hurt of Death Take an unregenerate man one that is a stranger unto Christ and he cannot see any thing in Death that should commend it to him It hath a dreadful aspect and a worse issue he hath cause to fear both Death and its Followers He is stript at Death and lasht in Hell Death to him is a dark passage to outer and endless darkness But now as grim as Death looks a Believer can easily discover a great deal that will make it lovely even Death it self hath its beauty as thus It is a conquered Enemy Christ went into the Grave it 's strongest hold and there he baffled it broke its Chains and carried away its Gates he disarmed and unstung it so that Holy Paul did and every true Believer may play with it and triumph over it 1 Cor. 15. O Death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory the sting of Death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law but thanks be to God who hath given us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Though Death kill the Believer yet it doth not dammage him and though it separate between his Soul and Body yet not between him and God who shall separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord Shall Death saith Paul no saith he in that as well as in other things we are more than Conquerors through him that loved us Nay through Christ death is not only conquered but also reconciled to all the Saints it is now become your Friend and Servant and doth you a real kindness So that as Solomon tells us The day of your Death is better than the day of your Birth You came into the World crying but you may go out of it Triumphing and with the voice of melodie The Primitive Christians did not array themselves in Sables at the Funerals of their Friends but in White looking upon their Dying Day as the Day of their Nuptials It was most terrible to Nature to be torn in pieces by Wild Beasts to die at a Stake to breathe their last in Flames yet in such a Death did they glory counting Martyrdom their Crown What though Death carry you from all your present comforts it doth at the same time set you out of the reach of all troubles and as it carries you from comforts so it carries you to comforts yea to such comforts as are far better than those you part with It pulls down this decaying and tottering Tabernacle that a more beautiful and stately Fabrick may be erected It takes you out of your sorry Cottages and carries you to those Blissful Mansions which are in your Fathers House The Grave it self though it be darksome and lonely yet it is a good resting place ever since our Lord lay there He hath perfum'd it and made it both soft and safe That Bed of Dust is now better than a Bed of Down or Roses It is true in the Grave though Christ's Body did not yet ours must see Corruption they must putrifie and at last be Converted into Dust but that Dust is more precious than Gold Oar and shall accordingly be most curiously preserved not an Atome of it shall be lost And that Body which is sown in weakness shall be raised in power and cloathed with immortality and made like unto Christ's own most glorious Body 4. And Lastly That man who hath seen Gods Salvation hath also seen all things amiable and desireable in the other World whither Death will carry him He hath looked within the Vail and had a prospect of that better Countrey There hath he by the Eye of Faith seen incomparable beauties to enamour him an excellent Glory to adorn him unspeakable comforts to delight him the best of Friends to invite him and an innumerable Company of Angels and Saints to bid him welcome There shall be nothing at all that may offend nothing in him to offend God nothing without to offend him nothing of sin and nothing of sorrow no temptation no affliction no danger no loss no frown no fear no sickness no pain no want no angry withdrawings not one pricking Briar nor one vexing Thorn But there shall be all things that you can desire and are suitable to that glorious State unto which you shall be advanced all things that will contribute to your happiness and