THE GAIN OF Godliness BEING A Consideration of 1 Tim. 4. 8. By Charles Phelpes Can a Man be profitable unto God as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself Job 22. 2. Riches profit not in the day of Wrath But Righteousness delivereth from Death Prov. 11. 4. Godliness with Contentment is great Gain 1 Tim. 6. 6. LONDON Printed for Tho. Parkhurst at the three Crowns and Bible at the lower end of Cheap-side 1682. TO THE READER Christian Reader IT is a general and necessary enquiry of the Sons of Men which is mentioned by the Psalmist to wit There be many that say Who will shew us that which is good That which is truly profitable for us Psal 4. 6. We All need to be shewn what is for Benefit and to be Directed thereunto for though Empty Man would be Wise yet Man is Born like a wild Asses Colt to wit most void of Understanding Job 11. 12. with Psal 32. 9. Every Man is brutish by his Knowledge Jer. 10. 14. Aud this doth Evidently appear by their undertakings and pursuits whatever their words and expressions are For generally they are seeking after the World as their chiefest good And their Wisdome which is Earthly directs them so to do It commends unto them and Glorifies before them the Riches Honours and Pleasures of this vain and transitory Life as the most profitable and valuable Things which can be pursued or procured by them and therefore excites and provokes them to Labour only or chiefly for this Meat which perisheth for these Objects which endure not unto everlasting Life For the things which are seen are Temporal 2 Cor. 4. 18. Hence the Wise Man gives this Caution and Dehortation to the Sons of Men Labour not to be Rich cease from thine own Wisdome Wilt thou cause thine Eyes to flee upon that which is not For Riches certainly make themselves Wings they flee like an Eagle toward Heaven Prov. 23. 4 5. And indeed if we could have never so sure and certain an Enjoyment of them while we are here continued in this World which yet we cannot promise to our selves or assure our selves of yet without all peradventure when we leave this World we must leave all the things of it behind us For we brought nothing into this world And it is certain we can carry nothing out 1 Tim. 6. 7. Be not thou fraid when one is made Rich when the Glory of his House is increased For when he Dyeth he shall carry nothing away his Glory shall not descend after him Psal 49. 16 17 20. And Alas What is our Life Is it not even a Vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away Within a few Years or Dayes we shall go the way whence we shall not return Job 16. 22. Yea though we should Live a Thousand Years twice told and yet have not seen or sought after that which is truly eminently and eternally Good What will All then avail us when we go to the Place appointed for all Living Will he esteem thy Riches No not Gold nor all the Forces of strength Job 36. 8 9. What is the hope of the Hypocrite though he hath gained when God taketh away his Soul Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him Job 27. 8 9. What is a Man Advantaged saith our Lord and Saviour if he gain the whole world and lose himself or be cast away Luk. 9. 24 25. The World then and the things thereof are not Profitable for all things They are not the good we should mainly enquire after or exercise our selves to the Attainment of For they are not of the Father 1 Joh. 2. 15 17. Yea indeed the inordinate Love of the World is Enmity with God and hinders from serving and pleasing Him For no Man can serve two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other Ye cannot serve God and mammon saith our Lord Jesus Jam. 4. 4. with Mat. 6. 24. But now the only wise God and our Saviour and therefore also the only good and gracious God doth give a satisfactory Answer to that Enquiry of the Many or Multitude before-mentioned in Psal 4. 6. As the Prophet signifieth saying He hath shewed thee O Man what is good what is truly well-pleasing unto him and everlastingly profitable beneficial for thy self and what doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to humble thy self in walking with thy God And so to believe in him For Without Faith it is impossible to walk with and please him Mica 6. 8. with Heb. 11. 5 6. and Gen. 5. 22 24. This is that which God doth Require of us for our Good and Benefit Compare Mica 6. 8. with Deut. 10. 12 13. And suitably thereto the Apostle Paul as directed by the Spirit of Truth speaks in the Words which are the Subject of the ensuing Discourse saying Godliness is profitable unto all things c. And could Men but be perswaded and prevailed withal to Believe this with all their Souls How would it Metamorphose and Transform their Hearts and Lives and make them Christ's Disciples not in Name and Profession only but in Truth and Reality But Alas How many Unbelieving Believers are there in the outward Court of the Church and therefore how many Unchrist-like Christians Jer. 9. 25 26. How many are there that stand up at and profess to Assent and Consent to the Belief concerning whom it may be said They are Children in whom is no Faith as Deut. 32. 20. How many call themselves The only true Sons of the Church while they Actually and openly appear to be The Children of this World or Members of a Worldly Sanctuary And such manner of persons may be forward to suspect That they design their prejudice who endeavour to Moderate their Affections unto and pursuits after these low things and to excite and quicken them to exercise themselves unto true Piety and Purity And St. Paul saw it needful to Assure the Believing Corinthians That he intended no hurt to them when he Exhorted them to have their Conversation without Carefulness and Covetousness But that he endeavoured their certain and stable Interest and Advantage For when he had been saying Brethren the time is short It remaineth that they that Weep for any worldly Loss or Deprivation be as though they Wept not and they that Rejoyce for any present Gain or Increase as though they Rejoyced not and they that Buy as though they Possessed not And they that use this world as not abusing it for the Fashion of this world passeth away But I would have you without Carefulness c. He then presently after thus Writeth unto them And this I speak not for your Disadvantage or Detriment but for your own profit not that I may cast a Snare upon you but for that which is Comely And that you may attend upon
themselves to the Faith and fear of the Lord may say with the Apostle our rejoycing our glorying is this the Testimony of our Conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly Wisdom but by the grace of God we have had our Conversation in the World c. 2 Cor. 1. 12. And this is that Efficacious Motive and Argument which our Lord Jesus sets before us to perswade and prevail with us to take his yoke upon us and seriously undertake his service namely saith he my yoke is easy sweet gracious and my burden is light Mat. 11. 29 30. As also the applying our hearts and lives to the power of Godliness is the most advancing noble and honourable exercise we can ingage our selves in To you that believe he is an honour 1 Pet. 2 6 7. And when the Wise-man Commends Wisdome and Exhorts and excites us to the diligent pursuit of it saying Wisdom is the principal thing get Wisdom and with all thy gettings get understanding he then propounds this motive and inforcement exalt her and she shall promote thee she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her She shall give to thine head an Ornament of Grace a Crown of glory shall she deliver to thee Hear O my Son and receive my sayings c. Prov. 4. 7 8 10. The reward of humility and of the fear of the Lord is honour even that also which is excellent and durable Prov. 22. 4. 1 Sam. 2. 30. And if the desire of honour and glory have any Influence upon us let us exercise our selves unto that Religion which is pure and undefiled before God and the Father We may Lawfully and Laudably be Ambitious of that Honour which is united with and Entaild upon divine vertue and goodness and in following after godliness we shall thereby attain unto true and abiding honour For God will give glory Honour and Peace unto every man that worketh good Rom. 2. 7 10. Isa 43. 4. 2 Cor. 5. 9. Rom. 2. 28 29. But though Godliness be as we have briefly shewed both Pleasurable and Honourable yet in this place the Apostle asserts the general Profitableness of it to induce us to the hearty exercise of it And gain and advantage is that which is Generally desirable and greatly Valuable and which excites and encourages men to take much paines to run many hazards to endure much hardship and encounter with many difficulties and dangers What makes so many persons take such long and tedious Journeys and Voyages ride through thick and thin expose themselves to the cold and other inconveniences but the hope and expectation of Profit In all labour there is profit eyed designed and pursued Prov. 14. 23. And if men rise up early and sit down late and eat the bread of carefulness for secular gain and advantage much rather should we so mind the great and excellent gain of true Piety as to Apply our selves thereto with all our might and main and endure any hardships in that application that we may be made partakers thereof as the Apostle and his fellow-Labourers did as he signifies to us in the next verse but one to this we are discoursing of saying Therefore because Godliness is so generally and greatly gainful we both labour and suffer reproach 1 Tim. 4. 8 10. And in our working and continued abounding in the work of the Lord our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord 1 Cor. 15. 58. But to this I shall enlarge no further at present because there will be apt occasion to speak more particularly hereto in the following part of the words in which the Apostle doth more distinctly evidence the Truth of what he more indistinctly propounds in the former part saying having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come But now from this Motive as thus generally propounded to move and provoke us to exercise our selves to true Piety we may infer several things which may be useful for us As 1. Seeing this is propounded by the Apostle to perswade us to follow Godliness That it is Profitable unto all things then we may from hence learn that it is no mercenary or base thing but what is well pleasing unto God That we should so mind and consider the gain and Profit of Godliness that we may exercise our selves to the Mystery and Practice of it Indeed when we follow Religion for the advantage promotion and Grandeur of this World only or Principally then we may truly be said to be mercenary and shall no longer appear to be Religious then as that may conduce unto our secular interest and Ambitious designs as before we have said and as the devil falsly and maliciously suggested concerning Job Chap. 1. 9 11. But we may so consider the Real and Eternal gain of true Piety as to quicken Excite and perpetuate our endeavours and Pursuit after pure Reliligion and yet not at all be mercenary in an unworthy sense or Reprovable consideration And that we may Lawfully and allowably have an eye and respect to the advantage and gain of true Piety to engage us to exercise our selves to the serious and constant Practice of it doth appear 1. Because God's people when they have neglected their Duty have been justly reproved for not believing that Religion was their greatest and truest Interest or for not pursuing advantageous things Elihu somewhat severely reproves Job saying Thinkest thou this to be right For thou hast said what advantage will it be unto thee and what profit shall I have if I be cleansed from my sin whereas as he afterwards adds Though we give nothing to God if we be righteous yet our Righteousness will profit the Son of man Job 36. 2 3 7 8. And the Lord himself doth fault and reprove the Priest's and Pastors because they walked after things that did not profit them And he thus expostulates with his people Hath a Nation changed their Gods which yet are no God's But my people have changed their glory their God for that which doth not profit Be astonished O ye Heavens at this and be horribly afraid c. Jer. 2. 8 11 12 13. 2. That to excite us to pursue undefiled Religion we may have an eye at its reward is further evident and evidenced in that God in his promises doth set the gain of it before us to make us truly Pious and if this be to be mercenary to have a respect to the recompence of the reward God makes men so by his assurances and encouragements Thus he saith unto Abram the Father of the saithful fear not I am thine exceeding great reward Gen. 15. 1. My Son saith the holy Spirit Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long for surely there is a reward and thine expectation shall not be cut off Hear thou my Son and be wise and guide thine heart in the way Prov. 23. 17. 18. Touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and I
c. Luk. 2. 25 26 29. And when the Apostle Paul expresseth the hearty desire of himself and of other believers which we have given some account of and mentioned before not that they might be unclothed but clothed upon that Mortallity might be swallowed up of life He then immediately subjoyns thereto now he that hath wrought us for this self-same thing is God who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit Therefore we are always confident knowing that whilst we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. We are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the booy and to be present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5. 4 6 8. But what we have been discoursing of may suffice as to that third Evidence And now proceed we unto a fourth namely 4. That there will be a future state to be entered upon when this present short state is expired appears to be most Reasonable and enlightned Reason it self may convince us of the Truth and certainty thereof for when or how otherwise can there be a clear and full Revelation of the Righteous Judgment of God who hath very clearly and plentifully assured us in his word of Truth That he will render unto every man according to his deeds Rom. 2. 5 6. That he will bring every work into Judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be Evil Eccles 12. 13 14. Shall be not render to every man according to his works Prov. 24. 12. Psal 62. 12. Now if there were not a Life to come after this present momentany one is ended when shall many wicked Persons receive the due and deserved reward of their ungodly and unrighteous Deeds And when shall the truly Pious and Righteous ones be made partakers of the gracious recompence of their reward If there be not a future state to be entred upon and an account hereafter to be given unto God many wicked persons would appear to be in the best and most desirable condition and so abide without any remarkable change or alteration all the days of this vain short life and many of the best and most Godly persons would appear to be in the worst condition because they meet with so much Reproach Adversity and Affliction in this world as our Saviour hath fore-told saying In the World ye shall have tribulation Joh. 16. 33. Concerning the Prosperity and Flourishing estate of Evil and Ungodly Persons Job speaks very fully unto his mistaken friends saying Wherefore do the wicked live become old yea are mighty in Power their seed is established in their sight with them and their off-spring before their eyes Their houses are safe from fear neither is the Rod of God upon them Their Bull gendreth and faileth not their Cow Calveth and casteth not her Calf They send forth their little ones like a flock and their Children dance They take the Timbrel and Harp and rejoyce at the sound of the Organ they spend their days in Wealth or in Mirth and in a moment go down into the grave This was the observation of that perfect and upright man Job concerning the un-interrupted prosperity and fulness of some wicked Persons in his time and yet he had not the Advantage of the Holy Scriptures as we have But notwithstanding all this though they did so prosper and rejoyce in this world yet nevertheless He looked upon them to be really in a very bad and sad condition because he believed that there would be a future Judgment and then they would be rewarded according to their deeds and demerits for in the following part of the Chapter before-referred to he saith Have ye not asked them that goe by the way And do ye not know their tokens That the wicked notwithstanding all his present fulness and admirable prosperiry in this world is reserved unto the day of destruction they shall be brought forth out of their graves to the day of wrath Job 21. 5 6 13 29 30. Psal 73. 3 11 12 17 20. O Lord how great are thy works and thy thoughts are very deep A brutish man knoweth not neither doth a fool understand this when the wicked spring as grass and when all the workers of Iniquity do flourish it is that they shall be destroyed for ever Psal 92. 5 6 7. and 37. 1 2 35 36 38. And so on the other hand many righteous ones do now meet with many troubles and afflictions in this world as it is written For thy sake we are killed all the day long we are counted as sheep for the slaughter Rom. 8. 36. They do pass through much Tribulation and exercise in this present state and many times Drink of the Cup of sorrow and grief but without all doubt there will be another and better reward for the righteous because the righteous Lord loveth righteousness Psal 11. 7. Then to wit hereafter ye shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not for behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud yea and all that do wickedly shall be stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of hosts that it shall leave them neither Root nor Branch but unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings c. Mal. 3. 17 18. and ch 4. 1 2 3. And if it should not thus be how should God judge the world in righteousness when the wisest of mere men to wit Solomon saith And more-over I saw under the Sun the place of judgment that wickedness was there and the place of righteousness that iniquity was there He then makes this rational conclusion or deduction there-from to wit I said in mine heart God shall judge the righteous and the wicked for there is a time there to wit in the world to come for every purpose and for every work And then the evil and unrighteous persons who have judged or acted unjustly against the upright and innocent shall be called to an account and justly condemned for so doing how high soever they have been in Power or Authority here and the righteous shall be acquitted and righted by him who executeth judgment for all that are opporessed Eccles 3. 16 17. with Job 34. 10 11 12. God's righteousness is engaged to render unto all men according to their works and doings and therefore because he doth not do so fully now in this day and world we may safely and certainly conclude that he will do so in the world to come Rom. 2. 5 6 7 10 11. Seeing that it is a righteous thing with God to recompence tribulation to them that trouble you and to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord shall be revealed from heaven with the Angels of his power in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord