MEDITATIONS.

THat the finding out of our Diſeaſe, is neceſſary in order to a Cure; is not more true of the Natural Diſtempers of our Bodies, than of the Spiritual Diſtempers of our Souls. The Apoſtle mentions the Fall of man at large to the Romans, to make way for the diſcovery of the Neceſſary and Excellency of a Saviour. Ron, 5. In the Fall of man, I ſhall conſider, that we all were in the Firſt Man, as in Heb. 7.9.10. Levi is ſaid to pay Tithes to Melchiſedeck, as he was in the loyns of his Father Abraham. So we may be ſaid to eat Forbidden Fruit, as we were in the loyns of our Father Adam. We were in him, as a Nation in their King. Adam was our Repre •• e •• ative: If he had ſtood, we had had the beneſit of his obedience, though he, not we obeyed: So he diſobeying, we are brought under the Curſe, though he and not we offended. It is in vain in war, if Subjects be taken, to ſay, our King proclaimed and made the War, not we; we never conſented to it. If the Poſterity of a Traitor be diſinherited, it is in vain for them to plead, Our Father, not we, conſpired the death of the Prince, we were not then born. Beſides, the nature of man by the Fall was corrupt, and a clean thing cannot come out of an unclean. Job. 14.4. It is true indeed what God ſaid by Ezekiel, The Children ſhall not bear the Iniquity of the Father: Ezek. 19.20. If the Father ſin alone it is ſo, but this is not our Caſe; for we find our Principles, and ſo Practices corrupted. Adam was but one man perſonally, but he was all men potentially, and originally. I ſhall in order conſider, 1. What we were before the Fall. 2. What Sin we were guilty of in the Fall. 3. What miſery we brought on our ſelves after the Fall. I may ſometimes name Adam onely, but it muſt be thus underſtood, that we all were He.

1. What Adam was before he fell. Adam and Eve, Gen. 5.2. are both called Adam, Male and Female created he them, and bleſſed them, and called their name Adam: In the day when they were Created they were one, though not by a Phyſical, yet by a Conjugal Union; they were two diſtinct perſons, yet one by nearneſs of relation; and ſo I may conſider them both, though ſometimes I name one only, as I ſee occaſion. Before the Fall, great were the priviledges they had for their Bodie; and Souls: Of the firſt ſort.

1. Their Bodies were ſound and free from all diſtempers, bodies that could not be diſturbed by any outward colds or heats, or by any inward malignity or humours, Gen. 2. ult. Ask the ſick and unhealthy, that are chained by many pains in Head, Stomack, what this mercy was.

2. All the Creatures were in ſubjection to him, Gen. 1.28, 29, 30. God gave man Dominion over the Birds of the air, and over the Beaſts of the earth, and over the Fiſh of the ſea, and over the living things that creep on the earth: The Creatures ſaw ſuch a luſtre in the countenance of man, that they fear'd him; ſo much majeſty yet appears, though ſin hath leſſen'd it, that the Beaſts fear us not a little: For venomous Creatures, they either had no venome, or that venom could not hurt.

3. He was ſeated in a pleaſant Habitation, Gen. 2.8. And the Lord God planted a Garden eaſtward in Eden, and there he put the man, whom he had formed. The Excellency of which place we read in the 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. verſes. Where he was placed, or where Eden was, a Learned Author hath ſpent much time to enquire.Sir Walt. Rawley Hiſt. of World. That Paradiſe was not the whole world, is clear from Gen. 3.24. So he drove out the man; not ſure out of the world, for Adam lived, Gen. 5.5. nine Hundred and thirty years. For the idle notions that the Rivers ſignifie virtues, &c. I will not honour them with a confutation.

The good things of the Soul were theſe.

1. It was enricht with wonderful knowledge, Gen. 2.19, 20. When God brought the Creatures to Adam, he on the firſt ſight gave names to them; that is, names ſignificative, or expreſſive of their natures; as if we ſhould call a Lion Rage, a Lamb Meek, a Dove Innocent, &c. His Knowledge much exceeded ours; his was habitual, ours acquired; his was compleat, ours imperfect; His knowledg was as much above the knowledg of the wiſeſt man on earth, as the knowledg of a wiſe man above the knowledge of a Child.

2. He had a perfection of Holineſs, not only a perfection of degrees, but of parts: he was perfect, not only if we conſider Perfection in oppoſition to Hypocriſy, as Abraham, Noah, and many Saints in Scripture are ſaid to be perfect: But perfect in oppoſition to any defect, or imperfection. Adam in Paradiſe was as an Angel in Heaven, was as free from any Sin or contempt of God.

3. He had frequent, and immediate, and full Communion with God, Gen. 2.16, 17. God ſpeaks to man, and man to God without any fear, or dread. What an honour is it for a mean man to have the ear of a Prince, or great man at his pleaſure! Hence it was that Paradiſe was a lower Heaven; which makes ſome think, if man had not ſinned, he had there continued for ever.

2. We come to conſider what Sins we were guilty of in the Fall. Man had very bad thoughts of a good God; very good thoughts of a bad Devil; very high thoughts of low Self, Adam and Eve.

1. They made God a Lyar, and juſtified the Devil as a Speaker of truth; Gen. 2.17. God ſaid, In the day you eat thereof, you ſhall die, Gen. 3.3. The Devil ſaid, You ſhall not ſurely die, Gen. 3.4. The Woman ſaid, Leſt you die. God affirms, the Devil denies, and the woman doubts. Many Temptations Adam had that we know not; Now this was by Interpretation to give God the Lye. How tedious is it among men to be called a Lyar, and what effuſion of blood hath it cauſed! Now the Devil the Father of Lies is believed more than God.

2. They lookt on God as unworthy to be their Commander, and took the Devil for their Councellour: God muſt ſtand by, the Devil takes place. They choſe this God, or Guide, for themſelves and Poſterity; hence it is the Devil is called by the Apoſtle, The God of this World, 2 Cor. 4.4.

3. They thought it unbecoming them to be reſtrained by any Law. They ſhould be as Gods, Gen. 3.5. That there was ſome hidden vertue in the Tree, that would make the Eaters of its fruit, more like an abſolute God, than God would have them be; and therefore God forbad the touching that Tree. This was the Temptation.

3. We ſhall conſider what Miſeries we brought on our ſelves after the Fall.

1. We were deprived of the Image of the Bleſſed God: According to ſupernatural endowments, it was totally gone, there was not one Spark of Grace left; nothing of holineſs remained in man. According to natural endowments, this Image was in part gone; much wiſdom, much power over the Creatures was gone, Gen. 3.7. They were as naked in their Souls, as in their Bodies. As Aaron in the matter of the Golden Calf, is ſaid to make the people naked, Exod. 32.25.

2. We were caſt out of Paradiſe among the reſt of the Beaſts, Gen. 3.24. Cherubims appeared in Shape like an Ox. Now man by Sin, had made himſelf like the Beaſts that periſh; and therefore God ſends him to be their companion. He is not now in Paradiſe, but in a Wilderneſs, not in a place of pleaſure, but of toyl and ſorrow, Gen. 3.19.

3. We are naturally inclined to all ſin, and ſo expoſed to all Judgments. The Underſtanding is clouded with errour; the judgment fails, both in directing what is to be done, and judging of the lawfulneſs or unlawfulneſs of what is done: The affections are carnal: In a word, the Soul is blinded,Gen. 3.19. nay, ſome ſo blind as hardly to ſee the Being of God: That what once God ſaid to Adam, they are ready to ſay to God, Where art thou? Gen. 2.17. I know it is enquired, what Death was threatned in thoſe words,Gen. 2.17. In the day thou eateſt thereof thou ſhalt ſurely die. Some think only the death of the Body. But I thus argue, That Death that followed mans ſin was there threatned, and the death that followed was the natural death of the Body, the ſpiritual death of the Soul, and the eternal death both of Body and Soul; and therefore all was threatned in thoſe words, Thou ſhalt die. Is it reaſonable to think, that the great Law-maker put more in the Execution, than there was in the Threat? In Adam, you find no confeſſion of Sin to God, but adding Sin to Sin, Gen. 3.10. When he fled, God calls to him, how doth he reply? I heard thy voice in the Garden, and I was afraid, becauſe I was naked, and I hid my ſelf: As if he had ſaid, I am hid, becauſe I heard thy voice; it is exceeding piercing, it is the voice of a God; and I am but Fleſh and Blood, and I cannot bear it. But did he not hear Gods voice before, Gen. 2.16, 17. when God gave him a charge, not to eat of the Tree in the midſt of the Garden? I was naked, was another Excuſe, Gen. 2.25. Were they not before both naked, and not aſhamed? When God told Adam plainly of his Sin, Gen. 3.11. Haſt thou eaten of the Tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou ſhouldſt not eat? One would think, now there is no room for an excuſe: verſe 12. you read, The woman thou gaveſt to be with me, ſhe gave me of the Tree, and I did eat. He layes it on the woman, but the woman could not compell, though ſhe did tempt: Nay, rather than take the blame to himſelf, he layes it on God; Thou gaveſt. If thou hadſt not given me the woman, ſhe had not tempted, nor I eaten. Few know or conſider the hardning nature of Sin. One might have expected, he ſhould have cryed, Lord pity me, Lord contrive a way to ſhew mercy, if there be any; or if none, Lord thou art juſt in all the evil that ſhall come upon me. So was man expoſed to all Judgments temporal, diſtempers, troubles, loſſes, death, and at laſt to eternal Judgments, where the Worm dyeth not, and the Fire is never quenched.

And now to theſe Meditations, I ſhall add a few Directions.

DIRECTIONS.

1. Mourn over your ſelves and Brethren, fallen into ſin and miſery. Complaints againſt Adam are in vain; Complaints againſt God are worſe. It was neceſſary, as Calvin ſayes, that the will of man ſhould be flexibilis in utramque partem: God having made man, it was convenient he ſhould put him on Tryal of Obedience. God gave him but one Law, not many; an eaſie one, not difficult; a negative one, not poſitive; no thanks had been to Adam to obey, if he could not have diſobeyed. Conſider it, and it fell out that he ſinned. What have we loſt in loſing Paradiſe, and the bleſſings there! When Ziklag was burnt, what an outcry was there! 1 Sam. 30.3, 4. So David and his men came to the City, and behold, it was burnt with fire; and their Wives, and their Sons, and their Daughters were taken Captives: What follows? Then David and the People that were with him, lift up their Voice and wept, until they had no Power to weep. What was Ziklag to Paradiſe? what was the Captivity of the Body, to that of the Soul? How ſadly do men look back on a burnt Houſe, and Treaſures there; and weep bitterly!

2. Cry againſt the Tempter, that you may through Grace out-wit him. Was he too hard for man in innocency, how much more now? If any man wants wiſdom, let him ask it of God:James 5. Cry to God againſt Satan, as David againſt Ahithophel, that God would confound the Policy of Ahithophel; ſo Lord,2 Sam. 15.31. confound the Devices of the evil one.

3. Strive againſt all Objections againſt God in this matter. Though the Act Phyſically conſidered is of God; yet not Morally. And though it is true, that ſecond Cauſes cannot act without the firſt, aliquid Poſitioum; yet they may aliquid delinquens. We have learnt of Adam to lay all on God. To them that deny any thing of Predetermination, I humbly offer this to Conſideration. Whether it be rational to imagine, that it depended upon ſo pitiful, and weak, and changeable a thing as Adams Will, without Gods Determination? Whether Chriſt ſhould come into the World, and dye, and ſo be a Saviour? Whether the Providences of God in the World, ſhould be ſuch as they are? Whether the greateſt part of Mankind ſhould be in Hell for ever, and thouſands before the Throne, Praiſing God for a Redeemer? However, Let every Mouth be ſtopped before God. Luther ſays, I put off queſtions about Gods Predeterminations, with that of Christ to Peter, when he asked an unneceſſary queſtion about John; Joh. 22.23. What is that to thee? follow thou me; Officium agamus, ſaid, Melancton, Loci. Com. & diſputationes de Predestinatione Seponamus: Rom. 11.33. How unſearchable are his Judgments, and his ways paſt finding out! Many would ſearch out unſearchable Judgments, and find out ways paſt finding out. I will not cut a knot that I cannot untie. We that cannot ſolve the Phoenomena of Nature; how can we ſatisfie our ſelves about the great Myſteries of Religion?

We are by Nature Children of wrath,Epheſ. 2.3. and let us not ſo curiouſly enquire, how Original ſin got into our Heart, as carefully enquire how to get it out. For that Objection againſt Sin in Infancy:

Obj. Omne peccatum est voluntarium. Every ſin is Voluntary. Mel. in his Com. Places, ſays, that muſt be underſtood in civilibus Delictis, in civil Offences among men: and yet ſin is voluntary in Infancy, quia (ſaith the ſame Author) eo delectamur, becauſe we delight in it.

As for ſuch fooliſh Queſtions, Whether if Adam had begotten Children before he fell, Sin had been imputed to thoſe Children; we will not waſte time to conſider them. Catarinus affirmed, Soto denyed,Hiſt. of the Council of Trent. as F. P. ſays. Run to Christ, who by once Suffering can ſave you, as Adam by once ſinning hath deſtroyed you. Rom. 5.19. For as by one mans Diſobedience many were made Sinners; ſo by the Obedience of one ſhall many be made righteous. Chriſt was obedient unto Death, Phil. 2.8. even the Death of the Croſs. The Law is in full force againſt every ungodly man: God hath ſtill his Power of commanding, though we have thrown away our Power of obeying. God ſees more ſin in one wrathful thought, than we do in actual Murther; in one covetous thought, than we do in open Theft. Oh then run to Jeſus that juſtifieth, that ſanctifieth, that ſaveth. He is our Joſeph, that hath all the Store-houſes of Proviſion, in a time of Famine: As the diſtreſſed Egyptians ſaid to him, let us ſay to Chriſt, Gen. 47.18, 19. We will not hide it from my Lord, our money is gone; — Give us bread, let us be Servants unto Pharaoh. We will not, nay, we cannot hide it from our Lord: All is gone; let us have Grace from him, that we may ſerve our God; and all Believers muſt ſay to Jeſus, as they to Joſeph, v. 25. Thou haſt ſaved our lives, let us find Grace in the ſight of our Lord. When ſin had ſlain us, Chriſt had Compaſſion on us, as David had on his Son, when his own Folly had ruin'd him. 2 Sam. 18.33. And the King was much moved, and wept, and as he went, thus he ſaid, O my Son Abſalom, my Son, my Son Abſalom; would God I had dyed for thee, O Abſalom my Son, my Son. Yet Abſalom ſought his Fathers Crown and Life; and we would be as Gods. Chriſt feem'd to ſay over us, Would to God I might dye for thee; and indeed, it pleaſed the Father to bruiſe; Iſa. 53.10. —I believe that Adam through this Chriſt was ſaved, Gen. 3.16. God immediately on the fall applyed himſelf to him, and promiſed a Redeemer. Paul to the Romans, makes Adam a Figure of him that was to come.Rom. 5.14. If ſin and guilt might have made any man pine away, Adam had been the man, that opened the Flood-gates of Sin and Wrath to break in upon the World, and was the ruine of the greateſt part of his Poſterity; yet hearing of a Saviour, he lived almoſt a thouſand years. We are not ſo to mourn for ſin, as to forget to rejoyce in Chriſt our Saviour. Of this bleſſed Saviour, I ſhall ſpeak in the next Chapter.

MEDITATIONS.

GOD is more pleaſed with the Sufferings of Chriſt, than diſpleaſed with the Sin of Adam: he more loveth us as the Children of Chriſt, than he hated us as the Children of Adam. We muſt often conſider the Death of Chriſt, and be affected with it. It was Propheſyed of old,Zach. 12.10. They ſhall look on him whom they have pierced, and they ſhall mourn for him, as one mourneth for the loſs of an only Son, and ſhall be in bitterneſs for him, as one that is in bitterneſs for his firſt-born. And O what wringing of hands, what deep Groans, what doleful Out-cryes are there made oftentimes for the loſs of an onely Child, or Firſt-born!Act 2.37. What made Peters Converts to be prickt at the Heart, but the Preaching of a crucified Chriſt?

I ſhall here conſider, (1.) What Crucifying was. (2.) Who were the Agents in this Work. (3.) Who, and what he was on whom this Cruelty was acted.

1. For the manner of Crucifying. There was Lignum Geminum, as the learned Weems ſpeaks at large in his Chriſtian Synagogue: The Croſs had four things; Arrectarium, or Main-tree; Scabellum, the Tree where the feet were Nailed; Lignum tranſverſum, whereunto their Arms were faſtned with Cords, and there Nail'd; Vertex, the Title with the Inſcription above the Head. This way of putting to Death, was ſo ſhameful and ſo lingring, that the Romans inflicted it on none but Slaves, or the vileſt ſort of men. Conſtantine, in Honour of Chriſt, took away this Puniſhment. Chriſt had carryed his own Croſs (as all Crucified Perſons did) but they had ſo weakned him,Mat. 27.32. that they made Simon of Cyrene to carry it, not out of Kindneſs to Chriſt, but hatred; leſt he being ſo ſeverely handled before, ſhould faint by the way, and their blood-ſhot eyes loſe the Pleaſure of beholding him tormented on the Croſs. The Romans call'd this Puniſhment Servile Supplicium, for the reaſon before-named.

2. We come to conſider the Actors in this woful Tragedy. They were not the prophane Gentiles, or common Rabble among the Jews, that only did this; but the High Prieſt, the Scribes, the Phariſees.

1. They that had ſo long prayed, and waited for his coming. Before he came into the world, the Devout Jews thought Bleſſed were the eyes that ſhould ſee the promiſed Meſſiah in the Fleſh. It was a Petition commonly made by them, in their Giving of Thanks at their Tables; Let our eyes be made worthy to ſee the Meſſiah in the Fleſh. What cryes were there,Iſa. 64.1. O that he would rend the Heavens, and come down! Malachi that cloſed up the Old Teſtament, foretold, how though they longed for him, yet they could not ſtand before him.Mal. 3.1, 2. Behold I will ſend my Meſſenger, and the Lord whom ye ſeek, ſhall ſuddenly come to his Temple, even the Meſſenger of the covenant in whom ye delight: But what follows? But who may abide the day of his coming? And who ſhall ſtand when he appeareth? For he is like Refiners Fire, and as Full • rs Sope. He dealt too plainly with the world con • erning their Sin and Duty, to be welcom'd by them. They expected a Meſſias, to deliver them from the power of the Romans; and God ſent a Meſſias to deliver from the power of the Devil.

2. They that were acquainted with the Law and the Prophets; That might by Types and Propheſies have known that Chriſt was the promiſed Saviour.

3. They that heard his Doctrine, and ſaw his Miracles. His Doctrine was ſpitual and Heavenly, reaching the Heart and Soul; His Miracles were not done in a Corner; as feeding many thouſands with a few Loaves, his raiſing Lazarus from the Dead.

3. We now come to conſider who, and what he was who thus ſuffered.

1. He that did their Bodies ſo much good: Paul ſayes, for a good man ſome would even dare to die: Though ſcarcely for a Righteous man, Rom. 5.7. That is, conſider him as righteous before God, and ſo few love him ſo well, as to die for him; but conſider him as good to man, ſo ſome would loſe their lives for him. But here they were ſo far from dying for this good man, that they contrived his death. He cured all ſorts of men, of all ſorts of Diſtempers; he raiſed the Dead, &c.

2. He that came to ſave Souls from endleſs burnings, and to bring them to endleſs Bleſſedneſs.1 Theſ. 1.10. It is not more true that our Bodies and Souls are now in the world, than that they had been in endleſs miſery had not Chriſt dyed.

3. He that was God. God ſuffered in the Perſon, Acts 20.28. though not in the Nature. Hence it is, that his Temporal Sufferings were as much as our Eternal would have been. Chriſt had his Sonſhip but not his Substance from the Father, who begat him in reſpect of Perſonality, not of Eſſence. The dignity of his perſon, made the Sin of crucifying him ſo great. I will ſuppoſe, that all the Saints in Heaven and Earth were met together, yea that all the Angels were incarnate and among them, and that a man or number of men ſhould murther them all; this Sin were no ſin in compariſon of what I now ſpeak of, the Crucifying of the Lord of Glory.

Christ ſuffered from firſt to laſt. In his Birth; for the Ancient of Dayes to be born in time, for the Eternal God to become a Babe, this is ſoon ſaid, but who underſtands the depth of theſe things? Luke 2.12. And this ſhall be a ſign unto you, you ſhall find the Babe wrapped in ſwadling-cloaths, lying in a Manger: yet was all ordered by the infinite wiſdom of God. Had Christ been the Son of Herod, or Caeſar, then it had been no wonder, that all the world went out after him; but that one ſo obſcurely born, ſhould carry the world before him, was wonderful! John when in Patmos, Rev. 11.15. foreſaw, That the Kingdoms of the World would become the Kingdoms of the Lord, and his Chriſt; which then was very unlikely in outward appearance. He was ſorely tempted by the Devil, we read at large in Mat. 4. Gods end in all we have, Heb. 2.18. Being tempted, he is able to ſuccour them that are tempted. Ask the Saints what Suffering this is, that often ſweat under this Saddle, when they are tempted to hate God, or diſtruſt him, have ſuch ſuggeſtions as are not fit to be named.

He was deſpiſed in his common converſe with men:Luk. 8.20. The Foxes had their holes, and the Birds of the Air their neſts, but Jeſus had not where to lay his head. He was reviled as one that had a Devil; Joh. 10.20. Mark 2.16. Luk. 22.44. and was made as a Friend of Publicans and Sinners.

In his Agonies in the Garden, He ſweat drops of Blood, though it were ſuch a cold ſeaſon, that one might think would have ſtruck the Blood inward: It was a cold time, for Peter ſtood to warm himſelf. Our Sin was the heavy burthen that lay upon him.

When, and after he was Betrayed: Betrayed he was by a Friend, a Boſome-friend; to be Betrayed, and that in point of Life, and all by an intimate acquaintance, goes near the Heart. What David ſaid to him that betrayed, might Chriſt ſay to Judas: Had it been an Enemy, Pſal. 11.13, 14. I could have born it; but it was thou, my Companion, we took ſweet Counſel together, and walked together as Friends. He was ſeverely handled by Souldiers, who batter'd his Ears with Blaſphemy, as well as tormented his Body: when he was on the Croſs, Mat. 27. v. 39, 40. they waged their Heads, tell him of what he was accuſed, verſ. 41, 42, 43. The great men revile him; when uſually men that ſcarce pray all the year long for themſelves, if they ſee any infamous Criminal executed, they never tell him in a way of ſcoffing, of his Fault or Crime, but ſay, God be merciful to his Soul. At laſt, Chriſt cryes out, Mat. 27.46. My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? We muſt warily underſtand this, not as if God had forſaken Chriſt in reſpect of Strength, for an Angel was ſent to ſtrengthen him;Luk. 22.33. nor in reſpect of Eſſence, nor of Complacency; but God forſook him as to preſent comfort in a great meaſure. Imagine you ſtood as the Devout Women at the Croſs, and ſaw this. I now come to lay down a few Directions.

DIRECTIONS.

1. Look on, and wonder. Are theſe things ſo? 2 Tim. 3.1. Then great is the Myſtery of Godlineſs, God manifeſted in the fleſh! If it be a Myſtery, it cannot be fathomed. Wonder at what Chriſt is, and at what he doth: What he is, Prov. 30.4. It was the wiſe mans Probleme, or hard Queſtion, What is his name, or his Sons name, if thou canſt tell? His Name is called Wonderful, Iſa. 9.6. Wonder that the Divinity did not ſwallow up the Humanity, that the fire and the buſh can ſo well agree together. All the Attributes of God are given to Chriſt, all the Works of God ſpoken of him, as of Creation, Sanctification, Glorification: Therefore Chriſt is God not only by name, or ſecundum divi; but God by Nature. He was God that he might ſatisfie, he was Man that he might ſuffer. Wonder at what he doth. Patereulus ſays, that when the Lacedemonians oppoſed Attica, the Pythian God told them, that that Army whoſe General was taken ſhould conquer: Codrus depoſita veſte regia, &c. Codrus laying aſide his Princely Robes, went among his enemies, and was ſlain by them. Our King on Maunday Thurſday, (ſo call'd, as ſome ſay, becauſe of the Command of Love, Chriſt gave his Diſciples before his Paſſion, Mandatum novum do vobis,) I ſay our King uſeth to waſh the feet of as many poor People as he hath lived years, and yet not the leſs a King for this humble act. Our Lord Jeſus the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, dyed that we might live, abaſed himſelf, that he might exalt us. Pſalm 126.1, 2. When God delivered the Church out of Babylon by Cyrus, they were like men that dreamed. How much more ſhould we be Aſtoniſhed at our deliverance from Sin and Satan by Jeſus Chriſt!

2. Let Love be attactive of Love. Let the Love of Jeſus to us, make us to Love him. I have read of Agilmond King of the Lombards, that one day he went a fiſhing, and ſaw a Babe ſprawling in the Water (perhaps a baſe child) he took it up, and made it his adopted Son, and called him Lama, and left him his Crown and Kingdom: You may eaſily imagine what delight this Lama took in ſeeing of King Algilmond whilſt he lived, and in thinking and ſpeaking of this King after he was dead. How excellently doth God expreſs his love to the poor Jews of old! Ezek. 16.4, 5, 6. As for thy Nativity, in the day thou waſt born, thy Navel was not cut, neither waſt thou waſhed in water; — None eye pitied thee to do any of theſe unto thee, to have compaſſion on thee; but thou waſt caſt out into the open field, to the loathing of thy perſon, in the day that thou waſt born. And when I paſſed by thee, and ſaw thee polluted in thy own Blood; I ſaid unto thee when thou wast in thy Blood, live; (And leſt this ſhould be ſoon paſſed over, the Holy Ghoſt bids them, as it were, ſtand and hear it the ſecond time,) Yoa, I ſaid unto thee, when thou waſt in thy Blood, live: When Tiberius was in a Village named Spelunca, Stones fell from the houſe where he was: Sejanus genu, vultu, manibuſ que ſuper Caeſarem ſuſpenſis oppoſuit ſeſe, ſatis incidentibus; ſaith Tacitus: Sejanus covered the Emperour, that if the Stones fell where they were, Sejanus might die, and not the Emperour; which as the Hiſtorian obſerves, made the Emperour ever after to love Sejanus, though he loved him not before. The wrath of God fell from Heaven, becauſe of mans ſin: Chriſt hath embraced the Sinner and that wrath hath fallen on him, that elſe had cruſhed us. O let us love him, let us not be ſatisfied till we find our hearts burning in love.

3. Crucifie Sin, that crucified Chriſt. Be the death of thoſe Sins, that were the death of Jeſus; Pride, Wrath, Covetouſneſs, and every abominable thing, which the Soul of God hates: Rom. 6.6. Knowing this, that our Old man is crucified with Chriſt, that the body of ſin might be deſtroyed, that henceforth we ſhould not ſerve ſin: Sin is onely deſtroyed by his death; had not Chriſt dyed for us, we could no more have killed our Corruptions, or been made Saints, than the Devils can ceaſe to be Devils, and become Angels.

4. Come to God as thoſe that expect to be juſtified no other way, but by Chriſt and his Righteouſneſs: In him is God well pleaſed with Believers. The Names given to Chriſt are in Scripture given to a Chriſtian, as Son of God, an Heir, King, yea the name Chriſt; The Apoſtle ſaith,1 Cor. 12.12. As many Members make one Body, even ſo is Chriſt: Where it is underſtood not of Chriſt perſonally, but myſtically, for Chriſtians, or the Church of Chriſt. Now as Adams ſins is imputed to us, though he, and not we diſobeyed; ſo Chriſts Righteouſneſs is imputed to us, though he, not we obeyed, 2 Cor. 5. laſt verſe; Though Adams Sin be imputed to us, yet we were not the firſt ſinners, nor the involvers of all Mankind into Miſery: So, though Chriſts Righteouſneſs be imputed to us, yet we are not therefore Saviours or Mediators. We are often commanded to be ſanctifyed, but not to be Juſtified; for Juſtification is Gods own work without us. The Grace of Chriſt, that is the efficient cauſe of our Sanctification, and is the eſſential cauſe, the matter and form of our Juſtification. And therefore when God is ſaid to reward men according to their works, it ſhews the order of following, not the Cauſe; Ʋno Scripturae exemplo, iſta quaeſtio eluceſcit, Calv. Inſt. lib. 3. cap. 19. ſaith Calvin: One example in Scripture, ſhall make it clear. Gen. 15.5. The Promiſe made to Abram in Uncircumciſion, in Gen. 22.16, 17. is there made again on his Offering up of Iſaac; By my ſelf have I ſworn, becauſe thou hast done this thing — I will multiply thy Seed as the Stars of the Heavens: Now his Obedience was not the Cauſe of that bleſſing, for Abraham had it before, but was an occaſion of renewing it at that time: God rewarded his good works, and ſo will ours, with Bleſſings promiſed before the good works were done. Heaven is an Inheritance of Children.

Obj. If good works juſtifie not, what need is there to preſs after them? Take Luthers anſwer: This is juſt as if we ſhould ſay, Money Juſtifies not, therefore throw it away; our Hands juſtifie us not, therefore cut them off: Luthers Comment on the Epiſt. Gala. We muſt attribute (ſaith he) to every thing its proper Work, and Office. A Woman may not wear a Mans Apparel, nor a Man a Womans. The Sun ſhineth by day, and the Moon by night: So he. Gal. 4.7. Wherefore thou art no more a Servant, but a Son; and if a Son, then an Heir of God by Chriſt. An Heir is not Agent, but Patient; hath all by Birth, not by Labour; no more than to be born. The Promiſe, being of Grace, is ſure to all the ſeed: It was not ſure to Adam, he had his Treaſure in his own hand, and ſo loſt it; but we have ours in the hand of Chriſt. Juſtification, and Sanctification are not ſeparated, though they be diſtinguiſhed: He that is juſtified will be holy,Tit. 2.14. and zealous of good works. The Objection, that we are enemies to good works is in vain. King Henry the Eighth, in his Book againſt Luther, de Septem Sacramentis, (for which Book the Pope gave him the Title of Defender of the Faith) chargeth our Reformers, with pleading for all manner of Sins from this Doctrine; but how true, the world now knows. If any of the Church of England are offended, I beſeech them to read the Homilies about theſe matters, and Biſhop Downhams large Folio of Juſtification, and they will find my opinion not different from the old Proteſtants, thô I confeſs different from the Opinion of ſome of the late new Proteſtants, both Conformiſts and Non-conformiſts.

5. If you are through Chriſt related unto God, give Chriſt the Glory, and take to your ſelves the comfort of this relation. We are ſaid to be of his Fleſh and Bone; Eph. 5.31, 32. to be married to Chriſt; Now if the Husband be beyond Sea, thouſands of miles from the Wife, yet they are one: So is God and a Believer,Joh. 17.21. though God be in Heaven, and he upon the earth.

Remember Chriſtians what Chriſt hath done for you: He hath paid your debts that you could never do. If a woman were in debt Thouſands of Pounds, and by working hard every day, ſhould pay Sixpence now and then; yet ſhe could never all her life time pay the Sum: But if a Rich Man come, and pay down the whole and take the woman to wife, he doth that in a day, which ſhe could never have done in her life time. Chriſt hath done that in a little time, that we had been doing of to eternity: He ſatisfied Divine Juſtice. The Dignity of the perſon, makes the Sufferings of ſuch great value. Give God the glory, that you hear of Chriſt that you believe in him: pity and pray for the poor Jews, whoſe eyes are not yet opened. They have not been a Church, nor Nation for Sixteen Hundred years paſt.

When they were under the Babyloniſh Captivity, it was but Seventy years, and they had Prophets to Comfort them; but now none comes from God to them, which Conſideration hath converted ſome of them, Schamaria, and Jacob, two great Jews by Luther. I know no Conſideration (in my little Converſe with them) that ſo convinceth them, that they have not been the Church of God for ſo long time. Eleazer Bargiſha a Converted Jew, in his vain hopes of the Jewiſh Meſſiah, hath diſcovered many of their vain Dreams, and Dr. Addiſon in his Hiſt. of the Jews. Stir up thine Affections, O Chriſtian, let thy Heart burn within thee, in the Conſideration of the Excellencies of Chriſt. Muſe a little on theſe following Scriptures: Heb. 1.2. God hath ſpoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed Heir of all things: Great Heirs are deſired in Marriage; will not this do? Once again, Coloſ. 2.3. In him are hid all the Treaſures of Wiſdom and Knowledge. We delight in men of Wiſdom, though where they know one thing, they are ignorant of many. Now Chriſt is the Wiſdom of God; will not this do? I will try once more, and a threefold Cord is not ſoon broken: Rev. 19.12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his Head were many Crowns, and he hath a name given that no man knoweth but himſelf. In him is wonderful Majeſty, Dignity, and Excellencies incomprehenſible by Creatures.Cant. 2.5. This is my Beloved, may a Believer ſay, I am ſick of Love. God takes more kindly our Love to Chriſt, than he doth the Love of Angels: they ſee him in his Glory, and cannot but love him; but we meet with many Oppoſitions and Temptations. For the Perſwaſion of the Love of Chriſt to our Souls, we ſhould preſs after it, thô (as our Engliſh Divines of the Synod of Dort ſay,Suf. Brit. that which many find by ſad Experience) this Satisfaction in a Chriſtian is ſometimes vivida, ſometimes languida, and ſometimes as nulla; ſometimes lively, ſometimes weak, and ſometimes even as none.

Remember, all the Saints in Heaven and Earth are Redeemed by Chriſt, Col. 1.20. And (having made Peace through the Blood of his Croſs) by him, to Reconcile all things to himſelf by him; whether they be things in Earth, or things in Heaven. All the Saints that went to Glory before our Lord came in the fleſh, were bought by him: As a man may be ſaid to buy that, which he hath not yet paid for; Lands, Goods, Cloaths, whilſt there is a Satisfactory Promiſe made, and Security given: So Chriſt bought them, in the Covenant between the Father and him, that he ſhould in the fulneſs of time, ſhed his blood for them.

When Chriſt came into the World, the way to come to him was Repentance, and Faith; the Apoſtles preached it, and of theſe in the next Chapter.

MEDITATIONS.

WHO can ſufficiently bewail the neglect, or ſlight performing of this Duty by moſt good men? though the bleſſing that followeth the ſerious practiſing of it by ſome, be very great. How many times have we been by Land, by Water a long time with many Perſons, and never drop one Word ſuitable to their Condition! Nay, ſometimes the Spirit hath ſpoken to our Conſciences, what once it did to Philip concerning the Eunuch, Go join thy ſelf to him, Act. 8.29. yet Shame, want of Courage, Lazineſs hath kept from it. All ſorts of Chriſtians may be uſeful this way. We read, Act. 18.24. Priſcilla a Woman, taught Apollos a man, an eloquent man, a man mighty in the Scriptures, the Way of God more perfectly, verſ. 26. Biſhop Ʋſher (converted when eleven years old, by a Sermon on Rom. 12.1.) would as ſoon preach at the Requeſt of a poor Woman, as of a Magiſtrate; and he delighted more to converſe with poor weak Chriſtians, than with many Learned men. I may truly ſay to many Women, on whoſe Souls the Image of God hath been drawn in a lively manner, what David ſaid to Abigal, 1 Sam. 25.32, 33. Bleſſed be the Lord God of Iſrael, which ſent thee this day to meet me, and bleſſed be thy Advice. It is the Property of a proud Phariſee, not of a humble Chriſtian, to contemn Reproof and Counſel from an inferiour, or a mean Perſon; John 9.34. The Phariſees could not bear a few plain, pious conſiderations from a poor blind man, but ſaid to him, Thou waſt altogether born in Sin, and wilt thou Teach us? and they caſt him out: Thou, us. Thou an illeterate man, as blind in thy Soul, as once in thy Body: Ʋs great men, great Profeſſours. Let the Counſel be never ſo good, it will not take with many wiſe fools, if it come from a plain man. F. P. Coun. of Trent. Mattheo Longi Archbiſhop of Saltzburge, after he read the Auguſtine Confeſſion of Faith, by the Luthetherans in Saxony, and Zuinglians in Zuric, he told every one, That the Reformation of the Maſs was honeſt, and the liberty of meats convenient, and the requeſt juſt, to be disburthened of ſo many Commandments of men; but that Luther a poor Monk, ſhould Reform, was not to be endured.

God is ſo well pleaſed with this work of turning Souls to Righteouſneſs, that the Bleſſed Apoſtle Paul had his name changed from Saul, to Paul, becauſe he was the inſtrument of Converting a famous man, call'd Paul; Acts 13.9. Then Saul who alſo is called Paul; There is the change of his name, verſe 7. Paulus, a prudent man, a Deputy, called for Barnabas and Saul to hear the Word of God. So one ſayes of this Apoſtle Paul, Platina de vita Pon. tif. A Paulo proconſule Cypri, nomen accepit, quem praedicatione ſua ad fidem redegerat. What care then ſhould Parents take of the Souls of their Children, Maſters of their Servants, Friends of one another? For Children, it is true, whilſt they are Infants they cannot be inſtructed, but may be pray'd for: for as Sin and miſery comes on them, and they not ſenſible of it, ſo may Gods Grace and Mercy: they are Members of a Kingdom, Subjects of a King, and yet cannot underſtand this: So they may be Members of the Body of Chriſt, Subjects of the Lord Jeſus, and have no knowledg of this. They may have great Eſtates, and the benefit of Rents, and yet know not what an Eſtate is, or Rents are. Admoniſhed they ſhould be as they grow up, that they may ſay of their Parents as Solomon of his, Prov. 4.3, 4. I was my Fathers Son, tender and onely beloved in the ſight of my Mother. He taught me alſo, and ſaid unto me, Let thy heart retain my words. Keep my Commandements and live. Happy are thoſe children, that can ſay when their Parents are dead: I remember what my Father and Mother now in Glory, ſaid to me; how they inſtructed me. In the ſecond Epiſtle to Tim. 1.5. we read of the good effects of this duty: When I call to mind the unfeigned Faith that is in thee, which firſt dwelt in thy Grandmother Lois, and thy Mother Eunice, and I am perſwaded that it is in thee alſo. What comfort may good Parents take in good children! Socrates Scholaſticus ſays of Leonides the father of Origen, that when his Son was aſleep, he would ſometimes uncover his breaſt, and kiſs it with a kind of veneration, knowing his Son was a Temple for the Holy Ghoſt to dwell in: Leonides was wont, when Origen was very young, to teach him ſome Aphoriſms, and Sentences in Chriſtianity every day, which made ſuch a deep impreſſion upon him, that he was ſoon called Senilis Puer, the Old Boy; Vir magnus ab Infantia, A great man from his Childhood: Young he was in years onely, but old in Knowledg and Grace. When Bathſheba had a Promiſe from King David, that Solomon her Son ſhould be King after him, it is ſaid, 1 Kings 1.31. That ſhe bowed her face to the earth, and did reverence to the King, and ſaid, Let my Lord King David live for ever. Adore the Lord God if he hath made your Children, by his Grace, Heirs of the Kingdom that cannot be ſhaken. Give me leave, by the way, to bewail the great and common ſin found among us, That many children are ſooner taught what Jupiter, Mars, and ſuch Pagan Gods were, than what Father, Son, and Spirit is. Joſiah, when he was young, 2 Chron. 34.3. enquired after the God of David his Father; but many now when young, after Heathen Gods. Auguſtine of old complained of this,Aug. Confeſ. lib. 6. of hearing in Schools, Joves Thundering, and Adulteries, and for giving an account of ſuch things, ſaith he, Et ob hoc bonae ſpei puer appellabar, I was called a hopeful Lad. Luther alſo complained, that our Schools were more Pagan, than Chriſtian. I referr the unſatisfied Reader to Paſors Preface to his Lexicon; he obſerveth of Pythagoras his golden verſes, ſo much eſteemed of (and I fear accounted more golden by too many, than our Saviours Sayings on the Mount) how they begin;

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 — Honour the Immortal Gods, &c. And (as I have obſerved) worſe after. I knew an Aged Famous Schoolmaſter, that after he had kept School about fifty years, ſaid, with a very ſad countenance, That it was a great trouble to him, that he had ſpent ſo much time in reading Pagan Authors to his Scholars; and wiſht it were cuſtomary, to read ſuch a Book as Duports Greek Verſes upon Job, rather than Homer and ſuch Books. I beſeech School-maſters, if they muſt read ſuch Authors, do as they do that eat Muſhromes, or ſuch dangerous meats, uſe ſtrong Correctives. Shew Youth the vanity of the Pagan Religion, and the excellency of the Chriſtian Religion: Perſwade them above all things, to be acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, which alone can make them wiſe to Salvation, 2 Tim. 3.15. when many vain books make many wiſe to Damnation. If Children die, what doth it ſignifie to ſay they were ingenious, if they be graceleſs? will Ingenuity ſave them? They are as Thales Mileſius, that was gazing on the Stars, minding their magnitude, ſituation, and influences, when he ſhould have been minding his way, and ſo fell into the water, and was drowned. I pray God put it in the hearts of a wiſe Parliament, to purge our Schools; that inſtead of learning vain Fictions, and filthy ſtories, they may be acquainted with the VVord of God, with Books containing Grave Sayings: And learn in Proſe or Verſe, the Hiſtories of the Kings of England, the chief Paſſages in their Reigns, and ſome Maxims in Law, and things that may make them truly wiſe, and uſeful in the world. I know I ſhall offend not a few in thus writing: But let ſuch remember my Authors before named, Auſtin, Luther, Paſor, and others that I might name, and if I muſt have a Reprimand, I am glad that I have ſuch good company. It is ſtoried of the old Waldenſes in France, in the dark times of Popery, R. his 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 they ſo inſtructed their Children in the great things of God, that ſome Popiſh Doctors ſaid, that they learned more of the Doctrine of Salvation, by talking with thoſe Children, than they did by the Diſputations of great men. There is another fault among us to be condemned, the early and unneceſſary ſending of young men beyond Sea, to ſee Countreys, ſpeak Languages, before they have ſtudied the grounds of our Religion, and ſo are infected with Popery, or Atheiſm. I deſire ſuch, before they ſend their Children away, or the Children before they go, to read Biſhop Hall his Quo vadis, a Book to which little can be added: And then I hope; they may be willing to ſtay at home.

How ſad is it in moſt houſes, where the fear of God is not! Of which it may be ſaid, what is ſaid of Babylon, Rev. 18.2. that they are a Habitation of Devils, and the hold of every foul Spiri •• and the cage of every unclean and hateful Bird; ſo many wicked perſons, and ſo much wickedneſs is in them, that the ſerious Chriſtian may ſometimes ſay in the beholding of it, what Job ſaid in another caſe, O that my grief were thorougly weighed, and that my ſorrow were laid in the ballance, for then would it be heavier than the ſand of the Sea! That there is ſo much Lying, Prophaning the Name of God, and ſo much of unſavoury, rotten communications in moſt families, and among Children, that when they are men and women, theſe things become common to them: That if it be then asked, what Chriſt asked the Father about his Childs diſeaſe, how long ago this happened to them; the ſame anſwer may be given, even from a Child, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Mark, 9.21. I now come to a few Directions.

DIRECTIONS.

1. Cry to God for Bowels of Compaſſion toward Souls, and for Dexterity in this work of Reproving and Counſeling, that you may ſay with Paul, Rom. 9.1, 2, 3. I ſay the Truth in Chriſt, I lye not, my Conſcience alſo bearing me Witneſs in the Holy Ghoſt, that I have great heavineſs, and continual Sorrow in my Heart, for I could wiſh that my ſelf were accurſed from Chriſt, for my Brethren, my Kinſmen according to the fleſh. As if he had ſaid, I could almoſt be willing to periſh for their ſakes: ſay with David, Pſal. 119.158. I beheld the Tranſgreſſors, and was grieved, becauſe they kept not thy Word. You Parents, that are ſo tender of the Bodies of your Children, be much more concerned for their Souls. You that deſire great Eſtates for them, much more deſire Heaven for them. How many mind their Oxen, Sheep, and Swine, more than the Souls of their Children? Sauls Father Kiſh, 1 Sam. 10.2. Gave over caring for the Aſſes, ſaying, What ſhall I do for my Son? So, be leſs concerned about the things of the World, and ſay, What ſhall I do for the Souls of my Children? that it may be ſaid, of you, as in Prov. 10.20. The Mouth of the Righteous is as choice Silver; when you ſpeak with tender Bowels of Compaſſion, It is not you that ſpeak, but the Spirit of your Father that ſpeaketh in you, Mat. 10.20. When God bad Moſes to ſpeak to Pharaoh, and Moſes Objected want of Eloquence, ſaid God, Exod. 4.12. Now therefore go and I will be thy mouth, and I will teach thee what thou ſhalt ſay: That you may by your good Counſel overcome Satan, as David, by playing with his Muſical Inſtrument, made the evil Spirit to depart from Saul. 1 Sam. 16.23. I know for ſome audacious Sinners, it is better to be ſilent, than reprove. Hezekiah his command was prudent, when Rabſhakeh Blaſphemed, Iſa. 36.21. But the People held their peace, and anſwered him not a Word; for the Kings Commandment was, ſaying, Anſwer him not. Let Prayer accompany the work of Exhorting;Neh. 2.4. ſtand before the man, as Nehemiah before the King and Queen, praying to the God of Heaven to direct you what you ſhall ſay. Pray, Lord, let my words adminiſter Grace to the Hearers, Epheſ. 4.29. Ask ſome that are under you, after the reading of a Chapter, or hearing of a Sermon, what Chriſt asked his Diſciples, Mat. 13.51. Have ye understood all thoſe things? Heal their Ignorance, direct their Souls.

We ſee Afflictions do many times ſtir Chriſtians up to this Work, and prepare them for it: Paul ſpeaks of great Troubles he endured; 2 Cor. 6.4. But in all things approving our ſelves as the Miniſters of Chriſt, in much Patience, in Afflictions, in Neceſſities, in Diſtreſſes. Verſ. 9.10. As unknown, and yet well-known; as dying, and behold we live; as chaſtened, and not killed; as ſorrowful, yet always Rejoycing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet poſſeſſing all things. What did this bleſſed Apoſtle get by all? verſ. 11. O ye Corinthians, our Mouth is open unto you, our Heart is enlarged. He got a Heart to pity Souls, and a Tongue to Counſel them. There is Gold, and a multitude of Rubies, but the Lips of Knowledge are precious Jewels, ſaith Solomon, Prov. 20.15. Good Counſel given, is better than the giving of Gold. Whilſt you are muſing, the fire may kindle, and then you ſpeak with your Tongue. If you cannot ſpeak to ſome, write to them; Letters will not bluſh, if Faces do.

2. Have an eye upon the Sins they are moſt addicted to, and Reprove for them; and on the Duties they are moſt averſe from, and perſwade to them. It is not enough that the Words ſpoken by you be good, but they muſt be ſeaſonable. Words. Some are apt to uſe the Name of God irreverently in their Communications: Nay, many great Profeſſors, I am aſhamed to mention it. It hath been a comfortable Conſideration to me many a time, that when I dye, I ſhall be tormented with hearing the Name of God irreverently uſed,☜ no more. Would to God the third Commandment (Thou ſhalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain) were often before the eyes of men. Tell ſuch men, that they ought to fear that great and terrible Name, the Lord thy God: That they have Reaſon to adore him, that he will give us leave to uſe his Name at any time, and therefore we ſhould not take it in vain: whether theuſing in common Diſcourſe the Word Faith, be Swearing, I know the great Sanderſon ſaith, Saunder. de juro mento. (that per fidem though from the manner of ſome Nations, and intention of ſome Speakers, it may, be an Oath) yet he ſaith, Non eſt ex vi Verborum, becauſe (ſaith he) Fides Humana non eſt res Sacra, but civilis; and in thoſe words we call not God a Witneſs, and therefore is Aſſeveratio tantum, aut ad plurimum Teſtatio: And ſo he adds, that per fidem, is the ſame with Ex animo loquor, Pignerofidem meam, ſi rem ita ſe non habere, aut ſi ſciens fallo, nulla mihi in poſterum fides habeatur. So he. If you ask, Is it unlawful thus to uſe the Word Faith? I anſwer, I am ſure it is not unlawful to let it alone: it is not a thing of good report to uſe, and the more ſerious decline it. Are they addicted to Lying, Scoffing at Religion? Shew them the evil nature, and conſequents of theſe things. If they ſlight Prayer, the Holy Scriptures, Almsdeeds, perſwade to them.

3. Be not ſoon diſcouraged, becauſe of the Ignorance or Backwardneſs of them with whom you deal: God may in time work on them. Are they ignorant? ſpeak to them of Chriſt, and the Covenant of Grace, and of the way of Sinners coming to God through a Mediatour; ſhew them kindneſs, and ſeek to make their lives comfortable as much as you can, that you may the better win them. If any ſay, We are ignorant our ſelves, and how can we inſtruct others? This is the way to get knowledge. You know that God made the world: That Jeſus Chriſt is a glorious Redeemer: That all men are haſtning to Eternity. Come man, come on, thou knoweſt enough to fall on the practice of this duty; ſpeak to vain ſpirits of theſe things. Mr. Elliot in his Account of the Progreſs of the Goſpel in New-England, written in the year 43. ſpeaks of one Hiacoomes, a plain, ignorant, but yet pious and ſerious man; he converted one Towanquetick a plain Indian, and this Towanquetick was the Inſtrument of the converſion of about a hundred Indians in a little time. If others ſay, We are ignorant, after all counſel, and therefore are diſcouraged; let ſuch often call to mind what they hear, and time may make an impreſſion. I have read of Hilarius Pictavienſes a famous man of France, Hanmore's View of Antiqu. finding that little that he read was remembred by him, threw away his Books: One day paſſing by a Well, he ſaw, that by frequent drawing up of the Bucket, the rope had made a deep impreſſion on the Stones; he thought that by frequent conſideration, and meditation, the things he heard and read might make a deep impreſſion on him; he fell cloſely to his work, and proved a famous man.

You that are ungodly, and hear not your Inſtructors, you diſcourage them in their work, that they are ready to ſay as Jeremiah, Then I ſaid, I will not make mention of him, nor ſpeak any more in his name. But zeal for God, and love to Souls, makes them at laſt to come to themſelves; and add as h •• ,Jer. 20.9. But his word was in my heart, as a burning fire ſhut up in my bones, and I was weary of forbearing, and I could not ſtay. How many ſerious Souls have experienced this!The Life of Mr. Janeway. When Mr. Janeway overheard ſome unſavoury diſcourſe, in a room nigh to him, he wrote down their diſcourſe, and asked them, after he had read what they ſaid, whether they were willing to hear of ſuch diſcourſe another day. Many men by their evil diſcourſe, poyſon many hearers, as the Baſilisk doth men,Morney's Reſolver. not by looking on them (according to the vulgar error) but by Poyſon coming out of the mouth. Children, hearken to your Parents, that prerſwade you to mind your Souls; grieve them not by your folly. Let good men hearken to Reproof from their Brethren, as Aaron did from Moſes, and Peter from Paul. When Luther reproved Bullinger, for ſome errors he had about the Word of God, Bullinger came forth before all the company, and fell at the feet of Luther, and ſaid, Bleſſed be the day wherein I ſaw this gracious face, and had theſe reproofs. Let good men counſel then their Children, and Servants, and Friends. It is ſad, that ſuch ſhould ſay, My Father, my Maſter, my Friend, that is a great Profeſſor of Religion, and with whom I am on all occaſions, by day, by night, never was the man that asked me, what I thought of my preſent, or eternal condition; never aked me whether I thought I was converted, or ſhould be ſaved. Yet ſet cloſely to the work, and let it proſper in thy hands, that you may ſhine as the brightneſs of the Firmament, and as the Stars for ever and ever, Dan. 12.3. But becauſe the Scripture inſtructs us, and contains the things about which we muſt inſtruct others, I ſhall next ſpeak of them.

MEDITATIONS.

GODS Works declare, that he is; but his Word only declares what he is, and how he may be known and ſerved. If we ſee a Ship under Sail, going towards its Port, we aſcribe not this to the wood the Ship is made of, but to the skill of the Mariners, whether they be ſeen by us or not. If I ſee an Arrow run to the Mark, I know it is ſhot off by a skilful hand, whether I ſee that hand or not. The Sun, that great and glorious light, knoweth its riſing, progreſs, and going down, and acts like an intelligent, rational being, which ſhews it is guided by a wiſe God. As for Gods Providences, which make ſome doubt his being, Sir W. R. in his Hiſtory of the World, Chap. Of Predeſtination, hath this ſaying of Gregory (which he ſaid was of great uſe to him) Qui in Dei factis rationem non videt, infirmitatem ſuam conſideret, et cur non videt rationem videat. He that cannot ſee a reaſon in ſome of Gods Works, let him conſider his weakneſs, and then he will ſee the reaſon why he ſees no reaſon. I conclude, That the reaſon why many would hope they ſhall die like Beaſts, is, that they deſire to live like ſuch. Now the Scriptures contain a declaration of the Mind and Will of this God. I will not determine how many Chapters every one ſhould read, every day, any more than how much meat every one ſhould eat every day. Three Chapters a day (the uſual direction) are too many for ſome, and (ſometimes) too few for others. I am not perſwading to much reading, but ſerious reading: And for young Beginners, I think it proper, that they be directed to the chief places in Scripture, and well to underſtand them, before they read the Bible in order. The reading of Scripture with a good Comment, is of great uſe to ſome perſons, and Families: I know none for ſhortneſs, and plaineſs, like to Biſhop Halls Paraphraſe on the Bible.

DIRECTIONS.

1. Come to the Scriptures, as thoſe that know a Divine Authority ſtamped upon them. It is Gods Book, read it as ſuch: It teacheth you the two things Auſtin would often pray for; Ʋt cognoſcam te, ut cognoſcam me; That I may know Thee, that I may know my ſelf.

2. Beg the aſſiſtance of the ſame Spirit in reading the Scriptures, that the Pen-men had in penning them. A Dial is nothing, unleſs the Sun ſhine on it: The Scriptures are nothing, unleſs the Spirit illuminate our Underſtandings. If you ſay, what need then of Scriptures? You may as well ſay, what need then of a Dial? The Spirit will make you humble. and let you ſee your own Folly, that the more you know, the leſs you know.Weems Chriſt. Syn. In Athens in Greece, the Students were the firſt year called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , wiſe men; the next year 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Lovers of wiſe men; but ever after 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Fools; the more they knew, the more ſenſible they were of their Ignorance.

3. Whatever Objections you have againſt Scripture, be not ſatisfyed till you have ſilenced them. To confirm your Faith, remember what is ſaid of Chriſt's Reſurrection: Had the Jews been able to ſhew the dead Body of Chriſt after the three dayes, they had overthrown the Goſpel. Remember Pauls Converſion, Acts 9. who left a life of eaſe, for one of affliction. Judas his betraying Chriſt, proves that he knew Chriſt to be no Deceiver: He had not hanged himſelf to have accuſed Chriſt, had he not known his Miracles were real; many of them were not done in a Corner, the place named, the Street, and done before many people. The Diſciples converſed with Chriſt forty dayes after his Reſurrection, and ſaw him aſcend into Heaven. They preached this to the world, when they knew this Doctrine would coſt them their Lives, and it was never pretended that in all their torments that any one of them confeſſed a Cheat,Leviath. Chriſt. Pol. but rejoiced that they were going to that Chriſt whom they had thus ſeen and preached. Mr. Hobbs, though he is pleaſed to tell us, that the Scriptures were in the hands of the Eccleſiaſticks, for about three hundred years after the Apoſtles, (he had done well to have proved it as well as ſaid it,) yet ſaith, he believed the Scriptures were not corrupted by them. If there ſeem to be any Coutradictions in Scripture (ſaith Morney) we ſhould do with Scripture, as Scholars with Claſſical Authors: If they meet with a hard Sentence, they do not preſently throw away the Book,Morney, de ver. Chriſt. Rel. but turn it this way, and that way, rather than ſay, the Author wrote not ſenſe, or true Latine, or Greek: Diſcipulus praeceptorem, praeceptor ignorantiam accuſat: The Scholar blames the Maſter, the Maſter his Ignorance, but neither blame the Author. Many paſſages in Scripture Hiſtory we cannot eaſily reconcile, for want of knowing ſome Occurrences in thoſe times: I have in this caſe, often made uſe of ſuch a Meditation as this (which one night came into my thoughts:) If two men writing the Hiſtory of the Reign of our preſent King, one ſhould write, that this year was the thirty fifth year of his Reign; and the other ſhould write, that this was the twenty third year of his Reign: A Stranger, or ſome Beyond Sea would wonder at this different account, and would cry out, that there was a notorious Contradiction in theſe two Hiſtorians: but we that know how Affairs have been in England, know that both wrote true: This is the 35th year of his Reign, if we conſider how long he hath Reigned de jure, upon the death of his Father; this is the 23d year of his Reign, if we reckon how long he hath Reigned de facto, or ſince his retnrn. A young Grammarian, might quarrel with his Grammar, when he read of a Singular Number, when Number muſt be at leaſt of two: Of a Conjunction Disjunctive, and cry, O Horrible Contradiction in Terms! when there is a conjunction of words, where there is a Disjunction of Senſe.

If any ſay, But a great part of Scripture we underſtand not. I anſwer, And a great part of Scripture you do underſtand: VVhat can be more plain than thoſe Scriptures againſt Sin and for Holineſs? I have heard of an Unchaſt Lady, that was objecting the obſcurity of the Scripture, and that ſhe could not underſtand it: How Madam (replyed one) what more plain than this? Thou ſhalt not Commit Adultery. Conſider again, what did the Eunuch underſtand? Acts 8.30. God helped him ſaid Philip to him, Ʋnderſtandeſt thou what thou readeſt? A good queſtion, How can I, (ſaid he:) And Philip inſtructed him: Here all met, that ſome would part; Here was Scripture, for he read ſome of Iſaiah his Propheſie. Here was the Spirit that bad Philip go to him; Here was the Preacher, for Philip expounds all to him. Who throws away a letter of great concern, becauſe he cannot read all, nor underſtand all? he reads it the oftner, takes the more pains, calls for help, and glad to underſtand moſt of it, when he cannot underſtand all. If any plead, We cannot read: A good Woman (in Queen Maries time) that could not read, got a new Teſtament, went from houſe to houſe, and deſired others to read to her, and ſoon got much knowledge: Knowledge doth not get into the Soul by the Eye onely, but by the Ear. Many underſtand the myſteries of their Trades, that never read Books about them: Many can tell what news is going, that never look into Gazets, or News-letters, by hearing and conſidering. I have (ſaith God, Hoſ. 8.12.) written to them the great things of my Law, but they were counted as a ſtrange thing.

If any ſay, I want time. Can you find time to eat, to ſleep, and not to look into the Word of God? Some can find time to read vain books, that can find none to read Scripture: Tho' ſuch are as Politianus, that left reading the Scripture,Morney de ver. Rel. Chriſt. and ſtudied and diſputed about ſuch queſtions as theſe, whether we ſhould write Carthaginenſes, or Carthaginienſes, &c. As inſignificant are all other Studies, when men contemn the Word of God.

4. If you find Convictions from Gods Word, loſe them not as you have too often done; Cain, when terrified in his mind, built Cities: Saul called for Muſick; ſo ſome run to their profits, and pleaſures. If a man had great Treaſure about him, and came by a dangerous way where many were robbed, and he himſelf had ſome time been robbed, how would he fear? As the Lord liveth, thou art the man: Thou haſt been many times richly laden with good convictions, affections, and purpoſes gotten from the Word of God; the Cares and Temptations of the world have robbed thee, and feek to do it again.

5. Remember, You that are Believers, what Encouragement they had in Scripture, you have; and by them,Joſh. 1.5. Heb. 13.5. God directeth and comforteth you; Hoſ. 12.4, 5, 6. where he ſpeaks of Jacob, Yea, he had Power over the Angel, and prevailed; he wept and made ſupplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he ſpake with us;—Therefore turn thou to thy God: Keep mercy and Judgment, wait on thy God continually. God by giving Jacob the bleſſing, ſpeaks to us to wait on God. But to the Scripture, we muſt add Prayer: But of that in the next Chapter.

MEDITATIONS.

THE great Benefit and Comfort of Prayer, we read of often in Scripture; and the People of God find often by experience. Family Prayer,Pſal. 13.2 and Secret Prayer,Acts 10.2. have been minded by the Saints of Old. In Secret Prayer, it is good to ſtop ſometimes after ſome Confeſſions, Petitions and Praiſes, that the heart may be more deeply affected with them. Never did any Believer pray in vain, though ſometimes it may ſeem long before God anſwer. When Corn is ſowen, Rain comes, Snow comes, Proſt comes, and all ſeems to be loſt, but ſtay till the time of Harveſt, and there is a good Crop; ſo after Prayer Temptations come, ſad Providences come, and yet at laſt all is well. When a Child of God is in Prayer, he is not weary of God, nor of the duty; but weary of himſelf, and the corruption of his nature; of Satan and his Temptations; but ſtill may ſay, How good is it to draw nigh to God! In Secret Prayer, if unſuitable thoughts come, of men or buſineſs, pray about thoſe things as occaſion may be, ſo will ye catch the Devil in his own craft. He is not ſo wiſe, but he may be outwitted: He hath helped me by his Temptations to matter of Prayer thouſands of times, againſt his Will.

Directions in anſwer to a Queſtion.

Q. But what if I have no heart to the work?

1. Pray obedientially, when you cannot pray comfortably. God calls for Prayer, wait on him in the face of all diſcouragements. Obedience will make an unpleaſant work pleaſant.

2. Remember, that diſcompoſure may quickly end in enlargement. Abraham found his Ram on the Mount,Gen. 22.13. and that in the Thickets: So many find their hearts in Prayer (not before) and that in the midſt of violent Temptations.

3. Remember, that many Prayers, we reckon ſome of the worſt, God accounts as ſome of our beſt Prayers; Great are the rewards for what ſome think to be dead Prayers. We reckon the goodneſs of Prayer by compoſure of thoughts, by affections, but God by ſelf-loathing, and ſeeing nothing in our ſelves and duties, but all in Chriſt.

Let us cry earneſtly to our God. Pagans have cryed aloud to their Gods, 1 Kings 18.26. They cut themſelves, and leapt upon the Altars which they made. If any ſay, I know not how to pray in Secret, I never yet did it, I know not what to ſay: Go to God and ſay ſo. It is a good Confeſſion, Lord here I am come, I would pray, but know not what to ſay. It may be given you in that hour, what to confeſs, and pray for, and that with great melting of heart. Ask the Experience of the people of God: Love them, but of that in the following Chapter.

MEDITATIONS.

LEt Brotherly Love continue, Heb. 13.1. is in many mens mouths, but in few mens hearts. If we enquire who is our Brother? Not the man nearly related, or the man of the ſame perſwaſion, or opinion onely; but chiefly all of the Houſhold of Faith. How many men of ſeveral Parties, are as Jews and Samaritans, that have no dealing one with another! We muſt love the Saints, as rich, ſo poor ones; ignorant as well as learned; the weak as well as the ſtrong. We muſt love the ungodly, yea our Enemies: Love is to be ſhewn in forgiving injuries, in ſupplying neceſſities: If any hate us, we muſt love them; if they deferve bad of us, they (and we alſo) deferve worſe of God, yet God feedeth them, cloatheth them,Mat. 5.45. and ſhews them mercy. If God will uſe them as his Rod to chaſtiſe us, we muſt be content. Who knows what wrath will do, or where it will end? It is ſtoried of Pope Stephen, that he ſo hated Pope Formoſus, that he cauſed his Body to be taken out of the Grave, and cut off thoſe Fingers that had bleſſed the Clergy, and ſo made void all his Canons, and Ordinances: And he that came after him took meaſures ſomewhat like, ſo that at laſt, ſaith Platina, Nihil enim aliud, hi Pontifices cogitabant, quam & nomen & dignitatem Majorum ſuorum extinguere; and yet all theſe men were Infallible all the while. Let Husbands and Wives reſolve, that their contentions ſhall not eaſily take Air, or be ſeen by them in the Family; They are one Body, and contentions between them, are as if there ſhould be a fight between the Members of the Body; As if the mouth ſhould bite the hand, and the hand ſtrike the mouth. A wrathful temper is commonly gotten by converſing with angry men, and therefore ſaith the Wiſe man, Make no friendſhip with an angry man; and with a furious man thou ſhalt not go; lest thou learn his wayes, and get a ſnare to thy Soul, Prov. 22.24, 25. Beware of men of keen Spirits. That man will never live comfortably, that hath not learned to ſlight what others think, and ſay of him; that liveth not in the frequent conſideration of other mens vertues, and his own defects: Epictetus in the 48 Chap. of his Morals, ſaith; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . If any man tell you, that ſuch a man ſpoke againſt you, do not ſo much ſtand in vindication of your ſelf, as ingenuouſly to confeſs; that if that man had known the whole courſe of your life, he had charged you with more faults. Few men are ſo humble, as to ſay, The fault was mine, though they certainly know it is ſo.

Kindneſs and Love is ſhewn, as in forgiving injuries, ſo in ſupplying neceſſities. Here we may bewail the diſparity, that is between many poor mens pains, and their wages. Though common wages be paid, yet the pay is according to cuſtome more than deſert; Etiamſi stipendia uſitata praeſtentur (ſaith Ames de Conſci.) conſuetudini, magis quam ſufficientiae ſatisfaciunt. Then for Charity to the poor; No man that hath loved the world better than his duty, or Chriſt in his Members,Mat. 25.35. ſhall be found at the right hand of Jeſus in the great day. The ſaying of Salvian, ad Eccleſiam Catholicam, hath been of great uſe to me, times without number; Opes, quas habes in hoc mundo temporarias, bene utendo facies ſempiternas; Charity makes Temporal Riches to be Eternal: We have the benefit of them for ever.

DIRECTIONS.

1. Remember, what God Commands you to give to the poor, that you have no right to; and it is theft to detain it, as may be made clear by this plain compariſon: One man, by a Carrier ſends ſo much money, or goods to another; if that Carrier keep all, becauſe all came to his hands, he is a Thief, and is dealt with as ſuch. God hath ſent ſo much to the diſtreſſed by you, if you give not, you wrong them.

Obj. God hath ſent ſo much, ſome may ſay, How much?

Anſw. Ask God by Prayer, Scripture by reading, Conſcience by Conſideration: Prov. 3.97. With-hold not good from him, to whom it is due. Luke 16.12. If ye have been unfaithful in that which is another mans.

2. Conclude on it, if the poor die for want of what we are bound to give them, we are Manſlayers, and Murtherers before God. He that ſees a man in the water, and will not help him out when he can with eaſe, he is as really guilty of his death, as if he had thrown him in. How many poor men, good men have periſhed for want of their right! If God ſhould ſay to ſome great men, rich men, as he did to Cain, Where is Abel thy Brother? So where is the poor man, thy Brother? It may be he would anſwer as he, Am I my Brothers Keeper? But the ſame reply ſhall be made by the Lord, What haſt thou done? The Voice of thy Brothers Blood cryeth unto me from the ground, and now thou art Curſed, Gen. 4.9, 10, 11.

3. Remember what an honour it is to be Gods Almoner. What if God in Scripture had named you, as Joſiah by name, and call'd on you to the work, would you not chearfully have ſet about the work? How did Job rejoyce in the performance of this duty! Job 29.13, 14, 15, 16. He cauſed the Widows heart to ſing: That his Judgment was a Robe, and a Diade: That he was eyes to the Blind, and feet to the lame, and a Father to the Poor.

Some object, Times are hard.

I anſwer, Mens Hearts are ſo.

Obj. Money is ſcarce.

Anſw. How is it then you have ſo much to lay out in unneceſſary Attire; Diſhes at your Tables; in Pleaſures? How comes ſo much to be ſpent in Alehouſes and Taverns? This, O vain man, is but a Figleaf to cover thy nakedneſs.

Obj. Others do plead, Few of the great Profeſſors of Religion do mind this work.

Anſw. I anſwer, But from the Beginning it was not ſo. The Jews under the Old Teſtament did much, Chriſtians in Pauls time did much. Do not what moſt Profeſſors do; but what the beſt do. Many in our time have acted worthily: The famous Mr. Gouge (now in Glory) he ſet up an Hundred and fifty Schools in Wales, and went (at leaſt) once a year to viſit them, gave away many Bibles, and Catechiſms, and took great pains in inſtructing Children in the Principles of Religion, and would often ſay; That he had two Livings, the one in Wales, the other in Chriſt-Church Hoſpital in London (where he had done much good) that he would not part with for a world. My never to be forgotten Friend, the Reverend Mr. Fairclougb of Briſtol, his Purſe was alwayes open for pious uſes, eſpecially for educating young men in order to the Miniſtry. I might ſay much of Mr. Henry Stubbes my Father-in-Law, were it not that it ſeems better to become another mans Pen than mine. There are yet alive many men that are forward for works of Charity.

Obj. Some ſay, What ſhall I do for hereafter?

Anſw. If thou hadſt Faith as a grain of Muſtard-Seed, thou wouldſt ſay to this Mountain of Diſtruſt, be thou removed and caſt into the Sea, and it would be done: Can you truſt God for things eternal, and not for things momentary?Luk. 16.9. Make you friends with the Mammon of Ʋnrighteouſneſs. Riches are unrighteouſly gotten by ſome, unrighteouſly ſpent by others, but unrighteouſly kept by many more. Many get that honeſtly, which they do not honeſtly keep. It is by Gods Law another mans right: I ſay to the Covetous, as Chriſt to that man, Stretch forth thy withered hand. We read of them, Amos 6.4, 5, 6. That invent inſtruments of Muſick, drink wine in Boles, and are not grieved for the Afflictions of Joſeph: Let ſuch yet ſay as David, when the Lord gave him reſt, 2 Sam. 7.1, 2. When he ſat in his houſe, he ſaid to Nathan the Propet, I dwell in a houſe of Cedar, but the Ark of God dwelleth within Curtains. So I am at eaſe, but many Saints in trouble. Love to the Ungodly is alſo evidenced in mourning for their Sins, 2 Pet. 2.8. would there were more Lots! whoſe Righteous Souls, in hearing, and ſeeing, are vexed from day to day, for the Sins of the Wicked. It is not, how many tears there are in the eyes; but how much ſorrow there is in the heart: Let your heart bleed becauſe of them who are going merrily to the place of Lamentation, Miſery and Wo; Like men that ſhould go on ſinging, and dancing, and calling for their Cups and Muſick, to the place of Execution.

I have ſpoken of ſeveral Duties, of reading Scripture, Prayer, Charity, but we muſt remember all muſt be done in Sincerity, and this is the next thing we ſhall conſider.

MEDITATIONS.

OUT of many Tribulations ſhall the Righteous enter into the Kingdom of God: Acts 14.22. Lo, this is the happy condition of every Man that hath minded the Duties we have before conſidered. In Heaven they enjoy a compleating of gracious Principles; there they have what here they groaned for, prayed for, a perfect and uninterrupted Love to God, and Enjoyment of Him. The Love the Soul hath now to Chriſt, is ſo powerful, that he may ſay with the Spouſe, I am ſick of Love; and yet, that Love, if compared to that in Heaven, is but as a drop of Water to a Fountain: Yet if now you ask the Chriſtian, which he loves moſt, God or the World; his Love is ſo ſtrange, that it is ſuch a Queſtion, as if you ſhould ask, Which were better, or which he moſt loved, a piece of Gold, or a clod of Earth: There is alſo in Heaven Converſe with the beſt Company; Mat. 8.11. Many ſhall come from the Eaſt, and from the Weſt, and ſhall ſit down with Abraham, and Iſaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of God. What would we now give for an hours ſight of Paul, David, or other Saints in Heaven, or Converſe with them? Remember, if we have wicked, unkind Relations, with whom we now dwell, in a little time we ſhall be with them above. We are now pleaſed not only to ſee a King, but his Lords about him; (here is my Lord ſuch a one, famous for ſuch a thing;) ſo above, there is my Lord Moſes, by whom God wrought Wonders, my Lord David, a Man after God's Heart, my Lord Paul, the great Converter of the Gentiles. Joſeph when he ſaw his Brother Benjamin, Gen. 45.14 fell on his neck, and wept for joy; ſo will they rejoyce in Glory, as Children of the ſame Father, God, and of the ſame Mother, the Church of Chriſt on Earth. There is alſo the Society of Angels, Creatures of ſuch excellency, that they ſeldom come into the world, and when they do, they are ſoon gone, here being no place worthy to entertain them. There is in Heaven an immediate fruition of the bleſſed God, 1 Cor. 13.12. Then ſhall we ſee him face to face, and know even as we are known: He ſeems not to ſpeak of the Viſion of the divine Eſſence, for that is every where; but of the knowledge of God, and his glorious attributes. And by the way we muſt conſider, that the communicable Attributes are as really the undivided Eſſence of God, as thoſe we call incommunicable; and therefore no Attributo of God can properly or ſtrictly be communicated to any Creature, for they are the Divine Eſſence; and if the Attributes were communicated, ſo would the Divine Eſſence be: And therefore the Communication we ſpeak of, is only Analogical, no Communication of the Attributes themſelves to us; (for they are all infinite, and therefore no Creature is capable of them) but in reſpect of the Fruit and Effects of thoſe Attributes, God works that in Man which reſembles his Perfections: So we ſhall be made like him, 1 John 3.2. as John ſayes;2 Pet. 1.4. and ſo be Partakers of the Divine Nature, as Peter ſaith. How ſweet is Communion with God now! how much more ſweet will it be then! Bernard ſaith, Tuipſe Coronatores, Ber. Med. & Corona; Promiſſor, & Promiſſio; Praemiator, & Praemium. O God, Thou art the Crowner, and the Crown it ſelf; the Promiſer, and the Promiſe it ſelf; the Rewarder, and the Reward it ſelf. 1 Theſ. 4.17. We ſhall be for ever with the Lord. Well may we comfort one another with theſe words, Where I am, John 14.3. Joh. 17.21. there ſhall you alſo be, ſaith Chriſt; for we are one with Chriſt, though not Naturâ, yet I acto: The Husband will have the Wife with him. As we now have Communion with God, and Chriſt, is our Heaven begun, Eph. 2.6. And hath made us to ſit together in heavenly places, in Chriſt Jeſus. Heaven is ſuch a place, Heb. 11.10. whoſe builder and maker is God. The Structure is too glorious to be made by the Saints above, or Angels there; they cannot build their own Dwellings, as Men do on Earth, for the Workmanſhip is too curious for them; no, God doth it: Infinite Wiſdom contrived the Manſions there, and infinite Power made them. This is the place that God purpoſed to bring his People to from Eternity.Mat. 25.34 1 Kings 7.8, 9, 10. What was the Houſe that King Solomon built for the Daughter of Pharaoh, when he took her to be his Wife, but as a meer Dunghil in compariſon of this Houſe that God hath made for the Sons and Daughters of Men, whom he hath made his beloved Ones? Then ſhall that be fully accompliſhed, Zeph. 3.17. The Lord thy God will rejoyce over thee with joy: He will reſt in his Love, he will rejoyce over thee with ſinging. Courts on Earth have their Troubles with their Pleaſures: A. to his Son. one ſaith that well knew what they were; That a Court is a place of moſt uncertain Air, full of Damps and Exhalations; then there is over-ſcorching Heat, and ſoon over-caſting of Clouds, by the ſudden riſing and depreſſing of Favourites. Great Men are moſt alterable; every puff of Wind fans them into various ſhapes; they which have extreamly loved to day, have hated deadly the morrow. So he. But in Heaven there is no fear of the frowns of God, nor abatement of his Love to Eternity.

But the Ʋngodly ſhall be caſt into Hell. I ſhall not contend about the place, whether it be in the Air, or whether in the Center of the Earth, or whether beyond the Superficies of it; I content my ſelf with that of Luther, I am ſatisfied in not knowing where Hell is, whileſt I know that it is: We had better enquire how to eſcape the place, than where the place is: It is a place of Miſery, where the Ungodly ſhall for ever bear the Indignation of the Lord, againſt whom they have ſinned, Mat. 25.46. Sin is objectively infinite, as it is committed againſt an infinite God: An infinite Offence calls for an infinite Puniſhment: This Puniſhment muſt be either infinite for Nature, or Duration; for Nature it cannot be, no finite Creature could then bear it; it muſt be therefore infinite for Duration. God hath given to Man an immortal Soul; this Soul goes out of the World laden with Sin and Guilt; is it not reaſonable, that whileſt Sin remains, Puniſhment ſhould remain? But Sin will remain for ever; for, how ſhould it be gotten out, or taken away? What was the puniſhment of the Veſtal Nuns in Campo Scelerato, among the old Romans? What is the Spaniſh Inquiſition? What is our Pane forte & dure, or Preſſing Men to death? Nothing to this: And yet, were any Man ſure, that after ten or twenty years Pleaſures he ſhould endure ſuch Miſery, how would he quake at the thoughts of it, in the midſt of his Delights? Mat. 25.41. The Ungodly are committed to the rage of the Devil. What becomes of the Lamb, if the Lyon have him? How ſad is it for any Man to be delivered over to the Will of his greateſt Enemy, that had no Pity, no Humanity, but ſhould take more delight in torturing, than in eating when hungry? It is not in vain put in, Depart from me, Mat. 25.41 — with the Devil and his Angels: Now they are but Executioners, God is the Judge. Well might David ſay, Who knoweth the Power of thy Wrath! Pſal. 90.11. It is the Wrath of an infinite God, of a ſin-revenging God. Let ſuch as fear not Eternal Burnings conſider, what would an eternal Gout, an eternal Tooth-ache, an eternal Strangury be? The Ungodly ſhall cry, and not be heard; cry as they, Jer. 47.6, 7. O thou Sword of the Lord, how long will it be e're thou be quiet? put up thy ſelf into thy Scabbard, reſt and be ſtill. But that anſwer ſhall be given? How can it be quiet, ſince the Lord hath given it a charge to deſtroy? I have many times thought, when I have read the 48, & 49 chapters of Jeremy, and the laſt Verſes of both, though dreadful things were threatned to be executed on Moab and Elam, yet the Cloſe of all is, Yet will I bring again the Captivity of Moab, in the latter dayes, ſaith the Lord; but it ſhall be in the latter dayes. I will bring again the Captivity of Elam, ſaith the Lord. But when Chriſt will condemn the Wicked in the great day, there is not the leaſt Promiſe of Pity after thouſands of Years or Ages. Aegyptian Bondage (though long, yet) ended, ſo did the Babyloniſh Captivity, but there will be no end of this miſery; God is not a man that he ſhould repent; 1 Sam. 15.29. there will be no change of his mind; If God changeth, Al. in Philoſ. Platon. (ſaith a Platoniſt, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c.) he muſt be changed of himſelf, or ſome other; if of another, he muſt be greater than God, or wiſer, which none can be; if of himſelf, he muſt change either for the better or the worſe, both which would argue imperfection in God, and therefore he ſhall be known for ever to be a God that changeth not: God is now preparing his Inſtruments of Death, though vain men conſider it not, but are as Sheep, or Oxen, or other Beaſts of the field, that are grazing or ſporting, when one ſtands by whetting his Inſtruments to ſlay them.

DIRECTIONS.

Prepare for the day of Judgment, and when prepared, pray for it. The compleating of the happineſs of the Saints, as to their body, will be in that day: What think you of the particular Judgment in the time of Death? When Saul was told he ſhould dye, (for that is the meaning of the word, be with me, that is in the number of the dead; for Jonathan was a good man,) 1 Sam. 28.19, 20. Then Saul fell ſtrait way all along on the earth, and there was no ſtrength in him: In the ſixth verſe we find, In the day of his trouble God anſwered him not, neither by Dreams, nor by Ʋrim, nor by Prophets: Neither will God ſpeak comfortably to ungodly men when they die, by Miniſters, nor Scripture, nor Conſcience: If you ask what that Ʋrim was? we read not of it as a thing made by Moſes or the People; ſome think it was a precious ſtone in the breaſt of the High-Prieſt, that by the change of its colour, ſhewed what ſucceſs the People ſhould have in War; as by Thummim what Offerings were accepted: I know Mr. Weems throws in one rub againſt this, Becauſe, (ſaith he) when the Prieſt put on Ʋrim and Thummim, he asked Counſel at the mouth of the Lord: He pleads, if there were ſuch a wonderful miraculous change of the colour of Ʋrim, there was no need of asking of God; his Opinion therefore was, when the Prieſt had it on, he was inſpired to anſwer to the queſtion: I will not gainſay the Opinion, only I conceive the objection is of no force, for that change of the colour might be made by, or in Prayer, and calling upon God: Saul had no anſwer: the Ungodly ſhall cry in a time of Death, and not be heard; and when the day of judgment cometh, that great day, the Conſciences of the deſpiſers of Chriſt, may ſay to them, what once Zebul ſaid to Gaal, Judg. 9.38. Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou ſaidſt, Who is Abimelech, that we ſhould ſerve him? Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou ſaidſt, Who is Chriſt that I ſhould ſerve him? Then will he ſay to ſuch,Exod. 6.1. what once God ſaid to Moſes of Pharaoh, Now ſhalt thou ſee what I will do to Pharaoh: Now ſhall Angels and Saints ſee what God will do to the ungodly; but ſuch as are prepared for that day, may Pray for it;Aug. Medit. Aſpice Domine Jeſu, (cries Anguſtine) viduitatis, & orbitatis meaelacrymas, quas tibi offero donec redeas: Behold Lord Jeſus the tears of my Widdowhood or fatherleſs condition, which I pour out 'till thou returneſt: Pray for the Judgment day, that ſin may be no more, that all the faithful may be gathered in: Pray for the eternal Kingdom.Mat. 11.12 The Kingdom of Heaven ſuffereth violence, and the violent take it by force: You ſee how poor hungry Beggars cry at your doors for an alms, if you do not preſently anſwer them, if you frown on them, they will not be gone. Let us all ſmite our breaſts; Bleſſed God, what an infinite diſproportion is there between my deſires, and their objects! how coldly do I Pray for a Heaven!

2. Get a Settlement in your Hearts of the truth and certainty of all theſe things. It is reaſonable to believe, that verily there is a Reward for the Righteous; Pſal. 58.11 verily there is a God that judgeth the earth. God rewardeth not his People now, God puniſheth not his Enemies now, and therefore will do it hereafter. The worſt of Men have many times the beſt of the World, and the beſt of men the worſt. God hath put breathings and longings of Soul in his own after the full enjoyment of himſelf in Glory, and he puts not thoſe deſires there to torment them, but to ſatisfie theſe deſires. Men venture much at Sea in hopes of great gain: Let hopes, even weak hopes in many, put them on diligence in God's Service. Wherefore, 1 Cor. 15.58. my Brethren, be conſtant, unmoveable, alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labour ſhall not be in vain.

3. Let all the Saints admire and adore our Lord Jeſus, that ſaveth them from Hell, and brings them to Heaven. Mr. Ambroſe in his Looking unto Jeſus, ſaith thus; Suppoſe for an Offence thou wert to be rack'd leiſurably, that thy Bones and Sinews might be pained thirty or forty years; that ſo much Fleſh ſhould be cut off-one day, ſuch a Bone broken another; and by Art the Fleſh ſhould be reſtored, and the Skin cured again; and all th • ſe years thou be dying, and never dead; and all this while thou ſhouldeſt have no Cloaths, F • od, or Sleep convenient for thee; and when thou thought'ſt there was no hope, a great Prince ſhould come, and deliver thee from all this miſery; and not only ſo, but give thee great Treaſures, and one of the moſt pleaſant Habitations in his Kingdom; how would'ſt thou love that Prince!— Our Sin had condemned us to far greater Miſery, and our Lord Jeſus hath procured for us far greater Mercy. It is well God hath prepared an Eternity to admire this Love in.

4. Do God that Service here on Earth, that you can never do him in Heaven. I will name a few Particulars, and leave the Amplification to your Meditation.

1. Take thy fill of ſpiritual Mourning for ſhine own and other mens Sins now: Thou canſt not do this when thou comeſt to Heaven; for there is no Sin there.

2. Bear up patiently under all thy Trials now; thou canſt not do this in Heaven, for there is no trouble there.

3. Deal liberally with diſtreſſed Chriſtians now; thou canſt not do this in Heaven, for there is no diſtreſſed Chriſtians there.

4. Delight in Scripture and Ordinances for the healing of thy Soul now; thou canſt not do this in Heaven, for there is no unhealed Soul there.

A Word to the Ʋnconverted.

Are theſe things ſo? Then may I ſay to you what the Prophet ſaid of Moab and Kirhareſh, Iſa. 16.11. Wherefore my Bowels ſhall ſound as a Harp for Moab, and my Inwards for Kirhareſh. When Men ran from God, though God offer'd Grace and Mercy, it is ſaid, Gen. 6.7. It repented the Lord that he had made Man, and it grieved him to the heart: Sin hath made him ſuch a Monſter, that God loatheth him, and the People of God are often in Anguiſh of Spirit becauſe of him. What aileth the Unconverted Man, that though he knoweth he hath ſinned, and is expoſed to eternal Judgments; yet can eat and drink by day, and ſleep by night, as if all were well? Men condemned to die for Theft, Murder, how ſad do they look! but Sin is of a hardening nature: Hence it is that their Hearts feel not the ke • nest Conſiderations in Religion. Ungodly Men are, as one ſayes,Whately's N • w-birth. as little Devils, and differ from the great Devil, not in Parts of Corruption, but Degrees; as a Child differs from a Man.

But O man! thou muſt die, and if it be ſo thou dyeſt before thou art made a new creature, thou art damned for ever. Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy coming, Iſa. 14.9. If there were a Sword, a Piſtol at thy breaſt, how wouldſt thou beg for life, if thou hadſt any hopes of being heard! the Sword of Juſtice is drawn againſt thee, and ready to be ſheathed in thy bowels. Cry, cry aloud to the merciful God for Mercy. How often in the night ſeaſon, is there a ſcrole before thine eyes of thy paſt iniquities, and of judgments to come; and thou turneſt from one ſide to another, Shall I, ſhall I yet reform! When ſhall it once be? If any ſay, I hope to be ſaved though I obey not the Goſpel: This is to ſay, I hope God will prove falſe of his word: or as if a man call'd to work, and promiſed pay, ſhould ſay, Though I ſport, or ſleep, (but work not) all day long, I doubt not of my wages; and ſhould argue from the goodneſs of the nature of that man that imployed him: If others ſay, I will repent hereafter; So thou ſhalt; but I fear that hereafter will be in Hell for ever, when there is no hope of mercy. The Scripture calleth obſtinate Sinners, Sons of Belial, 1 Sam. 2.12. 2 Sam. 20.1. the Sept. read in one place 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Peſtilent men, infectious men; in the other place, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Men yokeleſs, againſt all Law: And this is the caſe of men, that were once glorious Creatures, when in ſubjection to their Maker. It is a comfortable conſideration to them that are holy,1 Cor. 6.9. Rev. 21.27. That no unclean thing ſhall enter into the Kingdom of God: Your graceleſs Faces ſhall occaſion no ſorrow to them there. When they ſee you in the great day, yet they, nor their God will have any pity upon you. Fathers, whoſe hearts were once ready to break for their ungodly Children, or Husbands for their ungodly Wives; or Brothers for their ungodly Brethren; they will not wiſh in that day, O that I could ſave them from the Wrath of God! They will be contented, and not only ſo, but will rejoyce that Juſtice is executed upon them; that God hath honour upon them in their eternal Damnation, who had none by them by any Reformation or good works. Turn you, Ezek. 33.11. turn you, why will you die? Mind the duties I have perſwaded to before. Let none complain for want of time, when they know, that many of as much buſineſs as they, can find time to mind God, and their duty in.Jer. 13.17. But if you will not hear, my Soul ſhall mourn in ſecret for your pride. You that cry in Youth, It is too ſoon to be ſerious, or in Middle-age, It is time enough, will in old age ſay, It is too late. I turn from you, to them that I know will hear me, and with whom my pains are never loſt.

To the Righteous.

Praiſe the Lord all ye his Saints, whom God hath ſanctified, whom God will ſave: You may ſing that Song, Exod. 15.21. The Horſe, and his Rider, hath he thrown into the Sea: So your vile affections and Satan hath God conquer'd for you. Grow in grace, as the Children of God, and as the Brethren of the holy Prophets and Apoſtles. Epictetus gives a direction to Philoſophers, to conſider when about to do an action; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ; What would Socrates, or Zeno do? So how would David, Paul pray, read, or do the works of Religion, if they were by you, and were to do the ſame? If your Brethren in Heaven could ſpeak to you, how would they perſwade you to be zealous in good works, as Children of the ſame Father, and Heirs of the ſame Kingdom with themſelves? A ſtrange ſight would it be, to ſee a King, with a Crown on his Head, taking in a Dunghill: Sad is it, to ſee the Chriſtian that hath Grace, and ſhall have glory, to be immoderately concerned about the things of this life. I perſwade you to that which tends to make your lives happy on all accounts, and which I have often ſpoken of; Piety, Induſtry, Ʋſefulneſs, and Chearfulneſs. Piety, be ſerious in Religion, and ſeek for comfortable Perſwaſions of the Love of God: Induſtry, be laborious in your Callings: Ʋſefulneſs, do good to the Souls and Bodies of many: Chearfulneſs, flee all needleſs ſorrow, adorn the Goſpel of Chriſt, and let your Converſations invite others to receive it. Faults in you are bad indeed: The better the Garment is, the worſe is the rent; the better the Cup, the worſe is the crack; the better the man, the worſe the diſorder. For your encouragement to walk with God, hear what the Spirit ſaith unto the Churches:Rev. 2.7. To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midſt of the Paradiſe of God. Rev. 7.16, 17. They are before the Throne of God, and ſerve him day and night in his Temple: And he that ſitteth on the Throne ſhall dwell among them: They ſhall neither hunger nor thirſt any more; Neither ſhall the Sun light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb, that is in the midſt of the Throne, ſhall feed them, and ſhall lead them unto the Fountain of living waters; and God ſhall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Rev. 22.1. There is that pure River of the water of Life, clear as Chryſtal, proceeding out of the throne of God, Rev. 22.6. and of the Lamb. Theſe ſayings are faithful, and true. And the Lord God of the holy Prophets hath ſhewn to his Servants the things which muſt ſhortly be done. Bleſſed are they that do his Commandements, Rev. 22.14 that they may have right to the Tree of life, and may enter in through the Gates into the City. I end all with this humble Addreſs unto the Lord, That he would come with all his Train of Graces, and put an end to all our Heats and Contentions about the ſmaller things in Religion, and make us zealous of all good Works, and then bring us to himſelf in Glory.

Even ſo come, Rev. 22.20 Lord Jeſus; That all the Saints may enjoy thoſe Delights, of which it ſhall never be ſaid, Here is