>^ \ > 8 « / \0 ° , * -, . o ■ ^ V *; ■>> c? j,°°* lev. "^ ^ THE SAINTS' EVERLASTING REST. REV. RICHARD BAXTER. ABRIDGED BY BENJAMIN FAWCETT, A. M. AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, THOMAS ERSKINE, Esq. ADVOCATE, Author of Remarks on the Internal Evidence for the Truth of Revealed Religion, BOSTON: PERKINS & MARVIN. NEW YORK: JONATHAN LEAVITT. PHILADELPHIA: FRENCH & PERKINS. 1833. 3+fc OIK Mrs. Hennen Jennings April 26, 1933 CONTENTS Page. Introductory Essay, . ■ .. . . 5 Dedication, 37 Compiler's Preface, . .39 CHAP. I. The Introduction to the Work, with some account of the Nature of the Saints' Rest, ..... 53 f* CHAP. II. The great Preparatives to the Saints' Rest, , 73 n ^ CHAP. III. The Excellencies of the Saints' Rest, . . 84 m CHAP. IV". The Character of the Persons for whom this Rest is designed, 104 CHAP. V. The greatmisery of those who lose the Saints' Rest, 124 CHAP. VI. The misery of those, who, besides losing the Saints' Rest, lose the enjoyments of time, and suffer the torments of Hell, 141 CHAP. VII. The necessity of diligently seeking the Saints' Rest, 158 CHAP. VIII. How to discern our title to the Saints' Rest, . 182 CHAP. IX. The duty of the people of God to excite others to seek this Rest, . . , . . . . .206 IV CONTENTS. CHAP. X. The Saints' Rest is not to be expected on earth, 230 CHAP. XL The importance of leading a heavenly life upon earth, 253 CHAP. XII. Directions how to lead a heavenly life upon earth, 277 CHAP. XIII. The Nature of heavenly Contemplation; with the Time, Place, and Temper, fittest for it, . . . 301 CHAP. XIV. What use heavenly Contemplation makes of Consideration. Affections, Soliloquy, and Prayer, . . 317 CHAP. XV. Heavenly Contemplation assisted by 'sensible Objects, and guarded against a treacherous Heart, . . 337 CHAP. XVI. Heavenly Contemplation exemplified, and the whole Work concluded, 358 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. We do not arrogate to ourselves so much as to sup- pose, that our commendation can add any thing to the authority of such a name as that of Richard Baxter. It is not to commend him, but to render our own series of practical divinity more complete, that we introduce his Saints' Everlasting Rest to our readers. He belonged to a class of men, whose characters and genius, now universally venerated, seem to have been most peculiarly adapted, by Divine Providence, to the circumstances of their age and country. We do not speak only of those who partook in Baxter's views of ecclesiastical polity ; but of those who, under any name, maintained the cause of truth and liberty, during the eventful period of the seven- teenth century. They were made of the same firm stuff with the WicklifFs, and the Luthers, and the Knoxes, and the Cranmers, and the Latimers, of a former age. They formed a distinguished division of the same glorious army of reformation ; they en- countered similar obstacles, and they were directed} 2 VI and supported, and animated, by the same spirit. The) 7 were the true and enlightened crusaders, who, with all the zeal and courage which conducted their chivalrous ancestors to the earthly Jerusalem, fought their way to the heavenly city ; and rescuing, by their sufferings and by their labors, the key of knowledge from the unworthy hands in which it had long lain rusted and misused, generously left it as a rich in- heritance to all coming generations. They speak with the solemn dignity of martyrs. They seem to feel the importance of their theme, and the perpetual presence of Him who is the great subject of it. There are only two things which they seem to con- sider as realities, the favor of God, and the enmity of God ; and only two parties in the universe to choose between, the party of God, and the party of his ad- versaries. Hence that heroic and noble tone, which marks their lives and their writings. They had chosen their side, and they knew that it was worthy of all they could do or suffer for it. They were born in the midst of conflicts civil and religious ; and as they grew up, their ears heard no other sounds than those of defiance and controversy. Thus life was to them, in fact and reality, that war- fare, which is to many of us only its rhetorical em- blem. To this is to be attributed that severity of rebuke, and sternness of denunciation, which we are sometimes almost sorry to meet with in their expos- tulations. But they were obliged to speak loud, in order to be heard in those troublous days. They were trained in the language of strife, as their mother tongue ; and they used that language even in deliver- Vll Ing the message of peace. But they did deliver the message of peace, they declared the way of salvation, and they were highly honored, and invincibly sup- ported by Him who sent them. The agitated state of surrounding circumstances gave them continual proof of the instability of all things temporal ; and inculcated on them the neces- sity of seeking a happiness which might be indepen- dent of external things. They thus practically learned the vanity and nothingness of life, except in its relation to eternity ; and they declared to their fellow-crea- tures the mysteries of the kingdom of God, with the tone of men who knew that the lightest word which they spoke, outweighed in the balance of reason, as well as of the sanctuary, the value of all earth's plans, and politics, and interests. They were upon high and firm ground. They stood in the midst of that tem- pestuous ocean, secure on the Rock of Ages ; and as they uttered to those around them their invitations, or remonstrances, or consolations, they thought not of the tastes but of the necessities of men — they thought only of the difference between being lost and being saved, and they cried aloud, and spared not. There is no doubt a great variety of thought, and feeling) and expression, to be met with in the theo- logical writers of that class ; but deep and solemn seriousness is the common character of them all. They seem to have felt much. Religion was not al- lowed to remain as an unused theory in their heads ; they were forced to live on it as their food, and to have recourse to it as their only strength and comfort. Hence their thoughts are never given as abstract V1L1 views ; they are always deeply impregnated with sea-* timent. Their style reminds us of the light which streams through the stained and storied windows of an ancient cathedral. It is not light merely, but light modified by the rich hues, and the quaint forms, and the various incidents of the pictured medium through which it passes. So these venerable worthies do not give us merely ideas, but ideas colored by the deep affections of their own hearts ; they do not merely give us truth, but truth in its historical application to the various struggles, and difficulties, and dejections of their strangely chequered lives. This gives a great interest to their writings. They are real men, and not books that we are conversing with. And the peace, and the strength, and the hope, which they describe, are not the fictions of fancy, but the positive and substantial effects of the knowledge of God on their own minds. They are thus not merely way- marks to direct our journeyings ; they seem them- selves pilgrims travelling on the same road, and en- couraging us to keep pace w 7 ith them. In their books, they seem thus still to journey, still to combat ; but O let us think of the bright reality ! — their contests are past, their labors are over ; they have fought the good fight, and they are now at rest, made perfect in Christ Jesus. They are joined to that cloud of witnesses, of whom the world was not worthy ; and their names are inscribed in the rolls of heaven ; yet not for their own glory, but for the glory of him who washed them from their sins in his own blood, and whose strength was made perfect in their weakness. These were the great men of England, and ta IX them, under God, is England indebted for much of that which is valuable in her public institutions, and in the character of her people. They were, indeed, a noble army ; they were born from above to be the combatants for truth ; they were placed in the gap, and they held their ground, or fell at their posts. In this army Richard Baxter was a standard- bearer. He labored much, as well in preaching as in writing; and with an abundant blessing on both. He had all the high mental qualities of his class in perfection. His mind is inexhaustible, and vigor- ous, and vivacious, to an extraordinary degree. He seizes irresistibly on the attention, and carries it along with him ; and we assuredly do not know any author who can be compared with him, for the power with which he brings his reader directly face to face, with death, and judgment, and eternity ; and compels him to look upon them, and converse with them. He is himself most deeply serious, and the holy solemnity of his own soul seems to envelope the reader, as with the air of a temple. But on such a subject praise is superfluous, as it is easy 5 and we shall rather beg the attention of our readers to some observations on his manner of stating divine truth, and on the interesting subject of the work before us. In the first place, then, there is perhaps, too little appearance of compassion, and too much detail in his descriptions of the punishments after death. The general idea is all that is given in Scripture, and even that is rarely insisted on, except by our Lord 2* himself; as if such a fearful denunciation could only have its right effect, when pronounced by the lips of him who is love itself; It is not to the statement of the doctrine that we object; but to the manner of doing it. Whatever men may think or feel on the subject, there can be no doubt, that the doctrine does stand in Scripture, and assuredly it does not stand there in vain. We must leave the difficulties with God. The light of the last day will dispel all darkness. In the mean time, it must be stated, but let it be stated in Scripture language. Let not man use his own words, and far less his own fancy, in describing the future punishments of the impeni- tent ; and above all, let him not speak of them as one at ease ; and let him not describe God as taking pleasure in the infliction. There can be no real ad- vantage gained by agitating the imagination on such a subject. Even fear, to be useful, ought to have some calmness in it. And it ought to be remem- bered, that men are not made Christians by terror, but by love. It is the genial ray of the Sun of Righteousness, and not the storm of the divine wrath, which compels the sinner to lay down the weapons of his rebellion. The steady conviction that misery, intolerable, must be for ever connected with reject- ing the offered mercy of God, is the true impression produced by the declarations of the Bible on this matter ; and this is a much more efficient and prac- tically useful principle, than the terrors of an im- agination worked up by a picture of the secrets of that prison-house. Our gracious Master, who suf- fered in our stead, and whose deep, and solemn, and XI tender interests in our welfare, could not be doubted, did, indeed, in his discourses, always set before men life and death, as the solemn alternatives of their choice ; but in his mouth it is still the language of affectionate, though urgent persuasion ; and he does not lift the veil, except in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus ; nor terrify the fancy, nor represent God as taking pleasure in the misery of his creatures. He does not even represent this punishment so much under the form of a positive infliction, as of the na- tural result of the operation of evil principles on the soul. " Their worm dieth not, their fire is not quenched." Whose ? Their own — the worm and fire within them. Thus also, in other parts of Scripture, the state of the wicked is represented as the reaping of what they had sown, as eating of the fruit of their own way, and being filled with their own devices. Gal. vi. 7, 8. Prov. iii. 31. And in Psalm Ixxxi. punishment is described thus, " He gave them up to their own hearts' lusts." The compassion of God for the miseries which sinners bring upon themselves, is also often strongly marked by the Bible : for example, in the tears shed by our Lord over the bloody city ; in the divine tenderness exhibited through the whole course of that remark- able history contained in the book of Jonah ; and in the duties of a watchman described in Ezekiel xxxiii. " I have no pleasure, saith the Lord, in the death of him that dieth ; wherefore turn ye and live." The threatenings of God are all expressions of love. They are the descriptions of the misery of being strangers to God ; given for this very purpose, that xii we may be persuaded* to come into his family, and to become fellow-citizens with the saints, and mem- bers of the household of faith. God seemed to say in these threatenings, " I cannot bear to lose you, or that you should lose such happiness ; be- hold and see what you are rushing into — a soul at enmity with me must be miserable ; come then, and be my friend, and my child." Detailed and pro- longed descriptions of future misery seemed calcula- ted to injure our view of the Divine character ; or to agitate the imagination ; or, like violent stimulants to the bodily constitution, to lose their effect, and to deaden the sensibilities to calmer exhibitions of the truth. But there is another and a more important charge which has been brought against the writings of this great and good man. It is alleged that he does not always mark with sufficient clearness, the dis- tinction between the work of God, and the work of man, and that he even sometimes gives the idea, that we are called on to work out our own pardon, as well as our own salvation or spiritual healing. The close appeals which he so frequently makes to the consciences of his readers, may, perhaps, in some degree, have given rise to this accusation. A wri- ter who presses so strongly as Baxter does, the ne- cessity of a change of heart and character in the Christian, needs great caution and accuracy of lan- guage, in order to avoid expressions which may seem to attribute too much, in the work of salvation, to human effort. Just as a writer, whose great theme is the free grace of the Gospel, would need Xm to be very much on his guard, if he would avoid the charge of Antinomianism. The nature of the subject treated on in the book before us, may also have assisted in giving this tone to his instructions. He connects pardon and everlasting rest so much to- gether, that he sees them, and speaks of them as if they were one and the same thing. Now, though in truth they are parts of the same grand plan, yet the one is the commencement, and the other is the consummation of the plan — and the language which is suited to the one is not always suited to the other. Pardon is the starting point of the Christian course. The saints' rest is the goal. Pardon precedes the race, the saints' rest crowns it. The pardon is universally and freely proclaimed to all, without mo- ney and without price, without respect to character or condition, as the recompense of the atoning sa- crifice of Christ. To this pardon man cannot add, and from it he cannot detract ; though he may bar himself from the benefit of it by refusing it ad- mission into his heart. Whereas the saints' rest is entirely dependent on character : it is, in fact, only another name for a character conformed to the will of God. It is, in a sense, the natural reward of dili- gence in the cultivation of those principles which are implanted by a belief of the pardon. Diligence, therefore, and exertion, ought to be strenuously in- sisted on in pursuit of the saints' rest ; but we must beware of thinking such thoughts, or using such language with regard to the pardon. By do- ing so, we shall obscure our views both of the love of God, and of the evil of sin. Pardon is the XIV medicine, the saints' rest is the cure accomplished s it is salvation perfected, it is spiritual health. We ought not then to think of laboring for pardon; for it is proclaimed as a thing already past and recorded in heaven ; but we ought to labor for the saints' rest; for it is a thing future, and depends on the perfection of principles which are perfected by la- bor. We ought not to labor for pardon, for it is a medicine already prepared, and freely bestowed, by the great physician of souls ; but we ought to labor for spiritual health, in which the saints' rest consists, by continual application to the medicine, and by using the Spirit, and the strength which it supplies to support us, amidst the events which be- fal us, and the duties which we are called to fulfil. Now, though we are well persuaded, that all the parts of divine truth are so linked together, that if one part is taught to the soul by the Spirit of God, all the other parts will certainly follow ; and that, therefore, a partial obscurity or indistinctness of statement, in the midst of much surrounding light, and perspicuity, and power, may not materially im- pede the progress of a heart towards God ; yet we do regret that a greater prominency is not given in Baxter's Works to the doctrine of justification by faith ; because the peace of the mind, and the sta- bility of its hopes, and the ardor and confidence of its love, must depend on the degree of fulness with which it can look on God as a Father, who hath forgiven all its iniquities, on a ground alto- gether independent of its own deservings. XV This doctrine is in truth the great centre of the Christian system, which gives to all the other parts their symmetry and just proportion. It, in fact, con- tains all the rest, and we only know them truly, when we know them in relation to it. This doc- trine it is which constitutes the grand difference be- tween the religion of God, and all the religions in- vented by men. Human systems always place par- don, or the divine favor, at the end of the race ; they would remove condemnation by just making men cease from sinning. Whereas God makes men cease from sinning, by first removing the condem- nation. This is a stumbling-block to the world, and its philosophers. They argue, that as sin is the root from which the condemnation sprung, it would be more reasonable to lay the axe to it, than merely to lop the bitter fruit that has sprung from it — and that it is unwise to enfeeble the motives of exer- tion, by giving that in possession which ought to be reserved as the excitement and reward of diligence and obedience. But the difficulty lies not in the thing itself, but in their ignorance of the signification of the terms employed. They do not know the meaning of sin, or punishment, or obedience, or reward. They con- sider them merely as external things. If we wish a porter to go a mile for us, we make much surer of his going, by promising him half-a-crown on his return, than by paying him beforehand. But if we wish to gain the confidence and affection of a man who has prejudices against us, we must begin by substantially proving to him that he may rely on our XVI friendship and services. Now God desires and re- quires our confidence and affection. Nothing short of this can satisfy Him. It is His great command- ment, that we should love him with all the faculties of our being ; and without this love, the most punc- tual external conformity to His external command- ments, is a mere mockery and delusion. He is not obeyed by our going the mile, but by our go- ing it out of love to Him. He, therefore, begins not merely by holding out to us a future happiness, though he does that too, but by proving himself worthy of all our confidence, and all our affection. Obedience then consists in active love. And this love can only proceed from a sense of God's excel- lence and amiableness in general, and of his favor in relation to ourselves. Without this belief in a higher or lower degree, of his favorable regard to- wards ourselves, there may be a solemn and distant respect, but there can be no filial love, and there- fore no full obedience. We are persuaded, that an erroneous view of the object of the ten commandments, has misled many as to the nature and extent of religious duty, in this respect particularly. It is true, that the ten com- mandments were given by God's voice from heaven ; and it is also true, that in the last of them the Legis- lator claims to himself the sovereignty over the thoughts and intents of the heart, as well as over the act of the hand, or the word of the lip ; but yet it is no less true, that they contain rather a list of prohibitions, and of the most prominent and overt acts of disobedience to the will of God, than a de- XV11 claration of what that will absolutely is. In human governments, laws are considered as restraints upon natural liberty, and, therefore, every thing which is not forbidden by them is permitted. Thus a man may, without being amenable to the law, hate the king as much as he pleases, if he only avoid the com- mission of any of those acts which are, by statute, construed into high treason. It is certain, that the ten commandments are very often interpreted in the same way. They are often supposed to permit that which they do not expressly prohibit. And on this subject we are disposed to think, that the error does not so much consist in the misinterpretation of the commandments, as in mistaking th& purpose for which they were given, and in supposing that they were ever intended to convey a full and spiritual view of the duty of man to God. For it ought to be remembered, that the ten commandments, besides being a religious rule, formed also a part of a code of civil jurisprudence. Jehovah was not only the God of Israel, as well as of all the universe, he was also the political King of Israel ; and the law of Moses not only gives a view of the Divine char- acter, but also contains the statutes of the state, ac- cording to which property was determined, and of- fences were judged and punished. Religion binds the mind, the law of the land binds the body ; God is the only judge of faithfulness or rebellion in the first; man can judge of obedience or disobedience to the second. In the Jewish government, these two principles were united — the spirit of religion breathes through the law, and yet the acts prohibited 3 XV111 are, with the single exception of the injunctions of the tenth commandment, such as the eye of man could judge of, and such as required to be proved or disproved before their courts, by the testimony of human witnesses. This union, however, did not change or materialize the essence of religion. An Israelite who kept the ten commandments to the letter, was innocent and righteous in the eye of the law, and of God, considered as the political king of the nation ; but he might keep them most strictly to the letter, and yet stand under a heavy charge of guiltiness before God, as the spiritual judge of man. This important distinction between the spir- itual religion and the material letter of their law, appears however to have been very generally over- looked by the Jews — they learned to limit their idea of sin, to the mere perpetration of the pro- hibited overt acts of disobedience — they looked to God only as their temporal king, and they became blind to the embracing universality of his claims upon them as their Creator and Spiritual Judge. And the same error is often committed amongst our- selves, without the same apology as the Jews had. There were positive miraculous blessings connected with external obedience, under the theocracy, which might naturally lead them to lay great stress on this outside righteousness. And God appeared to them as their national Lawgiver and Judge, requiring this external obedience, and expressing his approbation of it. But the temporal theocracy is no more. God reveals himself in the Gospel solely in his spiritual relation. And when we think of satisfying him by XIX an external obedience, we do him dishonor, and we degrade his law down to a level with our own Acts of Parliament. The offences prohibited in the ten commandments, may be considered as the top branches of that tree of revolt, which grows naturally in the heart, and brings forth correspond- ing fruit more or less in the life of every man un- renewed by the Spirit of God. But these branches may be lopped or checked, and yet the strength of the poison may remain undiminished in the root, and in the trunk. The true and full law of God, is not only directed against this pernicious tree in its root, as well as its branches ; but it also requires that the soil should be occupied by another plant, which may bring forth fruit to the glory of God. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and mind, and soul, and strength." This is the universal and spiritual law of God, and it was given to the Jews, though it does not make a part of their judicial code. It is contained in that so- lemn and touching recapitulation of mercies, and judgments, and obligations, and duties, which Mo- ses makes to the generation which had been either born or brought up in the wilderness, a short time before his own death, and their entrance into the land promised to their fathers. In this address, the spirit of the future dispensation breaks forth more distinctly, than in that part which was, strictly speak- ing, their law. Judaism was throughout a type of Christianity. The wondrous history of the chosen people — their deliverance from Egypt — their wanderings through xx the desert — their miraculous support during their long pilgrimage — their separation from other na- tions — their settlement in Canaan — their visible theocracy, were all material emblems of the spiritual kingdom of Christ, and of the spiritual history of the children of God, in their journey from this vale of sin and sorrow, to the rest prepared for them. Even so their law, in all its parts, not mere- ly in its ceremonial, but even in its moral precepts, though it embraced and illustrated the principles of the succeeding dispensation, yet was in itself, to a great degree, literal, and material, and external ; and the law of the ten commandments bore to the spiritual law of love, a relation somewhat analogous to that which the sacrifices of the tabernacle bore to the perfect atonement of Christ. Those who saw in the sacrifices no more than a ceremonial puri- fication from external pollutions, or a mode of de- liverance from external evils, would see no more in the ten commandments than a rule of external obe- dience. Whilst those who saw under that veil of rites a manifestation of the combined mercy and ho- liness which constitute the spiritual character of God, in relation to sinners — those who saw under it the type of that great atonement, on the ground of which the divine justice is even glorified in the par- don of the offenders, such Israelites would also dis- cover the spiritual law of love under the ten com- mandments, and would feel their hearts drawn to its observance. And in like manner, those who had found out that heart-love was the obedience which God required, would not rest satisfied until XXI they had also discovered the true meaning of the sacrifices. They would feel assured, that the same principle in the mind of God, which prompted him to demand the hearts of his creatures, would prompt him also to make such a discovery of his own char- acter as would draw their hearts, and make obe- dience easy and delightful. They would look for something else than mere authority, to enforce such a command ; and they would find it in the spiritual antitype of all these ceremonies. Christ came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fill them out. They were but sketches and cartoons. He came to fill up their shadowy outlines with all the substance of real action, and all the rich coloring of spiritual affections. The ten commandments, taking into account the Christian modification of the fourth, are as binding now as ever they were, be- cause the duties contained in them spring out of the eternal relation between God and man ; but the most axact adherence to their letter will not defend us from the charge of spiritual delinquency before the Searcher of hearts. When the law of God comes to a man only in the shape of prohibitions, he is apt to consider it as a hard and severe thing, and to count his own uneasy submission to it, an act of price and merit. He has unwillingly abstained from some indulgence, and he lays up this price of self-denial in his treasury, as something on which he may afterwards found a hope or a claim before God. But when the law makes a demand upon our heart, the matter is changed en- tirely. In the first place, it is evident that he who 3* XXli makes the demand is himself full of affection towards us, for what but love could make him desire pos- session of our hearts ? and, in the next place, the idea of merit is altogether thrown out, because who is it that can say, that he has loved with all his heart; and besides, the very thought of forming to ourselves a claim, destroys the fulness of the obe r dience, as it taints the freedom and generosity of love. A prohibitory law allows a man to think that he has fulfilled duty, and even that he has done certain things beyond the requirements of duty ; or, in other words, supererogatory. But the law of love sets duty, like the horizon, always before us, at the utmost extent of vision ; for love urges to do all that we can do, and then thinks all too little. If the law of God could be truly obeyed by mere self-denial and exertion, then pardon, or the ex- pression of divine favor, might properly have been reserved, and held out as the ultimate reward of diligence. But if the heart is positively required, and if love be the obedience demanded, as well as the heaven promised by the Bible, then we must have something to enforce it more cogent than either a command, or the expectation of a reward. And this we have in the gift of Christ, which is both the pledge of pardon and the proof of love. It may appear to some, that the argument which has been stated, is not of much importance in these Christian days, as they are called. But the error which it combats, is not confined to any country, or to any age. Men still desire to change the spiri- XXlll tual, heart-searching God, into a temporal king^ who judges only by the outward act, and who is sat- isfied with pious forms, and social integrity. It is this error which has, to a great degree, unchristian- ized even the form and profession of the Church of Rome, and which, more or less, unchristianizes the religion of Protestants. We may call it Judaism, or we may call it Popery, but it is the error of the human heart, more openly professed indeed by some than others, but prevalent universally under various shapes and names, until rooted out by the Spirit of the living God. It is the knowledge of duty which gives us the knowledge of sin. And a knowledge of the true nature of these two things, makes the Gospel abso- lutely necessary to the heart. Sin is the transgres- sion of the first and great commandment — it is a departure of the heart from God. And why does the heart depart from God ? Is he not good ; is he not gracious ; is he not worthy of our highest love, and gratitude, and confidence ? Yes, no one denies this. How then does it come to pass, that the heart departs from God? The explanation is, that our affections are bound to God only whilst the view of his love and his excellency is present to the mind. Had the tempter dared to assail Adam, whilst he was walking with God in the garden, and drinking in life and light from his communion with him, can we doubt what the result would have been ? God is light, and walks in light — a light pure and unapproachable by evil ; and when Adam walked with him, he also was surrounded by that XXlV light, and was defended by it as by a shield. It is in the absence of the sun that the glow-worm, and the ignis-fatuus are seen ; and it is in the absence of the light of the divine presence, that the things of sense and of time assume a false splendor, and like the wandering fires of nature, lure men to de- struction. He who walketh in the day, stumbleth not, for he hath the light of this world ; he sees things as they are ; he is not exposed to the delu- sion of false appearances ; he can distinguish be- tween the beaten road and the morass ; he walks confidently and safely, for it is light which leads him. It is the property of light to make manifest ; and the more elevated the kind and the degree of the light is, the greater will be the perfection and the truth of the manifestation. What then must the perfection and truth of that manifestation be, which is made by the spiritual presence of the Fa- ther of lights : and how great must be the security and confidence of those who walk in it. In this light Adam walked during the happy days of innocence. And whilst he thus looked on the excellence and the beauty of God, he was ir- resistibly attracted to him, and he could not sin, for the law of love was written on his heart. The presence of God was thus the source and the security, as well as the reward of his continual love and obedience. But he went out from the presence of God — he ceased to contemplate God — and the light of the divine perfections faded from his spiri- tual vision. In this season of absence or forgetful- ness, love abated, (for love lives by contemplating XXV what is excellent,) the tempter came and Adam fell. Ah ! wherefore did he leave the blessed light, which was a glory and a defence — which would have scared away the powers of darkness, and guided his steps, and kept him from falling ? Verily, it is an evil and bitter thing to depart from God. What was his condition now ? Alas how changed ! Instead of walking with God as a friend, he dreaded and shunned him as an enemy. His backslidings re- proved him ; and his own conscience became the dreadful executioner of that sentence, which ex- cluded him from the family and favor of God. As he had refused to walk in the light, he was shut out from the light — he had chosen a lie, and he re- ceived it for his portion — he had disregarded the smile of Jehovah, and now he could think only of his frown. Thus not only did sin become its own punish- ment, but this punishment became a fruitful source of farther sin. It was the contemplation of the ex- cellenc}^, and a sense of the paternal favor of God ? which produced and expanded the principles of holy love and obedience in the heart of Adam. The cessation of this contemplation, and the forgetfulness of this paternal favor, were the very causes of his fall : and now these causes are fixed upon him— they become the very circumstances of his existence. He cannot contemplate God, for he feels himself banished from His presence-— he cannot enjoy the sense of his paternal favor, for condemnation has been pronounced against him. Adam's perfection had flowed from, and consisted XXVI in this, — that his affections were powerfully and permanently attracted by the contemplation of the holy love and kindness of God. When this at- traction ceased, his perfections ceased. What then must the consequence have been, when the divine love and favor were changed into displeasure ? Evidently repulsion instead of attraction. It is the smile, and not the frown — it is the favor, and not the condemnation of God, which shows forth love ; but it is only His frown, and His condemnation which the convicted and unpardoned rebel contem- plates — and thus the estrangement of his heart be- comes more and more confirmed — darkness is his guide, and it leads him to thoughts and deeds of darkness. These thoughts and deeds, he feels, call for a farther condemnation ; and the fear of this removes him still farther from God. There is no limit to this tremendous series, but in the riches of divine grace. Perhaps the most overwhelming cir- cumstance in the miserable condition supposed is, that even the remaining good of the heart opposes our return to God. All our remaining sense of the ex- cellency of holiness, and all the loathing and condem- nation of our own pollution, which we may yet feel, makes us shun the divine presence. The know- ledge and approbation of what is right, without some view of forgiving love, can do little more, in the heart of a weak and sinful creature, than record and repeat the sentence of condemnation against itself, — and teach it, that any misery is to be preferred to that of looking in the face of an offended God. Is there not then a true philosophy in that system XXVll which would make men cease from sinning, by re- moving the condemnation of sin ? Is there not a true wisdom in that religion, which would draw men from works of darkness, by surrounding them again with heavenly light ? And is there not a divine glory in that plan, which would overcome evil by good — which would annihilate distance, by annihilat- ing fear — and which would expel enmity from the soul, by satisfying it with the abundance of grace ? The perfection of a creature does not consist in its own self-possessed powers, but in the maintenance of its proper place, in relation to its Creator : and the name of that place is Constant Dependence. This place can be held only by affectionate confi- dence ; and this requires a constant sense of the favorable presence and protection of God. Men sometimes puzzle themselves, by contrasting the moral strength attributed to Adam, with the facility of his fall. But Adam's strength is only another name for his love to God ; and that love depended entirely on the view which he took of His charac- ter in general, and of His relation to himself in par- ticular. Whilst he viewed Him as his omnipresent and ever-gracious Friend, he loved Him ; or, in other words, he was strong. When he lost this view, from any cause, there would be a proportional di- minution of his strength. And after his offence, when he viewed him as his condemning Judge, his love would be changed into fear and estrangement ; that is to say, his strength would become weakness. It must be so — it cannot be otherwise, in the nature of things. Love is the obedience of the xxvni heart 5 and that is the obedience which God requires. And this love, in the heart of a hitherto sinless crea- ture, can only proceed from, or be maintained by a sense, and a continued sense — of the holy compla- cency of God ; and, in the heart of a sinful creature, by a sense, and a continued sense — of the holy com- passion of God. This going forth of the heart and the thought towards God, is to the spiritual man, what his locks were to the unshaven champion of Israel. It is the channel through which the omni- potent God communicates himself to his children. Whilst this channel continues unbroken and unin- terrupted, all is safe. But when a created thing is permitted to interpose itself between the soul, and the face of God, the charm is broken — the divine current ceases to flow in — he who before was strong becomes weak — and those Philistines, who had often fled before him, now put out his eyes, and make him grind in the prison. "Abide in me," says the Head of the redeemed family, " and I will abide in you." Thus shall ye bring forth much fruit ; and *thus shall ye " ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." To this object, therefore, ought Christian effort mainly to be directed : for here the Christian's strength lies, and here only. Here only he finds an object which will satisfy and sanctify every faculty of his being. His moral sense, his affections, and his desire of happi- ness, are here filled and captivated. How different this from the effort of the world's morality ! The world's morality, even in its highest strain, is mere self-denial, and a painful struggle against nature, XXIX It is, however, a noble struggle. And, assuredly, when we look at those who, unaided by the light of revelation, have trod this uphill path ; and who, by the strong effort of an upright will, have quelled the passions and feelings which rebel against truth and reason, we cannot but admire them ; and little do we envy those who can refuse them this tribute. But though it is a noble spectacle, it is yet a melan- choly one. It is an unequal warfare. The citadel is betrayed : the heart is in the hands of the enemy. The conqueror is unhappy, even in his victory ; for what has he achieved ? He has not really overcome his antagonists ; he has only prevented their erup- tion. He has imprisoned them in their own favor- ite residence — his inmost heart, where they feed on his very vitals. On the Christian system the case begins at the heart : and the moral progress is a healthy progress of the whole man, and not a tem- porary submission of one part of the mind to another. There is no self-denial in the character of God ; it is his delight to do that which is good. Neither would there be any self-denial in our virtue, if we perfectly loved God ; because that love would find its highest gratification in a conformity to the will of God. But how are we to grow in this love ? How is our holiness to be purged from self-denial ? No otherwise than by abiding in the view of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ. This rule differs only in words from the apostolic precept, " Pray without ceasing." It embraces the whole armor of God; and gives peace as well as security. The heart must be directed towards God, the Father of mer- 4 XXX eies; and then, even in this prison, although we may still feel our fetters, our locks will begin to grow like Samson's : and however we may groan under the burden of life, and remaining corruption, yet shall we, like him, also triumph at our death, and be made more than conquerors, through him that loved us. For it is not till after death, that we are to ex- pect unmixed happiness. Our moralists need not be apprehensive that Christianity, by the greatness of its present gifts, extinguishes hope for the future. There is something kept in reserve to animate ex- ertion, and to reward perseverance. The Gospel does not expend all its treasures in this life. Great indeed, and unspeakable are the blessings which it bestows even here ; but they are not given without alloy — they serve but as foretastes to excite our longings for the joy set before us. The Gospel teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. And it teaches this, only by directing our thoughts not only back to the cross, and to the pardon which was there sealed ; and around us, to that mercy which continually embraceth those who trust in the cross ; but also forwa?'ds, to the blessed hope of the Saviour's appearing, and to the rest which remaineth for the people of God. Yes, every sin is full of sorrow ; and every day on earth is full of sin. Man also " is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upw r ard." And although the believer does feed on angels' food ; and although the blessed Spirit does comfort his heart by the disclosures of that love which pass- eth understanding, yet is he often made to feel the length of the way, and the barrenness of the land XXXI And often does his evil heart of unbelief grieve that Comforter, and tempt him to depart. He feels that he daily wounds the love that bled for him ; and that is bitter, even in the midst of forgiveness. He also sees God dishonored, and his law trampled on by his fellow-creatures. And thus he is taught, that this is not his rest ; and that he hath no abiding city here. These things made the Psalmist say, " Oh that I had wings like a dove, for then would T flee away and be at rest," — they drew from Jere- miah that plaintive cry, " Oh that I had, in the wilderness, a lodging-place of wayfaring men ; that I might leave my people and go from them," — and they even forced Elijah, a man destined to enter heaven by another gate than that of death, to re- quest for himself that he might die. Now all these men had much enjoyment of God in this world, as we read in other parts of their history ; but the vast dis- proportion between their enjoyment of him here, and their expected enjoyment of Him in the other world, made them, as well as the saints under a clearer dis- pensation, feel and confess, that presence in the body is absence from the Lord. And yet future glory is not desired by a Chris- tian as an entirely new, and hitherto unknown thing ; but as the full accomplishment of a blessedness al- ready begun, though too much impeded here by cor- ruption within, and sorrow without. Christianity was not an entirely new thing to pious Jews ; but yet its light so far excelled that of their introductory dis- pensation, as to make it appear but darkness in the comparison. They saw it afar off; but the prospect XXX11 was so dim, that Isaiah calls it, " that which eye had not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived." Even so we may say of Christian joy, as we must confess of Christian character, in this life, that it hath no glory, by reason of the glory that excelleth. We can place no limits to that fu- ture glory, but in the will of Him whose goodness and power are equally unlimited. That family which God hath adopted in Christ Jesus, for their spiritual good, He hath subjected in this world, as He did the Captain of their salva- tion, to affliction. They are, however, supported under it by the assurance, that as they are joint heirs with Christ in suffering, they shall be so also with him in glory. The anticipation of that glory is a characteristic feature of the family. Whilst they remain on earth, their eyes are fixed on it, and their earnest expectation waiteth for its perfect de- velopment, in the full manifestation of their privi- leges as the sons of God. As. the Gospel was the same in kind, from the first promise of the woman's seed in Eden, until the day of Christ's ascension from mount Olivet, and only varied in the degree and clearness of its revelation ; so also the character and joy formed upon it, and by it, must be the same in kind for ever, and will only vary in the degree of its development. This accounts for the same name being sometimes given to different stages in the pro- cess. Thus, in one place, we are told, that believers have already received the charter of adoption, in that revelation which addresses them as children, and authorizes them to speak of God as their Father. XXX111 And, at the distance of a few verses, these same be- lievers are described as waiting for the adoption, namely, the redemption of their body. The resur- rection is here called the adoption, because it is the concluding step in the process of adoption ; it is that act of omnipotent mercy, by which the last trace of condemnation shall be obliterated — by which this mortal shall be clothed with immortality, and this corruptible with incorruption. There is but one joy, and one adoption ; but they contain the principle of infinite expansion and enlargement. The light of revelation enables us to trace their progress till the morning of the resurrection, when the risen saints shall sit down with Christ upon his throne ; and there it leaves them, hid in the future eternity. Then their joy shall be full — they shall ever be with the Lord — they shall be made pillars in His temple, and go no more out. But still the princi- ple of progress will be in action. The joy which fills them will expand their capacity of enjoyment; and their increasing capacity will be filled with an increasing joy. Their joy will increase, because their powers and capacities of comprehending and loving God will increase ; but still the great object itself, the source of all their joy, remains eternally the same — the character of God, revealed in Christ Jesus. It is sweet to look forward to the restitution of all things — to think of a world where God is entirely glorified, and entirely loved, and entirely obeyed — where sin and sorrow are no more — where severed friends shall meet, never again to part — where the 4* XXXIV body shall not weigh down the spirit, but shall be its fit medium of communication with all the glorious inhabitants and scenery of heaven — where no dis- cordant tones, or jarring feelings, shall interrupt or mar the harmony of that universal song, which shall burst from every heart and every tongue, to Him who sitteth upon the throne ? and to the Lamb. And it is not only sweet, but most profitable to me- ditate on these prospects. It is a most healthful exercise. It brings the soul into contact with that society, to which it properly belongs, and for which it w r as created. The world thinks that these heavenly musings must unqualify the mind for present exertion. But this is a mistake, arising from an ignorance of the nature of heaven. The happiness of heaven con- sists in the perfection of those principles which lead to the discharge of duty ; and therefore, the contem- plation of it must increase our sense of the impor- tance of duty. That happiness, as has been already observed, is not entirely a future thing ; but rather the completion of a present process, in which every duty bears an important part. The character and the happiness of heaven like the light and heat of the sunbeams, are so connected, that it is impossible to separate them ; and the natural and instinctive desire of the one, is thus necessarily linked to the desire of the other. Full of peace as the prospect of heaven is, there is no indolent relinquishment of duty, connected with the contemplation of it : for heaven is full of action. Its repose is like the re- pose of nature — the repose of planets in their orbits. XXXV It is a rest from all controversy with God — from all opposition to his will. His servants serve him. Farewell, vain world ! no rest hast thou to offer, which can compare with this. The night is far spent; soon will that day dawn, and the shadows flee away. " The Saints' Everlasting Rest " was written on a bed of sickness. It contains those thoughts and feelings^ which occupied, and fortified, and animated the Author, as he stood on the brink of eternity. The examples of heavenly meditation which he gives, really breathe of heaven ; and the importance of such meditation, as a duty, and as a mean of spiritual growth, is admirably set forth, and most powerfully enforced. And is it not a most pernicious madness and stupidity to neglect this duty ? Is it not strange that such prospects should excite so little interest ? Is it not strange that the uncertainty of the duration of life, and the certainty of its sorrows, do not com- pel men to seek refuge in that " inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away? " Is it not strange that the offers of friendship, and intimate relationship, which God is continually hold- ing out to us, should be slighted, even in competi- tion with the society of those, whom we cannot but despise and reprobate ? Is it not strange that we should, day after clay, allow ourselves to be duped by the same false promises of happiness, which have disappointed us, just as often as they have been trusted ? O ! let us be persuaded that there is no rest in created things. No : there is no rest, except in Him who made us. Who is the man that can XXXVI say he has found rest elsewhere ? No man says it. May God open our hearts, as well as our understand- ings, to see the truth ; that we may practically know the insufficiency, and hollowness, and insecurity of all earthly hopes ; and that we may be led, in simplicity and earnestness, to seek, and so to find our rest in Himself. T. E, Edinburgh, February, 1824. TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE BOROUGH AND FOREIGN OF KIDDERMINSTER, BOTH MAGISTRATES AND PEOPLE. My Dear Friends, There are obvious reasons for prefixing your names to this book. It contains the substance of what was first preached in your parish church, and was first published from the press with a Dedication to your worthy Ancestors. Your trade and manufactures can never render your town so famous, as the name and writings of Mr. Baxter have already made it, both in this Island, and in many remote parts of the Pro- testant world. His intimate and important relation to Kidderminster, and the years he abode in it, afforded him the most delightful reflection as long as he lived. Long experience has enabled me to testify for you, that, notwithstanding your share in those com- mon distinctions which so unhappily divide fellow- protestants, you possess an unusual degree of candor and friendship for each other. Thus you show, that Kidderminster has not totally lost the amiable spirit which it imbibed more than a century ago. There are no excellencies, personal or relative, no species of domestic or public happiness, no beauties of civil or religious life, but what will be naturally promoted by a care to secure to ourselves an interest in the rest which remaineth to the people of God. They are the people for whom alone that rest is de- 38 signed, both by the promises of God, and by the purchase of the Son of God. A care to secure that rest to yourselves, is the one thing needful. But neither this people, nor this care, you well know, are the peculiarities of any age, or of any party. If the inhabitants of Kidderminster, formerly excelled in this care, you must allow, that it was their greatest glory. And this more than any improvements of trade, or increasing elegancies of life, will be the greatest glory of their successors. To excite this care, is the noblest design of all religious instruction. This 3 and nothing else, ani- mates the following pages. Here, God and Christ, heaven and holiness, invite your most attentive and affectionate regards. Here, you may peruse, what multitudes in the same town have heard and read be- fore you to their everlasting joy, till your blessings prevail above the blessings of your progenitors. Here, by the help of divine grace, you may learn the heav- enly art of walking with God below, of living in a constant view and foretaste of the glories of the new Jerusalem, and of making all you say or do, suffer or enjoy, subservient to the brightening your immortal crown. — Nothing has the Compiler of this Abridgment to wish like such consequences as these ; even, to see the same holy and heavenly conversation in himself, and in those around him, now, as Mr. Baxter saw in his day. This would be the greatest joy, and shall be the constant and fervent prayer, of your affectionate Friend, and obedient Servant, B. FAWCETT, Kidderminster, Jan. 1, 1759, THE COMPILER'S PREFACE, Mr. Richard Baxter, the Author of the " Saints 3 Rest," so well known to the world by this, and many- other excellent and useful writings, was a learned, laborious, and eminently holy Divine of the last age, He was born near Shrewsbury in 1615, and died at London in 1691. His ministry in an unsettled state, was for many years employed with great and extensive success, both in London and in several parts of the country ; but he was nowhere fixed so long, or with such entire satisfaction to himself, and apparent advantage to others, as at Kidderminster. His abode there was indeed interrupted, partly by his bad health, but chiefly by the calamities of a civil war, yet in the whole it amounted to sixteen years ; nor was it by any means the result of his own choice, or that of the inhabitants of Kidderminster, that he never settled there again, after his going from thence in 1660. Before his coming thither, the place was overrun with ignorance and profaneness ; but, by the divine blessing on his wise and faithful cultivation, the fruits of righteousness sprung up in rich abundance. He at first found but a single instance or two of daily family prayer in a whole street ; and at his 40 going away, but one family or two could be found in some streets that continued to neglect it. And on Lord's-days, instead of the open profanation to which they had been so long accustomed, a person, in passing through the town, in the intervals of public worship, might overhear hundreds of families engaged in singing Psalms, reading the Scriptures and other good books, or such sermons as they had wrote down, while they heard them from the pulpit. His care of the souls committed to his charge, and the success of his labors among them, were truly remarkable ; for the number of his stated com- municants rose to six hundred, of whom he himself declared, there were not twelve concerning whose sincere piety he had not reason to entertain good hopes. Blessed be God, the religious spirit which was thus happily introduced, is yet to be traced in the town and neighborhood in some degree : (O that it were in a greater !) and in proportion as that spirit remains, the name of Mr. Baxter continues in the most honorable and affectionate remembrance. As a writer, he has the approbation of some of his greatest cotemporaries, who best knew him, and were under no temptations to be partial in his favor. Dr. Barrow said, " His practical writings were never mended, and his controversial ones seldom con- futed." With a view to his casuistical writings, the honorable Robert Boyle, declared, " He was the fittest man of the age for a casuist, because he feared no man's displeasure, nor hoped for any man's preferment." Bishop Wilkins observed of him, " that he had cultivated every subject he had handled ; 41 that if he had lived in the primitive times he would have been one of the fathers of the church ; and that it was enough for one age to produce such a person as Mr. Baxter." Archbishop Usher had such high thoughts of him, that by his earnest im- portunity he put him upon writing several of his practical discourses, particularly that celebrated piece, his Call to the Unconverted. Dr. Manton, as he freely expressed it, " thought Mr. Baxter came nearer the apostolical writings than any man in the age." And it is both as a preacher, and a writer, that Dr. Bates considers him, when, in his funeral sermon for him, he says, " In his sermons there was a rare union of arguments and motives, to convince the mind, and gain the heart. All the fountains of reason and persuasion were open to his discerning eye. There was no resisting the force of his dis- courses, without denying reason and divine revela- tion. He had a marvellous facility and copiousness in speaking. There was a noble negligence in his style, for his great mind could not stoop to the af- fected eloquence of words ; he despised flashy ora- tory; but his expressions were clear and powerful, so convincing the understanding, so entering into the soul, so engaging the affections, that those were as deaf as adders who were not charmed by so wise a charmer. He was animated with the Holy Spirit, and breathed celestial fire, to inspire heat and life into dead sinners, and to melt the obdurate in their frozen tombs. His books, for their number, (which it seems was more than one hundred and twenty,) and variety of matter in them, make a li- 5 42 brary. They contain a treasure of controversial, casuistical, and practical divinity. His books of practical divinity have been effectual for more nu- merous conversions of sinners to God, than any print- ed in our time ; and, while the church remains on earth, will be of continual efficacy to recover lost souls. There is a vigorous pulse in them, that keeps the reader awake and attentive." To these testi- monies may not improperly be added that of the ed- itors of his practical works in four folio volumes ; in the Preface to which they say, " Perhaps there are no writings among us that have more of a true Chris- tian spirit, a greater mixture of judgment and af- fection, or a greater tendency to revive pure and undefiled religion ; that have been more esteemed abroad, or more blessed at home, for the awakening the secure, instructing the ignorant, confirming the wavering, comforting the dejected, recovering the profane, or improving such as are truly serious, than the practical works of this author." Such were the apprehensions of eminent persons, who were well ac- quainted with Mr. Baxter and his writings. It is therefore the less remarkable that Mr. Addison, from an accidental and a very imperfect acquaintance, but with his usual pleasantness and candor, should men- tion the following incident ; "I once met with a page of Mr. Baxter. Upon the perusal of it, I conceived so good an idea of the author's piety, that I bought the whole book." Whatever other causes might concur, it must chiefly be ascribed to Mr. Baxter's distinguished reputation as a preacher, and a writer, that presently 43 after the restoration he was appointed one of the chaplains in ordinary to King Charles II. and preach- ed once before him in that capacity ; as also that he had an offer made him by the Lord Chancellor Clarendon, of the bishopric of Hereford, which, in a respectful letter to his Lordship, he saw proper to decline. The Saints' Rest is deservedly esteemed one of the most valuable parts of his practical works. He wrote it when he was far from home, without any book to consult but his Bible, and in such an ill state of health, as to be in continual expectation of death for many months 5 and, therefore, merely for his own use, he fixed his thoughts on this heavenly sub- ject, " which, says he, hath more benefitted me than all the studies of my life." At this time he could be little more than thirty years old. He afterwards preached over the subject in his weekly lecture at Kidderminster, and in 1656 he published it; and indeed it appears to have been the first that ever he published of all his practical writings. Of this book Dr. Bates says, "It is written by him when lan- guishing in the suspense of life and death, but has the signatures of his holy and vigorous mind. To allure our desires, he unveils the sanctuary above, and discovers the glories and joys of the blessed in the divine presence, by a light so strong and lively, that all the glittering vanities of this world vanish in that comparison, and a sincere believer will de- spise them, as one of mature age does the toys and baubles of children. To excite our fear, he removes the screen, and makes the everlasting fire of hell so 44 visible, and represents the tormenting passions of the damned in those dreadful colors, that, if duly considered, would check and control the unbridled licentious appetites of the most sensual wretches." Heavenly rest is a subject, in its own nature so universally important and interesting, and at the same time so truly engaging and delightful, as suffi- ciently accounts for the great acceptance which this book has met with ; and partly also for the uncom- mon blessing which has attended Mr. Baxter's man- ner of treating the subject, both from the pulpit, and the press. For where are the operations of divine grace more reasonably to be expected, or where have they in fact been more frequently discerned, than in concurrence with the best adapted means? And should it appear, that persons of distinguishing judgment and piety, have expressly ascribed their first religious impressions to the hearing or reading the important sentiments contained in this book ; or, after a long series of years, have found it, both the counterpart, and the improvement, of their own divine life, will not this be thought a considerable recommendation of the book itself? Among the instances of persons that dated their true conversion from hearing the sermons on the Saints' Rest, when Mr. Baxter first preached them, was the Rev. Thomas Doolittle, A. M. who was a native of Kidderminster, and at that time a scholar, about seventeen years old ; whom Mr. Bax- ter himself afterwards sent to Pembroke-Hall, in Cambridge, where he took his degree. Before his going to the university, he was upon trial as an at- 45 tomey's clerk, and under that character, being or- dered by his master to write something on a Lord's day, he obeyed it with great reluctance, and the next day returned home, with an earnest desire that he might not apply himself to any thing, as the employment of life, but serving Christ in the ministry of the gospel. His praise is yet in the churches, for his pious and useful labors, as a minister, a tutor, and a writer. In the life of the Rev. John Janeway, Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, who died in 1657, we are told, that his conversion was, in a great measure, occasioned by his reading several parts of the Saints' Rest. And in a letter which he afterwards wrote to a near relative, speaking with a more immediate reference to that part of the book which treats of heavenly Contemplation, he says, " There is a duty, which, if it were exercised, would dispel all cause of melancholy ; I mean, heavenly meditation, and contemplation of the things which true Christian religion tends to. If we did but walk closely with God one hour in a day in this duty, O what influence would it have upon the whole day besides, and, duly performed, upon the whole life ! This duty, with its usefulness, manner and directions, I knew in some measure before, but had it more pressed upon me by Mr. Baxter's Saints' Everlasting Rest, a book that can scarce be over- valued, for which I have cause for ever to bless God." This excellent young minister's life is worth reading, were it only to see how delightfully he was engaged 5* 46 in heavenly contemplation, according to the directions in the Saints' Rest. It was the example of heavenly contemplation, at the close of this book, which the Rev. Joseph Alleine, of Taunton, so frequently quoted in conversation with this solemn introduction, " Most divinely says that man of God, holy Mr. Baxter." Dr. Bates, in his dedication of his funeral sermon for Mr. Baxter to Sir Henry Ashurst, Bart, tells that religious gentleman, and most distinguished friend and executor of Mr. Baxter, " He was most worthy of your highest esteem and love ; for the first im- pressions of heaven upon your soul, were in read- ing his invaluable book of the Saints' Everlasting Rest." In the life of the Rev. Matthew Henry, we have the following character given us of Robert Warburton, Esq. of Grange, the son of the eminently religious judge Warburton, and the father of Mr. Matthew Henry's second wife. " He was a gentle- man that greatly affected retirement and privacy, especially in the latter part of his life ; the Bible, and Mr. Baxter's Saints' Everlasting Rest, used to lie daily before him on the table in his parlor ; he spent the greatest part of his time in reading and prayer." In the life of that honorable and most religious knight, Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston, we are told, that u he was constant in secret prayer and read- ing the Scriptures ; afterwards he read other choice authors : but not long before his death he took a singular delight to read Mr. Baxter's Saints' Ever- 47 lasting Rest, and preparations thereunto ; which was esteemed a gracious event of divine Providence, sending it as a guide to bring him more speedily and directly to that rest." Besides persons of eminence, to whom this book has been precious and profitable, we have an instance, in the Rev. Mr. James Janeway's Token for Chil- dren, of a little boy, whose piety was so discovered and promoted by reading it, as the most delightful book to him next the Bible, that the thoughts of everlasting rest seemed, even while he continued in health, to swallow up all other thoughts ; and he lived in a constant preparation for it, and looked more like one that was ripe for glory, than an inhab- itant of this lower world. And when he was in the sickness of which he died, before he was twelve years old, he said, " I pray, let me have Mr. Baxter's book, that I may read a little more of eternity, before I go into it." Nor is it less observable, that Mr. Baxter him- self, taking notice, in a paper found in his study after his death, what numbers of persons were con- verted by reading his call to the unconverted, accounts of which he had received by letter every week, ex- pressly adds, " This little book, the Call to the Un- converted, God hath blessed with unexpected success, beyond all that I have written, except the Saints 5 Rest." With an evident reference to this book, and even during the life of the author, the pious Mr. Flavel affectionately says, " Mr. Baxter is almost in heaven : living in the daily views, and cheerful ex- pectation of the saints' everlasting rest with God ; and 48 is left for a little while among us, as a great example of the life of faith." And Mr. Baxter himself says, in his preface to his Treatise of Self-Denial, " I must say, that of all the books which I have written, I peruse none so often for the use of my own soul in its daily work, as my Life of Faith, this of Self-Denial, and the last part of the Saints' Rest." On the whole, it is not without good reason that Dr. Calamy remarks concerning it, " This is a book, for which multitudes will have cause to bless God for ever." This excellent and useful book now appears in the form of an abridgment ; and, therefore, it is pre- sumed, will be the more likely, under the divine blessing, to diffuse its salutary influence among those that would otherwise have wanted opportunity or inclination to read over the larger volume. In re- ducing it to this smaller size, I have been very de- sirous to do justice to the author, and at the same time promote the pleasure and profit of the serious reader. And, I hope, these ends are, in some measure, answered ; chiefly by dropping things of a digressive, controversial, or metaphysical nature ; together with prefaces, dedications, and various allusions to some peculiar circumstances of the last age ; and particu- larly, by throwing several chapters into one, that the number of them may better correspond with the size of the volume ; and sometimes by altering the form, but not the sense, of a period, for the sake of brevity ; and when an obsolete phrase occurred, changing it for one more common and intelligible. I should never have thought of attempting this work, if it had not been suggested and urged by others ; 49 and by some very respectable names, of whose learn- ing, judgment, and piety, I forbear to avail myself. However defective this performance may appear, the labor of it (if it may be called a labor) has been, I bless God, one of the most delightful labors of my life. Certainly the thoughts of Everlasting Rest may be as delightful to souls in the present day, as they have ever been to those of past generations. I am sure such thoughts are as absolutely necessary now ; nor are temptations to neglect them, either fewer, or weaker, now than formerly. The worth of ever- lasting rest is not felt, because it is not considered : it is forgotten, because a thousand trifles are prefer- red before it. But were the divine reasonings of this book duly attended to, (and O that the Spirit and grace of a Redeemer may make them so !) then an age of vanity would become serious ; minds ener- vated by sensuality, would soon resume the strength of reason, and display the excellence of Christianity; the delusive names of pleasure would be blotted out, by the glorious reality of heavenly joy upon earth ; every station and relation in life would be filled up with the propriety and dignity of serious religion ; every member of society would then effectu- ally contribute to the beauty and happiness of the whole, and every soul would be ready for life or death, for one world or another, in a well-grounded and cheerful persuasion of having secured a title to that rest which remaineth to the people of God. B, F, Kidderminster, Dec. 2bth, 1758. THE SAINTS' EVERLASTING REST. THE SAINTS' EVERLASTING REST. Hebrews iv. 9. THERE REMAINETH THEREFORE A REST TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD. CHAPTER I. The introduction to the Work, with some account of the nature of the Saints' Rest. Sect. 1. The important design of the Apostle in the text, to which the Author earnestly bespeaks the attention of the Reader. 2. The Saints' Rest defined, with a general plan of the Work. 3. What this rest presupposes. 4. The Author's humble sense of his inability fully to show what this rest contains. 5. It contains, (1.) A ceasing from means of grace ; 6. (2.) A per- fect freedom from all evils ; 7. (3.) The highest degree of the saints' personal perfection, both in body and soul; 8. (4.) The nearest enjoyment of God the Chief Good; 9 — 14. (5.) A sweet and constant action of all the powers of soul and body in this enjoyment of God; as, for instance, bodily senses, know- ledge, memory, love, joy, together with a mutual love and joy. 15. The Author's humble reflection on the deficiency of this account. 1. It was not only our interest in God, and actual enjoyment of him, which was lost in Adam's fall, but all spiritual knowledge of him, and true disposition towards such a felicity. When the Son of God comes with re- 6 54 covering grace, and discoveries of a spiritual and eternal happiness and glory, he finds not faith in man to believe it. As the poor man, that would not believe any one had such a sum as an hundred pounds, it was so far above what himself possessed : so men will hardly now believe there is such a happiness as once they had, much less as Christ hath now procured. When God would give the Israelites his Sabbaths of rest, in a land of rest, he had more ado to make them believe it, than to overcome their enemies, and procure it for them. And when they had it, only as a small intimation and earnest of an incomparably more glorious rest through Christ, they yet believe no more than they possess, but say, with the glutton at the feast, Sure there is no other heaven but this ! Or, if they expect more by the Messiah, it is only the increase of their earthly felicity. The apostle bestows most of this Epistle against this distemper, and clearly and largely proves, that the end of all ceremonies and shadows, is to direct them to Jesus Christ the substance ; and that the rest of Sabbaths, and Canaan, should teach them to look for a farther rest, which indeed is their happiness. My text is his conclusion after divers arguments ; a conclusion, which contains the ground of all the believer's comfort, the end of all his duty and sufferings, the life and sum of all gospel promises and Christian privileges. What more welcome to men, under personal afflictions, tiring duties, successions of sufferings, than rest 1 It is not our comfort only, but our stability. Our liveliness in all duties, our enduring tribulation, our honoring of God, the vigor of our love, thankfulness, and all our graces ; yea, the very being of our religion and Christianity, depend on the believing serious thoughts of our rest. And now, reader, whatever thou art, young or old, rich or poor, I entreat thee, and charge thee, in the name of thy Lord, who will 55 shortly call thee to a reckoning, and judge thee to thy everlasting unchangeable state, that thou give not these things the reading only, and so dismiss them with a bare approbation ; but that thou set upon this work, and take God in Christ for thy only rest, and fix thy heart upon him above all. May the living God, who is the portion and rest of his saints, make these our carnal minds so spiritual, and our earthly hearts so heavenly, that loving him, and delighting in him, may be the work of our lives ; and that neither I that write, nor you that read this book, may ever be turned from this path of life ; lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, we should come short of it, through our own unbelief or negligence ! 2. The Saints' Rest is the most happy state of a Christian ; or it is the perfect endless enjoyment of God by the perfected saints, according to the measure of their capacity, to which their souls arrive at death, and both soul and body most fully after the resurrection and final judgment. According to this definition of the Saints' Rest, a larger account of its nature will be given in this Chapter ; of its preparatives, Chap. II. its excellencies, Chap. III. and Chap. IV. the persons for whom it is designed. Farther to illustrate the subject, some descrip- tion will be given, Chap. V. of their misery who lose this rest ; and Chap. VI. who also lose the enjoyments of time, and suffer the torments of hell. Next will be showed, Chap. VII. the necessity of diligently seeking this rest ; Chap. VIII. how our title to it may be discerned ; Chap. IX. that they who discern their title to it should help those that cannot ; and Chap. X. that this rest is not to be expected on earth. It will then be proper to consider Chap. XI. the importance of a heavenly life upon earth ; Chap. XII. how to live a heavenly life upon earth ; Chap. XIII. the nature of heavenly contemplation, with the 56 time, place, and temper fittest for it ; Chap. XIV. whai use heavenly contemplation makes of consideration, affec- tions, soliloquy, and prayer; and likewise Chap. XV. how heavenly contemplation may be assisted by sensible objects, and guarded against a treacherous heart. Heav- enly contemplation will be exemplified, Chap. XVI., and the whole work concluded. 3. There are some things necessarily presupposed in the nature of this rest ; as, for instance — that mortal men are the persons seeking it. For angels and glorified spirits have it already, and the devils and damned are past hope. — That they choose God only for their end and happiness. He that takes any thing else for his happiness. is out of the way the first step.— That they are distant from this end. This is the woful case of all mankind since the fall. When Christ comes with regenerating grace, he finds no man sitting still, but all posting to eternal ruin, and making haste towards hell ; till by conviction, he first brings them to a stand, and then, by conversion, turns their hearts and lives sincerely to himself. — This end, and its excellency, is supposed to be known, and seriously intended. An unknown good moves not to desire or endeavor. And not only a distance from this rest, but the true knowledge of this distance, is also supposed. They that never yet knew they were without God, and in the way to hell, did never yet know the way to heaven. Can a man find he hath lost his God, and his soul, and not cry, I am undone? The reason why so few obtain this rest, is, they will not be convinced, that they are, in point of title, distant from it ; and, in point of practice, contrary to it. Who ever sought for that, which he knew not he had lost 1 " They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." — The influence of a superior moving cause is also supposed ; 57 else we shall all stand still, and not move toward our rest. If God move us not, we cannot move. It is a most necessary part of our Christian wisdom, to keep our subordination to God, and dependence on him. "We are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God." "Without me," says Christ, " ye can do nothing." — It is next sup- posed, that they who seek this rest, have an inward principle of spiritual life. God does not move men like stones, but he endows them with life, not to enable them to move without him, but in subordination to himself the first mover. And farther, this rest supposes such an actual tendency of soul towards it, as is regular and constant, earnest and laborious. He that hides his talent shall receive the wages of a slothful servant. Christ is the door, the only way to this rest. " But strait is the gate, and narrow is the way ; " and we must strive, if we will enter, for " many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able ; " which implies, that " the kingdom of heaven sufTereth violence." Nor will it bring us to the end of the saints, if we begin in the spirit, and end in the flesh. He only " that endureth to the end shall be saved." And never did a soul obtain rest with God, whose desire was not set upon him above all things else in the world. " Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." The remainder of our old nature will much weaken and interrupt these desires, but never overcome them. And considering the opposition to our desires, from the contrary principles in our nature, and from the weakness of our graces, together with our continued distance from the end, our tendency to that end must be laborious, and with all our might. — All these things are presupposed, in order to a Christian's obtaining an interest in heavenly rest. 4. Now we have ascended these steps into the outward 6* 58 court, may we look within the vail 1 May we show what this rest contains, as well as what it presupposes ? Alas, how little know I of that glory ! The glimpse which Paul had, contained what could not, or must not be uttered. Had he spoken the things of heaven in the language of heaven, and none understood that language, what the better? The Lord reveal to me what I may reveal to you ! The Lord open some light, and show both you and me our inheritance ! Not as to Balaam only, whose eyes were opened to see the goodliness of Jacob's tents, and Israel's tabernacles, where he had no portion, and from whence must come his own destruction! Not as to Moses, who had only a discovery, instead of possession, and saw the land which he never entered ! But as the pearl was revealed to the merchant in the gospel, w r ho rested not till he had sold all he had, and bought it! And as heaven was opened to the blessed Stephen," which he was shortly to enter, and the glory showed him which should be his own possession ! — The things contained in heavenly rest are such as these ; — a ceasing from means of grace ; — a perfect freedom from all evils ; — the highest degree of the saints' personal perfection, both of body and soul ;— the nearest enjoyment of God the chief good ; — and a sweet and constant action of all the powers of body and soul in this enjoyment of God. 5. (1.) One thing contained in heavenly rest is, the ceasing from means of grace. When we have obtained the haven, we have done sailing. When the workman receives his wages, it is implied he has done his work. When we are at our journey's end, we have done with the way. '-Whether prophecies, they shall fail; whether tongues, they shall cease ; whether knowledge, it also," so far as it had the nature of means, " shall vanish away." There shall be no more prayer, because no more necessity, 59 but the full enjoyment of what we prayed for : neither shall we need to fast and weep, and watch any more, being out. of the reach of sin and temptations. Preaching is done ; the ministry of man ceaseth ; sacraments become useless ; the laborers are called in, because the harvest is gathered, the tares burned, and the work finished ; the unregenerate past hope, and the saints past fear, for ever. 6. (2.) There is in heavenly rest a perfect freedom from all evils. All the evils that accompanied us through our course, and which necessarily follow our absence from the chief good ; besides our freedom from those eternal flames, and restless miseries, which the neglecters of Christ and grace must remedilessly endure ; a woful inheritance, which, both by birth, and actual merit, was due to us, as well as to them. In heaven there is nothing that defileth or is unclean. All that remains without. And doubtless there is not such a thing as grief and sorrow known there : nor is there such a thing as a pale face, a languid body, feeble joints, unable infancy, decrepit age, peccant humors, painful or pining sickness, griping fears, consuming cares, nor whatsoever deserves the name of evil. We did weep and lament when the world did rejoice ; but our sorrow is turned into joy, and our joy shall no man take from us. 7, (3.) Another ingredient of this rest is, the highest degree of the saint's personal perfection, both of body and soul. Were the glory ever so great, and themselves not made capable of it, by a personal perfection suitable thereto, it would be little to them. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." For the eye of flesh is not capable of seeing them, nor this ear of hearing them, nor this heart of under- 60 standing them : but there the eye, and ear, and heart are made capable : else how do they enjoy them ? The more perfect the sight is, the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical the ear, the more pleasant the melody. The more perfect the soul, the more joyous those joys, and the more glorious to us is that glory. 8. (4.) The principal part of this rest, is our nearest enjoyment of God the chief good. And here, reader, wonder not if I be at a loss ; and if my apprehensions receive but little of that which is in my expressions. If it did not appear, to the beloved disciple, what we shall be, but only in general, " that when Christ shall appear we shall be like him," no wonder if I know little. When I know so little of God, I cannot much know what it is to enjoy him. If I know so little of spirits, how little of the Father of spirits, or the state of my own soul, when advanced to the enjoyment of him ? I stand and look upon a heap of ants, and see them all with one view ; they know not me, my being, nature, or thoughts, though I am their fellow-creature ; how little then must we know of the great Creator, though he with one view clearly beholds us all ? A glimpse the saints behold as in a glass : which makes us capable of some poor, dark apprehensions of what we shall behold in glory. If I should tell a worldling what the holiness and spiritual joys of the saints on earth are, he cannot know ; for grace cannot be clearly known without grace : how much less could he conceive it, should I tell him of this glory? But to the saints I may be somewhat more encouraged to speak ; for grace gives them a dark knowledge and slight taste of glory. If men and angels should study to speak the blessedness of that state in one word, what could they say beyond this, that it is the nearest enjoyment of God ? O the full joys offered to 6i a believer in that one sentence of Christ, " Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me." Every word is full of life and joy. If the queen of Sheba had cause to say of Solomon's glory, " Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom ; " then sure they that stand continually before God, and see his glory, and the glory of the Lamb, are more than happy. To them will Christ give to eat of the tree of life ; and to eat of the hidden manna : yea, he will make them pillars in the temple of God, and they shall go no more out; and he will write upon them the name of his God, and the name of the city of his God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from his God, and he will write upon them his new name ; yea, more, if more may be, he will grant them to sit with him in his throne. " These are they who came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb : therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." O blind, deceived world ! Can you show us such a glory ? This is the city of our God, where the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. The glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And there shall be no more curse ; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. These sayings are faithful and true, and 62 the things which must shortly be done. And now we gay, as Mephibosheth, " Let the world take all, for as much as our Lord will come in peace." Rejoice therefore in the Lord, O ye righteous, and say with his servant David, " The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance : the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I have set the Lord always before me : because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth ; my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life ; in thy presence is fullness of joy ; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore," What presumption would it have been, once to have thought or spoke of such a thing, if God had not spoken it before us 1 I durst not have thought of the saints' preferment in this life, as Scripture sets it forth, had it not been the express truth of God. How indecent to talk of being sons of God — speaking to him — having fellowship with him — dwelling in him and he in us : if this had not been God's own language, how much less durst we have once thought of shining forth as the sun — of being joint heirs with Christ — of judging the world — of sitting on Christ's throne — of being one in him and the Father, if we had not all this from the mouth, and under the hand of God ? But hath he said, and shall he not do it ? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good ? Yes, as the Lord God is true, thus shall it be done to the man whom Christ delighteth to honor. Be of good cheer, Christian, the time is near, when God and thou shalt be near, and as near as thou canst well desire. Thou shalt dwell in his family. Is that enough 1 It is better to be a door-keeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Thou shalt ever stand before him, about his 63 throne, in the room with him, in his presence-chamber. Wouldst thou yet be nearer ? Thou shalt be his child, and he thy Father ; thou shalt be an heir of his kingdom ; yea, more, the spouse of his Son. And what more canst thou desire ? Thou shalt be a member of the body of his Son ; he shall be thy head ; thou shalt be one with him, who is one with the Father, as he himself hath desired for thee of his Father, "that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us ; and the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one ; I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me." 9. (5.) We must add, that this rest contains a sweet and constant action of all the powers of the soul and body in this enjoyment of God. It is not the rest of a stone, which ceaseth from all motion when it attains the centre. This body shall be so changed, that it shall no more be flesh and blood, which cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; but a spiritual body. We saw not that body that shall be, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. If grace makes a Christian differ so much from what he was, as to say, I am not the man I was ; how much more will glory make us differ ? As much as a body spiritual, above the sun in glory, exceeds these frail, noisome, diseased lumps of flesh, so far shall our senses exceed those we now possess. Doubtless as God advanceth our senses, and enlargeth our capacity, so will he advance the happiness of those senses, and fill up with himself all that capacity. Certainly the body should not be raised up and continued, if he should not share in the glory. As it hath shared in the obedience and sufferings, so shall it also in the blessedness. As 64 Christ bought the whole man, so shall the whole partake of the everlasting benefits of the purchase. O blessed employment of a glorified body ? to stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, and to sound forth for ever, " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing ; for thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests. Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God. Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." O Christians ! this is the blessed rest ; a rest, as it were, without rest : for " they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." And if the body shall be thus employed, O, how shall the soul be taken up ? As its powers and capacities are greatest, so its actions are strongest, and its enjoyments sweetest. As the bodily senses have their proper actions, whereby they receive and enjoy their objects, so does the soul in its own actions enjoy its own objects, by knowing, remembering, loving, and delightful joying. This is the soul's enjoyment. By these eyes it sees, and by these arms it embraces. 10. Knowledge of itself is very desirable. As far as the rational soul exceeds the sensitive, so far the delights of a philosopher, in discovering the secrets of nature, and knowing the mystery of sciences, exceed the delights of the glutton, the drunkard, the unclean, and of all voluptu- ous sensualists whatsoever. So excellent is all truth. What then is their delight who know the God of truth ? How noble a faculty of the soul is the understanding 1 It can compass the earth ; it can measure the sun, moon, stars, and heaven ; it can foreknow each eclipse to a 65 minute, many years before. But this is the top of all its excellency, that it can know God, who is infinite, who made all these, a little here, and more, much more hereafter. O the wisdom and goodness of our blessed Lord ! He hath created the understanding with a natural bias and inclination to truth, as its object ; and to the prime truth, as its prime object. Christian, when, after long gazing heavenward, thou hast got a glimpse of Christ, dost thou not sometimes seem to have been with Paul in the third heaven, whether in the body, or out, and to have seen what is unutterable 1 Art thou not, with Peter, ready to say, " Master, it is good to be here 1 " " O that I might dwell in this mount ! O that I might ever see what I now see ! " Didst thou never look so long upon the Sun of Righteousness, till thine eyes were dazzled with his astonishing glory 1 And did not the splendor of it make all things below seem black and dark to thee ? Especially in the day of suffering for Christ, when he usually appears most manifestly to his people, didst thou never see one walking in the midst of the fiery furnace with thee, like the Son of God? Believe me, Christians, yea, believe God ; you that have known most of God in Christ here, it is as nothing to what you shall know : it scarce, in comparison of that, deserves to be called knowledge. For as these bodies, so that knowledge must cease, that a more perfect may succeed. Knowledge shall vanish away. "For we know in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child ; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face ; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known." Marvel not therefore, Christian, how it can be Life eternal, to know God, and 7 66 Jesus Christ. To enjoy God and Christ, is eternal life ; and the soul's enjoying is in knowing. They that savor only of earth, and consult with flesh, think it a poor happiness to know God. But " we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness : and we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true : and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." 11. The memory will not be idle, or useless, in this blessed work. From that height the saint can look be- hind him, and before him. And to compare past with present things, must needs raise in the blessed soul an inconceivable esteem and sense of its condition. To stand on that mount, whence we can see the Wilderness and Canaan, both at once ; to stand in Heaven, and look back on earth, and weigh them together in the balance of a comparing sense and judgment, how must it needs transport the soul, and make it cry out, " Is this the pur- chase that cost so dear as the blood of Christ ? No wonder. O blessed price ! and thrice blessed love, that invented, and condescended ! Is this the end of believing ? Is this the end of the Spirit's workings ? Have the gales of grace blown me into such an harbor ? Is it hither that Christ hath allured my soul ! O blessed way, and thrice blessed end ! Is this the glory which the Scrip- tures spoke of, and ministers preached of so much 1 I see the gospel is indeed good tidings, even tidings of peace and good things, tidings of great joy to all nations. Is my mourning, my fasting, my sad humblings, my heavy walking come to this ? Is my praying, watching, fearing to offend, come to this ? Are all my afflictions, Satan's temptations, the world's scorns and jeers come to this ? O vile nature, that resisted so much, and so long, such a 67 blessing ! Unworthy soul, is this the place thou earnest so unwillingly to? Was duty wearisome? Was the world too good to lose ? Didst thou stick at leaving all, denying all, and suffering any thing, for this ? Wast thou loath to die, to come to this ? O false heart, thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory ! Art thou not now ashamed, my soul, that ever thou didst question, that love which brought thee hither ? that thou wast jealous of the faithfulness of thy Lord? that thou suspectedst his love, when thou shouldst only have suspected thyself? that ever thou didst quench a motion of his Spirit ? and that thou shouldst misinterpret those prov- idences, and repine at those ways, which have such an end ? Now thou art sufficiently convinced, that thy blessed Redeemer, was saving thee, as well when he crossed thy desires, as when he granted them ; when he broke thy heart, as when he bound it up. No thanks to thee, un- worthy self, for this received crown ; but to Jehovah, and the Lamb, be glory for ever." 12. But, O ! the full, the near, the sweet enjoyment, is that of love. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. Now the poor soul complains, " O that I could love Christ more!" Then, thou canst not choose but love him. Now thou knowest little of his amiableness, and therefore lovest little : then, thine eyes will affect thy heart, and the continual viewing of that perfect beauty will keep thee in continual transports of love. Christians, doth it not now stir up your love, to remember all the experiences of his love ? Doth not kindness melt you, and the sunshine of divine goodness warm your frozen hearts ? What will it do then, when you shall live in love, and have all in him, who is all ? Surely love is both work and wages. What a high favor, that God will give us leave to love him ! That he will be 68 embraced by those, who have embraced lust and sin before him ! But more than this, he returned love for love ; nay, a thousand times more. Christian, thou wilt then be brim-full of love ; yet, love as much as thou canst, thou shalt be ten thousand times more beloved. Were the arms of the Son of God open upon the cross, and an open pas- sage made to his heart by the spear, and will not his arms and heart be open to thee in glory ? Did he begin to love before thou lovedst, and will not he continue now ? Did he love thee, an enemy ? Thee, a sinner ? Thee, who even loathedst thyself? and own thee, when thou didst disclaim thyself? And will he not now immeasurably love thee, a son ? Thee, a perfect saint ? Thee, who returnedst some love for love ? He that in love wept over the old Jerusalem when near its ruin, with what love will he rejoice over the new Jerusalem in her glory ? Chris- tian, believe this, and think on it — thou shalt be eternally embraced in the arms of that love, which was from ever- lasting, and will extend to everlasting ; of that love which brought the Son of God's love from heaven to earth, from earth to the cross, from the cross to the grave, from the grave to glory; that love, which was weary, hungry, tempted, scorned, scourged, buffeted, spit upon, crucified, pierced ; which did fast, pray, teach, heal, weep, sweat, bleed, die ; — that love will eternally embrace thee. When perfect created love, and most perfect uncreated love, meet together, it will not be like Joseph and his brethren, who lay upon one another's necks weeping : it will be loving and rejoicing, not loving and sorrowing. Yet it will make Satan's court ring with the news, that Joseph's brethren are come, that the saints are arrived safe at the bosom of Christ, out of the reach of hell for ever. Nor is there any such love as David's and Jonathan's breathing out its last into sad lamentations for a forced separation. 69 Know this, believer, to thy everlasting comfort, if those arms have once embraced thee, neither sin, nor hell, can get thee thence for ever. Thou hadst not to deal with an inconstant creature, but with him "with whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning." His love to thee will not be as thine was on earth to him, seldom, and cold, up and down. He that would not cease nor abate his love, for all thine enmity, unkind neglects, and churlish resistances, can he cease to love thee, when he had made thee truly lovely ? He that keepeth thee so constant in thy love to him, that thou canst challenge tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, to separate thy love from Christ, how much more will himself be constant ? Indeed thou may est be " persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And now are we not left in the apostle's admiration, " What shall we say to these things ? " Infinite love must needs be a mystery to a finite capacity. No wonder angels desire to look into this mystery. And if it be the study of saints here, to know the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, "of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge;" the saints 5 everlasting rest must consist in the enjoyment of God by love. 13. Nor hath joy the least share in this fruition. It is that, which all the former lead to, and conclude in ; even the inconceivable complacency which the blessed feel in their seeing, knowing, loving, and being beloved of God. This is the white stone which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. Surely this is the joy which a stranger doth not intermeddle with. All Christ's ways of mercy tend to, and end in the saints' joys. He wept, sorrowed, 7* 70 suffered, that they might rejoice ; he sendeth the Spirit to be their Comforter ; he multiplies promises ; he discovers their future happiness, that their joy may be full. He opens to them the fountain of living waters, that they may thirst no more, and that it may spring up in them to everlasting life. He chastens them, that he may give them rest. He makes it their duty to rejoice in him alway, and again commands them to rejoice. He never brings them into so low a condition, wherein he does not leave them more cause of joy than sorrow. And hath the Lord such a care of our comfort here 1 O what will that joy be, where the soul, being perfectly prepared for joy, and joy prepared by Christ for the soul, it shall be our work, our business, eternally to rejoice ! It seems the saints' joy shall be greater than the damned' s torment : for their torment is the torment of creatures, prepared for the devil and his angels ; but our joy is the joy of our Lord. The same glory which the Father gave the Son, the Son hath given them, to sit with him in his throne, even as he is set down with his Father in his throne. Thou, poor soul, who prayest for joy, waitest for joy, complainest for want of joy, longest for joy ; thou then shalt have full joy, as much as thou canst hold, and more than ever thou thoughtest on, or thy heart desired. In the mean time, walk carefully, watch constantly, and then let God measure out to thee thy times and degrees of joy. It may be he keeps them until thou hast more need. Thou hadst better lose thy comfort than thy safety. If thou shouldst die full of fears and sorrows, it will be but a moment, and they are all gone, and concluded in joy inconceivable. As the joy of the hypocrite, so the fears of the upright are but for a moment. " God's anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life ; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." O blessed morning ! Poor, 71 humble, drooping soul, how would it fill thee with joy now, if a voice from heaven should tell thee of the love of God, the pardon of thy sins, and assure thee of thy part in these joys ! What then will thy joy be, when thy actual possession shall convince thee of thy title, and thou shalt be in heaven before thou art well aware ? 14. And it is not tliy joy only; it is a mutual joy, as well as a mutual love. Is there joy in heaven at thy conversion, and will there be none at thy glorification? Will not the angels welcome thee thither, and congratulate thy safe arrival 1 — Yea, it is the joy of Jesus Christ ; for now he hath the end of his undertaking, labor, suffering, dying, when we have our joys ; when he is glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe ; when he sees of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied. This is Christ's harvest, when he shall reap the fruit of his labors ; and it will not repent him concerning his sufferings, but he will rejoice over his purchased inheritance, and his people will rejoice in him. — Yea, the Father himself puts on joy too. in our joy. As we grieve his Spirit, and weary him with our iniquities, so he is rejoiced in our good. O how quickly does he now spy a returning prodigal, even afar off! How does he run and meet him ! And with what compassion does he fall on his neck, and kiss him, and put on him the best robe, and a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and kills the fatted calf to eat and be merry. This is indeed a happy meeting ; but nothing to the embracing and joy of that last and great meeting. Yea, more ; as God doth mutually love and joy, so he makes this His rest, as it is our rest. What an eternal Sabbatism, when the work of redemption, sanctification, preservation, glorification, is all finished, and perfected forever ! " The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty ; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, 72 he will joy over thee with singing." Well may we then rejoice in our God with joy, and rest in our love, and joy in him with singing. 15. Alas ! my fearful heart scarce dares proceed. Methinks I hear the Almighty's voice saying to me, " Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? " But pardon thy servant, O Lord, I have not pried into unrevealed things. I bewail that my apprehensions are so dull, my thoughts so mean, my affections so stupid, and my expressions so low, and unbeseeming such a glory. I have only heard by the hearing of the ear ; O, let thy servant see thee and possess these joys ; and then shall I have more suitable conceptions, and shall give thee fuller glory ; I shall abhor my present self, and disclaim and renounce all these imperfections — " I have uttered that I understood not, things too wonderful for me, which I know not." Yet "I believed, and therefore have I spoken." What, Lord, canst thou expect from dust but levity ? or from corruption but defilement? Though the weakness and irreverence be the fruit of my own corruption, yet the fire is from thine altar, and the work of thy commanding. I looked not into thy ark, nor put forth my hand unto it, without thee. Wash away these stains also in the blood of the Lamb. Imperfect, or none, must be thy service here. O take thy Son's excuse — " The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." 73 CHAPTER II. The great Preparatives to the Saints 1 Rest. Sect. 1. The happiness of Christians in having a way open into paradise. There are four things which principally prepare the way to enter into it; 2, 3. particularly, (1.) The glorious appear- ing of Christ ; 4. .(2.) The general resurrection ; 5 — 8. (3.) The last judgment; 9, 10, and, (4.) The saint's coronation; 11= Transition to the subject of the next chapter. 1. The passage of paradise is not now so blocked up, as when the law and curse reigned. Wherefore find- ing, beloved Christians, a new and living way consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, the flesh of Christ, by which we may, with boldness enter into the holiest, I shall draw near with fuller assurance. And finding the flaming sword removed, shall look again into the paradise of our God. And because I know that this is no for- bidden fruit, and withal that it is good for food, and pleas- ant to the spiritual eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one truly wise and happy, I shall, through the assistance of the Spirit, take and eat thereof myself, and give to you according to my power, that you may eat. The porch of this temple is exceeding glorious, and the gate of it is called Beautiful. Here are four things, as the four cor- ners of this porch. Here is the most glorious coming and appearance of the Son of God ; — that great work of Jesus Christ in raising our bodies from the dust, and uniting them again to the soul ; — the public and solemn process at their judgment, where they shall first themselves be ac- quitted and justified, and then with Christ judge the 74 World; — together with their solemn coronation, and re- ceiving the kingdom. 2. (1.) The most glorious coming and appearance of the Son of God may well be reckoned in his people's glory. For their sake he came into the world, suffered, died, rose, ascended ; and for their sake it is that he will return. To this end will Christ come again to receive his people unto himself, that where he is, there they may be also. The bridegroom's departure was not upon di- vorce. He did not leave us with a purpose to return no more. He hath left pledges enough to assure us to the contrary. We have his word, his many promises, his sacraments, which show forth his death till he come ; and his Spirit, to direct, sanctify, and comfort, till he return. We have frequent tokens of love from him, to show us he forgets not his promise, nor us. We daily behold the forerunners of his coming, foretold by himself. We see the fig-tree putteth forth leaves, and therefore know that summer is nigh. Though the riotous world say, " My Lord delayeth his coming ; " yet let the saints lift up their heads, for their redemption draweth nigh. Alas, fellow- Christians, what should we do if our Lord should not return? What a case are we here left inl What! leave us in the midst of wolves, and among lions, a generation of vipers, and here forget us 1 Did he buy us so dear, and then leave us sinning, suffering, groaning, dying daily, and will he come no more to us 1 It cannot be. This is like our unkind dealing with Christ, who, when we feel ourselves warm in the world, care not for coming to him : but this is not like Christ's dealing with us. He that would come to suffer, will surely come to triumph. He that would come to purchase, will surely come to possess. Where else were all our hopes'? What were become of our faith, our prayers, our tears, and our waiting 1 What 75 were all the patience of the saints worth to them 1 Were we not left of all men the most miserable ? Christians, hath Christ made us forsake all the world, and be for- saken of all the world ? to hate all, and be hated of all ? and all this for him that we might have him, instead of all ? And will he, think you, after all this, forget us, and forsake us himself? Far be such a thought from our hearts ! But why staid he not with his people while he was here ? Why ? Was not the work on earth done ? Must he not take possession of glory in our behalf? Must he not intercede with the Father, plead his sufferings, be filled with the Spirit to send forth, receive authority, and subdue his enemies ? Our abode here is short. If he had staid on earth, what would it have been to enjoy him for a few days, and then die ? He hath more in heaven to dwell among ; even the spirits of many generations. He will have us live by faith, and not by sight. 3. O fellow-Christians, what a day will that be, when we, who have been kept prisoners by sin, by sinners, by the grave, shall be fetched out by the Lord himself! It will not be such a coming as his first was, in poverty and contempt, to be spit upon, and buffeted, and crucified again. He will not come, O careless world ! to be slight- ed and neglected by you any more. Yet that coming wanted not its glory. If the heavenly host, for the cele- bration of his nativity, must praise God, with what shout- ings will angels and saints at that day proclaim glory to God, peace and good-will towards men ! If a star must lead men from remote parts of the world to come to wor- ship a child in a manger, how will the glory of his next appearing constrain all the world to acknowledge his sovereignty ! If, riding on an ass, he enter Jerusalem with hosannas, with what peace and glory will he come toward the New Jerusalem ! If, when he was in the form 76 of a servant, they cry out, " What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him 1 " what will they say, when they shall see him coming in his glory, and the heavens and the earth obey him ! " Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn." To think and speak of that day with horror, doth well beseem the impenitent sinner, but ill the believing saint. Shall the wicked be- hold him, and cry, " Yonder is he whose blood we neglected, whose grace we resisted, whose counsel we refused, whose government we cast off?" And shall not the saints, with inconceivable gladness, cry, " Yonder is he whose blood redeemed us, whose Spirit cleansed us, whose law did govern us, in whom we trusted, and he hath not deceived our trust ; for whom we long waited, and now we see we have not waited in vain ! O cursed corruption ! that would have had us turn to the world, and present things, and say, Why should we wait for the Lord any longer 1 Now we see, Blessed are all they that wait for him." And now, Christians, should we not put up that petition heartily, " Thy kingdom come ? The Spirit and the bride say, Come : and let him that heareth," and readeth, " say, Come." Our Lord himself says, "Surely I come quickly, Amen : even so, come, Lord Jesus." 4. (2.) Another thing that leads to paradise is, that great work of Jesus Christ, in raising our bodies from the dust, and uniting them again unto the soul. A wonderful effect of infinite power and love ! Yea, wonderful indeed, says unbelief, if it be true. What ! shall all these scat- tered bones and dust become a man ? — Let me with rever- ence plead for God, for that power whereby I hope to arise. What beareth the massy body of the earth 1 What limits the vast ocean of the waters ? Whence is that con- stant ebbing and flowing of the tides? How many times bigger than all the earth is the sun, that glorious body of 77 light ? Is it not as easy to raise the dead, as to make heaven and earth, and all of nothing 1 — Look not on the dead bones, and dust, and difficulty, but at the promise. Contentedly commit these carcasses to a prison that shall not long contain them. Let us lie down in peace, and take our rest ; it will not be an everlasting night, nor endless sleep. If unclothing be the thing thou fearest, it is that thou mayest have better clothing. If to be turned out of doors be the thing thou fearest, remember that when the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved, thou hast a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Lay down cheerfully this lump of corruption ; thou shalt undoubtedly receive it again in incorruption. Lay down freely this terrestrial, this natural body ; thou shalt receive it again a celestial, a spiritual body. Though thou lay it down with great dishonor, thou shalt receive it in glory. Though thou art separated from it through weakness, it shall be raised again in mighty power — In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. " The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then they who are alive and remain, shall be caught up to- gether with thern in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." Triumph now, O Christian, in these promises ; thou shalt shortly triumph in their performance. This is the day which the Lord will make, we shall rejoice and be glad in it. The grave, that could not keep our Lord, cannot keep us. He arose for us, and by the same power will cause us to arise. For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. Let us never look at the grave, but let us see the resurrection beyond it. " Yea, let us be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of 8 78 the Lord, for as much as we know our labor is not in vain in the Lord." 5. (3.) Part of this prologue to the saint's rest, is the public and solemn process at their judgment, where they shall first themselves be acquitted and justified, and then with Christ judge the world. Young and old, of all estates and nations, that ever were from the creation to that day, must here come, and receive their doom. O terrible ! O joyful day ! Terrible to those that have forgot the coming of their Lord ! Joyful to the saints, whose waiting and hope was to see this day ! Then shall the world behold the goodness and severity of God : on them who perish, severity ; but to his chosen, goodness. Every one must give an account of his stewardship. Every talent of time, health, wit, mercies, afflictions, means, warnings, must be reckoned for. The sins of youth, those which they had forgotten, and their secret sins, shall all be laid open before angels and men. They shall see the Lord Jesus, whom they neglected, whose word they disobeyed, whose ministers they abused, whose servants they hated, now sitting to judge them. Their own con- sciences shall cry out against them, and call to their re- membrance all their misdoings. Which way will the wretched sinner look? Who can conceive the terrible thoughts of his heart 1 Now the world cannot help him ; his old companions cannot; the saints neither can nor will. Only the Lord Jesus can ; but, there is the misery, he will not. Time was, sinner, when Christ would, and you would not ; now, fain would you, and he will not. All in vain, to cry to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne ; for thou hast the Lord of mountains and rocks for thine enemy, whose voice they will obey, and not thine. I charge thee therefore, before God, and the Lord 79 Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his kingdom, that thou set thyself seriously to ponder on these things. 6. But why tremblest thou, O humble gracious soul? He that would not lose one Noah in a common deluge, nor overlook one Lot in Sodom : nay, that could do nothing till he went forth ; will he forget thee at that day ? The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of tempt- ations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. He knoweth how to make the same day the greatest terror to his foes, and yet the greatest joy to his people. " There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?" Shall the law? The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath made them free from the law of sin and death. Or shall conscience? The Spirit itself beareth witness with their spirit, that they are the children of God. " It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemn- eth?" If our Judge condemn us not, who shall ? He that said to the adulterous woman, " Hath no man condemned thee ? Neither do I ; " will say to us, more faithfully than Peter to him, " Though all men deny thee, or condemn thee, I will not." Having confessed me before men, thee "will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven." 7. What inexpressible joy, that our dear Lord, who loveth our souls, and whom our souls love, shall be our Judge ! Will a man fear to be judged by his dearest friend ? Or a wife by her own husband ? Christian, did Christ come down and suffer, and weep, and bleed, and die for thee, and will he now condemn thee ? Was he judged, condemned, and executed in thy stead, and now will he condemn thee himself? Hath he done most of the 80 work already, in redeeming, regenerating, sanctifying; and preserving thee, and will he now undo all again ? Well then, let the terror of that day be never so great, surely our Lord can mean no ill to us in all. Let it make the devils tremble, and the wicked tremble ; but it shall make us leap for joy. It must needs affect us deeply with the sense of our mercy and happiness, to see the most of the world tremble with terror, while we triumph with joy ; to hear them doomed to everlasting flames, when we are proclaimed heirs of the kingdom ; to see our neighbors that lived in the same towns, came to the same congregation, dwelt in the same houses, and were esteem- ed more honorable in the world than ourselves, now by the Searcher of hearts eternally separated. This, with the great magnificence and dreadfulness of the day, the apostle pathetically expresses: "It is a righteous thing with God, to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you : and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power ; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day." 8. Yet more, we shall be so far from the dread of that judgment, that ourselves shall become the judges. Christ will take his people, as it were, into commission with him- self, and they shall sit and approve his righteous judg- ment. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world ? Nay, M know ye not that we shall judge angels ?" Were it not for the word of Christ that speaks it, this advancement would seem incredible, and the language 81 arrogant. Even Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophe- sied this, saying, " Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Thus shall the saints be honored, and the upright shall have dominion in the morning. O that the careless world " were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end." That they would be now of the same mind as they will be, when they shall see the heavens pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein, burnt up! When all shall be in fire about their ears, and all earthly glory consumed. For the heavens and the earth, which are now, are reserved unto fire against the day of judg- ment, and perdition of ungodly men. " Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of per- sons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat 1 " 9. (4.) The last preparative to the saints' rest is their solemn coronation, and receiving the kingdom. For, as Christ their Head, is anointed both King and Priest, so under him are his people made unto God both kings and priests, to reign, and to offer praises forever. The crown of righteousness, which was laid up for them, shall by the Lord the righteous Judge be given them at that day. They have been faithful unto death, and therefore he will give them a crown of life. And according to the improve- ment of their talents here, so shall their rule and dignity be enlarged. They are not dignified with empty titles, 8* 82 but real dominion. Christ will grant them to sit with him on his throne; and will give them power over the nations, even as he received of his Father ; and he " will give them the morning star." The Lord himself will give them possession with these applauding expressions ; " Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 10. And with this solemn and blessed proclamation shall he enthrone them : " Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Every word is full of life and joy. Come — this is the holding forth of the golden sceptre, to warrant our approach unto this glory. Come now as near as you will ; fear not the Bethshemite's judgment ; for the enmity is utterly abolished. This is not such a Come as we were wont to hear, " Come, take up your cross, and follow me." Though that was sweet, yet this much more.- Ye blessed — Blessed indeed, when that mouth shall so pronounce us ! For though the world hath ac- counted us accursed, and we have been ready to account ourselves so ; yet certainly those that he blesseth, are blessed ; and those whom he curseth, only are cursed, and his blessing cannot be reversed. Of my Father — bless- ed in the Father's love, as well as the Son's, for they are one. The Father hath testified his love in their election, donation to Christ, sending of Christ, and accepting his ransom, as the Son hath also testified his. Inherit- No longer bondmen, nor servants only, nor children under age, who differ not in possession, but only in title, from servants ; but now we are heirs of the kingdom, and joint heirs with Christ. The kingdom — No less than the kingdom ! Indeed to be King of kings, and Lord of lords, is our Lord's own proper title : but to be kings, 83 and reign with him, is ours. The enjoyment of this king- dom is, as the light of this sun ; each have the whole, and the rest never the less. Prepared for you — God is the Alpha, as well as the Omega of our blessedness. Eternal love hath laid the foundation. He prepared the kingdom for us, and then prepared us for the kingdom. This is the preparation of his counsel and decree ; for the execu- tion whereof Christ was yet to make a further prepara- tion. For you — Not for believers only in general, who, without individual persons, are nobody ; but for you per- sonally. From the foundation of the world — Not only from the promise after Adam's fall, but from eternity. 11. Thus we have seen the Christian safely landed in paradise, and conveyed honorably to his rest. Now let us a little further, in the next chapter, view those mansions, consider their privileges, and see whether there be any glory like unto this glory. 84 CHAPTER III. The Excellencies of the Saints' Rest. Sect. 1. The excellencies of the Saints' Rest are enumerated. 2. (1.) It is the purchased possession. 3, 4. (2.) A free gift. 5. (3.) Peculiar to Saints. 6. (4.) An association with saints and angels. 7. (5.) It derives its joys immediately from God himself, 8. (6.) It will be seasonable. 9. (7.) Suitable. 10—12. (8.) Perfect, without sin and suffering. 13. (9.) And everlasting. 14. The chapter concludes with a serious address to the reader. 1. Let us draw a little nearer, and see what further excellencies this rest affordeth. The Lord hide us in the clefts of the rock, and cover us with the hands of indul- gent grace, while we approach to take this view ! This rest is excellent for being — a purchased possession, — a free gift, — peculiar to saints, — an association with saints and angels, — yet deriving its joys immediately from God : — and because it will be a seasonable — suitable — perfect — and eternal rest. 2. (1.) It is a most singular honor of the saints' rest, to be called the purchased possession. That is, the fruit of the blood of the Son of God ; yea the chief fruit, the end and perfection of all the fruits and efficacy of that blood. Greater love than this there is not, to lay down the life of the lover. And to have this our Redeemer ever before our eyes, and the liveliest sense and freshest remembrance of that dying, bleeding love still upon our souls ! How will it fill our souls with perpetual joy, to think, that in the streams of this blood we have swam through the violence of the world, the snares of Satan, 85 the seducements of flesh, the curse of the law, the wrath of an offended God, the accusations of a guilty conscience, and the vexing doubts and fears of an unbelieving heart, and are arrived safe at the presence of God ! Now, he cries to us, Is it "nothing to you, all ye that pass by 1 behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sor- row ! " and we scarce regard the mournful voice, nor scarce turn aside to view the wounds. But then our per- fected souls will feel, and flame in love for love. With what astonishing apprehensions will redeemed saints ever- lastingly behold their blessed Redeemer ! the purchaser, and the price, together, with the possession ! Neither will the view of his wounds of love, renew our wounds of sorrow. He, whose first words after his resurrection were to a great sinner, "Woman, why weepest thou?" knows how to raise love and joy, without any cloud of sorrow, or storm of tears. If any thing we enjoy was purchased with the life of our dearest friend, how highly should we value it ? If a dying friend deliver us but a token of his love, how carefully do we preserve it! And still remember him when we behold it, as if his own name were written on it ! And will not then the death and blood of our Lord everlastingly sweeten our possessed glory ? As we write down the price our goods cost us ; so on our righteousness and glory, write down the price, the precious blood of Christ. His sufferings were to satisfy the justice that re- quired blood, and to bear what was due to sinners, and so to restore them to the life they lost, and the happiness they fell from. The work of Christ's redemption so well pleased the Father, that he gave him power to advance his chosen, and give them the glory which was given to himself, and all this " according to his good pleasure, and the counsel of his own will." 3. (2.) Another pearl in the saints' diadem is, that it is 86 a free gift. These two, purchased and free, are the chains of gold which make up the wreaths for the tops of the pil- lars in the temple of God. It was dear to Christ, but free to us. When Christ was to buy, silver and gold were nothing worth : prayers and tears could not suffice, nor any thing below his blood : but our buying is receiving : we have it freely, without money, and without price. A thankful acceptance of a free acquittance, is no paying of the debt. Here is all free : if the Father freely give the Son, and the Son freely pay the debt : and if God freely accepts that way of payment, when he might have required it of the principal : and if both Father and Son freely offer us the purchased life on our cordial acceptance, and if they freely send the Spirit to enable us to accept ; what is here then that is not free ? O the everlasting admira- tion that must needs surprise the saints to think of this freeness ! " What did the Lord see in me, that he should judge me meet for such a state ? That I, who was but a poor, diseased, despised wretch, should be clad in the brightness of this glory ! That I, a creeping worm, should be advanced to this high dignity ! That I, who was but lately groaning, weeping, dying, should now be as full of joy as my heart can hold' yea, should be taken from the grave, where I was rotting, and from the dust and dark- ness, where I seemed forgotten, and be here set before his throne ! That I should be taken, with Mordecai, from captivity, and be set next unto the king ; and, with Daniel, from the den, to be made ruler of princes and provinces ! Who can fathom unmeasurable love?" If worthiness were our condition for admittance, we might sit down and weep with St. John, because no man was found worthy. But the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is worthy, and hath prevailed ; and by that title we must hold the inheritance. We shall offer there the offering that David refused, even 87 praise for that which cost us nothing. Here our commis- sion runs, freely ye have received, freely give ; but Christ has dearly bought, yet freely gives. 4. If it were only for nothing, and without our merit, the wonder were great ; but it is moreover against our merit, and against our long endeavoring our own ruin. What an astonishing thought it will be, to think of the immeasurable difference between our deservings and re- ceivings ! Between the state we should have been in, and the state we are in ! To look down upon hell, and see the vast difference that grace hath made between us and them ! To see the inheritance there, which we were born to, so different from that which we are adopted to ! What pangs of love will it cause within us to think, " Yon- der was the place that sin would have brought me to, but this is it that Christ hath brought me to ! Yonder death was the wages of my sin, but this eternal life is the gift of God, through Jesus Christ my Lord ! W^ho made me to differ 1 Had I not now been in those flames, if I had had my own way, and been let alone to my own will? Should I not have lingered in Sodom, till the flames had seized on me, if God had not in mercy brought me out?" Doubtless this will be our everlasting admiration, that so rich a crown should fit the head of so vile a sinner ! That such high advancement, and such long unfruitfulness and unkindness, can be the state of the same person ! And that such vile rebellions can conclude in such most pre- cious joys ! But no thanks to us, nor to any of our duties and labors, much less to our neglects and laziness : we know to whom the praise is due, and must be given for ever. Indeed to this very end it was, that infinite wisdom cast the whole design of man's salvation into this mould of pur- chase and freeness, that the love and joy of man might be perfected, and the honor of grace most highly advanced ; 88 that the thought of merit might neither cloud the one nor obstruct -the other ; and that on these two hinges the gate of heaven might turn. So then let deserved be written on the door of hell, but on the door of heaven and life, THE FREE GIFT. 5. (3.) This rest is peculiar to saints, belongs to no other of all the sons of men. If all Egypt had been light, the Israelites would not have had the less ; but to enjoy that light alone, while their neighbors lived in thick dark- ness, must make them more sensible of their privilege. Distinguishing mercy affects more than any mercy. If Pharaoh had passed as safely as Israel, the Red Sea would have been less remembered. If the rest of the world had not been drowned, and the rest of Sodom and Gomorrah not burned, the saving of Noah had been no wonder, nor Lot's deliverance so much talked of. When one is en- lightened, and another left in darkness ; one reformed, and another by his lust enslaved ; it makes the saints cry out, " Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us and not unto the world? " When the prophet is sent to one widow only of all that were in Israel, and to cleanse one Naaman of all the lepers, the mercy is more observ- able. That will surely be a day of passionate sense on both sides, when there shall be two in one bed, and two in the field, the one taken and the other left. The saints shall look down upon the burning lake, and in the sense of their own happiness, and in the approbation of God's just proceedings, they shall rejoice and sing, " Thou art righteous, O Lord, who wast, art, and shall be, because thou hast judged thus." 6. (4.) But though this rest be proper to the saints, yet it is common to all the saints ; for it is an association of blessed spirits, both saints and angels ; a corporation of perfected saints, whereof Christ is the head ; the com- 89 munion of saints completed. As we have been together in the labor, duty, danger, and distress ; so shall we be in the great recompense and deliverance. As we have been scorned and despised ; so shall we be owned and honored together. We, who have gone through the day of sadness, shall enjoy together that day of gladness. Those, who have been with us in persecution and prison, shall be with us also in that palace of consolation. How oft have our groans made, as it were, one sound? our tears one stream ? and our desires one prayer 1 But now all our praises shall make up one melody ; all our churches, one church, and all ourselves, one body; for we shall be all one in Christ ; even as he and the Father are one. It is true, we must be careful, not to look for that in the saints, which is alone in Christ. But if the forethought of sitting down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven, may be our lawful joy ; how much more the real sight and actual possession ? It cannot choose but be comfortable to think of that day, when we shall join with Moses in his song, with David in his psalms of praise, and with all the redeemed in the song of the Lamb for ever ; when we shall see Enoch walking with God ; Noah enjoying the end of his singularity ; Jo- seph of his integrity ; Job of his patience ; Hezekiah of his uprightness ; and all the saints the end of their faith. Not only our old acquaintance, but all the saints, of all ages, whose faces in the flesh we never saw, we shall there both know and comfortably enjoy. Yea, angels as well as saints, will be our blessed acquaintance. Those who now are willingly our ministering spirits, will wil- lingly then be our companions in joy. They, who had such joy in heaven for our conversion, will gladly rejoice with us in our glorification. Then we shall truly say, as David, "lama companion of all them that fear thee ; " 9 90 when " we are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an in- numerable company of angels : to the general assembly, and church of the first-born, who are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new cove- nant." It is a singular excellence of heavenly rest, that " we are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the house- hold of God." 7. (5.) As another property of our rest, we shall derive its joys immediately from God. Now we have nothing at all immediately, but at the second or third hand, or how many, who knows? From the earth, from man, from sun and moon, from the ministration of angels, and from the Spirit, and Christ. Though in the hand of angels, the stream savors not of the imperfection of sinners, yet it does of the imperfection of creatures; and as it comes from man, it savors of both. How quick and piercing is the word in itself! Yet many times it never enters, being managed by a feeble arm, What weight and worth is there in every passage of the blessed gospel ! Enough, one would think, to enter and pierce the dullest soul, and wholly possess its thoughts and affections ; and yet how oft does it fall as water upon a stone ! The things of God, which we handle, are divine ; but our manner of handling is human. There is little we touch, but we leave the print of our fingers behind. If God speak the word himself, it will be a piercing, melting word indeed. The Christian now knows by experience, that his most immediate joys are his sweetest joys ; which have least of man, and are most directly from the Spirit. Christians, who are much in secret prayer and contemplation, are men of greatest life and joy ; because they have all more imme- diately from God himself. Not that we should cast off hear- 91 ino-, reading, and conference, or neglect any ordinance of God ; but to live above them, while we use them, is the way of a Christian. There is joy in these remote receivings ; but the fullness of joy is in God's immediate presence. We shall then have light without a candle, and perpetual day without the sun ; for " the city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it ; for the glory of God lightens it, and the Lamb is the light thereof : there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun ; and they shall reign for ever and ever." We shall then have enlightened understandings without Scrip- ture, and be governed without a written law ; for the Lord will perfect his law in our hearts, and we shall be all per- fectly taught of God. We shall have joy, which we drew not from the promises, nor fetched home by faith or hope. We shall have communion without sacraments, without this fruit of the vine, when Christ shall drink it new with us in his Father's kingdom, and refresh us with the com- forting wine of immediate enjoyment. To have necessi- ties, but no supply, is the case of them in hell. To have necessity supplied by means of the creatures, is the case of us on earth. To have necessity supplied immediately from God is the case of the saints in heaven. To have no necessity at all, is the prerogative of God himself. 8. (6.) A farther excellence of this rest is, that it will be seasonable. He that expects the fruit of his vineyard at the season, and makes his people " like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season," will also give them the crown in his season. He that will have a word of joy spoken in season, to him that is weary, will surely cause the time of joy to appear in the fittest season. They who are not weary in well-doing, shall, if they faint not, reap in due season. If God giveth rain even to his enemies, both the former and the latter in 92 his season, and reserveth the appointed weeks of harvesi f and covenants that there shall be day and night in their season ; then surely the glorious harvest of the saints shall not miss its season. Doubtless he that would not stay a day longer than his promise, but brought Israel out of Egypt on the self-same day, when the four hundred and thirty years were expired ; neither will he fail of one day or hour of the fittest season for his people's glory. When we have had in this world a long night of darkness, will not the day breaking and the rising of the Sun of Right- eousness, be then seasonable 1 When we have passed a long and tedious journey, through no small dangers, is not home then seasonable 1 When we have had a long and perilous war, and received many a wound, would not a peace with victory be seasonable 1 Men live in a contin- ual weariness ; especially the saints, who are most weary of that which the world cannot feel. Some weary of a blind mind ; some of a hard heart ; some of their daily doubts and fears ; some of the want of spiritual joys ; and some of the sense of God's wrath. And when a poor Christian hath desired and prayed, and waited for deliver- ance many years, is it not then seasonable 1 We grudge that we do not find a Canaan in the Wilderness ; or the songs of Sion in a strange land ; that we have not a harbor in the main ocean, nor our rest in the heat of the day, nor heaven before we leave the earth ; and would not all this be very unseasonable ? 9. (7.) As this rest will be seasonable, so it will be suitable. The new nature of the saints doth suit their spirits to this rest. Indeed their holiness is nothing else but a spark taken from this element, and by the Spirit of Christ kindled in their hearts ; the flame whereof, mind- ful of its own divine original, ever tends to the place from whence it comes. Temporal crowns and kingdoms could 93 not make a rest for saints. As they were not redeemed with so low a price, neither are they endued with so low a nature. As God will have from them a spiritual wor- ship, suited to his own spiritual being, he will provide them a spiritual rest, suitable to their spiritual nature. The knowledge of God and his Christ, a delightful com- placency in that mutual love, an everlasting rejoicing in the enjoyment of our God, with a perpetual singing of his high praises ; this is a heaven for a saint. Then we shall live in our own element. We are now as the fish in a vessel of water, only so much as will keep them alive ; but what is that to the ocean? We have a little air let into us, to afford us breathing ; but what is that to the sweet and fresh gales upon Mount Sion ? We have a beam of the sun to lighten our darkness, and a warm ray to keep us from freezing ; but then we shall live in its light, and be revived by its heat for ever. — As the natures of saints are, such are their desires ; and it is the desires of our renewed nature which this rest is suited to. Whilst our desires remain corrupted and misguided, it is a far greater mercy to deny them, yea, to destroy them, than to satisfy them ; but those which are spiritual are of his own planting, and he will surely water them, and give the increase. He quickened our hunger and thirst for right- eousness, that he might make us happy in a full satisfac- tion. Christian, this is a rest after thy own heart ; it contains all that thy heart can wish ; that which thou longest, prayest, laborest for, there thou shalt find it all. Thou hadst rather have God in Christ, than all the world ; there thou shalt have him. What wouldst thou not give for assurance of his love 1 There thou shalt have assur- ance without suspicion. Desire what thou canst, and ask what thou wilt, as a Christian, and it shall be given thee, not only to half of the kingdom, but to the enjoyment both 9* 94 of kingdom and King. This is a life of desire and prayer, but that is a life of satisfaction and enjoyment. — This rest is very suitable to the saints' necessities also, as well as to their natures and desires. It contains what- soever they truly wanted ; not supplying them with gross created comforts, which, like Saul's armor on David, are more burden than benefit. It was Christ and perfect holiness which they most needed, and with these shall they be supplied. 10. (8.) Still more, this rest will be absolutely perfect, We shall then have joy without sorrow, and rest without weariness. There is no mixture of corruption with our graces, nor of suffering with our comfort. There are none of those waves in that harbor, which now so toss us up and down. To-day we are well, to-morrow sick ; to-day in esteem, to-morrow in disgrace ; to-day we have friends, to-morrow none : nay, we have wine and vinegar in the same cup. If revelation raise us to the third heaven, the messenger of Satan must presently buffet us, and the thorn in the flesh fetch us down. But there is none of this in- constancy in heaven. If perfect love casteth out fear, then perfect joy must needs cast out sorrow, and perfect happiness exclude all the reliques of misery. We shall there rest from all the evil of sin, and of suffering. 11. Heaven excludes nothing more directly than sin, whether of nature, or of conversation. " There shall in nowise enter any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie." What need Christ at all to have died, if heaven could have contained im- perfect souls 1 " For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." His blood and Spirit have not done all this, to leave us after all denied. " What communion hath light with darkness? and what -concord hath Christ with Belial?" 95 Christian, if thou be once in heaven, thou shalt sin no more. Is not this glad news to thee, who hast prayed, and watched against it so long ? I know, if it were offered to thy choice, thou wouldst rather choose to be freed from sin, than have all the world. Thou shalt have thy desire. — That hard heart, those vile thoughts, which accompanied thee to every duty, shall now be left behind forever. — Thy understanding shall never more be troubled with darkness. All dark Scriptures shall be made plain ; all seeming contradictions reconciled. The poorest Christian is presently there a more perfect divine than any here. O that happy day, when error shall vanish for ever ! When our understanding shall be filled with God himself, whose light will leave no darkness in us ! His face shall be the Scripture, where we shall read the truth. Many a godly man hath here, in his mistaken zeal, been a means to deceive and pervert his brethren, and when he sees his own error, cannot again tell how to undeceive them. But there we shall conspire in one truth, as being one in him who is the truth. — We shall also rest from all the sin of our will, affection, and conversation. We shall no more retain this rebelling principle, which is still drawing us from God : no more be oppressed with the power of our corruptions, nor vexed with their presence : no pride, passion, slothfulness, insensibility, shall enter with us ; no strangeness to God, and the things of God : no coldness of affections, nor imperfection in our love ; no uneven walking, nor grieving of the Spirit ; no scan- dalous action, nor unholy conversation ; we shall rest from all these for ever. Then shall our will correspond to the divine will, as face answers face in a glass, and from which, as our law and rule, we shall never swerve. " For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his." 96 12. Our sufferings were but the consequences of our sinning, and in heaven they both shall cease together. We shall rest from all our doubts of God's love. It shall no more be said, that " Doubts are like the thistle, a bad weed, but growing in good ground." They shall now be weeded out, and trouble the gracious soul no more. We shall hear that kind of language no more, " What shall I do to know my state ? How shall I know that God is my Father ? that my heart is upright ? that my conversion is true ? that faith is sincere 1 I am afraid my sins are unpardoned ; that all I do is hypocrisy ; that God will reject me ; that he does not hear my prayers." All this is there turned into praise. We shall not rest from all sense of God's displeasure. Hell shall not be mixed with heaven. At times the gracious soul remembered God, and was troubled ; complained, and was overwhelmed, and refused to be comforted ; divine wrath lay hard upon him, and God afflicted him with all his waves. But that blessed day shall convince us, that though God hid his face from us for a moment, yet with everlasting kindness will he have mercy on us. We shall rest from all the temptations of Satan. What a grief is it to a Christian, though he yield not to the temptation, yet to be solicited to deny his Lord ! What a torment, to have such horrid motions made to his soul ! such blasphemous ideas presented to his im- agination ! Sometimes cruel thoughts of God, undervalu- ing thoughts of Christ, unbelieving thoughts of Scripture, or injurious thoughts of Providence ! To be tempted sometimes to turn to present things, to play with the baits of sin, and venture on the delights of flesh, and sometimes to atheism itself! Especially, when we know the treachery of our own hearts, ready, as tinder, to take fire, as soon as one of those sparks shall fall upon them ! Satan hath power here to tempt us in the wilderness, but he entereth m not the holy city : he may set us on a pinnacle of the temple in the earthly Jerusalem, but the new Jerusalem he may not approach ; he may take us up into an exceed- ing high mountain, but the Mount Sion he cannot ascend ; and if he could, all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, would be a despised bait to a soul possessed of the kingdom of our Lord. No, it is in vain for Satan to offer a temptation more. All our temptations from the world and the flesh shall also cease. O the hourly dan- gers that we here walk in ! Every sense and member is a snare ; every creature, every mercy, and every duty, is a snare to us. We can scarce open our eyes, but we are in danger of envying those above us, or despising those below us ; of coveting the honors and riches of some, or beholding the rags and beggary of others with pride and unmercifulness. If we see beauty, it is a bait to lust ; if deformity, to loathing and disdain. How soon do slan- derous reports, vain jests, wanton speeches, creep into the heart ! How constant and strong a watch does our appe- tite require ! Have we comeliness and beauty ? What fuel for pride! Are we deformed? What an occasion of repining ! Have we strength of reason, and gifts of learning? O how prone to be puffed up, hunt after applause, and despise our brethren ! Are we unlearned ? How apt then to despise what we have not ! Are we in places of authority? How strong is the temptation to abuse our trust, make our will our law, and cut out all the enjoyments of others by the rules and model of our own interest and policy ! Are we inferiors ? How prone to grudge at other's pre-eminence, and bring their actions to the bar of our judgment ! Are we rich, and not too much exalted? Are we poor, and not discontented? Are we not lazy in our duties, or make a Christ of them ? Not that God hath made all these things our snares ; but 98 through our own corruption they become so to us. Our- selves are the greatest snare to ourselves. This is our comfort, our rest will free us from all these. As Satan hath no entrance there, so neither any thing to serve his malice : but all things there shall join with us in the high praises of their great Deliverer. As we rest from the temptations, we shall likewise from the abuses and perse- cutions of the world. The prayers of the souls under the altar will then be answered, and God will avenge their blood on them that dwell on the earth. This is the time for crowning with thorns ; that for crowning with glory. Now, " all that live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer per- secution;'*'' then they that suffered with him, shall be glorified with him, Now, we must be hated of all men for Chrisfs name's sake. Then, Christ will be admired in his saints that were thus hated. "We are here made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men : as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things : men separate us from their company, and reproach us, and cast out our names as evil : but we shall then be as- much crazed at for our glory, and they will be shut out of the church of the saints, and separated from us, whether they will or not. We can scarce pray in our families, or ship: praises to God, but our voice is a vexation to them : how must it torment them then, to see us praising and rejoicing, while they are howling and lamenting ! You, brethren, who can now attempt no work of God, without losing the love of the world, consider, you shall have none in heaven but will further your work, and join heart and voice with you in your everlasting joy and praise. Till then, possess ye your souls in patience. Bind all reproaches as a crown to your heads. Esteem them greater riches than the world's treasures. M It is a. righteous thing with God. to recompense tribulation to 99 them that trouble you ; and to you, who are troubled, rest with Christ." We shall then rest from all our sad divi- sions, and unchristian quarrels with one another. How lovingly do thousands live together in heaven, who lived at variance upon earth ! There is no contention, because none of this pride, ignorance, or other corruption. There is no plotting to strengthen our party, nor "deep designing against our brethren. If there be sorrow or shame in heaven, we shall then be both sorry and ashamed, to remember all this carriage on earth ; as Joseph's brethren were to behold him, when they remembered their former unkind usage. Is it not enough that all the world is against us, but we must also be against one another 1 O happy days of persecution, which drove us together in love, whom the sunshine of liberty and prosperity crumbles into dust by our contentions ! O happy day of the saints' rest in glory, when, as there is one God, one Christ, one Spirit, so we shall have one heart, one church, one employment for ever ! We shall then rest from our participation of our brethren's sufferings. The church on earth is a mere hos- pital. Some groaning under a dark understanding, some under an insensible heart, some languishing under unfruit- ful weakness, and some bleeding for miscarriages and wilfulness, some crying out of their poverty, some groaning under pains and infirmities, and some bewailing a whole catalogue of calamities. But a far greater grief it is, to see our dearest and most intimate friends turned aside from the truth of Christ, continuing their neglect of Christ and their souls, and nothing will awaken them out of their security : to look on an ungodly father or mother, brother or sister, wife or husband, child or friend, and think how certainly they shall be in hell for ever, if they die in their present unregenerate state : to think of the gospel departing, the glory taken from our Israel, poor souls left willingly 100 dark and destitute, and blowing out the light that should guide them to salvation ! Our day of rest will free us from all this, and the days of mourning shall be ended : then thy people, O Lord, shall be all righteous ; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of thy planting, the work of thy hands, that thou may est be glorified. Then we shall rest from all our own personal sufferings. This may seem a small thing to those that live in ease and prosper- ity, but to the daily afflicted soul, it makes the thoughts of heaven delightful. O the dying life we now live ! as full of sufferings as of days and hours ! Our Redeemer leaves this measure of misery upon us, to make us know for what we are beholden, to mind us of what we should else forget, to be serviceable to his wise and gracious designs, and advantageous to our full and final recovery. Grief enters at every sense, seizes every part and power of flesh and spirit. What noble part is there, that sufFer- eth its pain or ruin alone ? But sin and flesh, dust and pain, will all be left behind together. O the blessed tranquillity of that region, where there is nothing but sweet, continued peace ! O healthful place, where none are sick ! O fortunate land, where all are kings ! O holy assembly, where all are priests ! How free a state, where none are servants, but to their supreme Monarch ! The poor man shall no more be tired with his labors : no more hunger or thirst, cold or nakedness ; no pinching frosts or scorching heats. Our faces shall' no more be pale or sad ; no more breaches in friendship, nor parting of friends asunder ; no more trouble accompanying our relations, nor voice or lamentation heard in our dwelling's : God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes. O my soul, bear with the infirmities of thine earthly tabernacle ; it will be thus but a little while; the sound of thy Re- deemer's feet is even at the door. We shall also rest from 101 all the toils of duties. The conscientious magistrate, parent, and minister, cries out, " O the burden that lieth upon me!" Every relation, state, age, hath variety of duties ; so that every conscientious Christian cries out, so will they feel and act as men. 141 CHAPTER VI. The misery of those, who, besides losing the Saints' Rest, lose the Enjoyments of Time, and suffer the Torments of Hell. Sect. 1. The connection of this with the preceding chapter. 2. (I.) The enjoyments of time which the damned lose : 3. (1.) Their presumptuous belief of their interest in God and Christ ; 3. (2.) All their hopes ; 5. (3.) All their peace of conscience ; 6. (4.) All their carnal mirth ; 7. (5.) All their sensual delights. 8. (II.) The torments of the damned are exceeding great : 9. (1.) The principal Author of them is God himself: 10. (2.) The place or state of torment; 11. (3,) These torments are the effects of divine vengeance ; 12. (4.) God will take pleasure in executing them ; 13. (5.) Satan and sinners themselves will be God's executioners ; 14. (6.) These torments will be universal ; 15. (7.) without any mitigation ; 16. (8.) and eternal. 17. The obstinate sinner con- vinced of his folly in venturing on these torments ; 18. And en- treated to fly for safety to Christ 1. As godliness hath a promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come ; and if we " seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," then all meaner " things shall be added unto us ; " so also are the ungodly threatened with the loss both of spiritual and temporal blessings ; and because they sought not first God's king- dom and righteousness, therefore shall they lose both it and that which they did seek, and there " shall be taken from them that little which they have." If they could but have kept their present enjoyments, they would not have much cared for the loss of heaven. If they had lost and forsaken all for Christ, they would have found all again in 13* 142 him ; for he would have been all in all to them. But now they have forsook Christ for other things, they shall lose Christ, and that also for which they forsook him ; even the enjoyments of time, besides suffering the torments of hell. 2. (I.) Among the enjoyments of time, they shall par- ticularly lose — their presumptuous belief of their interest in the favor of God, and the merits of Christ — all their hopes — all their false peace of conscience — all their carnal mirth — and all their sensual delights. 3. (1.) They shall lose their presumptuous belief of their interest in the favor of God, and the merits of Christ, This false belief now supports their spirits, and defends them from the terrors that would otherwise seize upon them. But w T hat will ease their trouble, when they can believe no longer, nor rejoice any longer 1 If a man be near to the greatest mischief, and yet strongly conceit that he is in safety, he may be as cheerful as if all were well If there were no more to make a man happy, but to believe that he is so, or shall be so, happiness would be far more common than it is like to be. As true faith is the leading grace in the regenerate, so is false faith the lead- ing vice in the unregenerate. Why do such multitudes sit still, when they might have pardon, but that they verily think they are pardoned already? If you could ask thousands in hell, what madness brought them thither ? they would most of them answer, " We made sure of being saved, till we found ourselves damned. We would have been more earnest seekers of regeneration, and the power of godliness, but we verily thought we were Christians before. We have flattered ourselves into these torments, and now there is no remedy.*'* Reader, I must in faith- fulness tell thee, that the confident belief of their good state which the careless, unholy, unhumbled multitude so 143 commonly boast of, will prove in the end but a soul-damn- ing delusion. There is none of this believing in hell. It was Satan's stratagem, that being blindfold they might, follow him the more boldly; but then he will uncover their eyes, and they shall see where they are. 4. (2.) They shall lose also all their hopes. In this life, though they were threatened with the wrath of God, yet their hope of escaping it bore up their hearts, We can now scarce speak with the vilest drunkard, or swearer, or scoffer, but he hopes to be saved for all this. O happy world, if salvation were as common as this hope ! Nay, so strong are men's hopes, that they will dispute the cause with Christ himself at judgment, and plead their " having eat and drank in his presence, and prophesied in his name, and in his name cast out devils ; " they will stiffly deny that ever they neglected Christ in hunger, nakedness, or in prison, till he confutes them with the sentence of their condemnation. O the sad state of those men, when they must bid farewell to all their hopes ! " When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish ; and the hope of unjust men perisheth. The eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost." The giving up the ghost, is a fit, but terrible resemblance of a wicked man giving up his hopes. As the soul departeth not from the body without the greatest pain ; so doth the hope of the wicked depart. The soul departs from the body suddenly, in a moment, which hath there delightfully continued so many years : just so doth the hope of the wicked depart. The soul will never more return to live with the body in this world ; and the hope of the wicked takes an everlast- ing farewell of his soul. A miracle of resurrection shall again unite soul and body, but there shall be no such miraculous resurrection of the damned' s hope. Methinks, 144 it is the most pitiable sight this world affords, to see such an ungodly person dying, and to think of his soul and his hopes departing together. With what a sad change he appears in another world ! Then if a man could but ask that hopeless soul, " Are you as confident of salvation as you were wont to be 1 " What a sad answer would be returned! O that careless sinners would be awakened to think of this in time ! Reader, rest not till thou canst give a reason of all thy hopes grounded upon Scripture- promises — that they purify thy heart ; that they quicken thy endeavors in godliness ; that the more thou hopest, the less thou sinnest, and the more exact is thy obedience. If thy hopes be such as these, go on in the strength of the Lord, hold fast thy hope, and never shall it make thee ashamed. But if thou hast not one sound evidence of a work of grace on thy soul, cast away thy hopes. Despair of ever being saved, except thou be born again; or of seeing God, without holiness ; or of having part in Christ, except thou love him above father, mother, or thy own life. This kind of despair is one of the first steps to heaven. If a man be quite out of his way, what must be the first means to bring him in again ? He must despair of ever coming to his journey's end in the way that he is in. If his home be eastward, and he is going westward, as long as he hopes he is right, he will go on ; and as long as he goes on hoping, he goes farther amiss. When he despairs of coming home, except he turn back, then he will return, and then he may hope. Just so it is, sinner, with thy soul : thou art born out of the way to heaven, and hast proceeded many a year ; thou goest on, and hopest to be saved, because thou art not so bad as many others. Except thou throwest away those hopes, and see that thou hast all this while been quite out of the way to heaven, thou wilt never return and be saved. 145 There is nothing in the world more likely to keep thy soul out of heaven, than thy false hopes of being saved, while thou art out of the way to salvation. See then how it will aggravate the misery of the damned, that, with the loss of heaven they shall lose all that hope of it which now supports them. 5. (3.) They will lose all that false peace of conscience, which makes their present life so easy. Who would think, that sees how quietly the multitude of the ungodly live, that they must very shortly lie down in everlasting flames ? They are as free from the fears of hell as an obedient believer ; and for the most part have less disquiet of mind than those who shall be saved. Happy men, if this peace would prove lasting ! " When they shall say Peace and safety ; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child ; and they shall not escape.' 5 O cruel peace, which ends in such a war ! The soul of every man by nature is Satan's garrison : all is at peace in such a man till Christ comes, and gives it terrible alarms of judgment and hell, batters it with the ordnance of his threats and terrors, forces it to yield to his mere mercy, and take him for the Governor— then doth he cast out Satan, " overcome him, take from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils," and then doth he establish a firm and lasting peace. If therefore thou art yet in that first peace, never think it will endure. Can thy soul have lasting peace, in enmity with Christ? Can he have peace against whom God proclaims war ? I wish thee no greater good, than that God break in upon thy careless heart, and shake thee out of thy false peace, and make thee lie down at the feet of Christ, and say, "Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do ? " and so receive from him a better and surer peace, which will never be quite broken, but be the beginning of 146 thy everlasting peace, and not perish in thy perishing, as the groundless peace of the world will do. 6. (4.) They shall lose all their carnal mirth. They will themselves say of their "laughter, it is mad ; and of their mirth, what doeth it ? " It was but " as the crack- ling of thorns under a pot." It made a blaze for a while, but it was presently gone, and returned no more. The talk of death and judgment was irksome to them, because it damped their mirth. They could not endure to think of their sin and danger, because these thoughts sunk their spirits. They knew not what it was to weep for sin, or to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God. They could laugh away sorrow, and sing away cares, and drive away those melancholy thoughts. To meditate, and pray, they fancied would be enough to make them miserable, or run mad. Poor souls ! what a misery will that life be, where you shall have nothing but sorrow ; intense heart- piercing, multiplied sorrow ; when you shall neither have the joys of saints, nor your own former joys ! Do you think there is one merry heart in hell; or one joyful countenance, or jesting tongue 1 You now cry " a little mirth is worth a great deal of sorrow : " but surely, a little godly sorrow, which would have ended in eternal joy, had been worth much more than all your foolish mirth ; for the end of such mirth is sorrow. 7. (5.) They shall also lose all their sensual delights. That which they esteemed their chief good, their heaven, their god, must they lose, as well as God himself. What a fall will the proud ambitious man have from the top of his honors ! As his dust and bones will not be known from the dust and bones of the poorest beggar ; so neither will his soul be honored or favored more than theirs. What a number of the great, noble, and learned, will be shut out from the presence of Christ! They shall not 147 find their magnificent buildings, soft beds, and easy couches. They shall not view their curious gardens, their pleasant meadows, and plenteous harvests. Their tables will not be so furnished, nor attended. The rich man is there no more " clothed in purple and fine linen, nor fareth sumptuously every day." There is no expect- ing the admiration of beholders. They shall spend their time in sadness, and not in sports, and pastimes. What an alteration will they then find ! The heat of their lust will be then abated. How will it even cut them to the heart, to look each other in the face ! What an interview will there then be, cursing the day that ever they saw one another ! O that sinners would now remember and say, " Will these delights accompany us into the other world 1 Will not the remembrance of them be then our torment ? Shall we then take this partnership in vice for true friend- ship ? Why should we sell such lasting, incomprehensible joys for a taste of seeming pleasure ? Come, as we have sinned together, let us pray together, that God would pardon us ; and let us help one another towards heaven, instead of helping to deceive and destroy each other." O that men knew but what they desire, when they would so fain have all things suited to the desires of the flesh ! It is but to desire their temptations to be increased and their snares strengthened. 8. (II.) As the loss of the saint's rest will be aggravated by losing the enjoyments of time, it will be much more so by suffering the torments of hell. The exceeding great- ness of such torments may appear by considering — the principal Author of them, who is God himself! — the place or state of torment ; — that these torments are the fruits of divine vengeance — that the Almighty takes pleasure in them — that Satan and sinners themselves shall be God's 148 executioners — that these torments shall be universal— without mitigation — and without end. 9. (1.) The principal author of hell-torments is God himself. As it was no less than God whom the sinners had offended, so it is no less than God who will punish them for their offences. He hath prepared those torments for his enemies. His continued anger will still be devouring them. His breath of indignation will kindle the flames. His wrath will be an intolerable burden to their souls. If it were but a creature they had to do with, they might better bear it. Wo to him that falls under the strokes of the Almighty 1 " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." It were nothing in comparison to this, if all the world were against them, or if the strength of all creatures were united in one to inflict their penalty. They had now rather venture to displease God than displease a landlord, a customer, a master, a friend, a neighbor, or their own flesh ; but then they will wish a thousand times in vain, that they had been hated of all the world, rather than have lost the favor of God. What a consuming fire is his wrath ! If it be kindled here but a little, how do we wither like the grass ! How soon doth our strength decay and turn to weakness, and our beauty to deformity. The flames do not so easily run through the dry stubble, as the wrath of God will consume these wretches. They that could not bear a prison, or a gibbet, or a fire, for Christ, nor scarce a few scoffs, how will they now bear the devouring flames of divine wrath 1 10. (2.) The place or state of torment is purposely ordained to glorify the justice of God. When God would glorify his power, he made the worlds. The comely order of all his creatures, declareth his wisdom. His providence is shown in sustaining all things. When a spark of his wrath kindles upon the earth, the whole world, except 149 only eight persons, are drowned; Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, are burnt with fire from heaven ; the sea shuts her mouth upon some, the earth opens and swallows up others ; the pestilence destroys by thousands. What a standing witness of the wrath of God, is the present deplorable state of the Jews I Yet the glorifying the mercy and justice of God is intended most eminently for the life to come. As God will then glorify his mercy in a way that is now beyond the comprehension of the saints that must enjoy it; so also will he manifest his justice to be indeed the justice of God. The everlasting flames of hell will not be thought too hot for the rebellious ; and, when they have there burned through millions of ages, he will not repent him of the evil which has befallen them. Wo to the soul that is thus set up as a butt for the wrath of the Almighty to shoot at ! and as a bush that must burn in the flames of his jealousy, and never be consumed ! 11. (3.) The torments of the damned must be extreme, because they are the effect of divine vengeance. Wrath is terrible, but revenge is implacable. When the great God shall say, " My rebellious creatures shall now pay for all the abuse of my patience. Remember how I waited your leisure in vain, how I stooped to persuade and en- treat you. Did you think I would always be so slighted?" Then will he be revenged for every abused mercy, and for all their neglects of Christ and grace. O that men would foresee this, and please God better in preventing their wo ! 12. (4.) Consider also, that though God had rather men would accept of Christ and mercy, yet, when they persist in rebellion, he will take pleasure in their execution. He tells us, " fury is not in me ; " yet he adds, " who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle ; I 14 150 would go through them, I would burn them together.'' Wretched creatures ! when he that made them will not have mercy upon them, and he that formed them will show them no favor. As the Lord rejoiced over them to do them good; so the Lord will rejoice over them to destroy them, and to bring them to nought. Wo to the souls whom God rejoiceth to punish ! " He will laugh at their calamity, he will mock when their fear cometh : when their fear cometh as desolation, and their destruction cometh as a whirlwind : when distress and anguish cometh upon them.*' Terrible thing, when none in heaven or earth can help them but God, and he shall rejoice in their calamity ! Though Scripture speaks of God's laughing and mocking, not literally, but after the manner of men ; yet it is such an act of God, in tormenting the sinner, which cannot otherwise be more fitly expressed. 13. (5.) Consider that Satan and themselves shall be God's executioners. He that was here so successful in drawing them from Christ, will then be the instrument of their punishment, for yielding to his temptations. That is the reward he will give them for all their service : for their rejecting the commands of God, forsaking Christ, and neglecting their souls at his persuasion. If they had served Christ as faithfully as they did Satan, he would have given them a better reward. It is also most just, that they should be their own tormentors, that they may see their whole destruction is of themselves ; and then, whom can they complain of but themselves ? 14. (6.) Consider also that their torment will be universal. As all parts have joined in sin, so must they all partake in the torment. The soul, as it was the chief in sinning, shall be the chief in suffering ; and as it is of a more excellent nature than the body, so will its torments far exceed bodily torments : and as its joys far surpass all 151 sensual pleasures, so the pains of the soul exceed corporeal pains.— It is not only a soul, but a sinful soul, that must suffer. Fire will not burn, except the fuel be combustible ; but if the wood be dry, how fiercely will it burn ? The guilt of their sins will be to the damned souls like tinder to gunpowder, to make the flames of hell take hold upon them with fury. — The body must also bear its part. That body, which was so carefully looked to, so tenderly cher- ished, so curiously dressed, what must it now endure ! How are its haughty looks now taken down ! How little will those flames regard its comeliness and beauty ! Those eyes, which were wont to be delighted with curious sights, must then see nothing but what shall terrify them ! an angry God above them, with those saints whom they scorned, enjoying the glory which they have lost ; and about them will be only devils and damned souls. How will they look back, and say, "Are all our feasts, and games, and revels, come to this ! ' J Those ears, which were accustomed to music and songs, shall hear the shrieks and cries of their damned companions ; children crying out against their parents, that gave them encourage- ment and example in evil ; husbands and wives, masters and servants, ministers and people, magistrates and subjects, charging their misery upon one another, for discouraging in duty, conniving at sin, and being silent, when they should have plainly foretold the danger. Thus will soul and body be companions in wo. 15. (7.) Far greater will these torments be, because without mitigation. In this life, when told of hell, or if conscience troubled their peace, they had comforters at hand ; their carnal friends, their business, their company, their mirth. They could drink, play, or sleep away their sorrows. But now all these remedies are vanished. Their hard presumptuous unbelieving heart was a wall to defend them against trouble of mind. Satan was himself their comforter, as he was to our first mother, " Hath God said, ye shall not eat ? ye shall not surely die. Doth God tell you that you shall lie in hell l It is no such matter : God is more merciful. Or if there be a hell, what need you fear it ? Are not you Christians ? Was not the blood of Christ shed for you 1 " Thus, as the Spirit of Christ is the comforter of the saints, so Satan is the comforter of the wicked, Never was a thief more careful lest he should awake the people, when he is robbing the house, than Satan is not to awaken a sinner. But when the sinner is dead, then Satan hath done flattering and comforting. Which way, then, will the forlorn sinner look for comfort ? They that drew him into the snare, and promised him safety, now forsake him, and are forsaken themselves. His comforts are gone, and the righteous God, whose forewarnings he made light of, will now make good his word against him to the least tittle. 16. (8.) But the greatest aggravation of these torments will be their eternity. When a thousand millions of ages are past, they are as fresh to begin as the first day. If there were any hope of an end, it would ease the damned to foresee it; but for ever is an intolerable thought. They were never weary of sinning, nor will God be weary of punishing. They never heartily repented of sin, nor will God repent of their suffering. They broke the laws of the eternal God, and therefore shall suffer eternal punishment. They knew it was an everlasting kingdom which they refused, and what wonder if they are ever- lastingly shut out of it. Their immortal souls were guilty of the trespass, and therefore must immortally suffer the pains. What happy men would they think themselves, if they might have lain still in their graves, or might but there lie down again ! How will they call and cry, u O 153 death, whither art thou now gone ? Now come, and cut off this doleful life. O that these pains would break my heart, and end my being ! O that I might once at last die ! O that I had never had a being ! " These groans will the thoughts of eternity wring from their hearts. They were wont to think sermons and prayers long ; how long then will they think these endless torments ? What difference is there betwixt the length of their pleasures and their pains ! The one continued but a moment, the other endureth through all eternity. Sinner, remember how time is almost gone. Thou art standing at the door of eternity ; and death is waiting to open the door, and put thee in. Go, sleep out a few more nights, and stir about a few more days on earth, and then thy nights and days shall end : thy thoughts, and cares, and pleasures, shall all be devoured by eternity ; thou must enter upon the state which shall never be changed. As the joys of heaven are beyond our conception, so are the pains of hell. Everlasting torment is inconceivable torment. 17. But methinks I see the obstinate sinner desperately resolving, " If I must be damned, there is no remedy. Rather than I will live as the Scripture requires, I will put it to the venture ; I shall escape as well as the rest of my neighbors, and we will even bear it as well as we can." Alas ! poor creature, let me beg this of thee, be- fore thou dost so flatly resolve, that thou wouldst lend me thy attention to a few questions, and weigh them with the reason of a man. — Who art thou, that thou shouldst bear the wrath of God ? Art thou a god or a man ? What is thy strength? Is it not as the strength of wax, or stubble, to resist the fire ; or as chaff to the wind ; or as dust be- fore the fierce whirlwind 1 If thy strength were as iron, and thy bones as brass; if thy foundation were as the earth, and thy power as the heavens, yet shouldst thou 14* 154 perish at the breath of his indignation. How much more, when thou art but a piece of breathing clay, kept a few days from being eaten with worms, by the mere support and favor of him whom thou art thus resisting ! — Why dost thou tremble at the signs of almighty power and wrath ? at claps of thunder, or flashes of lightning ; or that unseen power which rends in pieces the mighty oaks, and tears down the strongest buildings ; or at the plague, when it rageth around thee 1 If thou hadst seen the plagues of Egypt, or the earth swallow up Dathan and Abiram ; or Elijah bring fire from heaven to destroy the captains and their companies, would not any of these sights have daunted thy spirit ? How then canst thou bear the plagues of hell ? — Why art thou dismayed with such small sufferings as befall thee here? A toothache; a fit of the gout, or stone ; the loss of a limb, or falling into beggary and disgrace 1 And yet all these laid together will be one day accounted a happy state, in comparison of that which is suffered in hell. — Why does the approach of death so much affright thee ? O how cold it strikes to thy heart! And would not the grave be accounted a paradise, compared with that place of torment which thou slightest ? — Is it an intolerable thing to burn part of thy body, by holding it in the fire? What then will it be to suffer ten thousand times more for ever in hell ? — 'Why does the thought or mention of hell occasion any disquiet in thy spirit ? And canst thou endure the torments themselves ? — Why doth the rich man complain to Abraham of his torments in hell ? Or thy dying com- panions lose their courage, and change their haughty language ? — Why cannot these make as light of hell as thyself? — Didst thou never see or speak with a man under despair ? How uncomfortable was his talk ! How bur- densome his life ! Nothing he possessed did him good : he 155 had no sweetness in meat or drink ; the sight of friends troubled him ; he was weary of life, and fearful of death. If the misery of the damned can be endured, why cannot a man more easily endure these foretastes of hell ? What if thou shouldst see the devil appear to thee in some terrible shape ? Would not thy heart fail thee, and thy hair stand on an end ? And how wilt thou endure to live for ever, where thou shalt have no other company but devils, and the damned, and shalt not only see them, but be tormented with them and by them? Let me once more ask, if the wrath of God be so light, why did the Son of God himself make so great a matter of it? It made him " sweat, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground." The Lord of life cried, " My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." And on the cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Surely if any one could have borne these sufferings easily, it would have been Jesus Christ. He had another measure of strength to bear it than thou hast. Wo to thee, sinner, for thy mad security ! Dost thou think to find it tolerable to thee, which was so heavy to Christ ? Nay, the Son of God is cast into a bitter agony, and bloody sweat, only under the curse of the law ; and yet thou, feeble, foolish creature, makest nothing to bear also the curse of the gospel, which requires a much sorer punishment. The good Lord bring thee to thy right mind by repentance, lest thou buy thy wit at too dear a rate ! 18. And now, reader, I demand thy resolution, what use wilt thou make of all this ? Shall it be lost to thee ? or wilt thou consider it in good earnest ? Thou hast cast away many a warning of God, wilt thou do so by this also? Take heed, God will not always stand warning and threatening. The hand of revenge is lifted up, the blow is coming, and wo to him on whom it lighteth ! Do?t 156 thou throw away the book, and say, it speaks of nothing but hell and damnation ? Thus thou usest also to com- plain of the preacher. But wouldst thou not have us tell thee of these things. Should we be guilty of the blood of thy soul, by keeping silent that which God hath charged us to make known 1 Wouldst thou perish in ease and silence, and have us to perish with thee, rather than displease thee, by speaking the truth 1 If thou wilt be guilty of such inhuman cruelty, God forbid we should be guilty of such sottish folly. This kind of preaching or writing, is the ready way to be hated ; and the desire of applause is so natural, that few delight in such a displeas- ing way. But consider, are these things true, or are they not 1 If they were not true, I would heartily join with thee against any that fright people without a cause. But if these threatenings be the word of God, what a wretch art thou, that wilt not hear it, and consider it ! If thou art one of the people of God, this doctrine will be a comfort to thee, and not a terror. If thou art yet unre- generate, methinks thou shouldst be as fearful to hear of heaven as of hell, except the bare name of heaven or sal- vation be sufficient. Preaching heaven and mercy to thee, is entreating thee to seek them, and not reject them ; and preaching hell, is but to persuade thee to avoid it. If thou wert quite past hope of escaping it, then it were in vain to tell thee of hell ; but as long as thou art alive, there is hope of thy recovery, and therefore all means must be used to awake thee from thy lethargy. Alas ! what heart can now possibly conceive, or what tongue express, the pains of those souls, that are under the wrath of God ! Then, sinners, you will be crying to Jesus Christ, " O mercy ! O pity, pity on a poor soul !" Why, I do now, in the name of the Lord Jesus, cry to thee, " O have mercy, have pity, man, upon thy own soul ! " 157 Shall God pity thee, who will not be entreated to pity thyself? If thy horse see but a pit before him, thou canst scarcely force him in ; and wilt thou so obstinately cast thyself into hell, when the danger is foretold thee ? " Who can stand before the indignation of the Lord ? and who can abide the fierceness of his anger ? " Methinks thou shouldst need no more words, but presently cast away thy soul-damning sins, and wholly deliver up thyself to Christ. Resolve on it immediately, and let it be done, that I may see thy face in the rest among the saints. May the Lord persuade thy heart to strike this covenant with- out any longer delay ! But if thou be hardened unto death, and there be no remedy, yet say not another day, but that thou wast faithfully warned, and hadst a friend, that would fain have prevented thy damnation. 158 CHAPTER VII. The Necessity of diligently seeking the Saints' Rest, Sect 1. The saint's rest surprisingly neglected ; particularly, 2. by the worldly-minded ; 3. The profane multitude ; 4. Formal professors ; 5 — 8. and by the godly themselves, whether magis- trates, ministers, or people. 9. The author mourns the neglect, and excites the reader to diligence, by considering, 10. The ends we aim at, the work we have to do, the shortness and un- certainty of our time, and the diligence of our enemies; 11. Our talents, mercies, relations to God, and our afflictions. 12. What assistances we have, what principles we profess, and our certainty never to do enough. 13. That every grace tends to diligence, and to trifle is lost labor ; that much time is misspent, and that our recompense and labor will be proportionable. 14. That striving is the divine appointment, all men do or will approve it, the best Christians at death lament their want of it, heaven is often lost for want of it, but never obtained without it. 15. God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are in earnest; God is so in hearing and answering prayer; ministers in their instructions and exhorta- tions ; all the creatures in serving us ; sinners in serving the devil, as we were once, and now are, in worldly things, and in heaven and hell all are in earnest. 16. The chapter concludes with proposing some awakening questions to the ungodly, and, 17. also to the godly. 1. If there be so certain and glorious a rest for the saints, why is there no more industrious seeking after it ? One would think, if a man did but once hear of such unspeakable glory to be obtained, and believed what he heard to be true, he should be transported with the vehemency of his desire after it, and should almost forget to eat and drink, and should care for nothing else, and 159 speak of and inquire after nothing else, but how to get this treasure. And yet people who hear of it daily, and profess to believe it as a fundamental article of their faith, do as little mind it, or labor for it, as if they haci never heard of any such thing, or did not believe one word they hear. This reproof is more particularly applicable to the worldly-minded ; the profane multitude ; the formal pro- fessors, and even to the godly themselves. 2. The worldly-minded are so taken up in seeking the things below, that they have neither heart nor time to seek this rest. O foolish sinners, who hath bewitched you 1 The world bewitches men into brute beasts, and draws them some degrees beyond madness. See what riding and running, what scrambling and catching for a thing of nought, while eternal rest lies neglected ! What contriving and caring to get a step higher in the world than their brethren, while they neglect the kingly dignity of the saints ! What insatiable pursuit of fleshly pleasures, while they look on the praises of God, the joy of angels, as a tiresome burden ! What unwearied diligence in raising their posterity, enlarging their possessions, (perhaps for a poor living from hand to mouth) while judgment is drawing near ; but, how it shall go with them then, never puts them to one hour's consideration ! What rising early, and sitting up late, and laboring from year to year, to maintain themselves and children in credit till they die ; but, what shall follow after, they never think on ! Yet these men cry, " May we not be saved without so much ado?" How early do they rouse up their servants to their labor ; but how seldom do they call them to prayer, or reading the Scriptures ! What hath this world done for its lovers and friends, that it is so eagerly followed, and painfully sought after, while Christ and heaven stand by, and few regard them ? or what will the world do for 160 them for the time to come ? The common entrance into it is through anguish and sorrow. The passage through it, is with continual care and labor. The passage out of it, is the sharpest of all. O unreasonable, bewitched men ! Will mirth and pleasure stick close to you ? Will gold and worldly glory prove fast friends to you in the time of your greatest need ? Will they hear your cries in the day of your calamity ? At the hour of your death, will they either answer or relieve you ? Will they go along with you to the other world, and bribe the judge, and bring you off clear, or purchase you a place among the blessed ? Why then did the rich man want a drop of water to cool his tongue 1 Or are the sweet morsels of present delight and honor of more worth than eternal rest? And will they recompense the loss of that enduring treasure ? Can there be the least hope of any of these ? Ah, vile, deceitful world ! how oft have we heard thy most faithful servants at last complaining — " O the world hath deceived me, and undone me ! It flattered me in my prosperity, but now it turns me off in my necessity. If I had as faithfully served Christ, as I have served it, he would not have left me thus comfortless and hopeless.'"' Thus they complain ; and yet succeeding sinners will take no warning. 3. As for the profane multitude, they will not be per- suaded to be at so much pains for salvation, as to perform the common outward duties of religion. If they have the gospel preached in the town where they dwell, it may be they will give the hearing to it one part of the day, and stay at home the other ; or if the master come to the congregation, yet part of his family must stay at home. If they want the plain and powerful preaching of the gospel, how few are there in a whole town, who will travel a mile or two to hear abroad ; though they will go 161 many miles to the market for provision for their bodies ! They know the Scripture is the law of God, by which they must be acquitted or condemned in judgment ; and that " the man is blessed who delights in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth meditate day and night;" yet will they not be at pains to read a chapter once a day. If they carry a Bible to church, and neglect it all the week, this is the most use they make of it. Though they are commanded to pray without ceasing, and to pray always ; yet they will neither pray constantly in their families, nor in secret. Though Daniel would rather be cast to the lions, than forbear praying three times a day in his house, where his enemies might hear him ; yet these men will rather venture to be an eternal prey to Satan, the roaring lion, than thus seek their own safety. Or their cold and heartless prayers invite God to a denial : for among men it is taken for granted, that he who asks but slightly and seldom, cares not much for what he asks. They judge themselves unworthy of heaven, who think it is not worth their more constant and earnest requests. If every door was marked, where families do not, morning and evening, earnestly seek the Lord in prayer, that his wrath might be poured out upon such prayerless families,, our towns would be as places overthrown by the plague, the people being dead within, and the mark of judgment without. I fear where one house would escape, ten would be marked out for death ; and then they might teach their doors to pray, " Lord, have mercy upon us," because the people would not pray themselves. But especially, if we could see what men do in their secret chambers, how few would you find in a whole town that spend one quarter of an hour, morning and night, in earnest supplication to God for their souls! O how little do these men set by eternal rest ! Thus do they slothfully neglect all 15 1W endeavors for their own welfare, except some public duty in the congregation, which custom or credit engages them to. Persuade them to read good books, learn the grounds of religion in their catechism, and sanctify the Lord's-day in prayer, and meditation, and hearing the word, and forbearing all worldly thoughts and speeches ; and what a tedious life do they take this to be ! As if they thought heaven were not worth doing so much for. 4. Another sort are formal professors, who will be brought to an outward duty, but to the inward work of religion they will never be persuaded. They will preach, or hear, or read, or talk of heaven, or pray in their families, and take part with the persons or causes that are good, and desire to be esteemed among the godly ; but you can never bring them to the more spiritual duties ; as, to be constant and fervent in secret prayer and meditation ; con- scientious in self-examination ; heavenly-minded ; to watch over their hearts, words, and ways ; to mortify the flesh, and not make provision to fulfil its lusts; to love, and heartily forgive an enemy, and prefer their brethren before themselves ; to lay all they have, or do, at the feet of Christ, and prize his service and favor before all ; to prepare to die, and willingly leave all to go to Christ. Hypocrites will never be persuaded to any of these. If any hypocrite entertains the gospel with joy, it is only in the surface of his soul ; he never gives the seed any depth of earth : it changes his opinion, but never melts and new- moulds his heart, nor sets up Christ there in full power and authority. As his religion lies most in opinion, so does his chief business and conversation. He is usually an ignorant, bold, conceited dealer in controversies, rather than an humble embracer of known truth, with love and obedience. By his slighting the judgments and person of others, and seldom talking with seriousness and humility 163 of the great things of Christ, he shows his religion dwells in the brain, and not in his heart. The wind of tempta- tion carries him away as a feather, because his heart is not established with Christ and grace. He never, in private conversation, humbly bewails his soul's imperfec- tions, or tenderly acknowledges his unkindness to Christ ; but gathers his greatest comforts from his being of such a judgment or party. The like may be said of the worldly hypocrite, who chokes the gospel with the thorns of worldly cares and desires. He is convinced that he must be religious, or he cannot be saved; and therefore he reads, and hears, and prays, and forsakes his former company and courses ; but he resolves to keep his hold of present things. His judgment may say, God is the chief good ; but his heart and affections never said so. The world hath more of his affections than God, and therefore it is his god. Though he does not run after opinions and novelties, like the former, yet he will be of that opinion which will best serve his worldly advantage. And as one whose spirits are enfeebled by some pestilential disease ; so this man's spirits being possessed by the plague of a worldly disposition, how feeble is he in secret prayer ! how superficial in examination and meditation ! how poor in heart-watchings ! how nothing at all in loving and walking with God, rejoicing in him, or desiring him ! — So that both these, and many other sorts of hypocrites, though they will go with you in the easy outside of religion, yet will never be at the pains of inward and spiritual duties. 5. And even the godly themselves are too lazy seekers of their everlasting rest. Alas! what a disproportion is there between our light and heat ! our profession and pros- ecution ! V/ho makes that haste as if it were for heaven ? How still we stand ! How idly we work ! How we talk, and jest, and trifle away our time ! How deceitfully we 164 perform the work of God ! How we hear, as if we heard not ; and pray, as if we prayed not ; and examine, and meditate, and reprove sin, as if we did it not ; and enjoy Christ, as if we enjoyed him not ; as if we had learned to use the things of heaven, as the apostle teacheth us to use the things of the world ! What a frozen stupidity has benumbed us ! we are dying, and we know it, and yet we stir not; we are at the door of eternal happiness, or misery, and yet we perceive it not ; death knocks, and we hear it not ; God and Christ call and cry to us, " To-day, if ye will hear my voice, harden not your hearts ; work while it is day, for the night cometh when none can work. Now ply your business^ labor for your lives, lay out all your strength and time ; now or never ; " and yet we stir no more than if we were half asleep. What haste do death and judgment make ! how fast do they come on I they are almost at us, and yet what little haste we make ! Lord, what a senseless, earthly, hellish thing is a hard heart ! Where is the man that is in earnest a Christian ? Methinks men everywhere make but a trifle of their eternal state. They look after it but a little by the by ; they do not make it the business of their lives. If I were not sick myself of the same disease, with what tears should I mix this ink : with what groans should I express these complaints! and with what heart-grief should I mourn over this universal deadness \ 6. Do magistrates among us seriously perform their work ? Are they zealous for God ? Do they build up his house ? Are they tender of his honor ? Do they second the word? and fly in the face of sin aud sinners, as the disturbers of our peace, and the only cause of all our miseries ? Do they improve all their power, wealth, and honor, and all their influence, for the greatest advantage 165 to the kingdom of Christ, as men that must shortly give an account of their stewardship ? 7. How then are those ministers that are serious in their work ! Nay, how mightily do the very best fail in this ! Do we cry out of men's disobedience to the gospel in the demonstration of the Spirit, and deal with sin as the destroying fire in our towns, and by force pull men out of it 1 Do we persuade people, as those should, that know the terrors of the Lord? Do we press Christ, and regeneration, and faith, and holiness, believing that, without these, men can never have life ? Do our bowels yearn over the ignorant, careless, and obstinate multitude 1 When we look them in the face, do our hearts melt over them, lest we should never see their faces in rest? Do we, as Paul, tell them, weeping, of their fleshly and earthly disposition? " And teach them publicly, and from house to house, at all seasons, and with many tears?" And do we entreat them, as for their soul's salvation ? Or rather, do we not study to gain the approbation of critical hearers ; as if a minister's business were of no more weight but to tell a smooth tale for an hour, and look no more after the people till the next sermon ? Does not carnal prudence control our fervor, and make our discourses lifeless, on subjects the most piercing ? How gently do we handle those sins, which will so cruelly handle our people's souls ! In a word, our want of seri- ousness about the things of heaven, charms the souls of men into formality, and brings them to this customary careless hearing, which undoes them, May the Lord pardon the great sin of the ministry in this thing ; and, in particular, my own ! 8. And are the people more serious than magistrates or ministers ? How can it be expected ? Reader, look but 15* 166 to thyself, and resolve the question. Ask conscience, and suffer it to tell thee truly. Hast thou set thy eternal rest before thine eyes, as the great business thou hast to do in this world ! Hast thou watched and labored, with all thy might, "that no man take thy crown?" Hast thou made haste, lest thou shouldst come too late, and die before thy work be done ? Hast thou pressed on through crowds of opposition, " towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," still " reaching forth unto those things which are before ? " Can con- science witness your secret cries, and groans, and tears? Can your family witness, that you taught them the fear of the Lord, and warned them not to go to that place of torment ? Can 3-our minister witness, that he has heard you cry out " What shall I do to be saved ? " and that you have followed him with complaints against your corruptions, and with earnest inquiries after the Lord ? Can your neighbors about you witness, that you reprove the ungodly, and take pains to save the souls of your brethren ? Let all these witnesses judge this day between God and you, whether you are in earnest about eternal rest. You can tell by his work, whether your servant has loitered, though you did not see him ; so you may by looking at your own work. Is your love to Christ, your faith, your zeal, and other graces, strong or weak ? What are your joys? What is your assurance? Is all in order with you ? Are you ready to die, if this should be the day ? Do the souls, among whom you have conversed, bless you ? Judge by this, and it will quickly appear whether you have been laborers or loiterers. 9. O blessed rest, how unworthily art thou neglected ! O glorious kingdom, how art thou undervalued ! Little know the careless sons of men, what a state they set so lightly by. If they once knew it, they would surely be 167 of another mind. I hope thou, reader, art sensible what a desperate thing it is to trifle about eternal rest; and how deeply thou hast been guilty of this thyself. And I hope also, thou wilt not now suffer this conviction to die. Should the physician tell thee, " If you will observe but one thing, I doubt not to cure your disease ; " wouldst thou not observe it ? So I tell thee, if thou wilt observe but this one thing for thy soul, I make no doubt of thy salvation — Shake off thy sloth, and put to all thy strength, and be a Christian indeed : I know not then what can hinder thy happiness. As far as thou art gone from God, seek him with all thy heart, and no doubt thou shalt find him. As unkind as thou hast been to Jesus Christ, seek him heartily, obey him unreservedly, and thy salvation is as sure as if thou hadst it already. But full as Christ's satisfaction is, free as the promise is, large as the mercy of God is ; if thou only talk of these, when thou shouldst eagerly entertain them, thou wilt be never the better for them : and if thou loiter, when thou shouldst labor, thou wilt lose the crown. Fall to work, then, speedily and seriously, and bless God that thou hast yet time to do it. And to show that I urge thee not without cause, I will here add a variety of animating considerations. Rouse up thy spirit, and, as Moses said to Israel, " set thy heart unto all the words which I testify unto thee this day ; for it is not a vain thing, because it is )'our life." May the Lord open thy heart, and fasten his counsel effectually upon thee ! 10. Consider how reasonable it is, that our diligence should be answerable to the ends we aim at, to the work we have to do, to the shortness and uncertainty of our time, and to the contrary diligence of our enemies. The ends of a Christian's desires and endeavors are so great, that no human understanding on earth can comprehend 168 them. What is so excellent, so important, or so neces- sary, as the glorifying of God, the salvation of our own and other men's souls, by escaping the torments of hell, and possessing the glory of heaven ? And can a man be too much affected with things of such moment ? Can he desire them too earnestly, or love them too strongly, or labor for them too diligently 1 Do not we know, that if our prayers prevail not, and our labor succeeds not, we are undone for ever ? — The work of a Christian here is very great and various. The soul must be renewed ; corruptions must be mortified ; custom, temptations, and worldly interests, must be conquered; flesh must be subdued ; life, friends, and credit must be slighted ; conscience on good grounds be quieted; and assurance of pardon and salvation attained. Though God must give us these without our merit, yet he will not give them without our earnest seeking and labor. Besides, there is much knowledge to be got, many ordinances to be used, and duties to be performed : every age, year, and day ; every place we come to ; every person we deal with ; every change of our condition, still require the renewing of our labor : wives, children, servants, neighbors, friends, enemies, all of them call for duty from us. Judge then, whether men that have so much business lying upon their hands, should not exert themselves ; and whether it be their wisdom either to delay or loiter. Time passeth on. Yet a few days, and we shall be here no more. Many diseases are ready to assault us. We that are now preaching, and hearing, and talking, and walking, must very shortly be carried, and laid in the dust, and there left to the worms in darkness and corruption : we are almost there already ; we know not whether we shall have another sermon, or Sabbath, or hour. How active should they be who know they have so short a space for so great 169 a work ! And we have enemies that are always plotting and laboring for our destruction. How diligent is Satan in all kind of temptations ! Therefore " be sober, be vigilant ; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour : Whom resist, steadfast in the faith." How diligent are all the ministers of Satan ! False teachers, scoffers, persecutors, and our inbred corruptions, the most busy and diligent of all ! Will a feeble resistance serve our turn ! Should not we be more active for our own preservation, than our enemies are for our ruin ! 11. It should excite us to diligence, when we consider our talents, and our mercies, our relation to God, and the afflictions he lays upon us. The^talents which we have received are many and great. What people breathing on earth have had plainer instructions, or more forcible persuasions, or more constant admonitions, in season and out of season? Sermons, till we have been weary of them; and Sabbaths, till we have profaned them; ex- cellent books in such plenty that we know not which to read. What people have had God so near them? or have seen so much of Christ crucified before their eyes ? or have had heaven and hell so open unto them ? What speed should such a people make for heaven? How should they fly that are thus winged ? And how swiftly should they sail that have wind and tide to help them ! A small measure of grace beseems not such a people, nor will an ordinary diligence in the work of God excuse them. — All our lives have been filled with mercies. God hath mercifully poured out upon us the riches of sea and land, of heaven and earth. We are fed and clothed with mercy. We have mercies within and without. To number them, is to count the stars or the sands of the sea-shore. If there be any difference betwixt hell and 170 earth, yea, or heaven and earth, then certainly we have received mercy. If the blood of the Son of God be mercy, then we are engaged to God by mercy. Shall God think nothing too much, nor too good for us ; and shall we think all too much that we do for him ? When I compare my slow and unprofitable life, with the fre- quent and wonderful mercies received, it shames me, it silences rne, and leaves me inexcusable. Besides, our talents and mercies, our relations to God are most endear- ing. Are we his children, and do we not owe him our most tender affections, and dutiful obedience? Are we " the spouse of Christ," and should we not obey and love him? " If he be a Father, where is his honor? and if he be a Master, where is his fear ? We call him Master, and Lord, and we say well." But if our industry be not answerable to our relations, we condemn ourselves in saying we are his children or his servants. How will the hard labor, and daily toil, which servants undergo to please their masters, judge and condemn those who will not labor so hard for their Great Master ? Surely there is no master like him ; nor can any servants expect such fruit of their labors as his servants. — And if we wander out of God's way, or loiter in it, how is every creature ready to be his rod, to reduce us, or put us on ! Our sweetest mercies will become our sorrows. Rather than want a rod, the Lord will make us a scourge to ourselves : our diseased bodies shall make us groan ; our perplexed minds shall make us restless ; our conscience shall be as a scorpion in our bosom. And is it not easier to endure the labor than the spur ? Had we rather be still afflicted, than be up and doing ? And though they that do most, meet also with afflictions ; yet surely according to their peace of conscience, and faithfulness to Christ, the bitter- ness of their cup is abated. 171 12. To quicken our diligence in our work, we should also consider, what assistances we have, what principles we profess, and our certainty that we can never do too much. — For our assistance in the service of God, all the world are our servants. The sun, moon, and stars, attend us with their light and influence. The earth, with all its furniture of plants and flowers, fruits, birds, and beasts j the sea, with its inhabitants ; the air, the wind, the frost and snow, the heat and fire, the clouds and rain, all wait upon us while we do our work. Yea, the angels are all our ministering spirits. Nay, more, the patience of God doth wait upon us ; the Lord Jesus Christ waiteth, in the offers of his blood ; the Holy Spirit waiteth, by striving with our backward hearts ; besides the ministers of the gospel, who study and wait, preach and wait, pray and wait, upon careless sinners. And is it not an intolerable crime for us to trifle, while angels and men ; yea, the Lord himself, stand by, and look on, and, as it were, hold us the candle while we do nothing ? I beseech you, Christians, whenever you are praying, or reproving transgressors, or upon any duty, remember what assist- ances you have for your work, and then judge how you ought to perform it. — The principles we profess, are, that God is the chief good ; that all our happiness consists in his love, and therefore it should be valued and sought above all things ; that he is our only Lord, and therefore chiefly to be served ; that we must love him with all our heart, and soul, and strength ; that our great business in the world is to glorify God, and obtain salvation. Are these doctrines seen in our practice 1 or, rather do not our works deny what our words confess 1 — But however our assistances and principles excite us to our work, we are sure we can never do too much. Could we do all, " we are unprofitable servants ; " much more when we are sure 172 to fail in all. No man can obey, or serve God too much. Though all superstition, or service of our own devising, may be called a " being righteous overmuch ; " yet as long as we keep to the rule of the Word, we can never be righteous too much. The world is mad with malice, when they think, that faithful diligence in the service of Christ is foolish singularity. The time is near when they will easily confess that God could not be loved, or served too much, and that no man can be too busy to save his soul. We may easily do too much for the world, but we cannot for God. 13. Let us further consider, that it is the nature of every grace to promote diligence, that trifling in the way to heaven is lost labor, that much precious time is already misspent, and that in proportion to our labors will be our recompense. — See the nature and tendency of every grace. If you loved God, you would think nothing too much that you could possibly do to serve him, and please him still more. Love is quick and impatient, active and observant. If you love Christ you would keep his commandments, nor accuse them of too much strictness — if you had faith, it would quicken and encourage you — if you had the hope of glory, it would, as the spring in the watch, set all the wheels of your souls a-going — if you had the fear of God, it would rouse you out of your slothfulness — if you had zeal, it would inflame, and eat you up. In what degree soever thou art sanctified, in the same degree thou wilt be serious and laborious in the work of God. — But they that trifle, lose their labor. Many, who like Agrippa, are but almost Christians, will find in the end, they shall be but almost saved. If two be running in a race, he that runs slowest loses both prize and labor. A man that is lifting a weight, if he put not sufficient strength to it, had as good put none at all. 173 How many duties have Christians lost, for want of doing them thoroughly ? " Many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able," who, if they had striven, might have been able. Therefore, put to a little more diligence and strength, that all you have done already be not in vain. — ■ Besides, is not much precious time already lost? With some of us childhood and youth are gone ; with some their middle age also ; and the" time before us is very uncertain. What time have we slept, talked, and played away, or spent in worldly thoughts and cares ! How little of our work is done ! The time we have lost cannot be recalled ; should we not then redeem and improve the little which remains 1 If a traveller sleep, or trifle most of the day, he must travel so much faster in the evening, or fall short of his journey's end. — Doubt not but the recompense will be according to your labor. The seed which is buried and dead, will bring forth a plentiful harvest. Whatever you do, or suffer, everlasting rest will pay for all. There is no repenting of labors or sufferings in heaven. There is not one says, " Would I had spared my pains, and prayed less, or been less strict, and done as the rest of my neighbors." On the contrary, it will be their joy to look back upon their labors and tribulations, and to consider how the mighty power of God brought them through all. We may all say, as Paul, " I reckon that the sufferings," and labors " of this present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." We labor but for a moment, but we shall rest for ever. Who would not put forth all his strength for one hour, when for that hour's work he may be a prince while he lives ? " God is not unrighteous, to forget our work and labor of love." Will not " all our tears be wiped away," and all the sorrow of our duties be then forgotten ? 16 €* 174 14. Nor does it less deserve to be considered, that striving is the divinely appointed way of salvation, that all men either do or will approve it, that the best Chris- tians at death lament their negligence, and that heaven itself is often lost for want of striving, but is never had on easier terms. — The sovereign wisdom of God has made striving necessary to salvation. Who knows the way to heaven better than the God of heaven ? When men tell us we are too strict, whom do they accuse, God or us ? If it were a fault, it would lie in him that commands, and not in us who obey. These are the men that ask us, whether we are wiser than all the world besides ? and yet they will pretend to be wiser than God. How can they reconcile their language with the laws of God? "The kingdom of heaven sunereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure. If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" Let them bring all the seeming reasons they can, against the holy violence of the saints ; this sufficeth me to confute them all, that God is of another mind, and he hath commanded me to do much more than I do ; and though I could see no other reason for it, his will is reason enough. Who should make laws for us, but he that made us ? And who should point out the way to heaven, but he that must bring us thither? And who should fix the terms of salvation, but he that bestows the gift of salva- tion ? So that let the world, the flesh, or the devil, speak against a holy laborious life, this is my answer — God hath 175 commanded it. — Nay, there never was, nor ever will be, a man, but will approve such a life, and will one day justify the diligence of the saints. And who would not go that way, which every man shall finally applaud 1 True, it is now a way everywhere spoken against. But let me tell you, most that speak against it, in their judgments approve of it ; and those that are now against it, will shortly be of another mind. If they come to heaven, their mind must be changed before they come there. If they go to hell, their judgment will then be altered, whether they will or not. Remember this, you that love the opinion and way of the multitude, why then will you not be of the opinion that all will be of? Why will you be of a judgment, which you are sure all of you shortly to change 1 O that you were but as wise in this, as those in hell ! — Even the best of Christians, when they come to die, exceedingly lament their negligence. They then wish, " O that I had been a thousand times more holy, more heavenly, more laborious for my soul ! The world accuses me for doing too much, but my own conscience accuses me for doing too little. It is far easier bearing the scoffs of the world, than the lashes of conscience. I had rather be reproached by the devil for seeking salvation, than reproved of God for neglecting it." How do their failings thus wound and disquiet them, who have been the wonders of the world for their heavenly conversation ! It is for want of more diligence, that heaven itself is often lost. When they that have "heard the Word, and anon with joy received it, and have done many things, and heard" the ministers of Christ gladly, shall yet perish ; should not this rouse us out of our security 1 How far hath many a man followed Christ, and yet forsook him, when all worldly interests and hopes were to be renounced ! — God hath resolved, that heaven shall not be had on easier terms. Rest must 176 always follow labor. " Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord." Seriousness is the very thing wherein consists our sincerity. If thou art not serious, thou art not a Christian. It is not only a high degree in Chris- tianity, but the very life and essence of it. As fencers upon a stage differ from soldiers fighting for their lives, so hypocrites differ from serious Christians. If men could be saved without this serious diligence, they would never regard it ; all the excellencies of God's ways would never entice them. But when God hath resolved, that, without serious diligence here, you shall not rest hereafter, is it not wisdom to exert ourselves to the utmost ? 15. But to persuade thee, if possible, Reader, .to be serious in thy endeavors for heaven, let me add more con- siderations. As for instance, consider, — God is in earnest with you ; and why should you not be so Avith him 1 In his commands, his threatenings, his promises, he means as he speaks. In his judgments he is serious. Was he not so, when he drowned the world ? when he consumed Sodom and Gomorrah 1 and when he scattered the Jews ? Is it time then to trifle with God? Jesus Christ was serious in purchasing our redemption. In teaching, he neglected his meat and drink : in prayer, he continued all night : in doing good, his friends thought him beside himself: in suffering, he fasted forty days, was tempted, betrayed, spit upon, buffeted, crowned with thorns, sweat drops of blood, was crucified, pierced, died. There was no jesting in all this. And should we not be serious in seeking our own salvation 1 — The Holy Spirit is serious in soliciting us to be happy. His motions are frequent, pressing, and importunate. He striveth with us. He is grieved, when we resist him. And should we not be serious then in obeying, and yielding to his motions ? — God is serious in hearing our prayers, and bestowing his 177 mercies. He is afflicted with us. He regardeth every groan and sigh, and puts every tear into his bottle. The next time thou art in trouble, thou wilt beg for a serious regard of thy prayers. And shall we expect real mercies, when we are slight and superficial in the work of God? The ministers of Christ are serious in exhorting and instructing you. They beg of God, and of you ; and long more for the salvation of your souls, than for any worldly good, If they kill themselves with their labor, or suffer martyrdom for preaching the gospel, they think their lives are well bestowed, so that they prevail for the saving of your souls. And shall other men be so painful and careful for your salvation, and you be so careless and negligent of your own? — How diligent and serious are all the creatures in serving you ! What haste makes the sun to compass the world ! The fountains are always flowing for thy use ; the rivers still running ; spring and harvest keep their times. How hard does thy ox labor for thee from day to day ! How speedily does thy horse travel with thee ! And shalt thou only be negligent ? Shall all these be so serious in serving thee, and thou so careless in thy service to God ?— The servants of the world and the devil are serious and diligent : they work as if they could never do enough : they make haste, as if afraid of coming to hell too late : they bear down ministers, sermons, and all before them. And shall they be more diligent for damnation, than thou for salvation? Hast thou not a better master, sweeter employment, greater encourage- ments, and a better reward ? — Time was when thou wast serious thyself in serving Satan and the flesh, if it be not so yet. How eagerly didst thou follow thy sports, thy evil company, and sinful delights ! And wilt thou not now be as earnest and violent for God ? You are to this day in earnest about the things of this life. If you are sick, or 16* 178 in pain, what serious complaints do you utter ! If you are poor, how hard do you labor for a livelihood ! And is not the business of your salvation of far greater moment ? There is no jesting in heaven or hell. The saints have a real happiness, and the damned a real misery. There are no remiss or sleepy praises in heaven, nor such lamenta- tions in hell. All these are in earnest. When thou, Reader, shalt come to death and judgment, O what deep, heart-piercing thoughts wilt thou have of eternity ! Me- thinks I foresee thee already astonished, to think how thou couldst possibly make so light of these things. Methinks I even hear thee crying out of thy stupidity and madness. 16. And now, Reader, having laid down these un- deniable arguments, I do, in the name of God, demand thy resolution — wilt thou yield obedience, or not ? I am confident thy conscience is convinced of thy duty. Darest thou now go on in thy common careless course, against the plain evidence of reason, and commands of God, and against the light of thy own conscience'? Darest thou live as loosely, sin as boldly, and pray as seldom, as before? Darest thou profane the Sabbath, slight the service of God, and think of thine everlasting state, as carelessly as before 1 Or dost thou not rather resolve to gird up the loins of thy mind, and set thyself wholly to the work of thy salvation, and break through the oppositions, and slight the scoffs and persecutions of the world, and "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset thee, and run with patience the race that is set before thee?" I hope these are thy full resolutions. Yet, because I know the obstinacy of the heart of man, and because I am solicitous thy soul might live, I once more entreat thy attention to the following questions ; and I command thee from God, that thou stifle not thy conscience, nor resist conviction ; but answer 179 them faithfully, and obey accordingly. If, by being diligent in godliness, you could grow rich, get honor or preferment in the world, be recovered from sickness, or live for ever in prosperity on earth ; what lives would you lead, and what pains would you take in the service of God? And is not the saint's rest a more excellent happiness than all this ? If it were felony to break the Sabbath, neglect secret or family worship, or be loose in your lives, what manner of persons would you then be ? And is not eternal death more terrible than temporal ? If God usually punished with some present judgment every act of sin, as he did the lie of Ananias and Sapphira, what kind of lives would you lead ? And is not eternal wrath far more terrible ? — If one of your acquaintance should come from the dead, and tell you, that he suffered the torments of hell for those sins you are guilty of; what manner of persons would you afterwards be ! How much more should the warnings of God affright you ? — If you knew that this were the last day you had to live in the world, how would you spend it? And you know not but it may be your last, and are sure your last is near. — If you had seen the general dissolution of the world, and all the pomp and glory of it consumed to ashes, what would such a sight persuade thee to do? Such a sight you shall certainly see. — If you had seen the judgment-seat, and the books opened, and the wicked stand trembling on the left hand of the Judge, and the godly rejoicing on the right hand, and their different sentences pronounced : what persons would you have been after such a sight ? This sight you shall one day surely see. If you had seen hell open, and all the damned there in their ceaseless torments; also heaven opened, as Stephen did, and all the saints there triumphing in glory ; what a life would you lead after such sights? These you will see before 180 it be long. — If you had laid in hell but one year, or one day, or hour, and there felt the torments you now hear of; how seriously would you then speak of hell, and pray against it ! And will you not take God's word for the truth of this, except you feel it? — Or if you had possessed the glory of heaven but one year, what pains would you take rather than be deprived of such incomparable glory 1 — Thus I have said enough, if not to stir up the sinner to a serious working out his salvation, yet at least to silence him, and leave him inexcusable at the judgment of God. Only as we do by our friends when they are dead, and our words and actions can do them no good, yet to testify our affection for them we weep and mourn ; so will I also do for these unhappy souls. It makes my heart tremble, to think how they will stand before the Lord, confounded and speechless : when he shall say, " Was the world, or Satan, a better friend to you than I? Or had they done more for you than I had done ? Try now whether they will save you, or recompense you for the loss of heaven, or be as good to you as I would have been." What will the wretched sinner answer to any of this 1 But though man will not hear, we may hope in speaking to God. " O thou that didst weep and groan in spirit over a dead Lazarus, pity these dead and senseless souls, till they are able to weep and groan in pity to themselves ! As thou hast bid thy servants speak, so speak now thyself: they will hear thy voice speaking to their hearts, who will not hear mine speaking to their ears. Lord, thou hast long knocked at these hearts in vain ; now break the doors, and enter in ! " 17. Yet to show the godly why they, above all men, should be laborious for heaven, I desire to ask them, what manner of persons should those be, whom God hath 181 chosen to be vessels of mercy ? Who have felt the smart of their negligence in their new birth, in their troubles of conscience, in their doubts and fears, and in other sharp afflictions ? Who have often confessed their sins of negligence to God in prayer 1 Who have bound them- selves to God by so many covenants ? What manner of persons should they be, who are near to God, as the children of his family ? who have tasted such sweetness in diligent obedience ? who are many of them so un- certain what shall everlastingly become of their souls? What manner of persons should they be in holiness, whose sanctification is so imperfect? whose lives and duties are so important to the saving or destroying a multitude of souls ? and on whom the glory of the great God so much depends? — Since these things are so, I charge thee, Christian, in thy Master's name, to consider, and resolve the question, " What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness ?" And let thy life answer the question as well as thy tongue, 182 CHAPTER VIII. Mow to discern our Title to the Saints 1 Rest. Sect. 1. The folly of men in not inquiring after a title to the saints' rest ; 2, and their cause for terror, as long as they are destitute of a title. 3. Self-examination is urged upon them; 4. (1.) From the possibility of arriving at a certainty; 5 — 9. (2.) From the hinderances which will be thrown in our way by Satan, sinners. our own hearts, and many other causes ; 10. (3.) From consider- ing how easy, common, and dangerous it is to be mistaken ; that trying will not be so painful as the neglect ; that God will soon try us, and that to try ourselves will be profitable : 11. And there- fore the reader is entreated no longer to delay the trial. 12. Then, (4.) Directions are given how to try ; 13. (5.) Marks for trial are added, particularly, 14. Do we make God our chief good ? 15. Do we heartily accept of Christ for our Lord and Saviour ? 16, 17. The chapter concludes with illustrating the great importance of these two marks. 1. Is there such a glorious rest so near at hand? And shall none enjoy it but the people of God ? What mean . most of the world then, to live so contentedly without assurance of their interests in this rest, and neglect the trying of their title to it? When the Lord has so fully opened the blessedness of that kingdom, which none but obedient believers shall possess ; and so fully expressed those torments, which the rest of the world must eternally suffer : methinks they that believe this to be certainly true, should never be at any quiet in themselves, till they were fully assured of their being heirs of the kingdom. Lord, what a strange madness is this, that men, who know they must presently enter upon unchangeable joy or pain, 183 should yet live as uncertain what shall be their doom, as if they had never heard of any such state ; yea, and live as quietly and merrily in this uncertainty, as if all were made sure, and there were no danger ! Are these men alive or dead? Are they awake or asleep? What do they think on ? Where are their hearts ? If they have but a weighty suit at law, how careful are they to know whether it will go for or against tbem ? If they were to be tried for their lives at an earthly bar, how careful would they be to know whether they should be saved or con- demned, especially if their care might surely save them ! If they be dangerously sick, they will inquire of the phy- sician, What think you, Sir, shall I escape or not? But in the business of their salvation, they are content to be uncertain. If you ask most men " a reason of the hope that is in them," they will say, " Because God is merciful, and Christ died for sinners," and the like general reasons, which any man in the world may give as well as they : but put them to prove their interest in Christ, and in the saving mercy of God, and they can say nothing to the purpose. If God or man should say to them, what case is thy soul in, man? Is it regenerate, sanctified, and par- doned, or not? He would say, as Cain of Abel, " I know not ; am I my soul's keeper ? I hope well, I trust God with my soul ; I shall speed as well as other men do : I thank God, I never made any doubt of my salvation." Thou hast cause to doubt, because thou never didst doubt ; and yet more, because thou hast been so careless in thy confidence. What do thy expressions discover, but a wilful neglect of thy own salvation? As a ship-master that should let his vessel alone, and say, " I will venture it among the rocks, and waves, and winds ; I will trust God with it; it will speed as well as other vessels." What horrible abuse of God is this, to pretend to trust 184 God, to cloak their own wilful negligence ! If thou didst really trust God, thou wouldst also be ruled by him, and trust him in his own appointed way. He requires thee to give " diligence to make thy calling and election sure," and so trust him. He hath marked thee out a way in Scripture, by which thou art charged to search and try thyself, and mayest arrive at certainty. Were he not a foolish traveller, that would hold on his way, when he does not know whether he be right or wrong ; and say, " I hope I am right ; I will go on, and trust in God ? " Art thou not guilty of this folly in thy travels to eternity ? not considering, that a little serious inquiry, whether thy way be right, might save thee a great deal of labor, which thou bestowest in vain, and must undo again, or else thou wilt miss of salvation, and undo thyself. 2. How canst thou think or speak of the great God without terror, as long as thou art uncertain whether he be thy father, or thy enemy, and knowest not but all his perfections may be employed against thee ? Or of Jesus Christ, when thou knowest not whether his blood hath purged thy soul ; whether he will condemn or acquit thee in judgment ; or whether he be the foundation of thy happiness, or a stone of stumbling to break thee, and grind thee to powder ? How canst thou open the Bible, and read a chapter, but it should terrify thee 1 Methinks every leaf should be to thee as Belshazzar's writing on the wall, except only that which draws thee to try and reform. If thou readest the promises, thou knowest not whether they shall be fulfilled to thee. If thou readest the threatenings, for any thing thou knowest, thou readest thy own sentence. No wonder thou art an enemy to plain preaching, and say of the minister, as Ahab of the prophet, " I hate him, for he doth not prophecy good concerning me, but evil." How canst thou without terror 185 join in prayer ? When thou receivest the sacrament, thou knowest not whether it be thy bane or bliss. What comfort canst thou find in thy friends, and honors, and houses, and lands, till thou knowest thou hast the love of God with them, and shalt have rest with him when thou leavest them? Offer a prisoner, before he knows his sentence, either music, or clothes, or preferment; what are they to him till he knows he shall escape with his life ? for if he knows he must die the next day, it will be a small comfort to die rich or honorable. Methinks it should be so with thee, till thou knowest thy eternal state. When thou liest down to take thy rest, methinks the uncertainty of thy salvation should keep thee waking, or amaze thee in thy dreams, and trouble thy sleep. Doth it not grieve thee to see the people of God so comfortable in their way to glory, when thou hast no good hope of ever enjoying it thyself? How canst thou think of thy dying hour ? Thou knowest it is near, and there is no avoiding it, nor any medicine found out that can prevent it. If thou shouldst die this day, (and who " knows what a day may bring forth?") thou art not certain whether thou shalt go to heaven or hell. And canst thou be merry, till thou art got out of this dangerous state? What shift dost thou make to preserve thy heart from horror, when thou rememberest the great judgment-day, and everlasting flames? When thou hearest of it, dost thou not tremble, as Felix? If the "keepers shook, and became as dead men, when they saw the angel come and roll back the stone from Christ's sepulchre," how canst thou think of living in hell with devils, till thou hast some well-grounded assurance that thou shalt escape it ? Thy bed is very soft, or thy heart is very hard, if thou canst sleep soundly in this uncertain case. 17 186 3. If this general uncertainty of the world about their salvation were remediless, then must it be borne as other unavoidable miseries. But, alas ! the common cause is wilful negligence. Men will not be persuaded to use the remedy. The great means to conquer this uncertainty is self-examination, or the serious and diligent trying of a man's heart and state by the rule of Scripture. Either men understand not the nature and use of this duty, or else they will not be at the pains to try. Go through a congregation of a thousand men, and how few of them shall you meet with, that ever bestowed one hour in all their lives in a close examination of their title to heaven ! Ask thy own conscience, Reader, when was the time, and where was the place, that ever thou solemnly tookest thy heart to task, as in the sight of God, and didst examine it by Scripture, whether it be renewed or not ? whether it be holy or not? whether it be set most on God or the creatures, on heaven or earth? And when didst thou follow on this examination till thou hadst discovered thy condition, and passed sentence on thyself accordingly? But because this is a work of so high importance, and so commonly neglected, I will therefore show — that it is possible, by trying to come to a certainty ; — what hinders men from trying and knowing their state ; — then offer motives to examine — and directions, — together with some marks out of Scripture, by which you may try, and certainly know, whether you are the people of God or not. 4. (1.) Scripture shows, that the certainty of salvation may be attained, and ought to be labored for, when it tells us so frequently, that the saints before us have known their justification and future salvation : when it declares, that " whosoever believeth in Christ, shall not perish, but have everlasting life ; " which it would be in vain to declare, if we cannot know ourselves to be believers or 187 not : when it makes such a wide difference between the children of God, and the children of the devil : when it bids us " give diligence to make our calling and election sure ; " and earnestly urges us to examine, prove, know our own selves, whether we be in the faith, and whether Jesus Christ be in us, except we be reprobates : also when its precepts require us to rejoice always, to call God our Father, to live in his praises, to love Christ's appearing, to wish that he may come quickly, and to comfort, ourselves with the mention of it. But who can do any of these heartily, that is not in some measure sure that he is the child of God 1 5. (2.) Among the many hinderances which keep men from self-examination, we cannot doubt but Satan will do his part. If all the power he hath, or all the means and instruments he can employ, can do it, he will be sure above all duties to keep you from this. He is loath the godly should have the joy, assurance, and advantage against corruption, which the faithful performance of self- examination would procure them. As for the ungodly, he knows if they should once earnestly examine, they would find out his deceits, and their own danger, and so be very likely to escape him. How could he get so many millions to hell willingly, if they knew they were going thither I And how could they avoid knowing it, if they did but thoroughly try : having such a clear light and sure rule in the Scripture to discover it ? If the snare be not hid, the bird will escape it. Satan knows how to angle for souls better than to show them the hook and line, or fright them away with a noise, or with his own appearance. Therefore he labors to keep them from a searching ministry ; or to keep the minister from helping them to search, or to take off the edge of the Word, that it may not pierce and divide ; or to turn away their thoughts : or to possess them with prejudice. Satan knows when the minister has provided a searching sermon, fitted to the state and necessity of a hearer : and therefore he will keep him away that day. if it be possible ; or cast him into a sleep: or steal away the Word bv the cares and talk of the world: or some way prevent its operation. 6. Another great hinderance to self-examination arises from wicked men. Their examples ; their merry company and discourse : their continually insisting on worldly cerns : their raillery and scofls at godly persons ; also their persuasions, allurements, and threats, are each of them exceedingly great temptations to security. God doth scarcely ever open the eyes of a poor sinner, to see that his way is wrong, but presently there is a multitude of Satan's apostles ready to deceive and settle him again in the quiet possession of his former master. ""What ! '" say they, K da you make a doubt of your salvation, who- have lived so well, and done nobody any harm ? God is merciful : and if such as you shall not be saved. God help a great many ! What do you think of all your forefathers ? And what will become of all your friends and neighbors that live as you do ? Will they all be damned I Come» come, if you hearken to these preachers, they will drive you out of your wits. Are not all men sinners ! And did not Christ die to save sinners I Never trouble vour head with these thoughts, and you shall do well.'"'' O how manv thousands have such charms kept asleep in deceit and security, till death and hell have awakened them ! The Lord calls to the sinner and tells him. " The gate is strait, the way is narrow, and few find it : try and examine, give diligence to make sure.'' The world cries, • Never doubt, never trouble yourselves with these thoughts." In this strait, sinner, consider, it is Christ, and not your forefathers, or neighbors, or friends, that must 189 judge you at last ; and if Christ condemn you, these cannot save you : therefore common reason may tell you, that it is not from the words of ignorant men, but from the word of God you must fetch your hopes of salvation. When Ahab would inquire among the multitude of flattering prophets, it was his death. They can flatter men into the snare, but they cannot tell how to bring them out. " Let no man deceive you with vain words ; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience : be not ye therefore partakers with them." 7. But the greatest hinderances are in men's own hearts. — Some are so ignorant, that they know not what self- examination is, nor what a minister means when he persuadeth them to try themselves : or they know not that there is any necessity for it, but think every man is bound to believe that his sins are pardoned, whether it be true or false, and that it is a great fault to make any question of it ; or they do not think that assurance can be attained; or that there is any great difference between one man and another, but that we are all Christians, and therefore need not trouble ourselves any further ; or at least they know not wherein the difference lies. They have as gross an idea of regeneration as Nicodemus had. — Some will not believe that God will ever make such a difference betwixt men in the life to come, and therefore will not search themselves, whether they differ here. — Some are so stupified, say what we can to them, that they lay it not to heart, but give us the hearing, and there is the end. — Some are so possessed with self-love and pride, that they will not so much as suspect they are in danger : like a proud tradesman, who scorns the prudent advice of casting up his books ; as fond parents will not believe or hear any evil of their children. — Some are so guilty, that they dare not try, and yet they dare venture on a more 17* 190 dreadful trial. — Some are so in love with sin, and so dislike the way of God, that they dare not try their ways, lest they be forced from the course they love, to that which they loathe. — Some are so resolved never to change their present state, that they neglect examination as a useless thing. Before they will seek a new way, when they have lived so long, and gone so far, they will put their eternal state to the venture, come of it what will. Many men are so busy in the world, that they cannot set themselves to the trying their title to heaven. Others are so clogged with slothfulness of spirit, that they will not be at the pains of an hour's examination of their own hearts. — But the most common and dangerous impediment is that false faith and hope, commonly called presumption, which bears up the hearts of the greatest part of the world, and so keeps them from suspecting their danger. 8. And if a man should break through all these hin- derances, and set upon the duty of self-examination, yet assurance is not presently attained. Too many deceive themselves in their inquiries after it, through one or other of the following causes — There is such confusion and darkness in the soul of man, especially of an unregenerate man, that he can scarcely tell what he doth, or what is in him. — As in a house, where nothing is in its proper place, it will be difficult to find what is wanted ; so it is in the heart where all things are in disorder. — Most men accustom themselves to be strangers at home, and too little observe the temper and motions of their own hearts. — Many are resolved what to judge before they try ; like a bribed judge, who examines as if he would judge uprightly, when he is previously resolved which way the cause shall go. — Men are partial in their own cause : ready to think their great sins small, and their small sins none ; their gifts of nature to be the work of grace, and to 191 say, " All these have I kept from my youth ; I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing. — Most men search but by the halves. If it will not easily and quickly be done, they are discouraged, and leave off. They try themselves by false marks and rules ; not knowing wherein the truth of Christianity doth consist ; some looking beyond, and some short of the Scripture- standard. And frequently they miscarry in this work by attempting it in their own strength : as some expect the Spirit should do it without them, so others attempt it themselves, without seeking or expecting the help of the Spirit. Both these will certainly miscarry in their assurance. 9. Some other hinderances keep even true Christians from comfortable certainty. As for instance : The weak- ness of grace. Small things are hardly discerned. Most Christians content themselves with a small measure of grace, and do not follow on to spiritual strength and manhood. The chief remedy for such would be to follow on their duty, till their grace be increased, Wait upon God in the use of his prescribed means, and he will undoubtedly bless you with increase. O that Christians would bestow most of that time to getting more grace, which they bestow in anxious doubtings whether they have any or none ; and lay out those serious affections in praying for more grace, which they bestow in fruitless complaints ! I beseech thee, Christian, take this advice as from God ; and then, when thou believest strongly, and lovest fervently, thou canst no more doubt of thy faith and love, than a man that is very hot can doubt of his warmth, or a man that is strong and lusty, can doubt of his being alive. Christians hinder their own comfort by looking more at signs, which tell them what they are, than at precepts, which tell them what they should do : 192 as if their present case must needs be their everlasting case ; and if they be now unpardoned, there were no remedy. Were he not mad, that would lie weeping because he is not pardoned, when his prince stands by all the while offering him pardon, and persuading him to accept of it? Justifying faith, Christian, is not thy persuasion of God's special love to thee, but thy accepting Christ to make thee lovely. It is far better to accept Christ as offered, than spend so much time in doubting whether we have Christ or not. — Another cause of distress to Christians is, their mistaking assurance for the joy that sometimes accompanies it. As if a child should take himself for a son no longer than while he sees the smiles of his father's face, or hears the comfortable expressions of his mouth ; and as if the father ceased to be a father, whenever he ceased those smiles and speeches. — The trouble of souls is also increased by their not knowing the ordinary way of God's conveying comfort. They think they have nothing to do but to wait when God will bestow it. But they must know, that the matter of their comfort js in the promises, and thence they must fetch it as often as they expect it, by daily and diligently meditating upon the promises ; and in this way they may expect the Spirit will communicate comfort to their souls. The joy of the promises, and the joy of the Holy Ghost, are one : add to this, their expecting a greater measure of assurance than God usually bestows, As long as they have any doubting, they think they have no assurance. They consider not that there are many degrees of certainty. While they are here, they shall " know but in part." — Add also, their deriving their comfort at first from insufficient grounds. This may be the case of a gracious soul, who hath better grounds, but doth not see them. As an infant hath life before he knoweth it, and many misapprehensions of 193 himself and other things, yet it will not follow that he hath no life. So when Christians find a flaw in their first comforts, they are not to judge it a flaw in their safety. Many continue under doubting, through the exceeding weakness of their natural parts. Many honest hearts have weak heads, and know not how to perform the work of self-trial. They will acknowledge the premises, and yet deny the apparent conclusion. If God do not some other way supply the defect of their reason, I see not how they should have clear and settled peace. One great and too common cause of distress is, the secret maintaining some known sin. This abates the degree of our graces, and so makes them more undiscernible. It obscureth that which it destroyeth not; for it beareth such sway that grace is not in action ; nor seems to stir, nor is scarce heard speak for the noise of this corruption. It guts out or dimmeth the eye of the soul, and stupifies it, that it can neither see nor feel its own condition. But especially it provokes God to withdraw himself, his comforts, and the assistance of his Spirit, without which we may search long enough before we have assurance, God hath made a separation between sin and peace. As long as thou dost cherish thy pride, thy love of the world, the desires of the flesh, or any unchristian practice, thou expectest comfort in vain. If a man setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a minister, or to God, to inquire for comfort, instead of comforting him, God " will answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols." — Another very great and common cause of the want of comfort is, when grace is not kept in constant and lively exercise. The way of painful duty, is the way of fullest comfort. Peace and comfort are Christ's great encouragements to faithfulness and 194 obedience ; and therefore, though our obedience does not merit them, yet they usually rise and fall with our dili- gence in duty. As prayer must have faith and fervency to procure it success, besides the blood and intercession of Christ, so must all other parts of our obedience. If thou grow seldom, and customary, and cold in duty, especially in thy secret prayers to God, and yet findest no abatement in thy joys, I cannot but fear thy joys are either carnal or diabolical. Besides, grace is never apparent and sensible to the soul, but while it is in action ; therefore want of action must cause want of assurance. And the action of the soul upon such excellent objects, naturally bringeth consolation with it. The very act of loving God in Christ is inexpressibly sweet. The soul that is best furnished with grace, when it is not in action, is like a lute well stringed and tuned, which while it lieth still, maketh no more music than a common piece of wood ; but when it is handled by a skilful musician, the melody is delightful. Some degree of comfort follows every good action, as heat accompanies fire, and as beams and influence issue from the sun. A man that is cold, should labor till heat be excited ; so he that wants assurance must not stand still, but exercise his graces, till his doubts vanish. The want of consolation in the soul is also very commonly owing to bodily melancholy. It is no more wonder for a conscien- tious man, under melancholy, to doubt, and fear, and despair, than for a sick man to groan, or a child to cry- when it is chastised. Without the physician in this case, the labors of the divine are usually in vain. You may silence, but you cannot comfort them. You may make them confess they have some grace, and yet cannot bring them to the comfortable conclusion. All the good thoughts of their state which you can possibly help them to, are seldom above a day or two old. They cry out of sin, and 195 the wrath of God, when the chief cause is in their bodily distemper. 10. (3.) As for motives to persuade to the duty of self-examination, I entreat you to consider the following : — To be deceived about your title to heaven is very easy. Many are now in hell, that never suspected any falsehood in their hearts, that excelled in worldly wisdom, that lived in the clear light of the gospel, and even preached against the negligence of others. To be mistaken in this great point is also very common. It is the case of most in the world. In the old world, and in Sodom, we find none that were in any fear of judgment. Almost all men among us verily look to be saved; yet Christ tells us, " there be few that find the strait gate, and narrow way, which leadeth unto life." And if such multitudes are deceived, should we not search the more diligently, lest we should be deceived as well as they 1 — Nothing is more dangerous than to be thus mistaken. If the godly judge their state worse than it is, the consequences of this mistake will be sorrowful ; but the mischief flowing from the mistake of the ungodly is unspeakable. It will exceedingly confirm them in the service of Satan. It will render ineffectual the means that should do them good. It will keep a man from compassionating his own soul. It is a case of the greatest moment, where ever- lasting salvation or damnation is to be determined : and if you mistake till death, you are undone for ever. Seeing then the danger is so great, what wise man would not follow the search of his heart both day and night, till he were assured of his safety 1 Consider how small the labor of this duty is in comparison of that sorrow which followeth its neglect. You can endure to toil and sweat from year to year, to prevent poverty, and why not spend a little time in self-examination, to prevent 196 eternal misery 1 By neglecting this duty, you can scarce do Satan a greater pleasure, nor yourselves a greater injury. It is the grand design of the devil, in all his temptations, to deceive you, and keep you ignorant of your danger, till you feel the everlasting flames; and will you join with him to deceive yourself? If you do this for him, you do the greatest part of his work. And hath he deserved so well of you, that you should assist him in such a design as your damnation ? The time is nigh when God will search you. If it be but in this life by affliction, it will make you wish that you had tried and judged yourselves, that you might have escaped the judgment of God. It was a terrible voice to Adam, "Where art thou? Hast thou eaten of the tree?" And to Cain, "Where is thy brother?" Men " consider not in their hearts that I," saith the Lord, " remember all their wickedness : now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face." Consider also what would be the sweet effects of this self-examination. If thou be upright and godly, it will lead thee straight towards assurance of God's love ; if thou be not, though it will trouble thee at the present, yet it will tend to thy happiness, and at length lead thee to the assurance of that happiness. Is it not a desirable thing to know what shall befall us hereafter ? especially what shall befall our souls ? and what place and state we must be in for ever ? And as the very knowledge itself is desirable, how much greater will the comfort be of that certainty of salvation ? What sweet thoughts wilt thou have of God ? All that greatness and justice, which is the terror of others, will be thy joy. How sweet may be thy thoughts of Christ, and the blood he hath shed, and the benefits he hath procured ! How welcome will the word of God be to thee, and how beautiful the very feet of those that bring 197 It I How sweet will be the promises when thou art sure they are thine own ! The very threatenings will occasion thy comfort, to remember that thou hast escaped them. What boldness and comfort mayest thou then have in prayer, when thou canst say, " Our Father," in full assur- ance ! It will make the Lord's supper a refreshing feast to thy soul. It will multiply the sweetness of every com- mon mercy. How comfortably mayest thou then undergo all afflictions ! How will it sweeten thy forethoughts of death and judgment, of heaven and hell ! How lively will it make thee in the work of the Lord, and how profitable to all around thee ! What vigor will it infuse into all thy graces and affections, kindle thy repentance, inflame thy love, quicken thy desires, and confirm thy faith, be a fountain of continual rejoicing, overflow thy heart with thankfulness, raise thee high in the delightful work of praise, help thee to be heavenly-minded, and render thee persevering in all ! All these sweet effects of assurance would make thy life a heaven upon earth. 11. Though I am certain these motives have weight of reason in them, yet I am jealous, Reader, lest you lay aside the book, as if you had done, and never set yourself to the practice of the duty. The case in hand is of the greatest moment, whether thou shalt everlastingly live in heaven or hell. I here request thee, in behalf of thy soul ; nay, I charge thee, in the name of the Lord, that thou defer no longer, but take thy heart to task in good earnest, and think with thyself, " Is it so easy, so common, and so dangerous to be mistaken ? Are there so many wrong ways 1 Is the heart so deceitful ? Why then do I not search into every corner, till I know my state 1 Must I so shortly undergo the trial at the bar of Christ ? And do I not presently try myself? What a case were I in, if I should then miscarry ? May I know by a little diligent 18 mm 193 inquiry now ; and do I stick at the labor ? " But perhaps thou wilt say, " I know not how to do it." In that I am now to give thee directions ; but. alas ! it will be in vain. if thou art not resolved to practise them. Wilt thou, therefore, before thou goest any further, here promise before the Lord, to set thyself upon the speedy perform- ance of the duty, according to the directions I shall lay down from the word of God. I demand nothing unrea- sonable or impossible. It is but to bestow a few hours, to know what shall become of thee for ever. If a neighbor, or a friend, desire but an hour's time of thee in conversa- tion, or business, or any thing in which thou mayest be of service, surely thou wouldst not deny it ; how much less shouldst thou deny this to thyself in so great an affair ! I pray thee to take from me this request, as if, in the name of Christ, I presented it to thee on my knees : and I will betake me on my knees to Christ again, to beg that he will persuade thy heart to the duty. 12. (4.) The directions how to examine thyself are such as these : — Empty thy mind of all other cares and thoughts, that they may not distract or divide thy mind. This work will be enough at once, without joining others with it. Then fall down before God in hearty prayer, desiring the assistance of his Spirit, to discover to thee the plain truth of thy condition, and to enlighten thee in the whole progress of this work. Make choice of the most convenient time and place. Let the place be the most private : and the time, when you have nothing to interrupt you ; and if possible, let it be the present time. Have in readiness, either in memory or writing, some Scriptures, containing the descriptions of the saints, and the gospel terms of salvation : and convince thyself thoroughly of their infallible truth. Proceed then to put the question to thyself. Let it not be, whether there be any good in thee 199 at all ? nor, whether thou hast such or such a degree and measure of grace ? but whether such or such a saving grace be in thee in sincerity or not ? If thy heart draw back from the work, force it on. Lay thy command upon it. Let reason interpose, and use its authority. Yea, lay the command of God upon it, and charge it to obey, upon the pain of his displeasure. Let conscience also do its office, till thy heart be excited to the work. — Nor let thy heart trifle away the time, when it should be diligently at the work. Do as the Psalmist — " My spirit made diligent search." He that can prevail with his own heart, shall also prevail with God. — If, after all thy pains, thou art not resolved, then seek out for help. Go to one that is godly, experienced, able, and faithful, and tell him thy case, and desire his best advice. Use the judgment of such a one, as that of a physician for thy body : though this can afford thee no full certainty, yet it may be a great help to stay and direct thee. But do not make it a pretence to put off thy own self-examination. Only use it as one of the last remedies, when thy own endeavors will not serve. When thou hast discovered thy true state, pass sentence on thy- self accordingly ; either that thou art a true Christian, or that thou art not. Pass not this sentence rashly, nor with self-flattery, nor with melancholy terrors ; but deliberately, truly, and according to thy conscience, convinced by Scripture and reason. Labor to get thy heart affected with its condition, according to the sentence passed on it. If graceless, think of thy misery : if renewed and sanc- tified, think what a blessed state the Lord hath brought thee into. Pursue these thoughts till they have left their impression on thy heart. Write this sentence at least in thy memory— " At such a time, upon thorough examina- tion, I found my state to be thus, or thus." Such a record will be very useful to thee hereafter. Trust not to this 200 one discovery, so as to try no more ; nor let it hinder thee' in the daily search of thy ways : neither be discouraged^ if the trial must be often repeated. Especially take heed,, if unregenerate, not to conclude of thy future state by the present. Do not say, " Because I am ungodly, I shall die so ; because I am a hypocrite, I shall continue so." Do not despair. Nothing but thy unwillingness can keep thee from Christ, though thou hast hitherto abused him, and dissembled with him. 13. (5.) Now let me add some marks by which you may try your title to the saints' rest. I will only mention these two, — taking God for thy chief good — and heartily accepting Christ for thy only Saviour and Lord. 14. Every soul that hath a title to this rest, doth place his chief happiness in God. This rest consisteth in the full and glorious enjoyment of God. He that maketh not God his chief good and ultimate end, is in heart a pagan and a vile idolater. Let me ask then, dost thou truly account it thy chief happiness to enjoy the Lord in glory , or dost thou not? Canst thou say, "The Lord is my portion ? Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee 1 " If thou be an heir of rest, it is thus with thee. Though the flesh will be pleading for its own delights, and the world will be creeping into thine affections ; yet in thy ordinary, settled, prevailing judgment and affections, thou preferrest God before all things in the world. — Thou makest him the very end of thy desires and endeavors. The very reason why thou hearest and prayest, and desirest to live on earth, is chiefly this, That thou mayest seek the Lord, and make sure of thy rest. Though thou dost not seek it so zeal- ously as thou shouldst ; yet it has the chief of thy desires and endeavors, so that nothing else is desired or preferred before it. Thou wilt think no labor or suffering too great 201 to obtain it. And though the flesh may sometimes shrink, yet thou art resolved and contented to go through all. Thy esteem for it will also be so high, and thy affection to it so great, that thou wouldst not exchange thy title to it, and hopes of it, for any worldly good whatsoever. If God should set before thee an eternity of earthly pleasures on one hand, and the saints' rest on the other, and bid thee take thy choice ; thou wouldst refuse the world, and choose this rest. But if thou art yet unsanctified, then thou dost in thy heart prefer thy worldly happiness before God ; and though thy tongue may say, that God is thy chief good, yet thy heart doth not so esteem him. For the world is the chief end of thy desires and endeavors. Thy very heart is set upon it. Thy greatest care and labor is to maintain thy credit, or fleshly delights. But the life to come hath little of thy care or labor. Thou didst never perceive so much excellency in that unseen glory of another world, as to draw thy heart after it, and set thee a laboring heartily for it. The little pains thou bestowest that way, is but in the second place. God hath but the world's leavings ; only that time and labor which thou canst spare from the world, or those few, cold, and careless thoughts which follow thy constant, earnest, and delightful thoughts of earthly things. Neither wouldst thou do any thing at all for heaven, if thou knewest how to keep the world. But lest thou shouldst be turned into hell, when thou canst keep the world no longer, therefore thou wilt do something. For the same reason, thou thinkest the way of God too strict, and will not be per- suaded to the constant labor of walking according to the Gospel rule ; and when it comes to the trial, that thou must forsake Christ, or thy worldly happiness, then thou wilt venture heaven rather than earth, and so wilfully deny thy obedience to God. And certainly if God would but 18* 202 give thee leave to live in health and wealth for ever on earth, thou wouldst think it a better state than rest. Let them seek for heaven that would, thou wouldst think this thy chief happiness. This is thy case, if thou art yet an unregenerate person, and hast no title to the saints' rest. 15. And as thou takest God for thy chief good, so thou dost heartily accept of Christ for thy only Saviour and Lord, to bring thee to this rest. The former mark was the sum of the first and great command of the law, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." The second mark, is the sum of the command of the Gospel. " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And the performance of these two is the whole of godliness and Christianity. This mark is but the definition of faith. Dost thou heartily consent that Christ alone shall be thy Saviour ? and no further trust to thy duties and works, than as means appointed in subordi- nation to him ? and looking at them as not in the least measure able to satisfy the curse of the law, or as a legal righteousness, or any part of it ; but consent to trust thy salvation on the redemption made by Christ ? Art thou also content to take him for thy only Lord and King, to govern and guide thee by his laws and Spirit ; and to obey him, even when he commandeth the hardest duties, and those which most cross the desires of the flesh ? Is it thy sorrow when thou breakest thy resolution herein 1 and thy joy when thou keepest closest in obedience to him? Wouldst thou not change thy Lord and Master for all the world ? Thus is it with every true Christian. But if thou be a hypocrite, it is far otherwise. Thou mayest call Christ thy Lord and thy Saviour ; but thou never foundest thyself so lost without him, as to drive thee to seek him and trust him, and lay thy salvation on him alone. At least, thou didst never heartily consent 203 that he should govern thee as thy Lord, nor resign up thy soul and life to be ruled by him, nor take his word for the law of thy thoughts and actions. It is likely thou art content to be saved from hell by Christ when thou diest ; but in the mean time he shall command thee no further than will stand with thy credit, or pleasure, or other worldly ends. And if he would give thee leave, thou hadst far rather live after the world and flesh, than after the Word and Spirit. And though thou mayest now and then have a motion or purpose to the contrary ; yet this that I have mentioned is the ordinary desire and choice of thy heart. Thou art therefore no true believer in Christ ; for though thou confess him in words, yet in works thou dost deny him, " being abominable, and dis- obedient, and unto every good work reprobate." This is the case of those that shall be shut out of the saints' rest. 16. Observe, it is the consent of your hearts, or wills, which I especially lay down to be inquired after. I do not ask, whether thou be assured of salvation, nor whether thou canst believe that thy sins are pardoned, and that thou art beloved of God in Christ ? These are no parts of justifying faith, but excellent fruits of it, and they that receive them, are comforted by them ; but, perhaps, thou mayest never receive them while thou livest, and yet be a true heir of rest. Do not say then, " I cannot believe that my sins are pardoned, or that I am in God's favor ; and therefore I am no true believer." This is a most mistaken conclusion. — The question is, whether thou dost heartily accept of Christ, that thou mayest be pardoned, reconciled to God, and so saved 1 Dost thou consent that he shall be thy Lord, who hath bought thee, and that he shall bring thee to heaven in his own way ? This is justifying, saving faith, and the mark by which thou must try thyself. Yet still observe, that all this consent must 204 be hearty and real, not feigned or with reservations. It is not saying, as that dissembling son, " I go, Sir ; and went not." If any have more of the government of thee than Christ, thou art not his disciple. I am sure these two marks are such as every Christian hath, and none but sincere Christians. O that the Lord would now persuade thee to the close performance of this self-trial! that thou mayest not tremble with horror of soul, when the Judge of all the world shall try thee ; but be so able to prove thy title to rest, that the prospect and approach of death and judgment may raise thy spirits, and fill thee with joy. 17. On the whole, as ever Christians would have comforts that will not deceive them, let them make it the great labor of their lives to grow in grace, to strengthen and advance the interest of Christ in their souls, and to weaken and subdue the interest of the flesh. Deceive not yourselves with a persuasion, that Christ hath done all, and left you nothing to do. To overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil : and in order to that, to stand always armed upon our watch, and valiantly and patiently to fight it out, is of great importance to our assurance and salvation. Indeed it is so great a part of our baptismal vow, that he who performeth it not, is no more than a nominal Christian. Not to every one that presumptuously believeth, but " to him that overcometh, will Christ give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it ; he shall eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, and shall not be hurt of the second death. Christ will confess his name before his Father, and before his angels, and make him a pillar in the temple of God, and he shall go no more out : and will write upon him the name of his God, and the name of the city of his God, 205 which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from his God, and will write upon him his new name." Yea, " He will grant to him to sit with him on his throne, even as he also overcame, and is sit down with his Father on his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," 206 CHAPTER IX. The Duty of the People of God to excite others to seek this Rest. Sect. 1. The Author laments that Christians do so little to help others to obtain the saints' rest : 2. (I.) Shows the nature of this duty : particularly, 3. (1.) In haying our hearts affected with the misery of our brethren's souls ; 4 — 6. (2.) In taking all opportu- nities to instruct them in the way of salvation ; 7. (3.) In promoting their profit by public ordinances : 8. (II.) Assigns various reasons why this duty is so much neglected, 9. And answers some objections against it : 10 — 13. Then, (III.) Urges to the discharge of it, by several considerations, 14. Addressed to such as have knowledge, learning/and utterance; 15. Those that are acquainted with sinners ; 16. Physicians that attend dying men ; 17. Persons of wealth and power ; 18. Ministers ; 19. And those that are intrusted with the care of children or servants. 20. The chapter concludes with an earnest request to Christian parents to be faithful to their trust. 1. Hath God set before us such a glorious prize as the saints' rest, and made us capable of such inconceivable happiness? Why then do not all the children of this kingdom exert themselves more to help others to the enjoyment of it ? Alas, how little are poor souls about us beholden to most of us ! We see the glory of the king- dom, and they do not : we see the misery of those that are out of it, and they do not : we see some wandering quite out of the way, and know, if they hold on, they can never come there ; and they themselves discern it not. And yet we will not seriously show them their danger and error, and help to bring them into the way, that they may 207 live. Alas, how few Christians are there to be found, that set themselves with all their might to save souls ! No thanks to us, if heaven be not empty, and if the souls of our brethren perish not for ever. Considering how important this duty is, to the glory of God, and the happiness of men, I will show — how it is to be per- formed — why it is so much neglected— and then offer some considerations to persuade to it. 2. (I.) The duty of exciting and helping others to discern their title to the saints' rest, doth not mean that every man should turn a public preacher, or that any should go beyond the bounds of their particular callings ; much less does it consist in promoting a party spirit ; and, least of all, in speaking against men's faults behind their backs, and be silent before their faces. This duty is of another nature, and consists of the following things — in having our hearts affected with the misery of our brethren's souls, in taking all opportunities to instruct them in the way of salvation — and in promoting their profit by public ordinances. 3. (1.) Our hearts must be affected with the misery of our brethren's souls. We must be compassionate towards them, and yearn after their recovery and salvation. If we earnestly longed after their conversion, and our hearts were solicitous to do them good, it would set us on work, and God would usually bless it. 4. (2.) We must take every opportunity that we possibly can, to instruct them how to attain salvation. If the person be ignorant, labor to make him understand the chief happiness of man ; how far he was once possessed of it; the covenant God then made with him; how he broke it ; what penalty he incurred ; and what misery he brought himself into : teach him his need of a Redeemer ; how Christ did mercifully interpose, and bear the penalty ; 208 what the new covenant is ; how men are drawn to Christ ; and what are the riches and privileges which believers have in him. If he is not moved by these things, then show him the excellency of the glory he neglects ; the extremity and eternity of the torments of the damned ; the justice of enduring them for wilfully refusing grace ; the certainty, nearness, and terrors of death and judgment ; the vanity of all things below ; the sinfulness of sin ; the preciousness of Christ ; the necessity of regeneration, faith, and holiness, and the true nature of them. If, after all, you find him entertaining false hopes, then urge him to examine his state ; show him the necessity of doing so ; help him in it ; nor leave him till you have convinced him of his misery and remedy. Show him how vain and de- structive it is to join Christ and his duties, to compose his justifying righteousness. Yet be sure to draw him to the use of all means : such as hearing and reading the word, calling upon God, and associating with the godly : per- suade him to forsake sin, avoid all temptations to sin, especially evil companions, and to wait patiently on God in the use of means, as the way in which God will be found. 5. But because the manner of performing this work is of great moment, observe therefore, these rules. — Enter upon it with right intentions. Aim at the glory of God in the person's salvation. Do it not to get a name, or esteem to thyself, or to bring men to depend upon thee, or to get thee followers; but in obedience to Christ/ in imitation of him, and tender love to men's souls. Do not as those, who labor to reform their children or servants from such things as are against their own profit or humor, but never seek to save their souls in the way which God hath appointed. Do it speedily. As you would not have them delay their return, do not you delay to seek their 209 return. While you are purposing to teach and help him, the man goes deeper in debt ; wrath is heaping up ; sin is taking root ; custom fastens him ; temptations to sin multiply ; conscience grows seared ; the heart hardened ; the devil rules ; Christ is shut out ; the Spirit is resisted ; God is daily dishonored ; his law violated ; he is without a servant, and that service from him which He should have ; time runs on ; death and judgment are at the door ; and what if the man die, and drop into hell, while you are proposing to prevent it 1 If in the case of his bodily distress, you must not say to him, " Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give,^when thou hast it by thee ; " how much less may you delay the succor of his soul 1 That physician is no better than a murderer, who neg- ligently delayeth till his patient is dead or past cure. Lay by excuses then, and all lesser business, and " exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day; lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Let your exhortation proceed from compassion and love. To jeer and scoff, to rail and vilify, is not a likely way to reform men, or convert them to God. — Go to poor sinners with tears in your eyes, that they may see you believe them to be miserable, and that you unfeignedly pity their case. Deal with them with earnest humble entreaties. Let them perceive, it is the desire of your hearts to do them good ; that you have no other end but their everlasting happiness ; and that it is your sense of their danger, and your love to their souls that forceth you to speak ; even because you know the terrors of the Lord, and for fear you should see them in eternal torments. Say to them, " Friend, you know I seek no advantage of my own : the method to please you, and keep your friendship, were to soothe you in your way, or let you alone ; but love will not suffer me to see you perish, and be silent. I seek 19 210 nothing at your hands, but that which is necessary to your own happiness. It is yourself that will have the gain and comfort, if you come to Christ." If we were thus to go to every ignorant and wicked neighbor, what blessed fruit should we quickly see ! — Do it with all possible plainness and faithfulness. Do not make their sins less than they are, nor encourage them in a false hope. If you see the case dangerous, speak plainly — " Neighbor, I am afraid God hath not yet renewed your soul ; I doubt you are not yet recovered from the power of Satan to God ; I doubt you have not chosen Christ above all, nor unfeignedly taken him for your sovereign Lord. If you had, surely you durst not so easily disobey him, nor neglect his worship in your family, and in public; you could not so eagerly follow the world, and talk of nothing but the things of the world. If you were in Christ, you would be a new creature : old things would be passed away, and all things would become new. You would have new thoughts, new talk, new company, new en- deavors, and a new conversation. Certainly, without these you can never be saved : you may think otherwise, and hope otherwise, as long as you will, but your hopes will all deceive you, and perish with you." Thus must you deal faithfully with men, if ever you intend to do them good. It is not in curing men's souls, as in curing their bodies, where they must not know their danger, lest it hinder the cure. They are here agents in their own cure ; and if they know not their misery, they will never bewail it, nor know their need of a Saviour. Do it also seriously, zealously, and effectually. Labor to make men know that heaven and hell are not matters to be played with, or passed over with a few careless thoughts — " It is most certain, that one of these days thou shalt be in everlasting joy or torment ; and doth it not awaken thee 1 211 Are there so few that find the way of life ? So many that go the way of death ? Is it so hard to escape 1 so easy to miscarry 1 and yet do you sit still and trifle ? What do you mean 1 The world is passing away : its pleasures, honors, and profits, are fading and leaving you : eternity is a little before you : God is just and jealous : his threatenings are true : the great day will be terrible : time runs on : your life is uncertain : you are far behindhand : your case is dangerous : if you die to-morrow, how unready are you ! With what terror will your souls go out of your bodies! And do you yet loiter? Consider, God is all this while waiting your leisure : his patience beareth ; his long-suffering forbeareth : his mercy en- treateth you : Christ offereth you his blood and merits : the Spirit is persuading: conscience is accusing: Satan waits to have you. This is your time, now or never. Had you rather burn in hell, than repent on earth ? have devils your tormentors, than Christ your governor ? Will you renounce your part in God and glory, rather than renounce your sins 1 O friends, what do you think of these things ? God hath made you men ; do not renounce your reason where you should chiefly use it." Alas ! it is not a few dull words between jest and earnest, between sleep and awake, that will rouse a dead-hearted sinner. If a house be on fire, you will not make a cold oration on the nature and danger of fire, but will run and cry, Fire ! fire ! To tell a man of his sins as soft as Eli did his sons ; or to reprove him as gently as Jehoshaphat did Ahab, "Let not the king say so:" usually doth as much harm as good. Loathness to displease men, makes us undo them. 6. Yet, lest you run into extremes, I advise you to do it with prudence and discretion. — Choose the fittest season. Deal not with men when they are in a passion, 212 or where they will take it for a disgrace. When the earth is soft, the plough will enter. Take a man when he is under affliction, or newly impressed under a sermon, Christian faithfulness requires us, not only to do good when it falls in our way, but to watch for opportunities, Suit yourselves also to the quality and temper of the person. You must deal with the ingenious more by argument than persuasion. There is need of both to the ignorant. The affections of the convinced should be chiefly excited. The obstinate must be sharply reproved. The timorous must be dealt with tenderly. Love and plainness, and seriousness, take with all; but words of terror some can scarce bear. Use also the aptest expres- sions. Unseeming language makes the hearers loathe the food they should live by ; especially if they be men of curious ears, and carnal hearts. — Let all your reproofs and exhortations be backed with the authority of God, Let sinners be convinced that you speak not of j r our own head. Turn them to the very chapter and verse where their sin is condemned, and their duty commanded. The voice of man is contemptible, but the voice of God is awful and terrible. They may reject your words, that dare not reject the words of the Almighty. — Be frequent with men in this duty of exhortation. If we are always to pray, and not to faint, because God will have us im- portunate with himself ; the same course, no doubt, will be most prevailing with men. Therefore we are com- manded " to exhort one another daily ; " and " with all- long-suffering." The fire is not always brought out of the flint at one stroke ; nor men's affections kindled at the first exhortation. And if they were, yet if they be not followed, they will soon grow cold again. Follow sinners with your loving and earnest entreaties, and give them no- rest in their sin. This is- true charity, the way to save 213 men's souls, and will afford you comfort upon review. — Strive to bring all your exhortations to an issue. If we speak the most convincing words, and all our care is over with our speech, we shall seldom prosper in our labors ; but God usually blesses their labors, whose very heart is set upon the conversion of their hearers, and who are therefore inquiring after the success of their work. If you reprove a sin, cease not till the sinner promises you to leave it, and avoid the occasion of it. If you are exhorting to a duty, urge for a promise to set upon it presently. If you would draw~ men to Christ, leave not till you have made them confess the misery of their present unregenerate state, and the necessity of Christ, and of a change, and have promised you to fall close to the use of means. O that all Christians would take this course with their neighbors that are enslaved to sin, and strangers to Christ ! — Once more, be sure your example exhort as well as your words. Let them see you constant in all the duties you persuade them to. Let them see in your lives that superiority to the world which your lips recommend. Let them see, by your constant labors for heaven, that you indeed believe what you would have them believe. A holy and heavenly life is a continual pain to the consciences of sinners around you, and con- tinually solicits them to change their course. 7. (3.) Besides the duty of private admonition, you must endeavor to help men to profit by the public ordi- nances. In order to that — endeavor to procure for them faithful ministers, where they are wanting. " How shall they hear without a preacher?" Improve your interest and diligence to this end, till you prevail. Extend your purses to the utmost. How many souls may be saved by the ministry you have procured ! It is a higher and nobler charity, than relieving their bodies. What 19* 214 abundance of good might great men do, if they would support, in academical education, such youth as they have first carefully chosen for their integrity and piety. till they should be fit for the ministry ! And when a faithful ministry is obtained, help poor souls to receive the fruit of it. Draw them constantly to attend it. Remind them often what they have heard : and, if it be possible, let them hear it repeated in their families, or elsewhere. Promote their frequent meeting together, besides publicly in the congregation : not as a separate church, but as c. part of the church, more diligent than the rest in redeeming time, and helping the souls of each other heaven-ward. Labor also to keep the ordinances and ministry in esteem, No man will be much wrought on by that which he despiseth. An apostle says, " "We beseech you, brethren, to know them who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you : and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.*'' 8. (11.) Let us now a little inquire, what may be the causes of the gross neglect of this duty : that the hinder- ances being discovered, may the more easily be overcome. — One hinderance is, men's own sin and guilt. They have not themselves been ravished with heavenly delights : how then should they draw others so earnestly to seek them ? They have not. felt their own lost condition, nor their need of Christ, nor the renewing work of the Spirit : how then can they discover these to others 1 They are guilty of the sins they should reprove, and this makes them ashamed to reprove. — Another is, a secret infidelity prevailing in men's hearts. Did we verily believe, that all the unregenerate and unholy should be eternally tor- mented, how could we hold our tongues, or avoid bursting into tears, when we look them in the face, especially when 215 they are our near and dear friends ? Thus doth secret unbelief consume the vigor of each grace and duty. O Christians, if you did verily believe that your ungodly neighbors, wife, husband, or child, should certainly lie for ever in hell, except they be thoroughly changed before death shall snatch them away, would not this make you address them day and night till they were persuaded 1 Were it not for this cursed unbelief, our own and our neighbors' souls would gain more by us than they do. — These attempts are also much hindered by our want of charity and compassion for men's souls. We look on miserable souls, and pass by, as the Priest and Levite by the wounded man. What though the sinner, wounded by sin, and captivated by Satan, do not desire thy help himself; yet his misery cries aloud. If God had not heard the cry of our miseries, before he heard the cry of our prayers, and be moved by his own pity before he was moved by our importunity, we might long have continued the slaves of Satan. You will pray to God for them to open their eyes, and turn their hearts ; and why not en- deavor their conversion, if you desire it ? And if you do not desire it, why do you ask it ? Why do you not pray them to consider and return, as well as pray to God to convert and turn them ? If you should see your neighbor fallen into a pit, and should pray to God to help him out, but neither put forth your hand to help him. nor once direct him to help himself, would not any man censure you for your cruelty and hypocrisy ? It is as true of the soul as of the body. If any man " seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" Or what love hath he to his brother's soul? — We are also hindered by a base, man-pleasing disposition. We are so desirous to keep in credit and favor with men, that it makes us most unconscionably neglect our own duty. He is a foolish and unfaithful physician that will let a sick man die for fear of troubling him. Tf our friends are distracted, we please them in nothing that tends to their hurt. And yet when they are beside themselves in point of salvation, and in their madness posting on to damnation, we will not stop them, for fear of displeasing them. How can we be Christians, that " love the praise of men more than the praise of God?" For, if we " seek to please men, we shall not be the servants of Christ." — It is common to be hindered by sinful bashfulness. When we should shame men out of their sins, we are ourselves ashamed of our duties. May not these sinners condemn us, when they blush not to swear, be drunk, or neglect the worship of God ; and we blush to tell them of it, and persuade them from it? Bashfulness is unseemly in cases of necessity. It is not a work to be ashamed of, to obey God in per- suading men from their sins to Christ. Reader, hath not thy conscience told thee of thy duty many a time, and put thee on to speak to poor sinners ; and yet thou hast been ashamed to open thy mouth, and so let them alone to sink or swim ? O read and tremble, " Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels." An idle and impatient spirit hindereth us. It is an ungrateful work, and sometimes makes men our enemies. Besides, it seldom succeeds at the first, except it be followed on. You must be long teaching the ignorant, and persuading the obstinate. We consider not what patience God used towards us when we were in our sins. Wo to us if God had been as impatient with us as we are with others. — Another hinderance is, self-seeking. " All seek their own, not the things which are Jesus 217 Christ's and their brethren's. — With many, pride is a great impediment. If it were to speak to a great man, and it would not displease him, they would do it; but to go among the poor, and take pains with them in their cot- tages, where is the person that will do it? Many will rejoice in being instrumental in converting a gentleman, and they have good reason ; but overlook the multitude, as if the souls of all were not alike to God. Alas, these men little consider how low Christ stooped to us ! Few rich and noble, and wise are called. It is the poor that receive the glad tidings of the gospel. — And with some, their ignorance of the duty hindereth them from perform- ing it. Either they know it not to be a duty, or at least not to be their duty. If this be thy case, Reader, I am in hope thou art now acquainted with thy duty, and will set upon it. 9. Do not object to this duty, that you are unable to manage an exhortation ; but either set those on work who are more able, or faithfully and humbly use the small ability you have, and tell them as a weak man may do, what God says in his word. — Decline not the duty, be- cause it is your superior who needs advice and exhortation. Order must be dispensed with, in cases of necessity. Though it be a husband, a parent, a minister, you must teach him in such a case. If parents are in want, chil- dren must relieve them. If a husband be sick, the wife must fill up his place in family affairs. If the rich are reduced to beggary, they must receive charity. If the physician be sick, somebody must look to him. So the meanest servant must admonish his master, and the child his parent, and the wife her husband, and the people their minister ; so that it be done when there is real need, and with all possible humility, modesty, and meekness. — Do not say, " This will make us all preachers ; " for every 218 good Christian is a teacher, and has a charge of his neigh- bor's soul. Every man is a physician, when a regular physician cannot be had, and when the hurt is so small that any man may relieve it ; and in the same cases every man must be a teacher. — Do not despair of success. Cannot God give it 1 And must it not be by means ? — Do not plead ; it will only be casting pearls before swine. When you are in danger to be torn in pieces, Christ would have you forbear ; but what is that to you that are in no such danger ? As long as they will hear, you have encouragement to speak, and may not cast them off as contemptible swine. — Say not, " It is a friend on whom I much depend, and by telling him his sin and misery, I may lose his love, and be undone." Is his love more to be valued than his safety 1 or thy own benefit by him, than the salvation of his soul ? or wilt thou connive at his damnation, because he is thy friend 1 Is that thy best requital of his friendship ? Hadst thou rather he should burn in hell for ever, than thou shouldst lose his favor, or the maintenance thou hast from him ? 10. (III.) But that all who fear God may be excited to do their utmost to help others to this blessed rest, let me entreat you to consider the following motives. As, for instance, not only nature, but especially grace, disposes the soul to be communicative of good. Therefore, to neglect this work is a sin both against nature and grace. Would you not think him unnatural that would suffer his children or neighbors to starve in the streets, while he has provision at hand ? And is not he more unnatural, that will let them eternally perish, and not open his mouth to save them ? An unmerciful, cruel man, is a monster to be abhorred of all. If God had bid you give them all your estates, or lay down your lives to save them, you would surely have refused, when you will not bestow a 219 little breath to save them. Is not the soul of a husband, or wife, or child, or neighbor, worth a few words? Cruelty to men's bodies is a most damnable sin ; but to their souls much more, as the soul is of greater worth than the body, and eternity than time. Little know you what many a soul may now be feeling in hell, who died in their sins, for want of your faithful admonition. — Consider what Christ did towards the saving of souls. He thought them worth his blood ; and shall we not think them worth our breath ? Will you not do a little where Christ hath done so much ? — Consider what fit objects of pity ungodly people are. They are dead in trespasses and sins, have not hearts to feel their miseries, nor to pity themselves. If others do not pity them, they will have no pity ; for it is the nature of their disease to make them pitiless to themselves, yea, their own most cruel de- stroyers.— Consider it was once thy own case. It was God's argument to the Israelites, to be kind to strangers, because themselves had been " strangers in the land of Egypt." So should you pity them that are strangers to Christ, and to the hopes and comforts of the saints, because you were once strangers to them yourselves. Consider your relation to them. It is thy neighbor, thy brother, whom thou art bound to love as thyself. " He that loveth not his brother whom he seeth daily, doth not love God whom he never saw." And doth he love his brother that will see him go to hell, and never hinder him? 11. Consider what a load of guilt this neglect lays upon thy own soul. Thou art guilty of the murder and damnation of all those souls whom thou dost thus neglect ; and of every sin they now commit, and of all the dishonor done to God thereby ; and of all those judgments which their sins bring upon the town or country where they 220 live. — Consider what it will be, to look upon your poor friends in eternal flames, and to think that your neglect was a great cause of it. If you should there perish with them, it would be no small aggravation of your torment. If you be in heaven, it would surely be a sad thought, were it possible that any sorrow could dwell there, to hear a multitude of poor souls cry out for ever, " O, if you would but have told me plainly of my sin and danger, and set it home, I might have escaped all this torment, and been now in rest ! :; "What a sad voice will this be ! — Consider what a joy it will be in heaven, to meet those there, whom you have been the means to bring thither. To see their faces, and join with them for ever in the praises of God, whom you were the happy instruments of bringing to the knowledge and obedience of Jesus Christ ! — Consider how many souls you may have drawn into the way of damnation, or hardened in it. We have had, in the days of our ignorance, our companions in sin. whom we incited, or encouraged. And doth it not be- come us to do as much to save men, as we have done to destroy them ? — Consider how diligent are all the enemies of these poor souls to draw them to hell. The devil is tempting them day and night : their inward lusts are still working for their ruin : the flesh is still pleading for its delights : their old companious are increasing their dislike of holiness. And if nobody be diligent in helping them to heaven, what is like to become of them ? 12. Consider how deep the neglect of this duty will wound when conscience is awakened. When a man comes to die, conscience will ask him, " What good hast thou done in thy lifetime ? The saving of souls is the greatest good work ; what hast thou done towards it ? How many hast thou dealt faithfully with?" I have often observed that the consciences' of dying men very much 221 wounded them for this omission. For my own part, when I have been near death, my conscience hath accused me more for this than for any sin. It would bring every ignorant profane neighbor to my remembrance, to whom I never made known their danger. It would tell me, " thou shouidst have gone to them in private, and told them plainly of their desperate danger, though it had been when thou shouidst have eaten or slept, if thou hadst no other time." Conscience would remind me how at such or such a time I was in company with the ignorant, or was riding by the way with a wilful sinner, and had a fit opportunity to have dealt with him, but did not ; or at least did it to little purpose. The Lord grant I may better obey conscience while I have time, that it may have less to accuse me of at death ! — Consider what a seasonable time you now have for this work. There are times in which it is not safe to speak ; it may cost you your liberties or your lives. Besides, your neighbors will shortly die, and so will you. Speak to them, therefore, while you may. — Consider, though this is a work of the greatest charity, yet every one of you may perform it. The poorest as well as the rich. Every one hath a tongue to speak to a sinner. — Once more, consider the happy consequences of this work where it is faithfully done. You may be instrumental in saving souls, for which Christ came down and died, and in which the angels of God rejoice. Such souls will bless you here and hereafter. God will have much glory by it. The church will be multiplied, and edified by it. Your own souls will enjoy more improve- ment and vigor in a divine life, more peace of conscience, more rejoicing in spirit. Of all the personal mercies that I ever received, next to the love of God in Christ to my own soul, I must most joyfully bless him for the plentiful success of my endeavors upon others. O what fruits then 20 222 might I have seen, if I had been more faithful ! I know we need be very jealous of our deceitful hearts in this point, lest our rejoicing should come from our pride. Naturally we would have the praise of every good work ascribed to ourselves : yet to imitate our Father in goodness and mercy, and to rejoice in the degree of them we attain to, is the duty of every child of God. I therefore tell you my own experience, to persuade you, that if you did but know what a joyful thing it is, you would follow it night and day through the greatest discouragements. 13. Up then, every man that hath a tongue, and is a servant of Christ, and do something of your Master's work. Why hath he given you a tongue, but to speak in his service ? And how can you serve him more eminently, than in saving souls ? He that will pronounce you blessed at the last day, and invite you to " the kingdom prepared for you," because you iC fed him, and clothed him, and visited him," in his poor members, will surely pronounce you blessed for so great a work as bringing souls to his kingdom. He that saith, " the poor you have always with you," hath left the ungodly always with you, that you might still have matter to exercise your charity upon. If you have the hearts of Christians or of men, let them yearn towards your ignorant, ungodly neighbors. Say as the lepers of Samaria, "We do not well, this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace." Hath God had so much mercy on you, and will you have no mercy on your poor neighbors? But as this duty belongs to all Christians, so especially to some, according as God hath called them to it, or qualified them for it. To them therefore I will more particularly address the exhortation. 14. God especially expects this duty at your hands to whom he hath given more learning and knowledge, and endued with better utterance, than your neighbors. The 223 strong are made to help the weak ; and those that see must direct the blind. God looketh for this faithful improvement of your parts and gifts, which, if you neglect, it were better you had never received them ; for they will but aggravate your condemnation, and be as useless to your own salvation as they were to others. 15. All those that are particularly acquainted with some ungodly men, and that have peculiar interest in them, God looks for this duty at your hands. Christ him- self did eat and drink with publicans and sinners ; but it was only to be their physician, and not their companion. Who knows but God gave you interest in them to this end, that you might be the means of their recovery? They that will not regard the words of a stranger, may regard a brother, or sister, or husband, or wife, or near friend ; besides that the bond of friendship engageth you to more kindness and compassion than ordinary. 16. Physicians that are much about dying men, should in a special manner make conscience of this duty. It is their peculiar advantage, that they are at hand ; that they are with men in sickness and dangers, when the ear is more open, and the heart less stubborn than in time of health : and that men look upon their physician as a person in whose hands is their life ; or at least, who may do much to save them ; and therefore they will the more regard his advice. You that are of this honorable profession, do not think this a work beside your calling, as if it belonged to none but ministers ; except you think it beside your calling to be compassionate, or to be Christians. O help therefore to fit your patients for heaven 1 And whether you see they are for life or death, teach them both how to live and die, and give them some physic for their souls, as you do for their bodies. Blessed be God, that very many of the chief physicians of this age have, by their 224 eminent piety, vindicated their profession from the com- mon imputation of atheism and profaneness. 17. Men of wealth and authority, and that have many dependents, have excellent advantages for this duty. O what a world of good might lords and gentlemen do, if they had but hearts to improve their influence over others ! Have you not all your honor and riches from God ? Doth not Christ say, " unto v/homsoever much is given, of him much shall be required 1 " If you speak to your de- pendents for God and their souls, you may be regarded, when even a minister shall be despised. As you value the honor of God, your own comfort, and the salvation of souls, improve your influence over your tenants and neighbors ; visit their houses ; see whether they worship God in their families ; and take all opportunities to press them to their duty. Despise them not. Remember God is no respecter of persons. Let them see that you excel others in piety, compassion, and diligence in God's work, as you do in the riches and honors of the world, I con- fess you will by this means be singular, but then you will be singular in glory ; for few of the mighty and noble are called." 18. As for the ministers of the gospel, it is the very work of their calling, to help others to heaven. — Be sure to make it the main end of your studies and preaching. He is the able, skilful minister,, that is best skilled in the art of instructing, convincing, persuading, and conse- quently of winning souls ; and that is the best sermon that is best in these. When you seek not God, but yourselves, God will make you the most contemptible of men. It is true of your reputation, what Christ says of your life, "He that loveth it shall lose it." Let the vigor of your per- suasions show, that you are sensible on how weighty a business you are sent. Preach with that seriousness and 225 fervor, as men that believe their own doctrine, and that know their hearers must be prevailed with, or be damned. — Think not that all your work is in your studies and pulpit. You are shepherds, and must know every sheep, and what is their disease, and mark their strayings, and help to cure them and fetch them home. Learn of Paul, not only to "teach your people publicly, but from house to house." Inquire how they grow in knowledge and holiness, and on what grounds they build their hopes of salvation, and whether they walk uprightly, and perform the duties of their several relations. See whether they worship God in their families, and teach them how to do it. Be familiar with them, that you may maintain your interest in them, and improve it all for God. Know of them how they profit by public teaching. If any too little " savor the things of the Spirit," let them be pitied, but not neglected. If any walk disorderly, recover them with diligence and patience. If they be ignorant, it may be your fault as much as theirs. Be not asleep while the wolf is waking. — Deal not slightly with any. Some will not tell their people plainly of their sins, because they are great men ; and some because they are godly ; as if none but the poor and the wicked should be dealt plainly with. Yet labor to be skilful and discreet, that the manner may answer to the excellency of the matter. Every reasonable soul hath both judgment and affection ; and every rational, spiritual sermon, must have both. Study and pray, and pray and study, till you are become " workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth; " that your people may not be ashamed, nor weary in hearing you. — Let your conversation be teaching, as well as your doctrine. Be as forward in a holy and heavenly life as you are in pressing others to it. Let your discourse be edifying and spiritual. Suffer any thing, rather than tlie 20* 226 gospel and men's souls should suffer. Let men see that you use not the ministry only for a trade to live by : but that your hearts are set upon the welfare of souls. What- soever meekness, humility, condescension, or self-denial you teach them from the gospel, teach it them also by your undissembled example. Study and strive after unity and peace. If ever you would promote the kingdom of Christ, and your people's salvation, do it in a way of peace and love. It is as hard a thing to maintain in your people a sound understanding, a tender conscience, a lively, gracious, heavenly frame of spirit, and an upright life, amidst contention, as to keep your candle lighted in the greatest storms. " Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing." 19. All you whom God hath intrusted with the care of children and servants, I would also persuade to this great work of helping others to the heavenly rest. — Consider what plain and pressing commands of God require this at your hands. " These words thou shalt teach diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. — Train up a child in the way he should go : and when he is old, he will not depart from it. — Bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Joshua resolved, that " he and his house would serve the Lord." And God himself says of Abraham, " I know him, that he will eommand his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord." — Consider, it is a duty vou owe your children in point of justice. From you they received the defilement and misery of their natures : and therefore you owe them all possible help for their recoverv. — Consider, how near your children are to you. They are parts of yourselves. If they prosper when you are dead, you take it as if you lived and prospered in 2-27 them ; and should you not be of the same mind for their everlasting rest ? Otherwise you will be witnesses against your own souls. Your care, and pains, and cost for their bodies, will condemn you for your neglect of their precious souls. Yea, all the brute creatures may condemn you. Which of them is not tender of their young 1 — Consider, God hath made your children your charge, and your ser- vants too. Every one will confess they are the minister's charge. And have not you a greater charge of your own families, than any minister can have of them ? Doubtless at your hands God will require the blood of their souls. It is the greatest charge you were ever intrusted with, and wo to you, if you suffer them to be ignorant or wicked for want of your instruction or correction. — Consider, what work there is for you in their dispositions and lives. Theirs is not one sin, but thousands. They have hered- itary diseases, bred in their natures. The things you must teach them are contrary to the interests and desires of their flesh. May the Lord make you sensible what a work and charge lieth upon you ! — Consider what sorrows you prepare for yourselves by the neglect of your children. If they prove thorns in your eyes they are of your own plant- ing. If you should repent and be saved, is it nothing to think of their damnation ; and yourselves the occasion of it ? But if you die in your sins, how will they cry out against you in hell ! " All this was wrong of you ; you should have taught us better, and did not ; you should have restrained us from sin, and corrected us, but did not." What an addition will such outcries be to your misery. On the other side, think what a comfort you may have, if you be faithful in this duty. If you should not succeed, you have freed your own souls, and have peace in your own consciences. If you do, the comfort is inexpressible, in their love and obedience, their supplying your wants, and delighting you in all your remaining path 228 io glory. Yea, all your family may fare the better for one pious child or servant. But the greatest joy will be, when you shall say, " Lord, here am I, and the children thou hast given me ; " and shall joyfully live with them for ever. — Consider how much the welfare of church and state depends on this duty. Good laws will not reform us, if reformation begin not at home. This is the cause of all our miseries in church and state, even the want of a holy education of children. I also entreat parents to consider, what excellent advantages they have for saving their chil- dren. They are with you while they are tender and flexible. You have a twig to bend, not an oak. None in the world have such interest in their affections as you have. You have also the greatest authority over them. Their whole dependence is upon you for a maintenance. You best know their temper and inclinations. And you are ever with them, and can never want opportunities : especially you mothers, remember this, who are more with your children while young, than their fathers. What pains are you at for their bodies ! What do you suffer to bring them into the world ! And will you not be at as much pains for the saving of their souls ! Your affections are tender ; and will it not move you to think of their perishing for ever 1 I beseech you, for the sake of the children of your bowels, teach them, admonish them, watch over them, and give them no rest till you have brought them to Christ. 20. I shall conclude with this earnest request to all Christian parents that read these lines ; that they would have compassion on the souls of their poor children, and be faithful to the great trust that God hath put on them. If you cannot do what you would for them, yet do what you can. Both church and state, city and country, groan under the neglect of this weighty duty. m Your children know not God, nor his laws, but take his name in vain 4 229 and slight his worship, and you neither instruct them nor correct them ; and therefore God corrects both them and you. You are so tender of them, that God is the less tender of both them and you. Wonder not if God make you smart for your children's sins ; for you are guilty of all they commit, by your neglect of your duty to reform them. Will you resolve, therefore, to set upon this duty, and neglect it no longer ? Remember Eli. Your chil- dren are like Moses in the bulrushes, ready to perish if they have not help. As ever you would not be charged before God as murderers of their souls, nor have them cry out against you in everlasting fire, see that you teach them how to escape it, and bring them up in holiness and the fear of God. I charge every one of you, upon your alle- giance to God, as you will very shortly answer the con- trary at your peril, that you will neither refuse nor neglect this most necessary duty. If you are not willing to do it, now you know it to be so great a duty, you are rebels, and no true subjects of Jesus Christ. If you are willing, but know not how, I will add a few words of direction to help you. Lead them, by your own example, to prayer, reading, and other religious duties. Inform their understandings. Store their memories. Rectify their wills. Quicken their affections. Keep tender their consciences. Restrain their tongues, and teach them gracious speech. Reform and watch over their outward conversation. To these ends, get them Bibles and pious books, and see that they read them. Examine them often what they learn ; espe- cially spend the Lord's-day in this work, and suffer them not to spend it in sports or idleness. Show them the meaning of what they read or learn. Keep them out of evil company, and acquaint them with the godly. And fail not to make them learn their catechism. Especially show them the -necessity, excellency, and pleasure of serv- ing God ; and labor to fix all upon their hearts. 230 CHAPTER X. The Saints 1 Rest is not to be expected on Earth. Sect. 1. In order to show the sin and folly of expecting rest here. 2. (I.) The reasonableness of present afflictions is considered : 3. (1.) that they are the way to rest ; 4. (2.)„keep us from mis- taking our rest; 5. (3.) from losing our way to it} 6. (4.) quicken our pace towards it; 7. (5.) chiefly incommode our flesh ; 8, 9, and (6.) under them the sweetest foretastes of rest are often enjoyed. 10. (II.) How unreasonable to rest in present enjoyments; 11. (1.) that it is idolatry; 12. (2.) that it con- tradicts God's end in giving them ; 13. (3.) is the way to have them refused, withdrawn, or imbittered; 14. (4.) that to be suffered to take up our rest here is the greatest curse ; 15. (5.) that it is seeking rest where it is not; 16. (6.) that the creatures, without God, would aggravate our misery ; 17. (7.) and all this is confirmed by experience. 18. The author laments that this is nevertheless a most common sin. 19 — 23. (III.) How unreason- able our unwillingness to die, and possess the saints' rest is largely considered. 24. The author apologizes for saying so much on this last head. 1. We are not yet come to our resting place. Doth it remain? How great then is our sin and folly to seek and expect it here. Where shall we find the Christian that deserves not this reproof? We would all have con- tinual prosperity, because it is easy and pleasing to the flesh ; but we consider not the unreasonableness of such desires. And when we enjoy convenient houses, goods, lands, and revenues ; or the necessary means God hath appointed for our spiritual good ; we seek rest in these enjoyments. Whether we are in an afflicted or prosper- ous state, it is apparent, we exceedingly make the 231 creature our rest. Do we not desire creature enjoyments more violently, when we want them, than we desire God himself? Do we not delight more in the possession of them, than in the enjoyment of God ? And if we lose them, doth it not trouble us more than our loss of God ? Is it not enough, that they are refreshing helps in our way to heaven, but they must also be made our heaven itself? Christian Reader, I would as willingly make thee sensible of this sin, as of any sin in the world, if I could tell how to do it ; for the Lord's greatest quarrel with us is in this point. In order to this, I most earnestly beseech thee to consider — the reasonableness of present afflictions — and the unreasonableness of resting in present enjoyments :— as also of our unwillingness to die, that we may possess eternal rest 2. (I.) To show the reasonableness of present afflic- tions, consider — they are the way to rest — they keep us from mistaking our rest, and from losing our way to it — - they quicken our pace towards it — they chiefly incom- mode our flesh ; — and under them God's people have often the sweetest foretastes of their rest. 3. (1.) Consider, that labor and trouble are the com- mon way to rest, both in the course of nature and grace. Can there possibly be rest without weariness ? Do you not travail and toil first, and rest after ? The day for labor is first, and then follows the night for rest. Why should we desire the course of grace to be perverted, any more than the course of nature ? It is an established decree, " that we must, through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." And that " if we suffer, we shall also reign with Christ." And what are we, that God's statutes should be reversed for our pleasures ? 4. (2.) Afflictions are exceeding useful to us, to keep us from mistaking our rest. A Christian's motion towards 232 heaven is voluntary, and not constrained. Those means therefore are most profitable, which help his understanding and will. The most dangerous mistake of our souls is, to take the creature for God, and earth for heaven. What warm, affectionate, eager thoughts have we of the world, till afflictions cool and moderate them ! Afflictions speak convincingly, and will be heard when preachers cannot. Many a poor Christian is sometimes bending his thoughts to wealth, or flesh-pleasing, or applause, and so loses his relish of Christ, and the joy above ; till God break in upon his riches, or children, or conscience, or health, and break down his mountain which he thought so strong. And then, when he lieth in Manasseh's fetters, or is fastened to his bed with pining sickness, the world is nothing, and heaven is something. If our dear Lord did not put these thorns under our head, we should sleep out our lives, and lose our glory. 5. (3.) Afflictions are also God's most effectual means to keep us from losing our way to our rest. Without this hedge of thorns on the right-hand and left, we should hardly keep the way to heaven. If there be but one gap open, how ready are we to find it, and turn out at it ! When we grow wanton, or worldly, or proud, how doth sickness, or other affliction reduce us ! Every Christian as well as Luther, may call affliction one of the best schoolmasters : and with David may say, " Before I was afflicted I went astray : but now have I kept thy word.'' Many thousand recovered sinners may cry, ' ; O healthful sickness ! O comfortable sorrows ! O gainful losses ! O enriching poverty ! O blessed day that ever I was af- flicted ! " Not only the " green pastures, and still waters, but the rod and staff they comfort us." Though the Word and Spirit do the main work, yet suffering so unbolts the door of the heart, that the Word hath easier entrance. 233 6. (4.) Afflictions likewise serve to quicken our pace in the way to our rest. It were well, if mere love would prevail with us, and that we were rather drawn to heaven than driven. But seeing our hearts are so bad that mercy will not do it ; it is better to be put on with the sharpest scourge, than loiter, like the foolish virgins, till the door is shut. O what a difference is there betwixt our prayers in health and in sickness ! betwixt our repentings in prosperity and adversity ! Alas, if we did not sometimes feel the spur, what a slow pace would most of us hold towards heaven ! Since our vile natures require it, why should we be unwilling that God should do us good by sharp means ? Judge, Christian, whether thou dost not go more watchfully and speedily in the way to heaven, in thy sufferings, than in thy more pleasing and prosperous state. 7. (5.) Consider further, it is but the flesh that is chiefly troubled and grieved by afflictions. In most of our sufferings the soul is free, unless we ourselves wilfully afflict it "Why then, O my soul, dost thou side with this flesh, and complain, as it complaineth ? It should be thy work to keep it under, and bring it into subjection ; and if God do it for thee, shouldst thou be discontented ? Hath not the pleasing of it been the cause of almost all thy spiritual sorrows ? Why then may not the displeasing of it further thy joy ? Must not Paul and Silas sing, because their feet are in the stocks ? Their spirits "were not imprisoned. Ah, unworthy soul ! is this thy thanks to God for preferring thee so far before thy body ? When it is rotting in the grave, thou shalt be a companion of the perfected spirits of the just. In the mean time hast thou not consolation which the flesh knows not of? Murmur not then at God's dealings with thy body : if it were for want of love to thee, he would not have dealt so 21 234 U his saints. Nev< flesh should trulv expound the meaning of the rod. It will call love hatred : and say. God is destroying, when he is $ _ I: is the suffering party, and therefore not fit to be the judge. Could we once belie " ?.nd judge of his dealing his Word, and by their usefulr.— dot souls, and refea en 5e and could we stop our ears against all the clamors of the flesh, then we should hare a truer judgment of our afflictions. B