The Happiness of Enjoying and Use of Christ, Title page – Dedication
THE HAPPINES OF ENJOYING, AND MAKING A TRUE AND SPEEDIE USE OF CHRIST.
SETTING FORTH, FIRST, THE FULNESSE OF CHRIST.
SECONDLY, The danger of neglecting Chriſt, and the opportunity of grace.
THIRDLY, The LORD JESUS the ſoules laſt Refuge.
Whereunto is added, St. PAULS LEGACIE, or FAREWELL to the men of Corinth.
ALEXANDER GROSSE B. D. Miniſter of the Goſpel, and Paſtour of Bridford.
That their hearts may be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full aſſurance of underſtanding, to the acknowledgment of the myſtery of God, and of the Father, and of Chriſt:
And whom are hid all the treaſures of wiſedome and knowledge. Col. 2.2, 3.
And of his fulneſſe have we all received, and grace for grace. Joh. 1.16.
Omniae habemus in Chriſto, & omnia nobis Chriſtus. Ambroſ.
LONDON, Printed by Robert Young, for John Bartlet, at the ſigne of the gilt-cup neere Saint Auſtens Gate. 1640.
TO MY MOST DEARELY Beloved, and much honoured friends (howſoever dignified or diſtinguiſhed) the Inhabitants of Plympton St. Mary, the increaſe of all ſaving grace, and everlaſting bliſſe.
LOve among the Ancients was pourtrayed and ſhadowed out by, and under the image of a woman cloathed in a greene garment, having written in her forehead, Procul & Propè, afarre off, and neere at hand; in her breaſt, Mors & vita, life and death; in the hemme of her garment, Hyems & aeſtas, winter and ſummer; in her ſide, Vulnus apertum, an open wound, thorough which her heart within might be ſeen. My love to you (farre from me be all baſe flattery and ſelfe-commendation) hath beene very fervent, like the love of women; greene, and never withering, alwayes freſh and flouriſhing; not only while I was preſent with you, but ſince I have been abſent from you, the ſenſe at leaſt of my love hath beene more abundant towards you: ſuch hath been my love to you, that you were in my heart to live and to dye with you: I could willingly in winter and in ſummer, in all changes, have continued your ſervant, as Jacob ſerved Labans flock in the heat and in the cold: My heart is open to you, as a Bridegroomes heart and houſe is open to receive the Bride; and had your former beene like the laſt manifeſtations of your love towards me, I am aſſured all the proffers and perſwaſions of the world, ſhould never have drawne me from you. Great is the power and ſtrength of affection, with which faithfull Miniſters love the Lords people: as grace is more powerfull then nature, ſo is their love ſtronger then the love of nature: Non minus vos diligo (ſaith Ambroſe) quos genui ex Evangelio, quàm ſi ſuſcepiſſem conjugio; gratia quippe vehementior eſt ad diligendum quàm natura. I love you no leſſe whom I have begotten by the Goſpel, then if I had begotten you in matrimoniall conjunction; becauſe grace hath more energy and vehemency in the way and worke of love, then nature. And in my unfained love, and as a pledge and teſtimony of my never-dying love, I have ſent you theſe papers, part of which is the laſt Legacy I had to beſtow upon you at the time of my departure from you: It is very uſefull for all Chriſtians to renew the memory of the paſt labours of Gods meſſengers.
Every good child deſires a copy of his Fathers will, to ſee his Fathers love, to know his Fathers gift, to remember and obſerve his Fathers charge and counſell: Children within ſome few dayes after their Fathers death expect the receipt of their parents Legacie and bequeath; and loving children are ever very glad to accept, and very carefull to keep their parents laſt gift, though of ſlender worth: the laſt words of Gods Miniſters, our ſpirituall parents, doe commonly (like the words of dying men) take the deepeſt impreſſion in their hearers. True Chriſtians thinke often, and put great price upon the laſt labours of Gods Miniſters: I therefore here preſent unto you that which I publiſhed as my laſt miniſteriall Will and Teſtament among you, with ſome part of my poore labours ſince beſtowed on others, deſiring you, like loving children, to accept it; like provident and carefull children, to make the humble, true, and beſt uſe of it: A ſmall gift well uſed, proves many times an inſtrument of great inrichment.
Though I ceaſe to be your Miniſter, and am now no more your Inſtructer, yet I cannot ceaſe to bee your true, though weake and unworthy, perhaps deſpiſed, friend: and as ointment and perfume (according to Solomon) rejoice the heart, ſo would I gladly by hearty counſell, diſtill on you the drops of ſome friendly, ſome Chriſtian and ſpirituall ſweetneſſe, to the rejoicing and revivement of your ſoules: and as iron ſharpens iron, ſo am I willing by ſome words of admonition, exhortation, and excitation, to ſharpen and quicken your affections.
Let me therefore as a conſtant lover of your ſoules, and a carefull remembrancer of your welfare, intreat and perſwade you all, 1. To grow in the ſight and ſenſe of your ſinne: Beware of hardneſſe, keepe your hearts ſoft and contrite, nouriſh and maintaine all tenderneſſe in your conſciences: ſenſe of miſery ſweetens mercy; the feeling of ſin breeds both the loathing and leaving of ſinne; mans ſight of his owne vileneſſe, makes Chriſt very precious, and breeds a low opinion of all worldly excellencies. The Hart feeling within him the operation of the ſerpents poyſon, goes from the thornes and thickets and paſſeth over the greene and pleaſant paſtures, deſires nothing but the fountaine: ſenſe of the venome of ſinne and uncleanneſſe, makes man go from the thornes and thickets of worldly cares and riches, and paſſe from the greene medowes of carnall pleaſures, the ſoule being reſtleſſe untill it comes to Chriſt Jeſus the fountain of all ſpirituall refreſhments.
Secondly, take heed, deceive not your ſelves with ſhewes and ſhadowes in ſtead of ſubſtance, with a forme in ſtead of the power of godlineſſe: As the Poets fable it of Ixion imbracing a cloud in ſtead of Juno; or as mothers in haſte ſomtimes catch at the ſwadling clothes, and leave the child behind them. It is very dangerous to ſtay and applaud our ſelves in the ceremony of Religion and godlineſs, not taking with us the Lord Jeſus, as ſometimes Mary and Joſeph went on with the multitude for company, and left Chriſt behind them: all religious obſervations prove complementall, frivolous and fruitleſſe, if in them we ſee not, taſte not, receive not, enjoy not Chriſt: religious exerciſes are loſt labours to the ſoule that gaines not the Lord Jeſus.
Thirdly, Be truely meeke and humble, bee emptied of all opinion of your owne worth and wiſedome; this will make you wiſe unto ſalvation: He that is in the low pits and caves of the earth ſees the ſtarres in the firmament, when they who are on the tops of the mountaines diſcerne them not. Hee that is moſt humble ſees moſt of heaven: Bona eſt via humilitatis (ſaith Bernard) quâ veritas inquiritur, charitas acquiritur, & generationes ſapientiae percipiuntur. Good (ſaith he) is the way of humility, whereby truth is ſearched out, charity is obtained, and the generations of wiſdome are perceived. Humility exalteth; he that is moſt humble, is, and ſhalbe moſt honourable. Moſes was the meekeſt man on earth, and God made him the moſt honourable, calling him up unto himſelfe in the mount, and making him the Leader of his people. Gedeon was very little in his own eyes, the leaſt of his fathers houſe in his owne apprehenſion, and God marvellouſly exalted him, making him the deliverer of Iſrael. As mans pride is attended with infamy, ſo is mans meekneſſe waited on with glory. Vis magnus eſſe? incipe ab imo: Wilt thou be great? begin from below, ſaith the Father. As the roots of the tree deſcend, ſo the branches aſcend: this makes the ſoule capable of grace, as the low grounds of water, and the broken earth of ſeed. God gives grace to the humble, as men poure liquor into an empty veſſell. The Altar under the Law was hollow, to receive the fire, the wood, and the ſacrifice: the heart of man under the Goſpel muſt be humble, empty of all ſpirituall pride and ſelfe-conceit, to receive the fire of the ſpirit, and Jeſus Chriſt, who offered himſelfe a ſacrifice for our ſinnes: this keeps the ſoule free from many darts of Satans caſting, and ſnares of his ſpreading, as the low ſhrubs are free from many violent guſts and blaſts of wind, which ſhake and rent the taller trees. I have read of one, that ſeeing in a viſion many ſnares of the devill ſpread upon earth, he ſate downe and mourned, and ſaid within himſelfe, Quis pertranſiet iſta? Who ſhall paſſe through theſe? whereunto he heard a voice anſwering, Humilitas pertranſiet, Humility ſhall paſſe through them. The Divell hath leaſt power to faſten a temptation on him that is moſt humble: hee that hath a gracious meaſure of meekneſſe is neither affected with Satans proffers, nor terrified with his threatnings: This makes man peaceable in converſing with his brethren, fruitfull in well-doing, cheerfull in ſuffering, comfortable in every condition, conſtant in holy walking; this makes a man precious in the eyes of God, as a humble ſervant in the eyes of his Maſter. Qui parvus eſt in reputatione propriâ, magnus eſt in reputatione divinâ, ſaith Gregory: He that is little in his owne account, is great in Gods eſteeme. This makes the way and worke of man acceptable unto God, and alſo ſweetens and encreaſeth mans communion with God. If ever therefore you entend to enjoy Gods glorious and bleſſed preſence, labour for this humility and meekneſſe.
Fourthly, Bee ſervent and unfained in your love to God, his truth, and his children: this will make your language very gracious. Amantium mos eſt, (ſaith Chryſoſtome) ut amorem ſuum ſilentio tegere nequeunt: Lovers know not how to keepe ſilence; lovers of God are very full of gracious expreſſions: this will make you liberal, you ſhall give your ſelves to God and the ſervice of his Saints, as the men of Macedonia did: this will make you patient in ſuffering, as Jacob in his ſervice for Rachel: this will make you frequent the houſe of God with all alacrity, frequency, and diligence, as children their fathers houſe and table: this will make you joyfull in hearing the word of God, as the Bride in hearing the voice of the Bridegroome: this will make you carefull, free and full in the obſervation of Gods ſtatutes, as loving children in the obſervation of their fathers precepts: this will make you diligent and rich in all good workes; the more man loves God, the more he ſtrives in all well-doing to glorifie God. Love, like fire, is not idle, but operative: Amor Dei (ſaith Gregory) nunquam otioſus eſt; operatur enim magna ſi eſt; ſi verò operari renuit, amor non eſt: The love of God (ſaith he) is never idle; for if it is, it worketh great things; but if it refuſe to work, it is not love. Love makes the yoke of God eaſie, and his worke delightfull; it is only want of love that makes the commandement a burden: Tantò magis delectat opus bonum, quantò magis diligitur Deus ſummum & incommutabile bonum, ſaith Auguſtine: A good work ſo much the more delighteth, by how much the more God the chiefeſt and unchangable good is loved.
Love among ſome of the Ancients was reſembled to, and repreſented by the Sun: the Sunne inlightens the world; the more love the more light. Knowledge and love, like the water and the ice, beget each other; man loves God by knowing, and knows God by loving. God dwels in love, and where God is there is light: that mans light is darkneſſe which is not attended with the love of God and his teſtimonies: the Sunne makes the earth fertile; he that loves God cannot be barren, his love makes him fruitfull in all well-doing: the Sunne is ſwift and conſtant in his motion; love makes man cheerfull, ſpeedy, and unwearied in running the race which God hath ſet before him: the Sunne is impaſſible, love is patient and invincible, it endureth all things; no floods can drown it, no waters can quench it. Want of love and affection is the maine cauſe of mans apoſtacy and back-ſliding: the Sunne caſteth his beames upward and downward, to the Eaſt and to the Weſt, to the North and to the South; Chriſtian love cauſeth its beames to aſcend to God above, and to deſcend to man beneath; to our friends on the right hand, to our enemies on the left hand; to them that are in the ſtate or grace before us, to them th…t are in the ſtate of corruption behind us: love which is not in this ſenſe univerſall, is corrupt and carnall. The Sun beginning to aſcend in his circle, never goes back u…till he comes to the higheſt degree thereof: true love abhorres apoſtacy, aſcends to more perfection, and ceaſeth not untill, like Eliahs fiery chariot, it hath carried the ſoule to heaven: If ever you meane to ſee and enjoy the God of love, labour for this love.
Fiftly, Be very ſerious, ſtudious, circumſpect, and carefull in all your walkings; ponder the path of your feet, like carefull travellers; conſider and weigh all your doings, let all your waies of the heart within, and worke without, be ordered aright, according the rule of Gods word; every motion of the ſoule is a ſtep to life or a ſtep to death; a ſtep towards heaven or toward hell: Mans labour and ſervice is temporall, his wages and recompence eternall; therfore as Zeuxes that famous Lymner, being demanded why he was ſo exact and ſerious, ſo long, ſo careful and curious in his workmanſhip, anſwered, Diu pingo, quia aeternitati pingo; I am long in painting, becauſe I paint unto eternity. We all paint unto eternity; every one of our actions tends to an eternity of joyes or ſorrowes; all our temporall actions are as ſeeds of eternity ſowne by us: a temporall ſeed an eternall harveſt: we ſpeak, we heare, we write, we read, we pray, we ſing, we conferre, we worke, we thinke unto eternity: how exact and ſerious ſhould we be in our ſhort walking, the end whereof is eternall! Vigilanti curâ (ſaith Gregory) per cuncta opera intentio nobis penſanda eſt, ut nihil temporale in his quae agit appetat, ſed totam ſe in ſoliditate aeternitatis figat: The intention is thorough all our works to bee weighed with vigilant care, that in the things which it doth, it may deſire nothing temporall, but wholly faſten it ſelfe on that which is eternall: hee that walkes not circumſpectly deprives himſelfe of an eternity of felicity, and caſts himſelfe into an eternity of miſery: better live ſtrictly for a time, then live miſerably for ever; nay, bee aſſured that even for the preſent, there is more comfort in one dayes ſtrict walking with God, then in a thouſand dayes looſe converſing with men. Did men know the peace, joy, ſweetneſſe, boldneſſe, honour and triumph of holy walking, they would inſtantly and for ever abandon all diſſolute living: heaven is the paradice of all joyes; he that in his holy walking commeth neareſt unto heaven, is doubtleſſe of all men the moſt joyfull. O ſay not then, as a man of noble blood and acute wit, but profane life, ſometime did, when being demanded what he thought of the auſtere life of the godly, and licentious life of the wicked, anſwered, Cum iſtis mallem vivere, cum illis mori mallem; I had rather live with the latter, I had rather dye with the former. But as you deſire to dye the death of the righteous, ſo bee very ſolicitous and ſtudious, very vigilant and induſtrious to live the life of the righteous: Never promiſe your ſelves a bleſſed death without a holy life.
Laſtly, Be ſtedfaſt in adhering to the truth: be not like children carried to and fro with every vaine perſwaſion; nor like ſhips without anchor, toſſed up and downe with the winde of every empty doctrine: But be conſtant in following the truth, as the Wiſemen did the ſtarre, untill you come home to Chriſt; and as the Iſraelites did the fiery pillar, untill you come to the heavenly Canaan. Buy the truth (ſaith Solomon) and ſell it not; you can never over-buy it whatſoever you give for it; you can never ſufficiently ſell it, if you have all the world in exchange for it. It is ſaid of Caeſar, Major fuit cura Caeſari libellorum quàm purpurae; He had greater care of his books then of his royall robes: for ſwimming through the waters to eſcape his enemies, he carried his books in his hand above the waters, but loſt his robe. What are Caeſars bookes to Gods booke, and his learning to Gods truth, more then a glow-worme to the ſunne? Bee you therefore more carefull of the Goſpel then of any earthly poſſeſſion: though you bee driven into the deepe waters of affliction, and there loſe all your worldly fulneſſe, yet hold faſt the Goſpel of Chriſt Jeſus: you ſhall finde infinitely more worth and comfort in the Goſpel, then in all the treaſure of the world.
It is reported of Alexander the Great, that hee had alwayes Homers Iliads under his pillow, and preferred them above Darius his moſt precious and coſtly cheſt: what are Homers Iliads to Chriſts Goſpel? or Darius cheſt to the invaluable treaſure which is in Chriſt? Have therefore the booke of God ever with you, when you lye downe, when you riſe up, when you walke abroad; have it in your underſtandings, to know it; in your imaginations, to thinke and meditate upon it; in your memories, to remember it; in your hearts, to love it, to rejoice and delight your ſelves in it; to ſolace, refreſh, and comfort your ſoules with it; in your tongues, to ſpeake of it, to edifie and ſtrengthen one another by it; give it preheminence above the chiefeſt wordly ſubſtance. The loſſe of all cannot make man miſerable, as long as hee ſincerely and fully adheres unto, and enjoyes the Goſpel.
Make this therefore your conſtant and perpetuall light, to guide you; your heavenly Manna, to feed you; your celeſtiall treaſure, to enrich you; your ſpirituall well-ſpring, to refreſh and fill you; your firme and ſure anchor, to ſuſtaine and ſtay you; your holy and gracious Schoole, to edifie you in the knowledge, faith, and love of Chrſt; to raviſh your ſoules with the apprehenſion of CHRISTS beauties, to fill you more and more with CHRISTS fulneſſe, and prepare you a ſweet and entire communion of everlaſting continuance with the Lord JESUS: which hee moſt unfainedly deſireth, who ever remaineth,
Moſt intirely devoted to your ſpirituall ſervice, ALEXANDER GROSSE.