The Art of Happiness, Part 3 · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. Of Association.
AS eueryevery strong thing is made stronger by the combination of a like thing vntounto it; and as the heat is the more increased, by the meeting of diuers things that hauehave heate: So is also the Spirit increased in vsus, by the fellowship of them that hauehave the Spirit. When spirituall Men ioyn their spiritual strength together, they will, like DAVIDS valiant men, breake more strongly thorow the Hosts of the Philistians temptations, obiections, and afflictions, and fetch away more safely and soundly the Waters of Grace from the Fountaine of Life. This Association of Saints is that Bed of SALOMON, wherein two lying together, hauehave heate: but he lyeth in the Bed of woe, that lyes alone. When two strings of diuers Instruments are set to one Tune, if one of them bee mooued, the other leapeth, and danceth: And how can it bee, but that when two men tuned by one Spirit, do meet, the Spirit of the one must needs reioyce and be liuely, when it heareth the voice of the Spirit in the other? IOHN BAPTIST being sanctified with Grace in his Mothers wombe, euen in that wombe springeth for ioy, at the voyce of that Virgin, who was intitled, Full of Grace. Yea, ELIZABETH her selfe falleth into an heauenly Trance; and rising aboue her selfe, she is filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesieth the blessednesse of the Virgins Son. Surely, there is not a more pleasant and comfortable thing then Harmonie: for it is indeed the ground of all pleasure: Now the chiefest Harmony is of the chiefest things, and these are, Spirits: The highest of this kind, is in the highest Spirit, euen of himselfe, with himselfe. The second, betweene the highest and the lower: And the third, betweene the lower themselues. From this last Harmonie doth arise both ioy and incouragement; our Spirit first is cheered, then incouraged, and so aduan ced in the way of Holines. The Saints of God, either by their gracious words, or holy Examples, stirre vp the gifts of God in vsus; they eyther adde something to our Zeale, or something to our knowledge: yea, if they be inferior to vsus in both, yet by instructing and prouoking them, we many times instruct and prouoke our selues. Surely there issueth oft-times from the meanest something which may better the best, either immediately, or by the consequence of some Meditations, awaked by conference. Euen in the communication of the Spirit, the Spirit increaseth, and our Talent, by lending, multiplyeth in the most profitable and commendable Vsurie. For the Spirit is so excellently good, that it desires to hauehave his goodnesse communicated, yea, it will reward thee that giuest it abroad, by increasing thy abilitie of giuing. So art thou made a great gainer, for it is doubly multiplyed to thee; as it is the Bread of Life for thy eating; and as it is the Seed of Life for thy sowing; the more thou sowest, the more mayest thou eate, and the more mayest thou sow.
Wherefore let vsus not, as some doe, forsake the fellowship & communion of Saints; Let vsus not make the Spirit in vsus both dumbe & deafe by separation and diuision; for such it is when it cannot heare, nor speake the language of heauen. Let vsus not depriue our selues of the great benefits of spirituall traffike & commerce; thereby knitting vp and stopping the prosperitie, growth, and enlargement of the Spirit. Let vsus not bind our selues to our own infirmities, falls and wants, for lacke of opening and cōmunicating our estates; for many hauehave falne and neuer risen againe, because they hauehave gone alone, neglecting the companie of such who could hauehave giuen them the hand, to raise them from their falls. Wee are all Brethren and Countrimen, and withal Pilgrims in a strange Countrie; How glad should Brethren and Countrimen be to meet in a strange Land? especially in the Land of enemies, such as this World is. For this World shunneth vsus, it hateth vsus; our persons and our courses are odious, because contrarie to them. How should their strangenesse & malice increase our mutuall louelove and conuersation? How much more need hauehave we to counsell & conferre each with other, since wee liue as it were in a siege of temptations and persecutions? And if the wisedome of Religion cannot perswade vsus, let the patterns of Nature, which are the books of the Ignorant, teach vsus; let the herds of Beasts, and the swarmes of Bees, & the flights of Doues instruct thee, to beleeue that things of one kind preserue and cherish one another by mutuall societie. But if for all this, wee will needes bee strangers one to another, differing and dissenting among our selues. Let vsus be sure that we then rip that louelove from our selues which is the badge of the Family of God; wee lose the comfort of louelove, which is one of the greatest in our way to happinesse; we separate those whom God hath knit together; we lose good instructions and good examples; and finally, wee weaken our selues by diuision, and make the scattered Armie of God, a prey vntounto their pursuing enemies. Let vsus much rather, with the Prince & Prophet, reioyce in them which excel in vertue. Let our delight bee in the Saints on earth, and let the sons of God louelove their Brethren, begotten by the same Father. Let vsus confirme and prouoke one another to good works. Let vsus associate our selues to them, who by word or deed can supply our spiritual defects; from whose speech wee may learne what wee know not, and by whose exhortation wee may bee mooued to performe that, which wee know and doe not; and by whose examples wee may hauehave vertues patterned vntounto vsus, & shewed to bee possible, yea easie to the resolute man of God. But neuerthelesse, in this Christian good fellowship doe not pull out thy owne eyes, that thou mayest louelove all alike that carry the title of Christians. Thinke not all them to be Israel, that put on the name of Israel. Where thou seest no contrarie cause, there let charitie carry away thy affection, but in a degree, according to the degree of vertue. Yea, though thou seest fals and slips, if acknowledged and recouered, restore such a one with the Spirit of meeknesse, lest thou hauehave need also to be restored by him. But if thou seest one couering a continuall Couetousnesse, Pride, Malice, Oppression, and such other sinnes, with a long & thicke cloke of Religion, let thy companie to such a one be a conuersation of reproofe, and the doctrine of SIMON PETER to SIMON MAGVS, or let it bee no companie at all. These are they, for whom chiefly the Name of God is ill spoken of among our Heathen Christians. These be they, that set Religion to the basest & lowest seruice, euen to the attendance and supportation of sinne, which of all things else it most hateth and detesteth. These be they, that make Religion to bee most dangerous and hurtfull to those who hauehave most Religion, if withall they hauehave not the wisedome to discern Spirits. These be they, that vse the Word of God, to aduance & prosper their owne wickednes, and consequently, their owne damnation, and certainly their damnation sleepeth not, but eueryevery Sermon which they heare, increaseth their heape of wrath, against the Day of wrath.
Now as wee should generally apply our selues vntounto the societie of the Saints, so should we striue to bring Saints into the places of neerest vse and societie. For goodnes being so neere vsus, will continually bee doing good vntounto vsus. Whereas on the contrarie, gracelesnesse by the continuance of conuersation, will be still infecting quenching, and killing of grace. Ancient examples of wretched Memory, hauehave confirmed this at large; the greatest and the broadest miseries hauing beene brought on mankind, by the mischiefe of such infectious societie. There was but one man at the first, and in him was all mankinde; and in him all mankind fell into destruction, by his beleeuing a seduced wife, and their both associating and beleeuing a seducing Serpent. Yea there is before vsus but one great World, and by the conuersation of the daughters of men with the sonnes of God, this world was both corrupted and drowned. After that deluge there was but one Nation chosen by God, as a pattern and Master-piece of the World, in which God, by miracles & precepts, mounted and improued mankind to his vtmost height, to see what Man could doe towards his owne happinesse and saluation, & this chiefe Nation, yea the chiefest one of that Nation became abominably sinfull by conuersing with sinners. And can a part thinke to stand, where the whole hath falne? Or can our weaknes thinke to ouer-come that enemie, before whom such strength and wisdome lies vanquished and subdued? It cannot be expected. Our vaine and groundlesse presumptions may puffe vsus vp with an opinion of conquering, but that very presumption is the mayne thing, that by such perswasions leades vsus to bee conquered; and by telling vsus of Victorie, it leades vsus on valiantly to be beaten. And let vsus assuredly beleeue this, that if there bee the like prophane marrying, and the like taking in marriage, as there was in the dayes of NOE; the like eating and drinking, euen such wicked & heathenish good fellowship; the world that now is, will bee as ripe for Fire, as it was then for Water; it will hauehave as much need of burning, as it had then of drowning. But let the wise of heart hasten this day rather by their prayers, then their sinnes; and to preuent sin, let them walke as sonnes of Light, with the children of Light, and hauehave no fellowship with the works, or workers of darknesse.
I know right well, that the fewnesse of those, who enter into the straight gate, doth impose vponupon vsus a difficultie of fitting our selues round with the societie of Saints. I know also, that the necessities of this life, doe forcibly carry vsus into the companies of prophane & godlesse men. Yet let vsus remember to striue stil for the best, to account the euill as thornes in our sides, and let vsus finde willingly a trouble & vexation in their companie; but neuer satisfaction, rest, and contentment. Let our hearts bee to the Saints still, euen to the seede of the Womans seed, and let there euer be a horror in vsus, and reluctation against the seede of the Serpent. Let vsus doe our indeuor cōtinually to vnwinde our selues from the wicked, and from the need of their societie. And let vsus take heed, that we doe not too easily despaire of accommodating our vses and occasions by some of those sanctified few, especially in duplicate page duplicate page that place of neerest Vnion, which requires but one; and that one in the Lord: GOD hath promised the seekers to find, and that hee will withhold no grace, nor blessing from them, which seeke blessings for his Glorie.
To conclude, conuerse also with the dead; heare and reade their Actions and Sayings; thou shalt finde that the dead will quicken the dead, as the dead Prophet did the dead Souldier. The spirit of the dead will enter into thy dead heart, when thou considerest their excellent Actions and heauenly Meditations; The zealous heate of their spirits remaineth yet in their words and actions, and by these will enter into thee, to raise thee vpto the same degree of feruence in the Spirit. The first LoueLove was the best LoueLove, and the first louers were the best louers. The Apostles that were neerest to Christ, were neerest to him in LoueLove; & those that succeeded the Apostles in time, succeeded them best in LoueLove: for then did the Kingdome of Heauen suffer greatest violence. I know that God is stil mightie in his Saints, but I know also, that in these first times the fire of LoueLove was more generally vehement; for then they did euen dote vponupon Martyrdome, and by their forwardnesse of suffering, daunted many times the fury of their Persecutors. But on the other side, it hath beene fore-told, that in these last Times, LoueLove shall waxe cold, and men shall louelove pleasures more then God: whereupon the World shall bee consummate. Therefore let our cold LoueLove warme it selfe by the communion of their hote LoueLove, and let no man so much condemne the Fathers for Errours, as admire and imitate them for Zeale. Let vsus be followers of them that followed so vehemently after Christ, yea, of all such which since their daies and euen at this day, hauehave beene followers of those followers of Christ. Thus compassed with a cloud of witnesses, the testimonies of their louelove will powerfully perswade vsus, to cast away all that presseth down, and the sinne which hangeth so fast on, and to runne more actiuely and swiftly in the race of Pietie & Glorie which is set before vsus.