The State of True Happiness, Title page – Dedication
A DISCOVRSE ABOVT THE STATE OF TRVE HAPPINESSE:
DELIVERED IN CERTAINE Sermons in Oxford, and at Pauls Crosse:
By ROBERT BOLTON.
2. CORINTH. 13.5. Prooue your selues whether yee are in the faith: examine your selues: know yee not your owne selues, how that Iesus Christ is in you, except yee be reprobates?
AT LONDON, Imprinted by Felix Kyngston, for EDMVND WEAVER, and are to be sold at his shop, at the great North-gate of Pauls Church. 1611.
TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL, HIS VERY GOOD PATRONE, SIR AVGVSTIN NICOLS, Knight, Serieant at the Law; the glorious comforts of Grace here, and the blessednesse of immortalitie hereafter.
SIR, I hauing been often and much solicited with varietie and iteration of strong importunitie, to publish and let passe into the eie of this censorious world, these, thevery first fruites and essaies of mine imployment and businesse in the Ministerie; did apprehend and embrace this season with better contentment, and with more cheerefulnes addresse and compose my self thereunto: because I did see opportunitie offered thereby, to let appeare abroad my thankfull acknowledgement of your respectfull and more then ordinary fauour vntounto me; and a publike testimonie of your worthie and exemplarie integritie, in discharging your hands, and faithfully disposing that portion of the Church his patrimonie committed to your trust and conscience. An affaire (though in these desperately sinfull times, fearfully and accursedly abused) of high and waightie consequence, and of great power, as it shall be discharged with conscience, or corruption, either further to ruine our Church, and bring it to more miserie and desolation, or to repaire and aduance it to better state & more happinesse. For mine owne particular, it hath so pleased God to guide your heart in this busines, and to blesse me with his prouidence, that wheras too many Patrones now adaies; either by detaining sacrilegiouslie Gods portion, agai… all grounds of equitie both diuine & humane; or by furnishing Churchliuings simoniacally and corruptly, do certainly pull vponupon their own heads, soules and bodies, goods and posteritie, an heauie and horrible *W…ll a man spoile his gods? yet hauehave …e spoiled me. But yee say, vvherein …aue we spoiled thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are curs…d with a curse: …or ye hauehave spoiled me, euen this whole nation. Malach. 3.8.curse, and shall thereby make their account to be without fauour at the last day: and whereas many worthie men, after they hauehave wearied and wasted their bodies and mindes, their spirits and patrimonie in studie, and worne out their hopes with long and tedious expectation, pursuit and dependance; come at length, with much adoe, to no great matters, and when all is done, it is well if they escape all galling and gash of conscience, such is the strange iniquitie of the times: yet I say, so worthily hauehave you dealt with me, & so vprightly in the Church his cause, that vponupon your owne first motion you sent vntounto me to accept the place I now enioy from you, and offered me a faire, a free and comfortable passage to the exercise of my Ministerie abroad; which next vntounto the saluation of mine own soule, I hold most deare and precious; when I neither sought after, nor thought vponupon preferment. This your rare and singular bountie, did at the very first affect me with a secret sense of an extraordinary obligation, for all inward affectionatnes, and with a desire of representing it in some visible forme of outward testification. But when I did after further consider, first how that Sacriledge and Simonie, that damned couple of crying sins, like two rauenous Harpies, and the two insatiable daughters of the Horsleech, had seazd euen vponupon the Heart of our Church, readie to rent and teare in peeces her very heart-strings, and to sucke out the inmost blood and last life of our dearest Mother: when I looked aboue me in this famous Vniuersitie where I hauehave liued, and saw many reuerend and learned men, full of the light of diuine truth, and of the water of life, able gloriouslie and comfortablie to illighten many darke places and drie soules in this land, readie to expire and powre out their soules in the bosome of this their famous Nurce; not brought vp by her to die at her breasts, but if they might hauehave honest and lawfull passage, readie and resolute to enlarge Christs kingdome abroad, and to oppose with all their power, against the bloodie torrent of Poperie and rage of Antichrist: lastly, when I weighed with my selfe mine owne naturall declination and resolued vnfitnes, to make a noise and stirre in the world for preferment: I did finde that as these considerations did before giuegive small hope of changing my station; so now they were of power yet further to double the impression of your worthie and extraordinarie goodnesse vntounto mee, and freshly to renew the thankfull deuotions and apprehensions of mine heart. Out of which hath sprung in me a thirsting earnestnes and contention of spirit, to returne vntounto you, for these temporall fauours, so farre as the nature of that high Ministeriall function, wherein I stand, shall guide me, and the power of my poore abilitie can reach; the Blessings of Heauen, and comforts of a better world. To which end, I here present vntounto you this Treatise, which I hauehave intended to be, so farre as my gracious God hath giuen me vnderstanding in the point, as it were a looking-Glasse or Touchstone, to whomsoeuer it shall please to take thorow notice thereof, for the discerning and trying, in some good measure, whether he alreadie bee of the number of those fewe which truly liue the life of God, and vnderunder the Scepter of his Sonne; or lie as yet enthralled in the inuisible chaines of damnation and death, and vnderunder the large and powerfull raigne of Satan. For I am perswaded, that in this glorious noontide of the Gospell many thousands deceiue not only the world, and others, but euen themselues and their owne soules, about their spirituall state: thinking, if they finde in themselues a freedome from grosse and notorious sinnes, fairenes of conditions, ciuil honestie, a formall profession of Christianitie, outward performances of religious seruices, that then their case is good enough for heauen; though there bee wanting the sauing power of inward sanctification, and the truth of a sound conuersion; though they bee strangers to the great mysterie of Godlinesse, and disacquainted with a conscionable and constant course of Holinesse in their liues and actions. But we must conceiue, that ouer and besides these degrees of goodnesse, with which millions of men content and deceiue themselues; yea, and quite beyond, and vtterly without the compasse of all worldly glorie, all visible pompe, the most admited greatnesse and sufficiency vponupon earth, for which a great part of the world exchange the euerlasting happinesse of their soules; there is a Paradise of Christian comforts, a Royall Peculiar, a victorious Simplicitie, a neglected Innocencie, a marueilous Light, an inuisible Kingdome, an Heauen vponupon Earth; which I call the state of Grace; and labour in the ensuing Discourse to difference from al perfections and sufficiencies attaineable in the state of vnregeneration. I meddle not purposely with the notorious sinner: for me thinkes, in these daies of light, there should none so wilfully and deeply inwrap himselfe in darknes; but that in his cold blood, and more sober consideration, will acknowledge and confesse, that the state of notorious sinfulnes, is the state of wretchednes and of death. And that there is no hope for the Drunkard, the Swearer, the Lier, the Vsurer, the vncleane person, the Sabbath-breaker, the Sacrilegious, Simoniacall, and sinners of such infamous ranke; but a fearefull looking for of iudgement, and, without repentance and forsaking their sinnes, an eternall separation both from al possibilitie of grace and sound comfort in this life, and from the fruition of the ioyes and blessednes of heauen hereafter. I therefore endeuour and desire to come neerer and closer to mens consciences, and to tell them, that out of a conceit of their morall honestie, and outward religiousnes, they may perswade themselues that they are rich and encreased in spirituall store, and hauehave need of no more for the attainment of heauen; when in deed and truth, as concerning the power of sauing grace, and sincere exercise of religion, they are wretched, and miserable, and poore, and blind and naked. In these luke-warme times, many there are, who with the fruites of a temporarie faith, and some light of the generall graces of the Spirit, make a faire shew, and win good reputation for their spirituall state, both with their owne hearts, and with the world abroad, when to the eie of heauenly wisdom, and in truth, they are but only Blazing-stars, and earthly minded, not fixed in the same firmament with the Sunne of righteousnes, nor of an heauenly stampe. And if they rise not higher in their affections and conuersation from earth and earthly vanities, when their rootlesse graces shall be withered and wasted away, their fall will bee sudden and fearfull; and their former vanishing flashes of vaine hope for future happinesse, will be turned into horror and extremest miseries of despaire. Most behooffull then is it for eueryevery man, in time, to search and examine himselfe whether Christ Iesus be in him or no. And it is one of the worthiest and noblest imployment of the soule, to reflect vponupon it selfe, and with an vndazeled and vndissembling eye thorowly to trie and descrie cleerely it owne state, whether it be already washed with the blood of Christ, and enliued with a supernaturall vigour and life of grace; or yet lie polluted in it owne blood, and vnderunder the power of the first death. I wonder how any man can bee at rest and quiet, vntill he be assured and secur'd in this point, sith vponupon it depends his euerlasting estate in another world. Nay, sith euen in this world, eueryevery vnregenerate man, let him be otherwise neuer so great, or adored aboue others, neuer so absolute in all other excellencies and perfections whatsoeuer; yet being out of the state of grace, is a very limbe of Satan, a child of darknesse, and one of the familie of Hell. The wrath and vengeance of God, all the furie of the kingdom of darknesse, the rage of all the creatures, though hee little thinke vponupon it, are euerie houre readie and addrest to seize vponupon him, as a traitor and rebell to the highest Maiestie, and to dragge him downe into the bottome of Hell. Whereas the state of true Christians, and Gods faithfull Ones, is most comfortable and glorious euen in this life in this vale of teares, and in these Tabernacles of clay. For their comforts are not fading and earthly, springing out of the sinfull pleasures & transitorie glorie of the world; not fastned vntounto honors, greatnes and possessions, to the encrease of Corne, and Wine, and Oyle: but they are of a right noble and heauenly temper, framed and emplanted in the sanctified soule by the spirit of all comfort; and therefore euerlasting and vnconquerable, able to keepe a man in heart and resolution against the malice and cruelties of all aduersaries, of all creatures. They only are truly and soundly perswaded by the sweet and secret testimonie of the spirit, and by the euidence and experience of their own holy life, that after the approching and much longed for period of a few and euill daies, they shall raigne with God almightie, the holy Angels and glorified Saints, in vnutterable and endlesse pleasures for euer and euer: and therfore easily and resolutely with much indignation & contempt, ouer-looke and throw out of their hearts, all worldly thoughtfulnes, all excessiue desires of earth and earthly vanities, all restlesse aspirations after transitorie honors, the noble miseries of this wretched life. They alone hauehave fastned the eye of their mindes, illightned from aboue with sauing faith, vponupon the vnualuable pretiousnes and lasting beauty of their immortall crownes in heauen; and therfore all the glittering and golden representations, with which the flattering world hath formerly deceiued and dazled their eyes, appeare to be nothing but darknes and desolations. Their glorie indeed heere vponupon earth doth not consist in outward pompe and state, it doth not shine to carnall eyes, it is vndiscernable to the sharpest sight of worldly wisedome and policie: but inwardly and with spirituall fairenes, their diuine graces make them so truly honorable and louely, that somewhere in Scripture they are called the Glory of God, and are as deare vntounto him as the pretious ball and apple of his owne eye. They are in so high esteeme and account with Angels, that those excellent creatures with much ioy & alacrity become their Guardians, and seruiceable vntounto them with extraordinarie care and tendernes. All the creatures groane, and desire to bee deliuered into their glorious libertie; and in the meane time, with a secret and insensible reuerence, they adore the sacred character of diuinitie that is stampt vponupon them. All the Saints acknowledge them to bee more excellent then their neighbours, of the household of God and heires of heauen. Nay, the wicked themselues, many times, are confounded and stand amazed at the height of spirit and resolution that possesseth their hearts, and at the sober & vndanted maiestie that shines in their faces. This, and a thousand times more then this, is the blisfull state of Gods children euen in this life. Howsoeuer they be neglected and trampled vponupon by the world and wicked men; yet in the iudgement of God himselfe, the blessed spirits, and all men of true worth indeed, they are the only Angels vponupon earth, and the royall citizens of this kingdome of Grace. The prosecution of this point would bee comfortable, but so I should be more tedious. No more but this therfore at this time: Certaine it is, if a man were crowned with the royall state and imperiall command of all the kingdomes vponupon earth; if his heart were enlarged to the vtmost of all created capacitie, & filled with all the exquisite and vnmixed pleasures that the reach of mortalitie and most ambitious curiositie could possibly deuise, and might without interruption and distast enioy them the length of the worlds duration; they were all nothing to the enioyment of the pretious and peereles comforts of the state of Grace, but euen for an houre. I speake the truth, I vse no Hyperbole, the Spirit of all comfort, and consciences of all true Christians bearing me witnesse. Good Sir, let me humbly entreate you with a proportionable zeale and feruencie, to encline and enlarge your affections to the pursuit and practise of so excellent and glorious an happinesse. Which that you may doe, I will continuallie prostrate and powre out my soule in prayer, before the throne of Grace and merciemercy: And rest,
Your Worships to be commanded euer in the Lord Iesus, Robert Bolton.