The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit, Part 2 · Chapter 5

The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit · Part 2 · Chapter 5

p. 363CAP. V.Cap. 5.

An Exhortation to follow the Lord fully.

NOw the Lord carry our hearts fully after himſelfe: As the two blinde men, Matth. 20. verſ. laſt, as ſoone as their eyes were opened, they followed Chriſt; ſo were our eyes opened, wee would certainly follow after the Lord; were they fully opened, our hearts would follow fully. Many of you have ſome convictions, ſome inclinations, ſtirrings of affections, good reſolutions; you begin to have good thoughts of Gods wayes, you are almoſt perſwaded: Oh that the work were throughly done! it is pity but that theſe beginnings ſhould be improved. When Chriſt ſaw the good inclinations of the young man, when he came unto him, the Text ſaith, He looked upon him, and loved him: p. 364thoſe beginnings are lovely; but how lovely then would the full worke be, if theſe beginnings were brought to perfection?

In this Vſe we ſhall ſhew, firſt, the Motives which may draw our hearts to the following of the Lord fully.

2 What it is that hinders the ſoule in this worke, that it may bee prevented.

3 What it is that would bring off the heart fully indeed.

For the firſt; there is infinite reaſon, 1that our hearts ſhould bee fully after the Lord: for,

1 There is a fulneſſe of all good in God; hee is worthy; Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honour, and power, Revel. 4. 11. Thou art worthy to receive the higheſt honour that any of thy creatures can by any meanes give unto thee. The Heathen gods were honoured, as thoſe who were onelyonly Authors of ſome particular good things; and therefore there were ſuch a multiplicity of them: one was honoured as the Author p. 365of one good thing, and another as the author of another; and therefore particular honour was ſufficient for them. There was no reaſon that that any of them ſhould have the whole ſoule, working in the fulneſſe of the operations of it after them; but our God is not ſo; he is an univerſall good, in whom there is all good, and from whom all good flowes, and by whom all good is preſerved in the being it hath; and therfore it is a moſt abſolute, univerſall honor and ſervice that is due to him; if wee had thouſands of ſoules, and if they were all of ten thouſand times larger extent than they are; yet infinite reaſon there would bee, that they ſhould all in the full latitude, extent, & ſtrength of them, work after this our God, to honour and magnifie, and worſhip this God for ever. As that bleſſed Martyr once ſaid, What, have I but Iohn Ardley.one life to lay downe for Chriſt? If I had as many lives, as there are haires upon my head, they ſhould all goe for Jeſus Chriſt: He ſaw Chriſt p. 366worthy of all hee had, yea, of more than he had. This was Gods own Argument to Abraham, Walk before me, and be upright; bee perfect, for I am God al-ſufficient, I have all perfection in me, and therefore be thou perfect before me.

Secondly, conſider God might 2have had full glory in your deſtruction; let him not bee a loſer in his ſhewing mercy to you. How much better is it for you, that hee ſhould have the fulneſſe of his glory, in his mercy to you, than the fulneſſe of it in his judgements upon you? This he might have had long agoe: yea, and the fulneſſe of his glory hee will have; if you give it not to him, hee will force it from you.

Thirdly, Chriſt hath fully gone 3thorow the great work of Redemption; he would never leave it till he had fully accompliſhed all, and ſaid, It is finiſhed. This was a mighty work, for the accompliſhment whereof, he paſſed thorow more difficulties, than ever thou art like to do, in p. 367the fulleſt meaſure of following the Lord, that poſſibly can be.

Fourthly, yea, Gods mercies for 4the preſent, are very full towards you; his pardoning mercies, and his ſupplying mercies, with all things needfull; when hee receives thee to mercy, he fully pardons all thy ſins, hee leaves nothing upon the ſcore; he remits all thy puniſhments. This was Davids Argument, Pſal. 103. 1, 2, 3 Bleſſe the Lord, O my ſoule, and all that is within mee, bleſſe his Holy Name: and bleſſe the Lord, O my ſoule, again; as if he ſhould ſay, O let God be fully bleſſed by me: why? what was that, that raiſed and inlarged Davids heart? It followes, Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, and heales all thy diſeaſes; and verſ. 4. He crownes thee with loving kindneſſes; and verſ. 5. He ſatisfies thy mouth with good things. God gives his ſervants a fulneſſe in all they doe enjoy; his grace exceedingly abounds towards them in every thing. That place in 2 Corinth. 9. 8. is very remarkable for p. 368the ſetting out of the abounding of Gods grace towards his people; And God is able (ſaith the Text) to make all grace abound towards you, that ye alwayes having all ſufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. What ever God is able to doe for us, by faith wee make it as if it were done. And this power of God is ſet forth to the Corinthians, as a Motive to perſwade them to full obedience, that they might abound to every good work; which if they did, they ſhould have this power of God active, fully working for them, according to theſe large expreſſions wee have of it in this Scripture. And obſerve the ſeverall expreſſions.

1 It is grace.

2 Then all grace.

3 Then all grace abounding.

4 A ſufficiency.

5 An all-ſufficiency.

6 An all-ſufficiency in all things.

And 7. alwayes an all-ſufficiency in all things. And is not here an Argument full enough, to cauſe them p. 369and us, and all Gods people for ever, to abound in every good worke. How often doth God fill our cup with mercy, and make it even runne over; as Pſal. 23. 5? If there ſhall be an All-ſufficiency in all things, then there will be an all-ſufficiency in our greateſt ſtraits, in our greateſt afflictions, in our greateſt ſeares: As it is ſaid of the wicked, Iob 20. 22. in the fulneſſe of his ſufficiency, hee ſhall bee in ſtraits; the contrary is true concerning Gods people; in the fulneſſe of their ſtraits, they ſhall be in all-ſufficiency. God cauſeth all his Attributes, and all the wayes of his Providence, and all his creatures to work for the good of his people; All that is in God, all that God doth, and all that belongs to God, is for them; therefore infinite reaſon there is, that all they are, that all they doe, that all they have, ſhould worke for his honour.

Firſt, all there is in God 1 is for 1them, Ierem. 32, 41. I will rejoyce over them, to doe them good, and I will plant p. 370them in this land aſſuredly, with my whole heart, and with my whole ſoule: God cals for no more from thee than he is willing to give unto thee; hee would have thy whole heart, & thy whole ſoule for his honour, and hee promiſeth to give thee his whole heart, and his whole ſoule, for thy good. Againe, all that God doth, is for thee; Pſal. 25. 10. All the pathes of the Lord are mercy and truth, unto ſuch as keepe his Covenant and his teſtimonies: The pathes of the Lord, are the wayes of God, in the paſſages of his Providence; not onelyonly ſome particular acts, but the track of God in his wayes, his pathes: Now all theſe pathes of God, that is, all the workings of God in the waies of his Providence, they are mercy unto ſuch, they work mercifully for their good. And further obſerve, they are not onelyonly mercy, but mercy in truth: God hath ingaged his truth, that they ſhould thus worke for them; God hath tyed this mercy to them by his truth. See here the difference p. 371between Gods mercy to his people, and his mercy to other men.

Firſt, ſome of Gods pathes may be mercy to other men, but not all; or ſome particular acts of God, rather than his pathes: God doth not ordinarily goe on in a track and courſe of his mercies with them, as hee doth with his people: As their obedience is onelyonly in ſome particular acts, and no continued courſe; ſo Gods mercy to them, which comes from his generall bounty, is manifeſted onelyonly in ſome particular acts of his, and not in any conſtant courſe. But it is otherwiſe in his dealings towards his people; they goe on in a conſtant courſe of obediēce; they make Gods Commandements their pathes, and therefore God goes on in a conſtant courſe of loving kindneſſe towards them, hee makes his mercy to them the ordinary pathes wherein hee walkes: As, Pſalm. 36. 10. O continue thy loving kindneſſe to them that know thee, and thy righteouſneſſe to the upright in heart. The word in the Originall, p. 372is, Draw out thy loving kindneſſe. Gods mercies to his owne, are a continued Series, they are drawne out from a conſtant Spring, they come forth from a never-failing Fountaine; there is a connexion betweene one mercy and another; but as for others, God now and then onelyonly caſts his favours on them.

And obſerve a ſecond difference; all Gods paths are mercy to his people, not ſome few; there are none of Gods dealings, but ayme at good towards them; if God ſhould cauſe one favour to follow another towards ſome wicked man, out of the fulneſſe of his bounty; yet it cannot be ſaid of any wicked man in the world, that all the pathes of God are mercy towards him. God hath his pathes of wrath and judgement, wherein he is comming towards him, though hee bee little aware of it: But this bleſſing of all the pathes of God being mercy, is a peculiar bleſſing to ſuch as follow the Lord fully, in the uprightneſſe of their hearts, in all the p. 373pathes of ſervice and obedience.

And thirdly, obſerve yet a greater 3difference than the former: All the pathes of God are not onelyonly mercy, but mercy and truth to his people: though God may ſhew mercy to others, yet he hath not tyed his mercy to them by his truth; they cannot challenge mercy from him by vertue of his truth; if they have mercy, it is more than they could have expected; they cannot be ſure of the continuance of it one houre; they have nothing to ſhew for their mercy; they doe not hold their mercy upon that Tenor of Gods truth which his people doe. Nay, when God comes to make good his truth, to give his truth the glory of it, then there is an end put to their mercy; it is cut off from them; but there is a bleſſed connexion between Mercy & Truth in the good which Gods people doe enjoy; according to the like expreſſion in the forenamed 36. Pſa. 10. the loving kindneſſe and the righteouſneſſe of God are put both together, p. 374as the portion of an upright heart. And hence the mercies they have, are no other than ſuch as they may expect, as they may build upon, before they come; ſuch as are made over to them by the truth of God; and when they are come they may bee ſure to hold them, becauſe they hold them upon ſuch a bleſſed Tenure as GODS owne truth. And hence the Scripture calls them ſure mercies. See how confident David was of holding Gods mercies, Pſalm. 23. 6. Surely goodneſſe and mercy ſhall follow mee all the dayes of my life.

And further, all that God hath, is for their good; the heavens, and earth, and all Creatures are theirs, and worke continually for them: Hoſea 2. 21. 22. I will heare the heavens, and they ſhall heare the earth, and the earth ſhall heare the Corne, and the Wine, and the Oyle, and they ſhall heare Iezreel: 1 Cor. 3. 22, 23: The world, life, death, things preſent, things to come, all are yours, and yee are Chriſts, p. 375and Chriſt is Gods: Rom. 8. 28. And we know that all things worke together for good, to them that love God. This is a myſterie that the world is not acquainted with, but we know it, ſaith the Apoſtle. The world may thinke, that things worke againſt us; yea, all things in the world ſeeme to work againſt us; but we know that all things doe work for good, & they work together for good; though ſome particular things conſidered apart, may worke for good to other men; yet take all together, and they worke their ruine; but altogether workes for good to us; although the good doth not ſeeme yet to come forth, yet it is a working for us; ſtay but till the worke bee done, and it will appeare: Good it will bee, though it may bee not the ſame good that wee thinke of, yet a good that will bee better for us; a greater good than we imagined or deſired. Now then, if all that is Gods bee for thee, and workes thus fully for thee, is there not reaſon then, that all that is thine p. 376ſhould be for God, and worke as fully for him? Thine did I ſay? the truth is, there is nothing thine; for all is Gods; God hath a greater propriety in, and right to whatſoever thou art, and haſt, than thy ſelfe; but God is pleaſed to let it bee called thine, that thou maiſt freely give it to him: and if it bee his owne, why ſhould hee not have it fully? If he thus inlargeth himſelfe towards thee, how unequall is it, that thou ſhouldeſt be ſcant in thy ſervice to him, and in thine honouring of him?

Fifthly, wicked men doe fully follow 5after that which is evill; an infinite ſhame & confuſion then would it be to us, an infinite diſhonour likewiſe unto God, if wee ſhould not as fully follow the Lord in that which is good? Eccleſiaſtes 9. 3. The heart of the ſonnes of men is full of evill: and Chap. 8. 11. The heart of the ſonnes of foreign.men is fully ſet in them to doe evill: The Seventy tranſlate this, The heart of man hath a Plerophorie to evill; it is ſet upon it without any doubt, or p. 377ſuſpition; there is a plerophorie of boldneſſe to ſinne in them; why ſhould there not bee a plerophorie, (that is) a full perſwaſion of faith in Gods ſervants to that which is good? Micah 7. 3. the Scripture ſaith, that wicked men doe evill with both hands, earneſtly: Eſay 57. 5. Idolaters there are ſaid to inflame themſelves with their Idols; and Ieremy Chap. 8. 2. they are ſaid, 1. To love their Idols: 2. To ſerve them: 3. To walke after them: 4 To ſeek them: 5. To worſhip them: all theſe 5. expreſſions together in one Verſe, to ſet forth the earneſtneſſe and fulneſſe of the ſpirit of Idolaters towards their Idols. Where have we five ſuch expreſſions together, to ſet out the fulneſſe of the worke of mens ſpirits in following after the Lord? It was ſaid of Ahab, that hee ſold himſelfe to work wickedneſſe; what a fulneſſe of ſpirit was there in him, in doing wickedneſſe? Ier. 23. 10. It is ſaid there of the people, that their courſe was evill, and their force was not p. 378right. That vis, that ſtrength, and force that was in their ſpirits, was not right; it was not after God, but after the wayes of ſinne. How many difficulties will men paſſe thorow for their luſts? what coſt will they bee at? how great things will they ſuffer? nothing is ſo deare unto them, but they will be content to part with it for, and beſtow it upon their Idols. How ſoon did the people, Exodus 32. break off their golden Earrings from their Eares, to make an Idoll withall? and ſhall not then our hearts and lives bee more fully after the bleſſed God? Wee ſee wicked men ſticke cloſe to their wicked principles; they are bold, they will not bee daunted, they will goe thorow with the worke they have begun, what ever come of it; ſhould not wee much more ſtick to our principles, ſhould not wee much more bee undaunted in our way, and goe thorow with our worke?

I remember I hauehave read a paſſage in Saint Cyprian, how he brings in the p. 379devil triumphing over Chriſt in this manner; As for my followers, I never dyed for them, as Chriſt did for his; I never promiſed them ſo great reward, as Chriſt hath done to his; and yet I have more followers than hee, and they doe more for mee, than his doth for him. O let the thought of our giving the devil occaſion thus to triumph over Chriſt in our ſlackneſſe and negligence in following after him, cauſe ſhame and confuſion to cover our faces: and yet to put on this Argument a little more cloſe; It may bee you your ſelves heretofore, have followed ſinne fully, your hearts have beene ſtrong after evill, and your lives have beene fruitfull in it; it may bee you have beene forward in putting forth your ſelves ring-leaders in that which was evill; not onelyonly ſtout and perverſe your ſelves, but maintainers, encouragers of much evill in others; you gave up yours members, your eſtates, and what you had, to the ſervice of ſin; much time was ſpent, much ſleepe p. 380broke, in plotting and contriving wickedneſſe, much paines taken in the execution of it, and now your hearts and wayes ſeeme to bee for God; and is a poore, ſleight, ſcant, dead-hearted ſervice ſufficient for him? Oh bee aſhamed and confounded in thy thoughts, let Conſcience judge betweene God and his Creature. Doeſt thou thus requite the Lord? is this thy kindneſſe to him? Is there not infinite reaſon, that as you have yeelded your members ſervāts to uncleannes, & to iniquity unto iniquity; even ſo you now ſhould yeeld your members ſervants to righteouſneſſe unto holineſſe? Rom. 6. 19. Marke the oppoſition there; there are three to's in the expreſſion of the ſervice to ſinne, To uncleanneſſe, To iniquitie, VntoUnto iniquitie; but in the ſervice of God there are onelyonly two, To righteouſnes, VntoUnto holines. It is true, in this life there will never be that fulneſſe of ſpirit in following after God, as there was in following after ſinne; becauſe there was nothing p. 381but ſinne in the ſoule before, no other ſtreame to abate it; but now there is ſomthing elſe beſides grace; a ſtreame of corruption to oppoſe it: but yet wee ſhould bee aſhamed, that there ſhould be ſuch a difference; the thought of it ſhould cauſe a dejection of heart within us, and we ſhould judge it infinitely equall & reaſonable, that we ſhould indeavour to the utmoſt wee are able, to follow God as fully now, as ever wee followed ſinne before. Saint Paul, Acts 26. 11. confeſſeth, that in his former way he was madd in the perſecution of Gods ſervants; and when God turned the ſtreame, others judged him as mad in the other way; 2 Corinth. 5. 13. For whether we bee beſides our ſelves, it is to God; the love of Chriſt conſtraineth us. And hence we may obſerve, that the ſame word that ſignifies to perſecute, he uſeth to ſet out his earneſt preſſing towards the Marke; Phil. 3. 14. I preſſe towards the Marke, for the price of the high calling of God. The word that is there p. 382tranſlated, preſſe towards, it is this ſame that ſignifies to perſecute, becauſe foreignthe earneſtneſſe of his ſpirit, in preſſing towards the marke now, is the ſame that it was in his perſecution of thoſe that preſſed towards the marke before.

Sixthly, the more fully we follow 6God, the more full ſhall our preſent peace, and joy, and ſoule ſatisfying contentment be. Pſal. 119. 130. The entrance of thy words giveth light; the beginning of following God, is ſweet and good, but the further wee doe goe on, the more ſweet we ſhall finde, as they who walked toward Sion, Pſalm. 84. 7. They went from ſtrength to ſtrength: ſo they who walke after the Lord, they goe from peace to peace, from joy to joy, frō one degree of comfort unto another; for if the entrance into our way be ſo good and ſweet, what will it bee when wee come into the midſt of it? Prov. 8. 20. I lead in the way of righteouſneſſe, in the midſt of the pathes of judgement; marke what followes p. 383there, verſe 21. That I might cauſe thoſe that love me, to inherit ſubſtance, and I will fill their treaſures. Then doth the ſoule inherit ſubſtance indeed, then are the treaſures of it filled, when wiſedome leades it, not onelyonly in the way of righteouſneſſe, but in the midſt of the paths of judgement. The way of the juſt is compared to the ſhining of the light, that ſhineth more and more unto the perfect day, Prov. 4. 18. The further hee goes on his way, the more light hee hath, the more glorious ſhine is upon him. Pſal. 36. 8. They ſhall be abundantly ſatisfied, and they ſhall drinke of the River of pleaſures. Who are thoſe that ſhal be thus abundantly ſatisfied, and ſhall have this River of pleaſures? they are verſe 10. the upright in heart. That ſoule that walkes on before the Lord in the uprightneſſe of it, ſhall not want ſatiſfaction, ſhall not want pleaſure. Pſal. 119. 165. Great peace have they which love thy law. It is more to love Gods law thē to do the thing that is p. 384commanded in it. That ſoule which doth not onelyonly ſubmit to the Law, but loves it, will be abundant in duty, for love is bountifull; & great peace hath ſuch a ſoule, that thus loves Gods Law. Every good motion in the ſoule is as the budd of the Lord, and that is beautifull and glorious; but how excellent and glorious is the fruit of it then? the good beginnings which are as the budding of the Pomegranate, and the putting forth of the tender Vine, are delightfull to God and to the ſoule; but how pleaſant then is the fruit when it comes to ripeneſſe?

The more fully we follow on in Gods wayes, the more full will the teſtimony of the witneſſes both in heaven and earth bee, in witneſſing our bleſſed eſtate unto us: Thoſe three witneſſes in heaven, the Father, Word, and Holy Ghoſt, and thoſe three on earth, the ſpirit, water, and the blood, of which S. Iohn in his 1 Epiſtle 5. 7, 8. they will all come with their full teſtimony, to that ſoule p. 385which followes God fully. By following the Lord fully, wee keep our evidences cleare; ſinne blots and blurs our evidences, that oftentimes wee cannot reade them; but when the heart keeps cloſe to God, and walks fully with him, then all is kept faire. The Kingdome of God conſiſts in righteouſneſſe, peace, and joy; the more fully wee are brought into his Kingdome, the more fully wee are under his government; as there will bee the more righteouſneſſe, ſo the more peace, and joy. Eſ. 9. 7. Of the encreaſe of his government, and peace, there ſhall bee no end, ſaith the Text. The more encreaſe there is of Chriſts government in the ſoule, the more full it is, the more peace will be there.

Seventhly, there is great reaſon that wee ſhould walke fully after the 7Lord, becauſe the way that God cals us to walke in, is a moſt bleſſed and holy way: In the 21. Revelation, 21. verſe; The ſtreets of Ieruſalem, (that is, the wayes of Gods people p. 390in his Church, wherein they are to walke) they are ſaid to bee of pure gold, and as it were tranſparent glaſſe; they are golden wayes, they are bright ſhining wayes. Prov. 3. 17. The wayes of wiſdome are the wayes of pleaſantneſſe; and all her paths are peace. There is not any one Command of God, wherein hee would have us to follow him, but it is very lovely, there is much good in it: God requires nothing of us, but that which is moſt juſt and holy: as God is holy in all his workes, ſo he is holy in all his Commands; they are no other, but that which if our hearts were as they ought, wee would chooſe to our ſelves. A righteous man is a law to himſelfe, he ſees that good, that beauty, that equity in all Gods Lawes, as hee would chooſe them to himſelfe were hee left at his owne liberty. What one thing is there in Gods Law that could bee ſpared? What is there that thou couldſt bee glad to bee exempted from? It may bee in the ſtrength of p. 391temptation, when ſome luſt is up working, the fleſh would faine have ſome liberty, but upon due ſerious thoughts, looking into the bottome of things, a gracious ſoule cloſeth with the Law, and loveth it as gold, yea, fine gold, and breakes for the longing it hath, not to the reward of obedience to Gods Statutes, and Judgements, but to the Statutes and Judgements of God themſelves, as David ſaith his ſoule did. Howſoever our path in following the Lord may ſeeme rugged and hard to the fleſh, in regard of the afflictions and troubles it meets withall in it; yet where there is a ſpirituall eye, the way of holineſſe appeares to it exceeding lovely and beautifull. Though David Pſa. 23. ſuppoſed the worſt that might befall him in his way, as that he might walke through the valley of the ſhadow of death; yet he cals his way greene paſtures, and ſaith, Godwill leade him by the ſtill waters. It is true, the wayes of God are grievous to the wicked, but p. 388very good and delightfull to the Saints, becauſe they are the wayes of holineſſe, as Eſay 35. 8. And a highway ſhall be there, and it ſhall bee called, the way of holineſſe; The uncleane ſhall not paſſe over it.

Eightly, the conſideration of the end of our way, ſhould bee a ſtrong 8motive, to draw our hearts fully after the Lord in it; the entrance into it is ſweet, the midſt of it more, as before we have ſhewed; but the end of it moſt ſweet of all; there is that comming, that will fully recompence all.

Conſider of the ſweetneſſe of the end of our way;

1 In that period of it that will be at death, and 2, In that glorious reward we ſhall have in heaven.

That ſweet and bleſſed comfort, that the full following of the Lord brings at death, is enough to recompence all the trouble and hardſhip, that wee meet withall in our way, while we are following of him: This hath cauſed many Saints of God to p. 389lie triumphing, when they have been upon their death-beds, bleſſing the Lord that ever they knew his wayes, that euer he drew their hearts to follow after him in them.

When Hezekiah received the meſſage of death, Eſay 38. 2, 3, he turned his face to the wall, and ſaid, Remember, O Lord, I beſeech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy ſight; and Hezechiah wept ſore: O the ſweetneſſe that poſſeſſed the heart of Hezekiah, which did flow from the teſtimony of his conſcience, that hee had fully walked after the Lord with a perfect heart! the verbe there, I have walked, It is in Hithpael. Continuoi…de ſinenter ambulavi.is in that Mood in the Originall, that addes to the ſignification of it; It ſignifies, I have continually without ceaſing walked.

Thus Luther, who was a man Oſian hiſt. Eccle. cent. 16. l. b. 2 cap. 56.whoſe ſpirit was exceeding full in his love unto, and walking after the Lord Jeſus Chriſt while hee lived; and when hee came to die, his ſpirit p. 386was as full of comfort, and joy, as before it was full of zeale, and courage; theſe expreſſions brake from him; O my heavenly Father, O God the Father of the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, the God of all comfort, I give thee thanks that thou haſt revealed thy Sonne Ieſus Chriſt to mee, whom I have beleeved, whom I have profeſſed, whom I have loved, whom I have honoured, whom the Biſhop of Rome, and the reſt of the rout of wicked men have perſecuted, and contemned; and now I beſeech thee; O my Lord Ieſus Chriſt, receive my ſoule, my heavenly Father; although my body is to be laid downe, yet I certainly know that I ſhall for ever remaine with thee, neither can I by any be pulled out of thy hands. The grace of Gods Spirit oftentimes appeares moſt in the glory of it, when death approacheth, becauſe grace and glory is then about to meet. That ſoule that hath followed God fully here, when it comes to depart out of the body, it onelyonly changeth the place, nor the company; which was the p. 387ſpeech of a late reverend holy Divine of ours, a little before his death. I ſhall change my place, ſaith hee, but not my company: meaning, that as he had converſed with God, and followed after the Lord here in this World, hee was now going to converſe with him, and to follow after him more fully in a better World. Death to ſuch a ſoule, it is but Gods calling of it, from the lower gallery of this World, to the upper gallery of Heaven, to walke with him there. Here the converſe that Jeſus Chriſt hath with the ſoules of his people, is compared to that converſe, that friends have one with another, in their walkings together in their galleries, Cant. 7. 5. The King is held in the galleries: hee doth not only walk with his Beloved there, but is as it were bound, he is kept there by the bands of love, and when death comes, then the ſoule is called up, to the upper roome, to heaven, there to follow the Lamb whereſoever he goeth.

p. 392Wee reade of a notable ſpeech, that Hilarion had when hee was to die; Goe out, goe out my ſoule, why doſt Egredere, quid times? egredere anima mea, quid dubitas? ſeptuagintaprope annis ſerviſti Chriſto, et mortemtimes? Hicronym, in vit. ejus.thou feare, why doſt thou doubt? almost theſe ſeventy yeares haſt thou ſerved Chriſt, and doſt thou now feare death? And if the end of our way at death, hath ſo much good in it, how much good will there be in the end of our way, that we ſhall enjoy, when we come to heaven?

As the conſideration of the full reward in heaven, was made uſe of before, as an encouragement to thoſe who doe fully follow the Lord; ſo now wee make uſe of it, as a ſtrong motive to draw up our hearts to the full following after him. It was S. Pauls motive to the Corinthians, 1 Epiſtle 15. 58. perſwading them to hee ſtedfaſt, unmoveable, alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord; foraſmuch as they knew that their labour was not in vaine in the Lord. We doe not follow after ſhadowes, and phancies, in following the Lord, but wee ſeek for glory, honour, immortality; p. 393wee follow after an incorruptible crowne, a glorious kingdome, an eternall inheritance, the glory of heaven; the treaſures of the riches of God himſelfe are ſet before us, to draw up our hearts fully to him. It was the argument that S. Paul uſed to worke upon his owne ſpirit withall, Phil. 3. 14. I preſſe toward the marke for the price of the high calling of God in Chriſt Ieſus.

How full is the worke of many mens ſpirits, in their working after ſome poore, little, ſcant good in this world? whereas if they had all the world, they had but an empty husk, in compariſon of that glory that is ſet before us: They pant after the very duſt; what cauſe is there then, that our hearts ſhould pant in the ſtrong workings of them, after thoſe high and glorious things, that are reſerved in heaven for us? It was the goodnes of the land of Canaan, that was a ſtrong motive to draw Caleb and Ioſhuahs heart fully after the Lord, through many difficulties. Canaan p. 398was but a darke Type of the glory of Heaven, which God hath promiſed to reward the full followers of himſelfe withall. It was once a ſpeech of Anſelme, If a man ſhould ſerve God zealouſly here a thouſand yeares, yet ſhould hee not thereby deſervedly merit to bee one halfe day in heaven. Let us bee as forward, let our hearts bee as ſtrong and zealous in Gods wayes as poſſibly they can be; yet I may ſay as Abigail did to David in that particular caſe, it ſhall not repent my Lord when he comes into his Kingdome; ſo it ſhal never repent you of any thing that ever you have done for the Lord, when you come into your Kingdome. But if it were poſſible there could be ſorrow in heaven, you would be ſorry that you did no more. It was a ſpeech of one Gordius a Martyr, that the threats of his enemies were but as ſeedes, from which he ſhould reape immortality, and eternal joyes; ſo all the hardſhip and troubles that we meet with all in our way here, in following the Lord, p. 399are but increaſers of that glory that is to be revealed: why then ſhould any thing hinder us, or ſtop us in our way? And thus I paſſe to the ſecond thing propounded in this Uſe, namely, to ſhew what are the Cauſes that hinder men from following the Lord fully; and they are five eſpecially; which I ſhall but name.

Firſt, low apprehenſions that men 1have of God; they ſee not God in his glory, in his greatneſſe; ſurely, they know not God, and therefore it is that their hearts work ſo poorly after him: Ier. 9. 3. They are not valiant for the truth upon the earth: and what is the reaſon? For they know not me, ſaith the Lord. As if he ſhould ſay, Did they know me, certainly they would be valiant for my trruth: They that know thy Name, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 9. 10. they will put their truſt in thee; ſo they that know Gods Name, will love him, will feare him, will be zealous for, will fully follow after him. The knowledge of all truthes, concerning Heaven, and hell,

p. 396ven, and hell, or any other thing that can bee knowne, can never raiſe, can never inlarge the hearts of men ſo after the Lord, as the knowledge of God himſelfe; and therefore where God is little knowne, no marvell though he be ſo little followed.

Secondly, unſound beginnings in 2the profeſſion of Religion, are the cauſe why men doe not fully follow after the Lord; their hearts are not throughly broken, not deepely humbled, the truths of God not deeply rooted at firſt, their ſoules not well principled, the foundation not well laid: If men be not well principled at firſt, in their entrance into the wayes of God, they are like to prove but ſhufflers and bunglers in Religion all their dayes. If cloth bee not wrought well at the firſt, though it ſhews faire in the Loome, yet it will ſhrinke when it comes to wetting: the cauſe why many doe ſo ſhrinke in the wetting, when they come to ſuffer any thing in the wayes of Religion; it is, becauſe their hearts p. 397were not well wrought at firſt.

A third cauſe is the ſtrength of ingagements; their hearts are ſo wrapped 3in them, ſo glued to them, as it is exceeding painfull to get them looſened from them, they are ſo near and deare to a corrupt heart: As it is ſaid of Eſau, hee looked on the Pottage, and it was ſo red; ſo they looke upon their ingagements, and they are ſo full of content; it is ſo grievous to be taken off from them, that they rather ſuffer their hearts to bee taken off from God himſelfe: when engagements have taken poſſeſſion of the heart, then how hard is it to work any thing upon the judgements of men? it is hard to get the minde to view the truths of God, to get it to ſearch into them, to conſider of them; it is ready to cloſe with the leaſt objection againſt them, to catch hold of the leaſt advantage to caſt them off; and if truths bee ſo cleare as a man cannot but ſee them, as conſcience for the preſent is over-powred with them, yet if the heart bee p. 394not taken off from ingagements, it will fetch about againe, to ſee if ſomething may not bee gotten againſt thoſe truths, to breake the ſtrength of them; but where the heart is taken off from ingagements, how eaſily do the truths prevaile? how ſoone is the heart brought fully to cloſe with them? 2 Sam. 22. 33. God, ſaith David, maketh my way perfect: the word is, He frees my way, Solvit, ſo it is tranſlated by ſome, Hee frees it from ſnares; and this is a great mercy. Hence, Pſalme 18. 32. Where this thankſgiving of David is againe repeated, there the word is tranſlated Dedit, Hee hath given my way to be perfect; this is a good gift indeed, for God to make a mans wayes free and cleare before him, to take off the temptations that did ingage and inſnare his ſpirit; and then, as Verſe 34. of that place in Samuel, He maketh my feet as Hindes feet: O how ſwiftly and powerfully then may the ſoule runne in Gods wayes, when it is thus freed! Pſalm. 119. 44, 45. I ſhall keep p. 395thy Law continually, for ever and ever, and I will walke at liberty. When the heart is at liberty, then it goes on continually, for ever and ever, in following after the Lord: but if there be any ſecret ingagement in it, it will be weary, and one time or other will leave off: a man that is fettered, can neither go apace, nor continue long.

A fourth thing that hinders men 4in following God fully, it is, going out in the ſtrength of their owne reſolutions, not in any ſtrength that they receive out of the fulneſſe of Jeſus Chriſt; they truſt more to their owne promiſes, than to Gods. Luther reports of Staupicius a Germane Divine, that hee acknowledged of himſelfe, that before he came to underſtand aright the free and powerful grace of Jeſus Chriſt, that he vowed & reſolved an hundred times againſt ſome particular ſin, and never could get power over it; at laſt he ſaw the reaſon to be, the truſting to his own reſolutions.

A fift cauſe, is the meeting with p. 4005more difficulties in Gods ways than wee made account of: when Chriſtians thinke onelyonly of the good and ſweet that they ſhall meet with in Gods wayes; but they doe not caſt in their thoughts, what the troubles are like to bee, that they ſhall finde in them; like Ioſeph, who dreamed of his preferment and honour that hee ſhould have above his brethren, but dreamt not of his ſelling into Egypt, nor of his impriſonment there: Chriſtians ſhould at the firſt entrance into Gods wayes, expect the utmoſt difficulties; they ſhould enter upon thoſe termes, to incounter with great troubles, if they meane to ſollow God fully in them. It is a ſhame for any Chriſtian to account any trouble that he meets withall in Gods wayes, to be as a ſtrange thing unto him. Becauſe the Lord had takē S. Paul as a choſen veſſell unto himſelfe, and purpoſed to draw his heart fully after him; obſerve how God deales with him in his firſt entrance into his way, Acts 19. 16. I will ſhew him p. 401how great things hee muſt ſuffer for my Names ſake.

But what then would take off the heart, and carry it fully after the Lord?

Theſe three things will doe it.

Firſt, the reall ſight and thorow ſenſe of ſinne, as the greateſt evill. Whē God leads his people weeping, and with ſupplications, then hee brings them into a ſtraight way, wherein they ſhall not ſtumble, Ier. 31. 9. and againe, Ier. 50. 4, 5. the Lord ſaith, that his people ſhall goe weeping, and ſeeke the Lord their God, they ſhal aske the way to Zion, with their faces thither-ward, ſaying, Come let us joyne our ſelves to the Lord in a perpetuall Covenant, that ſhall not be forgotten. When they are led weeping in the thorow ſenſe of their ſinne, then their faces are ſet toward Zion, and then they are willing to joyne themſelves to God, in a perpetuall Covenant.

The ſecond thing that will take off the heart fully, is the cleare ſight of p. 402God in theſe two conſiderations.

1. In relation to our ſelves, to ſee how there is all good in him for 1us to enjoy fully, though wee have nothing but him alone; what ever wee would have in any creature, in any way ſo farre as is good for us, it is to bee had in him; when the ſoule is thorowly convinced of this, it comes off ſweetly, and flowes fully after the Lord.

2. Conſider God in relation to all other good; thus, that nothing 2elſe hath any true goodneſſe in it, but in reference and ſubordination to him.

The third thing that will take off 3the heart fully, is the feare of God, and the feare of eternity powerfully falling upon the ſoule, and deeply taking impreſſion in it: For the feare of God, take that place, 2 Cor. 2. 1. Perfect your holineſſe in the feare of God. The feare of God is a great means to bring your holineſſe to perfection; and for the ſecond, that place in Phil. 2. 12. Worke out your ſalvation p. 403with feare and trembling. The feare of Cap. 6.the eternall ſalvation of the ſoule, of the infinite conſequence of it, will cauſe us to labour to work it out.