The Marrow of the Oracles of God, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
Shewing the miseries of godly men in life.
NOw the miseries of the godly A go…ly man hath great cause to be weary of life, if he consider. 1. What he wants. 2. What he cannot auoid. 6. Thing… eueryevery go…ly man wants, while hee liues h…re in th…s …. 1. … ▪ … …f God.mans life are of two sorts: for either hee may consider what he wants, or what he hath in life, for which he would be weary of it.
I will giuegive but a touch of the first: consider of it; in this life there are sixe things, among the rest we want, and can neuer attaine while wee liue here.
The first is, the glorious presence of God; while the body is present, the Lord is absent, 2. Cor. 5. 8. And is not this enough to make vsus loath life? Shall we… more esteeme this wretched car…asse, then our glorious God, whose onelyonly presence in glory shall fill vsus with eternall delight? O the vision of God! If we had but once seene God face to face, we would abhorre that absence that should hinder the fruition of such vnspeakable beauties, as would enamour the most secure heart to an vnquenchable louelove.
The second thing wee want in 2 Fellowship with his best friends.life, is the sweete fellowship with our best friends: A fellowship matchlesse; if we either consider the perfection of the creatures, whose communion we shall enioy; or the perfect manner of enioying it. Who would be withheld from the congregation of the first borne, from the societie with innumerable Angels, and the spirits of iust men? Alas! the most of vsus hauehave not so much as one entire and perfect friend in all the world; and yet wee make such friends as we hauehave, the ground of a great part of the contentment of our liues. Who could liue here, if he were not beloued? Oh, what can an earthly friendship bee, vntounto that in heauen; when so many thousand Angels & Saints shall be glad of vsus, and …ntertaine vsus with vnwearied delight. If we had but the eyes of faith to consider of this, we would thinke eueryevery houre a yeere till we were with them.
Thirdly, in this world we want 3 The perfection of his nature.the perfection of our owne natures: we are but maimed & deformed creatures here; we shall neuer hauehave the sound vnderstanding of men in vsus, till we bee in heauen; our holinesse of nature and gifts will neuer be consummate, till we be dead.
Fourthly, in this world wee want libertie: Our glorious liberty 4. Liberty.will not …e had here: a thing which the spirits of the best men hauehave with much sighing longed after, Rom. 8. 21, 22. Oh who would liue in a prison, a dungeon, rather then a palace of royall freedom? It hath been impliedly shewed before, that wee are many waies in bondage here.
Fiftly, we shall euer want here 5. Contentment.fulnesse of contentment. If a man liue many yeeres, so that the dayes of his yeeres be many, if his soule bee not filled with good, Salomon saith, an vntimely birth is better then bee. And it is certaine, if a man liue a thousand yeeres twise told, he shall neuer see solid good to fill his heart, his appetite will neuer be filled, Eccle. 9. 3, 6, 7. There is nothing in this life can giuegive a man solid and durable contentment; but a man findes by experience, vanitie, and vexation of spirit, in what hee admires or loues most: and shall wee be so ottish as to forget those riuers of pleasures that are at Gods right hand? Psal. 16. vlt.
6. The sixth thing we want in 6. Th… Crowne.this world is our Crown, and the immortall and incorruptible inheritance bought for vsus with the …loud of Christ: and shall not …ur hearts burne within vsus in …onging after possession? Can we …sire still to liue in wants, and to be vnderunder age? What shall moue vsus, if such an incomparable crowne cannot moue vsus? Wee that sweate with so much sore labor for the possession of some small portion of earth; shall we. I say, be so sluggish, as not to desire, that this kingdome, which our Father hath giuen vsus, might come quickly vponupon vsus▪ or are we so transported with spirituall madnesse, as to be afraid to passe through the gate of death, to attaine such a life? What Prince would liue vncrowned, if hee could helpe it, and might possesse it without wrong or danger? and what great heire would be grieued at the tydings, that all his lands were fallen vntounto him?