Moses Choice, Treatise · Part 3 · Chapter 56
CHAP. LVI. Christians ſhould live and dye as becomes heirs of ſuch a glorious estate.
SEcondly, learn, if there be ſuch a glorious reward, 2.to live and dye as becomes ſuch glorious heirs: this is the Exhortation of the holy Ghoſt unto us by St. Paul, in his Epiſtle unto the Theſſalonians, As you know how we exhorted, and 1 Theſſ. 2. 11, 12.comforted, and charged every one of you that ye would walk worthy of God that hath called you unto his kingdom and glory: here is an exhortation, and in the name of God a charge upon every ſoul that does expect to have the portion of it in theſe great things, that they would walk worthy of God, who hath called them unto his kingdom and glory: it is a great charge to walk worthy of God, but to walk worthy of God who hath called us to his kingdom and glory, this is great, but the life of a Chriſtian muſt be thus. Now conſider, what life have I? Is my life ſuch as may be ſaid to be worthy of God, and that God that hath called me unto his kingdom and glory? Surely great things muſt be in the lives of Gods people: people talk much of ſtrictneſs, and preciſeneſs, that they may be too preciſe; what do you think muſt this life be that muſt be worthy of God who hath called us to his kingdom and glory?
It muſt not be a dead-hearted life, go on with a holy and heavenly chearfulneſs and courage in Gods ways: It becomes the children of the Bride-chamber to be joyful: ſee that in any caſe you rejoyce before the Lord; comfort your ſelves and one another by theſe ſayings. We belye the truth of God, if we do not walk joyfully: Rejoyce in this, that your names are written in the Book of life; ſays Chriſt, they rejoyced that the Devils fell down before them: If there were any thing in the world to be rejoyced in, one would think they might rejoyce in that, but Chriſt would not have them rejoyce in that, in compariſon of this. Caeſar when he was ſad, he ſaid to himſelf, Think thou art Caeſar, that that might take away Cogita te Caeſarum eſſe.his ſadneſs; and ſo ſay I to a Chriſtian, Think of your Crown and glory, let your lives be ſuch as may make it appear you have your portion in theſe things. I may ſay to ſome, as Jonadab ſaid to Amnon, Why art thou lean from day to day, being the Kings Son? So may I ſay to every childe of God, Why is thy heart ſo troubled, and Why walkeſt thou ſo dumpiſhly in the ways of God, being the King of Heavens Son? Poſſibilities of heaven is enough to take away the ſting of afflictions, but having comfortable hope of theſe things, this ſhould take away even the ſenſe of them, at leaſt, ſo far as that they be no way diſturbing to us; Seneca ſays, That vertue does not Quo tendat, non quid paſſura ſit, cogitat. Sen. de gubeanat. mundi.conſider what it ſuffers, but whither it tends. It beſeems them well enough, but not you, it beſeems Swine to follow the trough, but not the heirs of a Kingdom. Plutarch tells of Themiſtocles, that he accounted it not to ſtand with his ſtate to ſtoop down to take up the ſpoyls the enemy had ſcattered in flight, but ſays to one of his followers, You may, for you are not Themistocles. Thus may it be ſaid to foreign.worldly ſpirits, You may be greedy of theſe things, for here is your portion, your names are written in the earth, you are not the heirs of the kingdom.
Secondly, walk above the world, above all things that are here below, take heed of enſnarling your 2.hearts, & of too much mixing your ſelves with them. There is a generation whoſe names are written in the earth, Ier. 17. 13. and it beſeems them to look after the things of the earth, becauſe their portion is there, it is their All: but Gods people have their names written in heaven, and therefore they ſhould not regard the things below as they do. Whoſoever was free of the city of Rome, might not accept of any other freedom in any other city; they counted it a diſhonor to the freedom of Rome, to take freedom any where elſe: So thoſe that are free of the kingdom of Heaven, ſhould not ſeek to be free here, but they ſhould be ſatisfied with a mean condition here, and take heed they do not entangle themſelves too much in the things below.
Beſides, thoſe that have hopes of Heaven, they 3.ſhould labor to have their lives like to Heaven: It is that we pray for, that the will of God may be done in earth as it is done in heaven: How is it done in heaven? The Saints and Angels there do it fervently, univerſally, readily, constantly, and therefore the Angels are called by the name of Seraphims, it notes burning, becauſe they burn with zeal for God; labor to conform your life to the life of Heaven.
Again, labor to be much trading for heaven in this 4.world, let there be much intercourſe between you and Heaven, let your converſation be in heaven, Phil. 3. 20. If a man intend to live in another Countrey, he will have much traffique in that Countrey before he goes; and if we believe we ſhall come to Heaven, let there be much trading that way. Our converſations ſhould be ſo in Heaven, as all the mercies we enjoy here ſhould raiſe our hearts to heaven. We read Exod. 25. that upon the Table of Shewbread there was ſet a crown of gold. In thoſe proviſions that we have here for ſouls and bodies, our hearts muſt be raiſed to that Crown of glory reſerved for us; for the Shew-bread ſet before the Lord was to ſignifie Gods proviſion for us, and the dedication of our bread of all our proviſion to God.
Again, let us labor to encreaſe heaven in our hearts, and to bring as much of heaven into them as poſſibly 5.we can.
And keep your ſelves in a continual readineſs 6.whenſoever God ſhall call you to ſuch a glorious recompence of reward as this is. It is ſaid of Daniel, though he was in Babylon, he opened his windows towards Jeruſalem, he kept his heart in a readineſs to go: So you ſhould do, keep your hearts in a heavenly frame ready for heaven, waiting upon the Bridegroom with your lamps burning, that when he comes you may open immediately to him. There is a difference between a wife that hath been faithful to her husband, and waits for his coming home, and another that hath been unfaithful to her huſband, and hath other lovers in the houſe when her husband knocks; if her husband knocks, ſhe doth not go immediately, but there is ſhuffling up and down, and ſhe delays the time, till ſhe have got the other out of the houſe; but a faithful wife, ſhe immediately opens; it is true, though the wife be not unfaithful, yet if the houſe be not handſom, and things be not prepared, ſhe is loth to open: So Chriſtians they have been dallying with their luſts, and their hearts are out of frame, and they are loth to open to Chriſt; but we ſhould keep our hearts in ſuch a readineſs, as immediately to open to Chriſt, and to be willing to dye.
And when we dye, to dye as heirs of ſuch things, not to reſpect things below, houſe or lands, or any thing here. We read of Pope Adrian, when he was to dye, he laments his condition, becauſe he was to leave all his delights and pompous vanities, and cryes out, O my ſoul, whither goeſt thou? thou ſhalt never be merry more; he was loth to leave theſe things, becauſe he did not know whither he went; but a ſoul that knows what inheritance it ſhall have hereafter, it is not loth to go hence: Many are loth to dye, becauſe they have treaſures in the world, as thoſe ten men ſaid, in Iſa. 41. 8. Slay us not, for we have treaſures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oyl; but a godly man is willing to dye, becauſe he hath treaſures in Heaven. Keep open the eye of faith, exerciſe faith to ſee God that is now ſending for his childe home: And look upon Chriſt as having that prayer granted, Father, I will that thoſe whom thou haſt given me be where I am: by faith you ſhall ſee Heaven opened, and the crown prepared, and ſee God in his glory, that you may expreſs chearfulneſs of heart in going to take poſſeſſion of that glorious recompence of reward; behold the Angels of God coming to take you up into Heaven. It was an expreſſion of the honor of one Hugh Biſhop of Lincoln, that King John and his Nobles would carry him to the grave; more honor ſhall the Saints have, for God to ſend his Angels to convey them to that place of glory.
And further, let you ſpirits work mightily after Heaven; now when they draw near to it, as the nearer any thing is to the center, the more ſtrongly and ſwiftly it moves; As a ſtone that falls down from a high place, it moves more ſwiftly when it is nearer the ground, then when it was higher; ſo at death, the ſoul is nearer its center, grace is changing to glory, and when grace and glory is to meet, there muſt need be a mighty working of heart, and mighty ſhouts: As it is reported of the Duke of Bulloin and his company, when they went to Jeruſalem, as ſoon as his company ſaw the high Turrets, they gave a mighty ſhout, that the earth rang: and ſo when the ſoul ſees the turrets of this heavenly Jeruſalem, and when you ſee your ſelves ready to go and poſſeſs it, what mighty workings and ſhoutings of your heart will there be?
And when you are to dye, ſpeak well of God, and of the ways of godlineſs to all that are about you. Chriſtians ſhould now labor ſo to live, as there may appear a mighty difference between their deaths, and the death of others; whereas ordinarily ſuch is the vanity and droſſineſs of the hearts of Chriſtians in their lives, as when they come to dye, they are ſo heavy and ſad, as if no ſuch things were prepared for them. In 2 Pet. 1. 11. the Apoſtle having exhorted them before to adde one grace to another, and to give all diligence to make their calling and election ſure, ſays he, So an entrance ſhall be miniſtred unto you abundantly, into the everlaſting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jeſus Chriſt: Chriſtians ſhould labor ſo to live, as when they come to dye, they may not onelyonly have an entrance into the everlaſting Kingdom of our Lord adminiſtred unto them, but that they may have an entrance adminiſtred unto them abundantly: Many make ſhift to get to heaven, but they have not an entrance adminiſtred abundantly. As a Ship may make ſhift to get into harbor, but with the Anchors loſt, and Cables rent, and Sayls torn, and the Maſts broke; another Ship comes in with the Sayls up, and the Flags up, and Trumpets ſounding, and comes bravely into Haven; ſo much difference is ſometime between true Chriſtians; ſome through careleſneſs, and unbelief, and ſadneſs, and ſullenneſs of Spirit, although they make ſhift with much ado to get into Heaven, yet ſo as their anchor of hope was even gone, and they had little or no comfort at all; but thoſe that have added one vertue to another, and have been diligent to make their calling and election ſure, they come to Heaven with much glory and joy, and that ſhould be our care ſo to live in adding one grace to another, that when we dye our deaths may be glorious.
Yet further, from the conſideration of this glory Uſe 11.revealed, which God hath prepared for his Saints, we are to draw this meditation, If Heaven be ſo glorious, then we had need fill up the comfort of our lives by doing and getting as much good as we can while we live here, that we may as much as poſſibly we can recompence that which we ſuffer in the ſtaying from the poſſeſſion of ſuch glorious things reſerved for us; when we hear of ſuch things as theſe are, we cannot but think in our ſelves, it were better for us many ways to be in Heaven, this life is but a bondage to us while we are abſent from ſuch things, and therefore we had need have ſomething to recompence this bondage; we had need do much good, and get much good, while we live, to pay the charges of our lives; what a tedious thing is it to us to live ſo much to ſenſe as we muſt neceſſarily do here, when we are heirs of ſuch glorious things? if we do not do much good, and get much good here, what have we to ſweeten and recompence this tediouſneſs? If a man be from home, and by his abſence ſuffers much loſs of what he might have had at home, he is the more diligent and careful in his journey to get ſomething that may recompence this loſs; ſo it ſhould be with us: It coſts us dear (as I may ſo ſpeak) to live in the world, for it coſts us the forbearance of ſuch glorious things; if we fill not up our lives with ſervice for God, what have we to pay our charges to countervail this that our lives here coſt us?