Christ and His Saints Spending Their Time Together, Title page – Dedication
CHRIST And His SAINTS, Spending their time together Day and Night: OR, Chriſt and his Saints.
1. Walking together in the Fields, by Day.
2. Lodging in the Villages, by Night.
3. Early-Riſing together for the heavenly Vineyards every Morning.
Beeing the ſubſtance of ſundry Sermons upon Cant. 7.11, 12.
By Chriſtopber Jelinger, Miniſter of the Goſpel at South-Brent in Devon.
Printed for Edward Brewſter, at the ſign of the Crane in Pauls-Churchyard. 1656.
To the Right Worſhip-the MAjOR, and to his Brethren; and to all the Inhabitants of the town of Plimpton, together with the reſt of my loving hearers of the Gentrie, and others who dwel in the adjacent Countrie. Grace bee unto you, and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jeſus Chriſt.
IT was meet that theſe Sermons ſhould firſt come to your publick view, being dedicated to you, becauſe they were firſt preached among you.
But I hope you do not think that the ſole hearing, or reading of them, will bring your ſouls to heaven.
Heaven muſt bee taken by violence, For the Kingdom of Heaven ſuffereth violence, and the violent take it by force, Mat. 11.12. And therefore you muſt offer an holy violence to your own natures, every one of you, muſt *Iſa. 64ſtir up your ſelvs, and lay hold on God himſelf, must labour hard with your ſelves, and with the God of heaven, and force heaven.
Heaven hath a new title, Mat▪ 7 14.and ſtreight gate; for ſtreight is the gate which leads to life, and therefore you muſt ſtrive to enter. Be as wiſe as Serpents, ſaith Chriſt, Mat. 10.16.
Serpents will go to a rock, & creep into the narrow clefts or holes of it, to ſtrip off their old skins, when they are old, that they may becom young again; let your wiſdoms match theirs, and let Chriſt, with his ſtrictneſs, which is the ſtreight gate of heaven, bee your rock, & do you thereat exerciſe your ſelvs, ſtrip your ſelvs, and force your ſelvs to becom new, labouring hard to put off the old man, and to put on the new man, which is created after God, in true holineſs and righteouſneſs, that ſo doing you may com to heaven.
I beſeech you mark what I ſay, this you muſt do by faith in Chriſt; for without him you can do nothing, John 15.5.
Without him you cannot come off from your houſes of clay and ſin, to walk with him over the fields of Contemplation, there to meditate. Without him you cannot forego your old lodgings of ſinful and ſenſual delights, to go with him over his pleaſant villages, there to lodg: without him you cannot leav your beds of eaſe, and reſt, to break your beloved ſleep, and to riſe early enough to get with him to his heavenly vineyards, there to reſt.
It is ſaid, that when Chriſt had preached much to his leſt beloved diſciples of watching, hee cloſed up his lecture at laſt with this moſt ſeaſonable Scripture, And what I ſay unto you, I ſay to all, watch, Mark 13.37.
So I, having ſpoken much of ſtriving to you, ny dearly beloved Auditors, I winde up and finiſh my diſcourſe in like manner, ſaying, And what I write unto you I write unto all, Strive.
That is, ſtrive to deny your ſelvs, and to overcom ſleep: ſtrive to ſtir up your ſelvs & to vanquiſh ſloth: ſtrive to conquer your ſelvs, and to have more ſweet communion with Christ himſelf. ſtrive to walk more with him, to lodg more with him, to riſe more with him, that when you have been dead and buried, you may bee gloriouſly raiſed again by him out of your graves at the laſt day; and beeing raiſed by him, reſt and reign with him, and walk with him arm in arm, together with all the holy Angels, and all the truly worthy that ever lived, beeing lifted up to the higheſt perfection of bliſs, endleſs peace, and bleſſed immortalitie, to bee enjoied to all eternitie. So praieth
Your faithful friend and humble ſervant in Chriſt, Chriſtopher Jelinger.