Christs Power of Bodily Diseases, Title page – Dedication
CHRIST's POWER OVER Bodily DISEASES.
Preached in ſeveral Sermons on Mat. 8.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
And publiſhed for the Inſtruction eſpecially of the more Ignorant people in the great Dutie of Preparation for Sickneſs and Death.
By Edward Lawrence, M.A. Miniſter of the Goſpel at Baſchurch in the County of Salop.
Iſaiah 38.12.
He will cut me off with pining ſickneſs: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
Exod. 23.25.
I will take ſickneſs away from the midſt of thee.
Valent mihi ſtillae temporum. Auguſt.
The Second Edition.
LONDON: Printed by J.C. for Francis Tyton at the three Daggers in Fleetſtreet. 1672.
To the Worſhipful, and my very much honoured, Robert Corbet of Stanwardine in the Wood, in the County of Salop Eſq and to his Religious Conſort, Mrs. Elizabeth Corbet; together with the reſt of the Congregation in the Pariſh of Baſchurch, over which the Holy Ghoſt hath made me Overſeer.
My very much honoured in the Lord,
THE reaſon of this inſcription is not becauſe you are preferred by God, by your birth, family, eſtate, and other outward priviledges, to be the chief of the Inhabitants of my Pariſh: for although I acknowledge the Wiſdom and Will of God, as the cauſe of this order and diſtinction among men; and therefore do heartily give you the honour which belongs to you upon this account; yet I muſt confeſs, that this is not the cauſe of this publick acknowledgment: But the reaſon is, that whereas many great perſons are a great curſe to their Countrey, which they fill with their own ſins, and Gods Judgments; God hath made you the bleſſing of your Age, in endeavouring to fill your place with the Name, and Kingdom, and Will of Jeſus Chriſt; and that in the great changes of our daies, you have not, as many, ſerved the times, and your ſins, but ſerved the Lord, and your Generation: And alſo becauſe of your great honour, and love to the godly, able, and Orthodox Miniſters of Chriſt, and to his holy, humble, ſober, and peaceable people, which have been loathſome to others, as the ſink of the world; but ſavoury to you, as the ſalt of the earth: for which although you have joyfully ſuffered reproach from ſome; yet you have had the honour, like that gracious couple, Andronicus and Junia, to be of note among the Apoſtles: And particularly, that you were of the firſt that called me to exerciſe my Miniſtry in this place, wherein I have by your conſtant favour and countenance received much comfort and encouragemet: The ſenſe of all which, together with my great joy in you, by my hopes of your being of the bleſſed number of thoſe who are really joyned to Jeſus Chriſt, and cloathed with his righteouſneſs, and who bring forth fruit in him, (which alone can make of you a ſweet ſavour to God, and for that reaſon precious, and acceptable to his Saints) hath cauſed me to ſignifie my ſincere honour, and love, and thankfulneſs to you, by this Dedication. Now although I hope I write this in the ſingleneſs of my heart, as believing that God will cut off all flattering lips, and that a lying tongue is but for a moment; yet I confeſs it fills me with ſerious thoughts, to conſider that this when I am dead, will be yet ſpeaking: And that hereby I ſpeak to you, as it were, in the hearing of the world; and that ſome whom we are bound in Chriſtian wiſdom and charity to judge as upright Saints, yet the heart-ſearching God may juſtly judge as Hypocrites; and that many who have made a greater profeſſion of godlineſs then any of us, have proved fearful Apoſtates, when they have been tryed by Errors, Perſecutions, or Preferments: I ſhall therefore, looking upon my ſelf and you as juſt in our very fall into Eternity, and as preſently going to Judgment, and with the greateſt belief and thoughts that I can get of Heaven and Hell upon my heart, ſeriouſly beſeech you (according to the intent of this enſuing Treatiſe) to examine your ſelves whether (if you were to die in the reading of this) you have a true Scripture-right to go to heaven; that ſo you may find the Witneſs of God by the word in your own conſciences, agreeing with this publick teſtimony of your poor Miniſter: for it is but a poor thing for a man of ſo little credit, and leſs worth, to confeſs you before men; but this will be an honour indeed, to have Jeſus Chriſt to confeſs you before his Father in Heaven, on the great day of the manifeſtation of the Sons of God. And continue to live as diſcerning the great difference betwixt a godly and ungodly man, that you may ſtill be known by this character, to be perſons in whoſe eyes a vile perſon (though never ſo great in the world) is contemned; but to honour them (though never ſo poor) that fear the Lord. This difference muſt needs be great, when I dare be bold to ſay, that it is beyond the tongues of men and Angels fully to expreſs the excellency and glory of the one, and the vileneſs and miſery of the other: And certainly the further inſight you have in the Scriptures, in God and Chriſt, Men and Devils, Sin and Grace, Heaven and Hell, the more clearly you will know this difference. Do but look on the Godly, and Wicked, as they appear in ſickneſs and death, and in the Day of Judgment; theſe put an eternal period to all other diſtinctions: there will be then no ſuch difference as Prince and Subject, Landlord and Tenant, Rich and Poor, but onelyonly Godly and Ungodly; ſee the difference now, as it will appear, when, Come ye bleſſed, and Go ye curſed: and the right hand and left hand of Chriſt hath diſtinguiſhed and parted the world.
Be reſolved to cleave to Chriſt, his truth and people, through all the ſufferings and ſtumbling-blocks which you meet with in your way to heaven: ſufferings will be harder to you, then to many others: the greater your names and eſtates are, the greater muſt your graces be to enable you to part with them; you have a greater ſelf to deny, and a greater croſs to take up: great riches, and great preferments, make many great Perſecutors, and great Apoſtates, but few great Martyrs: you muſt buy the truth, whatever it coſt you: and the more you give for it, the more you will gain by it: if you ſell all for Chriſt, you ſhall never complain of a dear purchaſe. Look with the deareſt affections upon your Poſterity, and believe that you will never have ſuch an opportunity to make them happy, and to entail the bleſſings of God upon them, as when you are called to ſuffer for the ſake of Chriſt: you may be called to make a great exchange; either to part with your lives and eſtates, and to keep Chriſt, and heaven; or to part with Chriſt, heaven, and your ſouls, to keep the world: if ever ſuch a day come, look to the poor ſoul; above all keeping, keep your poor ſouls: remembring that of our Saviour, What ſhall a man give in exchange for his ſoul? Be pleaſed to accept this poor thing, which I humbly offer to you: give it a little room in your Study and Cloſet, and let the truths therein have a great place in your hearts. Now bleſſed of the Lord be you, and your hopeful poſterity, for the precious things of the earth, and the fulneſs thereof, and eſpecially for the good will of him that dwelt in the buſh.
NOw for the reſt of you, my dearly beloved, my joy, and my longed for.
It is now thirteen years ſince upon your free choice and conſent, I was ſetled to be your Miniſter; I mourn that I have done you no better ſervice; yet I bleſs God, that I have done you no worſe: Some of you are the people of my joy, others are the people of my hopes, but (God knows) you are all the people of my love: poſſibly you may not enjoy my Miniſtry long; though if any thing but death part us, it is like for your ſakes to be one of the ſaddeſt days of my age. Some know I might have had better places both before, and ſince I knew you; but I never thought my ſelf too good for you: the Lord make me better whilſt I ſtay, and give you a better when I am gone. You will wonder to ſee me appear to you thus publick; my late viſitation, whereby I was brought down to the gates of the grave, and brought up again, was the occaſion of my preaching theſe Sermons; and the unanimous advice of four godly, reverend, and learned Miniſters, all known to you, cauſed their printing, without which my own private thoughts of them had never conſented to have them licenſed for the Preſs. I have devoted this little plain Treatiſe to the Will of God, knowing that if he put power and ſavour in it, it will proſper: I expect to be ſcorned by ſome; but if God ſay, Well done, I care not who findes fault; I had rather bear the reproaches of thouſands, then that one poor …oul ſhould loſe the leaſt ſpiritual and ſaving good, which I may be a means to help him unto. I leave it with you as a teſtimony of my ſincere love to you, not ſo much that you may remember me, but that you may remember your ſelves, your ſins, and your ſouls; and that you may remember God, Chriſt, Heaven, Hell, Death and Judgement, which are always preſent before you. Brethren, I muſt needs witneſs that moſt of you have been conſtant hearers of the Word, and that you have many hundred Sermons to anſwer for; but you muſt be doers, as well as hearers of the word: the ſins of men, and the terrors of the Lord, make me afraid that there is a ſtorm riſing, and I doubt there will be a great fall of many profeſſors; and if you will believe our Saviour, you ſhall finde that thoſe onelyonly are built on a rock, and ſhall certainly ſtand, who are both the hearers and doers of the word; I refer you to his own words, Matth. 7.24, 25, 26, 27.
I beſeech you let not the world and ſin come between your hearts and Chriſt; let nothing keep you from heaven, which cannot keep you from hell. Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jeſus, that great Shepherd of the ſheep, through the bloud of the everlaſting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleaſing in his ſight, through Jeſus Chriſt, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Your ſervant for Jeſus ſake, Edward Lawrence. Baſchurch, July 11. 1661.