The Heavenly Trade, Tract · Application 4 · Part 5 · Subpart 4

The Heavenly Trade · Tract · Application 4 · Part 5 · Subpart 4

p. 417Advice 4.

Fourthly, If you have good trading with God, then lay out for God. This is reaſonable work, pleaſing work, honourable work, profitable work.

Firſt, 'Tis reaſonable work to lay out for God; he deſerves it, 'tis his due; all your mercies are his intereſt; I will return and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the ſeaſon thereof; I will recover my wooll and my flax given to cover her nakedneſs, Hoſ. 2. 9. Though God gives his people the uſe of mercy, yet he p. 418keeps the propriety in his own hand: God is the Alpha, and ſhould be the Omega, the Authour, and 'tis reaſonable he ſhould be the end of all our mercies. James 1. 17. Every good and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights: And (as beams from the Sun) is derived from his bounty, as his peculiar off-ſpring. wwBona mea, dona tua. Omne bonum noſtrum vel ipſe vel ab ipſo. Aug.My goods are thy gifts (ſaith Auguſtine) All our good is either himſelf, or what comes from him: Both trading and thriving are from him, and ſhould alſo be for him, both principle and intereſt are God's own, Mat. 25. 27. If you lay not out your mercies for God, you rob him of his due. Your mercies are the Lords, not onelyonly by that intereſt he reſerves in them, but by your reſignation of them unto him. Chriſtians, when you gave up your ſelves to the Lord, you gave up all your intereſts and capacities alſo, 2 Cor. 5. 8. To keep back any part of your All from God, is to lye to the Holy Ghoſt. Acts 5. 3. Why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghoſt, and to keep back part of the price of the Land: No lower terms will paſs in reconcillation with God, than what Ahab yielded to Benhadad, 1 Kings 20. 4. My Lord O King according to thy ſaying I am thine, and all that I have. If you are not your own, much leſs any thing you have, is abſolutely yours. God gives his people But a conditional intereſt in all things beneath himſelf, ſo far as it ſutes his pleaſure, uſe and glory. To keep back any part of your capacities and intereſts from God, when by his p. 419Word and Providence he calls for it, for his ſervice, name and people is hypocriſie, lying, fraud and rebellion, and contrary to the Lord's undoubted intereſt, both by creation, redemption, and your own grant, Hoſ. 2. 8. 2 Cor. 7. 20.

Beſides, you receive not your mercies as Owners, but as Stewards, to keep and uſe them for him, and according to his inſtruction, 1 Pet. 4. 10. As every one hath received the gift (whether of grace, or gifts of grace, inward or outward gifts, ſpiritual or temporal, 'tis all one if he have received it) ſo let him adminiſter the ſame, as good Stewards of the manifold grace of life. Your intereſts are God's gifts; your abundance, his Bounty and truſt to be beſtowed to his uſe and pleaſure, for which you muſt give an account.

Secondly, 'Tis pleaſing work to lay out for God: Paul counted not his life dear to lay out for Chriſt, Acts 20. 24. Peter and John rejoyced that they were counted worthy to part with their name, and to undergo reproach for Chriſt, Acts. 5. 41. Nazianzen was glad that he had ſomething of value, to wit, his Athenian learning to part with for Chriſt. The Mother of William Hunter the Martyr rejoyced, that ever ſhe was ſo happy as to bear ſuch a child as could find in his heart to loſe his life for Chriſt's Name ſake, Acts and Mon. p. 13. 96. Nothing ſeems burdenſom to do or part with for Chriſt, to a ſoul that loves him: How willingly did Jonathan ſtrip himſelf of the Robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments even to his ſword, and to his bow, and to his girdle, becauſe p. 420he loved him; much more pleaſing will it be to a ſoul loving Chriſt, to part with his All for Chriſt, 1 Sam. 18. 4.

Thirdly, 'Tis honourable work alſo to lay out for God; He that gives to the poor lendeth to the Lord, Prov. 19. 17. And is not this honourable to make God a debtor, and to get him who is over all bleſſed for ever, to become bound to his creature: O what honour is this, that the Giver of All ſhould ſeem to be beholding to his creatures, who have their All from him! Have you any thing you can part with for Chriſt? think what honour 'tis that God entruſts you with the beſtowing of ſuch gifts for him; the Lord might have made you beggars, not givers; who hath made you to differ? why is grace, gifts, ſtrength, eſtate, time, put into thy hand, and not into others? it ſhews a good opinion God hath of thy faithfulneſs, and ſo beſpeaks honour: O let not God have cauſe to revoke this eſtimation!

Fourthly, 'Tis profitable work: The more you lay out for God, the more you get for your ſelves; there's no ſuch way to gather, as to ſcatter for God; your improvements of mercy to God's end, are but as ſowing of ſeed, which will come in again with greater encreaſe, 2 Cor. 9. 6. He that ſoweth ſparingly, ſhall reap ſparingly, and he that ſoweth bountifully, ſhall reap bountifully. Laying out for God is Trading ſecur'd, not liable to hazards, as earthly undertakings are, but under a promiſe of ſure and great returns, as hath been proved, and that is profit. Laying out for God, is lending to God p. 421upon intereſt, Mat. 19. 29. where both principal and intereſt are ſure. Prov. 19. 17. He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth to the Lord, and that which he hath given, will he pay him again. The Lord takes it as done to himſelf, and will repay with large uſe; xxTibi a Domino etiam cum ampliſſimo faenore reddendum. Mercer.he lends to the Lord upon bond for uſe, as the Hebrew imports, foreign, and he will ſurely repay it. God is bound for it, and therefore the debt is ſure. Tis a great miſtake in men, and that which ſtarves their expenſiveneſs for God, to think the more they give, the leſs they have; whereas laying out for God brings in principal and uſe; it ſanctifies what is left, and brings it under a promiſe of encreaſe. As the pouring out of the Widows Oil fill'd her veſſels; the more ſhe poured out, the more ſhe had, 2 Kings 4. 5, 6. And as the Widow of Zarephath, by giving firſt to the Prophet, ſecur'd her own proviſion in a time of famine. 1 Kings 17. 13, 14. For thus ſaith the Lord God of Iſrael, the barrel of meal ſhall not waſte, neither ſhall the cruſe of Oil fail, until the day that the Lord ſendeth rain upon the earth. Mal. 3. 10. Bring ye all the tithes into the ſtore-houſe, that there may be meat in my houſe, and prove me now herewith, ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a bleſſing that there ſhall not be room enough to receive it. 'Tis mens niggardlineſs to God, and cloſe-handedneſs to the poor, and pious uſes, is one reaſon doubtleſs of the waſts and blaſtings on their outward intereſts this day. Prov. 11. 28. The liberal ſoul p. 422ſhall be made fat, and he that watereth ſhall be watered alſo himſelf. Cartwright and Baine think this is meant of ſpiritual gifts, as the former verſe is of external good things. But as Mercer well obſerves, the ſentence is general, and takes in any ſupplies that are given to ſuch as are needy yyQ…i rigat, i. e. qui de ſuo erogat in egenos.Such ſhall be made fat; he ſhall be ſo far from being impoveriſhed thereby, as it ſhall encreaſe his ſubſtance; He ſhall be watered as with ſhowres in Autumn: The latter rain, which is fruitfulizing: The ſtreams of charity are not like running water that paſſeth away, but as fruitful ſhowres that come again with encreaſe. Prov. 3. 9, 10. Honour the Lord with thy ſubſtance, ſo ſhall thy barns be filled with plenty. Multitude of promiſes might be heaped up, which give in a joynt-teſtimony to this truth; as Mat. 25. 29. Eccleſ. 11. 1. Prov. 28. 27. Prov. 22. 9. Iſa. 58. 7, 8, 10, 11. with many others, and are abundant ſecurity for the bleſſing to ſuch as lay out for God.

Beſides, this is a proof of your love to God, 2 Cor. 8. 24. Wherefore ſhew ye to them, and before the Churches the proof of your love, 1 Joh. 3. v. 17. Whoſo hath this worlds goods, and ſeeth his Brother hath need, and ſhutteth up his bowels of compaſſion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 1 John 4. 20. For he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath ſeen, how can he love God whom he hath not ſeen? By true charity to your poor Brethren you evidence your love to God; that ſecures all your true and needed mercies.

p. 423Fifthly, This alſo is pleaſing to God, Phil. 4. v. 18. Having received of Epaphroditus the things which were ſent from you, an odour of a ſweet ſmell, a ſacrifice acceptable, well-pleaſing to God, Heb. 13. 16. Iſa. 56. 4. and that is ſurely proſperous.

Then Chriſtians, if God hath firſt given unto you; if you love him; if you would pleaſe him; if you would proſper in ſoul, body and eſtate, lay out for God: If you have freely received, freely give; whatever God hath entruſted you with, expend it for him.

Firſt, Lay out your time for God: Among the many waſts of mercies ſouls are guilty of, this is not the leaſt; waſte of precious time: Though there is no creature-bleſſing of greater worth than time, in which a foundation is laid, of all thoſe mercies that are eternal. Time is a talent, a treaſure; not onelyonly a mercy, but that without which there can be no mercy: Conſider for your improvement of Time,

Firſt, Your Time is not yours, but God's, made by him, and for him. Pſal. 76. 17. The day is thin, and the night is thine; thou haſt prepared the Light and the Sun. Time is that ſpace between two Eternities, limited by divine pleaſure, to divine uſe. Job 14. 5. Seeing his daies are determined, the number of his months are with thee; thou haſt appointed his bounds that he cannot paſs. And if Time be the Lord's, then 'tis fit it ſhould be uſed for God. Give unto God the things that are God's. When thou ſinneſt or trifieſt away this Time, think on this; now I rob God, and ſpend another's goods. You that hate robbery of men, be not thieves to God and your own p. 424ſouls: Time is God's, not thine own.

Secondly, Think how much you have loſt of paſt Time, and this ſhould make you choice of preſent Time. Pſal. 90. 9. We ſpend our years as a tale that is told; which vaniſheth into the Air and is ſoon gone. Much of our time zzMultum Temporis eripitur nobis, plus ſubducitur, plurimum effluit, exigua pars eſt vitae quam nos vivimus. Seneca.(ſaith one) is pluck'd away from us, more is ſtoln away, but moſt of all doth ſlide away. O how little a piece of life is that we live! How much of thy time hath been conſumed in the grave? How much in the market-place? much ſlept away in the Vineyard: When nature, ſelf, the world and ſin have had their ſhares of every day, how little a portion hath been left for God? Hence 'tis the Apoſtle adviſes Saints to redeem their Time; to get Time for God and their ſouls, though with ſome loſs to other intereſts, becauſe it hath been taken captive by ſelf, ſin and the world, and held priſoner ſo long. This waſte of former Time makes it abſolutely needful for them that will reach their journey's end before their day be gone, to redeem Time from their callings, recreations, refreſhments, idleneſs and reſt, for the recovery of neglected work, or they will find it wanting when they come to die. Give me my time again, ſaid a woman on her deathbed, being under fears about her eternal ſtate; nothing could relieve her troubled ſoul, who had loſt ſalvation-time.

Thirdly, Conſider how ſhort and uncertain your remaining Time is, or may be: The whole p. 425Time of thy life is but a ſpan, a hand-breadth, a poſt, a weaver's ſhuttle, a vapour, a tale that is told, as a flower of the field, things of no duration, Job 9. 21. Pſal. 39. 5. James 4. 14. Time (ſaith one) is a ſhort parentheſis in a long period; ſo ſhort, that before we can name it, our preſent Time is become paſt Time. Our whole life (ſaith another) conſiſts but of two daies, the day of our birth, and the day of our death; for no ſooner born, but we begin to die. Time is on the wing, haſtening to Eternity every moment: Time travels when you ſleep, and runs when you creep: Time goes on when you ſtop; and gets ground when you go back: As the ſtream haſtens to the Ocean day and night; ſo doth Time to Eternity: O uſe your Time for God while you have it! it will ſhortly be none of yours; if you do not uſe it, you will loſe it; you were as good let God have your Time, as to let it run away to no purpoſe; if duty do not improve it, ruſt will conſume it; the Devil, World and Fleſh will engroſs it; and 'tis better give it to God, than let the Moth and Caterpillar devour it. Beſides,

Fourthly, Can you put it to better profit than to lay it out for God? he is the beſt chapman for your Time; nothing will give you ſo much intereſt for Time as God will; put all the gain of other Time into the ſcale, with the incomes of God's Time, and you will ſoon ſee the difference. Time laid out for God will be the beſt ſecurity for your own Time: Give God his Time, and he will give you your Time; all that Time that is needful for a bleſſed Eternity; There's no ſuch way to enjoy Time, as to uſe it p. 426for God. Prov. 3. 16. Length of daies is in her right hand. Time expended for God will not only ſecure, but ſanctifie your Time alſo, as the firſt-fruits did the lump, Rom. 11. 16. Beſides, Time devoted to God brings in eternal intereſt; Though Time be but a thing temporal, yet improved, it will bring to things eternal, 2 Cor. 4. 18. nay it will bring you mercy in the time of need: Give God your working-time, and he will feed you when in your unſerviceable time. When I was a young man (ſaid Mr. Bruce) I was diligent, and liv'd by faith in the Son of God, but now I am old, and am not able to do ſo much, yet he condeſcends to feed me with lumps of ſenſe. [Fulfill. of Scripture.]

Fifthly, you muſt give an account for your time to God; he takes notice of mens time, how 'tis ſpent; and accordingly will judg them: Luke 13. 7. Theſe three years I come ſeeking fruit on this Figtree, and can find none; cut it down, why cumbreth it the ground? Pſal. 95. 10. Forty years long was I grieved with this people. Luke 19. 44. Becauſe thou kneweſt not the time of thy viſitation. God looks for fruit from his people, according to their months, Ezek. 47. 12. O how much is it your concernment to order your disburſements of time to a conſiſtency with your comfortable account in the day of Chriſt! then you will wiſh God had more of your time, when you come to reckoning for it: what a blank will there be in our account of time, if it be not better beſtowed than hitherto? That time will yield you moſt comfort when you come to eternity, which was ſpent for God here.

p. 427Sixthly, How can you bethink a little time for God, who hath not thought an eternity of mercy too much for you? Chriſtians, 'tis ſalvavation, with eternal glory, he hath prepared for you, 2 Tim. 2. 10. A Crown incorruptible, an Inheritance that fadeth not away, a Kingdom that cannot be ſhaken: Upon this very argument the Apoſtle preſſes the Saints to unweariedneſs in preſent work, Gal. 6. 8. Think how diſingenuous 'tis thus to requite the Lord that hath dealt ſo bountifully with you; to with-hold your time from him, who firſt gave it to you, and hath denied it to others; and will ſhortly cloſe up your troublous time with eternal reſt, in bleſſed manſions of pureſt pleaſures with himſelf: Let this love of Chriſt ſhame you for miſimproved time, and conſtrain you, for the future, to lay out all poſſible time for God.

Secondly, Lay out your ſtrength for God; he is the God of your ſtrength, he hath right to it, and uſe for it, Pſal. 43. 2. He hath work for you which calls for all your ſtrength: His works are great, greatly to be ſought out of all that have pleaſure therein, Pſal. 111. 2. His mercies are great, and greatly to be praiſed: Pſal. 86. 13. His anger is great, and greatly to be feared: 2 King. 23. 26. His trials and rebukes on his own children are many times great, which need great faith and patience to bear up under them, and the ſtrength of grace to make a right uſe of them: Pſal. 71. 10. Which hath ſhewn me great and ſore troubles: You do not know what need you may have of all the ſtrength your p. 428hearts and graces are capable to receive, to carry you through your remaining trials and troubles: you have not yet reſiſted unto blood, or been brought to fiery trials, nor ſeen ſuch days as never yet were or ſhall be And therefore you had need be girded with ſtrength, and to be ſtrong in the grace that is in Chriſt Jeſus; and one way to it, is to uſe what you have for God, Heb. 5. 14. God's ſervice alſo calls for expended ſtrength: Luke 10. 27. Thou ſhalt love the Lord with all thy ſtrength, 1 Chron. 26. 8. The ſtrength of thy heart laid out, inward ſtrength for God in his ſervice, the ſtrength of your whole ſouls; and outward ſtrength, the ſtrength of your bodies alſo in the work of God. So did our Lord Jeſus, he waſted his ſtrength in the ſervice of his Father, that at thirty four years old, he was taken to be neer fifty: he was weary in his work. And Paul did ſpend, and was ſpent for Chriſt, 2 Cor. 12. 15. And David cried out, My knees are weak through faſting, Pſal. 119. 24. Glorify God in your bodies, and in your ſpirits, which are the Lord's: 1 Cor. 6. 20. In labours more abundant: 2 Cor. 11. 23. Striving for the faith of the Goſpel. Religion is no eaſy work; Miniſters (ſaith Mr. Burroughs) muſt venture their ſtrength for Chriſt, and ſo muſt all that are Chriſt's: 2. Cor. 11. 27. In wearineſs, in painfulneſs, in watchings. Religion is worth all your labours and exhauſted ſtrength; men tire themſelves for the world; how much more ſhould they for God and Glory?

Thirdly, Lay out your gifts and graces for God, and the good of ſouls: 1 Cor. 12. 7. The p. 429manifeſtation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal: that's God's end why he gives gifts to any, that every one who hath them ſhould improve them to his glory, and the good of others. A capacity of ſerving God, and furthering his Kingdom in the World, is ſuch a priviledg as the Saints in Heaven enjoy not: and the Angels, when employed in any ſubſerviency towards it, readily and chearfully proſecute it. Angels are vigilant creatures, and wait for opportunities; and when they come, will not loſe them, [Greenh.] Yea, 'tis ſuch a prize, as being once loſt, can never be enjoyed again; nor gracious ſouls ever more return to their ſtewardſhip, when once 'tis given up; and therefore ſhould be heedfully regarded, and faithfully uſed whiles continued. God gives not talents to be napkin'd up, nor lights to be hid under a buſhel: none of us liveth to himſelf, Rom. 14. 7. All the characters of Saints, and thoſe relations they ſtand in, engage to uſefulneſs: They are the lights of the world ſet in a candleſtick, that they may cauſe their light to ſhine forth before men, Mat. 5. 14, 15. They are the ſalt of the earth, of purpoſe to ſavour others. Mat: 5. 13. If ſalt hath loſt its ſavour, 'tis good for nothing but the dunghil. They are ſtars in God's firmament, to communicate their light and influence unto others, 1 Cor. 15. 41. Veſſels in God's houſe to be meet for uſe, 2 Tim. 2. 20, 21. Stones in his building, which have a mutual uſefulneſs to bear up each other, and toward preſerving the whole, Eph. 2. 2. Branches in the Vine, that yield their fruit for the cheering p. 430the hearts of men, Judg. 9. 13. Trees in God's garden full of ſap, Pſal. 104. 16. Members in the body, to impart their nouriſhment to each other, Eph. 4. 16. and diſcharge their reſpective duties, of ſympathy, care, and helpfulneſs to their fellow members: 1 Theſ. 5. 14. We exhort you, brethren, to warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble minded, ſupport the weak, be patient towards all men: Uſe all your capacities for God while you have them, leſt he take them from you, or opportunity to improve them.

Fourthly, Lay out your earthly intereſts for God, Prov. 3. 19. Honour the Lord with thy ſubſtance, and with the firſt fruits of thy encreaſe: Give God his due in maintaining his Meſſengers, and keeping up his worſhip; alluding to thoſe firſt fruits of Iſrael's encreaſe, which were the Lord's by ſpecial appropriation to his ſervice, Exod. 22. 29. and ſupply of his miniſtry among them, Lev. 23. 20. the equity of which obliges in Goſpel-times, though their ceremonial and judicial reſpect ceaſe: and this duty is reinforc'd under the Goſpel by more ample arguments taken from the light of Nature, the law of Moſes, and will of Chriſt, 1 Cor. 9. from ver. 9. to 15. To this head is referr'd that command; Gal. 6. 6. Let him that is taught in the word communicate to him that teacheth in all good things; for God will not be mocked: (as they do who pretend Religion, and yet are defective in this manifeſt duty,) preſſing them to unweariedneſs in this expenſiveneſs for God, whatever diſcouragements they meet with upon the aſſurance p. 431of the bleſſed fruit of obedience to the will of Chriſt herein, ver. 7, 8, 9. 'Tis not the maintaining or welfare of a few men in the World, that is the deſign of this great command of Chriſt; but the tendency this hath to the promulgation of the Goſpel, and keeping up the inſtituted worſhip of God, the converſion of Sinners, and edification of Saints ſucceſſively in every generation, to which theſe ſupplies are neceſſary, that the ſervants of Chriſt might attend on their miniſtrations without diſtraction; and whoever (a ſubject of Chriſt, and ſharer of this priviledg) draws back from this duty, he is chargeable not only for violating the royal righteous law of Chriſt, but for being guilty of ſubverting his Government, Crown and Dignity; and endeavouring in his meaſure, the ruining his intereſt, of hindering the converſion and edification of ſouls; and whatever damage hereby comes to the ſpiritual or eternal welfare of ſouls; it will be laid on their heads in the day of the righteous judgment of Chriſt.

Another greatly concerning duty contain'd in this Scripture, is charitable communications, feed the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, relieve the oppreſſed. [Bede Alapid.] This is to honour God with your ſubſtance; not to ſpend it on your luſts, to live high, to fare deliciouſly, to build your neſts on high; but to make your abundance a ſupply for the good of thoſe that are in wants, 2 Cor. 8. 14. Iſa. 58. 7. 10. Mat. 5. 42. Jam. 1. 27. Heb. 13. 16. Luke 14. 12, 13. Otherwiſe,

p. 432Firſt, All your Religion is in vain, James 1. v. 26, 27. Your knowledge, deſires, affections, frames, taſts, enjoyments, marks, experiences, ſeeming graces, duties, are all nothing, and can never prove the truth of your grace, the ſafety of your eſtates, and goodneſs of your religion, if you are found defective in this great duty of Charity. Pſal. 112. 4, 5. Ʋnto the upright there ariſeth light in the darkneſs; he is gracious, and full of compaſſion, and righteous. A good man ſheweth favour, and lendeth. Let men ſay what they will, if they be covetous, hard-hearted, have no compaſſion to them that are in wants, have no heart to give or lend to needy ones; they have no true grace in them. Verſe 9. He hath diſperſed, he hath given to the poor, his righteouſneſs endureth for ever. Men may talk, and pray, and ſeem to be eminent Chriſtians; profeſs love to God and their neighbours, and yet all the while be deceived, and have not a jot of grace in them, while their hearts are cruel, their hands ſhut to their poor Brethren. Remember the young man in the Goſpel, and fear thine own eſtate if thy heart be glued to thy poſſeſſions:—How dwelleth the Love of God in him! 1 Joh. 3. 17. He loves not God, and God loves not him; that ſhuts up the bowels of his compaſſion from his poor and afflicted Brother. That's pure Religion, and undefiled before God to viſit the fatherleſs and widows in their affliction, and to keep himſelf unſpotted from the world, Jam. 1. 27. Shew me thy faith by thy works. Jam. 2. 18. Religion (ſaith one) is not onelyonly contemplative, but the greateſt part of it like the Mathematick's page missing p. 435bargains, how will they ſtand for a penny! in chacharity, how cold are they! how hard is it to ſcrew an alms out of their hands! if this be Religion, the Lord keep me from ſuch Religon. This begets an odium in the men of the world againſt Religion, and the waies of God: But woe to that man by whom offences come; it had been better for him that a milſtone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drown'd in the midſt of the Sea, Mat. 18. 6, 7.

Fourthly, Acts of Charity purely done will evidence your right to glory. Mat. 25. 34, 35. 36. Come ye bleſſed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world; for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thirſty, and ye gave me drink; I was a ſtranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye cloathed me; I was ſick, and ye viſited me; I was in priſon, and ye came to me. The enquiry in that great day will not be after mens profeſſion, light, frames and duties of Worſhip, but after the fruits of their faith and love as evidential, not cauſal, of their right to glory, Here is held out (ſaith one) not the bbNon cauſa ſalutis, ſed foreign, & Teſtimonium credentius his verbis innuitur.cauſe of their ſalvation, but the ſign and teſtimony of them that believe, &c. ccOpera quae Chriſtus praedicaturus eſt non foreign, ſunt; ſed foreign reſpectu fidei; & finis ejus vitae aeternae. Glaſſ.The Kingdom is obtained by way of Inheritance: (Come inherit the Kingdom:) aad prepared for them, as a portion for children, not purchaſed by them as the procurements of their works: p. 436The reward is freely beſtowed on all intereſted in Adoption-grace, of which title the bearing proof in that day will be the fruits of love to thoſe that are Chriſt's; words will not be ſufficient to demonſtrate this love then; it will not ſerve mens turn to ſay they loved Saints, except it were extended to all, yea the leaſt of Saints, and proved by acts of love, and communications to all their neceſſities; and that not ſome ſmall pittance of their abundance, which they valued not, but it muſt be ſuch portions and kinds of relief, which their neceſſities call for; in viſiting, feeding, cloathing, owning, comforting, receiving into their houſes, and whatever help they were capable to expreſs, and this as readily and heartily expended to them as they would lay them out to themſelves and theirs, that being the rule of Charity: Thou ſhalt love thy neighbour as thy ſelf, Matt. 22. 39. The want of this evidence, whatever elſe may be pretended, will finally and eternally caſt ſouls in that laſt and terrible day, Mat. 25. 41. to the end. Do not deceive thy ſoul with falſe hopes of glory; not one mark will paſs for Heaven, where there is a hard heart, and cloſe hands towards poor and diſtreſſed Saints: For he ſhall have judgment without mercy, that hath ſhewed no mercy, Jam. 2. 13. There is no room for you in Divine bowels, if you ſhut up your own bowels againſt them that are in miſery. See in that Parable, Mat. 18. 33, 34, 35. the dreadful end of thoſe who are any way cruel to their fellowſervants, having themſelves taſted the mercy of their Lord. The liberal diſtributions of your p. 437eſtates to the poor, is the onelyonly way to make them truly ſerviceable to your ſouls, whiles this becomes the occaſion of your reception into everlaſting habitations. Luke 16. 9. Make to your ſelves friends of the Mammon of unrighteouſneſs, that when ye fail they may receive you into everlaſting habitations ddOpus hoc receptionis in aeterna habitacula ſolius Dei eſt, tribuitur autem pauperibus quia ipſi ſententiam Chriſti Judicis de ſalvatione piorum foreign approbabunt, & beneficentiae quae fidei fructus eſt teſtes erunt. Glaſ.The mammon or riches of this world, is called the riches of unrighteouſneſs, becauſe they are unrighteouſly gotten, or unrighteouſly kept, to the detriment of thoſe that need them; or unrighteouſly ſpent to the hurt of thoſe that have them; but the way to change their nature, and to make them profitable, is to lay them out to the poor, who will receive you, or witneſs for you in that day, to prove the truth of your love, by which you ſhall be received into glory.

Fifthly, They are the ſure way to bleſſing here. Luke 6. 38. Give, and it ſhall be given to you, good meaſure preſſed down, and ſhaken together, and running over, ſhall men give into your boſom; for with the ſame meaſure that ye mete withall, it ſhall be meaſured to you again: Intimating, that giving to the poor, is but lending to the Lord, as hath been ſhewed, and it ſhall be ſurely repaid in this life, either in kind, or in value, in ſuch things as they need; yea oft-times in the ſame coin, and that to ſufficient requital, good meaſure amplified by three metaphors, preſſed down, ſhaken together, and running over; p. 438that is (ſaith eeIta illis benefacturum ut ſenſari ſint ſe eſſe remuneratos.Scultetus) God will ſo bleſ them, that they ſhall be ſenſible they are ſufficiently repaid, 2 Cor. 9. 6. Deut. 15. 10, 11. Mat. 10. 41, 42. Pſal. 41. 12. Prov. 11. 24. Job was a man of great Charity, Job 29. 12, 13. a man of great proſperity in the world, v. 6, 7. and though for the tryal of his faith he was ſtript of all for a ſeaſon, yet did the Lord after all turn his water into wine, chap. 42. 10. Rahab entertained the ſpies, and ſaved her ſelf and family from ruine by it: The Shunamite, the Widow of Zarephath got by laying out acts of Charity to the Prophet. Tiberius the ſecond was a perſon of great liberality to the poor; 'tis ſaid of him, that whatever Juſtinus his predeceſſour had contracted by covetouſneſs, Tiberius freely diſtributed to the poor: And when Sophia, Juſtine's Widow, reproved him for his exceſs of Charity, he replies, ggConfido in Domino quod non deerit pecunia fiſco noſtro quamdiu pauperes Eleemoſynam inde accepturi ſunt. Eſt enim is theſaurus ingens de quo Dowinus dixit Matth. 6. 10. Theatr. Hiſior. Thcoret. Tract.Matt 6:10I truſt in the Lord that our Exchequer ſhall never want money, while the poor are maintained out of it. Neither did his expectations fail; for as the ſame Author reports, he found a vaſt treaſure in his Palace, hidden under the pavement, which could ſcarce be emptied for divers daies: Thus God bleſſed his bountiful hand. Mr. Gouge, in his Sureſt and Safeſt Way of Thriving (a book worth your getting, and to which I refer you) gives many modern inſtances of this great truth; I p. 439ſhall for their ſakes who have not the Book mention this one, concerning the pious and imitable reſolution of Mr. John Walter, Citizen of London, who having a ſufficient eſtate to maintain his Charge, reſolv'd what further eſtate God ſhould entruſt him with, to beſtow the ſame on charitable uſes; after which vow he found his eſtate wonderfully encreaſing: A worthy preſident to ſuch as have enough to live comfortably upon, to put bounds to their further purchaſes, and entitle their ſurpluſage to the ſervice of Chriſt, and refreſhments of his Saints; a courſe men will one day find more gainful, than to joyn houſe to houſe, and field to field. 'Tis the beſt way (ſaith Chryſologus) for a rich man to make the bellies of the poor his barn, to ſuccour the fatherleſs and needy, and thereby to lay up treaſures in Heaven. Gregory the Great was ſo devoted to Charity, that all what he had ſeem'd to be the common granary of the Church. 'Tis ſaid of Cyprian, he was the blind man's eyes, the lame man's legs, the naked man's garment; he was a man of ſo great Charity. Mr. Fox, the Author of the Acts and Monuments, never denied to give to any that asked for Jeſus ſake. Auguſtine ſold the Ornaments of the Church to relieve the poor. And Bazil in a time of great famine ſold his Land, and other goods to maintain the poor. A Duke being asked by ſome Ambaſſadors whether he could ſhew them ſome hunting-dogs, gathered a great many poor people together, and ſhewing them to the Ambaſſador, ſaid, Theſe be the Dogs I daily keep, and with which I uſe to p. 440hunt after Heaven. O that Chriſtians would have other games in chaſe, than that which periſhes in the uſing, and lay out their eſtates to better advantage than what appropriating them to ſelf-intereſt can afford! Feed the hungry, cloathe the naked, give to him that lacketh, ſeeing ſuch bleſſed encouragements do attend this Chriſtian duty.

Fifthly, If you have good trading in grace, then lay up for glory: If you are Wiſdom's Merchants, Heaven is your Country and home, the place of your reſt and eternal reſidence: The world is a ſtrange Countrey to you, a ſpot of ground where you are ſet for a while to trade in to get commodities for your Countrey; and ſent into it as Jacob was to Syria, to provide for his own houſe, and then to return into his Countrey; Gen. 30. 30. This is not your reſt, Mich. 2. 10. Chriſtians, you are not ſent hither to take root in the Earth, or with the Raven, let out of the Ark to build your neſts in the world; or with the fool in the Goſpel, to take your reſt in your full barns, and encreaſed goods; but as Joſeph was ſent before into Egypt to make proviſion for his own Countrey; and as Solomon's ſhips were ſent to Tarſhiſh to tranſport what materials were uſeful for the Houſe of God, and his own houſe. All that you are allowed here, is but as factorage for preſent maintenance: Some viands and refreſhments in the way, but your great buſineſs is to get ſuch goods as will vend in your own Countrey. Remember, you are all this while left here, to fill your ſacks for your own home, where your kindred and habitation p. 441lies: Your Father's houſe, and your own manſions, your treaſures, pleaſures, crowns, thrones, and all that you are like to have for ever, lies in your City above, whoſe maker and builder is God. We know but little of Chriſt's love (ſaith Mr. Cooper) till all be perfected and ſpread before us in Heaven. O lay up for Heaven! treaſure up all you can for the other world whither you are going: Eſpecially lay up theſe four things for Heaven:

1 Hopes for Glory,

2 Deſires for Glory,

3 Treaſures for Glory,

4 Preparations for Glory,

Firſt, Lay up ſound Hopes for Heaven. 1 Pet. 1. 13. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind; be ſober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jeſus Chriſt. Sure hopes of Heaven are of wonderful uſe to quicken a ſoul's diſpatches for Heaven. Acts 26. 7. Ʋnto which promiſe our twelve Tribes inſtantly ſerving God day and night hope hhforeign, omnibus viribus toto animo. A Lapide.to come. 'Twas their hopes to enjoy thoſe great and glorious things in the promiſe, that did put them on ſuch diligence in thoſe waies that lead to it; to ſtrive in every duty that ſeem'd to have an eye to this glory, they did ſtretch out their hand to take hold of eternal life, as one that was near the prize. Hope puts ſtrength and activity into the ſoul in its motion after God, and makes it reſtleſs and unwearied p. 442till it enjoy him. This argument the Apoſtle uſeth to provoke the Hebrews in their race towards glory: Heb. 12. 1. Seeing then we are compaſſed about with ſo great a cloud of wineſſes, let us lay aſide every weight, and the ſin which doth ſo eaſily beſet us; and let us run with patience the race that is ſet before us. The weight of the argument lies in the ſure and bleſſed iſſue of well-grounded hope atteſted by ſo many witneſſes in the former Chap. who ran ſo great adventures, ſuſtain'd ſo great loſſes, underwent ſuch cruel deaths in chaſe of this eternal Crown; and not one of them miſcarried, all got ſafe to glory, through their many fears and deaths. And ſeeing all that had this true hope hither to have ſped well, and the ſame promiſe is made to us; Chap. 11. 40. having provided ſome better thing for us, (better priviledges, better promiſes,) Let's pluck up our ſpirits, and at it again; and if no viſible comfort or evidence meet us in our way, yet let us hold on with patience till we come to the end of our race.

Hopes of glory do alſo guard the ſoul againſt diſcouragements and difficulties. 1 Theſ. 5. 8. Putting on the breaſt-plate of Faith; and for an helmet, the hope of Salvation. Hope arms head and heart, and keeps off the venom'd darts of Satan from ruining the ſoul; while wellgrounded hope of a bleſſed end is kept up, Iſrael prevails, and the Believer is kept from being overcome: 1 Joh. 5. 4. This is the victory that overcometh the World, even our Faith.

Hope of glory maintains a patient expectation and quiet waiting for the fruition of it. p. 443Rom. 8. 25. If we hope for that we ſee not, then do we with patience wait for it; and this is no ſmall mercy: Impatience hath a dangerous influence on a Chriſtian's heart, diſcouraging it, and expoſing to temptation of giving over; ſaying, Wherefore ſhould I wait any longer? 2 King. 6. 33. which danger Hope ſecures from.

Hope ſettles, and ſtays the heart; ſtilling its fears, ſcattering its doubts, and ſtrengthning its confident expectation of glory, turning perſwaſions into the higheſt certainty, even a kind of knowledg. 1 Joh. 3. 2. But we know that when he ſhall appear, we ſhall be like him; for we ſhall ſee him as he is. Well-grounded and improved hope in a Chriſtian's life, doth uſually end in a triumphing confidence at his death: I ſhall ſhine (ſaid a precious ſervant of God on his deathbed,) I ſhall ſee him as he is, and all the fair company with him, and ſhall have my large ſhare: it is no eaſy thing to be a Chriſtian; but as for me, I have got the victory, and Chriſt is holding forth his arms to embrace me; I have had my fears and faintings as another ſinful man, to be carried through creditably, but as ſure as ever he ſpake to me in his word; his ſpirit witneſſed to my heart, ſaying, fear not; he had accepted my ſufferings, and the out-gate ſhould not be matter of prayer, but of praiſe; [Mr. Rutherford's laſt words.] And a little before his death, after ſome fainting, he ſaid, Now I feel, I believe, I enjoy, I re…oyce, I feed on Manna, I have Angels food; my eyes ſhall ſee my Redeemer. O what rich cheer will hope of glory find on a death-bed! What brightneſs is that I ſee? (ſaid Mr. John Holland p. 444the day before his death,) have you light up a candle? a ſtander by anſwered, no, 'tis the Sun ſhines: Sun ſhine, (ſaith he) nay, it is my Saviour ſhines; now farewel World, welcome Heaven; the day-ſtar from on high hath viſited my heart. O ſpeak it when I am gone, and preach it at my Funeral; God dealeth familiarly with men; I feel his Mercy, I ſee his Majeſty; I ſee things that are unutterable: Hopes of glory will make the World ſeem a very poor thing in a Believer's eye; he that by faith can ſtand on Mount Nebo, and get one glance on the promiſed Land, as his, feeds on the firſt ripe Grapes of his own Countrey; in compariſon of which, all the World's dainties are bitter things. Hopes of of glory cheers the heart in the way to glory. Rom. 5. 3. And rejoyce in hope of the glory of God. Rom. 12. 12. Rejoycing in hope, patient in tribulation: It makes the ſoul go merrily on, like a Ship under ſail, that hath both wind and tyde; whereas the doubting Saint drives heavily on, when winds and waves beat againſt him, being unwheel'd of Faith and Hope: Sure hope of Heaven gets honey out of the rock, and meat out of the eater, which makes his rough ways plain, and his paſſage to Heaven pleaſant: 'Tis Chriſtians loſing their hopes of Heaven, makes them ſo uncomfortable in their paſſage through the World.

Laſtly, Well-grounded hopes of Heaven have a great influence towards preparation for it, while it hath an advantage to further his holineſs. 1 Joh. 3. 3. And every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himſelf as he is pure. When p. 445the Apoſtle ſpeaks of the faith of God's elect, which is after godlineſs, Tit. 1. 1. as a furtherance of this holineſs, lays this hope upon eternal life; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lye, promiſed before the World began: Expectations of Heaven well laid, cannot but conſtrain a ſoul to utmoſt meaſures of holineſs. 2 Pet. 3. 14. Seeing that ye look for ſuch things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace without ſpot, and blameleſs. Heaven is a place of perfect holineſs, no unclean thing can enter there; which the eye of faith ſeeing, and the ſoul's right to it, puts a perſon upon perfecting his holineſs, that he may be ready to enter in. O then lay up hopes of glory, which have ſuch precious fruits hanging on them.

Queſt. But what are thoſe ſure hopes of glory, which will never fail of glory; and from which we may expect ſuch excellent fruit?

Sol. Firſt, Sure hopes of glory, which will never fail of glory, are iſſued out of a ſaving union with the Lord Jeſus, the Lord of glory. Col. 1. 27. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this myſtery among the Gentiles; which is Chriſt in you the hope of glory. Chriſt united to you, and dwelling in you by his ſpirit, is this glorious treaſure ſpoken of in the former part of the verſe. Here are two arguments to endear the Lord Jeſus to Believers.

p. 446Firſt, That in their union with him they are inveſted with great and unſearchable treaſures; he himſelf being that glorious and hidden riches opened in the Goſpel, and made over to them in their reception of him into their hearts by faith; part of which treaſure they have in hand in their preſent union and communion with him, and the bleſſed fruits and conſequents of it here.

Secondly, Another thing that renders Chriſt precious to Believers, is, that in their union with him is laid the foundation of their right to, and evidence of their hope of glory; [Quatenus eſt in illis eatenus habent ſpem gloriae. Dav.] and aſſurance of their future and eternal enjoyment of himſelf, and all his treaſure laid up in glory: There's no other way to have a right to glory, but by union with Chriſt, who hath purchaſed glory onelyonly for thoſe that are his, and have this ſpiritual union with him. Hence 'tis that the Lord Jeſus Chriſt is called a better hope, John 17. 21, to 27. Heb. 7. 19. For the Law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by which we draw near to God: That is the Lord Jeſus in his Prieſtly Office, of which the Ceremonial Law was a forerunner, did bring in a ground of better hope in opening the way to God in grace and glory: All right to glory is through him who is the Lord of glory, 1 Cor. 2. 8. and hath the diſpoſal of it to whom he pleaſes, John 17. 2. even to all the Father hath given him to be his; and to theſe he gives eternal life, John 10. 28. They that have union with Chriſt cannot periſh, being p. 447members of his body, fleſh and bones; ſhould a ſoul that hath received Chriſt here, miſs of glory hereafter, then would a member of Chriſt periſh, and his body in Heaven be maimed and imperfect, which cannot be, his Church being the fulneſs of him who filleth all in all, Eph. 1. v. 21. And Chriſt hath paſt his word for it they ſhall not periſh, John 10. 28. Not one of them is loſt who are truly in Chriſt, John 17. 10. They are his ſervants, and ſhall be where he is, John 12. 26. His Spouſe, which ſhall be ever with him. Try then your union with Chriſt; Have you received him into your hearts by faith? Are you one Spirit with him, having the ſame mind in you that was in Chriſt Jeſus? you would be holy as he is holy; nothing ſhort of compleat oneneſs with Chriſt can content you: Indeed, you have carnal deſires within the borders of your ſouls, that crave for ſatisfaction, and ſometimes will have it whether you will or no; but there is another Law in your mind warring againſt this Law in your members, that cannot reſt till you arrive more to his likeneſs, who is your life, righteouſneſs and glory. Are you implanted into Chriſt's death and reſurrection, brought into ſome conformity to him? And do you live upon him as the branch upon the root for all your grace and ſupply, and ſtay upon him as the ſtone upon the foundation, for your ſupport in grace unto glory, as your onelyonly Lord and Righteouſneſs? Then are your hopes for glory ſure ſpeeding hopes.

Secondly, Truth of grace ſecures your hopes of glory, it being the earneſt, ſeal, and firſt p. 448fruits of glory. 2 Cor. 1. 22. Who hath alſo ſealed us, and given the earneſt of the Spirit in our hearts. Grace is God's ſeal for glory, and what greater ſecurity can there be? 'Tis his earneſtpenny, which is never taken away, as a pledge may be, but ſecures the whole ſumme; yea 'tis part of pay: Grace is that ſeed of God which remaineth in him, 1 John 3. 9. and ſecures the ſoul's ſtate againſt final Apoſtacy, through its union with the Spirit dwelling in him, Rom. 8. 11. Prove your truth of grace (though never ſo weak) and you will prove your title to glory: Doth your grace owe its being to the fulneſs of Chriſt, John 1 16. owning its derivation thence; and dependance there? Doth your grace ſpread it ſelf into every part and faculty of your ſoul, wholly ſanctified throughout? 1 Theſ. 5. 23. Cannot your grace mingle with ſin, or own the leaſt appearance of evil, Rev. 2. 2. but hath according to its meaſure an irreconcilable enmity againſt every known ſin? Gal. 5. 17. Cannot your grace reſt in any meaſures ſhort of perfection, but hath deſires and endeavours after more and more grace? 1 Pet. 2. 3. Hath your grace pure and ultimate deſigns for Divine Glory, aiming in every thing, Phil. 1. 20, 21. that Chriſt may be magnified, John 3. 30. and ſelf annihilated? then is your grace true grace, and will in time turn to glory.

Thirdly, Your mortifiedneſs to the world will be a good proof of your title to Heaven. The heirs of Glory are choſen out of the world; are not of the world, John 15. 19. Redeemed from the earth, Rev. 14. 3. They have not received p. 453the ſpirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God, 1 Cor. 2. 12. and are crucified to it, Gal. 6. 14. dead to the deſires, pleaſures and intereſts of this world, Col. 3. 1, 2. Dead men have no favour or delight in things; no more have they who are dead to this world, any acquieſcing pleaſure in earthly things, which can no more ſatisfie a heavenly ſoul, than dung can feed a living man. Chriſtians, try how your hearts ſtand affected to earthly things; are theſe great in your eye, amiable to your affections, attractive on your deſires, prevalent on your wills, beyond the things of Heaven? then are your hopes of Heaven unwarrantable by any Divine evidence, and will at laſt leave your names written on the earth.

Fourthly, Your hopes for Heaven, if right, will be active lively hopes. 1 Pet. 1. 3. Who hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the reſurrection of Chriſt from the dead. Hopes that put life in your affections iiforeign, id eſt, vivificam ſcilicet quae vivificat Metonymia Effecti. Piſcat.and ſpirits, and makes you vigorous after holineſs, and the way to glory, Epheſ. 2. 10. Right hopes for Heaven will make you run in the way to Heaven, and put you on all manner of holy converſation. Paul's hopes for Heaven put him on labours and ſtrivings after perfect holineſs, 2 Cor. 5. 8, 9. Phil. 3. 12, 13, 14. Try your hopes; do they quicken you to duty, or leave you dead? You have no heart to the waies of God, or delight in approaching to him; his commands are grievous to you; this beſpeaks unſound and frail hopes p. 454for Heaven, which will at laſt deceive you: But ſure hopes for Heaven are back'd with ſuitable labours for Heaven.

Fifthly, If your hopes be right for Heaven, then will your converſation be in Heaven. Phil. 3. 20. But our converſation is in Heaven, whence alſo we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, who ſhall change our vile bodies, that it may be faſhioned like to his glorious body. You will be taken up about heavenly things, and driving on heavenly concerns: You will be maintaining entercourſe in Heaven, and keeping up your converſes with God; you will be often taking journeys to Heaven in your contemplations and deſires; your buſineſs will be much in Heaven, and your occaſions thither frequent; though you live on Earth, yet you will converſe in Heaven. As Dr. Preſton ſaid when he was near death, I ſhall but change my place, not my company. O try your hopes for Heaven by your converſation, if that be engaged about the things of Heaven now; if your work be in Heaven, your reſt ſhall be in Heaven alſo.

Sixthly, If your hopes for Heaven be right, you will willingly undergo whatſoever ſufferings and dangers lye in your way to Heaven. He that is ſure of reaching home at laſt, will venture through any dangers in his way. O what hazards will men run through to get an earthly Crown! no difficulties will diſcourage them; how much more will hopes for Heaven carry ſouls through the Red Sea of afflictions and bloody ſufferings they may meet with before they come to it! Acts 20. 24. chap. 21. 13. p. 455He that cannot conſent to drink of the cup Chriſt drinks of, and which the Father ſhall give him to drink, and to ſubmit to the cruelleſt death, loſſes, ſhame, tryals and torments, which his faithfulneſs to God may bring him to, muſt reckon again, and take up other concluſions about his future ſtate; eaſier terms cannot be granted: Whoſoever he be of you that forſaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my diſciple. Luke 14. 33. He that will come after me, muſt deny himſelf, take up his Croſs, and follow me. Matth. 16. 24. We muſt through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God. Acts 14. 22. If we ſuffer with him, we ſhall reign with him, 2 Tim. 2. 12.

Secondly, Lay up deſires for glory, not only ſome deſires of glory, but ſuch deſires as nothing elſe can ſatisfie but glory; which nothing ſhort of a whole God can content. Moſt ſouls in this life limit their deſires, and take up their wiſhes too ſhort of true bleſſedneſs: My ſoul thirſteth for God (ſaith God) but it was only for ſome ſights of his power and glory, as he had ſeen him in his Sanctuary, Pſal. 63. 1, 3. Some looks through the lattice; ſome embraces of Chriſt in the arms of faith, pleaſed the Spouſe, and doth ſatisfie moſt ſouls here: Alas, how few are the deſires of gracious ſouls, which a little of God will not content! One deſires grace, another peace; ſome are for quickenings and comforts; others for enlightenings, for higher meaſures of knowledge, for ſome ſights of God through a glaſs; but how few breathings are there, to ſee as we are ſeen, to know as we are p. 456known? 1 Cor. 13. 12. And indeed 'tis ſtrange that Heaven-born ſouls, that heirs of glory, and fellow-citizens of Heaven, ſhould have no more longings after their own home, and not onelyonly for ſome firſt-fruits, but the full ripe fruits of their own Countrey. David had ſometimes workings after this, not only for God to come to him, but for himſelf to go to God; when his heart takes a leap from the path of life, into the preſence of God, where is fulneſs of joy, and pleaſures for evermore. Pſal. 16. 11. Thou wilt ſhew me the path of life: in thy preſence is fulneſs of joy, at thy right hand are pleaſures for evermore. From the beholding of his face in righteouſneſs here, he longs for the ſatisfying viſions of God in glory. Pſal. 17. 15. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteouſneſs; I ſhall be ſatisfied when I awake with thy likeneſs. Paul alſo under the higheſt enjoyments of God here, had his unſatisfied longings to be with him as beſt of all, Phil. 1. 23. and in reſpect of which he counts his greateſt intimacy with Chriſt in the body, to be a kind of abſence. 2 Cor. 5. 6. Knowing that whiles we are at home in the body, we are abſent from the Lord. Do not terminate your deſires upon any thing that can ſatisfie you on this ſide glory: Get ſuch deſires raiſed, which cannot be anſwered till you come to Heaven, with ſuch kind of breathings as theſe: O when ſhall I come to that bleſſed ſtate, to know as I am known; to have every corner of my heart filled with the immediate emanations of his glorious fulneſs! O when will that time, or rather eternity come, when I ſhall be ſatisfied with looking on p. 457that bleſſed face which is every day the Angels wonder, and the Saints joy. Here alas! I lie among the pots, all ſooty and defiled, whiles the veſſels of my Father's houſe, and the bowls before the Altar, out of which my Lord alway drinketh, are bright and glorious. Now I have my habitation where Dragons lie, while a glorious Pavilion ſtands empty for me: Here I feed on my own dung, and oft-times eat the excrements of Devils, and all the while there's bread enough in my Father's houſe, and my Brethren fare deliciouſly at the King's Table. O when ſhall my work be done, that I may be gone! When ſhall the things for cleanſing be given me, and the daies of my purification be accompliſhed, that my turn may come to go in to the Lord my King! When ſhall the Nuptial garments, the Bridal ornaments, the Robe, the Ring, the Royal Veſtments beſpangled with coſtly Jewels, be given me, with this moſt welcome meſſage, Ariſe my Love, my Dove, my Fair One, and come away! Lay up ſuch kind of breathings after the Mountains of Spices, the Everlaſting Hills, the Rivers of Pleaſures, the Bride-chamber of Glory, where you ſhall be ever with the Lord. kkGlory, Glory dwelleth in Immanuel's Land, Rutherford's laſt words.This will haſten your pace to Heaven, and mount you on the wings of a Dove: This will help you to paſs by the world's glory with a holy ſcorn, and to bear its cruelty with incredible patience.

Thirdly, Lay up all the Treaſures you can to greaten glory: Though the leſt portion of glory is ſatisfying, yet the higheſt meaſures of p. 458glory are deſirable, becauſe in it there is the greateſt conformity to God, 1 John 3. 2. Luke 10. 17, 19, 20. Dan. 12. 3. and the fulleſt enjoyment of God. The Lord Jeſus doth propoſe degrees of glory for the encouragement of his people to greater improvements of grace; and therefore the higheſt degrees of glory are deſirable: O get as much as you can here to greaten your felicity in Heaven. Do all you may to make your Crown more maſſy, and your manſion more fair, and your pleaſures more full to all Eternity.

Several things have a tendency to greaten your glory. The more grace you improve now, the greater will be your glory; he that gained ten pounds, had ten Cities: Grace is ſeed ſown, according to its meaſure will be the harveſt: What a man ſows, that ſhall he reap, Gal. 6. 7. The leſs ſeed is ſown, the leſs crop will there be; and the more ſeed, the larger encreaſe, 1 Cor. 3. 9. Glory is a Crown of Righteouſneſs proportioned to the utmoſt improvements of Grace. The more work you do for God, the greater will be your wages of grace in glory, 1 Pet. 5. 2, 4. 2 Cor. 5. 10. That every one ſhould receive according to what is done in the body.

The more you lay out for God, the more ſhall you receive from him, 2 Cor. 9. 6. who will certainly repay it.

The greater your ſufferings are for God, the greater will your rejoycings be with him: They that ſow in tears ſhall reap in joy, Pſ. 126. 5. Look what diſproportion there is between the p. 459Seed-time and Harveſt, far greater is there between the Saints ſufferings, ſorrows, and triumphing joy: Their ſorrow lies within the compaſs of a ſhort night, their joy begins with that morning which hath no evening to follow it, Pſal. 30. 5. Their tears will ſcarcely fill a bottel, but their pleaſures are ſo vaſt an Ocean, as that they cannot be received, but muſt be entred into, Mat. 25. 21. Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 2 Cor. 4. 17. Yea the preſent conſolations of the Saints oft-times abound in their ſufferings; The ringing of my chains hath been ſweet muſick in my ears, (ſaid Guy de Bres;) all my former diſcourſes were but as a blind man's of colours, in reſpect of my preſent feeling: O what a precious comforter is a good conſcience! How unſpeakable then are thoſe rejoycings, when all tears ſhall be wiped off, when ſorrow and mourning ſhall fly away, Mat. 5. 10, 11, 12.

The more your loſſes are for Chriſt on earth, the greater will be your gain in Heaven. Heb. 10. 34. And took joyfully the ſpoiling of your goods, knowing in your ſelves that you have in Heaven a better and an enduring ſubſtance. Men can never bring their goods to a better Market, than to have them ſpoil'd for the ſake of Chriſt: your goods you loſe for Chriſt are capable of being ſpoil'd; your goods you ſhall receive in Heaven are above all injury; the very bags wax not old, much leſs the treaſure: time will mar your beſt intereſts here. Alas, what is a little old goods, moth-eaten garments, ruſty ſilver p. 460ſubject to change; compared with that ſubſtance, whoſe duration is as long as eternity, and whoſe extenſion is as large as immenſity? and ſuch is God in Chriſt, the Saints eternal treaſure: Mat. 19. 29. And in the World to come life eternal. Carnal reaſon judges them the greateſt fools that dare to be undone for their profeſſion; whereas divine truth reckons ſuch the mad men, who to eſcape them that can but kill the body, durſt encounter him who can damn both ſoul and body in Hell, Mat. 10. 28. And to lay a foundation of a few days ſafety upon the ruines of themſelves and others. How dangerous (ſaid Mr. Cooper) is their eſtate, who cannot riſe but with the fall of many? Et quantulum ſit illud propter quod nos reliquiſti? How poor are thoſe things (ſaith he) for which you have left us? whereas the Saints loſſes for Chriſt are their greateſt gain, while the things they part with are but temporal; but thoſe they gain are eternal, 2 Cor. 4. 18.

Laſtly, The more ſouls you help to Heaven, the more treaſure you prepare for Heaven: Dan. 12. 3. They that be wiſe (the margin hath it, they that be teachers) ſhall ſhine as the brightneſs of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteouſneſs, as the ſtars for ever and ever. As nothing doth ſink a perſon deeper into Hell, than to have the blood of ſouls upon its head, and to become the occaſion of others periſhing, Jer. 2. 34. So it wonderfully greatens a perſons own bleſſedneſs in Heaven, to be the means of getting others to be bleſſed alſo: 1 Theſ. 2. 19. For what is our hope, or joy, or p. 461crown of rejoycing? are not even you in the preſence of our Lord Jeſus Christ at his coming? for ye are our glory and joy.

Laſtly, Lay up preparations for glory: Glory is a great thing: O what a change doth Heaven make upon a Believer's ſtate! We ſhall all be changed, 1 Cor. 15. 51. from corruption to incorruption; from ſin to ſpotleſs purity; from imperfection to pefection; from darkneſs to knowledg; from faith to fight; from eſpouſals to a marriage-day: and what preparations do ſuch a change call for? What if death ſhould ſurpriſe you, and take you in your old clothes? 'tis not your daily garments, no not your beſt rayments are good enough for your marriageday: your attire muſt be all new when you ſolemnize your eternal nuptials to the King of Glory. O what manner of perſons ſhould you be who look for new Heavens, and a new Earth! If a Paul be not ſufficient to carry a love-token to Chriſt's Spouſe here on earth, 2 Cor. 2. 16. Who is ſufficient for theſe things? Who then are fit to lie in the Bridegroom's arms to all eternity? Few think what a change muſt be before the Saints can get to Heaven: 1 Cor. 15. 50. Fleſh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. If ſo much preparation-work muſt be diſpatch'd before an Eſther could be fit for the embraces of an earthly King, Eſth. 2. 12. ſix months for purifying with oyl of Myrrh, and ſix months with ſweet Odors, and with other things? How much ſanctification-work is needful to meeten a ſoul for the immediate p. 462enjoyment of God in glory? and how unready are the moſt of ſouls for ſuch a change? O Believers! haſten about your preparations for Heaven, ſeeing you have no fixation on earth, and know not what hour your Lord will come. In order to which, take theſe ſix directions.

Firſt, Get your hearts more looſe from this preſent world; men that change places, knock up, and take abroad things they muſt carry with them: Your hearts (Chriſtians) are the principal things you muſt take with you to Heaven; it may be you have gone to God in duties many a time, and left your hearts behind you; but you cannot go to God in glory, except your hearts be with you. And O what a difficult work is it to go the heart (upon choice) looſe from every thing below God! and till this be done, there's no getting to Heaven: Things faſtened to the free-hold (they ſay) cannot be removed; how then can that heart get to glory, that is nailed down to the world, and things below. Be daily looſening your hearts from the world, eſtates, houſes, lands, trades, friends, relations, and every thing below; for you may not have time to get them off without loſs, when death comes: you muſt leave them all ſhortly, and you know not how ſoon, to go to better friends and intereſts: theſe have been ſnares and ſpears to your ſouls, and have given you many a wound, and ſtill hinder your ſpeeding to glory; and why ſhould you be loth to part with them? O Chriſtians! if you are willing to be with Chriſt, you will give your hearts warning to be gone from theſe tabernacles, p. 463and to take their leave of this world daily.

Secondly, Preſs after more maturity in your graces; the more ripe, the more fit for gathering, Joel. 3. 13. Tamar muſt tarry a Widow till Selah be grown, Gen. 38. 11. and your marriageday muſt be delayed till you come to a full age: The Saints muſt be as a ſhock of corn that cometh in in its ſeaſon, Job 5. 25. Ripen a pace in your graces, if you would get to glory: Get your faith, hope, patience, and every grace encreaſed daily; eſpecially your love to God; that's the grace ſhall abide in glory, 1 Cor. 13. 8. Faith and Hope are the ſoul's helps, and companions in the way; but Love will be an eternal inhabitant with you. Get purer, deeper rooted, ſtronger, more enlarged love to Jeſus Chriſt every day, till you be downright ſick for him; this will make your life a death without his preſence here, and your death to be life in being with him for ever. 'Twas love to Chriſt made Ignatius ſo dead to all things below, aaVita ſine Chriſto mors eſt; Ignat.and ſo longing to be with Chriſt: 'Tis ſtoried of him, that when he was dead, and his heart taken out, they ſaw the name of Jeſus written in it in letters of Gold: The more love to God, the more fit for God; for God is love, bbNon eſt in me incendium quidpiam amans; D. Ludov. Rub..

Thirdly, Get and keep the teſtimony of a good conſcience, that may witneſs for you in the day of Chriſt: when you die, you are to have a trial for your life, your inheritance, your All; and you had need have your witneſs p. 464firm, and ready: Now there are two great witneſſes you will need in that day to clear your title; the witneſs of Conſcience, and the Spirit: have the one on your ſide, and you will not want the other. Get your conſciences ſprinkled with the blood of Chriſt, and purged from dead works by the Spirit of Chriſt, that it may be able to appear for you in that day. The blood of Chriſt will put words into the mouth of conſcience for you, to plead the general iſſue, and the benefit of pardoning grace, wherein you have been tranſgreſſors; enlightned conſcience will accuſe you that you have ſinned; and beſprinkled conſcience will plead for you that you are pardoned; and purged conſcience will teſtify for you that you are changed, and that you hate the evil you have done, and love the holineſs you have neglected. O of what wonderful uſe will the teſtimony of a good conſcience be when you ſtand at the Bar of God! Get it true to you now, and ſure for you then.

Fourthly, Maintain more conſtant walks with God daily; this will fit you for your eternal fellowſhip with him. Converſe with God is begun acquaintance here; and in Heaven is perfect friendſhip, and perpetual fellowſhip. It will much fit you for Heaven hereafter, to begin the work of Heaven here, which lies in maintain'd intercourſe with him. Through theſe gallery-walks with God, do the Saints paſs into the Preſence-Chamber, and ſit down with him for ever: Communion with God now, is Heaven begun; ſuch are fitteſt for his preſence in p. 465glory, who are train'd up in his company here.

Fifthly, If you would prepare for Heaven, diſpatch your work on Earth: Heaven is a ſtate of reſt, and reſt follows the finiſhing of labour, Heb. 4. 9. Rev. 4. 13. Paul muſt end his fight, finiſh his courſe, and keep the faith, before he can reach the Crown: 2 Tim. 4. 7, 8. In the grave there's no wiſdom, device, or work; this is your only time for labour while you are in the Vineyard. O how much work is behind with moſt! which will make a departure terrible to an awakened conſcience. Haſte about your neglected work; you have (it may be) much work to do with others, in your families, with your relations; poſſibly there are ſome ſouls in their graves, and you have not done what you might to bring them forth; dead Husband, Wife, Children, Servants, for whom you muſt do more, or cannot comfortably appear before God. O haſten about this work, that you may give up your account with joy! There's ſoulwork to be done, to get corruptions ſubdued, graces ſtrengthned, your accounts ſtated, evidences cleared, and lamps trimmed, which muſt be attended with utmoſt vigour. If you would get home, finiſh your work.

Laſtly, Be alwaies ready, waiting for the coming of the Lord: Luke 12. 35, 36. Let your loins be girt about, and your lights burning, and ye your ſelves like unto men, that wait for their Lord when he will return from the Wedding; that when he cometh, and knocketh, they may open to him immediately: 2 Pet. 3. 12. Looking for, p. 436and haſtening to the coming of the day of God: Not only be waiting for your change, but longing after it, as perſons that are ready for a deſired journey think the time long ere they go. Why are the wheels of his Chariot ſo long a coming? Judg. 5. 28. The Spirit and the Bride ſay come, Rev. 22. 17. With the Virgins go out to meet him, Mat. 25. 1. If you knew the welcome that abideth for you when you come home, ye would haſten your pace; Rutherf. The more ready you are for the coming of Chriſt, the more will you long for his appearance; and the more grateful will his approach be. The uncertainty of that time when the Lord Jeſus ſhall appear, and the unſeaſonableneſs of that ſurpriſal for preparationwork, ſhould put Chriſtians on continual readineſs, leſt coming in an hour they know not of, they be found unfit to enter in, and the door be ſhut, Mat. 25. 10.

O how dreadful will a miſcarriage be at laſt! All the hopes, labours and comfort of your life depend upon your final ſafety, and happy concluſion of your day: 'Tis a great thing to live a ſanctified, and die a ſaved ſoul. O how few imagine the difficulty of being a Chriſtian indeed, and the infinite concern of ſecuring an immortal ſoul, and a ſure title to the unſearchable riches of the other world! O the folly and madneſs of rational creatures, to make every thing ſure but ſalvation, and to ſpend their time and ſtrength about the many things of a periſhing life, and loſe the better part! Whoever thou art that caſteſt thine eye upon this diſcourſe, thou wilt one day find Religion to be thy chiefeſt p. 467intereſt; when thou comeſt to take thy farewel of a vain deceitful world, and ſeeſt all thy Lovers, for whom thou haſt ſleighted thy precious ſoul, thy Soverign Lord, and dying Redeemer, to prove miſerable comforters, not able to afford one drop of balm, to heal, or cordial to chear thy fainting heart, and affrighted conſcience: When thou ſeeſt pale death deliver thee a ſummons to appear before the holy God, and to give an account of thy Stewardſhip, when thou ſeeſt the Books opened, and ſuch a fearful charge againſt thy guilty conſcience, which thou canſt not deny or anſwer; then wilt thou find godlineſs in the power of it, to be the greateſt gain; and would'ſt give ten thouſand worlds for ſuch an evidence as Hezekiah and Paul had, when within view of death and eternity. And is not Religion as much thy concern, and ſhould be as grateful now, and all thoſe great and important duties of piety which this Book laies before thee; thought to be as adviſable now, when time and capacity may render them feaſible, as in a dying hour, when deſires and purpoſes may be too late? O do not content thy treacherous heart, to caſt a tranſient glance upon theſe lines, to approve or commend them, and after all to ſhake hands with theſe vaſt and concerning Truths in them, and live and die a ſtranger to this great and heavenly work; but reſolve to ſet about it preſently, to purſue it throughly, that when your Trading-day is done, your enriching Eternity may begin, and you receive that vaſt Inheritance that fadeth not away, eternal in the Heavens.

FINIS.