A Scripture-Map of the Wilderness of Sin, Treatise · Part 4 · Conclusion
CONCLUSION.
Our Saviour telleth us, Jo. 14.2, 3, 4, 6.Chriſt the WAY HOME In my Fathers houſe are many Manſions; if it were not ſo I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come againe, and receive you unto my ſelfe, that where I am, there ye may be alſo. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. I am the waie, no man cometh to the Father but by me. And this brings the firſt and the laſt together, in the accompliſhment of that to us that God did to Iſrael, Who led them forth by a right waie, that they might goe to a Citie for habitation, Pſal. 107.7. And 'tis the leſſe matter how foule the weather be to ſuch as have found a Chriſt, for they have found the way home. When Stephen was travelling through a ſtorme of ſtones, he knew how to houſe himſelfe, he calls upon the Lord Jeſus to receive (that is, to take home) his Spirit to himſelfe; end when he had thus ſpoken, he falls aſleep, Act. 7.59, 60. You uſe to ſay of a Winter-journey, and ſtormy weather, 'tis tedious travelling, but ſay you, it is homeward, where we may be bold and ſhall be welcome: and the wearier wee are, we ſhall ſleepe the more ſweetly when we come at home, and get into our owne Beds; and in this caſe ſay you, Home is home be it never ſo homely. Art thou then in Chriſt? thou ſhalt be taken in out of the Rain, fetch'd home out of the ſtreets, from the brow-beatings of thoſe that were mightier then thou. Thou ſhalt enter into peace, thou ſhalt reſt in thy Bed, Iſai. 57.2. Thou that walkeſt in this right way, Thou art haſting homeward, not to an homely home, but to an heavenly, to thy Fathers houſe, to Abrahams boſome, to the new Heaven, the Celeſtiall Canaan, to the Saints Reſt, to Jeruſalem which is above, and is free, to the Paradice of God, to the Countrie of thy kindred, to thine own people, and to the ſeat of thy Chriſt.
Therefore fear not poore penitent, though thou haſt been a Prodigall. Art thou in Chriſt? thou art going homeward, to thy Fathers houſe, where thy Father will come forth to meet thee, and thine Elder Brother (ſo farre from grudging, that he) will come along with him to greet thee; the Angels to welcome thee, will become miniſtring ſpirits unto thee: then ſhall one go for the meat, another for the muſick, a third for the Ring, and a fourth for the Robe, even all that heaven can afford, mean while Jonathan thy friend, who is in Covenant with thee, whoſe ſoule cleaves unto thee, will put his own Robe upon thee, and his Garments even to his Girdle; and then ſhall heaven ring with an All things are readie, the Spirit ſhall ſay, Come, and Chriſt ſhall ſay, Welcome, eat and drink O friend; yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
Fear not poore Lazarus, whoſe Rayment is vile, even ſores on thy body, and rags on thy ſores. Art thou in Chriſt? thou art going homeward, to Abrahams boſome, to a new Heaven, where old things are done away, and all things become new. Thy vile bodie ſhall be there changed, and made a glorious bodie like unto Chriſts Bodie, in an heavenly new faſhion. Thou ſhalt put off Mortalitie, and put on immortalitie; put off corruption, and put on incorruption; put off weakneſſe, and put on ſtrength; lay off the Croſs, and put on thy Crown: Yea, let me ſay more, the Garments that thou hadſt of Gods owne making, and which were well enough to ſerve thy turne in the wilderneſſe of this world; thou ſhalt then have outgrown them, and there put them off, and that which is in part, ſhall be there done away, and that which is perfect ſhall come in its roome. Thou ſhalt then know as thou art known, and love as thou art loved: thou ſhalt put off Hope, and Viſion ſhall ſucceed it; and put off Faith, and put on fruition.
Feare not poore Iſraelite, though thou haſt been an Underling in Aegypt, an Inhabitant of the Wilderneſſe, who haſt wrought among the Bricks, and lyen among the Pots, and gone among the Thornes, and trod upon Serpents. Art thou in Chriſt? thou and now going homeward, to the heavenly Canaan, the Reſt of Gods people, to the Jeruſalem, that is ABOVE, and is TREE. Above Aegypt its Brick-kiln, and Fleſhpots, Earth and all its allurements, and all their embitterments. Above Pharoah and his Hoſts, Satan and his Inſtruments: above he Wilderneſs windings and woundings of ſinne. And therefore thou ſhalt be FREE from feares, from falls, from ſinne, from ſorrowes, from the Death of the Body, and from the Body of Death, and from all the evill that is in the World, and from the world of Evill that is in the heart. The Gulfe ſhall be fixed, and thou ſhalt be free'd; and though theſe would paſſe over to thee, they ſhall not be able. The Aegyptians that followed thee, thou ſhalt ſee them no more for ever: They followed thee, but ſhall never finde thee. There's a Jordan betwixt thee and them, which though it were dryed up before thee, yet ſhall not be ſo for them to paſſe after thee. Thine old Aegypt is on the other ſide of the Sea, and thine old Wilderneſſe on the other ſide of the Flood. The Waters ſhall returne, and thine Enemies be cut off. Where the Serpent found thee, thou ſhalt leave Him, even in the Wilderneſſe: and where thou leaveſt the Serpent, thou ſhalt leave the poyſon, and the ſting, even Satan, and Sinne, and Death together. The firſt is a Murtherer, the next is a Lyer, the laſt is a Dogge (that will grumble and ſnarle at thee, but cannot hurt thee) and without are Murtherers and Lyers, and Dogs; but within are true Iſraelites.
Feare not poore Convert, that are crucified with Chriſt, though a Priſoner among men, and condemned of the World, where thy legges are broken (thy ſupports taken away) the way that thou art in is life as well as Way: and the ſooner men breake thy legges, the more haſt ſhalt thou make to ſuppe with Chriſt in Paradice.
Yea, thou art a ſtranger (and ſtrangely dealt with) as in a ſtrange Land: Art thou but in Chriſt, thou art going homeward to thine owne Country, and to the houſe of thy friends, to the Spirits of thy dear deceaſed Relations that are now made perfect. There is Eunice thy Mother, and Lois thy Grandmother, if thou be a Timothy. Yea, Jeſus himſelfe will doe the Right of a Kinſman unto, and will owne thee in the Gates of Heaven, and before the Elders of thy people. Then ſhalt thou that waſt afraid to glean after the Reapers, poſſeſſe the whole joyes of the Harveſt; and thou that waſt afraid to uncover his feet, ſhalt lye then in his boſome, and thou ſhalt be ever with the Lord.
And now who is there among you, that are in Chriſt as the way to this Reſt, and have Chriſt in you as the hope of his Glory, can hear of this home without deſire to be diſſolved, and to depart (if the Lord would let you) to this reſt in peace. And yet this is but a little of that that may be ſpoken; and all that may be ſpoken, is but a little of that that ſhall be made good unto you when you come at home. This is but a ſhort Piſgaproſpect of the promiſed Land, which your owne life keepes you out of poſſeſſion of. Theſe are but a few of the cluſters of Canaan, that are brought you for a taſte by a poore Spye, leſt any of you ſhould have evill thoughts of the good Land, and ſo take up on this ſide Jordan; but who ſhall reveale unto you what is the fruite of the Vine in your Fathers Kingdom.
This is but your Proviſion ſent you to ſupport you by the Way, but who can Divine without Joſephs Cup, what a Land is that Goſhen, whence theſe Proviſions come.
This is but the Raine that filles your Pooles in the Vale of Baca; but who can tell you how it ſhall bee with you, when you appeare before the Lord in Sion?
This is but Mount Tabor, 'tis Mount Sion that is your dwelling place, and there is the City of the living God, there are the innumerable companies of Angells, the Church of the firſt born, and Jeſus the Mediator. And if to thinke of theſe things ſeriouſly▪ (while wee are at home in the Body) make this home an Heaven, ſure it will be good for us to be where this Heaven ſhall be our home.
This is the Inheritance of the Saints in light, the Inheritance incorruptible, and that fadeth not away, but is reſerved in the Heavens for them.
This is their Habitation made, but not with hands, and purchaſed, but not with money. This is their Reſt prepared by Chriſts travailes, their life, purchaſed by his Death; the joy of the Lord dearely paid for by that Man of ſorrowes, their Glory bought by his ſhame; their true Riches gained through his povertie; the Kingdome wonne for them by his ſubjection, the bleſſing obtained through his being made as a Curſe for them.
Oh! thanks be to God for his unſpeakable GIFT.
This is the HOME whereunto Chriſt is the WAY, In and By whom, whileſt the Ranſomed of the Lord come up from the Wilderneſſe, they ſhall obtaine joy and gladneſſe, and ſorrow and ſighing ſhall flee away.
Wherefore you ſee deare Brethren, partakers of the heavenly Calling, that there is a promiſe left us of entering into his Reſt..
Let us therefore feare leſt any of us ſhould ſeeme to come ſhort, Heb. 4.1. The Lord hath this day ſhewne you the good way, and hath ſaid unto you, Walke in it, and you ſhall finde Reſt to your ſoules, Jer. 5.16.
But now if any of you ſhall anſwer (as they in the next verſe) We will not walk therein. Know of a ſurety, that every ſoule that goes Chriſtleſſe, goes both Guideleſſe and wayleſſe, and therefore ſhall never find this Heavenly habitation.
I cannot ſay but Chriſtleſſe ſinners have got as many Guidles as there are SATYRS, and as many waies as there are windings in the Wilderneſſe, and they alſo make haſt to their own home; for Judas who hanged himſelf, is ſaid to go (foreign) to his own place, Act. 1.25. But alas as is the difference of the Waies, ſo of the Homes; the waies differ as Darkneſſe and light, and the Homes as Hell and Heaven.
He that is in Chriſt goes home to be comforted, but the Chriſtleſſe to be tormented: he to his good things, but thou (O wretch!) from thy good things. Hee dies to live, thou dieſt to die. He deſcends as to his body that he may aſcend; thou aſcendeſt as to thy ſpirit (which returns to God that gave it, to give ſentence on it) that thou maiſt deſcend and go down into Hell for ever. He may complain, Abroad the ſword bereaveth; but thou ſhalt lament, At home there is as death (he cannot ſay ſo) As death I ſay, but worſe thou death: Where thou ſhalt ſue for life (like Haman) but it ſhall be denyed thee; and then thou ſhalt ſeek for Death but Death ſhall flye from thee. Thou ſhalt neither live nor die, but live to die, and that to eternity. This is thine End, but behold it is endleſſe.
Therefore thou ſhall cry, yea ſadly ſhalt thou cry an end is come, but O that there were an end. I dye, I periſh; But O that I could periſh; If thou wilt not ſave me, Lord kill me, but he will do neither, O let the Mountaines fall on me, and let the hills cover me from thy preſence, and from the face of the Lamb; and this is the only Petition that ſhall be granted thee, but in a ſad ſenſe, for Mountains of wrath ſhall fall upon thee, and everlaſting hills of Gods diſpleaſure ſhall hide thee (I will warrant thee) from the face of his pitty, and from the preſence of his glory. Then ſhalt call to Abraham for a drop, but receive a River, not of water to cool, but of brimſtone to bridle thy tormented tongue; then ſhalt thou be thirſty and hardly beſtead, and ſhalt curſe thy King and thy God, and look upward. Ah! ſad home, and homely entertainment; Oh! ſad welcome? O! take it for a warning, thou wretch, thy Father the Devill is making a ſcourg for thee of his own chain, and thou'ſt find it ſo when hee gets thee in, though he flatter thee home: thy fellow ſervants that are in the ſame Condemnation with thee, are prepared to ſmite thee; yea, when thou comeſt home, then ſhall thine owne Conſcience ſpeak home; & becauſe thou haſt been a ſelf-Murtherer, therefore ſhalt thou ever be a ſelf-tormentor: Ah Satan! ſhalt thou ſay, Is this thy Fatherhood to thy Children; is this the beſt hire thou giveſt thy ſervants, is this thy kindneſs to thy friend? Ah ſirs! are you the men that I called good fellowes, was I thus miſtaken in you? am I thus rewarded by you: Ah! how I ſpent my Eſtate, my Time, my Soule upon you; how I loſt the company of Saints to gaine yours, the favour of God to gain yours; how I diſpleaſed my Conſcience to pleaſe your corruptions. And do you thus requite my poor ſoul: Oh cruel people and unkind! Then ſhalt thou cry to thy Conſcience, ah, why didst not thou ſpeak and warn me, that I might not have come into this place of torment; but thy conſcience ſhall reply, Ah wretch! Why didſt not thou hear? how often did I call but thou gaveſt me no anſwer, but ſlightedſt all my Counſell, and wouldſt none of my reproof: Thou ſhalt accuſe thy Conſcience, and thy Conſcience ſhall accuſe thee: Thou ſhalt accuſe thy Companions, and they thee, thou ſhalt accuſe the ſerpent, and the ſerpent ſhall accuſe thee. Then ſhalt thou look on the one hand, and refuge faileth thee, and on the other, and there is none careth for thy ſoul: Thou ſhalt look to thy Merchants with whom thou haſt laboured from thy youth, but they wander to their Quarters, None of them ſave thee. Thou ſhalt look to thy leaning-ſtocks, but thine hope ſhal be cut off, & thy truſt ſhal be as a ſpiders web, then ſhall thy ſinking ſoul cry out to thy ſhrinking ſupports, will you alſo go away? what my riches? and what my righteouſneſſes? and what the deſire of mine eyes, and the delight of mine heart! I have treaſured you up againſt the latter daies, and will you now leave my ſoul in Hell, and ſuffer one that loved you ſo dearly to ſee corruption? Yet this ſhalt thou have from them becauſe thou truſtedſt in them; and it ſhall be anſwered concerning thee, Lo this is the man that made not God his strength, this is the ſoul that leaned not upon the Beloved.
Wherefore let me earneſtly exhort you ſeriouſly to ask your ſoules this one Queſtion, which is the home that I am haſting to? Hell or Heaven, for there is not a third beſide the grave; and the grave is but thy long home, but theſe are the everlaſting homes: if thou reply, but how, ſhall I know? 'tis ſoon anſwered; if Chriſt be thy Way, Heaven is thy Home, and if any man be in Chriſt he is a new Creature; but, and if the Wilderneſſe be thy Way, the place of Howling is thy Home; therefore go to now, lament and Howl for the miſeries that ſhall come upon thee before the, Evill daies come wherein thou ſhalt ſay I have no pleaſure in them.
Other Uſes might be made of this point. viz. If there be no ſalvation for loſt ſinners but onelyonly by leaning upon the Lord Jeſus,
How may this inform us of inavailableneſs of all their ſupports, of the folly of leaning on them.
How may this confute the Popiſh recumbency on the merits of our own Works, our leaning to the Angells, to the Virgin-Mother of our Lord, or any other of the Saints; and all reliance on the light of our own Wiſdoms, or might of our own wils; as alſo any expectancy of ſalvation in any other Religion that teacheth not Chriſt to bee the onelyonly or the all ſufficient Saviour of loſt ſinners.
And what terror may this ſpeak to ſuch daring Wretches, as make their ſinns their Saviours, and their luſts their leaning-ſtocks, truſting (as the Lord complains) in their iniquities?
And on the other hand, how great Encouragement to ſuch as onelyonly love and leane upon Jeſus Chriſt to a fixedneſſe of heart whilſt you truſt in the Lord.
And laſtly, how might we hence put you upon the tryall, what is indeed your ſoules leaning-ſtock? Is it Chriſt or another that we follow hard after, that wee rejoyce moſt in, that ſet our love moſt upon, that wee leave others for, that we cleave, moſt unto; (for theſe I take to be true tryalls (what is it, is it that we have moſt recumbency on) but each of theſe or ſomething Equivalent hath already lyen before us in this diſcourſe; and therefore I ſhall ſay no more, but
Conſider what hath been ſpoken, and the Lord give you underſtanding in all things.
FINIS.
End of the text · Faithful Teate, A Scripture-Map of the Wilderness of Sin (1655)