Helps for faith and patience in times of affliction In three parts. Viz. I. Sampson's riddle spiritualiz'd. II. Orthodox paradox: or, the greatest evil working the greatest eternal good. III. Heaven and earth epitomiz'd: or, invisibilities the greates realities. By James Burdwood late minister in Dartmouth. To which is added, A sure tryal of a Christian's state, by John Flavell, late minister (also) in Dartmouth. Burdwood, James. 1693 Approx. 522 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 294 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A28197 Wing B2957D ESTC R218170 99829787 99829787 34230 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . 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Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Faith -- Early works to 1800. 2006-01 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2006-02 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-03 Ali Jakobson Sampled and proofread 2007-03 Ali Jakobson Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion HELPS FOR Faith and Patience IN Times of Affliction . In Three Parts . VIZ. I. Sampson's Riddle spiritualiz'd . II. Orthodox Paradox : Or , The greatest Evil working the greatest Eternal Good. III. Heaven and Earth epitomiz'd : Or , Invisibilities the greatest Realities . By James Burdwood late Minister in Dartmouth . To which is added , A sure Tryal of a Christian's State , by John Flavell , late Minister ( also ) in Dartmouth . LONDON , Printed by T. W. for Jonathan Robinson , at the Golden Lyon in St. Paul's Church-yard , 1693. TO THE Religious , and my very dear Kinswoman , M rs . Mary Cholwich , Of Hele in Cornwood , in Devon. AND To the rest of the Family , related by the Bonds of Grace and Nature ; the Author of the ensuing Discourse heartily wisheth encrease of all Grace here , and the fulness of Glory hereafter , through the Merits of our Dear Lord Jesus Christ . THE many multiplied Favours you have continually shewed to my self and Family , obligeth me to make this acknowledgment thereof , by presenting to you all this little Testimony of my true Love and real Gratitude , humbly praying for your kind Acceptance and diligent Perusal . Let me mind you , and my self no less , That we are come towards the Evening of our Days : The Contents of this Book , by the assistance of the Holy Spirit , may help us in making due preparation for our latter end ; in which , I doubt not but you are daily engaged . The Sun of our Life is going down on our outward man : You , my most dear Kinswoman , as well as my self , have been kept several Years upon the Graves mouth , and have been many times brought back from the brink of the Pit : Oh , that the Sun of Righteousness might shine on our inward man , that therein we may be renewed day by day . Our God hath tryed our Faith and Patience , and made us more than ordinary Monuments of his Mercy and Goodness ; oh , that He would make us Instruments of his Praise and Service : What further Tryals our Heavenly Father will call us unto we know not ; may it please him to help us , that our Faith and Patience may have their perfect Work : He will have Glory , and we shall be Gainers . It hath pleased our good GOD to call us off from the enticing , lying , dying Vanities of this present Evil World , for our advantage , I hope ; what have we to do now , but to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure . Lord , pardon former negligence , and help us to get on the Wedding-garment of Christ's Righteousness and Holiness , that we may bid our blessed Bridegroom welcome . To the rest of my Honoured Cousins . May I obtain the Favour from you to spend a little of your little unexpired time in reading this small Book , and pray for a Blessing on what you read . I am sure the Contents do nearly concern you all : You are all travelling to another Country , Eternity is at hand , your Account is near , Time is precious , so are your Souls ; the World is vain , the Heart is deceitful : Oh , could I prevail with you to spend some time in close Self-examination , in constant heavenly Meditation , in Watchfulness , in Self-denyal and Mortification , you would much engage me , and advantage your own Souls . I pray the Blessing of God may go along with this poor piece ; there are many have better Heads , and better Hearts may do better . Now , that you all , and your Relations old and young , may be taken into the Covenant of Grace , and may grow up in all things in Christ Jesus ; that after our wearisom Pilgrimage in this Wilderness World , we may at last enter into the Promised Land , and enjoy that everlasting Rest , purchased by the most precious Blood of our dearest Lord , and there live with him for ever , is the earnest Prayer of Your very affectionate and much obliged Kinsman , James Burdwood Aug. 1. 1693. TO THE Honest-hearted Reader . INstead of an Epistle ( which for want both of outward and inward strength , having been tryed with about Eight or Nine Years Sickness , and most part of the time confined to my Chamber and Bed , I cannot perform ) I shall only present you with the several Points of Doctrine handied in the ensuing Treatise , having some time since cast one Mite into the Church's Treasury , viz. my Hearts Ease , do now adventure to cast in this other , though very unworthy to be laid up among so many choice Pearls : But I remember , who will not despise the day of small things . Had I not been unfaithful in the improvement of the Talents my Great Master had entrusted me with , I might have had more . I humbly beg the fervent Prayers of such Readers as truly love the Salvation of Souls , to pray the Lord to pardon all my 〈◊〉 fulness and negligence in the Work of the Lord , through the most precious Blood of the most precious Lord Jesus Christ , without which I perish ; and which is all I beg of them for my self . Now , having been a long time disabled to say or do any thing for the edification of others , and not likely to be of any use any more in this World , I was willing , while I could hold my Pen , and in any measure compose my Mind , much broken by Affliction , to emit this into the World , with my poor , yet earnest Prayers , That the Blessing of the Lord will go with it ; as also , to testifie my Gratitude to Him who hath wonderfully delivered me from so many Deaths , and yet doth deliver , and graciously supports me under so many multiplied Afflictions ; for which I hope , through God's great Mercy , and Christ's precious Merits , I shall have cause to bless God to all Eternity . Readers , pray for a Blessing on what you read , and for Your affectionate Friend and Servant in any thing for your Souls good , whilst I am J. B. From my Sick Chamber , Aug. 1st . 1693. THE CONTENTS . PART I. From 2 COR. iv . 16. THough our outward man perish , yet the inward man is renewed day by day . Doctrine 1. That it is the Comfort and the Character of truly-gracious persons , that as their outward man doth decay , decline and perish , so their inward man doth revive , encrease , and is renewed . PART II. Ver. 17. For our light affliction , which is but for a moment , worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . Doct. 2. That the light and short Afflictions of the People of God here in this World , are singularly useful , to work them for , and to work for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory . PART III. Ver. 18. While we look not at the things which are seen , but at the things which are not seen : for the things which are seen are temporal , but the things which are not seen are eternal . Doct. 3. That because all visible things are temporal , and of no long continuance , therefore gracious Souls engage not their Hearts too much in them , nor concern themselves too much for them , or about them . Doct. 4. That a right and true Judgment of Earthly things will help much to support and uphold the Lord's Servants in , and under all the Afflictions of this Life . Doct. 5. That truly-gracious Souls do most seriously mind , and most diligently intend and aim at unseen and eternal things ; about these their Thoughts ●●●●ainly and mostly fixt , and about these their greatest Care and Study is employ'd . Doct. 6. That the due minding of , and meditating upon unseen eternal things , will much help to support the People of God under all their Sufferings in this World. Gentle Readers , If you meet with some literal Mistakes , or Mispointings , I pray excuse the Author , being so far from the Press , and not in capacity exactly to review the Copy ; but in the exercise of your Charity towards him , and by your Prayers on what you read , you may , by God's Blessing , find Benefit ; which is the earnest desire of Your Servant , J. B. THE Publisher to the Reader . THE Pious Author sent this Treatise to the Press some time since ; but before it was finished , it pleased God to take him out of a state of great Tryals and Afflictions , into a state of Glory and Happiness ; so that his Friends may entertain this as a Funeral Sermon , prepared by his own hand ; in the serious reading of which , they will find that he experimentally felt , and truly practis'd the substance of this Book , viz. 1. That he found a great deal of Comfort in sanctified Afflictions ; and that as his outward man decayed , so his inward man was renewed day by day . 2. That the light and short Afflictions of this Life did work for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory . 3. That because all visible things are temporal , and of no long continuance , therefore his Heart was not engaged in them ; nor was he too much concerned for them , or about them . 4. That having a right and true judgment of Earthly things , he was thereby much supported under all his sore Afflictions . 5. That he did most seriously mind , and his Heart was most diligently fixed on unseen and eternal things ; and that , 6. The due minding of , and meditations upon unseen and eternal things , did much support his Soul in all his Sufferings in this World , and made him long for the full fruition of that God , who is no● his Portion for ever . I pray God succeed this Treatise , and sanctifie the loss of such excellent an● holy men to us all , particularly to the Town of Dartmouth , which in less than Three years time , hath been deprived o● Three Great Lights , viz. Mr. Flavel , Mr. Burdwood , and Mr. Chapman . FOOD FOR Faith and Patience : OR , SAMPSON's Riddle Spiritualiz'd . PART I. 2 Cor. iv . 16. For which cause we faint not ; but though our outward Man perish , yet our inner Man is renewed day by day . IN these words we have a Divine Cordial to prevent the fainting of God's People , under the troubles of this Life ; commended to us , from the experience of the Apostles and Primitive Christians . For although the words may have a reference to what goeth before , unto-some other grounds and means of comfort and support which they had ( as I have largely discoursed of elsewhere ) besides this ; yet this was one ground of their comfort and support , that they gained by their losses ; Their Souls prospered , while their Bodies wasted ; what they lost in the outward Man , they gained in the inward Man , and for this cause they fainted not : and wherever this is found by experience , it will be a ground of support and comfort . Now that this truth of God ( so proper and pertinent to my present Condition , which is a perishing of my outward Man ) may be a mean to support and uphold me , to the praise of my God : I have pitcht my thoughts upon it , and humbly begging the gracious assistance of his Holy Spirit , that I may rightly understand the mind of God in it , and rightly apply it to my own Soul , and may find and feel the power of it , and by Faith suck out the sweetness of it , to my support and consolation : now seeing those evil days are come upon me , wherein I may truly say , I have no Pleasure in them ; praying also , that these my Meditations on this Text may be useful to them into whose hands they may sall . The Doctrinal Conclusion I observe from the Won is , That it is the Comfort and the Character ●● truly gracious Persons , that as their outward Ma● doth decay , decline and perish ; so , their inward Man doth revive , increase , and is renewed . Four Things are to be explicated , which wil● fully open the Text , and demonstrate the Propsition . 1. That in Man there are two Parts , an outward and an inward Man ; and what these are . 2. That the outward Man is subject to declining , decaying and perishing ; it cannot be avoided nor prevented , but it must be so : and that the inward Man is capable of increasing , growing , and renewing . 3. That the decaying , decreasing and perishing of the outward Man , in gracious Persons , through the great Goodness and Grace of God , tendeth unto the increasing and renewing of the : inward Man ; and what influence the one hath upon the other to effect the same . 4. That this is the Comfort and the Character of truly gracious Souls . First , that there is an outward Man is obvious to sense : That we have Bodies of flesh and blood and bone is evident enough : This is the Shell , the Carcase , the B●rk of the Man , as I may say ; but there is an inner Man also , which every body doth not believe ; for too many live and walk in so much care and fear , with so much sollicitousness about the outward Man , the Body , and the provisions and accommodations of it , that the inner man is totally neglected ; whose whole care is for the Body , as if they had no Souls at all to mind or care for : And oh ! that God would pardon and purge this guilt from my Soul through Christ's blood ; but we must know there is an inner Man also 〈…〉 . ● . 22. Ephes . 3. 16. And the Scripture speake● Wisdom in the inner parts , Job 38. 36. And of truth in the inward parts , Psal . 51. 6. and God promiseth to write his Law in the inner 〈…〉 . 31. 32. This inner Man , is the Man of the Man , the Kernel , the Jewel , the Treasure . But more particularly , By the outward Man , I understand the Lady , and all the concernments and accommodations thereof ; all that tends to the preservation and conveniences of it : Animal-life , Livelyhood , Bodily , Endowments and Comforts ; Health , Strength , Beauty , Ease , Liberty , Friends , Relations , Estate , and whatsoever tends to the outward Wellfare of the Body ; Food , Physick , Recreation , Rest , &c. By the inner Man , I understand the Soul and all its faculties , the Spiritual , in visible part of Man , and all the concernments and accommodations of it ; and all that conduceth to the Life and Livelyhood of the Soul ; to the Preservation , Health , Strength , Safety , Liberty and Advantage of it ; all its Graces and Comforts ; all that belongs to the inner Man , to its Being , and well-being . As for the Qualities of both , they are these . 1. As for the Body , simply and singly considered for the flesh and blood , the Scripture gives us many Epithetes of it : as , Houses of Clay , Earthly Tabernacles , Dust and Ashes , earthen vessels , &c. And these Bodies are . 1. Vile bodies . Phil. 3. 21. because made of vile and base materials ; subject to vile diseases ; to vile abuses ; to vile abominations ; and to a vile dissolution at last ; sowen indishonour , shall end in Corruption ; great hinderances to the Soul many waies . 2. The outward Man is the mortal Man , that of Necessity must dye and return to dust , from whence it came ; this cannot possibly live alway : There is an irreversible Sentence of Death past upon it Hebr. 9. 27. and for these reasons , the Body is the worst part of Man ; the worst by far ; and should be least esteemed : and such as is the Body , even such are all bodily Comforts and Accommodations ; Health , Strength , Beauty , Liberty , Friends , Honours , Estate , &c. all mortal , mutable , decaying , fading , dying things : daily experience confirmeth this : I need say no more . 2. But for the inner Man , the Soul , that is 1. Precious ; so precious , that it is more worth than all the World. Math. 16. 26. Psal . 49. 8. having the blessed Image of the glorious God stamped on it at first ; being capable of knowing and injoying the true and living God ; and when sin had spoil'd and captivated it , it could not be redeemed , but by the precious Blood of the Son of God. So are all the Concernments of the Soul precious also . 2. It is immortal also ; it never dies , it lives for ever : None can , nothing can kill the Soul ; that is , cause it not to be : and for these reasons , it is the noblest , chiefest and best part of Man ; and hence also the Concernments of the Soul are more excellent , more noble and precious than those of the outward Man ; the Graces and Comforts , the Strength and Beauty of the Soul ; the Priviledges , and Peace , and Wellfare of the Soul are more excellent and precious , as will more appear in the next particular . 2. The second thing to be considered is , That the outward Man is subject to decline and perish . The Body it self ; all its Beauty , Strength , Health , &c. is subject to decay . The Bodies , even of the best Saints , that shall one day be made like unto Christ's glorious Body , are subject to vile Infirmities and Diseases . What is become of Sampson's Strength , and Saul's Beauty ? Job and David will tell us of their decays in all these ; their Friends , Estates , Relations ; their Health , and all their outward Comforts failed them ; and how can we possibly hope , that we shall keep them ? All outward things are dying Vanities ; we are all of us travelling to the Land of forgetfulness . They that live longest , go the farthest way about ; and they that dye soonest , g● the shortest way home . Our greatest Care should be , to be sure , that we are in the right way to Eternal Life . But now , the inner Man is capable of growing increasing and renewing ; our inner Man is renewe● day by day , saith the Text : Grace and Peace , Spiritual Life , inward Strength and Comfort , are capable of increasing . For 1. This God commandeth ; That Christian should grow and increase , 2. Pet. 1. 5. and 3. 1● and that they should abound and go forward , and be strengthned . 2. This is God's Promise to his People ; that they shall grow and flourish , Psal . 92. 14. Isa . 14. 40. 29 , 30 , 31. They that wait on the Lor● shall renew their strength . 3. This is the Character of a gracious Soul Prov. 4. 18. and 24. 5. Coll. 1. 10. and 2. 1● Eph. 4. 16. And this the Apostle prays for 1 Thess . 3. 12. and 4. 16. 3 Epist . John● This the Soul is capable of ; being deformed i● sin , and God's Image defaced on it , it is capable of being renewed , and of having God's blesse Image repaired on it ; which is begun in Regeneration , and is still carried on , and promoted ●● God 's Ordinances and his Providences , his Spi● working in them , and with them upon his People All afflictions being intended for , and sanctifie unto this end ; to make Souls more and more 〈◊〉 unto Jesus Christ . Those weaknings and pershings of the outward Man , being , by the love at wisdome of God , designed to strengthen , repair and better the inner Man ; that the Soul may b● made , and must be made more holy , more humble , more heavenly , more like God : it must group in all things like unto Christ ; Ephes . 4. 12 , 13. The Soul , the inner Man , may , and must get more strength against Corruption and Temptation ; it must get more Victory over the World , and over it self ; it must grow in self-denyal , in faith , in patience , in hope , in Communion with God ; it must increase in knowledge and experience ; it must get nearer God ; and more weaned from the World , and better prepared to put off this earthly Tabernacle of the Body : Wherefore is the Christian train'd up in Christ's Schools , his School of Ordinances , and of Providences ; but that the Soul , the inner Man , may be made better ? That Grace may grow ; for it is the Growth of Grace , that evidenceth the Truth of it . And why doth our heavenly Father chastise us in our outward Comforts , but to better us in our inward Man. But , before I proceed , let me pause a little , and commune with my own heart : O my Soul ! Thou hast been under the blastings and witherings of thy outward Man ; these many years thou hast been in the School of Correction : Thy God hath made many breaches upon thy earthly Comforts ; stript thee of thy dearest Relations , of thy Liberty , of thy Estate , of opportunities of serving thy God in thy place ; deprived thee of thy Health and Strength , &c. yet hath he dealt with thee , infinitely better than thy Sins have deserved . It is his mercy thou art not consumed ; not in Hell , not in thy Grave : but O my Soul ! what art thou the better for all those stroaks upon thy outward Man ? What hast thou gained by all thy losses ? It is true , Afflictions are dry Rods , and my heart , a dead heart ; there can be no blossoms , nor fruit , without God's Blessing , and the Word and Spirit 's working in and by Affliction : but what blessing upon all thy troubles canst thou discern ? What good to the inner Man have these afflictions done thee ? Art thou more sensible of the evil of Sin ? more weary of it , and more grieved with it ? Is thy Heart more tender , thy Spirit more humble , thy will more subdued to Gods will ? Art thou more Crucified to the Creature ; thy inordinate Affections mortified ; thy unruly Passions subdued ? Art thou more meek and patient ? Are thy Affections raised , and more inlarged after God , and Christ , and Heaven ? Is Jesus Christ more precious to thee ? And dost thou pant and thirst more after the manifestations of his Love to thy Soul ? Art thou more watchful over thy thoughts , words and actions ? More careful to please God , more fearful to displease him ? More tender of his Honour ? More sensible of the Afflictions of Joseph ? More diligent in holy Duties ? More frequent in Self examination , in heavenly Meditation , in heavenly discourse ? Art thou , O my Soul , ashamed of , and grieved for thy former Miscarriages , thy mis-spending time , Breath , Liberty , Strength ? &c. More diligent in preparing for thy Dissolution ; and more contented with thy present Condition ? Dost thou endeavour now to go to the Fountain for all Supplies ? And dost thou labour with all thy might , in the strength of God , to make up all thy losses and breaches in God , and in his Covenant through Christ ? Dost thou prize the promises , and labourest to live upon them by Faith ? Is God and Christ more in thy thoughts and affections than heretofore ? And dost thou labour to get out the blessing of thy Afflictions , and art most earnest with God for the blessing ? Dost thou labour to cast all thy care upon God , and to trust him with all ? If any of these things appears , let God have all the Glory ; and blessed be God for any weak desires after these sweet Fruits . Deny not what God hath done for thee ; but be ashamed and grieved , that thou art no better : Cry to God mightily , wrestle with him for his blessing upon thy afflictions . 3. The third Particular is , That the Decaying and Perishing of the outward Man to God's people , tends to the strengthning , the prospering and renewing of the inner Man. The Adversity of the Body proves the Prosperity of the Soul , to all gracious Persons , and to them only . The Soul and Body of a Saint , is like the House of David and Saul ; as the one grows weaker and weaker , the other grows stronger and stronger ; and where it is so , there is good ground of Comfort under all outward troubles ; and where it is not so , there is little ground of Comfort for the present : although , there may be a growing in the Soul , when it is not discerned ; as there is of the Babe in the Womb , and of the Corn in the Earth , under the Clods ; both grow , even when they are not discerned ; but in due time will appear . But more of this afterward . Quest . But how comes this to pass ? What Efficacy and Influence have the perishings of the outward Man , to help forward the increasings of the inward Man ? How the Sicknesses , Pains , Troubles , Losses , Crosses upon the outward Man , should greatly contribute to the Strengthning and Renewing of the inward Man , is the Question ; which great Truth resolved , clearly apprehended , firmly believed and experienced , will tend very much to a poor Christians Consolation . Ans . 1. By the Decays and Witherings of the outward Man , those Hinderances are removed , which did very much obstruct the Growth , Strength and Comfort of the inward Man. When David● outward Man flourished ; When he had his Honour , Health , Ease , Liberty , and the confluence of earthly Comforts about him ; he was weak in his Soul : that lay languishing in sinful Security ; he was so weak in his Soul , that he could not resist the least Temptation ; but was shamefully conquered by the glance of his Eye . Ordinarily , our Souls are in the worst case , when our Bodies are in the bes● case : It is pitty ( we say ) that fair weather should do hurt : yet so it is . The welfare of the outward Man , tends to the ill-fare of the inward Man , without a more than ordinary measure of Grace . For first , Ordinarily , the Prosperity of the outward Man interposeth betwixt God and the Soul and keeps God at a distance from the Soul ; and the Soul at a distance from God : Jesus Christ loves not to lye in their arms , who embrace other Lovers . God will be uppermost , or not at all ; neare the heart , or not at all there . He deserves Best and will have the Best , or will accept of nothing . While the outward Man is fixt on the Creature the inner is not far off from it ; and then it is so in divided from God. 2 Cor. 5. 6. While th● Soul is at home in the Body , it is absent from power Lord ; and the reason is , Because of that power the Body hath upon the Soul , to draw it down t● it self , and even sink it into it self ; and to participate with it . It is hard for a poor Bird to flye u● that hath weights tyed to his feet ; and harder ●● a poor Soul to Mount up , or indeed to move wi●● any speed heaven-ward , that hath such a weigh● of Clay hanging on it . And this made godly Ag● afraid of fulness . Prov. 30. 8 , 9. Usually , Prosperity begets Pride ; and Pride sets us at a distance from God ; God resisteth the proud : he sees the proud afar off . Christians are never so far from God , as when they are nearest to their outward Comforts and Enjoyments . God is then but in few of their thoughts : Now it is the Presence or Absence of God , that makes Summer and Winter in the Soul ; as it is the presence and absence of the Sun that makes Summer and Winter on the Earth . Now , if Prosperity does withdraw our hearts from God , ( as too often it doth ) it causeth God to withdraw from us , ( though we may not find him wanting while earthly Comforts continue with us ) it must needs do us a great deal of hurt ; for if God withdraw or withold the influences of his Grace from us , our Souls must needs be in a sickly and languishing condition ! How weak and feeble must we be , when God doth not continue his Grace to us ? Prosperity lies betwixt God and our Souls ; which we all know by woful Experience : and our God , our gracious Father knows it , and therefore , in tender love to our Souls , many times breaks our outward Prosperity , that our Souls may not be drown'd in it ; and perish by it . 2. Secondly , The welfare of the outward Man hinders the inner Man from that serious , diligent , hearty intent , and Spiritual Service , that it should perform to God : in which the Soul might have had many sweet meetings with God , and many Communications of Love and Grace from him ; which , through the defects of his duties , are suspended from him . Isai . 64. 5. and this must needs tend to the weakning of the Soul. What Strength , Life , Comfort , have God's People found in holy Duties ? How have their Souls been refresht , their Hearts raised , and quickned , and enlarged after God many times ? but then they have been serious , earnest , fervent in Spirit in these Duties . Now in Prosperity , what careless , heartless service do we perform ? How soon weary ? secretly glad when the work is over ? How ready upon the least occasion to neglect a Duty , or an Ordinance ? Not so fearful to dispense with some Service that God calls for ; nor so fearful to draw nigh a Temptation . O , how cold , dead , and heartless are we in Duty ? All this is too true , O my Soul , see it , lament and bewail ; and bless the Lord for time to do it , and bless him more for an heart to do it . What bad service did Manasses do to God ? Or , rather what great service did he do the Devil , when he was in his prosperity ? never minding his God , or his Soul , till his outward man perished . 3ly , It hinders communion with God , which is the very life of gracious Souls , their Heaven upon Earth : Communion with God in holy Ordinances , and holy Duties ; as Prayer , Praises , Meditation , &c. is that which fattens and prospereth the Souls of God's people ; but outward prosperity hinders communion with God in these ; for then , even while outward comforts are present , God , and his company , and presence , are not so much sound wanting , nor so much valued , desired , and panted after , as in a barren Wilderness , where no waters of worldly comforts are , Psalm 64. 1 , 2 , 3. Psalm 42. 1 , 2 , 3. When David was in great straits , stript of his earthly Comforts , bedewed all with Tears ; then his Soul panted after God : when he was in the Valley of Baca , then he looks unto the Mountains of Myrrh , the Garden of Spices , Psalm 84. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4. Is it not so with God's People ? when their Liberty , Friends , Health , Estate , &c. are gone ; then God is sought for , and communion with him , earnestly longed and thirsted for , more than ever ; and then usually most enjoyed . By Acts of Communion with God , Souls converse , commerce , and trade with God , trade in Heaven , and that turns greatly to their advantage : We can never take a Voyage to Heaven by Prayer or Meditation , but it will turn to account first or last ; some gain to our Souls will accrue by every act of communion : We cannot touch Christ by our Faith or Love , but some Vertue will flow from him to our Souls , Psalm 145. 18. God will fulfil the desires of them that fear him : He will satisfie the hungry with good things . Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness . Every groan of a gracious Soul after Grace , every pant and breathing after God in truth , is observed and recorded in Heaven . Mal. 3. 16. A book of remembrance for them that thought upon his Name . O , the transcendent goodness of our most gracious God , to take notice of such poor things ! He will not despise the day of small things : and what an encouragement is this to us , to spend our most serious thoughts on God : But Prosperity in the World , doth stop and interrupt the Soul's converse and trade with God ; by estranging the heart from God and heavenly things , and so it becomes very prejudicial to the prosperity of the inward man. It is very hard for a man to have much of the World in his hands , and much of Heaven in his heart also : to have much converse with , and much enjoyment of Creature-comforts , and to have his Conversation in Heaven too . And when do our Souls thrive and flourish best , but when we are trading above , conversing with God ? Now these great Mischiefs , I have named , to the inner man , are promoted by the prosperity of the outward man ; thus : 1. By making us forgetful of those things that we should necessarily remember , in order to the good of our Souls : Prosperity spoils the Memory exceedingly , as to heavenly and spiritual things , and that in these particulars . Prosperity breeds , 1. Forgetfulness of God , the chief good ; and surely that Soul can never thrive that forgets God , who is the Fountain of all its Life , Grace , and Comfort . The remembrance of God brought sweetness and satisfaction to David's Soul , Psalm 63. 5 , 6. but Prosperity makes us forgetful of God ; Deut. 6. 11 , 12. and Deut. 8. 14 , 19 , 20. Yea , fulness of outward things makes men to deny God ; of which good Agur was afraid , Proverb . 30. 9. 2. Forgetful of their best part , their Souls ; the Soul is then mostly forgotten , when the Body is mostly minded . 3. Forgetful of their Duties to God and Man ; so it was with Pharoah's Butler . 4. Of the Affliction of Joseph , Amos 6. 6. When we our selves are at liberty , how apt are we to forget them that are in Bonds . 5. Of Sin ; that usually is most remembred in time of Affliction , as in Joseph's Brethren . 6. Of God's Word , that is too much forgotten in Prosperity ; the Precepts of God not obeyed , nor the Promises so relished and believed , not Threatnings feared . 7. Prosperity makes us forgetful of Death , Judgment , the World to come , Eternity : The Evil Day is put far off . All these Seven Things should be always remembred by us , and have our frequent Thoughts and Meditations ; for the remembrance of them is very advantageous to the welfare of the inner man , and will tend to the good of our Souls ; but the flourishing of the outward man breeds too much forgetfulness of all these things ; and the forgetfulness of these things , drives us from God , and God from us , keeps us at a distance from him , casts him out of our Minds and Thoughts , makes us unserviceable to him , and hinders our communion with him . 2ly . The flourishing of the outward man begets Pride , Wantonness , Security , Envy , Ambition , Contention , negligence in God's Service , contempt of others , and many hurtful Lusts , Deut. 32. 15. Experience proves this . 3ly . It consumes precious Time and Strength , wastes the Spirits , Thoughts , and Affections , being placed on earthly things , which should all be spent on God principally , and but so much on other things , as may fit us for his Service , and in subordination to him : But while men are contriving how to get , how to manage , how to spend , &c. This fills up their Time , Hearts , Thoughts , Minds , Spirits and all ; so that there is no place nor room left for God , or the concerns of their Souls : Therefore the wife God in great Love and Mercy to the Souls of his People , breaks their outward Prosperity , which otherwise would ruine their Souls , removing those things that hinder the welfare of the Soul ; for when outward Prosperity is gone , then the Soul flies to God , it draws nigh to God. Prosperity kept it at a distance before ; it forgot God before , now it remembers him , seeks God early , serves him diligently : Now it seeks communion with God , pants after his Favour , and the sense of his Love : Now the Soul is awakened and enlightned , and now it remembers God , and it self , and Sion , and its former miscarriages ; it now minds Death and Eternity more seriously than ever , and is more diligent in preparation for them ; and now the Soul that lay languishing and pining before , while the outward man flourished , begins to be in a thriving way ; for these things promote the welfare of the Soul. And this is the first way , how the perishings of the outward man help towards the renewing and strengthning of the inner . Secondly , The Adversity of the outward man promotes the Prosperity of the inner , by being a means of bringing in Light and Conviction into the Soul : Prosperity shuts Men's Eyes , and deafens their Ears ; but vexatio dat visum , Affliction opens Men's Eyes , so that they see what they did not before ; and they see things otherwise than before : dark Dispensations bring Light with them . Afflictions put God's People upon the search . Lamen . 3. 40. Then they retire and look within themselves ; then they find out the filthiness , vanity , frowardness , pride , earthliness of their own hearts , more than ever they saw before ; then they find and feel their Spiritual Wants , Diseases , Dangers , the treachery , falseness , deceitfulness of their own Hearts ; their often grieving , quenching , resisting of God's Spirit in time of Prosperity ; their inordinate Self-love , Flesh-pleasing , and Gratifyings : then they see their former spiritual sloth and negligence , their backwardness to , and weariness in God's Service ; their formality , deadness , customariness in holy Duties ; their impatience of reproof ; their hastiness of Spirit , their want of tenderness towards , and of sympathy with those that were afflicted ; not weeping with those that wept ; their censuring and judging others ; their want of Charity : then they see how badly they improved their healthful and youthful time ; their Talents , and their Enjoyments , with many other Evils are discovered . As also in times of Affliction , there is a discovery of the vanity and emptiness of the Creature : when all Comforts of Life fail ; as Health , Wealth , Friends , Liberty , Estate , &c. then the Soul is convinced of the vanity and uncertainty of all these : The Rod discovers both Heart and Life , and what the Creature is ; And also , then the Souls of God's People come to see the surpassing Excellency of God and Christ , and of the Promises , and of the great Importance of the things of the World to come ; O , now the Soul can prize an Interest in God , and in his Christ and his Covenant : and is hereupon stirred up to mind God more , and Heaven more ; and to bestir it self in the use of all Means , and to get Assurance of an Interest in God. Now all this tends very much to the Welfare of the inner man ; and if we well and wisely consider this Benefit which our merciful Father grants us , by blasting and withering our outward Comforts ; thus to enlighten and convince us of all those things , we shall have cause to Adore and Admire his Goodness towards us , in taking such course with us , and to cry out with Job 7. 17 , 18. What is man that thou shouldest magnifie him ? and that thou shouldest set thy heart upon him ? and that thou shouldest visit him every morning , and try him every moment ? Thirdly , The Adversity of the outward man promotes the Prosperity of the inner man , by taking away the Idols of the Soul , which divided the Soul from God : The best of us are apt to make Idols of every Creature-enjoyment , very apt to let out our Hearts in inordinate Affection to Husbands , Wives , Children , & c. and suffer them to have more of our Hearts , Loves , and Delights , than God and Christ , and Heaven ; over-prizing and over-loving them ; taking too much content in them , and expecting too much from them ; and so make Idols of them ; and then God withdraws his gracious Influences from us , those quickning strengthning , and comfortable Influences of his Spirit from us , and hides his face ; and then our poor Souls languish , and we grow weak and feeble ; so it was with David , Psalm 30. 6 , 7. but this withdrawing of God from us , we do not many time perceive and feel , while our earthly Comfort continue with us ; though our Graces be weak Faith and Love weak , our Passions and Corruptions strong , and are too often too hard for us , and we are carried captive by them ; and although w● decay in spiritual strength , and grow dead in holy Duties , careless and watchless in our Conversations , and want that vigour , spirit , and life , which sometime we had ; which are the effects of the absence of God's Spirit ; that we grow cold in on Affections to heavenly things : I say , these sa● effects of God's withdrawment from us , are no● perceived and felt by us , so long as our bodi●● Comforts continue with us ; but then it pleased our gracious God to send some awakening Providences upon us , he sends Adversity , and remove these our Idols ; and then through God's assisting Grace we come to see our sin , and the fruits of it then we see our folly , in letting out of our Hearts upon the vain Creature , and that then God did withdraw , and that our Souls did wither and languish ; upon which , by the special Grace of God , we lament our folly , beg forgiveness through the blood of Christ ; and the Lord , being gracious and merciful , returns to the Soul again ; and then the Soul begins to recover it self , and to grow better . Fourthly , Adversity is a means of bringing afresh to our Remembrance those particular special Sins which in Prosperity were forgot ; and which , while they lye on us without Repentance , they waste and weaken , hurt and corrupt our Souls . Adversity ( as was said before ) puts God's People upon the search of their Hearts and Lives : now they say unto themselves , what have we done ? now their Spirits do , or should make diligent search ; now they do , or should commune with their own Hearts , and examine their ways , and seek for the plague of their Hearts ; their Dalilah's , their Jonah's , their darling , their beloved Sins , which they did not , or would not see in their Prosperity , nor were willing to be reproved for , but did over-look them , or forgot them , or look'd on them as little ones , and common Infirmities , humane Frailties ; and could study shifts to cover and excuse them : Such as Pride and Passion , inordinate Affection , Unthankfulness , Hypocrisie , Covetousness , Selfishness , vain Thoughts , idle Words , Omissions , Unfaithfulness , breaking Vows and Promises ; Earthly mindedness , Security , hardness of Heart , unprofitableness under the means of Grace , and many other Heart-evils that scarce appear in time of Prosperity ; that in time of trouble upon a through search we may find out ; as our Unbelief , want of love to God and Christ , want of love to God's Word , insensibleness of Sin , and want of hatred to it ; want of fervent Charity to others ; with many others : which upon a consciencious search , and by the help of God's Spirit , we shall find out in our selves , which lay hid in us , corroding and putrifying our poor Souls , which were never so heartily confess'd and lamented as they should . But when the Spirit and the Word comes with Affliction , there is a discovery made of those lurking Lusts , the filthy corners of our false Hearts opened ; and every gracious Soul is willing to be convinced of every sin , and begs God heartily to search him , and to rip him up , and to shew him all the Evils of his Heart and Life , with all their aggravating Circumstances , being committed against much Love and Light , against Conscience , Conviction , Resolution ; after many Confessions of them before the Lord ; and many times those Sins are brought to remembrance , which were quite forgotten ; as sins of Youth , fleshly Lusts , excess in Meat , Drink , Apparel ; Disobedience to Parents , mispending Time , foolish jesting , rash Anger , sinful Silence Cowardize in God's Cause , neglect of Reproof ; neglect of relational Duties ; Sabbath-sins , with multitudes of others , which will appear upon a diligent search ; many omissions of Spiritual Duties ; as Heavenly Meditations , Self-examination self-denial , Watchfulness ; all which the gracious Soul being convinced of , repents of , mourns for before the Lord ; and by Faith in the blood of Jesus , obtains Pardon of them , and by the Spirit of Jesus obtains power against them ; and so the Soul being pardoned and healed , recovers , and is renewed day by day ; whereas before it lay pining and la●●●ithing : this blessed fruit is produced by the blessing of our most gracious God , upon the perishings and wastings of our outward man. Fifthly , By disingaging and weaning the Hearts of God's People from all the things of this World , mortifying and crucifying their Affections to things below ; drawing off the Heart from Creature-comforts , weaning the Soul from those dry Breasts . In Prosperity , the best of us think little on Mortification , and on crucifying the Flesh , with the Affections and Lusts of it ; although the very Life and power of true Christianity lies in these ; as Rom. 8. 13. Galat. 5. 24. but then we are for pleasing and gratifying the flesh . Oh , how tender are we of our flesh , and how loth to be cross'd ? how deeply are our Affections engaged to the Vanities of the World ? how do our Hearts cleave and cling to the Creature , even as our Skin to our Body ? how seldom do we think seriously of parting with our Relations , our Health , &c. or of putting off our earthly Tabernacles , and of our ●ying down our Heads in the dark Grave ? How are we afraid of Dangers to our outward man , and troubled at evil tydings ? how thoughtfully careful to preserve our Creature-comforts with us , not taking so much care to en●oy God in them , and to enjoy them for God , as to enjoy them our selves , and for our selves ? How ●ear do they lie to our Hearts ? Now our loving Father seeing all this , he takes it very ill at our ●ands , that the Creature should be so near and ●ear to us , and have so much room in our Hearts ; and therefore in love to our Souls , blasts and wastes these our Comforts , to draw off our Hearts from them , that we may not set our Affections upon them . Sixthly , The perishing of the outward man furthers the flourishings of the inward man , not only by bringing our Sins to our remembrance , ( as was shewed but now ) but also as being a means of God's appointment and blessing , both to purge away Sin past , and to prevent Sin for the future ; as Isa . 27. 9. the Lord speaking of Afflictions there , upon the Church , saith , By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged ; and this is all the fruit , to take away his Sin. O blessed design of our good and gracious God : O blessed fruit . So Job 33. 17 , 18. To withdraw man from his purpose , and to hide Pride from Man. Are not many of God's People sensible of this ? how that be their Afflictions they have been kept from many Sins that without their Afflictions , they ha●● been liable to have fallen into and committed Surely they will acknowledge it , and give Go● thanks . Sin is the Sickness and plague of the Sou● which corrupts the Spirit , wounds the Conscience weakneth Grace : now in time of Prosperity , whe● there is no Plague nor Sickness in Town or Cou●try , but all things belonging to the outward m●● flourish , even then , is the very Air most spiritual infectious , and most places then , and most peoples breath then most infectious ; then the con●gion of Sin spreads most : let a man then go in what place he will , into what Company almost I will , his Soul is in danger of Infection by Si● what Contentions , Pride , Envy , Censuring , Bad biting , unjust Dealing , and at best , but vain , idi● unprofitable Discourse is to be heard among most and how little of promoting the power of Godliness , or mutual edification : Now , in such a time the poor Soul gets falls and wounds , gets many a disease and Spiritual distemper ; which it perceives not : now it gathers much Rust , much Dross ; and it may carry the infection of sin a long time , and is weakned and wasted by it ; which , it may be , others see by him more than himself ; his Passions and Corruptions get ground upon him , and he pines day by day : he grows more worldly , froward , proud , &c. and yet perceives it not ; and thus the inner Man is much damnified , by the advantages of the outward . All this , the wise God seeth and observeth , and out of his pity and tender compassion to the precious Souls of his poor Servants ; seeing them thus captivated by their Corruptions , and diseased with so many spiritual Distempers , and that they stand in great need of Physick , lest they should perish , thinks fit to break their worldly prosperity , to give them the bitter purge of affliction ; to cast them into the Furnace , that they may be purified and purged , and so recovered and saved . Zachar. 13. 9. Thus God ordereth the fire of affliction as a means to cleanse and purify his people from their filthiness , and to make them pure and white . Dan. 11. 35. Seventhly , By exercising the Graces of God's people , which in time of their prosperity , were as it were laid asleep , and for want of use and exercise did decay , and scarce appear : for , it is not Grace ●n the habit , that doth so much comfort the Soul , ●s Grace in exercise : now , Adversity serves to draw ●ut Grace into act and exercise ; as Faith , Repentance , Hope , Patience , and other Graces : now if ever , the Christian labours to put forth his faith on God in Christ ; and on the Covenant and Promises : Oh! now , God and Christ , and the Covenant and the promises signify something indeed to the Soul ; to these , the poor Soul now flies , as it was with Micah , 7. 7. When all outward Comforts failed , then he acted his Faith , Hope and Patience . I will look unto God , I will wait for the God of my Salvation , my God will hear me . So Habb . 3. 17. 18. Then also , God's People renew their Repentance search their Hearts and Ways , and turn to God , as Ephraem , Jerem. 31. 18 , 19. And then they act their Hope upon the promises of future Glory ; and then their Patience appears , and stand● them in great stead ; and their tender-heartedness , their love to God , his Word and People ; their contempt of the World ; yea , every Grace is exercised mostly in time of affliction : and this is the rare and special excellency of true Grace , that ● thrives most and prospers best in the worst time for the most part : Grace is strengthned and fa●ned , when sensible Comforts are withered an● starved ; and thus the inner man is renewed , whe● the outward doth decay and perish . Eightly , The perishings of the outward Man he , forward the flourishing of the inward , by makit room and place , and preparation in the Souls o● God's People , for the gracious Communications Spiritual Mercies to them : as is evident from tha● Scripture , Hos . 2. 6. and 14 compared . The●● Creature-enjoyments stood in the way before , fill● up all the room in the Hearts ; now these must b● removed , to make way for better Mercies ; the too-well-beloved guests must be discarded , that th● King of Glory may come in . Other lovers had th● heart before , these must be divorced , that th● Lord Jesus may the more fully and sweetly manifest his love to the Souls of his people : See Mr. Burr . on the Second of Hos . Verse 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13. There are many heavy Judgments threatned ; the taking away all the Comforts of the outward Man : Where , we may note God's absolute Soveraignty over all our enjoyments , and his propriety in them all : So Ezek. 16. 18 , 21. All we have is the Lord's ; and his gracious , sweet and blessed ends and purposes in threatning and executing those terrible things , and that is wonderful ; as Verse 14. Therefore , Behold , I will allure her , and bring her into the Wilderness , and speak comfortably to her . It was to make way for the communications of glorious Mercies . The gracious God hath gracious Ends , in all his taking Providences towards his poor people ; to make the wastings , fadings , totterings , perishings of their outward Man , to prove helpful to the increasing , prospering and flourishing of the inner Man. Outward Takings make way for inward Givings : I will take away ( saith God ) all her Lovers , dry up all her Cisterns , that I may open to her the Fountain . I will strip her naked of all her outward Comforts , that I may speak comfortably to her Soul : Now I will allure her ; now I have brought her into the Wilderness ; now my poor peoples hearts are taken off from the Creature , I will see now to win them to my self . I may now win their love and gain their hearts to me , seeing they are stript of the earthly comforts . O what support should this be to God's afflicted People , O , that we could believe it and improve it ; that God's design in all his takings from us , is but to make way , that he may bestow greater and better Mercies upon us : This Argument our Lord used to comfort his Disciples with , John 16. 6 , 7. Of all earthly Comforts , the bodily presence of Christ with his Disciples was the best ; yet , he tells them , he must leave them , and withal assures then for their comfort , that it was for their advantage , and that it was expedient for them that he should leave them , that the Comforter might come , which should abundantly supply his absence ; and who would not come to them , if he did not go away . This would be enough to quiet and comfort ●● in all sinking providences , that these takings an intended to make way for the giving of Spiritu●● Mercies , if our unbelief , distrust , despondenc● and impatience do not hinder . Oh , could we but drink in this truth , and firmly believe it , that God's takings from us , are i● order to his givings to us ; as God took from Davi● an Infant begot in Adultery , and gave him Solomon in its room ; and that his Castings of ● down , are in order to his Raisings of us up ; h● witherings of our outward intended for the rene●ings of our inner ; how patiently and comfortabl● should we bear our troubles ; yea , and how fervently should we pray , that God would bring pass all those his gracious purposes upon o● Souls . I shall conclude this particular by setting dow● an Instance of our times , which I had from a Person of Quality and Honesty ; tho' I never use ● record Reports , but this , upon the credit of t● relator , I shall for once , and it is very remarkable . There was some years since , in London , a ve●● Godly Gentleman and his Wife , who had a ve●● fair Estate , both of them very zealous professors Religion ; eminent for Piety and Charity ; who had lived together many years , but had never a Child , which they much desired , and often sought the Lord to build their Family for them ; and at last , God was pleased to give them a Son , to their great joy ; which lived and grew up to be three or four Years Old , exceeding fair and witty , very delightful and pleasant , tractable and teachable ; and they having but this one Child , their affections were much set upon him ; and likely too much : The Husband and Wife lived exceeding lovingly together , insomuch that many observed their sweet Carriage to each other ; he being of a lovely disposition , and every way well bred , and a Man of good Parts , and of an Holy Life ; so amiable and tender to his Wife , that her Life was even bound up in his : In the midst and height of this their Prosperity , the Gentleman fails Sick and Dies ; which was so heavy a stroak to his poor Wife , that she could not bear up under it : her Spirit sinks , and she refused to be comforted : many Prayers were put up to God for her in the publick Congregations ; and many pious Ministers and godly Friends visited her , to Comfort her , but to no purpose ; for she had no regard to her self , or did care to Eat or Drink , but for meer necessity , but would sit in the Chimney-corner all day , sighing and weeping , and hanging downher head , seldom giving an answer to any body : Upon a certain day , some godly Ministers with Christian Friends by agreement , met at her House to Fast and Pray , and seek God for her ; and it came to pass , that after they had ended their work , walking up and down where this disconsolate Widow was ; her lovely Child playing there in the Room , ( of whom she took no noice ) had got a Joint-steel ; and carrying it up and down , at last he turns the Stool upside down , and immediately fell or thrust himself into it , no Person present knew how ; but the Stool and the Child overturning together , the Childs head being downward , he brake his Neck ; they sent presently for Physicians and Chirurgeons , but the Child died presently ; and no means would avail at all , to get so much as one breath from him ; which was most amazing and astonishing to all the beholders ; the Chamber being then full : The poor Mother sat there all this while in her usual posture , but when she saw her Child was really dead , she arose up , and before them all , uttered these words , or words to this purpose ; most of them are the very words : O! blessed Jesus , will nothing please thee but the heart of thy poor Creature ; and the whole heart , and the whole love ; now take it , Lord ; take it , thou hast won it , thou art worthy of it , I give thee my whole heart ; Lord , take it , take it , fill it with thy Love , and possess it for ever . And from that very moment , she was filled with joy and comfort , and walked very chearfully and comfortably several Months , even until God took her unto himself . Here we see the truth of what I have been treating of ; the Lord made the blastings and breakings of her outward Man the means of refreshing and comforting her inner . I should not have set this down , but that I depend upon the Credit of the Relator . O Lord ! how unsearchable are thy Judgments , and thy ways past finding out ! 4. The last particular proposed , was , that , for a Christian to be renewed in the inner Man when the outward Man doth decay and perish , is the Character and Comfort of gracious Persons . That it is their Character , appears , because the contrary is true of wicked Persons ; they are curs'd in Soul , when cross'd in Body ; their outward perishings prove inward perishings also ; for then , usually they murmur and repine ; fret against God and Instruments ; then , they think of sinful shifts and unlawful means to get out of trouble ; when their outward Man is hurt by affliction , they hurt their Souls by sin ; by impatience and discontent , as that wicked King , who said , what , shall I wait upon God any longer ? but now we find the servants of the Lord , as Eli , David , Job , Micah , Habakkuk and others , when their outward comforts failed them , then they submitted to the will of God , fled to him for supplies , trusted in him , and so by the exercise of their Faith and Patience , their Souls were supported and strengthned . David expressly confesseth that it was good for him , that is , for his Soul , his inner Man , that he was afflicted . Psal . 119. 71. And in the Text , we have the attestation of the Apostle and Primitive Christians . And this is the comfort also of God's People , that their greatest outward evils , through the goodness and blessing of God , turn to their greatest inward good : and this makes them rejoyce in afflictions , and glory in tribulations ; as Rom. 5. 2. to wit , because of the Spiritual benefit they receive by afflictions , and upon this very ground , God gives that command , Heb. 12. 12. Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down : that is , therefore be comforted and encouraged . Therefore , wherefore ? because of the great profit and sweet fruits of God's chastnings upon his People : Therefore lift up the hands that hang down . As it is a comfort to a Man that hath a Wound in his Body , to have his Cloths torn off , that so his wound may be healed ; so it is to have the diseases of our Souls cured , tho' our outward comforts be rent and torn from us . The Application . I. For Information . First , Hence it appears , that there is a great difference between the Godly and Ungodly , in reference to afflictions , between the upright and the hypocrite : The godly are the better , the wicked are the worse for affliction . The godly Man gains in his inner Man , by his losses in his outward Man but the wicked in their afflictions commit more wickedness , and their Corruptions break out more to the ruine of their Souls : The Righteous holdeth on his way , altho' Briers and Thorns , yea , Lyons be in his way , that tear and spoil all his outward Comforts ; and he that hath clean Hand and a clean Heart , groweth stronger and stronger even when his outward Man grows weaker and weaker : Job 17. 9. The wicked in affliction are like the troubled Sea , that casts up nothing but mi●● and dirt . Isa . 57. 20. Secondly , That an afflicted godly Person is in a far better case than an afflicted wicked Person , th● the affliction be of the same kind , measure and degree ; because an afflicted godly Person hath fa● better grounds of Comfort than the other ; forth godly Man may be confident that his affliction o● his outward Man , shall tend to the good of his Soul but the ungodly hath ground enough to fear , that he shall be the worse for his affliction : the wicked shall grow worse and worse . Tho' all things may happen alike to all , as to outward afflictions ; yet the godly have the best on 't upon this account , that their outward afflictions shall tend to their Inward , Spiritual and Eternal Good : O , happy are the People that are in such a case , that no Winds can blow amiss to them ; but that all the cross and contrary winds that they meet with , upon the Stormy Sea of this World , shall but further them in their Passage , and hasten them to their Harbour in Heaven . Blessed be the Lord our God : Amen . Thirdly , Then , a gracious person hath more and better ground of Patience , quietness and Contentation under all his afflictions than a wicked Person hath ; because every gracious Person hath good ground to hope , believe and conclude , that , his good God is doing him good , doing his Soul good , by all the troubles on his outward Man ; and having ground to hope , believe and conclude so , he hath good ground of Patience and Contentation . Now a Child of God hath good ground to hope , believe and conclude so ; because he hath the faithful word of the true and faithful God , for to ground his Hope and Faith upon ; who hath said , that all things shall work together for good to his People : if all things , then afflictions ; Rom. 8. 28. And that all things are theirs ; 1 Cor. 3. 22 , 23. things present , all their present sufferings and troubles are theirs ; that is , shall work for their Spiritual good : and God's word tells us expresly , Hebr. 12. 10. that all our chastisements are for our profit , our greatest profit ; namely , to make us partakers of God's Holiness ; to purge away our Sins , Isa . 27. 9. to make us conformable to Christ : and to fit and prepare us for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory , 2. Cor. 4. 17. Here we have a sure word of Promise ; the God of Truth , who cannot Lye , the Almighty God , ( who is able to perform his promises ; which promises flow from his everlasting Love and unsearchable goodness & mercy , and are founded in the full satisfaction of Jesus Christ , in whom they are made , and through whom they shall be fulfilled ; to assure us of the truth of them . ) I say the Almighty God hath engaged his word , that all the sufferings of his Children shall work for the good of their Souls ; which is a most firm ground of Patience , Contentation and Consolation to them . When I can believe and be perswaded in my Soul , that all my afflictions shall promote the welfare of my Soul , I have all the reason in the World to be patient and content under them : Our great care must be to look to this , that we be the Heirs of the Promises ; and if we be in Christ , really united to Christ , grafted into him , made partakers of his Spirit , Life , and Grace ; then are we the Heirs of the Promises , Hebr. 6. 17 , 18. Gal. 3. last : and we being the Heirs of the promises , we have grounds of Patience , because God hath promised all shall work for our good : and then next , that we may be able with patience to bear our afflictions , we must labour to keep these promises still in our eyes , looking to them , and to the love , goodness , faithfulness and all-sufficiency of God in them , and looking unto Jesus , through whose satisfaction and mediation they come to us , and labouring to keep our Eyes , the Eyes of Faith and Hope , fixed on those promises , trusting in God , and relying upon him ; and so shall we be able in our Patience to possess our Souls : and Patience will do us great service in affliction , for altho' it cannot keep us from misery , it will keep us from being miserable : for we can never be miserable , so long as we have an interest in Christ , and through him , in the promises . Now Faith in the promises is both the breeder and feeder of Patience , let Faith live , and Patience will not dye : let Faith be present , and Patience will not be absent ; and through Faith and Patience we shall inherit the promises . Oh , then , let us labour to live by Faith , and strive to keep up our ●aith in Act and Exercise ; and in special , upon the real Spiritual Good , that our good God will bring to our inner Man , by the decays and perishings of our outward , he having promised so to do , and he being faithful who hath promised ; and let us also labour to live in hopes and expectations of that good , praying also constantly for increase of our Faith and Hope , so shall we be able with Patience to endure to the end , and be saved . Certainly it is every ones concernment , to know and consider , that Man consists of two Parts , the inner and outer Man , and which of the two is best , and ought to be most minded , and principally looked after ? for most live , as if they had Bodies only , and no Souls ; or , if they have Souls , that they need not much minding , but say , they leave the care of them to God : whereas indeed , it is the welfare , the safety and salvation of our Souls , that we all should be most solicious about . What shall it profit a Man ( saith our Saviour ) if he gain the whole World , and ●ose his own Soul ? Sin is the Disease of the Soul , and Holiness the health of the Soul , and afflictions are God's Physick to effect this Cure by ; surely then , we had better take the Physick , the Remedy , tho' it make us sick , than keep our Disease , which will make us Die , and that eternally : the Remedy is better than the Disease . So that when our merciful Father , the only wise God , sees , that the blastings and breakings of our outward Comforts , are proper means to keep us from , and to purge from 〈…〉 Spiritual Diseases , our sins , which not purged would destroy our inner Man , our Souls ; and therefore useth this means , what cause have we to endeavour in God's strength , patiently , quietly and comfortably , to bear all our breaches and perishings of our outward Man ? yea , and to praise and bless the Lord , that he will take this course with us , thus to chasten us here in this World , that we may not be condemned with the World hereafter : 1 Cor. 11. 32. Fourthly , It follows also from the Premises , that wicked Men are fools , very fools , yea , mad fools and cruel to their own Souls , because all their ca●● is for their Bodies , and none at all for their Souls , they provide for the Servant , but neglect the Master ; provide for the Horse , but forget the Rider : Eccl. 10. 7. We have seen , how little care God takes of the outward Man , but beats and break that many times , that he may secure and preserve the inner Man of his People . And also wicked Men are cruel to their own Souls Prov. 8. 36. He that sinneth against God , wrongeth his own Soul. Is it not a madness , carefully to preserve the Box , but lose the Jewel ? to spend precious time , strength , thoughts , cares , pains , all Mans days , in feeding , cloathing , preserving the outward Man ; but let the poor Soul starve , perist and be eternally lost ? if there be any cruelty out● Hell , this is a great piece of it . Fifthly , It follows also , that the continuance o● outward Comforts is not to be expected . The● will be witherings , decays , perishings of our ou●ward Man ; it cannot be avoided : our health at ease , and peace , will not abide always with us our dearest Relations must bid us farewel , this on earthly Tabernacle must shortly be put off ; w● cannot live always : all things here are mutable and changeable ; we see this by experience ever● moment : our pleasant and lovely Companions in the flesh , our dearest friends in Christ ; our Yoak-fellows , the desires of our Eyes , the comforts of our lives ; they and we must part . Psal . 39. 6. This fully believed , and seriously considered , would unglue our affections from these things , and prepare us to part with them ; that our parting with them be not so grievous to us , as usually it is . Could we use these things as we do our Gloves on our Hands , which we can with ease pluck off ; and not as the skin on our Hands , which cannot be pulled off but with much pain and smart . It were good wisdom for us often to look on all our earthly comforts , as things that we cannot long enjoy ; as things that we must needs shortly part with ; this my health , my estate , my ease , my relations , I must part with , and I know not how soon , a parting time must come : This Soul and Body must part , and to keep such thoughts in our minds , and often to consider of it , would help to moderate our affections to them while we enjoy them , and to imploy them for God , and also it would prevent our immoderate sorrow for the loss of them , because we expected such losses , and made account of them before they came : but we are too often surprised , and therefore too often overcome with sorrow . Sixthly , It follows from the premises , that the Servants of God have no true cause or reason to be discouraged , disquieted or dejected , when their outward Man perisheth , their outward Comforts wither , their old House begins to totter and decay ; because by all these witherings and perishings of their outward Man , their inner Man is renewed day by day ; and therefore , no cause of fainting . Such as know , that is , are assured by Faith , that when this their earthly Tabernacle shall be dissolved , that they have a building with God , an House not made with hands , eternal in the Heavens , such will not be troubled when their Houses of Clay begin to totter ; no , but rather , they groan earnestly to be cloathed upon with their House which is from Heaven . 2 Cor. 5. 1 , 2 , 3. And that God's Servants may thus be willing to put off their earthly Tabernacles , and exchange them for Heavenly Houses . God is working upon them , and in them , this willingness , as Verse 5 , by his Spirit , his Word , and by his Chastisements , breaking and blafting their earthly Comforts , weakning their bodies , to make them willing to leave them , and to long for those everlasting habitations , which their dear Lord hath prepared for them ; John 14. 1 , 2 , 3. And for the more effectual working of God's People to this willingness , he gives unto them the earnest of the Spirit , which is the earnest of their Inheritance , untill the Redemption of the purchased Possession , Eph. 1. 13 , 14. and Rom. 8. 23. We which have received the First-fruits of the Spirit groan within our selves , waiting for the Adoption , to wit , the Redemption of our Bodies . Now this Earnest or First-fruits of the Spirit , which in some measure God gives to all his people here in this life , to prepare them for Glory , is called also the Seal of the Spirit , Ephes . 1. 13. After ye believed , ye were sealed . Now , this Seal of the Spirit , I take to be , the saving Works , Graces and Fruits of the Spirit in us ; as the Work of true and sound illumination , true Conviction of our Sin and Misery , and of the Creatures Vanity ; of our own impotency and utter insufficiency to help 〈…〉 our selves ; and of Christ's Excellency , All-sufficiency and willingness to save all such as come unto him , and are heartily willing to take him for their onely Lord and Saviour ; all this is the work of the Spirit : As also , sound Conversion from all Sin unto God , as the chief good ; the Spirit enabling the Soul to repent and turn to God ; and also working in the Soul the Grace of Faith , enabling it to come to Christ , to receive him , accept of him , rest upon him , and to resign it self up sincerely to him and to his Government , by his Word and Spirit . The Spirit works Sanctification in the Soul , destroying the old corrupt Principles of Nature , and implanting new Principles of spiritual Life , making it partaker of the Divine Nature ; mortifying in it the lusts of the flesh , and quickning it to newness of life ; repairing the Image of God upon it , and working all those other Graces , which are the Conditions of Pardon and Justification ; as true love to God and Christ , to his Word and People ; true Fear of God , sorrow for , and hatred of Sin ; producing those Fruits mentioned , Galat. 5. 22 , 23. as Patience , Meekness , Humility , and the like . Also the Spirit helps the Soul to act those Graces , and to perform those Duties required of us , in order to our Salvation : It guides and leads , and teacheth us , helps our Infirmities , teacheth us to pray , and carrieth on the whole work of Sanctification in us . And this I take to be the Seal of the Spirit ; when those saving Impressions and Habits of Grace and Holiness are wrought in and upon the Soul , whereby the Soul is made in some measure like unto Christ Jesus , being by the Spirit united to him , planted and grafted in him , and by vertue of its union with him , made partakers of his Life and Grace , whereby it lives and grows , until it come to the State of Perfection in the other World. This Spirit thus savingly working , is God's Seal upon our Hearts , the Seal of his everlasting love to our Souls , and of his everlasting Covenant which he hath entred into with us , which he will never deface or blot out ; and it is also the Earnest of our Inheritance ; that thereby we may confidently conclude to our great comfort , that , as sure as he hath given us his Spirit , thus savingly to work in us those gracious Works , this gracious Change , this true Repentance , and Faith and Love , and Holiness , and other Graces ; even so sure he will give us the Inheritance in Heaven at last : as surely as he hath sanctified us , so surely he hath justified us , and will glorifie us : For this is the Seal , this is the Earnest . And upon this account saith the Apostle , Having this Seal , this Earnest , this comfortable Assurance of a better state , and of a better life after this , we groan earnestly to be clothed upon with our house which is from Heaven ; That we may possess that glorious purchased Inheritance , of which we now have the earnest ; we long to enjoy the full Harvest , of which we have received the First-fruits , and consequently , we that have received these First-fruits , this blessed Earnest ; have no cause to be troubled or disquieted , when these our earthly Tabernacles begin to decay and perish ; because we are wrought by God's Spirit for a better state ; and , as was said , not only the Spirit of God worketh this willingness to die , by working those Graces in the Soul , as you see ; but also accompanying Afflictions , and blessing them , to crucifie our Affections to earthly things , and helps to Holiness in order to our eternal Happiness ; and therefore also ought the more patiently to be endured . Seventhly , Then it is the chiefest wisdom in the World , for every one of us to labour to become real Saints , to get into a state of saving Grace ; and often to search and try our selves , and never to give over searching and trying , until we come to some well-grounded Assurance , That we are indeed truly Regenerated , and that we have a real Interest in Jesus Christ ; for this Assurance may be attained , and we are commanded to give all diligence to attain it , 2 Pet. 1. 10. It is not bare wishes or desires will serve the turn , but we must labour and strive after it , and be much in self-examination , 2 Cor. 13. 5. How is it possible we can have any true comfort living or dying , if we have no Assurance of a better Life ; and so long as we know not whether we shall go to Heaven or Hell when we die : We all have been too negligent in labouring after this Assurance ; let us lament it , and let us all now begin to bestir our selves , and in God's strength lay out our utmost care and pains in the use of all means to get the clear evidences of our peace with God , and that we are in a pardoned and reconciled state ; for upon this Assurance , we shall have this Advantage above all others , that we shall not be troubled nor much disquieted , when our outward man doth decay and perish , our earthly comforts fail us , our bodily Members wither ; because all these decays and wastings do but make way , and prepare us for the happiness of our Souls . Whereas , on the contrary , it must needs be an uncomfortable thing , to look upon a decaying Body , and be altogether uncertain what will become of the Soul when it leaves this Body : It must needs make Death terrible . But when we know that our Souls at death shall enter into our Master's joy we shall bid Death welcom . The Eighth Inference . From what hath been said , we may draw one Rule of Tryal to us all , whereby we may know whether we be true real Christians or no , or only nominal , and but formal Professors , viz. by the real good to our Souls that our Afflictions have done us ; we all have had Afflictions of one kind or other ; let us examine what spiritual good we have got by them : look over the former Particulars , and apply them . It is a true sign of a Child of God , to be the better for Prosperity and Adversity , and commonly more the better for Adversity than or Prosperity . But lest we should be mistaken , I grant , that Affliction may work some good in the hypocritical Professors , as on Ahab and Nineveh . But note these Differences . First , On the Godly , Afflictions work good mostly on their inward man , on their Souls ; although they work good also on their Conversations ; the sweet fruits of Afflictions appear also in their Lives . But on others , if Afflictions do work any good at all , it is mostly on their outward man ; they may by them be outwardly reclaimed and reformed , but not inwardly renewed and sanctified . Now there is a vast difference between outward Reformation and inward Renovation . 2dly , The fruit of Affliction on the Godly is continually increasing and growing ; it is renewing day by day ; as in the Text. But the Fruit of Affliction upon others , is like a morning dew , or early cloud , which the Sun-blast of Prosperity dries all up , and blows all off . Those seeming Fruits of Humility , of Sensibleness , Patience , Inclinations to good Duties , Resolutions against Sin , &c. which appear in some in time of their Affliction , are all blasted and withered again , when their Afflictions are removed , Hos . 6. 4. Thirdly , The Fruit of Affliction upon the Godly is more afterward than at present , Heb. 12. 11. ●ut on others 't is most at present , even while the Affliction is upon them ; then they will seek God early and earnestly : but when the Affliction is over , they grow remiss and careless . And oh , that this were not the fault of too many of the Godly ! It is the After-fruit of Righteousness , the exemplary Holiness of our Lives afterwards , that ●s the good Fruit of sanctified Afflictions , which we must bring forth , to evidence the Love of our Father to us in his Chastnings of us , and our spiritual Profit by those Chastisements . It is not so ●uch how we behave our selves in the time of our Afflictions , ( though that must be minded also , and ●●reful we must be to carry our selves as Christians under the Cross ; ) for an Ahab may then ●ehave himself well : but the great matter is , how ●e carry our selves after our Afflictions ; that ●●en we bear and bring forth the quiet and peace●ble Fruits of Righteousness ; that we shew forth our Conversations , the singular good and spiritual profit that we have got by our Afflictions ; at we are become more holy , more heavenly , ●umble , meek , lowly , more tender-hearted , more ●●tchful and circumspect , more zealous of good ●orks , more charitable , more careful in all things please God. This is that will clearly prove , That Afflictions have done us good , and then we shall have cause to bless God for them . Fourthly , The promised Good and Blessing ●● Affliction , is the main thing which the graciou● Soul mostly desireth , prayeth for , and hopes and expects : Thus he breaths ; O , that this strok● may be a stroke of Love ; O , that this Affliction may do good to my inward man ; O , that my S●● may flourish and prosper , and be a Gainer by a my outward Losses and Crosses : O , that my So● may be purged in those Fires , and cleansed i● those Waters of Affliction , that I may bring for all the blessed Fruits of Affliction ; and O , th● God would accomplish all his gracious ends up●● my Soul , by his Chastisements : but it is not with others ; they cry , Lord , remove thy ha●● take away my Affliction . Fifthly , The gracious Soul understands God's a sign in Affliction , and earnestly desires to k●● the whole Mind of God , and why the Lord o● tendeth with him ; and hears the Voice of Rod , searcheth for his Sin , for the Plague of own Heart ; repents and turns to God through casts away the Idols of his heart , resolves aga●● his Corruptions ; prays and hopes for the ble●● of his Affliction ; and thereupon he labours submit to the holy Will of God , and patiently bear his Afflictions . But it is not so with oth●● they are not sollicitous about the attaining of spiritual good to their Souls ; so they can get the Affliction , they care for no more : Whe● the gracious Soul is afraid that he shall lose ● benefit of his Afflictions , and therefore is n● earnest with God for it . Sixthly , The gracious Soul seeks a ●●eparation of all his Losses , and a Balance to all his Troubles in God through Christ , and in God's Covenant , 2 Sam. 23. 5. and there he finds it in some measure , which stayeth and quieteth him : When the streams of all Creature-comforts fail him , he repairs to God the Fountain , and there he lies for all Supplies , Psalm 31. 14. Psalm 142. 4 , 5. Refuge failed me , no man cared for my Soul. I cried unto thee , O Lord , I said , thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living . But the Ungodly are strangers to this course in the time of their trouble . Now these things considered , we may by them attain in some measure the knowledge of our estate , whether we be godly or no ; in a state of Grace or no ; to wit , by the real good our Souls have gotten by our bodily troubles . So much for Information . II. Thesecond Vse is of Counsel to God's afflicted People , when their earthly Comforts wither and decay . 1. Bear the Indignation of the Lord , take his blows with patience , acknowledge his hand , stoop and submit to his Will ; He is your gracious , wise , merciful Father that smites you ; he intends you no hurt ; He that loves you better than you can love your selves ; He that Redeemed you , and he that knows what is best for you ; He that intends all for your good , and will cause all things to work for your good : therefore in your patience possess ye your Souls , and quietly submit to his good Will. 2. Search your Hearts and try your Ways , and turne him that smiteth you ; Commune with your o● Hearts ; call to remembrance your neglects ●● Duty to God and Man ; your neglect of the So●● of your Relations ; your careless performance ● holy Duties ; your mis-spending your Talents your earthly and unprofitable Discourses , &c. Th●● is a time for Heart-searching , a time for the tr● of your ways , Lamentat . 3. 40. In the day of Adversity consider : Consider wherefore God afflicts you consider what you have done against God , a● what your present Duty is : Repent of your f●●mer miscarriages , hurable your selves under God mighty hand ; and act Faith on the Lord Jesus ●● Remission , and by Faith labour to draw streng● of Grace to reform and amend ; and so comp● with God's design in his Corrections , which i● to take away your Sin , and to make you partake of his Holiness . 3. In your Afflictions consult God's Word , a● be conversant therewith , and conform there●● Now learn to kep God's Precepts , Psalm 119. ● Now set straight steps to your fe●t , Heb. 12. 12. ● God 's Word you will fin● sweet Counsels and Co●solations precious Promises , encouraging ● amples of Faith and Patience ; supporting , qui●ning and strengthning Arguments : Had it ●● been for God's Word , David had perished in his ● fliction O , therefore now study the Scriptur● and make them your Meditation Night and Da● acquaint your selves with God's Word , and app● it , and yield up your selves to the obedience of ● holy Job in his Affliction , esteemed the Word of G●● above his necessary Food ; and David , above Gold ●● Silver . 4. Learn and comply with God's Designs in chastening you : His main Designs are these ; To take away our Sins , Isa . 27. 9. He takes away our Isaacs , to destroy our Dalilahs ; he removes the desire of our Eyes , to consume the Defilements of our Hearts ; God designs the purifying of us , to make us clean and holy , and fit Vessels for himself to dwell in , to make us partakers of his holiness , and conformable to his Son ; to make our Souls better ; to draw us off from all our Idols , and to draw us nearer to himself , and to prevent our sinning here , and our condemnation with the World hereafter . O blessed , gracious Ends our heavenly Father hath in all his Chastisements of us ; now it 's our Duty to comply with these his Ends , and pursue them with utmost diligence . Quest . But how shall we pursue those Ends ? Answ . First , by deep and serious Meditation upon those few special things fit to be thought on in Affliction . 1. Think seriously on the meritorious Causes of your Affliction ; search for your Sins ; let your Spirits make diligent search for your Sins ; for now God is searching for your Sins , Job 10. 6. and we should set in with him , and think how greatly you have provoked him , how unkindly you have dealt with him ; against what Light and Love , and Mercy you have sinned ; and think also upon the desert of your Sins ; you are now under outward Afflictions ; but where had you been , ●f God had dealt with you according to your Deserts ? Call to mind your Sins , and repent , and reform ? 2. Think seriously on the Designs of God in all your Troubles , what good Intentions God hath in them ; that he aims at nothing but your real spiritual , and eternal good : It he break your earthly Comforts , waste your Estates and Bodies it is for the good of your Souls ; be perswaded of this , consider it , and lay it to heart . 3. Think seriously of the Love of God in Christ to you , in all your Afflictions ; they come from his Fatherly Love , he sees that you need them , that your Souls will perish without them ; and that he doth chastise you , because he loves you , and because you are his Children . 4. Think also , how infinitely better God deals with you , than with others , whom he chastn●● not here , but reserves them for the Wrath to come , unto everlasting Destruction ; in comparison of which , all your heaviest Afflictions here are not as much as Flea-bitings . 5. Think also upon the many exceeding great and precious Promises which God hath made t● you , for your support : As , that he will be ●● you ; will never leave you ; that all shall work togeth●● for your good ; that he will uphold you : and ma● such . 6. Think seriously and deeply on that ●● more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , for whi●● all your Afflictions do prepare you . Thus be m●● in Meditation on those things Lastly , Think upon the Sufferings of Christ fo● you ; his bitter Agony , and bloody Sweat in the Garden ; his cruel , cursed , shameful , painful Death on th● Cross , Isa . 53. 10. Thus if we exercise our Thought in these Considerations , it will help us to th● attaining the gracious Ends of God in his Chastisements . Secondly , As by Meditation , so by Prayer we must pursue God's Ends : Now pray , pray continually , pray without ceasing ; pray most earnestly , most fervently ; strive and wrestle with God in Prayer , as Jacob did for the Blessing ; so should we pray , and continue instant in prayer , that God would accomplish all his blessed Designs upon our Souls , and perform his whole Work. Thirdly , By Faith in Christ , and in the Promises ; for no Blessing comes to the Soul any way , but in and by Jesus Christ ; and only in and through him are the Promises fulfilled : Therefore in all our Afflictions , we must look unto Jesus , as unto him , through whose hands the Affliction comes upon us ; for all our Afflictions come through his hand ; and the blessing of them comes through his hand also ; act Faith on all that Jesus hath done and suffered for you ; and upon what he is doing for you in Heaven ; and upon what gracious Promises he hath made to you : and the more you can act Faith on Christ , the more you will love him ; and the more you love him , the more patiently and comfortably you will bear his Chastisements ; as knowing that they proceed from his Love to you , Rev. 3. 19. III. The last Vse is for Consolation : The Text and Doctrine is very full of Comfort . If this be a Truth that I have held out ; That the perishings and wastings of the outward man , of the People of God , tend to the renewing of their inward man ; then let none of God's People be discouraged or dejected , whatever Afflictions befal them ; Poverty , Sickness , Restraint , loss of Relations , Estates : Remember and consider , what great Spiritual Good all shall certainly produce to you , and what a gracious issue all your Afflictions shall have upon you ; and therefore faint not , nor be weary ; but be quiet and comforted . Quest . But when may we take Comfort in our Afflictions ? Answ . 1. When God's smiting you , works i● you true turning unto God , Isa . 9. 13. Jer. 31. 1● 19 , 20. for then Affliction proceeds from God Love , and turns to your good . O , the yerning Bowels of God towards returning Sinners . 2. When by Chastisements we are made partakers of God's Holiness , made more holy , an● more conformable to Christ than formerly , He● 12. 10. 3. When God's Soveraignty works in us S●lence and submission ; as in Eli , David , as others . 4. When God's Rods on us make us mor● obedient to his Law , Psalm . 94. 12 , 13. as 119. 67. 71. 5. When God's Righteousness in what he doth gives quietness and satisfaction to the Soul ; a Dan. 9 14. Nehem. 9. 33. 6. When Afflictions put us upon Self-examination , and searchings for our Sins , Lam. 3. 4. Gen. 42. 21. 7. When in Afflictions we can see God's faithfulness , making good his Promises , Psalm 119. 75. He hath promised to withhold no good thing . 8. When we hope and believe , that God wil● give us more , and better things , than those he takes from us , 2 Chron. 25. 9. Psalm 90. 14 , 15. Isa . 35. 6. 9. When God's Wisdom contents us ; that because God is only wise , and knows best , what is be●● for us , this contents us , Isa . 28. 27 , 28. Infinite Wisdom hath ordered it . 10. When we can firmly believe that God's Love is in all his Chastisements , Heb. 12. 6. All these things will produce Comfort in all our Afflictions ; especially when we can see these Effects in some measure brought forth in us , we may conclude , that God's gracious Design prospers in us . Could we but find that our inward man grows better , and that we grow and flourish in Grace , when our outward man doth decay and perish , we should not faint . The good Lord grant that this may be the good Effect of all my Afflictions . Amen . So much of the First Part. PART II. Orthodox Paradox : OR , THE Greatest Temporal Evil working the greatest Eternal Good. 2 COR. iv . 17. For our light Affliction which is but for a moment , worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory . THIS the Apostle brings in as a Reason of that holy Courage that he and the Primitive Christians had under all their Troubles , that they did not faint , but rather , they got strength ; and as their outward man perished , their Souls , their better part , flourished and prospered ; as in the foregoing Verse : For ( saith he ) our light affliction , &c. In which Reason or Argument we may observe , 1. The Nature of the Saints Troubles ; they are Afflictions . 2. The Qualities of them ; they are light , and but for a moment . 3. The Tendency of them , or their subserviency to their eternal good , through God's blessing on them ; they work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory . 1. For the Nature of the Saints Troubles , they are Afflictions , and our Afflictions : All the Saints Troubles in this Life are Afflictions , and but Afflictions ; they are not properly Punishments , inflicted on them , to make Satisfaction for Sin. They are not Destructions , no , they are but Afflictions . The original word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which signifieth a pressing , from the effect of them on the Saints ; for they are sent to press out their hidden Corruptions , that were in the Heart undiscovered ; to make manifest that which lay hid before . Affliction is as God's Wine-press also , to press out the sweet Wine of Grace , that it may appear in Act and Exercise . It is also God's Fullers-press , to press out the inward spots and defilements of their Souls . Afflictions are not to the Saints Executions of Vengeance , not Destructions , as they are to others , Destruction upon Destruction ; that is , one Trouble and Distress upon another ; so they are to the Wicked . 2. They are our Affliction too : this may note , first , the commonness of them to all men , 1 Cor. 10. 13. No Temptation befals us , but what is common to Men , to all Men , and mostly , to all Saints ; it is their Lot , their Portion ; yea , it is God's Gift to them , Phil. 1. 29. Secondly , It may note the Propriety the Saints have in their Afflictions , and Benefit they have by them . These Afflictions are ours , 1 Cor. 3. 22. All things are yours , things present : the present Afflictions are ours ; that is , they are sanctified , and made profitable to us ; they are our Friends , Friends to our Souls , not our Foes ; they are our Helps , not our Harms ; they are ours in common also ; they are the Churches Troubles ; others sympathize with us , and they count our Afflictions theirs . And if this be so , what reason have we to faint and sink under our Troubles , seeing they are but Afflictions , not Destructions , and seeing they are ours also , for our good and advantage , appointed and ordered to us by the loving Hand of our only-wise God and gracious Father : and seeing all the People of God have a share in them , by way of sympathy , and we have a share in their Prayers for us , therefore we faint not . 2. The second Branch of this Argument is the Quality of those Afflictions , expressed here by two words , 1. They are light , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , leve ; the same word in Mat. 11. 30. My burden is light ; that is , it is tolerable , sufferable , such as may be endured and suffered : Christ's Government is not intolerable , neither are the Afflictions of his People . Object . But how can that be , that the Troubles of God's People are light ? Were David's Troubles light , from whom we often hear such sad and bitter Complaints ? And were Job's Troubles light , Job 6. 3 , 4. And were the Primitive Christians Troubles light ? See the 7th and 8th Verses of this Chapter ; and elsewhere the Apostle complains , that they were pressed above measure , and despaired even of Life ? Answ . The meaning plainly is comparative ; Afflictions are light , not simply considered in themselves , but by way of comparison ; as thus . 1. They are light , in comparison of what our Sins have deserved . Sin deserves Eternal Death , everlasting Flames in Hell , everlasting Destruction , easeless , endless , remediless Torments . The Wages of Sin is Death , eternal Damnation , 2 Thess . 1. 8 , 9. Now , in comparison of Hell and Damnation , all our Afflictions are but light , but as Flea-bitings to those eternal Torments : Oh , what is the Wrath of Man to the Wrath of a GOD ? What is the Displeasure of a Father to the Revenge of an Enemy ? Oh , what is Sickness , Poverty , a Prison , Losses , &c. to Hell-fire ? 2. They are light , in comparison of the cruel , bitter , dreadful Sufferings of Jesus Christ the Son of God. He , upon whom the Spirit of Might did rest , was even sunk by them ; if we do but duly consider Christ's Sufferings , his bloody , bitter Agony in the Garden , when his Soul was exceeding sorrowful even to death , he was sore amazed ; when all the Sins of the Elect were laid on him , made to meet on him , Isa . 53. 6. all the Wrath of Men and Devils on him , yea , and which was heaviest of all , his Father's Wrath was on him ; it pleased the Father to bruise him , and to put him to grief , Isa . 53. 10. All this would have sunk Ten thousand Worlds ; this made our dearest Lord sweat great drops of Blood , &c. Oh , the inconceivable love of our Blessed Jesus ! O , the cursed nature of Sin ! But what are all our Afflictions , all our Sufferings , in comparison of Christ's ? He was afflicted , he was oppressed , infinitely more than ever any man was , or can be . 3. Light too , in comparison of what the Wicked shall suffer hereafter : see Psal . 11. 6. 2 Thess . 1. 9. Revel . 21. 8. Our Afflictions are light , surely very light in comparison of these . 4. Light also in comparison of the Glory that God's Suffering Saints shall afterwards enjoy . This our Apostle affirms , Rom. 8. 18. I reckon that the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in vs. Not worthy to be compared with that far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory . Thus are our Afflictions said to be light . 2. Another Quality of our Afflictions noted here , is , That our Afflictions are short also : as they are light , so they are short too , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , momentany , for a moment . Object . But how can this be ? Did not David complain , that he was afflicted from his Youth , and the Church in Affliction four hundred years at once ? How then are their Afflictions short ? Answ . This for a moment , or short time , must be understood comparatively also ; Our Afflictions are short , and for a moment , in comparison of what the Damned must suffer ; for their Death is eternal , their Destruction is everlasting , everlasting Damnation in Hell , the Fire never goeth out , the Worm never dyeth . But especially , our Afflictions here are short , as well as light in comparison of that far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory , that the Saints shall possess hereafter . Observe the Antithesis , or opposition here in the Text , which duly considered , and Faith acted on it , is enough to support a Christian under all his Troubles . Mark it well . For Afflictions here , he shall have Glory hereafter ; for light Afflictions he shall have a weight of Glory ; for short Afflictions an eternal weight of Glory ; yea , a far m●●e exceeding and eternal weight of Glory : in comparison of which Afflictions , all our Afflictions may well be termed light and short . Let us seriously consider how strangely and wonderfully the Happiness of Suffering Saints is here set out by the Apostle . 1. It is Glory , it is Glory that they shall receive hereafter , a Crown of Glory , that fadeth not away . It is Glory that they seek for , Rom. 2. 6 , 7. and it is Glory they shall have . Here in this World the poor Christian meets with shame and dishonour , laden with Reproaches , made the off-scouring of all things , trodden down as Mire in the Streets , the Song of Drunkards ; but hereafter they shall be advanced to Glory : what this Glory imports , I shall enquire hereafter . It is surely a Soul-supporting , a Soul-satisfying thing . 2. It is a weight of Glory : Not a grain or scruple , ( though a little of this Glory will abundantly recompense all our Sufferings in the way to it ) but it is a weight of Glory , enough to fill all the Faculties of the whole Soul , enough to satisfie the vast Desires of the Mind , which the whole Creation cannot do ; yea , enough to sink the Soul under the weight of it , did not the Almighty Power of God uphold it . 3. It is eternal also : The glorified Saints shall never be unglorified again : it is everlasting Glory . 4. It is an exceeding weight of Glory : surmounting , surpassing , and transcending , not only our Merits , but our Desires , our Thoughts and Imaginations , Ephes . 3. 20. and of which it may be said , as the Apostle speaks of the Mysteries of the Gospel , that it never entred into the heart of man to conceive , 1 Cor. 2. 9. 5. It is a more exceeding : it is a marvellous Glory ; what a Climax , what a Gradation is here ! 6. A far more exceeding : it exceeds all our Desires , all our Thoughts , it is more than we can ask or think ; it exceeds all our Doings , all our Sufferings , more than Heaven exceeds Earth , or Light Darkness , or any thing we can imagine : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . This Glory is excellent , uper-excellent , beyond all measure excellent . Now , in comparison of this excellent Glory , all our present Sufferings are but light and short ; and if so , is there any reason the Saints should faint under them , but rather to bear up , and be of good courage ? 3. The third Branch of this Argument is , the Influence that these short and light Afflictions have upon this Glory , or the Reference they have unto it , or Tendency towards it ; and that is very considerable , and it is this : Those Afflictions work for us this transcendent Glory . It is no where said , that Honours , or Pleasures , or Riches work for us this Glory , but Afflications work it ; that is , the only-wise God , who can bring Light out of Darkness , Sweet out of Bitter , Good out of Evil ; even He so ordereth and blesseth all the Afflictions of his People to them , that they become singularly useful , and influential , to work out for them this Glory : but not as the Papists hold , who abuse this as they do other Scriptures , concluding hence , that the Saints Sufferings , as well as their Doings , do merit Glory ; for this was not St. Paul's meaning , because he speaks to the contrary , Rom. 8. 18 , I reckon that the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed . Glory is Christ's Purchace , not Man's Merit . But Afflictions work for us this Glory , by way of Preparation for it , as a way and means ( though not the only and principal ) which our gracious God appoints , ordereth , and sanctifieth , to fit and prepare his People , for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . It was by the way of Suffering that our Lord , the Lord of Glory , went to his Glory , Luk. 24. 26. Heb. 2. 10. And therefore , seeing Afflictions have such a reference , subserviency , and tendency to Glory , that they are made useful to fit and prepare us for this most blessed , most excellent state of Happiness and Glory , we faint not under them , but rather we are encouraged and strengthned by the consideration of their tendency to prepare us for our eternal Happiness . Now let us put all these pieces together , and they will yield us this comfortable Doctrinal Conclusion , viz. Doct. That the light and short Afflictions of the People of God here in this World , are singularly useful to work them for , and to work for them , a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory in the World to come . This is so plainly asserted here by the Apostle , I need not stand to prove it ; all I have to do , is to demonstrate , and shew , how those light and short Afflictions of God's People , are thus singularly useful and influential to work them for , and to work for them , this far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; which , by the assistance of God , I shall endeavour to do . But before I begin this , it may not be amiss to say a little ( and I can say but a little , a very little , for I know very little ) of this far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory : And shall I speak before I know ? Lord , open my Understanding , and pardon any Ignorance . By this far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , I understand , all that wonderful Happiness and Blessedness , which the great and glorious God hath prepared for , and promised unto his Children , and which the Lord Jesus Christ , by his precious Blood and Passion , hath purchased for them , which chiefly consists in their advancement and admission into the nearest enjoyment of the great and glorious God , the Chiefest Good , to be ever with the Lord , to see his Face , to know him as we are known of him , to live for ever with him , partaking of his Glory to their everlasting Consolation . But , alas ! how short and shallow are my Apprehensions of what I am writing ? If it did not appear to the beloved Disciple , what Happiness the Saints should be advanced to , at the last , but only in general , that when Christ appears , we shall be like him : No marvel if such a poor blind Worm as I know so little ; yet some glimpses we have in the Glass of the Gospel , whereby we may come to a little dark Knowledge , and a slight taste of this Glory . It is the Souls enjoyment of God , the chief Good , and that is the sum and substance of all Happiness and Blessedness ; this is called , Seeing God , Matth. 5. 8. Psal . 17. 15. Revel . 22. 4. Beholding the glory of Christ , John 17. 24. Seeing God face to face ; that is , as far as Creatures are capable . See the Prayer of Christ , which doth notably express this weight of Glory , Joh. 17. 21 , 22 , 23. That they all may be one , as thou father art in me , and I in thee , that they also may be one in us ; and the glory which thou gavest me , I have given them , that they may be one , even as we are one : I in them , and thou in me , that they may be made perfect in one ; that the world may know that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me . What can be more desired ? Here is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory indeed ; a real Union of the Saints with the Blessed God , and the Blessed Jesus , such a Union as is between the Head and the Members , and between Husband and Wife ; yea , such as is between God and Christ , and a participation of the same Glory that Christ himself doth possess , and an enjoyment of the same Love that Christ himself doth enjoy ; yea , the Saints shall then be made like unto Christ , both in Soul and Body . Lord , help me to believe all this , and to be fully perswaded of it , that my Heart may be kindly affected , and filled with enflamed affections towards my Blessed Jesus , who hath purchased all this Glory for us with his most precious Blood : Oh , let me attain the full assurance of my true Title thereto , that I may praise thee , and may long for the full possession of it : O my base unbelieving Heart ! Lord , subdue my unbelief : Oh , what pains should we take to be assured of this Glory ? and , how patiently and cheerfully should we bear our Afflictions , that are designed to prepare us for it ? But I cannot break off here . This weight of Glory is , by the Holy Ghost , in the Scripture represented to us , by all the most excellent and delightful things among Men , speaking to our Capacities , and after the manner of Men. Hence it is called a Kingdom ; It is your Father's good pleasure ( saith our Lord ) to give you a Kingdom : I appoint unto you a kingdom , as my Father hath appointed unto me a kingdom . The Kingdom of Heaven , a Kingdom that cannot be moved ; a Kingdom of Glory ; a Crown of Glory , that fadeth not away ; a Crown of Righteousness ; a Crown of Life : Christ hath made us Kings and Priests to God. Here in this World the Saints have the Cross , Fire , Faggot , Halters , Gibbets , &c. let them wait but a while , and they shall hear the Judge of the whole World say unto them , Come ye blessed of my Father , enter into the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world . Now you are abused , reproached , imprisoned , impoverished , despised ; shortly you shall all be crowned . This Glory is called the Inheritance of the Saints in light , an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled , that fadeth not away , reserved in Heaven for you : You that now may have no House nor Home of your own , no certain Dwelling-place ; and you that now dwell in Houses of Clay , tottering every moment , being the Children of God , you shall shortly enter into everlasting Habitations , and possess those glorious Mansions in the Father's House ; you shall shortly inhabit that House not made with hands , eternal in the Heavens : God hath prepared for you a City that hath Foundations of his own building and making : Hold out Faith and Patience , you shall shortly be translated into the Paradise of GOD , above the reach of Men and Devils . Moreover , ( for methinks it is good to be here ) when Christ , who is our Life , shall appear , we shall also appear with him in Glory ; with Palms in our Hands , and Crowns on our Heads , and with everlasting Joy and Songs of Praises in our Hearts and Mouths . This Glory is called Life , Everlasting Life , Eternal Salvation , Everlasting Peace , and Everlasting Rest , the purchased Possession , that which cost the most precious Blood of the only Son of God to procure , surely it must be a far more exceeding weight of Glory , that cost such a price ; this Glory is the Fruit of Christ's Blood , and of all his cruel Sufferings : Oh , that some Beams of it might be darted in upon my dark Heart by the Spirit , while I am writing this , to quicken and enlarge it . It is Everlasting Rest , — Rest from all Sin , the greatest burden to a gracious Soul ; and from all Sufferings ; from all doubts of God's love ; from all sense of God's Displeasure ; from all Temptations of Satan , of the World and Flesh ; Rest from all Persecutions : Now they that have suffered with Christ , shall be glorified with him ; no Prisons , Banishments , Burnings , Hangings , Quarterings , then ; Rest from all our sad and sinful Divisions , and from all our personal Sufferings , Pains , Diseases , Losses of dear Relations , ill Tydings ; Rest from all Vain Thoughts , from all the pain of Duty , from all our Labours . Let us a little further consider , I. The Preparatives to this Glory ; and , II. The Properties of it , that so our Hearts may be the more affected with it , and the more carried out with all Love and Desires after him that purchased it for us , and with all labour and diligence to secure our title to it ; and may also the better bear all our Afflictions , which prepare us for it , and lead us to it . I. Of the Preparations to this Glory ; and these are , 1. The glorious appearing of the great God , and our Saviour Jesus Christ , Tit. 2. 13. Our blessed Lord will most certainly come again from Heaven , with Power and great Glory , attended by his mighty Angels , to receive his People to himself , that where he is , there they may be also , Joh. 14. 3. to be glorified in his Saints , and to be admired in all those that believe , 2 Thess . 1. 10. Alas , what Comfort should we have in this life , if it were not for the Hope of Christ's second coming ? He will not leave us here still , sinning , suffering , groaning , dying ; no , no , the day of our full Redemption will come ; our Lord will come again , and set all his poor Captives free ; but a little while , and he that shall come will come , and will not tarry ; He will come for our Salvation , Heb. 9. 28. And for our great Comfort , let us know and believe , that however we now live as Lambs amongst Wolves , when our glorious Lord Jesus , the Lord of Glory , and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth , the chief Shepherd shall appear , we shall receive a crown of glory , that fedeth not away , 1 Pet. 5. 4. It should be then the Character of a Christian , as it is his Duty to love , to long , and look and wait for the Son of God from ●eaven , even Jesus , whom he raised from the dead , which by bearing the most dreadful Wrath of his Father , hath delivered us from the Wrath to come , 1 Thess . 1. 10. Act. 1. 12. And while we are on Earth , we should have our conversations in Heaven , and from thence look for the Saviour , the Lord Jesus Christ , who shall change our vile bodies , and make them like his glorious body , Phil. 3. 20 , 21. being assured , that then we shall receive that Crown of Righteousness , which the righteous Judge shall give at that day , to all those that love his appearing , 2 Tin. 4. 8. Oh then , seeing we look for such things , what manner of persons ought we to be , in all manner of holy Conversation and Godliness , giving all diligence , that we may be found of him in Peace , without spot , and blameless ? O , what unspeakable Comfort will the Coming of Christ bring to all his poor suffering Saints , the fore-thoughts of which should support us under all our present Troubles ? Although , it may be , now we are destitute of all Creature-comforts , our Flesh and Fleshly Relations fail us , our Outward-man perisheth daily , our Bodily strength decays , our Friends fail us , our own Hearts fail us , this should comfort us , that our Lord is gone to Heaven , to prepare a place for us , and he is now preparing us for that place , by his Spirit , by his Word and Rod ; and when he hath prepared us , he will come again , and take us to himself , that where he is , we may be also ; And where is that , but at his Father's right hand , in Glory ? Col. 3. 3 , 4. 2. The second Preparative to this far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory , is , that great and glorious Work of Christ , in raising our Bodies from the Dust , and uniting them again to our Souls ; the wonderful Effect of Almighty Power and Love. Read 1 Cor. 15. 1 Thess . 4. 15. Death shall not dissolve the Union between Christ and us ; not turn away his Affections from us ; but in the morning of Eternity he will send his Angels , yea , come himself , and roll away the Stone , and unseal our Graves , and awake us out of our long sleep , and call us forth , to receive our own Souls again ; and , oh what a joyful Meeting will that be ? and , what unspeakable comfort will that produce ? The Devil had the power of Death till he was overcome by Death , Heb. 2. 14 , 15. but he that liveth , and was dead , and is alive for evermore , hath now the Keys of Death and Hell , Rev. 1. 18. The Saints Resurrection to Glory is only the fruit of Christ's Death , and this fruit they shall certainly partake of . The Promise is sure , Joh. 5. 28. All that are in the graves shall hear his voice and come forth . Joh. 6. 39. And this is the Father's will which hath sent Christ , that of all which he hath given him , he should lose nothing , but should raise it up at the last day . So Ver. 40. Joh. 14. 19. As sure as Christ is risen , we shall rise also ; because he lives , we shall live also : Besides this mortal life we now live , we have a life that 's hid with Christ in God , And when Christ , who is our life , shall appear , then shall we also appear with him in glory , Col. 3. 3 , 4. Oh then , beloved Fellow-christians , Let us be stedfast , unmovable , alwaies abounding in the work of the Lord , forasmuch as we know our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. Let us never look at the Grave , but let us look to the Resurrection beyond it . Let us contentedly commit these Carcasses to the Dust , that dark Prison shall not long contain them : Let us lye down in Peace , and take our Rest , it will not be an everlasting Night , nor endless Sleep ; no , no , there will come a most joyful and glorious Morning . What if we go out of the Stirs and Troubles of this World , and enter into those Chambers of Dust , and the Doors be shut upon us , and we hide our selves , as it were for a little moment , until the indignation be overpast ; as sure as we awake in the morning , after we have slept out the night , so sure shall we then awake . And what if in the Grave we become loathsome Dust , cast out of the sight of Men , as not fit to be endured among the Living ? What if our Bones be digged up , and scattered about the Pits brink , and Worms consume our Flesh yet we know our Redeemer liveth , and we shall see him with these Eyes : And why should we be loth to lay down these Bodies of Flesh , how comely or fair soever they are , they have been but the Prisons of our Souls , Clogs and Hinderances to our Souls in the Work of God , and Way to Heaven . What care , labour , grief and sorrow have they cost us ? How many a weary , painful , tedious Day and Night ? Grudge not , O my Soul , that God should disburthen thee of all this , and free thee from thy Fetters , and break open thy Prison door ; remember that when this Earthly House of thy Tabernacle is dissolved , thou hast a Building of God , an House not made with hands , eternal in the Heavens . O my Soul ! labour now to have thy part in the first Resurrection ; now labour to get into Christ , and to live in him by Faith and Love ; now labour to know , O my Soul ! the Power of his Death and Resurrection , in thy dying to Sin , and living to Righteousness ; now act thy Faith on Jesus , and thy Love to him , and let Jesus live in thee , and manifest his Life in thy mortal Flesh , and let thy Thoughts and Affections be set on things above ; let thy Conversation be in Heaven , and let thy Heart be where thy Treasure is ; now live to him that dyed for thee , and rose again , and then fear not Death , but be confident , that as sure as Jesus dyed , and rose again , so sure shall all they that sleep in Jesus rise also ; and that , altho' thy Body be sown in Dishonour , it shall be raised in Glory , 1 Cor. 15. 43. This is the Second Preparative . 3. The Third Preparative to this far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory , is that great Assize , and general Judgment , when the Lord Jesus shall sit upon the Throne of his Glory , with all the innumerable Host of glorious Angels about him , and all the Sons and Daughters of Men that ever lived upon Earth shall stand before him , Rom. 2. 16. & 14. 10. to be judged by him , and to receive their final Doom , Rev. 20. 12 , 13. Matth. 25. 31. at which time there will be made an exact separation between the Sheep and the Goats , between the precious and the vile , and then the Saints shall be first acquitted and justified , and then with Christ shall judge the World. Those that have truly repented , and sincerely believed in the Lord Jesus ; they that have chosen the Lord for their God , and Chief Good , and Portion , placing all their Happiness in him , and have unfeignedly accepted of the Lord Jesus for their only Lord and Saviour , and have unfeignedly given themselves wholy up to his Government by his Word and Spirit , and entred cordiasly into Covenant with him , and became entirely his , these shall sit on his Right hand ; these have often judged themselves i● Heart-breaking Confessions , and therefore shall not be then judged to Condemnation by the Lord , for there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus , who walk not after the flesh , hut after the spirit ; Rom. 8. 1. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect ? Shall the Law ? These are not under the Law , but under Grace , their Surely hath fulfilled and satisfied the Law for them ; the Law of the Spirit of Life , which is in Christ Jesus , hath made us free from the Law of Sin and Death ; it is God that justifieth , who shall condemn ? The Judge himself hath said , That he that believeth is him shall not perish , but shall have everlasting life ; he shall not come into condemnation , Joh. 3. 16 , 17 , 36. but will say to all such , You have confessed me before men , and I will confess you before my Father and the holy Angels . This will be the joyful day indeed , the day of our full Redemption , the time of refreshing indeed , the fore-thoughts of this day should support us under all our present Troubles . 4. The Fourth Preparative is ; the Saints solemn Coronation , and receiving into the Kingdom of their Father : Now the Crown of Righteousness , of Life , of Glory , which was promised them from the beginning of the World , and purchased for them , by the most precious Blood of Jesus , and laid up in Heaven for them , shall by the Lord , the righteous Judge , he given them at that day ; they have been faithful unto Death , and therefore shall receive the Crown of Life . The Lord Jesus will then say to all his Saints , Come ye blessed of my Father , inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world . Every word is full of joy and comfort . [ COME ] will Christ say , Approach this exceeding Glory ; come is near as you will , for the way to it is open for you ; I have made your passage plain by my blood . Christ will not say then , Come , take up your Cross , and follow ●● ; but , Come now , and receive your Crown . [ COME , YE BLESSED . ] In the world ye were accursed , but now ye are blessed , and shall be blessed for ever . [ OF MY FATHER . ] You are the objects of my Father's love , he loveth you as he loveth me . [ INHERIT . ] You are the heirs of the promises , the heirs of the kingdom , the heirs of salvation . No less than the Kingdom of Heaven . You shall reign with me for ever and ever . [ PREPARED ] Eternal Love hath laid the Foundation : He prepares the Kingdom for us , and then prepares us for the Kingdom . [ FOR YOU ] for you all poor penitent Believers , called Regenerate Souls ; for all you that received me by Faith , and persevered therein to your death . Thus much for the Preparatives to this far more excceeding and eternal weight of Glory . II. Secondly , I shall speak a little also of the Properties of this Glory ; but , oh how short and shallow are my Apprehensions of this also Lord , enlighten my Understanding , and affect , enlarge , and quicken my Heart . 1. This glorious state of Happiness is called The Purchased Possession , Eph. 1. 14. It is the Fri●● of the Love and Blood of our dear Redeemer , whom we shall in Heaven behold and enjoy . We shall have our Redeemer alwaies before our Eyes , and the liveliest sense and freshest Remembrance of that bleeding-dying-love , still upon our Souls . Oh , how will it fill our Souls with perpetual Ravishments , to think that in the Streams of this Blood we have swam through the violence of the World , the snares of the Devil , the seducements of the Flesh , the curse of the Law , the wrath of a● offended God , the Accusations of a guilty Conscience , and the vexing doubts and fears of an unbelieving Heart , and are passed through all , and are safely arrived at the Bosom of God. O think , and think again , what weight of Wo●● and Wrath , of Sin and Sorrow , lay upon the Soul and Body of our most dear Lord , to purchase fo● us this exceeding weight of glory . His Soul was oppressed , exceedingly oppressed , his Body broken his Blood shed , to purchase this Glory . We value things by the Price they cost : If any thing we enjoy were purchased by the Life of our deare●● Friend , how would we esteem it ? Certainly th● bitter Death and Blood of our Lord will everlastingly sweeten our Heavenly Glory : ( Oh , that the Joy ! ) we shall then leave those Hearts of Stone and Rock behind us ; the Sin that here so close h● sets us , and the sottish Unkindness that followe● us so long , shall not be able to follow us into that Glory ; but we shall behold , as it were , the wounds of Love , with Eyes and Hearts of Love for ever . Now his Heart is open to us , and ours shut to him ; but when his Heart is open , and our hearts open too , oh what a weight of Joy will there then be ! What a passionate meeting was there between our new-risen Lord and the first-sinful silly Woman that he appears unto ? How did Love struggle for expression ? Mary ! saith Christ : Master ! saith Mary ; and presently she clasps about his Feet , having her Heart as near his Heart , as her Hands were to his Feet . What a meeting of Love then will there be , between the new-glorified Saint , and the glorious Redeemer ? But I am here at a loss , my Apprehensions fail me , and fall short ; only this I believe , that it will be the singular Praise of our Glory , that it was bought with the price of that Blood ; and the singular Joy of the Saints to behold the Purchaser and the Price , together with the Possession . 2. Secondly , This Glory also is most free ; it was dear to Christ , but free to us : Silver and Gold could not purchase this Glory , nothing but the precious Blood of the Son of God ; but we have it freely , for nothing , without Mony , and without Price . It 's true , this Glory is promised on Conditions , but the Condition is but hearty Acceptance , and to take him for our Lord , who hath redeemed us , especially when the Condition is also given , as it is by God to all his Chosen . Faith , which is the main Condition , is the gift of God. O the everlasting admiration which must needs surprize the Saints , to think of the freeness of their Glory ! O what did the Lord see in me , to count me meet for such a state ? That I , a poor , diseased , despised Wretch , should be cloathed in the brightness of this Glory ! That I , a silly worthless Worm , should be advanced to this high Dignity ! That I , who was but lately groaning , weeping , dying , should now be so full of Joy , as my Heart can hold ! Yea , should be taken from the Grave , where I was rotting and stinking ; and from the Dust and Darkness , where I seemed forgotten , and here sit before the Throne of God in Glory ! when the poor self-denying , self-accusing , humble Soul , that thought himself unworthy the ground he trod on , unworthy the air he breathed in , unworthy to eat , drink , or live ; that this Soul shall find himself wrapt up into Heaven , closed in the Arms of Christ , crowned with Glory , in a moment ! D● but think with your selves what a transporting astonishing thing this will be : surely our Unworthiness shall not hinder our Glory . God hath chosen the Poor of this World , rich in Faith , to be Heirs of that Kingdom . Grace is most free , so is Glory : As we pay nothing for our Pardon , so nothing for our Glory . What an astonishing thought will it be , to think of the unmeasurable difference between our Deservings and our Receivings , between the state we should have been in , and the state we are in ? to look down upon Hell , and see the vast difference between us and them ? to see the Inheritance , which we were born to , so different from that we are adopted to ! O , what pangs of Love will it cause within us , to think , yonder in that dreadful place , in those Lakes of Fire and Brimstone , was my native place , my deserved Portion , those unquenchable Flames should have lain on me , that never-dying Worm should have fed on me ! But that unsearchable rich Grace , and infinite Love in God , through the most precious Blood of my Redeemer , I am delivered from that place of Torment . Eternal Life is the Gift of God , through Jesus Christ my Lord : Did not I neglect Grace , and make light of the Offers of Life , and slight my Redeemer's Blood a long time , as well as those poor damned Souls ? Did not I waste my time , forget my God and my Soul , and walk after the Flesh , as well as they ? Was not I born in Sin ●nd Wrath , as well as they ? Or , who made me to ●iffer ? Should I ever have loved God , if he had not first loved me ? Or ever been willing , if he had not made me willing ? Had not I been in those ●ames , if I had my own way , and if he had let me ●lone to my own will ? Oh , how free was all this ●nfinite Love , and how free is this Crown of Glory , that so glorious a Crown should be set on the Head of so vile a Creature ? 3. The third Property of this Glory is , that it shall be fully satisfying and contenting , for it is a weight of Glory , an exceeding weight of Glory : It shall be a perfect freedom from all Evil , and a perfect fruiti●ns of all Good : This Glory shall be perfectly sui●●ed to our Natures ; for , as here in this Life every gracious Soul is made partaker of the Divine Nature , of the Life of God in some measure , and made like Christ in some degree ; so in the Life to come he shall have a Nature more fully like God , his holy Image more fully printed on him , and made more fully like Christ : When he shall appear , we shall see him as he is , and we shall be like him , ● Job . 3. 2. When we awake , at the glorious morning of the Resurrection , we shall be satisfied with his likeness , Psal . 17. 15. This Glory shall be perfectly suited also to the Desires of the Saints ; then the So shall have all that Heart can wish , all that ever thou ( O poor believing Soul ) didst ever pray or labor for , there thou shalt find : thou wouldst rather have God in Christ , than all the World ; why , there thou shalt have him . O , what wouldst thou give for the Assurance of his Love ? Why , there thou shalt have Assurance beyond all suspicion ; yea , thou shalt have infinitely more than thou canst desire . This Glory is suited also to all the Necessities of the Saints ; it will make a full supply to all our wants , for it is an exceeding weight of Glory . My God shall supply all your need with the riches of his glory in Jesus Christ , Phil. 4. 19. Here in this World we are always complaining of Wants ; for Soulor Body , or both , we want Grace , want Peace and Comfort ; we want Health and Friends ; nothing but Wants : But when once we come to possess this exceeding weight of Glory , we shall have no more cause to complain of Wants ; we shall never want any thing for ever , for we shall be filled with all the Fulness of God ; we shall ever be with the Lord , and dwell in his presence for ever , in whose presence is fulness of Joy , and at whose right hand are Pleasures for evermore . Solomon said , That Mary answereth all things ; I am sure that Glory will answer all things . 4. Fourthly , This Glory is incorruptible , 1 Cor. 9. 25. This is an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled , 1 Pet. 1. 4. We shall then have Joy without any mixture of Sorrow , Rest without Weariness As there is no mixture of Corruption with our Graces then , so no mixture of Sufferings with our Solace . Our best Comforts here are mixed with Crosses ; we have no Flower without Prickles Our best Wine is mixed with Water , and some times with Vinegar and Gall. We are now sometimes even at the gates of Heaven , and presently almost as low as Hell. Today we are well , to morrow sick ; to day in credit , to morrow in disgrace ; to day have Friends , to morrow none . The only thing that corrupts and imbitters our sweetest Comforts here , is our Sins , and God's hiding his Face from us , for our Sins . It is Sin that puts Gall and Wormwood into all our pleasant Cups ; but when we shall receive that exceeding weight of Glory ; we shall sin no more for ever . Hark , O my Soul , the best News that ever thou heardst , since that greatest good news of a Saviour ; the time is coming , when thou shalt sin no more , Rev. 21. 27. then Saints are Saints indeed , Eph. 5. 27. O poor Believer , if it were put to thy choice , wouldst thou not rather chuse to be freed from Sin , than to be made Heir of all the World ? Wait till then , and thou shalt have thy desire . That hard , earthly , carnal Heart , that thou hast so often complain'd of to the Lord ; those vain and vile Thoughts , which did lye down and rise with thee , shall trouble thee no more : Oh , blessed state , blessed time ! 5. And Lastly , It is an eternal weight of glory ; a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away ; that Life is everlasting ; there is no more Death , it is everlasting Peace , everlasting Joy , Pleasures for evermore , Eternal Glory : O blessed Eternity ! The Saints shall be Pillars in the Temple of God , and go no more out for ever : What! to be eternally blessed , to be ever with the Lord ? What can my shallow Thoughts conceive of this ? O happy Souls in Hell , if they could escape after millions of years ! But how infinitely happy are those in Heaven , that shall live there eternally ! O this amazing , this astonishing word Eternity ! O my Soul , study this word [ Everlasting ; ] methinks it should revive thee in thy deepest Agony : Thy Heaviness shall endure but for a night ; God will hide his Face but for a moment ; thy Afflictions are but light and short , thy Temptation shall be but an hour , thy Tribulation but ten days , but thou shalt receive a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . Believe this , O my Soul , and let thy Heart break and melt , that thou art no more affected with that eternal Love that purchased this eternal Glory for thee : For ever adore and admire eternal Love and Grace , and double thy Diligence , to secure thy title to this eternal weight of glory ; and live in the Love , and in the high Praises of thy dear Redeemer ; and patiently bear all thy Afflictions , because they are preparing thee for this Glory . Thus we have seen a little of the Preparatives to , and Properties of this far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; and , alas ! how little do I know of it ! Now , before I proceed , let us also enquire who shall be the Possessors of this Glory , or what those happy persons are , that shall be made partakers of this Blessedness , that we may know whether we our selves have any title to it , and have any good hope , through Grace , that we shall one day enjoy it : It will be but small Comfort to hear of all this Blessedness and Happiness , if we our selves have no right to it . And of this briefly . Certainly this most blessed state is not for all , not for most , but only for a few : Few , saith our Lord , shall be saved ; and those are the Children of God , only they are Heirs to this Glory , Rom. 8. 17. If Children , then Heirs , not else ; and such we are not by Nature , Joh. 8. 44. Eph. 2. 2 , 3 , 12. But all that are the Children of God , are made so by Grace ; they are made so by Faith in Christ . Gal. 3. 26. We are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ : And if we are Christ's by Faith , then are we the Heirs of the Promise , ver . 29. That is , we are Heirs of this promised Glory . So Heb. 6. 17 , 18. Also we are made the Children of God by Regeneration , by the blew-birth . Full is that Text , John 1. 12 , 13. As many as received him , that is Christ , to them gave he power to become the sons of God , even to as many as believe in his name : which were born not of blood , nor of the will of the flesh , nor of the will of man , but of God. So 1 Pet. 1. 3 , 4. we are said to be begotten to this Inheritance . Jam. 1. 17 , 18. Of his own will begat he us , by the word of truth . So 1 Pet. 1. 23. And our Lord , who is Truth it self , hath assured us , that except a man be born again , he can never see the kingdom of God ; that is , he shall never inherit this Glory . It is prepared for none but God's Children , and none are his Children but true Believers in Christ ; none but such as are truly regenerate , and born again by the Word and Spirit ; now all such as are in Christ have his Spirit living and ruling in them : Rom. 8. 9. If any man have not the spirit of Christ , the same is none of his . And , 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any man be in Christ , he is a new creature ; all old things are past away , and all things are become new . And such as are born again , they have the Image of God repaired in them , the Divine Nature communicated to them , the Life of God planted in them , and are thereby enabled to live unto God , and to walk as his Children , in sincere Obedience to all his Commandments , in resemblance of their Heavenly Father , in most hearty and superiative love to him , and in an holy confidence in him , and entire dependance on him , as their most gracious Father Almighty , in and through their most dear Lord Jesus Christ : These are the Persons , and these only , that shall be advanced to this exceeding weight of glory . Moreover , we are made the Children of God by Covenant ; God , the All-sufficient Good , of his infinite Love and Grace , condescends to poor Sinners , and freely bestows himself upon them , becomes their God in Christ , and takes them into Covenant with himself , and makes them his Sons and Daughters , 2 Cor. 6. 17 , 18. communicating to them his Spirit , working in them all sanctifying Graces , pardoning their Iniquities , giving them new Hearts , new Spirits , soft and tender Hearts , Hearts to tremble at his Word , to mourn for Sin , their own and others , tender of God's Honour , Hearts to love him , Hearts to fear him , &c. and enabling them to give up their whole selves unfeignedly and unreservedly unto the Lord Jesus Christ , taking him for their only Lord and Saviour , and as the only way and means to bring them unto God , and to his glory , submitting themselves to his gracious government in all things , and trusting in him for Life and Salvation . These are the Children of God , which shall certainly inherit this far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . They are the People of God , that shall possess this glory , who are described by a famous Divine , thus : — They are a part of the Externally called , who being by the Spirit of Christ throughly though imperfectly regenerate , are hereupon convinced , and sensible of that evil i● Sin , that misery in themselves , that vanity in the Creature , and that necessity , sufficiency , and excellency of Jesus Christ , that they abhor that evil , bewail that misery , and turn their Hearts from that vanity , and most affectionately accepting of Christ for their Saviour and Lord , to bring them unto God the Chief Good , and present them perfectly just before him , do accordingly enter into a cordial Covenant with him , and so deliver up themselves unto him , and herein persevere unto their lives end . Now all th● Children of God , all the People of God , may be assured of this glory ; for , First , God hath ordained and prepared this glory for his People : This Kingdom is prepared before the foundation of the World , Mat. 25. God hath predestinated his Children to this glorious Inheritance , Eph. 1. 5 , 11. Rom. 8. 29 , 30. 2 Thess . 2. 13. God hath prepared for them a City , Heb. 11. 16. 1 Cor. 2. 9. Matt. 20. 23. The Saints are Vessels of Mercy , before prepared unto glory , Rom. 9. 23. And those , in time , he translates out of Satan's Kingdom , into the Kingdom of his dear Son , and by his Spirit of Grace , by his Word of Grace , by his Fatherly Chastisements , by his Mercies , he doth by degrees make meet and fit for this glorious Inheritance with his Saints in light , Col. 1. 12 , 13. And surely , God's Counsel shall stand , and his Decrees be fulfilled : Therefore blessed are they whose God is the Lord , and the people whom he hath chosen for his Inheritance , Psal . 33. 11 , 12. Secondly , This Glory is purchased also , as was said before : It is alone by the Blood of Jesus , that we have entrance into Heaven ; therefore do the Saints sing forth his Praises , for that he hath redeemed them out of every Nation by his Blood , and made them Kings and Priests to God , Rev. 5. 9 , 10. So that either Christ must lose the price of his Blood and Sufferings , and never see the Travel of his Soul , but all his pain and expectations be lost ; or else , for certain , there remains for the Saints this far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . Thirdly , This Glory is promised also : God , that cannot lye , hath promised Eternal Life , Tit. 1. 2. Luk. 12. 32. & 22. 19. I appoint unto you a kingdom , as my Father hath appointed unto me a kingdom . 2 Thess . 1. 7. Matth. 25. 34. Jam. 2. 5. Rev. 2. 7 , 10 , 11 , 17. Heb. 10. 34. with many other places . So that if the Purpose and Decree of God be certain , if the Purchase of Christ be certain , if the Promises of the faithful God be certain , all which are most sure and certain , then also it is most sure and certain , that the Children of God shall most assuredly one day receive this far more exceeding and eternal weigh of glory . And now , O my Soul ! how long shall thy foolish Heart deceive thee ? how long wilt thou set thy Affections on things below , upon lying dying Vanities ? When wilt thou draw off , and mind thy Everlasting Rest in good-earnest , and lay out thy self to the utmost , to secure thy Title to it ? Lord , be merciful to me , according to thy loving kindness : and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies , blot out all my Transgressions . Thus have I said a little concerning this far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , of the Preparatives to it , of the Properties of it , and of the People that shall certainly possess it , to their everlasting consolation . And what shall I say now , but that Shame should cover my Face , and Sorrow fill my Heart , for that I am so little , oh ! so little affected with these great things : Oh , what a hard earthly Heart have I ! Oh , that all those that shall read or hear what I have written , may have their Hearts more affected with these things , and that they may be perswaded and enabled in the strength of God , to put forth all their Power , in the use of all means , while they have time , to be assured on good grounds , that they are the persons designed for this Glory : And , oh that you and I would now examine our Hearts and States about this . Let us in the presence of God ask our selves these few serious Questions : Are we the Children of God , they only are Heirs to this Glory ? Have we , out of a true sense of our Sin and Misery , heartily accepted of the Lord Jesus Christ for our only Lord and Saviour , really yielded up our whole selves to his government ? Are we truly regenerated , our Natures changed , God's Image repaired on us , and his Spirit living and ruling in us ? Do we hold out the Life of Christ in our Life , and are we like God ? Have we actually entred into Covenant with God in Christ , and chosen him for our only Happiness and Portion , giving up our selves unfeignedly to be the Lord's ? Let us deal uprightly with our selves , and if our Consciences can witness for us , that it is thus with us , then may we be confident that all our Afflictions shall work and prepare us for that Glory . I proceed now to shew how those light and short Afflictions of the People of God in this World , are singularly useful and influential to work them for , and to work for them this far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . And that these waies . First , By discovering , imbittering , curing , and removing those things , which undiscovered , uncured , and uncleansed , would utterly deprive us of that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . What those things are , you may easily judge ; they are our Sins , our Corruptions , our Iniquities , the Evils of our Hearts and Lives , the filthiness of Flesh and Spirit ; these not purged away , will most certainly exclude from Glory ; as , 1 Cor. 6. 9 , 10. Col. 3. 5 , 6. Rev. 21. 27. No unclean thing shall ever enter into the New Jerusalem . Now Afflictions are useful to discover Sin , to aggravate and imbitter Sin , to cleanse and cure the Soul , and so to prepare it for Glory . ( 1. ) To discover Sin : Afflictions enlighten mens Eyes ; One calls Afflictions the Christian's Eye-bright . Man is full of Self-love , and this Love is blind and blinding ; and Man's Heart is deceitful and ignorant , his Mind is dark ; Man is born blind , spiritually blind ; Men see not their Sin and Misery , Rev. 3. 17. until God discover their Sins to them , which He doth , as by his Word and Spirit , so by Afflictions , Deut. 8. 2. Gen. 42. 22. 1 Kin. 17. 18. God doth by his Rod shew Men their Iniquities . A very Pharoah sees , and acknowledgeth his Sin in his Affliction : So did the Jews , Isa . 59. 11. And it 's usual for men to cry out on their Sins in their Trouble , Oh then , my Pride , my Covetousness , my Prophaneness , my Frowardness , &c. of which they would not hear before . ( 2ly . ) Afflictions are very useful to aggravate and imbitter Sin : Those Sins that were sweet in time of Prosperity , and seemed small , or nothing but Mole-hills , as it were , light and little , prove bitter and grievous , even as heavy as Mountains . Were not David's Sins so to him ? See Psal . 38. 3 , 4 , 5. Our Lord Jesus , in Matth. 11. 28 , 29. maketh this sense of the bitterness of Sin , a fit qualification of Souls to come to him , that in him they may find Rest , which Rest is the beginning at least of that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . When and where Sin is aggravated , and becomes bitter and burdensome to a Soul , then and there Christ , Grace , and Glory becomes sweet and amiable . Usually in Prosperity Sin is sweet , or at least accounted small : Is it not a little one ? Oh , the Excuses , Shifts , Evasions , and Pleas that in Prosperity men study to extenuate and lessen Sin ! They feel but little weight in great Sins ; the Sins of Youth , Vain-talking , Jesting , officious Lying , neglect of Duty , worldly Talk on the Lord's day , &c. who feels the ponderous weight of such Sins in time of Prosperity ? Now Afflictions serve to imbitter sweet Sins , and to aggravate small sins . Job 13. 26 , 27. then he remembers the Sins of his Youth , and looks on them otherwise than he did before . In Youth great Sins seem small ; as Disobedience to Parents , wasting time , prophaning the Lord's day , Lying , &c. but in Afflictions they lyo heavy ; as we see in Joseph's Brethren , Gen. 42. 22. ( 3ly . ) To cure and cleanse Sin , Psal . 119. 67. Jerem. 31. 18. Eminent is the Example of Manasses , on whom Afflictions wrought a wonderful change , 2 Chron. 33. And this comes to pass , in that Afflictions , when God blesseth them , they work Repentance : This is one of God's ends in sending Afflictions upon his People , his Children , whom he loves dearly , Dan. 11. 33 , 34 , 35. It is to make them white and clean , to purge away their Iniquity , Isa , 27. 9. And thus Afflictions are influential on God's People , to work them for , and to work for the●● a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; for none are fit for this glory until sin be imbittered to them , and they purged and cleansed from their Sins in the Fornace of Affliction , but all through the vertue of the Blood of Christ , 1 Joh. 1. 7 , 9. Secondly , Afflictions are useful to prepare for Glory , by being means of God's Appointment and Blessing , to work gracious and happy Changes on men , without which they can never come to glory . All men must have mighty , great , and wonderful Changes made upon them , before they can be glorified : Now , to effect these gracious Changes , God useth various means , as principally his Spirit , his Word , his Rod ; and many times he makes his Rod to do that , and to work that great Change on Men , which his Spirit and Word , without the Rod , could not do , because of Mens resistance of the Spirit and Word ; but when the Rod comes , they cannot resist that . By the Rod he makes the Proud to stoop and become humble , as in Nebuchadnezzar's Case , &c. The Rod and the Word work Wonders , when God by his Spirit works in them and with them . Afflictions change , even such as were Beasts , into Men , yea , into Saints : Jer. 31. 18. I was ( saith Ephraim ) as a Bullock , a Beast , before I was chastized ; but being chastized , I spake like a man , yea , like a child of God. Afflictions working effectually , work this Change. Psal . 119. 67. so on Manasses ; many a Child of God can witness this Truth . Thirdly , Afflictions both drive and draw God's People nearer to him ; they wandered before , they went a whoring from God after other Lovers ; but Afflictions bring them home , Psal . 142. 4 , 5. As the natural Spirits in the Body retire inward , and get close to the Heart in cold weather , and in any danger outward ; so the Souls of God's People draw nearest to God in times of Storms and Tempests in the World : Psal . 31. from ver . 9 , to 16. his Troubles made him take Sanctuary in God , and to trust in him : I trusted in the Lord ; I said , Thou art my God. Fourthly , Afflictions destroy that great Impediment that unfits for Glory , and that is Earthly-mindedness , inordinate Love of the Creature , Phil. 3. 19. Earthly-mindedness fits for Destruction , and not for Salvation : Afflictions are intended to wean our Hearts from the World , to crucifie our Affections to Earthly things : And this effect they had on our Apostle here , and upon the Primitive Christians , as Verse the last ; We look not ( say they ) on those things which are seen , for they are temporal : All Creature-enjoyments , which Worldlings set their Hearts upon , and labour so eagerly after , we value them not , we care not much for them , our Hearts are weaned from them , we are crucified to the World , and the World is crucified to us ; but we look to those things which are not seen ; we mind , and think on , and hope , and believe , and joy in those things which are not seen ; our Hearts are in Heaven , set upon the unseen God , the unseen Glory there , the unseen Jesus . And whence came they to be wrought into this blessed heavenly frame , but much by the Blessing of God on their Afflictions , God's Spirit working in and with their Afflictions this deadness of Affection to the World , and raising up their Hearts towards Heaven ? So their Afflictions were useful to them , to prepare them for Glory . Fifthly , By working in us ; and exercising in us those Graces to which Glory is promised : Rom. 5. 3 , 5. Tribulation worketh Patience , and Patience Experience , and Experience Hope : Yea , God's Spirit makes Afflictions useful to work Holiness , Heb. 12. 10. to make God's Children partakers of his Holiness , without which no man shall see God. So Jam. 1. 12. Happy is the man that endureth temptation , for when he is tryed , he shall receive a crown of glory , which God hath promised to them that love him . And in hope of this glory God's People rejoyce in their Tribulations . Sixthly , Afflictions quicken God's People to all diligence and seriousness in the use of all God's means to obtain Glory ; they quicken to Self-examination : I considered my ways , saith David : They make them search their Hearts , and try their ways : Afflictions make them put away their Idols , helping on the work of Reformation , quicken them to Prayer ; then they cry unto the Lord , and pour out their Hearts before him , and God loves to hear their Cries ; then they wrestle with God in Prayer , and then they are serious in their Reproofs , Admonitions , and Instructions of others ; then also they labour to act their Faith and their Love to God and Christ , and to set their Affection upon things above , and to look to their Sincerity and Uprightness . Unto all those things we are too backward in time of Prosperity , but in trouble we are awakened and quickened . Lastly , Afflictions prepare God's People for glory , by working in them strong Desires , fervent Pantings and Breathings after that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . When holy David was in a barren Wilderness , where no Waters of Earthly Comforts were to be had , oh ! then his Soul , and Flesh , and all , did thirst after God. Psal . 63. 1 , 2 , 3 , 8. then his Soul followed hard after God. So Psal . 42. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4. in Prosperity our Souls follow too hard after the Creature , after the lying , dying vanities of this World : Oh , how are we enamoured with these fading Beauties and Braveries ! How eagerly do we pursue the Profits and Pleasures of the World ! we may with Shame and Sorrow confess it ; but when our Heavenly Father strips us of all our pleasant things , plucks our fairest Flowers out of our Hands , and snatches our dearest Comforts out of our Bosoms , oh , then what Breathings and Pantings after God , the light of his Countenance , and the manifestations of his Love ! When Earth is gone , then Heaven is welcome ; when the Creature is gone , then Christ is sweet . Before I come to the Application , three Questions shall be resolved . Q. 1. How must Afflictions be so born , as that they may thus work ? 2. How must they be improved to attain this end ? 3. Who are the People interested in this Priviledge ? Q. 1. How must Afflictions be born , that they may work thus , to prepare us for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ? Of all these Questions I have treated on other Texts , which may be seen in my Notes . Yet briefly , Answ . That our Afflictions may thus work , we must be sure to bear them as Christians ; our Carriage and Deportment in them , and under them , must be as becometh Christians , that is , in such a Christian manner as Christ did bear his Sufferings . We must set Christ before us for our Example , to imitate him ; and we must set the Saints of God before us for our Example also , and bear our Afflictions as they bore theirs : And also , we must bear them according to the Rules of Christianity set down in the Gospel ; and that is , we must bear our Afflictions quietly , silently , patiently , submissively , contentedly , willingly , cheerfully , and constantly : So did our Lord Jesus , and so did the Saints ; and so must we , if we will have this great benefit by them , that they may prepare us for Glory ? Q. 2. How must we improve them ? Ans . By the conscientious practice of these Duties . First , Serious Consideration . In the day of Adversity consider ; Eccles . 7. 14. Do we suffer ? Let us consider for whom , for what , from whom we suffer ? Consider , what our Lord hath suffered for us , what our Sins have deserved , and what our special Duties are in time of Afflictions : Let us fill up our Thoughts with these serious considerations , and dwell some time in the Meditations of them , and let them sink into our Minds , and it will much help us in the spiritual improvement of our Afflictions for our great advantage . The want of this due consideration God chargeth on the Jews as a very great Sin , Jer. 5. 3. I have smitten them , but they have not grieved , &c. God expects , that when he smites us , we should lay it to Heart , ponder upon it , and consider it , or else know this , that there is a more dreadful stroke of hardness upon thy Heart , than there is upon thy out-comforts ; for then , without this due Consideration , no Duty is performed , nor Benefit received by all our Afflictions . ( 1. ) In time of Affliction consider the vanity of the Creature . When God deprives us of our outward Comforts , takes away our dearest Relations , now consider what vain things they are , that we promise our selves so much Comfort and Contentment in ; how soon they wither , one stroke from God separates us and them , they are gone . We can talk of the Vanity of the Creature , but it is never so well learned , as when God teacheth by our own Experience ; other mens Experience is not so much to us . Isa . 40. 6 , 7. All flesh is grass ; all Creature-enjoyments are withering grass . ( 2. ) Consider the Evil of Sin : Are we in any Affliction , are we in Pain , under any Trouble ? Let us now consider what Sin is , which is the cause of all those Miseries . These are the bitter Fruits of Sin. ( 3. ) Consider also the End and Design of God in our Afflictions . Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me . What Provocation have we given God ? What have we done ? ( 4. ) What Errand and Message is this Affliction come upon ? Surely God hath sent it upon some Errand ; what is his meaning ? ( 5. ) Consider also the merciful and gracious Disposition of God towards his People in Affliction , Deut. 8. 5. Heb. 12. 6. Rev. 3. 19. He is grieved for them , Isa . 63. 9. In all their Afflictions he is afflicted , he doth not afflict willingly , he loves them when he corrects them . ( 6. ) Consider God's fatherly Affection to his Children in Affliction ; Lam. 3. 33. Judg. 10. 16. Jer. 31. 20. My bowels are turned for him . Heb. 4. 15. Zech. 2. 8. they that touch them , touch the apple of his Eye . Psal . 103. 13. God pittieth them as a Father doth his Children : Therefore let us pray as the Church . Isa . 26. 8. In the way of thy judgments have we waited for thee . So Isa . 63. 15. ( 7. ) Consider God's gracious moderation of his Peoples Afflictions . Isa . 27. 7 , 8. He afflicts in measure , He stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind : He doth not punish as we deserve , Job 34. 23. Psal . 103. 10. Job 11. 6. ( 2. ) He will keep us from sinking , Lam. 3. 22. 2Cor . 4. 8 , 9 , 10. Though ▪ troubled on every side , yet not distressed ; perplexed , yet not in despair ; persecuted , but not forsaken ; cast down , but not destroyed . 2Cor . 6. 9. see his gracious Promise . 1 Cor. 10. 13. God is faithful , who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able , but will with the temptation also make a way to escape , that ye may be able to bear it . Job 23. 6. Will he plead against me with his great power ? No : but he would put strength in me . Psal . 37. 24. The Lord upholdeth with his hand . ( 3. ) He will not be always wrath : Isa . 57. 16. It shall be for a moment , and no more . Lam. 3. 31. He will not cast off for ever . 2 Cor. 1. 10. He hath delivered , he doth deliver , and will deliver . Psal . 126. 5. They that sow in tears , shall reap in joy . ( 4. ) He orders all the Circumstances of our Troubles ; the Time how long ; the Place where ; the Quality , what kind ; the Measure , how much . All the Powers of Men and Devils are not able to add a dram to the weight , nor a drop to the measure , of what our gracious Father hath appointed for us . All these seven Considerations will exceedingly help us to make a profitable improvement of our Afflictions , for the preparing of us for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . And also these Considerations will very much help us to carry and behave our selves aright , and as Christians under afflictive Providences , which is the right way to attain the benefit of them . It is an hard thing for a man to carry himself well under a smiling Providence : but an harder thing for a man to carry himself well under a smiting Providence ; which was hinted before . Secondly , But a little more to shew how we ought to carry our selves under Afflictions , that so we may receive the Blessings and Benefits of them , which we may lose by our Miscarriages . 1. When any Affliction befals you , Be silent before the Lord , for he hath put you to silence . Do not murmur , quarrel , fret , or be discontented : I believe , a better sign of an honest and upright Heart can scarcely be found , than for a man to love God the more for his afflicting of him , and to cleave the faster to God , when God cuts off his earthly Comforts from him : Oh , be silent before the Lord ; Zech. 2. 13. Lam. 3. 28. 2. Be humble under God's hand , for that is his end in afflicting , lye down at his Feet , Jam. 4. God is humbling of you , now then humble your own Souls ; labour to break your own Hearts in the sense of your Sins , and to lye low before the Lord. 3. Acknowledge God's Righteousness , and justifie him , even when he striketh the heaviest stroke ; let the blow be never so great upon your most desirable Mercies , yet acquit God , do not charge him foolishly , and say he dealeth hardly . Psal . 51. 4. God must be acquitted and justified , tho' he should condemn us unto everlasting wrath . lev . 26. 41. This is to accept of the punishment of our Iniquities . 4. Search your hearts , and try your ways . La● . 3. 40. find out the Achans , the Jonabs , the Dalilah . Jer. 8. 6. when the Lord sends any Affliction upon his People , he hearkens to hear what they speak : The Lord hearkened and heard , and there was none that smote upon his thigh , saying , What have I done ? Our Work now in Affliction is to enquire , What Sins have I committed ? what Duties have I omitted ? Now make a diligent search . 5. Pour out your Hearts to God in Prayer ; this is our great relief and ease in time of Affliction : Jam. 5. 13. Is any afflicted ? let him pray : Now pray earnestly , fervently , cry to God : Let us never think to heal the wound that the stroke of God hath made any other way : go not to mer●y Company , and the Affairs and Delights of the World for a Cure : Pray for a Blessing on the Rod : Pray that God will shew you his End in afflicting you , and that he will make up what he hath removed from you by the enjoyment of himself : Pray for Suffering Graces , for Faith and Patience : It is a sad thing when Afflictions are on Men , if they know not how to ease themselves by Prayer . 6. If by Affliction the Lord discover any particular Evil to thy Soul , then break off that Wickedness by speedy Repentance and Reformation , or else you frustrate the very End of God in afflicting you , and you provoke the Lord to go on with stroke upon stroke , until you are consumed . I● the Lord smite any of you for any particular S●● you live in , and he convince your Conscience of it do not continue in the practice of that Sin for a World ; for when once the Lord taketh up his Rod , he will never lay it down ; if he have Love to thy Soul , he will smite thee deeper and deeper , until he have stript thee of all thy dearest Enjoyments , and leave thee stark naked , that he may separate thee and thy Sin. But when the Lord intends to punish a Soul eternally in Hell , he will not do so ; but whom he loves , and intends to save eternally , he will smite and smite , and never leave smiting , until he separate them and their Lusts . 7. Lastly , give up your whole Hearts entirely to God in Christ ; for this end God cuts off our choicest earthly Mercies , that we may entirely give up our selves to Christ . These things stood in the way of Jesus Christ , therefore God removes them , and so makes room in the Heart for himself , and for Christ . O , now say , O my Soul ! thou hast wasted too much of thine Affections on those poor perishing things ; this Mercy , and that Enjoyment , hath taken off thy Heart from Jesus Christ ; this Relation hath lain between thy Heart and Christ : Well , now the Lord hath taken these away , oh ! now my Soul , let Jesus Christ stand in the Breach that is made , and let him fill it up : Let him come in the room of that Mercy that is gone . If we labour thus to make up the Breach , the stroke will be a stroke of Love , and by this we may know that Affliction comes in love to our Souls , when it makes us love God better , and stick faster to God than before , and cleave more to Duty than before : That which endeth in our Love to God , did come from . God's Love to us . These are the strokes from a Father's Hand , and he will heal them in his due time , which is the best time . So much of the Second . Thirdly , If we would improve our Afflictions so , as that they may be means of preparing us for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , we must carefully avoid the usual Extreams that men are liable to in times of Affliction , that is neither to slight them , nor to sink under them : Prov. 3. 11. Despise not thou the chastnings of the Lord , neither faint when thou art corrected of him . ( 1. ) Slight not Afflictions , but value them , for Afflictions are of God's sending , they arise not o●● of the Dust , they are God's Messengers ; yea , sufferings for Christ are God's gifts . Phil. 1. 29. ( 2. ) They are Love-tokens sent us from a loving Father : Heb. 12. 6. Whom he loveth he corrected . ( 3. ) They are wholsom Physick , needful for us , to cure the mortal Diseases of our Souls , sent us from a most wise and faithful Physician , who prescribes and orders every Ingredient in our Potio● . ( 4. ) They are Marks of the true way to Heaven Act. 14. 22. ( 5. ) Preservatives against the Veno● of Sin , to prevent the infection of it . ( 6. ) They are Covenant-Mercies . Psal . 89. 32. ( 7. ) Means t● prepare us for glory , and to prevent our eternal condemnation . 1 Cor. 11. 32. Oh , could we b●● thus receive our Afflictions , and so take and b●● them , and so improve them after this manner , what singular good would they do us , and what Comfort might we have in them ? And as we must not despise them , so we must not faint under them neither , but patiently and quietly submit to the holy will of God , and resign up our selves to his Good-will and Pleasure ; ●● was shewed before . Fourthly , We improve Afflictions when we are exercised by them . Heb. 12. 10. then we shall reap the Fruit of them . Now this Exercise consists ( as a worthy Divine observes ) in these things . Jer. 9. 24. Ezek. 22. 29. Isa . 64. 5. to wit , 1st , About the Affliction that smarts ; 2dly , About our Hearts that feel ; 3dly , About the Hand that smites . 1st , About the Affliction itself , the Rod that is upon us ; we must be exercised in hearing Work , in bearing Work , and in doing work : 1. In hearing Work ; Mic. 6. 9. Hear ye the rod , and him that hath appointed it : The voice of the Rod is the whole Word of God : Three words ( saith he ) especially the Rod speaks ; 1. Thou hast sinned ; 2. God is displeased ; 3. Return and Repent : We must hear and obey these Voices . 2dly , In bearing Work ; Mic. 7. 9. I will bear the indignation of the Lord. Jam. 1. 4. Lam. 3. 27. Bear thy affliction feelingly , freely , willingly : Jerem. 10. 24. waitingly , not growing weary . 3dly , In doing Work , three things are to be done , 1. Kiss the Rod in your Father's Hand , honour it as your Father's Scepter , fear it as his Sword , love it as his Physick . 2. Cast away the Sin that hath provoked it . Isa . 30. 22. Hos . 14. 8. Job 34. 31. 3. Embrace the Covenant of God , for which he pleads . Thus must we be exercised about our Affliction . Secondly , We must be exercised about our Hearts thus : 1. Heart-Consideration of the Rod : Eccles . 7. 14. Weigh well what it is we suffer , whence it comes , by what provoked , and to what intended ; of which before . 2. Heart-breaking under it : Jer. 4. 3. Hos . 10. 12. 3. Heart-bending : Our Spirits must stoop to the Will of God. Thirdly , We must be exercised about the Hand that smites . Isa . 24. 15. to glorifie God in the Fires ; 1st , By abasing our selves : Job 42. 5 , 6. I abhor my self in dust and ashes , said holy Job . 2ly , By justifying God in all his Dealings : Jer. 12. 1. Lam. 3. 39. Righteous art thou , O Lord. 3ly , By yielding Reverence , Fear , Obedience , Faith. 4ly , Going to God for the Blessing of the Rod : And thus exercising our selves these ways , we shall improve our Afflictions for our spiritual Advantage . Q. 3. But who are the People interested in this great Priviledge , that those short and light Afflictions shall work for them , and work them for , this far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ? Answ . Surely not all that are afflicted ; all shall not receive this Blessing , for some grow worse by Affliction ; but only the Saints and true Believers , such only as are the Children of God , and such as hold forth the Life of Christ in their mortal Flesh ; as Vers . 10 , 11. of this 2 Cor. 4. such as walk as Christ walked , that follow his Steps ; such as look , aim at , and follow after invisible eternal things principally and chiefly , as Verse 18 ; even such , and such only as are exercised by Affliction , as was shewed before ; they , and they only , shall reap the quiet and peaceable Fruits of Righteousness here , and receive that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory hereafter . They that bear Afflictions as Christians , and improve them as Christians , and partake of the Blessings of them , they shall partake of this Priviledge of being prepared by them for this weight of glory . The Application . First , for Information , 1 Inf. I. Then God's Children must take heed that they do neither despise the Chastnings of the Lord , nor faint when they are rebuked of him : Prov. 3. 11. Seeing they are designed for such good ●●ds , as to fit us for glory , we should not slight the ●ast Affliction , the least Cross or Disappointment that doth befal us ; for how little soever it be , it is 〈◊〉 Father's Rod , his Messenger , his Hand . Nor ●ould we faint under any Affliction , how great and ●eavy soever it be , because he that lays it on , doth ● in love to our Souls , and will lay on no more than he will enable us to bear , for he will uphold t● with his Hand . 1. We must not despise them , as noted before , ●● which I shall add this . We are said to despise Messenger sent us , when we do not bid him welcome , nor comply with his Message , but turn him 〈◊〉 without his Errands end . We must not deal ●● with any Affliction , any of God's Messengers ; ●e must not be unwilling of Affliction , nor be discontented at them , but thankfully receive them ●● Tokens of our Father's Love to us , and as his wholesome Physick , which our Souls stand in need ●● ; as was also before noted , and to which I shall ●dd a little more , because it is an hard thing to bid affliction welcome , and to bless God for taking , as well as for giving , as Job did . And though we have no warrant to pray for Affliction ( although we may pray that God would use all means to do our Souls good , and to prepare us for glory ) yet they must be thankfully received , then God sends them , and God is to be praised for them . This is a hard Lesson to Flesh and Blood , who can bear it ? Yet it is our express Duty , Jam , 1. 2. Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations ; which I think mainly respects the Sufferings of the Saints for Christ , in which we are bound to rejoice and be glad . Matth. 5. 12. yet not excluding other Afflictions : So 2 Cor. 6. 10. Rom. 6. 2 , 3. glory in Tribulations . Job 1. last . Obj. But is it possible , that when Afflictions come on us , as loss of our dear Relations , loss of our Estate and Liberty , loss of Health , when grievous Pains are on our Bodies , is it possible we can bid these welcome , and rejoice in them ? Or , if it be possible , is it necessary ? Ans . 1. God himself grants , that the Afflictions of his People are not for the present joyous , but grievous , Heb. 12. 11. not to be delighted in : God allows his poor People to complain , and grieve under them ; which notes his Tenderness towards them : He himself takes notice of their Afflictions , Exod. 2. 25. Jer. 31. 18. Psal . 56. 8. he telleth their Wandrings , and puts their Tears into his Bottle . He himself is grieved for their Afflictions , Judg. 10. 16. his bowels work towards them , and in all their afflictions he is afflicted , Isa . 63. 9. Now , if our Afflictions be grievous to God , it will not displease him if they be grievous to us . Nay , God expects that we should grieve for grieving him by our Sins . We never find in Scripture God's People to be blamed for their grieving and complaining of their Afflictions , unless they were immoderate : God doth not forbid the workings of Nature ; nay , God loves to see Nature work orderly and regularly . Aaron's Case , and Ezekiel's was extraordinary , and not to be drawn into Example . Chastening is a displeased Father's Rod , therefore there must be a Child-like grief , shame , and sorrow . Numb . 12. 14. it is the Rod of Love : There must be Grief and Love in us his Children ; He rebukes and loves , we must grieve and love . So that It must be granted , that in the pain , and smart , and trouble that is on us , simply considered , we cannot rejoice , nor bid the Burthen welcome : A Man should have an Heart worse than of a Beast to do so : Nor is it required , but the contrary is required , namely , to humble our selves under the mighty Hand of God ; and to be sensible of his strokes , to be afflicted , and weep and mourn , Jam. 4. 8. 2. But the sweet Fruit , the Blessing of Affliction , that God intends Affliction shall bring forth in us , which we must pray for , hope for , believe for , and to which we must have an Eye as soon as the Affliction comes ; this is that we must rejoyce in , and bless God for , and so , in prospect of this good Fruit , of this Blessing , and in hope of it , we must entertain our Afflictions thankfully , as thus : I am afflicted in my Relations , in my Estate , in my Body ; here are grievous , painful , sad strokes ; but , Lord , I hope all this is in love to my Soul , I hope the Fruit will be good , and therefore in hope of the good Fruit , I 〈◊〉 and bless thy Name , and most earnestly but th● 〈…〉 of all thy Chastisements . So that , if we 〈◊〉 consider , and firmly believe , that our Afflictions we Testimonies of God's Fatherly Love to u● , and care for us ; as Heb. 11. Rev. 3. 19. Whom I 〈◊〉 , I rebuke and chasten , saith our Lord ; it being 〈…〉 taken of God's Wrath not to be afflicted 〈…〉 . Let them alone , saith God , I will not 〈…〉 : Luk. 6. 22. And if we could 〈…〉 Afflictions are the signs of our Sonship , and the signs of the true way to Heaven , that they are for our profit , to make us conformable to Christ , and to prevent our eternal condemnation , and that we have need of them , and that they shall prepare us for eternal glory : I say , these things firmly believed , and duly considered , we shall be able thankfully to receive our Afflictions , and to bless the Lord , in hope to receive those singular Blessings from them , Rejoycing in Hope , patient in Tribulation , Rom. 12. 12. It is our want of Faith in God's Promises , concerning those sweet Fruits of Affliction , that we do not cheerfully bear them : Lord , encrease our Faith , our Hope , our Patience . There is Joy and Peace in believing ; Rom. 15. 13. Had we more Faith , we should have more joy and less grief in our Afflictions . We are glad when our Physick works , though it put us to pain , in hope of Relief and Benefit by it ; let us do so when God's Physick works , and we shall be sure to have Benefit by all . Obj. But are not Afflictions Tokens of God's Displeasure ? and , can we , or ought we to rejoice in them then ? Ans . They are so indeed against the Wicked , and so are all the Mercies they enjoy : And they are Tokens of God's Displeasure against the Sins of his People , but Tokens of Love to their Souls . Psl . 99. 8. Thou answeredst them , O Lord our God : that wast a God that forgavest them , though thou tookest vengeance on their inventions . Isa . 57. 17 , 18. and so are Mercies too , Isa . 38. 17. Q. Can we rejoyce when God takes away our choicest Earthly Comforts , our dearest Enjoyments from us ? Ans . Yes , after we have been sensible of God's Hand , and have been humbled under it ; and if it make way for better Mercies , and God be pleased to bestow more of himself , more of his Spirit , more of his Grace and Love upon us , then we shall have cause to rejoyce , and to be thankful . So much of the first part of our Duty in our Afflictions , That we must not despise them . II. The second is , That we must not faint under them , nor grow weary of them . This is the other Extream that we must carefully avoid . Seeing Afflictions , which are but light and short , work for us , and work us for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , therefore we must not grow weary under them . By this weariness , in general , I mean , a sinking of Spirit , a despondency of Heart under the Rod , when a man is , as we say , Crest-faln , and without Spirit , so that he cannot bear up , his Spirit fails in the day of Adversity ; when a man is willing to throw off the burthen , before God takes it off ; is Job 4. 5. Psal . 88. 14 , 15. I am afflicted , and ready to dye , from my youth up : while I suffer thy terrors , I am distracted . Thy fierce wrath goeth over me , by terrors have cut me off . Thus spake Heman , a choice Saint . Here I shall briefly shew , 1. the Cause ; 2. the Cure of this Weariness , that we may the better avoid it . 1. First , the Cause , and that is manifold , as first , from Man himself ; we our selves are the Causes of this Weariness , in a threefold respect , as , 1. Our not expecting Troubles : In Health we look not for Sickness , and when Troubles come unexpectedly , they make us weary . 2ly , Our over-valuing of our earthly Comforts . 3ly , Because , in truth , we are more sensible of our Losses , than of our Enjoyments . 2. In regard of the Affliction it self : 1st , When it swells to any great height : 2ly , When Afflictions are multiplied one upon the back of another . 3ly , When they be of long continuance : 4ly , When inflicted on the nobler parts , and upon the Spirit : 5ly , When but little support , but few Comforters , or miserable Comforters , few to help to bear the burthen : 6ly , When they are heavy , and ordinarily they are heavy , because Sin is light , and Glory is light ; for when Sin lies heavy on the Soul , and Heaven much in the Heart , Afflictions are much lighter on the Body ; Nil sentit in nervo , cum ani●● sit in Coelo . 3. In regard of God ; He puts Lead into son● mens Burthens sometimes ; he sets home Sin and Wrath upon the Conscience , and then men grow weary . 4. In regard of the Devil , he doth his utmost to imbitter every Trouble , and adds his Tempations to make it more intolerable . So much ●● the Cause of Weariness . 2. Secondly , for the Cure. We must labour to avoid this Weariness under Affliction ; and tha● we may , take these Directions : 1 Direct . 1st , Let us urge our Heavenly Father Command upon our own hearts , and the Command of our Lord Jesus upon our selves : See the express Command of God , Prov. 3. 11. Heb. 12. 5. Be not weary of his chastisements : faint not when th●● art corrected : Thus speaks our Heavenly Father to his Children : And the Command of our Lord Christ is express also , John 14. 1. Let not your hearts be troubled : Whatever affliction befals you , let not your Hearts be troubled . Let us urge these Commands upon our selves : Consider we , 1. Is there any cause of Heart-trouble , when our Heavenly Father , the great Lord of Heaven and Earth , hath his will , which we daily pray for ? All our Troubles are by the Will of God. 2. When the great Proprietor and Owner of all things doth most wisely and most righteously dispose of his own ? 3. When we are called to render back but what we had borrowed ? Our Health , Estates , Liberty , Relations , Life it self , all were but lent us . 4. When lesser Mercies are removed , that greater and better may be bestowed ? 5. When we have our Iniquities purged , which is the sure Evidence that they are pardoned ; and that we are made more conformable to Christ , and so sitted for nearer and fuller Communion with God ? 6. When our Graces are tryed and acted , and so made more apparent and illustrious ? 7. When by all our Afflictions we are prepared for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ? Let us weigh all these things well , and they will help us against Weariness : And for our further help against Heart-trouble , see my Discourse on John 14. 1 , 2 , 3. 2. That we may not grow weary of God's Chastisements , let us urge Reason also upon our selves , as thus : If I grow weary , I break the express Command of my Heavenly Father , and disobey the Counsel of my Dear Lord : 2. If I grow weary , it argues my Unbelief ; for , who would grow weary of long and grievous Afflictions , that did fully believe the gracious ends and designs of God in them ; and his sweet Promises to his afflicted People ; and that Afflictions are in the Covenant ; that they are the Fruits of God's Fatherly Love , and shall surely work for our good ; that the Cross is the way to the Crown : Who believes these things , and yet is weary ? Again : By Weariness we make our Burthens heavier than God intends them to be ; Cheerfulness and Patience makes them lighter : The like Affliction to a patient , humble , contented Christian is much lighter than to another fretful , weary , and discontented person . Now , it is possible we may make our Burthens heavier than God intends them , thus : 1st , When we think no Trouble like ours : Consider Job's Case ; Trouble was upon all his Relations , all his Estate , upon his Body , Soul , and All. 2ly , When we let loose our Passions , to run whither they will , without any restraint : 3ly , When we refuse the Comforts that God sends us : So did good Jacob , Gen. 37. 35. 4ly , When we continually fix our Thoughts on our Afflictions , and are always poring on them , so that all the Mercies that we enjoy are quite swallowed up : And have we any reason to greaten our own Burthens ? And again , by our Weariness we dishonour God , and discomfort our selves , and discourage others . 3. Thirdly , Serious Consideration , laying to heart and pondering upon several things that may prevent this weariness ; as , 1. Consider what this Weariness signifieth and implies : it hath very ill significations ; for , to be weary , signifieth a want , or at least , a great weakness of Faith , for he that believeth maketh not haste ; want of Hope , for we must hope to the end ; want of Patience , for Patience must have her perfect work , which is to last as long as Trouble lasts ; want of Love , for Love endeareth all things ; or , at least , a great weakness of those Graces . 2. Consider , God is long-suffering , He hath waited long on us . 3. It hath been the Practice of all the Saints , in all Ages , to wait on God. 4. That by our weariness we limit the Holy One of Israel , and do indeed call in question all the glorious Attributes of God , his Power , Wisdom , Faithfulness : Let us consider these things . 5. Consider , that they that suffer without weariness , they are blessed and happy ; Job 5. 17. Psal . 94. 12. Jam. 1. 12. Blessed are they that endure ; that is , that suffer without weariness . 6. Consider , that Afflictions are signs of our Sonship ; Heb. 12. and signs of God's Fatherly love . 7. Consider God's good and gracious Ends ; Isa . 27. 9. 8. Consider Christ's dreadful Sufferings for us . 9. Consider the many exceeding great and precious Promises that God hath made to patient Sufferers , that he will be with them , will sustain them , and in due time will deliver them : Now , if we will think and meditate on those things , and let our Thoughts dwell on them , and suffer them to sink down into our Hearts , and roul and revolve them in our Minds , they will much support us , and help us against weariness . 4. A Fourth thing we must do , to prevent , or cure this Weariness under Affliction , is serious examination of our selves , whether we belong to God or no ; whether reconciled , regenerated and born of God , or no ; whether united to Christ , justified and pardoned , or no : If you are , why then should we be weary of Affliction ? For , if God have done so many great things for us , surely he loves us , and will afflict us no more , nor no longer than need : Such a Soul will say , If the Lord please to become my God in Covenant , to give me to Christ , and Christ to me ; to pardon my Sins , and take me into his favour , and save me at last , let him do with my Health , and Estate , and Liberty , and Relations , and all , as he pleaseth . But if on the contrary , upon examination , we find our selves not regenerated and pardoned , it is high time for us to set about these great works in earnest , lest we should be cut off before they be wrought in us , and to set in with God in his Afflictions on us , for his Rods are one way he takes to bring about these gracious works upon us : therefore we should not be weary of them . O labour for the sense of God's Pardoning , Regenerating , Redeeming Love ; and labour to clear up to your selves , your Interest in God by Christ , and this will bear you up . 5. Fifthly , Labour to get and keep your Consciences pure and clean , that when there be Troubles without , you may have Peace within : But if God strike you without , and lay on blows on your outward Comforts , your Consciences may not lash you within , and charge you with heavier Burthens . If a man have a sound and whole Back , he can bear an heavy Burthen ; but if his back be sore , a small Burthen will pinch him : Let us therefore make even reckoning with God and our own Consciences , by renewing our Repentance , our Faith , in the Blood of Jesus , and by New Obedience ; and let us take heed we wrong not , nor wound our Consciences . 6. Sixthly , Spend many Thoughts on Zion , be grieved for the Afflictions of Joseph , think upon the Miseries and Distresses of many of the Lord 's dear Servants , and lay them to Heart : Divert and turn aside from musing on your own Troubles only , and let Sion's Sorrows have some impression on your Minds . 7. Seventhly , Labour to act Faith strongly upon the Invisible God , and upon that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , prepared in Heaven for you . Moses endured , and was not weary , as seeing him that is invisible , Heb. 11. 25 , 26. having an eye to the recompence of reward . Act Faith on God's Almighty Power ; he can bring light out of darkness , and can make dry Bones live : And upon his infinite wisdom , He , who is only-wise and most merciful , orders all the circumstances of your Afflictions , for time , place , quality , and quantity : Act Faith on his Faithfulness , Righteousness , Love , Pity and Compassion ; and labour by Faith to realize the promised purchased Glory , which Afflictions prepare you for . Dilate , spread , and enlarge your Thoughts and Meditations on those Crowns and Kingdoms , that Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled , that fadeth not away , reserved in Heaven for you ; those many Mansions in your Father's House , those everlasting Habitations above ; and sweeten your Spirits with those Thoughts . 8. Lastly , To prevent or cure Weariness , let us be much in Prayer : Seek the Lord , seek his Face continually , seek his Strength : He give ●● power to the faint , and to them that have no might he encreaseth strength , Isa . 40. 29 , 30 , 31. Jam. 5. 13. Psal . 50 , 15. Is any afflicted , let him pray ; call upon God in the day of Trouble . Q. But is this all we must do in Affliction ? Must we do nothing but pray ? A. Yes ; 1. We must seek the Lord , and search our hearts , and try our ways , Lam. 3. 40. seeking God , and searching our Hearts , to find out our Sins , must go together . 2. Seek the Lord , and hear the Voice of his Rod ; Mic. 6. 9. God speaks many things by Afflictions ; all his Rods have Voices ; there is an awakening , a discovering , an humbling Voice , a purging trying Voice , an instructing , teaching , comforting Voice : Let us own God's Hand in all our Afflictions , whoever be the Instruments . It is the Lord hath taken away my Health , my Estate , my Friends : So said holy Job ; not a word of Instrument . 3. Seek the Lord , and turn to him with all your Hearts : Turn to him that smiteth : It is in vain to seek God , if we do not turn from our Sins , by true Repentance and thorow Reformation . 4. Seek the Lord , and act Faith on Jesus Christ . Hos . 6. 1 , 2. After two days he will revive us . Luther says , This is the Scripture Paul speaks of , 1 Cor. 15. 4. Christ ●ose the third day , according to the Scripture : What Scripture ? This , saith he : And then the sence is this . As if the Church should say , Our Afflictions and M●●cies may be great , and we may lye in them for a time . So did Christ ; he was dead , and buried , and lay in the Grave two days , but he was raised up the third day . And thus should a Child of God exercise his Faith : I am thus and thus afflicted , and brought very low , so was Christ , and much more ; he was a Man of Sorrows , though he were the beloved Son of God. He was delivered up into the Hands of Enemies , he was scorned , scourged , crucified , killed , but my Condition was never so bad ; no Sorrows were like Christ's : Never was the Church of God , the Cause of God , in so low a condition as Christ was , who is the Head of his Church : never was Man or Woman in so low a condition as Christ was ; he lay not only under the wrath and malice of Men and Devils , but under his Father's wrath also : He was not only brought to Death's Door , but to Death it self ; yea , he was sealed up in his Grave , and yet God raised him up . Here is Fo●d for Faith : In what depths and dangers soever the Church of God and People of God may be , let us act Faith on the Resurrection of Christ , he was raised up , and so shall we , if we be his ▪ and therefore let us trust in the living God , which raiseth the dead , 2 Cor. 1. 9. Thus we see what means to use , that we may not grow weary of God's Chastisements , nor faint under them . Q. O , but if I knew God did afflict me in Love , I should not grow weary , but patiently and cheerfully bear my Trouble ? A. 1. If thy Heart be drawn out more after God , to love God more , to fear , to please , to follow after God more , it is in love : If thou are more fearful of Sinning against God , and more careful to glorifie him , it is in love ; Psal . 116. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. 2. If you enjoy the gracions Presence of God with you in your Affliction , his teaching , strengthning , sanctifying , quieting , satisfying , humbling , comforting Presence with you , then you may conclude , it is in love ; Isa . 43. 2. Psal . 94. 19. 2 Cor. 4. 16. when your inward man is renewed , as your outward perisheth . 3. If your Afflictions make you more conformable to Christ , in Meekness , Humility , Heavenlyness , Patience , Self-denyal , &c. 4. If you be taught by the Spirit and Word , when afflicted by the Rod , how to hate Sin more , to dye to Self and the Vanities of the World more ; how to dye to all Relations , and Creature-Comforts m●re : and how to list up Christ more , and love him more ; to prepare for Death more , and mind Heaven more ; then you are afflicted in Love : Blessed are they that are thus taught by Affliction ; Psal . 94. 12. 5. If God lay no more on you than he enables you to bear ; Isa . 27. 8. Jer. 30. 11. & 46. 28. 1 Cor. 10. 13. 6. If you can be willing to lye in the Furnace , until your dross be consumed ; Job 23. 10. Mic. 7. 9. Can you cry out , Lord , remove the Cause rather than the Effect : take away my Corruption rather than my Affliction : A Cure , Lord , a Cure of the Distempers of my vile Heart ; good Lord , a Cure ? 7. If you can live by Faith on the Promises in your Affliction ; Isa . 41. 10. & 43. 1 , 2 , 3. & 57. 15. 1 Tim. 1. 15. Psal . 50. 15. Joh. 10. 17 , 27 , 28. Isa . 26. 3. Matth. 11. 28 , 29. Heb. 12. 10. Hos . 2. 14. Heb. 13. 5. Rom. 8. 28. Zech. 13. 9. Psal . 34. 8. & 84. 11. Let us labour to find these sweet Fruits of God's Fatherly Love to us in our Afflictions , and then we shall not grow weary . 2 Obj. But my Afflictions have been long upon me . Ans . 1. Not so long as thy Mercies have been : Canst thou number the days of thy Health ? Have not thy good days been many more than thy evil days ? 2. Nor so long as thy Sins have been : Thou hast been a Transgressor from the Womb , a Sinner from thy Conception ; Psal . 51. 5. 3. Nor so long as the Afflictions of others it may be far better than you . See the 77th and 88th Psalms , Gen. 15. 12 , 13. Four hundred years : Exod. 12. 40 , 41. Job 21. 25. Some have not had a day of health or pleasure many years ; no , not in their Lives : Oh , how should this quiet us under our Troubles , that we may not complain that they are long ? 4. The longer thy Afflictions have been on thee , the sweeter will Heaven at last be to thee ; Psal . 126. 1 , 2 , 5 , 6. compared . The longer the Storm the sweeter the Calm ; the longer in the Tempest , the more welcome the Harbour . 5. Thy Afflictions are not long , but short , if compared with that Eternity of Glory reserved in Heaven for you ; as in the Text ; Everlasting Habitations , Eternal Life , a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away : Have an Eye fixed on the Crown , while thou bearest the Cross : One moments being in the Bosom of Christ , will make thee forget all thy Misery ; oh , long for that good hour . 6. The longer you are in Afflictions , the more spiritual Experiences you have of the Love and Care of Christ towards you ; 2 Cor. 1. 5. 2 Cor. 12. 5. O , the Love-tokens that Christ sends his Spouse in the Furnace of Affliction ! then he speaks most kindly to her : The blessed Martyn found it so . 7. Long Afflictions are but Preparatives , sometimes to long-liv'd Mercies ; as in Joseph and David , Isa . 54. 11 , 12 , 13 , 14. If by my long Affliction God make more room in my Heart for himself , Son , and Spirit , his Word ; if he crucifie my Affections more to the World , and make me more conformable to Christ , I shall for ever bless his Name for them . 8. The more Afflictions here , the more Glory hereafter ; 2 Cor. 4. 16. Matth. 5. 10. For , 1st , the more Affliction , the more Grace is exercised ; and the more Grace here , the more Glory hereafter : 2dly , The more Afflictions , the more religious Duties will be performed ; Psal . 109. 4. Isa . 26. 16. Psal . 42. 1 , 2 , 3. Now God will reward every into according to his works , though not for them ; 1 Cor. 15. last , 2 Cor. 9. 6. 9. Impatience will but lengthen our Affliction ; God's time is the best for deliverance ; Affliction shall last no longer than need : Act. 27. 13 , 15. Psal . 23. 1 , 2. & 94. 9. Rom. 8. 28. Moreover , that we may bear up as Christians , and not grow weary , and so may find that all our Afflictions are blessed to us , to prepare us for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , let us dwell on a few more Considerations . ( 1. ) That these our Troubles are all the Hell we shall have . ( 2. ) Think much on the real spiritual Advantages we shall have by Affliction : Have we not had some ? bless God for them . ( 3. ) Your choicest and chiefest Treasure is safe ; your God , your Christ , your Portion , your Crown , your Inheritance is safe ; your Graces , your Souls are safe . ( 4. ) Consider it is our unmortified Lust that is the sting of all our Afflictions ; its Sin adds gall to our wormwood : Let us set our selves in earnest to the mortifying of our Sins , apply the Blood of Christ , beg his Spirit , Rom. 8. 13. ( 5. ) That all our Afflictions come to us through the Covenant of Grace , Psal . 89. 30 , &c. ( 6. ) That they do but reach our worser ; our baser part , our Bodies ; 2 Cor. 4. 6. our Souls may grow better . ( 7. ) Labour to live by Faith , and keep it as much in exercise as possible ; for Faith in exercise 1st , shews the extreme vanity of all earthly things , for the Soul by Faith seeth them as God seeth them , to be all vanity and vexation , and so it overcometh the World ; 1 Joh. 5. 4. 2dly , Faith presents to the Soul greater , sweeter , better things in God and Christ , than can possibly be found in the Creature : Faith looks and feeds on Invisibles . 3dly , By enabling the Soul to center it self on God , and to be satisfied with the naked enjoyment of him ; God is All to the Soul that trusteth in him ; Joh. 14. 8. Psal . 17. 15. Phil. 3. 8 , 9. ( 8. ) Labor every day to be more humble , low and little in your own Eyes . Who am I ? I am not worthy of the least of God's Mercies ; I have forfeited all ; I have improved none ; it is Pride only that brings Discontent . ( 9. ) Consider , the worst that God doth to his People here , is but to do them good in the latter end ; Hos . 2. 14. Heb. 12. 10. ( 10. ) What God wills is best ; God is Wisdom it self , and he is Goodness it self ; when he sends Sickness , Sickness is best . ( 11. ) That God will be with us in all our Afflictions ; that his Ends in afflicting us are all good and gracious ; that the best way to have our wills , is entirely to submit them to God's Will. ( 12. ) Think much on the shortness and uncertainty of Life ; Life is not vita , but via ad vitam : Hold out Faith and Patience , thy Troubles and thy Life will shortly end together . Let us most seriously and often speak thus to our selves ; I have great Works to do , great Matters to dispatch , a God to be reconciled to , a Christ to close with , a Soul to save , a Race to run , a Crown to win , a Pardon to get , an Hell to escape , a Body of Sin to destroy , a World to conquer , a Heaven to secure , and I have but a little short uncertain time for all this ; I have one Foot in the Grave , I am just going ashore on Eternity , what time have I to stand poring on my Troubles ? Oh! let my whole Soul be taken up with my most necessary Work ; oh , let me engage all the powers of my Soul , and Members of my Body , in studying and labouring to secure my eternal Happiness , how to improve all my Afflictions to the good of my Soul , how to glorifie God in those Fires , how to enjoy Communion with God in every condition , how to live so this little short time , that I may dye in Peace , and enter into my Master's Joy , to be with my dearest Lord in glory , for ever and ever . Oh! these things should take up our Thoughts , and possess our Minds . And thus , if we endeavour in the Strength of Christ , so to manage our Afflictions , so to carry our selves under them , and so to improve them as we have been directed , we shall find , by the Blessing of our good God and gracious Father in Christ , that all our light Afflictions , which are but for a moment , shall work for us that far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory ; to which purpose , that Christians may be able to hear up under all their Troubles , the Apostle subjoins a notable and singular help , which himself and the Primitive Christians had found very useful by their own experience , which is expressed in the following Verse . And so much for this 17th Verse . PART III. Heaven and Earth EPITOMIZ'D : OR , INVISIBILITIES THE Greatest Realities . 2 COR. iv . 18. While we look not at those things which are seen , but at those things which are not seen : for those things which are seen are temporal , but those things which are not seen are eternal . WE have seen in the former Discourse how bravely the Apostle and Primitive Christians bore up under all their cruel Sufferings , and got advantage by them ; as Ver. 16 , 17. and what means they used to attain this holy Courage ; besides all which , here is another singular Help they made use of , to get this gracious frame of Spirit , and that is in these words , Verse 18. We faint not ( they say ) but gather strength , and get ground inwardly ; while we look not at those things which are seen , but at those things which are not seen : So long as we shut out visible things of our Minds , and shut our Eyes at them , and so long as we apprehend and mind things invisible , and fix our Eyes on unseen things ; while we do so , we faint not under all our Sufferings , but profit by them . Here is looking off , and looking on , a double Act of Faith ; a looking off seen things , things visible to the Eye of Sence , we look off these ; and a looking on things not seen , but invisible to the Bodily Eye . Here is a double work , one negative , the other affirmative : For the negative part , observe , 1. the Act , if I may properly so call it , a looking off ; or a looking away from , a withdrawing of their sight . 2. An Object , things that are seen , visible things , things obvious to bodily right . 3. The Reason annexed , for they are are temporal : All things that are seen are temporal , things that will last but for a time , a short time ; they are fading , fleeting things , transitory momentany things : Be they good things or evil things , be they prosperous or adverse , be they sweet or bitter things , if they be seen things , visible things , they are but temporal . 2. A positive practice , but we look unto those things which are not seen . 1st , Here is the Act , we look ; Actus Animae , it is the Act of the Understanding , Will , and Affections , all are set and fixed on , and employed about . 2dly , The Object , things that are not seen , things invisible ; and the Reason is added , for they are eternal : And because these unseen things are eternal , therefore are they most worthy of our most serious thoughts and best affections . And both these Acts , of looking off from visible temporal things , and looking on upon invisible eternal things , have a very great influence in supporting Christians under all their Sufferings in this World ; as will manifestly appear in the following Discourse . 1. First , What is here negatively expressed : We look not at these things which are seen ; the meaning is not , that they did shut their Eyes upon all earthly things , and take no notice at all of them , for that was not their Duty : The Apostle-himself laboured with his Hands , and exhorteth all Christians to be diligent in their Callings , which they could not be , if they did not look upon the things of this World ; but he means this , that their hearts , minds , and affections were weaned and taken of from earthly things ; they were not earthly minded ; They minded not the things of the flesh , Rom. 8. 5 , 6. that is , 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 ; yea , not at all in comparison of invisible and eternal things : So our Lord is to be understood , Joh. 6. 27. Labour not for that meat which perisheth : That is , not so much , not so earnestly , as for that which endureth to Eternal Life . Col. 3. 2. Set your affections ●● things above , not on things below : that , is , comparatively ; but let the strongest , steddiest stream of your Affections run Heaven-ward : Let your Affections be set , that is , placed , setled , fixed upon things above : Not that we should not at all mind things below , but we must not set our Hearts upon them , nor fix and place our Loves and Delights in them . So here , we look not on things that are seen , that is , we place not our Affections on them ; visible things are not the chief and principal things that we mind ; nor do we exercise and spend our most serious and chief thoughts about these visible things , they are not the main study and care of our Souls . I am ( saith this Apostle ) crucified to the world , and the world is crucified to me , Gal. 6. 14. There are two kinds of visible things , visible good things , and visible evil things , neither of which was the object of their principal thoughts and cares ; and they give a good Reason for it , because they are temporal , they are short-liv'd , and but for the present , and therefore we do not much mind them , nor look after them . 1. Visible good things , simply and in themselves good ; as , ( 1. ) Life , Animal Life , one of the best good things in the World , yet very short , and very uncertain , Job 14. 1. James 4. 14. What is our life ? It is but a Vapour , that appeareth for a little time , and then vanisheth away ; Psal . 39. 4 , 5. ( 2. ) The Accommodations of Life , as , Riches , but uncertain , 1 Tim. 6. 17. Corruptible , 1 Pet. 1. 17 , 18. Deceitful , Matth. 13. 22. ( 3. ) Pleasures , they are but for a season , Heb. 11. all lawful Pleasures , such as Solomon had , all but vanity and vexation ; Health and Strength , Friends and Relations , all are but for a time , a very short uncertain time . Abraham had his Sarah , and David his Jonathan , and Jacob his Rachel , but for a time ; daily Experience proves all this , all visible good is but temporal . 2. Evil things that are visible are but temporal also . Heaviness endureth but for a moment ; Sickness , Pain , Poverty , Disgrace , Persecution , Afflictions are but for a moment , Tribulation ten days , an hour of Temptation ; Desertion but a little moment ; and because this is the Nature and Property of all visible things , that they are transitory temporal things , not lasting , much less everlasting ; therefore we that are enlightned by Grace , and that have true understandings and right apprehensions of these things , and which have also had the experience of their shortness and uncertainty , both of the good and evil things of this World , we do not look unto them , that is , we look beyond them and above them ; those visible temporal things do not lye so near our Hearts , nor take up so much room in our Minds , nor so much place in our Affections , as invisible eternal things do , nor as those visible temporal things do in the Hearts and Minds of others , whose Hope and Portion is in this Life , and whose Minds the God of this World hath blinded . No , no ; we look not upon those earthly things with such an Eye of Love , Desire , and Delight ; the visible good things of this World do not raise or delight our Souls , nor seek we that content in them that others do ; nor have we such dreadful thoughts of the evil things of this World , as to perplex our selves with the fears of them before they come ; nor with immoderate sorrow and grief when they come ; nor are we so dejected and troubled , when we part with the visible Comforts of this Life , because we have right Apprehensions of them ; and therefore we faint not under our Afflictions . From hence two Points of Doctrine are observable . 1 Doct. That because all visible things are Temporal , and of no long continuance , therefore gracious Souls engage not their Hearts too much in them , nor concern themselves too much for them or about them . 2 Doct. That a right and true Judgment of earthly things , will help much to support and uphold the Lord's Servants in and under all the Afflictions of this Life . 1 Doct. 1. First , That because all visible things are temporal , but for a short time , therefore they must not be much minded nor regarded . This is the Character and the Duty of all gracious Souls , 1 Cor. 7. 29 , 30. Because the time is short , therefore they that have wives must be as if they had none , and they that weep as if they wept not , &c. Joh. 6. 27. Labour not for that meat which perisheth : And Phil. 4. 6. Be careful in nothing . &c. Q. But must we cast off all care of earthly things , 〈◊〉 not mind them at all ? Ans . Not so neither ; for we are commanded to work , and use lawful Callings , and to abide in our Callings ; but the meaning is , 1. That we must not mind and regard visible things , earthly things Then , when we are to mind invisible and heavenly things ; see Isa . 58. 13. Upon the holy day of God , and when we are in holy Duties , praying , hearing , reading , meditating , then our Hearts , Thoughts , and Minds should be wholly taken up with invisible heavenly things , and visible earthly things laid aside . 2. Nor must we mind them so heartily , seriously , delightfully , as we must mind heavenly things ; we must be fervent in Spirit , serving the Lord , Rom. 12. 11. and strive , as in an Agony , to enter in at the ●●ait gate , Luk. 13. 24. and give all diligence to make your calling and election sure ; and to serve the Lord with our whole heart , and with all our might ; but we are never commanded to mind and pursue the things of the World so , nor with such eagerness and fervency . The Lord chargeth it as a grievous Crime on Israel , that they panted after the Dust of the Earth , Amos 2. 7. But gracious souls pant after God ; Psal . 42. 1 , 2. & 63. 1 , 2 , 8. Their souls follow hard after God : and blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness , Matth. 5. Not they that hunger and thirst after the Honours , Pleasures , and Riches of this World. 1 John 2. 14 , 15. Love not the world , nor the things of the world . 3. Nor must we mind these visible temporal things firstly , principally , and chiefly , but only secondarily , and in subserviency to heavenly things Matth. 6. 33 , 34. First seek the kingdom of God ; first , in the beginning of your Life ; first , in the morning of the day ; first , in your Affections . 4. Nor mostly : God is to be loved with all our hearts , with all our souls , with all our minds , and with all our strength , Matth. 22. 37. Psal . 16. 8. I have set the Lord always before me , as the most worthy object of my continual love , desire , fear , and delight . 5. Nor must we so mind visible things at all , as to be taken off from minding heavenly things , or to be hindred from , or to be unficted for minding heavenly things . 6. Nor must we mind them , but with heavenly Hearts , and for heavenly ends , still minding God in them , how to glorifie him by them . 1 Cor. 10. 31. Whether ye eat or drink , or whatever ye do , do all to the glory of God. Q. But when do we mind visible temporal things us much ? Ans . 1st , When we mind them unseasonably , as noted before : 2dly , When we mind them inordinately , out of order , that is , firstly and principally : 3dly , When we mind them immoderately . Let your moderation be known unto all men , saith the Apostle , Phil. 4. Q. But when do we mind them immoderately ? Ans . 1. When our minding of these visible temporal things hinders us from minding those invisible and eternal things . This was the Sin of Demas , his embracing this World made him forsake Paul : So that when the Service of Christ must give place to the Service of the World ; when the Farm , the Oxen , the Wife , must be preferred before the Feast , and good Duties laid aside while the World is served ; when the call of God is neglected , and the call of the World obeyed ; then do we mind Earthly things immoderately . In some cases , I confess , that is in Cases of Necessity , to shew Mercy to any in Misery , to save or preserve Life , God will have mercy , and not sacrifice ; but out of those cases God and his Service must be preferred before all visible temporal things . But when earthly things so fill up our Heads , Hearts , Minds , Thoughts , Hands , Time and all , that we have none left to spend or bestow on heavenly things , then we mind visible things immoderately . 2. When our minding visible temporal things unfits and indisposeth us for minding invisible and eternal things ; when earthly things have so entred our Hearts , and so engaged our Minds , that they deaden and dull , clog and cloy our Spirits , so entangle and perplex our Thoughts , as that thereby we are put out of frame and temper , and made unfit to mind or meddle with Divine and Heavenly things . Luke 21. 34. Take heed , lest at any time your hearts be over-charged with surfeiting und drunkenness , and cares of this life , saith our Lord. 3. When we are less tired and wearied in the thoughts of visible temporal things , than in the thoughts of invisible eternal things : When we can plot , study , cark , care , think , muse , ponder upon , freely talk of earthly things , without weariness , but with much delight , as being very suitable to our Minds , and therefore very pleasing and grateful to us ; we can think and speak of earthly things from morning till night , without weariness , but are soon weary of the study and meditation of heavenly things ; nay , are meer Strangers to heavenly Meditation and heavenly Discourse ; Mal. 1. 13. When we are in company where there is heavenly talk , we are soon weary of such company , and of such talk , and are willing to break off such Discourse , and to entertain the talk of worldly things . 4. When we are more attentive unto , more intent upon , more seriously affected with , and more strongly impressed by those visible temporal things , than we are with and by invisible and eternal things . When good News from Sea or Land , a good bargain , good success in our Worldly business , doth more heartily affect us and rejoyce us , th●● good News from Heaven , or any spiritual Mercy , then we do immoderately mind earthly things . It was far otherwise with holy David , Psal . 4. 6 , 7. Many say , Who will show us any good ? any visible temporal good ; but , Lord , lift thou vp the light of thy countenance upon us : Thou hast put more gladness into my heart , than when their corn and wine encreased . And so it is with all gracious Souls . 5. When the gain of visible temporal things brings more joy , and the loss of them breeds more sorrow than the gain or loss of invisible eternal things ; when the gain of an Estate , of Honour , of the Favour of a great person , doth more rejoice the Heart than the gain of the Pearl of Price ; and the loss of an Estate or Friend doth more cast down than the loss of God , or a good Conscience . 6. When we are more afraid of Suffering than of Sin , and would rather venture the loss of invisible eternal things , than the loss of visible temporal things : Surely it was not thus with the Apostles and Primitive Christians ; they looked not on those visible temporal things , they did not mind them unseasonably , inordinaiely , immoderately ; and so , comparatively , they are said to mind them not at all . The Proof of this 〈◊〉 will appear , I , by express Precept ; H. b● the 〈◊〉 of Gospel-Christians ; III. by solid Reasons . I. By express Precepts ; besides 〈…〉 before , John 6. 27. 1 Cor. 7. 31 , 〈…〉 that in Col. 3. 1 , 2 , 3 , 5. Set your affections 〈…〉 things above , and not on things below , and 〈…〉 inordinate affections : 1 John 2. 〈…〉 , would , nor the things of the 〈…〉 , the love of the father is 〈…〉 . 〈◊〉 in lay that to Heart , the love 〈◊〉 World is utterly inconsistent with the love of 〈…〉 that in Jam. 4. 4. He that is 〈…〉 is the Enemy of God , the 〈…〉 is enmity to God. It is a dangerous 〈…〉 , to be the Enemy of God ; nothing is so dangerous : See Nahum 1. 2. God is jealous , and the Lord revengeth : the Lord revengeth and is furious ; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries , and reserveth wrath for his enemies . What a dreadful Text is this ! And who are the Lord's Enemies ? Why , those that are the friends of the world , saith the Spirit of God. Although but few think or believe so , yet so it is ; and it is a most dreadful thing to be the Enemies of God , for then God is our Enemy , and that is most dreadful . Now , he that is a friend to the world , is the enemy of God. World in that place , I take to be the same that is here in my Text , called Visible temporal things , the good things of this World : Such as are the friends of these things , saith the Apostle , are the enemies of God ; and this is no small matter : let us all therefore look well to it , that we be not such . Q. But who are the friends of this World ? you will ask . A. First , All such as love this World , and the things of it , more than God , and Christ , and Heavenly things ; this is most clear : So Matth. 10. 37. He that loveth father or mother more than me , is not worthy of me , saith our Lord. 2 Tim. 3. 4. Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. What do most People mind most , and think most upon , and speak most of ? Is it not the World , things that are seen ? What is most in their Thoughts , Mornings soon , and Evenings late ? Where are their Hearts and Affections most ? Let our Consciences speak : Whom do we serve most , follow and pursue most , God or the World , Christ or the Creature ? Who hath the precedency and supremacy in our Hearts ? What Interest is uppermost in our Souls ? This is a plain Rule of Tryal ; and if we will suffer our own Consciences to speak plainly , and tell us the truth , we may know whether we be Friends of the World or no. Let us deal faithfully with our selves in this great Case , and not flatter and deceive our selves , as most do , and so mistake our selves , by taking our selves to be the Lord's Servants , when indeed we are his real Enemies , because we are Friends of the World ; and by this mistake may we ruine our selves for ever . Secondly , All such as covet , desire , seek after the World , the Profits , and Pleasures , and Favours of it , more than after God and Christ , after Grace and Glory : Such as pant after the Dust of the Earth , that make haste to be rich , that load themselves with yellow Clay , such are Friends of the World : Whereas gracious Souls are like those in Isa . 26. 8. Yea , in the way of thy judgments , O Lord , have we waited for thee : the desire of our soul is to thy name , and to the remembrance of thee . With my soul have I desired thee in the night ; yea , with my spirit within me will I seek thee early . So Psal . 73. 25 , 26. Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee . God is the strength of my heart , and my portion for ever . So Psal . 42. 1 , 2. As the hart panteth after the water-brooks , so panteth my soul after thee , O Lord. The strongest , steddiest Streams of his Desires and Loves did run after God and his Favour . Thirdly , He that is commanded by the World , is a Friend of the World ; one Friend can command another ; so all Friends profess to one another , and if they mean not so , they basely dissemble . Can the Profits and Pleasures of the World command your Hearts , Thoughts , Affections , Time and Strength , yea , and your Consciences too ? Can the World keep you from serving God ? Can you dispense with the Service of God to attend the World ? then sure you are the Friends of it . Fourthly , Are you more intimate , friendly , and familiar , more pleasant and joyful in the company of the People of the World ? And in your dealings with the things of the World , are you more delighted and pleased , and are , as it were , more in your Element , and where you would be , than when you are in the company of the Saints , and than when you are dealing with God and Christ , and heavenly things ? David , who delighted greatly in God , and in his Word , and in his Saints , professed himself to be a Stranger in the Earth ; as Psal . 119. 19. When the Lord's Servants are in his work , and among his People , then they are in their Element , then they are where they would be : One day in thy House is better than a thousand , Psal . 84. Fifthly , He that seeks the Worlds Favours , and fears the Worlds Frowns more than God's , is a Friend of the World. A gracious Soul seeks nothing so much as God's Favour : O , how doth David pant after God's Favour , and the light of his Countenance ! In thy favour ( saith he ) is life , Psal . 30. 6. and thy loving-kindness better than life , Psal . 63. 3. And how earnestly and frequently doth he pray , that God would not hide his Face from him ? Sixthly , He that is troubled more for the loss of those visible temporal things , than for the loss of God , or his Gospel ; and complains more for the want and absence of these things , than for the want and absence of God , such , in such a degree , are Friends of the World , and being Friends of the World , are Enemies of God. Seventhly , He that gives the World most Respect and best Entertainment : we give our Friends most respect , and best entertainment . How oft hath Christ knock'd at our Doors in the Ministry of the Word , and Motions of his Spirit , begging our acceptance ? How oft hath Christ called to us in Ordinances and Providences for entertainment , and we have shut our Hearts against him ? How oft hath the Holy Spirit been striving with us , but we have grieved and quenched him by our Resistance ? But how easily have we entertained the Enticements of the World ? How readily have we embraced the Motions of the World ? This proves us to be Friends of the World ; and such are the Enemies of God. By these things let us try our selves , and we may know whether we be the Friends of the World , or the Friends of God. II. This Point is proved by Example : Take our Apostle as a pregnant Instance ; as in the Text , saying , We look not at those things which are seen : So in Gal. 2. 20. & 6. 14. I am crucified to the world , and the world is crucified to me . As if he had said , I am in the Eye of the World as contemprible , despicable , and abominable a thing , as one hanged on the Cross , as a Malefactor on the Gallows , an Object that Passengers care not to look upon , but turn away their sight from : Such a one am I , saith this blessed Apostle ; for the World said of him , Away with such a f●llow , he is not worthy to live : And the world is crucified to me , saith he . I have a ●ow and base thoughts of the World as the World hath of me ; the World is as despicable and contemptible to me , as I am to it ; I look no more upon the World than it doth upon me ; I do as little value the World as it doth value me . And this is a full explication of his sence in the Text , We look not on those things which are seen , for they are temporal . This is the Character of truly-gracious Souls . So Gal. 5. 24. They that are Christ's , have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof . Q. But how shall we know when we are crucified to the World ? Ans . 1 : When our care for visible temporal things doth not consume and eat out our care for invisible and eternal things ; when our care for our Bodies doth not destroy our care for our Souls ; Deut. 4. 9. Only take heed , and keep thy soul diligently : Our Souls must have our greatest care , and all other cares we must cast on God : Matth. 6. 33. First seek the kingdom of God , and his righteousness , and all other things shall be added . 2. When the work of the World is neglected , that the work of God may be attended . See this in Martha's Case , Luke 10. 40 , 41. one thing is needful . 3. When , altho' our Hands may be full of visible temporal things , yet our Hearts are not entangled nor over-charged with them , 2 Tim. 2. 4. Luke 21. 34. When our Engagements about visible temporal things do not hinder us from minding our concernments about invisible eternal things , 1 Tim. 6. 19. When matters and businesses of the World are made to stand by , and give place to the Service of God. When praying times , hearing , reading , meditating times are duly attended and observed . And indeed , we have need work while our day lasteth ; for there is no work , wisdom , or device in the Grave , whither we are going : All that is to be done for Eternity , must be done in this world , John 9. 4. 4. A man is then crucified to the world , and to these visible things , when he is content to be without these good things of the world , when the will of the Lord is so ; Content to be without Friends , Health , Liberty , Wealth , Honours , Pleasures , Phil. 4. 11 , 12. Contentment is the Hearts Ease ; well-pleasedness with our condition , without vexation or distraction ; to acquiesce in the holy will of God : Godliness and Contentment grow both together ; if Contentment be little , Godliness is not much : if thou be truly godly , then God , the All-sufficient and Chief Good , is thy Portion ; and so thou hast enough to content thee , enough to make thee happy for ever . It is a Paradox to the World , That a gracious Soul cannot be content with the whole world only , and yet can be content without it . Let us seek Content where we will out of God , and we shall never find it . 5. And lastly , when a man can patiently bear the loss of all visible temporal things , then he is crucified to the world ; when Losses and Crosses do not sink him , and make him faint , as those Saints in this Chapter , ver . 16. and those in Heb. 10. 34. who took joyfully the spoiling of their goods . And thus we have the description of a person that is crucified to the World , and the World to him ; one that looks not on the things which are seen , that sets not his Heart and Affections upon them . III. The Reasons of the Point , why gracious Souls do not so much regard and mind visible things are those that follow . Reason 1. One Reason is in the Text , which is , because they are temporal , fading , perishing , transitory , momentany things ; All flesh is grass , and the glory thereof as the flower of the field : All are dying things , and therefore no suitable Objects for never-dying Souls to spend themselves upon . All our Relations , how dear and near soever , our Health , Estate , Liberty , yea , our Life , is but a Vapour , that appears but a little time , and then vanisheth away ; therefore not fit for immortal Souls to fix upon . Reas . 2. Because these visible temporal things , the outward good things of this World are most times great Enemies to our Souls , and have proved very hurtful and prejudicial to them , that have had the greatest confluence of them , but beneficial to very few , Deut. 32. 15. Oh , how few have been the better for Prosperity ! Now this damage and hurt to mens Souls , cometh not from those good things themselves , for they are good in themselves , and are God's Blessings ; but this hurt comes partly , from the Devil , and partly from mens own Corruptions . 1st , From the Devil , the god of this World , 2 Cor. 4. 4. who causeth Mischief to the Souls of Men , by the good things of this world , these ways : 1. He misrepresents the things of this world to Men , the Riches , Honours , and Pleasures of it , Liberty , Health , Ease , Money , Estates , the Devil shews them in false glasses , and not as the God of Truth in his Word declares them to be ; and indeed so they are , and not otherwise ; but Satan represents them not as vain , deceitful , vexatious , and uncertain things , but as brave , glorious , satisfying things ; and thence men promise themselves so much Content in them . 2. He lays Snares , Baits , and Temptations in all visible temporal things ; 1 Tim. 6. 9. There is not any visible Comfort , but there is some Snare , some Temptation attending it . 3. He over-values all temporal things to us , making them to be worth all our Affections , Strength , Time , and Pains , but undervalues Heaven , Grace , and Glory ; there he saith , why so much ado ? time enough hereafter . 4. He greatens present Evils , as Shame , Poverty , Sickness , Losses , &c. Oh! these must be avoided by any means , but lesseneth eternal Evils , God's Wrath and Vengeance , and eternal Damnation : Thus the Devil makes these visible temporal things hurtful to men . 2dly , This hurt comes to men through their own Lust and Corruptions within them ; without which the Devil could not hurt them ; if Men had 〈◊〉 the Spirit of this World within them , 1 Cor. 2. 〈…〉 a worldly Spirit , a vain Mind , a foolish Mind , an earthly Mind , darkned and corrupted , 〈…〉 earthly things , which complieth with 〈…〉 unto Satan's Temptations without 〈…〉 their Hearts are carried our 〈…〉 these earthly things , else Satan 〈…〉 Now the great Mischiefs 〈…〉 do to Mens-Souls , through the 〈…〉 and Mens own Corruptions , 〈…〉 First , These Earthly thing● 〈…〉 coming to Christ , as they 〈…〉 Matth. 19. 22. by darkning their 〈…〉 their Minds , that they cannot see that transcendent Beauty and unspeakable Amiableness and Comeliness that is in Jesus Christ ; nor their own absolute necessity of him , and their undone estate without him : by filling their Hearts , Heads , Hands , and Time and all , so that there is no room for Christ , nor time to mind Christ ; Profits and Pleasures take up all their time , and carry away their Hearts . Secondly , They hinder men from following Christ , Phil. 2. 21. All seek their own , not the things of Christ ; at least , they hinder men from following Christ fully , and wheresoever he goes , as Joshua and Caleb did , and those in the Revelations , 14. 4. Thirdly , They hinder men from owning Christ and his Truths and Saints , and from suffering for Christ when called thereunto ; as it hath millions of Professors in time of Persecution . Now , from the consideration of the danger we are in , from visible temporal things , we have good reason to draw off our Hearts and Affections from them , and not much to mind or regard them . And indeed , our Souls are in danger on both hands , both from the good and from the evil things of this World , Prosperity and Adversity . 1. From Prosperity , we are in danger to have our Hearts divided and estranged from God , and so to commit spiritual Idolatry , setting up our Enjoyments for Idols in our Hearts , taking more pleasure and delight in them than in God and his Service : We are in danger of forgetting God , and of falling into sinful security ; in danger of being lifted up with Pride and Vain-glory , and thereby provoke God ; and in danger of growing careless and negligent in the Service of God : And these are great Evils . 2. From Adversity there is danger also ; as in case of loss of Friends , Estate , Liberty , Health , &c. We are in danger of Impatience , Discontent , Despondency , &c. And therefore gracious Souls labour to get off their Hearts as much as they can from all visible temporal things , and to be as indifferent and as unconcern'd to them as possibly , and to be as dead to them as they can . 3 Reas . Because of the Vanity , utter Insufficiency , and Impotency of all earthly things , without God , either to preserve from the least Evil , or to procure the least good . All the Riches in the world cannot cure an aking Tooth ; Haman's Honour could not save him from the Gallows , nor Herod from the Worms : See Prov. 11. 4. Eccl. 1. 2. & 5. 10. Isa . 55. 2. There is no satisfaction to be had in them or from them . 4 Reas . Because there is not the least true happiness in having the greatest abundance of earthly things ; for if there were , then Reprobates and Cast-aways should have the greatest share in Happiness , for they have most of those things . 5 Reas . Because every gracious Soul is in Covenant with God , united to Christ , partaker of his Spirit , and so made like unto God , and like unto Christ ▪ The Great God is his , and all the great things of the Covenant are his ; Christ , and all his Benefits are his ; and , alas ! what mean , low , base things are all the visible temporal things of this World , in comparison of God , of Christ , and Glory ? Besides , all gracious Souls are in measure made like God : And we read what a low esteem God hath of these things , Luke 16. 15. Those things that are highly esteemed amongst men , are an abomination to the Lord. And our Lord Jesus had a very low esteem of them , being contented to be without house or home , or a penny in his Purse : And every true Christian hath the Spirit of Christ in some measure , and the same mind that He had ; Rom. 8. 9. Gal. 4. 6. 6 Reas . Because gracious Souls are born of God , and that unto far higher and better things than these visible temporal things are at their best , 1 Pet. 1. 4 , 5. They are begotten to an inheritance incorruptible , undefiled , and that fadeth not away , reserved in Heaven for them who are kept ( for it ) by the mighty power of God unto salvation . And they are also bound for God , and for Heaven ; they have not their Portion here , nor their Treasure here ; they are bound for another Country ; they seek a City that hath Foundations , and their Hearts are where their Treasure is : and there ore they do not much mind and regard those visible temporal things . 7 Reas . Because they have been so often disappointed and deceived by those things ; they never found that in them which they expected from them ; the World hath ever proved false to them ; they have tryed it , and by Experience have ever found it Vanity and Vexation , and nothing else . 8 Reas . And Lastly , Because gracious Souls have Principles of Faith in them , they have the same Spirit of Faith in them , that those Primitive Christians had , and that is a victorious Principle , a World-conquering Faith , Heb. 11. 1. By Faith the Soul mounts aloft , and takes a prospect of the invisible eternal things , being the substance of things hoped for , and the evidence of things not seen ; fixing its Eye upon , and conversing with those things , and so it overlooks , and looks beyond and above all visible temporal things : 1 John 5. 4. This is the victory that overcometh the world , even our faith . And this I take to be the main thing intended in the Text : As if the Apostle had said , We look not unto things that are seen ; that is , we live not by sence , but by Faith ; as 2 Cor. 5. 7. we set not sence on work on visible temporal things , but we set Faith on work on invisible eternal things , and by our Faith on invisibles , we get victory over visible temporal things . Q. But how doth Faith help a Soul to take it off from minding and over-much regarding visible temporal things ? Ans . Faith doth it many ways . 1. First , by carrying the Soul to pitch its Eye upon , and take a view of the invisible God in Christ , and his God in Christ : Heb. 11. 26. Moses saw him that was invisible , and thereby he endured the evil things of this World , and despised the Riches and Honours of Pharaoh's Court : Alas ! how vile and base are all earthly things , in comparison of the Eternal God , the All-sufficient Good ? And by Faith the Soul pitcheth it self upon this God , and applieth and appropriateth this God to himself . This God is my God , 1 Sam. 30. 6. Psal . 31. 14. I said , Thou art my God ; and 48. 14. This God is our God ; and 73. 26. My Portion . Also , by Faith the Soul is carried to pitch upon Jesus Christ , in whom dwells all fulness , and by Faith sees his Interest in this Blessed Jesus , and thence he is mounted aloft above all visible temporal things , having his Affections raised and fixed upon Jesus his Saviour , who sits at the right hand of God , Col. 3. 1 , 2. This sight of God , and Jesus by Faith , takes off the Minds and Thoughts of Believers from those things below , having higher , better , and more excellent things above to feed and fill their Thoughts with ; for no man can look up to Heaven and look down to the Earth at the same time ; as , while Paul pressed forward towards the mark , he forgot those things which were behind ; and as Jesus is said to be in Heaven , John 3. 13. that is , his Heart and Mind was there , when he was on Earth , even so it is in some measure with all true Believers , their conversation is in Heaven , Phil. 3. 20. 2. Faith receives the Testimony which God hath given in his Word concerning those visible temporal things , that they are all vanity and vexation of spirit , and therefore judgeth them not worthy of too much place in their Hearts and Minds . 3. Faith raiseth the Soul to a believing sight of a better World than this present evil World is , and of better things than those visible temporal things are ; of a better Life , an eternal Life ; of a better Rest than can be had here , even an everlasting Rest ; of a 〈…〉 inheritance , 1 Pet. 1. 4. an incorruptible and undefiled our , that fadeth not away ; of a better Country than Earth at best , even an Heavenly Jerusalem ; and of a better House than the best House here , even an house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens , whose Builder and Maker is God ; and of a better City , even a City that hath Foundations ; 〈…〉 that better and more enduring Substance in Heaven , Heb. 10. 34. and that infinitely-better Company , the Blessed God , and the Blessed Jesus , the Mediator of the New Covenant , the glorious Angels , and the Spirits of just men made perfect , and better Joys , Delights and Pleasures , than can possibly be enjoyed here , and also far better Employment , and indeed , all better things ; and all these better things the Believer by Faith doth realize to his Soul ; and all those , so exceeding great and glorious things , the Believer knows he must have , cost what Cost : and therefore the strongest streams of his Thoughts , Cares , Studies , and Pains run this way , and after these things , even after these better things above . Faith looks within the Veil , unto those unseen Excellencies , to those invisible Glories , to be with God , and with Jesus , and to enjoy that full and perfect Communion with them above ; and when a Soul is pitcht and fixt by Faith here , setled and centred on things above , then farewel deceitful World. 4. By Faith the Soul apprehends , as the most transcendent Excellency of those things above , so by Faith the Soul sees its absolute necessity of those things : Interest in God , Peace with him , Union with Christ , Title to Eternal Life , &c. are things not only infinitely better than all visible temporal things ; but , saith the believing Soul , these things I must needs have , I shall be eternally undone without them : It 's true , I must have Food and Raiment also , these are necessary too , but not so necessary : If I have God and Christ , I shall not want Food and Raiment , the faithful God hath past his Promise that I shall want no good thing ; I may be happy for ever without Riches and Honours , without earthly Friends and Relations , without Health or Liberty , but not without God and Christ , oh ! there lies my Happiness : One thing is needful , only needful , absolutely needful , and that is , my Interest in God and Christ ; and the making sure of that deserves and calls for our most serious and utmost Thoughts and Cares . If a man were condemned to dye , whereupon would he spend his most serious Thoughts , but upon getting his Pardon , if there were any hopes of it , and not in providing himself fine Clothes , or a full Table ? The application is easie . 5. By Faith a Soul is perswaded , that neither the evil things of this World can hinder , nor the good things of this World can further his Happiness , nor his way to it , of themselves : but rather the contrary ; for a man may be poor in this World , yet rich in Faith , and an Heir of the Kingdom ; as , James 2. 5. and a man may be rich in this World , yet poor in Soul , and an Heir of Hell , as we see in Dives . 6. Faith is a powerful , a victorious , conquering Grace : This is the victory that overcometh the world , even our Faith. Stephen was full of Faith and Power , Acts 6. 8. The work of faith with power , 2 Thess . 1. 11. Faith brings all visible temporal things under the Believer's Feet ; it gives the Believer power to use the World , and not to abuse it , not seeking Rest and Contentment in it ; to use it moderately , without damage and detriment to the Soul ; to use it for God's honour , it s own spiritual advantage , and the good of others ; and power to keep it out of the Heart , Christ dwelling there by Faith ; to use the World , and not losing our Hearts , our Peace , nor our Consciences in it : Faith gives the Soul power to withstand the Threats and Temptations of the World , and power to be willing to leave it , and to go to a better World. Oh , the mighty power of Faith ! and by the Power of this Faith , gracious Souls are taken off from those visible temporal things . And so much for the Doctrinal Part. The Application follows . First , for Information . If it be the Character and Duty of gracious Souls , because visible things are temporal , therefore they must not , they do not much mind or regard them . I. It follows then , that Earthly-mindedness , worldliness is a great Evil , and very unbecoming true Christians , for their minds and conversations are it Heaven , Phil. 3. 19 , 20. There is the discriminating Character , both of the gracious and ungracious , a vast difference between them , the one mind Earthly things , the other● have their conversation it Heaven . Most People look on those things which are seen ; all seek their own things , those that they count their own ; and those are mostly , ●hiefly , and principally minded , as appears manifestly , thus : 1. By the stream of their Thoughts , which runs steddily upon visible temporal things , having vain Minds . 2. By the common current of their Discourses , their Talk is all of the World. 3. By the tide of their Affections , Love , Joy , Fear , Sorrow , Delight , all run strongly World●●rd . 4. By the course of their Actions , their Time , Pain , Care , all is spent about the World ; rising early , going to Bed late , eating the Bread of Carefulness , and all about the World. This is a great Evil , because expresly forbidden , Matth. 6. 19. Lay not up for your selves treasures on earth , Joh. 6. 27. Labour not for that meat which perisheth . Col. 3. 2. Set your affections upon things above , and not upon things below . And this Worldly-mindedness is contrary to the Practice of true Christians , as in the Text , We look not on those things which are seen : So Phil. 3. 20. And it is the Character of such as are in a state of Nature , and that cannot please God : Rom. 8. 5 , 8. They that are after the flesh do mind in things of the flesh : Such are not crucified to the World , but conquered and captivated by it ; yea crucified by it ; conquered by the Profits , Honours and Pleasures of it , and meer Slaves to these ; and crucified by the Crosses and Losses of the World ; their Hearts and Spirits lye under the Feet of these , and are at the beck of these ; their Hopes and Comforts lye all at the Courtesie of the World ; and this is a woful Bondage . Remember this , we can never conclude , that we are truly gracious , until we have Grace enough to keep God and our Hearts together , and to keep the World and our Hearts asunder . 1 John 2. 14 , 15. Love not the world , nor the things of the world , for he that loveth the world , the love of the Father is not in him . Woe to them that have their Portion in this World , Psal . 17. 14. who have their good things here , who have laid up their Treasures upon Earth , and there have their Heart . That Text Phil. 3. 19. is enough to terrifie a● such ; Their end is destruction who mind earth●● things . Inf. II. It follows from the Premises , that Contentment with our Condition , and with any portion of visible temporal things , is a great Virtue , and well becoming Christians : Discontent proceeds from our over-minding , and over-valuing , and over-loving earthly things ; and it is a very great Evil , for it practically denies God's All-sufficiency , his Wisdom , Soveraignty , Faithfulness , and Mercy ; it disgraceth the Gospel and Godliness , and is in it self a great Plague . Q. But how shall I do to be content , content to be deprived of my dear Relations , Estate , Health , Liberty , & c ? A. Read Mr. Burroughs's Book of Christian Contentment : Take also these Directions . 1. Labour to make God your own , and then you will have a full and sufficient Ballance to all your Losses . He is God All-sufficient . Weigh well those two Scriptures , 1 Sam. 30. 6. & 2 Sam. 23. 5. 2. Labour to make Christ your own ; he offers himself to you in the Gospel , with all he is , and with all he hath . And in him dwelleth all fulness , he is all in all : Psal . 23. 1. The Lord is my shepherd , I shall not want , said David . 3. Search the Scriptures , and be acquainted with the many exceeding great and precious Promises that are there , suitable to every Condition you can be in . Act your Faith on them , and apply them ; lye upon and suck those full Breasts of Consolation . 4. Pray for Contentment , and pray earnestly for the manifestation of God's Love to your Souls , and that will so satisfie and content you , that any measure of earthly things will content you . 5. Be much in Heavenly Meditations , look upon invisible and eternal things , spend serious frequent fixed Thoughts on them . 6. Consider your Deserts : No person in the World , how little soever he hath of the good things of the World , but hath much more than he deserveth , and more than he doth well improve ; and how much soever he hath of the evil things of the World , he hath infinitely less than he deserved , for every thing out of Hell is a Mercy : It 's of the Lord's Mercy we are not consumed . 7. Consider , if you be true Christians , you have the Spirit of Christ in you , Rom. 8. 9. Jesus Christ had a most contented Spirit : Contentment is the inseparable Companion of true Godliness . 1 Tim. 6. 8. Having food and raiment , let us be content . Let us , that are Christians , who have the Great GOD for our Portion , and Blessed Jesus for our Treasure , and Heaven for our Inheritance , having Food and Raiment , any Food , any Raiment , though never so coarse , let us be content , content with such things as we have , Heb. 13. 5. Inf. III. Thirdly , hence it follows also , that great is the Folly of all by Nature , and great is their Blindness ; which appears in this , that they value , prize , mind , and follow after visible temporal things , much more eagerly and earnestly than after invisible eternal things : This is but too manifest , Isa . 55. 2. labouring for that which is not bread : not Bread for their Souls , and for that which cannot satisfie their Souls . God , Christ , Heaven , is not in all , scarce in any of their Thoughts , Psal . 10. 4. & 49. 11. the god of this World blinds Mens Eyes . 2 Cor. 4. 4. and the World bewitcheth Mens Minds , and the Deceitfulness of Sin so strangely deludes 〈◊〉 , that they become meer Slaves and Captives to the World. Ask any Man or Woman what things are best , Earth or Heaven , God or the Creature , their Souls or their Bodies , Saving Grace of Worldly Goods ? and all will confess , that God is best of all , and Heaven better than Earth : If it be so , why then is this World minded more than God ? and , why is Earth minded more than Heaven ? The Apostle tells us the true reason , Rom. 8. 5. which is , because Men are in the Flesh , in a state of Nature , under spiritual blindness and darkness : This their way is their folly ; Psal . 49. 12. It is a great Folly to chuse the worst things , and refuse the best ; to mind Earth , and forget Heaven ; to pursue the Creature , and neglect God and Christ : Folly indeed ! to mind day and night , and follow hard after visible temporal things , and neglect eternal . The pleasures of sin are but for a season , but a God's right hand are pleasures for evermore ; Psal . 16. last . O , the bewitching nature of this World ! that it should so gain and hold the Affections of Men and Women ! that altho the World and the fashion of it passeth away , and is but a shadow , yet that Men should so drown themselves in it , as to make them forget the World to come . How unreasonable a thing is it , to spend all our Thoughts , Cares , and Pains about visible temporal things , seeing they are so transitory and perishing , so much beneath our never-dying Souls , so utterly unable to satisfie or content our Souls , or to comfort us in our Troubles , or to stand us in any stead in Death and Judgment ? Were not our Minds most strangely blinded , it were impossible that , having Reason and Understanding , we should so waste our Time and Strength in pursuit of earthly things , seeing the Great God and the Blessed Jesus offer themselves to become ours ; and seeing Heaven , and Happiness , and Glory is before us , and offered to us , and we may have them if we will , and so be happy for ever ; O wonderful Folly and Blindness ! the Lord enlighten and convince us . Inf. IV. Fourthly , it follows , that a true Christian lives by Faith , and not by Sence ; for he that is a Captive to the World , hath but little Faith , if any ; 1 John 5. 4. For faith overcometh the world ; where Sence riseth , Faith falleth . Now , saith the Apostle , 2 Cor. 5. 7. We walk by faith , not by sence . This is our Practice , and this is the very meaning of the Text : We look not at those things that are seen ; that is , we live not by Sense , but by Faith. Q. But what is it to live or walk by Sense ? Ans . The great good , or end , or happines that a carnal Heart proposeth to it self , in which it expecteth Content , is some good that is the object of Sense , something that may be sensibly enjoyed , and this they pursue and labour after . The Rule by which they judge things , is Sense ; if things please Sense , and seem good to Sense to the Eye , to the Ear , to the Taste , to the Appetite , they judge them to be good things ; if not pleasing to the sense , they are counted evil things That which affects their Hearts , is Sense , Sensible Comforts , or Sensible Crosses , Sensible Gain , or Sensible Loss ; wanting the light of God's Spirit to open their Understandings , they live only by Sense , and are but Sensual ; Jude 19. Eccl. 11. 9. and so they walk after the Flesh , and mind the things of the Flesh , chiefly and principally . This Life of Sense is variously expressed , Prov. 3. 5. A leaning to their own understanding ; Psal . 81. 12. A walking after their own hearts lusts , and in their own counsels ; Jer. 9. 14. Walking after the imaginations of their own hearts ; Isa . 65. 2. After their own thoughts , in a way that is not good . Isa . 5. 21. This is not the way of true Christians ; but they walk by Faith , and not by Sense . Q. What is it then to walk by Faith ? Ans . The great Good , or End , or Happiness that a gracious Soul aims at , and seeks content in , is that which is presented to him by Faith , out of the Word of God , and that is twofold , to wit , the glorifying of God , and the enjoyment of him ; these are things not seen ; these are not the Objects of Sense , but of Faith : To glorifie God in Christ , and to enjoy God in Christ , this is the end of the Saints walk and way ; and all this is by Faith. This Life of Faith is demonstrated several ways . 1. He that lives by Faith is guided by the Word of Faith , and that is the whole Gospel , and every Truth in it ; such a Soul gives up it self to the conduct of the whole Word of God ; it walks by no other Rule . 2. It yields it self up to the government of the Spirit of Faith , the Holy Ghost ; it is obedient to the motions , stirrings , counsels of the Holy Spirit , harkning to that word behind him , Isa . 30 , 31. not willingly grieving nor quenching it . 3. It walks in the way of Holiness , for this Faith purifies the Heart ; Acts 15. 9. & 26. 18. 4. It always leans upon Christ , and draws strength from him , to hold on and hold out in the way of Duty ; by it the Soul abides in Christ , John 15. 3. and by drawing of strength from Christ it can do all things , Phil. 4. 13. notwithstanding all opposition . 5. By Faith the Soul commits himself to God in Christ , in all his ways , and trusts himself and all his concernments with God ; Psal . 37. 3 , 5. Prov. 16. 3. 2 Pet. 5. 7. Psal . 112. 7 , 8. Isa . 26. 2 , 3. Such a Soul can satisfie himself with what he receives by Faith , as really and truly as others can satisfie themselves with Sense ; the faithful Promises of God are as sweet to him as the sensible Possessions and Enjoyments are of others , Heb. 11. 13. they saw the Promises afar off , and embraced them . Now , when a Soul can depend upon God alone for All , in the want of all outward means , and make progress in the ways of God , through all difficulties , and not draw back ; and doth in his whole course of Life so walk , work , and act , as becomes one that doth believe such glorious things in the other World , as he doth believe ; when there is a suitableness in his Life to what he believes ; then , oh then , he may truly be said to live by Faith. And this is the Life that in some degree every true Christian lives , and desires to live ; and this living by Faith , and not by Sense , is that which is meant in the Text. 2 Vse . The second Use is of Exhortation to us all , to look off from visible temporal things . Let us labour to get our Hearts crucified , and our Affections mortified to all earthly things ; to draw away our Minds as much as possible , from the things of this Life . A great part of the Gospel , and of the Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles , tend to this , to take off our Hearts and Minds from setling and fixing upon earthly things . I. Some Motives to this . II. Some Directions . I. Motives . 1. Consider , it is the express Command of God , Col. 3. 1 , 2. Set not your affections on things below , 1 John 2. 14 , 15. Matth. 6. 19. Lay not up for your selves treasures on earth . This we should urge on our Hearts . 2. Consider the vanity , emptiness , insufficiency , unsatisfactoriness to the Soul , of all earthly things ; Eccl. 5. 10. 3. The great inconstancy and uncertainty of them , 1 Tim. 6. 17. Prov. 23. 5. 1 Cor. 7. 31. Riches and Honours go from one man to another , as Birds hop from Tree to Tree . 4. How prejudicial they have been to those that have had the most of them , but beneficial to very few . 5. That these earthly things are all defiling things , like Pitch ; and corruptible and corrupting things , being full of Snares and Temptations , are but like Thorns to most . 6. No real Happiness in them , for Reprobates may have them ; and they may consist with Gods Wrath ; therefore we should not set our Hearts upon them . II. Directions shewing how we may get off our Hearts , and draw off our Minds from them , for our Hearts are so glued to them , we cannot but look on them , and mind them . It is not easie work to do , but let us use the means that God hath appointed , and try what we can do . 1. First , Let us labour to be transformed in the Image of our Minds , renewed in the Spirit of our Minds ; Rom. 12. 1. Eph. 4. 23. New Natures we must get , this must be done ; our Old Minds are vain , and altogether suitable to earthly things . Q. But how shall we get New Minds ? A. 1st , Pray earnestly to God , to give you new Hearts , to repair his Image on you , to create a clean Heart in you , as David did , Psal . 51. 10. to give you his Spirit , 1 Cor. 2. 12. to sanctifie you throughout , 1 Thess . 5. 23. to regenerate you by his Word and Spirit ; Jam. 1. 17 , 18. Tit. 3. 3 , 4 , 5. Oh pray , pray that God would cast you into a new Mould , to root out the old corrupt Principles of Nature in you , and to plant new heavenly Principles of the Divine Life and Nature in you , to work a real change in you . Go to Jesus , beg his Spirit ; He was crucified to all visible temporal things , beg of him to give you those Waters of Life , Joh. 4. 14. which he hath promised to them that hunger and thirst after them : Beg of him to make you of his mind ; labour to put him on by imitation . 2ly , Look up to God's Covenant , and lay hold on God's Covenant , Ezek. 11. 19. and most earnestly beg the Lord to take you into his Covenant , and to remember his Covenant , and to perform it to you , and wait upon God continually : Study the Covenant of Grace , and lay hold on it ; for in the Covenant God promiseth to become our God and Portion ; and if once God be ours , all the good of Heaven and Earth is ours , and then we shall but little mind visible temporal things . 3ly , If we would be regenerated , we must search the Scriptures diligently , attend on the Word preached and read , for the Word of God is the Seed of Regeneration , the Word of Grace , ordained to work Grace in Souls , Acts 26. 18. Look often into the glass of the Gospel , 2 Cor. 3. 17 , 18. and look thorow it unto the glory of the Lord , that shines forth in it ; the glory of his Love , and Grace , and Mercy , and Wisdom ; and Power , and Holiness , and Righteousness , and Faithfulness , all which are wonderfully displayed in the Face of Jesus Christ , in this glass of the Gospel ; and by frequent , serious , believing , fixed looking into this glass , and upon the glory of God in Christ therein represented , we shall be changed into the same Image , from glory to glory , as by the Spirit of the Lord. 4ly , Study Jesus Christ much , set him still before you for a Pattern , labour to imitate him , and to be like him , and to walk as he walked : And this is the way to get new Minds . 2 Direct . Secondly , If we would get off our Hearts from earthly things , let us labour for a clear knowledge and a firm belief of , and familiar acquaintance with invisible eternal things ; take a few instances : The Resurrection of the Body , as fet out in 1 Cor. 15. The second Coming of the Lord Jesus , the manner and ends of it , 2 Thess . 1. 6 , 7 , 8 , 9. The glorious manifestation of the Sons of God , and their full Redemption . That when Christ , who is their Life , shall appear , they shall appear with him in glory , Col. 3. 3. The Day of Judgment ; the separation of the Sheep from the Goats ; the final irrevocable Sentence that shall then pass on all Mankind ; the Saints passing into Heaven with Christ , their Souls and Bodies united , and their triumphant entrance with the Captain of their Salvation into the Paradise of God , to see the Blessed God face to face , to live in his presence , in whose presence is fulness of joy , and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore ; to live with God in perfect Light , Love , Purity , Rest , and Peace for ever and ever ; fully and for ever freed from all Sin and Misery . Oh , these are the things most worthy of all our most serious , most fixed , and most constant Meditations . We should first labour to get those things into our Heads , fully and clearly to understand them , and should not be contented with a dark confused knowledge of them , but should labour for a distinct knowledge of them ; and therefore should earnestly beg the light and assistance of the Holy Spirit , to instruct and teach us , as Eph. 1. 18. and look up to God's Promise , which is , that all his People shall be taught of him , that we may have a spiritual knowledge of them . And then we should labour to draw these invisible eternal things down into our Hearts , and labour to draw up our Hearts to them , for with the Heart Man believeth . We should beg of God to open our Hearts wide to embrace them , to relish , and savour , and be affected with them , and exercise our loves , hopes , desires , delights , hunger and thirst after them , considering also the transcendant Excellencies of those invisible eternal things , above all visible temporal things ; and our own real concernment in them , and likewise their nearness to us , they are not far off ; we shall shortly possess that Kingdom promised , and inherit that Glory purchased for us , if we be true Believers ; But a little while , and he that shall come will come , and will not tarry . Considering also , that all our Thoughts , Words , and Actions have reference to invisible eternal things . If they be good and holy , they have reference to eternal glory ; if bad and wicked , they have reference to eternal Misery ; for such as is our Heart and Life here , such shall be our eternal state hereafter . 3 Direct . Thirdly , Be much in the Meditation of Heavenly Things , if we firmly believe , and are fully perswaded , that there are indeed such great and glorious , such excellent things in the other World , as the God of Truth assures us of , in the Word of Truth ; and if we believe , or have good ground to hope , that we have a title to them , and shall shortly enjoy them , why are they not more in our Thoughts ? why do we not more meditate on them ? Our frequent fixed Meditations on Heavenly things , will so sweeten and delight our Souls , and yield such satisfaction to us , as to take off our Minds from Earthly things : And to Meditation add Prayer , That God would raise and lift up your Hearts to mind things above . 4 Direct . Fourthly , Discourse frequently and feelingly of the vanity and emptiness of visible temporal things , and of the reality and excellency of invisible eternal things : If Heaven and Glory be in your Hearts , they will be in your Mouths . Consider also the shortness of the time you have to converse with visible temporal things , 1 Cor. 7. 31. and study a crucified Christ more , by that you will come to be crucified to the World , and the World to you ; Gal. 6. 14. 5 Direct . Fifthly , Consider you that are Christians , are not at home , you are in a strange Country , you are but on your Journey , in your passage to your Father's house , to your long home , and therefore you should not much mind the things of this World. 6 Direct . Sixthly , Consider what you lose all the while you are inordinately minding earthly things ; you lose not only your precious time , but much inward joy and peace , and much sweet communion with God , which you might have in minding of , and meditating upon Heavenly things : Psal . 63. 4 , 5. My soul shall be satisfied as with mar●●● and fatness : — When I remember thee open my bed , and meditate on thee in the night-watches . 7 Direct . Seventhly , Let us work a few more serious Considerations into our Hearts and Minds , to take them from Earthly things . ( 1. ) That whatever any Man or Woman hath of visible temporal things , Death will put a full end to them all , and after Death they all shall partake of invisible and eternal things . Matth. 25. 46. The wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment , and the righteous into life eternal . ( 2. ) That every Man and Woman in the World is either made for ever , or undone for ever , as they are related and entituled unto the invisible eternal good things or evil things of the other World ; they are made for ever , if related and entituled to the invisible God and Glory ; and undone for ever , if not : So that our Eternal Happiness or Misery depends not on our relation or title to visible , but to invisible things . ( 3. ) Such as is our Title and Estate now , to the one or other , such it will be to all Eternity . As the tree falls , so it lies : as death leaves us , so will judgment find us . ( 4. ) This looking off from earthly things is the way to grow and encrease in Grace , for Worldly Cares do choak , deaden , and weaken Grace , cloying the Affections , entangling and encumbring the Thoughts , much hindring the exercise of Faith and Love , which are the principal Graces whereby holy Souls enjoy Communion with God. ( 5. ) By this you will have more Communion with God ; for the less we look downward , the more we shall look upward ; and the more we look upward to God and Christ , in the actings of our Faith and Love , the more will God and Christ manifest themselves and their love to our Souls . ( 6. ) This will support us in Affliction , and comfort us in a dying hour ; when our Affections are crucified to the World , we shall not be unwilling to part with it . Col. 3. 3. We are dead , saith the Apostle ; that is , to the World. And this supported those in this Chapter ; they were crucified to all visible temporal things , therefore they could easily part with them . 3 Vse . Thirdly , by way of Examination . By this gracious frame of Spirit , we may know our spiritual state , whether we be born of God or no , whether in Christ or no ; to wit , by this , Whether our Hearts and Minds are more set on God , Christ , and Heaven , or on the World. Rom. 8. 1. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus ; they are safe , come Plague , Sword , Fire , Faggot : But who are in Christ Jesus ? He tells us , They that walk not after the flesh , but after the Spirit . So Ver. 5 , 6. They that are spiritually minded ; they that have their conversation in Heaven . Phil. 3. 20. Col. 3. 1 , 2. They are risen with Christ . So Psal . 73. 25 , 26. If we be born from Heaven , we are bound for Heaven : Heavenly-mindedness is as good an Evidence for Heaven as any is , and Earthly-mindedness is as ill a Character as can be . Let us now try our selves by this : Where are our Hearts , and Minds , and Affections mostly set , on Heaven or Earth , on Christ or the Creature ? Let our Consciences speak : Surely this one Rule of Tryal will help us to know in what state we are . Lastly , For Consolation to Believers , in respect of outward Losses and Troubles , that they are all visible and temporal things that we can lose , and but temporal things that we can suffer , which are but light and short , as we have seen ; but our invisible eternal Mercies , they are all sure , and can never be lost . If we had enjoyed our earthly Comforts a little longer , it could have been but a little longer , they and we must have parted : All visible things are but temporal ; our fairest Flowers are fading , our sweetest earthly Mercies are perishing : And here is our Comfort , that if we be in Christ , we shall be delivered from Eternal Death , from Everlasting Destruction , from the Wrath to come . If we have our part in the first Resurrection , the Second Death shall have no power on us . Let this comfort us , that the Comforts we lose here are but temporal Comforts , and the Troubles we suffer here , are but temporal Troubles . And this brings us to the second Point observed from the Text , which was , 2 Doct. That a right and true Judgment of earthly things , will help to support the Lord's Services under their Afflictions . Of which I shall speak but briefly , because much of what hath been said in the former point 〈◊〉 confirm this . Heb. 10. 34. They took joyfully the 〈…〉 their Goods ; And why ? but because 〈…〉 in themselves they had in Heaven 〈…〉 a more enduring substance . They 〈…〉 Judgment both of Earth and Heaven , 〈…〉 Earthly and of Heavenly Things , and 〈…〉 infinite worth and value of 〈…〉 they knew that Heavenly things were 〈…〉 real , the most substantial , the most 〈…〉 and that Earthly things were temporal 〈…〉 , and therefore not so ●e command 〈…〉 less to be valued or 〈…〉 Heavenly things . Q. 1. But how 〈…〉 of Earthly things ? A. ( 1. ) We must judge of 〈…〉 only wise , judgeth of them 〈…〉 judge truly and rightly of them . Now God hath declared in his Word his Judgment of them , Isa . 4. 6 , 7. The mouth of the Lord hath spoken this . The voice said , Cry ; and he said , What shall I cry ? All flesh is grass , and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field . The grass withereth , the flower fadeth . Psal . 39. 5 , 6. Verily , every man , at his best estate , is altogether vanity . Surely , every man walketh in a vain shew , Psal . 103. 14 , 15. we are but Dust : As for man , his days are as grass : as a flower of the field , so he flourisheth . For the wind passeth over it , and it is gone ; and the place thereof shall know it no more . Job 14. 1 , 2. Man that is born of a woman is of few days , and full of trouble . He cometh forth like a flower , and is cut down : he fleeth also as a shadow , and continueth not . So 1. Pet. 1. 24. Jam. 1. 10. & 4. 14. What is our life ? It is but even a vapour , that appeareth for a little time , and then vanisheth away . This is the Judgment of God concerning Man , all Men ; They are but Dust , but a Shadow , but Grass , and the Life of Man very short , and full of trouble , but even as a bubble , but a vapour ; and we may be sure , that the Judgment of God is according to Truth . And then , for all the things of this World , Solomon , by the Spirit of God , hath declared what they all are . Eccles . 1. 2. Vanity of vanities , saith the Preacher , vanity of vanities , all is vanity . Vanity and Vexation . Riches , Honours , Pleasures , Relations , Friends , Liberty , all pleasant Accommodations , all is vanity and vexation of spirit . This is the true and right Judgment we should have of all earthly things . ( 2. ) We must judge of these earthly things by the experience of the best and wisest men that ever lived upon Earth ; they will tell us from their own experience , that they are all vanity and vexation . So Solomon , Job , David , Moses ; Psal . 90 , 4 , 5 , 6. Yea , we all know this by our own Experiences every day , that all flesh is as grass , and as the flower of the field : How soon do all our earthly Comforts wither and perish , our dearest and nearest Relations wither and dye away , our Health and Strength , our Life , and all , still withering and perishing ? [ See largely of this in Dr. Reynold 's Three Treatises , the first part , concerning the vanity of the Creature . ] ( 3. ) Once more judge of Earthly things by the evil use we make of them while we have them , through Satan's Temptations and our own Corruptions , ( as was shewed before ) and also what cloggs and hinderances they are to our Souls , in our way to Heaven : Altho' Life , and all the Accommodations of Life , as Health , Strength , Liberty , Estate , Friends are good things in themselves , and given us to be helps to Holiness , and to Heaven ; yet we must confess to our shame , that all our Earthly Comforts , yea , and our animal Life it self , doth very much , most times , hinder our Communion with God , hinder us in the Service of God , keep our Hearts at too great a distance from God ; and many more Evils they bring upon us ; all which considered , we have but little reason so to value them as we do , nor to let our Hearts and Affections so to run out after them . Thus let us take a right judgment of all Earthly things . It is true , that so far forth as these Earthly things are useful to us in the Service of God , and further the good of our Souls , so far forth we ought to love and prize them , and praise God for them , and pray for the continuance of them ; but so far forth as they are hinderances to us in Holiness , and bring Sin and Guilt on our Souls , as too oft they do , so far forth , and in that respect , we had better be without them than with them ; their Room would be better than their Company : And when they prove Snares to us , and like Solomon's Wives draw away our Hearts from God ; and like Dalilah to Sampson , betray our Souls into the hands of our spiritual Enemies ; then surely it is the goodness of God to separate them from us , and strip us of them , and we shall have cause to bless God for so doing . Sickness and Weakness improved , is better for our Souls than Health and Strength abused : Restraint and Confinement improved , better than Liberty abused : Solitariness improved , is better than a Family and Company abused : Poverty improved , better than Riches abused , &c. Thus you may get a right Judgment of Earthly things . Q. 2. But how will this right Judgment of Earthly things help us to bear our Troubles in this World ? A. 1. By acting our Faith upon the Word of God. Believe , and be fully perswaded of the truth , which God , the God of Truth , hath spoken concerning all Earthly things : Believe that all flesh is grass , that life is but a vapour , &c. here lies the root of all our Impatience and Discontent under our Losses and Earthly Comforts , even our Unbelief ; we do not fully and firmly believe they are such vain things that we are deprived of , out grass , but as the flowers of the field . Just like a man that finds a Box or Bag of Counters , and takes them to be all pure Gold , and greatly rejoycech in what he hath found ; then after a short time he loseth his Counters , and then he is exceedingly troubled for the loss of them , because all this while he took them for Gold ; but if once he comes to believe , that it was but a Box or Bag of Counters , then he grieves no more . So it is with us ; we believe not , that all our Comforts are vanity and vexation ; we look not on them to be so , but that there is much contentment , and sweetness , and satisfaction to be had in them : And therefore we grieve immoderately when we lose our Counters ; but if we did firmly believe they are but Counters , Shadows , Grass , Vapours , we should not be so cast down . 2. Meditation and Consideration of the true nature of all Earthly things , as God hath shewed us in his Word ; often thinking , pondering , and meditating on their vanity , uncertainty , transitoriness and deceitsulness : Without this due and serious Meditation , a right Judgment of them will do us no good . When God smites our Comforts , maketh our fairest Flowers to wither , blasteth our flourishing Grass , then let us consider what God hath smitten and blasted , nothing but grass , but flowers . What have we lost ? Nothing but Shadows , but Counters : This deep Consideration will support us under our Losses . Consider also the Experience of the Saints , who in all Ages have found these things to be but vanity and vexation . 3. Add Prayer to God , That He will throughly convince your Minds of the vanity of all earthly things , as David prayed , Psal . 39. 4. That we may judge of them as God judgeth of them , and not otherwise ; and then it will not so much trouble us to part with them . So much for a right Judgment of the good things of this World : We must also labour to get a right Judgment of the evil things of this World , as Poverty , Sickness , Imprisonment , Disgrace , loss of Friends and Relations ; we usually judge amiss of these also , and therefore become impatient . Now , that we may have a right Judgment of these things also , we must observe the former Rules . 1. To judge of these Evil things as God in his Word judgeth of them . Now God tells us in his Word , that Afflictions are short and light ; that is comparatively , as was shewed before ; that his ends and designs in all the Afflictions of his People , are good and gracious ; of which largely before ; that they are Tokens of his Fatherly Love to us , and Evidences of our Sonship ; that they are for our spiritual and eternal profit , to take away our Sins , and to make us partakers of his Holiness , and to prepare us for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; that they are needful and necessary for us , Afflictions being as necessary to God's People , in their passage to Heaven , as Water is to a Ship , to carry her to her Port. Now , if we judge of Afflictions thus , as the Only-wise God judgeth of them , we shall bear them with much patience . 2. To judge of them as the wise , good , and holy men of God do judge of them . Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God , than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season . Holy David professeth , That it was good for him that he was afflicted , Psal . 119. 71. [ Vpon which Text I have written at large by it self . ] So the Primitive Christians , 2 Cor. 4. 17 , 18. and Heb. 10. 34. And thousands now in Heaven , and upon Earth , can seal to this Truth , That Afflictions have done them good . 3. Let us judge also by our own Experiences , that as the good things of this World have been , by Satan's Temptations , and our own Corruptions , very hurtful to our Souls ; so the evil things of this World have been , through the Grace of God , sanctifying them to us , very profitable to our Souls , and we have cause to bless God for them . And as Earthly things , good in themselves , become evil to us , so evil things , so in themselves , but by the Blessing of God on them , become good into us . Now this right Judgment of the evil things of this World , will much support us under them , 1. If we strongly act our Faith in believing that God in his Word hath said of these Evil things , that they are all but light and short , that He hath such gracious ends in them ; and if we act faith and Hope upon the many exceeding great and precious Promises in the Word , made to his People in their Afflictions , and relye upon his faithfulness in them , we shall be sweetly supported under them . 2. If we duly meditate and consider of the good ●ruits that our Afflictions shall bring forth in us , ●● due time ; and do duly ponder upon the gracious ends of God in them , it will , doubtless , mightily uphold us under them . 3. And if we add fervent Prayers to God , to give out all those spiritual Blessings of Afflictions to us ; and wait on him for the blessing , hoping , ●esiring , and panting after these Blessings ; we shall be enabled to bear up under them all . Application . Let us bewail our wrong and false Judgment of Earthly things , both of the good and evil things of this World , and pray earnestly for a true , spiritual , and right Judgment of them ; let us fully submit our Judgments to the Judgment of God , and setledly acquiesce in God's Judgment ; let us pray earnestly for a spiritual Understanding , and a renewed Judgment ; let us look on all visible temporal things , as God looketh on them , and settle it in our minds . That the Judgment of God is right and best ; and let us not lean to our own Understandings , and by this means we shall be much helped to bear all our Afflictions with Comfort and Patience . So much of this Doctrine . Now to proceed to the last words in this Verse : 2 COR. iv . 18. But to the things which are not seen , for they are eternal . THIS is another Act of Faith : Faith enables the Soul not only to look off from things which are seen , for they are temporal ; but also to look unto those things which are not seen , for they are eternal . We look ; the original word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , prospicio , to look seriously , diligently , earnestly , to look upon a thing as his mark and scope , to look with ardent desire to attain that which he looks for . Now saith the Apostle , We look not on those things which are seen , temporal things , as our mark and scope , with such eagerness and diligence to attain them ; we see not such worth and excellency in them , as to spend our best Thoughts about them , and our ardent Affections upon them ; no , no , but we look on things not seen ; we look on unseen things as infinitely more worthy , and more highly meri●ing our best Thoughts and Affections ; for those ●●seen things are eternal things , and therefore more worthy of our Affections . Two Points of Doctrine arise hence . Doct. I. That truly-gracious Souls do most seriously mind , and most diligently intend and aim at unseen eternal things ; upon these their thoughts are mainly and mostly fixt , and about these their greatest Care and Study is employed . Doct. II. That the due minding of , and meditating upon unseen eternal things , will much help to support the People of God under all their Sufferings in this World. Doct. I. First , That truly-gracious Souls do most ●eriously mind , and most diligently intend and aim at ●●seen and eternal things . Here we must enquire , 1. What those invisible eternal things are . 2. The Reasons of the Point . 1. What they are . They are things not seen , and they are eternal ; unseen to the bodily Eye ; opposed to the visible things of the World , Ri●●es , Honours , Pleasures , Friends , Health , Liberty , &c. those good and evil things of this World ; these we look not unto , but to invisible , and they are , 1. First , The Invisible God , whom no man hath seen , nor can see with bodily Eyes ; Coll. 1. 15. 1 Tim. 1. 17. Moses saw him that is invisible . Heb. 11. 27. We , saith the Apostle , look unto him , Mic. 7. 7. I will look unto the Lord , Psal . 34. 5. Gracious Souls make God their aim , and their end , how to serve , and please , and glorifie him , and how to have Communion with him , and to enjoy him . This is the chief Study , Care , and Labour of gracious Souls , to be accepted with God , and to bring Glory to him , 2 Cor. 5. 9. We are always looking to God , to his Precepts , to obey them , to his Promises to believe and rest upon them ; to his Providences , to observe and comply with them , answering them by suitable Duty . 2. Secondly , We look unto our Blessed Jesus , the Image of the Invisible God , the eternal Son of God ; He was once visible , and seen in the Flesh , and shall be so again at his second coming , Acts 1. But now we see him not , yet now we believe in him , and look on him by Faith : And that we may look upon and behold this unseen Jesus , and by Faith and Love , to enjoy Union and Communion with him , to know him living in us , and to have fellowship with him in his Death and Resurrection , and in his Life , to receive of his fulness Grace for Grace : This the Saints aim at , and spend their Thoughts and Cares about , and make this the main and principal work of their Lives ; Phil. 3. 8 , 9 , 10. That they may be joyned to Christ , married to him , engrafted into him , partake of his Spirit , Life , and Grace ; that they may be conformable to him , and enabled to walk as he walked ; that he may sup with them , and they with him ; that he may dwell in their Hearts by Faith , and take up his abode with them , and manifest his Love unto them ; that they may grow up in all things like unto him . These are the Aims , Intentions , Desires , Prayers , Longings , and constant Endeavours of truly-gracious Souls . Not to be rich , and great , and honourable in the World , but to partake of the unsearchable Riches of Christ , to get and possess Jesus , this Pearl of greatest 〈◊〉 , to be rich in Faith , to have a clear Title to ●e Crown of Life , which Jesus hath purchased ●● promised ; to live in Christ , and to please , ho●●ur , and enjoy Jesus . This is their Chief La●●ur . 3. The holy Spirit is invisible and eternal ; the ●●cious Influences and Operations of the Holy ●host on the Hearts and Spirits , ( though the ●ects may in some sense be said to be visible , ●● of eternal efficacy ) yet the Operations are in 〈◊〉 sence invisible ; the Graces of the Spirit , ●●ch I take to be those Waters of Life , which our ●●d speaks of , John 4. which spring up to Eter●al Life ; the Joy , the Comforts of the Spirit , the ●aintings , teachings , guidings of the Spirit ; the ●●iness and sealings of the Spirit ; all these are in●●able and eternal things ; and these are the things ●hat natural men cannot know nor discern , 1 Cor. 2. ●1 , 13 , 14. Strangers intermeddle not with this by , because Strangers to it : It is hidden Manna : ●●at these are the unseen things , that gracious ●als mind , seek , and breath after , and always ●●g for : Oh , that they may be filled with the ●pirit , filled with the Graces and Comforts of the Spirit , and enjoy Communion with the Spirit . 4. The Word of God , the glorious Gospel , that is invisible and eternal , not in the Letter of it , for that is to be seen in the Book , but the Mysteries of ●t are hidden Mysteries ; Matth. 11. 25. These things are hid from the wife and prudent of the World. It 's true , the sound of the Gospel is gone ●ut abroad throughout the World ; but the power and efficacy , the vertue and inward workings of it , the sweetness of it , that is invisible to the Eye of the Body , and hidden to the World , 1 Cor. 2. 9 , 10. God reveals those things to his People by his Spirit : The infinite Beauty of Christ , his transcendent Excellencies , the Beauty of Holiness , the surpassing sweetness of the Promises , the glory of Heaven , with many , many other unspeakable Excellencies , which are held out in the Gospel ; all which bodily Eyes cannot see , nor carnal Hearts understand . The powerful enlightning , quickning , transforming , nourishing , strengthning , refreshing , and comforting power and vertue of the Gospel , but very few see and feel ; none but such as are spiritualized , and whose Understandings are savingly enlightned ; Eph. 1. 17 , 18 , 19. There are great and glorious things represented in the Gospel ; but Men's Understandings must be enlightned before they can see them : Life and Immortality is brought to light by the Gospel ; Heaven and Hell opened in the Gospel , but not to be seen by the bodily Eye . Hence the Gospel is said to be hid , 2 Cor. 4. 4. and this word abideth for ever , 1 Pet. 1. 25. and it is an everlasting Gospel . Now , saith the Apostle , we look to the Word of God , and mind the glorious Mysteries of the Gospel , and feel the sweet and powerful effects of it ; we desire the sincere milk of the Word , that we may grow thereby ; we esteem the Word of God above our necessary food ; Job 23. 12 , 13. and it is sweeter to us than the hony or hony-comb , Psal . 19. 9. 5. We look unto , and mind all the exceeding great and precious Promises which are in the Word of God ; the vertue , sweetness , and good of them are all invisible to carnal Eyes . Tell a carnal man of the goodness and sweetness of the Promises , it is a Riddle to him ; give him present Enjoyments , he never tasted any sweetness in them ; but true Christians look on them as exceeding rich things , and look up to them , and embrace them , and live upon them ; they could not ●re without them : The Promises are dry Breasts ●● carnal Hearts , they can draw no vertue from them ; but they are full Breasts to gracious Souls : ●●il . 27. 13. I had fainted , unless I had believed , ( that ●● , in the Promises ) to see the goodness of God in the 〈◊〉 of the living . The Promises , That God will be our God in Christ , and our Portion , and exceeding great Re●ard , Gen. 17. 1. That He will be a Sun and a ●ield to us , give us Grace and Glory , and will with-hold no good thing from us ; Psal . 84. last . ●romises of Pardon , of Peace , of Holiness and ●●essedness , of Rest for our Souls , Mat. 11. 28 , 29. Promises of his good Presence with us in all our ●roubles ; of Supports , Supplies , and of a gracious 〈◊〉 out of all ; gracious Souls trade in the Promises , converse with the Promises ; these they mind ●nd rest upon , and find Sweetness and Comfort in . 6. And Lastly , We look unto all those great and glorious things which the Great God hath prepared for us from the foundation of the World , and which our most dear Lord Jesus hath purchased for us by his most precious Blood. Oh , the great and glorious things which God our Father ●ath prepared for us ! that blessed Vision of God , that Kingdom of Heaven , that Life eternal , that Crown of Glory , of Life , of Righteousness , that inheritance incorruptible , undefiled , and that sa●●th not away ; that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; that everlasting Rest ; all these things are invisible and eternal ; And unto these ●●seen and eternal things , we , saith the Apostle , 〈◊〉 , and set our mind upon . And also the great and glorious things which our Lord hath purchased ; as Peace with God , his Favour , Acceptance with him , Adoption , Sonship , Heirship , Remission of Sins , an heavenly Inheritance ; these are all invisible and eternal things , great and wonderful things , things of the greatest excellency and highest concernment ; And , saith the Apostle , we that are Gospel-christians , we look to these things ; upon these we spend our most serious thoughts , and our best affections ; these possess our hearts and minds , and we live in the continual prospect of these unseen and eternal things . Before I come to the Reasons of the Point , a little more to open this Act of gracious Souls , and the Object of it . I. For the Act , Looking ; which may note these things . 1. It notes Reality , it is no Fancy , Dream , or empty Imagination , but we look , we see , we behold them ; the Eyes of our Understandings being enlightned , and our Minds illuminated by the Spirit of God ; and having the Spirit of Faith in us , we discern and behold those invisible and eternal things : Heb. 11. 1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for , and the evidence of things not seen . We do as fully believe them , as if they were visible to our Bodily Eyes . 2. It notes Certainty ; what we see with our Eyes , we are certain of ; we are fully perswaded of them , Heb. 11. 13. hence this Sight is called Knowledge , 2 Cor. 5. 1. 3. Fixedness ; it is not glancing , or casting an Eye on them , but we look on them , that is , fixedly and stedfastly ; we aim at them ; we lock on them as our Mark and End. Thus for the Act. II. For the Object ; they are things that are not seen : What they are , hath been showed ; the Properties are these : 1. They are spiritual things ; so in their Nature , and revealed by the Spirit , 1 Cor. 2. 8. and they are spiritually discerned , and not otherwise . 2. They are all high , great , and glorious things ; yea , the highest , the greatest , and the most glorious things : All other things are but Dross and Dung in comparison of them . 3. They are the choicest and the best things , most worthy of our Hearts and Minds , and of our choicest Affections : What is the Chaff to the Wheat ? What is the Dross to the Gold ? What is Earth to Heaven , or the Creature to God ? 4. They are Heart-transforming , Heart-gladding , Heart-elevating , Heart-strengthning things , 2 Cor. 3. 17 , 18. 1 Pet. 1. 8. These things looked unto by the Eye of Faith , will change the Heart , and cause joy unspeakable and glorious . 5. They are real , solid , substantial things , not Shadows , as visible temporal things are ; Hebr. 10. 34. They joyfully took the spoiling of their goods , for they were but Shadows , Trifles ; because they had in Heaven substantial things . The things of this World are all vain , lying Vanities , things that are not ; Prov. 23. 5. 6. They are Soul-satisfying , and Heart-contenting things ; such as have them shall never thirst more , John 4. 14. that is , inordinately and immoderately after Earthly things . 7. And Lastly , They are eternal things , permanent , abiding , lasting , everlasting things ; eternal Life , eternal Glory ; everlasting Consolation , everlasting Rest : We shall ever be with the Lord. O my Soul ! Can I be a true Christian , and be a Stranger to this Practice of conversing with those invisible eternal things ? Can I be regenerate , born of God , born from above , and be a Stranger to this Practice ? Can I be quiet in Conscience , so long as I live in the neglect of this ? Can I groundedly hope to live and converse with God and Christ for ever hereafter , and be such a Stranger to this converse with him here ? Can I have any Support in Trouble without this ? Can I have any true Comfort in Life or Death , or bid Sickness or Death welcome , and be a Stranger to this ? Certainly no : Therefore , O my Soul , labour for more familiar Acquaintance with those invisible eternal things , and exercise thy self more in the Meditations of them . The Grounds and Reasons of the Point , Why gracious Souls do most seriously mind , intend and aim at invisible eternal things . Reas . I. Because they are commanded so to do , Col. 3. 1 , 2. Set your affections upon things above , not on things below , Mat. 6. 19 , 20. Lay up for your selves treasures in Heaven , not in Earth , 1 Tim. 6. 19. II. Because truly-gracious Souls are endued with invisible , divine , and eternal Principles , which do encline , dispose , and suit them to those invisible and eternal things : Jam. 1. 17 , 18. They are begotten of God , born of God ; their extraction is heavenly ; 1 Pet. 1. 23. 2 Pet. 1. 4. They must needs mind God , for they are begotten of him , He is their Father , they have his Image on them ; and they must needs mind Christ , for he is formed in them ; and the Spirit , for they are born of the Spirit : Heaven is their Father's House , their own Home , their Inheritance ; the Principles of the Divine Nature enclines and disposeth them to mind things above . As they that are after the flesh , do mind the things of the flesh , so they that are after the spirit , do mind the things of the spirit ; for this is the characteristical difference between the carnal and the spiritual man , Rom. 8. 5 , 6. 1 John 5. 4. Every thing acts according to its Principles . If Men and Women have no other Principles in them , but such as they brought into the World with them , which are only earthly , and have no other Spirit than the Spirit of the World i● them ; they cannot mind heavenly things , for such as is the earthly , such are they that are earthly ; Heavenly things are contrary to their Natures , and to their Principles , and therefore they cannot mind them . But holy Souls have Principles of the Divine Life , and they live the Life of God. III. Because their Hopes are set , grounded , fixed on those invisible eternal things ; their hopes are not in this Life , but in God , in Christ ; Glory , Heaven , and Eternal Life , are the Objects of the hopes of all truly-gracious Souls ; 1 Cor. 15. 19. Rom. 5. 2. Heb. 6. 18 , 19. Tit. 2. 14. Tit. 1. 2. 1 Pet. 1. 13. 1 John 3. 3. We must needs mind them , and set our Affections upon them , because we hope to enjoy them for ever . Phil. 3. 20 , 21. IV. Because the People of God have had experience in some measure of the sweet and powerful Influences and Operations of those invisible eternal things on their own Hearts and Spirits ; they have tasted that the Lord is gracious ; they have had fellowship with the Father and the Son , in some degree ; they have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost , in many saving fruits and effects on them ; they have felt the power , efficacy , and comfort of the Word and Promises ; and they have in some measure received the first-fruits and earnest of their Inheritance ; Rom. 8. 23. Eph. 1. 13 , 14. V. Because by all these things gracious Souls live , and in all these things is the Life of their Souls : Their Life is hid with Christ in God , and should they not mind God and Christ ? Christ liveth in them , and they in him , Gal. 2. 20. They live in the Spirit , and walk in the Spirit , Gal. 5. They live by , and live upon the Promises , Job 23. 12. They live by Faith , in the purchased , promised , prepared Inheritance ; they live in hope of Eternal Life , Tit. 1. 2. and rejoyce in hope of glory , Rom. 5. 2 : They live in hope of a better Resurrection ; they groan after their House in Heaven ; they seek a Country , an heavenly ; and therefore they cannot but mind and intend , look unto , and aim at those invisible eternal things . Our natural Life , much less our spiritual Life , doth not consist in the things which we possess ; that is , in visible temporal things ; for , in God we live , move , and have our being . VI. Because these invisible eternal things are the only things that are suitable and satisfying to the Souls of gracious persons ; Earthly things are not suitable to Heaven-born Souls ; Riches , Honours , Pleasures , not suitable , nor satisfying to immortal Souls , which are begotten of God : Earthly things are no Bread for Souls ; Isa . 55. 2 , 3 , 4. John 6. 27. They are all but Ashes , but Wind , Husks , Chaff , not Food for Souls ; these are suitable to the Body , Meats for the Belly , and the Belly for Meats ; but God , and Christ , and the Word , &c. for the Soul , for the renewed gracious Soul ; other things will not content it . VII . Because these invisible eternal things are the best , the choicest , the chiefest , the most excellent things , the principal things , as all will confess , and therefore most worthy to be minded and looked after ; Phil. 4. 8. GOD and Glory , Heaven and Happiness , are the best things for certain , Heb. 10. 34. & 11. 16. The Saints Happiness lies in those invisible eternal things : They may be happy without visible temporal things , but they can never be happy without the other : And indeed , all visible temporal things are not worth minding at all in comparison of the other . Oh , that we could believe this , and act accordingly . VIII . Because those things are most sure and certain , incorruptible and undefiled , and that fade not away , Matth. 6. 19. nor moth , nor rust , nor thieves can spoil us of these ; 1 Cor. 9. 25. Heb. 11. 9 , 10. & 13. 14. 1 Pet. 1. 4. Psal . 48. 14. This God will be our God for ever . None can say so of Relations or Possessions , of Health , Wealth , or Liberty . Jesus Christ is the Believer's for ever ; their Joy is everlasting , none can take it from them ; their Peace is everlasting , their Kingdom everlasting . IX . Because by minding of , and by setting their Affections upon those invisible eternal things , they are much freed and discharged from the Snares , Fears , Cares , Sorrows , Entanglements , Incumbrances and Temptations , that accompany the minding of those visible temporal things . Nil sentit in Nervo , cum Anima sit in Coelo . Oh , the intolerable Burthens , the unavoidable Snares , Cares , and Fears that attend these earthly things ! how are the Minds of Men rack'd , tortured , distracted , distempered , macerated with these ? while they mind them eagerly and inordinately , What cross Passages fall out ? what Disappointments do they meet with ? how strangely are mens Minds bewitched with these things ? what unruly Passions are oftentimes stirred up , and thence they break out into many uncomely words and actions , piercing themselves thorow with many Sorrows , 1 Tim. 6. 10. Against this our Lord caution'd his Disciples , Luk. 21. 34. Take heed , lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting , and drunkenness , and cares of this life . And by these worldly entanglements many times God is forgotten , Conscience wounded , Peace broken , Guilt contracted , Duty neglected , and Sorrows multiplied . But now , when we can get off our Hearts from Earthly things , and can get them up above these things , and can fix our Minds upon those high and heavenly things ; how are our Spirits discharged and disburthened , and our Minds eased and quieted : Psal . 63. 5 , 6. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness : When I remember thee upon my bed , and meditate on thee in the night-watches . O , the sweet Peace and Tranquility of Mind that those enjoy , that look above , and live above , and have their conversation in Heaven ; who walk with God , and talk with God , and constantly converse with things above : To be spiritually minded is life and peace , Rom. 8. 6. X. Because by this minding Heavenly things the Saints get good Proof and Evidence of their Title unto , and of their Interest in God and Christ , and to those invisible eternal things ; 1 Joh. 5. 4. Col. 3. 1 , 2 , 3. Joh. 3. 6. 1 Cor. 15. 48. This is a good Proof that we belong to God and Heaven , because we mind them , and set our Hearts upon them . XI . Because by the minding of those things above , the People of God are wonderfully supported under all their Troubles in this Life ; and by their Heavenly-mindedness their Troubles are alleviated and sweetned to them ; as in the Text and Context : We faint not , while we look not at those things which are seen , for they are temporal ; but at those things which are not seen , for they are eternal . By our looking off from temporal things , and by our looking on upon eternal things , we are supported under all our Sufferings . XII . And Lastly , Because this is the way to salvation : For if the end of those who mind earthly things be Destruction , as Phil. 3. 19. then the end of those who mind Heavenly things , must be Salvation . Thus much for the grounds of the Point . Q. But wherein consists this Duty of looking unto invisible eternal things ? What is this minding of them ? And how must this Work be managed ? Ans . 1. It consists in the distinct knowing , and right understanding of those invisible eternal things ; to know God and Christ , the Mystery of God and Godliness , Col. 2. 3. Ephes . 1. 17 , 18. Let us pray as the Apostle doth there ; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ , the Father of glory , would give unto us the spirit of wisdom and revelation , in the knowledge of him : That the eyes of our understandings may be enlightned , &c. 2. In a full perswasion of Heart , of the Reality and transcendent Excellency of those invisible eternal things , that they are indeed the most real , the most substantial , and the most excellent things , infinitely surpassing all temporal things ; Phil. 3. 8 , 9. Psal . 73. 25. If we believe not this , and be not fully perswaded of this , that Heavenly things are incomparably better than Earthly things , we shall never set our Hearts upon them . 3. In the frequent and lively Actings of Faith , Love , Desire , Hope , Hungrings , Thirstings , Pantings , Breathings , Longings and Expectations upon and after those Heavenly things ; Psal . 42. 1 , 2. & 63. 1 , 2 , 3 , 8. Isa . 26. 9. Oh , that I had a clearer , fuller sight of God , more acquaintance with my Blessed Jesus , more spiritual relish of Divine things , more experience of the saving workings of the Holy Spirit , more sense of the fatherly love of God in Christ : Oh , that I had clearer Evidences of my title to Everlasting Rest : Oh , that the Love of God may be shed abroad on my Heart abundantly : Oh , that I could taste more sweetness , and feel more Power in the Word and Promises : Oh , that I could converse more with God , and have my Conversation more above . Thus holy Souls pant and breath after God and Heavenly things . 4. In esteeming , prizing , valuing those invisible eternal things above all earthly temporal things ; Psal . 30. In God's favour is life ; Psal . 63. 3. His loving-kindness is better than life ; Psal . 4. 6. Lord , lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us . This will put gladness into our hearts , more than the encrease of corn and wine . 5. In applying and appropriating these invisible eternal things to our own Souls ; My Lord , and my God , my Jesus ; The kingdom prepared for me , the crown belongs to me . 6. In frequent conversing with them by meditation , contemplation , consideration ; spreading and spending our most serious Thoughts , and our most fixed and deepest Cogitations on them , and never leave thinking and thinking , pondering , musing , ruminating and dwelling on them , until our Hearts be warmed ; and our Affections kindled , our Desires enlarged , and our Delights raised . Psal . 37. 5. Delight thy self in the Lord. Psal . 104. 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet . Alas , we have so few , and such short , and inconstant , and unfixed Thoughts of God and Christ , of Heaven and Glory , that our Hearts are not affected , nor raised and enflamed . 7. And lastly , In a conversation suitable to those invisible eternal things : Phil. 3. 20. the Apostles and Primitive Christians had their Conversations in Heaven . This alone is true , real minding of , and conversing with those Heavenly things , when we live the life of God , live like God , like Jesus , walk in the Spirit , to be holy in all manner of conversation ; 2 Pet. 3. 14. 1 Pet. 1. 18 , 19. To be like Christ in Meekness and Humility ; Matth. 11. 28. and in Purity ; 1 John 3. 3. in contempt of the World , and Vanities of it ; in Heavenly-mindedness . And thus we ought to look unto and mind invisible and eternal things , and this will bring true Joy and perfect Peace . Isa . 26. 3. Psal . 112. 6 , 7. Moreover , I conceive , that the Apostle and Primitive Christians did look also unto the invisible eternal Evil things , and spent some Thoughts upon them ; as , The Terrour of the Lord , Everlasting Destruction , Eternal Death , the Wrath to come , &c. These things they minded two ways . 1. By way of Praise and Thanksgiving , admiring the Love and Grace of God in Christ , by which they were delivered from those invisible eternal Miseries , which their Sins had deserved ; as we find often in their Praises . 2. In their Diligence to escape those eternal Evils , labouring for the assurance of their full deliverance from them ; constantly exhorting all men to give all Diligence , that they might not fall short of their Everlasting Rest . But principally , I think , they looked unto those invisible eternal Good things , to secure their Title to them , and Interest in them ; and so minding them , as still to press forward towards the Mark of the Price of the high Calling ; and with the fore-thoughts and fore-sights of them , did support their Spirits under their Troubles , and sweeten their passage through this present evil World. So much for the Doctrinal part . The Application . First , For Information . 1 Inference . Hence appears the extream Folly and Madness of People by Nature , who look at , mind and aim only at visible temporal things , but totally neglect Invisible eternal things . God , Christ , Heaven , is not in all , scarce in any of their Thoughts ; Lovers of themselves , of their own things , of Profits and Pleasures , more than of God , Phil. 1. 21. 2 Tim. 3. 4. that make themselves the Mark they aim at ; but the Glory and Honour of God , the pleasing and enjoying him , are strange things to them , things they never minded , never thought on : God complains of this against the Jews , Hos . 8. 12. I have written to them the great things of my Law , but they counted them as strange things . So may Jesus Christ justly complain of Men under the Gospel ; I have revealed the great and glorious Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven , the Mysteries of Salvation , the unsearchable Riches of the Grate and Love of God in the Gospel . Life and Immortality is brought to light by the Gospel ; the true and only way to Heaven and Eternal Life , to Everlasting Happiness , is clearly made known in the Gospel ; the only Means to get an Interest in the great God , in Jesus Christ , in the New Covenant ; how to get Pardon of Sin , Peace with God ; how to be justified , saved , and glorified for ever ; All these things are fully and clearly revealed in the Gospel . The invisible eternal things of the World to come , which are the greatest Realities and Excellencies , the choicest , greatest , and best things . But woe , and alas ! how little are those things minded ? It is Corn , Wine , and Oyl ; Who will shew us any good , any visible temporal good ? Now , is not this extream Folly and Madness , for reasonable Creatures , made for God , made capable of enjoying God , and all those invisible eternal good things ; for them thus to labour and pant after the Dust of the Earth , to spend their Thoughts , Minds , and Strengths upon that which cannot satisfie , which will not endure ; but thus to waste precious Time , and Breath , and Spirits for perishing fading things , and neglect invisible eternal things ; the incorruptible Crown , that fadeth not away , the undefiled Inheritance , the everlasting Kingdom , eternal Life and Salvation ; not to look on those , nor mind them , nor labour for them : Yet this is the common neglect of the World. It is amazing Madness , astonishing Folly. Thus God expresseth , Jer. 2. 11 , 12 , 13. Be astonished , O ye heavens , at this ; be ye horribly afraid ; be ye very desolate , saith the Lord : For my people have committed two evils ; they have forsaken me , the fountain of living waters , and hewed out Cisterns , broken Cisterns , that can hold no water . Prov. 1. 20 , 21 , 22. Yet such is the Madness of all by Nature , and it is greatly to be lamented . This shews also the blindness and darkness of Men by Nature , that they cannot see the excellency of those invisible eternal things , nor their own absolute necessity of them , and concernment in them : The God of this World hath blinded the minds of them which believe not , lest the Light of the glorious Gospel of Christ , who is the Image of God , should shine into them : This glorious light shines upon them , and shines into many of their Heads ; this Light they cannot resist ; but it shines not into their Hearts , to transform and change them , as it doth into the Hearts of God's Elect ; and it 's greatly to be lamented ; 2 Cor. 4. 4. 2. Inf. Secondly , Hence appears the beguiling , bewitching nature of the World , that it should so strangely win and gain the Hearts and Affections of Men and Women , and so easily prevail with them , while God and Christ are offered to them , and are not embraced : Heaven gates are opened to them , and they invited , entreated , perswaded by Promises , by Threatnings , commanded to come and enter , but they will not ; they make light of it ; no Perswasions will prevail ; they turn the deaf Ear to all : But for the World , how soon are People perswaded to embrace it , to follow hard after it , to count no Time nor Pains too much to attain it ? What is there in those visible temporal things , in those glittering vanities , that should so allure , entice , and seduce rational Souls , and such as profess that they believe all those better things ? But indeed , they do not believe them , whatever they profess : Infidelity is the Root of all ; Men do not believe what they profess to believe . It were impossible that the World should be so heartily , so eagerly follow'd and pursued , if the vanity and vexation of it , the emptiness and insufficiency of it , the uncertainty and transitoriness of it , were indeed believed : It were impossible that the great and glorious God , the Alsufficient Good , that blessed Jesus , that Heaven and Eternal Happiness , should be so slighted and neglected , if they were truly , really , and heartily believed . It is most strange , and yet most true , that People should yield up their Hearts unto , and spend their best Affections upon the things of this present evil World , and can think and speak delightfully of them , but have no mind to think or speak of eternal things . Oh , this beguiling , bewitching , and deceiving World ! and , oh , these corrupt , carnal , deceitful Hearts of ours , that suffer the World thus to deceive us ! It cost the Heart-blood of Christ to deliver his People from this present evil World , Gal. 1. 4. Could we apprehend the Mischief this World hath done us , and doth still do us , we should have but little kindness for it ; and if once we could attain the Assurance of our title to that World above , we should not care how soon we were gone out of this . 3 Inf. Thirdly , Hence appears the Unreasonableness of immoderate Worldly Joy , Sorrow , Fear , Cares about visible temporal things . Being they are but temporal , passing , transient , momentany things , why then so much care to get and keep them ? Why so much fear of losing them ? Why so much Joy in possessing ? and , why so much Trouble in parting with them ? Why so much Care and Fear about Life it self , which is but a Vapour ? Jam. 4. 14. Alas , we rejoice in things of nought , and are grieved for the loss of Shadows ; for such , and no better at best , are all visible temporal things , in comparison of invisible eternal things . Let us all bewail this Folly : O , when shall we be wise ? How long shall we simple ones love this our sinful Simplicity ? Prov. 1. 22. Oh , how long e're we be able to discern between Good and Evil ? till we know the one thing needful , and approve and pursue the things which are most excellent ? and give up our Hearts entirely to God and Christ ? 4 Inf. Fourthly , Hence appears the absolute Necessity of Regeneration : Seeing we are by Nature so ignorant , dark , blind , stupid and dead , that we cannot see nor understand the things of God , nor the things that belong to our own Eternal Peace : Therefore we should earnestly seek and pray for Renewing Grace , and that Christ would give us the Light of Life ; and that God would beget us anew , and give us his sanctifying quick'ning Spirit , and infuse new spiritual Principles of the Divine Nature into our Hearts , and thereby take us off from inordinate minding visible temporal things , and turn our minds another way , even towards Himself , and towards Christ and Heaven , that there we may center and place all the Affections of our Hearts , all the Desires and Delights of our Souls : This must be done by the mighty power of God , and we must seek him diligently , to effect this work upon us ; and we must also attend on his Word preached and read , and diligently and conscientiously read the Word , searching the Scriptures for this very end and purpose , and servently beg God's Blessing on the Word , that it may prove to us a Word of Grace , a renewing , converting , sanctifying Word , the Seed of Regeneration . Jam. 1. 17 , 18. Of his own will begat he us , by the word of truth . John 17. 17. Thus must we Labour to be regenerated , or else we shall never get off our Minds from earthly things . Second Vse ; by way of Examination . We All hope to go to Heaven when we dye , and to enjoy all those invisible eternal good things , do we not ? Let us be so kind to our own Souls , as to try our Title , and the grounds of our Hopes : Sure here is one Mark , by which we may know whether our Hopes be well grounded or no ; to wit , by our Heavenly-mindedness . What do we aim at mainly , mind chiefly , look on , and look after principally ? Is it Heaven or Earth ? Visibles or Invisibles ? Let us examine our selves : Which way runs the Stream of our Thoughts , the Current of our Affections , the Tide of our Discourses ? Which way runs it strongest , steddiest ? Put this Question close to our Consciences , and require a direct Answer : Let us not dally and shuffle , but be serious . Our Apostle makes this a discriminating Character of a Child of God , of one in Christ , and above the power of Condemnation , of one that is born again : Rom. 8. 5. They that are after the flesh , do mind the things of the flesh ; the Profits , Honours , Pleasures , Ease , Health , Liberty , of the Flesh ; that is , they mind these things mainly , mostly , principally , chiefly ; most heartily , most seriously , most affectionately , most delightfully . These visible temporal things lye most upon their Thoughts , and lye nearest their Hearts . This is their Character , and it appears in all their Words and Actions . But they that are after the Spirit , that is , are born of the Spirit , born of God , are in Christ , they mind the things of the Spirit ; the grace , the work , the witness , the comfort and joy or the Spirit ; they mind the things which the Spirit hath revealed in the Word ; God , and Peace with him ; Christ , and Union with him ; God's Covenant , and Interest therein ; Eternal Life , and Title thereto ; these invisible eternal things , they mind these mainly , chiefly , mostly , principally , most heartily , affectionately , and most delightfully and constantly . This is their Character , and this is manifest also in their Words and Actions . Now , let us try our selves ; What Character have we ? Which of these two ? If we will not do so much for our own Souls , as to take a little pains in trying , we have not much love to them . A man may know very much of his State by this : And is it not worth a little Labour , to know whether we be in Christ , or no ; and whether we shall be Saved or Damned eternally ? Let us put it home to our Consciences : Say , O my Soul ! what dost thou mind most ? What are thy Thoughts most exercised about ? Whereupon are thy Affections most fixedly set ? This is a searching mark ; oh , that we did all try our selves by it ! we should be much more heavenly than we are . The best of us all will have cause of shame and sorrow , cause of self-suspicion and jealousie , when we strictly compare our selves with this Rule ; we shall find our Hearts so earthly , so carnal , our Minds so fleshly , so set upon visible temporal things , but our Thoughts on invisible eternal things ; so short , so weak , so inconstant , so seldom , so soon tired , and our Affections so unsetled , so unfixed , that we shall have great cause to bewail our selves , and cry out with St. Paul , O wretched man that I am , who shall deliver me from this body of death : Rom. 7. 24. And this will make us cry to God also , to renew the Spirits of our Minds , and to transform the Image of our Minds ; and this should make us look up to God's Covenant for new Hearts , for Hearts joyned and united to the Lord , Psal . 86. 11. Psal . 57. 7. & 108. 1. Oh , what cause have we to bewail the frequent departings and wandrings of our Hearts from God , their slidings from God , and to cry with holy David , Quicken me , uphold me . Our Hearts are not fixed nor stayed on God ; we do not abide with God. Third , Vse of Exhortation , To this great Duty of most serious minding of , and looking unto invisible eternal things . O , let us mind , and look unto , and aim at God , Christ , the Spirit , the Word , the Promises , the great and glorious things purchased by Christ , and prepared for us in the other World : Oh , mind the full enjoyment of God and Christ in Heaven for ever and ever ; to dwell with him , in whose presence is fulness of joy , and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore . Let us mind eternal things in good earnest , with all our Hearts and Souls ; Look off , look off visible temporal things , shut your Eyes to the World , turn away your Eyes from beholding Vanity : But open your Eyes towards Heaven , hold your Eyes to invisible eternal things . Here I shall shew , I. The Hinderances to this Duty . II. Means to help us to perform it . III. Motives to perswade to it . I. The Hinderances , which are many , and which must be avoided . 1st , Hinderance is , living in any known or beloved Sin ; this will keep us down from heavenly Meditation , Heb. 12. 1. No looking unto Jesus except we lay aside the Sin that doth so easily beset us ; in some , Passion ; in some , Weariness of well-doing ; in others , Pride or Covetousness , is the Sin that doth easily beset them : This must be hid aside , whatever it be ; it must be repented of , and reformed , 1 Thess . 5. 22. Abstain from all appearance of Evil ; Sin interposeth between God and our Souls , and hides his Face from us : If we would mind the Heavenly Word of God , so as to profit by it , in hearing or reading of it , we must lay aside all known Sin ; 1 Pet. 2. 1 , 2. Sin divides us from God and heavenly things . If we regard any Iniquity in our Hearts , God will not hear our Prayers . The sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord. 2ly , Worldly Cares , Fears , Joys , Sorrows : If we suffer these to take up our Hearts , and to fill our Minds and Thoughts , there will be no room for heavenly things : We must therefore be watchful , to cast out , and keep out those bad guests ; Luke 21. 34. Phil. 4. 6. Be careful in nothing : If our Affections be set on visible temporal things , they cannot be set on invisible eternal things . No man can serve two Masters , God and Mammon , saith our Lord. If the World be Master of our Hearts and Minds , of our Thoughts and Affections , then surely they cannot be set on GOD , and things above . 3ly , Worldly Company , where is nothing but Earthly Discourse . They that are of the Earth , are earthly : Worldly Company will cool the Affections , and dull and deaden the Heart , and draw it from God : Therefore is that Exhortation and Prohibition , Eph. 5. 11. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness , but rather reprove them . True Christians are Christ's Doves , his Turtle-Doves , they have no Society with the Birds of Prey ; They are Christ's Sheep , what have they to do among Swine ? They are his Children , what have they to do among his Enemies ? We are not aware of the very great mischief that carnal company doth bring to our Souls . If at any time we have had any communion with God in any Ordinance and Duty , and then presently go into vain carnal Company , we shall quickly lose all savour and relish of God and Heavenly things ; as if you eat Hony , and presently eat Gall after , you lose all the taste of Hony : And that 's not all , but by being in worldly Company , you will soon be infected , and will bring away on your Spirits the ill savour of the Earth and filthy World ; as a man that comes out of a Garden of sweet Flowers , goes and wallows on a stinking Dunghil . The best of us should not go into worldly Company , but as Physicians into a Pest-house , when lawfully called , and with our Preservatives with us : We having so much Flesh and Earth in us , Worldly Company will make us more fleshly and earthly . 4ly , Pride and High-mindedness . God resisteth the proud , 1 Pet. 5. 5. Psal . 10. 4. There are many precious Promises made to the humble ; Job 22. 29. God will dwell with the humble , teach them , save them : None have so sweet Communion with God as humble Souls . Heavenly things and humble Souls are things very suitable and agreeable one to the other . 5ly , Sloth and Idleness . 'T is easie , we say , to go down the Hill , but not so easie to go up : 'T is easie , because natural , and usual , and ordinary , to mind visible temporal things ; but there must be Pains-taking , Industry , and Labour used , to raise up our Hearts to invisible eternal things ; a stirring up our selves , 2 Tim. 1. 6. And we must often call upon our own Souls , and provoke one another , and ill too little . We must have Resolution and Zeal . 6ly , The greatest Hinderance of all is Vnbelief . Men do not fully believe , nor are fully perswaded of the Reality and transcendent Excellency of invisible eternal things : This is the grand Impediment ; Why is not the great God , the good God , the Fountain of all Goodness , the Alsnfficient Good , minded , thought on , loved , feared , trusted , served no more ? but because He is not believed , He is not believed to be that which he is indeed , and which he hath revealed himself to be , Heb. 11. 6. He that cometh to God , must believe that he is , and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him . Oh , the cursed rooted Atheism and Unbelief that is in all our Hearts , more or less ! Why is not Jesus Christ , Precious Jesus , Blessed Jesus , Lovely , altogether Lovely Jesus , the Brightness of his Father's Glory , the Chiefest of Ten thousands , the fairest of all the Sons of Men , is whom dwells all fulness ; oh , why is he no more minded , thought on , spoken of ? why no more admired , loved , and sought after ? but because He is not believed . To them , to all them that believe , he is precious , most precious , 1 Pet. 2. 7. And why is not Heaven and Happiness that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , that Everlasting Rest , in the full and perfect enjoyment of the Blessed God for ever , thought on , minded , and laboured after more ? but because these things are not fully believed . O cursed Unbelief ! Men believe that Life , Liberty , Health , Honour , Estate , &c. are good things , and therefore they mind them , and labour after them , and count no Pains too much to obtain them , labouring as it were in the Fire to get those things . Those that believed those better things in the other World , counted those visible temporal things of this World , but Toyls and Trifles ; Heb. 10. 34. 2 Cor. 5. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4. So Heb. 11. throughout . It is our Unbelief is the cause , why God , and Christ , and Heaven have so little of our hearts and minds , so little of our thoughts and affections : Oh , let us all bitterly bewail our Unbelief : Lord , subdue and pardon it . These are the Hinderances . II. The Means to help us to this Work , that we may most seriously and most heartily mind invisible eternal things . 1. First , We must labour clearly to know and understand the Truth and Reality , the exceeding Greatness and Excellency of those invisible eternal things ; as was hinted before : Our ignorance of them is much the cause why we mind them no more . Ignoti nulla Cupido . No man minds or loves what he knows not . Let us set our Hearts in earnest , to consider what it is to enjoy God , who is All-fulness ; what it is to have Fellowship with the Father and the Son ; what it is to have Communion with the Holy Ghost ; to have the gracious Presence of the Holy Spirit ; to feel the Work , the Witness , the Sealing , the Joy , the Consolation of the Holy Spirit ; all which all true Christians know and feel in some measure , and rejoice in them ; Consider also what it is to live in Christ , and to have Christ to live in us , to dwell in our Hearts , to manifest his Love to us ; to come in to us , to sup with us , and we with him ; to take up his Abode with us ; what it is to know the Power of his Death , and the Vertue of his Resurrection ; to be made one with him , joyned , married to him , made one Spirit with him ; and what it is to be made like him here , and what it is to be made like him hereafter , both in Soul and Body , ●ad to appear with him in Glory at last , and to be for ever glorified with him ; what it is to see this Face , and to dwell in his presence for ever . Oh , chese are the only things that are worthy of all our Hearts and Minds , most worthy of all our Affections and Desires , of all our Labourings , Longings , Pantings , Breathings , Hungrings , and Thirstings of Soul : Oh , shame on us all , that we spend our Affections on Toys and Trifles , on Dreams , Fancies , and Shadows ! Oh , that such Folly and Madness , such Brutishness should possess us ! Let us lament and lament it . And let us labour to know and understand those high and excellent things , and let us be fully perswaded of them , and of their infinite worth and value . These things are worth glorying and rejoycing in . Jer. ●● 23 , 24. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom : — But let him that glorieth , glory in this , that he understandeth and knoweth me , that I am the Lord , which exercise loving-kindness , judgment , and righteousness in the earth ; for in these things I delight , saith the Lord. Let us consider also the exceeding-great and precious Promises , and what our Blessed Jesus hath purchased , and what God hath prepared for his People in the other World ; and let us ponder upon , and by Meditation work these things into our Hearts and Minds : Labour for a distinct knowledge of all those things : Labour to prove your particular Right and Title to all those invisible eternal good things , and then you will mind them indeed : A bare Knowledge of them , without an Interest in them , will do you no good . No wise man will much mind those things in which he hath no Interest ; let us then search , and try , whether we have any true Title to these things ; whether we have any good and solid ground to hope , that we shall one day be possest of them , and shall certainly enjoy them : Then we shall think of them , and speak of them with Joy and Comfort ; when we can say with Paul , There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness : And we know , that when the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved , we have a building of God , an house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens . We all hope to enjoy that promised purchased Inheritance , all hope to see God in Glory , and to be happy ; but let us try our Title by the Word of God , by that Word which must judge us all at the last day . We may easily deceive our selves , as those in Matth. 7. 21 , 22. and as the foolish Virgins ; no Deceit so easie , nor so common , nor so dangerous , for it is irrecoverable , and a little serious tryal might prevent this Self-deceiving ; Self-searching may prevent Self-deceiving and Self-undoing . Briefly then , let us ask our selves , Is Jesus Christ ours ? Then All is ours ; All depends on this . If Christ be ours , God is ours ; Pardon , Life , Salvation , Heaven and Earth is ours . 1 Cor. 3. 22 , 23. Are we Christ's , really and sincerely his ? Then He is ours : My beloved is mine , and I am his . Are we his , all we are , his ? Hearts , Heads , Tongues , Time , Talents ; are we all his ? Are we new Creatures ? 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any man be in Christ , he is a new creature . Mark it , a new Creature ; all old things are pass'd away ; and behold , all things are become new ; new Insides , new Out-sides , new Principles , new Ends , new Affections , new Desires , new Delights , new Company , new Language ; all new , if new Creatures . Have we the Spirit of Christ in us ? If any man have not the spirit of Christ , the same is none of his , Rom. 8. 9. Doth Christ live in us ? Is Christ most precious to us ? Do we believe in him ? Let us try the truth of our Faith ; doth it purifie our Hearts ? Doth it work by Love , by Love to Christ , to all that hath the Image of Christ on it ? Doth it overcome the World ? Doth it support under Trouble ? Let us see that it be Faith unfeigned , the Faith of God's Elect. Have we with all our Hearts chosen the Lord for our Portion , and placed our Happiness in him , fixed our best Loves , Desires , and Delights in him , and have we resigned up our whole selves cordially and unreservedly to him ? Have we broken our League with all Sin , and with all the Idols of our Hearts ? Do we hate and detest all Sin , and do we keep a continual watch and war against all Sin ? Have we an equal respect to all God's Commandments ? Can we deny our selves , and part with all things for Christ ? Are we the Heirs of the Promises ? If we be really Christ's , then are we Heirs of the Promises ; Gal. 3. 29. Are we the Children of God ? If Children , then Heirs , Heirs of all those invisible eternal things ; Rom. 8. 17. Now , if we be the Children of God , we are led by the Spirit of God , Rom. 8. 15. As many as are led by the Spirit of God , ( just so many , and no more ) are the Children of God. If we have the Image of our Heavenly Father on us , and do love him with all our Hearts , and can trust him , and depend on him in all things , and for all things , and are most careful to obey him in all things ; if it be so with us in Sincerity ; then have we a good and firm Right and Title to all those great and glorious things in the other World. And when we can prove our Right to them , and can call them our own , then surely we shall think on them ; our Hearts and Minds will be set upon them , all our Affections will be carried out after them . Psal . 73. 24 , 25 , 26. Whom have I in Heaven but thee ? and there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee . My flesh and my heart faileth , but God is the strength of my heart , and my portion for ever . When a Soul can in truth , and upon good grounds say , My God , my Lord , my Jesus , then he will in earnest mind them . Psal . 63. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6. O God , thou art my God , early will I seek thee ; my soul thirsteth for thee , my flesh longeth for thee : To see thy power and thy glory , — because thy loving kindness is better than life : my lips shall praise thee . Thus will I bless thee while I live : — My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness , and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips : When I remember thee upon my bed , and meditate on thee in the night-watches . And v. 7 , 8. Because thou hast been my help , therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoyce . My soul followeth hard after thee : thy right hand upholdeth me . And the ground of all this was his Interest in God ; O God , thou art my God. 2. If we would have our Hearts and Minds set and fixed on invisible eternal things , let us seriously consider the nearness of those things , of those invisible eternal things unto us , and of us to them ; things that are great , but at a distance from us , seem but small things to us , and but little affect us . The time of our departure hence is at hand , and then farewel for ever to all visible temporal things ; our Houses , our Honours , Estates , and Friends , shall know us no more ; we shall have no more converse with , or enjoyment of any visible temporal thing for ever : And it will not be long e're this parting come . God is near to every one of us ; Christ is nigh , the Holy Spirit is nigh , stirring and striving with us ; the Word is nigh us , even in our Mouths , and in our Hearts , Rom. 10. 1. Heaven and Glory are nigh to us , if we be Saints ; we are not far from our Father's House , not far from the Kingdom ; Hell and Destruction nigh to us , if we be wicked , but a Breach between us and everlasting Damnation ; and if we be Saints and Believers , the day of our full Redemption draws nigh , the Coming of Christ is at hand , our Salvation at the very Door . As it is dangerous for the Wicked to put far off the evil day , Amos 6. 3. so it is disadvantagious to the Godly to put far off the good day . We shall shortly , very shortly , enter the Con●●nes of Eternity , and converse with nothing but invisible eternal things , those things that now are out of our sight , and too much out of our minds ; but it were our great Wisdoms to look on them as night at hand , and to spend our Thoughts and Affections upon them . We are displeased with our Friends , that when we are out of their sight , we should be out of their Minds : And may not God and Christ , our best Friends , be justly displeased with us , that they are so much out of our Minds ? But though God and Christ be invisible to our bodily Eyes , they are nigh unto us , therefore we should still mind them . Psal . 16. 8. I have set the Lord always before me ; because he is at my right hand , &c. Psal . 109. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. 3. Let us be often discoursing and speaking of those invisible eternal things ; let those things be often in our Mouths . Should not the Children of God be often talking of their Heavenly Father , and of their Father's House , and of that Kingdom and Inheritance which he hath prepared for them ? Should not the Heirs of Salvation be often speaking of that Crown of Glory , of Life , of Righteousness that is purchased for them , and promised to them ; and of that incorruptible Inheritance that they are born unto ? 1 Pet. 1. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. Oh! can we have any Title to all the Promised Glory , and not speak often of it ? How much is it to be lamented , that those that profess themselves Children of God , and Heirs of Heaven , when they come together , that they speak so little of God and Heaven ! This is our great Sin , and should be our great Shame and Sorrow . Whither are we bound ? Where are we travelling ? Where is our Home , our long Home , our last , our everlasting Home ? Where is our Treasure ? Where lies our Inheritance ? Is it above or below ? Where is our Country ? Where is our Father , our Redeemer ? Where are all our pious Relations that slept in Jesus ? Are not all these above ? And do we so seldom think or speak of these ? Shame , shame on us . Are we born of God , born from above , and do we belong to that City , that hath Foundations , to that heavenly Canaan , to that New Jerusalem ? What! and our Minds so glued , our Hearts so fastened to Earthly things , and our Tongues so constantly employed about earthly things ? Oh , our idle words ! Matth. 12. 36. Can our Treashres be in Heaven , and our Hearts not there ? And , can our Hearts be there , and nothing appear in our words ? Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh . Surely the earthliness , vanity , empriness , unfavoriness , frothiness of our common ordinary Talk , doth but too much discover the vanity and earthliness of our Hearts . Oh , that we did all of us lay this to our Hearts : The more we talk of these invisible eternal things , the more we shall mind them . 4. Consider , it is the express Duty of every true Christian , to set his affections upon things above , and not upon things below , Col. 3. 1 , 2. Charge the Command of God upon your Consciences ; accustom and inure your selves to it : O my Soul , this is as much thy Duty , as to pray , or hear , or read ; how long wilt thou neglect it ? O , dare not neglect it any longer ; begin it presently ; call upon God to renew and raise thy Heart . 5. Let us learn that blessed Art of Spiritualizing earthly things , every earthly Mercy , to a Child of God , is a taste of Eternal Mercy ; every visible temporal thing discovers somewhat of invisible eternal things : This is a sweet work , to converse with God and Heaven in the Creatures : As for instance ; When we sit down at Table , remember , there is a time coming , when we shall sit down with Christ , and eat and drink at his Table , in his Kingdom ; that is , we shall enjoy free and intimate Communion with him in Heaven : And let us labour to raise our Hearts from temporal to spiritual things , and be much in praising , adoring , and admiring God in the Creatures . 6. Be convinced also , that all our happiness and comfort , both here and hereafter for ever , lyeth not in any , or all , of the sensible temporal things , but all lyeth in those invisible eternal things : It lyeth not in having Honours , Riches , Pleasures , &c. for a man may be happy without them , as Job and Lazarus were ; and miserable with them , as Haman , Ahab , Dives , and others were . Psal . 144. 15. Yea , happy are the people whose God is the Lord. Happy indeed , if God , Christ , and Heaven be ours , happy for ever , or else miserable for ever . 7. And Lastly , Let us labour to be renewed in the Spirit of our Minds , or else we shall never seriously and heartily mind invisible eternal things ; as was shewed before . We must get those invisible eternal Principles of Renewing Grace planted in our Hearts , the Divine Nature , the Life of God , the Spirit of our heavenly Father , to renew our Spirits , or else we shall never mind those things in good earnest ; for which purpose , let us go to God , call , cry to him for Renewing Grace , Psal . 51. 10. Let us look up to , and lay hold on God's Covenant , Ezek. 11. 19. go to the Promise , Luke 11. 13. If you , being evil , know how to give good things to your children , how much more will your heavenly Father give his spirit to those that ask him ? A precious Promise indeed ; let us rest upon this Promise , and most earnestly beg God to perform it to us . Old Bottles will not hold new Wine , nor old Hearts retain Heavenly things : New Hearts we must have , heavenly , holy Hearts , or we shall never mind heavenly things as we ought . III. Motives to this Duty . 1. Consider , that thus to look unto , and mind invisible eternal things , is the express Character of every true Christian . No man can approve himself to be a true Christian , and be a total Stranger to this Work ; for , to be a true Christian , is to be like Christ . Now Jesus Christ minded those invisible eternal things , as is most evident in the whole course of his Life ; his Heart was in Heaven while his Body was on Earth , John 3. 13. Shall we profess our selves Christians , and not be like Christ , nor have the Character of Christians ? 2. Consider , this will be a sure sign and clear evidence to us , of our interest in , and title to all those invisible eternal good things in the other World ; Matth. 6. 20 , 21. Where the Heart is , there the Treasure is . If our Hearts and Minds , Thoughts and Affections are on God , on Christ , and Heaven , it is a sure sign that these are ours . An heavenly Mind is as good a sign that we belong to Heaven as any is ; as was also shewed before . 3. This will begin our Heaven upon Earth ; these heavenly things minded , affected , delighted in , will yield such joy and comfort , as to begin our very Heaven here ; when Faith and Hope , Joy and Praise , Love , Desire and Delight are exercised on God , and on Christ , and Glory , we shall be filled with Joy and Peace ; as , Rom. 15. 13. 1 Pet. 1. 8. Psal . 31. 7. Oh , then let us labour to begin our Heaven here , by our Heavenly-mindedness . 4. This will yield Contentment and Comfort , Satisfaction and Peace to our Souls in every condition : It will sweeten every bitter Cup : To think on God as our Father , and on Christ as our Redeemer , Head , and Husband , and on all the sweet Promises , of which we are Heirs , what comfort will this bring to our Souls ? Lam. 3. 33. He doth not afflict willingly , nor grieve the children of men . Isa . 63. 9. In all their afflictions he was afflicted , and the Angel of his presence saved them : in his love , and in his pitty he redeemed them , and he bare them , and carried them all the days of old . Rom. 8. 28. All things shall work together for good to them that love God. With many other exceeding great and precious Promises , which our good God hath made , that our Faith might feed upon them , and find satisfaction , or else our Souls would faint . 5. This will fit us for every Duty to God and man : The more we think on God and heavenly things , the more conscientious shall we be in our Duties to Man ; because it is for the Lord's sake , from whom we look for the Reward ; as the Apostle speaks to Servants , Eph. 6. 5 , 6 , 7. And for Duties to God , it will make us serve God cheerfully , delightfully , and constantly , having the Glory of God , the enjoyment of him , and the Recompence of Reward in our Eye : Oh , how will it quicken , raise , animate , and encourage us ! For why are all those great and glorious , invisible , eternal things proposed , and promised to us , but that we should mind them , aim at them , and live in the lively hopes , and comfortable expectations of enjoying them ? Heb. 11. 6 , 24. & 1. 1 , 2 , 3. 1 Cor. 15. last . Therefore be stedfast , unmovable , always abounding in the work of the Lord , forasmuch as ye know your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. 6. This will serve to encrease and strengthen Grace ; for the more we mind those invisible eternal things ; the stronger will be our Love , our Faith , our Hope , and our Patience ; yea , the more heavenly and spiritual we shall grow ; and the more useful , savory , and profitable in all our Discourses . By our heavenly-mindedness we shall smell of Heaven in all our Converses and Communications , to the advantage of others . 7. This is one principal way of enjoying Communion with God here in this World ; for by this we open our hearts to God , raise up our Desires after him , spend our Thoughts and Affections upon him ; and in these heavenly Meditations God communicates his Light and Love , his Grace and Peace to our Souls . By these Meditations on invisible eternal things , our Souls converse with God , talk with God , walk with God , have our conversations with God ; and this is most sweet and contentful to gracious Souls ; this is to live in God , and to live the Life of God ; and it is the sum of all our happiness here and hereafter . The enjoyment of God's good presence here , in acts of Communion with him , will produce greatness of Joy ; and the enjoyment of God's glorious presence hereafter , in the uninterrupted Acts of Communion with him in Heaven , will produce fulness of joy , and pleasures for evermore , Psal . 16. last . 8. By this looking to , and affectionately minding invisible eternal things , we shall be more and more changed into the image and likeness of them . 2 Cor. 3. 18. We all with open face beholding as in a glass , the glory of the Lord , are changed into the same image , from glory to glory , even as by the spirit of the Lord. These believing , loving sights of heavenly things will change us into the image of them . 9. By this we shall be made more and more willing and desirous to leave this World , and to go to a better . Compare this Text with the beginning of the next Chapter , 2 Cor. 5. 1 , 2 , 3. the Apostle having said , We look not on visible temporal things , but on those things which are not seen , which are eternal ; presently adds , for we know that when the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved , we have a building of God , an house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens ; for in this ( House ) we groan earnestly to be clothed upon with our House which is from Heaven . And this made Paul desire to be dissolved that he might be with Christ , which was far better , or best of all ; Phil. 3. Certainly , such as really apprehend , and truly believe those invisible eternal things , and their title to them and portion in them , will be really willing to dye , that they may enjoy them , knowing that they lye on the other side of Death , and cannot be enjoyed , but by dying , and after Death , Death being the In-let to all that purchased , promised Glory . Now , the more we do seriously think and meditate on those glorious things , the more willing we shall be to leave all those fading , vain , and vexing Comforts , to enjoy those eternal Delights : And it is a great Mercy and sweet Priviledge to be willing to dye ; and I know nothing will more effect this willingness in us . Now , let all those Motives effectually perswade us to draw off our hearts from those visible temporal things , and to set our Affections upon things above . How long shall vain Thoughts lodge within us ? how long shall this present evil World gnaw and feed upon our Spirits , consuming and wasting them , and eating out our time and strength ? how long shall the God of this World blind our Minds , and the Dust of it fill our Eyes ? how long shall we misplace our Affections , and mistake our Rest ? Our Rest is not here , our Heaven and Happiness is not here ; Earth is going from us , and we from it , and shall we hug what we cannot hold ? Shall we kiss and embrace that which is withering in our hands , and dying in our arms ? Are there not infinitely-better things to be minded ? Duke de Alva wickedly said , when one told him of an Eclipse that was then present , I have so much to do on Earth , I have no leisure to mind Heaven . O , that it may not be so said of any of us . Let us call to mind what those invisible eternal things are aforementioned , as God , Christ , the Holy Ghost , the Promises , the Purchased Inheritance , the Glory of Heaven , &c. withal , let us mind Christ's second Coming to Judgment , the manner and end of it , 2 Thess . 1. 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10. which the Apostle often spoke and wrote of , and minded , Tit. 2. 13 , 14. the glorious Appearing of the great God and our Saviour ; the Resurrection of the Body , and the manner of it , 1 Cor. 15. the full Redemption and glorious Manifestation of the Sons of God ; the happy uniting of the Souls and Bodies of the Saints after so long a Separation ; and the uniting and solemn Marriage of both to Christ , the King of Glory ; the passing of the Saints into Heaven with Christ in Triumph ; their living for ever with God , seeing his Face , and knowing him as we are known : Oh , that we could mind these things , and set our Faith and Love , our Hopes , D●stres , and Delights on work upon these things , what sweet Contentment , what Soul-refreshing Joy and Comfort would such thoughts yield to our Souls , even in the midst of all our Troubles ? No wonder we are such Strangers to the Joy of the Lord , because we are such Strangers to God himself , and to the great things of his Kingdom . I shall conclude this Use with that of the Apostle , 2 Pet. 3. 14. Wherefore , beloved , seeing that ye look for such things , be diligent , that ye may be found of him in peace , without spot , and blameless . Be diligent to prepare for the enjoyment of all those great and glorious things , and to secure our title to them ; which Preparation consists in two things mainly , as exprest in that Scripture , 1. In a state of Reconciliation with God. 2. In a spotless , blameless Conversation . 1. In a state of Reconciliation with God. Be diligent , that ye may be found of him in peace : There will be a most strict and accurate search made at the last day ; all those that look for those invisible eternal good things at last , must be exceeding careful about this , to make this the Mark , Design , and Aim all their Life , and at Death , that they may be found in a reconciled state , in a state of Peace with God. This is the critical point , the main hinge , whereupon hangs all the safety and happiness of a Man or Woman for Eternity : Not whether rich or poor , high or low , honourable or contemptible in this World , the Differences and Distinctions will signifie nothing then ; nor whether Presbyterian or Independent , &c. but whether reconciled to God or no. This strict search will be made by the Lord , who cannot be blinded nor deceived . And the consideration of the issue of this search should quicken us to diligence in our Preparation , which shall be , 1st , on them that shall then be found not reconciled ; the danger will be to their whole man , Soul and Body , Depart ye cursed , &c. most dreadful , and most intolerable . 2dly , On them that are found reconciled , their Comfort will be unspeakable ; the Lord Jesus will own them all , as the Purchase of his Blood , and will embrace them all , Come ye blessed of my Father , &c. and will commend them , Well done , &c. and will crown them with a Diadem of Eternal Glory . Oh then , let us presently engage all the Powers of our Souls , in striving to be found of God in Peace . And if we will be found of God in Peace at that day , we must . 1. Fall out with all Sin , and make an open breach with all Ungodliness , and all Worldly lusts , Tit. 2. 11 , 12. No Peace with God , so long as we have Peace with any Sin : We must search for our Sins of Heart and Life , heartily repent of them , declare open War against them all , not regarding any Iniquity in our Hearts , but hating and mortifying all . Go to God , to give you sound Repentance ; Acts 5. 31. & 3. 19. 2. Fall in , and close unfeignedly with Jesus Christ , the only Peace-maker , accepting him on his Terms , taking him for Only Lord and Saviour , resigning up our whole selves unto him in all things , giving him the Preheminence in us , and over us , and heartily submitting to his government by his Word and Spirit . Thus by true Repentance and Faith we are to make our Peace with God. And this is the sum of the Gospel , Acts 20. 21. Repentance towards God , and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ : Repentance , in order to the obtaining of our Pardon : Acts 3. 19. Repent , and be converted , that your sins may be blotted out , when the time of refreshing shall come . Acts 5. 31. Christ is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour , to give repentance and remission of sins . Job 22. 21. And by Faith in Christ we take hold of God's Strength ; Isa . 27. 5. Which is the mercy of God in Christ , this is the strength of God , to save sinners . Lay hold then on this Strength of God , viz. the Mercy of God in Christ , and so shall we make Peace with God : Rom. 5. 1. Being justified by faith , we have peace with God. Make sure and sound work then , in Repentance and Faith ; let us often try our Repentance and Faith ; dally not , nor delay in this business , we are all upon the Borders of Eternity , we are all near those invisible eternal things . This is the common Counsel we give every body on their Sick-beds ; You must make your peace with God , we say , but how this may be done , few know or mind . O , let us mind those great matters : Have we unfeignedly repented from dead Works unto Life ? Is all Sin hated and sought out ? Are we truly converted ? Acts 26. 18. & 3. 19. Sound Conversion , a thorow Change of Heart and Life , is the surest sign of true Repentance . Have we Faith in Jesus Christ ? the Faith of God's Elect ? Faith unfeigned , that purifieth the Heart , worketh by Love , overcometh the World , unites to Christ , and draws Life from him , to live as he lived , and walk as he walked ? Let us try our Repentance by these Texts , Jer. 31. 19. Joel 2. 14. Isa . 55. 7. Matt. 3. 8. Heb. 6. 1. Thorow Examination of Heart and Life , Clear Confession , Hearty Humiliation , Self-Abhorrency , Thorow Reformation , will prove our Repentance true and sound . Q. How shall I know that I have truly believed ? A. Haft thou found it an hard Work to believe , a Work altogether above thy own Power ? Haft thou seen and felt thy loft Estate by Nature ? Haft thou seen the Excellency of Christ , and thy absolute necessity of him ? Is he most precious to thy Soul ? Hath thy Soul been drawn to Christ , made heartily willing to close with Christ upon his own Terms ? to take him for your only Lord and Saviour ? hath all this been wrought in thee by the Word ? Dost thou value Faith as a Jewel ? Dost thou rely on Christ , and trust him with all things , and for all things ? Doth this bring Peace to thy Soul ? Dost thou draw Life and Strength from Christ ? Doth thy Faith in him support thee in Trouble ? What Service doth it do thee in time of Trouble ? It is the greatest Support the poor Saints have in all their Afflictions ; as Heb. 11. throughout . Our great Business lies upon making sure and clear the Truth of our Repentance and Faith , and we must go to God for both , for they are his special gifts : Also we must go to Christ , he is the Author and Giver of them ; Acts 5. 31. Heb. 12. 1 , 2. And we should be often trying our Repentance and Faith , for without these no Soul can ever attain unto Salvation ; and with them no Soul shall ever miss it . The penitent Believers are the only heirs of the Promises ; all the great and glorious things of the other World , which the faithful God , who cannot lye , hath promised , and which our Blessed Jesus hath purchased with his most precious Blood , they do ill belong to penitent Believers , and to none else . The exceeding great and precious Promises , are those sweet Breasts of Consolation , which they should lye upon , and suck continually , and by two immutable things ( to wit , the Word and Oath of God ) wherein it is impossible that God should lye , these Promises are confirmed , that the heirs , of the Promises might have ( not weak , but ) strong Consolation , Heb. 6. 17. Fourth Vse , for Lamentation . These things are to be lamented : I. The great ignorance of those invisible eternal things . Our Lord lamented and wept over Jerusalem for this , Luke 19. 21 , 22. If thou hadst known , at least in this thy day , the things that belong to thy peace . It is a lamentable thing , that People living under the clearest Discoveries and brightest Displays of those invisible eternal things , should yet be so grosly ignorant of them , and so unacquainted with them , as God complains of Israel , Hos . 4. 1 , 6. & 8. 12. No knowledge of God in the Land , though it was the only Land in all the World then that had the means of Knowledge ; Hos . 8. 12. I have written to them the great things of my law , but they have counted them strange things . Look over those particulars afore-mentioned , and we shall find , that there is very little true distinct knowledge of them in the Land. Obj. But we do know these things . Ans . If we do know God , why do we not obey him ? Tit. 1. 16. To profess to know God , and in works to deny him , is the Character of a Reprobate . Why do we not trust him ? Psal . 9. 10. They that know his name will put their trust in him . 1 John 2. 3 , 4. & 4. 17. What likeness have most Men and Women to God and Christ ? What Fruits of the Spirit do appear ? Gil. 5. 22. but the Fruits of the Flesh are manifest . What Power , Sweetness , and Comfort do Men find in the Word and Promises ? how little are most affected , when they read or hear of all the great things purchased by Christ , and prepared in Heaven for Believers ? What fixed , delightful . Thoughts and serious Meditations are spent upon these things ? Alas ! alas ! whose Conscience doth not accuse him ? Whose Heart that hath any tenderness , doth not smite him for his neglect of this ? While I am writing this , my Conscience flies in my Face , and chargeth me with guilt : O pardon me , Lord , through the Blood of Christ , and give me true Repentance : Let me be ashamed and even confounded for my woful neglect of minding invisible eternal things : I am convinced of my guilt , and blessed be God for that . O give me an heavenly heart , let in more of Heaven to my heart . O shew thy self to me , Or take me up to thee . II. It is a Lamentable thing , that those high , glorious , invisible eternal things should be so little believed by us : They are little known , but less believed : They cannot but be known to us in some measure ; they have been so often preach'd to us , and we have so often read of them : Their sound hath gone out to the ends of the earth , Rom. 10. 19. Did not Israel know ? Doth not England know ? Then we must be stark deaf and blind . Some Knowledge in our heads we must needs have ; but certainly here is the Root-Sin , the Spring of all Ungodliness , even Unbelief ; whatever People profess , these things are not believed ; People are not fully perswaded in their Hearts and Souls , of the Truth , of the Excellency , and of the Reality of those things , Who hath believed our Report ? Isa . 53. 1. and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed ? to make Souls believe , and to work effectual Faith in them ? Surely to very few . A very bare historical Faith is wanting , but much more a cordial , practical Perswasion of those things ; for by true Faith we come to have an Interest in all these eternal good things , and if we had an Interest in them , we should mind them more . Those invisible eternal things spoken of in the holy Scripture , signifie no more to most of us , than those Mountains of Spices , and Mines of Gold do , that are in the Indies , which we never hope to see or possess , and for which none of us will part with our poor Cottages : Alas ! alas ! it were impossible , if we did really believe those things above , and that they may be had by us , but that we should take more pains to get a Title to them , and having once got a Title , surely we should mind them more than we do . Now the grand Reasons why we that profess that we know and believe those great things of the other World , yet take so little pains to be assured of our Right to them , are these , viz. our false Faith , our false Hope , and our inordinate Love of the World. Cou'd we get these three Thieves out of our hearts , it wou'd be otherwise with us . 1. Our False Faith , building our Faith on the Mercy of God , and Merits of Christ in general , not considering whether those Conditions are wrought in us , to which the Mercy of God is promised , and to which the Merits of Christ do belong . Isa . 1. 16. & 55. 7. Rom. 8. 9. 2 Cor. 5. 17. 1 Cor. 6. 17. Heb. 5. 9. Matth. 11. 28 , 29. & 16. 24. & 10. 34. By all which places we shall find , that the Mercy of God belongs to the penitent returning Sinner , and that those only can truly claim an Interest in Christ , that submit to his Yoke , that have his Spirit , that are new Creatures , that deny themselves , and give up themselves to the Government of Christ . 2. Our False Hope ; that deceived those eminent Professors in Matth. 7. 21. and the foolish Virgins , Matth. 25. and which deceives all Hypocrites and formal Christians , that build their Hopes upon outward Profession , Priviledges , the performance of religious Duties , outward Reformation , &c. not minding that express word in 1 John 3. 3. Every one that hath this hope , ( that is , to see Christ in Glory , and to be made like unto him ) purifieth himself , even as he is pure . Col. 1. 27. Christ in you the hope of glory : Not Christ without you , professed by you , but Christ in you , formed in you , dwelling in your Hearts by Faith , living and reigning in you by his Word and Spirit , that is the Hope of Glory , the true and only ground of true Hope of Glory . 3. Inordinate Love of the World. 1 John 2. 14 , 15. If we be friends of this world , we are enemies to God : Too much love of Life , Liberty , Ease , Relations , &c. our Hearts are let out strongly after these , therefore our good God doth oftentimes strip his dearest Children of these , in love to their Souls , to take off their Affections from them , that they may place them on better things , where they are better bestowed . III. It is Lamentable also , that those invisible , eternal , great and glorious things should be no more minded , thought upon , considered , and spoken of by Professors , that hope shortly to enjoy them . God , Christ , Glory , Heaven , are seldom in mens Minds and Thoughts : What are most Peoples Morning and Evening Thoughts ? Psal . 49. 11. What vain Thoughts lodge in our Hearts ? Jer. 4. 14. Oh , how little talk is there of these things amongst us ? Is God our Father ? Is Christ our Head and Husband ? Is the Holy Ghost our Counsellour and Comforter ? Is the Word of God our Rule and Guide , our spiritual Food and Nourishment , our Comfort and Consolation ? Are the Promises our great Charter , Heaven and Glory our Inheritance ? And do we indeed hope to enjoy all these things for ever and ever , and yet think no more , and speak no more of them ? Can this be so ? Can our hopes be good and well grounded ? Let us not deceive our selves . IV. It is Lamentable , that those great things should be no more laboured after : Joh. 6. 27. Labour not for that meat which perisheth , but for that which endureth to eternal life . Prov. 2 , 2 , 3 , 4. Isa . 55. 2 , 3. We labour for that which is not Bread , not Bread for our Souls ; and spend that which is better than Mony , our Spirits and Time , for that which doth not , cannot satisfie . Why should visible temporal things have so much of our hearts , heads , tongues , hands , time , strength and all , and those invisible eternal things have so little ? Is there any colour of Reason for it ? Are not those invisible eternal things infinitely better than the other ? Certainly it is , because they are not known nor believed , nor minded , that they are no more laboured after . How do we dishonour God , and Christ , and the Promises ? how do we undervalue Christ's Purchase , and Eternal Life , when we lay out our selves so much for the World , and so little for these ? How shall we escape , if we neglect so great salvation ? Heb. 2. 3. V. It 's lamentable also , that the loss of the means of the discovery of those invisible eternal things , should no more affect and trouble us : Lam. 1. 7. Jerusalem remembred in the days of her affliction all her pleasant things , that she had in the days of old . A Famine of the Word is the worst , Amos 8. VI. And it is lamentable , that those who know , believe , desire , and labour after those things themselves , should be no forwarder and readier to commend those things to others , and should take no more pains to perswade and draw others to look after them : Oh , how few cry out to others with holy David , Come , and I will tell you what God hath done for my soul ? VII . And no less lamentable is it , that those who claim an Interest in all those great and glorious good things , and hope to enjoy them hereafter , that those persons should no more express the power of them in their Lives ; that they should no more rejoyce in them , and be no more raised in their Spirits , and gladded in their Hearts with the fore-thoughts of them ; and that they should live no more comfortably upon them : It 's sad , that those thus interested in God , and Christ , and Glory , and that are the Expectants of that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory , should not live better lives , more exemplary , shining , profitable , joyful lives : We that look for such things , what manner of persons ought we to be in all manner of holy conversation ? It 's sad also , that such should bear up with no more strength , holy courage and confidence , in the midst of the Troubles of this short Life , seeing they hope for such glorious things in the other World : We see how bravely the Primitive Christians carried themselves in all their Sufferings , by looking unto , minding , and thinking upon those invisible eternal things : Oh , could we keep them in our view , and keep our Eye on them , we should not faint nor sink under any of our Troubles . We look too much on , and mind too much those visible temporal things , and look too little to the Invisible God , to our Blessed Jesus , and Eternal Glory . Oh , that God would encrease and strengthen our Faith , and help us to live in the lively actings and exercise of it . By it we stand . Oh , that we could live more by Faith , and less by Sense ; 2 Cor. 5. 7. Fifth Vse , for Instruction . If we would set our Hearts and Minds on those invisible eternal things , we must 1. Be much in Prayer : Pray , oh , pray for new Hearts , old Hearts will not hold heavenly things . Pray for Saving Light and Knowledge , Ephes . 1. 17 , 18. Pray that ye may clearly apprehend and understand those things : Pray for Faith , that you may really believe them , and may be fully perswaded of the Truth and Excellency of them . Heb. 11. 1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for , and the evidence of things not seen . Pray for Love , that your Hearts may be throughly and truly affected with them ; that you may relish and savour them , and may feel , taste , and see the goodness of them : Pray for strength of Faith and Love , that you may act those and other Graces , as Hope , Joy , Desire , and Delight upon those heavenly things . Pray without ceasing ; pray fervently for these things , and never leave praying till you obtain . Tell God that an earthly , empty , carnal Heart you have , and how impossible it is for you your selves , to make ●t heavenly : Complain to the God of all Grace , who can make all Grace to abound . 2. Search the Scriptures diligently ; Read the Word of God conscientiously ; for there all those great and glorious things are discovered : And labour to believe what you hear and read ; and to get the power and efficacy of God's Truths on ●●our Spirits ; 2 Cor. 4. 4 , 6. 3. Be watchful against all Sin , and against the World , and the Lusts of the Flesh : Be much in mortification of your inordinate Affections : Col. 3. ●1 , 2 , 5. compared . Watch against vain thoughts , and strive in God's strength to draw up your ●earts to Heaven , and hold them there . 4. Seriously and often consider the great and ●●al difference between visible and invisible things , between temporal and eternal things , uncertain and certain things , transitory and permanent things ; between those things that respect the mortal Body , and those that concern the immortal Soul ; between those things that are the Portion of Reprobates , and those that are the Portion of God's Elect. Oh , consider the great difference between those things which are the Effects of Common Providence , and those that are the Fruits of God's everlasting Love , and Christ's most precious Blood. Surely a due and deep consideration of the vast difference which is between these things , would help us to mind eternal things . 5. Consider what taste these visible temporal things will have in a dying hour ; surely either none at all or a bitter one . Oh then , what will Honours , Riches , Pleasures signifie ? Oh then , how much better and sweeter will those invisible eternal things be to a poor Soul ? Oh then , an Interest in God and in Christ , a Pardon , a Title to Eternal Life , Assurance of Salvation , will be things of value , And why should they not be so now ? 6. Converse much with heavenly-minded Christians ; but , alas ! where shall we find them ? Let us all bewail our horrible Earthliness , our Earthly Discourse , all Earth in our Thoughts , Earth in our Mouths , and yet hope to go to Heaven at last , and live in Heaven for ever ; O , how unlikely ! Surely , if I am not very much mistaken , I think , a great many of our Professors will be mistaken at last , and that will be dreadful , because irrecoverable . O Lord , give thy poor Servant an heavenly Heart . Sixthly . The Last Vse is , for Comfort to those that do mind and look unto those invisible eternal things in good earnest . For your Comfort , consider , 1. This is to you an Evidence of your Interest in all those great and glorious things : That you do thus mind and converse with heavenly things , with God , and Christ , and Glory ; it is a good sign that these are all your own , that you have a good Title to them . An heavenly Mind is a very good sign of one that belongs to Heaven . 2. You shall shortly enjoy and possess them all : Where Christ is , there ( shortly ) shall his Servants be : He will not always dwell in Heaven without you ; nor will he always be absent from you ; no , but he will come again , and receive you to himself , that where he is , there you may be also , John 14. 1 , 2 , 3. And where is he , but at the right hand of the Throne of his Father ? and there you shall be also : when Christ , who is our life , shall appear , we shall appear with him also in glory , Col. 3. 3 , 4. Now you can see and think on those invisible eternal things but darkly and confusedly , but then you shall see clearly , yea , possess and enjoy them for ever . 3. This your minding of heavenly things will very much sweeten your present Sufferings : And this brings me to the consideration of the last thing in the scope of the Text , namely , the help or benefit those Primitive Christians had , by their looking unto those invisible eternal things , which was , that thereby they were supported under their present Sufferings ; Ver. 16. We faint not , while we look not on things that are seen , but on things that are not seen . Hence may we observe this Doctrinal Conclusion . Doct. That a believing sight , and serious minding of unseen eternal things , is a singular means of sweet support to poor Christians under all their Troubles . This flows from the scope of the Text , We faint not , say they , but rather we gather strength and courage , and our inner man is renewed day by day ; while we look not at those things which are seen , but at those , &c. Looking off from visible temporal things doth much help to support God's People under their Troubles ; but looking on upon invisible eternal things doth help more . Crucifixion of our Affections to visible temporal things is very useful , but the fixation of our Affections on invisible eternal things , is more useful to our Support and Comfort . Psal . 27. 13. I had 〈…〉 believed to see the goodness of God in the land of 〈…〉 , Ver. 14. So Heb. 11. 26 , 27. By Faith Moses endured , as seeing him that is invisible : Moses could never have endured all those hard things , if he had looked only on those things which are seen , but he looked on the invisible God , and the unseen Jesus , and on the Promises , the Recompence of Reward ; he had a fixed Eye to those great things ; his mind was setled on these , and that carried him through all . So Heb. 10. 34. They took joyfully the spoiling of their goods , knowing in themselves they had in Heaven a better , and a more enduring substance . So Heb. 11. 9 , 10 , 13. they endured the condition of Strangers and Pilgrims ( usually a sad and troublesome condition ) because they looked for a City , an invisible eternal City : They embraced the Promises , and minded them . And to this our Lord leads us , in pronouncing those Blessings , Mat. 5. 10 , 12. That great should be their reward in Heaven . Reas . 1. Because the blessed tendency , the powerful efficacy , and sweet fruits of all a Christians Troubles , as to our part , much depends on this Work and Duty performed by us . Let us mind this : What is the tendency and fruit of a Christian's Troubles ? See the foregoing Verse , They work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . A blessed tendency indeed , sweet fruit ! Q. But how are Afflictions useful and effectual to produce those sweet fruits ? Ans . Some things are done on God's part , and some on our part : On God's part , He makes Afflictions useful , to fit us for that weight of Glory , as was shewed before , by following those Afflictions with the Blessing of his Word , and Power of his Spirit , and so makes them useful to those happy ends , Psal . 94. 12. as , 1st , By discovering , imbittering , and cleansing them from Sin , Deut. 8. 2. Gen. 41. 21. 1 Kin. 17. 18. Isa . 59. 11 , 12. 2ly , By drawing Souls nearer to God , Psal . 142. 4 , 5. Psal . 31. 11 , 12 , 13 , 14. 3ly , By crucifying their Affections to the things of this Life . 4ly , By making them more diligent and serious in their preparation for that state of Blessedness . Thus God blesseth Afflictions . But all doth not lye on God's part ; this Blessing is attained by us , while we look not at those things which are seen , which are temporal ; but at those things which are not seen , which are eternal . Those Blessings of Afflictions are not received , nor those Benefits and Advantages obtained by us , while we stand looking and musing , poring and pondering open those things which are seen . So long as our Hearts and Minds are still fixed upon our visible Losses and Crosses , and upon the earthly Comforts that we are deprived of ; and so long as our Thoughts and Affections are still set on and glued to those visible temporal things , so long we go without those Blessings and Benefits : But we must look off those things , and look up , and mind and meditate on those invisible eternal things ; we must set Faith and Love , and Hope on work , in viewing and reviewing , in considering and contemplating , in apprehending and applying that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . Now , while we do so , we are in the right and realy way to obtain the rich Blessings of all our Afflictions , and so we receive Comfort and Support under them all . It is the plentiful Harvest hoped for , and believed , that sweetens the stormy Seed-time . It ' is a dangerous mistake , to expect too much from the Creature , and too much comfort here in this World , for here is not our Rest . All men would have Peace , Comfort , and Happiness , but they would have it from the Creature , rather than from God. Psal . 4. 6. Believers themselves , that would have their Comforts from God , yet would have them here also , and would not stay for them till hereafter , saying with the Disciples upon the Mount , It is good to be here ; whereas here in this World we are to have but sips , crumbs , drops , glances , glimpses ; at most , but some First-fruits of Canaan ; that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory is reserved for the other World. The Inheritance is reserved in Heaven for us ; 1 Pet. 1. 4 , 5. and we must wait , for our Harvest is not here ; we are not come home . It doth not yet appear what we shall be , the quiet and peaceable Fruits of Righteousness come not till afterwards ; the great Reward , the full Reward , is in Heaven , not here . 2d Reason is , Because ( as I think ) the Work of Saving Faith ( by which mainly we are supported ) doth not consist only in looking backward on the Cross of Christ , and his payment of our Ransom by his precious Blood ; but also in looking forward on the Crown of Christ , and the Glory he hath purchased for us . Heb. 11. 1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for , and the evidence of things not seen . Saving Faith is , not only to believe what our dear Lord hath already done on Earth for us , in the great work of Redemption ; but also unfeignedly and firmly to believe those things which we never saw nor did ever Man see , and to hope and look for them so really , as to let go all worldly Hopes and Happiness , rather than hazard the loss of those invisible things . This is an eminent part of Faith , whereby the Just do live ; 1 Pet. 1. 8. It is upon our clear Apprehensions and firm Expectations of that unseen and eternal Felicity , in the full enjoyment of the Blessed God , that both our Peace and Safety doth depend . We can have no solid Peace , while we look for much Comfort and Content from the Creature , in this our present Pilgrimage and Prison ; for in doing so , we looking for more in the Creature than is in it , we lose our Comforts , and then complain for want of them ; for our looking for so much from them , and looking so much on them , provokes God to take them from us ; and when they are gone , we are troubled . If eternal Joys , and everlasting Consolations were more in our Minds , if the Joy of our Lord , Matt. 25. 21. were more in our Thoughts and Affections , surely spiritual Joy would more at present abound in our Hearts : Rom. 15. 13. The God of consolation would fill us with joy and peace in believing : Believing Apprehensions of those invisible eternal Joys , would breed in us some refreshing Joys for the present . So 1 Pet. 1. 8. No wonder we are so comfortless , and walk so sadly , while those things which should raise us and comfort us , are so little in our Minds and Thoughts , and we such Strangers above . We must needs faint when we lay by our Cordials , and make no use of them , and when we lay by our Supports , and mind them not . Temporal things most needs affect us and afflict us , when eternal things are out of sight , and out of mind . Mark this : When Christians do not only let fall their expectations and hopes of the unseen promised Glory , and let the thoughts of them decay and dye away in them ; but also heighten their hopes and expectations from the Creature , and earnestly and eagerly pursue the same ; then do they most certainly prepare for their own Disquiets , Fears and Troubles , and with both Hands draw Calamity on themselves , because they forsake the fountain of living waters , and hew out to themselves cisterns , broken cisterns , that will hold no water . All Creature-comforts are at best but Cisterns , and when too much loved , but broken Cisterns , in which are no Waters of true Consolation to be found ; Jerem. 2. 13. To seek Content here , in any thing out of God , and beneath him , is to seek the Living among the Dead : The Work of Faith is , to look upwards , to look within the Veil , to look to Jesus , Mic. 7. 7. The right and ready way to present Peace is , looking stedfastly ( not to present things , but ) to that future Rest and Happiness , to the full enjoyment of God in Heaven . Thus our Lord takes off his Disciples from their Heart-trouble , John 14. 1 , 2. of which Text I have written a Discourse at large . Let us consider how this looking unto those eternal things is expressed : 2 Tim. 4. 8. it is , loving the appearance of Christ : Tit. 2. 13. Phil. 3. 20 , 21. 1 Cor. 1. 7. 2 Cor. 5. 2 , 3. Rom. 8. 23. waiting , hoping , hastening unto , groaning after that Glory . Whoever meets with a distressed , disconsolate , complaining Christian , you shall find , that one or both of these things is manifest in him ; either he hath low Expectations from God hereafter , or he hath high Expectations from the Creature here ; either he looks too much on things visible and temporal , or too little on things invisible and eternal ; and indeed , he that doth the one doth the other ; for , the too much minding visible temporal things , hinders the true minding of invisible eternal things . If we examine matters aright in our own Souls , we shall find , that this is the main thing that begets in us , and keeps us under , so many Troubles and Disquiets ; either , that we do not , or will not seriously and believingly engage our Hearts and Minds in the meditation , consideration , and application of all those great and glorious things , which God hath promised , and which Christ hath purchased ; or else we will needs mind and expect what God hath not promised , nor Christ purchased , a total freedom from Troubles , Sicknesses , Losses , &c. God hath no where promised , nor hath Christ purchased it : and then we complain , when we miss of our groundless Expectations . Either we are still poring and thinking on our Creature-comforts and Enjoyments , and looking for much from them and in them , much comfort , help , sweetness , satisfaction , respect , kindness , from them ; or else we are grieving and mourning for the loss and want of them ; all which thoughts do but sowre , imbitter , wound and weaken our Spirits ; or else we do but too seldom think of the infinite Goodness , Love , Mercy , Tenderness , All-sufficiency of God and Christ , and of the Glory of Heaven ; which Thoughts would sweeten , alleviate , and mitigate our Sorrows , and help much to support our Spirits under all our Afflictions . We are grieved and troubled for Losses and Crosses , for loss of Relations , for Sickness and Pains , Disappointments , Unkindnesses of Friends , Disesteem in the World , &c. Let us consider , whether God hath promised , or Christ purchased any Freedom from those : Have any of the Saints been freed from those ? And , why should we expect to be free ? But if we make Promises to our selves , and then our own Promises deceive us , whom can we blame for that ? Nay , do we not , as it were , necessitate God hereby , to imbitter all our Earthly Comforts to us , and to make every Creature a Scorpion to us , because we will make them our Gods ? We have less Comfort in them than we might have , because we would have more in them than we should : We might have more kindness from Friends , more sweetness in our Relations , &c. if we looked for less . Scarce any Comfort we have , but one time or other becomes a Scourge to us , because we foolishly made it an Idol to us . Isa . 2. 22. Cease ye from man , whose breath is in his nostrils , for whereof is he to be accounted ? Jer. 17. 5 , 6 , 7. We can never expect so little from the Creature , but we shall be sure to find less than we looked for : But such is the Goodness of God to his People , that we can never expect so much from him , but we shall be sure to find more . The Application . First , For Information . 1. If the serious minding of , and believing looking unto invisible eternal things , will much support Christians under the Troubles of this Life , it follows then , that there is a great necessity that Christians should have a distinct saving knowledg of invisible eternal things , for without such a knowledge of them , they cannot mind them , nor set their Hearts upon them . John 17. 3. This is life eternal , to know thee the only true God , and Jesus Christ , whom thou hast sent . Col. 2. 2 , 3. We know those things but confusedly , and therefore we mind them but confusedly . This Saving Knowledge is a New Covenant-Mercy : God promiseth that his People shall be all taught of him , and that they shall all know the Lord ; Jer. 31. 33 , 34. John 6. 45. Eph. 4. 21. Our Duty is then , to lay hold on God's Covenant , and humbly to beseech him to teach us by his Spirit , and to enlighten our Understandings ; as Paul prays , Eph. 1. 17 , 18. 2. Hence appears the Necessity of Faith , and full perswasion of the verity , reality , and excellency of those invisible eternal things . It is a full perswasion of a Better Good than the Creature , and of a Better Countrey , of a Better Substance , of a Better Place than this World is , and of Better Company , Better Friends than can be enjoyed here , that will make us set our Thoughts on work upon them , and that will support under the loss of those worse things . While we have those better things in our Eye , we shall not be much troubled about the worse ; the better will swallow up the worse , if we firmly and heartily believe them , and have good ground to hope , through Grace , that we have Title to them ; as Heb. 11. 25 , 26. The belief of a better Resurrection , and of a better Life than this , will support us under the Troubles of this : Heb. 11. 35. 3. Then there is also a necessity lies on us of having an Interest in those invisible eternal good things ; in God , in Christ , in the Promises , and in the Purchased Inheritance . An absolute necessity lies on us all , of getting an interest in Jesus Christ , Real Union with him , for only hereby we come to have an Interest in all those eternal Blessings : If Christ be ours , All is ours ; not else . 1 Cor. 3. 22 , 23. Oh , this , this is the one thing necessary , That we make sure our Interest in God , and in his Covenant by Jesus Christ : This , and this alone , will ballance all our Losses . Take special notice of those two Texts , 1 Sam. 30. 6. 2 Sam. 23. 5. Let us try our Interest in Christ by those few Scriptures , Rom. 8. 1 , 9. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus , who walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit . If any man have not the spirit of Christ , the same is none of his . 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any man be in Christ , he is a new Creature ; all old things are past away ; behold , all things are become new . Gal. 5. 24. They that are Christ's , have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof . Gal. 2. 20. Christ liveth in me . 4. Hence we may know the true cause and ground of Discouragement and Despondency under our Troubles , to wit , our want of Faith in , and our not minding of eternal invisible things . They that believe not the Crown , can never comfortably bear the Cross : The way to forget our Misery , is seriously and believingly to remember and consider our Felicity . Rom. 8. 17. The sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us . Our Burdens would not be so heavy as they are , if our Hearts were more heavenly than they are : If we could get more above , and converse more with God , our Troubles would not be so troublesome as they are . Nil sentit in Nervo , cum anima sit in Coelo . Oh , let us pray for more acquaintance with God , and thereby good , all good , shall come unto us . Let us cry out with the Divine Poet , O shew thy self to me , Or take me up to thee . Converse with God and Christ will sweeten every bitter Cup , and lighten every heavy Burden . 5. Hence also we may inferr the Necessity of Patience under all our Afflictions , which are designed to prepare us for Glory , and that no otherwise , than as we do by Faith and Patience live in the expectation of that Glory . Rom. 2. 7. To them , who by patient continuance in well-doing , seek for glory , and honour , and immortality , eternal life : Heb. 10. 36. Unless we patiently bear our Troubles , they are not like to produce those blessed effects ; it is only through Faith and Patience that we inherit the Promises . 6. The Misery of all Unbelievers then is very great , whatever they posse's in this World , for they must needs meet with Troubles also in this Life , and must meet with the King of Terrors at last : And what possibly can support them , having no interest in God and Christ , and no good grounds of hope , that they shall enjoy those invisible eternal good things hereafter ? Part they must with all visible temporal good things , and that for ever , and cannot look on God , and Glory , and Heaven as theirs , because not regenerated , not united to Christ , not effectually called : surely their case is most sad , for then also all their vain hopes and groundless confidences shall perish . 7. The mischief of Earthly-mindedness also appears hence : Inordinate minding earthly things , whether Friends or Foes , Ease or Pain , Loss or Gain , &c. this very much hinders our Comfort and Support : Oh , pray against it , watch against it . Now to take us off from this inordinate minding of these Earthly things , let us take these Helps . 1. Let us urge and press the express Command of God upon our Hearts , Col. 3. 1 , 2. Set your affections upon things above , and not upon things below . Let this sway with us : It is as much our Duty as any other , and there is as much Divine Authority in this Command as in any other , and as much of the Power of Religion and Truth of Grace lies in the Practice of this , as of any other Duty ; and by the consciencious performance of this Duty , we do as much evidence the sincerity of our Love and Obedience , as by any other . 2. If we be true Christians , we are of an high , noble , heavenly extraction and original , begotten and born of God ; Jam. 1. 17 , 18. John 3. 3 , 5. born from above , Heaven-born , therefore we should mind heavenly things . As is the heavenly , such are they that are heavenly . 3. If we be true Christians , we have an invisible eternal Life in us ; Christ is our Life , and our Life is hid with Christ in God ; Col. 3. 3 , 4. We have invisible eternal Principles of Life in us , Christ formed in our Hearts : Phil. 4. 19. The incorruptible Seed of God in us , the Spirit of Jesus in us , the Divine Nature in us ; all which dispose and encline us to look upwards , and to mind invisible and eternal things . 4. Your Hopes are grounded and fixed on invisible eternal things , 1 Cor. 15. 19. If our hope were only in this life , we should be of all men most miserable . Our hopes are not here , we hope for what we see not ; Rom. 5. 2. 2 Pet. 1. 13. 1 John 3. 3. It is invisible glory , the glory that is to be revealed at the Coming of Christ , That when Christ shall appear , you may appear with him in glory , and may see him as he is , and may be like him . You hope for infinitely better things than this World can afford ; Tit. 2. 13 , 14. Phil. 3. 21. You look for the Coming of Jesus in glory , who shall make your vile bodies like unto his glorious body ; and then you that look for such things in Heaven , surely you should have your Conversations in Heaven . 5. Your Actings and Workings here in this life , are for invisible ends and purposes , not to be seen of Men , not to have your Reward here , but you seek Honour , and Glory , and Immortality , and Eternal Life ; Rom. 2. 7 , 8. Your sowing here is to reap Life everlasting ; Gal. 6. 8. It is an invisible , incorruptible Crown , an everlasting Kingdom , an Heavenly Inheritance , that you are seeking : 1 Pet. 1. 4 , 5. You labour not for that meat which perisheth , but for that which endureth to everlasting life : John 6. 27. You are seeking a City which hath foundations , and travelling home to your Father's House ; therefore needs must your thoughts and affections be set upon things above . 6. Let us consider , that all our best Friends and dearest Relations are above , invisible and unseen to us here below . There is our Heavenly Father , there our dear Redeemer , sitting at his right hand ; there are all our pious Friends and dear Relations that dyed in Christ ; there they are together praising and enjoying God. 7. If you be true Christians , you have enlightned Minds , Eyes of Faith , Spiritual Understandings given you , to discern and apprehend those invisible eternal things ; 1 Cor. 2. 9 , 10. you are spiritual persons . 8. You esteem , value , and love those heavenly things most and best , if you be true Christians ; your Hearts are in Heaven , for there is your Treasure ; 1 Pet. 1. 8. 9. You have invisible Supports , Influences , and Experiences , a Well of Living Water springing up in you , unto eternal life , John 4. 14. which no others but you have ; and from those spiritual Principles , which the Spirit of Christ plants in his People , good thoughts and heavenly Meditations are continually bred and fed . 10. You are in Heaven already , in Christ your Head ; Ephes , 2. 6. Risen with Christ : And this Heavenly-mindedness the Apostle makes the true evidence of our being risen with Christ ; Col. 3. 1 , 2. If ye then be risen with Christ , seek those things which are above : Set your affections on things above : And it is the very distinguishing Character of one in Christ : Rom. 8. 1. They that are in Christ , walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit . Second Vse , by way of Exhortation to all Christians . Would you have sweet Support under all your Discouragements and sinking Troubles , then stedfastly and fixedly look upon invisible eternal things : Labour to live in the believing views and prospects of , and in a serious , hearty minding , and meditating upon invisible eternal things . Oh , that we could draw off our Thoughts and Affections from visible temporal things , and that we could set them upon things above : Oh , what Peace and Sweetness should we find in our Spirits ? Q. But how shall we be able to do this ? A. I. By looking to God in all our Mercies . II. By resigning up our Wills to God in all our Miseries . III. By aiming at Communion with God , and Conformity to him in all our Actions . I. Let us look to God in all our Mercies . He is the God of our Lives , and of all the Comforts of Life : The power , vertue , and comfort of all created good , comes from the Created good , even GOD alone , for in him we live , and move , and have our being . This Health , Ease , Liberty , Relations , Rest , Sleep , that we have , and all those comfortable Accommodations that we enjoy , are from the Lord. It was truly said of one , That many love the Creature , in opposition to God ; Most love it in competition with him , and almost All love the Creature in a way of separation from him . But more particularly let us labour , 1st , To look unto , and acknowledge with Heart and Tongue , that our Heavenly Father in Christ is the Author and Giver of all the Mercies we enjoy . When we have Health , Ease , Liberty , Rest , or any other Mercy , we should look to him from whom they come , and to him through whom they come ; we should eye the hand of a Father , the heart and love of a Father , and consider also , that all these Mercies come to us through the Blood of a Redeemer ; this will make every morsel , every drop and crumb to be sweet and pleasant to us . A Dinner of green Herbs , Barley-bread , and cold Water , with the Love of God , will be sweet . Q. But when shall we know , that we have these from the Love of God , and with the Love of God ? Ans . Then we may conclude , these outward Mercies come from the Love of God to us , when we are truly thankful for the least Mercy we receive , and are stirred up to love God more , and to be more careful to serve , please , and trust God the more . Let us look thorough our visible Comforts , to the invisible giver of them , and to that eternal Love from whence they come ; 1 Chron. 29. 12 , 13 , 16. It is our great evil , that we love the gifts of God for themselves , and not for the giver of them : if we could see and taste Divine love and goodness in our Relations , Health , Estate , &c. Oh , how sweet would they be unto us ? But this is our Folly and Fault , we overlook and forget God , and look no further than our visible , sensible , temporal Comforts ; even when we speak of God with our Mouths , our Hearts are but too far from him : Our Hearts hang loose from him , and lye at too great a distance from him ; our Hearts are not engaged with Love , and Desire , and Delight in him , nor enlarged after him , and so we miss the Comfort and Sweetness which we might find in him . To delight in the God of Mercy more than in the Mercies of God , is a true Christian frame , and an high pitch of Grace , and a special way of enjoying sweet Communion with God ; a thing wholly strange to most , and experienced but by few . Q. But how shall I know when I do this ? Ans . 1. By real , practical , hearty acknowledgment and owning God's Propriety in all our Mercies . These Relations , Friends , this Health , Ease , Liberty , Safety , &c. these are all the Lords ; as Jacob said , Gen. 33. 5. These are the things that the Lord hath graciously given me . We should always look on God as the proper owner of us and them ; and all that we have , are but lent to us , and we are but Tenants at his will. 2. By labouring to draw up our Hearts and Loves to God , by those Mercies we receive from God , to make them as Cords and Bands of Love , to draw our Hearts nearer to God , and to bind our Hearts faster and closer to God by them ; to make those Mercies as steps , to raise up our Souls higher towards God , in all the ways of obedience and holy confidence , we should pant and pray thus : Oh , that this Creature-comfort may draw my Heart nearer to God , and not lye as an Idol between my Heart and God ; oh , that this temporal Blessing may raise my Heart some degrees higher towards God ; oh , that it may help me to advance God more : Oh that it may not divide my Heart from God , nor make me forgetful of him , nor hinder me in my Duty to him ; but , oh that every Mercy I receive from God , may endear God to me , and engage my Heart more to him . Such pantings and breathings of Soul should be in us , then we shall enjoy God in our Mercies , and then they will be sweet unto us . 3. By labouring to use and improve all our Mercies for God ; our Health , Ease , Liberty , Estate and all for God ; to lay all out for his Service . If we have any Talent , let it be improved for God ; if any Candle of Comfort lighted in our Habitation , let it burn for God ; if any Ease after Pain , any Strength after Weakness , lay it out for God ; Let us be thinking and studying what use and service we can put our Mercies to for God. Let us spend Time , Health , Strength , and all for God. 4. By labouring to be willing to part with all our outward Mercies when God calls for them . As we should desire and wish for no Comfort otherwise , than as we may have it with the love of God , and as it may help us , and not hinder us in our way to God ; so likewise , we should not desire the continuance of any outward Comfort , any longer than with the Love of God ; and when he is pleased to call for them , willingly to surrender them to him : This is not to love any thing above God , nor in competition with him , nor in separation from him . 1 John 2. 14 , 15. For he that loveth any thing in the world otherwise , the love of the Father is not in him . And in so doing we evidence , that we love the God of Mercies more than the Mercies of God : And this way we may enjoy and maintain much sweet communion with God here in this Life ; namely , by our hearty acknowledgment of God our Father in Christ , to be the Author of all our Mercies ; looking to his Love in them ; owning his Propriety in them all ; making them as Cords of Love , to draw up our Hearts to God ; using them for God , and willing to part with them at his call . This is to look to God in all our Mercies . Secondly , Let us labour to look unto , and live upon God , in every Creature-comfort that we enjoy . Not only look unto God in our Mercies , as was said before in the other particular , but let us labour to ascend higher ; and that is , let us labour and learn to live upon God and his Love in those Mercies . Let this be minded by us : That it is not the Creature , but God in the Creature , that we must love and live upon . The Creature should not content us , without some sense of God's Love in it . If we have Health , Wealth , Liberty , Friends , we should put this Question to our selves ; Do we enjoy God's Love with these ? A great Question , yet seldom ask'd . It is surely the Love of God in a Mercy , that doth sanctifie and sweeten the Mercy to us ; as is evident in that famous Instance of Hezekiah , Isa . 38. 17. Thou hast in love to my soul delivered me from the pit of corruption . Then Deliverance is sweet , when it comes from God's Love to our Souls . Q. But how may we know that ? A. As Hezekiah did ; For , saith he , thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back . When Pardon of Sin comes with a Mercy , 't is a Mercy indeed , a double Mercy . Note , When a Soul-mercy comes with a Bodily Mercy , a Soul-mercy , with Ease , Recovery , &c. then that outward Mercy comes from the Love of God indeed . And thus many times our Lord Jesus distributed his Mercies in the days of his Flesh upon the Earth , healing Souls and Bodies together , forgiving their Sins , and curing their Diseases all at once . Q. But how shall we know that our Sins are forgiven as well as our Trouble removed ? Ans . 1. When the Soul is stirred up to suitable praising of God , as in Hezekiah , so in David , Psal . 103. 1 , 2 , 3. the sense of God's Mercies to them enlarged their Hearts with Thankfulness . 2. We may know that our Sins are forgiven us , if those Conditions are wrought in us , unto which forgiveness of Sins is promised , and those are chiefly Repentance and Faith : Acts 3. 19. Repent ye therefore , and be converted , that your sins may be blotted out , when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 10. 43. To him ( namely , to Jesus ) do all the Prophets witness , that through his name , whosoever believeth in him , shall receive remission of sins . Now , if after Mercies God gives us Hearts to repent and believe , we may certainly conclude that those Mercies come to us from the love of God. We follow hard in our Prayers , and Desires , and Endeavours after earthly Mercies , when we want them ; whereas our Souls should follow hard after God in them : Psal . 63. 8. & 31. 23. In every Ordinance , Priviledge , Duty , Providence , in every Enjoyment , it is the Love of God in it , that our Souls should thirst after ; as David did , Psal . 63. 1 , 2 , 3 , My soul thirsteth for God , for the living God : So Psal . 84. 1. Thee , thee , Lord , my soul longeth for . He longed for God's Ordinances too , but chiefly , for God in them . So should we cry , Health , and Ease , and Liberty , and Deliverance with thy self , Lord , and with thy Love : Peace and Plenty with thy Love , Lord , not without it . Better be without these Mercies than without the Love of God in them : Jude 21. Keep your selves in the love of God : Gal. 2. 20. Psal . 62. 10. If riches ( Friends , Ease , &c. ) encrease , set not your hearts ●● them , but on God in them . To look through , and beyond , and above a Mercy , unto the God of that Mercy , is a Mercy in that Mercy , and a choice one too ; for none but God's Chosen ones can do it : And so to do , argues much Grace and much Communion with God. Col. 3. 1 , 2. Let us look up , look up to God in all our Mercies : Stay not on the Mercy , be not content with the outward Mercy , for that is but the Shell , but look up to God , and long to see and taste his Love in it , for that is the Kernel , his Love in Christ ; feed on that by Faith , Love , Meditation . O , let us labour to have God in all our Thoughts ; for , to look to , love , and live upon Creature-comforts meerly , barely , only , is but to live upon Husks , Ashes , Wind and Vanity ; these are no Bread for the Soul ; Isa . 55. 2. Psal . 143. 6. I stretch forth my hands unto thee ; my soul thirsteth after thee , as a thirsty land . When we taste and see the earthly Comforts we have , if we can also taste and see the Love of God in them , we enjoy a double sweetness , an outward and an inward , a visible and an invisible sweetness : Oh , what sweetness then may we taste ? for both Faith and Sense are fed at once . And we may further know , that any Mercy comes to us in Love , when our Souls are the better for that Mercy , more endeared to God , and more enlarged after God. 3. We must labour to use and enjoy all our Mercies for God , for his Honour and Service , as was hinted before . This is God's end in giving them , and it should be ours in using them . 1 Cor. 10. 31. Whether ye eat or drink , or whatever ye do , do all to the glory of God. This great End should always be minded by us . We should judge all that good that leads us nearer to God , and all that evil that draws us farther from him : Prov. 16. 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself . We have lost most of our Comforts for want of this , to wit , our not enjoying them in God , and for God , and God in them : We feed on them , but not on God in them ; and this provokes God to remove them , and to take away our best outward Mercies from us ; even his Gospel , for our not using it , and not improving it for God , and for contenting our selves barely with it , without God in it : Bare Ordinances , bare Duties , without God in them , are but dry Breasts , without Milk , which Souls may lye upon all their days , and starve and perish notwithstanding , if they meet not God in them . But now , if we thus eye and look unto God , and seriously mind the invisible eternal God , we shall hereby be sweetly supported under all our Troubles . For , 1st , This will take out the gall and wormwood of our Troubles , which is our inordinate love of the Creature ; for there is no immoderate Sorrow for the loss of any thing , but of that which was inordinately loved : So that if God had had our Hearts and Affections , when we had our Creature-Comforts , he will have them much more then they are removed ; for God remains the ●ime still , every way as full , and as All-sufficient ●● supply and support us : So that if we had lived ●●on God the Fountain when we had the Cisterns , ● shall live more immediately upon him when the ●●sterns are broken , and shall then have our Comforts more pure , and more refreshing . And this is not all ; but if we be truly gracious , ● will grieve us to the very Heart , when our earth●● Comforts are gone , that we set our Hearts so much upon them , that we minded and loved them ●o much , and lived so much upon them , and that ●e lived so little upon God in them , and enjoyed ● little of God and his Love in them ; and this ●ill be the Sting and Burthen of our Souls then . ●ut now , to live on God and his Love in our ●njoyments , will prevent this Trouble of Troubles , ●nd support us under all our Troubles , because our God , and his Love , which we lived upon before , remain still . God is everlasting , and his Love unchangable . The Foundation remains ; the ●pring of all our Mercies remains . But , woe and ●as ! what Strangers are we to this living upon God , and his Love in Christ ? David lived en●rely upon God , Psal . 73. 24 , 25 , 26. Whom have ●in Heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that desire besides thee . My flesh and my heart faileth , but God is the strength of my heart , and my portion for ever . 2dly , By this we may begin our Heaven upon Earth out of Heaven , even in the Hell of the Troubles and Miseries of this World ; for this is the ●ery Happiness of Heaven , to be continually with God , and to live upon God , that God may be all in all , 1 Cor. 15. 28. This is Heavens Happiness , to live upon that infinite Fountain of goodness , and to live with God. And so far as we can thus live upon God by Faith , Love , Meditation , Holy Confidence and Dependance , Holy Resignation of our selves and all our concerns to him , so far we are entred into Heaven , and Heaven is entred into us already : The kingdom of Heaven is within you , said our Lord. And , what support will this be to us in all our Afflictions ! 3dly , This is the way to lose nothing of all our Earthly Comforts ; for , what we lose in the Creature , we shall find in the Creator . If we enjoyed God in the Creature , in Relations , Friends , Estate , Liberty , Health , &c. we may enjoy him as well when these Creature-comforts are gone , and it may be better than before , for the Fountain it self is purer than the Streams . All the little good , the small comfort , the slender and short satisfaction , the little mixed sweetness , that we have in or from any Creature , comes not from the Creature it self , distinct from God , for then all that enjoy the Creature would have that Comfort and Content , the bad as well as the good ; which we know is not so ; for many have had large Portions of the best of the Creatures , that have had no comfort or contentment in them : Solomon himself is a Witness . But that very little Comfort or Content that any one hath in the Creature , it is distilled and derived to him through the Creature from God , and from him alone . It God put sweetness into any Creature-comfort , and bless it to us , it shall be sweet to us : If He convey any goodness or content to us through any Creature-chanel , we shall have it , not else : But if he put bitterness into any Creature-comfort , and with-hold his Blessing , it will yield us no content at all . This is a most experienc'd Truth , That it is God's Love , his Blessing in a Mercy , that is The Mercy ; and it is that only which brings any Comfort or Content to us that have it . What Content had Ahab in his Kingdom , or Haman in his Honour ? Surely none at all . Prov. 10. 22. The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich , and he adds no sorrow with it . The Blessing of the Lord maketh the Poor in this World rich , and with this Blessing comes no Sorrow , as there doth with all other Blessings . This is the Blessing that goes with The Blessing , the inward Blessing that goes with the outward Blessing , whether little or much , the love of God is in it to his People ; and that maketh rich , that contents the Soul , and yields sweetness to it ; and this Contentment is the Blessing , without which Godliness it self is not Gain . Now , when the outward Blessing is gone , the Creature-blessing gone , the inward Blessing may be continued ; the Love of God , and inward Contentment may be continued ; when the Cabinet is worn out , the Jewel may be as good as ever : And if this continue with us , namely , the Blessing which is the Love of God , if that remain towards us , when the outward Blessing is taken away , we have no cause of Disquietment . But this remains always to the true Christian ; for it is God's Covenant , which cannot be broken . Psal . 89. 34 , 35. My loving-kindness I will not utterly take from him , nor suffer my faithfulness to fail : My covenant will I not break , &c. Oh , that we could look more at the invisible eternal Blessing , the sure Mercies of David , in all our outward Blessings , which remains when all the visible temporal things are gone . Yea , further , this invisible everlasting Blessing doth not only remain with us , when all other Blessings are gone , but ( which is wonderful ) then , even then , our everlasting Father doth usually communicate and manifest more of his Love ( which is the Blessing indeed ) to the Souls of his People , than when they had the enjoyment of their outward Blessings . When had Ezekiel and John such glorious Visions of God , but in Captivity and Exile ? When God brings his People into the Wilderness , then he speaks comfortably unto them , then he speaks to their Hearts , Hos . 2. 14. as in the Wilderness , in the absence of Creature-comforts , the Spouse leans on her Beloved , Cant. 8. 5. fixeth her Loves and Desires most intimately and heartily upon him ; so , even then , her Beloved manifests most of his tender love to her ; and when the World frowns , he smiles upon her . So that this looking up to God in all our Enjoyments , living upon Him , and enjoying all in him , and for him , will wonderfully support us under all our Trouble , because by this means we shall lose nothing , but what we lose in the Stream , we shall find in the Fountain ; what we want in the Creature , we shall find in God ; yea , and in all our losses for Christ and his Truths , we are assured to have an hundred fold ; Matth. 19. 29. So much for the first Counsel , Look to God in all our Enjoyments . II. The second Counsel : Resign up your wills entirely to the will of God in all your Afflictions . It is an Argument of an excellent Spirit , when all Self-respects are drowned in the Will of God , and there is nothing lost therein , for our best safety is in the Will of God ; our Happiness is more in God than in our selves , and His Will is infinitely better than ours . We may be sure of this , that a man shall never have setled Peace and Comfort , until he have cordially committed and resigned up all his Will and Way , all his Concerns , and Interests , and Ends to the holy Will of God. Psal . 37. 5 , 7. Commit thy way unto the Lord : trust also in him , and he shall bring it to pass . Rest in the Lord , and wait patiently for him . Prov. 16. 3. Commit thy works unto the Lord , and thy thoughts shall be established . It is the difference of Wills , Ends , and Interests that begets all the Stirs and Troubles in the Hearts of Men. GOD will have his Will , and Man will have his : It is the communion of Wills , Hearts , Interests , and Ends , that is that fellowship that a Creature hath with its Creator . It is the Interest and Honour , the Dignity and Duty , the Comfort and Quiet , the Heaven and Happiness of a Rational Creature to be what God will have him be , to do what God will have him do , to want what God will have him want , and to suffer what God will have him suffer ; to be wholly at the dispose of God , as our Lord was ; Not my will , but thine be done . This is true Christianity indeed , true Self-denial , Matt. 16. 24. To be no more our own , nor at our own dispose , but to be entirely at the Will of God , is the way to true Comfort : Psal . 142. 5. Thou art my refuge , and my portion in the land of the living . Now , if we would thus look unto the invisible God , and resign up our wills to his will in all things , in order to our support and comfort in all our Afflictions , we must carefully observe these things : 1st , We must really look unto , and heartily own God's absolute Dominion over , and his Propriety in all things : He is the Lord and Owner of all his Works ; Job 9. 12. He taketh away , who can hinder him ? who durst say to him , What doest thou ? Isa . 45. 9. He is the Potter , we are the Clay ; He is the Creator of all things , and therefore the true , only , and rightful Owner of all things : Ezek. 18. 4. All souls are mine , saith God ; and all Creatures are his . Hos . 2. 9. And we are none of our own , 1 Cor. 6. 20. Whether as Creatures or Christians , our Souls , Bodies , Goods , all are God's , upon all accounts : If we did not look on those earthly Comforts too much as our own , we should not grieve too much for the loss of them . Now , we own God's Dominion and Propriety in all things , when we thankfully receive any Creature-comfort from him , and silently submit to his dispose of them . Psal . 39. 9. I was dumb , saith David ; and quietly surrender them up to God when he calls for them ; as Eli , 1 Sam. 3. 18. 2ly , We must really and heartily look unto and own God's Righteousness in all his Dispensations towards us , though never so hard , bitter , and pinching to the Flesh , yet God is righteous in all . By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us , O God of our salvation . Dan. 9. 14. Righteous art thou , O Lord. Psal . 145. 17. The Lord is righteous in all his ways , and holy in all his works . Now we own God's Righteousness in all our Afflictions , when we diligently enquire to find out the why and the wherefore of all God's dealings with us : We should reason thus ; The righteous God afflicts me ; then certainly I must enquire after the Cause , and the End : Lam. 3. 40. Let us search our hearts , and try our ways . God is righteous , we have deserved this Affliction . Hereupon we must search for our Sins , confess them , hate them , turn from them ; and then this Consideration setleth and satisfieth our Minds under God's correcting Hand : It is the righteous God that smites . 3ly , We must look unto and own the Faithfulness of God in his Chastisements of us : When He blasts our Earthly Hopes , kills our Creature-comforts , takes away our dear Relations , deprives us of Health , Ease , Liberty , Name , Estate ; yet He is faithful ; Psal . 119. 75. In faithfulness thou hast afflicted me . God hath put chastisement for Sin into his Covenant , Psal . 89. 31 , 33. and hath promised to with-hold no good thing from his People , Psal . 84. 11. Now God sees and knows that Chastisements are good for his People , and shall work for their good , therefore in very faithfulness he doth correct them , to perform his Promise , and fulfil his Covenant . Oh , that we could seriously look to this Faithfulness of God , and believe , that while He is afflicting and chastising us , He is but making good his faithful Promises to us , it would mightily support and uphold us : But this is our Unhappiness , that in Affliction we are apt to judge the quite contrary , and to think rather that God is executing his Threatning upon us , and that breeds Trouble to us . Little do we think , that when God strips us of this or that outward Mercy , and lays his correcting Hand upon us , that now He is in all these Afflictions but performing his Promises to us , that He is doing us good by these , and accomplishing all his sweet , good , and gracious ends upon us ; and that by these Afflictions He is preparing us for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . Oh , could we but believe this , and act our Faith upon God's Faithfulness , it would help us cheerfully to bear all our Afflictions . Lord , encrease our Faith. 4ly , We must look unto and own the infinite Mercy and tender Compassions of the invisible eternal God , in all our Afflictions : God is the Father of Mercies , a God of tender Mercies , of tender Bowels , his Mercy endureth for ever ; His tender Mercies are over all his Works , and much more over his special Workmanship , his own Children , whom He hath begotten and formed for himself : He is gracious and merciful , Exod. 34. 6 , 7. Plenteous in Mercy ; His Mercies are a great depth ; Fury is not in Him towards his poor Children , Isa . 27. 4. but Pity and Compassion ; Psal . 103. 13. His Compassions fail not , Lam. 3. 22 , 23 , 24. There is no revengeful Passion in the most holy God ; it is He that puts Bowels of Mercy and Compassion into his Creatures , and then surely He is full of Mercy himself : He is rich in mercy , and of great love , Ephes . 2. 4. and full of Mercy . The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him , in them that hope in his mercy , Psal . 147. 11. Behold , the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him ; upon them that hope in his Mercy ; Psal . 33. 18. Let us act Faith on the Mercy of God. 5ly , We must look unto and own the Omnipotency and All-sufficiency of the invisible eternal God , Gen. 17. 1. I am the almighty God , Rev. 1. 8. The only Creator of all things out of nothing ; He can create Salvation and Deliverance ; Isa . 4. 5. & 57. 19. God being All-sufficient , can never be at a loss , nor to seek of ways to help his People in distress . He hath infinite ways of his own for helping us , either immediately from himself , or by raising up other means ( and those it may be very unlikely , yea , contrary ) to deliver us . God is most honoured by us when we see nothing , but rather all contrary to that we look for , Refuge failing , Friends , Flesh , Heart failing , then , to shut our Eyes to all Creature-helps , and look altogether on God's All-sufficiency , and only relye on that . God can convey himself more comfortably to us , when He pleaseth , without means , than by means . This our eying and owning God's Almightiness and All-sufficiency , will work in us an holy awe and filial fear of Him : Who would not fear such a God ? Luke 12. 5. And also it will breed an holy confidence in him : Psal . 9. 10. They that know thy name will put their trust in thee : for thou , Lord , hast not forsaken them that seek thee . O my Soul , look up to God's All-sufficiency , He can in a moment turn thy Darkness into Light , thy Sorrow into Joy ; He can make dry Bones live ; He that breaks can bind up ; He that takes can give . This is the best way to glorifie God in the day of our Visitation ; to trust in him , and relye upon him ; though He kill all our Comforts , yet to believe He can supply He can provide ; as said Abraham , so Psal . 107. 33 , 35. Whatever our case be , let us take heed that we despond not , nor cast away our confidence , but rest upon God's All-sufficiency . Trust in the Lord for ever , for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength , Isa . 26. 2 , 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace , whose mind is stayed on thee , because he trusteth in thee . 6ly , Let us eye and own the infinite Wisdom of the invisible eternal God : He that sends and orders all our Afflictions , is the Wise God , the Only-wise God , the very Fountain of all Wisdom ; 1 Tim. 1. 17. He shews his Wisdom not only in his general Providence governing the whole World , but in all his special Providences towards his People , and that in respect of their Afflictions . For , 1. God knows best how to order our Afflictions to us , and that ( 1. ) as to Time , when to send them ; ( 2. ) as to Kind , what sort of Affliction to send ; ( 3. ) as to Measure , how much to send ; ( 4. ) as to Duration , how long to continue them : Rev. 2. 10. and to what end and purpose . He is a most wise God. 2. He knows best how to support and comfort his People under all their Afflictions , and when to comfort them ; He knows their Frame ; He knows their Souls in Adversity ; He knows their Need and their Strength ; and hath regard to all this . 2 Cor. 1. 4. He is the God of all consolation . 3. He knows best when to deliver ; even then , when it shall make most for his own glory , and his Peoples greatest good ; 2 Pet. 2. 9. and surely that must be the best time . 4. He knows best how to make Afflictions work most for our good ; how to bless them , and to make them Blessings to us , that we may have cause to bless him for them . Now , we eye and own the Wisdom of God in our Afflictions , when by the consideration of it we are kept from maligning and fretting at the Instruments or Causes of our Afflictions , saying in our Hearts and Tongues , Let Shimei curse , let Enemies persecute and plunder , &c. All these are but Swords , Staffs , Rods in our most wise and loving Father's Hand : These Losses , Sicknesses , &c. do but execute the Will and Wisdom of God ; and when we make no haste to get out of our Troubles , nor use any unlawful means , but quietly and contentedly referr all to the Holy Will and Wisdom of God ; and when we can wait with Patience upon God , and stay his time , and hope in Him only for an happy issue ; resigning up our Wills to his Will and Wisdom , to do with us , to dispose of us , and of all our Comforts , as He pleaseth : By so doing we shall be sweetly supported under all our Troubles . Lord God , of thy abundant Grace , and by thy Almighty Power , work in us this blessed frame , and keep us in it till Death , that thou maist be glorified by us . 7ly , and lastly , Let us eye and own the love and goodness of God in all our Afflictions : We are apt to look mostly to the Anger and Displeasure of God in our Troubles , which indeed we ought to be sensible of , and deeply affected with , because we have sinned against Him , and therefore ought we patiently to bear the effects of his indignation , Mic. 7. 9. and to humble our selves under his mighty Hand , to repent of , and turn from our evill ways , Lam. 3. 40. This we must do , but this is not all our Duty ; but we must also look up to the love of God , and to his goodness , from which our Afflictions come ; Psal . 89. 33. Heb. 12. 6. Whom the Lord loveth he chastneth : Psal . 25. 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth . For , as our Afflictions have a bad Cause , as bad as may be , even our Sins . Lam. 3. Wherefore doth the living man complain , a man for the punishment of his sins ? Yet they proceed from a good Root , even the Love of God : As many as I love , I rebuke and chasten , saith our loving Lord Jesus , Rev. 3. 19. He loves when he takes , as well as when he gives . He takes in love ; and this believed and considered , will very much sweeten every bitter Cup : The believing consideration , that the love of our Father , the love of the Mediator is in every Affliction ; that every Cup that comes to us , passeth first through his Hands , who loved us , and gave himself for us , ( for through him are all things ) this consideration will support us : Lord , encrease our Faith. So much of the second Counsel , viz. To resign up our Wills to the Will of God in all our Miseries . III. The last Counsel to Christians , in order to their support and comfort in their Afflictions , is this : Aim at Communion with God , and Conformity to him in all your Actions : Look unto the invisible eternal God , and labour for Communion with him , and conformity to him . It is conformity to God that fits us for communion with him . The more conformity to him , to his holy Nature , and to his holy Will , the more communion we shall have with him ; and the more we are like him , the more will he manifest himself unto us ; and the more we obey him , the more fellowship we shall have with him . John 14. 21 , 23. And also , the more communion we have with him , & the more communications we have from him , the more conformable we shall be to him , and the more we shall be like him ; 2 Cor. 3. 18. Communion with God will transform and change us into his Image more and more ; and the more we have of his Image , the more pleasure will he take in us , and the more delight will he take to communicate himself to us : The more holy , heavenly , humble , meek , patient , loving , merciful , peaceable we are , the more like him we are ; and the more we are like him , the more of his love and likeness will he continually work in us , and manifest unto us . This is the Life of true Religion ; this is to live the Life of God , to live in communion with him , panting and longing after constant Influences and Communications of his Life , Spirit , Love , Grace , Peace , and Comfort from him ; and giving up , surrendring up of our Hearts and Souls to him , spending our best thoughts , desires , affections , hopes , trust , joy , and delight upon him . Always minding , that it is God in Christ that we must thus look unto and mind , in all these particulars ; God in Christ , not God singly considered , but God in Christ ; for , God cannot be comfortably thought upon out of Christ our Mediator , in whom alone he is well pleased : No Communion with God , but in Christ ; no Communication of any good from God to us , but in Christ , and by his Spirit . It is the invisible eternal God by the invisible eternal Son of God , and through the invisible eternal Spirit , that we must make all our Addresses unto , and expect all Communications of good from . It is Christ alone that must bring God and the Soul together : In Christ we are reconciled to him , even by the Blood of his Cross ; 2 Cor. 5. 19. Col. 1. 21. And being reconciled to God by him , we have Peace with God , and then have Communion with him . In Christ , God's Nature becomes lovely to us , and ours to God , otherwise there is an utter Enmity betwixt his pure and our impure Nature . Christ hath made up the vast gulf between God and us ; He drank of the brook in the way , Psal . 110. last . Aim at , and thirst after Communion with God in Christ , in all your receipts of Mercies from him , and in all your returns of Duty to him : Pray and pant , that all that you receive from him may come to you from his Love in Christ . Oh , that this Mercy , that this Affliction , may proceed from God's Fatherly Love in Christ Jesus ! so in all your Approaches to God , in Ordinances and Duties , pray and pant after Communion with God in Christ ; Oh , that I may meet with God in this Ordinance , and in this Duty ! without which we should not be satisfied in any . Ordinances and Duties , and all outward Blessings , are but visible temporal things ; we must look beyond them and above them , unto God in Christ , for the invisible eternal love , and grace , and blessing of God in them . So holy David , Psal . 63. 1 , 2 , 3. That I may see thy power and thy glory , saith he . And Vers . 8. My soul followeth hard after God ; to see God's power , and love , and grace in Ordinances . So Psal . 42. 1 , 2. My soul thirsteth for God , for the living God. This is the marrow and fatness of God's Ordinances , and this is that will satisfie the Soul ; therefore this is the thing that our Souls should long and breath after , that we may have sights , sweet sights of the invisible eternal God in Christ , in Ordinances and Duties , and tasts of his love and goodness in them . And if we have Communion with God in our Mercies , we shall be able thankfully to receive them and fruitfully to improve them for God : And also , we shall be enabled patiently and comfortably to bear all our Afflictions , and profitably to improve them . Now , if we would have Communion with God in Christ , we must look well to these things , viz. 1st , We must labour to be pure in Heart , for such as are pure in Heart , and they only , shall see God ; God in his Son , God in his Ordinances , in his Providences , and in Glory at last . If we regard Iniquity in our Hearts , God will not hear our Prayers , nor afford us any Communion with him . Mat. 5. 8. A pure Heart is a new Heart , an Heart purged by the Blood of Christ from the guilt of Sin , and purified by his Spirit ; Acts 15. 9. An Heart renewed and sanctified ; a single , sincere , and upright Heart , that hath pure Principles planted in it , the Spirit of God , the Fear of God , the Love of God , Faith in God and Christ , Christ formed there , the Image of God stamped there , the Kingdom of God set up there : These are the true Principles of Purity of Heart and Life ; and also an Heart set and bent by the Rules of God's pure Word , that pure Rule ; and that acteth for pure ends to please God , to bring Glory to him , to do good to others , and to enjoy God in our Salvation : Such may expect sweet Communion with God , 2 Cor. 6. 16 , 17. the Lord God Almighty will walk and dwell with such . 2ly , We must labour to be poor in Heart , poor in Spirit , Mat. 5. 3. broken in Heart , contrite in Spirit , Isa . 57. 15. O , the wonderful condescension of the high and lofty one , who dwelleth in the Heavens ! that He should stoop so low , as to dwell in the broken Heart , to revive such Hearts , such Spirits ; O , the Revivings of God , they are Soul-satisfying things : The Consolations of God are not small : Happy indeed are those Souls in whom the great and glorious God dwells ; Blessed Souls that are the Temple of the holy God , Habitations of God by the Spirit ; 1 Cor. 3. 16. Eph. 2. 22. Isa . 66. 2. To the man will God look that is poor , and of a contrite Spirit ; and God's looks on such are sweet looks , Love-looks ; such shall have much communion with God and Christ , for Christ was sent to bind up the broken hearted , Luke 4. 18. What a comfortable support is this to a poor afflicted Christian , that is poor in this World , destitute of Friends and earthly Comforts , restrained and shut up in Prison , or otherwise confined to Chamber or Sick-bed , and withal , is poor in Spirit , is content in this condition ? Yet now , in this his desolate condition , he may have Communion with the great God ; he may enjoy the blessed and sweet Company of the Lord Jesus by day and by night , even when Lover and Friend is put far from him ; even then his God is near him , his everlasting Father is with him , his dear Lord and Redeemer , his ●●eet Saviour and loving Husband is with him ; Psal . 25. 15 , 16 , 17. Psal . 102. 17. He will regard ●e prayer of the destitute , and not despise their prayer . He will never leave them , nor forsake them . Yea , He will then speak most comfortably to their poor Souls , Hos . 2. 14. He will speak to their Hearts ; He knows their Souls best in Adversity , and their Souls know him best then : Jesus Christ will then ●hew them his Love , and manifest it unto them , and support them . 3ly , If we would have Communion with God ●n every condition , we must labour to be upright in Heart : Psal . 125. The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon him in truth ; they shall have Communion with him : He loveth truth in the inner parts ; He that walketh uprightly shall dwell in God's tabernacle , and abide in his holy hill , Psal . 15. 1 , 2. God hates Hypocrisie : Oh , the guile and falshood of our hearts , let us bewail it , and cry to God with David , Make my heart sound in thy statutes . 4ly , Be heavenly in heart , be heavenly-minded ; such shall have sweet Communion with God ; such as have their Conversation in Heaven , have converse with God , Phil. 3. 20. We must be very watchful , that the World do not lye too near our hearts , nor lodge too long in our hearts , for that will steal away our hearts from God , and hinder our Communion with him : We must take heed , that our hearts be not at any time over-charged with the Cares of this Life , but let us labour to keep the World and our Hearts asunder ; for those things that are visible and temporal , will darken our sight of God , if we let them into our hearts ; and they will drive God out of our hearts , if we entertain the inordinate love of them . Covetousness is Idolatry , because it sets up the Creature for a God in the Heart ; 1 John 2. 14 , 15. He that loveth the world , the love of the Father is not in him . Keep a strong Watch then against this present evil World , and suffer it not to get into your Hearts , if you will maintain your Communion with God in Christ . 5ly , Be much in the acting of Faith , Love , Hope , Joy in the Lord : Be much in praising God : By the exercises of these graces we enjoy God , and God communicates himself to us . Oh , labour to live in the lively exercise of Faith : Christ dwells in the Heart by Faith ; Eph. 3. 17. Gal. 2. 20. Labour to believe the Love of God in Christ to your Souls , in giving his Son to be a Sin-offering for us : John 3. 16. 2 Cor. 5. 21. And this believing it will warm and enflame your Hearts with Love to God again , and so you may enjoy much sweet Communion with God and Christ ; John 14. 21 , 23. In the Actings of our Love to God we shall meet with more Manifestations of God's Love to us . Where and when we open our Hearts to God and Christ , and give them our Loves , there and then will God and Christ open their Hearts to us , and give us their Loves ; Cant. 1. 2 , 3. & Cant. 7. 10 , 11. There is a mutual Manifestation of Love to each other ; no Love is lost between Christ and his Spouse : If any man open to me , ( saith Christ ) I will come in unto him , and sup with him , and he with me ; Rev. 3. 18. Now , by the exercise of Faith and Love , we open to Christ ; he is always ready to come in : Open your everlasting doors , that the king of glory may come in , Ps . 24. 6ly , Be very watchful : Watch , and keep your hearts with all diligence , Prov. 4. 23. Take heed ; let not the World nor Vain Thoughts lodge there . Take heed of wandring from God ; watch your words , watch your steps ; take heed , grieve not , quench not , resist not the Holy Spirit , for by him God communicates himself to your Souls ; carefully observe all his Motions , and still beg his assistance in all your Duties , and rest upon his Aid , without which you can do nothing . 7ly , And lastly , If we would maintain our Communion with God , ( which is our Heaven upon Earth ) we must look well to our whole Conversation , that that be ordered aright , for to such God will shew his salvation , Psal . 50. 23. God looks for a well-order'd Conversation , a Life order'd by the Rule of his Word , setting narrow Steps to our Feet , looking straight on , not turning aside to the right or left hand , Prov. 4. 25 , 26 , 27. nor wickedly departing from his way , Psal . 18. 21 , 22 , 23. but to be righteons , just , honest , saithful , upright , charitable in all our dealings with Men , and carefully performing all our Duties to GOD and Man in singleness and integrity of Heart . This is a well-order'd Conversation . Also , in our Conversation , we must mind two things : 1. That we have no fellowship with the unfruitful Works of Darkness , Ephes . 5. 11. that is , no more than need ; no intimate Familiarity and Communion with them , lest thereby we lose our Communion with God ; no more Communion with the Wicked than Piety , Charity , and Necessity will allow . Too many have lost Communion with GOD , by their too intimate Communion with the Wicked . Away from me , saith holy David , all ye workers of iniquity . 2. That we break not Fellowship with , nor withdraw Communion from the People of God , from those that bear his Image , although differing from us in some circumstances . In the Communion of Saints we may have Communion with God ; Psal . 16. 2. God is among his People , he walks in them , and dwells in them . Our Love must be not only to those of our own Opinion , but to all Saints and professing Christians , and must hold Communion with all those with whom we may charitably judge , that Christ holds Communion ; were this well minded , it would do much to heal our sad and sinful Breaches ; Heb. 10. 24 , 25. And thus we have seen , how that our looking unto invisible eternal things , especially unto God in Christ , and maintaining our Communion with them , we may be sweetly born up , and comfortably supported under all our Troubles . O Most holy , most merciful , most gracious Lord God , Father Almighty , and my most loving and tender-hearted Father in my most dear and sweet Redeemer Jesus Christ ; I render Thee my most humble and hearty Thanks and Praise , for lengthning my days , and for supporting me with thy Special Goodness , in this poor Work ; for giving me sometimes hours , sometimes half-hours , and sometimes days of some Strength and Ease , between those many sad and painful Distempers upon me , since I began it . And I most humbly beseech thee to write these Truths on my Heart , and keep them there , that by the assistance of thy good Spirit they may be effectual to spiritualize , raise , and fix my poor , cold , dead , carnal Heart upon thy blessed Self in Christ ; and be pleased to vouchsafe me sweet , sensible , and constant Communion with thy self in Christ , for thy Mercies sake , that thereby I may glorifie thee in this my day of thy Visitation , and may be throughly sanctified by , and comfortably supported under all my Troubles . Amen . TO ALL MY Christian Friends IN DARTMOVTH , Or elsewhere ; That desire to know the true state of their never-dying Souls : In order to their making clear and sure their Interest in the Lord Jesus ; Grace and Peace . BEfore I had finish'd the foregoing Treatise , there came to my hands , by God's good Providence , some Papers of very great concernment to all our Souls for Eternity , being the Conclusion of a Discourse by that Eminent , Learned , and Pious Servant of the Lord Jesus , Mr. John Flavel , whose Works praise him , and of whose Presence and Labours , we that knew him by Face or Works , have continual cause to lament our Loss ; which Discourse was from 2 Cor. 13. 5. concerning Self-examination about a Man's Interest in Christ : Which Papers when I viewed and reviewed , I bless God , I felt so much power in the Contents of them , and so much sweetness , that I thought not fit to eat my Morsels alone , but was strongly imprest to make them publick , which here by the consent of his dear Relations , I presume to do , hoping it will awaken those that did hear those close-trying Truths , to be more exact in their trying Work , and may also excite others to due diligence in that so profitable and too much neglected Duty of Self-examination . Those Characters in this will help us against Self-deceiving : Do not read only , but pray earnestly for the Spirit 's help , and do no longer delay this Work , lest thou be cut off before thy Work be done , and what will become of thee then ? That this , with all other Helps to thy Soul in the way to Heaven , may do thee good , is the unfeigned Prayer of thy unfeigned Friend , James Bardwood . The Reverend Author having preached many profitable Sermons on the 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves , whether you be in the Faith , &c. in which he industriously and clearly shewed the necessity of Self-examination , the nature of the Duty consisting in a secret Debate of our eternal estate and conditions within our own Bosoms , wherein the Mind of a man ponders and weighs all that makes for him or against him , in an even Ballance . The Object-matter of this Debate is things eternal , the eternal concernments of his Soul , as likewise the manner of the performance of this Duty , with greatest seriousness and solemnity setting the perfect Law of God before us , and humbly imploring the special Assistance of the Holy Spirit . Men are to debate these two things ; 1st , Whether they are in Christ , or in the state of Nature : a great Question indeed , upon which hang all our Hopes of Heaven , Christ in you the hope of glory , Col. 1. 27. 2dly , If we be in Christ , what condition we are in , whether thriving in Grace , or decaying . In the first of these Questions the painful Author spent many Exercises in the resolving of , in laying down , opening and answering eight several distinct Rules of Tryal of a Saving Interest in Christ , with the several Objections that poor doubting Souls might make against themselves ; things highly worth the publication , as I perceive by some imperfect Notes taken from him , which , because I cannot attain to a more exact Copy of them , I must omit them , the more is the pity : But for the ninth and last Mark , I find more full and perfect , and therefore only offer this one to your consideration , concerning which hear his own words . As to this ninth Mark , of a Saving Interest in Christ , I have this to say , That if the Lord shall clear but this one Tryal , I do not value whatever Objections you have against any of the former : This will undoubtedly speak your Souls Interest in the Lord Jesus , without any more ado ; and as far as the Lord shall clear it to you , you may venture your Souls into Eternity upon it . And therefore try your selves by this , if any of you be sincerely and fully resolved upon full conviction of your sinful and miserable state by Nature , and the answerableness of Christ to all your Wants ; to let go all that hinders the enjoyment of him , and embrace all that furthers the enjoyment of him . You need not make any Doubt or Question after this , Whether Christ be yours , or you be his : Consent is essential to Marriage ; there can be no Spiritual Marriage to Christ , but by consent of the Will. Knowledge is essential to Consent ; he that doth not think and know , cannot consent . If you be therefore consenting and willing to be Christ's upon his own terms , there remains no Doubt whether Christ be yours after that Consent . Hos . 3. 3. Thou shalt be for me , so also will I be for thee . Christ is for vou if you be for him : And when the great Work of Conversion is exprest in Scripture , you find it exprest under the Act of the Wills Consent , in the 110th Psalm 3. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power , in the beauties of holiness , from the womb of the morning : thou hast the dew of thy youth . That is , of thy Spiritual Off-spring ; and this is brought about by consenting to take Christ upon his own terms . But Beloved , don't mistake your selves , I am not about to shuffle over so great a concernment as this is rashly ; I am well aware my own and your Salvation too is carried in the matter I am to discourse , and therefore I resolve , in the Strength of Jesus Christ , to be impartially faithful between God and us , in this great matter . I would not for ten thousand Worlds a word should drop from my Lips , to the ruine of any Soul , nor yet to disturb the Peace of any gracious Soul , and therefore let me explain what I have to say clearly . There are three things of absolute necessity for the gaining of a solid Scriptural Interest in Christ , the two first I hope will pass current with most of us , yet some may stumble there . 1. The first is this : There must of necessity be a full and serious conviction of Sin and Misery without Christ ; there 's not a Soul that comes to him without such a conviction : The Spirit , when he cometh , he shall convince the World of Sin and of Righteousness , John 16. 9. that's the Spirit 's first Work , and 't is fundamental to all his After-works : And therefore you shall find in all the Converts in Scripture , the Lord has been dealing with their Understandings first , to convince them of their sinful and miserable state by nature . And the Lord Jesus professedly tells us , He came not to call the righteous , but sinners , to repentance . Convinced Sinners , not those that think they have Righteousness of their own ; and that the whole have no need of a Physician , but they that are sick : And it must needs be so , that Christ must take his course , because his Commission leads to it ; Isa . 61. 1 , 2. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me , because he hath sent me to preach glad tydings to the meek , to bind up the broken in heart , and proclaim liberty to the captives . These are the persons upon whom Christ is to act the great work of Salvation ; they are said to be such as are bound with the sence of Sin , such as are broken hearted through the sence of their Sin and Misery : And when he invites Men and Women to come to him , see how he doth it , in the 11. Matth. 28. Come unto me all that are weary and heavy laden , and I will give you rest : These are the persons Christ bestows himself upon . So that there must be such a conviction of Sin and Misery by Nature , as leaves us without Hope , without Christ . I don't speak of the degrees of spiritual Trouble , but I take this to be an unquestionable Truth , that so much Conviction as unbottoms the Soul from Self-righteousness and False hopes , is absolutely necessary ; and before this is , there can be no Match between Christ and the Soul. If any man be married to his own Righteousness , Duties , and Performances , that Soul hath nothing to do at all with Christ ; nor can that Soul be married to Christ , for 't is married to the Law , another Husband ; as you may see in the Sixth of the Romans , the Apostle in that Chapter proves to us , that we can have nothing to do with Christ until we are divorced from our own Self-righteousness . That 's the first thing , and this , I hope , the Lord hath wrought upon many that are here before him : The Spirit of Illumination hath been upon us , shewing us what miserable Wretches we were , and struck down the Foundation upon which our Hopes were built before . II. The second thing that is to pass upon every Soul , in order to his Union with Christ , is a full Conviction of the Answerableness and Fulness that is in Jesus Christ , to all the wants and spiritual necessities of the Soul. This you must see , or you will never consent to take Christ for your Lord : Acts 4. 12. Neither is there salvation in any other , for there is none other name given under Heaven , whereby we may be saved . Here 's your Refuge ; Christ , and none but Christ , can answer the Necessities of my poor Soul. I am full of Guilt , and there is no Righteousness but in Christ to justifie me ; I am full of Filth , and there is no Holiness but in Christ to sanctifie me . To this Refuge therefore in Christ , God shuts up every Soul as to his last Hopes : Therefore you find in the 3d of Galat. 23. we are said to be shut up unto the Faith : So that we see no other way in the World to escape Hell , but at this Door , the Lord Jesus . This also , I trust , the Lord hath made evident to so many Souls of you as are in Christ . You see your absolute need of him , and you see in Christ a compleat fulness to answer all the wants of your Souls ; that you are shut up to him , and have not the least hopes hanging upon any other Object besides Christ . Well , that 's the second thing . III. To come to the main , for all these are but previous Works , and may signifie something or nothing ; the third thing that gives an Interest in Christ , is a deliberate Consent to part with all things that hinders the enjoyment of him , and to embrace all things that promote and further the enjoyment of the Lord Jesus . Such a Consent as this is , will put your Salvation quite out of doubt , if there be any in the World , in Christ , 't is the Soul that deliberately consents . Now therefore to open this , remember , 1. First , That here must be a deliberate Consent ; it is not a Work to be done Hand over Head , as we say , rashly , and so to repent afterwards , to retreat , and call back our Consent afterwards ; when we shall meet with something in Religion that we did not look for , there must be a deliberation of the Will. There be many men that hang between willing and unwilling , they do and they do not consent : In some things they can , and in other things they cannot come up to the terms of the Gospel , when the Mind and Judgment of a poor Christian hangs in a doubtful suspence . I would , and I would not ; This I could close with , and That I cannot : Here 's the undoing of Men. And this was the case of Agrippa , Almost thou perswadest me to be a Christian . I could go a great way to be a Christian , but I cannot come off roundly to all the Terms of Jesus Christ : What shall we do in such a case as this is ? Thy Soul sees Sin and Misery upon one side , and Salvation in Christ upon the other side ; willing thou art to suffer a little for him , but there be some things in Religion they cannot come up to . Now if a Man will be a thorough Christian , he must deliberate the Terms , and heartily resolve to embrace all the Terms of the Gospel , that are made necessary to his Salvation by Christ ; it must be a thorough Resolution , exprest in the 119th Psalm , I have sworn , and I will perform it , that I will keep thy righteous judgments . And this is called , a counting of the Cost . Such a Consent as this is absolutely necessary ; and the want of this is the cause of so many Half-christians , which is called , a Cake not turn'd ; which doth but make Hypocrites in Religion . That 's the first thing in Consent , Deliberation in the Judgment , pondering the Terms of Christ throughly . 2. The second thing in this Consent is , that a Christian must heartily resolve to let go all those things that hinder the enjoyment of Jesus Christ , and blessed be he of the Lord , whose will is brought to this , that there is nothing so dear in the World , but he is resolved it shall go ; for I must tell you , Brethren , there be some things of which Christ saith , If ye seek me , let these go their way . So if you seek Christ , there be some things that must go , and some things that may go . Now , those things that are to be parted with in order to the enjoyment of Christ , are of two sorts , first , some things are absolutely necessary to be cast off without any more ado ; and there are some things conditionally necessary to be parted with ; that is , if God's Glory , Truth , and Honour require our parting with them . First . To begin with the first , there are some things absolutely necessary to be renounced without any Conditions ; there must be no Scruple as to these things ; and they are such as these : ( 1. ) First of all , Sinful Self , and all beloved Lusts of our Hearts and Natures : These must be renounced , or we can have nothing to do with Christ : The profitable and pleasant Sins , that are as right Hands and right Eyes , you must part with them , Christians , if you will have Christ , for Christ and Sin cannot reign together . Pray look into Rom. 6. 19 , 20 , 21. and you shall see the necessity of this ; As you have yielded your members servants to uncleanness , so now yield them up to God , as Instruments of Righteousness , unto holiness . You see the absolute necessity of giving Sin a discharg from all further Obedience , or else we cannot be the Servants of the Lord Jesus . Christian , I do not say , when thou receivest Christ , thou shalt never commit a Sin more ; no , no , but that which I mean is this , That thou must from henceforth provide for Sin no more , indulge Sin by the consent of the Will no more ; you must not continue the actings of it deliberately ; you must hate every ●alse way , and the consent of your Wills must be to Christ ; that 's the first thing to be let 〈◊〉 , or you cannot have an interest in the Lord Jesus . ( 2. ) The second thing that is absolutely necessary to be renounced and parted with , in order to an Interest in Christ , is all our own Self-righteousness ; you must let that go too , else Christ and you will never agree : That Idol must down , Self-righteousness must be universally and heartily renounced and abhorred . 'T is plain from Phil. 3. 8 , 9. Yea doubtless , and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all things , and do count them but dung , that I may win Christ , and be found in him , not having my own righteousness . You see Self-righteousness must go to the Dunghil , all our own Duties must be renounced , all natural and acquired gifts must be renounced , never to look at Self in whole or in part , in point of justification ; if you do , you can have nothing to do with the Righteousness of Christ ; Rom. 10. 3. the Jews being ignorant of God's Righteousness , went about to establish their own Righteousness . Here you see a perfect opposition between a Man's establishing his own Righteousness , and getting an interest in Christ . Friends , you must not think of two Righteousnesses , one in Christ , and another in your selves : I will make mention of thy righteousness , even of thine only . Down with all Self-righteousness , or you can have nothing to do with Christ . ( 3. ) The third thing that is to be let go for the Lord Jesus Christ , are all Companions in Sin : How much Delight soever you have formerly had in them , you must henceforth make them no more your delightful chosen Associates . Here 's the parting Point between wicked Men and the Saints of Jesus Christ . I don't speak of Civil Commerce , as Men in the World , there we must have to do with wicked Men , but I speak of chosen delightful Companions in Sin , when 't is an Act of the Will ; 1 Pet. 4. 3 , 4. Wherein they wonder that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot , speaking evil of you . Ay , here 's the breach made , when we come to Christ , between us and the wicked World ; Psal . 15. 4. — and so you shall find in Psal . 119. 63. I am a companion of all them that fear thee . Beloved , Christ requires you to cast off the delightful company of wicked ones ; Christians are a company of themselves , and none but such should be chosen : All my delight is in the Saints , saith David . Whatever Tyes there be , unless it be those of natural and civil Relations , they must not tye us to wicked men , but we must be the Companions of the Servants of Christ , if we will have Christ . Secondly , There are some things that may be let go , or may not ; that is according as God calls , or calls not for them : If the Glory of God shall require it , then we are to part with them ; and these are all Earthly Comforts , if so be they come to be inconsistent with the Truths or Glory of Christ , rather than deny the Truths of Christ ; when his Glory or Enjoyment comes in competition , then Christ requires us to part with them . Such are our estates , when the Glory of the Lord Jesus shall call us to deny them , as the believing Hebrews were . Such are our Liberty , when we cannot keep it without the eclipsing the Honour of the Lord Jesus : Yea , such is also our natural Life , if that be laid in ballance with the Truths of Christ . He would not have his People reckon their Lives dear upon his account ; either I must deny the known Truth , or my Liberty , Life , or Estate must go : And now , if any of these come in competition with Christ , they must all go : Luke 14. 33. Whosoever he be of you , that forsaketh not all that he hath , he cannot be my Disciple . This includes Estate , Liberty , and Life , Now , here is the stick in the case , How far a poor Soul can come up to Christ's Terms , upon this Conditional Necessity . I do not doubt , but there be many Souls in Christ that have many Fears about it , what their Heart will do ; many shaking Fears what they will do in an hour of Temptation ; yet Christ hath the consent of their Hearts , that all shall go ; they will forsake Father , Mother , Wife , Children . Why , Lord , saith a poor Christian , if I cannot enjoy these without the destruction of my poor Soul ; in thy Strength I resolve to follow thee in the deepest paths of Self-denyal , to the last breath . And without this you cannot be Christ's Disciples . My Friends , the Lord Jesus hath set down the Terms , and he will not come lower , and if you cannot come up to his Terms , Christ and you must part , he will not come down for the sake of any man ; therefore consider of those things . Now , he that is contented to part with all , rather than part with Christ , that Soul is for Christ , and Christ is for that Soul. But there is the last thing , and that is , the embracing of all those things that may help you to enjoy Christ : These are deep tryals of the Heart , and therefore it concerns us to make deep searches here . Well then , there be four things that do further a man's Soul in the way to Christ , and are you contented , and that deliberately , Christians , to embrace them all to help you to Christ ? 1. First , Are you contented to embrace and welcome all the Ordinances of God and Duties of Religion , both publick and private , without exception of one of them ? Can you turn your feet to all his Ordinances ? I know some Christians have a Zeal for some Duties , and not for others ; but publick and private Duties , Heart-duties , and Life-duties , all that have the Stamp of Christ's Institution upon them , must be embraced ; as in Psal . 119. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed , when I have respect unto all thy commandments . When you dare not neglect a Duty , but bring a serious Heart to every Duty , if you be Christ's , you must come under the Law of his House . 2. Secondly , Are you contented to embrace all Fatherly Corrections from the hand of God , for the killing of the Remainders of Sin in you ? If you will be for Christ , you must submit to Chrisi's Method : It is in vain to say , If I can travel to Heaven without meeting a Storm in the way , I am willing to go ; thou must be contented with all Afflictions , to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven . Paul could say , in 2 Cor. 12. 10. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities , in persecutions , for Christ's sake , for when I am weak , then am I strong . Ay , that was a high frame ; I will not strain up your Experiences to Paul's ; But , can you consent to endure them ? Can you bear a Rod from God when it is to purge your Corruptions ? Can you bear a Persecution from God , without starting from your Duty ? 3. Thirdly , If you will be Christ's , you must submit to all those means Christ hath appointed , for the mortification of your Corruptions , be they never so hard , Rebukes from GOD , Rebukes from Men , by Afflictions , and by the Word , for the mortification of Sin ? Can you say , Christians , that you are willing to have your Mistakes detected by GOD or Men , your Corruptions discovered , any thing that helps to the pulling up the Roots of Corruption ? Surely thus it must be , if you will be for Christ , all faithful Admonitions , all necessary Afflictions . 4. Fourthly , and lastly , If you will be for Christ , and be his , you must embrace all pains , watchings , and labourings after Holiness , to the end of your days : Holiness will cost a Christian abundance of Labour , but this you must do , or you cannot be Christians . 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having these promises , let us cleanse ourselves from all silthiness of flesh and spirit , perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Here 's the Work of a Christian , cleansing Work and perfecting Work in the fear of God , to the end of our Lives . You must take the pains that other Christians do if you will have Christ for your Portion . Now mark what I say : He that is willing to part with all that hinders the enjoyment of Christ , as sinful Self and righteous Self ; and he that resolves to embrace all things that may help him forward to the enjoyment of Christ , as all the Ordinances of God , all Fatherly correction from the hand of God , all means of mortification from GOD or Men , and all pains for Holiness ; he that is contented with these terms is as surely Christ's as ever was any Soul. I have not made the terms in one point higher than Christ hath made them . And thus I have shewed you Christians what the Terms are , in which you are allowed to enroll your selves in the Catalogue of Christians . And , oh that the Lord would set home this one tryal to the satisfaction of our Souls , then we may say , The Lord is my God , and My beloved is mine , and I am his . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A28197-e1230 1 Joh. 3. 2.