Moses his choice with his eye fixed upon Heaven, discovering the happy condition of…

Again, if upon examining by these arguments ¹you find some comfortable hope that the recompense of reward is yours, what concerns you, but patience to wait for it; and in the mean time to live as those that shall have these things, and labour to dye so?

Again, if upon examining by these arguments ¹you finde some comfortable hope that the recompence of reward is yours, what concerns you, but patience to wait for it; and in the mean time to live as those that shall have these things, and labor to dye so?

1. 110.

First, patiently to wait; St. James says, The Husbandman waits for the precious seed till the harvest ¹come: Though it be precious seed, the Husbandman casts it into the earth, he is not discontent because he hath not harvest next Week, but he is content to let the winter, the frost and snow go over it; and so we must be content to have many troubles between the hope of the reward, and the possession of it. We must work in the vineyard of the Lord, and endure ⟨p. 696⟩the heat of the day, and not expect our penny till night. Mark how the Apostle would have those to walk who have the hope of heaven, Rom. 2. 7. To them, who by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, and eternal life. Great things are to be expected and waited for; If a man have a great venture at Sea, that he expects some mighty profit by, he is content to wait two or three years, because he thinks it will make amends for all: So in your way of merchandizing, if a man go and buy a commodity of five or ten shillings, he lays down present money, but if the commodity come to a great sum of many hundred pounds, he does but give something in earnest, the great pay is to come many months after: so when men will bargain with God for their obedience to have credit and esteem in the world, yea, those men that aspire after the greatest things in the world, these are poor trifling matters, and God gives them presently: but because the Covenant that is between God and Christ, & so between Christ and us, is about great matters, and God intends to reward his people with glorious things eternally in the Heavens, they have but the first-fruits of them for the present, and they must not expect the fullness of them suddenly.