The Christian's charter showing the privileges of a believerThe Christian's charter shewing the priviledges of a believer

CHAP. XVII. The last Prerogative Royal.

1. 1Mat. 25.35
2. *Esth. 6. Ver. 1, 10.

I speak this the rather, to encourage you in Gods service. Perhaps thou hast laid out thy self for the Cause of God, and thou seest Providence blows upon it, and thou beginnest to think, it was a desperate venture, all is lost. No: thy Faith and Zeal is recorded, thy Name is taken in Heaven, and God will shortly give thee a public testimonial of honour, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. What a whetstone is this to duty? how should it add oil to the flame of our devotion? thou perhaps hast prayed a great while, and watered this seed with thy tears; be of good comfort, thy tears are not lost, God bottles them as precious wine, and it is not long before he will open his bottle, and this wine which came from the winepress of thy eyes, shall sparkle forth in the sight of men and Angels. Nay, God will not only take notice of what we ⟨p. 208⟩have done for him, but what we would have done. David had an intention to build God an house, and the Lord did interpret it as if he had done it, 1 King. 8.18. Whereas it was in thy heart to build an house unto my Name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart^*. Intentional goodness is recorded, and it shall add to our Crown.

I speak this the rather, to encourage you in Gods service. Perhaps thou hast laid out thy selfe for the Cause of God, and thou seest Providence blows upon it, and thou beginnest to think, it was a desperate venture, all is lost. No: thy Faith and Zeal is recorded, thy Name is taken in Heaven, and God will shortly give thee a publick testimonial of honour, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. What a whetstone is this to duty? how should it adde oyl to the flame of our devotion? thou perhaps hast prayed a great while, and watered this seed with thy teares; be of good comfort, thy tears are not lost, God bottles them as precious wine, and it is not long before he will open his bottle, and this wine which came from the winepresse of thy eyes, shall sparkle forth in the sight of men and Angels. Nay, God will not only take notice of what we ⟨p. 208⟩have done for him, but what we would have done. David had an intention to build God an house, and the Lord did interpret it as if he had done it, 1 King. 8.18. Whereas it was in thy heart to build an house unto my Name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart^*. Intentional goodness is recorded, and it shall adde to our Crown.

1. *1 King. 8.18.

What a good God do we serve! who would ever change such a Master! it were, one would think, enough, that God should give us wages for our work (especially seeing he gave us ability to work;) but that God should applaud us, Well done! Think how sweet it will be to hear such a word from God, how amazing and ravishing, when he shall say openly, These are the servants of the most high God, these are they that have feared an Oath, that have wept in secret for that which it was not in their power to reform; these ⟨p. 209⟩are they that have kept their garments pure, that have valued my favour above life, that did rather choose to honour me then humour men: These are they that were willing to wash off the stains from the face of Religion with their blood, and to make my Crown flourish though it were in their ashes. Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your Lord. Thus shall it be done to them whom God delights to honour.

What a good God do we serve! who would ever change such a Master! it were, one would think, enough, that God should give us wages for our work (especially seeing he gave us ability to work;) but that God should applaud us, Well done! Think how sweet it will be to heare such a word from God, how amazing and ravishing, when he shall say openly, These are the servants of the most high God, these are they that have feared an Oath, that have wept in secret for that which it was not in their power to reform; these ⟨p. 209⟩are they that have kept their garments pure, that have valued my favour above life, that did rather choose to honour me then humour men: These are they that were willing to wash off the staines from the face of Religion with their blood, and to make my Crown flourish though it were in their ashes. Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your Lord. Thus shall it be done to them whom God delights to honour.

These are those glorious things which are to come: I have led you up to the top of the mount, and given you a prospect of Heaven, I have shown it you at the little end of the Perspective; I shall say of this glory of heaven, as once the Queen of Sheba of Solomons pomp and magnificence^*, The half of it hath not been told; the Angels here must be silent.

These are those glorious things which are to come: I have led you up to the top of the mount, and given you a prospect of Heaven, I have shewn it you at the little end of the Perspective; I shall say of this glory of heaven, as once the Queen of Sheba of Solomons pomp and magnificence^*, The half of it hath not been told; the Angels here must be silent.

1. *1 King. 10.7.

CHAP. XVIII. The first Inference drawn from the Proposition.

¹IT shows us what an high valuation and esteem we should set upon the godly.² They are, we see, men greatly in favour with God, as the Angel once proclaimed to Daniel^*. and they are invested with glorious Privileges; they are of an heavenly descent, borne of the Spirit; and they are very […], for they are Heirs of the Kingdom^*. God hath not only laid out some parcels of land, or divided heaven to them, as Canaan was divided to Israel by lot^*. The Tribe of Judah to inhabit in one Country, the Tribe of Reuben, another, ⟨p. 211⟩&c. God, I say, doth not parcel out heaven thus to the Saints, no; heaven is theirs with all its Perquisites, with all its Royalties. There are no enclosures or Land-marks in heaven: There can be no confinement, where every thing is infinite: Oh what an high value and estimate then should be put upon the Saints! they are heirs! How doth the world respect great heirs? What honour then should we give to the godly! [Greek or Hebrew]. They are adopted into all the stately privileges of heaven! It is true, an heir in his young age may be kept short, but how rich is he when he is possessed of the inheritance? how rich shall the Saints be, when God shall pour out of his love, and shall empty all the treasures of glory into them! The Saints are jewels, but their worth and riches, is not known; therefore they are trampled upon by ⟨p. 212⟩the world. It doth not yet appear what they shall be: all things are theirs.

¹IT shews us what an high valuation and esteeme we should set upon the godly.² They are, we see, men greatly in favour with God, as the Angel once proclaimed to Daniel^*. and they are invested with glorious Priviledges; they are of an heavenly descent, borne of the Spirit; and they are very 〈…〉, for they are Heires of the Kingdome^*. God hath not onely laid out some parcels of land, or divided heaven to them, as Canaan was divided to Israel by lot^*. The Tribe of Iudah to inhabit in one Countrey, the Tribe of Reuben, another, ⟨p. 211⟩&c. God, I say, doth not parcel out heaven thus to the Saints, no; heaven is theirs with all its Perquisites, with all its Royalties. There are no enclosures or Land-marks in heaven: There can be no confinement, where every thing is infinite: Oh what an high value and estimate then should be put upon the Saints! they are heirs! How doth the world respect great heirs? What honour then should we give to the godly! 〈non-Latin alphabet〉. They are adopted into all the stately priviledges of heaven! It is true, an heir in his young age may be kept short, but how rich is he when he is possessed of the inheritance? how rich shall the Saints be, when God shall poure out of his love, and shall empty all the treasures of glory into them! The Saints are jewels, but their worth and riches, is not known; therefore they are trampled upon by ⟨p. 212⟩the world. It doth not yet appeare what they shall be: all things are theirs.

1. 1Use 1.
2. 2Informa. 1. Branch
3. *Dan. 9.23.
4. *Jam. 2.5.
5. *Josh. 15

CHAP. XIX. The second Inference drawn from the Proposition.

IT shows us a main difference between the godly and the wicked;¹ the godly man hath all his best things to come, the wicked man hath all his worst things to come: as their way is different, so their end; Thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things^*. The wicked have all their good things here; they have not only what heart can wish, but They have more then heart can wish^*: their worst things are to come: Why, what is to come? the ⟨p. 213⟩Apostle answers, 1 Thes. 1.10. wrath to come. And here I shall briefly show you the wicked mans Charter: which consists in five things.

IT shews us a maine difference between the godly and the wicked;¹ the godly man hath all his best things to come, the wicked man hath all his worst things to come: as their way is different, so their end; Thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things^*. The wicked have all their good things here; they have not only what heart can wish, but They have more then heart can wish^*: their worst things are to come: Why, what is to come? the ⟨p. 213⟩Apostle answers, 1 Thes. 1.10. wrath to come. And here I shall briefly shew you the wicked mans Charter: which consists in five things.

1. 1Inform. 2. Branch
2. *Luk. 16.25.
3. *Ps. 73.7.

§. I.

1. The awakening of Conscience: this §1is to come. Conscience is Gods deputy in the soul, his viceroy; a wicked man doth what he can to unthrone conscience, and put it out of office. Conscience is Gods Echo, and sometimes it is so shrill and clamorous, that the sinner cannot endure the noise, but silenceth conscience, and at last by often sinning, conscience begins to be sleepy and seared; having their conscience seared with an hot iron, 1 Tim. 4.2. this conscience is quiet, but not good, ^*for the dumbness of conscience proceeds from the numbness of it^*: It is with him as with a sick patient, who having a confluence ⟨p. 214⟩of diseases upon him, yet being asleep, is insensible of the pain. The conscience of many a man, is like the body of Dionysius, so gross and corpulent, that though they did thrust needles into his flesh, he felt no pain. Time was when conscience was tender, but by often sinning he is like the Ostrich, that can digest iron; or as it is said of Mithridates, that by often accustoming his body to poison, it never hurt him, but he could live upon it as his food. That sin which was before as the wounding of the eye, now is no more then the cutting of the nail. Well, there is a time coming when this sleepy conscience shall be awakened. Belshazzar was drinking wine in bowls, but there came out fingers on the wall, and his countenance changed^*, there conscience began to be awakened. Conscience is like a looking-glass, if it be foul and dusty, you can see ⟨p. 215⟩nothing in it, but wipe away the dust, and you may see your face in it clearly: there's a time coming, when God will wipe off the dust from the glass of a mans conscience, and he shall see his sins clearly represented. Conscience is like a Lion asleep, when he awakes he roars and tears his prey: when conscience awakes, then it roars upon a sinner, and tears him, as the devil did the man into which he entered; Mark 9.22. he •ent him, and threw him into the fire. When Moses rod was turned into a Serpent, he was afraid, and fled from it; oh what is it when conscience is turned into a Serpent? Conscience is like the Bee, if a man doth well, then conscience gives honey, it speaks comfort; if he do ill, it puts forth a sting: it is called a worm, Mark 9.44. Where the worm never dies. It is like Prometheus's Vulture, it lies ever gnawing: it is Gods blood-hound that pursues a ⟨p. 216⟩man.

1. The awakening of Conscience: this §1is to come. Conscience is Gods deputy in the soul, his viceroy; a wicked man doth what he can to unthrone conscience, and put it out of office. Conscience is Gods Echo, and sometimes it is so shrill and clamourous, that the sinner cannot endure the noise, but silenceth conscience, and at last by often sinning, conscience begins to be sleepy and seared; having their conscience seared with an hot iron, 1 Tim. 4.2. this conscience is quiet, but not good, ^*for the dumbnesse of conscience proceeds from the numbnesse of it^*: It is with him as with a sick patient, who having a confluence ⟨p. 214⟩of diseases upon him, yet being asleep, is insensible of the pain. The conscience of many a man, is like the body of Dionysius, so grosse and corpulent, that though they did thrust needles into his flesh, he felt no paine. Time was when conscience was tender, but by often sinning he is like the Ostrich, that can digest iron; or as it is said of Mithridates, that by often accustoming his body to poyson, it never hurt him, but he could live upon it as his food. That sinne which was before as the wounding of the eye, now is no more then the cutting of the naile. Well, there is a time coming when this sleepy conscience shall be awakened. Belshazzar was drinking wine in bowls, but there came out fingers on the wall, and his countenance changed^*, there conscience began to be awakened. Conscience is like a looking-glasse, if it be foul and dusty, you can see ⟨p. 215⟩nothing in it, but wipe away the dust, and you may see your face in it clearly: there's a time coming, when God will wipe off the dust from the glasse of a mans conscience, and he shall see his sins clearly represented. Conscience is like a Lion asleep, when he awakes he roars and tears his prey: when conscience awakes, then it roars upon a sinner, and tears him, as the devil did the man into which he entred; Mark 9.22. he •ent him, and threw him into the fire. When Moses rod was turned into a Serpent, he was afraid, and fled from it; oh what is it when conscience is turned into a Serpent? Conscience is like the Bee, if a man doth well, then conscience gives honey, it speaks comfort; if he do ill, it puts forth a sting: it is called a worm, Mark 9.44. Where the worm never dies. It is like Prometheus's Vulture, it lies ever gnawing: it is Gods blood-hound that pursues a ⟨p. 216⟩man.

1. *Bernard.
2. *Idèo te plango quia te ipsum non pla•gis. Hierom.
3. *Dan. 5 5

When the Jailer ^*saw the prison-doors open, and as he thought the prisoners were missing, he drew his sword and would have killed himself: when the eye of conscience is opened, and the sinner begins to look about him for his evidences, Faith, Repentance, &c. and sees they are missing, he will be ready to kill himself: a troubled conscience is the first-fruits of hell; and indeed it is a lesser hell. That it is so, appears two ways.

When the Jaylour ^*saw the prison-doors open, and as he thought the prisoners were missing, he drew his sword and would have killed himselfe: when the eye of conscience is opened, and the sinner begins to look about him for his evidences, Faith, Repentance, &c. and sees they are missing, he will be ready to kill himselfe: a troubled conscience is the first-fruits of hell; and indeed it is a lesser hell. That it is so, appears two wayes.

1. *Acts 16.

1. By the suffrage of Scripture, §1Prov. 18.14. A wounded spirit who can bear? a wound in the Name, in the estate, in the body, is sad; but a wound in the conscience, who can bear? especially when the wound can never be healed: for I speak of such as awake in the night of death.

2. By the experience both of good and bad. 1. By the experience of good men: when the storm hath risen ⟨p. 217⟩in their conscience (though afterwards it hath been allayed) yet for the present they have been in the suburbs of hell. David complains of his broken bones^*, he was like a man that had all his bones out of joint. What is the matter? you may see wherein his pain lay, Psal. 51.3. My sin is ever before me; he was in a spiritual agony: it was not the sword threatened, it was not the death of the child, but it was the roarings of his conscience, some of Gods arrows stuck fast there: though God will not damn his children, yet he may send them to hell in this life.

2. By the experience both of good and bad. 1. By the experience of good men: when the storme hath risen ⟨p. 217⟩in their conscience (though afterwards it hath been allayed) yet for the present they have been in the suburbs of hell. David complaines of his broken bones^*, he was like a man that had all his bones out of joynt. What is the matter? you may see wherein his pain lay, Psal. 51.3. My sin is ever before me; he was in a spiritual agony: it was not the sword threatned, it was not the death of the childe, but it was the roarings of his conscience, some of Gods arrows stuck fast there: though God will not damn his children, yet he may send them to hell in this life.

1. *Psal. 51.8