The crown of righteousness. Set forth in a sermon preached at Stephens Walbrook, May…

4. Branch, let this put spurs to our sluggish hearts, and make us act with all our might for God. What wrestling? What sweating? ^dHow should we [Greek or Hebrew] provoke our selves to holiness? How should we spend, and be spent for Christ, how should we strive to bring in some Crown-revenues to our Lord and Master, when we consider, how infinitely it shall be rewarded. While we are laying out for God, he is laying up for us, henceforth there is a Crown laid up. How should this Crown add wings to prayer, and oil to the flame of our zeal? O Christian let thy head study for Christ, let thy tongue plead for him, let thy hands work for him! What honour & dignity hath been done to Mordecai saith ⟨p. 26⟩King Ahasuerus, Esther. 6. 3. enquire what hath been done for God. Me thinks we should sometimes go aside into our closets and weep, to consider how little work we have done for God. Beloved, what a vast disproportion is there, between our work and our reward;² our sweat and our Crown. And 'tis but a while, a very little while before the Crown shall be put on. The time is short, saith the Apostle. ^eWe are ready to strike sail, we are almost at shore, and then we shall be Crowned. O! improve the present season for the glory of God; The Crown is hard by, you sail apace, work apace; and that I may put spirits into Christians, and quicken their obedience, consider this, the more work you do for God, the bigger Crown you shall wear. There are degrees of glory, ^fhe that with his pound gained five, was made ruler over five Cities; ^*but he that with his pound gained ten, was made ruler over ten Cities. ^gAs one Star differs from another in glory, so one Crown differs from another in glory. If there are degrees of torments in hell, then by the same reason there are degrees of glory in heaven. That there are degrees of torments is evident,