Chris enemies will receive bis Laws, and ufe his Miffengers, and regard his waies and fervants, the moft of the world have experience to their coft. The intereft of the Reth, being contrary to Chrifts intereft, the competition maintaineth a continual conflict. The Word of God doth feem to be againf them: The faithful Minifters that would fave them from their fins, do feem to wrong them, and dral too boldly with them. Were it an Elijah, he would be called, The troubler of Ifrael, and met with an [Haft thou found me O mine enemy] No mea fureof prudence, knowledge, piety, innocency, meeknefs or felf-denyal, will ferve to appease the wrath and displeasure of this carnal enmity. If it would, the Apoffles had efcaped it! or at least it would not have fallen fo furiously upon Chrift himself. Nay, thefe are the oyl that increase the flame. And Satan hath ftill the bellows in his hand: He knoweth that if he can corrupt or win the Commander, he can rout the Army, and ruine them with the greateft scaleb At hath been Satans grand defign, fince the Chriftian name was known on earth, to advance the falfifh intereft of men again the intereft of Chrift; and to entangle the Rulers of the world in fome cause, that Chrift, and his Word, and Servants cangot favour, and fo to make them believe that there is a neceffity on them to watch againft, and fubdue the interest of Chrift. As if it were neceffary that the shore be brought to the boat, and not the boat to the fhore: And that the Physician be brought to the Patients mind, or else deftroyed or ufed as his enemy. I am afraid to speak out the terrible words of God in Scripture, that are against fuch persons, left you thould misunderftand me, and think I mifapply them. But Chrift feareth no man, and hath not spoken his Word in vain, and his Meffengers must be faithful; for he will bear them out; and preventive cautions are easier and fafer than reprehenfive corratives. I will but refer you to the texts, that you may perufe them, Matth. 21.44. Matth. 18.3. 6. Matth. 25. 40, 45. Luke 18.7.Pfal.2. Luke 19.27. Als 9. 4, 5. 17 biff. 2. 15, 16. Read them with fear as the Words of God. Bleffed are thofe Rulers and Na tions of the Earth, that perceive and escape this pernicious inare of the grand deceiver; that with all his fubtilty and indu ftry, endeavoureth to breed quarrels, and sow dissentions between them and the universal King.

The

The more God giveth to the carnal and unwife, the thore they think themselves engaged against him ; because by his commands he seems to take it from them again, by 'croffing the flesh, which would use it only to fulfil its lufts. Like a Dog that fawneth on you till he have his bone; and then fnarleth at you, left you take it from him ; and will fly in your face if you offer to meddle with it. Men readily confefs that they have their wealth from God, because it cannot be denyed, and because they would use the name of God, as a cover to hide their covetoufnefs, and unlawful waies of getting: But if you judge by their fage of it, and their returns to God; you would think that they believed, that they had nothing at all from God, but some injuriess; and that all their benefits and good were from the mfelves. The Turkish and Tartarian Emperour will fay, that all his grandeur and power is from God; that by making it moft Divine, he may procure the more reverence and obedience to himself: But when he bath faid fo for his own intereft, he ufeth the fame power against God and bis intereft; to the banishing of his Word and holy Worship, and the forbidding the preaching of the Golpel of falvations and to the cherishing of tyranny pride and lufi ;ɔɔ As if God had armed them against himfelf, and made his Officers to be his enemies; and gave them power that they might powerfully hinder mens falvation, and made great, to be great opprefforsa 1.4: bas

As a believing Paftor is a Priest that flandeth between God and the people, to mediate under the great Mediatour; to receive from God his Word and Ordinances, and deliver them to the Hocks, and to offer up fupplications in their names to God: So believing Governours of civil Societies of Families, receive from God a power to rule the subjects for their good, and they ufe it to make the fubjects good, that God may be pleafed and honoured by all! And the obedience which they require, is fuch as may be given to God in them. They take power from God to use it for God, and are fo much more excellent than the greatest of ambitious carnal Princes, as the pleafing and honouring of God, is a more excellent defign and work, than the gratifying of fleshly luft, and the advancement of a lump of clay. The Kingdoms of the world would all be

ufed

ufed as the Kingdoms of the Lord, if the everlafting Kingdom were well believed. The families of men would be fanctified as Churches unto God, if the eternal houfe not made with hands, were truly taken for their home, and their trade were to lay up a treafure in Heaven. In Cities and Countries Bret thren would dwell in holy peace, and all concur in honouring God, if once they were made fellow Citizens with the. Saints, and their Burgefhip and converfation were in Heaven,, Epbef. 2.19. Phil. 3. 20, 21...)

6. Refift Temptations as Believers. If you live by Faith, then fight against the world and flesh by Faith. Faith muft be your belmet, and the Word of Faith must be your fhield, Eph. 6. 16. And your victory it felf must be by Faith, 1 Job. 5.4. If Satan, tell the flesh of the preferment, riches, or the pleafures of luft, anfwer him with a believing forefight of Gods Judgement, and the life to come. Never look on the baits of fin alone, but.. ftill look at once on God and, on Eternity: As a juft Judge. will hear both parties fpeak, or fee their evidences before, he will determine: So tell the Tempter, that as you have heard what fleshly allurements can fay, you will fee alfo what the Word of God faith, and take a view of Heaven and Hell, and then you will apfwer him.

7. Rejoyce as Believers. Can Faith fet open the windows of the foul, and no light of heavenly pleafures enter? Can it perufe the Map of the Land of Promife, or fee and tafte the bunch of Grapes, without any fweetness to the foul? That is the trueft Belief of Heaven, which maketh men likeft those that are in Heaven: And what is their charader, work and Portion, but the Joyes of Heavenly Light and Love! Can we believe that we fhall live in Heaven for ever? Can we believe, that very thortly we fhall be there? and not rejoyce in such believing? I know we commonly fay, that the uncertainty of our proper title, is the caufe of all our want of joy: But if that were all, if that were the firft and greatest caufe, and our belief of the promife it felf were lively; we thould at leaft fet: our bearts on Heaven as the most delightful and defirable ftate: and Love would work by more cager defires, and diligent feek ings, till it had reacht affurance, and caft out the hinderances of our joy. How much would a meer Philofopher rejoyce, if

he could find out natural evidence, of fo much as we know by Faith? You may perceive what their content in finding it, would be, by their exceeding pains in fecking. The unwea ried ftudies by day and night, which many of them ufed, with the contempt of the riches and greatness of the world, do tell us how glad they would have been, to have feen but half fo far as we may. If they could but difcover more clearly and certainly, the principles, and elements, and forms of Beings; the nature of fpirits, the causes of motion; the nature and caufe of light and heat; the order, courfe and harmony of the univerfal fyfteme of the world what joyful acclamations would this produce, in the literal ftudious fort of men! what joy then should it be to us, to know by Faith the God that made us; the Creation of the world, the Laws and Promifes of our Creatour, the Myfteries of Redemption and Regeneration; the frame of the new Creature, the entertainment of the fpirits of the juft with Chrift, the Judgement which all the world muft undergo, the work and company which we fhall have hereafter, and the endless joyes which all the fan&tified fhall poffefs in the fight and Love of God for ever? How bleffed an invention would it be, if all the world could be brought again to the ufe of one univerfal language? Or if all the Churches could be perfectly reconciled, how joyful would the Author of fo great a work be? fhould we not then rejoyce who forcfee by Faith, a far more perfect union, and confent, than ever mult be expected here on earth..

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Alas, the ordinary lowness of our Comforts doth tell us, that our Faith is very fmall! I fay not fo much [The forrows of a doubting beart] as the little joy which we have in the forethoughts of Heaven, when our title feemeth not much doubt. ful to us: For thofe forrows fhew, that fuch effeem it a joyful place, and would rejoyce, if their title were but cleared: Buc. when we have neither the forrow or folicitoufnels, of the afficted foul, nor yet the joy which is any whit fuitable to the belief of fuch everlafting joyes, we may know what to judge of fuch an uneffectual belief; at beft, it is very low and feeble. It is a joy unpeakable, and full of glory, which unfeen things fhould caufe in a Believer, 1 Pet. 1. 6, 7, 8. Because it is an exseeding eternal weight of glory, which he believeth, 2 Cor. 4.

17,18,

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8. Finally,

8. Finally, Learn to Die alfo as Believers. The life of Faith muft bring you to the very entrance into glory: where one doth end, the other begins. As our dark life in the womb by nutriment from the Mother, continueth till our paffage into the open world. You would die in the womb, if Faith fhould ceafe, before it bring you to full intuition and fruition, Heb. 11.22. By fanb Jofeph when he died made mention of the departing of the children of Ifrael. Jofepbs faith did not die before him, Heb. 11. 3. These all died in faith, confeffing that they were frangers and pilgrims on the earth, and declaring that they fought a better Country. They that live by faith, muft die in faith; yea and die by faith too. Faith muft fetch in their dying comforts. And O how ful, and how near a treasure hath it to go to? To die to this world, is to be born into another. Beggars are beft when they are abroad. The travail of the ungodly is better to them than their home. But the Believers home is fo much better than his travail, that he hath little caufe to be afraid of coming to his Journeys end; but should rather every Rep cry out, O when thall I be at home with Chrift! Is it Earth or Heaven that you have prayed for, and laboured for, and waited, and suffered for till now? And doth he indeed pray, and labour, and suffer for Heaven, who would not come thither action of lo

It is Faith which overcometh the world and the Beth, which muft alfo overcome the fears of death; and can look with boldness into the loathfome grave, and can triumph over both as victorious through Chrift "It is Faith which can "fay, [Go forth O my foul; départ in peace: Thy courfe is, "finished: Thy warfare is accomplished! The day of triumph

is now at hand: Thy patience hath no longer work: Go "forth with joy: The morning of thy endless joyes is near. "and the night of fears and darkness at an end. Thy terrible "dreams are ending in eternal pleafures: The glorious light " will banish all thy dreadful specters, and refolve all thofe "doubts which were bred and cherished in the dark: They “whose employment is their wearine and toil, do take the "night of darkness and cellation for their reff: But this is thy "weariness: Defed of adion is thy toil; and thy most grie"vous labour is to do too little work: And thy unceffant

"Vifion,