of others, there was fuch a comfortable life in Cap.13. communion with fuch, which made me venture much, and now I have found it made up to the full, yea, half of it was not told to me: Olet us not give occafion to any to go and complain to God, and fay, I heard there was much good to be had in communion with thy people, and thereupon I was content to venture much to enjoy it, and now I finde no fuch thing, I finde nothing but jealoufies, and wranglings, and pride, and as much earthlinefs as before: If you give any occafion to go to God, and to make his moan thus, it will go ill with you; but give occafion to others to blefs God for you: therefore let there be a fweet union among you. It is a promise in Zeph.3. They shall ferve the Lord with one confent, with one shoulder, fo the words are: So every one one of you should fet your felves to ferve the Lord, quickning one anothers fpirits, careful for one anothers good. And when you come together, bring your living ends together: When you lay brands together, you do not lay the dead ends together, they will never kindle, but you lay the living burning ends toge ther, and fo they kindle: And fo when you come together, lay your living ends together, that when you go away, you may fay, I feel my heart warmed, you should never meet together, but that you might blefs God for your meeting, and by this you hall fhew there is a power in this Ordinance of God. It is obfervable, the great ftrength that there is in a civil Ordinance, one would think there should be more in a spiritual Ordinance: How comes it Cap.23. to pass, that two, that it may be a moneth or two before were meer ftrangers, and yet they coming to joyn in marriage, if it be a true joyning, their hearts clofe more together, then to Father or Mother, to their children, that came out of their own bodies, or brother, or fifters that lay in the fame womb, they cannot have their hearts fo knit together, as these two have: From whence comes this? From the vertue of Gods Ordinance; if it were not an Ordinance of God, it could not produce fuch an effect: If marriage, which is an Ordinance of God in civil things, and fo a civil Ordinance, have fuch power to unite the heart, how much more fpiritual Ordinances, and communion, which is the highest Ordinance for uniting the heart? and therefore we fhould look for more then a natural power in it: For people to love one another, and to do good to one another, hath a natural power to unite the heart; But do you look upon this communion as having the greateft power to unite the heart, by vertue of an Ordinance, that fo all who have fuffered never fo much to joyn with you, may fee all recompenced up to the full, and never have a repenting thought for that they have fuffered and ventured. CHAP. CHAP. XXIV. We should fatisfie our felves in communion with the we can. A Gain, another branch of the exhortation is this, if there be fo much good to be had in this communion, labor to fatisfic your felves in it, fo as to take heed of breaking from it; the forTaking the affemblies of the Saints, is made by the Apoftle an argument of Apoftacy, Heb. 10. 25. Not forfaking the affembling our felves together, as the maner of fome is. Do not think to go and make up your comfort with going, and joyning with the world. Certainly, when men that are members of a Church fhall for form come and joyn with Gods people, but their confciences tell them, when they are in the world, their hearts are more content and fatisfied; this is an argument of a carnal heart, that hath dallied with God. It is a difhonor to godly men; as men that are raised to high priviledges, count it a dishonor to company with those that are mean. Those who were free of the City of Rome, were not to be free of any other place. It is enough that we are Citizens of the new Ferufalem, let us fatisfie our felves in this. Godly men, though never fo poor, are to look upon those who are carnal, as bafe and vile, especially to think to take fatisfaction in eating, and drinking, and playing with them, when as there are fuch holy Ordinances, and high priviledges with Gods people, to fatisfic your felves in, and in thofe your hearts X 2 with 307 Cap.24. 6. Cap.24. withdraw from them; Certainly, your hearts must needs be very carnal and fenfual: Can God take it well at thy hands,to go and fhake hands with his enemies ob 8. 20. God will not take the wicked by the hand; so it is in fome of your books; Why then will you Canft thou be in any place where thou feeft God dishonored, and be merry? Certainly, the fight of fin, wherefoever it is committed, should cause horror in the heart, thus it was with David, Pfalm 119.53. Horror hath taken hold upon me, becaufe of the wicked that forfake thy Law: It should make men forbear to come into fuch company where they see fin committed. It is reported of Mezentius the Hetrurian Tyrant, that he devised this torment, to chain a live man, and a dead man together, and fo wherefoever he went, he fhould have the dead man to rot before him, and stink in his noftrils, till he was poysoned with it: Surely this was a great mifery, a moft grievous death: And Gods people fhould count it as great an evil to have filthy dead wretches,that are unfavoury in any thing that is good, to be joyned with them: David prays in Pfal. 26.9. Gather not my foul with finners: Would you not have your fouls gathered with finners hereafter for the prefent take heed of joyning with them. It was the prayer once that I have heard of a good Gentlewoman, when the was to dye, being in much trouble of confcience, O Lord, let me not go to hell where the wicked are, for Lord thou knoweft, I never loved their company. here: She prayed with David, Lord gather not my Soul with finners: If you would have evidence that God will not gather your fouls to finners,but that he will gather them to the godly, labor to fatisfic your Cap. 24. fouls with Gods people. if many Seventhly, if there be fo much good in this way, labor to improve it to the utmost: Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool? This is a great price; had feen the days that we have seen, how would they have bleffed God: what use would they have made of them? Seeing God therefore hath given you this opportunity, improve it: if you have any advantage in your trading, you will improve it. Take heed of fuch things as may hinder that good you may have in communion with the Saints: What are they? What hinders our profiting by the Saints The first thing that I would forewarn Christians of, it is fullenness of spirit, that makes them love folitarinefs rather then communion; and this is amongst many that have true grace: and certainly it commucomes fometimes from abundance of pride, for if nion. they come among others, they think they shall difcover their weakness, and rather then they will difcover their weakness, they will deprive themselves of all that good which they might have. Confider how unfaithfully you deal with God, God hath given you a talent, and you are not to wrap it up in a napkin, but to use it for God. Again, it is a wrong to the Church, for your gifts are not your own, the Church hath an intereft in them, and therefore you are to use them for their good. Again, you do much wrong to the Ordinance of God, when you do prefer the contenting of a pettifh humor, before the Ordinance of God. God threatens it as a judgement, Hofea 4. 16. To feed his people as a Lamb in a large place; that is, to scatter them from the X 3 but fold, |