His will was inflamed by love to Christ; and therefore, all the persuasions, that could be used wrought nothing at all.
Your self-willed people, n.o.body knows what to do with them. We use to say of such, "He will have his own will do all that you can." Indeed to have such a will for heaven, is an admirable advantage to a man that undertaketh a race hither. A man that is resolved, and hath his will fixed, saith, "I will do my best to advantage myself; I will do my worst to hinder my enemies; I will not give out as long as I can stand; I will have it, or I will lose my life." So Job, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." So Jacob, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." "I will, I will, I will!" O this blessed inflamed will for heaven! What is like it? If a man be willing, then any argument shall be matter of encouragement; but if unwilling, then any argument shall give discouragement. This is seen both in saints and sinners; in them that are the children of G.o.d, and also those that are the children of the devil. As,
1. The saints of old, being willing and resolved for heaven, what could stop them? Could fire and f.a.ggot, sword or halter, stinking dungeons, whips, bears, bulls, lions, cruel rackings, stoning, starving, nakedness? In all these things they were more than conquerors, through him that loved them; who had also made them willing in the day of his power.
2. See again, on the other side, the children of the devil, because they are not willing, how many shifts and starting holes they will have. "I have married a wife;" "I have a farm;" "I shall offend my landlord;" "I shall offend my master;" "I shall lose my trading;" "I shall lose my pride, my pleasures;" "I shall be mocked and scoffed,--therefore I dare not come."--"I," saith another, "will stay till I am older, till my children are out, till I am got a little afore-hand in the world; till I have done this, and that, and the other business." But alas! the thing is, they are not willing; for were they but soundly willing, these, and a thousand such as these, would hold them no faster than the cords held Samson when he broke them like burnt flax.
I tell you the will is all; that is one of the chief things which turns the wheel either backwards or forwards; and G.o.d knoweth that full well, and so likewise doth the devil; and therefore they both endeavor very much to strengthen the will of their servants. G.o.d is for making his a willing people to serve him; and the devil doth what he can to possess the will and affection of those that are his with love to sin. And therefore when Christ comes close to the matter, indeed, saith he, "Ye _will not_ come to me." "How often would I have gathered you as a hen doth her chickens; but _ye would not_." The devil had possessed their wills and so long he was sure enough of them.
O therefore cry hard to G.o.d to inflame thy will for heaven and Christ.
Thy will, I say, if that be rightly set for heaven, thou wilt not be beat off with discouragements; and this was the reason that when Jacob wrestled with the angel, though he lost a limb as it were; (for the hollow of his thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him;) yet, saith he, "I _will not_" mark, "I WILL NOT LET THEE GO, EXCEPT THOU BLESS ME." Get thy will tipt with the heavenly grace, and resolution against all discouragements, and then thou goest full speed for heaven; but if thou falter in thy will, and be not sound there, thou wilt run hobbling and halting all the way thou runnest, and also to be sure thou wilt fall short at last. The Lord give thee a will and courage.
Thus have I done with directing thee how to run to the kingdom. Be sure thou keep in memory what I have said unto thee lest thou lose thy way. But because I would have thee think of them, take all in short in this little bit of paper. 1. Get into the way. 2. Then study on it. 3.
Then strip, and lay aside every thing that would hinder. 4. Beware of by-paths. 5. Cry hard to G.o.d for an enlightened heart, and a willing mind;--and G.o.d give thee a prosperous journey?
CHAPTER III.
MOTIVES TO PURSUE THIS HEAVENLY COURSE.
Yet before I do quite take my leave of thee, let me give thee a few motives to take along with thee. It may be they will be as good as a pair of spurs to p.r.i.c.k on thy lumpish heart in this rich journey.
THE FIRST MOTIVE.--Consider there is no way but this: _thou must either win or lose._ If thou winnest, then heaven, G.o.d, Christ, glory, ease, peace, life, yea, life eternal, is thine; thou shalt be made equal to the angels in heaven; thou shalt sorrow no more, sigh no more, feel no more pain; thou shalt be out of the reach of sin, h.e.l.l, death, the devil, the grave, and whatever else may endeavor thy hurt.
But contrariwise, and if thou lose, then thy loss is heaven, glory, G.o.d, Christ, ease, peace, and whatever else tendeth to make eternity comfortable to the saints; besides, thou procurest eternal death, sorrow, pain, blackness and darkness, fellowship with devils, together with the everlasting d.a.m.nation of thy own soul.
THE SECOND MOTIVE.--Consider that this devil, this h.e.l.l, death and d.a.m.nation, follow after thee as hard as they can drive, and have their commission so to do by the law, against which thou hast sinned; and therefore, for the Lord"s sake, make haste!
THE THIRD MOTIVE.--If they seize upon thee before thou get to the city of Refuge, they will put an everlasting stop to thy journey. This also cries, Run for it!
THE FOURTH MOTIVE.--Know also, that now heaven"s gates, the heart of Christ, with his arms, are wide open to receive thee. O methinks that this consideration, that the devil followeth after to destroy, and that Christ standeth open-armed to receive, should make thee reach out and fly with all haste and speed! And therefore,
THE FIFTH MOTIVE.--Keep thine eye upon the prize. Be sure that thy eyes be continually upon the profit thou art like to get.
The reason why men are so apt to faint in their race for heaven, lieth chiefly in either of these two things: They do not seriously consider the worth of the prize; or else if they do, they are afraid it is too good for them. But most lose heaven for want of considering the prize and the worth of it. And therefore, that thou mayst not do the like,
1. Keep thine eye much upon the excellency, the sweetness, the beauty, the comfort, the peace, that is to be had there by those that win the prize. This was that which made the apostle run through any thing!--good report, evil report, persecution, affliction, hunger, nakedness, peril by sea, and peril by land, bonds and imprisonments.
Also it made others endure to be stoned, sawn asunder, to have their eyes bored out with augers, their bodies broiled on gridirons, their tongues cut out of their mouths, to be boiled in cauldrons, thrown to the wild beasts, burned at the stake, whipped at posts, and a thousand other fearful torments; "while they looked not at the things which are seen," (as the things of this world,) "but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." O this word, ETERNAL! it was that made them so firm, that when they might have had deliverance, they would not accept it, for they knew that in the world to come they should have a better resurrection.
2. And do not let the thoughts of the rareness of the place make thee say in thy heart, "This is too good for me;" for I tell thee, heaven is prepared for whosoever will accept of it, and they shall be entertained with hearty good welcome. Consider therefore, that as bad as thou have got thither. Thither, went scrubbed beggarly Lazarus, &c.
Nay, it is prepared for the poor. "Hearken, my beloved brethren,"
saith James; that is, take notice of it, "Hath not G.o.d chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom?" Therefore, take heart, and run, man.
THE SIXTH MOTIVE.--Think much of them that are gone before. First, How really they go into the kingdom. Secondly, How safe they are in the arms of Jesus. Would they be here again for a thousand worlds? Or if they were, would they be afraid that G.o.d would not make them welcome?
Thirdly, What would they judge of thee, if they knew thy heart began to fail thee in thy journey, or thy sins began to allure thee, and to persuade thee to stop thy race? Would they not call thee a thousand fools, and say, "O that he did but see what we see, feel what we feel, and taste of the dainties that we taste of! Oh! if he were one quarter of an hour to behold, to see, to feel, to taste, and enjoy but the thousandth part of what we enjoy, what would he do? what would he suffer? what would he leave undone? Would he favor sin? Would he love this world below? Would he be afraid of friends, or shrink at the most fearful threatenings that the greatest tyrants could invent to give him?" Nay, those who have had but a sight of these things by faith, when they have been as far off from them as heaven from earth, yet they have been able to say with a comfortable and merry heart, as the bird that sings in the spring, that this and more shall not stop them from running to heaven.
Sometimes, when my base heart hath been inclining to this world, and to loiter in my journey towards heaven, the very consideration of the glorious saints and angels in heaven; what they enjoy, and what low thoughts they have of the things of this world together; how they would befool me if they did but know that my heart was drawing back, hath caused me to rush forward, to disdain these poor, low, empty, beggarly things, and to say to my soul, "Come, soul, let us not be weary; let us see what this heaven is; let us even venture all for it, and try if that will quit the cost. Surely Abraham, David, Paul, and the rest of the saints of G.o.d, were as wise as any are now, and yet they lost all for this glorious kingdom. O therefore, throw away sinful l.u.s.ts, follow after righteousness, love the Lord Jesus, devote thyself to his fear;--I"ll warrant thee he will give thee a goodly recompense." Reader, what sayest thou to this? Art thou resolved to follow me? Nay, resolve, if thou canst, to get before me. So run, that ye may obtain.
THE SEVENTH MOTIVE.--To encourage thee a little farther, Set to the work, and when thou hast run thyself down weary, then the Lord Jesus will take thee up, and carry thee. Is not this enough to make any poor soul begin his race? Thou perhaps criest, "Oh! but I am feeble," "I am lame, &c." Well, but Christ hath a bosom: consider, therefore, that when thou hast run thyself down weary, he will put thee in his bosom.
"He shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom; and shall gently lead those that are with young." This is the way that fathers take to encourage their children; saying, Run, sweet babe, until thou art weary, and then I will take thee up and carry thee. "He will gather his lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom."
When they are weary, they shall ride!
THE EIGHTH MOTIVE.--Or else he will convey new strength from heaven into thy soul, which will be as well. "The youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." What shall I say besides, that hath not already been said? Thou shalt have good and easy lodging, good and wholesome diet, the bosom of Christ to lie in, the joys of heaven to feed on. Shall I speak of the satisfaction and of the duration of all these? Verily to describe them to the height is a work too hard for me to do.
CHAPTER IV.
APPLICATION OF THE POINT.
Thus you see I have here spoken something, though but little. Now I shall come to make some use and application of what hath been said, and so conclude.
THE FIRST USE.--You see here, that he that will go to heaven must _run_ for it; yea, and not only run, but "_so_ run;" that is, as I have said, run earnestly, run continually, strip off every thing that would hinder in his race with the rest. Well then do you so run.
1. And now let us examine a little. Art thou got into the right way?
Art thou in Christ"s righteousness? Do not say, "Yes," in thy heart, when, in truth, there is no such matter. It is a dangerous thing, you know, for a man to think he is in the right way, when he is in the wrong. It is the next way for him to lose his way; and not only so, but if he run for heaven, as thou sayest thou dost, even to lose that too. Oh! this is the misery of most men, to persuade themselves that they run right, when they have never one foot in the way! The Lord give thee understanding here, or else thou art undone for ever.
Prithee, soul, search when was it thou turned out of thy sins and righteousness, into the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I say, dost thou see thyself in him? and is he more precious to thee than the whole world? Is thy mind always musing on him? and also to be walking with him? Dost thou count his company more precious than the whole world? Dost thou count all things but poor, lifeless, empty, vain things, without communion with him? Doth his company sweeten all things; and his absence embitter all things? Soul, I beseech thee be serious, and lay it to heart, and do not take things of such weighty concernment as the salvation or d.a.m.nation of thy soul, without good ground.
2. Art thou unladen of the things of this world, as pride, pleasures, profits, l.u.s.ts, vanities? What! dost thou think to run fast enough, with the world, thy sins, and l.u.s.ts, in thy heart? I tell thee, soul, they that have laid all aside, every weight, every sin, and are got into the nimblest posture, they find work enough to run; so to run as to hold out.
To run through all that opposition, all the jostles, all the rubs, over all the stumbling blocks, over all the snares, from all the entanglements that the devil, sin, the world, and their own hearts, lay before them; I tell thee, if thou art going heavenward, thou wilt find it no small or easy matter. Art thou therefore discharged and unladen of these things? Never talk of going to heaven if thou art not. It is to be feared thou wilt be found among the many that "will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
THE SECOND USE.--If so, then in the next place, What will become of them that are grown weary before they are got half way thither? Why, man, it is he that holdeth out to the end that must be saved; it is he that overcometh that shall inherit all things; it is not every one that begins. Agrippa gave a fair step for a sudden: he steps almost into the body of Christ in less than half an hour. "Thou," saith he to Paul, "hast almost persuaded me to be a Christian." Ah! but it was but _almost_; and so he had as good have been never a whit; he stept fair indeed, but yet he stopt short; he was hot while he was at it, but he was quickly out of wind. O this but "almost!" I tell you this but "almost," lost him his soul.
Methinks I have seen sometimes how these poor wretches that get but almost to heaven, how fearfully their "almost," and their "but almost," will torment them in h.e.l.l; when they shall cry out in bitterness of their souls, saying, "Almost a Christian! I was almost got into the kingdom, almost out of the hands of the devil, almost out of my sins, almost from under the curse of G.o.d; almost, and that was all; almost, but not altogether. Oh! that I should be almost to heaven, and should not go quite through!" Friend, it is a sad thing to sit down before we are in heaven, and to grow weary before we come to the place of rest; and if it should be thy case, I am sure thou dost not so run as to obtain. But again,
THE THIRD USE.--In the next place, What then will become of them that some time since were running post-haste to heaven, (insomuch that they seemed to outstrip many,) but now are running as fast back again? Do you think those ever come thither? What! to run back again, back again to sin, to the world, to the devil, back again to the l.u.s.ts of the flesh? Oh! "It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn" (to turn back again) "from the holy commandment." Those men shall not only be d.a.m.ned for sin, but for professing to all the world that sin is better than Christ. For the man that runs back again, doth as good as say, "I have tried Christ, and I have tried sin, and I do not find so much profit in Christ as in sin." I say, this man declareth this, even by his running back again. Oh, sad! What a doom they will have, who were almost at heaven-gates, and then run back again! "If any draw back,"
saith Christ, "my soul shall have no pleasure in him." Again, "No man having put his hand to the plough," (that is, set forward in ways of G.o.d,) "and looking back, (turning back again,) is fit for the kingdom of heaven." And if not fit for the kingdom of heaven, then for certain he must needs be fit for the fire of h.e.l.l. And therefore, saith the apostle, those that bring forth these apostatizing fruits, as briers and thorns, are rejected, being nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Oh! there is never another Christ to save _them_, by bleeding and dying for them! And if they shall not escape that neglect, then how shall they escape, that reject and turn their back upon so great a salvation? And if the righteous, that is, they that run for it, will find work enough to get to heaven, then where will the unG.o.dly backsliding sinner appear? Oh! if Judas the traitor, or Francis Spira the backslider, were but now alive in the world, to whisper these men in the ear a little, and tell them what it hath cost their souls for backsliding, surely it would stick by them, and make them afraid of running back again, so long as they had one day to live in this world!
THE FOURTH USE.--So again, fourthly, How like to those men"s sufferings will those be, that have all this while sat still, and have not so much as set one foot forward to the kingdom of heaven! Surely he that backslideth, and he that sitteth still in sin, are both of one mind; the one will not stir, because he loveth his sins, and the things of this world; the other runs back again, because he loveth his sins, and the things of this world. Is it not one and the same thing?
They are all one here, and shall not one and the same h.e.l.l hold them hereafter? He is an unG.o.dly one that never looked after Christ, and he is an unG.o.dly one that did once look after him, and then ran quite back again: and therefore that word must certainly drop out of the mouth of Christ against them both, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
THE FIFTH USE.--Again, here you may see, in the next place, that if they that will have heaven, must run for it; then this calls aloud to those who began but a while since to run, I say, for them to mend their pace if they intend to win. You know that they which come hindmost, had need run fastest. Friend, I tell thee, that, there be those that have run ten years to thy one, nay, twenty to five, and yet if thou talk with them, sometimes they will say, they doubt but they shall come late enough. How then will it be with thee? Look to it therefore that thou delay no time, not an hour"s time, but part speedily with all, with every thing that is a hindrance to thee in thy journey, and run; yea, and so run that thou mayst obtain!
THE SIXTH USE.--Again, sixthly, You that are old professors, take you heed that the young striplings of Jesus, that began to strip but the other day, do not outrun you, so as to have that scripture fulfilled on you, "The first shall be last, and the last first:" which will be a shame to you, and a credit for them. What! for a young soldier to be more courageous than he that hath been used to wars! To you that are hindermost, I say, strive to outrun them that are before you; and to you that are foremost, I say, hold your ground, and keep before them in faith and love, if possible. For indeed, that is the right running, for one to strive to outrun another; even for the hindermost to endeavor to overtake the foremost; and he that is before should be sure to lay out himself to keep his ground, even to the very utmost.
But then,
THE SEVENTH USE.--Again, How basely do they behave themselves, how unlike they are to win, that think it enough to keep company with the hindmost! There are some men that profess themselves such as run for heaven as well as any; yet if there be but any lazy, slothful, cold, half-hearted professors in the country, they will be sure to take example by them. They think, if they can but keep pace with them they shall do fair; but these do not consider that the hindmost lose the prize. You may know it if you will, that it cost the foolish virgins dear for their coming too late. "They that were ready, went in with him: and the door was shut. Afterward," mark "afterward came the other (the foolish) virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Depart, I know you not." "Depart, lazy professors! slothful professors!"
Oh! methinks the word of G.o.d is so plain for the overthrow of your lazy professors, that it is to be wondered men do not take more notice of it. How was Lot"s wife served for running lazily, and for giving but one look behind her, after the things she left in Sodom? How was Esau served for staying too long before he came for the blessing? And how were they served that are mentioned in the 13th of Luke, for staying till the door was shut? Also the foolish virgins. A heavy after-groan will they give that have thus stayed too long! It turned Lot"s wife into a pillar of salt; it made Esau weep with an exceeding loud and bitter cry; it made Judas hang himself: yea, and it will make thee curse the day in which thou wast born, if thou miss of the kingdom, as thou wilt certainly do, if this be thy course. But,
THE EIGHTH USE.--Again, How, and if thou by thy lazy running should"st not only destroy thyself, but also thereby be the cause of the d.a.m.nation of some others? For thou, being a professor, thou must think that others will take notice of thee; and because thou art but a poor, cold, lazy runner, and one that seeks to drive the world and pleasure along with thee; why, thereby others will think of doing so too.