of what beautifull refemblance does a meek foul carried to the meek Lamb of God; who lays, car; Me dinkam meikans ioway in beast, Maria, 18, 19 Lut 20 gar adorning not be that outward accrts g có d, tting the hair and ct wearing at gold or at guts on of apparel, but let it be the tiden ma cé heart, even the ormones of am stand pics Jums, chia the fight ofGod is of great price, Prat 4 Ornam. The goodlie garo or Sirety, wich foold wear everie day; I mean the moderar co or turbulent pattions, the commence of car is at affections and the regulation of car exte tappetites, with refpecto caring, ¿IILE, ping, apparel, recreations ég, al victor ter 100m make very much for poistir a profefors, if they be carried to exces are of tee, y at at ir a difcredit and reproach are they to the wit Faith, which fuffers through their uns mitges, therefore the Agile extors that be adorn themelves, net wiec broidered hair. oc carag, but in modeft apparel, was home at and fobri ay as becometh women prefeting gode 1, 1 Tam. 2. 3. Iream. The indigenicle tire of Chrifiant er 7. at nion be mentained among the Members of Chriftit there be not Charity; if Charity be wanting, all our Religion falls to the ground, and is nothing how big foever our pretentions may be, as the Apostle plainlie tells us, Cor. 13, and alfo Colof, 3, 14. Put on Charity which is the bond of perf. &neft; and that as bove all these things (poken of before, giving Chariz tie the preheminence, 6. Ornam. A ring of precious Pearls & Jewels; bence fays Chrift of His Spouse, Song. 4, 9 Thou haft ravifht my Heart, my Sifter, my Spouse, thou haft ravisht my Heart with one Chain of thy Neck, I will point at fome of thefe precious Jewels that are a part of the Chriftians adorning, SECTION X. 1, "He precious Jewel of Chriftian.contentment, or that hidden Pearl of inward fatisfaction of mind with our Lott and Condition as God car vech it out unto us; difficilia quæ pulchra, the beft things are manie times hardeft to come by ; this is a rich purchafe when poffeft, but O what it costs the Believer to come at the poffeffion of it; the unreas fonable appetite of man, ftill expecteth more than he hath, though he gets more than he expected;few are content with their prefent Lott, though they know not but the next change may be to their rain; the greateft contentment that fome find, is to feed their difcontented mind with the vain hopes of new things, and other things than now they enjoy, but Chriftian that hath the excellent Pearl of true contentment, contentment, bath greater riches than all the imagi Barie contentments, that the Fools Paradife can af ford,for fuch is both the nature of changable things, and alfo the genius of changable Man, that thote changable things can never yeeld folid contentment to his changable mind, for whatever be bis Lott or Condition, be is fill in fluctuation to bave it others wife, as faith Horace, scasenemo quam fibi fortem Aut ratio dederit, aut fors objecerit illi, Contentus vivasássz i, e. So far mens fancies are abus'd, That with their Lott, they're not content Neither that which themselves have choos'd -Nor that which Providence hath fent. And the weaker that the heart of man is, the greaz ter proof is it of the ftrength of the grace of God, to arrive at contentment, bence the Apostle tris umphs in this attainment, Phil.4. (1,12. I have learns ed in whatsoever fate I am, there with to be content &c. but there is fomething to do ere ye come by this Jewel, therefore confider thefe four Conditions of Sale. 1. Condit, Ye must be dissatisfied and mal-contentented with your felves, because ye have taken fo mach carnal contentment in worldlie things;have you not taken inordinat fatisfaction in the embraces of your beautifull Wives; in the fight of your pleas fant pretty little Children; in your wife & wealthy Friends inyour rich Ceffers;in your flourishing Trade; in your honourable Preferments and other worldlie Bleffings; I fay have ye not bleffed your felves in all thefe A thefe as if your bleffednefs did conlift in them to the bazard of neglecting Chrift, and the things that are above, I dare lay at your latter end, when ye will fee this your way your follie; ye will reflect on this with fmall contentment, 2. Condit. For the future refolve on a deniedness to worldlie enjoyments, under the wife confidera tion of their vanity, danger, & uncertainty of them, nil non moriale tenemus, a loose grip of fublunarie contentations, will help us to be the better content with alterations, and (peciallie feeing it is not in our power to impede or avert the changes of our Lott, for no more can we hinder the conftant changes & viciffitudes of the things under the Moon, then we can flop the Moons monthlie motions and courfes, which will obferve her appointed changes whither we will or no. 3 Condit, Make a full unreferved resignation & fubmillion of your all to be at Gods free difpofal; put afubfcribed blank in His hand to fill up or expunge, to alter and change as feemeth good in His Sight; in this cafe a Believer would have nothing to quar rel or carp at, but be obliged to fay under all emer gencies and providences; I have faid to the Lord, do as Thou wilt, therefore I will endeavour to will what Thou doft, who does all things well & wifely. 4. Condit. Be thankfull in all things, and whate ver may be the Revolutions and Changes of your Lott, though to the worse, yet blefs God that it is not fo ill as you deferve; if we were onder the due confideration of our great and grievous guilt, and the Holiness, Juftice and Power of that God we have offended, we would be afraid & afhamed to utter any complaints under the feverett tempo al calamities we meet with, for fill there is reason to lay it is of the Lords mercies we are not consumed, Job 1.21. The Lord gave, and the Lord bath taken away, bied be the Name of the Lord. A fecond precious Jewel, is, the Ipiritual Joy of he Holy Ghoft, that sometimes fo ftrongly perfutes hefpirits of Believers with fenfible fweet ravifhments, that they cannot fully express their joyous en oyment; when they are upon their Self-examinatis ons and when in the light of the Lord they come to ead their Names written in the Book of Life, by be legible characters of fuch and fuch graces in exercife, which are their clear evidences of an affured intereft in Chrift, O bow can they but rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: when they con ider that they were loft and are found again, that hey were far off and are now brought near, that hey were dead but now are alive, how can their Jearts but leap for jy; and berein they fhare of fome rops of the oyl of gladnefs that falls from Heaven, be glorified Saints and Angels there rejoicing over ine Sinner that is converted unto God, Luke 15. 7. lo. And this divine joy is fuch a matchiefs pearl, that he joy of the world is but a contemptible peble in omparifon of it; for the joy of the world is faid to be as the crackling of thorns under a pet that foon affeth away, Ecclef. 7. 6 and, moft liklie will be ollowed with intollerable sorrows that never evaih, as Buchanan fays apud Jepbib. |