The law and equity of the gospel, or, The goodness of our Lord as a legislator delivered first from the pulpit in two plain sermons, and now repeated from the press with others tending to the same end ... by Thomas Pierce ...

THE Excellent Nature OF THE INQUIRY.

MARK X. 17.

And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one Running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do, that I may Inhe∣rit Aeternal Life?

§ 1. HAving done with the Person who here Inquires, and dismiss't the Three Lessons arising thence, together with the Reasons on which those Lessons were chiefly Grounded; I am in order to proceed to the second General observation, The ex∣cellent Nature of his Inquiry; which was not

carnal and temporal, but wholly spiritual and eternal. He did not ask as an ordinary Youth, what he should do that he might compass the greatest measure of Sensuality? nor as an ordinary Worldling or man of Wealth, what he should do that he might purchase the greatest Treasure of Gold and Silver? nor as an or∣dinary Ruler, what he should do that he might climb to the highest Honour upon Earth? But casting These Things as it were behind his Back, or treading them down under his Feet, he was intent upon Inquiring, as no ordinary Christian, (even before Christianity had got its Name,) what he should do to get an interest and share in Heaven? How much soever he did abound in the things that are seen, which are temporal; He wholly direct∣ed his Ambition to the things that are not seen, which are Eternal. As the faster he ran to salute his Master, by so much the better he was in Breath; so the Lower he kneeled down, he lifted his Thoughts so much the Higher. Being mounted on the wings of an holy Zeal, His Soul had now taken a nobler Flight, than to Pearch upon any thing on this side Heaven. As if he had lost the consideration of all his

Secular Concernments, such as Houses and Lands, Goods and good Name, Wife and Chil∣dren, if he had any, and other things here below, All the subject of his Inquiry was, what he should do that he might be sav'd? not only saved in the negative, but in the positive sense of that word. Not only so as to be rescued from a Bottomless Lake of Fire and Brimstone; But also so as to be drown'd or swallowed up, in a Boundless Ocean of Bliss and Glory. Nothing would satisfie him but Life; and no other Life than one Eternal. [Good Master, what shall I do, that I may Inherit Eternal Life?]

§ 2. From him therefore let us learn, how to regulate our Ambitions, and where to fasten our wild Desires. We ought to tread upon the Glories of such a World as This is, (which besides that 'tis a perishing and fading World, is also the Instrument of Satan where∣by to betray us to our Destruction,) and level the Gaspings of our Souls at Things Invisible and Future, Things expressed to us in Scrip∣ture, by a City having Foundations, Heb. 11. 10. and by a Kingdom which cannot be moved, Heb. 12. 28. and here in this Text, by Aeter∣nal

Life. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 was St. Paul's Precept to his Colossians, Set and settle your affections on things above; And that for this Reason, because your Christ is there sitting at the right hand of God. Set them not upon the Earth, For Iesus Christ is not here, but is long since Risen, (as the Angel once said to his weak Disciples.) And if we are risen together with Christ, let's make it appear that we are Risen, by our seeking those things that are above. Since we were born out of due time to in∣joy the wish of St. Austin, by seeing our Savi∣our in the Flesh; let us look for him where he is, and at least behold him in the Spirit. Since (I say) we were not living when Christ was Conversant upon Earth, Let us redeem the whole Time by a Ghostly Conversation with Christ in Heaven. He who desires in Curio∣sity to see the Pope, or the King of Spain, and all the Rarities to be met with throughout their Countries, will inquire (as he is going) which is the ready way thither; and (Infor∣mation being given) will be sure to take the way which leads to Italy, or Castile; not that which will carry him either to Muscovy, or Poland. After the very same manner, but

with a greater force of reason, if we desire either in kindness, or in a Religious Curiosity, to have a sight of the New Ierusalem, praepa∣red as a Bride adorned for her Husband, of which we hear such strange things from the Traunce and Rapture of St. Paul, as well as from St. Iohn in his Revelations, where for want of a better and a more lively way of Comparison, he is contented to express that holy City by things so cheap and so homely, as Gold, and Crystal, and Pearl, and Saphir, and Emerald, Chalcedony and Iaspar, Sardo∣nyx and Chrysolite, Sardius and Topaz, Ame∣thyst and Iacinth, A River of Life and Immor∣tality, planted round and beset with Trees of Health as well as Pleasure, and shin'd up∣on by the Lustre (not of such obscure things as Sun and Moon, but) of God and the Lamb, (in comparison with whom the Sun and Moon are nothing more, than as a Cou∣ple of Black Spots in the Face of Heaven,) which though the Richest hypotyposis St. Iohn could make of his Vision, and exceedingly beyond the goodliest Things that are visible in the beautifullest parts of the neather world, are yet incomparably short of that New Ieru∣salem

which is above; If we long to be ful∣filling our double Heat and Curiosity, the one proceeding from our Youthfulness, and the other from our Devotion, by an immediate conversation with Adam and Eve, and righ∣teous Abel, in a pleasanter Paradise than that of Eden; by keeping Company with Noah, in a safer Ark; with Caleb and Ioshua, in a better Canaan; with David and Samuel, in a diviner Sion, than that wherein they de∣lighted whilst they were sojourning here be∣low; If we desire to see Lazarus in Abraham's Bosom, or in what kind of Robes of Bliss and Glory that noble Army of Martyrs is now ap∣parell'd, of whom the world was not worthy, when they wander'd about in Sheep-Skins and Goat-Skins, in Dens and Desarts, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, not because they could not reach, but would not accept of a Deliverance, to the end they might obtain by so much a better Resurrection: Or if we de∣sire to be recovering what we so many years have lost, our dear deceased Friends and Pa∣rents, or would converse with those Children, and Children's Children, which (by a Succes∣sion of Generations) will descend from our

Bodies when we shall be gather'd to our Fa∣thers; If we do long to be acquainted with those obliging and friendly Spirits, whom we deservedly revere as our Guardian Angels, (to whom the Custody and Conduct of our par∣ticular Persons is peculiarly committed by God Almighty;) and would receive their meanings whilst we communicate our own; not by Language, but Intuition, without the deceitful and poor Assistance of such articulate and successive Discourse as Ours; Or if we would be able to read all Hearts without the detecting of any Secrets, because in a place not to be habited by Shame, or Envy, or private Interest; If we think it a fine thing to have the wings of a Cherub (not only of a Dove, which was the subject of David's wish) and to be mounted by those wings to such an exalted kind of Zenith, or height of Bliss, as shall lift up our Souls above our glorified Bodies; whence looking down upon the Sun, as a thing exceedingly below us, we shall discern the very Epicycle, by which he moves slowly from West to East, even whilst he moves swiftly from East to West, and comprehend all Truths, without the Mother∣hood,

and Pregnancy of such a dull thing as Time, (which yet is the swiftest-wing'd Flyer on this side Heaven,) by grasping all things at once, not one thing first, and then another: In a word (not to be endless in this beginning of my Discourse) if we inwardly do pant and even gasp after a Day, when fulfilling at once the Appetites of Grace and good Na∣ture, we shall be able to conceive, and hear, and see, what neither Eye hath seen, nor Ear heard, nor hath ever enter'd into the Heart of man to conceive; when we shall not only see, but tast of Bliss; nor only tast, but be filled with it; nor only fill'd, but overflown; nor only over∣flown, but swallow'd up too; when we shall drink, and drink deep of the Waters of Joy, and of such pure Ioy, as shall not be mingl'd with any Drop either of Sorrow, or Interrup∣tion; when we shall be as 'twere inebriated with the plenteousness of God's house (as the Psalmist in his Rapture was bold to speak) by drinking of it as out of a River; Or (to express it in plainer Terms) when our Glory shall be greater than the greatest Ambition of our Desires, and our Ioys far more than our hearts can hold; when we shall be giddy (as

'twere) with happiness, and drown'd in plea∣sures; shall have Raptures, and Transports, and Exiliencies of Spirit, more than Da∣vid himself in his sacred Ecstasie, by which was drawn from him that strange expression; And very much greater than that of Esa, when being cast into a Traunce, he did pre∣sentiate to himself the last and general Resur∣rection, with an [Awake and sing ye that dwell in the Dust;] when we whose Heads do now ake in comprehending and grasping the shal∣lowest things, shall happily loose all our Doubt∣ings into the clearest Demonstration, our Con∣jectures into Assurance, our Expectations into Injoyment, and Faith it self into Experience; when the three Triads of holy Orders which make up the Hierarchy of Heaven, of which it is said by the Prophet Daniel, A fiery stream is∣sued out, and came forth from before him, Thou∣sand Thousands ministred unto him, ten Thousand times ten Thousand stood before him, (Dan. 7. 10.) shall open those Books whereout the Dead are to be judged (Rev. 20. 12.) And when with them the holy Elders, casting their Crowns before the Throne of him that liveth for ever and ever, (Rev. 4. 10.) shall all salute us, and bid us welcome

into the Ravishing Converse of those Glori∣ous Courtiers; when that Life, and that Eter∣nity, which in my Text are inquired after, shall not only present themselves with their Retinue and Attendants unto the Faculties of our Souls, but shall withal take up their Lodgings in our glorified Bodies: If, I say, we are desirous to injoy a great deal more than we are here ever able to ask or think, even all that we can, and that we cannot ima∣gin; And would meet with all That in the very Life, whereof the Word of God hath given us but a very faint Picture: Then whilst others, like Martha, are busying them∣selves about many things, let us apply our selves (with Mary) to the one thing that is needful: Let us make it the very Centre of all our Projects and Designs: Let our Studies and Disputes, our Aims and Ambitions, our Controversies and Questions end all in This, [Which is the way to the New Ierusalem? And what shall we do to be walking in it? Which is the way to escape a Hell? And what must we do to obtain a Heaven?] For this is certainly the Scope of the young man's Inquiry we have in hand, What shall I do, that I may Inherit Aeternal Life?

§. 3. All the Kingdoms of the Earth can neither satisfie, nor justifie all our Appetites and Desires. But the Kingdom of Heaven (expressed here by eternal life) will be sure to do Both. For if we are Covetous, Here are Riches to make it lawful. If we are A∣morous, Here is Beauty to make it Vertuous. If we are Ambitious, Here is Glory to make it Good. For we must know that our Affecti∣ons receive their Guilt, or Vitiosity, not from their strength, but from their blindness, when they are either double-sighted, and look a∣squint; or else are short-sighted, and cannot see a far off; they embrace those things for fair or pleasant, which (like Ixion's watery Iuno) do only mock them with their Injoy∣ment. Whereas were our Affections so Ea∣gle-sighted, as to see through the Creatures, discerning Happiness in its Hypostasis, and flying at it where it is, our only fault would then be This, That our Ambition is too low, and our Avarice too little, and that we are not Amorous enough. For they are poor-spiri∣ted persons, of thick Heads and narrow Hearts, whose thoughts are groveling upon the Crea∣ture, and aspiring to nothing but what is

Finite. It is an impotent Ambition, a feeble Avarice, and a very flat Love, which makes a stoop at such low Trifles, as Crowns and King∣doms here on Earth. He alone is of a Noble and erected mind, who can say, and say hear∣tily, (with Christ to Pilate,) his Kingdom is not of this World. Alas the Kingdoms here Below are less than Grass-Hoppers, to the very least Mansion in the Kingdom of Heaven. Nor are they genuine, but degenerate and bastard Eagles, which will greedily catch at such lit∣tle Flies. The Soul of man was created for the highest Purposes and Ends. And there∣fore we may not only be lawfully, but even dutifully ambitious, provided our Ambitions are great enough, and every whit as high as our Soul's Extraction: we are not only permit∣ted, but even obliged to be Covetous, upon condition that it be but of solid Riches, which are not liable to Plunder, or to impairment. We ought in Conscience to be inamour'd, if it be of real Beauty, and not of that which de∣pends upon human Fansie; not of handsome Dirt, or well-complexion'd Clay; not of Beau∣ty so call'd, whose Foundation is in the Dirt, which saith to Corruption, Thou art my

Father, and to the Worm, Thou art my Mo∣ther. But if we choose a right object, like the Spouse in the Canticles, we shall never be so well, as when (with that Spouse) sick of Love. For our Bowels ought to yern after the Bridegroom of our Souls; we ought to pant after Goodness, and (in the phrase of E∣spensaeus) to languish after him who is the Fountain of that Goodness, and so to thirst after that Fountain, as never to be satisfied 'till swallow'd up. In this one sense the Ita∣lian Proverb is to be verified, Bello fin fà chi ben amando muore. He makes a good end that dyes a Lover; to wit a Lover of Him, who is the great Lover of Souls. We should not vouchsafe to love our selves, unless be∣cause we love Him, or because he loves us, the only measure of loving whom is to love him without measure.

§ 4. Seeing therefore we have met with an easy way, whereby to bridle a Passion, and at the same time to let it loose; how at once we may abjure, and yet injoy our Sen∣suality; or (to speak more exactly,) how 'tis the Duty of a Christian, not to evacuate, not to invalidate, not to extenuate his Af∣fections,

but only to regulate and to direct them, to place them there where true Injoy∣ment is to be found; let no man say within himself, what shall I do to get a Fortune, to raise a Family, to erect a Temple unto Fame? what shall I do to be a man of this World of some Authority and Power, able to mis∣chief or to oblige, to beat down mine Ene∣mies, and raise my Friends? what shall I do to be a man of great Knowledge, a fa∣mous Chymist, an exact Mathematician, a remarkable Lawyer, or an eminent Divine? (for the best of These Inquiries has some∣thing in it of Carnality;) But let every man say within Himself, [what shall I do to get an Interest in Jesus Christ? and to be sure I am a Member, not only of his Visible, but of his Mystical Body? what shall I do for a Demonstration, that my Faith is truly such as does work by Love? and that it does work by such a Love, as does bring forth obedi∣ence to the Commandments of Christ? And such a kind of obedience, as Christ will gra∣ciously accept? what shall I do that I may repent? and repent in such a manner, as to bring forth fruits meet for Repentance? what

shall I do to see the secrets of my Heart? and to know by some Token which will not fail me, whether the Good which I do is well enough done? (I mean well enough to deserve Acceptance.) What shall I do whereby to work out mine own Salvation, and yet for all that to serve my God without fear all the days of my life? what shall I do whereby to make my Election sure, and to make my self sure of my Election, so as to be able to say in Truth with St. Paul, Henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness? what shall I do, or what shall I not do, or what shall I suffer either for doing or not doing, that by distress, or per∣secution, by nakedness, or famin, by peril, or sword, by banishment, or bonds, by sickness, or death, by any means whatsoever, (how∣ever troublesom, or costly, or any way terrible to the Flesh,) I may but finally inherit eternal Life?

§ 5. But now how little there is to be found of real and solid Christianity, even in that part of Christendom where Christ and his Gospel are always preach't, (least of all amongst Them who are the great Monopolizers of Life Aeternal,) 'twill not be difficult to guess by

the solemn Theme of their Inquiries, what shall we eat? and what shall we drink? and wherewithal shall we be cloath'd? which shews the Zeal and the Devotion wherewith they Sacrifice to the Flesh. And therefore well said our Saviour (to shew the Religion such men are of) After all these things do the Gen∣tiles seek, (Matth. 6. 25) Thereby intima∣ting unto us, That Christians must seek for diviner things, than such as perish in the u∣sing; for in the seeking of such as these, they do not differ from the Gentiles who know not God. And yet if we look upon those Pro∣fessors who do pretend to an Inclosure of all the good things in Heaven, we may observe them still inclosing as many good things as they can on Earth too. It is enough for poor Lazarus, to have his Good things hereafter; And enough for Rich Dives, to have his pro∣portion of Good things here; But the good men I speak of will needs be happier than Lazarus, and yet much richer than Dives too. They will have their good things, as well in this, as another World. All the subject of their Inquiry, is not how to be better than other men, in Acts of Iustice, and Works of

Mercy, But how to be greater and more re∣garded, which is call'd a being better in point of Quality, and Degree. And after these very things do the Gentiles seek; They of Iava and the Molucco's, They of Tartary, and China; whether as greedily as Christians, I cannot tell. But our Saviour spake only of Food and Rayment, as of things which the Gentiles are wont to seek. And well it were for Real Christians, if Nominal Christians would seek no more. If Food and Rayment would serve the turn, Christians then (like other Creatures) might quietly live by one another. But it seems they have no more than the Name of Christians, who chiefly seek (with the Gentiles) the low concernments of the Flesh. For as many as are Christians in very good earnest, will bestow themselves in seeking the Kingdom of God, and the Righte∣ousness thereof, supposing such things as These will be added to the rest as a good Appendix. Man not living by Bread alone, as our Savi∣our said to Satan, but by bread as it is bles∣sed by the good Word of God. Nor indeed is he worthy to live by Bread, who is not able to live without it; who is not able to subsist

upon better things. When we reckon Food and Rayment among the Necessaries of Life, (which we do with good reason) we only speak of such a painful and dying life, as is not worthy our caring for, unless in order to life Aeternal. And for the nourishing of That, the very famishing of the Body may pass for food unto the Soul. From all which toge∣ther it seems to follow, That they who ar∣rogate to themselves, not only the greatest both Faith and Hope, but the perfectest As∣surance of life Aeternal, do prove themselves (unaware) the greatest Infidels in the World; whilst neglecting the grand Inquiry they ought to make after Heaven, they let the Tide of their Affections run out wholly upon the Earth. For did they really look for a Day of Iudgment, as much as they do for an Hour of Death, they would as certainly pro∣vide against the one, as commonly they do against the other. They would take as much Care to be just, and honest, as univer∣sally they do to be rich or healthful. And make as much of their Souls by Mortification and Self-denial, as now they do of their Bo∣dies by a plentiful Injoyment of Creature-Comforts.

'Tis true indeed; Life Aeternal is a thing which is quickly talk't of; nor are there any so uncivil, as not to afford it a friendly mention. It is no hard thing to be another mans flatterer, much less is it difficult to be ones own. To be secure and praesump∣tuous, is cheap, and easy. Yea, 'tis pleasant to flesh and blood, to be carnally set free from that fear and trembling, wherewith a man is to work out his own Salvation. Thence it is that we abound with such an Herd of Fiduciaries and Solifidians; who having per∣suaded themselves to fancy, that Life Eternal is a thing which cannot possibly escape them, and that all the next world is irresistibly their own; They think they have nothing to do in This, but to make a Trial, whether it hath not been decreed, that all shall be theirs that they can get; and whether it hath not been decreed, that they shall get all they try for; and whether it hath not been decreed, that they shall try to get All. When men are season'd with such a Principle, they cannot think it concerns them to give all Diligence, for the making of their Calling and Election sure, by ceasing to do evil, and by learning to

do well; or by adding to Faith, Vertue, and one Vertue unto another. But supposing their Election so sure already, as to be pass't the possibility of being miss't; It is natural for them to give all diligence, to make them∣selves sure of somewhat else. For (let them say what they will, and let them think what they please, and let them do what they can,) they cannot possibly give diligence to seek a thing in their possession, or to secure what they believe it is impossible for them to lose. No man living will light a Candle, to look a∣bout for those Eyes which he believes are in his Head; nor will he search after his head, which is (he doubts not) upon his shoulders. Our Saviour's two Parables of the lost Sheep and the lost Groat, cannot but seem an arrant Iargon unto a man of such Principles as now I speak of. For will He send about the Country, to find a Sheep which is in his Fold? or sweep the House for a Groat which he prae∣sumes is in his Pocket? No, being poyson'd with an opinion, that he was justified from E∣ternity, and hath Grace irresistible, and there∣fore cannot fall totally, much less finally from Grace; he will esteem it a thing imperti∣nent

for a man of his Talents, to be so anxious as to Inquire, what Good things he ought to do, that he may inherit Eternal Life.

§ 6. The great unhappiness of it is, (what I am sorry I have reason to believe I say tru∣ly,) That there are few Congregations, wherein there are not such Professors as now I speak of; who as long as fermented with such a Leven, cannot possibly be profited by all our Preaching. And therefore They (a∣bove others) must be inform'd, That by the Nature of our Inquiries, we ought to try (as by a Touchstone) of what sort we are; whether Silver, or Alchymy; whether true and solid Gold, or but polished Iron with double Gilt. By this we may explore, from whence we came, and whither 'tis that we are going; of whom we are, and whom we are for. For that Saying of our Saviour, Matth. 24. 28. which historically refers to the Roman Army, Wheresoever the Carkass is, there the Ea∣gles will be gathered together; must needs be applicable and true in This sense also, which is our Saviour's own Sense, Luke 12. 34. Where your Treasure is, there your Heart will be

also. From whence it follows unavoidably, That if we are men of another world, and have our Treasure laid up in Heaven; we shall behave our selves as Pilgrims and perfect So∣journers here on Earth. We shall be com∣monly looking Upwards, with our Backs up∣on Egypt, and our Faces towards Canaan. Our Souls will be athirst for God, (Psal. 42. 1, 2, 3.) our Hearts will pant after E∣ternity, as the Hart panteth after the Water-Brooks; crying out with holy David in an Exiliency of Spirit, O when shall we appear before the Presence of God? How low soever both our Bodies and Fortunes are, our Con∣versation will be above. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, &c. we shall behave our selves as men who are free of God's City. Our Hearts will ever∣more be There, unless our Treasure is some∣where else. If the Kingdom of Heaven is that Pearl of great Price, to which our Lord in his Parable thought fit to liken it, And if we are those Merchants that traffick for it, we cannot choose but be busy in our Inquiries af∣ter the Price; still resolving upon the Pur∣chase at any Rate that can be ask't; and ever asking what we shall give, or (as here) what

we shall do, that we may any ways inherit Eter∣nal Life. So it follows again on the other side, That if we are commonly looking downwards, and behave our selves here as men at home, as if we did not intend any farther Iourney; If the Burden of our In∣quiries is such as This, [What shall we do to live long upon the Earth, and not see the Grave? or what shall we do to escape going to Heaven, 'till such time as we are pass't the pleasant Injoyments of the Earth? how shall we put the evil Day afar off? how shall we be saved without Repentance, or repent without Amendment, or amend no more than will serve our turn? what shall we do to be good e∣nough, and yet no better than needs we must? what shall we do to serve two Masters, and reconcile the two Kingdoms of God and Mammon? and so confute what is said by our blessed Saviour in the Sixteenth of St. Luke? what for a Religion wherein to live with most pleasure, and one to dye in with greatest safety? what shall we do to live the Life of the sensual'st Epicure, and yet at last dye the Death of the strictest Saint?] If, I say, our Affections are clinging thus unto the Earth,

It is an absolute Demonstration that all our Treasure is here below, and that we are men of the present world, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds; For our Savi∣our's famous Rule is at once of universal and endless Truth, Wheresoever the Carkass is, there the Eagles will be gathered together; wheresoever our Treasure is, there our Hearts will be also. And whither our Hearts are gone before, (the Case is evident and clear) our Tongues and our Actions will follow af∣ter.

§ 7. Now since these are the Inquiries of several Seekers; to wit of Them who do affect to dwell here, and of them that look out for a better Country, that is an heavenly; And since we may judge by their Inquiries, to which kind of Master they do belong, to God, or Mammon; 'Tis plain the Lesson or the Use we are to take from it is This, that when we find our selves beset with a twofold evil, the one of Sin, and the other of Affliction, (in so much as we know not which way to turn, there being on the right hand a fear of Beggery or Disgrace, and on the left hand a fear of Hell,) when (I say) we are re∣duced

to such an hard pinch of our Affairs, we must not carnally cast about, and tacitly say within our selves, [what shall we do to keep our Livelyhoods? or what shall we do to hold fast our Lives?] But what shall we do to keep a good Conscience, and to hold fast our Integrity? And since 'tis nobler to be led by the hope of a Reward, than to be frighted into our Duties, by the fear of be∣ing punish't if we neglect them; let us not ask, like the Children of Hagar, (in the spi∣rit of Bondage which is unto fear,) what shall we do, that we may not inherit a Death Aeternal; But as the Children of Sarah, (in the spirit of Adoption which is unto hope,) what shall we do, that we may inherit Aeternal Life?

Which Life being hid with Christ in God, (as St. Paul speaks to the Colossians,) for God's sake whither should we go, either to seek it when it is absent, or to find it when it is hid, or to secure it when it is found, unless to Him who hath the words of Eternal Life? that is, the words which are the means by which alone we may attain to Eternal Life. The words which teach us how to know it, the

words which tell us where to seek it, the words which shew us how to find it, the words which afford us those Rules and Precepts, by our conformity unto which we cannot but take it into possession? There is no other Name to make us Inheritors of Eternity, but only the Name of our Lord Iesus Christ, Acts 4. 12. And considering what is said by our blessed Sa∣viour, That This (and this only) is Life E∣ternal, to know the only true God, [with a practical knowledge] and Iesus Christ whom he hath sent, (John 17. 2.) we should religious∣ly resolve, not to know any thing else. Not (I mean) in comparison of Iesus Christ and him crucified; nor yet to any other end, than to serve and assist us in that one knowledge. Look what carking and caring any Covetous man u∣seth to get his wealth; look what industry and labour an Ambitious man useth to get his Honour; look what vigilance and solicitude any Amorous man useth to get his Idol; the same solicitude and diligence is each Religious man to use, for the getting of an Interest in Iesus Christ.

Which gives me a passage from the second

to the third Observable I proposed; from the Nature and Quality of the young man's Inquiry, to the condition of the Oracle inqui∣red of. As he sought for nothing less than Eternal Life, so did he seek it from Him a∣lone, who is the way to that Life, and the Life it self.

He did not go to take Advice from the Witch of Endor; (for the madness of Saul had made him wiser, or more at least in his wits, than to knock at Hell-door for the way to Heaven;) Nor did he ask of Apollo Pythius, or go to Iupiter Ammon to be inform'd a∣bout the way to Eternal Life; (for all the Oracles of the Heathen were put to silence by our Messias, (as Plutarch and others of their own great Writers have well observ'd) and should they speak never so loudly, he ve∣ry well knew they could not teach him;) Nor did he go to Aaron's Ephod, to ask the Urim and Thummim about the means of his Salva∣tion; (for he knew that That Oracle was now grown Dimm, and that in case it had been legible, it could not help him;) Nor did he betake himself to Moses, the Iewish Law-giver,

much less to the Scribes, the learned Inter∣preters of the Law; (for he found Mysteri∣ous Moses had still a Veil upon his Face, which the Scribes and Pharisees were not able to Re∣move;) much less durst he go to the Law it self for a Relief; there being nothing more plain, than that the Law worketh wrath: Those Tables of Stone are as the Hones or the Grindstones, at which the Sting of Death is whetted, and made more sharp. For as the sting of Death is Sin, so the strength of Sin is the Law, (1 Cor. 15. 56.) The Law does thunder out a Curse, as well as a Rigid Obli∣gation, (the one from Mount Ebal, as well as the other from Mount Sinai,) upon every Soul of man who shall but fail in the least Iota. For it is written (saith St. Paul, who only saith it out of the Law,) Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them. Or (to consider it yet more distinctly) admit Ae∣ternal Life had been expected from the Law by this Inquirer, yet sure it may sooner be ask't than answer'd, To which of the Laws he should have had recourse for it? Certain∣ly not to the Ceremonial; for That was but

a shadow of things to come, whereof the Body is Christ, (Coloss. 2. 17.) The very Sacrifice of the Law was not able to expiate, but on∣ly to commemorate the Peoples Sins, (Heb. 10. 3.) Therefore in vain would he have sought to the Ceremonial Law: And as vainly to the Iudicial; For that was a Politick Consti∣tution peculiar only to the Iews, and reach∣ing no farther than to a Civil Iurisdiction. Much less yet could he seek to the Moral Law of Moses for Life Eternal; For the Mo∣ral Law exacted so Universal an obedience, and also denounced so great a Curse (as I said be∣fore) on the least omission, that he could look for nothing thence but the justest matter of Despair. For first our Nature is so corrupt, and our Persons so much corrupter, since our having found out many Inventions, that if we say we have no sin, we deceive our selves, and the Truth is not in us, (1 John 1. 8.) And secondly if Righteousness come by the Law, then is Christ dead in vain, (Gal. 2. 21.) What then remain'd to this inquisitive Iew, but that the Law should be his Schoolmaster to bring him unto Christ? (Gal. 3. 24.) The Law be∣ing adapted by the infinite Wisdom of God's

oeconomy, either to lead or to drive him thither. For requiring more from him than he was able to perform, and yet denouncing a Curse on his Non-Performance, it could not but make him stand affrighted at the ugly Condition he was in; I mean his desperate Im∣possibility of ever attaining to Life Eternal, by the meer perfection of his obedience. Hence he saw it concern'd him to seek some∣where else. He found it clear by Demonstra∣tion, (and by the woful Demonstration of sad Experience,) he stood in need of a Savi∣our, and of such a Saviour too, as might deliver him from the Curse and from the Ri∣gour of the Law, by being made both a Curse and a Ransom for him. Again he saw both by the Doctrins, and by the Miracles of Christ, that He was most likely to be That Sa∣viour; to wit a Saviour from whom he was to look for such a Clue, as might be able to con∣duct him out of the Labyrinth he was in. And therefore just as this Saviour was gone forth in∣to the way, This kind of Neophyte in my Text came running to him, and asked him, (meekly kneeling upon his Knees,) Good Master, what shall I do, that I may inherit Eternal Life?

Now if Christ was His Oracle who only liv'd under the Law, How much more must he be ours, who were born and bred under the Gospel? Shall men of our Dignity and Profession, of our Proficiency and Growth in the School of Christ, (an holy Generation, a Royal Priesthood, a Peculiar People,) shall such as We go in Inquest of Life Eternal, to such deceivable Oracles, as either Zuinglius, or Calvin, Piscator, or Erastus, or Iohn of Leyden? to the Sepulchres of Martyrs, to the Discipline of Monasteries, to daily Ave Maries and Masses, to Papal Indulgences or Bulls, or to the outward Scarrifications and Buffettings of the Flesh? shall we lean upon such Reeds as will but run through our Elbows? or shall we inlighten our selves by Candles, when behold the Sun of Righteousness is long since Risen in our Horizon? or to fly for Refuge to the Saints, when behold a Saviour? Christ is called very fitly the Sun of Righteousness, (Mal. 4. 2.) to whom the Apostles are but as Stars in the Firmament of the Gospel, which only shine forth with a borrowed light, and have no other brightness than what He lends them. Now all the Stars in the Firmament

cannot make up one Sun, or afford us one Day without his Presence. Just so All the learned and the good men on Earth, All the Angels & Saints in Heaven cannot make up one Saviour, (or but light us the way to Eternal Life) with∣out the Influence and Lustre of Jesus Christ.

Iairus, a Ruler of the Synagogue, a man that wanted no worldly means whereby to Cure his only Daughter, did yet despair of her Recovery, until he fell down at the Feet of Christ, (Luke 8. 41.) And so the Woman who had been sick of a bloody Flux no less than twelve years together, and had spent all she had in Physicians Fees, was not the better but the worse, until she crowded towards Christ, and touch't the Hemm of his Garment, (Luke 8. 43.) That we are every one sick of a bloody Flux too, appears by our scarlet and crimson Sins. Which Flux and Fountain of our Sins can never possibly be cur'd, unless by Him who is the Fountain for Sin and for Unclean∣ness, (Zach. 13. 1.) For as Red wine is good for a bloody Flux in the Body, so is That which gushed out of our Saviour's Body, who called himself The True Vine, the only Good thing for this Disease in the Soul. And of this Wine

we drink in the Cup of Blessing which we Bless, in the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. To him alone must we fly as to the Physician of our Souls; who saith to us un∣der the Gospel, as once to Israel under the Law, I am the Lord God that healeth thee, Ex∣od. 15. 26. He alone (saith St. Peter) is the Head-stone of the Corner, nor is there Salvati∣on in any other, (Acts 4. 11, 12.) It pleased the Father, that in him should all Fulness dwell, (Coloss. 1. 19) And of his Fulness have all we received Grace for Grace, (John 1. 16.) All things necessary to life, and to life Eter∣nal, are delivered to him of the Father, (Matth. 11. 27.) And this 'twill be easy out of Scrip∣ture, (for I am speaking to Believers, I should not else produce a Text,) to make apparent by an Induction. For first if we are hungry, He alone is the Bread of Life, which whoso eateth shall live for ever, (John 6. 58.) Next if we are thirsty, He alone is the living Water, which whoso drinketh shall never thirst, (John 4. 13.) Thirdly if we are foul, He alone has that Blood by which we may be cleansed from all our Sins, (1 John 1. 7.) Fourthly if we are foolish, He is the Wisdom of the Father,

who hath laid up in Him all the Treasures of Knowledge, (Coloss. 2. 3.) He is Doctor Catho∣licus, and only He. For when he was trans∣figur'd upon Mount Tabor, a bright Cloud over∣shadow'd him, and behold a voice out of the Cloud, This is my beloved Son, Hunc Audite, Hear Him, (Matth. 17. 15.) It is the Top of that Wisdom which we are capable of on Earth, to sit with Mary at his Feet, and to hear his Word, (Luke 10. 39, 42.) Fifthly if we inquire for the only true way, which leadeth unto life, and to life Eternal, He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (John 14. 6.) Are we affright∣ed at the Law? He alone hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law, being made a Curse for us, (Gal. 3. 13.) In a word: He is the true Noah's Ark, whereby to escape the Inun∣dations of Sin and Hell. He hath broken the Ice, and made way for us, that we may en∣ter into the Gate, (Micah 2. 13.) He is our Ionathan after the Spirit, who first hath sca∣led in his Person the heavenly Mountain, that we the Bearers of his Armour may follow after, (1 Sam. 14. 1.) The Ministration of his Word is the Spiritual Chariot, by which he carries us with himself into the outward

Court of the Temple, and thence at last with∣in the Veil into the Sanctum Sanctorum. He alone is the Gate both of Grace and Salvati∣on; None can go unto the Father, unless by Him, (John 14. 6.) He alone is the Iacob's Ladder, whose Top reacheth into the Heavens; that is to say the True 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, by which as by a Bridge, or Isthmus, Heaven and Earth are tyed together; Angels and Men pass to and fro; Angels to Men, and Men to Angels. By Him hath the Father reconciled all things unto Himself, (Coloss. 1. 20.) He it is that invites us, when we are weary and heavy laden, to come unto him for a Refreshment, (Matth. 11 28.) From Him the Spirit and the Bride say, Come: And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, Come. And who∣soever will, let him come and take freely of the water of life, (Rev. 22. 17.)

All which being consider'd, we thus may Argue within our selves. If the great Queen of Shebah did choose to take so long a Iourney as from Shebah to Ierusalem, and all to hear a wise man speak, (Matth. 12. 42.) Or if Socrates, though an Heathen, was such a Lover of Wisdom, as to travel for his Im∣provement

through several Countries, and put himself to learn of every great Master that he could hear of; with how much a greater force of reason should we travel far and near to find out the Wisdom of the Fa∣ther? to learn of that Good, as well as Great Master, who alone hath the words of Eternal Life?

But some perhaps may here object, That the Man in the Text met with Christ in the way, whilst here on Earth. How shall we find him out since his Ascension into Heaven? The Psalmist tells us He is in Heaven, and in Hell too. If we go up into Heaven, he is there; And if we go down into Hell, he is there also. But to Heaven we cannot, and to Hell we dare not go.

To which the Answer is very obvious. That if Christ is in Hell, because he is every where, by the necessity of his Godhead; he is by consequence here on Earth too, for the very same reason. And that we may not say with Seneca, [Qui ubique, nusquam,] that he who is every where is no where, for that he is every where invisible, and so as difficultly found as if he were not; The Righteousness

which is of Faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into Hea∣ven? (that is to bring Christ down from above) Or who shall descend into the Deep? (that is to bring up Christ again from the Dead,) For Christ in his word, is very nigh thee, even in thy Mouth, and in thine Heart, that is, the word of Faith which we preach. We need not go to Compo∣stella, or travel in Pilgrimage to other pla∣ces, where they pretend at least to shew us his Seamless Coat, and his Cross, and his Crown of Thorns. We need go no farther than to his Word, and his Sacraments, his Ministers, and his Members.

And having thus found him out, we must not content our selves, with Herod, to gaze upon him in Curiosity; but, with Zachaeus, out of Devotion. Nor must we grow old in our setting out, but rather hasten to him be∣times, and as fast as we can run too, And as humbly as it is possible we must go kneeling to him, and ask him, Good Master, what shall we do? or with the Disciples upon the Sea, Master, Master, we perish. That is, we perish of our selves, without thy stretched out Hand to support and save us. And therefore

lift we up our voices, with those Ten Lepers in the way, Iesus Master, have Mercy on us. For indeed he will never have Mercy on us, unless we have mercy upon our selves, that is to say, unless we take him upon his own most righ∣teous Terms; not only as a Iesus who came to save us, but withal as a Master, who does expect to be served by us. And this does lead me to consider the Compellation of our Inquirer, concerning which I shall discourse upon the next Opportunity.

Now to the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisi∣ble, the only wise God, be Honour and Glory for ever and ever.

Notes

• Coloss. 3. 1▪ 2.
• Rev. 21. 2.
• Quàm gloriosa dicta sunt de te Civitas Dei! Psal. 87. 3. De Quâ quid dixerit S. Ber∣nardus, videre est in ipsius li∣bro de Animâ, c. 4. p. 1053. Rev. 21. 18, 19, 20, &c.
• Rev. 22. 1, 2, 17.
• De Animarum Inebriatione, vid. S. Bernard. de Deo Dilig. p. 953. 958. & super Cant. Serm. 54. p. 728. & Gille∣bertum super Cant. Serm. 41. p. 1897. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Psal. 36. 8. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. LXX Interpretes. Inebriabuntur ab ubertate Do∣mus tuae. Vulg. Lat.—è pinguedine Domus tuae. Versio Interlin. Inebriabuntur quasi—pingue∣dine Benedictio∣nis Domus tuae. Chald. Paraph.
• Isa. 26. 19.
• Inter Amoris divini Fructus, liquefactio, & languor enume∣rantur. Vide Claud. Espen∣saeum de tri∣plici languore. c. 1. p. 976. Etiam Franco. Abbat. Afflige∣niensem Tom. 2. de Gratiâ Dei. De Amore quo piae Animae Deum prose∣quuntur, vide Plotin. Enn. 1. l. 6. p. 56.
• Iejunium ani∣mae Alimentum est, leves ei Pennas produ∣cens. Bernard.
• 2 Pet. 1. 5, 6, 7.
• Phil. 3. 20.
• Coloss. 3. 3.
• John 6. 68.
• Rom. 4. 15.
• Deut. 27. 26. Gal. 3. 10.
• Rom. 10. 6, 7, 8.
• Luke 8. 24.
• Luke 17. 13.
• 1 Tim. 1. 17.