Vet.. '4. the 17thChapter of St. JOHN. äoj with Alms, but no annual Rent, or conftant Poffef ions. Mat. 8. 20. Foxes have Holes, and the Birds of the Air have Neffs ; but the Son of Man bath not where to lay his Head. Chrift was no landed Man, he had no Tenement of his own. Chrift fpeaketh it, when a young Man came to him, and profeffed to follow him ; he had no certain place of Refidence, neither Houk, nor Furniture, nor Hou(hold -huff ; certainly he was little beholden to the World, it would hardly afford himHoufe -room and Lodg- ing. The Earth is the Lor'd's, and the Fulnefs thereof, yet Chrift, his own Son, had but little of it. He begged a draught of Water of a Stranger, when he was weary; yehn 4. and every way lived as a poor Man, not out of neceffity, but, choice. He re- . fufed a Crown when proffered him ; John 6. r 5. When yefus perceived that they would come and take him by force, and make him a King, he departed again into a Mountain himfelf alone : He had no Heart to thefe Things, no relith in Crowns and worldly Glory. When he died, he was not Mafter of a Cup of cold Water to quench his thirft ; his Coat was all his Legacy, and he lodged in a borrowed Grave. This was the Captain of our Salvation, whole Steps we are to follow. You fee what a difgrace he put upon Crowns, and Honours, and Pleafures, and the Glory which we dust upon. Chrift came from Heaven on purpolè to cart contempt upon the World by his own choice, and courfe of Life. 2. Becaufe of their new Birth. Man's Heart naturally is addi&ed to the World, and runneth thither, whither theWorld carrieth it, even to forsaking God ; but byGrace it is turned the quite contrary way, We, have forfaken all, and followed thee, Mat.t9.27. And Pfd. 45. Io. Forget elf) thine own People, and thy Father's Houfe. It is the proper Work of Grace, to alter the cousle of Nature, to take us off from the World, and bring us to God by degrees, firft in Heart, and then in Soul, and then in Body. It is every where made an Effe& of the New Birth ; a John g. 4. He that is born of God, overcameth the World. The Children of God have fomewhat of the Father in them. Grace of all things cometh neareft the Nature of God. Now God 'is our Heavenly Father, therefore the Children that are born of him cannot be worldly. See another place, 2 Pet. r. 4. That by theft ye might be made partakers of the Divine Nature, having efcaped the corruption that is in the World through Luft. There is fomething Divine in a Chriflian, therefore he cannot live as other Men. When we preis Men to ftri &nefs, they will fay, We are Saints, and not Angels: yea, but Saints have a new Nature, over and above that Nature which they received from Adam, and therefore fhould live an Heavenly Life. They have an higher Life which over- ruleth the other; the Spirit that governeth the Motions of the Soul. Look, as the Planets have a Motion of their own, by which they walk in their own Path and Courte; and befides,. there is a rapid Motion, by which they are carried about in twenty four hours : So Chriftians have an old Nature, and an over - ruling Nature, that carrieth them on contrary to their own Motion and tendency. The Soul we received from Adam, looketh after the conve- niency of the outward Life, the decent Rate of the Body : Naturally Men ufe their Souls only as a Purveyor for the Body, for outward Comforts, and outward Supports ; but when there is a new Nature from Chrift, the regenerate part mull have its Opera- tion. In the New Birth, Principles of more railed and elevated Nature are brought into the Soul. 3. Becaule of their great and glorious Hopes. They are chofen out of this World ; 2 Pet. a. 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promifes, that by theft ye might be made partakers of a Divine Nature,having efcaped the Corruptions that are in the World through Luft. There is an Eftate that dependeth upon the New Birth. God's Children cannot complain for want of a Child's Portion ; they have Promifes as Co ma- ny Leaks, a Right to the Inheritance in Light. Now a Chriftian, that hopeth for another World, Ihould not live according to the Fafhions of this World. Rom. 12. 2. And be not conformed to this World,but be ye transformed in the renewing of your Mind. This is an unworthy bale World, you are acquainted with a better. If a Man were in a Ytrange Country, where he law none but rude Savages, that had not Ihame enough to cover their Nakednels, would he conform himlelf to the guile of this Country ? We that have other Hopes, Ihould have other Lives. a Theff. 2. t 2. That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his Kingdom and Glory. There is a Defcrip- tion of a Chriftian's Life : it beleemeth worldly Men to look after worldly Things. Leave Things that peri(h, to Men that peril's Incola Cdi eftis, non hulas f culi. If you muff not die as they die, do not live as they live, left. you are in their cafe at the point of death, who have their portion in this Life, Pfal. ay. 14. Wicked Men have their
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=