Page:The rock of wisdom.djvu/42

 bless them that bless you and I will curse them that curse you, and thou shall be the father of the righteous and I will make thy seed as numerous as the stars of heaven or the sand on the sea shore, that cannot be numbered for multitude; now the question in viewing the sight he then would reflect what he had heard and seen before, but he thinking that he could get in some other way; this is unbelief; the great bolt that locks heaven against the sinner the reason I asssign is, his calling him father; seeing then he was according to the promise, and if there was my mercy to be found, father was the only medium he could enter, but finding there was a gulf between them and then finding himself a son of disobedience, his case is unalterable; seeing himself thus fixed he looked back and saw the condition of his five brethren, and then prayed to Abraham, I pray therefore thou wouldst send him to my fathers house for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them lest they also come to this place of torment; the answer was, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them; he said nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent: if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead; and we may discover if the tree fall toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be, Eccl. II c. 3 v. And now the question is who is the rich man? Answer, every man that neglects his duty towards his God, Eph. 6 c. 11 v. the commandment is to put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, by neglecting to do this that he may become rich in the goods of this world, for Paul said if our gospel be hid it is hid from them which the God of this world hath blinded their eyes, notwithstanding they have plenty of this world's goods and are rich in the sight of men, they are poor in the sight of God, and that kind of poverty will take them to hell if they return not to God in time, Thes. 2 c. 11, 12 v. now the poor man represents Jesus Christ, he had no whereto lay his head among these rich Jews, he layeth at their gates, he knocketh at their doors, to give hi n entrance that he might receive their crumbling hearis, that they might live in time and in eternity, they would not receive him, he died without their