may be forgiven This Pareus thinks the most proper Reading That which favoureth our Translation is what followeth in the next Words Behold thou hast driven me this day from the Face of the Earth c. where he complaineth onely of his Punishment Either Reading is what the Original will bear either of them makes the words the Complaint of Cain after he had kill'd his Brother Abel and God had come down and doomed him for it telling him He was Cursed from the Earth which had epened her Mouth to receive his Brothers Blood When he tilled the ground it should not yield unto him her strength A Fugitive and a Vagabond shalt thou be in the Earth To which Cain replyeth either thus My Punishment is greater then I can bear Or Mine Iniquity is greater then that it can be forgiven Whether he complaineth of his Sin or of his Punishment That 's the onely Question nor needs it any Decision Both Readings express the Genius of a Reprobate who either complaineth of his Punishment but not of his Sin or if at any time he complains of Sin it is despairing and without hope of Mercy Onely I cannot agree with Chrysostome and others who Interpret these Words into a full Confession of Sin onely they say it was too late but true Repentance is never too late I shall in my Discourse consider the Words as you have them in the Margents of your Bibles designing onely to make use of them to discourse as to the great Temptation to Despair In my Discourse upon which I shall first Consider 1. The Nature of the Temptation in it self 2. The Tempters inforcing it 3. The means ordinarily made use of in the inforcing of it 4. The most probable means to be used for getting a victory over it As to the first I have already told you That every Evil Temptation is a Motion or Solicitation of the Soul to Sin which when it is more Importune and Impetuous we usually call a Temptation but let us more particularly inquire into the Nature of this Sin of Desperation Despair in the general Notion of it signifieth a casting away of all hope as to the obtaining of some good which we desire and so the Object of it may be any good thing of which we are not possest but may be the Object of our Desires or Hope Thus we may Despair of Life as St. Paul did 2. Cor. 1. 8. of Health of Success in Business c. but in the Notion I am now speaking to it must he limited to the greatest Spiritual Good such as Pardon of Sin Living with God in Glory another day c. And here again we must distinguish betwixt Fear and Despair for although there be no Despair without high degrees of Fear yet there may be Fears great degrees of Fear which may produce some Phrases of Despair or Fits or Passions of it where yet there is no fixed Despair Despair in the Notion of it to which I am now speaking Is a Souls total fixed permanent Want and Rejection of all Hope as to the Pardon of Sins in this Life or any happy Estate in the Life to come When as the Apostle speaks there remaineth nothing in the Soul but a certain dreadful locking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation to devour them as the Adversaries of God Heb. 10. 27. It is an Hell began in the Soul in this Life It is often attended with Dâ—sperate Impressions Blasphemy against God always with intollerable Horrour and Terrour of Conscience But we are not at present so much Considering it in the Effects and Issue of it as in the Nature and first Rise and Beginning of it The next thing we have to consider is the Efficient Causes in this great Temptation I have shewed you that every Temptation to Sin is from our own Lust the Devil or the World The Men of the World have rarely any considerable Efficiciency in this Temptation it is not often we hear them telling us That we have sinned beyond hope of Mercy They rather err on the other hand The two ordinary Efficient Causes in this Temptation are our own Lust and our grand Adversary the Devil 1. Our own Lust Our depraved hearts are enough under some circumstances which we may be under to suggest to us very unworthy thoughts of God and highly derogatory to his Honour and Glory For though in a quiet calm state our Lust suggests ordinarily other things to us yet all the Lust that is in our Hearts doth not discover it self at the same hour We shall find Lusts stirring in us in an hour of Prosperity of which we shall hear nothing in an hour of great Tribulation and Adversity And so on the other side we shall find those Lusts stirring in us in a time of great Affliction and Adversity which we diseerned little of in the halcyon days of our Prosperity When Men come to be under great pressures of Afflictions then those who in Health could think of nothing but their Sensual Satisfactions or Worldly Business begin to be at leisure to think of Dying and of the Eternal State of Souls and tho ordinarily our Lust enclineth us rather to presume and groundlesly to prophecy Good rather than Evil to our selves yet I do not know but under some circumstances our Hearts that of themselves are no better disposed to give God the Glory of his Mercy then of his Justice may though the Devil stand by suggest to us black and hard thoughts of God which may produce Desperation 2. But where the Impressions are fixed strong and abiding and the Soul though out-reasoned refuseth to be comforted or to entertain any better thoughts of God but rather is more stubborn and pertinacious and blasphemeth God I should suspect a great praedominance of a Praeternatural Cause and the Soul under the Violence of Satan for we are naturally inclined to hope well for our selves and to lay hold of every good word that looketh that way 3. Possibly The Devil may also in this Temptation joyn with our own Lusts and the Temptation may be mixt from one or both these Causes are these Temptations and this sinful Habit is begun and perfected in our Souls CHAP. II. What seeming Good is the bait in this Temptation To speak the truth of it self Possibly the serving our Malice upon God An Examination Whether the Doctrines of Election of Persons particularly Redemption and Special Grace conduce to Despair The contrary evinced THe greatest difficulty is to resolve with what Bait it is possible such an Hook as this is should be baited for whereas the Apostle telleth us as I have formerly opened to you That every one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own Lust and inticed it might justly pose an ordinary Reason to imagine what seeming Good should entice a Soul to cast away all hopes of Happiness from the Mercy of God all hopes of Eternal Life and Salvation To conclude it shall go to Hell and there
are in any Measure acquainted with the Holy Scriptures know that they are full of many great and precious Promises as to Eternal Life and also as to this Life As to Eternal Life made under such Conditions and upon such Terms as his infinite Wisdom thought fit to Prescribe and Limit Those as to this Life are of various sorts many of them relating to an afflicted state That he will put Strength into us That he will lay no more upon us then he will inable us to bear That he together with the Temptation will also give an happy issue and many more of like import as to which the Soul that Trusteth God and in which the Exercises of such Trust and Confidence in God are lively and vigorous can never be Guilty of this Sin for how shall that Soul go about to deliver it out of a Misery which believeth that God will in his own time deliver it and in the mean time Support Uphold and Comfort it and make its Affliction issue in Good and for its advantage working for it a far more Eternal and exceeding Weight of Glory Or how shall that Soul Trust in God for Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life which knoweth that Repentance and Faith are the ordinary means prescribed by God for obtaining these things and do the last Act of his Life of such a Nature as leaveth no room to be renewed by Repentance and is such as God hath said None that doth it hath Eternal Life So that as it is apparent that this Temptation is advantaged by nothing so much as Atheism and Unbelief so there is no such Antidote against it as vigorous Habits and Acts of Faith Nor is it possible that a believing Soul should be under the Power and Prevailings of it while it keepeth under the Conduct and Command of Reason CHAP. IX An Holy Life and Conversation an excellent Preparative to this Spiritual Combate This opened Terrours of Conscience for Sin oft times one great cause of such Thoughts These not ordinary but for great Sinnings some more notorious Acts of Vngodliness or of Vnrighteousness great Sinnings against Light c. 5. FIfthly There is no better Preparative for this Spiritual Combate then an Holy Life and Conversation Although the Holiest Men alive are not exempted from this Fiery Dart even Christ himself heard the Devil say Cast thy self down yet you shall observe these Temptations mostly fall upon Men of loose Lives and Conversation at least do most ordinarily prevail against such The ordinary Motive that prevaileth with Souls to do this thing is the avoiding of some great Evil which either they have in prospect or feel the burden of Now this Evil is either more External such as Slavery and falling into the hands of Enemies This made Saul fall upon his own Sword and Cato kill himself Or horrible bodily Pains and Tortures being exposed to some shameful Death c. Or else they are more Internal such as Horrours and Pangs of Conscience They are rare Instances that either Holy or Civil History gives us of Persons putting an end to their own Lives to avoid Imprisonment Shame or Tortures from Men and not many that we have of Persons who in Terrible Bodily Pains have exposed to the Prevailings of this Temptation Now these Terrours and Pangs of Conscience arise from the Souls Reflections upon its Guilt in respect of Sin Thus the Scripture tells us Judas hang'd himself crying out he had betrayed Innocent Blood Thus History tells us Pontius Pilate killed himself and thus we Read of many others in History And although there be no Sin so little but if God setteth it home upon the Conscience and supporteth not the Soul with his Grace it is able to drive the Soul to this desperate issue yet it is not ordinary for Sins of a more minute Nature and such as the best of Men commit to be followed with such horrours as seize the Spirit of a Man or for Satan to take such an advantage from them The reflections which produce this effect are usually upon some Sins of a more then ordinary Tincture and that have had some more eminent circumstances of Aggravation From whence it followeth that a Godly and Righteous Conversation Religious towards God Just and Righteous towards Men is one of the best Preservatives from the violence of this Temptation A Prâ—fane Atheistical Blasphemous Person is highly exposed to the Impetus of it so is any who hath bin guilty of more notorious Acts of Unrighteousness such as Murther Persecution high degrees of Violence and Oppression For though it be true that God is able to pardon many Sins as well as few great as well as small and the Promise extendeth to all Sin and Blasphemy to Scarlet and Crimson Sins yet we shall find it an harder thing to be beleeve in Christ for the Remission of Sins of so high a Tincture Besides that Courses of Sin of this Nature have a very ill influence upon the Heart to blind and to harden it so that poor Creatures under the Guilt of them are often more sensible of the Wrath of God due to those who commit such things then of the Evil and Filthiness of them O therefore flee such things as these are you know not how far God for them may leave you to Satans Buffetings of this Nature you know not what it is to Repent of them nor how hardly the Soul that is under the Guilt of them is brought to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or to hope in him for the free Pardon and Remission of them or to arrive at any sense of the Pardon of them In short take heed of all bold sinnings against Light and Checks or Reverberations of Conscience If we will not hearken to the lighter Checks and Dictates of Conscience we are often and but justly repaid with the severer Terrours and Affrightments of it for our doing of such things contrary to its Dictates and lighter Admonitions But the holy Man that walketh closely with God that liveth up to his Light and Revelations of the Will of God is very much out of this danger and though he may have some impressions of this Nature yet they rarely are advantaged from an aking Conscience in the sense of Guilt CHAP. X. Directions for them who are already fallen under this Temptation Melancholy to be evacuated by Natural Means 2. The Motive is to be considered which usually is a freedome from some present or imminent Evil. Two things to be considered 1. Whether it will free us to destroy our selves 2. Whether there be not a more safe and certain way to be free I Have thus far onely prepared you against a wrestling with this Temptation and given you preventing Physick which indeed they say is best and it is better indeed to keep such an Enemy as Satan is Armed with this Dart at a distance then to trust to our own Strength in the hour of Combate But possibly as to some poor Souls
Ministers or knowing and experienced Christians who are able to speak a word in season for the Relief of Souls that are weary and heavy laden with the sense of their Sins 3. A third Work to be done for the Relief of Souls under this fore Temptation is with the Persons themselves that are Tempted and that is to perswade them or for such poor Souls to perswade themselves of the unreasonableness of those conclusions which they make against themselves Now upon this suffer me to inlarge a little in an endeavour to demonstrate the little force that can be in any Argument that such a Soul can bring against it self in this Case and in shew-you the exceeding sinfulness of this Sining of Despair in the first place let me desire such a Soul to Consider 1. That there is no Argument sufficient to warrant it to cast away all Hope in God as to the pardon of its Sin and the obtaining Eternal Life and Salvation through Christ The one of these dependeth upon the other For if there be no Argument sufficient to convince such a Soul that its Sins shall never be forgiven there can be no Argument sufficient to convince it that it shall certainly be Damned or that it is a Reprobate for Psal 32. 1. Blessed is he whose Iniquities are forgiven and whose Sins are covered and to whom the Lord imputeth not Transgression A Pardoned Sinner cannot Perish that is certain If therefore no Reason can be brought sufficient to prove that God will never Pardon me none can be brought sufficient for me to conclude from it That God will not Save me 1. Sometimes Souls under these Circumstances will plead no Argument at all onely they have such a fixed Impression and Perswasion upon their Hearts they know it they are sure of it c. and this is all you can get from it But as the Apostle saith in another Case Gal 5. 8. This perswasion cometh not from him that calleth you Impressions upon our Spirits are no Oracles nor must be taken for Arguments Impressions or Perswasions are either from the Holy Spirit of God or Perswasions hatcht up in our Souls by their own Powers or they are from the Evil Spirit Impressions indeed from the Spirit of God cannot deceive they are infallible but so are not these Can think you this Perswasion be from him that every where in his Word calleth upon Men to Sinners to all sorts and degrees of Sinners to Repent and Beleeve to wash themselves and make themselves Clean telling them that if their Sins were as Scarlet they shall be as Snow if as Crimson they shall be as white as Wooll that he will have Mercy upon them and abundantly Pardon them Jsaiah 55. 6 7. Can he that calleth Sinners all Sinners that are weary and heavy laden to come unto him Promising them Rest for their Souls I say can they possibly think that he hath perswaded them that they shall never obtain Pardon It must therefore remain that these Perswasions in whatsoever Souls they are found must either be bred in the Soul from its own Corruption or brought into the Soul by Satan Let them be from which of these two Causes they will they are very far from being certain and infallible The Heart of Man is deceitful above all things and the Devil was a Liar from the Beginning Time was it is possible when the Devil drove a quite contrary Design and sang a quite other Song to incourage the Soul in a course of Sin suggesting to it that Pardon was an easie thing and might be obtained without difficulty however he hath changed his Note now he is pursuing but the same Design that is the Ruin of the Soul though it be by a quite contrary Method But it is not always that a Soul under this Temptation talketh at this irrational rate ordinarily it hath something to say though nothing sufficient to build such a Conclusion upon and as I hinted to you before all that the Devil or a Man 's own Heart can say in the case is either 1. That our Sins are too many to be forgiven Or 2. That they have been aggravated with some circumstances to that degree that they cannot be forgiven Or 3. That the time is past we have gone on in them too long to be forgiven Or 4. That we have committed some particular Sins of too deep a dy to be washed out If we can but drive out the Devil from these Refuges we shall leave him nothing to say to a Soul to advantage this Temptation 1. As to the First That our Sins are too many to be forgiven This Suggestion either hath no bottom at all or if it hath any it must be this That the Promises of Grace and the Forgiveness of Sins are limited to a certain number of Sins for if they be not upon what colourable pretence doth the Devil endeavour to baffle the Hope of any Soul by whispering to it That its Sins are too many to be forgiven if God hath no where said he will not pardon a multitude of Sins to what purpose or upon what pretence shall a Soul Despair because of the multitude of its Iniquities But where in the whole Book of God shall a troubled Soul find any line to this purpose A Souls hope for Pardon dependeth upon the Word of God and in reason must not the Limitations if any be of that hope be found in the Word of God too or are they not in all reason to be rejected as the Fictions of our own Hearts or Figments of our grand Adversary the Devil Where the Word of God limiteth not the Will of God upon what grounds do we limit it Methinks in this case the whole Trinity speaketh unto us in the Language that St. Paul spake to the Corinthians in another Cause 2 Cor. 6. 11 12. Oye Corinthians saith he our Mouth is opened unto you our Heart is inlarged You are not straitned in us you are straitned in your own Bowels Some thinks the Holy Trinity speaketh to us in the whole tenor of the Sacred Writing O you troubled Sinners you Despairing Souls our Mouth is opened to you to call those that have abundantly sinned to our abounding Mercies Our Heart is enlarged you are not straitned in me saith the Father of Mercies I have infinite Mercies Mercies as the Sands which is on the Sea-shore You are not straitned in me saith the Son I have an infinite Value and Vertue in my Blood it is sufficient in it self for the Expiation of the Sins of the whole World and every individual Man and Woman in the World You are not straitned in me saith the Holy Spirit I after a multitude of Sinnings stand yet at the door of your Hearts and knock and cry if any Man will open he shall come in and sâ—p with me yea let them do what in them lieth I am ready to add my Efficacy to give Faith and to give Repentance and this after a multitude
as he tells him was ready to have done greater things for him against all this he sinned in the matter of Bathsheba and in the matter of Uriah It is true this cost him many Tears many Prayers yet he obtained Mercy Peter was a Man of great Light and had been made the Object of great Love Christ had said to him Thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church yet this Peter cursed and sware and denied his Master and after this when he had gone out and wept betterly Christ remembred him and I doubt not but you believe Peter is in Heaven Thou canst not say that thou hast sinned against greater Light or greater Love than these two eminent Saints in Glory sinned against To have sinned out our Light indeed that is to such a degree as we have no more Checks no more Rebukes of Conscience this is very sad and the Interpretations of it be to the Enemies of God To be past Feeling that is sad but by thy Trouble and Complaining it appeareth that is not thy Case but it is plain that many have sinned against Light much Light and against much Love too whom God hath from the infiniteness of his Mercy forgiven and rereceived up to Glory 3. Temptation But will such a Soul say It is true had I in time turned unto God there might have been hope but alas time is past time is past with me had I turned to God in my Youth but I am in the declining part of my Life God hath said His Spirit shall not always strive with Man The Fig-tree was Cursed after Three years in vain expecting Fruit. God hath a long time been looking for Fruit of my Soul and hath found none I have sinned wilfully after I had received the Knowledge of the Truth there remaineth now I fear no more Sacrifice of Sin but a certain fearful looking for of Judgement and fiery Indignation which shall devour the Adversaries Heb. 10. 26 27. To which I say 1. This is indeed a very sad and bitter Reflection and I desire that such Complaints as these when we hear them may be sanctified to all that have time before them to take heed how they mispend it and trifle it away but where this Counsel is too late the Question that we have in hand is Whether there be a sufficient Warrant for a Souls Despair 2. The sadness Secondly of this Case is aggravated from the appearances of Scripture for this Temptation It is generally held by Divines That as Countries and Nations have their Periods of Grace so particular Persons have their Days of Grace too and Periods beyond which Gods Spirit shall not strive with them and it appeareth by that Text Heb. 10. That there is a wilful Sinning after the Knowledge of the Truth after which there will remain no Sacrifice for Sin But what that degree of wilful Sinning is and how it must be circumstanced that is another Question But to speak more directly to the Temptation 1. In the first place I would have thee scriously consider Whether the Freeness of Divine Grace in the Remission of Sins be duly thought of by thee who objectest thus against thy self Take heed thou hast not some Thoughts within thee that thou shouldest recompence God by thy future Holiness for thy past Provocations and whether that which discourageth thy hoping in God and looking up unto him for Mercy be not a prospect that thou art not like to have time enough to make this Recompence If thou hast any such Thoughts as these thou dost not well attend to the Promise of Pardon which runs thus I will blot out thy Transgressions for mine own Name sake and we have Redemption even Forgiveness of Sins through his Blood The end which God aimeth at in the Forgiveness of any Souls Sin is his own Glory the glorifying of the riches of his Grace not receiving the Homage of an Holy Life though that be thy Duty and what God requireth of thee yet I say that is not Gods great and ultimate end He will have Mercy on whom he will have Mercy and extend Compassion to whom he will extend Compassion The Consideration upon which God doth it is the Price paid and Satisfaction given by the Blood of his Son It is not for our sake nor for our future Works sake but for his own Name sake and for his dear Sâ—n's sake that he granteth unto any Pardon and Forgiveness of Sin Now although the time of thy Life yet to come in probability will not be commensurate to the time of Life which is past and spent in Sinning and Dishonouring God yet why may not the great God glorifie the Riches of his Grace in the free Forgiveness of thee Why may he not exalt the Blood of his Son in washing thy Soul 2. Secondly It is not for us to know times and seasons which are in Gods Power onely It is true God seemeth to have revealed that every Soul hath a set time beyond which be will shew it no favour and that this is not onely the end of our Life but may be sometime before our dying day but we know not what time that is and therefore it is rashness for any Soul to conclude my time is past Where have we any Directions from the Word of God to fix any such time or to conclude it as to any period of time We know the Master of the Vineyard called to some to come and Work in his Vineyard at the 11th hour and we know also that the Thief upon the Cross was told in the last hour of his Life that he should that Night be with Christ in Paradise Secret things belong unto God Revealed things onely to us and to our Children Unless we had some certain Rule to determine the Time to us we have no Reason to determine it our selves to discourage us from what his Word commandeth us as our certain Duty 3. Thirdly Supposing there be an heart found in us to be sorry for our Sins humbled for them and to turn from them to God and to accept of the Lord Jesus Christ and his Salvation tendred unto us in the Gospel it is certain our time is not yet past The Reason is because the promise of Pardon and Salvation is made unto such So that no Soul hath reason to conclude there is no hope for him in God but that Soul that laboureth under impenitency and hardness of heart and findeth in it self a resolution yet to go on in its sinful courses And therefore you shall observe in that dreadful Text Heb. 6. the Apostle saith of them that have been once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly Gift and the Powers of the World to come and have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost c. if they fall away it is impossible they should be renewed again by Repentance if they could Repent it were not impossible they should be Pardoned or obtain Eternal Life and Salvation but
upon which account they all have their Confessors depends upon this Doctrine of the Priests Absolution all the pretended necessity of it is in order to the receiving that benefit Then they further say That God doth onely Pardon the Eternal guilt of Sin and Christ hath onely satisfied for that So that for the removal of Temporary Punishments there must be also Satisfaction Hence their Priests have power to appoint People Pilgrimages Building of Churches Paying sums of Money for Satisfaction This Penance being undergone they do declare that any Priest being appointed thereto by the Church may in ordinary Causes not onely Declaratively but Judicially Pardon and Absolve the Sinner but if an higher Priest a Bishop or the Pope hath reserved some Cases in which he or they alone will have power to Absolve and to appoint to Penances and Satisfactions in those they onely can do it the more private Priests cannot This is their Doctrine Protestants now say that God alone can forgive Sins but by his Ministers in the Preaching of the Gospel he doth declare a Mans Sins are forgiven who have a true Contrition who truly repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ fully forgive them so that he expecteth no further Satisfaction for the Sinner than that which was long since given by the Blood of Christ who hath Trod the Wine-press of his Fathers Wrath alone and finished all that Work They say indeed that Confession of Sins in most causes is sufficient to God alone It is he alone that can forgive them In some Causes indeed a more open Confession is necessary 1. When the Church hath been publikely Scandilized not that this is necessary in order to Gods Pardon but as an Act of Obedience to Gods Will and for a more Comfortable Brotherly Communion and the Churches Satisfaction that the Person ought not to be longer kept out of its Communion 2. They say further That in the case of great Horrors of Conscience and Terrors upon Peoples Spirits it may be of great advantage to particular Christians under such Terrors to confess some particular Sins unto their Judicious Brethren or unto their Faithful Ministers but not in order to their Pardon of them but in order to their Prayer to God for them and offering words in season unto them that are weary and being more knowing and mighty in the Scriptures than they are from the Scriptures declaring the Will of God in their case comforting them if their case will bear comfort from the Word of God or otherwise advising them what to do according to the Will of God that they may receive true and solid comfort and Peace They do also further say that Satisfaction where any hath wronged another is necessary if in our Power as in Cases of Theft c. but for any necessity of any other Confession or Satissaction in order to Gods Forgiveness of the Sin they do not understand it nor believe it And for Judicial Absolution they say it is Gods alone Act and that all that the Minister can do is to declare the Will of God to People in case they do truly Repent and Believe that God hath doth and will forgive them freely for Christs sake In the mean time they do not deny but God may concurr with the Minister as his Ordinance giving a sense of the Remission of Sins which Remission was before given them upon their Repentance and believing in Truth to them while the Minister faithfully declareth the Will of God for the pardoning such as truly Repent and Believe but if any person be Absolved by a Minister hath cheated him and pretended Repentance and true Faith having no such thing his heart Or if any Minister hath either through Ignorance or Passion declared a Persons Sins forgiven whose Sins while he is in those Circumstances God hath said he will not forgive he may have cheated his own Soul or the Minister may have cheated him but God is not mockt his sins remain notwithstanding his pretended Absolution God dispenseth out the Grace of forgiveness not according to the Ignorance and Passions of Men but according to the Rules of Holy Scripture which is the Revelation of his Divine Will 2. Trust not therefore to any such vain Imaginations no nor to the Receiving of the Sacrament either in thy life time or at thy death That the Lords Supper is an Ordinance of God by which God doth signify and seal the Remission of Sins and Eternal Life by the commemoration of Christs death to such as truly repent and believe is out of question but that God in that Ordinance doth give Remission of Sins or hath appointed it so signifie seal or convey the pardon of Sin to any unbelieving Impenitent Soul is a very great Errour Such Persons may Eat and Drink there but it can be nothing but Judgment and Condemnation This hath made me frequently admire at some persons fondness of that Holy Ordinance when they apprehend themselves in danger of Death who never made Conscience of it in the time of their Health and Life especially considering that it cannot be administred in a right order viz. In the Communion of the Church where many who are joyned in one body eat of that one bread Upon which all Protestant Churches reject private Administrations of that Institution and upon just grounds Christ first gave it to the 12 at least to 11 of them we never read the Apostles Examples or Directions to or of any such Administrations upon this Account unless some particular Persons that have had long and lingring Sicknesses and of that nature as have not influenced their head nor so indisposed them but their minds could attend to the Action some of which I have known desiring a competent number of the Church with them privately to partake in the Ordinance from the publick Participation of which they have been long hindred I do not know that I ever knew any judicious Christian so much as desire such an Administration but many others I have which makes me think some more Ignorant People rest upon it and trust to it We know the Popish Notion of it and what a stir they make with the Host carrying it about in great state to dying Persons And I fear a tang of their Doctrine yet sticks in the minds of many who are professed Protestants We know what a trade the Papist make of their Doctrines of Auricular Confession Satisfactions and Private Masses Celebrated for the living and the dead and were it not for the gain came into their Purses by them they could not be so fond of such absurd Opinions and Practices But Christians take heed of these Notions which tend to nothing but to nourish Presumptions in your Souls and that you may take heed of them let me mind you of 2 Passages of our Saviours Mark 4. 24. Take heed what you hear and Luk. 8. 18. Take heed how you hear Take heed how you hear hear as those noble Bereans Acts 17.
the unbelieving and the abominable the murderers and the whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the Lake which burns with fire and Brimstone which is the second Death It saith 1 Cor. 6. 9. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither fornicators nor idolators nor adulterers nor effeminate persons nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall ever enter into the Kingdom of God We own these Scriptures to be the Word of God we see we hear of persons dying daily who we know lived in these some of these Sins and never gave any visible Signs of Repentance and Reformation What did they die without hope No they hoped to be Saved and it may be died with Confidence they should be Saved What was what could be the ground of their hope but either God made them and they hope he will not destroy them Or Christ dyed for all Or though they had their failngs yet they have done such or such good works Or they were Members of the Church Or they have asked God Pardon Or they say they are sorry for their Sins and have been absolved and received the Sacrament or some such things as these O dreadful Is Eternity to be adventured in this Manner Presumption Sirs slayeth its Ten thousands Oh that it might not slay any Soul that heareth me this day Let this be a Second piece of Advice in order to the avoiding this Rock 3. Thirdly Possess your Souls of the Difficulty of getting to Heaven and the small number of those that shall be Saved I say first the Difficulty of getting into Heaven You have it confirmed to you from him who came from Heaven from the Bosom of his Father on purpose to reveal his Fathers Will in the Case Matth. 7. 14. Strait is the Gate and narrow is the way that leadeth to Eternal Life and few there be that find it Oh what an easie thing do Papists make it to get to Heaven What an easie thing do some others make it too But whoever makes it easie makes God a Lyar. Christ hath said Strait is the Gate and narrow is the way If being Baptized If Confessing Sins in the Ears of the Priest and taking Absolution from him if living all your Life in Sensual Satifactions then crying Lord Receive my Soul when you die and Receiving the Sacrament will bring men to Heaven Oh what an easie thing it is to be Saved But if a man must Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ if he must deny himself and take up the Cross and follow Christ if he must keep under his body and bring it in subjection to his Spirit and also bring his Spirit in subjection to the Will of God If he must forget what is behind as St. Paul did and press on to what is before unto the price of the high Calling if he must Watch and Pray and Strive and Fight and give all diligence to make his Calling and Election sure then Sirs it is no easie thing Christ judged it no easie thing St. Paul judged not so and is it not ridiculous for any to think that God should send his own Son to die an accursed Death to purchase atonement and reconciliation with God that he should sweat drops of Blood and powre out his Blood on the Cross and be put to cry out My God My God Why hast thou forsaken me and after this a Sinner living in the Church and knowing and hearing of this should think it so easie a thing to get into favour with God and obtain the Application of this Blood for the pardon of Sin and so great a mercy as Eternal Life Brethren let none deceive you it is either no easy thing to get to Heaven or the Scriptures are not to be believed nor Christ to be believed that Christ in whom we alone hope for Salvation those Scriptures which we own as the Revelation of the Will of God to us concerning our Salvation and all those holy servants of God before us who spent their time in Fastings Watchings Prayers Mortifying their Members and in all Examples of an Holy Life and in the constant owning and profession of the Truth unto death were deceived and mistaken and lived and died as fools Let men write and talk what they will possess your Souls of the Difficulty of being Saved you will find them to be at last in possession of a great and useful Truth 2. Yea and Secondly Possess your selves of the Truth of that which you have upon the same credit That there are but few that shall be Saved Matth. 7. 14. One pronounced that Question to our Saviour Luke 13. 23. Lord are there few that shall be saved He replied unto them v. 24. Strive to enter in at the Strait Gate for many I say unto you will seck to enter in and shall not be able It is a Truth that there are but few will be saved and he who observeth what conditions of Salvation the Scripture hath made and considereth the lives of most will see it must be true But our Saviour in that answer teacheth us the true use we ought to make of that Notion Not to conclude that we shall not For who hath ascended into Heaven to bring us news from thence whose Names are or are not written in the Book of Life Or who can tell who will repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 2. Not to deaden us to Duty and make us say then it is in vain for us to do any thing for we shall not be saved do we what we will no Scripture saith so but to quicken us if we be in a state of Ignorance Unbelief and Impenitency to Strive to enter in to give diligence to make our Calling and Election sure For tho it be true That in light matters that are of no great concernment Difficulty discourageth indeavours yet in things that we cannot be without and be happy where our well being is highly concerned Difficulties especially not appearing to us insuperable instead of deadening quicken us to the use of utmost Indeavours Live therefore in the daily view and apprehension of the Difficulty of getting to Heaven and under the daily thoughts of what God hath revealed That there are but few that shall be saved 4. Fourthly Be frequent in the Examination of the grounds of your hope and in the Examination have a care that your grounds have a Scripture Foundation and that as to your Grounds from Holiness you conclude rather from your affections than your actions and if at all from your actions from the course of them not from any single acts and lay more stress upon the Covenant of Grace and the application of your souls unto it than either upon your affections or actions Here is a great deal put together in this one Direction Let me shortly discourse the several