Fathers Face from Eternity before this time but now the smiling Face of God was hid and a strong impression of his Wrath made upon him And now Brethren you see what Christ hath endured both in his Body and in his Soul and all for the sake of Sinners What think you now is not Christ an earnest Suiter Doth not all this fully and plainly speak the ardours of his Love the fervencies of his desires after union and communion with us If this do not then nothing can demonstrate Love and Desire That 's the first thing the greatness of the Sufferings which he endured Secondly Let us next consider the Use and Intention of these Sufferings of Christ and how this also demonstrates the earnestness of his desires after Conjugal union with us Now there was a double Use and End of the Sufferings of Christ. 1. To make us free that we might be capable of Espousals 2. To win our Affections by the argument of his Sufferings I. One End of Christs death was to purchase our Freedom that we might be capable of being Espoused to him for you must know that we were not in a capacity whilst under the curse of the Law to be married unto Christ the Apostle Rom. 7. 2 3 4. compares the Law to a Husband to whom the Wife is bound as long as he liveth and not capable of a second marriage until her Husband be dead The Death of Christ was the Death of the Law as a Covenant of Works holding us under the bond of a Curse of it and so it gave us a manumission or freedom from that bond and a capacity of espousals to Christ as vers 4. Wherefore my brethren ye also are become dead to the Law by the Body of Christ that ye should be married to another even to him who is raised from the dead A Slave to another is not capable of being disposed in marriage until made Free you were in bondage to the Law the slaves of of Sin and Satan Christ bought out your liberty for his Blood is call'd a ransom Matth. 20. 28. and so put you into a capacity of being espoused unto himself here you see Christ loved you not for any advantage he could have by you for you had nothing to bring him nay he must purchase you and that with his own Blood before he can be united to you O incomparable love O fervent desires II. Another design and end of the Death of Christ was to win and gain our Hearts and Affections to himself by the argument of his Death this himself hath declared to be the very end and intention of it Ioh. 12. 32. And I if I be lifted up from the Earth will draw all Men unto me this he said signifying what Death he should dye Christ endured all that you have heard and infinitely more than the Tongue or Pen of Man can express and all to draw thy Soul and win thy consent to come unto him the Lord Jesus by his sufferings casts a threefold cord over the Souls of Sinners to draw them to himself 1. The Death of Christ obtains compleat righteousness for guilty sinners and if any thing in the World will draw the Heart of a sinner this will the anxious search and enquiry of a convinced sinner is after a perfect righteousness to justifie him before God. O that 's it the sinner wants Conscience saith thou hast broken all the Laws of God and art therefore a Law condemned wretch the sentence of the Law casts thee for Hell Now what would a poor sinner give for a release from this sentence of the Law O ten thousand Worlds for a Pardon Why here it is saith Christ Come unto me and thou shalt receive a free full and final pardon my Blood cleanseth from all sin my righteousness answers all the demands of the Law. I have taken away the Hand-writing that was against thee and nayled it to my Cross Col. 2. 14. Come unto me and take up thy Bonds thy cancelled Bonds come unto me and that dreadful attribute of Divine Justice shall never scare or fright thy Conscience any more nay thou shalt build thy hope upon it you read Rom. 3. 25. That God hath set forth Christ to be a propitiation through Faith in his Blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God To declare I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Iesus Here you see the justification and pardon of a sinner built upon that very Attribute which was so frightful and dreadful to him before Well then poor sinner is there guilt upon thy Conscience And doth thy Soul shake and quiver to think how it shall stand before the Just and Terrible God in the great Day Hearken to the voice of Christ crucified who calls thee to him to receive thy discharge which if thou refuse the Law still stands in its full force and vertue against thy Soul. This is one cord Christ casts from the Cross over the Souls of guilty sinners to draw them to him 2ly The Death of Christ purchases and procures perfect cleansing from the filth and pollution of sin to wash the defiled Souls of sinners from all their uncleanness For this is he that came by water and by blood not by blood only but by water also 1 Joh. 5. 6. He comes by way of Sanctification as well as by way of Justification Lord saith a convinced sinner what an unclean Nature Heart and Life have I O I am nothing but a heap of uncleanness an abhorence to God and my self how shall such an Heart as mine such an Augean Stable be cleansed Come unto me saith Christ I came by Water as well as Blood in me thou shalt find a Fountain for Sanctification as well as Justification come unto me and my Spirit shall undertake the cleansing of thy Heart he shall take away the pollutions of sin perfectly so that it shall be presented to God without spot 3ly And lastly The transcendent love of Christ shines out in its full strength upon the Souls of sinners from the Cross and there 's nothing like love to draw love when Christ was lifted up upon the Cross he gave such a glorious demonstration of the strength of his love to sinners as one would think should draw love from the hardest Heart that ever lodged in a sinners Breast Herein is love saith the Apostle not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins 1 Joh. 4. 10. q. d. Here 's the triumph the riches and glory of Divine Love never was such love manifested in the World. There 's much of Gods love in Temporal Providences but all 's nothing to this this is love in its highest Elevation Love in its Meridian Glory before it was none like it and after it shall none appear like unto it And thus you
safety and security lyes in drawing nigh to God Psal. 73. 27 28. They that are far from thee shall perish But it is good for me to draw near to God. 'T is good indeed not only the good of comfort but the good of safety is in it Deut. 33. 12. The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him You know the gracious presence of God is your shield and safety and if you will have the Lord thus present with you in all your fears straights and dangers see that you keep near to him in the Duties of communion For the Lord is with you whilst you are with him 2 Chron. 15. 2. XII Excellency 'T is the Honour of the Soul and the greatest honour that ever God conferr'd on any creature 't is the glory of the holy Angels in Heaven to be always beholding the face of God Matth. 18. 10. Oh! that God should admit poor dust and ashes unto such a nearness to himself To walk with a King and have frequent converse with him puts a great deal of honour upon a Subject but the Saints walk with God so did Enoch so do all the Saints 1 John 1. 3. Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Christ Iesus They have liberty and access with confidence the Lord as it were delivers them the golden key of prayer by which they may come into his presence on all occasions with the freedom of Children to a Father XIII Excellency 'T is the Instrument of mortification and the most excellent and successful instrument for that purpose in all the World Gal. 5. 16. This I say then Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the works of the flesh Walking in the Spirit is the same thing with walking in communion with God. Now saith the Apostle if you thus walk in the Spirit in the acting of faith love and obedience throughout the course of holy duties the effect of this will be that ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh he doth not say You shall not feel the motions of sin in you or temptations to sin assaulting you but he saith you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh sin shall not have dominion over you this will let out the life-life-blood of sin A temptation overcome this way is more effectually subdued than by all the vows resolutions and external means in the World as a Candle that is blown out with a puff of breath may be rekindled by another puff but if it be quencht in water 't is not so easily lighted again So it is here you never find that power or success in temptations when your hearts are up with God in the exercises of faith and love as you do when your hearts hang loose from him and dead towards him The Schoolmen assign this as one reason why the Saints in Heaven are impeccable no sin can fasten upon them because say they they there enjoy the beatifical vision of God. This is sure the more communion any man hath with God on Earth the freer he lives from the power of his corruptions XIV Excellency 'T is the Kernel of all Duties and Ordinances Words gestures c. are but the integuments husks and shells of Duties Communion with God is the sweet Kernel the pleasant and nourishing food which lies within them you see the fruits of the Earth are covered and defended by husks shells and such like integuments within which lye the pleasant kernels and grains and that 's the food The Hypocrite who goes no farther than the externals of Religion is therefore said to feed of Ashes Isa. 44. 20. to spend his mony for that which is not bread and his labour for that which satisfieth not Isa. 55. 2. He feeds but upon husks in which there is little pleasure or nourishment what a poor house doth a Hypocrite keep Words Gestures Ceremonies of Religion will never fill the Soul but communion with God is substantial nourishment My Soul saith David shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness whilst I think and meditate on thee Psal. 63. 5 6. It would grieve ones heart to think what airy things many Souls satisfie themselves with feeding like Ephraim upon the wind well contented if they can but shuffle over a few heartless empty duties whilst the Saints feed upon this hidden Manna are feasted as it were with Angels food XV. Excellency 'T is the Light of the Soul in darkness and the pleasantest light that ever shone upon the Soul of Man There 's many a Soul which walketh in darkness some in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief the most dismal of all darkness except that in Hell. There are others who are Children of light in a state of reconciliation yet walk in the darkness of outward afflictions and inward desertions and temptations but as soon as ever the light of Gods countenance shines upon the Soul in the duties of communion with him that darkness is dissipated and scattered 't is all light within him and round about him Psal. 34. 5. They looked unto him and were enlightned they looked there is faith acted in Duty and were enlightned there 's the sweet effect of Faith. The horrors and troubles of gracious Souls shrink away upon the rising of this chearful light as wild Beasts come out of their Dens in the darkness of the night and shrink back again into them when the Sun ariseth Psal. 104. 20 21 22. So do the fears and inward troubles of the people of God when this light shines upon their Souls Nay more this is a light which scatters the very darkness of death it self It was the saying of a worthy Divine of Germany upon his death-bed when his Eye-sight was gone being askt how it was within Why said he though all be dark about me yet pointing as well as he could to his brest hiâ—sat lucis here is light enough XVI Excellency 'T is Liberty to the straightned Soul and the most comfortable and excellent liberty in the whole World. He only walks at liberty that walks with God Psal. 119. 45. I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts Wicked men cry out of bands and cords in Religion they look upon the duties of goldliness as the greatest bondage and thraldom in the whole World Psal. 2. 3. Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us q. d. Away with this strictness and precisness it extinguishes the joy and pleasure of our lives give us our Cups instead of Bibles our prophane Songs instead of Spiritual Psalms our Sports and Past-times instead of Prayers and Sermons Alas poor creatures how do they dance in their shackles and chains When in reality the sweetest liberty is enjoyed in those Duties at which they thus snuff The Law of Christ is the Law of Liberty the Soul of man never enjoys more Liberty than when it is bound with the strictest bands of Duty to God. Here 's liberty from enthralling lusts
Adam which are as the Sand upon the Sea shore that not only so many persons but all that they have done must come into Judgment even the very thoughts of their Hearts which never came to the knowledge of Men their Consciences to be interrogated all other Witnesses fully heard and examined how great a day must this day of the Lord then be The Second Vse But the main Use of this Point will be for Exhortation that seeing all the offers of Christ are recorded and witnessed with respect to a day of account every one of you would therefore immediately embrace the present gracious tender of Christ in the Gospel as ever you expect to be acquitted and cleared in that great day take heed of denials nay of delays and demurs For if the word spoken by Angels were stedfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation Heb. 2. 2 3. The question is put but no answer made How shall we escape The wisdom of Men and Angels cannot tell how to enforce this Exhortation I shall present you with Ten weighty Considerations upon the matter which the Lord follow home by the blessing of his Spirit upon all your Hearts I. CONSIDERATION Consider how invaluable a mercy it is that you are yet within the reach of offered Grace The mercies that stand in offer before you this day were never set before the Angels that fell no Mediator was ever appointed for them Oh astonishing mercy that those Vessels of Gold should be cast into everlasting Fire and such Clay Vessels as we are thus put into a capacity of greater happiness than ever they fell from Nay the mercy that stands before you is not only denied to the Angels that fell but to the greatest part of your fellow Creatures of the same rank and dignity with you Psal. 147. 19 20. He sheweth his Word to Jacob his Statutes and his Iudgments unto Israel he hath not dealt so with any Nation and as for his Iudgments they have not known them praise ye the Lord. A mercy deservedly celebrated with a Joyful Allelujah What vast Tracts are there in the habitable World where the name of Christ is unknown T is your special mercy to be born in a Land of Bibles and Ministers where it is as difficult for you to avoid and shun the Light as it is for others to behold and enjoy it II. CONSIDERATION Consider the nature weight and worth of the mercies which are this day freely offered you Certainly they are mercies of the first Rank the most ponderous precious and necessary among all the mercies of God. Christ the first born of mercies and in him pardon peace and eternal Salvation are set before you it were astonishing to see a starving Man refusing offered bread or a condemned Man a gracious pardon Lord what compositions of sloath and stupidity are we that we should need so many intreaties to be happy III. CONSIDERATION Consider who it is that makes these gracious tenders of pardon peace and Salvation to you even that God whom you have so deeply wronged whose Laws you have violated whose mercies you have spurned and whose wrath you have justly incensed His patience groans under the burden of your daily provocations he loses nothing if you be damned and receives no benefit if you be saved yet the first motions of Mercy and Salvation to you freely arise out of his Grace and good pleasure God intreats you to be reconciled 2 Cor. 5. 20. The blessed Lord Jesus whose blood thy sins have shed now freely offers that blood for thy Reconciliation Justification and Salvation if thou wilt but sincerely accept him ere it be too late IV. CONSIDERATION Reflect seriously upon your own vileness to whom such gracious offers of Peace and Mercy are made Thy sins have set thee at as great a distance from the hopes and expectations of pardon as any sinner in the World. Consider Man what thou hast been what thou hast done and what vast heaps of guilt thou hast contracted by a life of sin and yet that unto thee Pardon and Peace should be offered in Christ after such a life of Rebellion how astonishing is the mercy The Lord is contented to pass by all thy former Rebellions thy deep died Transgressions and to sign an Act of Oblivion for all that is past if now at last thy Heart relent for Sin and thy Will bow in obedience to the grâ—at commands and call of the Gospel Isa. 55. 2. 1. 18. V. CONSIDERATION Consider how many offers of mercy you have already refused and that every refusal is recorded against you How long you have tried and even tired the patience of God already and that this may be the last overture of Grace that ever God will make to your Souls Certainly there is an offer that will be the last offer a striving of the Spirit which will be his last striving and after that no more offers without you no more motions or strivings within you for evermore The Treaty is then ended and your last neglect or rejection of Christ recorded against the day of your account and what if this should prove to be that last tender of Grace which must conclude the Treaty betwixt Christ and you what undone wretches must you then be with whom so gracious a Treaty breaks off upon such dreadful terms VI. CONSIDERATION Consider well the reasonable mild and gracious nature of the Gospel terms on which Life and Pardon are offered to you The Gospel requires nothing of you but Repentance and Faith Acts 20. 21. Can you think it hard when a Prince pardons a Rebel to require him to fall upon his Knees and stretch forth a willing and thankful Hand to receive his Pardon Your Repentance and Faith are much of the same nature Here is no legal satisfaction required at your Hands no reparation of the injured Law by your doings or sufferings but an hearty sorrow for sins committed sincere purposes and endeavours after new obedience and a hearty thankful acceptation of Christ your Saviour and for your encouragement herein his Spirit stands ready to furnish you with Powers and Abilities Prov. 1. 23. Turn ye at my reproof behold I will pour out my Spirit unto you I will make known my Words unto you and Isa. 26. 20. Lord thou hast wrought all our Works in us VII CONSIDERATION Again consider how your way to Christ by Repentance and Faith is beaten before you by thousands of sinners for your encouragement You are not the first that ever adventured your Souls in this path multitudes are gone before you and that under as much guilt fear and discouragement as you that come after can pretend unto and not a man among them repulsed or discouraged here they have found rest and peace to their weary Souls Heb. 4. 3. Acts 13. 39. Here the greatest of sinners have been set forth for an ensample to you
long-suffering le ts not loose his Hand to cut them off All sins are not of one size some have a slighter tincture and some a deeper called upon that account Scarlet and Crimson sins Isa. 1. 18. double dyed abominations sins in Grain such are sins against knowledge sins committed after Convictions and Covenants and rebukes of Providence I do not only speak of outward gross acts of sin for as the School-men well determine though outwards sins are sins of greater infamy yet inward sins may be sins of greater guilt Even those sins that never took air to defame thee in the World but whatever they be Reader whether outward or inward thy Conscience is privy to them and thy Soul may stand amazed at the Patience of God in forbearing thee all this while under such Provocations and horrid Rebellions against him especially considering how many there be this day in Hell that never provoked God by sinning with such a high Hand as thou hast done III. Evidence Thirdly It is yet a greater Evidence of the Patience of God in bearing with and forbearing us under the guilt of that special sin viz. The slighting and neglecting of Jesus Christ Here 's a sin that goes to the very Heart of Jesus Christ he can bear any other sin rather than that and yet this hath Christ born from every Soul of you You are the Men and Women that have sputned at the yearning bowels of his Mercies slighted his Grace trampled his precious Blood under Foot and yet hath he forborn you unto this day read Matth. 22. 5 and let thy Conscience answer whether thou art not equally deep in the guilt of making light of Christ with those wretches upon whom it is there charged Christ hath suffered the wrath of God in thy room brought home Salvation in Gospel offers to thy door and then to be slighted no Patience but his own could bear it Every Sermon and Prayer you have fat under with a dead Heart every motion of his Spirit which you have quencht what is this but the making light of Christ and the great Salvation Here the deepest project of infinite Wisdom and the richest gift of free-grace wherein God commends his love to Men are vilely undervalued as small things and thus have you done days without number and yet his Hand is not stretched out to cut thee off in thy Rebellion Who is a God like unto thee What Patience like the Patience of Christ IV. Evidence Fourthly The length of time the Patience of Christ hath endured thee speaks the perfection and riches of his Patience towards thee Consider sinner what Age thou art of how many Years thou canst Number and that all this hath been a time of Patience for thou wast a transgressor from the Womb Isa. 48. 8 9. yet for his Name sake hath he deferr'd his anger and hath not cut thee off How soon did the wrath of God break forth upon the Angels when they had sinned in Heaven And how long hath it born with thee whilst thou hast been provoking him on Earth Was there ever Patience like the Patience of God! Many thousands have been sent away to Hell fince thy day but thou art yet spared Oh that the long-suffering of God might be Salvation to thee V. Evidence Fifthly T is a great Evidence of the power of Divine Patience that may be drawn from the grievousness of our sins to God during the whole time of his forbearance T is true there is no proper passion in the Divine Nature no real perturbation his anger is a mild and holy flame yet the contrariety of sin to the holyness of his Nature is what makes his patience miraculous in the Eyes of Men The Scripture speaking in a condescending Language to the understanding of the creature represents God as wounded to the Heart by the sins of Men so in Ezek. 6. 9. I am broken with their whorish Heart which hath departed from me and Amos 2. 13. Behold I am pressed under you as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves when the Axel-tree is ready to crack under the load and 2 Chron. 36. 16 't is said The wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy his Patience would bear no longer and therefore when he executes his wrath upon provoking sinners that execution is represented in the nature of an ease or relief to his burdened Patience and Justice Isa. I. 24. Ah saith he I will ease me of my enemies and avenge me of my adversaries Yet observe it comes in with an ah with a kind of regret and reluctancy so in Isa. 1â— 25. Yet a very little while and the indignation shall cease and my anger in their destruction God could have given ease and rest this way to his anger long ago but he chuses rather still to bear with thee than on these terms to ease himself of thee VI. Evidence Sixthly The vast expences of his riches and bounty upon us during the whole time of his for bearance and patience towards us speaks him unconceivable and infinite in his long-suffering towards us Rom. 2. 4 5. Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance q. d. Vile sinner canst thou compute the treasures of bounty and goodness thou hast been riotously spending and wasting all this while Dost thou know what vast sums Christ hath spent upon thee to preserve thee so long out of Hell There be two Treasures spending upon sinners all the time of Gods forbearance of them there 's the precious Treasure of thy Time wasted and the invaluable streams of Gospel Grace running all this while at the waste Spout thy Time is precious the Whole of thy Time which is betwixt thee and Eternity is but little and the most thereof has been wasted in sin and cast away upon vanity but that 's not all the Treasures of Gospel Grace have been wasting all this while upon thee In Zach. 4. 12. it is compared to Golden Oyl maintaining the Lamps of Ordinances so it is set forth to us in that stately Emblem Who would maintain a Lamp with Golden Oyl for wanton Children to play by yet this hath God done while thy soul hath dallied and trifled with him The Witnesses or Ministers of Christ in Rev. 11. 3 4. are compared to those Olive-Trees that drop their precious Oyl their Gifts Graces yea and their natural Spirits with them into this Lamp to keep it burning all this while the Blood of Christ hath been running in vain the Ministers of Christ preaching and beseeching in vain the Spirit of Christ striving with you in vain You burn away Golden Oyl and yet your Lamp is not gone out Oh Marvelous Patience Oh the riches of Gods Forbearance VII Evidence Lastly The riches of Divine Patience towards you are greatly heightned and aggravated by the quick dispatch the Lord hath made of other sinners whilst
rises not out of Nature as common gifts do but of this it is expresly said Eph. 2. 8. It is not of your selves it is the gift of God. Where this work is effectually wrought we may reason as solidly as comfortably from it both backward to the electing love of God and forward to our eternal glorification with him Rom. 8. 30. II. Consolation The opening of thy Heart to Christ by saving Faith gives thee interest in Christ the very same hour the relation is then constituted the conjugal tye or bond is fastned betwixt him and thy Soul Iohn 1. 12. To as many as received him to them gave he power viz. right or privilege to become the Sons of God even to as many as believed on his Name You neither need nor may expect an extraordinary messenger or voice from Heaven to tell you that Christ is yours and you are his you have a better foundation in this Word and Work of Faith for my part if God will give me the clear and satisfying experience of this Work upon my Heart I would never desire more satisfaction on this side Heaven I know not but the Devil may counterfeit an extraordinary voice and cheat the Soul by a lying Oracle but if I really feel my Heart and Will sincerely opening to Christ upon Gospel terms I am sure there is no deceit in that III. Consolation The opening of thy Heart to Christ by Faith is a good assurance that Heaven shall be opened to thy Soul hereafter Heaven is shut against none but those that shut their Hearts against Christ by Unbelief Will you bar Christ out of your Souls by Ignorance and Unbelief and then cry Lord open to us No God will open to none but them that open to Christ. Etâ—rnity it self shall but suffice to bless God for this opening act of Faith He that believeth shall be saved Mark 16. 16. IV. Consolation The opening of thy Soul to Christ by Faith makes it Christs habitation for ever in that hour outgoes sin and Satan and incomes Christ and Grace If any Man open unto me I will come in to him saith the Text of such a Soul Christ saith as it was said of the Temple Psalm 132. 13 14. The Lord hath desired it for his Habitation This is my rest for ever here will I dwell for I have desired it Thy Soul now becomes an hallowed Temple to the Lord as he hath said I will dwell in them and walk in them and will be their God and they shall be my people 2 Cor. 6. 16. O what an Heaven upon Earth is here Christ dwelling in the Soul is the glory of the Soul as Gods dwelling in the Temple was the glory of the Temple V. Consolation In a word the opâ—â—ing of the Heart to Christ is that work which answers the great design of the Gospel Wherefore hath God set up Ordinances and Ministers yea wherefore is the Spirit sent forth but to open the Hearts of sinners to Christ by Faith When this is done the main end and intention of the Gospel is attained and answered the union is effected betwixt Christ and the Soul it is now put out of hazard The whole Work of the Gospel after that is but to build up confirm and comfort the Soul ripen it s implanted Graces and make it meet for glory And thus through the assistance of the Spirit I have finished the fifth Observation That every Conviction of Conscience and motion upon the Affections is a knock or call of Christ for entrance into the sinners Heart SERMON VI. Revel 3. 20. Behold I stand at the door and knock c. I stand and knock HEre 's pains and patience all means used by Christ to gain entrance into the Souls of sinners It speaks the earnestness of his suit and vehemency of his desire to be in union with the Souls of Men. The sixth Observation therefore will be this VI. DOCT. That Iesus Christ is an earnest suitor for union and communion with the Souls of sinners This Point lyes directly and fully in the very Eye and intention of the Text. In the opening of it two things must be spoken to in the Doctrinal part viz. 1. The demonstration of this Truth that he is so 2. The marvelous and admirable grace and condescension of Christ that he should be so First For Demonstration of this Truth That Christ is an earnest suiter for union and communion with the Souls of sinners I shall draw down the Demonstration of this Truth from a view and consideration of the dispositions carriages and actions of the Lord Jesus towards poor sinners from first to last And when you have compared them all together and by them seen the temper of his Heart how great and clear a light will shine upon this Point That his Heart hath still enclined towards union and communion with sinful Man will evidently appear by considering him in a fourfold state and time 1. Before his Incarnation 2. In the days of his Flesh. 3. At his Death And 4. At and since his Ascension into Heaven First Consider him before his Incarnation and you will find too things in that state which plainly speak his desires after union with us 1. In the Covenant of Redemption he made with God concerning us before this World had a being for such Covenants and Promises did really pass betwixt him and the Father before all time or else I know not how to understand that Scripture Tit. 1. 2. In hope of eternal Life which God that cannot lye promised before the World began To whom could that Promise be made but unto Christ which bears date before the Creation what else can this mean but the Covenant of Redemption made betwixt the Father and the Son the terms whereof are set down in Isa. 53. 10 11. where you find what Christ was to do Viz. To put his Soul an offering for sin And what should be his reward for pouring out his Soul unto Death viz. To see his Seed to see the travail of his Soul even a Church purchased with his own Blood Whether this be not a great demonstration of the propension and inclination of Christs Heart and Desire towards union and communion with poor sinners let all Men judge O what a value did Christ set upon our Souls that upon such costly terms he would consent to redeem them Unto this agreement God the Father held him Rom. 8. 32. God spared not his own Son. And this very covenant Christ pleaded with the Father Iohn 17. 6. I have manifested thy Name to the Men which thou gavest me out of the World thine they were and thou gavest them me This plainly shews the vehement desire of Christs Heart to be in union with Men according to that Prov. 8. 31. Rejoycing in the habitable parts of his Earth and my delights were with the Sons of Men. Blessed Jesus nothing but the strength of thine own desire and love could ever have drawn thee
râ—proach of Men and despised of the people How poor in temporal comforts when he said Matth. 8. 20. The Foxes have holes and the Birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his Head. Yea how poor was he in Spiritual Comforts when that astonishing outcry brake from him upon the Cross Matth. 27. 46. My God my God why hast thou forsaken me O let it astonish us that Christ should earnestly desire union with our Souls upon terms of such deep self-denial to himself 3ly Though Christ gain nothing by you and impoverished himself for you yet doth he endure many vile repulses delays and denials of his Suit and will not leave it for all that O astonishing grace One would think that the least delay and much more a refusal of an overture from Christ upon such terms as you have heard should make his indignation presently to smoak against such a Soul and that he should say Thou hast refused my offer so full of self-denying and condescending grace never shall another offer be made to so unworthy a Soul and yet you see he is contented to wait as well as knock Behold I stand at the door and knock 4ly Herein the admirable Grace of this heavenly suiter appears that Jesus Christ passeth by millions of Creatures of more excellent Gifts and Temperaments and never makes them one offer of himself never turneth aside to give one knock at their door but comes to thee the vilest and bafest of Creatures and will not be gone from thy door without his errands end Knowest thou not sinner that among the unsanctified there are to be found multitudes of Men and Women of more raised and excellent Parts nimble Wits strong Memory solid Judgments yea Men and Women of cleaner Conversations strict Morality adorned with excellent homilitical Vertues capable if called to do him abundantly more service than thou canst yet these are past by and he becomes a Suiter to such a poor worthless thing as thou art yea and rejoyces in his choice Matth. 11. 24. I thank thee Father Lord of Heaven and Earth because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes Here is the triumph of Free-grace 5ly And then in the last place this justly increaseth the wonder That ever Jesus Christ should desire and delight to dwell in such an unclean Heart as thine which from the beginning hath been the Seat and Throne of Satan full of all uncleanness and abominations O that ever Christ should make an overture of love to such a polluted Soul That he should chose to erect his Throne where Satans seat was Look into thine Heart sinner and think what can Christ see here to be desired Thou knowest thy Heart hath been a sink of sin thy Conscience like the common shoar into which all the filth of thy life hath been cast yet Christ passeth by thee as thou liest in thy blood and filthyness and casteth love upon thee and desire towards thee as it is Ezek. 16. 6 8. All these things put together make it justly admirable and astonishing in our Eyes that ever Jesus Christ the Lord from Heaven should become an earnest Suiter for union and communion with the Souls of sinners I. Vse for Information I. Inference If Christ be such an earnest Suiter for union and communion with the Souls of sinners then it follows That sinners can justly charge their damnation upon none but themselves Your blood must be upon your own Heads Salvation by Christ is not only freely offered but you are with great importunity perswaded to accept it Christ offers you life you chuse rather to dye than accept it upon his terms where now can your damnation be charged but upon your own wilful obstinacy Hos. 13. 9. O Israel thy destruction is of thy self Thou art the Author of thine own ruin I would have gathered thy Children saith Christ to Ierusalem but thou wouldest not your ruin therefore lies upon your selves and upon none beside indeed if the Ministers of Christ be negligent in their duty they may come in as accessories to your destruction but that 's a poor relief to you as for my self I hope I may with Paul take God to record this day that I am free from the blood of all Men now consider what a dismal aggravation of your destruction this will be that you perished by your own Hands this cuts off all plea and apology II. Inference Hence it also follows that distressed sinners have no reason to question Christs willingness to receive them when their Hearts are made willing to come unto him It were no less than a blasphemous imputation of insincerity to Christ himself to question his willingness to receive broken-hearted sinners after so many protestations as he hath made in the Gospel of his zeal and earnestness for their Salvation that Scripture Iohn 6. 37. puts it out of doubt He that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out I know guilt breeds many fears and jealousies in the Hearts of sinners will Christ ever accept and receive such a one as I Try him Soul he hath said he will let him have but the deliberate consent of thy Heart to his terms and then if thou be rejected thou wilt be the first Soul in the World that ever met with a repulse from him III. Inference By Christs earnest Suit for the Souls of sinners you may estimate the invaluable worth and precious Nature of the Soul of Man. Were not the Soul a Creature of great value Jesus Christ would never be so deeply concerned about the winning and saving of it Sinners have a vile esteem of their own Souls they will sell them for nought but Christ knows their true worth and his solicitude to save them is answerable to his estimation of them he counts when he hath gained a Soul he hath gained a Treasure Therefore he pleads woos and waits so earnestly and assiduously for the Salvation of them Two things speak the great value of the Soul of Man. 1. That it is a marriagable Creature to Christ now 2. That it is capable of Glory with Christ hereafter I. It is a marriagable Creature to Christ now capable of espousals to the Son of God upon which account it is Christ so earnestly seeks its love and sues for its consent Now this is a dignity beyond all other Creatures in Heaven or Earth no Angel in Heaven no other Creature but the Soul of Man on Earth is capable of espousals unto Christ 't is a dignity above that of Angels for Christ took not on him their Nature and the Hypostatical union is the ground and foundation of the Mystical union They are Members indeed of Christs Kingdom and he is to them a Head of dominion but this honour was never conferred upon Angels to be Members of his Body Flesh and Bones as the Saints are Ephes. 5. 30. II. As the Soul is capable of espousals
Gospel which you enjoy leads you to the Fountain of pardon and peace Iâ—a 53. 5. By his stripes we are healed The voice of the Gospel is peace peace to every one that believeth a rational peace founded upon the full satisfaction of Christ Ephes. 1. 7. In whom we have redemption through his Blood even the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his Grace Here you see Justice and Mercy kissing each other God satisfied and the Sinner justified for Conscience demands as much to satisfie it as God demands to satisfie him if God be satisfied Conscience is satisfied O blessed are the people that hear this joyful sound Psal. 89. 15. And doubtless it is a joyful sound to every convinced humbled Soul Beautiful upon the Mountains are the Feet of them that bring good tydings that publish peace It is a Gospel worthy of all acceptation 1 Tim. 1. 15. it brings with it a fulness of blessings among the People O England O Dartmouth Provoke not thy God to extinguish this blessed light Great is our wantonness and ominous is our barrenness and ingratitude Yet a little while the light is with you walk whilst ye have the light lest darkness come upon you for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth John 12. 35. Should God blow out this light whither will you go Who shall pour in Balm to your distressed bleeding Consciences ' II. Inference Hence in like manner it follows that the greatness heinousness of past sins is no bar to believing and accepting Christ upon Gospel terms Let no sinner be dismaid by the atrocity and heynousness of sins past from coming unto Jesus Christ for remission and peace I am awar what mischievous use Satan makes of former sins to discourage Souls from the work of Faith by heaping them together he raiseth up a Mountain betwixt Christ and the distressed Soul but behold this day Christ leaping over these Mountains and skiping over these Hills Could this objection be rouled out of the way sinners would go on in hope but certainly if God have given thee a broken Heart and a willing Mind the greatness of thy sin need not discourage thee from believing For 1. thou hast sufficient encouragement from the sufficiency of the causes of pardon whatever thy particular enormities have been there is a sufficiency in the impulsive cause the Free Grace and Mercy of God Exod. 34. 6 7. Micah 7. 18 19. Isa. 55. 7 8 9. It is well there is Mercy enough in God to heal and cover all and there is no less sufficiency in the meritorious cause of pardon the Blood of Jesus Christ which taketh away all sin 1 Iohn 1. 7. 1 Iohn 29. And it must needs be so because it is Divine Blood Acts 20. 28. Neither is there any defect in the applying cause the Spirit of God who hath already begun to work upon thy Heart and is able to break it and bow it and bring it home fully to Christ and to compleat the work of Faith upon thee with power thou complainest thou canst not mourn nor believe as thou wouldst but he wants no ability to supply all the defects of thy repentance and faith Well then if the mercy of God be sufficient to pardon the sin of a Creature if the Blood of Christ the Treasures and Revenues of a King be able to pay the debts of a Beggar if the Spirit of God who works by an Almighty Power be able to convince thee of righteousness as well as sin Iohn 16. 9. I say if all the three causes of forgiveness be sufficient every one in its kind the first to move the second to purchase and the third to apply what hinders but thy trembling Conscience should go to Christ and thy discouraged Soul move onward with hope in the way of believing whatever thy former enormities have been 2. If God raises glory to his Name out of the greatness of the sins he pardoneth then the greatness of sin can be no discouragement to believing but so God doth he raiseth the glory of his Name from the multitude and magnitude of the sins he pardoneth Ier. 33. 8 9. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned and whereby they have transgressed against me And it shall be to me a name of joy a praise and an honour before all the Nations of the Earth which shall hear all the good I do unto them And they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it As a cure performed upon a Man labouring under a desperate Disease it magnifies the Physitian and spreads his Name far and near The Devil envies God this glory and thy Soul this comfort and therefore scares thee off from Christ by the aggravations of thy sins David was willing to give God the glory of pardoning his great iniquities and with that very argument moves him for a pardon Psal. 25. 11. Pardon mine iniquitie for it is great You see there are strange ways of arguing in Scripture which are not in use among Men this is one Lord pardon my sin for it is great he doth not say Lord pardon it for it is but a small offence no but pardon it because it is great and the greater it is the greater Glory wilt thou have in pardoning it And then there is another way of arguing for pardon in Scripture which is peculiar and that is to argue from former pardons unto new pardons when Men beg their pardon one of another they use to say I never wronged you before and therefore forgive me now but here it is quite otherwise Lord thou hast signed thousand of pardons heretofore therefore pardon me again such is that plea Numb 14. 19. Pardon I beseech thee the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy mercy and as thou hast forgiven them from Egypt even until now 3. As great sins as those that now stare in the Face of thy Conscience have been actually forgiven to Men upon their humiliation and closing with Christ. Poor sinners under trouble of Conscience are apt to think there is no sin like theirs God forbid I should diminish and extenuate sin but certain I am that Free Grace hath pardoned as great Sinners as thou art upon their repentance and faith What think you had you had a Hand in putting Christ to Death would not that sin have been as dreadful as any that now discourages you Yea certainly you would have thought that an unpardonable sin and yet behold that very sin was no bar to their pardon when once they were pricked at the Heart and made willing to come to Christ Acts 2. 36 37 38. 4. If it be the design and policy of Satan to object the greatness of your sins to prevent the pardoning of them then certainly 't is neither your duty nor interest
for righteousness The meaning is to him that worketh not in a law sense to procure pardon and acceptance by and for working Go then poor sinner unto God through Christ and tell him thou hast nothing to bring him thou comest not to bring but to receive Lord I am a vile sinner I have nothing to plead but thy mercy and Christs merit This is the Spirit of the Gospel 2ly By standing off from Faith for want of these qualifications you invert the setled order of the Gospel by puting consequents in the place of antecedents and antecedents in the places of consequents it is as if a Man should say If I were cured of such and such Diseases then I would go to the Phisitian alas could you otherwise procure the healing of your corruptions or the gracious qualifications you speak of you would have no need to go to Christ at all nothing is required of us in our coming to Christ but such a sense of and sorrow for â—in as makes us heartily willing to accept Christ and subscribe the terms on which he is offered in the Gospel V. Inference Behold the admirable condescension of Christ that he will come into the Heart of the vilest sinner and not disdain to take his abode in that Soul which hath been the seat of Satan where he hath ruled and every unclean lust hath been harbour'd There are two things wherein the admirable condescension of Christ appears 1. In taking union with our Nature after sin had blasted the beauty of it this was a marvelous stoop indeed and justly admired by the Apostle Phil. 2. 7. He made himself of no reputation and was made in the likeness of Men. Yea God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh Rom. 8. 3. But 2ly 't is justly admirable in our Eyes that Christ should also take union with our persons and take his habitation and abode in our Hearts after Satan and sin had so long inhabited and defiled them that he should accept those Members as instruments of his service that very Tongue to praise him that had blasphemed him c. yet so he is willing to do and commands us to deliver them up to him Rom 6. 19. As ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness One would have thought Jesus Christ should have said Vile wretch Satan hath had the use and service of thy Soul and Body from thy beginning to this day thy Memory hath been his Storehouse thy Mouth his Shop thy Will his Throne and all thy Members his Tools and Instruments to sin against me thou hast been a Creature dedicated to Satan and to him thou shalt go No but the merciful Lord declares his willingness if thou wilt open thy Soul to receive him to cleanse it by his Spirit and make it his Temple to dwell in O admirable grace VI. Inference Lastly How just and inevitable will their damnation be who consent not to the necessary and reasonable terms of the Gospel which is the only point on which Christ and their Souls part for ever The terms required by the Gospel are every way equal and reasonable if a gracious Prince will bestow a Pardon upon a Traitor upon this condition that he lay down his Arms acknowledge his Ofâ—ence and list himself in his Princes Service and he shall refuse so to do how just and unpitied will his destruction be and what else doth God require of thee but only this Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous Man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Isa. 55. 7. And as the damnation of such is just so it will be inevitable for if there be no way to glory but by Christ as you know there is not Acts 4. 12. Neither is there salvation in any other And if there be no way to Christ but by our accepting him upon these very terms as it plainly appears from Luke 14. 26. there is not what then remains but inevitable damnation to all that come not up to the terms of the Gospel If you think not Christ a good bargain with all the sufferings losses and reproaches that attend him your Mouths will be stopt no plea will be left you in the great Day You refused a fair offer when it was seasonably and graciously made you by the Gospel and now you must expect no more such offers to Eternity thy Blood sinner be upon thine own Head the freeness and Importunity of the tenders of Grace will then only seem to illustrate and clear the righteousness of God in thy condemnation II. Vse for Exhortation In the next place The point naturally leads me to a vehement perswasive unto all sinners of what rank or size soever they be to hearken to the voice of Christ who takes them all within the compass of his gracious invitation in the Text saying If any Man open I will come in Let all sorts of sinners bless God for the extensiveness of this invitation and that they find themselves by it as yet within the reach and compass of the Arms of a merciful Redeemer And that there is nothing wanting to secure their Salvation but the hearty consent of their Wills to the reasonable and necessary terms of the Gospel Look over the whole Book of God and you shall there find but one case absolutely excepted from the possibility of forgiveness but one wound absolutely incurable of which Christ speaks Matth. 12. 31 32. And what may be the reason that this only iâ— an incurable wound certainly it cannot be because the malignity of this sin exceeds the meritorious and pardoning vertue of the Blood of Christ but rather because there is no sacrifice appointed by the Lord for it God never designed that the Blood of Christ should be an expiatory Sacrifice for that sin as the Apostle plainly speaks Heb. 6. 4 5 6 7. All other sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven unto Men saith Christ that is they are capable of forgiveness upon sincere and actual repentance and faith yea they have been actually pardoned unto many now the greater any Mans sins hath been the greater need he hath to hasten to Christ for pardon There are some of you greater sinners than others for though no sin be venial light and trivial in it self yet compared one with another there is a vast difference found betwixt them in the weight and aggravations of them Now I will labour to shew you by what rules Men are to estimate the greatness and aggravation of sin and then to convince you that the greatest of sinners stand yet fair for mercy as well as the lesser and sometimes much fairer Publicans and Harlots go into the Kingdom of God before you saith Christ Matth. 21. 31. Now the rules to estimate the aggravations and greatness
of sin by are these 1. There be sins of infirmity committed out of weakness and there are crying sins in the Ears of the Lord of the former sort sins of infirmity you read Gal. 6. 1. where it is called an overtaking in a fault here 's no premeditation nor deliberate consent but a surprize these go not to the account of gross and heynous enormities called in Scripture crying sins such as are the sin of oppression Hab. 2. 10 11. The stones shall cry out of the wall aud the beam out of the timber shall answer it The meaning is that the injustice and oppression which Men have used in raising their own Houses shall cry in the Ears of the Lord for vengance The Stone in the Wall shall say I was digged out of the Quarry hewen and layed here by the unrewarded labours of the poor Mason and the Timber out of the Beam shall say I was hewn squared and placed here by the unrewarded Hands of the poor Carpenter This is a crying sin so also is the sin of Murder when our Hands have been defiled with innocent Blood this makes a dismal cry in Heaven Gen. 4. 10. The voice of thy Brothers blood cryeth unto me from the ground A sin that makes an horrid outcry in both Worlds at once in Heaven and in the sinners Conscience Such also is the sin of unnatural lusts the sin of Sodom made a cry which came up to Heaven Gen. 18. 20. Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grievous Compare these sins with the sins of common infirmity which come by way of involuntary surprize and what vast odds will be found in the weight and aggravations of them 2ly You find in Scripture a great difference put betwixt sins committed against the clear shining light of Knowledge in the sinners Conscience and sins of Ignorance which are committed for want of Knowledge Christ himself puts a great difference betwixt them Luke 12. 47 48. and so doth the Apostle Iames 4. 17. To him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is sin Sin with a witness 3ly There are single acts of sin and continued or repeated acts of sin Sins committed after Conviction Promises and Resolutions Now there is not so much of guilt in a single act of sin as there is in a repeated and continued course of sin called Deut. 29. 19. Adding of drunkenness to thirst and Isa. 30. 1. Adding sin to sin For as it is in numbring so it is in sinning if the first figure be one the second is ten the third an hundred the fourth a thousand and every addition makes a greater multiplication O what a dreadful reckoning will here be for the Consciences of poor sinners 4ly Contrivers and studiers of sin are always in Scripture placed in the first rank of sinners The best servant God hath in the World may be surprized by the deceitfulness of sin against the gracious bent and resolution of his Soul but the contrivance and plotting of sin is quite another thing therefore it is said of the wicked Iob 15. 35. They conceive mischief and bring forth vanity and their belly prepareth deceit That is sin like the Foetus in the Womb hath its time of conception growth and birth and all this by the deliberate consent of the naughty Heart and Will which fosters and cherishes it 5ly There are ring-leaders in sin and single personal sins which spread no farther than our selves a ring-leader in sin is in Scripture reckoned amongst the greatest of sinners so Revel 2. 14. Thou hast them that held the Doctrin of Balaam who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the Children of Israel thus Ieroboam the son of Nebat made Israel to sin There is the same difference betwixt these and single personal sins as there is betwixt a chain shot and a single bullet Mind this you that have induced others to sin by your counsel or example 6ly There are sins in which men glory and take pleasure and sins for which men groan and mourn Now the more pleasure any man takes in sin the greater doth the sin arise in its aggravation We read of some Iob 20. 12. in whose mouths wickedness is sweet and they hide it under their tongue that is they draw a great deal of contemplative delight before and after the commission of sin as well as in the commission of it 'T is bad enough to sin and sigh to sin and weep but to sin and boast to sin and make a mock of sin what a prodigious way of sinning is this O Sinner what an heart hast thou that canst play and sport with that which grieves God crucified Christ and with without deep and sound Repentance will damn thine own Soul 7ly The more Bonds of Restraint any man breaks asunder to commit sin the greater and more aggravated always that sin is in the sight of God. There be some persons upon whom God hath laid more bonds of restraint to keep back their souls from iniquity than he hath upon others The more mercies he hath bestowed upon you the more restraints from sin So many mercies so many tyes Ier. 2. 5 6. especially spiritual mercies as light in your minds pardons sealed to your consciences love manifested to your souls Such also are your own Vows Promises and Resolutions Ier. 2. 20. Thou saidst I will no more transgress Didst not thou promise me saith God more care and circumspection for time to come And such are all the Examples and Warnings God hath given us by his Judgments upon others 1 Cor. 10. 11. These things put an Accent upon sin and make it out of measure sinful And now my Friends what have have I been driving at all this while in opening the greatness and aggravations of sin The design of all this is to shew you the indispensible need of Repentance and Faith to carry you to Christ. But I am the person upon whom these crying aggravated sins are found you tell me of going to Christ alas there is no hope of mercy for such a wretch as I am There it sticks Poor sinners think 't is to no purpose they had as good go on in sin for they conclude there 's no hope for them Come sinners give me leave to tell you you have a Text before you that the clears the way of your duty and salvation at once If any man be he what he will be his sins never so great yet if he hear my voice and open the door I will come into him saith Christ. There is mercy in Jesus Christ for thee who art guilty of crying sins For thee that hast added sinned against light and knowledge For thee that hast drunkenness to thirst For thee that hast contrived sin with deliberation For thee that hast induced others to sin by counsel or example For thee that hast taken pleasure in iniquity and made a sport of sin Yea and for
made and yet no breach not one stone moved out of its place you will say that 's a strong Wall indeed Beloved God hath as I may say raised a Mount in the Gospel planted the great Ordinance of Heaven upon it discharged many dreadful vollies of threatnings nay he hath as it were come under the walls of the unbelieving Soul with terms of grace and mercy and yet no opening O prodigious obstinacy We have piped unto you but ye have not danced we have mourned unto you but ye have not lamented Matth. 11. 17. Neither the sweet Airs of Gospel Grace nor the dreadful thunders of the Law make any impression upon you O what an obdurate Rock is the Heart by nature Certainly every Christian may see enough in others and find enough in himself without the help of other Books to confute the Arminian Doctrian which so extolls and flatters the nature of man. It is as possible to make an impression with your finger upon a wall of brass as for the best Sermon in the world in its own strength to make an effectual saving impression upon a sinners Will. III. Inference Is it the great design of the Gospel to open the hearts of men to Christ then wonder not that it meets with such strong and fierce opposition from Satan wherever it is sincerely and powerfully preached As for general and formal preaching which comes not to the quick the Devil is not so much concerned about it he knows it will do him no great damage nay it fastens and secures his interest in the Souls of men But wherever the Gospel comes with spirit and power laying the Ax to the Root shewing men the vanity of their ungrounded hopes pressing the necessity of Regeneration and Faith this preaching quickly gives an alarm to Hell and raises all manner of opposition against it What is it to preach the Gospel said Luther but to derive the rage and fury of the whole world upon us Satan is the God of this world all men by Nature are his born Subjects No Prince on earth is more jealous of the revolt of his Subjects than he and its time for him to bestir himself when the Gospel comes to dethrone him as it doth in the faithful preaching of it Iohn 12. 31. Now is the Judgment of this world now shall the Prince of this world be cast out Now he falls as Lightning from Heaven Luke 10. 18. Now Sinners are made sensible of the cruel tyranny and bondage of Satan's Government and of the glorious liberty offered to them by Jesus Christ. Satan suspecting the Issue of these things bestirs himself to purpose O what showers of Calumnies and storms of Persecution doth he pour upon the Names and Persons of Christ's faithful Ambassadours certainly he owes Christ's Ministers a spight and they shall know and feel it if ever he get them within the compass of his Chain But let this discourage none imployed in this glorious design the Lord is with them to protect their persons and reward their diligence IV. Inference If the opening of the heart be the main design of the Gospel then Christ and Faith ought to be the principal Subjects that Ministers should insist on among their people There are many other useful Doctrins which may and ought to be opened and prest in their time and place Moral duties c. have their excellencies but Christ and Faith are the great things we are to preach Let men be once brought to Christ and the rest will follow but to begin and end with Morality will never make men Gospel Christians Grace teaches Morality Titus 2. 11. but Morality without Grace saves no man. I doubt not but it hath been a grand Artifice of the Devil to confound Grace with Morality and make men believe that nothing more is requir'd unto mens salvation but a civil sober conversation in the world and so lay by the principal part of the Gospel which opens and presses the necessity of Regeneration Repentance and Faith in the Blood of Christ Such preaching as this answers not the end and design of Christ in the conversion of Souls such toothless preaching disturbs not the Consciences of men the Lord help all his Ambassadours to mind the Example and Charge of their Redeemer and laying aside all carnal interest to apply themselves faithfully unto the Souls and Consciences of their hearers not as men-pleasers but as the servants of Christ. II. Vse of Conviction In the next place This Doctrin is of excellent Use to convince men of the dreadful damning nature of the sin of Unbelief A sin which defeats and frustrates the main design of the blessed Gospel of Christ on the Unbelievers Soul. This is the sin that keeps the heart fast shut against him As Faith is the radical Grace so Unbelief is the radical Sin. What shall I say of it it is the Traytors Gate through which those Souls pass that are to perish for ever The Gospel can do you no good the Blood of Christ can yield you no saving benefit whilst your Souls remain under the dominion and power of this sin When we consider the mighty Arguments of the Gospel we may wonder that all that hear them are not immediately perswaded to Christ by them And on the other side when we consider the mighty power of Unbelief how strongly it holds the Soul in bondage to sin we may admire that any Soul is brought over to Christ by the Gospel It was not without cause that the Apostle puts faith in Christ among the great Mysteries and Wonders of the Gospel 1 Tim. 3. 16. Now the intrinsick evil and fearful consequences of this sin of Unbelief will appear in these following particulars 1. Unbelief fixes the guilt of all other sins on the person of the Unbeliever it binds them all fast upon his Soul Iohn 8. 24. For if ye believe not that I am he ye shall dye in your sins Dye in thy sins man it were better for thee to dye in a Ditch What more terrible can God threaten or man feel This is the sin that makes the death of Christ of none effect to us Gal. 5. 4. There is indeed a soveraign virtue in the Blood of Christ to pardon sin but thy Soul cannot have the benefit of it while it remains under the dominion of this sin As it was said of the miraculous works of Christ He could do no mighty works there because of their unbelief Matth. 13. 58. so none of his spiritual works no ordinances can do thy Soul good till the Lord break the power of this sin Hebr. 4. 2. The word preached did not profit them not being mixed in faith in them that heard it If a man were dangerously sick or wounded the richest Cordial or most soveraign Plaister in the world can never recover him unless received and applyed Unbelief spills the most soveraign Cordials of the Gospel as Water upon the ground The greatest sins that ever thou committedst
noble immortal spirit of a Man. 2. Hypocrites have their delights and comforts in a false imaginary happiness which they fancy to themselves but this is a vanishing shadow they take comfort from their groundless hopes of Heaven whither they shall never come 't is a feast in a dream Isa. 44. 20. Thus they make a bridge of their own shadow and are drowned in the waters Such sensitive and false comforts and pleasures Men may have but no true solid scriptural joy takes place in any mans Heart before Christ come into it IV. Inference Guess from hence what Heaven is if there be such a feast to the Soul in the very foretasts of it If a relish a taste of Heaven in the earnest thereof be so transporting and ravishing what then is the full fruition of God! If these be unutterable what must that be Give me leave to say Whatever the comforts and joys of any believer in this World may be yet Heaven will be a surprize to him when he comes thither The joys of Gods presence are other manner of things than our present comforts are though these be of the same kind with them yet in a far inferiour degree There is a fix-fold difference betwixt the Spiritual comforts of believers on Earth and the joys that are above They differ 1. In Quantity 2. In Constancy 3. In Purity 4. In Efficacy 5. In the Society 6. In the Durability of them First They differ in quantity Here we know but in part but when that which is perfect is come then that which is in part shall be done away 1 Cor. 13. 9 10. When the Scripture speaks of the comforts communicated to Saints on Earth it usually expresses them in some diminutive terms or other calling them first-fruits earnests and the like and indeed it is necessary we should receive them here with such alloys and in remiss degrees because the imperfection and weakness of our present state will not bear them in their plenitude and perfection Here the joy of the Lord enters into us but there we are said to enter into that joy Matth. 25. 21. 'T is too great to enter into us therefore we enter into and are swallowed up in it Secondly They differ in Constancy the best comforts upon Earth are found to be intermitting comforts a Sun-blast and a Cloud a good day and a bad you know houskeepers feed upon two sorts of meat dayly-bread and dainties rarities come not every day to the Table The dayly-bread upon which believers live is the recumbence and affiance of faith as for assurance and joy those come but now and then Thirdly They differ in Purity as well as Constancy here we have the comforts of the Spirit but we mingle sin with them and usually the sin of Spiritual pride which spoils all Yea many times the Lord suffers Satan to mingle his temptations and injections with them lest we should be exalted 2 Cor. 12. 7. But above the comforts of the Saints are as the pure water of life clear as Cristal Rev. 22. 1. Fourthly They differ in Efficacy as well as in Purity The highest comforts of the Spirit here are not perfectly transformative of our Souls into the image of God as they are in Heaven 1 Iohn 3. 3. We shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Here after we are comforted by him we grieve the comforter himself by sin neither do the comforts of the Spirit in this state produce the fruits of obedience in their perfect maturity as they do above there is the same difference in in point of efficacy as there is betwixt the influence of the Sun beams in the winter-months and those in May and Iune Fifthly There is a great difference in respect of Society Here the believer for the most part eats his pleasant morsels alone one Christian eats and another hungers but in Heaven they all feast and feed together at one Table Matth. 8. 11. They shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God. O what is it to rejoyce in the fellowship of Patriarchs Prophets and Apostles where the joy of one is the joy of all Sixthly They differ also in Durability sin here puts a stop to our comforts but in Heaven as there is no comma so there shall never be a full point or period Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads There 's an eternal feast no taking away the cloth no rising from that feast 2 Thes. 2. 16. 'T is everlasting consolation We shall be ever with the Lord. II. Vse This point puts serious matter of Exhortation into my mouth The Lord direct it to the Hearts of all whether they be in Christ or out of Christ. First To those that are out of Christ and will not yet be perswaded to open their Hearts and consent to his terms O what a spiritual infatuation is here What shut the door of thy Heart against Christ and all the delights and comforts of this and the coming World What madness is this Hear me thou poor deluded sinner that wilt not be perswaded to part with thy sinful sensual delights in exchange for Christ and the peace comfort and joy that follow him I have a few things to speak on Christs behalf at this time O that they might prevail O that by them the Spirit of the Lord might perswade thy Spirit thou poor unregenerate creature Let me offer four or five Considerations or Pleas on Christs behalf if haply they may prevail and make way for his entertainment in thy Soul. And I. Let me plead thine own necessity with thee a mighty argument which in other cases useth to make its way through all oppositions and make all difficulties fly before it thou art a poor necessitous pining famishing Soul however thy body be accommodated thou hast not one bit of spiritual bread for thy famishing Soul to live upon Christ is the bread that cometh down from Heaven the starving Prodigal Luke 15. v. 16 17. is the lively Emblem of thy Soul he fed upon husks and thou feedest upon that which is not bread Isa. 55. 2. Thou art wretched and miserable poor blind and naked Rev. 3. 17. Thy body hath often been fill'd and refresht with the good creatures of God but thy Soul never tasted one bit of spiritual bread since it came into thy body it never smackt the sweetness of a pardon the deliciousness of a promise the joy and comfort of Christ the choicest food that ever thou tastedsts was such as thy Soul cannot live upon II. Christ is at the door of thy Soul with plenty and variety of heavenly comforts costly dainties purchased by his blood if thou wilt but open to him Thou shalt be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of his house and drink the rivers of pleasure Psal. 36. 7 8. He that believeth as the Scripture hath said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water John 7. 38. meaning the graces and
and from enslaving fears The Spirit of Life which is in Christ Iesus hath made me free from the law of Sin and Death Rom. 8. 2. And here is freedom indeed If the Son make you free then are you free indeed John 8. 36. And here is freedom from fears Luke 1. 74 75. Those that will not endure any restraint from their lusts they will have their freedom to sin a freedom they shall have such as it is Rom. 6. 20. When ye were the servants of sin ye were free from righteousness Let none therefore be prejudiced at the ways of Duty and strict Godliness The law of Christ is the perfect law of liberty James 1. 25. Not liberty to sin but liberty from sin XVII Excellency 'T is a Mercy purchased by the blood of Christ for Believers and one of the principal Mercies setled upon them by the new Covenant grant A peculiar mercy which none but the Redeemed of the Lord partake of a mercy which cost the blood of Christ to purchase it I do not deny but there are thousands of other mercies bestowed upon the unregenerate they have Health Wealth Children Honours Pleasures and all the delights of this Life but for communion with God and the pleasures that result therefrom they are uncapable of these No supping with Christ upon such excellent privileges and mercies as these till the heart be opened to him by faith you cannot come nigh to God until you be first made nigh by reconciliation Eph. 2. 13. Heb. 10. 19 20 21 22. What would your lives Christians be worth to you if this mercy were cut off from you There would be little sweetness or savour in all your outward mercies were it not for this mercy that sweetens them all And there is this difference among many others betwixt this mercy and all outward mercies You may be cut off from the enjoyment of those you cannot from this no prison can keep out the Comforter O bless God for this invaluable Mercy XVIII Excellency 'T is Natural to the new Creature the inclination and instinct of the new Creature leadeth to Communion with God. 'T is as natural to the new Creature to desire it and work after it as it is to the new-born babe to make to the breast 1 Pet 2. 2 As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby There is a law upon the regenerate part which inwardly and powerfully obliges it to acts of Duty and converse with God in them Communion with God is a thing that riseth out of the principles of grace You know all Creatures in this lower World act according to the Laws of Nature the Sun will rise and the Sea will flow at its appointed time and the gracious Soul will make towards its God in the times and seasons of Communion with him They are not forced on to those Duties by the frights of Conscience and the fears of Hell so much as by the natural inclination of the new Creature Two things demonstrate Communion with God to be co-natural to the regenerate part called the inner-man and the hidden-man of the heart viz. 1. The Restlesness of a gracious Soul without it Cant. 3. 2. The Church in the first verse had sought her beloved but found him not doth she sit down satisfied in his absence No no I will rise now and go about the City in the streets and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my Soul loveth 2. The Satisfaction and Pleasure the rest and delight which the Soul finds and feels in the enjoyment of Communion with God plainly shews it to be agreeable to the new Nature Psal. 63. 5. My Soul shall be satisfied whilst I think on thee And when it is thus then Duties become easie and pleasant to the Soul 1 Iohn 5. 3. His commandments are not grievous Yea and such a Soul will be constant and assiduous in those Duties That which is natural is constant as well as pleasant what 's the reason Hypocrites throw up the Duties of Religion in times of difficulty but because they have not an inward principle agreeable to them The motives to Duty lie without them not within them XIX Excellency 'T is the Occupation and trade of all sanctified persons and the richest Trade that was ever driven by men This way they grow rich in Spiritual Treasures the Revenues of it are better than Silver and Gold There be many of you have Traded long for this World and it comes to little and had you gained your designs you had gained but trifles This is the rich and profitable occupation Phil. 3. 20. Our conversation is in Heaven Our Commerce and Trade lies that way so that word signifies There be few Christians that have driven this Soul-enriching Trade any considerable time but can shew some Spiritual Treasures which they have gotten by it Psal. 119. 50. This I had because I kept thy precepts As Merchants can shew the Gold and Silver the Lands and Houses the rich Goods and Furniture which they have gotten by their succesful Adventures abroad and tell their Friends so much I got by such a Voyage and so much by another So Christians have invaluable treasures though their humility conceals them which they have gotten by this heavenly Trade of Communion with God. Their Souls were weak and by Communion with God they have gotten strength Psal. 13 8. 3. I cryed and thou strengthnedst me with strength in my Soul. They have gotten peace by it a treasure inestimable Psal. 119. 165. Great peace have they that love thy Law and nothing shall offend them They have gotten purity by it Psal. 119. 3. They do no iniquity that walk in thy ways O what rich returns are here Nay they get sometimes full assurance by it The riches of both the Indies will not purchase from a Christian the least of these mercies These are the rich rewards of our pains in the Duties of Religion In keeping thy Commandments there is great reward XX. Excellency 'T is Oyl to the Wheels of Obedience which makes the Soul go on chearfully in the ways of the Lord Psal. 119. 32. Then will I run the ways of thy Commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart Non tardat uncta rota Oyled Wheels run trig and nimble How prompt and ready for any Duty of Obedience is a Soul under the influences of Communion with God! Then as Isaiah having gotten a sight of God Here am I Lord send me Isa. 6. 8. Now the Soul can turn its hand to Duties Of 1. Active And 2. Passive Obedience I. Hereby the Soul is prepared and fitted for the Duties of Active Obedience to which it applies it self with pleasure and delight Psal. 43. 3 4. Then will I go unto the Altar of God unto God my exceeding joy or as it is in the Hebrew the gladness of my joy It goes to prayer as an hungry man to a feast or as a covetuous man to his
will clear up the mistakes of both VII Motive Obedience to Convictions will not only produce peace at Death but it will give you present ease present relief and refreshment in hand No sooner did David resolve to obey the voice of his Conscience in confessing his sin but he had sensible ease in his own Spirit Psal. 32. 5. So Isa. 32. 17. the fruit of Righteousness is peace quietness and assurance for ever On the contrary you find in Iob 20. 20. Wicked Men have no quietness in their Bellies that is in their Consciences For Guilt lies boking there as a Thorn doth in the Flesh And what is Life worth without ease To live ever in pain to live upon the Rack is not worth while to live If then you love ease and quietness obey your Consciences Pull out that Thorn I mean that Sin that sticks fast in thy Soul and akes in thy Conscience Who would endure so much anguish for all the flattering pleasures of sin VIII Motive Convictions followed home and obeyed are the inlets to Christ and Eternal Salvation by him they are the first leading work of the Spirit in order to union with Christ Iohn 16. 8. till you obey and yield up your selves to them Christ is shut out of your Souls he knocks but finds no entrance at your peril therefore be obedient to their calls All the while you parly with your Convictions and demur to their demands Christ stands without offering himself graciously to you but not admitted so that no less than your Eternal Happiness or Misery depend on your Obedience or disobedience to the Voices and Calls of your Convictions IX Motive Obey your Convictions Honour their Voices and restrain them not then shall your Consciences give a fair testimony for you at the Judgment seat of Christ You read 1 Pet. 3. 2I Of the answer of a good Conscience towards God than which nothing can be more comfortable This gives a Man boldness in the day of Judgment 1 Iohn 4. 17. Believe it firs 't is not your Baptism your Church-priviledges the Opinion Men have of you but the testimony of your Consciences that must be your comfort I know Men are not justified at Gods Bar by you own Obedience nor any exactness of Life 't is only Christ's Righteousness that is the Sinners plea but yet your Obedience to the Calls and Voices of God and Conscience are your evidence that you are in Christ. X. Motive Lastly Consider what a choice Mercy it is to be under such Calls and Convictions of Conscience as are yet capable of being obeyed 'T is not so with Mens Convictions after this Life Conscience convinceth in Hell as well as here but all its Convictions there are for torment not recovery Oh 't is a choice Mercy your Convictions are yet Medicinal not purely Poenal that you are not malo obfirmati so fixed in the state of Sin and Misery as the damned are but may yet enjoy the saving benefit of your Convictions but this you will not enjoy long therefore I beseech you by all that is dear and valuable in your Eyes Reverence your Consciences and let go the Lords Prisoners that lye bound within you III. USE I next come to expotulate the matter with your Consciences and propound a few Convictive Queries to your Souls this day I cannot but look upon this Assembly with Fear Jealousie and Compassion I am afraid there be many of you in this wretched case Men and Women that hold the Truths of God in Unrighteousness though the Wrath of God be revealed from Heaven against all them that do so Let me Demand I. Demand Do not some of you stand convinced by your own Consciences this day that your Hearts and Lives your Principles and Practises are vastly different from the People of God among whom you live and whose Characters you read in Scripture Do not your own Consciences tell you that you never took that pains for your Salvation you see them dayly to take that there be some it may be in your Families nay possibly in your Bosoms that are serious and heavenly whilst you are vain and earthly that are in their Chambers upon their knees wrestling with God whilst you are in your Beds or about the things of the World And doth not Conscience sometimes whisper thus into thine Ear Soul thou art not right something is wanting to make thee a Christian Thou wantest that which others have and except something further be done upon thee thou wilt be undone for ever If it be so let me advise thee to hearken diligently to this voice of Conscience Don't dare to adventure to the Judgment-seat of God in such a case Ponder that Text Matth. 21. 32. and let the disparity your Conscience shews you betwixt your own course and others awaken you to more diligence and seriousness about your own Salvation How canâ—t thou come from the Alehouse or thy vain Recreations and find a Wife or Child in Prayer and thy Conscience not smite thee It may be they have been mourning for thy ' in s whilst thou haft been committing them It may be there lives not far from thee a Godly poor Man who out of his hard and pressing Labours redeems more time for his Soul in a week than ever thou didst in thy Life O hearken to the voice of thy Conscience Else thou art he that holdest Truth in Unrighteousness II. Demand Did thy Conscience never meet thee in the way of Sin as the Angel of the Lord met Balaam with a drawn Sword brandishing the threatnings of God against thee Did it not say to thee as a Captain once said to his Soldiers about to retreate he cast himself down in their way saying if you go this way you shall go over your Captain You shall trample him first under your feet Stop Soul stop said thy Conscience this and that Word of God is against thee If thou proceed thou must trample upon the Soveraign Authority of God in this or that Command yet thy impetuous Lusts have hurried thee forward Thou wouldst not fairly debate the case with thy Conscience and then did not thy Conscience say to thee as Ruben spake to his Brethren Gen. 42. 22. Spake I not unto you saying do not sin against the child but you would not hear therefore also his blood is required of you If this have been your course of sinning verily you are the persons that have held the Truths of God in Unrighteousness and against you the Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven III. Demand Have you not seen the Wrath of God revealed from Heaven against other Sinners that have gone before you in the very same tract and course of sin in which you now go and yet you persist in it notwithstanding such dreadful Warnings Thus did Belteshazzar though he saw all that the God of Heaven had done to his Father Dan. 5. 20 21 22. You have seen great Estates scattered and their Owners that got