wherein the Messias and our Saviour of the world was to set up a spiritual kingdome in the hearts of men it was necessary for all that desired to become his subjects to renounce those lusts to which they had been enslaved and to prepare his way by repentance or else they must remain slaves still and this reason urgeth us now as strongly as ever because our Lord Jesus doth every day now by his Word and Embassadours proclaim liberty to us and offers to become our King but in most of our hearts sin hath usurped his throne and therefore we must first exclude that and if we repent not it seems we love the slavery of Sathan better then the liberty of the Sons of God and do declare we will not have Christ to reign over us and though he may for a while connive at this affront yet remember there is another kingdome of heaven at hand even the kingdome of glory wherein all that shall then have rejected Christ for their King shall be utterly destroyed (p) Luke 19.27 and condemned to unspeakable and endless torments And this ought to fill such lazy persons with fear because for any thing they know the end of all is near at hand however 't is secret that you might not delay and will be sudden when it doth come and if it surprize us we can never repent more and if this world should last 10000 years more it is nothing to us for this kingdome of heaven begins with us when we leave this world and therefore who knows how near the kingdome of heaven may be Matth. 3.3 I see you have committed many sins and do still go on in them and so are neither fit for that grace which is offered you here nor to appear in that judgment which must pass upon you hereafter Wherefore I charge you all repent ye of all your wickednesses and confess them seriously and forsake them speediâ—y for the kingdome of Jesus Christ the eternal Son of the God of heaven is now to be set up in the hearts of all true penitents and for others their death is not 〈◊〉 off and the kingdome of glory is at hand and wiâ—â— surprize them in their trifâ—ing intentions to their utter ruine A Meditation preparatory to Prayer for the quickening of such as neglect repentance IT had been well for my soul if all this while my safety had been equal to my confidence for none ever thought themselves more secure though there was no other ground for it but only because I was resolved not to take the pains to behold my danger I have multiplied my transgressions and lived in sins unamended yea unrepented of and therefore have had the drawn sword of the divine vengeance hanging over my guilty head by the slender thred of my uncertain life which every thing can snap asunder and I have seemed wilfully to shut my eyes chusing rather to feel it and the eternal smart of it then to behold this dreadful sight which would long since have terrified me into amendment and snatched me from under the approaching ruine what prodigious folly hath seized on me what stupid laziness hath benummed me are the pains of escaping greater then the pains of suffering or will the blow be lighter because I resolve neither to see it nor avoid it awake my soul awake while there is a possibility to prevent thy ruine thy sins are so numerous and so hainous that thou canst be ignorant of them the threatnings of Gods wrath are so plain and so positive that thou mayst see they aim at thee thy conscience cryes so loud that thou canst not but hear it and Gods holy spirit pleads so powerfully that thou must take as much pains to exclude these friends as would serve to turn out thy enemies Surely God gave me not wit and understanding to invent a plausible cover for the eyes of my conscience or to contrive bulworks of excuses to intrench my sins in safety and yet I unhappy wretch have been ingenious in nothing so much as in plotting the ruine of my soul and designing to perish undisturbed Behold and blush where holy David lyes covered with shame drowned in tears and overwhelmed with sorrow not able through sear and terror to take his eye of that one offence whilst thou a far greater sinner art careless and unconcerned He sets his before his own face and God throws them behind his back but I who cast them behind me and strive to bury them in oblivion and inconsideration shall have them set before my face when the sight of them cannot conduce to the obtaining of my pardon but the aggravating my eternal misery the sight of them indeed is most unpleasant the object odious and ungrateful but the benefit will abundantly recompence the trouble and if I behold them now so as to repent of them I shall see them no more for ever I will imitate therefore this holy man and ever view the guilt and the danger of them that I may humbly confess them and obtain a pardon for them my wretched heart hath taken pleasure in committing them and it shall have vexation in reflecting on them for I will not take my eyes off from them till the horrid aspect of my grievous iniquities have humbled my soul for them and turned my heart against them The blessed Jesus that sees the hearts and knows the necessities of all hath given a universal command of repentance to all men which yet methinks seems peculiarly directed to me who have neglected this necessary duty hitherto Thou oh Lord seest my danger and pittieth my approaching ruine I bow my head and heart and neither dare nor can disobey so gracious and loving advice so useful and necessary a warning Thy bare word had been sufficient to command obedience from those who expect salvation by thee but thou art pleased farther to convince me I do believe dear Jesus the benefit is great if I shall turn now while thy grace is so freely offered to all people I know the danger is dreadful if I defer any longer since 't is certain thy Kingdome shall come but uncertain how soon either death shall arrest me or judgment surprize me in such delayes I have cause to bless thee that neither of these have happened yet since I have so justly provoked thee by excluding so gracious a King out of my heart rather then I would be at the trouble of preparing for thee yet Lord thou callest still and now I am making what haste I can oh remember not how long I have stayed but consider how little time I have left and by the help of thy grace make my work short and easie proportionable to my time and strength I confess I knew before but I never considered till now and now I dare not stay but through thy help now I come oh do not cast me off for thy mercies sake Amen § VII Lastly If any by dayly use of these offices begin to grow
softened and bettered by the word of God when you come to his house (t) Quid ergo miramini vos quae in scholam affertis ea domum referre num ut decreta vel abjecturi vel correcturi vel commutaturi advenitiâ— Arrian in Epict. l. 2. c. 21. resolved not to forsake any of your evil courses since you trust the Devil and believe not him that speaketh from heaven But be advised and take heed behold a sad example of those hard hearted Jews who dealt thus with God at Massah and Meribah which words signifie provocation and temptation they lusted for water and because they were not presently supplied they blasphemed God and questioned his providence and doubted of his promises and were so hardened by their lust that they feared not his dreadful indignation which therefore fell upon them This day is made by God a day of mercy but if you be resolved to hearken to your lusts if they call but for water and will not hear the calls of God if you doubt his promises and despise his threatnings as they did you will turn this day of grace into a day of provocation and temptation and perhaps of destruction and desolation as you do deserve § 6. Ver. IX X and XI When your Fathers tempted me c. It was the boast of the Jews that they followed the steps of their fore-fathers and so they did but not of the best of them not of Abraham who no sooner heard Gods voice but he was obedient to it (u) John 8.39 Gen. 17.23 but they followed the steps of those obstinate and provoking wretches which God delivered out of Egypt conducted them in the wilderness and sustained them there with bread from heaven yet they did frequently and continually discover their disobedience and unbelief by inventing strange wayes to try and prove the patience and fidelity of God growing rude and insolent in every denial discontent and clamorous if they had not every day a new miracle and although he had done so much to testifie his affection to them and care of them yet upon every slight occasion they conclude that they had neither his favour towards them nor his presence among them God indeed was so merciful that he suffered these their evil manners fourty years (x) Acts 13.18 but not without loathing and abhorrency and high indignation (y) Ver. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aqu. Sym. cum taedio pertuli Vatabl. fasâ—idio habui Jun. Tremel and though he did not presently destroy them yet he gave sufficient testimony that he was displeased at these their dealings They asked every thing of God they wanted and were impatient of denial but yet they would deny God that called them to repentance every day and thus they mistook him and formed wrong notions of him falsely imagining to be heard without obedience or else wretchedly concluding God was not able or not willing to make good his promises But they must be strangers to his Power truth and mercy that think so And yet as they erred in their minds so God made them err and wander in that desolate wilderness and he grew so highly incensed at last at their obstinacy and unbelief that he unalterably proposed which is expressed by taking an Oath they should none of them come into that Land of Caanan nor enjoy that rest since they sometimes despised it and preferred Egypt before it and otherwhiles doubted whether they ever could obtain it so that notwithstanding all their priviledges and all that God had done for them these vile returns provoked him that loved them once so deerly to destroy them in the wilderness and make good that promise to their children which the Fathers had made themselves unworthy of This is the sum of this sad example and of what happened to those Jews for our learning (z) 1 Cor. 10.11 Omne quod evenit patribus signum fuit filiis Moses Gerund in Gen. 12. and as David set it before the men of his time and St. Paul those of his so doth our Church daily set it before you for a warning that you may not do as they did least you also perish as they did You are delivered by Christ from the bondage of Sin and Sathan you are the chosen people of God pilgrims in the wilderness of this world and travellors to the heavenly Caanan and here is set before you some that of old did miscarry that you may shun those paths that lead them to ruine and that you may hearken to Gods calls and believe his Promises and despise Egypt and be content with his providence and then you shall arrive at your desired rest Otherwise do not encourage your selves because God spares you and think you may deny him to day as you did yesterday for he may suffer these abuses from you many years and be highly provoked against you in his own brest though his anger break not out in your destruction presently and you had best take heed you trifle not and mistake till God vow your deprivation for then you are irrecoverably lost These Israelites were going to a temporal Caanan and so dyed only temporally for ought we know and lost the pleasures of that pleasant land But we are invited to a heavenly rest and if we provoke God as they did our loss is ten thousand times greater and we must dye eternally Acquaint your selves therefore with Gods wayes and do not delight in such destroying mistakes as you are pleased to hug in your bosoms He is merciful to those that obey him and will perform all the expectations of his faithful servants but those that presume he should do so to them and yet continue to stop their ears though he spare them long yet he will cut them off at last which being so certain and having so plain an example this day propounded to you I hope you will this day hearken to the invitations that you hear out of Gods word and resolve now to begin a new course of life and if this have so good an effect you will have great cause to bless God for sparing you so long and warning you so seriously and giving this one effectual call more and then you may well conclude this Divine Hymn with Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. Amen The Paraphrase of the XCV Psalm VERSE I. O come with all speed and let us who are here met together in the house of God with loud and chearful voices sing unto the Lord and having our affections raised by the remembrance of his mercy let us not only outwardly and vocally but inwardly and heartily rejoyce in him that is the Rock of our defence the foundation of our hope and the strength by which we shall be brought to the fruition of our salvation Ver. II. He is present every where but especially here where we assemble to worship him therefore let us come into his house where we are
bless the name of God And be sure you never omit to bear a part your selves in heart or voice or both for so the Church requires and so the people of God in all ages (m) Exod. 15. ver 1. cum 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. canere respondere signif Med. Diatrib have sung their hymns by turns and responses which Ignatius first ordained in Christian Churches (n) Socrat. Hist trip l. 6. c. 8. supposing by this means they might best stir up each others affections and come nearest to the heavenly pattern where the Seraphims cry one to another holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts (o) Isai 6.3 and if we zealously imitate them here we shall be the fitter to bear a part with them in their eternal Hallelujahs But our designed brevity will allow us no further to press these things because our principal aim is to help Devotion not satisfie curiosity and therefore shall betake our selves to the next Section where we must treat of the means to use the daily Psalms to the benefit of our souls § 8. There is not any part of Divine Service that might be of more general advantage then the use of the Psalms if due care were taken by us of three things 1. To be fitly disposed for them before we begin 2. To be suitably affected when we are about them 3. To retain firmly those affections afterwards Concerning each of which something must be said 1. For preparation It is most certain that our hearts are like an Instrument out of tune and if we begin the melody of the Psalms before we have skrewed up our affections and set them to the right key we shall make an unpleasing discord for which cause the foregoing offices of Repentance are prudently appointed to be first performed that we being thereby mollified and wound up into a frame of Devotion may say our hearts are ready to sing and give Praise Psal 108.1 And certainly we shall find the devout performance of the Penitential part will incomparably fit us to say or sing Davids Psalms with Davids Spirit for having confessed humbly and begged forgiveness earnestly and received the news of our Absolution thankfully our hearts will be replenished with contrition and lowliness and we shall find our spirits tender our desires strong our affections elevated and fixed upon those things that are above then the comforts and promises will cheer us our sense of the wants of our bretheren and our own necessities will give wings to all the Petitions our apprehensions of Gods goodness in Christ Jesus will beget such intire love to him that our very souls shall mingle with our praises how easie and how deep impressions will all these make upon the heart of a true penitent which an unrepentant man is not at all affected with Consult but your own Experience which will convince you that when by some sharp affliction or serious preparation before the Sacrament or the like your affections have been moved to a humble and hearty repetition of the publique Confession then your heart is much affected with Davids devout prayers and hearty thanksgivings and you easily apply them to your own concerns without a Monitor and so you might be disposed every day if you did daily confess your sins with the same affections and dispositions But we must prepare not only to sing with the spirit but with understanding also (p) 1 Cor. 14.15 and therefore let us use all means we can (q) I advise those that are of ability capacity and leisure to read the Psalms for the day privately in Dr. Hammonds excellent Paraphrase before they go to Church and for others to use the Lord Hattons Psalms with the Prayers fitted to them in the same manner to know the meaning of these holy Psalms which is not difficult to do especially so far to understand them as to be able to know when David exhorts us or praises God or prays to him that we may joyn with him in a right manner And indeed a diligent attention will make that sufficiently plain especially if we have seriously considered them in private 2. For suitable affections in the Reading or singing of them we must take notice that there is something more required in these Psalms then in other parts of Holy Writ for other parts of Scripture are Read to us and it sufficeth that we be careful to hear them reverently and attentively and willing to be instructed by them and resolved to be obedient to them But here we our selves do bear a part and we are to speak them as our own words (r) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athan. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 idem we must pray for what is there desired and we must praise God for those mercies which are here recorded and this requires both an extraordinary attention and also a suitable disposition of mind to the matter of the Psalm which we are repeating So that it is necessary that we consider the subject of each of these Divine Canticles and endeavour to get our hearts into a temper agreeing (s) Tuum spiritum affectu Psalmi forma si affectus sit amoris ama si timoris time c. Aug. in Psal 30. thereunto and so we shall sing these Psalms with such a spirit as they were composed (t) Ad fruendum hunc thesaurum necesse est eodem spiritu Psalmos dicere quo fuerunt compositi Cassian Collat. 10. c. 10. which blessed frame that Holy Spirit that first indited them can only beget in us and no tongue can tell what infinite delight and ravishing pleasures and mighty advantages we might then find in this imployment wherefore having desired the assistance of the Divine grace be careful first to let your hearts go along with the matter of every Psalm and secondly to apply the Gloria Patri at the end of every Psalm according as the subject doth require in which perhaps these general Directions may be helpful to you Observe there are four sorts of Psalms 1. Psalms of instruction 2. of exhortation 3. of supplication 4. of thanksgiving and though many are mixt composures containing all or most of these yet all that is in any of them may be referred to one of these heads and the devout Christian may learn by the following Rules to suit himself for any of them whether single or together 1. The Psalms of Instruction are plain Explications of and profitable Meditations upon some point of Religion as about the Creation and Works of God (u) Psal 8. and the 104. about his Providence (x) Psal 37. and 139. and 147. concerning Christ his Passion (y) Psal 22. and 69. his Resurrection and Ascension (z) Psal 2. and 16. and 110. or his coming to Judgment (a) Psal 50. and 97. c. Now in these and the like Psalms we must make a hearty confession of our belief in these Articles and be thankful to him that revealed them