the Gospel in the Heart and for the Heart to keep it It is a very great and close Mercy a greater Mercy than to have Christ to be Born of the Body of a Woman in Luke 11. 27. And it came to pass as He spake these things a certain Woman lift up her voice and said unto Him Blessed is the Womb that Bare thee and the Paps which thou hast Sucked But He said Yea rather blessed are they which hear the Word of God and keep it Those that when they have heard the Word of the Gospel and shall keep it in their Hearts and not let it Vanish away from them but keep it I say in their Power and Life upon their Hearts they are rather Blessed than the Womb was Blessed that Bare Jesus Christ or than the Paps were Blessed that gave Jesus Christ Suck I suppose there is no Woman here but would account her self a blessed Woman if her Womb had Porn Jesus Christ and if her Paps had given Jesus Christ Suck Now here is a greater Blessedness than this for a Woman to hear the Word of the Gospel Preached unto her and to have this Word of the Gospel to rest in her Heart and for her to keep it in her heart in the Power and Life and Efficacy of it this Woman now hath a greater Blessing than if she had Born Jesus Christ in her Womb. Surely it is a great Blessing to have the blessed things of the Gospel to be kept in the Soul after the hearing of them And further A great Mercy because there is such a wonderful Power in the good things of the Gospel and therefore it must needs be a great Mercy to have those things abide upon the Heart They have such a mighty power to work good upon the Heart a mighty Convincing power they have to Convince any Soul in the World Let a Man or Woman be never so Wicked or Prophane yet there are such blessed Truth in the Gospel that is enough to Convince his Soul I say though it be never so vile and to take his Heart And we have little Cause to fear the working upon the Hearts of People only if we could but procure this that those things that we Speak might but abide upon their Hearts If we were but sure that what we Deliver in the Name of God would but abide upon their Spirits we need not fear the working upon any Soul Living let them be never so Vile there is such a mighty Power and Efficacy in those blessed things of the Gospel when they come to be Revealed And so there is a mighty Comforting power to Comfort the Soul with such Consolation as is Infinitely above all Consolation that ever it was Acquainted withal before There is a mighty Power to resist any Temptation If the Truths of God were but kept in the Soul we might make little of all Temptations in the World The Devil could have little hope to prevail with any Temptations if the Word of the Gospel did but abide upon the Heart of a Man or Woman that doth hear it This is the advantage that the Devil hath at any time when one hath been hearing of the Word if he knows that the Word is past from them and it doth not abide then he can come with Temptations and makes no question of prevailing But if the Devil knows that those Truths do abide and rest upon the Soul the Devil can have little hope to prevail The Peace of God shall keep your Hearts Fro Resi shall Guard your Hearts It shall be as a Troop of Horse to keep you from Temptations from the power and strength of Temptations You complain and say O that you would do better but Temptations are so strong that they prevail upon you Why are Temptations so strong It is because thy Soul is not acquainted with the Blessed and Glorious things of the Gospel and the Power and Life of them doth not abide upon thy Spirit And likewise the Truths of the Gospel O they have a mighty deal of Power to cleanse your Hearts 1 Pet. 2. 20. There you have mentioned the Power of the Knowledg of the Gospel when it abides in one that might be an Hypocrite and therefore not of that Efficasie that the true saving Knowledg is Yet Observe what is said there For if after they have escaped the Pollutions of the World through the Knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Now then If that Knowledg have such a cleansing Power O what Power then hath the true saving Power of the great things of the Gospel and the Glorious things of it to Cleanse the Heart Yea If those Truths do abide upon the Spirits they have a Transforming power they have a power to change the Heart into the same likeness According to that Scripture 2 Cor. 3. 18. But we all with open face beholding as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Now this Gospel of the Lord is nothing else but the good things of the Gospel We behold them and that as with open Face as we do behold the Gospel of the Lord. And what then We are changed into the same Image Oh! this is a Blessed abiding it is a Blessed thing for the things of the Gospel to rest upon the Soul Why Because they have such a Power in them to Change the Heart to Transform the Heart into the very Image of them and the Truths of the Gospel have the clearest Image of God upon them the Glory of God is Imprinted upon the Truths of the Gospel Now that these should rest upon the Spirit it must needs be a great Mercy Another is this It is that which makes them indeed to be Saving All those Blessed things of the Gospel that are Revealed they never come to be Saving until they come to rest upon the Soul to be got into the Heart and there to dwell and rest Mark that Scripture in James 1. 21. Wherefore lay a part all Filthiness and Superstuity of Naughtiness and receive with Meekness the Ingraffed Word which is able to save your Souls Mark Receive with Meekness the Word But how The Ingraffed Word which is able to save your Souls The Word of God can never save your Souls till it comes to be an Ingraffed Word Now these things I premise to shew you the Excellency of this that so I might have the more ground for an Exhortation by and by To labour to keep the Word of God I mean those Truths of the Gospel that at any times comes to be discovered to you Now by way of Application as brief as may be First In the First place Hence we see cause the Ministers of the Gospel especially see cause bitterly to Lament the want of this in their Auditory ordinarily It 's true There are few that are faithful Preachers of the Gospel but they do find that
to thee now He was an Enemy before only we are ready to judge according to present Administration But this is certain If God be an Enemy now He was an Enemy all the time thou hadst thy Health and wast in thy uttermost Prosperity it 's time for thee then to fall down and make peace And what infinite cause hast thou to wonder that thou art not utterly destroyed and therefore reason to submit unto Him But yet it is a weakness in the Saints and a temptation often to judge of Gods dealings thus and to think that every time God appears against them as if he were in hatred As the People of Israel in their Murmuring Discontented Mood He brought us out of Egypt into this Wilderness because He hated us say they O this was wicked and displeased God exceedingly As we are not to judge of Gods Love by outward Prosperity so not of His Hatred by outward Afflictions Object 2. But though I dare not think that God comes in a way of Hatred and Enmity yet there 's a great deal of Displeasure for my sin and it 's that that makes it grievous to me And mark Even this that was threatned to Ely it was threatned for his sin and yet he falls down and submits and saith It is the Lord let Him do what seemeth Him good Yea and we find the Servants of God when they apprehended God appearing against their sin that Consideration did quiet them so much the more In Mich. 7. 9. I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him Because And that fore-named place concerning David 2 Sam. 15. 26. where you have such a Wonderful Gracious and Humble Submission unto the Dispose of God where he saith If He hath no pleasure in me let Him do what seemeth Him good Why David was under almost as sore an Affliction as a man could be under and it was for his sin too Yea it was for a great sin it was for his sin of Uncleanness and his sin of Murder that he was sain to flie for his Life even before his own Son It was as sore and hard an Affliction and there was as much of the sting of the guilt of sin in it as any Affliction of any of the People of God that ever we read of And yet how humbly he submits If he saith I have no delight in him behold here I am let him do what seemeth him good However there is a vain Conceit abroad in the World as if God chastised not his People for sin at all Yet certainly the People of God that walk close with God they find there is a Chastisement and a Fatherly Displeasure though not the Revenge of a Judge And certainly there can be no Argument taken from the absolute satisfaction of Christ to prove that there is no Chastisement for sin for Christ did satisfie as fully for David and Ely that were under the Law They had the satisfaction of Christ perfect as well as you Would it have been do you think a good Argument then That if God Chastised for sin he did not do justly because Christ satisfied Gods Justice Why did not Christ satisfie Gods Justice then It was not a good Argument then certainly it is not so now And for the New Testament You are Chastised of the Lord that you might not be Condemned with the World 1 Cor. 11. 32. But I 'll give you one other Scripture and that is is the Epistle of James 5. 14 15. Is any sick among you let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him c. The Prayer of Faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him Here the Apostle writes to the Saints and speaks of Godly People and speaks of them indefinitely If any of them if the most Godly in all the Church were sick why saith he let him send for the Elders and let them Pray and if he hath committed sins then they shall be forgiven him So that any of the Saints may be in such a condition as they may be Afflicted and Afflicted for their sin If they have sinned then they shall be forgiven To make this Supposition and yet that this shall be a Truth That it 's impossible for any Godly People to be Afflicted for their sin were a Contradiction For to say thus If any Godly People be sick let them take this Course let them send for the Elders and let them pray and if they have committed sin it shall be forgiven them And yet the other to stand true That no Godly People can be Afflicted for their sin Certainly these two cannot stand together You will say If they have committed sin it shall be forgiven Was it not forgiven before True they are forgiven in respect of Gods eternal Wrath or in respect of the Guilt that binds them over to the satisfying of Revenging Justice They are forgiven that but they are not so forgiven but that they need a Fatherly forgiveness still Christ hath taken away already at first the Revenge of a Judge but He hath not taken away all Fatherly Displeasure by his satisfying For that 's not at all to satisfie Justice But God doth reserve this to himself to deal with them as a Father Indeed through Christs satisfying God will never deal with his People as a Judge to Revenge but this doth not put them out of his way of dealing with them as a Father and they have need of Fatherly forgiveness still And this is that that Christ teaches every one to pray Forgive us our sins forgive us our Trespasses Some other Pleas and Objections may be made but I shall rather hasten to the Use of the Point Is the sight of God that that should cause us humbly to submit O let what hath been said in these several Considerations serve to rebuke our Impatiency our Fretting and sinking Discouragements Who art thou And what art thou that thou shouldest keep a stir under any hand of God Do not say It is so great and if it were any other Affliction I would bear it it is not for thee to choose thy Rod And thou canst not speak more of thy Affliction than David might have done of his And therefore whatever thy thoughts may be be humbled before God that thou hast had any kind of Murmuring or Impatience under the Hand of God any stirrings that way Who art thou that thou must not be dealt withal so as God hath dealt with others of his Saints before or as he doth deal with any others now There 's a notable Scripture O that it might have but such an effect as it had on Job Compare these two in the Book of Job Job 38. 2. Who is this that darkneth Counsel by words without Knowledge The Lord saith thus to Job Who is this whose heart doth fret and is so impatient who is it Mark now afterwards
these things but to have the effectual working of these things upon the heart that 's not so easie To sanctifie Gods Name in the Fire Carnal hearts they have many poor things to help themselves in their Afflictions They say this It is my ill Fortune this befel me and another saith this This befals all Men one or other it 's common Others say thus We must we cannot help it and we must submit to it Another thinks thus Why I hope it will be over These are poor Reasonings to work upon the heart in the day of Affliction But now a gracious heart should get up higher above all these It is the Lord and there look into the Counsels of God and seek to know the Mind of God and to sanctifie the Name of God O Grace my Brethren hath many Excellencies in it but among other things this is not the least That it hath such a mighty Power to help Men in the day of their Affliction a mighty Power to sweeten the heart and to take away the sting and evil of all Afflictions and to carry the Soul on comfortably in the time of all Dangers and Trials O labour to have this wrought upon your hearts For by this you will manifest much Beauty in Grace much Excellency in Grace it will be a means to Convince all that are about you All those that profess Godliness should labour to behave themselves so as to do that that others cannot do in the time of Affliction They should then shew what Grace can do As David in another Case said to the King of Achish Thou shalt see what thy Servant can do So now in the time of Affliction a gracious heart should put it to this Come let 's see what Grace can do And certainly this will be the way for removing of Afflictions sooner when the heart is brought thus to yield unto the Lord Wherefore that you may bring your hearts to this in the day of your Affliction labour in the constant Course of your Life to Converse much with God Those that walk with God according to the Text that you know I am upon and Converse much with God in the day of their Health why their hearts will in a kind of Natural-way work up to God in the time of Affliction then the Thoughts of God will be as suitable to thee as Fire is to Fire Fire ascends up to Fire because of the suitableness of the Fire that is here to that that is above Why so the heart will work up to God in a kind of Natural-way because God is so suitable to the heart the heart having so much Converse with God in the day of Prosperity And labour throughly to Convince your hearts of this thing That there is no Good in any Creature but only in the Reference that it hath to God There is no Good in Health in Liberty in your Names in your Lives in your Estates any further than they have some Reference to God the infinite first Good the chief and high Good It 's an easie matter in a way of Reason to Convince any one that this is a Truth But now to have this Principle indeed wrought upon your heart not only to say so in a way of Arguing but I account in my Soul of no good in any thing further than it hath reference to God As now I have for the present Health of Body Where doth the good of the Health of my Body lie It is That while I have Health I have Ability to serve God and be useful in the place where God hath set me I have an Estate Wherein lies the good of it It lies in this That by this I may be Instrumental for God more than others If I Live Wherein lies the good of Life Why that I may be useful to the Church in the way wherein God hath set me Now when the heart is principled in this then if God takes away my Health then it seems God hath no further use of my Health for the present but would rather Honour Himself in another way upon me why now there is no good in my Health And if God take away my Estate then he would rather Honour Himself in the exercise of my Humility and of my Patience If God takes away my Life then God will rather have His Honour from my Soul to joyn with Angels and Saints in Honouring of Him that way rather than in Imploying of me any further in this World Such a Principle as this is would mightily help the heart in the day of Affliction Certainly our Happiness doth not depend upon what we have here in this World The reason why the heart is so troubled in the time of Affliction it is because of this That Men and Women look upon their Happiness to consist in the enjoyment of these things O no thou Dishonourest the Name of Christ and thy holy Profession to think that thy Happiness should depend upon such poor things as these are Surely Jesus Christ hath not come to shed His Blood and to purchase Happiness for the Saints and when all comes too it should be so poor as to depend upon all the uncertainty that we have in this World No no thy Happiness lies hihger Thy Life is hid with Christ in God If a man hath a Jewel worth many Thousands and his House should be on Fire why though he loses the Lumber and Stuff in the House yet if he be sure the Jewel is safe he is quiet Now the Saints they may be sure that they are safe for Eternity and therefore it is not much what other things be Oh consider of these things and work them upon your hearts That 's the Second Point But a word or two of the other that is That that which seems ill to us may seem good to God It is the Lord let Him do what seemeth Him good Certainly for the present it did not seem very good to Ely If that Ely's judgement had been askt of those things Ely would have said that they had been very sad I but as I remember Luther once said when he was Condemn'd and Rail'd upon at Noremberg saith he There 's one thing Concluded at Noremberg and another thing Concluded in Heaven In Heaven there 's not the same Judgment of my Cause as at Noremberg And so it may be said concerning Affliction There 's one thing many times Concluded in my Wretched Weak Foolish and Unbelieveing Heart and another thing in Heaven One thing concluded in the world and in mens rumours and another thing in Heaven It 's some comfort to a man though he hears rumours abroad in the world if then he can have his own heart to contradict them If he had nothing else to think but this Well that that 's spoken in the World is one thing and that that I find in my heart is another that 's comfortable But this is greater comfort Thou art my portion saith my Soul saith the
hear it my Soul shall weep in secret places for your Pride and mine Eyes shall weep sore and run down with Tears because the Lords Flock is carried away Captive If ye will not hear That indeed should be the work of the Ministers of the Gospel when they are Rejected Not to be Careless and say I have done my Work and what need I care But they should take it to Heart and Lament it as the greatest Affliction that can befal them yea more than any Affliction whatsoever That the Blessed Message that they are sent withal is Rejected by Wretched and Sinful Men. Secondly If God in Christ be sometimes Rejected all the Mercy of God in His Son we should not think much though our love and kindness towards others be many times Slighted and Disregarded Indeed there 's nothing goes more to any Ingenuous Heart than to have his love and kindness to be Disregarded But when we find our Hearts troubled at this O that such a one that I have done so much for and yet that he should deal thus with me Lay thine hand upon thy Heart and consider what God hath done for thee in Christ and how ill thou hast requited Him Is it so much for thee a poor Worm not to have thy Love and Kindness imbrac'd What is it then for the Infinite God not to have that Infinite Love and Mercy of His to the Children of Men not Imbraced but Rejected Thirdly Let 's learn from hence never to trust our own Hearts We think often had we such means as others have then we should not do as they do surely we should do better Men are very ready to trust their own Hearts and in the use of Means But let us learn from hence never to trust in our own Hearts or in the use of any Means God may send you Means and Reveal glorious Truths unto you yet it may so fall out that you may never come to be partakers of the good of those things It hath been so with many and you must look to your own Hearts Do not Bless your selves in this Through Gods Mercy the Lord hath sent us His Word plentifully and the Gospel comes to be Opened clearly among us That 's not enough what God hath done but look you into your own Hearts how you Imbrace it otherwise the Gospel may come among you and yet you never come to be Saved by it But this indeed is a sad Condition wheresoever it is Fourthly Further Gods Ministers are to Learn from hence not to be Discouraged They come and Preach and with an Expectation to prevail with the Hearts of People to draw them to Christ When they have been in their Studies labouring to find out some Truths of the Gospel and to sit it to the Hearts of their Auditors and have been Praying over it They come now with Expectation that some good may be done that some Soul may be drawn in to Christ yet perhaps find it quite otherwise and the People to sit Dead under it it may be Slight it Contemn it Scorn it Disobey it But they must not be I say Discouraged in this as if so be a strange thing had befallen them What art thou more than Jesus Christ thy Master What art thou more than Paul and other of the Apostles They have been rejected all in their Ministry and what art thou that thou canst not bear any Rejection Indeed it is the hardest thing to be Born by a Minister of the Gospel that possibly may be But consider That it is not a new thing for the Gospel to be Rejected I remember I have read of Melancthon he had such thoughts that when he began to Preach he should Convert all that heard him He thought there was so much Reason in what he Spake and so much Evidence and Power to prevail with the Hearts of People that he thought he should prevail with every one but he found it otherwise by Experience And though indeed when any Minister that is acquainted with the Glorious things of God and Christ come to open them to People they are ready to think such things will surely prevail with the Hearts of People but the Lord teaches him to know that the Blessing depends upon Himself That though the things be never so Excellent and Moving yet all will not do except the Lord comes in by His Almighty Power Fifthly Let all those with whom the Ministry of the Gospel doth prevail in any measure Bless God that makes such a difference between them and any others It is Preached unto many but doth them no good But the Lord hath Called thee out and it hath struck thy Heart converted thy Spirit Thou seest cause to stand and admire at the Glory of God in Christ and thou wonderest perhaps that all People are not taken with the Riches of the Glory of Gods Grace in Christ Well Bless God that hath made a difference between thee and others It may be in the same Family another Scorns it and Contemns it perhaps one that came out of the same Womb despises it and God hath taken thee and revealed Himself to thee it may be thy rich Neighbour Contemns it but God looks upon thee a poor Creature and makes Himself known to thee It may be a Learned Man he slights it and makes nothing of it and thou who art but a Babe hast those things Revealed Thou hast cause to thank God for it For Christ doth He thanks His Father for this thing That He should be pleased to pass by the Wise and great ones of the World and chuse Babes Mat. 11. 25. At that time Jesus Answered and said I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that thou hast hid these things from the Wise and Prudent and hist revealed them unto Babes Now this Scripture that I bring not only to shew you that God doth sometimes Reveal the great Mysteries of the Gospel to Babes and hide them from the Wise but as a Text to stir up your Hearts to Bless God if He hath done so for any of you Upon this ground Jesus Christ doth thank His Father for it then surely thou hast cause to thank God the Father for this great Mercy of His to put such a difference between thee and others For indeed it is one of the most glorious Works of God This Work of the Lord making known the Great and High Mysteries of the Gospel to poor weak ones when as the Great and Rich and Mighty and Learned of the World do not come to understand it It is one of the great Miracles by which the Lord doth Confirm the Gospel to be His own as great a Miracle as other Miracles that were Wrought by Christ And for that this is very observable that we have in the place where John sends to Christ to know whether He were the Messias or no. Now mark the Answer that Christ gives unto John's Messengers Jesus Answered and said unto them Go and
I indeed am cast into a Dungeon but the Gospel will prevail all the persecutions of Wicked men all the scorn that is cast upon the Gospel by them shall not take away the edge and power and life of the Gospel but that shall continue as much as ever all the rage of Hell and Devils and Tyrants shall not take away the power of the Gospel Indeed they may restrain such and such men in the Preaching of it but after they are dead and rotten and roaring in Hell the Gospel shall prevail We find it so at this day ever since Christ came the Gospel hath been opposed by Ungodly men yet it doth remain in as much life and vigor and power as ever it did and I have no cause to question but it will prevail ere long more than ever it did in the World though its true sometimes we find Ministers Preach Sermon after Sermon and there are but few converted to the Gospel what shall we think that therefore in hath lost the power of it No Gods time is not come When the time of God shall come to call home those that belong to his Election of Grace it shall appear that the Gospel shall arise in power and glory and prevail in the World again therefore let 's never despair but that the Gospel will prevail in the World as at first when as there were but a few poor Fishermen to Preach it and all the World was enraged against it the Emperors and Princes of the Earth was enraged against it and yet these poor Fishermen did subdue a great part of the World by the power of the Gospel therefore let not us be discouraged for when Gods time is come it shall prevail in a glorious manner more than ever And so as it is with the Gospel so it should be with the Professors of it If God be dishonoured by other yet let not your edge be taken off but do you continue in the power and life and vigor as much as ever Now the second part which is the main that I intend and that is the dreadful threatning of those that do reject the Gospel only take this one point there are these Three First That where a people reject the Gospel God may justly take it away from them yea they are in danger to have it taken from them It shall return Secondly Such shall not have the blessing of the Gospel upon them this shall be their doom as they shall lose the Ministry of it so they shall be cast out from the blessing of it And then Thirdly which is yet the principal of all and that is That God will deal very quick with those that do reject the Gospel Your peace shall return no more ado there 's an end of them These are the Three things in this sentence against those that are not the Sons of Peace where the Gospel is preached But a little of the First we will leave the other First That where a people do reject it and that presently for so it is when you come to a House and offer it if they do not embrace it let your peace return again Christ here compares his Disciples unto Chapmen that should go and offer rich Wares they have Diamonds and Precious Stones things worth Thousands and they come perhaps to poor Country-people and open their Cabinet of Diamonds and Precious Stones and make offers to them but they do not know the worth of them they will bid nothing for them Now when he sees that they reject and despise them saith he give me my Wares again and so he packs them up again and away he goes for saith he this is not a people that is fit for such things as these are so saith Christ you are such Chapmen I send you abroad with the most rich pearl of the Gospel to go and shew the excellency of it to people and to offer it to them and the truth is I require thus much of them that if they would have this Pearl they must sell all Now the Ministry of the Gospel comes and they are ignorant of this Pearl that they have brought this rich Commodity They can tell them indeed that here is an exceeding rich Pearl but this is the tenor that you must be content to part with all for this Pearl that is thus First you must actually lay down and renounce every beloved sin Secondly you must enter into Bond as it were with God that whensoever he calls for your Estates your Liberties your outward Peace and Comforts that you have in the World shall be at Gods dispose Thus you enter into Bond as in your dealing for Commodities when you see a great and rich Commodity you lay down somewhat for the present and give Bond for the rest to be paid when it shall be called for When you go to buy Pedling things there you lay down all at first and no entring into Bond but when it is a great Purchase then there is a little laid down for the present and entring into Bond for the rest Now certainly in this Bargain of the Merchant there is first a laying down for the present thy Lusts thy Sin as if the Soul should say O Lord let me have my part in Christ in this glorious Peace of the Gospel as for any wayes of sin that I have lived in heretofore Lord I renounce them and will not live in any way of known sin Lord grant me thy Grace to do it Indeed this is the way of the Hearts coming in at first I but saith God I will not only have thy sin renounc'd but thy Estate and Liberty and Life at my dispose and thou shalt enter into Bonds to lay down all yes Lord this is the very English of the Covenant The Soul seeing the glory of God in Christ saith the Soul Lord I will not only renounce my sin but Lord whatsoever I am whatsoever I have whatsoever I can do shall be at thy dispose and here I enter into Bond Lord that is I Covenant and Vow and bind my self by the strongest Bonds that a poor Creature possibly can do that whensoever thou shalt call for any of my Estate of my Liberty or my outward Comforts when thou shalt call for my Life Lord they shall be at thy dispose Now have you sold all have you thus bought the Pearl When we come to bring the Pearl of the Gospel to you have you embrac'd it O if our Ministry prevails this hath been the frame and working of your hearts but if not our Ministry hath not yet prevail'd with you but when your Hearts begins to work thus then our Ministry begins to work to purpose in your Souls But we may come to most People and open the Pearls of Christ and open the Ministry of Reconciliation and they will do neither of these Two neither lay down any thing for the present renounce no known Sin and as for Entring into Bond to have their