and manifesting his greatest power in their greatest impotency Yea though sometimes he seems to leave them in their distress yet he giveth such sufficient strength as they are thereby enabled to bear it and well to pass it through This is evident by the Apostles holy triumph in this case We are perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not destroyed The ground hereof is the assistance which God affordeth us and the strength which he communicateth to us IX All things shall work together for the good of the Regenerate And God will do them good by all in the latter end He will turn their losses into gain their crosses into comforts their sorrows into joy their cursing into blessings Those afflictive providences which seem to be most prejudicial unto them will in the issue prove most beneficial As we see in Ioseph The evil which his brethren intended against him turned to his good Their selling him as a slave to the Ishmaelites proved the means of his advancement How did Maâ—asses imprisonment work for his good For the text saith When he was in affliction he besought the Lord and humbled himself greatly and the Lord was entreated of him To know that nothing shall hurt a child of God is ground of exceeding great comfort and consolation But to be assured that all things even all cross-providences shall work together for his good is enough to fill the heart with joy Oh then how great is the happiness of every Regenerate person who may be assured that whatsoever befalleth him shall be for his good and doth work together for the best Certainly he may truly say Soul take thy spiritual ease for here is much spiritual good treasured up for thee X. A blessed death For so saith the Spirit Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord that is in the faith of Christ. Who are blessed both because then they rest from their labours from all their toyl and pains from all their griefs and sorrows As also because their works do follow them through free-grace in glorious rewards The souls of the Regenerate so soon as they are by death separated from the body go immediately into Heaven as is clear from that speech of our Saviour to the converted thief on the Cross This day thou shalt be with me in Paradice which place the Apostle expoundeth to be the third Heaven The word in the Original translated this day implyes that immediately after the breathing of his soul out of his body his soul should go to Heaven And thus it is with all the Regenerate unto whom death is like the red-Sea to the Israelites even a passage and thorow-fair into the Heavenly Canaan XI An happy Resurrection For at the sound of the last Trumpet all the Regenerate shall arise out of their graves like so many Iosephs out of Prison Whatsoever imperfections were before in their bodies as blindness lameness crookedness shall then be done away Though the body was sowen in corruption yet it shall be raised in incorruption not to be subject to any manner of aches pains diseases or imperfections Though it were sowen in weakness it shall be raised in power And though it was sowen in dishonour it shall be raised in glory Here it is many times deformed but then all deformities and defects shall be removed and the body made more glorious through the admirable beauty thereof Certainly if the Beauty of all the Men and Women in the World were concentred in one it would be far short of the Beauty of the Saints in Heaven whose bodies shall shine more gloriously than the Sun in the Firmament XII The last and highest priviledge of the Regenerate is That they shall have an Heavenly inheritance Fathers on earth use to provide inheritances for their Children And the Apostâ—e Peter Blesseth God who hath begotten us to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven The Regenerate in this life possâ—ss Heaven in Christ but hereafter they shall enjoy it in their own persons When they come to enjoy this heavenly inheritance they shall not only be freed from all evils both bodily and spiritual but likewise replenished with all good Their minds shall be inlightned their wills reformed their memories made blessed treasures their consciences purged their hearts purified their affections rectified their bodies glorified and all these perfectly There shall be a blessed communion of all the Saints together who shall enjoy the society of Angels and fellowship with Christ himself whose surpassing excellency they shall cleerly behold and partake of that glory wherewith he is arrayed What tongue can express what heart can conceive the excellency thereof If Peter Iames and Iohn seeing but some small glimpse of Christs glory and Majesty in his transfiguration were so ravished therewith that setting aside all worldly desires they wished only the continuance thereof Then how shall the Saints in Heaven be ravished with joy and comfort when they shall continually behold their Saviour Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of his Father like a triumphant Conquerour having subdued his and his Churches enemies Thus have I shewed you some of the glorious priviledges of the Regenerate Oh happy day may that Man or Woman say as long as they live when God by his Spirit Regenerated them and made them new creatures Many keep their birth day as a day of rejoycing and feasting But they who know the day of their new-birth may well make that a day of rejoycing while they live in regard of the many glorious priviledges whereof they are thereby partakers CHAP. XVIII An Exhortation to bless God for the work of Regeneration And to walk worthy thereof II. A Second branch of the Use of Exhortation unto the Regenerate is To be thankfull unto God for this great mercy Admire the grace of God and bless his name for ever Art thou made alive Is the life of God begotten in thee And hast thou evidence of it O bless God whilest thou hast any being Let thine heart and mouth and life be filled with his Praises Take up the Psalmists words Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits Wilt thou be thankfull unto God for thy natural birth And wilt not thou be thankfull to him for thy spiritual birth wilt thou bless him for that he hath made thee a reasonable creature And wilt thou not bless him for making thee a new-creature wilt thou bless him that thou art not a Toad And wilt thou not bless him that thou art not a Devil Is not Regeneration of all mercies the most necessary And wilt not thou be thankfull for that which is the one thing necessary If the Children of Israel praised God for their deliverance from the Aegyptian bondage how much more cause hast thou
how uncertain thou art of being out of Hell till the next morning Surely this consideration is enough to amaze any poor Christian who is indeed Regenerate but maketh some question thereof in himself How much more should it amaze and startle thee who art yet in thy carnal and sinfull estate and stir thee up without any farther delay to escape for thy life and make out in hast after thy Redemption from this dreadful condition I would ask thee this question Whether if thou shouldst put off thy seeking after the great work of Regeneration and conversion till another year week or day thou art sure to be then on this side the grave or on this side hell Certain it is thou hast no assurance of thy life for one day longer Nay I dare boldly say thou thy self knowest and believest as much Ah sinner what folly yea what madness is it then for thee wilfully to live one day longer in such an estate in which if thou shouldst dye thou art without hope of recovery undone for ever Obj. Haply thou wilt say though I am not sure to live another day yet I am likely being in good health and strength of body Answ. How many as strong and healthfull as thy self have suddenly by death been snatched away And why maist not thou be as soon taken away having no Lease of thy Life who then but a fool or a mad-man would adventure his eternal happiness upon such an hazard Oh therefore as thou tenderest the everlasting good of thy precious soul put not off this great and weighty work a day longer for who knoweth what a day may bring forth Hadst thou been taken away in the state thou art in how sad had thy case been where hadst thou been at this hour Certainly thou art not able to conceive the dreadfulness of that misery thou shouldst now have been in And hast thou lived all this while in so great danger and wilt thou live in it still God forbid Hath a miracle of mercy kept thee out of hell so long and wilt thou yet continue securely in such danger of it Oh ungratefull wretch Questionless if thou hadst any ingenuity in thee thou wouldst be ashamed thus to abuse the patience and long-suffering of God towards thee which should have led thee to repentance Thou shouldst rather take up a resolution and say though I have hitherto abused the patience and long-suffering of God I will abuse it no more Though I have often slighted and rejected the gracious invitations of Jesus Christ yet through the grace of God I will reject them no more but close with them and give up my self unto Christ from henceforth to be ruled and governed by him God hath allotted to every man who lives in the bosome of the Church a certain day of grace and time of repentance which whosoever neglects can never be saved Ah sinner as therefore thou wouldst not neglect thine own Salvation neglect not the day of grace neither let slip the season of mercy but as the Apostle exhorteth To day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts Behold now is the accepted time now is the day of Salvation if that be once past there is no recovering it CHAP. VII Sheweth the miserable and dreadfull condition of the Vnregenerate in their life-time HAving given you some Motives to quicken up your desires and endeavours after the work of Regeneration I come now to shew you the Means on your part to be performed for the better attaining thereunto which may be brought to these two general heads 1. The Embracing some truths 2. The Practising some duties The Truths to be embraced are these 1. That every man in his state of unregeneracy is in a miserable state and dreadfull condition 2. That there is hope of mercy for the greatest sinners That you may the better understand the miserable condition of men in their state of Unregeneracy I shall shew you their miseries 1. In this life 2. At death 3. After death Their miseries in this life are briefly these I. They are Servants to sin and slaves to their lusts making it their main work and design to serve their sinfull flesh with its affections The baseness of this slavery under sin will appear the more if we shall consider 1. What it is we do inthrall thereby even our precious souls which at first were created after the Image of God and fitted for his noble service and communion with himself Now for this immortal Being to be a drudge to base pleasures and profits to the vain and vile things of this World is a most sad degeneration 2. What are the fruits of this spiritual bondage and slavery 1. At the best a little seeming pleasure or profit that lasts but for a moment which the Apostle calls the pleasures of sin for a season they are but of little worth and but of short continuance And sure it must needs be a point of folly eagerly to pursue these sinfull lusts and pleasures which are but light and temporary which do but appear and vanish to the hazard of those durable riches and eternal pleasures which are at Gods right hand 2. Another fruit which usually follows upon our slavish subjection to our lusts is death eternal according to that of the Apostle the wages of sin is death and that eternal as appeareth by the opposition of eternal life for saith the Apostle The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life So that as eternal life followeth an holy life so eternal death followeth a sinfull life This is the reward sinner that thy God whom thou servest will pay thee at last thou must dye the death Oh the folly and madness of this sensual enslaved World Surely were there nothing in sin but the present slavery it were enough to disswade any ingenuous spirit Who would be a slave a slave to a lust at the command of every unclean motion at the beck of every brutish affection But if the vileness of the work will not deterr thee will not the dreadfulness of the wages neither which is eternal death and condemnation Oh consider this you who make so light a matter of sin and take such pleasure in obeying the lusts thereof II. All men in the state of unregeneracy are servants and slavos to the Devil Which necessarily followeth upon the former for such as are in subjection to their lusts must needs be under the bondage and slavery of Satan in that the chief power he hath over us is by lust to allure us unto sin I know all men are apt to say that they hate and defie the Devil and abhor to be his slave or servant but yet in the mean time they obey his sinfull commands and thereby declare themselves to be his servants for as the Apostle speaketh Know ye not that to whom ye yield your selves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey And saith the
Christ as the Word Prayer and Sacraments which whilest thou enjoyedst thou hadst hope But death puts an end to these and thy hopes must give up their Ghost Now Christ calls upon thee Sabbath after Sabbath by his Ministers and Ambassadours woing and beseeching thee to abandon thy lusts to cast away thy sins and to cast thy self into his arms to accept of the reconciliation purchased by his blood But ere long thou shalt hear no more of these things not a Sabbath more not a Sermon more not a promise not one word more of grace of mercy of hope for ever When thou wouldst give if thou hadst them ten thousand Worlds for one moment of that mercifull time of grace which thou hast so long abused for a drop of that precious blood which thou hast so long trampled under thy feet yea for one Sabbath more to have Christ once more tendred to thee in the Ministry of the Gospel but alas it will not be granted Ah sinner Then wilt thou cry out of thy sins and cry for mercy mercy mercy Lord to a dying soul that am just sinking perishing under the load of mine iniquities Then wilt thou begin to wish when it is too late that thou hadst spent thy precious time to better purpose that thou hadst minded more the things of Eternity that thou hadst closed with the tenders and offers of Jesus Christ and that thou hadst better improved the means and opportunities of grace which thou didst once enjoy Thou wilt then say Oh if the Lord would be pleased to add a few years more to my life How would I contemn the World and the vanities thereof How exactly would I order my conversation How carefull would I be of duty how watchfull against sin How would I bestir my self to work out mine own salvation But ah sinner the time of thy departure is at hand and there is no hope of a reprieve for one day longer and therefore all these good wishes and purposes come too late There are two things especially which will aggravate a sinners misery at his death 1. To think what possibility of making his peace with God he hath had all his life time to remember how often he hath been invited to accept of Jesus Christ and yet would not 2. To think that now there is no hope of mercy having by his sins shut Heaven-gate and hardened Gods heart against him Ah sinner then wilt thou in the bitterness of thy soul cry out and say The God of mercy hath utterly forsaken me and the Devil who knows no mercy waites for to take me Ah! then which way soever thou lookest thou wilt find nothing but matter of bitter weeping and lamentation If thou look backward what canst thou behold but all the filthy and abominable lusts of thy youth unrepented of yea multitudes of horrid sins which thou hast committed in the whole course of thy life for which thou never hast been humbled nor shed one penitential tear the guilt of the least of them is enough to sink thee body and soul into everlasting burnings If thou look forward what canst thou behold but sudden destruction ready to seize upon thee Yea Gods strict Tribunal before which thou art just making thy appearance there immediately to be sentenced to endless torments and miseries of the other world the sting and terrours of which thou shalt never be able either to avoid or abide If thou look within thee what canst thou behold but thy conscience polluted and defiled yea accusing and condemning thee If without thee what canst thou behold but the wicked World which thou hast too much loved and thy relations which stand weeping about thee a company of miserable comforters that cannot delay the separating stroak of death one day or hour neither can they afford thee the least dram of true comfort If thou look downward what canst thou behold but hell deserved with her mouth open ready to swallow thee up quick and the Devils ready to receive thy soul and carry it to that dungeon of darkness If upward what canst thou behold but a provoked enraged God whom because thou refusedst to hear in the day of his merciful visitation he will now laugh at thy calamity and mock when thy fear cometh upon thee as himself threatneth Prov. 1.24 26. and in verse 28. saith the Lord Then shalt thou call upon me but I will not answer thou shalt seek me but thou shalt not find me for that thou hatedst knowledge and didst not choose the fear of the Lord. And verse 30. Thou wouldst none of my counsell but despisedst all my reproofs Therâ—fore shalt thou eat the fruit of thine own way and be filled with thine own desires that is the wickedness which thou hast sown shalt thou reap with all fullness Thus thou wilt look every where for help yet findest thy self every way helpless and hopeless Haply thou wilt then look unto Jesus Christ in hope that he will appear for thee and his blood make thy Attonement But sinner know that though his blood be a fountain opened to all poor penitent believers to wash away the filthy spots and stains of their sins Yet to thee who hast all thy life long suffered Christ to stand knocking at the door of thine heart by the Ministery of his Word by the motions of his Spirit and by the checks of thine own conscience and wouldst not open unto him to thee his blood will be then a fountain sealed so that thou shalt not partake of the least benefit thereof because in thy life time thou hast so often slighted it yea and crucified him afresh by thy bloody sins Ah sinner sinner whither wilt thou flee for comfort in the midst of thy distress It will then be too late to cry out Oh that the time I have spent in Taverns and Ale-houses in sports and pastimes in carnal pleasures and sensual delights I had spent in Prayer and fasting in humbling and repenting It will then be too late to cry with Balaam Oh that I might dye the death of the righteous when thou hast neglected to live the life of the righteous For look as the life is so commonly is the death and as death leaves a man so the last judgement shall find him And now sinner thy last sand being run out thy day past and the Devills long looked for day being come who waits for thy soul so soon as it goeth out of thy body Oh what a direfull screech will thy soul give when it passeth out of thy body into the Devils clutches to be carryed by him into the bottomless burning lake Oh how should the consideration of these unspeakable miseries which are the portion of natural and unregenerate men at their deaths startle and waken all such worldlings and sensualists who so they may encrease their wealth and satiate themselves with worldly pleasures and delights take no thought now nor make any provision against this dreadfull day of reckoning I mean the
the Sons of God Certainly that Christ should come out of Heaven to keep us out of hell that he should uncrown himself to Crown us must needs argue a wonderful willingness in him to have poor sinners saved 5. Christs Willingness appeareth by his rejecting of none who sincerely go unto him though never so weak and worthless in themselves Never did any sinner go to him but he accepted of him as himself expresseth All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that â—ometh unto me I will in no wise cast out but receive him to mercy Hath Christ promised this and will he not be as good as his Word Did he ever break his word with any poor soul though never so unworthy Did he ever cast away any who came unto him And is he not the same yesterday to day and for ever Go sinner fear not go upon the credit of this word which he hath spoken I will in no wise cast them out Though the Devil say go not though thy misgiving heart say go not he will not regard thee he will never look on such a vile wretch he will cast thee out yet since he hath said He will not go and thou shalt find mercy Thus have I by several demonstrations proved as God the Fathers willingness to save the worst of sinners So Christs readiness to embrace all poor sinners who will but come unto him for life and salvation Wherein I have the longer insisted because I know no better argument to prevail with sinners to turn from their sins unto God by true and unfeigned repentance and to close with Jesus Christ by a true and lively faith than a serious consideration as of Gods readiness to save the worst of sinners upon their turning unto him so of Christs Willingness to embrace all poor sinners who will come unto him and receive him as their Lord and Saviour I have read a story of a Gentle-woman who was condemned to dye for killing her own child whereupon divers Ministers came to visit her and perceiving her little affected with her sin and sad condition they laboured to set before her the hainousness of her sin and the dreadfulness of her condition without hearty and deep repentance All which little moved her seeming rather the more hardened in her sin But at last another Reverend Divine hearing of her obdurate hardness notwithstanding all that was said unto her went and preached to her the abundant riches of Gods mercy in Christ how ready he was to embrace with the arms of his free-grace every penitent sinner and how willing Christ was to receive all poor sinners who would go unto him and cast themselves into his arms how many and hainous soever their sins were and thereupon told her there was hope of mercy for her if she were heartily sorry for her sins and would adventure her soul upon Christ notwithstanding the greatness and hainousness of her sin What! mercy for me said she that is impossible c. Whereupon the Minister proceeded further to set forth the freeness of Gods grace and riches of his mercy to all penitent and believing sinners declaring unto her how God delighted in mercy and that where sin had abounded there his grace and mercy would much more abound or to that purpose And thereupon she presently fell a weeping wringing her hands and cryiâ—g for mercy and dyed very comfortably as it is related having had the mercy of God abundantly revealed to her before her death And truly sinner as it was my design so my hearts desire in sâ—tting forth Gods willingness to save the very worst of sinners upon their repentance and Christs readiness to embrace them with the arms of his mercy that it might have the same effect in thee as it had in the forementioned Gentle-woman And oh that the consideration thereof would melt thine heart into tears of unfeigned sorrow for thy sins past and stir thee up to turn from them unto God by hearty repentance and to close with Jesus Christ upon the terms of the Gospel Oh that I could prevail with thee as to give a bill of divorce to thy lusts and corruptions so to give up thy self unto Christ and to adventure thy soul upon him resting upon his perfect righteousness and all-sufficient Sacrifice for the pardon of thy sins here and for eternal life and salvation hereafter If Christ be so willing to receive thee why shouldst not thou be willing to go unto him and that with confidence of acceptance Salvation is this day offered unto thee the golden Scepter is held out unto thee Oh stretch forth the hand of faith to lay hold and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ so shalt thou be happy to all Eternity For whosoever believeth in Iesus Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life Thus much of the truths to be embraced in order to your Regeneration CHAP. XIV Sheweth the Duties to be Practised in order to your Regeneration HAving shewed you the truths to be embraced in order to your Regeneration I come now to the Duties on your part to be practised and performed I. From the consideration of the dreadfulness of thy condition so long as thou continuest in thine unregenerate estate and of the hope thou hast of a blessed change stir up in thy self an earnest longing restless desire after the new birth that thou maist in truth say O that I were Regenerate and born anew Oh that the Image of the Devil might be razed out and the Image of God imprinted in me O that a blessed change were wrought in my soul a change from nature to grace from darkness to light from the Kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Oh that I might become a new creature renewed throughout in all the faculties of my soul and all the parts of my body As Rachel cryed Give me Children or else I dye So do thou cry out and say Give me this new birth let me be born again by the spirit or else I shall dye not only the first but likewise the second death and be undone for ever And know for thy comfort if thou canst find any such longing desire in thy soul thou art not far from this new birth from the work of Regeneration in thy soul. For this longing desire after this new birth will put thee upon the use of all ordinances and means God hath sanctified for the attaining thereof II. Labour to get thine heart deeply and throughly affected with a sense of thy miserable condition by nature It is not sufficient to know thy condition to be sad and deplorable so long as thou continuest in thine unregenerate estate but thy care and endeavour must be to get thine heart throughly affected therewith If you look into the Scriptures you shall find this qualification required in the persons whom Christ came to save and whom he invites to come unto him Our blessed Saviour speaking to Zacheus saith The Son
the Wise man The house of the wicked shall be overturned but the Tabernacle of the upright shall flourish And therefore the Psalmist pronounceth them blessed who thus fear the Lord saying Blessed is he that feareth the Lord and walketh in his wayes for thou shalt eat the labour of thine hand happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee How then can such expect a blessing from God either upon themselves or upon their relations or upon their pains and endeavours who do not set up God and his Worship in their houses seeing it is that whereby Gods blessing is entailed 2. Those Children and Servants who are religiously educated and principled are likeliest to prove comforts to their Parents and Masters What a comfort must it needs be to thee who art a Master of a Family to see thy houshold through the blessing of God on thy care and pains to be walking Heaven-ward Yea when thou comest to lye upon thy death-bed Oh what a comfort will it then be unto thee that thou hast good ground to believe that thy Children are Gods Children and the Servants of Jesus Christ thou maist then with stronger confidence commend them unto Gods Fatherly care and protection and with greater assurance expect Gods blessing upon them after thy death 3. There is no such means to make your Children loving and dutiful unto you and your servants faithfull in the discharge of their duty as to instruct them in the principles of Religion and to plant the fear of God in their hearts In which respect Solomon saith A godly Son maketh a glad Father viz. by his dutiful and respectfull carriage towards him And that servant who shall find true grace either first wrought or further increased in him by his Masters means will endeavour with the utmost of his power to do him what faithfull service he can in way of thankfulness So that if Parents and Masters of Families respect either that charge God hath laid upon them whereof they are to give an account to him at the great day or that good and benefit which themselves may reap thereby they will see good and just ground to be diligent and constant in the discharge of holy duties with their Family R. V. Another reason may be taken from the manifold mischiefs which usually follow and accompany the neglect of family duties 1. From hence come all Domestick brawls and contentions hence it is that the house is divided against it self Husband against Wife and Wife against Husband Master against Servant and Servant against Master Parent against Child and Child against Parent which would be prevented were the Lord better known and more duly worshipped amongst them For where God is served with perfect purity there is perfect peace But where God is not served there is no peace but jarrs and contentions strife and debate which giveth great advantage unto Satan the arch-enemy of mankind who like a roaring Lyon walketh about continually seeking whom he may devour 2. From hence it is that Magistrates are enforced to execute the penalties of the Laws upon so many namely because they are not Religiously educated but suffered to have their wills in their youth Which appeareth from the sad complaints of many malefactors at the place of Execution against their Parents and Masters for their careless omission of their duty towards them saying if they had had any care or conscience of our education if they had corrected and restrained us betimes from our wicked courses we had never come to this dogs-death and shamefull end 3. From hence it is that so many Families are so dissolute and prophane abounding with all manner of sin and wickedness as lying swearing Sabbath-breaking drinking whoring and the like as if there were a seminary of little Devils an houshold of fiends And truly when Families leave God in not doing the good they should God leaves Families to do the evil they should not So that sin hath there free place where Gods service hath no place And sins of commission do usually follow sins of omission it being ordinary with God to punish one sin with another to punish the neglect of duty with the committing of sin by leaving men so to themselves that they break forth into the committing of great and hainous sins A general complaint there is in these dayes of the undutifulness and disobedience of Children of the negligence and unfaithfulness of Servants yea and of the loose lewd lives of both in many Families whereof if we would search the true ground and cause we shall find it rather in the superiours than in the inferiours For howsoever inferiours cannot be excused yet questionless the fault is chiefly in superiours and Governours because they are careless and negligent in the discharge of their duty towards them not praying with them nor Catechising and instructing them as they should For where religious duties are shut out of any Family there usually the door is set wide open to looseness and profaneness 4. The neglect of Religious dutiâ—s in thy Family will make thee guilty of Murther even of Soul-murther which is the greatest of all For whereas the Souls as well as the bodies of thy Children and Servants are committed to thy care and charge if any of them should perish through thy default thou art deeply guilty of their eternal death and damnation and their blood will be required at thy hands As Iacob was accountable to Laban for the â—oss of every Lamb or Sheep at his hand was it required So is every Master of a Family accountable to God for every soul under his roof If any of them perish through his default God will require it at his hands God will require the blood of thy Child the blood of thy Servants at thy hands one day If therefore you will be free from the blood of your Children train them up in the fear and nurture of the Lord pray for them and with them Catechize them c. The Point being confirmed by Scripture and Reason come we now to the Uses thereof CHAP. III. The Vse of Reproof of those Masters who make no Conscience of Family-duties Use 1. SEeing it is a Duty incumbent upon Parents and Masters of Families to be carefull that not only themselves but also all under their charge even their whole Family do faithfully serve the Lord then they are greatly to be reproved who are neither carefull to serve God themselves neither take they any care of their Family but as there is no fear of God in their hearts so neither is there any fear of God in their Families Yea instead of Gods service there is all manner of wickedness and prophaneness so that their houses are as so many filthy cages of unclean birds so many styes of all manner of abominations Of whose houses we may say what Solomon said of the Harlots house 'T is the way to Hell that is the high and ready way unto eternal
bringeth in Christ himself applying that rite This is my body which is broken for you Q. What is signified by powring out the Wine A. The shedding of Christs blood Or his suffering unto death and powring forth his soul an offering for sin Q. What is signified by the Ministers giving Bread and Wine to the Communicants A. Gods giving and offering his Son to them In the Sacrament God doth offer and tender Christ to every Communicant yea he doth as it were put him into our hands with his own hands Q. What is meant by those words of the Minister Take Eat Drink A. Gods will for our applying Christ to our selves He doth not only in a dumb shew make offer of Christ but by his Minister speaks unto us and saith I will and require you to take my Son to apply him to your selves that so you may live by him What can we more expect on Gods part to move us to receive his Son Q. What doth the peoples taking the Bread and Wine set out A. Their receiving Christs body and blood That is a spiritual receiving of Christ made man and made a Sacrifice to themselves and that by faith For faith is that instrument whereby we receive Christ and all his benefits as they are offered to us in the Gospel and sealed unto us in the Sacrament Faith is to the soul as the hand is to the body That which is offered to a man for his good the hand receives to be his own Thus God offering his Son unto us faith first perswades the heart of Gods good will to man and of his true intent to bestow Christ upon him and thereupon applyes and takes Christ to himself as his own By faith the things signified are as truly received for the nourishment of the soul as the signs are received fâ—r the nourishment of the body Faith is not only our hand to take hold of Christ but our mouth to take him in to take him down into our hearts whereby he becomes our nourishmâ—nt and strengâ—h Q. What is the duty of every Communicant before he goeth to the Lâ—rds Table A. Examinâ—tion 1 Cor. 11.28 Let a man examine himself aâ—d so let him eat of that bread and driâ—k of that Câ—p. Concerning this see my Directions for the worthy receiving the Lords Supper Chap. 24. Q. What is Prayâ—r A. Prayer is an offering up our dâ—sires to God in the name of Christ for such good things as he hath promâ—sâ—d to give and we stand in need to receive Prayer stands not in the bare use of a form of good words but is the pouring fâ—rth the soul and the desireâ— thereof after God and the good things he hath to bestow Isa. 26.9 In the name of Christ. God heareth not sinners that is coming in their own name But sayes Christ himself Joh. 15 16. Whatsoever ye shall aâ—k the Father in my name he will give it you For such things as he hath promised to give and we stand in need to receive Our prayers must be according to Gods Will. And this is according to the will of God that we ask what he hath promised and what he knows we have need of And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us 1 Joh. 5.14 The Parts of Prayer are 1. Confession or the acknowledgement of our sins and transgressions 2. Petition or the asking or craving from the hands of God such things as we want 3. Thanksgiving or the praising of God for the mercies we have received Q What shall be the state of men after death A. I. In general 1. The bodies of all men shall be raised out of their graves and shall live again 1 Cor. 15. 2. All men shall be brought to Judgement 2 Cor. 5.10 II. In particular 1. Belâ—â—vers shall go into everlasting life 2. Uâ—believers and ungodly into everlasting fire Mat. 25.34 41. FINIS â— Sam. 2.30 Mat. 6.1 Joh. 7.48 1 Tim. 1.16 (a) Mat. 6.30 Mat. 8.26 Mat. 14.31 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (b) Mark 9.24 Heb. 12 2◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Qui multis praefectus est aut multos doctrinâ dignitate antecelliâ— Joh. 1.18 Col. 2.3 Mat. 15.28 Isa. 42.3 Luk. 19.10 Isa. 49.15 Psal. 103.13 Mat. 11 28. Mat. 1.21 Rom. 6.14 Mark 9.23 Mark 16.16 Maâ— 9.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 5.37 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secundum qualitates â—oâ— secundum ipsam vel ani-nae vel corporis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here signifieth as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 6.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Regeneratio Secundum carnem Joh. 3.6 Rom. 7.21 22 23. Habitat sed non regnat manet sed non dominatur dejectum sed non ejectum tamen c. Benard in Serm. 10. on Psa. 90. Rom. 6.12 2 Cor. 8.12 Eph. 4.22 Rom. 6.6 Col. 3 5. Inductio unious formae est destructio alterius Eph. 2.5 Rom. 6.4 1 Pet. 1.3 Jam. 1.18 1 Pet. 1.3 Joh. 3.4 Tit. 3.5 Jam. 1.18 1 Pet. 1.23 Eph. 1.13 Rom. 1.16 1 Cor. 4.15 Philemon verse 10. Eph. 4.24 Eph. 2.10 Joh. 3.3 Psal. 103.11 2 Thes. 2.13 1 Thes. 4.3 Mat. 24.35 Eph. 4.24 Job 14.4 Joh. 3.6 Rev. 21.27 Rev. 22. Hab. 1.13 Psal. 5.4 2 Cor. 6.14 Heb. 12.14 Psal. 50.5 Psal. 89.7 Joh. 3.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal. 132.4 Psal. 49.12 Jer. 10.14 In illis tantum sunt opera Dei in hac est imago Dâ—i Aug. Rom. 2.28 29. 1 Tim. 4.8 Heb. 6.17 Jam. 2.5 Prov. 27.1 Heb. 3.15 Heb. 11.26 Rom. 6.23 Rom. 6.16 1 Joh. 3.8 Prov. 10.7 Prov. 3.33 Zech. 5.4 Psal. 32.1 Isa. 57.20 1 Tim. 6.7 Job 1.21 Heb. 9.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Amos 5.19 Luk. 16.22 Rev. 6.11 Heb. 12.23 Rev. 6.16 Rom. 2.5 Psa. 145.17 Luk. 16.19 20 21. Rom. 2.6 In die judicii cum justi introducentur in regnum Dei injusti autem abjicientur for as Aug. in Psal. 72. * Zeph. 1.15 Rom. 8.1 Act. 17.30 31. Rev. 6.16 Mat. 24.30 Mat. 16.27 Tit. 2. â—13 Mat. 17.2 Mat. 24.30 Mat. 24.31 Mat. 25.31 2 Thes. 1.7 Act. 24.25 Eccl. 11.9 2 Cor. 5.10 Rev. 20.13 Exod. 19.16 Mat. 24.31 Rev. 6.15 16. Jer. 8.6 Rom. 2.15 1 Cor. 4.5 Rom. 2.5 1 Cor. 11.31 Psal. 16.11 Luk. 13.28 Numb 5.18 27. Isa. 33.14 Dan. 4.33 Mat. 18.22 Dan. 5.6 Mat. 5.46 Prov. 1.24 c. Mat. 25.41 Psal. 16.11 Gen. 5.24 Mat. 8.12 Eccl. 11.7 Rev. 19 20. Rev. 20.10 Isa. 30.33 Mat. 13.42 2 Thes. 1.8 Jer. 33.14 Dan. 7.10 Isa. 66.24 Mark 9.44 46 48. Isa. 30.33 2 King 23.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non videns Neh. 11.30 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 5.29 30. Rev. 9.11 Rev. 20.10 Mark 9.44 Mark 3.12 Mat. 18.8 Mich. 7.19 Psal. 86.5 Eph. 2.4 2 Chron. 33.3 c. 1 Tim. 1. 13 c. (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Thes. 1.11 (b) Exod.
praise and the glory of his happy change saying Not unto us not unto us but unto thy name be the praise and the glory of this great work Quest. Doth Regeneration admit any degrees Answ. Yes verily For Regeneration may be considered in the beginning and progress of it or in the consummation and perfection of it It is begun and increaseth in this life it is consummate and perfect in the life to come In this life there is spirit mixed with flesh that is grace with some corruption of nature as is evident by the Apostles complaint in these words When I would do good evil is present with me For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my mâ—mbers So that sin and corruption doth remain in all the regenerate as long as their souls remain in their mortal bodies it remains though it doth not raign in them It is in this life cast down but not cast out And this God in great wisdom is pleased to permit to keep us humble and low in our selves and to drive us unto Jesus Christ that as long as this flux of blood runneth we should alwayes be desirous to touch at least the hem of his garment But at death that corruption will be utterly consumed and body and soul clean freed from it insomuch as at the resurrection when body and soul shall be again united the regeneration begun in this World will be manifested to be most perfect Whereas in this life the most regenerate are imperfect through the Reliques of sin and remainder of corruption which will abide in them so long as they abide and continue in this World Now seeing the work of Regeneration is imperfect in the very best here in this life and that there remains flesh and corruption in them so long as they remain in this World Do not thou look too high I mean after a greater measure and degree of grace than here is to be had Many there are who being regenerate by the spirit of God and so brought out of the state of nature into the state of grace presently look for a freedom from all sin and corruption which because they find working and stirring in them thereupon question the work of Regeneration and truth of grace in their souls But let such know that they look for more than here is to be found or than God expects from them For God doth not expect or require of us here freedom from sin and corruption but that we should endeavour to subdue and mortifie it more and more according to the measure of grace and strength which we have received from him He doth not require of us that we be without sin but that sin do not rule nor raign in our mortal bodies according to that of the Apostle Let not sin raign in your mortal bodies Neither doth the Lord require of us exact and perfect righteousness which is impossible to our corrupt nature but only that we strive and labour after it that we sincerely endeavour to serve him after the directions of his Word And that for our failings and imperfections we do in an humble confession bewail the same and then beg the pardon and forgiveness of them in and through the merits of Jesus Christ. And this God will accept of for he esteemeth more of our affections than of our actions and accepteth the will for the deed according to that of the Apostle If there be a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not CHAP. IV. Of the Parts of Regeneration and Causes concurring thereunto HAving shewed you what regeneration is and how it doth admit degrees I shall shew you the Parts of Regeneration which are two 1. Mortification 2. Vivification Mortification is implyed under the phrases of casting off and crucifying the old man and destroying the body of sin This is a duty expresly enjoyned in these words mortifie your members which are upon the earth By members on the earth he meaneth all sorts of lusts and sins whereunto a natural man is given as is evident by the particular instances which he himself reckoneth up in the words following as fornication uncleanness c. These must be mortified that is put to death It is not enough to curb and hold in sin but the life of it must be let out And indeed it is not possible to put on the new man till the old man be cast off Therefore there is a necessity of mortification first before vivification For the bringing in of one form presupposeth the putting out or destroying of the other Wherefore after Mortification followeth Vivification 2. Vivification is the begetting of the life of grace in us whence we live in holiness and righteousness It is set forth in Scripture by Gods quickning us and by our walking in newness of life Vivification then implyeth a new spiritual life which God by his spirit worketh in us which is clean contrary to our former natural corrupt course of life For the effects of this life are holiness and righteousness and all manner of good works Now it is absolutely necessary that this part of regeneration namely Vivification be added to Mortification which is the other part even as necessary as that Christ being dead should be raised Where had been the benefit of Christs death if he had not risen from the dead And what can be imagined to be the profit of mortification without vivification It is therefore the accustomed course of Sacred Scripture to infer the following of holiness upon the flying of sin the doing of good upon eschewing of evil Now the things which God hath joyned together let no man put asunder Let us therefore prove our regeneration not only by ceasing from sin but following holiness and working righteousness Content not thy self to say I am not what I was unless thou canst also add I am what I was not It will be but little boot to thee to say I am no drunkard nor swearer nor covetous nor a walker after the flesh unless thou canst also say By the grace of God I now walk after the spirit in faith and love and holy obedience watchfull unto and endeavouring after a fruitfulness in every good work Thou art not unjust thou sayest but doest thou shew mercy Thou art no longer earthly but art thou heavenly minded Thou art no longer contentious or quarrelsome but art thou a peace-maker Thou hast no longer fellowship with the ungodly but art thou a familiar of the Saints Thou wilt not now curse or swear or lye or scoff but dost thou pray and bless Dost thou hear and read and meditate on God Dost thou study thine heart and govern thy thoughts and affections Dost thou bridle thy tongue set a watch
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone to all eternity Oh me-thinks the name of eternal judgement should if not fright him out of his wits yet awaken eyely unregenerate man out of his security and stir him up without further delay to abandon his wicked and ungodly course of life and to set upon the practice of all holy and religious duties and to labour therein to get the work of Regeneration wrought in his heart that he may become a new creature It may be thou hast a plentiful portion of this Worlds goods enjoying what thine heart can wish or desire But oh what will it profit thee to live plentifully and prosperously here and to be eternally miserable hereafter Thy former happiness will serve only to make thee more sensible of future miseries And therefore when thou art tempted to any unlawfull pleasure or profit reason thus with thy self Shall I for a short momentary pleasure that will soon have an end run the hazard of an eternal judgement that will never have an end shall I for a little profit here loose my soul to all Eternity What greater folly yea what greater madness can be imagined Thus much of the miseries of the Unregenerate in this life Come we now to shew their miseries at death CHAP. VIII Sheweth the miserable and dreadfull condition of the Vnregenerate at their death IF the life of an unregenerate man be so miserable as hath been shewed How dolefull think you will be his death surely his misery then will be much increased As will appear from the consideration of these particulars I. When death shall appear unto thee and tell thee it hath a message from the Lord who hath sent an habeas corpus for thy body Then comes in Conscience if a little awakened with her books of accounts her black and bitter roul and shews thee thy old reckonings and arrears setting before thee the follies of thy youth the sins of thy riper years and the iniquities of thy whole life Ah sinners thou who goest on impenitently in thy wicked and ungodly course of life consider with what a ghastly countenance thou wilt look upon that black and hellish Catalogue of all thy sins thy lyes and oaths thy railing and rotten speeches thy scoffings at Gods people thy goods ill gotten thy time ill spent thy profanation of Sabbaths thy speculative wantonness yea thy many actual filthinesses and uncleannesses thy pride worldliness and covetousness thy sensual revellings and jovial meetings Ah sinner sinner what horrour will then possess thy soul no heart of man can conceive nor tongue of men and angells can express Indeed many there are who upon their death-beds have little right or sense of their sins neither do they think of judgement or eternity but drop into hell before they consider any thing But yet upon the approach of death commonly there is some terrour and trembling upon the consciences of carnal men and if ever any sin did formerly sting it will then especially Oh methinks a serious apprehension and sensible fore-thought of these things even at hand for ought any man knows should make the hardest heart to tremble and melt into tears of unfained sorrow II. The Devil will not be then wanting to aggravate thy sins and to set before thee the curses and the judgements due unto thee for the same thereby to drive thee to despair For when death layeth siege to the body then doth he most violently assault the soul. And the shorter he perceiveth his time to be the more eagerly doth he bestir himself And when through pain of body and perplexity of mind thou art least able to make resistance then will he most fiercely assault thee Whereas formerly his great design was to â—ull thee fast asleep in a presumptuous security by perswading thee that thy state and condition was as good as the best and thy salvation sure enough at thy death if he be not then also pursuing the same design if he can no longer hold thee under thy sleep it will be his great work to perswade thee that thy sins are greater than can be forgiven that there is no place for thee in Heaven and that it is impossible thou shouldst be saved He that hath made the way to Heaven so broad and the entrance so easie all thy life long will at thy death do his utmost to shut the door against thee III. Death puts an end to all thy Worldly comforts and contentmâ—nts which must all die with thee as to thy use and comfort It salutes thee with this sad word Thou hast received thy good things Now an end of thy Heaven and joy Particularly 1. Then thou must part with all thy carnal pleasures and delights which thou hast loved so dearly Yea then thou wilt find little comfort remaining of all thy former pleasures wherein thou tookest so much content and delight and for the enjoyment whereof thou dispensedst not only with the duties of thy calling but likewise with the duties of piety Yea it will be a very hell unto thee upon earth to consider what eternal torments thou art like to endure for those poor and perishing pleasures which thou enjoyedst here for a season Are these the things for which I dye Are these the price of my soul of my blood of my peace Ah sinner the remembrance of thy past pleasures will then possess thee with a double passion First with grief because thou art parting with them And then with dâ—tâ—station because they have brought upon thee such bitter sorrows and torments in hell with the Devils and damned to all eternity O the tayle of these Locusts whose fair faces have heretofore bewitched thee O the sting the sting that they carry in their tayles which is now all that remains to thee 2. Thou must part with thy nearest and dearest relations as thy dear Wife or dear Husband with thy beloved Children Death will separate thee from them all Ah sinners sad will it be to part with these here to live for ever with the Devils and damned in hell And how will it torment thee when you must part to remember to how little good purpose you lived together 3. Thou must part with thy wealth and riches carrying nothing away with thee of all thy enjoyments We brought nothing into the World and it is certain we can carry nothing out as the Apostle speaketh But as we came naked into the World so we shall go naked out of the World And therefore when rich men dye they are said to leave a good estate behind them And indeed they may well be said to leave it because they cannot carry it away with them Ah sinner I know it will be a death to thee to part with thy wealth which was thy life but to consider how thou hast damned thy soul for the getting thereof this will be an hell to thee 4. Thou must part with all the means and opportunities of grace Now thou enjoyest the ordinances of
day of their deaths Surely did they know and feelingly apprehend or would they be brought to believe what horrour and astonishment what terrour and anguish is like then to seize upon them they would count it the greatest point of wisdom in the World speedily to labour for an interest in Jesus Christ who alone can free them as from the sting of death so from these horrours and astonishments which accompany the same and would now ply all the blessed means of salvation as reading hearing praying fasting and the like which are now their burden and bondage yea the matter of their mocks and scorns would then be their daily delight and exercise CHAP. IX Sheweth the miserable and dreadfull condition of the Vnregenerate after their deaths IF this were the conclusion of Unregenerate men that death did put an end to all their miseries happy were it for many But this is their grief and sorrow their woe and misery that all this is the beginning of their sorrows that after all this there is a reckoning to be made for what is past For as it is appointed to men once to dye so after this cometh the judgement Where by the Iudgement that immediately followeth after death the Apostle meaneth the particular judgement which is at the end of each mans life as is evident by this phrase after this which intendeth the time of a mans death For as there is a general judgement at the end of the world So there is a particular judgement that passeth upon each man at the end of this life Ah sinner so soon as thy breath departeth out of thy body it fareth with thy soul as with that man of whom the Prophet Amos speaketh who did flee from a Lion and a Bear met him In like manner thy soul is no sooner escaped out of a miserable World but in a moment it is plunged into another and greater misery Herein lyeth a main difference between the Children of God and the wicked The course which God taketh with his Children is this When the soul is set at liberty from the prison of the body it is instantly conveighed by the Angels into Abraham bosome as is expresly noted of Lazarus And being cloathed with the long white robe of Christs Righteousness is joyned to the spirits of just men made perfect But with the souls of wicked and impenitent sinners it is far otherwise for so soon as they depart out of their bodies they are seized upon by wicked Angels and presently brought before Gods Tribunal-seat where receiving their doom they are instantly sent down into the Kingdom of darkness and bottome of the burning lake there to be reserved in everlasting chains unto the judgement of the great day For the better awakening the Consciences of wicked and impenitent sinners I shall briefly shew you the manner and degrees of this particular judgement 1. As the Iaylor at the Assizes brings forth the Prisoner out of Prison and sets him before the Judge So Sinner the Devil as thy Iaylor brings forth thy soul out of the Prison of thy body and sets it before the glorious presence of God the sight of whom will strike thee with such hellish horrour and astonishment that thou wouldst be glad to have the greatest rock to fall on thee and mightiest mountain to cover thee and there to lye hid everlastingly from the face of him that sitteth on the Throne 2. As when the Prisoner is come before the face of the judge then his accusers bring in their evidence So sinner thou art no sooner set before the face of the Almighty Judge but thy Conscience joyning with the Devil brings in evidence against thee And then all thy filthy thoughts and impure imaginations all thy lyes and oaths with all thy rotten communications and all the secret impurities and villanies of thy whole life will be set before thee and charged upon thy soul. And how dismally will all thy mirth and thy pleasures the houses that thou hast built the lands thou hast purchased the money thou hast hoarded up by iniquity how dreadfully will these look on thee in that day Now thou boastest thy self in thy wealth and blessest thy self in thy pleasures and sportest thy self in thy sins but in what a grim countenance will all these appear when they meet thee before the throne of God Ah sinner What wilt thou then do whither wilt thou fly from the revenging hand of God what mountain canst thou get by entreaty to fall upon thee Truly in this case one would not have thine heart in his breast one hour for all the riches honours and pleasures of the World 3. Then will the Lord hereupon proceed to the sentence of condemnation though haply not vocally yet effectually upon thy soul and say Depart thou cursed into everlasting fire there to be reserved to the Iudgement of the great day Ah sinner what horrour and astonishment will overwhelm thy soul upon that dreadful sentence 4. As the Judge having pronounced the sentence of death delivers up the Prisoners to the Jaylors So then shall God deliver up thy Soul into the hands of the Devils who being thy Jaylours must keep thee to the great day of account Whereupon they will instantly hurry thee into that horrible dungeon and fiery lake where is nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth Where thou shalt have no other comforter but the cursed Devils who will be continually insulting over thee with hellish spite for slighting and rejecting the offers and tenders of Jesus Christ for neglecting so great Salvation all thy life long and losing Heaven for thy base lusts II. Besides this particular judgement on the souls of the unregenerate at their deaths there will be a general judgement on their souls and bodies re-united at the great and last day For the fuller clearing and opening of this great and fundamental principle of Religion I will shew you 1. That there will be a day of Iudgement 2. The Person who shall be the Iudge 3. The manner of Christs coming to Iudgement 4. The order of Christs proceeding in Iudgement I. For the first that there will be a day of Iudgement is clear from that of the Author to the Hebrews Chap. 6.2 where he reckoneth it amongst the fundamental principles of Religion And Act. 17.31 The Apostle Paul speaking of God saith He hath appointed a day in which he will Iudge the World in righteousness Yea in 2 Cor. 5.10 he puts a MUST upon it We must saith he all appear before the judgement-seat of Christ which implyeth the necessity thereof And truly there is a necessity of a general Iudgement as for the declaration of the equity of Gods particular Iudgement on each man at his death in which respect it is called the day of the revelation of the Righteous Iudgement of God So for a clear manifestation of the justice of God Though God be most just in all his wayes yet
in this World it is not so evidently discerned Because God in Wisdom oft suffereth the wicked to prosper yea and to domineer over the Righteous Here the best men are ofttimes the worst used and most wronged Here the true Prophets of God are fed with bread and water in their Caves whilest the false Prophets of Baal fared plentifully at Iezabels Table Here Dives sits in his Palace cloathed richly faring sumptuously every day whilest Lazarus lyeth at his gate naked and hungry But then God will reader to every one according to his deeds When as Heaven and everlasting happiness shall be the lott of the righteous So hell and eternal horrour shall be the portion of the unrighteous Thus you see there will be a day of Judgement Oh how terrible will this day of Judgement be unto the unregenerate and wicked To them it will be a day of wrath a day of trouble and distress a day of darkness and gloominess Then shall the drunkard drink deepest of the cup of Gods wrath the fornicator and adulterer who burned with the fire of lust burn in the fire of Hell Then shall the glutton who gave himself up to the satisfying of his greedy appetite be pinched with hunger and parched with thirst not having a drop of water to cool his flaming tongue Then shall the worldling and covetous wretch feel his loads of ill-gotten goods sinking and drowning him in perdition and destruction pressing him down to the bottom of the infernal lake Ah sinner How doth it concern thee to retire into some secret place and there seriously to ponder on this day of judgement Ask thine heart this question Is it certain there will be a day of judgement or no If it be certain Oh then why do I not prepare for it by breaking off my sins and making my peace with God before that day come upon me why do I not labour for an interest in Christ by whom alone I can be freed from eternal death and condemnation why do I not now give all diligence to make my Calling and Election sure Oh sinner reason thus with thy self thou knowest not of what advantage a few such serious thoughts may be to thy soul. When Paul Preached to the Athenians he urged them to repent and turn from their sins from this very ground and reason Because the Lord had appointed a day in which he will judge the World in righteousness Oh repent therefore and turn ye from your wicked wayes for why will ye dye and perish eternally in your sins Seek unto the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is nigh Christ now stands knocking at the door of thine heart by the Ministers of his Word the motions of his Spirit and checks of thine own Conscience Oh give him speedy and willing entertainment The time will come when thou wilt knock with the foolish Virgins and shalt not be heard and repent with Iudas and not be accepted For the Lord will have his day when thine is past and a day of Iudgement for thy punishment that didst slight and reject the day of mercy for thine amendment II. For the Person who shall be the Iudge It is Christ that shall be Iudge who shall in a visible shape both judge and pronounce sentence upon all men as the sentence of absolution on the elect so the sentence of condemnation on the wicked Indeed judging the World being a work ad extra which is terminated upon or respects the creature it is common to the whole Trinity So that neither the Father nor the Holy Ghost are excluded but yet it is in Scripture more especially appropriated to the Son And that partly as a recompence of his humiliation and partly because the proceedings of the judgement being visible it seemed convenient that the Iudge himself should be conspicuous And therefore Christ in his humane nature shall judge the World and denounce the doom of condemnation against the wicked ones yet shall he do all as Immanuel God and man Oh how terrible will the sight of Jesus Christ as Iudge be unto all carnal and impenitent wretches who when they shall see him sitting upon the Throne whose gracious invitations they have slighted whose Ministers and Ambassadours they have wronged and contemned whose ordinances they have neglected and whom they have often crucified by their sins how then will their hearts be appalled with dread and terrour entreating the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. A poor believer on that day seeing Christ sitting upon the Throne may with comfort say Loe yonder is he who dyed to save me who shed his blood for my redemption and rose again for my justification and is now come to judge both the quick and the dead But thou who dyest in thy sins canst not but with much anguish of Spirit in that day cry out and say Loe yonder is he who came from Heaven to save poor lost sinners and who did Sabbath after Sabbath even all my life long by his Ministers wooe and bâ—seech me to abandon my lusts and to receive him as my Lord and Saviour to yield subjection unto him and his laws and to rest upon him alone for life and salvation who now would have received me into eternal bliss and happiness But I miserable wretch that I was did slight his woings and beseechings turning a deaf ear to the calls of his grace and preferred my lusts and corruptions bâ—fore the Lord and his salvation yea and all my life long opposed his Kingdom and government as quite contrary to my carnal heart and sensual pleasures wherein I took much content and delight This is the Iudge who now sits on life and death and from whom I must now receive my seâ—tence And oh what a fearfull sentence must I expect from such a wronged contâ—mâ—ed câ—raged righteous Iudge What will he award me whether will he seâ—d me Oh my sins my sins have cloathed his soul with fury against me O my soul what Talents of wrath and vengeance will this righteous provoked Iudge lay upon thee how will he bind thee in chains of darkness and setters of eternal fire Oh therefore that we were so wise as now in this our day and time of grace so to renounce boâ—h our own wickedness and righteousness as to joyn our selves to our Lord resigning up our souls to the government of his holy laws adventuring and relying upon the merit of his blood resolving to follow him in holiness that hereby we may make him sure to us against that terrible day III. For the Manner of Christs coming to Iudgement it will be as in great glory so in great terrour to the wicked and impenitent 1. Christ will come in great glory aâ—d Majesty even in the glory of the Father This is the most glorious work that Christ
Gods justice for thy sins for otherwise when either thy conscience or the Devil begin to aggravate thy sins and to set before thee the number and the hainousness of them thou wilt be at a loss and even ready to sit down in despair whereas if thou didst cleerly apprehend what a full satisfaction the death of Christ was to Gods justice for all thy sins thou wouldst not fear what either thy conscience or the Devil could object against thee In Rom. 8.33 We read how the Apostle from the consideration of Christs all-sufficient Sacrifice and full satisfaction to Gods justice by his death did triumph over sin and Satan For having treated thereof in the former part of the Chapter In the latter part thereof ver 33 34. he speaks as one ravished with abundance of comfort yea challengeth the Devil and all the World to object what they could against the pardon of his sins Who saith he shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect It is God that justifieth Who is he that condemneth it is Christ that dyed As if he had said let Conscience and carnal Reason let Law and Sin let Hell and Devil object what they can let them object the number and hainousness of my sins what is that seeing Christ hath dyed even Christ the Son of God hath offered up his own life as an all-sufficient Sacrifice and thereby abundantly satisfied Gods justice for my sins Beloved the case between God and us and our Saviour Jesus Christ is not much unlike the case of a Creditor a Debtor and a Surety Though the debtor be altogether unable to satisfie his debt or to contribute any thing thereunto yet if his surety have fully discharged the debt and cancelled the bond the debtor is safe enough from imprisonment or danger of arrest In lâ—ke manner though we were much indebted unto God and were no way able to make the least satisfaction for our sins yet seeing our surety Jesus Christ hath taken upon him the debt of our sins and fully satisfied Gods justice for the same by offering up his own life as an all-sufficient Sacrifice upon the Cross we shall not need to fear the accusations of Conscience or of carnal reason or of all the Devils in Hell if we do apply the merits of Christs death unto our own souls comfort IV. That there is hope of mercy for the worst of sinners appeareth from Christs Willingness to receive and embrace all poor sinners who will but come unto him and receive him upon the terms of the Gospel 1. Christs Willingness appeareth from his frequent personal invitations of all sorts of sinners even the worst to come unto him for life and salvation as Matth. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest In which we find no exception either of persons or sins but whosoever thou art rich or poor male or female how many and hainous soever thy sins are if thou art but sensible of them thou art invited to go unto Jesus Christ and to cast thy self and the burden of thy sins upon him And Rev. 22.17 Let him that is a thirst come And whoever will let him take the Water of life freely That is in whomsoever there is but an earnest will and longing desire to partake of Christ and of the benefits of his death and passion they are invited to come unto him Now these gracious invitations of Jesus Christ unto poor thirsty sinners to come unto him that their souls might live must needs argue his incomparable willingness to have them saved 2. Christ knowing our backwardness to come unto him to the forementioned invitations adds his awakening excitation or proclamation crying out Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the Waters c. And because many poor souls are apt to say Alas there is nothing in me to commend me unto Christ I have no goodness no righteousness of mine own therefore Christ adds He that hath no money that is he who hath no goodness no righteousness of his own which is there meant by money let him come And indeed they are the fittest to go unto Jesus Christ for it is the empty soul that is most capable of Christ the soul emptied of all self-righteousness and self-goodness Whereas that soul which with the Church of Laodicea is rich and full with a conceit of its own righteousness hath no room for Christ. 3. Christs Willingness appeareth by the many sweet and gracious promises which he hath made in his Word unto all those who by faith come unto him As that known promise Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest that is I will ease you and refresh you I will comfort you with the assurance of the pardon of your sins I will give you peace of Conscience here and eternal peace and rest with me for ever in my Kingdom And questionless one special reason why many find so little peace and comfort in their souls is because they go not unto Jesus Christ they cast not themselves and the burden of their sins upon him who is the fountain of peace and comfort and from whom alone it is to be had And Mark 16.15 16. saith our Saviour He that believeth shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned that is He who goeth out of himself unto Christ for life shall be saved from the wrath of God from the curse of the Law from the guilt and power of sin yea from eternal death and condemnation and shall inherit eternal life and salvation But he that believeth not shall be damned that is He who refuseth to go unto Jesus Christ preferring his lusts and corruptions before him shall be cast into that burning lake where is nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth Oh how earnestly doth Christ press sinners to come unto him that they might have life promising Heaven and salvation upon their coming and threatning hell and damnation upon their refusing And what more prevailing argument could he use to perswade sinners to come unto him Which must needs evidence his exceeding great willingness to embrace them with the arms of his mercy upon their coming 4. Christs Willingness appeareth from his eâ—d of coming into the World which was to save poor lâ—st sinners He left his Crown and Throne his Royal Court and glorious Robes and cloathed himself with the rags of our humanity for no other end but to seek and to save that which was lost as the Apostle expresseth This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the World to save sinners So that the Salvation of poor lost sinners was his great design in coming into the World He came from Heaven to Earth for this very end that he might send us from Earth to Heaven The Son of God became the Son of man that we the sons of men might become
Chain and he cannot go one link thereof farther than he pleaseth 2 From siâ— Though the Regenerate are not freed from the in-being of sin which doth and will live in them so long as they live in this World yet are they freed both from the guilt of sin and from the power and dominion of sin 1. From the guilt of sin that is from that wrath and punishment which is due to sin so that none of our sins shall be able to condemn us For Christ as our Surety Saviour and Redeemer did bear all our sins in his body upon the tree and there offered up his life as an all sufficient Sacrifice and full satisfaction to Gods justice for the same So that God being fully satisfied by the death of Christ for our sins he will not nay he cannot in justice require satisfaction again from us Well therefore might the Apostle make this bold challenge who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect seeing Christ hath dyed and by his death fully satisfied Gods justice for their sins 2. From the power and dominion of sin which cometh to pass by the Spirit of Christ conveighed to them whereby their sins are in some measure mortified and subdued so that they do not rule nor raign in them as formerly Sin shall not have dominion over you saith the Apostle and why because you are not under the Law but under grace In our unregenerate estate sin had not only possession of us but dominion over us so that we did yield a willing subjection unto the command of sin But since we are regenerated by the Spirit of God we are freed though not from the in-being yet from the dominion of sin So that though sin may tyrannize over us yet shall it not raign in us We shall not yield a free and willing obedience to the command thereof This is the great comfort of Gods Children that though sin be not removed yet it is subdued Though they oftentimes feel the workings and stirrings of corruption in them which make them to have many a sad heart and wet eye yet are they freed through Christ from the dominion of sin 3. The Regenerate are freed from the Law not only from the Ceremonial and Iudicial Law which were peculiar to the Jews and dyed with the decay of their Common-wealth but likewise from the Moral Law which concerns all men at all times in all places yet not as it is a rule of Obedience and Christian walking for so it still remains in force even to the Children of God even after their Regeneration But 1. As it was a Covenant of works or as the Covenant thereof was works We are not absolutely bound to such rigour and exactness as that required Indeed we ought to endeavor after the most perfect obedience and to be humbled for our defects and failings therein but not to despair because of them for all failings not allowed are pardoned Besides Christ our surety hath in all things fullfilled the Law and performed perfect obedience thereunto So that the strictness of the Law being fulfilled by our surety it s not expected that it should be performed by us in our own persons 2. We are freed from the Curse and condemnation of the Law Christ saith the Apostle hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made a curse for us So that although we do not perform it in that exact manner and measure which it requireth yet our transgressions shall not be imputed to us to condemnation The Law may condemn the actions but not the persons of the Regenerate it hath nothing to do with them therefore the Apostle saith There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Iesus V. Provision of all needfull good things is another priviledge of the Regenerate who have a right to all good things through Christ and the possession of all things God seeth good for them It is observable that when God was with Israel in the Wilderness where nothing was to be had they lacked nothing It is naturally engrafted into all Parents to provide for their Children what then can they want who have God for their Father who as he is all-sufficient so a most loving Father to his Children whose love far surpasseth the love of natural Parents to their Children Art thou a Child of God by Regeneration then look up to thy Heavenly Father for a supply of all good things For can they that are evill know how to give good gifts to their Children saith our Saviour And shall not your Heavenly Father give to you the things whereof ye have need He feedeth the Fowls of the air and the Beasts of the Field and he that is carefull to provide for his Hawks and his Hounds will he suffer his Children to beg and starve who must one day be his heirs Be not then faithless but believe and say not What shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithall shall we be cloathed For your Heavenly Father knoweth whereof ye have need and shall relieve you VI. Acceptance of their Services though full of weaknesses infirmities and imperfections Natural Parents are not more ready to accept of the weak Services performed by their Children than God is to take in good part the imperfect services of his Children How maimed and broken are our prayers many times yet coming from a broken heart they find acceptance with God Though he regardeth not the glorious works of hypocrites yet he graciously accepteth of the weak Services of his Children done in sincerity When we cannot pray with that affection and fervency as we desire yet if we set upon it with an honest and sincere heart doing it in obedience to the command of God with a desire to approve our selves unto him therein and grieving for our failings and imperfections God will overlook our failings and crown our weak endeavours with acceptance VII Protection from things hurtfull is another priviledge of the Regenerate They are here subject to manifold casualties and contingencies from which the Lord in mercy protects them keeping Watch and Ward for them Yea he is said to be a wall of fire round about his people A wall to defend them and of fire to consume those that rise up against them So that they shall not be afraid of evil tydings for their hearts are fixed trusting in the Lord. I deny not but the Children of God may be wronged oppressed spoiled of all they have and unjustly stain yet in all these shall they not be hurt for God will turn all to their good Note what David said of Shimei's cursing him The Lord will look on my affliction and requite good for his cursing this day On this ground the Hebrews took joyfully the spoyling of their goods VIII Support under all afflictions is another priviledge of the Regenerate For God is present with them in all their afflictions supporting their weakness with his might
Yet how many professors are there in our dayes who though they pretend much love to Christ yet by their practice it appears that their love of riches is greater and stronger than their love of him 1. For how are their thoughts more upon the World and the things thereof than on Christ No sooner are they awake from their sleep but the World presently takes possession of their hearts and their thoughts are upon their estate how they may encrease the same and that with unwearied care and labour when every little that is done for Christ is a weariness to them 2. How do their discourses run out more upon their riches than on Christ Yea with what freedom and delight do they talk of their wealth and of the means of getting and increasing the same And scarce a word of Christ all the day long Which doth clearly discover the covetousness which lyeth in their hearts for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh As the door-keeper said unto Peter Thou art surely of Galilee for thy speech bewrayeth thee So whosoever shall make the World the whole matter and subject of his discourse it may be truly said of him He is a Citizen of the World for his speech bewrayeth him 3. How eager and keen are their desires after the riches of this World or at least after a further portion and provision for themselves Wives and Children 4. How do they toyle and labour spending their sweat and strength in seeking after riches thinking no care and study too much nor pains too great for encreasing their wealth and store How do they rise earlyer for their Worldly businesses than for their Prayers or any spiritual exercises 5. How do they suffer the World to take up so much of their precious time that they can scarce find any leisure either for closet devotions or family Prayers but make their Religion give place to their Worldly businesses And when at any time they fall upon the performance of holy duties how are their hearts in that very time taken up with Worldly thoughts and imaginations So that insteed of conversing with God in his holy Ordinances and enjoying communion with him therein they converse with the World and hold communion with the Devil O what a shame is it for such as are brought out of darkness into marvelous light having their understandings inlightned with the knowledge of God and of his Son Jesus Christ and are able to discern the mysteries of Godliness that they should set their hearts and affections upon base and transitory things that they should lay out themselves so much in the pursuit of them and never think they have laid up sufficient of these earthly treasures What a shame is it for such as profess themselves the Sons of God to live like Sons of men as if their portion and happiness were only in this life That they who profess themselves Heirs to an Heavenly inheritance should so much dote upon earthly things what a shame is it for such as have reasonable souls capable of an everlasting life and of communion with God both here and hereafter should so far debase their natures as to live like Moles and Worms in the Earth and to root like Swine in mudd and dung Oh how doth it concern you daily to humble your selves for this sin and to loath and abhorr it and watch against it for the time to come For as every evill is to be abhorred so especially such as are disgracefull to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the Religion which you profess Let us all therefore who have given our names unto Christ labour to mortifie this sin in us Let us use this World and the things thereof as if we used them not neither in our judgements esteeming nor in our hearts affecting nor in our practice seeking them before spiritual grace and Heavenly glory That we may be the better quickned up thereunto let us oft consider the manifold mischiefs that do usually follow and accompany this sin of covetousness I. It is the Root of all Evil. There is no evil which a covetous man will forbear his covetousness will put him upon the acting and committing all manner of sin that will serve his greedy design It will make a man turn the day of Sacred rest into a day of bodily labour It will make him use wicked ballances and deceitfull weights For this they are full of violence and lyes saith the Prophet Micah It oft-times raiseth Warrs and sets the World together by the ears It occasioneth the neglect both of our own and others souls It enticeth us into Hell for the sake of living plentifully on earth It causeth Parents to neglect the souls of their Children and Children to wish the death of their Parents It maketh people to hate their Ministers and Ministers to neglect their People II. Covetousness alienates the soul of man from God and that several wayes as 1. From the thought of God For God is not in all his thoughts When he awakes in the night his mind is wholly taken up with worldly matters without a thought of God or of any good thing When he is following the works of his calling how is he wholly drowned and swallowed up therein 2. It alienates the soul of man from the love of God For if any man love the World the love of the Father is not in him 3. It alienates the soul of man from attending upon God in his Ordinances As you may see in the invited guests in the Parable whose eager desire after the things of this World kept them from coming to the wedding feast III. Covetousness makes a man unthankfull for his present state and condition though in it self an estate very full and comfortable His mind is so much upon what he hath not that he neither takes notice nor tastes the sweetness of what he hath His full vessel in his own apprehension is an empty bottle Finding no contentment in what he hath he is full of murmuring and repining that he hath not what he would have Many a gracious poor man that hath little of this Worlds goods hath oftentimes more satisfaction and contentment in his little than he that hath the greatest earthly revenews in all his abundance IV. Covetousness works the heart to a mean and low esteem of things spiritual and heavenly From such as love the World and the things thereof over-much Christ to be sure hath love little enough Their eyes are so blinded that they see not his beauty and their pallat so distempered that they taste not his sweetness And therefore with Esau preferr a mess of pottage before a birth-right and with the men of Shechem preferr the bramble before the Vine the Olive and the Figg-tree Worldly men preferr these poor empty things the Brambles of the World before Jesus Christ the true and living Vine yea and above the blessed birth-right of Gods new-born Children Covetousness
coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves thorow with many sorrows As God hath in his Word denounced severe threatnings against many sins so a serious consideration of them will be a special means to mortifie the same and keep them at least from raigning in us 4. Call to mind the fearfull judgements God hath executed upon sinners as the drowning of the old World the raining fire and brimstone from Heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah the rejection of the Iews the destruction of those famous Churches of the Corinthians Galathians Ephesians with divers others Consider likewise the remarkable judgements of God executed upon notorious sinners in thine own dayes for their swearing sabbath-breaking whoring drinking and the like which through Gods blessing may prove a special Means to keep down all sinfull lusts and inordinate affections that they break not forth into outward gross acts 5. Consider the deceitfull nature of sin which allureth thee with shews of pleasure profit credit ease and the like but in the end it bites like a Serpent and stingeth like an Adder and then thou wilt perceive how thou art beguiled and deceived Horrour of Conscience and hellish torment is all it will pay thee instead of the pleasure it promiseth thee loss instead of profit even the loss of Heaven and happiness shame and disgrace instead of credit anguish instead of ease tribulation and anguish shall be upon every soul of man that doth evil Iacob complained of Labans deceit about his wages and what wilt thou think of thy wages when the pay-day comes The wages of sin is death wilt thou not then say the Serpent hath beguiled me this sin hath deceived me Be not such a fool as to take the word of a known deceiver away with it crucifie it for it intends thee mischief Be undeceived betimes how dreadfull will it be if nothing but fire and â—â—â—mstone will bring thee to thy wits If thou wilt noâ— see the treachery of sin till it be too late to escape it 6. When thou feelest corruption working and stirring in thee entising thee to sin seriously consider the manifold sufferings and bitter death of our blessed Saviour Iesus Christ on the Cross whereof our sins were the cause These were they that lay heavy upon his soul and made him exceeding sorrowfull even unto death These were the thorns which pricked his Temples the whips which scourged his innocent body and the nails which fastned his hands and feet to the Cross. And can we love our sins which kil'd our Saviour we complain of Iudas and of the Iews for Crucifying him and seem to hate them upon that account But behold the Iudas in thy heart and in thy life thy sins these are the betrayers and murderers Oh never leave looking up to a Crucified Christ till thou feel and find both arguments enough to engage thy heart against them and vertue flow from him to the Crucifying of them To this end reason thus with thy self Hath Christ paid for my Redemption his most precious Blood and shall I sell my soul to sin again for this fleshly pleasure or base profit what is this but to Crucifie the Lord of life afresh For know assuredly so many sins as thou committest wittingly and with delight so many thorns dost thou again fasten upon his head so many nailes dost thou drive into his hands and feet so many spears dost thou thrust into his heart Certainly a serious consideration of these things cannot but be a special means to set thee heartily upon this work of Mortification 7. Consider how frail and mortal thou art subject to death every moment and woe be unto thee if thou dye before thy sins be slain How darest thou adventure upon thy Lusts and the pleasures of sin when as thou maist suddenly be taken out of the Land of the living and cast into hell while thou art acting thy wickedness Even then when thou art blessing thy self in thy pleasures or the gains of unrigâ—â—eousness thou maist hear that voice Thou fool 〈◊〉 night thy soul shall be taken from thee Didst thou but seriously consider as the cerrainty of thy death so the uncertainty of the time thereof thou wouldst not but be afraid of sinning once more lest God should strike thee dead in the very act and thou have no time left for repentance Oh pray with the Psalmist that God would teach thee to number thy dayes and this will make thee apply thine heart unto Wisdom 8. Consider that sin will be thy destruction and nothing besides it can harm thee It is not in the power of all the men and Devils in the World to destroy the soul of any man Temptations can do nothing but by the advantage of corruption 't is that wounds mortally our immortal spirit and brings it into that cursed state where though it never dyeth yet is it alwayes dying though never quite dead yet ever in the pangs of death Oh what prodigious cruelty must it then needs be for such things of nought to betray thy precious soul to an eternal loss when if thou wouldst be perswaded to secure this enemy Sin thou mightest live and be blessed in spite of men and Devils And wilt thou yet be in league with it wilt thou let it live Shall not thy soul be avenged of such an enemy as this Arise arise set upon thy sins upon them all let not thy soul spare any one of them give no quarter to them let not any iniquity lodge in peace with thee one night more lest thou be a dead man before the morning Thus have I commended to thee several considerations to restrain thee from sin which by the help of God may serve to imbitter the sweetest bait that draws thee to it and to cool the heat of the most furious inticements When therefore thou feelest corruption working and stirring in thee call to mind the forementioned considerations fix thy thoughts on them let them not go off untill they begin to have a powerfull influence upon thy soul. II. Another means on our part to be performed for the mortifying our sinfull Lusts is carefully to eschew all occasions of sin and temptations thereunto He who will dally with occasions of sin is in danger of falling He who will venture upon temptations unto wickedness is not far from commission of it Observe therefore what occasions and opportunities what means and company have at any time given advantage to thy Lust to exert and put forth it self and flie from them as from Hell This is a point of true spiritual wisdom to see sin afar off in the occasions of it and by eschewing the one to prevent the other III. Observe the first working of corruption in thine heart and carefully suppress the same not suffering it to get the least ground Do not say thus far it shall go and no farther Give sin an inch and it will soon take an ell as the proverb is Lustfull thoughts have
death and condemnation These men howsoever they would be esteemed good Masters and good Governours yet are they far from such in that they neglect the main duty belonging to good Governours which is to take care of the souls of those under their charge and willingly suffer all manner of wickedness and prophaness to rule and bear sway in their Families and that without any check or controul I dare boldly say it were much better for a man to put his Child into a Pâ—sthouse than into such a Family in that wickedness is more infectious than the Plague spreading infinitely polluting every one it comes near And whereas the Plague and Pestilence can but kill the body the contagion of sin is apt to destroy both body and soul. And therefore what is usually written upon the doors of such houses as are visited with the Plague Lord have mercy upon us may far better be written upon the doors of such houses where through the neglect of Family-duties sin and wickedness doth abound I know there are very many both Parents and Masters who having provided for the bodies of those under their charge think they have sufficiently discharged their duty towards them But I would demand of such if their care be only to provide for the bodies of their Children and Servants what do they more to them then to their beasts If they only cloath them and pay them their wages what do they more to them than the Turks and Infidels who know not God do to their Children and Servants If their care be only to provide for them an earthly inheritance without any care to make them Heirs of an Heavenly inheritance what do they more to them than Iews who are ignorant of Christ and his Gospel do for their Children Let such know that it is their duty to provide not only for for perishing Carcasses but also for the immortal souls of all theirs And it is a vain and foolish imagination for any to think they have done their duty when they have apparelled nourished and brought up their Children and Servants considering they have a far greater account to make before God for their souls of which if any should perish through their negligence and unfaithfullness how dreadfull will their account be oh what answer will they be able to make when the blood of their Children and Servants souls shall be required of them CHAP. IV. An Exhortation unto all Parents and Masters of Families to make Conscience of Family-duties Use 2. LEt the second Use be an Use of Exhortation to stir up all Christian Parents and Masters of Families to be carefull that their whole house do faithfully serve the Lord as well as themselves that they take up Ioshuah's resolution as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. As you would not be guilty of the blood of your Children and Servants souls and as you would not have them cry out against you in everlasting fire see that you bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Every Governour should be that in the body politick of his own house which the heart is in the natural body of man as it communicateth life and vital spirits to the rest of the members So must the Master of the houshold endeavour to impart the spiritual life of grace to all that are members of his body politick And his house by a constant conscionable performance of holy and religious duties there should be a little Church For the maintaining the Worship of God makes every house to become a sanctuary an house of God Hence divers pious Governours in the new Testament are said to have Churches in their houses as Philemoâ— Aquila and Priscilla and Nimphas whose houses were called Churches as in respect of the Saints in their houses so in respect of the worship of God among them Oh what an honour will this be to us when upon this account our habitations shall be called rather Churches than private houses Temples of God rather than the dwellings of men For the more profitable pressing of this Use I shall shew you what be the duties and services which are especially required of Parents and Masters of Families in reference to those under their charge CHAP. V. Of Family Prayer with quickning Motives thereunto I. PRayer which is one principal part of the service of God in all Families and therefore ought to be performed by the Governour thereof who as he is a King to govern his Family so a Priest to offer up a Morning and an Evening Sacrifice of Prayer and praise unto God in and with his Family This we find commended to us in the practice of the Patriarchs who when they removed to any place they builded an Altar where God was to be called upon by the whole Family Thus did Abraham Isaac and Iacob David though a King yet prayed with his Houshold as their Governour for it is recorded of him that having offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord he returned to bless his houshold that is say Expositors to bless God with his Family and to beg Gods blessing on them In the New Testament the Apostle writing to Masters of Families concerning their duties adjoyneth this continue in Prayer implying it to be one special duty incumbent on them to be constant in Family-prayer Of Cornelius it is said that he was one who feared God with all his house which gave much Almes to the people and prayed to God alway which implyeth that he prayed daily with his Family These examples are recorded by the Holy-Ghost as Copies for us to write after But for your more full conviction of that obligation that lyes upon you for the performance of this duty let the following arguments be duly weighed Arg. 1. The first Argument shall be drawn from that trust that is committed unto governours of Families Here observe 1. That Governours of Families are intrusted with the souls with the Religion of their Families not that they may prescribe unto them or impose upon them what way of Religion they please or that inferiours may be excused by the errours or neglects of the Superiours but it is committed to their care and they have received a charge from the Lord to look diligently to all that are under them that they duly worship God observe his ordinances and keep â—â—s statutes That there is such a care incumbent on them is evident under the Law the Master of the Family was by the appointment of God to look to the circumcising of all the Males of his house both those that were born in his house and those that were bought with his money In the fourth commandment the Master of the Family is charged not only to keep the Sabbath in his own person but to look to his family also Thou shalt do no work therein that 's not all nor thy Son nor thy Daughter nor thy Man-servant nor thy
for the spiritual and eternal good of our poor souls Help us to keep alwayes upon our hearts a deep sense as of the certainty of our death so of the uncertainty of the time thereof that we may live as those who believe we must shortly dye Lord take us into thy keeping and protection this night Grant we may lodge in the arms of Jesus that we may rest in his bosome Give unto us such sweet and comfortable rest and sleep that our bodies may be refreshed and we the better enabled to serve thee the next day in our several places and callings In mercy remember thine all the World over And in special we pray thee for this sinfull Land and Nation Pardon our sins be reconciled to us in Jesus Christ. Let thy Gospel have a free passage therein Pour the choicest of thy blessings upon the head of our King that he may be a blessing unto us Bless all our Magistrates with the Ministers of thy Word and Sacraments Pâ—tty the afflicted members of Jesus Christ. Bless all Christian Families this in particular giving unto every member thereof all needfull saving sanctifying graces And now accept our Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving which we offer unto thee for thy manifold favours and mercies conferred on our souls and bodies especially and above all for that great gift of thine the Lord Jesus Christ and for all those great things he hath done and suffered for our redemption We bless thy name as for the enjoyment of the Gospel so for any spiritual good we have received thereby that any of us have fiducially and cordially closed with the tenders and offers of Jesus Christ. We bless thy name that thou hast withheld us from the company and wayes of those who live without God in the World giving themselves up to work all wickedness with greediness and hast set our hearts to seek the Lord and wait for thy Salvation For every other good thing whether temporal or spiritual concerning this life or a better blessed and praised be thy great and glorious name And now O Lord we beseech thee in mercy to overlook all the weaknesses and infirmities which have accompanied this holy duty Sprinkle both our Persons and our Services with the blood of that immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus To whom with thee O Father and the holy Spirit be rendred as is most due all honour and praise and glory both now and for evermore Amen A Prayer for a single Person O Eternal and ever-living Lord God the fountain of all blessing the Father of Mercy and God of all Consolation I thy poor creature altogether unworthy to appear in thy sight to present my Prayer and supplication unto thee do yet in the name and mediation of thy beloved Son Jesus Christ prostrate my self at the footstool of thy grace looking for acceptance and assistance in and through him For his sake look graciously upon me pardon my sins which are many and hainous Lord I cannot but acknowledge that besides the guilt of Adam's sin there is in me a fountain of corruption which I brought with me into the World from whence hath plentifully flowed many poisonous streams of actual transgressions and that in evil thoughts evil words and evil actions which I have committed through the whole course of my life from my tender infancy to this present time I have been alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in me I have walked after the course of this World fulfilling the desires of my flesh and of my mind minding earthly things I have broken thy Law neglected thy Gospel refused the offers of Christ and am in great doubt that to this day there hath been no good work wrought upon me but that I continue in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity Lord I cannot but acknowledge I have shamefully abused the ricâ—es of thy goodness forbearance and long-suffering which should have led me to repentance as also thy Fatherly corrections and chastiâ—ements laid upon me in love and for my good oh how little have I been bettered thereby How do I spend my time and strength for the getting of earthly riches and satisfying my self with sensual pleasures and in the mean time am careless of my precious and immortal soul Lord I have often for my profit and pleasure sake omitted and put off the holy exercises of Religion which ought to have been performed by me and have been exceeding dead and dull lifeless and heartless in performing those good duties I have taken in hand I have been unfruitfull under a plentiful dispensation of the means of grace unthankfull under those favours and mercies thou hast conferred on me unfaithfull to those manifold vows and promises I have made unto thee my God Truth Lord my sins are many and hainous but this is my comfort that Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners and why not me why not me I acknowledge my self to be a great sinner but yet again thy Word testifieth That Jesus Christ came to save the chief of sinners Therefore will I not despair of mercy but am resolved to cast my self and the burden of my sins into the arms and upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ. Be pleased to accept of what Christ hath done and suffered for me and to accept of me in him Turn me O Lord unto thee and through him let me be reconciled unto thee Slay the enmity and subdue the rebellion of mine heart against thee Wash my polluted soul with his most precious blood cloath my nakedness with the long white robe of his righteousness fill my emptiness out of that fulness which is in Jesus Christ. Enrich my soul with all needfull saving sanctifying graces Let the faith of Gods Elect let the love and fear of thy name be shed abroad in my heart Oh that every grace may more and more flourish in me and my lusts more and more wither and decay in me Let my covetousness dye let my pride and envy and passion and sensuality dye let the whole body of death be destroyed that I may no longer serve sin Oh give me grace in this my day to know the things that belong to my peace to make a right use of this time of my visitation As Christ is now frequently tendred in the Ministry of the Gospel as a Saviour to poor sinners So Lord give me grace fiducially to close with the offers and tenders of him that Christ may be mine and I his And as thou hast been pleased to afford unto me the means of grace so I pray thee help me to carry my self in some measure suitable and answerable thereunto that I may not be a shame but rather a credit to Religion and my profession thereof To this end teach me to deny all ungodliness and Worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present World Blessed Lord seeing without thy blessing it will be in vain to put forth my own