Saviour and of Enmity to the Holy Spirit while you call him your sanctifyer If you did but know that your sins are unpardoned and your souls unjustified and that you are condemned already and shall certainly be damned if you die as you are could you live quietly in such a state Could you sleep and eat and drink quietly and follow your trades and let time run on without repenting and returing unto God if you knew that you are past hope if death surprize you in this condition For the Lords sake Sirs rouze up your selves a little and be serious in a business that concerneth you more then ten thousand natural lives and tell me or rather tell your selves If you did but know that while you sit here you are unrenewed and therefore under the curse of God and in the bondage of the Devil and are hasting towards perdition and are gone for ever if you be not sanctified and made new creatures before you die could you then put off this Sermon with a sleepy careless hearing and go home and talk of common matters and no more mind it as you have done by Sermons untill now Could you forbear going alone and there bethinking your selves O what a sinful dreadfull condition are we in What will become of us if we be not regenerate before we die Had we no Vnderstandings no Hearts no life or sense that we have lingered so long and lived so carelesly in such a state O where had we been now if we had died unregenerate How near have we been oft to Death how many sicknesses might have put an end to life and hope Had any of them cut off the slender thread that our lives have hanged on so long and had we died before this day we had been new in Hell without remedy Could any of you that knew this to be your case forbear to betake your selves to God and cry to him in the bitterness of your souls O Lord what Rebells what wretches have we been We have sinned against Heaven and before thee and are 〈◊〉 more worthy to be called thy children O how sin hath captivated our understandings and conquered our very sense and made us live like men that were dead as to the Love and service of God and the work of our salvation which we were created and redemned for O Lord have mercy upon these blinded senseless miserable souls Have mercy upon these despisers and abusers of thy mercy O save us or we perish Save us from our sins from Satan from thy curse and wrath Save us or we are undone and lost for ever Save us from the unquenchable fire from the worm that never dieth from the bottomless pit the outer darkness the horrid gulf of endless misery O let the bowels of thy compassion yearn over us O save us for thy Mercy sake Shut not out the cries of miserable sinners Regenerate renew and sanctifie our hearts O make us new creatures O plant thine Image on our souls and incline them towards thee that they may be wholly thine O make us such as thou commandest us to be Away with our sins and sinfull pleasures and sinfull company We have had too much too much of them already Let us now be thine associated with them that Love and fear thee imployed in the works of Holiness and obedience all our dayes Lord we are willing to let go our sins and to be thy servants or if we be not make us willing What say you Sirs if you knew that you were this hour in a state of condemnation could you forbear making haste with such confessions complaints and earnest supplications to God And could you forbear going presently to some faithfull Minister or godly friend and telling him your case and danger and begging his advice and prayers and asking him what a poor sinner must do to be recovered pardoned and saved that is so deep in sin and misery and hath despised Christ and grace so long Could you tell how to sleep quietly many nights more before you had earnestly sought out for help and made this change How could you choose but presently betake your selves to the company and converse and examples of the godly that are within your reach For when ever a man is truly changed his friendship and company is changed if he have opportunity And how could you choose but go and take your leave of your old companions and with tears and sorrow tell them how foolishly and sinfully you have done and what wrong you have done each others souls and intreat them to repent and do so no more or else you will renounce them and fly from their company as from a Pesthouse Can a man forbear thus to fly from Hell if he saw that he is as near it as a condemned Traytor to the Gallows He that will beg for bread if he be hungry and rather 〈◊〉 by shame then famish would beg for grace if he saw and felt how much he needeth it And seeing it is the way to feel it He that will seek for medicines when he is sick and would do almost any thing to escape a temporal death would he not seek out to Christ the remedy of his soul if he knew and felt that otherwise there is no recovery and would he not do much against eternal death Skin for skin and all that a man hath he will give for this life was a truth that the Devil knew and maketh use of in his temptations And will a man then be regardless of his soul that knows he hath an immortal soul and of life eternal that knows his danger of eternal death O Sirs it is not possible but the true knowledge of your state of sin and danger would do very much to save you from it For 〈…〉 a wilfull-chosen state All the Deviâ—◠〈◊〉 Hell cannot bring you to it and 〈◊〉 you in it against your will You 〈◊〉 willing of the sin though unwilling of 〈◊〉 punishment And if you truly knew 〈◊〉 â—unishment and your danger of it you â—â—uld be the more unwilling of the sin for God hath affixed punishment to sin for this end that they that else would love the Serpent may hate it for the sting Wâ—ll you not say He is a beast and not a man that will avoid no danger but what he seeth Foreseeing is to a man what seeing is to a beast If he see it before his eyes a beast will not easily be driven into a Cole-pit or a gulf he will draw back and strive if you go about to kill him And is he a man or some monster that wants a name that will go on to Hell when he seeth it as it were before him and that will continue in a state of sin when he knows he must be damned in Hell for ever if he so continue to the end Indeed sin is the deformity and monstrosity of the soul He is a monster of Blindness that seeth not the folly and peril of such a
for shame repine at the loss of temporal commodities that is secured of the eternal Joyes If assurance of the Love of God would not embolden you to patient suffering and to lay down life and all for Christ what do you think should ever do it But when you are afraid lest death will turn you into Hell What wonder if you timerously draw back When you know not whether ever you shall have any better no wonder if you are loth to part with the seeming happiness which you have Those doubts and fears enfeeble the soul and spoil you of that valour that becomes a souldier of Christ 5. All personal crosses in your estates your families your friends your health will be easily born if you are once assured of your salvation To a man that is passing into Heaven all these are almost inconsiderable things What is Lazarus the worse now for hâ—s sores or rags Or what is the Rich man the better for his sumptuonus attire and fare Luke 16. Whether you be poor or rich sick or sound whether you are used kindly or unkindly in the world are questions of so small importance that you are not much concerned in the answer of them But whether you have Christ within you or be reprobates whether you are the heirs of the promise or are under the curse are questions of everlasting consequence 6. Lastly you may comfortably receive the sentence of death when once you are assured of the Life of Grace and that you have escaped everlasting death Though nature will be still averse to a dissolution yet faith will make you cheerfully submit desiring to depart and be with Christ as the best condition for you Phil. 1.23 When you know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved you have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens you will then groan earnestly desiring to be cloathed upon with your house which is from heaven not to be uncloathed for the union of soul and body is the constitution of the man which nature cannot but desire but to be cloathed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life This God doth work you for who giveth you the earnest of the spirit therefore as men that know while you are at home in the body you are absent from the Lord and that walk by faith and not by sight you would be alwaies confident and willing rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. Though it be troublesom to remove your dwelling yet you would not stick upon the trouble if you were sure to change a cottage for a Court nor would you refuse to cross the Seas to change a prison for a Kingdom The holy desires of Believers do prepare them for a safe death but it is the assurance of their future happiness or the believing expectation of it that must prepare them for a death that is safe and comfortable The Death of the Presumptuous may be quiet but not safe The Death of doubting troubled Believers may be safe but not quiet The Death of the ungodly that have awakened undeceived consciences is neither safe nor quiet But the Death of strong Belivers that have attained assurance is both And he that findeth Christ within him may know that when he dyeth he shall be with Christ His dwelling in us by faith by Love and by his Spirit is a pledge that we shall dwell with him Christ within us will certainly carry us unto Christ above us Let Socinians question the happiness of such departed souls or doubt whether they be in heaven before the resurrection I am sure that they are with Christ as the fore-cited places shew 2 Cor. 5.7 8. and Phil. 1.23 and many other We are following him that when he had conquered Death and went before us did send that message to his doubting troubled Disciples which is to me so full of sweetness that me thinks I can scarce too oft recite it John 20.17 Go to my Brethren and say unto them I ascend unto my Father and your Father and to my God and to your God O piercing melting words which methinks do write themselves upon my heart when ever I read them with attention and consideration Know once that you are his Brethren and that his Father is your Father and his God is your God and that he is ascended and glorified in your nature and then how can you be unwilling to be dismissed from the bondage of this flesh and be with Christ For in his Fathers house are many mansions and he is gone before to prepare a place for us and will come again and receive us unto himself that where he is there we may be also John 14.2 3. And that this is his will for all his servants he hath declared in that comfortable promise which also I have found so full of sweetness that I value it above all the riches of the world John 12.26 If any man serve me let him follow me and where I am there shall also my servant be If any man serve me him will my Father honour The Spirit of Christ within you is the earnest of all this Be assured of your Faith and Hope and Love and you may be assured to possess the Good believed and Hoped for and Loved The incorruptible seed which liveth and abideth for ever of which you are new born 1 Peâ— 1.23 doth tend to the incorruptible crown 1 Pet. 5.4 even the Crown of righteousness which the righteous Judge will give to all that love his appearing 2 Tim. 4.8 And so shall we ever be with the Lord as the Apostle comfortably speaks 1 Thes 4.17 and seasonably annexeth the use of such a cordial vers 18. wherefore comfort one another with these words Whether we are to die by the decay of nature or by the storm of any violent disease or by the hand of persecutros or any other instruments of Satan the difference is small They are but several ways of landing at the shore of happiness which we were making towards through all the duties and difficulties of our lives May we by any Death be sent to Christ let them domineâ—r a while that stay behind and are conquerors and happy in their dream we shall neither miss nor desire their felicity May I die assured of the Love of God how little regardable is it whether I be poor or rich till then or in what manner Death shall do its execution and how little cause have blessed souls to envie them that are left on earth in a quiet and prosperous passage to damnation And what an ease and pleasure is this to a mans mind through all his life to be able with well-grounded comfort to think of death What cares can vex him that hath secured hiâ— everlasting state What losses should afflict him that is sure he shall not lose his soul and is sure to gain eternal life
What fears should disquiet him that is sure to escape the wrath of God What wants should trouble him that knoweth he is an heir of Heaven Why should the indignation or threatnings of man be any temptation to turn him out of the way of duty or dismay his mind who knoweth that they can but kill the body and dismiss the soul into his blessed presence whom it loveth and laboureth and longs to see what should inordinately grieve that man that is certain of eternal Joy What else should he thirst for that hath in him the well of living waters springing up to everlasting life Joh. 4.14 And what should deprive that man of comfort that knoweth he hath the Comforter within him and shall be for ever comforted with his masters joy And what should break the Peace and Patience of him that is assured of Everlasting Rest If the assurance of a happy death cannot make it welcome and cannot make affliction easie and fill our lives with the Joyes of Hope I know not what can do it But alas for those poor souls that know not whither death will send them or at least have not good grounds of hope what wonder if through the fear of death they be all their life time subject unto bondage Heb. 2.14 Methinks in the midst of their wealth and pleasure they should not be so stupid as to forget the millions that are gone before them that lately were as jovial and secure as they and how short their dreaming feast will be Methinks all the beauty of their fleshly Idols should be blasted with those nipping frosts and storms that in their serious forethoughts come in upon them from the black and dreadful regions of death Methinks at any time it should damp their mirth and allay the ebullition of their phrenetick blood to remember For all this I must die and it may be this night that the fool must deliver up his soul and then whose shall those things be which he hath provided Luk. 12.19 20. Then who shall be the Lord and who the Knight or Gentleman and who shall wear the gay attire and who shall domineer and say Our will shall be done anâ— thus we will have it Then where is thâ— pleasure of lust and merry company anâ— meat drink and sports Methinks Soloâ—mons memento Eccles 11.9 should brinâ— them to themselves Rejoyce O young maâ— in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee iâ— the days of thy youth and walk in the wayâ— of thy heart and in the sight of thine eyes 〈◊〉 but know thou that for all these things Goâ— will bring thee into judgement And as thâ— sound of these words I must shortly die methinks should be always in your ears so in reason the Question Whether must I then go should be always aâ— it were before your eyes till your soulâ— have received a satisfactory answer to it O what an amazing dreadful thing it is when an unsanctified unprepared soul must say I must depart from earth but I know not whither I know not whether unto Heaven or Hell Here I am now but where must I be for ever When men believe that their next habitation must be everlasting methinks the Question Whether must I goe should be day and night upon their minds till they can say upon good grounds I shall go to the blessed presence of the Lord O had you but the hearts of men within you methinks the sense of this one Question Whither must I go when I leave â—he flesh should so possess you that it should give your souls no rest till you were â—ble to say We shall be with Christ because he dwelleth in us here and hath sealed us and given us the earnest of his spirit or at least till you have good hopes of this and have done your best to make it sure And thus I have told you of how great importance it is to believers to attain assurance of the love of God and to know that Christ abideth in them And now I think you will confess I have proved the necessity of Self-knowledge both to the unregenerate and the regenerate though in several degrees and having opened the disease and shewed you the need of a remedy I am next to direct you in the application for the cure I Doubt not but there are many of the Hearers that by this time are desirous to be instructed how this self knowledge may be attained For whose satsfaction and for the reducing of all that hath been spoken into practise I shall next acquaint you with the Hinderances of Self-knowledge the removing of them being not the least point in the cure and with the Positive Directions to be practised for the attainment of it And because the Hinderances and Helps are contrary I shall open both together as we go on The Hinderances of self knowledge are some of them without us and some within us and so must be the Helps I. The external Hinderances are these 1. The failing of Ministers in their part of the work through unskilfulness or unfaithfulness is a great cause that so many are ignorant of themselves They are the Lights of the world and if they are ecâ—lipsed or put under a bushell if they are darkened by the snuff of their own corruptions or if they feed not their light by the oile of diligent studies and other endeavours or if they will not go â—long with men into the dark and unknown corners of the heart what wonder if mens hearts remain in darkness when those â—hat by office are appointed to afford them Light do fail them It is not a general dull discourse or critical observations upon words or the subtile decision of some nice and curious questions of the schools though these may be useful to their proper ends nor is it a neat and well composed speech about some other distant matters that is like to acquaint a sinner with himself How many sermons may we hear that to others ends are not unprofitable that are levelled at some mark or other that is very far from the Hearers hearts and therefore are never like to convince them or prick them or open and convert them And if our congregations were in such a case as that they needed no closer quickening work such preaching might be born with and commended But when so many usually sit before us that must shortly dye and are unprepared and that are condemned by the Law of God and must be pardoned or finally condemned that must be saved from their sins that they may be saved from everlasting misery I think it is time for us to talk to them of such things as most concern them and that in such a matter as may most effectually convince awake and change them When we come to them on their sick-beds we talk not then to them of distant or impertinent things oâ— words or forms or parties or by-opinions but of the state of their souls anâ— their appearing before the Lord and hoâ—
home when self-neglect will disâ—ble you to help another And if sometimes â—â—ur falls or frailty do find you matter for purging griping troublesome thoughts and interrupt your sweeter comfortable meditations refuse not the trouble when you have made it necessary It s many a sad and serious thought that the Ministers of Christ have for the cure and safety of their flocks and should not the people have as serious thoughts for themselves None foul their hands saith the Proverb about their own work They that bring in the filth should not refuse to sweep it out We must not cast all the foul and troublesome work upon our Nurses as long as we can help our selves Your Reason your Wisdom care and diligence are more your Own than any one 's else anâ— therefore should be more used for your self then for any And if after much thoughtfulness and labour you find your heart to bâ— no whit better yet Labour and Believe 〈◊〉 is not the last blow of the axe alone that cutâ— down the Tree though it fall not till thâ— last The growth of Grace as of plantâ— and fruits and flowers is not perceived 〈◊〉 immediate inspection There is much goâ—â— obtained when we discern it not And noâ—thing is more certain than that honest dilâ—â—gence is never lost in the things of God anâ— our salvation It is worth all our labour 〈◊〉 we grow no better to keep our spark froâ— going out and to see that we grow no worse And the preventing of Evil is here an excellent Good Many a thousand eat and drink that never hope to grow any fatter or stronger than they are It is not nothing to be sustained for our daily work and to have our oyl renewed daily as it wasteth The mill gets by going saith the Proverb though it stir not from the place O keep the Heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life Prov. 4.23 Actions receive their specification and quality from the Heart Death and Life are in the power of the tongue Prov. 18.21 but the tongue is in the power of the Heart Direct 8. Let not your self-knowledge be meerly speculative or affective but also Practical Be not contented that you know what you are and what you have â—one nor that your Heart is much Affected with it but let all tend to Action to mend what is amiss and to maintain improve â—nd increase what is good and let the next â—uestion be What am I now to do or What must I be for time to come It is a lamentable â—istake of many that tire themselves with â—â—riving to make deep affecting impressions on â—heir hearts and when they have got much â—â—rrow or much joy they think they have done the greatest matter and there they stop But Affections are the spring that must move to Action and if you proceed not to your Duty Affection is much lost And if with smaller Affection or passion you can stedfastly and resolutely cleave to God and do your Duty you have the principal thing and are accepted Not that outward Actions are accepted without the Heart but that there is most of the Heart where there is most of the Estimation and Will though less of Passion and there is most of Will where there is most Endeavour and inward Action is the first part of Obedience And without these no speculations will avail However you find your Heart be up and doing in the use of means to make it better and wait on God for further grace Direct 9. Manage your self-acquaintance prudently cautelously and with the help of your skilfull friend or Pastor Think not that it is a work that you need no Helper in If you mistake in your Accounts and put down a wrong summ and call your self confidently what you are not or deny Gods graces when ever through Melancholy or distemper you cannot find them and pass false conclusions against Gods mercies and your self this were to turn a duty into a sin and snare And you must do it seasonably Melancholy persons are most uncapable of it who do nothing but pore upon themselves to little purpose such must do more of other Duty but lay by much of this till they are more capable and make much use of the Judgement of their Guides And weaker Heads must take but a due proportion of time for self searching Meditations lest they contract that troublesome disease Duties must be used with profitable variety and all done under good advice But young persons and those that are yet unconverted have need to fall upon it without delay and to follow it till they have made sure their calling and election 2 Pet. 1.10 O what a dreadfull thing it is for a man to come rawly and newly to the study of his soul as a thing that he is unacquainted with when sickness is upon him and death at hand and he is ready to pass into another world To be then newly to ask What am I and What have I done and Whither am I going and What will become of me for ever is a most fearfull state of folly Direct 10 Terminate not your knowledge ultimately in your self but pass up unto God in Christ and to the blessed priviledges of the Saints and the joyfull state of Endless Glory and there let your meditations be most frequent and most sweet But of this elsewhere Madam I have added these Directions not principally for you that have learnt the Art but for your hopefull Sons and Daughters who must be taught these things betimes and for your friends who will be invited hither for your sake They that know you not will think I have taken too much liberty and spoken too much both of you and to you But I appeal from such They that know not how easily you can pardon any one except your self will aggravate the weaknesses which your charity will cover I was purposely the longer because the Treatise is defective And if one Kingdom do not hold us and I should see your face no more on earth yet till we meet in the Glorious Everlasting Kingdom we shall have frequent converse by such means as these notwithstanding our corporal distance And as I am assured of a room in your frequent prayers so I hope I shall remain Madam Your faithfull Servant and Remembrancer at the Throne of Grace Richard Baxter August 25. 1661. Postscript Madam SInce the writing of this Epistle finding you under the afflicting hand of God thought meet to remember you of what â—ou know that God thus traineth up his â—hildren for their Rest whom he Loveth â—e chasteneth and scourgeth every son â—hom he receiveth If we endure chastenâ—â—g God dealeth with us as with children â—nd if we be without chastisement whereof 〈◊〉 are partakers then we are bastards and â—ot sons Heb. 12.6 7 8. The same flesh â—â—at would be pleased will grudge when it 〈◊〉 displeased and that which is our enticeâ—â—g enemy in prosperity will be our
〈◊〉 the terrible threatnings of God do men Most of them little believe or consider what Scripture saith But fewer consider what Conscience hath to say within when once it is awakened and the curtain is drawn back and the light appeareth The first Proposition inferreth not the conclusion And the Assumption they overlook Did all that read and hear the Scriptures know themselves I 'le tell you how they would hear and read it When the Scripture saith To be carnally minded is death and if ye live after the flesh ye shall dye Rom. 8.8 13. the guilty hearer would say I am carnally minded and I live after the fleshe therefore I must Turn or Die When the Scripture saith Where your treasure is there will your hearts be also Mat. 6.21 The guilty conscience would assume My heart is not in Heaven therefore my treasure is not there When Scripture saith Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 18.3 and Except a man be regenerate and born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God John 3.3 5. and If any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are passed away behold all things are become new 2 Cor. 5.17 and If any man have not the Spirit of Christ the same is none of his Rom. 8.9 The guilty hearer would assume I was never thus converted regenerate born again and made a new creature I have not the Spirit of Christ therefore I am none of his and cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven till this change be wrought upon me When the Scripture saith Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge Heb. 13.4 The guilty hearer would say How then shall I be able to stand before him Yea did but Hearers know themselves they would perceive their danger from remoter principles that mention the dealing of God with others When they hear of the judgement of God upon the ungodly the enemies of the Church they would say Except I Repent I shall likewise perish Luke 13.3 5. When they hear that Judgement must begin at the house of God They would infer What then shall be the end of them that obey not the Gospel of God And when they hear that The Righteous are scarcely saved They would think Where then shall the ungodly and the sinner appear 1 Pet. 4.17 18. 3. If you know not your selves you cannot be Christians you cannot have a practical belief in Christ For he is offered to you in the Gospel as the remedy for your Misery as the ransome for your enthralled souls as the propitiation for your sin and your peace-maker with the Father without whose merit satisfaction righteousness and intercession your guilty souls can have no hope And can you savingly value him in these respects if you know not that sin and misery that guilt and thraldom in which your need of Christ consisteth Christ is esteemed by you according to the judgement you pass upon your selves They that say they are sinners from a general brain-knowledge will accordingly say Christ is their Saviour and their hope with a superficial Belief and will honour him with their lips with all the titles belonging to the Redeemer of the world But they that feel that they are deadly sick of sin 〈◊〉 the very heart and are lost for ever if he do not save them will feel what the name of a Saviour signifieth and will look to him as the Israelites to the brazen Serpent and cast themselves at his feet for the 〈◊〉 of grace and will yield up themselves 〈◊〉 be saved by him in his way An uneffectual knowledge of your selves may make you believe in a Redeemer as all the City do of a Learned able Physicion that will speak well of his skill and resolve to use him when necessity constraineth them but at present they find no such necessity But an effectual sight and sense of your condition will bring you to Christ as a man in a Dropsie or Consumption comes to the Physicion that feels be must have help or die Saith Bernard Filium Dei non reputat Jesum qui ipsius non terretur comminationibus c. You will not take the Son of God for a Saviour if you be not affrighted by his threatnings And if you perceive not that you are lost you will not heartily thank him that came to seek and save you Non consolantur Christi lahcrymae cachinnantes◠non consolantur panni ejus ambulantes in stolis non consolantur stabulum praesepe amantes primas Cathedras in Synagogis saith Bernard Christs tears do not comfort them that laugh his rags do not comfort them that love to walk in robes his stable and manger comfort not them that love the highest seats in the Synagogues Can you seek to Christ to take you up till you find that you have fallen and hurt you Will you seek to him to fetch you from the gates of hell that find not that you are there But to the self-condemning soul that knoweth it self how wellcome would a Saviour be How ready is such a soul for Christ Thou that judgest thy self art the person that must come to Christ to Justifie thee Now thou art ready to be healed by him when thou findest that thou art sick and dead Hast thou received the sentence of death in thy self Come to him now and thou shalt have life John 5.40 1 John 5.11 Art thou weary and heavy laden Come to him for rest Come and fear not for he bids thee come Matthew 11.27 28. Dost thou know that thou hast sinned against Heaven and before God and art not worthy to be called a Son Do but cast thy self then at his feet and tell him so and ask forgiveness and try whether he will not welcome and embrace thee pardon and entertain thee cloth thee and feast thee and rejoyce over thee as one that was lost and is found was dead and is alive Luke 15. For he came to seek and to save that which was lost Luke 19 10. While thou saidst I am rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing and knewest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked thou wouldst not buy the tryed Gold that thou mightest be rich nor his whiterayment that thou mightest be cloathed that the shame of thy nakedness might not appear nor Christs eye salve that thou mightest see Rev. 3.17 18. But now thou art poor in Spirit and findest that thou art nothing and hast nothing and of thy self canst do nothing that is acceptably good John 15.5 and that of thy self thou art insufficient to think any thing that is good 2 Cor. 3.5 now thou art readier for the help of Christ and a patient fit for the tender healing hand of the Physicion Whilst thou saidst God I thank thee that I am not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers nor as this Publican thou wast further from Christ and
odious and dangerous as the corruption of your souls and that which displeaseth the most Holy God 2. You see an excellency in Holiness of Heart and Life as the Image of God the rectitude of man and that which fits him for eternal blessedness and maketh him amiable in the eyes of God 3. You unfeignedly desire to be rid of your sin how dear soever it hath been to you and to be perfectly sanctifyed by the Holy Spirit by his degrees in the use of the means which he hath appointed and you consent that the Holy Ghost as your sanctifier do purifie you and kindle the Love of God in you and bring it to perfection 4. In Baptism you profess to renounce the world the flesh and the Devil that is as they stand for your Hearts against the Will and Love of God and against the Happiness of the unseen world and against your Faith in Christ your Saviour and against the sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost If therefore you are sincere in this part of your Covenant you do upon deliberation perceive all the pleasures profits and honours of this world to be so vain and worthless that you are Habitually resolved to prefer the Love and favour of God and your salvation before them and to be Ruled by Jesus Christ and his Spirit and word rather then by the desires of the flesh or the worlds allurements or the will of man or the suggestions of the devil and to forsake all rather then forsake the Father the Saviour the Sanctifier to whom you are devoted and the everlasting life which upon his promise you have taken for your Hope and Portion This is the sense of Baptism and all this in profession being Essential to your Baptism must be Essential to your Christianity Your Parents Profession of it was necessary to your infant title to the outward priviledges of the Church Your own personal profession is necessary to your continuance of those priviledges and your visible Christianity and communion with the adult And the Truth of what you profess is necessary to your reall Christianity before God and to your title to salvation And this is it that is to be now enquired after You cannot hope to be admitted into Heaven upon lower terms then the sincerity of that profession with entereth you into the Church While we tell you of no higher matters necessary to your salvation then the sincerity of that which is necessary to Baptism and Christianity I hope you will not say we deal too strictly with you Enquire now by a diligent tryal of your hearts whether you truly consent to all these articles of your Baptismal Vow or Covenant If you do you are Regenerate by the Spirit If you do not you have but the Sacrament of Regeneration which aggravateth your guilt as a violated profession and Covenant must needs do And I do not think that any man worthy to be discoursed with will have the face to tell you that any man at the use of Reason is by his Baptism or any thing else in a state of Justification and Salvation whose heart doth not sincerely consent to the Covenant of Baptism and whose Life expresseth not that consent Hence therefore you may perceive that it is a thing unquestionable that all these persons are yet unregenerate and in the bond of their iniquity 1. All those that have not unfeignedly devoted themselves to God as being not their own but his His by the title of Creation Psal 100.3 Know ye that the Lord he is God it is he that hath made us and not we our selves we are his people and the sheep of his pasture And His by the title of Redemption for we are bought with a price 1 Cor. 7.23 And he that unfeignedly taketh God for his Owner and Absolute Lord will heartily give up himself unto him as Paul saith of the Corinthians 2 Cor. 8.5 They first gave up their own selves to the Lord and to us by the will of God And he that entirely giveth up himself to God doth with himself surrender all that he hath in desire and resolution As Christ with himself doth give us all things Rom. 8.32 and addeth other things to them that seek first his Kingdom and its Righteousness Matth. 6.33 so Christians with themselves do give up all they have to Christ And he that giveth up himself to God will live to God And he that taketh not himself to be his Own will take nothing for his Own but will study the interest of his Lord and think he is best disposed of when he honoureth him most and serveth him best 1 Cor. 6.19.20 Ye are not your own for ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods If any of you devote not your selves unfeignedly to God and make it not your first enquiry what God would have you be and do but live to your selves and yet think your selves in a state of Life you are mistaken and do not know your selves What abundance might easily see their miserable condition in this discovery Who say in effect our lips are our own Who is Lord over us Psal 12.4 and rather hate and oppose the interest of God and Holiness in the world then devote themselves to the promoting of it Deut. 32.6 Do ye thus requite the Lord ye foolish people and unwise Is not he thy father that hath bought thee Hath he not made thee and established thee 2. All those are unregenerate and in a state of death that are not sincerely subjected to the Governing will of God but are Ruled by their carnal Interest and desires and the word of a man that can gratifie or hurt them can do more with them then the word of God To shew them the command of a man that they think can undo them if they disobey doth more prevail with them then to shew them the command of God that can condemn them unto endless misery They more fear men that can kill the body then God that can destroy both soul and body in Hell fire When the lust of the flesh and the will of man do bear more sway then the will of God its certain that such a soul is unregenerate Rom. 6.3 4 6. Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into death that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin v. 16. Know ye not that to whom you yield your selves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness 1 Pet. 4.4.1 2. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh arm your selves
as he goeth further for the world and setteth it nearest to his heart and holds it fastest and will do most for it and consequently loveth it better then Christ he is no true Christian nor in a state of grace The Scriptures put this also out of doubt as you may see Mat. 10.37 38. Luke â—4 26 27 33. He that loveth Father or Mother more then me is not worthy of me c. Whosoever doth not bear his Cross and come after me cannot be my Disciple Whoâ—ver he be of you that forsaketh not all that â—e hath he cannot be my Disciple Know â—e not that the friendship of the world is â—nmity with God Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God â—am 4.4 No wonder then if the world must be renounced in our Baptism Love not the world neither the things that are in the world If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him 1 John 2.15 You see by this time what it is to be Regenerate and to be a Christian indeed by what is contained even in our Baptism and consequently how you may Know your selves whether you are sanctified and the heirs of heaven or not Again therefore I summon you to appear before your consciences and if indeed these Evidences of regeneration are not in you stop not the sentence but confess your sinfull miserable state and condemn your selves and say no longer I hope yet that my present condition may serve turn and that God will forgive me though I should die without any further change Thosâ— Hopes that you may be saved without reâ—generation or that you are regenerate wheâ— you are not are the pillars of Satans forâ—tress in your hearts and keep you froâ— the saving Hopes of the Regenerate thaâ— that will never make you ashamed Upâ—hold not that which Christ is engageâ— against Down it must either by Graâ—â— or Judgement and therefore abuse noâ— your souls by underpropping such an ill-grounded false deceitfull hope You have now time to take it down so orderly and safely as that it fall not on your heads and overwhelm you not for ever But if you stay till death shall undermine it the falâ— will be great and your ruine irreparable If you are wise therefore Know your selves in time II. I have done with that part of my special Exhortation which concerned the unregenerate I am next to speak to those of you that by Grace are brought into a better state and to tell you that it very much concerneth you also even the best of you to labour to be well acquainted with your selves and that both in respect of 1. Your sins and wants and 2. Your Graces and your duties I. Be acquainted with the root and remnant of your sins with your particular inclinations and corrupt affections with their quality their degree and strength with the weaknesses of every grace with your disability to duty and with the omissions or sinfull practises of your lives Search diligently and deeply frequently and accurately peruse your hearts and wayes till you certainly and throughly know your selves And I beseech you let it not suffice you that you know your states and have found your selves in the Love of God in the faith of Christ and possessed by his Spirit Though this be a mercy worth many worlds yet this is not all concerning your selves that you have to know If yet you say that you have no sin you deceive your selves If yet you think you are past all danger your danger is the greater for this mistake As much as you have been humbled for sin as much as you have loathed it and your selves for it as oft as you have confessed it lamented it and complained and prayed against it yet it is alive Though it be mortified it is alive It is said to be mortified as to the prevalency and reign but the relicts of it yet survive were it perfectly dead you were perfectly delivered from it and might say you have no sin but it is not yet so happy with you It will find work for the blood and spirit of Christ and for your selves as long as you are in the flesh And alas too many that know themselves to be upright in the main are yet so much unacquainted with their hearts and lives as to the degrees of grace and sin as that it much disadvantageth them in their Christian progress Go along with me in the carefull observation of these following Evils that may befall even the regenerate by the remnants of self-ignorance 1. The work of Mortification is very much hindered because you know your selves no better as may appear in all these following discoveries 1. You confess not sin to God or man so penitently and sensibly as you ought because you know your selves no better Did you see your inside with a fuller view how deeply would you aggravate your sin How heavily would you charge your selves Repentance would be more intense and more effectual and when you were more contrite you would be more meet for the sense of pardon and for Gods delight Isa 51.15 66.2 It would fill you more with godly shame and self-abhorrence if you better knew your selves It would make you more sensibly say with Paul Rom. 7.23 24. 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 members O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death And with David Psal 38.18 I will declare my iniquity I will be sorry for my sin 40.12 They are more then the hairs of my head 32.5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee and mine iniquity have I not hid I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin Repentance is the Death of sin and the knowledge of our selves and the sight of our sins is the life of Repentance 2. You pray not against sin for grace and pardon so earnestly as you should because you know your selves no better O that God would but open these too-close hearts unto us and anatomize the relicts of the old man and shew us all the recesses of our self-deceit and the filth of worldliness and carnal inclinations that lurk within us and read us a Lecture upon every part what prayers would it teach us to indite That you be not proud of your holiness let me tell you Christians that a full display of the corruptions that the best of you carry about you would not only take down self-exalting thoughts that you be not lift up above measure but would teach you to pray with fervour and importunity and waken you out of your sleepy indifferency and make you cry O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me If the sight of a Lazar or cripple or naked person move you to compassion though they use no words if the sight
excellency on the skie The Eternal God hath been your refuge and underneath are the everlasting armâ— Deut. 34.26 27. You may remembeâ— the mercies of your younger years of youâ— maried state and of your widdow-hood your comforts in your truly Noble Lord though troubled and interrupted by his death yet increased by the consideration of his feâ—licity with Christ your comfort in youâ— hopeful issue though abated by the injurâ— of Romish theft which stole one of the Roseâ— of your Garden that they might boast of thâ— sweetness when they called it their own 〈◊〉 may well say stole it when all the cheaâ— was performed by unknown persons in thâ— dark and no importunity by you or 〈◊〉 could procure me one dispute or conference iâ— her hearing with any of the seducers beâ—fore her person was stoln away Though comforts conveyed by creatures must havâ— their pricks yet your experience hath partly taught you and more will do that by all thâ— mixtures of sower and bitter ingredients your Father doth temper you the most wholeâ—some composition He chasteneth you foâ— your profit that you may be partaker oâ— his Holiness Heb. 12.10 and the leasâ— degree of Holiness cannot be purchased at too dear a rate His rod and staffe have comforted you and whatever are the beginnings the End will be the quiet fruit of Righteousness when you have been exercised therein And though man be mutable and friends and flesh and heart have failed you yet God is still the strength of â—our heart and your portion for ever Psal â—3 26 O the variety of learning that is â—ontained in the secret writings of a sanctified heart The variety of subjects for the most â—ruitful and delightful thoughts which you â—ay find recorded in the inwards of your â—oul How pleasant is it there to find the â—haracters of the special Love of God the â—â—eaments of his Image the transcript of 〈◊〉 Law the harmony of his gifts and graces â—â—e witness the seal and the earnest of his â—pirit and the foretasts and beginnings of â—ternal Life As Thankfulness abhors â—â—livion and is a Recording grace and keepâ—â—h Histories and Catalogues of Mercies so 〈◊〉 it a Reward unto it self and by these Reâ—â—rds it furnisheth the soul with matter for â—he sweetest employments and delights Is it 〈◊〉 pleasant to you there to Read how God â—â—th confuted the objections of distrust how 〈◊〉 he hath condescended to your weakness and pardoned you when you could not easily forgive your self how oft he hath entertained you in secret with his Love and visited you with his consolations How neer him sometimes you have got in fervent prayer and serious meditation And when for a season he hath hid his face how soon and seasonably he returned How oft he hath found you weeping and hath wiped away your tears and calmed and quieted your troubled soul How he hath resolved your doubts and expelled your fears and heard your prayers How comfortably he hath called you His Child and given you leave and commanded you to call him Father when Christ hath brought you with boldness into his presence How sweet should it be to your remembrance to think how the Love of Christ hath sometime exalted you above these sublunary things How the Spirit hath taken you up to Heaven and shewed to your faith the Glory of the New Hierusalem the blessed company of those Holy spirits that attend the Throne of the Majesty of God and the shining face of your glorified Head By what seasonable and happy Messengers he hath sent you the Cluster of Grapes as the first fruits of the land of promise and commanded you oft to Take and Eate the Bread of Life How oft he hath reached to your thirsty soul the fruit of the Vine and turned it sacramentally into his blood and bid you drink it in remembrance of him till he come and feast you with his fullest Love and satisfie you with the pleasure and presence of his Glory But the volumes of mercy written in your heart are too great to be by me transcribed I can easily appeal to you that are acquainted with it whether such Heart-employment be not more pleasant and more profitable than any of the entertainments that flashy wit or gaudy gallantry or merriments luxurit or preferments can afford Is it not better converse with Christ at home than with such as are described Psa 12. abroad To dwell with all that blessed retinue Gal. 5.22 23. than with Pride Vainglory Envy Dissimulation Hypocrisie Falshood time-wasting soul-destroying pleasures to say nothing of the filthiness which Christian years abhor the mention of and which God himself in time will judge Eph. 5.3 4 5 6. Heb. 13.4 and the rest recited Gal. 5.19 20 21. If ungodly persons do find it more unpleasant to converse at home no wonder when there is nothing but darkness and defilement and when they have put God from them and entertained Satan so that their hearts are like to haunted houses where terrible cries and apparitions do make it a place of fear to the inhabitants But if their souls had such blessed inhabitants as yours could they meet there with a reconciled God a Father a Saviour and a sanctifier had they souls that kept a correspondency with Heaven it would not seem so sad and terrible a life to dwell at home and withdraw from that noise of vanity abroad which are but the drums and trumpets of the devil to encourage his deluded followers and drown the cries of miserable souls Your dearest friends and chiefest treasure are not abroad in Court or Country but above you and within you where then should your delightful converse be but where your friends and treasure are Matth. 6.21 Phil. 3.20 Col. 3.1 2 3 4. When then is almost nothing to be found in the conversation of the world but discord and distraction and confusion and clamours and malice and treachery is it not better to retire into such a heart where notwithstanding infirmities and some doubts and fears there is order and concord and harmony and such Peace as the world can neither give nor take away O blessed be the hand of Love that blotted out the names of Honour and Riches and Pleasures and carnal interest and accommodations from your heart and inscribed his own in Characters never to be obliterate That turned out Vsurpers and so prepared and furnished your heart as to make and judge it such as no one is worthy of it but himself O what a Court have you chosen for your abode How high and Glorious how pure and holy unchangeable and safe How ambitiously do you avoid ambition How great are you in the lowliness of your mind How high in your Humility Will no lower a place than Heaven content you to converse in For Heart-converse and Heaven-converse are as much one as beholding both the Glass and Face Will no lower correspondents satisfie you than the Host of Heaven Cannot the company of imperfect mortals serve your
likewise with the same mind for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men but to the will of God 3. All those are unregenerate that depend not upon God as their chiefest Benefactor and do not most carefully apply themselves to him as knowing that in his favour is life Psal 30.5 and that his loving kindness is better then life Psal 63.3 and that to his judgement we must finally stand or fall but do ambitiously seek the favour of men and call them their Benefactors Luke 22.25 Matth. 23.9 whatever become of the favour of God He is no child of God that preferreth not the Love of God before the Love of all the world He is no heir of heaven that preferreth not the fruition of God in Heaven before all worldly glory and felicity Col. 4.1 2 3. If ye be risen with Christ seek the things that are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God set your affection on things above not on things on the earth The Love of God is the summ of Holiness the Heart of the new creature the perfecting of it is the perfection and felicity of man 4. They are certainly unregenerate that Believe not the Gospel and take not Christ for their only Saviour and his promises of Grace and Glory as purchased by his Sacrifice and Merits for the Foundation of their hopes on which they resolve to trust their souls for pardon and for peace with God and endless Happiness Acts 4.12 Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other Name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved 1 John 5.11 12. This is the record that God hath given us eternal life and this life is in his Son He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life When our Happiness was in Adams hands he lost it It is now put into safer hands and Jesus Christ the second Adam is become our Treasury He is the Head of the Body from whom each member hath quickning influence Eph. 1.22 The life of Saints is in him as the life of the tree is in the root unseen Col. 4.3 4. Holiness is a Living unto God in Christ Though we are dead with Christ to the Law and to the world and to the flesh we are alive to God So Paul describeth our case in his own Gal. 2.19 20. I through the Law am dead to the Law that I might live unto God I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me Rom. 6.11 Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ is the Vine and we are the branches without him we can do nothing If you abide not in him and his words in you you are cast forth as a branch and withered which men gather and cast into the fire and they are burnt John 15.1 5 6 7. In Baptism you are married unto Christ as to the external solemnization and in spiritual Regeneration your Hearts do inwardly close with him entertain him and resign themselves unto him by Faith and Love and by a resolved Covenant become his own And therefore Baptism and the Lords Supper are called Sacraments because as Souldiers were wont by an Oath and listing their names and other engaging Ceremonies to oblige themselveâ— to their Commanders and their Vow waâ— called A Sacrament so do we engage ouâ— selves to Christ in the holy Vow or Covenanâ— entered in Baptism and renewed in the Lords Supper 5. That person is certainly unregenerate that never was convinced of a Necessity of Sanctification or never perceived an excellency and amiableness in Holiness of heart and life and loved it in others and desired it himself and never gave up himself to the Holy Ghost to be further sanctified in the use of his appointed means desiring to be perfect and willing to press forward towards the mark and to abound in grace Much less is that person renewed by the Holy Ghost that hateth Holiness and had rather be without it and would not walk in the fear and obedience of the Lord. The Spirit of Holiness is that Life by which Christ quickneth all that are his members He is no member of Christ that is without it Rom. 8.9 According to his Mercy he saveth us by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost Tit. 3.5 6. That person is unregenerate that is under the Dominion of his fleshly desires and mindeth the things of the flesh above the things of the Spirit and hath not mortified it so far as not to live according to it A carnal mind and a carnal life are opposite to Holiness as Sickness is tâ— Health and Darkness unto Light Rom. 8.1 to 14. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus that walk not after the flesh but after the spirit For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit For to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace Because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die but if by the spirit ye mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are Adultery Fornication Vncleanness Lasciviousness Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murders Drunkenness revellings and such like of which I tell you before as I have also told you in time past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God But the fruit of the Spirit is Love Joy Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance against such there is no Law And they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts Galat. 5.18 to 25. 7. Lastly that person is certainly unregenerate that so far valueth and loveth this world or any of the carnal accommodations therein as practically to prefer them before the Love of God and the Hopes of Everlasting Glory seeking it first with highest estimation and holding it fastest so as that he will rather venture his soul upon the threatned wrath of God then his body upon the wrath of man and will be religious no further then may consist with his prosperity or safety in the world and hath something that he cannot part with for Christ and heaven because it is dearer to him then they Let this man go never so far in Religion as long
not forbear any means that tend to the getting of true grace If you have it and know it not the same means for the most part may increase it which you use to get it And if you have it not when it is thought you have it the means may work it that that are intended to increase it Do all that you can to Repent Believe and Love God and Live to him whether you ever did these before or not But yet let the judgement of your faithful Pastors the officers and experienced servants of the Lord keep of despondency and despair that would disable you from the use of means and would weaken your hands and make you sit down in unprofitable complaints and give up all as hopeless Let their judgement quiet you in the way of duty Lean on them in the dark till you come into the light Yea be glad that you have so much encouragement and hope from those that are by Christ appointed to subserve the spirit in the comforting as well as the sanctifying work and to shew to man his uprightness and to say to the Righteous It shall be well with him Isa 3.10 I tell you all the wealth of the world is not worth even this much ground of comfort Live upon this much till by diligent attendance and waiting on the spirit of grace and comfort you can get higher 2. THE second extrinsical Hinderance of self-knowledge is Prosperity and the Flattery that usually attendeth it The one disposeth men to be deceived and the other putteth the hood over their eyes and tells them the falshoods which deceive them When men prosper in the world their â—inds are lifted up with their estates and â—hey can hardly believe that they are inâ—eed so ill while they feel themselves so â—ell and that so much misery is joyned with â—o much content and pleasure They cannot â—aste the bitterness of their sin and Gods displeasure while the sweetness of worldly deâ—â—ghts honours is in their mouths The Rich â—an in Luk. 16. its like would have given 〈◊〉 man but an unwelcome entertainment â—hat had come to tell him that within a few days or years he should lie in hell and not â—e able to get a drop of water to cool his â—ongue What need we doubt of that when his five Brethren that he left on earth behind him would not be perswaded to know their danger of those flames and to use the necessary means to scape them though one had come to them from the dead Luk. 16.31 You plead against their feeling when you tell them of their misery when they feel prosperity Their fleshly appetite and sense which is in them the reigning faculty doth tell them they are well and happy and that which must confute this and tell them they are miserable must be an inward sense of the sin and diseases of their souls and a foreseeing Faith that must look before theâ— unto eternity and fetch its proofs froâ— the word of God and fetch its motive from another world And alas they havâ— no such inward sense nor no such Faith 〈◊〉 can prevail against their their sensual feelâ—ing And therefore it is a matter of lamenâ—table difficulty to make a prospering sinneâ— well acquainted with his misery He 〈◊〉 drunken with fleshly pleasures and conâ—tentments And when the drink is in a mans head you can hardly make him sensiâ—ble of his misery though he be a beggar or a prisoner or were to die within a week The Devil is therefore willing to reach hiâ— servants as full a cup of prosperity as hâ— can that their drunkenness may keep them from the true use of their reason Foâ— if they once come to themselves they wilâ— come home to God When misery brought the Prodigal to himself he resolveth presently of going to his Father Luk. 15. The bustle of his worldly business and the chattering vain discourse that is in his ears and the mirth and sport that takes him up will not allow him so much of reason as seriously to consider of his souls condition Alas when poor men that must labour all day for food and â—ayment can find some time for serious converse with God and with their Consciences the Great ones of the world have â—o such leisure How many are going â—pace towards Hell and say they cannot â—ave while to bethink themselves what â—ay they are in or whether it is that they are going That which they have all their time for they have no time for because they have no hearts for it Prosperity doth so please their flesh that they can give no heed to conscience or to reason It doth so charm their minds and enslave their wills to sense and appetite that they cannot abide to be so Melancholy is to prepare for death and judgement or to consider seriously how this will relish with them at the end nor scare to remember that they are men that should rule their senses and be ruled by God and that have another life to live And as Prosperity in it self is so great a Hinderance to the knowledge of your selves so Flatterers that are the flies of summer are always ready to blow upon the prosperous and increase the danger What miserable men are extolled as wise and virtuous and Religious if they be but Rich and Great Their vices are masked or extenuated and made but little human frailties Though they were swinish glutâ—tons or drunkards or filthy fornicatorâ— or meer flesh-pleasing sensual bruits thaâ— waste most of their lives in ease and sports and eating and drinking and such delights yet with their flatterers all these shall gâ— for prudent pious worthy persons if they can but seek when they have done to mock God and their consciences with somâ— lip-service and lifeless carcass of Religion O happy men if God would judge of them as their flatterers do and would make aâ— small a matter of their wickedness and as great a matter of their out-side Hypocritical heartless worship But they must be greater then men or Angels and higher then either earth or Heaven before God will flatter them When they can make him afraid of their high looks or threatnings or when they can him put in Hope of rising by their preferment then they may look that he should comply with their parasites and complement with his enemies and justifie the ungodly but not till then O did they consider how little flattery doth secure them and how little the Judge of all the world regards their worldly pompe and splendor yea how greatly â—heir greatness doth aggravate their sin and â—isery they would frown their flatterers out â—f doors and call for plain and faithful dealâ—â—s Of all the miseries of worldly greatness â—â—is is not the least that usually such want â—â—e necessary blessing of a glass that will â—â—uly shew them their faces of a friend at â—and that will deal plainly and justly with their souls Who tells them plainly of the odiousness and bitter