Life becomes a Sacrifice to the rage of the cruel if he does but come off with the safety of his Soul that 's enough to make him abundant recompence for all As Christ saith Matth. 16.26 What shall it profit a Man to win the whole World and lose his own Soul So may it not be said What shall it prejudice a Man to lose all the World if he save his own Soul Thou knowest not what a Soul is what the Salvation of a Soul is thou knowest not what Eternity what that Life and Death means who canst not say Let me escape that Death let me obtain that Life and it is enough O study the World to come more secure to thy self the eternal Inheritance and then thou wilt say with the Psalmist what-ever thy condition be here I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for thou Lord makest me dwell in safety But more of this hereafter By what hath been said it appeareth that the Man that feareth is an happy Man and wherein his happiness lies It 's true that in this World he is but inchoatively and incompleatly happy but an happy Man he is As he that 's Heir to a great Estate even whilst he is under Age and hath little in possession may be said to be a Rich Man especially if he be under the care of a faithful Guardian no less may a Christian even in his non-age be said to be an happy Man There 's no happy Man in the World if this be not he When he is at lowest it 's better with him than with the best of Sinners Some Sinners will grant their Conscience tells them so that he that fears God will have the best of it in the other World but yet they conclude that themselves have the better of it here But they are mistaken even in this Life a Godly Man hath the better of Sinners He knows little of God he hath little understood the Joy of Faith the Pleasure of Love the Ease of Sincerity the Peace of Conscience the Gain of Godliness that would exchange lives with the best of Sinners here in this World The very hopes of the Saints fill them with more joy than the greatest possessions of the ungodly I had rather take my lot with Job on the Dunghil than with Nebuchadnezzar on his Throne with Lazarus in his Sores and Beggary than with Dives in his Purple and delicate Fare with Paul in his Bonds than with Agrippa and Bernice in their Pomp with that Prisoner at the Bar than his Judges at the Bench. He that is otherwise minded is guilty of one of these absurdities either to think that God is not better than Creatures or that the ungodly enjoy as much of God as those that are Godly If God be better than the World if God be the present Portion of the Godly and of them alone then he that feareth God is the happiest Man even in this Life But O what will his blessedness hereafter be What advantage will he have of Sinners in the other World When the comparison shall no longer be betwixt God and the Creatures betwixt the fulness of Heaven and the fatness of the Earth when the Question shall no longer be which is best peace of Conscience or the prosperity of the World the hopes of Glory or the pleasures of Sin the worst of Saints or the Sinners best But the question will then be Which is the best the Pleasures of the Saints or the Plagues of Sinners the Fruition of God or Reprobation from God the Joyes Above or the Pangs Beneath Then let it be considered then shall it be discerned who are the happy Persons those that Fear God or those that fear him not Vse The Application is that which I chiefly intend and this shall be by way of Information Exhortation and Direction I shall put them all together For the more effectual carrying on whereof I shall inform and warn you 1. Of the Opposites of this Fear 2. Of the Grounds or Reasons why men Fear not 3. Of the Reasons why you should Fear 4. What you should Fear 5. How you should improve this Holy Fear I. The Opposites of this Fear are 1. Rashness 2. Audacity 3. Security 1. Rashness Hastiness or Headiness in our way Fear will make Men consider 'T was good Counsel which the Town-Clerk gave in the Tumult Acts 19.36 that they did nothing rashly Eccles 5.2 Be not rash with thy Mouth neither let thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God The Apostle reckons hasty ones among the dangerous Persons 2 Tim. 3.4 Men shall be heady precipites running headlong on their course acting not upon Counsel but their suddain apprehensions or any strong impulses of their hearts at all adventures whether it be right or wrong Fear will make Men wary and advised what they do Christians if you would walk safely look before you speak nothing rashly do nothing rashly weigh your Thoughts and Intentions before you let them pass into action How many Evils doth rashness and headiness run us upon Those words which in an heat we have let fly some of our hasty Carriages and Actions have sometimes cost us many dayes sorrow and repentance which had we been cautelous and a little better advised might have been prevented Sometimes a sudden passion arises and out it goes in angry and froward words setting all in an uproar and combustion by and by our hearts recur upon us and then we wish O that I had bit my Tongue and not given it such an unbridled liberty Sometimes we break out into rash censures of those that it may be are better than our selves whereupon when we reflect we are ashamed that the Fool 's Bolt was so soon shot and wish we had been judging our selves when we were censuring our Brethren Take heed you mistake not rashness and headiness for Zeal I would not cool Godly Zeal there 's too little of it in the World We need the Spur more than the Bridle the Bellows nor the Bucket We may not quench true Zeal the Lord be merciful to us there is not so much of it to be found we had more need cast on Oil than Water upon that Holy Fire Zeal for Truth Zeal for Righteousness and Holiness how happy were it if there were more such Flames if all our shining were also burning Lights But Zeal must be regular as for the Matter of it it must be alwayes in a good thing Gal. 4.18 So it must be managed with good Counsel and Caution mistaken Zeal is a Fire that devours that good that it pretends to promote But as you may not run headlong upon that which hath the face of Good much less upon that which is apparently evil It 's dangerous to be heady in the Matters of God wherein in case we are right we can never over-do but much more mischievous to run headlong upon Sin Jer. 8.6 Every one turned to his course as the Horse rusheth into
what Prayer is for how much there is depending on the faithful discharge of it and see if this doth not work such a Fear upon thine Heart as will both find thee time and keep thee waking When you go to hear the Word if you considered I am now hearing for my Life the Lord God hath brought me before him that he may tell me words whereby I may be saved the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven are now opening to me the most High comes down to shew me the Path of Life that Word that falls from the Preacher's Lips is the Word by which I must be saved and the Word by which I must be judged 't is the Everlasting Gospel I come now to hear which is all I have for Eternity I must stand or fall live or die according to the success of this Word upon me As this is the only Word of Life so this may be the only time of Life God knows whether this may not be the last Warning the last Instruction the last Tender of Grace and Mercy that I may have for ever whether my hearkning to or letting slip what I shall hear from the Lord this day be not that which must give the final determination of mine Everlasting State What would such thoughts did they sit close upon our Hearts when we come to hear the Word what would such thoughts work would they not command thee take heed how thou hearest give heed to the things thou hearest fear how thou let them slip Would a deaf Ear a wandring Eye a roving Imagination be then endured by thee Wouldst thou then suffer as ordinarily thou dost those wandring Birds to catch up the incorruptible Seed as it falls upon thee would it not send thee home with a trembling Heart at all such times when thou hast left all thou heardst behind thee Consider Friends where are you at this present what makes you here this day Let me reason with you a little before the Lord How is it that all your Spirits are not standing upon the Watch-Tower whilst the King of Glory passeth by How is it that all your Ears and Eyes and Hearts are not waiting for him why sit you here all the day idle Do you not understand what Work 't is you are upon O take heed to your selves Salvation and Damnation are before you and one of the two you are certainly working out Is it indifferent to you which of the two it be is it all one to please God or to provoke him to get you nearer or to put you farther off from the Kingdom of God What think you of such praying and such hearing as you content your selves with Will the living God be serv'd with such spiritless Duties Is Death your way to Life Are these dead and heartless Duties Is this dead praying and dull hearing that upon which you will venture your Souls Will you pray your selves into Hell While you have in your hands the Key of the Kingdom of Heaven will you lock the Door with it and shut your selves out Whilst others are swearing and lying and coveting and cursing themselves to Hell will you be hearing and praying your selves thither whither else will such dead Duties carry you certainly such blessing is as cursing such hearing is as hardning the Ears such praying is as blessing an Idol Will God regard Mockers Will God be served with Wind and Words O tremble fear lest you not only lose all your Duties but be irrecoverably lost by them Again what an influence would this Consideration have upon all the actions of your Life if you understood and were sensible that all that ever you do hath such a respect to your eternal state that according to it your final Sentence will be Where-ever you are what-ever you are doing you are serving God or the Devil you are working for Life or for Death There are no indifferent actions considered in individuo and with their Circumstances that make neither one way or other all our motions are either upward or downward Our Life is our Race and every Action of our Lives is a step backward or forward our going in or out of our way Nay onr very doing nothing is doing something if our ease or rest be idleness it 's serving the Devil if it be a refreshing for our Work it 's serving God We may be in a sense serving God when we be a-sleep and we may also by our sleep be serving the Flesh and the Devil We are ever either laying aside our Weights or laying on more Weight we are making us Wings or making us Chains helping our selves on or hindering us in our way We are in this World as Merchants trading for Eternity Our whole Life is a treasuring up good or evil for our selves against the last day We are alwayes either buying or selling buying the Truth of selling our Souls we are upon the Exchange every day and hour either changing better for worse or worse for better every inch of our time is our Talent to trade withal and we are still laying it out to our gain or our loss Our Lives are our Seed-time we are still sowing to the Harvest what we sow in Time we must reap in Eternity Our Eating and Drinking our Working and Playing our Talking and our Silence will one way or other spring up to our hands hereafter Do you understand this Friends Do you consider it O what manner of Persons should we then be what wary and circumspect Lives should we live Would not this if it were considered dam up that stream of Iniquity that runs down through all our course Would our covetous practices our fraudulent and unrighteous dealings would that lying and scoffing that self seeking and flesh-pleasing which take up so much of our time would this hold up the head against such a sense of the influence they must have upon our eternal State Should we then spend so much of our time in doing wickedly or doing nothing would it not find us other Work and work enough for our Time our Tongues and our Hands and our Heads and all our Powers But we do not consider or understand When you are walking in the vanity of your Minds after the Lusts of this World what do you use to think of this or do you think nothing of it I so 't is indeed you will not then think what you are doing but stand and pause awhile when you are serving your flesh can you think now I am serving the Lord now I am working out my Salvation now I am providing for my Soul and laying up against the time to come Dare you say now I am sowing for Eternity this is that which I would reap in the other World This Mirth and this Jollity this Pride and this Idleness this Laughter and these Lyes Let these and the Crop they will bring forth be my Harvest hereafter Would not the thoughts of such a Harvest make you dread such a Seed-time Or else can
that feelest it but would'st thou therefore fear to have thy Wound cured Christian wouldst thou have thy Lusts live Dost thou not pray for their Destruction Dost thou not sigh and groan under them Dost thou not wish and wait and hope and long for thy Redemption from them Dost thou count them as Enemies and art thou afraid of that Weapon that 's now put into thine hand to avenge thee of thine Enemies Objection I would be glad this Flesh might die but O may it not be put to an easier death 'T is not their death that I fear but those Instruments of death that are so tormenting Answer 1. Then save thy self that torment by laying thine own hand upon them Prevent thy need of the Cross by doing its Work thy self Let it be thy daily Work by Faith by Prayer by Watchfulness by Self-denyal by Temperance by Meditation by Resolution and such other gentle means by degrees to destroy thy Lusts thy self save the Cross its labour by doing its Work to its hands 2. Must they die an easie death What or else wilt thou not that they die at all Will it be so easie for thy Soul to die by their hand that thou wilt rather venture on that than a little present trouble Shall thy right hand or thy right foot cast thee and carry thee to Hell because it would be painful to cut them off and cast them from thee Is it become so easie to thee to be in bondage to these Egyptians that thou wilt rather serve at the Brick-kilns than venture for thy Redemption on the hazards of the Red-Sea or the hardships of the Wilderness Fear this Flesh more than thou dost and that Servitude it holds thee under and that future Misery it's dragging thee to Fear this more and then thou wilt not fear thy Redemption by what means soever it be brought about Thou wilt not say Deal gently with mine Enemy deal tenderly with this Flesh Let it die Lord let it die let me be delivered from the Body of this Death and I will not prescribe to thee for the way and means 2. Fear not the Cross out of faintness of Spirit-Faint not when thou art chastned saith the Apostle Heb. 12.5 much less before-hand before the chastning comes I shall put in a word or two as Cordials to preserve from fainting Let these two things be considered 1. The Lord is his Peoples God This is his Covenant with them Jer. 30.22 I will be your God and you shall be my People Let us consider a little what great support this Promise yields I will be your God What 's the meaning of that What is there in this more than every one may lay claim to Is he not the God of all the Earth Is he not the Sinner's God Is he not the Drunkard's God the Atheist's God the God of them that say in their Hearts there is no God He is so The God that made them the God that rules them the God that Judges and will Condemn them This is a word of terror to the ungodly World I am their God that is I am above them as high as any of them are I am higher than they and will bring them down to the Dust of Death But what is there in this word as to Believers What meaneth the most High when he speaks this word I will be your God to them The meaning is this I will be your God in Covenant I will be your Friend and your Father your Portion and Heritage your Rock and your Refuge for ever I am the Almighty God and able to save you from all your distresses I am the All-sufficient God and able to supply all your Wants and Necessities and whatsoever I am all is yours Now Friend when God sayes I am thine what matters it who or what can say I am none of thine Suppose the gods of the Earth should say to thee Away we are none of thine Suppose thine old Friends and Acquaintance should say Stand back we are none of thine Suppose thy nearest Relations thy Father or thy Brother or thine Husband or thy Wife should say We are none of thine Suppose thine House and thy Countrey should cast thee out and say neither are we thine Yet this one word from the Lord but I am thine how would it support and abundantly satisfie thy Soul 2. None so well know this ordinarily that the Lord is their God as his suffering People It may be thou wilt say Ah this word this word I am thine what a good word is here O were I but sure it were spoken to me what then should I fear Let the Lord but speak thus to my Soul I will be thy God and then let the World and the Devil too speak what they can we 'l be thine Enemies if God be thy Friend we 'l curse thee if God bless thee we 'l hunt thee if God harbour thee we 'l stick in thy sides if God be in thine heart we 'l lay thee low enough if God exalt thee we 'l be thy death if he be thy life Well even do your worst were I but sure the Lord hath said this word to me I will be thy God I will not fear though ye all be Devils unto me But O here 's my great trouble 't is this which sinks my Soul and makes mine Heart to faint within me I see the World running against me I see Troubles running upon me and I am in great doubt whether God hath spoken this word to me I will be thine Dost thou doubt Dost thou not know whether God be thine Why the day of Adversity that 's the time when thou mayest be most like to know it There are none ordinarily that so well know that the Lord is theirs as his suffering People For 1. God doth often shew himself in a Storm who hid himself in the Sun-shine 2. The Sufferings of the Saints will be the Proof of their Sonship 1. God doth often reveal himself in a Storm who hid himself from us in our Sunshine Our dayes of Darkness are often the times of Light and Love Light from Above is most needed and will be better accepted when 't is darkest below The hatred of the World doth usually usher in the tydings of Divine Love When thou art led into a Wilderness to be tempted and tryed there thou mayest expect he will speak comfortably to thee Hos 2.14 Why art thou afraid of Affliction Wouldst thou not be glad to know the Lord is thine Follow him into the Wilderness and that may be the Vineyard where he will shew thee his Loves 2. The Sufferings of the Saints will be a Proof of their Sonship Heb. 12.7 If ye endure chastening God dealeth with you as with Sons Our Sufferings for Christ will be the evidence of our Sincerity to him Prove that thou lovest Christ above all and thou therein provest that God is thine and what greater evidence that we love Christ above all than this
in particular that he is our Prophet and Teacher sent to us from God to shew us the path of life that he is our Priest and Sacrifice that he is our King and Ruler A knowledge of the conditions that he imposes and the Laws he gives to them that will be his Disciples and that expect salvation by him as to believe and obey the Gospel to repent and be converted These things must be first distinctly known otherwise in consenting to Christ we do we know not what we subscribe to a blank Our close with Christ must be an understanding close otherwise it signifies nothing This being premised I shall now shew 1. That our consent to Christ notes our approving and good liking of Christ Therefore we read that Peter in his Preaching Christ to the Jews that he might Preach them to Christ endeavours first to gain their approbation of him and that he might be approved of them he tells them that he was approved of God Act. 2.22 Ye men of Israel here these words Jesus of Nazareth a man approved of God among you by signs and miracles If he could not have assured them of Gods approbation of him there had been little hope of gaining their approbation and if he had not their approbation there had been no hope of their acceptance The same Apostle tells us 1 Pet. 2.4 that he was disallowed of men and those that disallowed despised and rejected him He was to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness 1 Cor. 1.23 But as for them that are called they had other manner of thoughts of him to them he is Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God They might have been invited long enough before they would have come if they had not been first perswaded that he is the Power and Wisdom of God Wilt thou consent unto Christ he must have thy approbation or he can never have thy consent There must be an approving and liking of his Person of his personal excellencies and worthiness to be embraced Men must be well satisfied both of his sufficiency that he is able to save to the uttermost those that come to God by him and of his faithfulness that he will do it He that is not satisfied that 't is safe venturing upon Christ will never be perswaded to it There must be an approving and good liking of his whole way of Salvation of all that he hath done of all that he hath suffered of all that he demands and requires in order hereto And as they must be able to say He hath done all things well so must they say also concerning what he requires Good is the Word of the Lord. What doth the Lord require will he be trusted will he be loved will he be obeyed will he have me for his servant my estate my time my strength my body my soul to be all at his Service Good is the Word of the Lord it is but right it should be so it 's best thus to be his 2. Our consent to Christ notes our accepting him Approving is not all he may be approved and yet rejected video meliora proboque c. there are who approve the things that are excellent and yet will not embrace them Rom. 2.18 there must be an accepting of Christ as well as an approving There is An assent to a Proposition and A consent to a Proposal 1. There is an assent to a Proposition As to instance in that of the Apostle 1 Tim. 1.15 Christ came into the world to save Sinners There may be an assent to this that this is a true saying and worthy of all acceptation which is short of accepting 'T is one thing to say I believe and am perswaded in my heart that Christ is a Saviour of Sinners and is worthy of all acceptation and another thing to say I accept him 2. There is a consent to a Proposal Christ is not only declared in the Gospel to be the Saviour of Sinners that chosen one that mighty one upon whom their help is laid but there is an offer made of this Jesus unto Sinners who are all invited to look unto him to come unto him and be saved Matth. 11.28 and also assured that whosoever come unto him and believe in him shall not be confounded 1 Pet. 2.6 In the Preaching the Gospel the Lord not only gives us this record concerning his Son that in him is Eternal life and that he that hath the Son hath life 1 Joh. 5.11 12. but withall makes this proposal to every Sinner wilt thou have this Jesus shall this Saviour be thy Saviour if thou wilt have him thou shalt Do not say now sure he is worth the having if redemption from death if everlasting life be worth the having then Christ is worth the having but say on wilt thou have him shall it be a match betwixt Christ and thy Soul shall he be thine and wilt thou be his Does thine heart say I will I accept I henceforth take him for mine own and will trust my self with him I put my life into his hands here my Soul shall pitch Upon this stone which is laid in Sion will I adventure all Does thine heart say to all this I will this is thy sincere consent to Christ provided that there be 3. A dedication and giving up the Soul to Christ. The matter that is to be consented to is not only that Christ be ours but that we be his Our consent that he should be ours is our taking him and our consent that we should be his is our giving our selves to him It is said of the Macedonian Christians 2 Cor. 8.5 they gave themselves to the Lord. This giving our selves to Christ hath in it the giving him The right of us The possession of us 1. The giving him the right of us He hath indeed a right to us already whether we give our selves to him or no he hath bought us and paid for us we are his by purchase 1 Cor. 6.19 20. Ye are not your own ye are bought with a price And yet though we be his already he expects that we give our selves to him he loves the claim by gift above that which comes only by purchase and therefore he requires Prov. 23.26 My Son give me thine heart Thou may'st say it is not mine to give what have I to give to the Lord All is his already I am his with all that I have The Father hath given all to the Son and he hath paid dear enough to purchase the Lordship of me Well though thou be his own already canst thou not say Take me then Lord take me as thine own 'T is more than rebellious Sinners will say though they be his by right yet they will rob him of his right and hold back his own from him They give themselves away from Christ to the Devil and to the World They might say to these when they demand give me thine heart it is not mine to give
3. That you may not fear the severities of Religion fear the severity of Christ against Irreligion Thou canst not bear the work of Righteousness but how wilt thou bear the wages of Unrighteousness if thou canst not be tied up so strait by the cords of his Discipline how wilt thou endure the chains of his indignation If the severities of his service be to thee a stumbling-stone the wrath of the Lamb will be a mill-stone if this stone fall upon thee it will grind thee to powder Matth. 21.44 Sinners let their tongues run at a wild rate I must have my ease I must have my liberty I was never in bondage and cannot now endure it to come under such a severe restraint But thou that professest thy self to be one of his Disciples wilt thou say as these say I cannot bear it I cannot endure it Canst thou burn what thinkest thou of the everlasting severity Consider what thou dost either submit to Christs Pastoral Rod or fall for ever under his Iron Rod wherewith he will crush thee to pieces like a Potters Vessel Why is this the case must I bow or burn must I come under his Government or be ground under his Milstones O I have done no more reasoning with flesh and blood no more picking quarrels with Religion whatever there be in it I dare not but submit to it all for fear a worse thing come unto me Well but wilt thou submit then wilt thou set thine heart to all his words wilt thou set thy Neck to all his works This is the third thing now I exhort you to follow after Severity and strictness in the wayes of the Lord which because it hath something more of asperity and roughness in it than those that follow there will be so much the more need of Fear to bring us to it 4. Simplicity Severity may be in Hypocrisie the Scribes and Pharisees were severe severe in their Fasts disfiguring their faces looking with sad and dejected countenances severe in the observation of the Rites Customs and Traditions of their Fathers yea and of the Letter of the Law of God there were very strict sects of them Act. 26.5 and yet they were Hypocrites Simplicity notes The Heart in our work Singleness of heart 1. Simplicity notes Heartiness in our Work nothing is plain and honest but that which is hearty doing the Will of God from the heart Ephes 6.6 Ye have obeyed from the heart Rom. 6.17 My Son give me thy heart Prov. 23.26 What is it to give God the heart This is one thing comprehended in it to give him the heart for a servant or to serve him with the heart He that gives God the heart gives him the best he hath and gives him all he hath the heart will command the tongue and the hands and the time and the Estate to be all at his service which way the heart goes all goes Serving the Lord with the heart is serving him in good earnest we do but play with duty we do but mock God where the heart is not 't is only serving him in spirit that is serving him in truth Friends be real and in good earnest in what you doe let all your Religion come deep let your Prayers and your Prayses and all the exercising your selves to Godliness of life be the streamings and issuings forth of your hearts to the Lord. Whatever you doe do it heartily as unto the Lord. Serve the Lord as you have been used to serve your flesh in good earnest What you have done for your Estates what you have done for your Names or for your safety you have done it heartily and shall that only which we do for God and for our Souls be done without an heart what is God what are our Souls and the concernments of them that they should be thus put off Is this heartless service all that God is worthy of will he accept it at our hands or is it no matter whether he accept it or no Is this spiritless service answerable to the worth of our Souls and the weight of Eternity will you venture all upon shadowes and lyes Are we but in Jest when we talk of a God or a Christ or a World to come Are our hopes and fears about hereafter but delusions and dreams Do you believe from the heart and dare you not obey from the heart How can you say you believe there is a God indeed that of a very truth there is such an Heaven and such an Hell in one of which your immortal Souls must dwell for ever how can you believe such things and not feel your very inwards even all the Powers of your Souls engaged about them Am I speaking to those that believe not is it not to you that believe that I now direct my words Consider friends The God in whom you believe is a Spirit and will be served in Spirit and in Truth God is a great God and infinitely worthy of the best and of all you have your Souls are precious eternal Life and eternal Death are serious things and which of these two will be your lott is a serious question and sure these most serious things do call for your most serious and hearty attendance upon them Away with all guile and hypocrisie provoke not the jealous God fool not away your Souls by trusting to lyes Worship God in the Spirit lift up your Souls in your Prayers chasten your Souls in your Fastings And as your Souls must be in your Lips in your Eyes in your Ears while you are solemnly worshipping of God so let your Hearts be in you Hands too in all that you have to doe Let your heart have an hand in all the actions of your lives Eccles 9.10 Whatever thine hand findeth to doe do it with thy might that is do it with all your heart the heart is the might of the man God is the strength of the heart and the heart is the strength of the man Sinners when they go forth upon service for the Devil they carry their heart in their hands Micah 7.3 They do evil with both hands earnestly Earnestly there 's the heart in their hands They do their worst that God will suffer them Thou hast done iniquity as thou couldest Jer. 3.5 as much as ever thou wert able As Sinners do their worst so let Christians do the best they can Whatever thou hast to do for thine own Soul by gathering in and treasuring up against the time to come do the most and the best thou canst be as hearty in laying up treasure in Heaven as ever thou hast been in laying up treasure on Earth Whatever service thou hast to do for God in thy generation by doing good to others do it with all thine heart In your instructing admonishing counselling reproving in your working righteousness in your shewing mercy in your promoting and encouraging any good work or preventing evil in your propagating serious Religion in your pulling poor sinners as
the Lord that thou hast a standing infallible and uninterrupted evidence of thy Sincerity and an undoubted Security for thy perseverance to the end Is there not room for such a question What if I should fall short Art thou gotten beyond all possibility of miscarrying for ever Friends know that a possibility of falling into the Wrath to come were that Wrath throughly understood would work more fear than a certain expectation of all the Torments and Miseries of this Life O Fear Hast thou Faith Believe and Fear Hast thou Hope Hope and Fear Hast thou Joy Rejoyce with trembling Rejoyce in hope of the Glory of God and tremble and fear his Wrath and Vengeance There will be this double use and advantage besides others of this fear of the Curse 1. 'T will quicken our necessary fear of Sin 2. 'T will quench our sinful fear of the Cross 1. This fear of the Curse will quicken our necessary fear of Sin Yea and of all the temptations to it Sin is the sting of Death and this Death is the sting of Sin How bitter would Sin taste how gastly would it look were this Gall that lies in its Belly this sting it carries in its Tail discovered and heeded Thou wouldst quickly be filled with thine own wayes didst thou but see what stands at their further end That Bed of Scorpions whither Sin is dragging thee would make every Sin as a Snake or Adder And of all Sins 't would strike the Heart with the greatest fear of its beloved Sins These are they especially under which Hell lies in ambush for us these are Hell's strongest Ropes by which it pulls in Souls Hath any Sin cast a Cord of Love about thee That 's it that 's like to be the Rope to draw thee to the Slaughter Thou canst get loose from many Sins at pleasure but take heed that foolish Heart of thine will die for it s Beloved If thou ask What wouldst thou have O my my beloved Sin What comest thou to me so often for Why takest thou up thy dwelling so near mine Heart It will answer O 't is to please thee that I am so often with thee I know thou lovest me I am the delight of thine Heart and the pleasure of thine Eyes thou canst not be content without me I am that Ease or that Wealth or that Credit that thou lovest Is there not a league betwixt me and thee Am not I the nearest Friend thou hast Thy Health and thy Welfare and thy Soul are not so dear as I am to thee thou lovest me and therefore 't is I come that thou mayest have what thou lovest But what hast thou now to say to it No no Traitor 't is my Life thou seekest 't is my Soul thou comest to steal away and devour O I dread thy fawning Face thy smiles are Darts in mine Heart I tremble at thy wooings and embraces Get thee gone Harlot thy kindnesses are deadly kindnesses What means that Dagger in thine Hand whilst thou thus kissest me with the kisses of thy Mouth 'T is my Death thou art designing I must die if I will any longer love thee and what Death must I die Is it a short and easie Death that thou art betraying me to No no 't is a bitter Death and 't is a lingring Death an eternal Death that thou art preparing for me This Heart hath been under-ground in the dark Cavern of Pitch and Brimstone I have been in the Deep and viewed those Chambers of Death where thou lodgest thy Lovers I have sent down my Spies my thoughts have been below in the Belly of Hell I have beheld how they lie in that Pit roaring and yelling and blaspheming raving mad with the anguish of their burning Souls I have seen the very Smoke and Fire that devours them the burning Teeth of that everlasting Worm that gnaws their Hearts and the fury and rage of that Serpent that deceived them in O my Soul quakes my Bones tremble terror and astonishment have taken hold of me at the Description my thoughts have brought me up of that place of torment And thou O my beloved Sin even thou art it that art most like to carry me down and bury me there If I die that Death 't will be by thy hand if I run my self into that Fire 't will be for thy sake Away from me thou proud Heart get thee gone Covetousness or Sensuality or Slothfulness or whatever the Name of my Beloved be I dare not have any more to do with thee I fear thee more than ever I loved thee I fear where thou mayest lay me before tomorrow if I should suffer thee to lodg but one night more with me Such dread of thy beloved Sin would a fear of the Curse work in thee Friends consider Are there yet any Sins that have such power over your Hearts are your Spirits so chained by them that you cannot get loose O look to those Chains of Fire into which by this Chain of Love your Sins are dragging you Are you afraid of the Curse of God Are you afraid to burn Are you afraid to be rack'd and torn and gnawn and groun'd under the Milstones of eternal Vengeance then be afraid of Sin Let Hell be your Fear and Sin will be your Fear let Sin be your Fear and it will be no longer your Love If you will not fear this Fear if you will laugh at Hell you will sport at Sin If you fear not to be Cursed you will less fear to be Wicked if you fear not Hell you will hardly fear to be Devils on Earth O Sinners steep all your pleasant Morsels in that Vinegar and Gall spice all your stollen Waters with that Pitch and Brimstone strow all your pleasant wayes with those Serpents and Adders which will bite and sting your Souls for ever Mingle all your Carnal Delights with some such deep thoughts of what they are betraying you to and then go on after them without fear if you can And as this fear of Wrath will work a fear of Sin so will it also work the same fear of temptations to Sin Sin and Temptation lead the same way though Temptation be one remove farther back Temptation leads to Sin and Sin to Death He that fears the Fowler will fear the snare of the Fowler he that fears the Hunter will fear his Dogs and his Toyls Get a fear of the Land of Darkness and you will fear to be Companions of such as are travelling thitherward fear the Plague and thou wilt be no company for them whose dwelling is in the Pesthouse Afraid of Hell and yet never well but when thou art amongst those Decoys that are enticing thee thither What are the Allurements of Sinners to the Ear of him that hath Death and Wrath in his Eye Let them entice thee Come Let 's be merry let 's to the Alehouse or the Tavern or to a Play Let 's feed to the full let 's cloth our selves with the best let
it God's Ill Will against Sinners God's Blessing is his Good Will and his Ill Will this is his Curse Joseph's Blessing The good Will of him that dwelt in the Bush Deut. 33.16 is the Portion of all the Saints and in God's good Will is every good Thing the precious Things of the Earth and the fulness thereof yea and the precious Things of the Heaven also Psal 30.5 In his favour is Life And in God's Ill Will is every evil Thing thou needest no more to make thee perfectly miserable than this that the Almighty bears thee ill Will. 'T is an Affliction to be under the ill Will of Men for a Child to have the ill Will of his Father for a Wife to have the ill Will of her Husband for a Man to have the ill Will of his Neighbours for a Subject to be under the ill Will of his Prince But what-ever there be in this God's good Will will make amends for all though all the Family where thou livest yea though all the Countrey bear thee ill Will if God bear thee good Will thou art a blessed Man If thou hast the good Will of all the World and only God bears thee ill Will thou art cursed with a Curse This Curse of God is 1. Revealed in his Word 2. Executed in part in this World 3. Pronounced in the last Judgment 4. Executed in full in the World to come 1. The Curse of God is revealed in the Word of God Rom. 1.18 The Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men. It is revealed from Heaven that is by the Law of God The Law of God binds Sinners under the Curse of God and declares to them what this Curse of God is 2. The Curse of God is in part executed in this World The Curse followed Sin close at the heels and is executed on Sinners here 1. In temporal Plagues There is a Curse upon the Creatures which were made for their use Gen. 3.17 Cursed is the ground for thy sake The whole Earth with all things therein hath something of the Curse cleaving to it whereupon though it still be useful yet there is something in it that is noxious to Man Vpon their labours which often become fruitless and ordinarily irksome and tiresome In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat thy bread Gen. 3.19 Vpon their Estates sometimes blasting and devouring them entring into their Houses and eating out the Timber thereof and the Stones thereof or else turning them into temptations and snares Vpon their Bodies Sin wounds and bruises in Sickness and Death 2. In Spiritual Evils inflicted upon the Souls of Sinners The Curse of God not only falls upon their outward Man but enters into their very Hearts upon which the Lord most signally executes this Curse by leaving Sinners and giving them up to blindness of Mind to a reprobate Mind Rom. 1.28 to hardness of Heart Isa 6.9 to the power of their Lusts Psal 81.12 whereby they are filled with all unrighteousness and reserved as in Chains under darkness to the Judgment of the great Day Sinner thy blindness thine hardness thy walking after thy Lusts in the Counsels of thy wicked Heart this is the Curse of God upon thee thy Sins are thy Curse And that Impenitence and that reprobate Mind which God gives some Sinners up unto is their sealing under the Curse God sometimes curses Sinners in this Life as Christ cursed the fruitless Fig-tree Mat. 21.19 Never Fruit grow on thee for ever Be thou never good for any thing never good Thought never good Motion come into thee never a drop of Dew or Rain fall upon thee never a Bud or Blossom spring up in thee nothing prosper in thee but be thou barren for ever of every good thing let that Soul wither and perish and die for ever This Curse is the most dreadful of all Curses above-ground and the very next to Hell 3. The Curse is pronounced in the last Judgment in that terrible Sentence Matth. 25.41 Depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Now that if it be possible Sinners may be awakened out of sleep and be wrought to this Fear I shall a little open the Mouth of the Pit by opening this fearful Sentence Depart from me Depart whither why whithersoever it is 't is sad enough that 't is depart from me from Christ Christ is the Life it can be no less than Death to depart from Life Ye Cursed You that are bound under the Curse you that have been filling your selves with Curses clothing your selves with Curses treasuring up Curses to your selves all your time against this day Get you gone with your Curses upon you your Sins be upon you your Guilt be upon you your Blood be upon your own Heads for ever Ye are cursed with a Curse bear ye that burthen for ever and ever Into everlasting Fire And now you see whither 't is they are to depart I told you but now that 't is Misery enough that they must depart from Christ and from the presence of the Lord. If Sinners were to be sentenced down to this Earth again sent back to their Fields and Vineyards to their Ale-houses and Whore-houses to the best of their dirty pleasures here below yet this that they are sent into banishment from the Presence and Paradise of God when God shall so far open their Eyes as to let them see what they have lost this would be an unspeakable torment to them But this is not their place when they are taken hence they shall return hither no more they must bid an eternal farewel to all their carnal and bruitish ease and pleasures their Houses and their pleasant Places shall know them no more for ever God will not leave them so much as the least of the left-hand Blessings not a drop of Water to cool their Tongues 'T is into the Fire they must go The pain of Fire is the most tormenting of all the pains we know and therefore made use of to shadow out those inexpressible intolerable pains to which the ungodly shall be sentenced in that day Everlasting Fire What not yet at the bottom No this Gulf hath no bottom they shall be ever knowing and yet never know the worst of their Case what-ever they feel the worst is still behind because Eternity is still behind they shall never have ease nor rest again but shall be tormented night and day for ever and ever Prepared for the Devil and his Angels These are their Companions in their Tribulation Must we into the Fire But may we not have good Company in the Fire God may be in the Fire with me So he was in the case of the three Confessors and then the fire could not burn No t is the Devil that will be with you in the fire to torment and to be tormented with you for ever What is it to dwell in an Earthly House that 's