brands out of the burning and rescuing them out of the power of the Devil in compelling the stragling and wandring Sheep into the Fold of the Lord or whatever else you have before you do it heartily as unto the Lord. What a world of good might a generation of hearty Christians do in the World how many Souls might be the better for them how many Families might bless God for them The blessing of Souls ready to perish might come upon them they may be the blessings of a whole Countrey they may be Lights to the World and Life to the dead Eyes to the blind Tongues to the dumb Feet to the lame and strength to them that have no might the Kingdom of God the Gospel of Christ would be advanced and adorned by them and the Synagogues of Sathan even depopulated and destroyed And how greatly would this both abound to their own account and tend to their own improvement in the Grace of God But wo to many of us yea and to the poor world also because an excuse must serve us instead of an heart we want time we want parts either opportunity or ability we have not thus we talk when 't is an heart only that 's wanting Hence 't is we stand so many of us like cyphers a company of useless and insignificant Souls which the Gospel and the Interest of Christ might spare and find little miss of in the world Friends do but find an heart and that will find you time and ability for other manner of service than hitherto you have done Well this is one thing implyed in Simplicity Heartiness 2. Singleness of heart Singleness of heart notes both plainness of heart without juggles and cheats or pretensions of what is not intended and oneness of heart as I may so speak that does not divide it self betwixt more Lords than one more Ends than one but runs out one way that has but one to serve and but one thing to do But of this having spoken largely elsewhere I shall say no more here 5. Ingenuity with good will doing Service Ephes 6.7 this good will notes that good nature which by grace we are wrought to inclining and disposing us to a more noble and free to a more chearful and ready serving the Lord. An ingenuous Christian doth not only serve the Lord really and without guile but readily and cheerfully it 's sweet to him to do good he bears good will to God for himself he feels the infinite goodness and worthiness of the Lord to melt and draw forth his Soul towards him the name and honour of God is in his heart and is so dear and precious to him that he feels something within him prompting him to all manner of expressions of love and duty to him He is become good natur'd and so not only in point of gratefulness he returns love for love good will for good will duty for kindness which he hath received but it is a pleasure to him to return good will for goodness love for his worthiness to be beloved The name of God he would have to be above every name it is his delight and therefore his desire that as the Lord is infinitely honourable so he should be abundantly honoured the very thing the magnifying and exalting the Lord is the great thing that sits upon his heart it is a pleasure to him that God is pleased and this he loves that God should be loved and served and hence is his care hence are his labours this is the spring-head of all his duties and God is the Ocean into which his streams do run He speaks for God and works for God and lives for God he studies to be holy and righteous he is busie and industrious he is watchful and painful and fruitful in good works that he may thereby shew forth the vertues of him that hath called him and glorifie his Father which is in Heaven He understands and feels that what he thus does for God is to himself also and will abound to his own account and everlasting blessedness and the good will he bears to his own Soul and the hopes he has of his own reward are as oyl to his wheels but his good will to his God is the main spring that sets them all a going O follow after this blessed frame get you such an ingenuous Spirit and then how sweet and easie will the very severities of Religion be The nearer you come up to this by so much the less need will you have of that fear which is so necessary to bring you hitherto Fear will now resign up to love to do its work more immediately by it self Not but that there may be still some use of it more or less so long as there is sin before us and any danger of our falling into it so long will love cause us to fear but as we are more grown up above the power of sin and are not so greatly in danger of it so fear abates By how much the more perfect love by so much the more hatred of sin and so much the less fear of it Love will now make as effectual a resistance against sin by Hatred as it did before by fear and for our course of duty we shall now run not with patience only but with chearfulness the race that 's set before us a chearful willing horse will the less need the rod or spur 6. Spirituality This and the former are twins and grows up together How fit is the spiritual man and how free will he be for spiritual work The new man is a spiritual man he is such from his birth Joh. 3.6 that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit but whil'st he is a child there is so little of spirit appearing in him that the Apostle sticks not to call him carnal 1 Cor. 3.1 I could not speak to you as to spiritual but as unto carnal even as to babes in Christ but as this Child grows up towards a perfect stature so he becomes more spiritual from day to day and accordingly he prospers in his work O Christians get you to be of a more elevated raised spirit through the more abundant diffusion of the spirit of Grace upon your hearts Live more in the contemplation of God Behold his face in righteousness and you shall be satisfied with his likeness Psal 17.15 2 Cor. 3.18 Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord we are changed from glory to glory into the same Image Hereafter we shall be perfectly like him because we shall see him as he is 1 Joh. 3.2 and by how much the more we see him here by so much the more like him Acquaint your selves with God divine converses beget intimacy in Heaven and none so Heavenly as God's intimates we are too great Strangers in Heaven to have much of Heaven upon our hearts distance breeds difference by being such strangers we become more alienated from the life of God There is nothing more ordinary
come and we are tempted to them they find the door left open to them we wink at them and swallow them down even this must be interpreted an allowance of them He that sees the Thief at the door though he do not say pray come in yet if he shut not the door against him is accessary to his own Robberie It is a vain thing for thee to say the evil which I do I allow not when thou do'st nothing to withstand it If thou wilt not resist thou do'st thereby invite the tempter and his temptations Grace in the nature of it is an enemy against Sin These two are contrary Gal. 5.17 and though it be too weak wholly to overcome yet will it make opposition against it It 's true that actual allowance especially of some lesser sin is not utterly inconsistent with the truth of grace in this our imperfect state but he that resolves not to watch against to strive against every sin that hath any standing reserve of a liberty for any one in this thing the Lord pardon me how dwelleth the grace of God in him Mens allowing themselves thus in any sin is an argument that they are in a league with sin and he that is in a league with any sin his heart is not right with God Our engaging our selves to the Lord doth necessarily include in it our breaking with sin and our walking in friendship with God is our living in the defiance of Sin Hast thou friendship with Sin where is then thy friendship with God Do'st thou say thou hast not friendship with Sin nor art in any league with it how is it then that it hath such free access to thee Consider it well didst thou maintain in thine heart an enmity against sin thou would'st take more heed how thou gavest it entertainment Wilt thou open thy bosom to a viper would'st thou spread forth thine arms to a Serpent sure thou art of kin to these venomous beasts or thou would'st never allow them such freedom with thee It is at least a shrewd suspition that thou art of the seed of the Serpent or thou would'st never take into thy bosome these young Serpents thy lusts to be thy play-mates And if thus thou do'st and thine heart will not hear of being totally shut of its liberty with them the case is then plain thou art in such a league with sin as will conclude thee out of Covenant with God 2. He that lives a Godly life doth heartily resolve and endeavour never to allow himself in the neglect of any known duty By duties I mean not only those special acts of worship Prayer Hearing c. but all acts of obedience to the will of God both those more general and complexe Duties of working out our salvation of walking as becometh the Gospel of making sure our Calling and Election c. and every particular duty comprehended under these those which have a more immediate respect to God our living in the faith fear and love of the Lord those also which have an immediate respect to our selves our living soberly temperately in patience c. and those which respect others doing good to all men admonishing reproving comforting shewing mercy c. as there is occasion and we have opportunity As we are Christians we are indebted to others to our Families to our Neighbours to our Friends and to our Enemies I instance in all these in special in second-table Duties both because there can be no proof made of the uprightness of our conversations without looking into particulars and because there are many professors who pretend to great heights in the matters of the first table who in second-table duties are sadly remiss and negligent Even these latter are so essential to true Godliness that whatever proofs we seem to have of our sincerity our neglects of these especially our allowed neglects will call all into question Those that will live Godly in Christ Jesus must live in all good Conscience towards God and towards men also God will have his people to stand compleat in his whole will that they may herein both approve themselves in his sight and also shew forth his vertues before men so that the world may see that the spirit of Christianity is not a fanatick and feeble thing but hath a power in it to make a visible and universal change in the manners and wayes of those that are possessed with it that Christians may appear to be the mercy and the blessings and the beauty of the world That Countries may see that Families may see that it is a mercy that there are some Godly ones among them that the unbelieving Wife may see that it is a mercy to have a believing Husband that Grace hath made him better natur'd more loving more gentle more tender of her good that the unbelieving Husband may see what a blessing it is to him to have a believing wife that grace hath made her both a better woman and a better Wife more meek more patient more careful to please her Husband that the unbelieving Families or persons may find that it is a comfort and advantage to them to have so good a Master to live by so good a neighbour that pities them that prays for them and even Preaches to them by his holy life and good example To be professors of Christianity and yet to be all one in our conversations towards others as quarrelsome as contentious as unmerciful as unsavoury and unuseful as those that pretend to no Religion to have those about us to say if there be grace in them 't is all one as to us as if there were none it had been all one for me if my Father or my Master or my Husband or my Wife or my Neighbour had never medled with any thing of Religion he is the same man she is the same woman as proud as pettish as unkind as unmerciful as negligent of my good that it could not have been worse with me if there had been no such thing as Religion in them What do'st thou think of all the Godliness thou hast if thou give occasion to have it thus said of thee Well all these particulars and every other thing required in the Word of God I understand by duties Now this is a man of a Godly life he who having chosen God and embraced Christ Jesus the Lord doth set his heart in all things to walk uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel without allowing himself in the neglect of any thing that he knows pro hic nunc to be his duty whose prayer it is Hide not thy Commandements from me whose study it is to know the whole will of God and whose endeavour it is to walk in all the Commandements of God blameless this is a man of a Godly life This is according to the plain intent and meaning of his covenant with God and this is his faithfulness in the covenant Then shall I not be ashamed when I
strong to run our course Then should we be seen to be a Royal Priesthood an holy Nation a peculiar people shewing forth the vertues of him that hath called us out of darkness into his glorious and marveilous light Then when the pricking briar and the grieving thorn that pride that earthliness and carnality shall be thus cut in their very root when all our fleshly fooleries and dotages and all the vexations pets and passions of persons and parties shall shrink in and wither then shall all those daughters of the morning Faith and Love and Mercy and Meekness and Humility Peace and Gentleness lift up their heads in our Gates and we that have been the reproach and dishonour shall appear the Children and Glory of our Father Go therefore presently to the Lord Jesus carry these Malefactors to the Cross get the Spear to be thrust through the heart and nail every member of this body of sin there let them perish and dye and then shall you see the beauty of holiness looking forth as the morning fair as the Moon clear as the Sun and terrible as an Army with Banners Only to this I must add Nurse up the grace that is in you and let it have its perfect work in fear of receiving the grace of God in vain When the Lord gives grace he layes the same charge upon us as Paul on Timothy 2 Tim. 1.14 That good thing which was committed to thee keep by the Holy Ghost Our grace is to be kept by us As Nurses As Stewards 1. As Nurses By our cherishing and improving of it the weeding of the Garden will be the thriving of the Flowers but they must be nourished as well as cleared of weeds rotten weeds will be soil for the Herbs but they must be warmed and watered also by the influences of the Sun and Clouds In order to our nourishing of grace are all our Receiving duties such as are Prayer Hearing Sacraments c. our being conversant aright in these duties are our sucking in and feeding upon that milk and that bread of life by which grace grows As pleasant as our food is and as great a delight as there is in feeding upon it we are froward Children and have need of the rod to fright us to the breast God that hath provided such food for us and hath made us under such a constant necessity of it will be angry with us if we slight it If the sense of your own need do not let the fear of the divine displeasure bring you carefully and diligently to attend on his means and so to attend that you may grow thereby Come to the Word come to Prayer and other Duties not only in obedience because you have a command for it but come in hope and expectation of growing by them because you have a promise Look not on them only as parts of that homage which you owe to God but as means to obtain from God and whereby you may grow up unto him Attend thus and attend with diligence be afraid to trifle worship God with reverence and Godly fear Fear as it is a bridle to sin so will it be a spur to every duty Christians Is there no fear you may be faulty here Consider how it hath been consider not only what you have done but how you have done it and what you have gotten I have been a Disciple of Christ an hearing Disciple a praying Disciple but cui bono what advantage hath it been to me Do I thrive doth my Soul prosper what discernable difference is there betwixt me that pray and hear and come to the Table of the Lord and them that hear not and pray not what have so many years duties brought me in no more than I had when I first began Am I as much a babe now as when I suck'd my first milk Have I lain at dry breasts at wells in which there is no water or what 's the matter that after all this time I find no more improvement Sure there hath been nourishment ministred they are full breasts they are the wells of Salvation that I have been at but foolish Soul that I am I have but play'd with the breasts instead of sucking and with the bucket instead of drawing and hence 't is that 't is no better with me Methinks the fruit thou find'st of such trifling methinks that lean and starveling Soul of thine should call upon thee to look to it and make a better use of such precious means as are before thee Shew me not the meat but shew me the man tell me not thou hast been waiting at the gates of Wisdome thou hast been feeding by the Shepheards tents tell me not how far or how often thou goest to hear tell me not that thy house is an house of Prayer that thy Closet that thy Family that thy Bible can witness for thee the blindness of thy mind the coldness and carnality and vanity of thy life do sufficiently evidence what a poor feeder thou hast been whatever good meals thou hast been at Tremble to think that such means as thou hast had should leave thee in such a case as thou art this day and since thy wonted course will not do to fetch thee up into a better case what remains but that thou bethink thy self and henceforth resolve to put on to another manner of care and diligence and never again satisfie thy self with any kind of performances whatsoever that do no more answer their end Awaken from thy drowsie Religion and henceforth pray not as at other times hear not as in the former dayes but stir up all thy powers engage all the grace thou hast call up all the faith the hope the love the desires thou hast make all the strength thou canst and bow thy self with thy might before the Lord open thy mouth wide and thus wait on him until he come and rain down righteousness upon thee and thy Soul become as as a well-watered Garden and as a Spring of waters whose waters fail not 2. As Stewards Keep what thou hast for use our receiving duties are for our returning duties Get in in order to laying out and be faithful in laying out well whatever you have received The Rivers must pay themselves as a tribute to the Ocean from which they arise and are filled To whom much hath been given of them much is required Luk. 12.48 and to whom any thing is given be it much or little so much must be returned those that are rich in grace are thereby enriched unto good works and those that are enriched unto good works must be rich in good works 1 Tim. 6.18 What hast thou that thou hast not received and what hast thou received that thou owest not for and what account wilt thou make if thou set not thine heart to pay what thou owest if our first enquiry be what have I received our next must be what have I done or what have I to do What do you more
than to receive the tincture of our society upon our hearts we like our acquaintance and are apt to grow like them Be familiar with the spiritual God and you will become more spiritually minded no such advance towards divine conformity as divine communion conformity will prepare for communion and communion will increase conformity Christians Be spiritual your work is spiritual it lyes in the exercise of spiritual Graces in the performance of spiritual duties in the offering up spiritual Sacrifices Your encouragements are spiritual encouragements spiritual priviledges comforts and rewards favour and acceptance with God fellowship and friendship with God peace of Conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost What are all these spiritual works and spiritual encouragements to carnal hearts how unfit is the spirit of a brute for the work of a man and how unsuitable is the Spirit of a man the carnal mind to the work of a Christian They that are in the flesh fleshly men cannot please God Rom. 8.8 1 Pet. 2.5 Ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ Sowing of fields planting of Orchards buying and selling and trading are as proper works for the beasts of the earth and as much they are like to do at it as blessing and praising and serving the living God to carnal men Sinners you also come together to pray and hear and Sing and serve the Lord but you are like to make as good works of it as to the spirit of these duties as your Cattel would do at building your houses or keeping your markets and by how much the more any amongst Christians are like you by so much the more unskilful are they like to be at the work of God And what are spiritual encouragements to carnal hearts how little would it quicken and provoke carnal men on in the Service of God to tell them as you grow more serviceable so you shall be more acceptable to God as you abound in duty so your grace and your comfort and your hopes and your joy shall abound If you could tell them This is the way to be rich to rise and grow great in this world you shall gain favour and friendship with men the Dignities and Preferments the Gold and the Silver shall be shared amongst the most active and industrious Christians What multitudes would this fetch in to be Disciples and what contending would there be who should be the most forward of all Christ's followers But whil'st this is all we can say you shall find grace in the eyes of the Lord you shall have treasure in Heaven we see by experience enough how little this will move them Get these hearts to be more Spiritualized and then you will find both the work of God and his rewards to be most acceptable work and the highest encouragements Friends what 's the reason that we so lose all our arguments which the Lord puts into our mouths to perswade you to more serviceable and fruitful life we open the good treasure of Heaven to you we set the unsearchable riches of Christ before your eyes and do what we can to enamour you of them thereby to allure on your lazy hearts to kindle desire to quicken to labour but nothing will do you are as slow and as heartless in your pursuit of these invisible treasures as if nothing had been told you of their worth and excellency how comes this to pass why are you 〈◊〉 yet carnal I that 's it that spiritual good things are no more taking with you your fleshly wayes your fleshly pleasures your fleshly converses and correspondencies have so kept alive and fed and fomented the carnality of your hearts that they cannot discern or taste the things of the Spirit When we are become more spiritual we shall savour and relish spiritual things and then shall we feel what attractives they will be our desires will be above our delights will be above our hearts will be lost to these carnal things we shall leave this earth to earthly minds when this mantle of flesh is fallen off and we are gotten up into the Chariots of fire then shall we ride upon the high places of the Heavens and our wings shall carry us on swiftly towards the mountains of Spices As far forth as we are become spiritual our motions upward will become natural and by how much the more natural by so much the more strong and pleasant the rougher things of Religion will be then more smooth and the hard things easie 't is this flesh that creates us difficulties when the flesh is swallowed up of Spirit difficulties shall be swallowed up of delight and then shall we go on our way rejoycing then shall we labour and abound in the work of the Lord when we shall thus taste and see that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. Lastly Follow after pleasure the Pleasure of Religion This will spring up to you out of the former branches as I have already hinted Get you such a Spirit of power and holy activity grow up to that exactness simplicity ingenuity and spirituality that you may drink of their pleasures Here I shall shew 1. That Religion hath its pleasure 2. That the pleasures of Religion are the portion of the grown Christian 3. What the particular pleasures of Religion are that we should be reaching after 1. Religion hath its pleasures You may remember I have been lashing and leading you on hitherto at least within a step or two by fear And though your fears will now in great part be left behind you I would not yet leave you That which follows will be of this use to you to encourage you to bear the rougher conduct of fear all along your younger time by that sweeter course you shall have of it when fear shall give up to love as the pleasures that comes in from the hopes of freedom doth allay and sweeten the the severities of an apprenticeship Religion hath its pleasure It hath its tartness and its trouble as you have seen already so much unpleasantness it hath in its fore view that foolish Sinners shun it and run away from it for fear They will not touch the Roses for fear of the prickles As 't is with Saints so 't is with Holiness 't is a Lilly among thorns these thorns not only hurt the Lillies but keep back the hand of the gatherers how many more than there are would be reaching after this precious flower but for fear of being scratch'd Well but whatever there be in Religion to affright it hath much more to invite us to it Her wayes are wayes of pleasantness and all her paths are peace Prov. 36.17 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thine house and thou shalt make them drink of the River of thy pleasures Psal 36.8 what and how great the pleasures of Religion are will be made appear in the third particular
same course That which hath hindred doth hinder thee that which hath deceived doth deceive and will deceive thou canst never be secure from it whilst thou continuest in this World Wherefore O my Soul since I cannot be out of danger let me never be out of fear Let Fools be secure and at rest but as for me Let me pass the time of my Sojouring here in Fear 3. Another reason why we should Fear is because of the weight and importance of that work which we have to do in the World What is our Work here wherefore are we born and live upon this Earth 'T is to serve the Lord in the saving of our Souls The Lord that made us may and does require our whole Service as there is none besides him to whom we owe our Being so is there none other to whom we owe our Service Him only shalt thou serve Mat. 4.10 And God hath so ordered the matter that we cannot better serve our selves than by serving of him this is the Work of God which he requires of us to work out our own Salvation Phil. 2.12 The best Men are the greatest self-seekers 'T is a piece of self-denyal which God never requires of any Man To neglect his own Soul God would have all Men to be saved 1 Tim. 2.4 There are two Lords that are served in the World God and the Devil The great Service that the Devil hath to be done is to destroy Souls his Name is the Destroyer Rev. 9.11 and his work is to destroy and this is it which he imposes upon all his Servants to destroy every Man his own Soul God is the Saviour so call'd Isa 45.15 and his whole work that he has to be done by his is Salvation-work Friends the first and great Service that God hath for every one of you to do is to look well to those Souls of yours to recover your selves out of the Snares of the Devil that you may obtain everlasting Salvation if you can but acquit your selves so in this World that you get safe to Heaven when you die God will say to you Well done good and faithful Servant 'T is true we have every one of us more Souls than our own to look too I not only Ministers whose special work it is but every one should do what he can to save the Souls of others but our first Service is to look to our own Souls Our Charity and so our whole care must begin at home Deut. 4.9 Take heed to thy self and keep thy Soul thine own Soul diligently As Christ sayes Luk. 16.12 He that will not be faithful in that which is anothers who shall trust him with that which is his own May we not much more say here he that is not faithful in that which is his own will be much less faithtul in that which is anothers He that serves the Devil in destroying his own Soul is not like to serve God in the saving of others Souls Well this is your work you have to do in the World To serve the Lord And this is the Service that God expects That you save your own Souls What-ever you are faithfully doing this way you are therein serving God You may be saving your Estates and therein serve the Devil you may save your Names and save your Lives and therein serve the Devil but when you are saving your Souls you are still serving the Lord. The working out of our Salvation is not only the business of our Religious Duties but of all the Actions of our whole course We are not only to Believe and Repent and Hear and Fast and Pray for our Lives but to be carrying on our Salvation-Work in every thing we do As we may say whether you Believe or Repent or Pray or Hear so also whether you Eat or Drink or whatsoever else you do do all to the Glory of God and your own Salvation Our future state whether we are for Life or for Death is not to be determined by some few of our better Deeds but by the tenour of our whole course look what thy Life is in this World so shall thy Judgment be We are here in this World upon our good behaviour for the other World and the short time we have here is all we have for Eternity our Everlasting Life or Death will be determined by this little inch of time Do in your day the Work you were sent into the World for and you live and are blessed for ever spend your time in idleness or impertinencies live in the neglect of God or your Souls let your great Work be left undone or but half-done and done deceitfully and you die without remedy die eternally And do you not yet see what cause you have to Fear If you were doing any thing of this World's Business and knew your Life lay upon it 't would make your hand shake Psal 2.11 Serve the Lord with Fear Phil. 2.12 Work out your Salvation with fear and trembling Why should we Fear why should we Trembie Why because there is so great a Work lying upon our hands What if this Work be done and well done Then you are made for ever What if you neglect or miscarry in this Work Then you are lost irrecoverably 'T is a matter of Life and Death that you are every day and hour upon how can you think such a thought without a trembling Heart What a mighty influence would this consideration have upon your Duties When you go to Pray whether in the Closet or in the Family or in the Congregation were you perswaded that your eternal state were so much concern'd in it would you not fear how you trifled in so great a Duty and would not this Fear command in all your Powers to joyn in so important a Service how would it stand at the door and keep out all those stragling thoughts that at such times use to be thrusting in Would such hasty and cursory Praying such a flat and formal Devotion which you ordinarily take up with then suffice you you would sooner sweat than sleep at Prayer your Hearts would burn within you and not freeze as they too often do Tongue-Prayers and Knee-Prayers and Eye-Prayers would be of as little account with you as they are with God all the Males in your Flock would be brought in you would not dare to offer to the Lord a corrupt thing You would take your best time and time enough you would put forth the utmost of your strength you would not make your Souls to wait the leisure of your Flesh or to take its leavings It must not then be what you can spare from the World what you can spare from your business or your pleasures that will do the turn your eating time your sleeping time your working time must be taken up this way rather than want time for God and your Souls Dost thou complain of sleepiness in Prayer of wandrings in Prayer of want of time for Prayer Think Man
fright thee out of the Fold but to fright thee into a Sheep I shall do thee no harm if I can fright thee to Heaven 2. What 's one Man's Meat may be another Man's Poison and what 's one Man's Poison may be another Man 's necessary Meat All Christians are not of a like Spirit and what 's poison for some may be proper for others Same poor broken melancholick Souls are all fears and must have Comforts preached unto them others are secure confident and yet careless Ones and these have asmuch need of terror Comforts preached to the doubting and distressed Ones may be poison to the secure and careless and yet for the sake of the distressed they must be preached and terror preached to the secure may be poison to the distressed and yet they must be preached for the securers sakes The Ministers of the Gospel must be good Stewards giving to every one their Portion Luk. 12.42 Comfort to whom comfort belongeth and fear to whom fear On some have compassion making a difference others save with fear Jude 22 23. And as Ministers must give so People must take every one their own Portions as Ministers must divide so People must apply the Word of God aright Let every Man take his own Portion and not be catching at that which is another's There is too great an aptness in the distressed to lay hold on those words that are spoken to the secure if there be ever an afrighting word in a whole Sermon that 's my Portion saith the Distressed this Word belongs to me and so the secure are too ready to lay hold on those healing and comforting words which belong to the broken and distressed both these Evils must be heedfully avoided but whether People will apply the Word of God aright or no there 's no help for it but Ministers must divide it aright and give to every one their Portion 3. There is an awaking fear that quickens to our Duty and prepares for comfort and this will lightly hurt no Body and there is a disquieting and discouraging fear that disheartens to Duty and deprives of Comfort and this will do no Body any good 4. This Fear I am preaching to you will lead you to the better and surer hope These Doubtings will be of great use to put us in the way of getting above our Doubts As there is a Confidence which will end in terror so there are Fears and Doubtings the Fruit whereof will be Quietness and Assurance for ever This will more fully appear in the next Particular wherein I am to shew 2. How this Fear will work towards a farther search Hitherto I have been endeavouring to work this Fear upon Professors Hearts concerning their States and now I shall shew how this Fear will work The Fear lest our Souls should be yet unsafe will 1. Put hard to come to a certainty And to this end will 2. Put us close upon a more narrow search 3. Put in Objections in order to the making all clear and plain 1. It will put hard to come to a certainty nothing short will satisfie it Fear hath pain in it the fearing Christian is in pain till his Doubts be resolved and this pain will press him to make sure He will be thankful for Probabilities and will make the most of them as a drowning Man will catch at every Twig that may keep his Head above Water till he can get better hold A Christian that Fears will not make nothing of Probabilities nor yet will take up with them instead of Certainties The Confident Sinner will venture all upon conjecture if his Heart do but speak him fair and tell him he is safe that shall satisfie him 'T is an amazing thing to consider what broken Reeds Fools do stay themselves upon Fear will make all as sure as it can And there is some hope in that that we ae bent upon making sure He that will not rest in uncertainties is in the fairer way to come to a certainty 2. Fear will put us on close upon the narrowest search It will not take up with Reports or Opinions but will search the Records whence it may be like to get satisfactions And there are two Books of Records that will be enquired after and look'd into the Book of the Scriptures and the Book of Conscience In one the Book of the Scriptures it will examine what are the plainest and most certain Marks of Sincerity when it hath found a Mark it will enquire May not this be also in an Hypocrite and will not pitch on any thing but that which cannot be found in any Hypocrite in the World Then it enquires into Conscience and compares the two Books together The word tells me He that is in Christ is a new-Creature 2 Cor. 5.17 He that is born of God is a Believer 1 John 5.1 Is a lover of God 1 John 4.7 He that loveth doth keep the Commandments of God and his Commandments are not grievous 1 John 5.3 The Children of God are Children that will not lye are meek merciful holy harmless The Disciples of Christ are such as deny themselves take up their Cross and follow him These and such-like are found in the Scriptures to be the signs of the Children of God And what sayest thou O my Conscience are these things found in me Where is my Faith What Love have I for God What witness to my Love in my Obedience What Truth Mercy Meekness Humility Patience is to be discerned in me Come forth O my Graces where are you Shew your selves in the light of the Sun And what can you testify O my ways for me Speak Conscience what is the life which I have lived Is it a life of Faith a life of Love and Holy Obedience If Conscience speaks in the affirmative and gives in its answer through the Grace of God I find it thus with me Then 3. Fear will make Objections and put in farther Questions It 's true he that is a New-Creature is in Christ he that believeth and loveth and obeyeth the Lord is born of God and I find that there is something in me that looks like the New-Creature that looks like Faith and Love c. But may not all these be but the Images of Grace Is my Faith the very Faith of God's Elect Do I love the Lord Jesus in sincerity do I obey from the heart that form of Doctrine that is delivered to me May there not be as great a change upon an Hypocrite may not Hypocrites believe and love and obey as far as ever I have done And until the matter be brought to this issue that there is something found such a Faith such a Love such Holy Obedience as cannot be found in Hypocrites till then this Fear which will ever suspect the worst will nor give over but still will come on with question upon question How shall I know my Faith is right and how shall I prove my Love and Obedience to be sincere I am
have respect unto all thy Commandements Then shall I not be ashamed that is then shall I be upright in the way and have boldness both before God and Men when I shall have respect that is when it is in mine heart to do thy whole will without giving my self leave to turn aside either to the right hand or the left He that Lives in the neglect of the acts of worship that prayes not and hears not he that neglects the general duties that sets not himself to seek the Kingdom of God to work out his own Salvation to walk as becometh the Gospel but takes up with a careless carnal worldly sloathful life whether he finds he allows himself in these great neglects or thinks he does not though his heart smites him and will not suffer him to be quiet or go out with such a life in peace the very neglect or not engaging in these great and most necessary duties does prove him an ungodly man and 't will not help this man to say I allow not my self in these neglects for where-ever there is grace there will be praying and hearing and something done towards the working out our Salvation 'T will never be found any man's godliness that he allows not himself to live thus ungodlily when yet he does it Though he gives not himself a deliberate toleration if yet his heart take leave to live thus without God in the world his wayes will betray him whose and what he is Yea and those that do something in those great and general duties yet if they allow themselves in the neglect of any particular duties that they know to be such in the neglect of Righteousness in the neglect of Mercy in the neglect of their Families and the duties they owe to them in the neglect of Neighbour or Strangers and the duties they owe to them and can wink at and dispense with themselves herein such men can never prove but their Religion is vain Art thou a Godly man who art an unrighteous and unmerciful man Art thou a good Christian who art no good Husband Art thou a good Woman who art an evil Wife Art thou a good Man who art a bad Neighbour and givest thy self leave to be so Art thou a Godly man whom halting after the Lord must serve thee instead of walking with God Art thou a follower of Christ who wilt have him abate thee some of his demands abate thee truth abate thee mercy abate thee self-denyal or if he will not abate it to thee any thing that thou likest not thou wilt abate it to him Is this to be undefiled or entire in the way of the Lord will God call that uprightness which cannot be called integrity and that sure cannot be counted integrity which advisedly leaves out any one of the Commandements of God But now he that gives himself to Prayer Hearing and praising the Lord who makes it the scope and business of his life to please God and make sure for eternity studying and endeavouring to approve himself in every thing to him who searcheth the heart and tryeth the reins and to keep himself unspotted of the world this is a Godly man this is Religion indeed Though through infirmity in many things he fall short he prayes but is sick of his praying he hears but is asham'd to think how he hears his Spirit is so often clouded and clog'd with corruptions and infirmities that he can feel no life nor take any comfort in any thing he does though by the power of corruption and temptation he be at times put besides praying and other duties and be sometimes found in the field when he should have been in his Closet in the Market when he should have been at Church though he find his heart too often running off from his work and slinking away after his earthly businesses and gaines and the vigorous prosecution of his design for heaven be sometimes intermitted though he sometimes fail in the ruling of his spirit in the governing of his thoughts and passions and hereupon be surprised by fits of pride or of anger or impatience the more it is thus the more doubtful will he unavoidably be touching his state and therefore dread to let thy lusts get head or take incouragement from their word yet if the bent of his heart and his course be towards the Lord and his intention and indeavour be to fulfil after him not indulging but judging himself for all his failings and striving within himself to stand compleat in all the will of God this man is a godly man and because he will not pardon himself God will certainly pardon and overlook all his infirmities and failings and graciously accept him in Christ Jesus to whom be glory for ever amen Now brethren to gather up all that hath been said for I would not have you to try by one but by all three marks laid down and so to bring this trial to an issue That soul that hath deliberately and absolutely chosen the Lord for his portion resolving to stand to his choice and not to change for ever that makes it the business of his life to pursue his choice and counts it the onely happiness of his life to serve and enjoy that God whom he hath chosen and for his sake is willing to suffer the losse of all things that so heartily approves of Christ and his Gospel that he accepts and adventures his soul and his hopes upon him alone that hath so dedicated himself and given up both the right and the possession of himself to him that he accounts himself no longer his own but is a servant and follower of Christ in righteousness and holiness of life heartily resolving and endeavouring never to allow himself in any known sin nor in the neglect of any known duty though his weaknesses be great his falls and failings be many this man is beyond all question a sincere godly man Doest thou yet fear whether thou be the man let that fear set thee a searching once and once again let it follow thee into thine heart and through all thy wayes let it lay thee in the ballance and compare thee with this pourtraicture of a godly man which is now set before thee if this will not serve to quiet and satisfie thee I know no more to say to thee but that thou diligently set thy self by increasing in the grace of God and outgrowing thy sinful weaknesses and failings to outgrow thy fears and thy doubts And when at length thou art come to a clear judgment that this is thy case then Son be of good comfort thy sins are forgiven thee if God have ever a child if there be ever an heir of the Kingdom of heaven in the world thou art one If thou be not mistaken in thy self but this be a true character of thee I am mistaken in the Gospel if thou be not a Godly and a blessed man Thou hast sincerely chosen the Lord and that 's a sure sign that
heavenward to be as swimming against the stream but by how much the more grace hath over-powred nature by so much the more he hath now gotten the stream with him his following God is now become as swimming down the stream of that new nature which hath now gotten so much the better in him One of the hardest works of a Christian is Self-denyal to lay down our own wills to curb our appetites to go cross to our own dispositions interests and humours this goes near at first and will hardly be born but after we have us'd our selves a while to it and by degrees inur'd our wills to submission to the will of Christ and holding the bridle strait upon lust and appetite have made our hearts to feel themselves to be under authority a chearful and contented subjection will in time become habitual to us the more self-denyal we have exercised the less will there be afterwards needed He that hath been given to intemperance to gluttony or drunkenness at his first laying a restraint upon himself what a bondage is sobriety and temperance to him but after he hath used himself to a temperate life he finds it more sweet and easie to him and is better pleas'd with it than ever he was with his former excess and scarcely knows now what 't is to lust after his old licentiousness Now Brethren that which I would perswade you to is Make your Religion pleasant by making it easie to you make your Religion easie not by halfing your work or remitting your care but by increasing your strength and your diligence get your hearts strengthened and get them habituated to Religion this will make it easie and ease will make it pleasant What 's the reason that we see some Sinners go on with so much pleasure in their wicked wayes the service of sin is laborious enough and in some respects much more toilsome and expensive than the Service of Christ They have many Masters to serve and every one of them will be calling them to work they have the Devil to serve and the World to serve and divers lusts to serve they are like a servant of men who is at the command of more Masters than one one calls him this way another that way one hath this to be done another that to be done so that for one and another the poor Servant can never be at rest such is the case of Sinners their pride calls them one way their covetousness another their sensuality another their Souls are made meer Hackneys of though they change their rider yet one or other is still upon their backs And yet we see how roundly and merrily they go on their way without ever complaining of their Masters or their work When do you ever hear any such complaints among them O this Devil is an hard Master O this flesh of mine what a Tyrant is it O this feasting and sporting this drinking and rioting what an irksome Trade is it O this getting of Money this laying house to house and field to field I am quite weary of it When do you hear any such groanings or complainings amongst them No no they are strong Sinners they are accustomed to do wickedly and thereupon as very a drudgery as the service of Sin is they can go through it with ease and pleasure Friends get you to be strong in the Lord and you will run your race of duty with much more pleasure than sinners run their course of iniquity hold you close to your work a while and you will get to Heaven with as much ease as Sinners go to Hell O what fools are loytering trifling Christians who think to make their life easie by idleness what 's the reason that thou haltest thus after the Lord and art so slothful in thy way why dost thou not set thine heart and thy shoulders to the work of the Lord and give thy self in good earnest and wholly to it O I can't endure all labour all difficulty I must have a little ease 't is too tedious and painful to me to hold to such close and constant service But dost thou think to make thy work easie by trifling at it Foolish Soul thou takest the ready way to create thee the more difficulty once the work must be done or thou art undone and there 's no such way to do it easily as by doing it diligently the life of a trifler is the hardest life of all that profess themselves Christians doubtless Christ's yoke will sit easiest upon those necks upon which it sits the closest 4. The pleasure of Love He that hath not felt pleasures in love hath not felt what 't is to love This is one of the great pleasures of Heaven to love and to be beloved to receive the over-flowings of the divine love and to feel our hearts emptying themselves and flowing forth in returns of love to God Look how much you have of love so much of Heaven of the joy that is above 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love what follows Ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Joh. 4.16 God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and he that dwelleth in God dwelleth in joy Psal 37.4 Delight thy self in the Lord to love God and to delight in God are much the same love is the bud and delight is the blossome that grows out of it Love hath a pleasure in it and the love of God will put a pleasure into all Religion How amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts Psal 84.1 It is good for me to draw near to God Psal 73.28 I delight to do thy will O my God Psal 40.8 Sing praises to his name for it is pleasant Psal 135.3 It is a pleasant thing for him that loves to please and praise the Lord It is good before the Saints Psal 52.9 Fear often brings us upon Service but 't is love that sweetens it fear brings us on especially in the dayes of our minority and it should do so as I have already shewed if love will not fear must We often pray and read and hear and search our hearts and look to our wayes because we dare do no other we strive and wrestle and watch against sin and its lusts against the world and its temptations because we are afraid what would become of us if we should not 'T is well that any thing will do either love or hope or fear whatever it be that will bring us upon our duty that will keep us from iniquity 't is well that something will do it 'T is better to pray because we are afraid to neglect it than not to pray at all 't is better to keep a good Conscience because we are afraid of an evil Conscience than to be licentious whatever it be that brings us upon a consciencious life better so than to be let alone to carnality and looseness But yet still 't is love that sweetens and thereby strikes the great and
most kindly stroke in all Religion Fear brings us to Religion as to our Physick the sick man hath no love to Physick but yet he will take it rather than dye Love brings us to it as to our food 't is our meat and drink to do the will of God eating and drinking to the hungry and thirsty are some of the great pleasures of life Duties are the meat of Holy Souls and they come unto them with as great desire and are conversant in them with as great delight as hungry bodies come to and sit at their meals Cant. 2.3 I sate down under his shadow and his fruit was sweet to my taste Weak believers are like sickly men neither Physick nor food will relish with them they must eat for necessity they cannot live without something of Religion but were it not for necessity they could almost as well let it all alone 'T is well that necessity will prevail but whilest they are thus forced on how heavily do they drive and how little must suffice them too often they come on to their duties like bears to the stake and go off from them as the Oxe from under the yoke But when thou lovest thy soul will enlarge and reach forth with desire even after the highest pitch of Godliness and thou wilt go freely and chearfully on in all the exercises of it Thou wilt not then say may not less serve thou wilt not say may not less duty serve because thou canst not say may not less pleasure serve Every one would have as much pleasure as he can and therefore would'st thou have as much holiness as thou canst the more holy the more pleasure If thou lovest thou wilt not be for short Duties short Prayers short Sermons little snatches at Religion thou wilt not be so soon weary at thy work when are men weary of pleasure when do they use to say I have pleasant hours enough sunshine dayes enough O that my good dayes were over once O that my dayes of darkness would come and the years draw nigh wherein I might say I have no pleasure in them Every one is willing to live in delights as much and as long as he can when once we can say the Lord is my delight the next word will be Let me dwell in the presence of God for ever Christians let our Souls take the wing and mount up towards this blessed state O how short do the most of us fall we have much ground to go e're we shall get up to it How is it with us in our secret converses with God are we glad when our retiring hours draw near when we enter into our Closets to meet with our beloved do we there use to solace our selves with love Is praying and praising our pleasure is communing with God and with our own hearts a delight do our hearts use to say It 's good for me to be here And how is it with us in our ordinary course what is the joy of our life Is this it that our life is a walking with God have we no good dayes but our holy-dayes are we never well but when we can see and serve the Lord and never amiss while we are so doing do we not only judge but feel that intimacy and familiarity in Heaven is our only Heaven on earth Lord how seldom Lord how little is it thus with us But may we not obtain Is not such a blessed state worth our putting in for it Are you willing friends to keep you alwayes at this distance from your delight Is it enough that you have some hopes for hereafter are you content that your souls should never taste of your joyes here shall they still dwell in exile while they dwell on earth shall they never put off the garments of their widowhood till they put off their clothing of flesh Are you content to take up yet longer with this dark and disconsolate state Is the drudgery of Religion this sighing and mourning and striving against the stream and going on so poor and hungry and hard bestead Is this Religion enough for you would you be glad to be more cheary and lively in your way would you taste the milk and the honey the marrow and the fatness would you ride on with free spirits and full sails triumphing over difficulties and rejoycing in hope of the glory of God would you that these rough wayes were become a plain and these dark shades were all sun-shine would you feed in the green pastures and be led by the still waters and be made to drink of that River that makes glad the City of God Then put you on be no longer smatterers and pidlers dwell no longer on the shoar or surface of Religion but hoyse up all your sails and launch forth into the deep get you into the heart and inside of Christianity where the Lord will shew you his loves Be not satisfyed with some few glances or little touches but get you possessed and swallowed up of the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and this will be to you both the wine that will make glad your hearts and the oyle that will make all your wheels to run then shall you run the way of Gods Commandements when the pleasure of Love shall enlarge your hearts FINIS