weakness of our sight is helped out by Faith Faith helps us to see with God's Eyes it looks on all things as God looks on them The Lord hath told us what he sees in Sin what a Snare it is what a Serpent it is what a Plague it is and what a Womb it is big with all manner of Miseries and Mischiefs which it's bringing forth upon us God's Mouth is Eyes to Faith by Faith we understand that it is even as it hath been told us of the Lord. Faith helps us to a present view of Sin and to a foresight of all that is behind of all those Floods that this Serpent is casting out of his Mouth to devour the Soul that Woe and that Wrath it's bringing upon Sinners both here and hereafter Future Evils that depend not necessarily on certain Causes are no otherwise clearly to be discerned but by the Eye of Faith And from this Faith this Fear arises as the Apostle 2 Cor. 4.13 We have believed and therefore have we spoken so may it also be said We have believed and therefore fear Heb. 11.7 By Faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet was moved with Fear Sinner art thou yet secure is the Evil of Sin yet unseen by thee and thereupon is it but a light thing to thee Canst thou make a mock of Sin Canst thou make a sport of Sin canst thou take thy rest in Sin and make a Tush at that Wrath that Sin is bringing upon thee Believe God What is it that the Lord hath spoken of it God sayes It is an evil and bitter thing Jer. 2.19 A Root bearing Gall and Wormwood Deut. 29.18 Like that Star which fell from Heaven Rev. 8.11 whose Name was Wormwood and which turned the Waters into Wormwood of which Men died because they were so bitter God says It is an heavy thing which hath brought the whole Creation into Bondage under which it groaneth and travelleth in pain Rom. 8.22 God sayes The Soul that sinneth shall die Ezek. 18.20 Though the Devil sayes He shall not die though Mens hearts say It is a matter of nothing and because it is a common thing count it but a very small thing and can flout at others Fears Yet God sayes They are Fools that make a mock of Sin Prov. 14 19. And God sayes thus not only concerning some particular Sins the most notorious and those of the deepest die Murthers Adulteries Blasphemies the World will say the same of these He that doth such things is worthy of death But God speaks it of Sin in Specie the whole kind of it little or great the least sinful words even vain words the least sinful thoughts yea even of Sin in semine the inward brood and spawn of Sin that lies in the heart the evil dispositions and inclinations of the Soul which have not broken forth into Act the word is general Rom. 6.23 The wages of Sin is Death Believe God believe and tremble 3. There is Love in it This Fear hath love lying in the bottom of it from whence it arises both the love of God and goodness and that natural and innocent self-self-love which God hath planted in us and it is not our Sin but our Duty to maintain There is a Fear concerning which the Apostle saith 1 John 4.18 Perfect Love casteth out Fear but of this it may be said sincere Love worketh Fear Fear is Love's Servant whose Office it is to preserve what and whom we love from being offended hurt or lost He that loves will fear to lose or grieve what and whom he loves Dost thou love God thou wilt fear how thou displease or offend God Dost thou love thy Soul thou wilt fear to lose it As in good things temporal Dost thou love thy Friend thou wilt fear to disoblige him Dost thou love thine Estate or thy Name or thy Health thou wilt fear what-ever may prejudice thee in them So in good things Spiritual our Love will set our Fear to be a guard about them It cannot be but where there 's Love and an hazard of losing what we love there will be Fear Sinners are without Fear about the Matters of God and of their Souls Tell them of losing God they fear it not Why so Why if they do they love not God so well but they can spare him well enough Tell them of the danger of displeasing and offending God It moves them not they bear him no such good will as to fear to grieve him An upright and honest Heart and a good Conscience they have no such regard to it as thence to be withdrawn from any course that may hinder or deprive them of it 'T is to little purpose to reason thus with them Take heed of Sin 't will rob thee of thy God 't will defile thy Conscience 't will disgrace thy Profession 't will break thy Peace This hath little weight with them nor ever will till they have more love for Spiritual Things 'T will hardly move them to tell them your Souls will be lost farewel to all your hopes of everlasting Life if you take not heed of Sin they love their Lusts better than their Souls They love this World they love their Money and their Ease and their Carnal Liberty and hereby it appears they do they are afraid of whatever may prejudice them in these things In times of Persecution for Righteousness-sake they Fear Religion as the Devil they Fear Holiness more than Hell they dare not be Godly for fear their Righteousness should be their ruine Our Love sets all our Affections on work What we love if it be absent we desire it if it be possible to be had we hope for it if we have it we joy if we lose it we grieve if we be in danger of losing it we Fear Friend Thou sayest thou lovest God thy Soul a good Conscience what and in such daily danger of losing all and yet art not afraid Thou sayest thou lovest not the World thou hast an Estate in the World and art eagerly hunting after more and wilt make any shift thou canst to secure and increase it but yet thou hopest thou dost not set thy heart upon it But why then art thou so often in Fears Thou art afraid of Christ afraid of Conscience thou dar'st not be an open Disciple a bold Professor because thou knowest not what it may cost thee and dost thou yet say thou lovest not the World Thy fear Man of what thou thinkest will prejudice thy worldly Interest this Fear is a sign thou lovest The Saints Fear Sin yea and all temptations to it Why so O 't is because they love their God and their Souls 4. There is in it an aversation from evil both from Sin and all the Fruits of Sin The three former Particulars are the causes of this Fear but this is in the Nature of it The Understanding discovers sin 1. To be an Evil a corruptive Evil that will defile and pollute
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
Hearts deceive them Sometimes even by the Good that is in them The Heart of Man can make a Snare of every Creature Condition Relation or Comfort can make a Net for Souls of the coursest or of the finest Thred can undo them by their Friends and by their Enemies by their Prosperities and by their Adversities by their Sins and their Rigthousness Where-withal may this Man be enticed to Sin to neglect Christ and his Soul Some Mens Hearts find that a Harlot will do it others that a drunken Companion will do it others that nothing but Gold and Silver will do it others that applause will do it some that Idleness others that Business some that Friends others that Enemies some that Prosperity others that Affliction will be the likeliest Temptations and accordingly it manages its deceiving work Our Hearts can deceive us by the best we have by our Vertues by our Duties by our Priviledges and this is often the most dangerous deceit The more generous the Wine in which thou receivest thy Poison the more deadly the Potion Some Hypocrites Hearts tell them they are sincere But how can they make them believe it Why if the Heart may not be believed for its own word the Word of God must be brought to witness this lye Doth not the Scriptures say Rom. 10.9 If thou confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thy Heart that God raised him from the Dead thou shalt be saved And do not I believe the Resurrection of Christ from the Dead Do not I confess and acknowledg it I be ieve it with all mine Heart I confess it before all the World and therefore without doubt I am in a state of Salvation If this will not do but the Heart perceives there must be more in that belief than a notional Assent there must be more in that Confession than a verbal Acknowledgment than its Virtues and Duties and Priviledges its Prayers and Hearings and Alms its Sobriety and Temperance its keeping of Sabbaths and attending upon Ordinances must all be call'd forth to testifie Am not I of God Am not I in Christ Let my Prayers speak let mine Alms speak let my Temperance let my Patience let my Sabbaths speak whose I am I keep the Sabbath whilst others pollute it I hear whilst others forbear I pray and fast whilst others neglect both and therefore sure it must be well with me when yet it may be the Man is ignorant of the Spirit and a secret Enemy against the Power and Purity of Religion all the while I might multiply Instances of the several sorts of the Heart's deceivings and shew that there is nothing but in some way or other may be made use of to beguile us 3. Of what may our Hearts deceive us Even of all we have Of what did our first Parents Hearts deceive them Of their Portion in God and their place in Paradise Of what did Esau's Heart deceive him Of his Birth-right and the Blessing Of what did Sampson's Heart deceive him Of his Locks and of his Life Of what did that Fool 's Heart deceive him Luke 12.20 Of his Soul Isa 44.20 A deceived Heart hath turned him aside so that he cannot deliver his Soul You that believe your selves Saints are apt to think that what-ever you be deceived of yet your Souls are safe and therefore that you have no such need to Fear as other Men. But it may be you may be deceived in this and this very confidence That thy Soul is safe may prove its eternal loss But if you should come off at last with the Salvation of your Souls yet how many desperate hazards do you run of losing them by hearkning to these evil Hearts How much of your time do they steal away which was given you for the working out your Salvation How many Duties have they lost you how many Ordinances have they lost you which the Interest of your Souls could ill have spar'd What a dead and dark and carnal and loose Spirit hast thou sometimes been bewitched into wherein God hath been laid by Soul hath been forgotten Conscience hath been laid a-sleep and all care about the things of God hath been swallowed up of the cares of this Life Is it nothing to thee to be in such a case Doth it not grieve thee to think whither thou art fallen and art thou not afraid what the issue may be whether ever thy Soul may be lifted up out of this Pit whereinto it is sunk so deep in mud and mire But if thou should'st be ask'd now Friend how camest thou in hither who hath led thee into this Dirt who hath cast thee into this Pit May be thou wilt be ready to answer as Eve did The Serpent beguiled me in or as Adam did The Woman deceived me in thou wilt find some else to father thy Faults upon the Devil deceived me into this case the World deceived me in evil Company deceived me in Like enough they did But what could they all have done if thine Heart had not joyned with them The hand of Joab is in all this thine Heart is the Joab that hath dealt this subtilly and deceitfully with thee 1 Kings 22.20 Who will perswade Ahab saith the Lord that be may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead I will go saith the Devil I will perswade him But where-with wilt thou perswade him I will be a lying Spirit in the Mouth of his Prophets Go up and prosper go up and prosper that shall be the word that shall do it There 's no fear of falling at Ramoth thou shalt prevail against thine Enemies and return a Conqueror If it shall be said in like manner who shall perswade this foolish Man to go on his evil wayes that he may fall and perish I will go sayes his Heart presently I 'le be the Devil to perswade him But wherewith wilt thou perswade him O I 'le be a lying Spirit within him I 'le make him believe he shall prosper and have peace in his way he shall not fall nor shall hurt come unto him Go sayes God to the Devil and take heed he sayes not so to that false Heart of thine Go thou shalt perswade and thou shalt prevail Thou shalt intice this idle Person thou shalt harden this vain or this careless Person and he shall hearken to thee he shall follow thee till he fall and perish Christians we have every one of us such an Heart as this that is too ready to go upon such a wretched Errand Have we not suffered much by it's treachery Hath it not often trip'd up our heels or turned us out of our way Hath it not betray'd us out of our Refuge and led us aside after lying vanities Though Grace hath been some security to us against it yet hath it not often been too hard for all the Grace we have Who is there of us that dares stand forth and say My Heart I hope is no such heart It is better than
to deal thus with me I dare trust it it is a plain and honest heart there 's no deceit or guile found in it Is there ever a one of you that dare say thus What complaints are there every-where heard against it even amongst the best of Christians But O what do Sinners hearts deceive them of What a price is there in Sinners hands if they had an heart to it There 's the Blessed Gospel before them exhibiting Christ and Pardon and Life to them they have the Scriptures before them they have Sabbaths and Ordinances amongst them but behold they can make nothing of them The Gospel is opened and yet it is hid from them Christ is preached but 't is not accepted by them they can live ander the preaching of the Word be conversant at Prayers Fasts Sacraments a whole Age together and get nothing by them they can dwell by the Wells of Salvation and get not one drop of Water live by the richest Mines and get not a dust of Silver walk in the Sun-beams and see never a gleam of Light come into the Store-houses and yet starve for want of Bread can get neither Grace nor Knowledg but remain blind and dead under all that Light that hath shined unto them But how is it Sinner that it 's thus with thee Whom hast thou to blame but thine own Heart This hath been telling thee either that thou hast no need of Christ or his Grace or that thou hast time enough before thee or else hath diverted thee from giving heed to the Word of Life by finding thee so much other work to do and hereby thou seest how it hath left thee It hath hitherto lost thee a Christ lost thee a Gospel lost thee Sabbaths and Ordinances and is just losing thee thy Soul This Heart is it that would not suffer thee when thou hast been commanded to accept of Christ or deliver thy self up to him Any else that comes to demand it thy Soul is presently delivered up Let Lust come and require Deliver up thy Soul to me Let thy Companions come and demand Deliver up thy self to us Let the World or let the Devil demand Deliver up thy Soul to me let me have the rule and the government of it and up thou resignest it presently any but Christ may have thee for asking Will the Men of Keilah deliver me up said David once 1 Sam. 23.11 Will they Lord or may I trust my self with them Trust them not sayes God they will deliver thee up Dost thou ask will mine Heart deliver me up deliver me up to Lust or to the World or the snares of the Devil or may I trust it Trust it not it will deliver thee up But to Christ it will not deliver thee up It will be telling thee that Christ is an austere Man and thou shalt find him an hard Master 't will shew thee the Yoke and the Cross How severe is his Government how short his Allowance how hard will be the usage thou must expect of him or for his sake And thereupon it will suggest how much it doth befriend thee in refusing to deliver thee up to him It will never tell thee of thy need of Christ of the gain that will come in by him thou must not be suffered so much as to think of that if thou turn aside at any time to commune with him or to look within the Vail where his Treasures lie it calls thee off presently or throws in the World its Cares or its pleasures upon thee to thrust out and turn thee aside from all such thoughts lest he should gain thy consent and good liking Thus thine Heart hath serv'd thee all thy dayes so that hitherto thou wilt none of Christ and thus 't is like to serve thee to the end of thy dayes till there be no Christ nor Mercy nor Salvation to be had for ever And thus have I given you a short hint of the deceitfulness of the Heart and is not such an Heart to be feared Is such an Heart to be trusted an Heart that will deceive you about every thing that you are concern'd to mind about matters past present and to come that will neither let you consider what you have done nor know what you are nor think what 's like to become of you herafter that will deceive you by every thing you have to do withal that can make every Relation every Companion every Condition every Comfort every Cross every Creature a Gin and a Trap to take your Souls that will deceive you of all that ever you have that like those Locusts and Caterpillars the Plagues of Egypt will not leave any green thing in you that will deceive you of your selves of your lives of that Christ of that Gospel which is all you have for Eternity that will lie at you every day every hour as Delilah at Sampson to betray you into the hands of the Philistines and cast you into the eternal Prison Have you such an Heart have every one of you such an Heart have you prov'd by so long experience what mischief it hath done you already and yet not afraid O Christians let us get more acquaintance with these Hearts of ours if we do not fear them 't is because we know them no better Let us observe them daily at their work what colours and fair pretences they have to palliate and lead unto Sin what shifts and excuses they make for the neglect of Duty what delayes and puttings off from the minding our necessary and most weighty concerns and what wiles and devices they have to lull us and hold us fast asleep whilst our opportunities of obtaining Mercy steal by us and are lost Know this Heart of thine more thorowly and then tell me if thou dost not fear it If there be an Absalom in the Court a Sheba in the City a Judas in the Company a Thief in the House is there not cause of fear Thou hast a Judas in thy Breast a Thief in thy Bosom thou hast not an Heart within thee if thou hast not a mortal Enemy that seeks thy life As I said before so I say again Study and observe your Hearts more believe the Truth of what hath been said or if you will not believe your Ears believe your own Eyes believe your Experiences and Observations if you have been so wise as to make any Observations upon your selves Indeed that 's the reason why we are so hard to believe our Hearts are so bad because we have no more observed them Have you observed have you considered how they have dealt with you Who is it that hath kept you back from Christ and short of the Grace of God or at least Who is it that hath kept you so low and so barren and such aa ill Steward of that Grace which you have received has not thine own Heart had the great hand in it Be not deceived it is the same Heart still and is like to take the
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
you say The time that I spend thus I can spare from my Soul that care 's taken already Christ is sure Heaven is sure to me Now for the flesh and mine ease and my pleasure now for this present World I have done enough for that to come Or else will you say These dayes of my Vanity and Earthliness will I hope be left out of my Reckoning my Prayers and my Alms the good that I have done is so much that my evil Deeds and Dayes will be over look'd and past by But must not every Day must not every Work be brought to Judgment Doth not the Righteous and All-seeing God book down all Is not the Sin of Judah written as well as their Tears and Duties Is not every thing noted in his Book And must not all things that are written therein be read in that day Canst thou look on this and not fear continually every day 1 Pet. 1.17 If ye call on the Father who without respect of Persons judgeth according to every Man's Work pass the time of your sojourning here in Fear If you had to do with a God that would never call you to a Reckoning whether you serv'd him or not or how much or how little you serv'd him or whom else you serv'd besides him if you had to do only with such a God the matter were not then so much how you liv'd and spent your time But if ye call on the Father if you serve such a God who will reckon with every one of you and for every thing you have done you had need look better to it Pass the time the whole time of your Sojourning here in Fear Beloved if your own Souls were not so highly concern'd yet this Consideration That the Work of your Lives is to serve the Lord would work you to Fear If you were upon some Service for a Prince or a great Man of the Earth suppose it were but to make him a Garment would you not fear how you sullied it or bungled upon it Or if it were but to keep his Garden would you not fear how you let it run to ruine What is this God whom you serve Is he not a great God the King of all the Earth Is he not an Holy God and a Jealous God that looks to be sanctified and to be the Fear and the Dread of all those that serve him Isa 8.23 The Service of God is often exprest in Scripture by fearing of God Cornelius Acts 10.2 was said to be a Man fearing God that is the same as a Man that served the Lord And the Apostle exhorts Heb. 12.28 That we have Grace in our Hearts whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly Fear Thou servest the Lord but wouldst thou that thy Service be accepted with God Then serve him with Fear Therefore to the end to hold this Fear upon you I shall add this Counsel Through your whole course and all the parts of it carry this express Notion upon your Hearts That you are serving the Lord in all that you do Do all you do as the Servants of the Lord and look on every Duty as the serving of him What the Apostle requires of the Servants of Men is the Duty of every one of the Servants of God Col. 3.23 24. What-ever you do do it heartily as unto the Lord for ye serve the Lord Christ When you go to pray think with your selves this is a Duty which I ow to God I am going into my Closet upon a Service I have to do for God there When you give an Alms or when you teach or instruct your Families think with your selves these are Services which I have to perform not only to my poor Brethren to my ignorant Family but I ow them to the Lord and to him I will perform them I have a Service to do for God amongst the Poor I have a Service to do for God in my Family God hath bid me Feed the one and Teach the other and to whomsoever I do it I 'le do it as unto the Lord. And in like manner in all the matters of your Life in the ordering of your whole Conversation let this be still in your Eye and upon your Heart God hath sent me forth as his Servant into the World I have no business here but for the most High I am born for him I am fed I am clothed I live for him all that ever I have are the Talents of my Lotd committed to me to use and improve for him I am Debtor to no other I am Servant to none else what-ever goes out any other way this is no less than unfaithfulness to him whose I am and now I go bound for him for his pleasure I was made and to him I am devoted this Life of mine and every day of it and every breath of it I consecrate to the Lord his Servant I am and 't is no Work for me that I cannot call serving the Lord. What would such a Sentiment upon the Heart bring forth What care yea what watchfulness yea what fear would it produce What shall I serve the Lord with that which cost me nothing Shall cheap-Service and easie-Service and lazy-Service and eye-Service be all that the Lord God shall have of me I dare not serve my Governour so and how will my God take it But what shall I divide my Service betwixt the Lord and any other Master shall my Flesh be serv'd shall my Pride be serv'd shall my Covetousness shall Men be serv'd shall this Heart or this Time or this Estate be divided betwixt the Lord and them How if the Lord find me in another Field in another House or upon other Work than whither he sent and appointed me How if he find any of his Talents wasted his Goods conveyed away to another Master how will he bear it Yea how shall I bear it Art thou not afraid O my Soul how this will be born and what a Reckoning thou mayest be brought to for it O let me fear to be such an evil Servant that I may not fear the evil Servant's doom let me continually fear every day that I may prevent the fear of the Reckoning-Day Such a standing Impression would this Notion of our being engaged in Service for God kept constantly upon the Heart produce This Notion mingled with all our Thoughts Duties and Wayes and the Holy Fear it will bring forth will not only hold us to constant Service but will put us upon the highest and best Service What is the Lord whom I serve Is he not one who looks for all I have and is he not worthy of all I have What an honour is it to be the Servant of God and what a terror to be none of that number He is the best Master he is worthy he is worthy of the very best I have Fear and be ashamed O my Soul to put him off with any thing that is not worthy of him What will an
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
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
thine heart that canst so easily keep it within O what wonders are sluggish Christians Life without motion Fires that burn not Suns standing still Souls condens'd into the gravity of Carkasses the winged Spirits become as the creeping things of the earth when shall these immortal sparks recover and come to themselves Christians be impatient with these your slothful hearts let there be no sleep in your eyes till your sleepy Souls be awakened Be asham'd that you who talk what God hath done for you should have no more to say of what you have done or are ready to do for him Set every wheel in motion and thereby fit them for more easie motion let them stand no longer still fear lest your rust should eat out all your strength Be henceforth for an active life bethink the time that hath been run out in sleep and now awaken and begin to live in good earnest 3. Severity or strict and painful holding our selves to our rule Christians must be men of action but they must not act wildly or loosely and at all adventures but their actions must be regular they must be punctual and strict to their rule Christ's commands some of them are hard sayings and will put the flesh hard to it but whatever they be they must be submitted to Matth. 28.20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you As Christ is severe in his impositions upon us so Christians must be severe in their impositions upon themselves and must not abate to themselves a title of their hardest duty Christians must be rigid to be rigid in the way of any party of them that are or that call themselves Christians is an evil A rigid Presbyterian a rigid Independent or Anabaptist are such in the wrong of their brethren but it is a duty and an excellency to be a strict and rigid Christian provided that our rigor be more to our selves and to our own flesh than to all the world besides Now to bring you to this Severity let me exhort you to these three things 1. Fear to be offended at the severities of Religion 2. Fear to baulk any thing of the severities of Religion 3. That you may not fear the severities of Religion fear the severity of Christ against Irreligion 1. Fear to be offended at the severities of Religion Blessed is he that shall not be offended in me Matth. 11.6 The fear of Christian strictness is that which keeps back many a Soul from Christ A Christian who that understands what 't is to be a Christian will ever be able to bear it 'T is too hard service for me to yield my self to to put my self under such a Law as ties me up so short from all that mine heart desires and holds me so close to things so contrary to me how can I endure it The attempting an universal change of the scope the customs the pleasures and the whole way of my life how grievous are the thoughts hereof the matter of my design the nature of my work the temper of my society to whom I must joyn my self being all spiritual and heavenly how contrary are they to me The forsaking my Friends and Companions the abandoning my pleasures the bounding my liberty the bridling mine Appetite and Passions the laying a law upon my senses the watching every word of my mouth and every thought of mine heart the holding my self on by line and by rule in a way of constant painfull duty without any allowance of the least turning aside to the right hand or the left no though it were to the saving of my life who can with patience think of it All these things are against me How many Souls have there been in the World whom such forethoughts of Christianity have kept back from Christ and held under the power of the Devil But though it doth not prevail thus far upon thee thou wilt adventure after Christ however though thou dost not say in thine heart this yoke is not to be born and so throw it away yet possibly thou mayst say 't is hard to be born and think much of it that less might not suffice Thou wilt yield to it in the general but too often when it comes to be a Case that thou thy self art put harder than ordinary to it thy flesh flings and throwes and murmurs and thou art for the time ready to bethink and repent of thy Christianity Hath it never been thus with thee Fear lest it should and still remember Blessed is he that shall not be offended in me That is not so only as not to renounce me but not so much as to complain or groan or drive heavily under me Good is the Word of the Lord that 's a word becoming the heart and tongue of a Disciple 2. Fear to baulk any of the severities of Religion 'T is one thing to say even in the heart Good is the Word of the Lord and another thing to submit chearfully to it when it comes to the pinch By severity I mean not unreasonable roughness or rigour to our selves the unnecessary afflicting or macerating our bodies by self-whippings and scourgings or Penances going barefoot or in sordid and vile raiment as 't is used in the Church of Rome but by severity I mean strictness and exactness to our Rule whatever pain or prejudice it may cost us or expose us to Our holding our selves closely to every duty in special to those harder duties of self-denyal and mortification the taming of our flesh the beating down our bodies and bringing them in subjection by temperance and necessary abstinence those ungratefull duties admonishing reproving withdrawing from offenders and whatsoever else our Lord hath imposed upon us Particularly there is 1. Severity in imposing upon our selves when we are not partial in the Law taking only Christs easier words and leaving out the harder but do charge our whole duty upon our selves and when we do not deal too gently or remissely with our selves onely telling our hearts this is thy duty and it would be good for thee to observe it but do deal more closely and charge it home See to it O my Soul that thou keep the charge of the Lord It must be done dare not for thy life to favour thy self or spare thy flesh by neglecting thy duty 2. Severity in observing and performing our whole Duty When we are not onely not like the Scribes and Pharisees Matth. 23.4 Who bind heavy burthens and lay them on other mens shoulders no nor such as bind heavy burthens for our own shoulders and yet not touch them with one of our fingers but whatever Conscience bids us do that we observe and do 'T is one thing to lay good Lawes and prescribe good Rules to our selves and another thing to observe them We must yoke our selves to our work and go on diligently under the yoke We must not only not quarrel with our rules as too strait for us but keep touch with them and not indulge
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
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
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