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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	know_v	lord_n	word_n	1,989	5	3.9376	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85208	The sacrifice of the faithfull. Or, A treatise shevving the nature, property, and efficacy of zealous prayer; together with some motives to prayer, and helps against discouragements in prayer. To which is added seven profitable sermons. 1. The misery of the Creature by the sinne of man, on Rom. 8. 22. 2. The Christians imitation of Christ, on Ioh. 2. 6. 3. The enmity of the wicked to the light of the Gospel, on John 3. 20. 4. Gods impartiality, on Esay 42. 24. 5. The great dignity of the saints, on Heb. 11. 28. 6. The time of Gods grace is limited, on Gen. 6. 3. 7. A sermon for spirituall mortification, on Col. 3. 5. / By William Fenner, minister of the Gospel Fellow of Pembrok Hall in Cambridge, and lecturer of Rochford in Essex.	Fenner, William, 1600-1640.; Stafford, John, fl. 1658, engraver.	1649 (1649)	Wing F699; Thomason E1241_1; ESTC R210449	136,683	333

then I should doe nothing else but pray how then are we to continue our praiers till God heare us and give the grace that we pray for to this I answer A man must give over the words and Answ times of prayer for other duties but a man must not give over the suite of prayer A poore begger comes to a housekeepers gate and begs but none heares him now he being a poore man hath something else to doe and therefore he sits downe or stands and knits or patches and then he begs or knocks and then to his work again though he do not alwaies continue knocking or begging yet he alwaies continues his suite O that my suite might be granted me or that I might have an almes here so when the soul is begging of any grace though it doth not alwaies continue the words of praier yet it alwaies continues the suite of praier David he would dwell in the house of the Lord for ever Psal 23. 6. A wicked man it may be will turne into Gods house and say a prayer c. but the Prophet would and so all godly men must dwell there for ever his soule lyeth alwaies at the throne of grace begging for grace A wicked man he prayeth as the cock croweth the cocke crowes and ceaseth and crowes again and ceaseth again and thinkes not of crowing til he crowes again so a wicked man praies and ceaseth prayes and ceaseth againe his minde is never busied to thinke whether his prayers speede or no he thinkes it is good Religion for him to pray and therefore he takes that for granted that his praiers speede though in very deed God never heares his praiers nor no more respects it then he respects the lowing of Oxen or the gruntling of hoggs he is found in his prayers as the wilde Asse in her months Jer. 2. The wilde Asse in ●egard of her swiftnesse cannot be taken but in her months she hath a sleepy month and all that while she is so sleepy and dumpish that any man may take her in her months you shall finde her so a wicked man hath his prayer monthes his praier fits it may be in the morning or in the evening or day of his affliction and misery you shall have him at his prayers at his prayer fits then you shall finde him at it but otherwise his mind is about other matters But the childe of God what ever he ailes he goes with his petition presently to the throne of grace and there he never removes till he hath it granted him as here we see the prayers of the Church consisting of many yeares yet are counted but one suite try therefore and examin whether thy praiers be unsatiable praiers yea or no and for helpe herein take these markes first if thy prayers be unsatiable praiers then it is a begging praier thou praiest as if thou hadst never praied before as if thou hadst never begun to pray and thou never thinkest that thou hast done any thing till thou hast done the deede As a h●ngrie man eates as if he had never eate before so the unsatiable soule praies as if he had never prayed before till he hath obtained that he hath praied for but a wicked man he praies not thus Iob speaking of carnal professors Iob 27. 10. Will he call upon God at all times seest thou a wicked man go to a good duty go to praier do you think that he wil hold out alwaies he will n●ver do it for a wicked man he reasons with himself I have called upon God thus thus long I hope I need not pray any more for this thing so he gives over But a godly man he will be alwaies calling upon God Beloved there is a beginning to an action and a beginning of an action thou never beginnest to lift up a weight till thou stirrest it from ground indeede thou mayst begin towards the action by pulling at it by reaching at it but thou never beginnest the lifting up of the weight til thou stir it from its place thou mayst give a pull at prayer and ●ugge at a grace but thou hast not so much as begun that duty till thou seest God begin to hear thee till thou seest the grace a coming therefore the Prophet David when he prayed and had not that he prayed for his prayers returned into his owne bosome Psal 35. 13. there to lie to be a continuall suite unto God A wicked man praies and he leaves his praier behind him in his pew or in his hal or chamber but a godly man praies and his prayer is in his heart his praier is not out til the grace be in Secondly an unsatiable prayer it is evermore a proceeding prayer you would think that these are two contraries and one opposite to the other but they are not only they are two severall things as it is ever a beginning praier because in his own thoughts he reckons or thinkes that he hath nothing till he speedes so the soule that is unsatiable in praier he proceedes he gets neere to God he gaines somthing he windes up his heart higher or somthing or other he gets As a child that seeth the mother have an apple in her hand and it would faine have it it will come and pull at the mothers hand for it now she lets go one finger and yet she holds it and then he pulls againe and then she lets goe another finger and yet she keepes it and then the child pulls againe and will never leave pulling and crying till it hath got it from his mother So a child of God seeing all graces to be in God he drawes neere to the throne of grace begging for it by his earnest faithful praiers he opens the hands of God to him God dealing as parents to their children holds them off for a while not that he is unwilling to give but to make them more earnest with God to draw them the neerer to himselfe a wicked man praies and his praiers tumble downe upon him againe and his heart is as dead as ever it was before as sensuall as ever as carnall and earthly as ever as hard as impenitent and secure as ever A godly man when he praies though he have not gotten the thing totall that he desired yet he is neerer God then he was before his heart growes every day better then other by his praiers he obtaines still something as the Prophet Hoseah speakes of knowledge Hos 6. 3. Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord so I may say of praier of al other good duties then we pray if we proceed on-wards in praier A man may know and know and yet never know the Lord till he goe on in knowledge so a man may pray and pray yet if he goe not on-wards in his praiers his praiers are nothing A godly man praies as a builder builds now a builder he first layeth a foundation and because he cannot finish in

the word of God to thy soule as it is preached thou art guilty of thine owne bloud If you apply not the word you put off the word of God and then what sayth the Apostle Acts. 13. 46. It was necessary that the word of God should first have beene spoken to you but seeing you put it farre from you and judge your selves unworthy of everlasting life c. Yo● that have heard the word of God apply it to your soules it is a blessed plaister let it lie on your soules goe home and say Lord I have beene told of this and that sinne of my pride hypocrisie deadnes and distraction in thy worshippe and service c. I see they are against thy will and thou commandest mee to come out of them and to leave them Lord I beseech thee inable mee to leave them all so Lord I have beene told this day of such and such graces which thou hast commanded mee for to have of such and such dutyes that thou wouldest have mee to take up and performe Lord subject my heart to the power of grace and to every commandement of thy word Take heede if thou doest put off the word of God or any tittle of the word and wilt not walke according to the same thou puttest off eternall life from thy selfe Doe therefore as Gods people did who when Moses had preached the Law and Will of God to them it is sayd Exod. 12. 50. Thus did all the Children of Israell as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron so did they So doe you goe home and apply the word to your soules it was spoken for your good make use of it and the Lord be with you Thirdly Scrutiny it is not onely an outward word but a word of the heart if any man say that is if any man thinke that he is in Christ he ought to walke as Christ did Hence we might observe That a Minister is bound to preach to mens thoughts But time cuts us off FINIS THE ENMITIE OF The Wicked to the light of the GOSPELL JOHN 3. VER 20. For every man that doth evill hateth the light neither cometh he to the light least his deeds should be reproved THis is part of Christ his parly with Nicodemus concerning regeneration wherein our Saviour doth declare foure main points The first is Mans naturall estate and condition without Christ It is impossible that ever he should be saved that ever he should get grace or come within the list of eternall life Christ sayth it and bindeth it with an oath ver 3. Verely verely I say unto thee except a man be borne againe he cannot see the Kingdome of God much lesse inherit it Secondly here is Gods gracious provision which he hath taken with the world that though man were in a way of damnation invincibly yet now he is put in a way of probability of salvation ver 16. though he were unsalvable by nature yet now he is salvable by Christ Thirdly here is a generall proclamation upon the condition of fayth that this salvability may be attained if a man beleeve In the same verse God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Sonne that whosoever beleeveth in him c. It is a condition of faith put to all none excepted Whosoever he be that beleeveth in Christ he shall be saved Fourthly here is the reprobation of the world he that beleeveth not is condemned already The cause whereof cannot be cast on Christ for God hath not sent his Son to condemne the world but that the world thorough him might be saved It was Christs primary purpose and the first end of his coming to save the world it is an accidentall end or rather an event of his coming that the world is condemned Christ is not the cause of it he is not the efficient cause for he is a Saviour nor the deficient cause for he is a sufficient Saviour That the cause of their condemnation is from themselves and not from Christ is proved by three arguments First from their owne consciences he that beleeveth not is condemned already He cannot here speake of the condemnation of hell for he is not in hell already But he speaks of an apprehensiall condemnation in their owne consciences as Chrysostome observes he meanes the condemnation of their owne consciences he that beleeves not his conscience tells him that it is his fault that he beleeveth not though it be not in his power to beleeve yet God hath gone so farre he hath so farre strugled with mens consciences that there is no default on his part They cannot excuse themselves saying I have no power to beleeve their owne consciences will tell them that God hath knocked at their hearts and offered them power to beleeve but they rejected it They cannot say I know not how to beleeve his owne conscience will tell him that God hath offered instruction to him whereby he might have beene taught but that he refused it so that he that beleeves not is condemned already his own conscience riseth within him and tells him that it is his owne fault that he doth not Secondly it is proved by experience experience shews that men are the cause of their owne condemnation ver 19. This is the conde● nation that light is come into the world but men loved darkenesse rather then light the meaning of it is this This is the cause of condemnation to the world not Gods predestination not their fatall destiny not their breach of the first covenant nor any other impiety but this sinne of Infidelity If the world stood guilty of never so many sinnes yet if it did beleeve in the Lord. Jesus it should be saved So that it is not all the other sinnes that a man commits that damnes him but his infidelity that that layes all his former sinnes that ever he committed upon him here is condemnation that though light be come into the world to pull men out of their darkenesse and sinnes yea though Christ though grace come to them yet they will not come out of their sinnes men will not have Christ men will not have grace men love darkenesse rather then light Thirdly It is proved by reason ver 6. the verse now read unto you For every man that doth evill hateth the light neither cometh to the light least his deedes should be reproved It is a strong argument to prove that if men be damned themselves are the cause of it for if light come into the world to instruct men if Christ come into the world to plucke men out of their sinnes if Christ come with his bloud and spirit to cleanse and sanctifie men and men will not be sanctified Then if they perish in their sins they are justly guiltie of their owne condemnation The words comprehend in them two things First the wickeds rejection of the word of grace which is set forth both positively he hates the light and then privatively or rather negatively neither commeth to the

at his worke and dead when his worke is done so it is not enough for thee to prove that thou art in Christ that thou art alive at prayer or at preaching life is a continued thing thou must be alive after prayer as well as before alive after the Sermon as well as whilst thou art at it if thou hast the life of Christ in thee it is a standing life it will not make thee alive at prayer and dead when thou hast done it will not make thee holy and spirituall at a Sermon and leave thee dead and carnall when it is done not holy and heavenly in a discourse and conference and worldly and prophane when it is done not to be holy and lively c. in a good moode and leave thee dead-hearted secure and loose afterwards this is not be in Christ no the life of Christ is a standing and a continuing life it will make thee alive after all thy services after every duty as thou wast before or in the duty He that sayth he abideth in him c. In this word He there are three uses Of Indignation Discrimination Scrutiny First Indignation The Apostle doth as it were point at a certayne man in his congregation as if that there had beene some man that he knew was not in Christ What man soever whether in this pewe or in that pewe whether on this forme or on that forme if he abide in Christ he ought to walke as Christ walked Hence observe That a Minister is bound De●t 1. to preach home in particular so that he may summon this man and that man in the Church as the Apostle doth here he that sayth if there be any one amongst the whole multitude that sayth he abideth in Christ he ought also himself to walk as he walked And this commission God gives unto all his Ministers Marke 16. 15. Goe preach the Gospell to every creature he doth not say preach the Gospell before every creature so they may doe and preach in generall but to every creature that every creature may feele the Gospell beating on his heart that every creature may see his sins that so the Gospell may be applyed to his heart All the names given to Ministers shew thus much They are called Seeds-men now a Seeds-man doth not take a whole coppe or a whole bushell of corne and throw it in a heape in his field but he takes it and scatters it abroade that every place may receive some So they are called Builders now a builder doth not onely frame the whole building but he layes every particular bricke and every particular stone in his building So they are called Shepheards a Shepheard doth not onely looke to his flocke in generall but to every Ram and to every Lambe in his flocke So Preachers must not onely preach the word of God in generall but they must preach in particular The ground of this will appeare if we consider three things in particular First particulars are most operative it is not fire in generall that burnes but is this or that fire so it is not sinne in generall that will humble a man it is not repentance in generall that will turne a man it is not fayth in generall that will save a man but this sinne and that sinne this repentance and that repentance this fayth and that fayth All actions they are of singulars A universall man cannot reason a universall man cannot dispute a universall man cannot see nor heare No it is this man and that man that seeth and heares and disputes Particulars are most operative preaching to men in particular is powerfull preaching that workes upon mens consciences How came the Prophet to preach powerfully to the people He declared to Jacob his sinne and to Jsraell his transgression Micha 3. 8. I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord sayth the Prophet here was the way wherby the Prophet preached powerfully so that the Spirit went and rent mens hearts and consciences and made them tremble how why he made every soule see his sinnes so that Minister that would preach powerfully to the consciences of his people he must make every one of them to see their sinnes against God and his commandements so that they may confesse I see I have beene a greivous sinner and I am in the state of damnation and I must repent or else I shall be damned Secondly particulars are most distinct when the preacher preacheth only in generall it workes a confused knowledge knowledge of sinne in generall a confused repentance a confused humiliation and a confused fayth in the generall it may be it may make a man see he is a sinner in the generall but there are many thousand thousand sinnes in particular that he takes no notice of but swallowes them downe in the generall it may be his sinnes may be discovered in the generall but alas there are many yea multitudes of deceits of turnings and windings of the heart in particular that are never discovered to them All the religion of these men is only generall I love God with all my heart sayth one and yet the man is grossely ignorant of God Aske him any particulars how he can prove his love to God and the man cannot shew any So I serve God with all my heart but goe to particulars and bid him manifest what he speakes so I feare God I worship God but bring them to the particular w●orkes of these graces and they are gone presently they are lost and know not what to answer Thus the people in Malachies time they thought they had much knowledge while the Preist preached thus overly to them but when the Prophet came to preach home and to come with particulars to them they thought the Prophet was madde they knew not what he meant You have despised the Lord saith the Prophet wherein say they Malac. 1. 6. You have prophaned the worshippe of God You have polluted the table of the Lord sayth the Prophet ver 7. wherein said they You have wearied the Lord with your words said the Prophet Chapt. 2. ver 17. wherein said they You have robbed God Chapt. 3. ver 8. wherein said they See your words have beene stoute against the Lord said the Prophet yet they said what have we spoken ver 13. they could not tell wherein till the Prophet told them herein have you robbed God herein have you despised the Lord herein you have prophaned the worshippe of God c. So should the Minister of God come to men and tell them in particular thou art an enemy to Gods grace thou hast abused Gods patience wherein sayest thou Thou art one that scornest the word of God and thou defilest all the Ordinances of God Wherein sayest thou Thou art one that putst farre from thee the evill day wherein sayest thou Now when the Minister of God can come to particulars and shew men wherein then they crye out against them and thinke they tell them lies and preach false

things to them but the Ministers of God are bound to preach so as they may discover mens particular sinnes not so as people may point one at another but so as every conscience may feele its owne sinnes Thirdly particulars are most sensible If the Minister preach home in particular there is not a false heart then in the congregation but he will finde it out if he preach in particular he will discover every mans corruption ●ling wilde-fire in every wicked mans face and throw balme of comfort into every godly troubled spirit As King James saide well of a reverend Prelate of this Land Me thinkes this man preacheth of death as if● death were at my backe so should Ministers preach as if Heaven were at mens backes or as if hell were at mens backes When he preacheth of mens sinnes and corruptions he must preach so that their consciences may see that the word of God lookes into the very thoughts and hearts when he preacheth of the wrath of God and of condemnation c. he must preach so that the conscience may feele even the fire of hell flaming in it this is the way to teach the people the good knowledge of the Lord as it is called 2 Chron. 30. 22. every Minister may teach the knowledge of the Lord but not the good knowledge of the Lord. There is great difference betweene teaching of the knowledge and of the good knowledge of the Lord. Men may know God and his word and their sinnes but if they goe on in their sins it is not good knowledge then indeede a Minister teacheth good knowledge when he makes his people so to know sinne as to loath it and to come out of it so to know repentance as to repent indeed Secondly Discrimination As if he should say there are some that are in him and some that are not in him if any man say he abideth in him he ought himselfe to walk even as he walked so that here the Apostle would put a difference betweene the sound and the rotten-hearted in his congregation Hence observe this point That every Doct. 2 Minister is bound to preach so as to make a difference betweene the precious and the vile Saint John preached so as that his hearers might say the Spirit of Christ is in me or the Spirit of Christ is not in me that themselves might know whether indeede they were true members of Christ or but hypocrites This is the duty of Ministers Ezek. 44. 23. They shall teach my people the difference betweene the holy and prophane and cause men to discerne betweene the cleane and uncleane Here is two things First they shall teach them the difference betweene the holy and prophane Secondly they shall not onely shew it before them but if they will not see it they shall cause them to see it that is they must beate it into them and rubbe it into their consciences it may be when men may see they will not then he must make them to see If there be any prophane person any lukewarme or dead-hearted professor or close hypocrite in the congregation the Minister must make him see his prophanesse his deadnes and hypocrisie in Gods worshippe or if there be any godly soule or broken heart the Minister must make them to see that they have a broken heart First reason because else a man defiles the Reas 1 pulpit and prophanes the holy things of God Ezech. 22. 26. Her Preists have violated my law and prophaned my holy things they have put no difference betweene the holy and prophane neither have they shewed difference betweene the cleane and uncleane Those Ministers prophane the holy place of God when they make not mens consciences know which is holy and prophane when prophane persons may come and goe from Church and have not their prophanesse discovered to them a drunkard a swearer c and hath not his sinnes laide open to him Is there any prophane person here that hath not an arrow shot into his heart but he can goe away and not take any comfort from the Sermon these men prophane the holy things of God When God gave Benhadad into the hands of Ahab and Ahab spared him and let him goe 1 King 20. the Prophet tells Ahab ver 42 Thus sayth the Lord because thou hast let goe a man whom I appointed to utter destruction therefore thy life shall goe for his life c so if there be any Minister over any congregation in which there is any drunkard any swearer or whoremaster or worldling or lukewarmeling or any other that lives in such sinnes which God hath appointed and decreed to eternall destruction in hell if we tell them not their sins and make their consciences feele them then our life shall goe for their life our soule for their soule for we might have given them such a wound as might have beene a meanes to have cured their soule Secondly We are not the Ministers of Reas 2 Christ if we preach not so as that men may know that they are not converted if they are not c. God sayth to the Prophet Jeremiah if thou take forth the precious from the vile thou shalt be as my mouth Jer. 15. 19. Jeremiah could not be Gods mouth to the people unlesse he would divide betweene the precious and the vile Vnlesse Ministers preach so as to make the consciences of their hearers feele in what state they live in they may be Ministers of Sathan Idoll shepheards but they are not the Ministers of Christ Thirdly because otherwise they can doe Reas 3 no good Ezek. 34. 17. and as for you O my flocke thus sayth the Lord God behold I will judge betweene cattell and cattell c. as if he should say woe unto the shepheards will they not preach so as to make a difference betweene cattell and cattell woe unto the Preists will they not preach so as to feede my flocke I will require my flocke at their hands and now sayth God will not the shepheards of my people doe it I will now doe it my selfe I will convert those that are to be converted c. I will feede and provide for my flocke my selfe Austin notes that after that Peter had smote off Malchus his eare Peter came to be a shepheard and an Apostle of Christ after Paul had persecuted the Church he came to be a Preacher and an Apostle of Christ so after Moses had killed the Egyptian God made him the Captaine and Deliverer of his people Austin observes from this that God appoints none for his Ministers but Smiters such as be men of blows men that will smite men home to the heart men that will wound the consciences of their hearers This I speake that you may not be offended at the Ministers of Christ when they apply the word of God to your severall consciences and whensoever you have the truth of Christ preached to your soules let your hearts make use of it for if thou apply not

intreaties can ●●ke off Oh how often have Gods Ministers intreated you and beseeched you to give over your sinnes and yet you will not how often have they besought you to be zealous and meeke and holy and you will not thou art tichie and revengefull in speeches how often hast thou beene sought to leave it thou art proude and stout-hearted how oft hast thou beene sought for to be humble thou art carnall and worldly how often hast thou beene besought to be spirituall and heavenly Thou hast no assurance of Christ in thy soule how oft hast thou beene besought for to get him Ministers beseech thee every Sabboth Ministers intreate thee every weeke They breake their braines and breake their sleepe and spend their lungs and all to invent and speake acceptable words to prevaile with your soules with heart-cutting intreaties they beseech you if notwithstanding all this you will not be intreated to part with your sinnes rhen it is evident you hate reformation If we did not hate a thing we would doe it though we were never besought to doe it if thou didst not hate a reformation of thy sinnes thou wouldest have beene reformed without these beseeches but if beseeches and intreaties cannot woe thee thou hatest it indeed that is hatred indeede which beseeches cannot reconcile The Lord Jesus sent his Ministers in his Name we are Gods Embassadours in Christ his stead we pray you to be reconciled to God We have besought you by the bloud of Christ we have intreated you by the Bowells of Gods mercies to become new men we beseech you in the Bowells of the Lord Jesus Christ to give over your sinnes We beseech you as you love your soules give over your sinnes we beseech you as you are men as you know what is what give over your sinnes we beseech you let the drunkard give over his drunkennesse the swearer his oathes and blasphemies the Idolater his Idolatry and wilworship let the idle talker give over his fruitlesse communication the covetous person give over his covetousnesse the secure Christian and lukewarme professor and deadhearted server of God come out of his security and dead-heartednesse c. I beseech you by the mercies of God saith Saint Paul present your bodies a living sacrifice holy c. Rom. 12. 1. Sacrifice your tongues unto God we beseech you and speake holy conference sacrifice your hearts we beseech you and use holy meditations sacrifice your hares unto God and suffer not idle language to be spoken in your hearing we beseech you doe this yea by all the mercies of Christ we beseech you as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christ his stead and will you not yet Certainly you hate the light if all these beseeches cannot reconcile you we have besought you that there be no disorders in any of your families and yet there are we have besought you that there be no losse of time in your meetings that there be no roote of bitternesse in your hearts and yet there is we have besought you to mende your repentance and to better your obedience and to repent of your rotten formality and to come out of your sandy and quagmire bottomes and not to content your selves with this beggarly form of religion onely but as ever you love your soules and would be loved to get the power of grace and a thousand more things have we besought you Is it done no God knowes all the beseeches and intreaties under heaven have not yet done it Now therefore you must needs stand convinced in your consciences that you hate the light if all these beseeches cannot bring you to it They must needs be sayd to hate one another when neither money nor price nor any thing can make freinds That is inveterate cankerous hatred which can never be out-bought which can never be hired to cease I make no question but that the Damosels Master at the first did hate that his Maide should be possessed with a divell but when he saw that it brought him in great gaine he tooke off his hatred he would then be content that the divell might have stayed in his house so he might have gained by it and therefore we reade that he was angry at the Apostle for dispossesing the divell out of her Act. 16. 19. It must be a greivous hatred that profit cannot mollifie Brethren you know that God offereth you pardon of your sinnes he offers you mercy he offers you a Kingdome if you will come out of your sinnes If thou wouldest rather lose father mother wife and children houses and lands goods and livings rather then shake hands with such a one as thou art fallen out with I am sure thou hatest him with a witnesse and if thou wouldest rather hazard thy owne mercy hazard the love and favour of God hazard the Kingdome of heaven lot Christ goe and mercy goe and heaven goe ●●ther then let thy sinnes g●● surely thou hatest to be reformed I will give you a kingdome saith God if you will be new men I will give thee a Kingdome if thou will take up Christ his Croffe and be pl●●● I will give thee a Kingdome if thou wil● walke precisely and circumspectly But you will not though you might have a kingdome for it Repent faith Christ for the kingdome of heaven is at hand Math. 3. 2. Repent and here is a Kingdome a● hand for thee Downe with thine old lu●t thou knowest what I meane and here is a Kingdome at hand for thee Repent of your formall repentance repent of your fashionary prayers repent of your overly performances of holy duties and behold here is a Kingdome for you Wilt thou hazard the very Kingdome of grace and of glory rather then thou wilt steppe out of thy old wont thou hatest repentance if a Kingdome cannot hire thee to love it They must be sayd to hate one another whom all the dearest love in the world can never ●nite and soder together Love is able to burst all the hatred in the world if the divell be not in it love is more forcible then hatred and therefore that hatred is most cankerous that love cannot overcome What is so pleasing or delightfull to the ●lesh of a man but love may command it the love of God hath given thee the bloud of his owne Sonne if thou wilt part with thy corruptions thou mayest have it That is hatred indeed which the bloud of thy owne Saviour cannot disswade thee from The Apostle Peter thought he had used an excellent argument to perswade men to holinesse when he setteth forth the love of God to us 1 Pet. 18. 19. For asmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vaine conversation received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious bloud of Christ as of a Lambe undefiled and without spotte What doth Christ give his bloud to thee to redeeme thee from thy vaine conversation hath

but I will let them alone till they die of themselves sure I am that they will one day die no no the Prophet gives other counsell plough up saith he the fallow grounds and sow not among thornes if thou dost not they will grow up to that height and ranknesse that they will spoile the whole harvest Even so if thou kill not thy sinnes but suffer them to die of themselves they will spoile all thy spirituall harvest and quite banish thee out of Heaven for evermore The third use may manifest unto us that Vse 3 the worke of our Redemption is no easie worke as many men in the world thinke it to be The Apostle saith mortifie your members now can a man stab his owne arme through with ease can he cut off his Legg or any other member without feeling any great paine no more can a man kill his sinnes and mortifie his lusts with ease it is called mortification to shew that there is a great deale of miserie and paine in it The Apostle saith that those that are Christians have crucified the flesh c. Gal. 5. 24. and therefore Repentance is set out unto us by crucifying which is the hardest of all kinds of mortifying Can a man set his flesh upon the Tenter peirce his hands and feet with nailes laying his whole weight upon the Tenter and yet feele no paine Cicero a wise Heathen saith that crucifying was a torment that cruelty it selfe had invented to put a man to death it being the soarest kind of death that could be devised And the Apostle to set forth Repentance what it is shews it by crucifying It is an easie matter to cut off the outward act of sinne as of swearing or drunkennesse c. this is an easie matter but to crucifie a mans lusts and to mortifie daily the body of death which he be●reth about him this is a hard thing indeed A Father saith it is the hardest Text in all the Bible and the hardest dutie in all Christianitie that we can goe about they that doe it● an doe all things and therefore let a man resolve with himselfe that unlesse he attaine unto this there is no Christ for him How shall we saith the Apostle that are dead to sinne live any longer therein Rom. 6. 2. The Apostle makes it a Paradox and wonders that men should be so unreasonable as to thinke that they are crucified with Christ and yet live in their sinnes Is it possible that you can be dead with Christ and yet live in your sinnes no no it cannot be But some may object and say what Object doth the Apostle meane to exhort the Colossians unto Mortification were they not alreadie mortified did he not say a little before that they were crucified and buried together with Christ Yes it is true but they that have mortified Sol. their earthly members must goe on and persevere in this mortification and that for three Reasons First because the very same sinne that hath been killed will live againe unlesse it be continually mortified for sinne is strong-hearted it is not every blow that will kill sinne stone-dead no no we may say of sinne as some say of Catts they have nine lives kill sinne once and it will revive againe kill it the second time and it will yet live kill it the third time it will yet have life unlesse it be continually mortified it will never be starke dead and therefore the work● must be continued as Christ said of his Disciples if you continue in my word then are you my Disciples indeed So if we goe on in mortification then verily are we Christs Disciples Secondly suppose the sinne mortified doe not rise againe yet if we goe not on in the way of mortification there will arise another sinne in the roome of it Sinne is like the Monster Hydra cut off one head and many will rise up in its roome Even so it is in the bodie of sinne therefore thou must dayly mortifie it or else it will grow again There is a History that speaks of a Fig-tree that grew in a stone wall and all meanes was used to kill it they cut off the branches and it grew againe they cut downe the bodie and it grew againe they cut it up by the root and still it lived and grew untill they pulled downe the stone wall Even so it is with sinne lopp off the branches it lives cut downe the body it will not die digg up the rootes and it will still revive and will never leave growing untill God pull downe the stone wall of this our earthly Tabernacle and lay it in the dust and therefore we must still be mortifying of it Thirdly because as we mortifie so we mortifie but in part as saith the Apostle in another case we know but in part c. so may we say of this dutie we mortifie but in part as we say of a man breathing out his last breath he is adying but not quite dead so we may say of sinne though it lie sprawling upon the ground yet it is not dead the last gaspe is not past Nay it may be sinne is more striving in the heart of a child of God converted then it was before conversion As an Oxe or an Asse when they have their deaths blow will lash and struggle more then then they did in all their life time before but this is nothing but the panges of death being giving up their last breath Hence it is that the Apostle saith that the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh Gal. 5. So that they could not doe what they would verse 17. as if he should say sinne is so mortified that it hath his deaths wound in thee else thou canst not be the child of God yea such a deaths wound as it cannot possible recover againe If a man that hath received his de●ths wound should send for all the Phisitians in the world and take all the Physick he could and use all the meanes under Heaven yet they can never recover him So when a man is converted unto God as soone as ever the worke is wrought in him sinne hath his deaths blow and although the Devill come as Physitian with all the Cordialls Julips and Balmes under Heaven and use all the shifts and devises in the world yet he shall never be able to recover it againe all will not doe why because it hath received its deaths blow it may be with his industrie and cost he may make the face of sinne looke fresh and faire for a time but it hath it deaths wound and it will downe at the last Now that we may know whether we Marks have mortified our sinnes or no let us observe these markes following First they that have mortifyed their sinnes live in the contrary graces Hence it is that the Psalmist saith that they worke no iniquitie but walke in thy pathes Psal 119. 3. First they crucifie all their sinnes they doe