Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n
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A64959
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The day of grace in which the chief of sinners may be turn'd and healed / by Nathanael Vincent.
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Vincent, Nathanael, 1639?-1697.
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1669
(1669)
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Wing V406; ESTC R26347
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73,032
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192
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thy thirst and satisfie thy longing Sin is the disturber of thy peace therefore let sin be cast away with hatred and trouble that ever thou didst give it entertainment Come come to me without delay I will be to thee a God I will be all unto thee thou shalt never lack as long as I am all-sufficient Hereupon the soul yields Thou art my haven O my God till I am arrived at thee I am in a storm and every moment in langer to be cast away in thee only through thy Son I can have peace oh therefore let me be glew'd to thee that nothing may cause a separation well may the believing soul return unto its rest since God is his and the peace which is made shall never quite be broken 2. Another lesson which we may learn is this The wretchedness of the ungodly for there is no peace to them Isai 57. 21. There is no peace saith my God unto the wicked And the more wicked the less peace and the longer you continue wicked the less hopes that ever there will be any I grant indeed that 't is ordinary for wicked ones to cry peace to themselves but this false and imaginary peace is as bad nay worse then none at all 1. The peace of the wicked is founded upon ignorance they know not what cause they have to fear and be troubled the sins which they commit the God whom they every hour provoke and the vengeance unto which they are liable is not in all their thoughts These things they are willingly ignorant of 2 Pet. 3. 5. 2. This peace of the wicked many times 't is the consequent of judicial hardness their eyes are shut their consciences are cast into a dead sleep and are become past feeling no wonder if they enjoy a kind of quiet 3. This peace of the wicked is a great hindrance to their obtaining of true peace while they imagine their state is good and safe enough they will not seek to have it alter'd by means of this the strong man armed doth keep the house in more quiet and secure possession 4. This peace of the wicked is but of very short continuance 't is chased away like a pleasant dream or night vision and the succeeding wo and trouble will be the more intollerable because unlookt for it will come upon them A peace the wicked have but 't is without ground and worse then none True peace what have they to do with as long as the wickednesses which are practised delighted in and pleaded for are so many 1. The ungodly have no peace in life The Lord is their enemy he hates them is angry with them walks contrary to them Hark how he proclaims war Ezek. 5. 8. Therefore thus saith the Lord God Behold I even am against thee and I will execute judgments in the midst of thee And as the Apostle sayes If God be for us who can be against us So the words may be inverted If God be against us what doth it signifie who is for us 2. Much less have the ungodly any peace at death The end of the perfect and upright is peace but the transgressours shall be destroyed together the end of the wicked shall be cut off Psal 37. 37 38 Then their hopes will prove a Spiders web their confidence as the giving up of the ghost Perhaps when the snares of death are upon them the pains of hell may get hold of them Conscience may be affrighted and they may be like wild Bulls in a net full of the fury of the Lord and the rebuke of God But if they dye stupid there is the less hope if there are no bands in their death 't is the more certain they will be bound immediately after and thrown into the lake of fire 3. The Judge will not find the ungodly in peace No no they were not diligent or desirous to be cleansed from their spots and filthiness How many sins unrepented of will accompany them to the Tribunal which will prove them enemies to God and which with a lowd united voice will cry for vengeance upon them 4. And will they find any peace in hell into which with a curse they must depart Can there be any ease any rest taken in those devouring flames How many things will the damned have to trouble them All the wrath of God stirr'd up against them The glory of his power manifesting it self in their destruction The reflections of Conscience upon the proffers of peace and life which were once made but madly sottishly despised and which should never never be made more Oh how will they be troubled and bowed down and mourn and wail and weep eternally USE II. Of Exhortation to the Lords Enemies O that you would be perswaded unto peace Many arguments I may fill my mouth with to prevail with you to be reconciled 1. Do but consider seriously what kind of enemy the Lord is and that consideration will make you afraid that he should be your enemy any longer 1. You cannot fly from his reach Though you exalt your selves as the Eagle though you set your nest among the Stars yet from thence the Lord can bring you down Obad. 4. Though you should go down to the bottom of the Sea and hide your selves at the earths centre yet there his hand can take you If you imagine that any refuge can secure you from God that refuge will be found a lye and will deceive you The Lord does fill both heaven and earth nay the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him how then is it possible any should fly from him 2. You cannot resist his power Far stronger creatures then you were not able to withstand the God of heaven The Dragon fought and his Angels but how easily were they overcome After that Jehu had slain Joram and Ahaziah the Kings of Israel and Judah we read that the Elders of Samaria were exceedingly afraid and said behold two Kings stood not before him how then shall we stand 2 Kings 10. 4 So may I say Behold the Angels that excel in strength stood not before the Lord he cast them when they sinned into chains which they can never break asunder And how then shall man be able to stand who dwelleth in a house of clay whose foundation is in the dust and who is crushed before the moth Sinner God will certainly be too hard for thee thou canst no more resist his power then a feather can bear up against a whirlwind or dried stubble defend it self from the fiercest â—ame 3. You cannot bear his indignation How doth David faint and cry out when a little of Gods anger was stirred up against him Remove thy stroak away from me I am consumed by the blow of thy hand Psal 39. 10. And if a little be so intollerable what will the whole weight be The Prophet brings in the unsensible creatures as if they had sense fearing and quaking when the Lord doth shew his wrath Nehem. 1. 5 6. The mountains
quake at him and the hills melt and the earth is burnt at his presence yea the world and all that dwell therein who can stand before his indignation and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger his fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by him Surely that heart is worse then rocky which doth not tremble before him 4. He can engage all the creatures against you He is the Maker and also the great Commander of the Host of Heaven and Earth The Angels are ready press'd for his service and to do his will all the Devils are at his beck and forward to be the Executioners when he hath pass'd an angry sentence The Thunder and the Lightning say unto him Here we are The stormy Wind doth fulfill his words Nay the smallest and most inconsiderable creatures he can render dreadful and tame the proudest by them And since he is Jehova Exercituum the Lord of such Armies Oh do not enter into battel with him 5. He hath access unto your very spirits and can wound and fill your souls with horrour When the Lord impressed his anger upon the heart of Judas how restless was he though a covetous man he flings away his silver that would not ease him his life is a burthen and with his own hands he puts an end to it A wounded spirit who can bear and wounds there the Lord can give you 6. His power will reach his enemies in the next world Nay then his hand will be heaviest of all God will lay on load upon his adversaries and not in the least spare them His patience will then be at an end his goodness totally and eternally withdrawn and how low then will his vengeance weigh them down Such an enemy the Lord is and this is one argument to perswade you to peace 2. Be mindful of the dependance you have upon him In him you live and move and have your being and if he should withdraw his visitation your life would presently conclude and vanish And is it safe or a wise part in you to provoke that God to be your enemy in whose hand your breath is and who can take it out of your nostrils when he pleaseth He can loose the silver cord he can break the golden bowl and require your souls at your hands without giving you an hours or a minutes warning Whosoever you fall out with methinks you should get and keep in with God for 't is his patience and mercy which keeps you out of the grave and hell of both which by reason of sin you are in great danger 3. The condescension and stooping of God is admirably great in beseeching such as you to be reconciled And shall he intreat in vain Shall the malefactour be beseeched to accept of a pardon and refuse it That is a text that should work upon the most refractory 2 Cor. 5. 20. Now then we are Embassadours for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christ's stead be ye reconciled to God What is it come to this doth God beseech and Christ pray that we who are so mean and so vile would be friends and shall we continue rebels O earth earth earth hear the word of the Lord for the impenitent then the earth or stones are much more stupid To slight the proffer of mercy and to disobey the command to come for it is both a fault and a folly inexcusable but to be deaf to intreaties is worst of all this goes nearest unto God when his condescension and kindness is disregarded and abused and upon this abuse the greater contempt and anger and hatred must needs follow 4. Consider what kind of friend the Lord is I might be large in describing his excellencies which they who are acquainted with him see and admire Three things at present I shall mention 1. God is such a friend whose love is transcendent That sweet name which is as an oyntment poured forth he calls himself by The God of love and peace 2 Cor. 13. 11. Nay he is stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Love in the abstract 1 John 4. 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love Whatever returns of love we make those returns fall infinitely short of the love of God from whence they come Indeed it is as possible to equal him in strength in wisdom or any other of his perfections as to equal him in love Oh let this love of God be as a loadstone to draw yours and as a whetstone to sharpen it 2. God is such a friend whose fulness can never be exhausted The Sun although it hath shined ever since the Creation yet 't is as full of light as ever it was And though the Lord hath supplyed the wants of all them whom he hath made his friends from the beginning yet his stock and store is not at all diminished His wisdom is never posed in their greatest difficulties when believers know not what to do and their eyes are unto him he knows what to do for them His power can raise them out of the lowest deep his all-sufficiency can give to the uttermost of their desires nay exceedingly more then it hath entred into their hearts to desire or conceive Who in his wits would not leave a vain world and deceitful lusts to come to such a friend as God hath alwayes shewed himself to be 3. God is such a friend as will last when all other friends fail He is the Lord who changes not He can as soon cease to be as cease to be faithful and the faithfulness of God towards his friends will make them also faithful he will not turn away from them and he will hold them fast that they shall not depart from him The Lord is most constant the Ordinances of the Sun and Moon and Stars are not so immutable as the Promises he hath made Men of low degree are vanity men of high degree are a lye Psal 62. 9. But God is true Wealth may take wings and fly away prosperity may vanish so as to be forgotten flesh and heart may fail but the Lord will be a friend and a portion for ever Oh consent to be reconciled since such a friend hereby will be gained 5. Consider If God be at peace with you he will shield you from all other adversaries he will wrest those weapons out of your own hands whereby you endeavoured your own destruction he will give a deaths wound to sin that it shall not be your death And though the world and the God of the world fight against you they shall not be able to prevail Nay their very enmity shall befriend you and God will turn to good what they do mean for evil 'T is admirable to consider how the adversaries of the Lords people though they have the intension of enemies yet are forced to act like friends and do a kindness unto Saints by those means whereby they thought to have injured and