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A03600 Foure learned and godly treatises viz. The carnall hypocrite. The churches deliverances. The deceitfulnesse of sinne. The benefit of afflictions. By T.H. Hooker, Thomas, 1586-1647. 1638 (1638) STC 13725; ESTC S119015 85,186 298

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not adultery a man may pot it a little though he be not drunke oh deale kindly with drunkennesse and deale kindly with wantonnes these are the guises of wretched hypocrites whereas I beseech you observe it a gracious heart is like that spoken of Deut. 13.8 the Lord gave this charge If thy brother the sonne of thy mother or thy sonne or the sonne of thy daughter or the wife of thy bosome or thy friend which is as thine owne soule shall entice thee secretly let us goe serve other gods thou shalt not spare him this is the frame of a gracious heart indeede and of a sound heart indeede that is content to have his corruptions though never so deare removed from him that will not pitty his sinne that will shew no mercie to pride no mercie to earthlimindednesse but will slay them this is sound dealing indeede Wee see then all this while that this man hides his sinne and will not be knowne of it and when he knowes it he will not kill it but put in bayle and when hee doth proceede against it hee will not slay it but onely snibbe it a little this is a rotten naughtie heart it is not content to part with his sinnes which is the frame of every good heart Now in the second place it is a word of exhortation you see the way walke in it you see what God requires doe what you know you see what a sincere heart will doe therefore call and knocke at one anothers doore is my heart good you beare in hand so this will trie it a good heart is content to part with any corruption art thou so say it is so aske thy heart am I content to part with the world and idlenesse and pride are you content to pray in your family and reforme your servants then you have sincere hearts goe your wayes and goe comfortably goe cheerefully and the God of heaven goe with you if there be a Saint in heaven thou art one heare upon earth if there be a sound heart in heaven thou hast a sound heart here though thou art weake and feeble but doe it to purpose now doe not pretend faire and fall short halfe in Egypt and halfe out of Egypt body out of Egypt and heart in Egypt but take away all and then the worke is sincere profit might perswade you to this doe not trouble your selves to thinke if I leave all my sinfull courses what will become of my comfort and honour and contentment Why you shall not lose these but onely alter these and change them for better what profit is it to be proud and dogged and waward and snarling at Gods truth What profit is got by covetousnesse and cheating all these profits and pleasures and contentments are but shadowes and lying vanitie there is woe in all thy wealth and poyson in all thy prosperity and the best are but temporary and mutable insufficient but part with these and have eternall joy and everlasting comfort and durable riches doe but change therefore it is not the leaving of these but the laying out of these a man will doe much for a good purchase he that hath a faire bargaine and a great penny worth though hee hath so me old gold hee is loath to part withall yet if for so many hundreds as hee layes downe shall have so many hundreds a yeare he will art with his old gold for such a purchase so you shall not lose your profit and pleasure and contentment but lay them out for a greater fold He that leaves father or mother or friends for my sake shall have a hundred fold heres and everlasting happinesse here after the purchase is propounded therefore bring out your old gold those old pleasures those old contentments and delights in the world bring all out and lay all downe before Christ and part with all for Christ and you shall receive comfort here and everlasting happinesse hereafter but if profit cannot prevaile with you yet let danger force you hereunto know therefore there is danger in the neglect thereof if you would not have God take away your sinnes the truth is God will take away his mercy from you and God will take away his grace and spirit from you you shall never have it upon these termes is there any man such a babe in nature that hee will not part with the wound that will kill him is there any man so foolish that hee will not take that physicke which should purge him when he knowes it will recover him Take notice of it one of these two things you must take either part with thy sinne or part with happinesse either suffer God to take away thy sinnes or else he will take away his mercy Psal 53. Thou art a God that lovest not wickednesse if you will have sinne dwell in your soules God will never dwell with you nor you shall never dwell with him if you will harbour and hold your sinnes you must hold your shame too you will not part with your sinnes you must part with heaven for there is no comming there for you with your sinnes Heavie afflictions breeds earnest prayers from the wicked PROV 1. 28 29. Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seeke me early but they shall not finde me FOr the coherence of these words know thus much from the 20. verse to the end wee shall take notice of two things mainely intended by the Spirit of God First the kind loving and passionate invitation of wisedome to simple sinfull scornefull wretches this we shall observe from the 20. verse to the 23. there wisedome cryeth earnestly and uttereth her voyce in the streets that is shee presseth in with a kind of violence to win and woe the soules of sinners that at last they may know the things belonging to their peace The second is the issue and successe that the voyce of wisedome found in the hearts of those to whom shee spake and the successe is double the first is the contempt of scorners against the call of wisedome they stop their eares and harden their hearts and will not submit to Christ and bee ruled by him and that in the 24. and 25. verses the second issue is in the words of the Text they rejected God God rejected thē they cast his call behind their backes and therefore hee casteth off them Then shall they call saith the Text but I will not heare they that rejected mercie offered shall not obtaine mercie sought and desired this is the scope of the words Then shall they call that is in the time of trouble and in the day of distresse then they will call for mercy and comfort No saith the Lord time was I offered mercie but then mercie was not worth the receiving I called and you would not obey therefore call you shall and seeke you shall but I will never answer you you shall never finde me In the words observe two passages First wee have
away no therefore strive you to enter seeke after another manner then they doe that so thou mayst obtaine that which they shall never obtaine many deale in this case as Gentlewomen at a Sermon if they may have a seat at their ease they will sit downe and heare but if they must crowd for it then they returne and get no good so many seeke but they strive not with their seeking they are not able to crowd thorough all occasions and take up armes against the distempers of their soules that so they may obtaine that mercy they stand in neede of But you will say if earnestnesse and vehemency will not doe the deede what then will doe the deede the rules therefore for our direction in seeking are three first labour to seeke seasonably while the day of grace lasts and the Sunne shines take the season and goe on cheerefully and arrive at the end of your hopes call upon the Lord while hee may bee found it was the direction God gave to Ierusalem and the mone he makes for her neglect therefore Luk 19.41 O that thou hadst knowne in this thy day c. hee ceaseth praying and falls to weeping he had preached often and prayed often but nothing would prevaile hee falls a weeping over it O that thou hadst knowne at least in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace as who should say now this is thy day now the word is brought home unto thee now my Disciples are preaching and the Sonne of man himselfe is come to wooe you Oh that thou hadst knowne in this thy day the things that c. but they are hidden from thine eyes take notice every man hath a day and a season which is the harvest of salvation doe you not take notice of this that at some Sermon God opens the eye and prickes the conscience and sometimes lovingly perswades a man and the soule is yeelding and walking after the Lord the soule melts lovingly under the hand of God this is thy day take heede how thou neglectest it and as thou goest home intreat the Lord to make profitable that which thou hast heard and say this is my day I am now in the fire Lord melt me I am now under the power of thy ordinance make it effectuall to my soule and take notice of it if the spirit of God call and you regard it not and let all goe and all commodities are plucked up and gone you may come and call and cry but it is too late that Spirit which thou hast resisted shall never worke more thanke thy selfe the day is gone now they are hidden from thine eyes the day is over and therefore thou maiest crie Oh for a Minister oh for a Sabboth no no if all the Angells in heaven should speake and all the Ministers on earth should preach themselves hoarse thou wouldest not be affected therewith therefore take the season and the golden opportunitie of grace and when Christ comes to your soules entertaine him if Christ knocks open the doore if hee awaken thy conscience doe not snubbe it labour now to see thy sinne that thou mayest finde mercy at the hand of the Lord. Secondly as wee must seeke seasonably so wee must seeke with our whole heart now the whole heart makes knowne it selfe in two particulars the first is this when all the good things of this world be they what they will be cannot withdraw us from Christ this is one part of the whole heart when profits and pleasures of this world stand in competition and opposition betweene God and our duty to cast off all and say whether I have honour and libertie or no I care not so I have God my God I will have this is a happy seeking away therefore with that lazie heart I thinke it should be so and ought to be so and it is good sanctifying the Sabbath and praying it is mervellous reasonable I ought to doe it but if I doe it ease and honour will be gone and disgrace will be cast upon mee thou now seekest thy ease and honour and the Lord of heaven will curse thee and thy seeking but if thou diddest seeke with thy whole heart thou wouldest goe thorough the worke and say what regard friends and honours let ease and friends looke to themselves let friends bee displeased I had rather friends should be displeased then God it is not necessary to be rich or honorable but it is necessary to finde mercy and to have sinnes pardoned Secondly as no good thing must withdraw us from God so no misery must be a stoppe to let us from comming to the Lord but we must breake through all miseries that lie betweene God and us this is that Saint Paul resolved Acts 20.24 as who should say come what can come though heaven and earth meete together I am resolved to doe what God requires hee that seekes God with his whole heart if hee were to runne thorough hell he would runne thorough it to goe to God now away with that dawbing and hagling with the Lord O saith the poore soule I confesse the course is honorable God requires it and I should doe it but if I doe it trouble and persecution will befall me what shall become of me and mine will you have my wife and children undone if thou thus seeke the Lord thy seeking is accursed thou dost not seeke with thy whole heart they that seeke with their whole heart are like a mayd that sets her affections strong upon a man happily her friends will be reasoning about the portion and there is a cavill on the one side and an objection on the other povertie on one side and maintenance on the other side but if the woman love the man for the mans sake shee will say let me have him though I beg and die with him so it is with the soule of a poore Christian that seeke Christ with his whole heart when Christ and grace and duty bee propounded and the match offered and Christ tendered to the soule and the Lord saith I will bee thy Saviour and Redeemer but thou must looke for disgrace and misery and persecution but there is a better life a comming now if you stand for a portion with Christ that you must have ease and quiet and will not have misery and prison with Christ then you are never like to make a match but he that loves Christ for Christs sake the soule saith let the Lord Iesus be a Saviour to mee though I beg and die and never enjoy good day it is enough my soule shall bee saved if I should rot in prison and bee banished into the utmost coasts of the earth yet let mee have my Saviour let him take possession of me let his Spirit rule me whatsoever come of it this is to seeke God with our whole heart and now you are like to finde him Thirdly you must seeke the Lord constantly you must persevere in the use of all meanes looke as it is with a man that is resolved to finde another and not to leave seeking till hee hath found him he goeth first to his house he is not there he was gone to such a place an houre before well hee pursues him thither hee is not there but is gone to the Market hee followes him thither when hee comes thither hee is gone home againe well then backe againe hee goes to his house and never leaves hunting and pursuing of him till he findes him so it is with a soule that truly and constantly seekes after the Lord hee is to be found in his ordinances haply thou commest to the Word and findest him not here the Word saith hee went from hence to fasting and prayer then thou findest him not there neither then thou goest from fasting and prayer to holy conference then hee is not to be found there but is gone to the publike ordinance in the Congregation then thither thou goest and wilt not be content till thou findest him but goest backward and forward from the Word to prayer and fasting from them to conference from thence to the Word againe this to seeke the Lord constantly and hee that thus seekes is like to obtaine Psalme 122.1 The Prophet David saith Hee will waite untill the Lord sheweth mercy let this be thy resolution seeke unto God till he doe worke effectually upon thy heart thou hast fasted and prayed yet God hath not heard why fast and pray still untill hee supply what is wanting and pardon what is amisse thus never leave endeavouring and doing untill the Lord sheweth mercie unto thy soule and give the assurance of the pardon of thy sinnes thus seeke the Lord seasonably thus seeke thee Lord with all thy heart thus seeke him constantly thus seeke him with your whole heart and hee will be found of you in mercie and compassion FINIS