may be spar'd or will prove useless and must be lost But if it appear very Hard and Difficult but yet Hopeful and Possible to be attained and withal most Necessary and very Excellent and Advantageous This will Excite and Raise that Soul that hath any Principles of Prudence Generosity or Care of its own Good First Account not this Work so Easy as 't is most evident too many do who under fullest Convictions and profess'd Acknowledgments that there is such an Heaven and Hell as the Bible describes and that it so infinitely concerns them to obtain the One and escape the Other as is there declared yet Live so securely and negligently that they proclaim to all the World they think it next to Impossible to miscarry and swear by their Hopes of Salvation as the most Sacred Asseveration while they are running headlong in the Broad-way that leads to Destruction Surely these must think God's Work very Easy who flatter themselves that they can carry it on sufficiently while they are serving the Devil and their Lusts with both Hands greedily It may not be impertinent to mind such Men of the Romish Fryar's Lenten Sermon which before many Cardinals and Great Men of that Court he began abruptly thus St. Peter was a Fool and St. Paul was a Fool and all the Primitive Christians were meer Fools who took such a deal of Care and Pains to please God and save their Souls and thought the Way to Heaven was by Self-Denyal and Mortification Prayers and Fasting by Severities and denying the Pomps of this Wicked World And You at Rome indulge your selves in Ease and Sloth live in your Lusts and Luxury and spend your Time in Pomp and Pleasure and yet account your selves very good Christians and doubt not but you shall be saved But at last You 'll be found the Fools and They the Wise Men. For 't is the part of Wisdom to proportion the Means to the End and 't is great Folly to waste Time and Strength and make a great Stir and Bustle about that which may be done as you say with a wet Finger and 't is so also to act coldly and faintly in that which cannot be accomplish't without great Industry I beseech you therefore beware of such an Opinion as will greatly tempt you to be Remiss in the Work of God and remember who bid Strive to enter in at the Streight-Gate withal telling you That many of those who strive shall not be able to get in What then shall become of them who strive not The Violent take the Kingdom of Heaven As he that Asks faintly bespeaks a Denyal so he that Acts faintly will be surely Disappointed Besides what was said before it were easie to add many Evidences to prove this Work to be Hard and that 't is very Reasonable it should be so The Way is Steep and Slippery 't is hard to climb it the Enemies are Many and Mighty that Oppose thee thy Skill and Strength is small Nature will recoyl and draw back and single Nature is hardly overcome and Custom of Sinning is a Second Nature and doubtless the Difficulty and no Discipline is so hard as for him to learn to do Well who hath been accustomed to do Evil. Self is a bold Competitor with God and must be used Roughly or it will be serv'd before Him and set up above Him And for thy own Dear Sake thou wilt be prone to cry as David for his Darling Absolom Deal gently with it for my Sake And by a strange Fondness thou wilt spare the Traytor which watches to destroy thee Though Christ Rejected the Temptation Favour thy self with a Get thee behind Me Satan yet when such Sugar'd Words are offer'd thee thou 'lt hardly discern the Poyson that 's mixt with them And there are many Reasons why God hath made his own Work hard that those who Wear the Crown may Win it first For a Man is not Crown'd unless he strive Lawfully That he may appear Impartial in Rejecting Loyterers and Rewarding Labourers That his Servants may have Opportunity to exercise those Graces which else there would be no occasion for That Rest may be sweeter after Labour And that God's Grace may be Magnifyed in assisting their Weakness and Satan may be more Confounded in the Disappointment of all his Stratagems Believe therefore thy Work to be hard that thou betray not thy self to Sloth and Remissness to thy own Eternal Ruin Secondly Yet run not into the other Extream while thou avoydest this and dash not against Scylla while thou avoydest Charybdis Conclude not 't is Impossible to finish it by Labour because it is so to accomplish it without Labour Despair of Success kills all Industry and a supposed Impossibility of Attainment naturally produces Despair When once we say There is no Hope the next word will be Why should I wait any longer Why should I strive any more But Be not Sloathful but Followers of them who through Faith and Patience inherit the Promises Faith and Patience will do that which Sloth and the want of them can never do And watch carefully against that Snare Satan layes in the way of so many If I be not Elected all my Labour will be in vain I cannot alter God's Decrees Vain Creature What hast thou to do with God's Decrees Who made thee of His Council Mind thou what is written in the Word Which is nigh thee in thy Mouth and in thy Heart Not what is written in the Secret Records of Heaven Read Deut. 29.29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God But those things which are Revealed belong to Vs and to our Children for ever that we may do all the Words of this Law And Deut. 30.11 12 14. This Commandment which I command thee this Day is not hidden from thee neither is it far off It is not in Heaven that thou shouldst say Who shall go up for us to Heaven and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it But the Word is niâ—h unto thee in thy Mouth and in thy Heart that thou may'st do it See I have set before you this Day Life and Good Death and Evil Compare Rom. 10.6 9. This is the Word of Faith which we Preach If thou Confess with thy Mouth and believe in thine Heart thou shalt be saved Not if thou be Elected thou shalt be Saved whether thou believest whether thou workest out thy Salvation or no This is to begin at the wrong End as if a Man would begin to Build a House at the Roof and Build downwards Build the Roof in the Air before any thing were laid on Earth to bear it up St. Peter teaches another Method 2 Pet. 1.5 Giving all Diligence add to your Faith Vertue c. For if these Things be in you and abound they make you that you shall be neither Barren nor Vnfruitful c. And Vers 10. Giving Diligence to make your Calling and Election sure First Calling then Election and
abused Patience kindle into such Fury as shall burn to the nethermost Hell and none can quench it 'T is hard to stop my running Pen in such a Current but I will check it and refer you to the Sermons for more pressing Arguments These things have been often ecchoed in your Ears enough to make them tingle I now put them into your Hands and Houses and lay them before your Eyes read them attentively consider them Wisely practise them Faithfully and Pray earnestly that God would bless them to you as I shall not cease to do in your behalf and set this little Book in some conspicuous Place that it may be your Remembrancer when you do but glance your Eye upon it and as often as you see it ask your Consciences have I yet obeyed the Errand on which God sent that little Messenger Am I ready for Christ have I finished the work God sent me into this World for bear I such Fruit as God expects from every Tree he plants in the Vineyard of his Church Now the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has so loved us as to give us his dearly beloved Son to Dye for us and will speedily send him again to Judge us That great lover of Souls who hath sworn he desires not the Death of a Sinner but would have all Men to be Saved and come to the Knowledg of the Truth inable you in this your Day to know the things which belong to your Peace before they be hidden from you that when ever he shall come who hath said so often behold I come quickly you may lift up your Heads and not be ashamed and your Hearts may Eccho with Faith and Joy even so come Lord Jesus So Prayes dear Neighbours Your faithful Monitor and Willing Servant in the Things of Christ Anthony Walker Fyfield March 9 1680 1. THE CONTENTS Serm. I. AGainst the Neglect of present Readiness for our Lords Coming Upon St. Luke 12.40 Be ye therefore Ready also In which is shewed wherein our Readiness for Christs Coming consists and the Duty is prest by many Arguments Serm. II. AGainst putting off the finishing our great Work upon St. John 9.4 I must Work the Works of him that sent me while it is Day The Night cometh when no Man can Work In which is shewed what this Work is and Diligence urged because 't is Work and Speed with respect to the Time allowed and limited for the doing of it Serm. III. AGainst the want of present fruitfulness in our Lords Vineyard Upon St. Luke the 13.6 7 8 9. A certain Man had a Figtree planted c. In which the whole Parable is succinctly Opened and Applyed and speedy Fruitfulness proved the only means to prevent cutting down A SERMON PREACHED At St. Buttolphs Algate on Friday the 18th of February 1680 1 at the Funeral of Mr. Nathaniel Duckfeild Citizen of London and Inhabitant of the said Parish St. Luke 12.40 Be ye therefore Ready also T Is the great Design of every faithful Minister to save himself and them that hear him and nothing more naturally contributes to that good Work than a serious preparedness of Heart on the part of the Hearers and on the Preachers a Word seasonably fitted to the Occasion by which God calls them to attend to it And if any thing next to the Grace of God can awaken men to awful Apprehensions of the World to come 't is convincing Evidence of their uncertain Continuance in this World and unavoidable necessity of their certain Departure out of it And this is no where written in more legible Characters than on the Hearses of our Friends with whom we have had familiar and daily Conversation and were a few Days since as likely to have attended us to our long Homes as we were to follow them to their Beds of Silence And for this Reason the wise Man tells us it is better to go to the House of Mourning than to go to the House of Feasting For that is the end of all Men and thâ— Living will lay it to his Heart Eccl. 7.2 Supposing therefore that your Eye hath affected your Heart and that this solemn and mournful Object of our worthy and obliging Friend now shut up from us iâ— the close Confinement of a Coffin hatâ— disposed your Hearts to receive what iâ— Fit and Reasonable to be learn'd from it The Work on my part is to render my Discourse sutable That the Ordinance we are exercised in may answer the Providence which brought us to it That there may be an Harmony in the parts which are to be joyned into one piece For God hath two Books one of his Works another of his Word Both described by David in Psal xix and we are to turn a Page in either of them To learn a Lesson in the School of Nature and in the School of Grace And I desire these may answer each other as the Windows did in Solomons Temple Light over against Light Our Text our Lesson or if you will our Sermon from the Book of Providence is not only to view a man like our selves Mortal and actually dead But a man not past the vigour of his years and strength and t'other day in perfect health summoned to his Tryal to stand at Christ's Tribunal to receive his final doom and sentence And I think no Text in Scripture Ecchoes more vocally to this than the words I have read Be ye therefore Ready also The illative Particle therefore hath an aspect also on the Context and it looks both backward and forward to what went before in the 37. and 39. verses and what follows after in this In the Verses pointed at before the Text are laid down the blessedness of the ready and the misery of the unready Rewards and Punishments are the Instruments of Government Hopes and Fears are the Spurs and Bridles to quicken to Good to restrain from Evil. Therefore if you would injoy the Good 't is Natural to hope for and desire or escape the Evil 't is Natural to fear and fly from Be ready The blessedness of the ready is described by the honour every such servant shall receive from his Lord and Master when he comes He will gird himself and make them sit down to meat and come forth and serve him And for greater assurance like Pharaohs dream 't is doubled v. 37. begins blessed are those servans and v. 38. ends blessed are those servants The misery of the not ready is described by the condition of an Housholder surprized by Robbers who break through his House with the supposed consequences take away his Goods and Life so that the sum is seeing such ready servants shall assuredly be blessed And such unprepared Housholder shall be miserably ruined Let others happiness be your incouragement And let others harms be your warnings that ye be ready But the duty is of such vast importance that 't is prest yet farther with a Reason at the back of it For the son
Table from being Moral but in common speaking those of the Second are chiefly understood And they are Naturâ notiora more easily discerned by the light of Natural Conscience and he may see his duty in what is easily known who sees it not in what is harder to discover How shall he love God whom he hath not seen who loveth not his brother whom he hath seen But he is without excuse who pretends to know and do the hardest And will neither know nor do the easiest A sober and honest Conversation in the fight of men is a fair body of a Christian but there must be a Soul and Spirit to enliven it as he said to him who wondered that a Statue with such perfect lineaments could neither go nor stand Deest aliquid tnius There wants a living Principle within With the putting off the Old man according to the Conversation and putting on the new there must be a renuing in the Spirit of the mind Eph. iv 23. Many Heathens excelled in the exercise of Vertues Aristides Cato Regulus And yet if you will believe St. Augustine they were but splendida peccata shining sins they wanted both right Principle and end and the sprinkling with Christs Blood We must add Faith to our Vertue as well as Vertue to our Faith See that you do the great things of the Law but besure you leave not undone the greater things of the Gospel A lively work of Faith to purifie your hearts unite you to Christ and make you partakers of his Spirit for sound Regeneration and through Conversion without this you are undone for ever Fifthly Not being of the true Church or of this or that Party or Persuasion 'T is a wonder so many should be cheated with so groundless an error not only Papists who have an Hypothesis which tempts them to it That the Faith of the Church and Treasury of the Church may be Communicated to them by being Members of it But many others crying I am of Paul I of Appollo I of Cephas A true Son of the Church one of the Godly Party one of the Friends But I beseech you take notice 'T is not being of the truest and best Religion in the world will save you but being true to that Religion and living up to it Salvation was of the Jews Theirs was the Religion God dispenc'd Salvation in yet all Jews were not saved All are not Israel who are of Israel nor all the children of Abrahams Faith who were the children of his flesh Surely Judas was of the true Church when he was of our Lords own Family and yet went thence to his own place a place to which you would be loath to follow him Be thy head never so Orthodox as to the Articles of Faith if thy life be Hetrodox as to the Rule of Practice the goodness of thy Faith will be so far from excusing the badness of thy Life that it will greatly aggravate thy Condemnation and the more clearly thou knowest thy Masters will and the more firmly thou believest it with more stripes shalt thou be beaten for disobeying it Tho bad Company occasions many mens damnation and good Company may be an help to yet never was it never shall it be a cause of any mans Salvation I mean that he should be saved meerly for professing the same Religion with them who are saved tho not for the Professing but Practising of their Religion Lastly Not believing in Christ or presuming rather they do so without any Fruits of Faith to prove it true and lively God forbid I should make any sinister reflections on the Doctrine of our Church and a Doctrine so clear in Scripture as that of the Justification and Salvation of sinners by Faith in Christ yea by Faith alone God who regarded the lowliness of his hand maid when his Son was Conceived hath had regard to this humble lowly Grace as to the Conceiving Christ in our Hearts That Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith 'T is appointed to receive Christ Jesus and to make us the Sons of God by so doing And whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life John iii. 16. I know no other way of Salvation for my self I teach no other way to you yet after all I say to you look well to your selves that your Faith be Faith indeed not a dead faith not a bold presumption not a self delusion The stronger and purer the Liquor is with which the Poyson is mixed the more dangerous will its Operation be I fear the Poyson the Devil infuses in this Holy this pure Doctrine of the Gospel kills multitudes for want of caution I beseech you therefore be very cautious lest you be deceived in your Faith The question is not whether Faith will save thee and makes thee ready for Christ But whether thou indeed have Faith that is true Faith 'T is certain Faith alone justifies a sinner but as certain that that Faith which is alone justifies no sinner The Eye alone sees The Hand alone works but if the Eye or Hand be alone that is separated from the Body they neither see nor work Tho Faith justifies us as a passive Grace receiving Christ and the gift of Righteousness by and with him and Sanctifies as an active Grace yet 't is the same Faith that doth both and if it do not both it will do neither With the same Hand we receive what is given us and with the same Hand we work what is injoyned us The same Faith that receives Christ as a Saviour engages you to serve him as your Lord and King And the same Faith which justifies your Persons must Sanctifie your Natures Act. xxvi 18. And purifie your hearts Act. xv 9. And work by love and make you new Creatures in Christ 2 Cor. v. 17. if it ingraft you into him and will constrain you to live to him if you do in good earnest believe he dyed for you and if your Faith have not these Fruits to prove it true and living it makes you not ready for Christ thou rather dreamest thou believest in Christ than dost so really and whilst thou art in this stumber thy Lamp will go out like the foolish Virgins Matth. xxv 8. and thou wilt have nothing to meet Christ with when ever he comes Thus have I shewed you negatively what will not make you ready for Christ tho too many flatter and befool themselves that it will and will not suffer themselves to be convinc'd of their error till it be too late to redeem and mend it I earnestly exhort you and most heartily beg of God you may never be found in that number And now I proceed to the positive part to shew wherein Readiness for Christ consists And First To be ready for Christ is to be a Good man a Righteous man an Holy upright Godly Man One who desires to do the whole will of God sincerely both by ceasing to do evil and learning to do good
Christians and blessed is he that hath attained them to be Justified and Sanctified yet one thing is farther necessary if not to the Esse the Being yet to the bene Esse the well Being of a Christian to render us compleatly and actually ready for Christs present coming They that had their Lamps lighted and Oyl provided in their Vessels yet slumbered and slept and tho their Lamps were not gone out they burnt dim and wanted new trimming The brightest Coals will vail themselves with Ashes if they be not blown off And the clearest waters will contract a slime and muddy Sediment by long standing and so will our Graces decline wax Faint and languish if they be not exerted stirred up and exercised which makes it most needful to be daily acting that Faith a fresh upon the promises by which we are justified and actuating that Grace anew by which we are Sanctified There are many expressions in Scripture whereby this duty is injoyned as trimming our Lamps Matth. xxv 7. Having our loins girded and our lights burning Luke xii 35. stirring up the gift of God 2 Tim. i. 6. which in the Greek is an eligant Metaphor signifying the blowing off the Ashes Giving all diligence to make our calling and election sure 2 Pet. i. 10. Proving our own selves 2 Cor. xiii 5. Growing in Grace 2 Pet. iii. 18. Going on to perfection Reaching forth to those things which are before pressing towards the mark for the price Phil. iii. 14. Being Righteous still and Holy still Rev. xxii 11. that is let him take care to be more and more so by holding fast what we have Rev. iii. 3 11. By keeping our selves in the Love of God Jud. 21. Looking for and hastning to the coming of the day of God 2 Pet. iii. 12. With many more but the most frequent and most significant is Watching Watch therefore for ye know neither the day nor the hour when your Lord doth come Mat. xxiv 42. xxv 13. Mark xiii 35. and 37. What I say unto you I say unto all Watch. Watch ye stand fast in the Faith quit you like men be strong 1 Cor. xvi 13. Now this charge given us in the Text to be ready as it in the first place requires our speedy care to get our sins pardoned and our peace made with God and our hearts changed and our Natures renued to the Image of God so it farther puts us upon a dayly strengthning our Faith and renuing our Repentance labouring after assurance standing upon our constant guard and endeavouring to be always in such a posture as we would be willing nay glad to be found in when ever Christ shall come To Watch against sloath security worldly cares relapses into sin or what ever may overcharge our hearts and render us liable to surprize or to be overtaken with that day at unawares read Luke xxi 34 35 36. To rise speedily from our falls into sin by present Repentance To be watchful against all temptations to sin and occasions of backsliding or declining For admitting that on Gods part whose gifts and calling are without Repentance Rom. xi 29. and who loves unchangeably and to the end them whom he takes for his own Joh. xiii 1. Those who are truly Justified and Sanctified cannot fall totally and finally from that estate because God upholds them with his hand and none can take them out of his hand because he is stronger than all Joh. x. 28. 29. and the Righteous are an everlasting Foundation Prov. x. 25. because the Foundation of God standeth sure having this seal the Lord knoweth who are his 2 Tim. ii 19. and these two Deus Providebit and Christus Oravit Gods Providential care over them and Christs constant intercession for them will preserve them to and at the last Yet were it as possible on Gods part as 't is on theirs It would be very sad for David and Bathshebah to have dyed like Zimri and Cosby as they sinned like them and for St. Peter to have breathed out his soul in that breath which was polluted with denying and forswearing of his Master and for any man to dye without at least a General Repentance for every sin and Particular Repentance for every gross and known sin and therefore we must be upon our constant Watch and Guard Especially considering this Watchfulness is appointed as a means to preserve us from falling Watch and Pray lest ye fall into temptation Mark xiv 38. By him who designs the means as well as the end And hath no where secured the end to them who disobey and tempt him by neglecting of the means and for want of Watching Admitting again they cannot break their Necks as the usual comparison is wholly lose their Spiritual life yet may they break their Legs and their Arms and all their other Limbs and go maimed and halting to their Graves And may incur many dreadful evils to themselves besides the dishonour they bring to God reproach to the Gospel and scandal and offence they give to others for they may by grieving the Spirit provoke him to suspend his influence may wound their own Conscience weaken their Graces lose their Comforts fall under desertion pull down Temporal vengeance on themselves be brought into bondage by the fear of death lessen their reward in the Kingdom of Heaven tho they should not wholly be shut out yea may make it justly questionable to themselves and others whether they were ever Justified and Sanctified indeed or had any more than a name to live All which do so infinitely out weigh the short the paultry the filthy pleasures of sin that their sloath and neglect of Watching may gratifie them with that I hope they may abundantly convince you of the necessity of adding this last care to what went before to be presently ready for Christ and to keep your selves so by Watching and standing always on your guard till he shall come and give you the blessing promised to those he finds so doing Matth. xxiv 46. I shall now proceed to an useful improvement of this weighty truth that it is the indispensable duty and highest wisdom of every man to be presently ready for Christs coming and I shall endeavour it in four Uses 1. Instruction 2. Reprehension 3. Examination 4. Exhortation Altho I shall slide over the three first little more than naming the particulars the last being that which I chiefly design First It will be very useful to Instruct and direct you what is to be done on your parts that you may become thus fit and ready for Christs coming or to attain those things in which this readiness hath been declared to consist I take it for granted that some thing is yea very much is incumbent on us to be done on our parts and that wretched Opinion that we may neglect duty to Gods Revealed will upon pretence of devolving all upon his Secret Decrees is fitter to be exploded and abhorred amongst Christians than confuted The Text
his Candle Not with an Enemy but wilt Heap coals of fire on his head to melt him or oblige him with preventing kindness not with a Beast but if it Low for Food wilt serve it or if it fall into a ditch be it an Ox or Ass wilt straightways pull it out tho on the Sabbath day Luke xiv 5. Nay you will not make the Devil dance attendance at the rate you trifle with Almighty God if he but whistle to you you know his meaning and obey it a nod a beckon of his finger is enough you are dry Tinder to the first spark of Temptation he cast on you and you are quickly in a flame But to Gods Holy motions tho they be hot as coals of Juniper you are like green wood no blowing will suffice to dry or make you kindle Nay would I could say that too many were not too quick and nimble for the Devil himself save him the charge and trouble of a temptation run to his work before he bids them like high mettled Horses start before the sign can be given and run full speed without either Switch or Spur. And yet mean-while quite foundred and down right lame in the ways of God that neither Spur nor Whip can mend their pace God hath not left himself without witness that he might leave thee without excuse his grads are in thy sides his hand hath fixed them in thy very soul for as he hath planted punitive affections in thee to be his rods to whip thee for thy past offences such as shame and grief So hath he quickning affections to excite thee to thy duty such as hope and fear and yet thou wilt kick against these pricks be it never so hazardous never so hard to do so How often hast thou felt these stings strike to thy very heart and yet like a restive Horse thou wilt rather winch or kick or run backward or fall down than go forward as thou oughtest When sickness hath assaulted thee and grim Death hath stared thee in the face with its gastly visage how have thy knees smote against each other like Belshazers Thy Countenance wax'd pale and trembling seized thy joynts and anguish and horror surprized thy Conscience Like Cain apprehending that Every thing that met thee would kill thee and what killed would damn thee Yet after all this thou returnest to thy old security yea like heated water thou becomest more cold or softned Iron more hard than e're before Ninteenthly If there be any spark of Ingenuity left in thee let 's try to blow up that Christ went not thus lingringly about the work He undertook for thy sake But he left the Mansions of Glory and came down from Heaven more willingly than thou canst be persuaded to go thither Lo I come to do thy will O my God In the volume of thy look it is written of me He came leaping over the hills skipping over the mountains Conquering all difficulties in the way With desire he desired to eat that Passover he knew was to be his last and himself immediately to succeed it I have a Baptism to be Baptized with and how am I straitned till it be accomplished And when his hour was come he delays not one hour longer but went to Jerusalem where he was to dye When they sought to take him he called the Traytor friend which kist him into their hands yea offered himself to them of his own accord whom seek ye I am he and when that word had struck them down he let them rise and bind and carry him away tho he had more than twelve legions of Angels ready for his Rescue 'T were endless to reckon up those many Arguments you meet with in History to shew how readily he went about that dreadful work and how active he was in his Bloody Passion Read Believe Consider these things well and for shame make more hast to be ready to attain that blessedness with him for the procuring which he was so ready to be made a curse for thee Twentiethly This thy delay wounds God in his tenderest part his Eye his Heart his Bowels A wound is troublesome where ere 't is fixt but neither so painful nor so mortal in an Arm or Leg as in some vital part To wound God in the Foot of his Providence the Arm of his Power or Hand of his Justice is a provocation but not like wounding him in the Eye of his Pitty Heart of his Grace and Mercy and the Bowels of his tender Compassions All the most amiable and endearing Attributes of God shine most resplendently in this work of God to give his Son for sinners and for sinners to refuse this Gift despise this Love make light of it as not worth receiving or preparing to receive it what can be more provoking But set aside at present the consideration of all the rest and think what the abuse of his patience alone amounts to Rev. ii 21. I gave her space to repent and she repented not was the most killing Article in Christs charge against Jesabel Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leads thee to repentance Rom. ii 4. This is the sin by which men Treasure up wrath against the day of wrath For as Gods long suffering should be Salvation to us the abuse of it becomes the surest and the sorest Damnation Laesa patientia fit furor abused patience turns into fury And God swears in his wrath at last They shall never enter into his rest who had grieved him by refusing the tenders of it forty years together Twenty firstly This delay turns thy light into darkness thy very Prayers into sin for either thou canst not Pray as thou oughtest for the coming of Christ to Judgment come Lord Jesus come quickly or thou Prayest against thy own life and so against thy own heart and dost but mock God and wouldst not have hiâ— take thee at thy word as St. Augustinâ— bewaylingly confest when he Prayed foâ— Continence before his Conversion Anâ— domine sed non modo Lord hear me buâ— not yet because he was afraid to lose hâ— pleasing Lusts So when thou sayest Thâ— Kingdom come either thou considerest noâ— what thou sayest or only sayest it in câ—stom and formality for neither would thou have the Kingdom of his Grace come which thou willfully opposest nor thâ— Kingdom of his Glory for which thou râ—fusest obstinately to be ready and not hiâ— would afright thee more than pregnaâ—â— symptoms of its near approach and speâ—dy coming and wouldst as in a by worâ— men say Witches do say thy Prayers bacâ—ward let not thy Kingdom come bâ— stay I pray thee till I be ready for it Twenty secondly Tho thou delay and loyterest yet other things do no Time tarrys not that 's in perpetual Flâ— and sliding on thou mayest take off tâ— Weights of thy Clock and stop its Motioâ— but thou canst not stop the Course of tâ—
their Duty and their Wisdom to engage them to improve their Opportunities speedily for the Work of God and their own Souls which I could make good by more than Twenty of the best Expositors both Antient and Modern if 't were needful I shall now proceed to grasp the Strength and Scope of the whole Verse into one full and comprehensive Observation alwayes Useful and to the present Occasion very Seasonable Take it in these plain Words and easie to be understood The Consideration of the Work we have to do and the Time allowed and limited for the Doing of it in indispensably oblige us to the utmost Speed and Diligence in the Doing of it I conceive these Expressions are fairly Commensurate with the Text And as they leave out nothing which is material in it so they add nothing to it but what is evidently Comprehended in it as will be farther manifest by explaining these Three Particulars 1. What is meant by this Work we have to do 2. What is the Time or Season allowed to do it in call'd in the Text a Day or While it is Day 3. What is the Limitation by which this Time is bounded and to which it is restrained which is partly imply'd in calling it a Day which is a definite and measur'd Portion of Time partly express'd in the word Night which puts an End and Period to the Day These as they relate to Christ which I touch because he first applyes them to Himself and shall after wholly wave and supersede were as to his Work To prove Himself to be the Son of God the True the Promised Messiah To reveal the Will and Counsel of his Father to the World To shew to Men the way of Salvation and Eternal Life To declare the Covenant of Grace and Preach the Gospel And to manifest both Himself and his Doctrine to be of God by working many and mighty Miracles and by speaking as never any other Man spake and doing such Works as never any other Man did and Approving Himself mighty both in Word and Deed before God and all the People Luk. 24.19 till he had confirm'd the Faith of them who believed in Him and left the Incredulous and Obstinate without Excuse And such was the Work of Opening the Eyes of him that was born Blind Recorded in this Chapter and the Words he spake upon that Occasion Secondly For His Day It was the Time allotted him of his Father to continue in this World the Season of his Ministry the Space in which a Restraint was laid upon the Powers of Darkness from hindring him to fulfil all that was fore-told concerning him and to accomplish all that was needful to be done for his Father's Glory and his Peoples Salvation before his last Suffering Thirdly The Night was his Death and going out of this World the Hour of the Wicked and the Power of Darkness to which he was to be subject in his Passion St. Luk. 22.53 in which according to his Father's Determinate Counsel he did voluntarily suspend his Power of working Miracles and would not deliver Himself but suffered Himself first to be Apprehended and then Condemned to Dye and then by Wicked Hands to be Crucifyed and Slain Act. 2.23 I have thus briefly glanc'd at the Meaning of the Words as they relate to our Saviour to whom they were primarily apply'd that this may facilitate the Understanding of them as applicable to our our selves to which I shall confine my self in the Handling and Improving of them And therefore the Work to be done as it concerns us is to believe in Jesus Christ This is St. Chrysostome's from Joh. 6.28 29. What shall we do that we may work the Works of God Jesus answered and said unto them This is the Work of God that ye Believe on Him whom He hath sent That is the Work He hath enjoyn'd us according to 1 Joh. 3.23 This is his Commandment That ye Believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ Our Work is to Repent sincerely of our Sins and turn to God with our whole Hearts and to bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance Thus Gregory the Great upon the Fourth Penitential Psalm What are these Works of his Father which he sayes Are to be wrought by Day and not by Night Nisi agri intellectualis cultura The Tillage and Cultivating of our Souls which the Prophet Jeremiah's Description of Repentance agrees well with Jer. 4.3 4. Break up your Fallow Ground and sow not among Thorns Circumcise your selves unto the Lord and take away the Fore-skin of your Hearts Kill the Thorns and Weeds of your Lusts and Corruptions by plowing up the Roots of them by the Plough of Godly Sorrow Mortification and Amendment of Life This Work is To work out our own Salvation with Fear and Trembling Phil. 2.12 In a word It is to become good Men good Christians and to live as becomes those who profess to be such to get our Peace made with Heaven to be fit to Dye to Glorify God and to save our own Souls which is the One Thing necessary the Work God hath sent us into this World for Secondly The Time the Season allowed us to do this Work in is the Day of our Natural Life as a Good Expositor upon the Words The space of every Mans Life is his Day Therefore as the Shortness of the Day quickens Work-men to Industry and Sedulity lest the Darkness of the Night should over-take them in the Midst of their Endeavours and before their Work is finished So we knowing the Time of our Life is but short should be asham'd and afraid to loyter and freeze in Sloath and Idleness and must not delay at all lest our Opportunities slip from us past Recovery And farther Our Day is the Day of Grace while we have the Sun of Righteousness shining in the Light of the Gospel and while we have God's Ordinances without and the Motions and Assistance of his Spirit within before the Means of Salvation be taken from us or the Blessing be taken from the Means And God's blessed Spirit for our often quenching grieving and resisting of Him and refusing his proffered Aids and gracious Help with-draw and leave us and Blackness of Darkness over-shade yea over-whelm our Minds as the Dreadful Beginnings of Eternal Night Thirdly By Night which limits our Day is to be understood as may be gathered from the Opposition betwixt these two the contrary to what is meant by Day And therefore it signifies our Natural Death or any notable Degree or Tendency toward it Loss of our Senses Reason or such decayes of them as make us incapable of Acting as Men in our great Concerns Or the setting of the Gospel Sun the removal of God's Kingdom and Candlestick God's departure from us and taking away his Light and Guidance His Grace and Spirit without which we can do nothing but wander and wilder and lose our selves and do no Work but what hath Death for its Wages and find no
So let these Confiderations quicken you lest you be be-nighted and find too soon the Folly of your coming too late to enter into the City of God But Man hath a Door too into which God must enter and this will be shut at Night Rev. 3.20 Behold I stand at the Door and Knock if any Man open to Me I will come in and Sup with him and he with Me. There is a Door of Knowledge The Key of Knowledge Opens it When the Eyes of our Understandings are enlightned opened to know God in Christ and to receive the Knowledge of His Will God comes into the Heart through this Door when the Eyes of our Minds are so opened as to know God and Christ a right so as to Know them is Eternal Life Joh. 17.3 And a Door of Faith through which Christ comes when He enters to dwell in our Hearts by Faith Ephes 3.17 And there is a Door of Repentance by which Sin is turn'd out and God is admitted into our Souls And Lastly There is the Door of Holy Affections Love Desire Delight in God These are at least the Hinges upon which the Door of our Hearts turn Now these Doors may all be opened to let in God while the Day lasts and He will come in and make His Abode with us John 14.23 Jesus said If any Man love Me he will keep My Words And My Father will love him and We will come unto him and make Our Abode with him But when Night comes they will be shut for ever Hasten therefore to open them while you may lest when you would it prove too hard for you and be above both your Skill and your Power You know a Door that is opened dayly opens easily But Doors which stand long shut 't is hard to make them stir or open them without great Violence that shakes them and even breaks them in pieces The Timber will swell the Hinges will rust the Wards of the Lock will be cankered and the Bolts will even grow into the Staples And so will it by Proportion be with your Hearts if you keep the Door long shut against God Nay He may in Anger clap on a Padlock on the other side shut thee up Judicially in Unbelief and Impenitency nail and barracado up the Door for ever because He knock't and call'd so long and woo'd so earnestly in vain Cant. 5.2 Open to Me My Sister My Love My Dove My Vndefiled for My Head is fill'd with Dew and My Locks with the Drops of the Night Then after many idle Excuses for her Delay Vers 6. I opened to my Beloved but my Beloved had with-drawn Himself and was gone My Soul failed when He spake I sought Him but I could not find Him I called Him but He gave me no Answer Take heed lest this or worse be thy Case Refuse not to open at the first Knock the first Call the Motions of His Spirit the Checks of thy Conscience the Admonitions of the Word lest He Knock no more or refuse when thou shalt open at thy own Leasure to come near the Door The Servants which shall be blessed are They that wait for their Lord and when he cometh and knocketh open to him immediately Luk. 12.35 Rouze up your selves therefore and speak to your Souls in David's Language and as much as may be with David's Zeal Psal 24.7 9. which he witnessed by the Ingemination of them Lift up your Heads Oh ye Gates and be ye lift up ye Everlasting Doors and the King of Glory shall come in Who is this King of Glory The Lord of Hosts He is this King of Glory And take heed that dreadful Place be not fulfilled upon you Isa 6.10 the most dreadful Word God can speak till he say Depart ye Cursed Make the Heart of this People fat and their Ears heavy and shut their Eyes lest they be Converted and I Heal them A Place Six times repeated in the New-Testament to make us mind it lest by our sinful Shutting the Door we provoke God Judicially to shut it up for ever Sixthly No Man can work when this Night cometh because 't is an abiding Night There is no Day on the other side of it We say To Morrow is a New Day what we cannot do to Day we may do to Morrow But there is no Morrow beyond the Night of Death 'T is appointed to all Men once to Dye but once and after that the Judgment Heb. 9.29 No Second Day of Life allowed to them who have mis-spent and lost the First Job said long since There is Hope of a Tree that if it be cut down it will sprout again and that the tender Branch thereof will not cease Though the Root thereof wax old in the ground and the Stock thereof Dye yet through the Scent of Water it will bud and bring forth Boughs like a Plant. But Man dyeth and wasteth away yea Man giveth up the Ghost and Where is he As the Waters fail from the Sea and the Flood decayeth and dryeth up so Man Lyeth down and Riseth not till the Heavens be no more They shall not awake or rise out of their Sleep Job 14.7 12. And the Heathen Poet long ago observed the like of the Sun The Sun 's Set and Rise Set and Rise again But We when We Set are covered with Eternal Night No repeated Light or Day succeeds O therefore timely and wisely Improve the Present That had need be done well which can be done but once and admits no doing it again to remedy the Errours of doing ill at first And such above all things is the Work of Dying and finishing our Dayes Work before the Night surprize us The Proverb tells us Three Things require greatest Caution and most prudent Circumspection Marriage Battle Death Upon this Account Because their Consequents are like to last Yet the First of these excludes not all possible Relief Good Counsel may reclaim Patience may bear and Wisdom may improve the Inconvenience or the Death of the Party which makes the Yoke unequal and uneasy may take it off the Grieved Party's Neck that it shall not alwayes gall here And at farthest Death will Dissolve the Bond that it shall not be alwayes troublesome And the Second though dangerous is not wholly desperate He that hath lost a Battle suffer'd a Defeat and Rout may Rally and Recruit and though it cost him Dear may learn Experience for more wary Conduct and may expect a more Propitious Fortune But he that Dyes Unpardoned and Ungodly that is before his Work is done he is undone to all Intents and Purposes no Remedy or Hope of Remedy remains to all Eternity And as the fore-nam'd Reasons shew it impossible to Work when this Night hath actually overtaken us so the Last which follows should excite and quicken us to the uttermost to be before-hand with it For Seventhly This Night makes hast The Text tells you It cometh and I tell you and Experience tells you and Christ in effect
Work effectually in others Convince them thou believest thy self the Truth and the Necessity of what thou pressest on them Secondly Ye that are Parents labour to season early the tender Hearts of your Children with a Sense of Religion and their Great Work Youth is the Age of Discipline and the Seed-time for their whole Life Train up a Child in the Way wherein he should go and when he is Old he will not Depart from it The First Impressions are most Lasting 'T is a great Honour to be entrusted with the Education of one Child and to have Opportunity to form it for God's Service As you were the means of their being Born and the Occasions of their being Born in Sin you owe them both in Love and Justice your Best Endeavours that they may be Born again and made Saints The Third and Last Branch of the Exhortation is to All in general though more especially to Young Persons 1. To a Speedy Setting about their great Work 2. To a Diligent Progress in it when it is Begun First To a Speedy Setting about this Work Young Man I say unto thee Arise And Oh! that Christ would vouchsafe to accompany this Word with such a Power of His Spirit as might render it as effectual to some Dead Soul as they were upon the Dead-Son of the Widdow of Naim Luk. 7. Awake thou that sleepest stand forth from the Dead and Christ shall give thee Light Suppose thou heardest God say to thee as in the Parable Son go work to day in my Vineyard this present Day and though thou hast neglected His Call heretofore yet now Repent and go But because it often is with Young Persons if I may make such an Allusion as it was with Lazarus when Christ call'd him forth of his Grave Joh. 11.44 He that was Dead came forth bound Hand and Foot with Grave-Cloaths and his Face bound about with a Napkin Therefore Jesus said unto them Loose him and let him go When they begin to be quickned and have some Sense of the Necessity of speedy Walking in the Wayes of God yet their Heads are bound about they are muffled and blind-folded with Prejudices and cannot see their Way and bound Hand and Foot with Grave-Cloaths hamper'd and shackled with former Customs and Objections that they can neither walk in God's Way nor work for Him I will endeavour to loose them and knock off their Fetters and remove the Lets and Hinderances of their Motion and their Speed and I shall do it briefly For though there may be many Foolish Cavils there can be neither wise nor strong Objections against the present Setting about God's Work that they should either need much Time or Pains to Remove them First then 't is Objected That Religion is too serious a Work for Young People as the Philosopher said Young Men were not fit Hearers of the Precepts of Morality but Postquam deferbuit aetas after the Heats of Youth are boyl'd over after their Lusts and Passions have spent themselves and they have Sow'd their Wild Oats as your Common Phrase is The Heat of Youth is a kind of Sickness and no wise Physitian administers in the Heighth of the Paroxisme but stayes till the Fit be over 'T is a Degree of Drunkenness and we Reprove not the Drunkard 'till he be Sober and come to himself Answer These Comparisons prove nothing and are as easily sleighted as produced For the main Objection 'T is true Religion is a very serious Thing and therefore the fitter to restrain the Extravagancy of Youthful Lusts which by how much the more Impetuous they are by so much the stronger Curbs they need to restrain and keep them in Order And 't is the Excellency of the Word of God and its high Commendation that 't is an Antidote strong enough to purge out such a Poyson Where-with-all shall a Young Man cleanse his Ways By taking heed thereto according to thy Word Psal 119.9 For a Man to indulge his Lusts and profess Religion I confess were a way to desecrate and pollute so Holy a thing But Religion minded in Sincerity will subdue and mortify them And give Subtilty to the Simple to the Young Man Knowledge and Discretion Prov. 1.4 Though Youth hath its Inconveniences which Religion will Correct it also hath its Advantages which Religion will Improve 'T is more Vigorous and Active more Susceptive and Retentive more Free and Dis-engaged more Unprejudiced and Dis-incumbred than the following Stages of Life And therefore most acceptable to God and fittest to be Consecrated to His Work Religion will Relieve against the Incommodities of Youth and give the Prerogatives of Age and make them Men in Knowledge and Gravity who are but Youths in Years For Honourable Age is not that which standeth in Length of Time nor that is measured by Number of Years But Wisdom is gray Hair unto Men and an unspotted Life is Old Age. Wisd 4.8 9. yea gives Prerogatives above it For Young David was Wiser than his Teachers and had more Vnderstanding than the Antients because he kept God's Precepts Yea the Wise King carries the Disproportion very high when he tells us Eccles 4.13 That a Poor and Wise Child is better than an Old and Foolish King Religion therefore is not too serious even for a Child seeing it can make a Child Serious nor in danger to to be prejudiced by the Levity of Youth seeing it can Cloath even Youth with Gravity Secondly A Second Objection against Early Piety is suggested by Superstitious Fear that they shall Dye presently if they grow Devout as some Fools think they must if they once make their Wills Answ How absurdly do Sinners suffer themselves to be abused by the Devil and their own vain Hearts They now begin to be fit to Live therefore they must presently Dye How inconsequent is this Conclusion How Unreasonable such Reasoning As if God would suffer none but Fools and Knaves to Live and those Wicked Men with whom He is Angry every Day and for whom He hath Prepar'd the Instruments of Death and Hath whet His Sword and bent His Bow and made all ready for speedy Execution if they turn not Psal 7.11 12 13. God calls the Righteous Lights and he hath more use for them to Shine in the World than to whelm them Vnder the Bushel of Death as soon as he hath set them up to Shine in a Crooked and Perverse Generation 'T is Bloody and Deceitful Men against whom the Sentence is pronounc't That they shall not Live out half their Dayes But of Wisdom it is said that Length of Dayes is in her Right Hand and in her Left Hand Riches and Honour Prov. 3.16 And St. Peter 1.3 10. He that will love Life and see good Dayes let him refrain his Tongue from Evil and his Lips from speaking Guile Let him eschew Evil and do Good Finally We find this Encouragement given to the Good Man Job 5.26 That he shall come to his Grave in a
let them slip Heb. 2.1 We must be Zealous and Repent We must Believe with all our Hearts We must Love Christ in Sincerity We must Obey from the Heart the Form of Doctrine delivered to us In a word We must do all God's Work as in His Sight remembering He stands by and looks on and as near as may be as the Saints and Angels do in Heaven And to be sure that is Diligently indeed 'T is our Duty Secondly We are bound by Gratitude and Ingenuity which Bond like Silken ones should be the Stronger for its Softness If a Friend lend Money or a Stock to Trade with which he that wanteth cannot Trade at all this is a great Engagement upon those who Receive it to Trade the more Industriously Thus God hath dealt with us hath Trusted us with Talents and with Opportunities and expects the best Improvement of them Why is there a Price put in the Hand of a Fool to get Wisdom seeing he hath no Heart there-to Prov. 17.16 When God sets up His Tabernacle 't is to this End That Men may seek him in it Act. 15.16 17. The Kindness of that Benefactor is abused basely who furnisheth him with Tools who will not use them Leave Opportunity Help to do our Work is as great an Obligation as can be laid on any Ingenuous Man to make him Diligent How oft doth Christ say He that hath Ears to Hear let him Hear Luk. 8.8 10. As we commonly ask What did God give you Eyes and Ears and Hands for but to See and Hear and Work Thirdly We are bound by Interest and 't is our Wisdom to Promote this Work for the Advantage redounds to our selves If thou be Wise thou shalt be Wise for thy self and if thou Scornest thou alone shalt bear it Prov. 9.12 God sets us not to Work as Pharaoh did the Israelites to Make Brick for his Buildings But we work for our selves though He sets us our Work and we shall Suffer Loss if our Work abide not Blessed is the Man that heareth Me watching daily at My Gates waiting at the Posts of My Doors For whoso findeth Me findeth Life and shall obtain Favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own Soul all they that hate Me love Death Prov. 7.34 35 36. Men are greatly Ambitious to be accounted Wise and 't is the Greatest Wisdom to be Wise to Salvation And so is that Man who understands his own Interest so well as to do his Work with Diligence Do it therefore so and it Shall be thy Wisdom and Vnderstanding Deut. 4.6 The Last Head from which I shall draw Motives to excite your Diligence is Example Than which none can be more fit and proper in this Subject Man is naturally prone to be led by Example especially in Working and the Principal Force of the Text depends upon our Saviour's urging our Duty by His own Example I must work the Works of Him that sent Me. Now we have great Variety and Multitude of Examples to draw us yea provoke us unto Diligence no less than the whole Creation nay more For all the Creatures and the Creatour Himself are our Examples herein God Himself is Purus Actus as the Schools call Him a Spirit an Active Quickening Spirit all Life Activity and Motion who is Eternally Busie never Idle Unimploy'd or Acting Wearily or Faintly My Father hitherto Worketh and I Work saith our Lord. And the whole Creation like its Maker had naturally na Sloathful Piece 'till Sin and Vice had taught them to be such and even since the Worst are Busie in their Wickedness and Diligent in doing Mischief which should Shame us and Provoke us to out-do them in our Better Work But I 'le briefly touch this Argument by Parts And First The Inanimate Creatures What David calls upon them to do Psal 148. they do most Diligently Obey the Law of their Creation Fulfil their Maker's Will and Do the Work He made them for The Sun the Moon and Stars and all the Host of Heaven give both their Light and Influence move Swiftly Regularly and Constantly measure to us Time and Seasons by their Equal Revolutions and never stop unless He bids them and yet one Word of His checks them in their full Career and they Stand or go Back as He commands them The Wind the Rain the Hail the Snow the Storms and Tempests and the Meteors do the like The Sea Ebbs and Flows raises its Billows or smooths its Face at His least Beck The Earth gives forth its Strength for Man and Beasts rests and is quiet or Quakes and Trembles at His Word yea Cleaves asunder under those He bids it swallow down The Trees bring for their Fruit or cast their Leaves at His Appointment and know their Spring and Autumn And all the Bruit Creatures are Strangers to Sloath and Enemies to Disobedience but Patterns of Diligence and Wisdom The Ant the Turtle the Crane and the Swallow keep their Seasons and do their Work in them and the Stolid Ox and Stupid Ass know their Owner and their Master's Crib and will wear His Yoke who Feeds them Secondly The Devil and Wicked Men For Fas est ab hoste Doceri Satan Compasses the Earth and walks about in it goes about continually seeking whom he may devour is alwayes contriving Mischief by his Wiles Depths Methods Stratagems or acting it by Temptations which he multiplyes one after another that if one succeed not another may as he did with our Lord Himself for Forty Dayes together Beelzebub the God of Flyes is more importunate than any Fly desiring to winnow even the Disciples as Wheat is winnowed To sift Men to the Bran a Phrase importing utmost Diligence Alwayes restless never weary and gives not over till Restrain'd and Chain'd up by a strong Hand And Wicked Men are like him They accomplish a Diligent Search they weary themselves to commit Iniquity and cannot Sleep unless they cause some to fall Commit their Wickednesses with both Hands greedily And take more pains to go to Hell than would suffice if well imploy'd to bring them to Heaven And Oh! What a Shame is it that Satan's Envy against God and Malice against Man should make him more Diligent in his Work than our Zeal for God's Glory and Love to our own Souls can make us in the Work of God for our own Salvation And What pity is it that so bad a Master as wicked Men serve should be served with more Vigor Industry and Life than the Lord of Glory whom we pretend to serve and profess we believe to be the Best of Masters Thirdly The Saints and Angels in Heaven They Cease not Day or Night to give Glory to Him that sits upon the Throne crying Holy Holy Holy The Cherubims in Ezekiel's Vision were represented by Wheels and there and alwayes having Wings both Emblems of Velocity and Speedy Diligence And as they be set for our Patterns in the Lord's Prayer while we are taught to
lose nothing by conferring it upon us Our Hearts would sink and fail within us and our Hands our Faith could not be strong if God were to lose by what we hope to gain if the receiving us to glory must be by the eclipsing of his own glory For he will never diminish that for the advancement of which all things were made by him and for the sake of which he doth all that he doth or ever will do that therefore his Mercy may be thus magnified safely he hath provided how his Justice may be satisfied fully and all his other Attributes retain their lustre and their brightness He hath therefore raised up for us a mighty salvation in the house of his servant David as he spake by the mouth of all his Holy Prophets since the world began And to give us the clear knowledge of salvation by the remission of our sins through the tender mercies of our God the day spring from on high hath visited us He hath devised means to bring home his banished that they should not for ever be expelled from himself that we may be delivered from going down to the pit He hath found a ransom He hath laid help upon one that is mighty able to save to the utmost all those that come to God by him He spared not his own Son but gave him to be a ransom for us made him to be sin that is a sin offering for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him yea made him a curse for us bear that curse of the Law which we had deserved that we might be delivered from it God hath set forth his Son Jesus Christ to be a propitiation through faith in his blood And he is gone into Heaven to appear in the presence of God for us so that if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous who is a propitiation for our sin and therefore If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin And he hath revealed him to us and publisht these glad tidings to us in his Gospel which takes its name its denomination hence because in it and by it is made known to us those glad tidings of great joy that the Son of God is become the Son of man is now Emanuel God with us to be a Saviour to us Fifthly He makes us the most free kind pathetick invitations to come to him to look unto him and be saved He bids us to a Feast of fat things which he hath slain and prepared and of choice Wine Wine upon the lees well refined You shall scarce any where amongst men tho the dearest to one another and most delighted in each others conversation meet with so passionate so restless an importunity as is exprest to bring in Guests to the Wedding Feast Matth. xxii and Luk. xiv First a previous invitation before hand then a liberal and sumptuous preparation which might allure any man to partake of it Then a sending forth servants to call them who were before bidden then a sending forth other servants to inform them what an extraordinary entertainment was provided and again to let them know the meat was on the Table and their Lord staid for them and would not sit down till they were come and then other servants are posted away some into the Streets and Lanes of the City to search the very Lanes and by Allies where none but persons of the meanest rank dwell or converse others into the Country into the Highways where may be met Passengers of all degrees and qualities and to the Hedges where the Beggers lye basking or the Robbers lye sculking to hide themselves or look and wait to catch their prey and not only tell them they may come if they please and shall be very welcome but invite them heartily press them earnestly to come along wich them immediately and if they be indifferent whether they come or no urge them and persuade them till you have made them willing and if they continue still unwilling even constrain and compel them to come in and if when all this is done some of them make such excuses that nothing will prevail with them find out others in their room and give not over till the House be full and the Table be furnished as plentifully with Guests as 't is nobly stored and even loaden with provisions Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no mony come ye buy and eat come and buy wine and milk without mony and without price Isa lv 1. Come unto me all ye that are weary and hâ—â—vy laden and I will refresh you and you shall find rest Matth. xi 28. And the whole Bible is as it were concluded and shut up with that large and free and earnest invitation which is so proclaimed that the whole world is made to ring of it He that hears first as being nearest to the first sound having charge to tell it unto others and call to them that are remote and out of hearing of the first publishers of it The Spirit and the bride God from Heaven the Church on Earth say come And let him that heareth say come And let him that is a thirst come And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely Rev. xxii 17. And lest any should enlarge what God hath streitned or streiten what God hath enlarged and take off from the encouragement which this invitation gives so universally to all sinners to repent and turn and come in to God the words next following may seem to have a peculiar aspect on what is immediately before declared in this 17. verse now set down tho I would not confine them to that only verse 18. For I testifie to every one that heareth the words of the prophesie of this book if any man shall add unto these things God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book that is if any man shall add to the conditions of this invitation which assures acceptance to them who thirst and so thirsting come to God by Faith and Repentance if I may inoffensively subjoyn such a gloss as if it were so free as even to exempt sinners from these terms as necessary for their peace and safety God will plague that man then vers 19. And if any man shall take away from the words of the Book of this Prophecy God shall take away his part out of the Book of life and out of the Holy City and from the things which are written in this Book that is if any man shall deny any one to be capable of the benefit offered in this so large and free and universal an invitation who doth thirst after these waters of life and so thirsting shall come to them repenting and believing and willing and desirous to drink of them He himself shall have no part
in in them Sixthly He that is the Amen the true and faithful one the God that cannot lie gives you many great and precious promises which are founded upon his word that is more firm than the mountains than the foundations of the Earth than the Ordinances of Heaven than the course of day and night in their Seasons That he will abundantly pardon that he will heal your back-slidings and love you freely that he will blot out your iniquities as a thick cloud that he will cast all your Traâ—sgressions into the depth of the Sea even that Ocean of Mercy which hath neither shore nor bottom that whosoever comes to him he will in no wise cast him out And hundreds more of the like endearing and sweetest signification Seventhly As if it were not enough on his part to give us leave to be happy he hath made it our duty to be so and obliged us by the strictest commands to that which will infallibly render us so He commands all men every where to repent Act. 17.30 This is his commandment that we believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ 1 John 3.23 and that believing we might have life by his Name John 20 31. And who dare question his sincerity as if he did not heartily desire what he so earnestly injoyns Eighthly He steps down from the Throne of the Imperative Mood to the humble Foot-stool of the Optative 'T is a sign of weakness to fall to wishing and an argument of impotence to cry O si O si to sigh out our Options And yet the Omnipotent God disdains not to appear to us thus to shew and express the pathos of his blessed mind the vehemency with which he desires our good and wellfare Oh that there were such an heart in them Deut. 5.29 Oh that they were wise Deut 32.29 Oh that my people had hearkened unto we Psal 81.13 Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments Isa 48.18 Whose heart would it not break with shame and sorrow to hear an holy God breathing out the longing desires of his heart in this wise that we may he assured of his hearty readiness in accepting us when we perform what he wishes with such assumed passions that we would perform Ninthly He stoops yet lower and does what is infinitely indecent I will not say for him to do but I must say for us to occasion him to do and more to suffer him to continue to do but most of all to suffer him to do in vain that is to intreat us pray us woe us beseech us to accept his mercy to pity our selves to be reconciled to him and to accept his pardon which he offers ready sealed and to touch that Golden Scepter which he reaches out from Heaven to us Abraham sent but once to take a wife for his Son Isaac from amongst his Kindred and a short woing by a servant serv'd the turn when they saw the Bracelets and the Jewels and the Ear-rings and heard the rest reported how soon do they yield and send away Rebeckah Gen. 24. Yet God sends one Embassador one Paranymph and Spokes-man after another to woe to court us to be Brides to the true Isaac the Heir of all things who is become our Kinsman and hath all the right imaginable to claim us to himself and offers more Dower than we can ask to joyncture us in the whole Land of Promise to settle upon us the inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled which fades not away reserved in Heaven to give us an eternal Kingdom yea the eternal King himself to be our everlasting Portion and is it possible to doubt his willingness to conclude the Match after all this Tenthly But to make all sure beyond all possibility of any rational ground to remain to stick and scruple at his heartiest reality in designing our happiness he adds to all the rest his Oath which puts an end to Controversies God being willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of Promise the immutability of his Counsel confirm'd it by an Oath that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie we might have strong consolation Heb. 6.17 18. Two things that is his Promise and his Oath upon his promise or two things the two by which he swears his life his holiness as if he had said as true as I am a living God as true as I am an holy God I will pardon you I will yet spare you if yet at last you bring forth good fruit let me never be esteemed a living God never accounted an holy God more if I do not or two things I use this only allusively I urge it not as the proper meaning of the place God swears by the two Sacraments for a Sacrament is an Oath As truly as this water which I now touch and lay my hand upon will wash what is foul and make it clean soak what is hard and make it soft quench what is kindled and put out its burning refresh what is scorched and make it fruitful and slack his thirst who drinks it and chear and revive his spirits so shall the Blood and Spirit of my Son which I will pour out upon all who thirst for it and are willing to receive it do for them proportionably in their Souls cleanse soften quench satisfie and make them fruitful and as truly as this Bread will nourish them who eat it and become the staff of their lives and as truly as this Wine will chear the hearts of them that drink it so truly so certainly shall the Body and Blood of my Son which I here freely and heartily offer to you nourish and cherish you unto eternal life if you will indeed by faith receive it and feed upon it Eleventhly He will make your Estate as happy as if you had come sooner provided you come now in earnest without more delay They received every one a penny and there are last who shall be first Twelfthly He 'll not twit you or upbraid you with your coming late He giveth liberally and uphraideth not Nay he will himself be thy Apologist and against them who reproach thee for labouring but one hour he will plead thy Cause Friend I do thee no wrong is thy eye evil because I am good Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own I will give to this last as unto thee Matth. 20.14 This is a little of the much that might be said upon this Argument a little of that mellow prolifick earth to be laid to your Roots God Almighty set it home by the hand of his own Spirit and in his name I do assure you if either this digging or this dunging these threatnings or those promises either singly or both joyntly prevail to make you yet fruitful God will assuredly spare you and repeal his sentence given out against you But then you must do it quickly Agree with thy Adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him Look