really do not believe they say they have Faith but have it not How to find out such Men and to convince them of their unbelief How to dig up this Fox that is so deeply earthed under a specious profession of Faith This requires some skill we shall find it difficult work yet I conceive it may be done they may be so narrowed up that unless they deny their sense and their reason they must own their unbelief Though we cannot by reason bring Men to believe yet we may by reason convince them of their unbelief here we offer nothing new or surprizing to them we only state the matter as it is in their own Hearts which they know to be so we do but bring them to reason to their own reason we make them Judges of themselves in a matter of fact of their own doing though they say they have Faith yet being close put to it they must needs unsay that again the evidence of the thing it self overthrows all they can say against it I would argue thus with them 1. Let them if they can produce any of those fruits and effects of Faith that are inseparable from it James 2.14 c. To pretend to such an active principle as Faith is and yet do nothing by it is very unreasonable they say they have Faith they may as well say they have Wings and can fly though they cannot bare up themselves one inch from the ground unless some part of the body rest upon it indeed if a Mans feet be upon the ground all the other parts of the body may be erect but for the whole body to carry all its weight upwards through the Air this is flying 'T is equally absurd for Men to say they have Faith are risen with Christ are in an ascending posture when they visibly rest upon the Earth nay when they lie flat upon it are sunk into it covered all over with it are as it were buried alive in their carnal affections Men may say what they will 't is apparently otherwise upwards and downwards cannot be so confounded that one should be taken for tother 't is against common sense Men may and must be convinced of this that what is contrary to Faith is not Faith Faith without works is dead were there any thing of the true Nature Life and Spirit of Faith in them they could not carry it as they do They make Faith an easie thing who make just nothing of it and do nothing by it nay they do that which they might with far more colour of reason do if they did not at all pretend to Faith but to say they believe in Christ and yet act in a direct opposition to him and to their own Faith also is that which no Man in his wits will give credit too 2. Let them try their skill in those indispensible acts of Faith that Christ requires in all his followers Mat. 16.24 25. The reading of those words is enough to convince any considering Man that 't is no easie matter to believe that which is not easie to do is not so easily believed 3. Let them consider the misterious points of Faith that are above our reason and do transcend our humane capacities as the Doctrin of the Trinity of the incarnation of Christ of the Resurrection of Justification by imputed Righteousness how have Men stumbled at these things could never come to any satisfaction in by their own reason and shall we say 't is an easie matter to believe these things they are stupidly ignorant of the misteries of Faith who say so if this be easie there is nothing hard or difficult in the World Object How comes it to pass that any do believe Answ Because God puts forth his power in some and not in others there is not a greater instance of the power of God in the whole World than this In bringing over the heart of a sinner to believe in Christ O the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe This is the undoubted experience of every true Believer You who know not how you came by your Faith but slid into it by custom education and long continuance under the means of Grace and have always counted it an easie thing to believe let me tell you you know not what it is to believe to this day 'T is true God makes it easie to believe but so that we still see it impossible to believe without his help I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me I live yet not I We may soar aloft when upon Eagles wings we may move any where as we are carried but all this while we know we are not the cause of our own motion the Spring of it is not in our selves acti agimus we act as we are acted the root bears us not we the root we feel Christ living in us We live because he lives in us What we receive from another is ours when we receive it but 't is not from our selves because we receive it from another God makes us so to work in such a dependance upon him that we see 't is He that worketh in us both to will and to do To ascribe the free acts of own will to another requires a humble mind sensible of its own weakness and of the secret ways of Gods divine communications to his creature Man exactly suted to the rational nature of so free an agent as Man is the freedom of whose will is preserved under a constant dependance upon God in every thing he do's God that gave him this freedom can cause him freely to act it as he pleases otherwise Man would not be a governable creature if the natural freedom of his will did exempt him from a due subjection to God that made him in which subjection he is as free as he could be supposed to be if left to himself to do what he list A Believer lists and wills what he do's and yet he do's not do what he lists but freely subjects his own will to the will of God whose service is perfect freedom A Saint keeps up the liberty of his will by a voluntary obedience to the will of God and this is his Grace till our stubborn Hearts are brought to this they are and will be rebellious against God What I have said may be convincing to these easie Believers that they are void of true saving Faith unless they resolve not to be convinced and though they do so resolve yet they must be convinced whether they will or no Truth and Reason plainly proposed never want a witness in the Conscience of Man that will speak sometime or other as the thing is Quest What 's the danger of a death-bed Repentance SERMON IX Luke XXIII 42. And he said unto Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom WE have in this little History of the two thieves crucified with our Lord Jesus a great instance both of Man's wickedness and of Divine grace I.
the most notorious Sinners among all the Heathens worse than Tire and Sidon before mention'd or any Heathen City and yet shall fare better than Capernaum though none of Sodom's sins be charged by our Saviour upon it But they repented not under the means of Grace and Salvation Because they repented not saith the Text this was their sin Q. But what is this Impenitency under the Gospel A. 1. It is not all hardness of Heart that is Impenitency many good Christians may still find something of it but it is when men harden their own hearts Heb. 3.8 which are two different things 2. It is not any particular act of Sin that may be call'd Impenitency but a trade and course of Sin 3. It implies a wilful rejecting the Offers of Grace and Salvation by Christ in those that live under the Gospel 4. It implies a slighting and contempt of the threatnings denounced against Sin and Sinners 5. It implies a resolved purpose to persist in Sin though Man knows it to be Sin when the Sinner's mind is not changed nor he comes to himself and to grow wise after all his folly as the Greek word for Repentance doth import this is Impenitency This I premise to clear my way to the following discourse As also by answering the following Objection Obj. But Capernaum's case is not ours Capernaum saw Christ in the Flesh which we never did they heard Doctrine preached from his own mouth which we never did they saw his Miracles wrought before their eyes which we never saw Had we had their advantages and priviledges we would not have done as they did nor been impenitent as they were Ans This Evasion is much like that of the Scribes and Pharisees mentioned Matth. 23.30 Had we been in the days of our Fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the Prophets When they at the same time were fill'd with that malice against Christ which issued in the shedding of his precious blood But I answer 1. Though we have not Christ with us in his fleshly Presence yet we have his Doctrine still with us and preached to us And it was not his fleshly Presence that brought any Sinners to repentance but his Doctrine 2. Though we see not Christ's Miracles wrought before our eyes yet we hâ—â—e them recorded by the four Evangelists and by such as were either eye-witnesses or wrote by an infallible Spirit or rather both And if we believe the Gospel we believe what is there recorded and Faith is the evidence of things not seen and will make their impression upon the Heart as if seen with the Eye 3. Of those many thousands both of Jews and Gentiles that were brought to repentance by the Gospel in the Primitive times not one of an hundred or of a thousand did either see Christ in the Flesh heard him Preach or saw him work any Miracle 4. Of those many thousands that did see him and his Works and hear him preach when he was upon Earth not one of an hundred were brought to repentance thereby vid. John 12.37 And are any sure in these days had they then lived they should not have been of that number Considering that men have now the same blindness and hardness upon their minds and hearts which they had then and the same love to their sins and prejudices against Holiness as was then And therefore Impenitency now will expose a man to as severe punishment and present him as guilty before God at the day of Judgment as it will Capernaum And doth not our Saviour denounce the same severities against them that received not his Disciples preaching as his own Matth. 10.14 15. Whosoever shall not receive you having offer'd peace to them depart and shake off the dust of your feet against them Verily I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for the Land of Sodom and Gomorrah than that City And this holds true in every Age and in the present Age in every City and in this City in every Nation and in our own Nation Thus having made my way clear I now proceed And shew That Impenitency under the Gospel will expose men to the most intolerable Judgment in the day of Christ 1. I shall prove that it will do so 2. Why it will do so 3. Wherein will this greater Intolerableness consist 1. That it will do so I need not prove it by any other Argument than what we have in the Text. I say unto you saith our Saviour And again v. 22. I say unto you it shall be more tolerable c. And he adds his Amen and Verily to it Matth. 10.15 Verily I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for Tire and Zidon in the day of Judgment c. If we believe not that Christ hath said this we are Infidels to the Gospel If we think he hath said false we are guilty of Blasphemy Is it not he that saith Heaven and Earth shall pass away but my Words shall not pass away that saith this Is it not he who is styled the Amen the true and faithful witness that hath said this Is it not he who came down from Heaven out of the bosom of God and spake nothing but what he had seen and heard from his Father that saith this And therefore it may seem some reflection upon Christ's Veracity and my Auditor's Infidelity and incredulity to bring any other proof 2. Next Why will it be so at the day of Judgment R. Because Impenitency under the Gospel hath more of sin in it than any sin of the Heathen And this is the general Reason And where there is most Sin there will be the severest Judgment I suppose none of you think as some Philosophers of old that all sins are equal And inequality of sin requires in justice inequality in punishment That saying of Christ to Pilate shews that there are degrees of sin He that delivered me to thee hath the greater sin John 19.11 And so we may conclude there will be degrees of punishment And these degrees of sin must needs be known to God who is a God of Knowledge and being known to him his Justice requires of him Punishment in a proportion though not in this life yet at the day of the Revelation of the righteous judgment of God When all men shall be put into the Scale as Daniel told Belshazzar and Judgment past upon them according to what weight they bear And their Actions also consider'd and weighed in all their Circumstances what Grace and Holiness may be found in the actions of some and what Sin in the actions of others So that many sins that may pass for no sins now may be found sinful then and such as pass for small sins and of little scandal before men now may be found highly sinful in that day There are many sins that have more Scandal than Impenitency under the Gospel and yet not so much guilt As we use to say in Divinity that
6.12 Ye are not straitned in me but ye are straitned in your own Bowels Our hearts are narrow towards Spiritual and Heavenly things because they are so enlarg'd towards earthly and visible things when the heart is enlarged as Hell and death that cannot be satisfied Hab. 2.5 For these perishing things no wonder if there be little room for the Graces of the Spirit This is therefore our great concern to pray that God would enlarge our desires that he may satisfie and fill them 4. We ought to pray and strive That all the Powers and Faculties of the whole man may be filled according to their measures There is much room in our Souls that is not furnish'd much waste ground there that is not cultivated and improved to its utmost We might have more light in the Understanding more tractableness in the Will more heat in our Love and a sharper edge set upon our Zeal And we have warrant to pray for this measure of the fulness of God 1 Thess 5.23 Now the God of peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole Spirit Soul and Body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 5. Every gracious Soul ought to pray and strive for such a measure of Grace that he may be qualified for any Duty and Service that God shall call him to and engage him in The Hebrew word which we render Consecration or separation to an Office is Filling the hand Exod. 29.9 Consecrate ye Aaron and his Sons in the Hebrew Fill the hand of Aaron and his Sons Where God employs the hand he will fill the hand we have ground to believe that he will send us about no Errand but he will bear our Charges where-ever he gives a Commission he will bestow a competent qualification when we go about his Work we may expect his presence and assistance in the Work And Moses seems to stand upon these terms with God Exod. 33.15 If thy presence go not with me carry us not up hence As therefore there is great variety of Duties in our Christian Calling we may in Faith expect and from that believing expectation pray that we may be furnish'd with a suitable variety of Grace for the discharge of them 6. Every true Christian ought to pray strive for such a measure of Grace as may enable him to bear patiently chearfully and creditably those afflictions and sufferings which either God's good pleasure shall lay upon us or for his Names sake we may draw upon our selves We ought to pray that either he will lay no more upon us than our present strength can bear or if he encreases our trials he will encrease our Faith There 's no danger of excess in our Prayers when we confine them to the limits of his gracious promises Now here we have encouragement from his Word 1 Cor. 10.13 God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able but will with the temptation make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it 7. Every true Christian ought to pray and strive for such a measure of Grace as may bring the Soul to a settlement and stability that he be not soon shaken by the cross and adverse evils that he shall meet with in this Life And the Apostle Peter has gone before us in this Prayer 1 Pet. 5.10 The God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect stablish strengthen settle you And herein especially let us keep an eye upon these particulars § 1. Pray that God would so stablish you in the truth that ye may not be blown away with every wind of Doctrin A sorry trivial Error many times oversets and puzzles a weak Understanding Now 't is our great Interest to pray and strive that we may reach such a clear distinct coherent Light into the Doctrin of the Gospel that every small piece of Sophistry may not perplex and stagger our Belief of it So the Apostle Paul Eph. 4.14 would have Believers be no more Children tossed to and fro with every wind of Doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive § 2. Pray also that God would so stablish you in the truth of the promises that your Faith may not be shaken with every wind of Providence We are apt to have our hearts tossed by contrary Dispensations So upon a rumour Isa 7.2 The heart of Asa was moved and the heart of his people as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind It argues great weakness of Faith that we cannot maintain an equality of mind under various Providences the only remedy of which evil is to pray that God would encrease and strengthen our Faith that we may be so firmly built upon the unmoveable rock that we may not be afraid of evil tidings having our hearts fixed trusting in the Lord Psal 112.7 And this was the glory of Job's Faith Job 13.15 That tho' God should slay him yet would he trust in him § 3. Let us pray and strive that God would so settle and stablish us in Love to himself that no blast of Afflictions from his hand may cool the fire of Divine Love in our hearts We want exceedingly the Faith that God carries on a design of Love under all his various and seemingly contrary dealings with us he can love and correct why then cannot we love a correcting God Whether he wounds or heals his love is the same and why not ours Can we not love God upon the security of Faith that he will do us good as well as upon the experience that he has done us good § 4. Pray we and strive that God would so settle and stablish us in our inward peace that no wind of temptation may overthrow it 'T is a slender and ill-made peace which every assault of the Tempter dissolves The Psalmist stood upon a firmer bottom when the terrifying Onsets from without made him fly more confidently to his God Psal 56.3 What time I am afraid I will put my trust in thee And we have Gods own promise to answer our Faith Isa 26.3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on thee because he trusteth in thee And thus I have return'd some Answer to the second Branch of the Question What is the measure of the fulness of God with which every true Christian ought to pray and strive to be filled There will still remain an enquiry How we may reach to such a measure of the Divine fulness as has been described To which tho' the limits of this discourse will not allow a full and just Answer yet the importance of the Question will oblige me to point at some few things upon which your own Meditations may find matter of enlargement 1. And first it is necessary that we be convinced that we are very far short
God asserts his Power he declares himself to be an Almighty God So to Abraham Gen. 17.1 and in the new Testament he often asserts his Power that all thing are possible to him Omnipotency sticks at nothing knows no difficulties what cannot the exceeding greatness of his power do 2. God doth exert and put forth his Power in some visible exemplification of it that fully demonstrates his Omnipotency and can signifie nothing less such an instance we have in the Text in the Resurrection of Christ this overt act Speaks out his infinite power 't is matter of fact and cannot be deny'd 3. God gives the Saints some feeling and experience of the exceeding greatness of his power put forth in their own Souls by working faith in them they see 't is the Lords doing that nothing in Man would ever lead him out to it if God did not perswade him and bring over his heart to believe the Gospel Believers under the new Testament though they hear much of the power of God set forth in the letter of the word and though they experience the efficacy of this power in their own hearts yet that which puts the matter quite out of doubt with them is this undeniabl instance of divine power in the Resurrection of Christ Abraham wanted this though he saw much of the power of God towards him in calling him alone from his Fathers house and greatly increasing him afterwards when he became two bands Gen. 32.10 and in giving him a Son in his old age c. yet the greatest proof of Gods power to Abraham was the inward efficacy of it upon his own heart that he should be brought to believe a Resurrection when there was never any instance of such a thing in the world before 't is a sign he was satisfied in the almighty power of God accounted that God was able to raise him up Heb. 11.19 though he received him from the dead in a figure Isaac was not really slain therefore Abram's Faith was more remarkable that he should believe that God could raise his Son from the Dead and that he would do it rather than break his promise he resolved to obey God for the present and to trust him for the future All that we believe now is but the consequent of Christs Resurrection and follows upon it the Head being risen the Members will also rise every one in his own order not only by a bodily Resurrection at the last day but by a Spiritual Resurrection in their Souls here when the time of their Conversion and Regeneration comes That which convinces us of the Almighty Power of God to perform his Promises is the Resurrection of Christ but that which was the chiefest proof of God's Power to Abram was the inward impression of it upon his Heart when he was first called That he who as a Man had this Law written in his Heart That he should not kill should so readily yield to the killing of his Son and when he was resolved so do had the Knife in his hand ready stretched out was under the highest impulse of Faith to do what God commanded him that he should presently be taken off from it by a counter-command from Heaven How did God try Abram as if he had set himself to puzzle him turns him and winds him this way and that way backward and forward he must not kill and then he must kill and by and by he must not kill God was resolved his Faith should move as he would have it according to his Will and Abram was as ready to comply He is my God says Abram and I will obey him Isaac shall die and Isaac shall live what God will He sees further than I do I 'll follow him though I know not whether I go nor what I do God knows that 's enough for me I 'll trust him Lord what wilt thou have me do tell me and I 'll do it shall I kill my Son or shall I spare my Son it shall be as thou wilt Lord. Herein Abram excelled all Believers under the New Testament though they have some experience of God's Power put forth upon their Souls in believing yet they don't bear only upon this as Abram did they have the Resurrection of Christ to support their Faith which Abram had not and yet believes a Resurrection Power as firmly as they who saw Christ risen from the Grave God appeared to Abram and made such immediate Impressions of his Power upon his Heart that he needs no Sign no visible Instance to confirm his Faith he was satisfy'd without it he saw that in God himself that made him never to dispute his Power afterwards Saints now though they have experience of a Divine Power touching their Hearts and drawing them to Christ yet they cannot so clearly discern this conquering subduing Power of God in themselves as they may in Christ their Head because they are under many infirmities not yet removed they don't see Sin and Death and the Devil and the World quite overcome in themselves but they see all overcome in Christ his Resurrection proves all and they are fain often to reflect upon that to strengthen their Faith and Assurance of Victory in their own persons at last they know that Christ did not die for himself nor rise for himself but for them they see Christ crowned with Glory and Honour Heb. 2.9 he suffers no more in his Person though he still suffers in his Members but they shall e're long be as free from Suffering as the glorified Person of Christ now is in Heaven thus it will be when Christ mystical shall have all things put under his Feet then Christ and his Saints will reign gloriously to all eternity all tears shall be wiped from their eyes then and this will as surely come to pass as Christ himself is risen from the Dead Be of good cheer I have overcome the World I have and you shall overcome it in me you already are more than Conquerors and in your own Persons you shall be when I come again II. Because no natural Principle in Man can take in the objects of Faith Flesh and Blood can't reveal them to us Faith is an act above Reason how is it possible for a Man as a Man to act above his Reason 't is absurd and irrational to think so Gospel-truths are so deep and mysterious that they do transcend our humane capacities and cannot be discern'd but by the light of a Divine Faith What is humane we may undertake and count that easie to us but what is Divine is above us quite out of our reach therefore Faith is said to be the work of God fulfilled by his Power 2 Thess 1.11 The knowledge of Faith by which we are perswaded of that which we conceive not is higher than all rational understanding we acknowledge the truth of that as Christians which as Men we do not Scientifically know by any Logical Demonstration Faith gives us the certainty of those
eateth up both Truth and Love For such contentions are rather for Victory than Truth Now passion doth nothing well which made one Emperor say over his Alphabet to get the Dominion over his anger Ahasuerus fann'd himself in his Garden Esth 7.7 and he in Plutarch would not smite his Servant because he was angry Passionated persecution makes only Hypocrites become Proselites and in their Breasts also lodge such a revenge as will be satisfied one time or another upon them who have made them offer violence to their Consciences Religion is a free choice upon judgment or 't is not Religion therefore it gets in by perswasion not persecution Yet 't is strangely true they who are so tender of their own Wills that God must not touch them unless by Argument yet laxate themselves to Club Law with their Brethren not content with a moral swasion 2. Loving converse taketh off those prejudices which hinder Mens minds from a true knowledge of others Principles and Practices which at a distance seem horrid and monstrous Opinions and Practices when as a little free converse with them breedeth quite other apprehensions The Papists picture the Protestants as bruits with Tails as Devils with Horns to terrifie the Vulgar but knowing Merchants dare trust them So some Protestants have represented the Puritans as Pestilent and Seditious persons as Mad and having a Devil as the Scribes and Pharisees did John Baptist and Christ but the plain hearted people saw thorough those pious frauds and tricks and were astonished at their Doctrin and Life when they healed Souls and Bodies on the Sabbath day 3. Sincere love and converse breedeth a good opinion of persons who differ from us they can taste humility meekness and kindness better than the more speculative Principles of Religion These get into Mens affections and so bore away into their judgments and cause them to alter their minds Two Heads like two Globes touch but in one point the whole Bodies at a distance but two Hearts touch in plano and fall in with each other in all points Love openeth the Heart and Ear to cooler consideration and second thoughts The Spirit of God directed Elijah 1 Kings 19.12 not in the strong Wind which rent Rocks and Mountains nor in the Earthquake or Fire but in the silent whisper or tranquil voice Vse of Instruction How to carry our selves towards them who are weak in the Faith in these days and doubtless it is a sickly season when there are so many feverish heats among us I will not say what once a Romanist said to me That these are the spuria vitulamina the Bastard frisks of our Reformation in Henry the Eighths days But I rather think the violent endeavours after External Uniformity without the Inward the smothering of the industrious Bees in one Hive was a great cause of their castling into several Swarms Threshing the Corn hath driven it out of the Floor and the grasping so hard the Granes all into the Hands and Power of some hath made them creep out through their Fingers Rigid Impositions and violent Prosecutions and Exactions of Conformity to things extra Scriptural and Divine Institution and without any manifest tendency to Edification have and will make fractions without end As D. W. said Till Men be Infallible and the World Immutable moderation becometh every Man who is in his senses and considereth himself 1. There are some who have all Faith believe incredibly as that Katharina Senensis praying for a new Heart she had her real Heart cut out of her Body and after some days had a new Heart formed by Christ put into her That making a cross on the Body with a Finger driveth the Devil away That a Priest by these words this is my Body transubstantiateth the Bread into the Body of Christ and so he offereth that Sacrifice to deliver Souls out of Prison and then by his Dirges conducteth them to Paradise 2. Others have no Faith at all as that Infallible one who said What vast Wealth hath this Fable of Christ acquired to the Church So when some had Disputed about the Immortality of the Soul most gravely determined in a Verse Et redit in nihilum quod fuit ante nihil That which is nothing must needs come to nothing And I fear there are more Atheists than Papists who seem to believe all on the Stage nothing in their retiring thoughts We are not bound to receive such into our Bosoms or Communion lest we sting our own Breasts out of charity to our Souls we must take heed of receiving such 3. But there are others who seem seriously to believe the Doctrin of the Gospel yet have a weakness in their judgments about little things These we must receive and instruct them Rom. 14.17 That the Kingdom of God is not in Meat or Drink but Righteousness Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost Shew them all kindness pity them pray for them and let them see Col. 2.5 Nothing but your order and the stedfastness of your Faith in Christ 1. Stand fast and fix'd in the good Word of God which is setled for ever in Heaven Psal 119.89 as the Copy of the Divine Nature and Law Stand having your Loins girt about with Truth Ephes 6.14 and having on the Breastplate of Righteousness This is the grand and perfect rule of Faith Worship and Life Keep within these Trenches and you have an assurance of protection I know no other method possible to Peace but in an universal resolution to impose nothing upon others but what Christ himself hath imposed what Scripture commands Matth. 28.20 Teach Men to observe whatever I have commanded you and then I am with you to the end of the World This is a Minister of Christs Commission and he cannot look for Christ to be with him if he go either coâ—trary to beyond or not according to his instructions Let this be first done and then Men may consider whether any thing further be necessary or convenient Let us therefore in the Name of God beg his holy Spirit whom Christ hath promised and that he shall lead us into all Truth John 16.13 He is the only infallible Interpreter of Gods mind He shall take of mine says our Saviour and shew it unto you vers 14. Then read the Scriptures as Christ himself did Luke 4.16 his custom was he went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read and when the Book of God was delivered to him he read the 61 of Isaiah a Prophesie of himself and so he closed the Book and gave it to the Minister then he expounded and applied it to the present circumstances That he came to preach to the poor heal the broken hearted give deliverance to the captives open the Eyes of the blind to set at liberty them that are bruised Oh blessed pattern for every Minister of Christ to follow And sing the Psalms or Hymns as we read he also did Matth. 26.30 and the Ancient Christians
the one because they must the other because they ought Some get into the greatest crowd for the advancement of their diving trade of picking pockets they not at all observing how the Devil tricks them of their Souls for perverting the ends of the Gospel 3. Some propose Ends frivolous and trifling though they are sinful too e. g. some to see fashions some to be taken notice of among serious Christians for Worldly not Spiritual advantage Prop. 4. Those that propose a good End must call themselves to a strict and severe account how that end is obtained or lost A slight account is in some respect worse than none at all for by a shuffling account you do but as it were bribe Gods Officer natural Conscience to respit you from time to time till Death surprizeth you with a summons to give up your account to Christ himself I 'll name four Metaphors which will illustrate and prove this 1. We must give such an account as a Scholar to his Teacher of what he learns (r) Mar. 4.13 And he said unto them know ye not this parable and how then will ye know all parables q. d. If you understand not those similitudes that most plainly shew you how you must receive the Word if ever you get saving benefit by it how will you ever profit by any thing else 2. You must give an account as a Steward to his Master (s) Luk. 16.2 Give an account of thy Stewardship c. But here 's the difference between being Stewards to our Heavenly and to an Earthly Master Christ and his Servants have but one and the same interest if we improve whatever he intrust us with for our real profit we do thereby give him the Glory he expects and he will accept of our accounts 3. We must give an account as a Debtor to our Creditor (t) Mat. 18.24 The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a certain King which would take account of his Debtors and when he had begun to reckon one was brought unto him which ought him ten thousand talents c. We are so far sinfully indebted to the Justice of God that unless we be discharg'd upon our Suretyes payment we must be imprisoned with Devils unto Eternity 4. We must give an account as a Malefactor to a Judge (u) Mat. 12.36 Every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned Unprofitable words cannot scape being accounted for Let 's fulfil all these Metaphors in calling our selves to account and when we have done that we have not done all for Prop. 5. The strict Account we take of our selves must be frequent Every Christian is Christs Garden that drinketh (w) Heb. 6.7 in the rain that cometh oft upon it As there must be frequent Showers on Gods part so there must be frequent Weeding on our part or no Blessing to be expected This is not a Duty that can be dispatcht at once those that do not often account never account as they ought Methinks I may allude unto the dying words of Elisha to Joash (y) 2 King 13.18 19. when he bid the King smite upon the ground without prescribing how oft but when he smote only thrice the man of God was wroth with him and told him he should have smitten oftener What do you reflect upon your selves only upon some qualm of Conscience or upon some rouzing Sermon or upon some startling Providence Don't you know that your hearts are incredibly deceitful Satan perpetually watchful to steal away the Word and he will do it unless you (z) Ps 119.11 hide it in your heart Your ordinary Experience tells you that you never let your accompts run on to any length but they are intangled and that your frequent self-reflections are always blessed with growth of Grace But I 'll come to some Inferences from the Doctrine Infer 1. It is not the bare hearing of the best Preachers in the World that will save you Though a Minister be never so successful in the Conversion of Sinners unless your Souls be Converted you had better never have heard him Let not any scoffing Atheist say Then I 'll never hear any of them more Sirs pray believe this one word that will not make your Damnation more tolerable (a) Ezek. 20.32 33. That which cometh into your mind shall not be at all We will be as the Heathen as the families of the Country to serve wood and stone As I live saith the Lord God surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out will I rule over you God will not send his Word to a people and leave them at their liberty to continue in their infidelity or to return to it at their pleasure if they will live as Heathens their Condemnation shall be far worse Infer 2. Many persons who lay aside other Business spend much time and take much pains to hear the best Preachers but they either not proposing or not pursuing a right end renders all they do worse than nothing and they drop into Hell while they seem to be knocking at Heaven door We read of five thousand Men besides Women and Children may we not moderately reckon the Women and Children to double the number (b) Mat. 14.15 c. and 15.32 c. these poor people when they came from home took Provision with them for several days drank Water lay several nights upon the ground in the open Fields staid after their Victuals was sâ—ent till they were scarce able to get home for saintness all this appears by having Baskets so ready to gather up the Fragments whereas in the Wilderness there was none to be bought or borrowed But alas How few of this Ten Thousand were then savingly Converted We read not of any great numbers of Converts by Christs Preaching for Christ but covertly and sparingly discovered himself to be the Messiah least he should hinder the main thing he came into the World for viz. to dye for sinners for (c) 1 Cor. 2.8 had they known him they would not have Crucified the Lord of Glory Besides Christ told his Disciples (d) Joh. 14.12 their Preaching should be followed with the Conversion of more Souls than his Pauze a little and think how many will tell Christ they have heard him Preach in their streets and they have followed him into the Wilderness they have there wanted their sleep in the night and gone with a hungry belly in the day for which Christ fed them by Miracle and yet Christ will profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity (e) Lu. 13.26 27. Let me follow these Inferences with a word or two of Reproof 1. Of those whose other Duties do not hold proportion with their Hearing Mistake me not I had rather never speak word more while
at him (e) Psal 8.2 Out of the mouths of very unlikely persons hast thou ordained strength that thou mightest still the Enemy and the Avenger q. d. God doth by the Spiritual Skill and Strength which he gives even to young weak Converts unfit to grapple with an Enemy God enables even such to silence confound and conquer the Enemies of God and his People and the Devil in the head of them whose Kingdom and Power is broken by this means and those that fight under his Banner against God and Christ And pray observe the Title here given him viz. the Avenger he being Sentenced by God to Eternal Torments makes it his business to revenge himself what he can upon God and Christ upon his Children and Servants Christians if you can through Grace make Satan himself against his will help you to profit by the Word this will raise your Souls beyond what is ordinary both for Grace and Comfort Or if God in his Wisdom suspend such manifestations of himself yet such exercise of Grace shall certainly tend to the multiplying of Praises in the other World And now though I have in my pitiful manner answered the Case my work is not yet done till I have answered a Complaint upon the Case and 't is the Complaint of those who have least cause of those who give Christ that Answer to his Question which satisfies him but yet can't give an Answer will satisfie themselves Their Hearts ake from the very proposing of the Question and their Hearts misgive them under all that 's said in Answer to it Complaint We have more Cause to complain than we are able to express Oh the Sermons that we have lost of which we can give no account at all and of those that are not utterly lost we have made no suitable improvement We are convinced that we should be as impartial now in examining whether we have got saving Faith by hearing of the Word We should be as strict now as if we were upon our Dying Bed We know not whether ever we shall have a Death-bed many more likely to live than our selves dye suddenly and why not we Nay rather now for we have not now wearisome Sickness to disable us We have now those helps that we can't have then Freedom of Ordinances in publick Capacities for Duties in secret We may now bring things to an issue which is then next to impossible These and a Thousand such Considerations even fright me when I sit down to think my Thoughts even overwhelm me to reflect what a sorry account I can give of all that I have heard These and more doleful Complaints are the usual entertainments of their most serious Christian Friends To all which I shall offer these Answers Answ 1. The Word of God which they apply to their Sorrow they ought as well to apply to their Comfort for those who are really grieved that they can't satisfie themselves much less as they think Christ They are mistaken for Christ is ordinarily best satisfied with that which the gracious Soul is least satisfied e. g. That Prayer which he is most ashamed of Christ most approves of (f) Cant. 2.12 The Flowers appear on the Earth the time of the Singing of Birds is come and the Voice of the Turtle is heard in our Land 'T is Spring-time in the Soul When the Groans of a contrite Heart sound harsh to others they are Musick in Christs Ears not that Christ delights in his peoples Sorrows but as they are Evidences of his Graces in them and of his Spirit 's abiding with them It is only the gracious Soul that is grieved at Heart that he can't give Christ a better account of his profiting (g) Ezr. 9.6 10. ch 10.2 O my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee my God What shall I say after this There 's hope in Israel concerning this thing The Apostle expresly assures us that (h) 1 Cor. 11.31 32. those that judge themselves shall not be judged with a Judgment of Condemnation Chear up therefore poor dropping Soul and to thy comfort consider whether this be not the only thing wherein Christ and you Believers be not of the same mind Christ puts a better interpretation of his actings than he himself dares many a time Christ owns that as Grace which he condemns for Hypocrisie Christ forgives him that which he can never forgive himself Christ says Well done good and faithful Servant for that which he ever finds fault with But the complaining Soul saith I mistake him I speak to the rong person Propose comfort to those that are grieved they can't give Christ a satisfying account whereas I am not troubled enough nor grieved enough a serious reflection upon such returns as mine to Christs kindness would certainly break any Heart but mine But alas I am next to nothing affected with it 2. I therefore further answer Thy complaining for want of sensible complaining entitles thee to Comfort Darest thou own so much as this that thou art troubled thou can'st be no more troubled at the shameful account thou givest to Christ Thou art afraid that Word has overtaken thee (i) Isa 6.9 10. Hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not make the Heart of this People fat and make their Ears heavy and shut their Eyes least they see with their Eyes and hear with their Ears and understand with their Heart c. Surely thou canst not think worse of thy self than this Let me tell thee the more thou thinkest of this the less cause thou hast to apply this to thy self for those who God gives up to judicial hardness never think or speak of such things but in scorn and to make a mock of them and that thou darest not do there 's another word for thee to think of (k) Isa 66.1 2 Thus saith the Lord The Heaven is my Throne and the Earth is my Footstool where 's the place of my rest To this Man will I look even to him that is poor and of a contrite Spirit and that trembleth at my Word If God hath any place upon Earth for his Repose it is in that Soul that stands in awe of his Word and with due Reverence receives it What! Dost thou complain thou art not troubled enough Nor contrite enough Not humbled enough How do many Souls bring their Complaints to Ministers and bring their Bills to Congregations for brokeness of Heart and a deep sense of Sin when they are so much broken already that their other Duties are almost justled out by it Don't therefore overlook that Text (l) Rom. 14.17 The Kingdom of God is Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost We should make it our business to live in a ferious course of Holiness towards God and Righteousness towards Men in the love and practice of Peace with all and in the joyful sense of the love of God and hopes of Glory
See hence what little Reason men have to boast of their Knowledge or Gospel-priviledges when these may turn to their sorer Condemnation He that knows his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes Luke 12.47 And so Christ speaks to the Pharisees who boasted themselves to be the Pechachim the seeing men whose eyes were opened Because you say we see therefore your sin remaineth John 9.41 And thus the Jews boasted over the Gentiles That they knew God's will were instructed out of the Law and were instructers of the foolish and teachers of babes Rom. 2.18 19 20. and boasted themselves to be the Circumcision but yet they not keeping the Law the Uncircumcision should judge and condemn them v. 27. We have many among us who boast of a little Knowledge they have more than others and have learn'd to talk and dispute of Religion and despise others as foolish ignorant blind and babes when all this may make their Judgment the more intolerable Some of the Jews have a Tradition that the holy Fire of the Altar was hid in an hole of a Rock all the time of the Captivity and when at their return they lookt for it it was turned into a Jelly which they took and laid upon the Altar and there was kindled into a Fire again by the beams of the Sun When the Light that is in the Mind kindles a Flame of Love in the Heart and thence are presented holy Sacrifices to God this is Light sanctified and sanctifying the Soul but when it rests in the Mind and is resisted in the Heart and Practice of Men it will whether Men will or no shine into their Consciences first or last to their greater Terror and Condemnation And therefore let Men take heed of Sin against Light and Knowledge Against the Light of Nature the Light of Education the Light of good Example especially the Light of the Gospel For such Sins make the greatest noise in the Conscience do most harden Mens hearts make Men self-condemned and will most expose Men at the day of Judgment Vse 5. And so I come to the next Use which is To awaken us of this City and this Nation who have had Gospel-favours and Priviledges above most people under Heaven May we not say of London as Christ of Capernaum O London who hast been lift up to Heaven And if any from hence shall perish and be cast down to Hell how great will their fall be It would be better perishing out of Tire and Sidon and Sodom than out of London Tolluntur in altum ut Casu graviore ruant as the Poet speaks of Men that fall from high places What though God hath by a wonderful Hand open'd us a door of Liberty What though we have such plenty of excellent Preaching and what though we are such constant Hearers of these Lectures Morning by Morning yet if any of us still continue Impenitent it will but encrease our Doom at Dooms-day Obj. But we hope that that day will never come and all this Talk of it is but to fright people a little into good manners A device of Princes to keep People under Government or of Priests to make Markets of their Consciences Ans 1. It 's true few live as if they believ'd it But can any Man say that he is sure it will never come I think no Man dare say that Therefore it is our best wisdom to prepare for that day which may come though we should not be sure it will come A wise Man will provide against an Evil that may possibly come though he is not sure it will come especially considering the dreadful consequence of being surprized 2. And it 's true that this day is delayed but it is because God waits for Sinners repentance and would have Men saved and enter in before the door be shut 2 Pet. 3.9 3. Do any of us not believe it when the Devils themselves believe and tremble When they said to our Saviour Art thou come to torment us before our time It shew'd they believed a day of Judgment But I spake of this before Q. But what will preserve us then from Damnation seeing such a Judgment-day must certainly come Ans That which would have preserved Corazin Bethsaida and Capernaum will preserve us and that is true repentance which you may know what it is by the description I have given before of its contrary which is Impenitency Let us all in good earnest turn to God and repent Let us repent of our Pride and immodest Dresses in Apparel and reform Let our Women take down their high towring Dresses and our Men shorten their monstrous Perukes Let us repent of our Strife and Contention and the Persecutions that have been amongst us Let us repent of the great neglect of Family-duties and our spending so much time at Taverns and Coffee-houses Let others repent of their Frauds in Commerce and Trading and others of their Oaths and Blasphemies and others of their Extortion and Oppression others of their base temporizing in Religion Let Children repent of Disobedience to Parents and Parents of their neglect of the Instruction and Education of their Children so Masters and Servants of the neglect of the Duties of their mutual Relation Let us rerent of our careless Hearing and our unprofitable Hearing of our loose Observation of the Sabbath and unworthy Receiving the Lord's-Supper and bring forth fruits meet for Repentance Let London remember what befel Sodom for not repenting and take heed of Sodom's Sins which are said to be Pride Ezek. 16.49 2 Pet. 2.6 Jude 7. Idleness and Fulness of Bread and Fornication and going after strange Flesh and now have suffered the Vengeance of Eternal fire That this City may not be called Sodom's Sister as Jerusalem was for being so like her in her Sin Ezek. 16.48 and her Fruit not like the Apples of Sodom fair without and within nothing but Ashes But I have better hope concerning this City and that as God hath wonderfully saved it so he will do still and that its case is not as Sodom's not to have in it ten righteous persons when Abraham interceded for the sparing of it And though this City was once laid in Ashes yet not as Sodom which was never built again and is now a bituminous Lake call'd Asphaltites and the Waters of it are deadly and the Fumes out of it mortal and the Ground and Trees about it barren which Pliny Solinus Diodorus Siculus and other Heathen Writers have taken notice of But London stands up out of its Ruins to the terror of those that design'd it to oblivion and perpetual desolation and is more populous than ever and the joyful Sound of the Gospel and the Voice of the Turtle are yet heard in her Streets and not the Voice of Owls and Satyrs as is foretold of Babylon And is spiritually called Sodom Rev. 11.8 And was Typed by the City Jericho which would expose the Man to a fatal Curse that
about the Person Natures and Offices of our Redeemer against all Hereticks both Old and New In short we agree in the same Creeds in all the Articles of the Christian Doctrine yea we agree in the Substance of the same Worsâ—â—â— and in the same Sacraments against both Papists Socinians and Quakers We have one Lord one Faith one Baptism And then in Civils we agree in our hearty Approbation of our Monarchy and in a dutifull Allegianâ—â— to our King and in refusing the Supremacy of any other at home or abroad And how many Particulars of the greatest weight are contain'd under these Heads wherein all we Protestants are agreed And if Unity in the Truth be any ground for Love and Charity it is incomprehensible that they who agree in all these things should be more inveterate against one another than against such as differ not toto Caelo but toto tartaro from them both But it is observed that the nearer some men are to a conjunction some difference remaining the greater is their hatred thus a Jew hates a Christian more than he doth a Pagan and a Papist hates a Protestant worse than he doth a Jew and a nominal Protestant hates a Puritan more than he doth a Papist as Dr. Featley notes The Contention of Brethren are like the Bars of a Castle Prov. 18.19 A most unreasonable though a very common thing 2. Consider the Imperfections of our humane Nature Our Understandings were sore wounded by the Fall of Adam and they are but imperfectly and unequally recovered by all the means which the Gospel affords Why should we condemn every one that is not endowed with our Abilities or advanced to our Capacity Do we fall out with one that is purblind because he cannot see so far nor so quick as we we should rather pity him and praise God who hath been kinder to us They that are most intelligent know but in part And if any man think that he knoweth any thing he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know 1 Cor. 8.2 That was therefore a good Answer which Melancthon made to those who objected to the Protestants their Divisions saith he The judicious agree in fundamentals but as in a great Army the skill or strength of all the Captains and of all the Soldiers is not equal but they all agree in their wills and honest designs to serve their Prince so all good men have not the like knowledge but all agree in their sincere love to goodness 3. Consider that you who are so violent do differ from others just as far as they differ from you Do you think that one kind of Government in the Church is best they do as verily think so of another do you hold such and such Ceremonies in Religion to be unlawful they are as confident of the lawfulness of them Do you conclude that all Private mens Opinions in such matters ought to be swallowed up and to acquiesce in the publick Determination they verily believe that the Church should leave them as the Apostles did in their first Indifference Now when such as do not otherwise forfeit their Veracity come and profess that they cannot for their Hearts think otherwise than they do you cannot yield to them they cannot comply with you what remedy then is so proper so Christian as Charity to each other relying upon that Promise Philip. 3.15 If in any thing ye be othâ—â—wise minded God shall reveal even this unto you 4. Consider that there have been greater Differences than Ours among those that were the true Members of Christ's Church Witness Act. 15.1 Certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved A material Point and urged you see with great confidence and yet God forbid we should blot these out of the roll of true Christians How resolute were some Great Divines in the Church pro and con in the Case of Rebaptizing those that were lapsed in the Primitive times And what Heart can be so hard as to deny the Lutherans and Calvinists a place in the Church of Christ who yet differ in greater matters than ours Wherefore seeing their Differences were greater than ours we should not aggravate them against one another nor by our violence render them intolerable 5. Consider your own personal moral Failings Hath not each of us some right Eye are we perfectly good are not we all Men of like Passions What if our Judge shall say And why beholdest thou the more that is in thy brothers eye but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye thou Hypocrite c. Matth. 7.3 Alas if we were truly conscious of our own Neglects of many Duties whereof we have been convinced toward our God our Neighbour and our selves and of the many Transgressions and Faults which we frequently commit we should much abate our Rigour towards others and turn our Indignation against our selves How sad a business would it be if any of those who have censur'd and damn'd their Opposites for some dubious matters should prove Slaves to their own Lusts and be found at last to be wretched Hypocrites in the main things of Religion Vse 2. If Uncharitable Contentions do prepare for utter Destruction Then Woe be to the Instruments and Bellows of our Contentions If the Evil of them be so great if the Danger from them be so dreadful then most wicked and wretched are the promoters of them Wo to the World because of offences for it must needs be that offences come but Woe to that Man by whom the offence cometh Matth. 18.7 If those that set an House or Town on Fire be justly reckon'd and treated as Enemies to humane Society certainly they who inflame the Souls of Christians against one another to the ruine of a Church and Nation deserve the worst Character and the worst Punishment But as Ahasuerus once said to Esther c. 7. v. 5. Who is he and where is he that dare presume in his heart to do so And as she answer'd The Adversary and Enemy is this wicked Haman so I may answer 1. Our common Adversary and Enemy in this matter is Satan Our Contentions do plainly smell of fire and brimstone Legions of Devils though we cannot see them are employed herein He is the Old Accuser of the Brethren both to God and to one another that wicked Spirit is the truest Salamander that lives in the fire of Contention Divisions are the Devil's Musick but that which makes the Devil laugh should make us weep How often have there been Essayes and Endeavours to reconcile our unhappy Differences and this cunning and malicious Enemy hath defeated them all I have somewhere read of a Treaty between a former King of England and another of France which was held and concluded in an old Chappel while their several Armies stood ready expecting the issue The Kings agreed and coming out of the Chappel a Snake or Viper crept out of the
old Wall which they seeing drew their Swords to defend themselves which being discerned by their Servants who attended at the door they drew likewise and the Armies seeing this did the like and slaughtered one another a long time before they understood the mistake And just so hath it often fared with God's Church abroad and at home Wise and good Men have been ready for a Reconciliation and in effect agreed when that Old Serpent the Devil being ready to burst with Malice at it hath spoil'd so good an enterprize and renew'd the flames of Discord again 2. Jesuites and other Emissaries from Rome These have been Satans Instruments to set the World in Flames It was Campanella's old Advice to the Spaniard that they should by all means keep up Union among themselves and keep open the breaches among the Protestants The like by Adam Contzen another Jesuite in his Politicks These doubtless did blow the Coals in our Civil Wars and insinuated themselves into each Party And it is strange that though this their Principle and Practice be undenyable neither side will discern or yield any such Boutefeu's to be among them What else could maintain that deadly rage and violent Prejudice so long among Englishmen and Protestants whose Temper and Religion is of it self so sweet and gentle but such Instruments as these who aggravate Differences and exasperate mens spirits and endeavour to perswade People that it is better to yield to a Forreign Religion than to one another and to this end their Doctrines and Ceremonies are represented with the fairest and falsest Colours our first Reformers abroad and at home slily censured and our domestick Differences rendred irreconcileable 3. Atheistical and Debauched Persons These hate all sound Religion in whomsoever and are ripe for any Profession which will gratifie their Lusts and so are as ready to be Mahumetans as Romans who for all their Professions of Loyalty would hate their Governors at the Heart if the Laws were strictly executed against their Vices These cry out Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us and so must needs abhorr any such Settlement as would conduce to the flourishing oâ— â—eal Piety Besides their Practices provoke God to fasten his Judgments upon us whereof our Contentions are not the least And also these having an inveterate Antipathy to all sober and religious Persons of what Character soever do equally hate such of every Party and on the other side adhere unto and animate the looser sort whose Religion consists in Humour Noise or Shew and wherever they live are pouring Oyl into our Flames 4. Ignorant and Proud People whereof the number is too great in every Party Such as have neither read the Scriptures with Judgment nor other Ecclesiastical Histories nor considered the Constitution of the Churches of God in other parts of the World but only pore upon what is next to their Senses and these commonly are most conceited and unmoveable abounding only in their own sence and condemning all others with the greatest contempt Of such good old Mr. Greenham is to be understood when being ask'd by the Lord Treasurer Cecil where the blame of that great rent lay between the Bishops of those times and Others The fault said he is on both sides and on neither side for the godly-wise on both sides bear with each other and concurr in the main but there be some selfish peevish spirits on both sides and these make the quarrel And how few are there that are no way byass'd by their worldly Interest which is a strong and irrefragable Argument and where it rules will make men content to behold a whole Nation on fire so that they may warm themselves thereby How rare a thing is a publick Spirit or a Man that looking upon the distracted condition of a Church and Nation without the false Spectacles of Prejudice and private Interest can drop a Christian Tear or impartially offer any Balm to cure their Wounds From such as these before-mention'd proceed our Uncharitable Contentions And woe be to them unless they repent that is amend Vse 3. If these prepare for Destruction Then We in this sinful Nation are in the ready way to misery For 1. Our Differences and Contentions are notorious Divisions in the Church Divisions in the Nation Cities divided yea Houses divided Names of Distinction impos'd and no Pacificatory Endeavours nor Inviting Providences have yet cemented us Our Enemies smile at it and our well-wishers mourn 2. We are Vncharitable in these Contentions we bite and devour one another we censure we slander we rail we damn and we are ready to mischieve one another by force by fraud the Press sweats the Pulpit rings with Invectives and with Reproaches O Lord how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear even cry out to thee of violence and thou wilt not save why dost thou shew me iniquity and grievance for spoiling and violence are before me and there are that raise up strife and contention c. Habac. 1.2 3. The Law of Kindness is banish'd out of mens Mouths the Law of Love too much out of mens Hearts Yea some Preach Christ of envy strife and contention supposing to add affliction to others bands as it was Philip. 1.17 We may take up Optatu's complaint of old Nullus vestrum est qui non convitia nostra suis tractatibus misceat Lectiones Dominicas incipitis tractatus vestros ad nostras injurias explicatis Profertis Evangelium facitis absenti fratri convitium Auditorum animis infigitis odia inimicitias suadendo docendo suadetis This hath been Englished too often in Pulpits I am loth to do it In all concourses instead of kindness freedom and love either uncivil clashings or a fearful reservedness The worst Interpretations made of one anothers actions words looks and behaviour Certainly the Enemy hath done this his cloven Foot is evident in these effects but this is matter of fact and undenyable 3. Too many of those that should quench these flames exasperate them If St. Paul were here he would ask again as 1 Cor. 6.5 Is it so that there is not a wise man among you I speak it to your shame If St. James were among us he would ask as Jam. 3.13 Who is a wise man and indued with knowledge among you let him shew out of a good Conversation his works with meekness of wisdom and conclude But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts glory not and lye not against the truth Magistrates and Ministers should be Healers but there have been some of these and that of each Party that have increased these flames How industriously have our wounds been kept open and some have not been asham'd to set themselves against all Coalition and Vnion Where are our healing Shepherds Is there no Balm in Gilead is there no Physician there why then is not the health of the daughter of my People recovered The Pythagorians had a
nor value them Sayes the other These men are all either blinded with preferment or hunting after it their Parts are either utterly abus'd or quite blasted Thus the Ball of Contention is toss'd from one to another by the hands of Pride and Scorn Whereas Humility makes a Man think meanly of himself moderately of his own Notions and Apprehensions highly of those that deserve it and respectfully of all It was this which taught excellent Bishop Ridley when he was in Prison thus to accost honest Bishop Hooper However in some by-matters and circumstances of Religion your wisdom and my simplicity I grant hath a little jarr'd yet now c. More comfort to them if they had been on these terms in the time of their Liberty and Prosperity Humility is a great step to Unity Ephes 4.2 I beseech you that ye walk with all lowliness and meekness with long-suffering forbearing one another in love Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Pray behold how these Graces are here link't together lowliness meekness unity and peace The humble man will not indure that his Reputation shall outweigh the Peace of the Church and therefore is more willing that Truth should be victorious than Himself Hee 'l go two miles for one to meet his Adversary in an honest way of Accommodation and when he cannot make his Judgment to bend yet his Heart shall stoop to you with all sincerity This Vertue made Aristippus come to Eschines when they were at fewd with this greeting Eschines Shall we be friends And this dictated his answer Yes Sir with all my heart But remember saith Aristippus That I being elder than you do make the first motion Yea said the other and therefore I conclude you to be the worthier man for I began the strife and you began the peace Let us all then be cloathed with Humility assume not in regard of your Learning Wit or Parts consider you are but Sharers in our Common Benefactor neither let your Riches or Dignities make you to speak or write otherwise than you would do without them and this will go a great way to prevent our biting and devouring one another 5. Apply your selves to the Practice of Real Piety By this I mean that we should imploy our chief care to procure and increase a lively Faith to exercise daily Repentance to strengthen our Hope to inflame our Love to God and to our Neighbour to grow in Humility Zeal Patience and Self-denyal To be diligent in Watchfulness over our Thoughts Words and Wayes in Mortification of our sinfull Passions and Affections in the Examination of our Spiritual Estate in Meditation in secret and fervent Prayer and in universal and steady Obedience In these things do run the vital spirits of Religion And whoso is seriously imployed in these will have but little time and less mind for unnecessary Contentions These will keep that heat about the Heart which evaporating degenerates into airy and fiery exhalations and leaves the Soul as cold as Ice to any holy desires It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace not with meats which have not profited them that have been occupied therein Hebr. 13.9 It is manifest what a sad decay of these hath followed our multiplied quarrels and how hard it is to be fervent in Spirit and withall to be fiery in Controversies He that walks with God and whose Conversation is in Heaven will be quickly weary of windy disputes with men and will be apt to conclude with one of the Ancients Lassus sum dum cum sermone atque invidia cum hostibus cum nostris pugno Which hath occasioned divers great Divines the more earnestly to long for Heaven that they might be out of the noise of endless and perverse disputations The serious Practice of Godliness hath the Promise of Divine Direction in all material points The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will shew them his Covenant Psal 25.14 If any man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God John 7.17 And likewise he that lives in the Spirit and walks in the Spirit dares not bite or devour his Neighbour Let not us saith the Apostle that so walk be desirous of vain-glory provoking one another envying one another Gal. 5.25 26. 6. Follow after Charity Knowedge puffeth up but Charity edifieth This is the healing Grace and if this be not applyed to our bleeding wounds they will never be cured This suffereth long and is kind Charity envieth not Charity vaunteth not it self is not puffed up Pray read on and mark all these passages Charity doth not behave it self unseemly seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh no evil Rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the Truth Beareth all things tolerable believeth all things credible hopeth all things possible indureth all things and as it follows indureth after all things 1 Corinth 13. That whole Chapter most fit to be read and often studied by all that love peace Charitas dicit aliorum bona certa meliora certa mala minora bona dubia certa dubia mala nulla An excellent Conclusion of Charity That it reckons the good parts qualities or actions that are certainly in others to be rather better than they are indeed and the ills to be less than they are indeed the doubtfull good things in them to be certain and the doubtfull evil to be none And how far would this Temper and Practice go to the promoting of Unity and Concord And how directly contrary do most of them proceed that make the greatest noise in our irreligious quarrels Not only putting the most invidious fence upon one anothers words and actions but also the most uncharitable judgment upon their persons upon their Spiritual and Eternal Estate We must know that as Faith unites us to the Head so Love unites us to all the Members and as we can have no Faith nor Hope without Charity so as any Man increaseth in Faith so he is inlarged in his Charity The more true Piety any man hath doubtless the more Charity still that man hath We that did hate one another saith Jâ—stin Martyr of the Christians do now live most friendly and familiarly together and pray for our Enemies If we must err one way as who is infallible it is safer for you to err by too much mildness than by overmuch rigour for Almighty God though he be Wise and Just yet he is most emphatically called Love 1 John 4.8 Beloved let us love one another for Love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God He that loveth not knoweth not God for God is Love And for you to reply That you do heartily love those that are every way Orthodox that is that agree with you in Opinion is nothing thank-worthy do not even the Publicans the same That may be nothing but Self-love but your Religion
the Spirit of God that he may be a Spirit of Adoption to you as well as of Regeneration pray in the Spirit for the Spirit that you may have the frame of a Child filled with Zeal for the Fathers Name and Interest 'T is the Spirit of Adoption that teaches us to cry Abba Father Rom. 8.15 'T is the Spirit of God that gives us an inward freedom and liberty 2 Cor. 3.17 Whâ—â—e the Spirit of the Lord is there 's Liberty This Spirit will not give you a liberty unto sin but from it nor from God but with him This Spirit will not break the Bonds of the Commandment but tye up your hearts to it and give you liberty and chearfulness in it We read that the Son makes us free John 8.36 If the Son shall make you free then are you free indeed We read also that the Spirit makes us free too but in different respects The Son makes us free from the Curse of the Law from the guilt of Sin from the Wrath of God but the Spirit makes us free too from the reigning power of sin from the bondage that is in the Conscience The Authority of God has made his Precepts necessary what is necessary in the precept the Spirit makes voluntary in the principle God charges the Conscience with Duty and the Spirit enlarges the heart to obedience Psal 119.32 I will run the way of thy Commandment when thou shalt enlarge my heart 3. Pray for the Spirit that he would perform his whole Office to you that you may not partake only of the work of the Spirit in some one or some few of his operations but in all that are common to Believers And especially that he that has been an anointing Spirit to you would be a sealing Spirit to you also that he that has sealed you may be a witnessing Spirit to his own work and that he would be the earnest of your inheritance a pledge of what God has further promised and purposed for you 2 Cor. 1.21 22. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed you is God Who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit into our hearts 2. To speak a little more particularly what the Apostle prays for his Ephesians in more general Terms he prays for the Colossians more particularly Col. 1.9 10. We do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be fill'd with the knowledge of his Will in all Wisdom and Spiritual Vnderstanding that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and encreasing in the knowledge of God And when I have opened the particulars of this Scripture I shall not need to seek elsewhere for an answer to this Inquiry What is the matter of the fulness of God which we ought to pray and strive to be filled with I. Let us pray and strive and strive and pray again adding endeavours § 1 to prayers and prayers to endeavours that we may be filled with the knowledge of Gods will And we have need to make this an essential part of our prayer for first We may happily do the will of God Materially when we do it not Formally not under that formal and precise consideration that what we do is the will of God and that we do it under that consideration because it is the will of God A Man may perhaps stumble upon some practices that are commanded by the Moral Law and yet in all this not do Gods will but his own that which in all our obedience we are to eye and regard is the Authority the will of God we cannot be said to observe a Commandment unless we observe Gods Authority in that Commandment nor to keep Gods Statutes unless we keep God in our eye as the great Legislator and Statute maker A blind obedience even to God is no more acceptable than a blind obedience to Men is justifiable Secondly We ought to pray that we may be filled with the knowledge of Gods will that there may be more employment for the powers and faculties of the Soul which in every heart wherein the grace of God radically is are in the general inclined to do the will of God There are some well disposed Christians of strong affections and good inclinations to do Gods will who are but slenderly furnisht with knowledge what that will of God is which he would have them do And thus those warm propensions of Spirit either lye like dead stocks upon their hands or else they laid out the zeal of their Souls upon that which is not the will of God and when they have spent their vigour and strength of Soul upon it they come to God for a reward who asks them who required this at your hand And thus even holy Davids zeal was mislaid upon this account that God had not spoken a word nor revealed his will in the Case 2 Sam. 7.7 Thirdly It s our great concern that we may know the will of God and be filled with that knowledge that the knowledge of Gods will may be an operative principle of obedience thus David prays Psal 143.10 Teach me to do thy will O God We are to pray that God would teach us to know and then teach us to do his will knowledge without obedience is lame obedience without knowledge is blind and we must never hope for acceptance if we offer the blind and the lame to God Luke 12.47 That Servant which knew his Lords will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes As therefore all our practice must be guided by knowledge so must all our knowledge be referred to practice Fourthly and lastly We ought to pray that we may be filled with the knowledge of God's will that this knowledge being rooted and grounded in our Souls it may render that obedience easie and delightful which is so necessary to its acceptation when Satan had entred Judas his heart he would not stick at any of the Devils commands and when he had filled the heart of Ananias and Saphira Acts 5.3 how ready were they to lie unto God If our hearts were more filled with the knowledge of Gods will that this Divine Law were written there duty would be our delight obedience our meat and drink nor would there be room left for those corruptions which hang upon us like dead weight always incumbring us in our obedience § 2 II. Let us pray again that we be filled with all wisdom in the doing of the will of God we want knowledge much we want wisdom more we need more light into the will of God and more judgment how to perform it For first It 's one great instance of wisdom to know the seasons of duty and what every day calls for As the providence of God disposes us under various circumstances so it calls for the exercise of various duties one circumstance calls for mourning another for
rejoycing and yet neither ought our mourning to exclude a humble rejoycing in God nor our rejoycing shut out a holy mourning The Men of Issachar are recorded as famous on this account 1 Chron. 12.32 That they had understanding of the time to know what Israel ought to do And herein we are oftentimes at a great loss like those children Matth. 11.17 that complained of their fellows they had piped unto them and yet not been answer'd with dancing that they had mourned to them but they had not lamented Holy Wisdom would teach us to accommodate the present frame of our hearts to Gods present dispensations Providence does not teach us new duties but how to single out those that God has made our duties Secondly We need wisdom that we be not deluded with shadows instead of substances that we take not appearances for realities for want of which O how often are we cheated out of our interests our real concerns our integrity of heart and peace of Conscience We account him a weak and foolish Man who is imposed upon by Copper for Gold that would warm his hands by painted fire or hope to satisfie his craving appetite with painted food yet such are we who spend our mony for that which is not bread and our labor for that which profits us not Isa 55.2 who set our affections on those things that are not Prov. 23.5 Thirdly Another point of wisdom which we need to be instructed in is the worth of Time and what a weight of eternity depends on these short and flitting moments but we weak and silly ones count a day for no more than it stands for in the Calender an hour no more than so much time measured by the hourglass when one hour to repent in a moment to make our Calling and Election sure in may come to be more worth than all the World can be to us Fourthly Wisdom would teach us the due order and method of all things what first what last ought to be our study and our concern wisdom would teach us to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness Matth. 6.33 And then if there be time to spare to bestow some small portion of it for those other things which God in his bounty will not deny and in his wisdom knows in what measure to bestow Fifthly Wisdom would teach us the true worth and value of all things to labour pray and strive for them proportionable to their true intrinsick dignities to think that Heaven cannot be too dear what-ever we pay for it nor Hell cheap how easily soever we come by it wisdom would instruct us that we cannot lay out too much of our time strength contrivance upon Eternals nor too little upon these perishing Temporals that Earth deserves very little of our Hand less of our Head and nothing at all of our Heart little of our pains less of our plotting and least of all of our love and affections III. Le ts pray and strive strive in the due and diligent use of § 3 means and pray for a blessing upon them that we may be filled with a spiritual understanding A carnal heart will carnalize the most spiritual Mercies and a carnal mind will debase the most spiritual Truths the Manna was design'd to feed the Souls as well as the Bodies of the Jews but they ate the spiritual meat and drank the spiritual drink 1 Cor. 10.23 with very carnal Heads and Hearts so that they needed the Spirit of God to instruct them in the right use of it Nehem. 9.10 Thou gavest thy good Spirit to instruct them and with-heldest not the Manna from their mouth They might then have eaten their own condemnation as well as we under the Gospel by that Symbol John 3.3 Christ had deliver'd a great and necessary Truth except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven but Nicodemus tho' a great Rabbi turns it into a gross and carnal interpretation How can a Man be born when he is old Can he enter the second time into his Mothers womb and be born again And at the same pass were his rude and carnal hearers John 6.51 I am the living bread says Christ that came down from Heaven if any Man eat of this bread he shall live for ever and the bread that I will give is my flesh that I will give for the life of the world but his Capernatical hearers conceive of nothing but a literal and oral Manducation of his natural flesh vers 52. The Jews therefore strove among themselves saying How can this Man give us his flesh to eat And yet Christ had said enough to obviate that gross mistake vers 35. I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst One Man hears the great Duties of the Gospel pressed upon his Conscience and either sitting down despondeth at the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or else undertakes them in his own strength and the power of his free will not considering that there is Covenant grace to answer Covenant duties and Covenant pardon for those imperfections that attend them Another perhaps hears the curse thundred out against Every one that continues not in all things written in the Law to do them Gal. 3.10 he hears that the primitive end of the Law was to justifie a righteous person that had perfectly observed it and he falls upon the observation of that Law as the condition of the Covenant of works hoping to drudge out a righteousness thereby that shall present him blameless before God not knowing that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth Rom. 10.4 Let us therefore pray for a spiritual understanding that we may know every Truth as it is in Jesus Ephes 4.21 that every line every letter of the Old and New Testament has its center in a Redeemer § 4 IV. Let 's pray again and strive that we may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing knowing that all our services all our sacrifices are nothing unless our God smell a sweet savour in them nor can we fill the sails of our Souls with a more noble and generous ambition than to be accepted of God This was the height of the Apostles ambition 2 Cor. 5.9 We labour that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him which was the glorious frame of our blessed Saviours heart John 8.29 That he always did the things that pleased his Father It s a common delusion of Professors that if they can get the work of their hands not to regard whether ever it comes upon Gods heart or no But what are our Prayers if God receives them not Our Praises if God accepts them not Our Obedience if God regards it not Now that we may reach this great end we must walk worthy of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There ought to be a suitableness between the frame of our hearts and
influence the Faith of some confident Professors has upon their Lives they are not they will not be governed by the Faith which they profess the Devil allows of such a profession and 't is all the Religion he will admit of in his followers provided they don 't touch upon the power of godliness all forms are alike to him and in some cases the purest and most Scriptural serve his turn best when separated from the power of godliness then he has some Scripture on his side to perswade them that all is well then he cries The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord are ye setled in a Church way according to all the Rules of Discipline laid down in the Word and is not this Religion enough to save you Thus the Devil will sometimes give the best form its due commendation from Scripture when it may serve as an Argument to perswade a formal Christian to sit down short of the power of Godliness he knows God's own form will not save us then though he would make them believe otherwise He put the Jews upon pleading this and possessed them that all was well while they held to the outward form of Worship that God had appointed which made the Lord himself so often to declare against them and the outward forms of Worship that he had appointed because he saw they rested in them and played the Hypocrites under them Let us have a care in these Gospel-times that we do not rest in Gospel-forms only placing the whole of our Religion in that which God has made but a part of it and such a part that should never be divided by us from the Power and Spirit of the Gospel We talk of damnable Heresies and there are such the Lord keep us from them but let me tell you you may pass though more silently into Hell through a formal Profession of the Truth and have your porticn with Hypocrites who profess'd what you do had the same form of Godliness that you have but deny'd the power of it I don't say as some of you do I hope otherwise of you all but let every one examine himself what powerful Influence those Gospel-truths have upon him which he has lived so long under the profession of you know this best and others may more than guess at it by your Lives and Conversations but I spare you having laid my finger upon the soar place I take it off again and leave every one to his own feeling Obj. You seem as if you would put us off from our Profession Answ It may be better off than on in some respects but my design is to bring you up to your Profession that you may be real in it and not mock the Lord nor deceive your selves I have often thought that he who makes a solemn Profession of his Faith and says I believe in God and in Christ had need consider well what he says lest he lie unto the Holy Ghost though what you profess be truth yet your Profession may be a Lie if you say you believe what you do not believe with the Mouth Confession is made but with the Heart Man believes believing is Heart-work which the Searcher of Hearts only can judge of therefore you should consult your Hearts whether you do indeed believe before you tell God and Man that you do 't is a sad thing that the frequeut repetition of our Creed and the renewed Profession we make of our Faith should be charged upon us as so many gross Lies as Psal 78.36 37. Thirdly They who count it an easie matter to believe are destistute of Saving Faith I prove it thus 1. They who have never found any Conflict in themselves about believing are destitute of saving Faith But they who count it an easie matter to believe have never found any Conflict in themselves about believing ergo If Faith did not act in opposition to carnal Reason and carry it against all the strong reasonings of the Flesh to the contrary Supernatural Truths which never enter never be admitted never find acceptance in the Soul we should never be brought over to assent to them so as to make them the sure ground of our trust and confidence in God but Faith captivates all rebellious thoughts that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God 2 Cor. 10.5 as if they could disprove all that the Gospel says but the demonstrations of the Spirit are with that power that we cannot resist them Christ teaches as one having Authority besides the instructive evidence of Truth in clear reasonings and full demonstrations of it by the Spirit there is Authority and Power to back all this so that having nothing to object that is and fully answered we dare not but obey because of his Authority lesh Power over us were it not for this Authority and Power proud F the would pertinaciously stand out against all the Reasonings of the Spirit but when the Rationale of the Gospel is made out by art Spirit beyond all contradiction from Flesh and Blood the carnal p et is nonplust and silenced cannot speak sense against the Gospel y e however 't will be muttering and kicking against the Truth her comes in the Authoritative Act and Power of the Spirit suppressing the insolence of the Flesh and commanding the Soul in the Name of God to obey and not stand it out any longer against such clear evidence resisting the Wisdom of the Holy Ghost You must know that Flesh and Blood i. e. that carnal corrupt part that is in every Man is never convinced 't is not capable of any such thing but the Power of the Spirit of God brings on a Conviction upon the Soul from a higher Light notwithstanding all that the Wisdom of the Flesh can say to the contrary Flesh is Flesh still in all chose who are born of the Spirit but 't is overpower'd and kept under by the stronger reasonings of the Spirit which is the cause of that continual Conflict that is between the Flesh and Spirit to talk of easie believing without any resistance from our own corrupt minds is to talk of that that never was nor can be in any man whatever Saints are inclined two contrary ways though one Principle be predominant yet the other is not extinct has not yet lost all its power 't will stir and fight and resist though it can't overcome and Faith it self feels the struglings of unbelief and bears up with more Courage against them 2. They who were never convinced of the sinfulness of sin and of the dreadfulness of God's Wrath against Sinners are destitute of Saving Faith but they who count it an easie matter c. ergo I don't mean that all must pass under the like terrors of Conscience some have a more easie passage from a state of Nature to Grace from Death to Life from Terror to Comfort they may sooner get over their Tears and attain to peace than others may But this I say that
as Euscbius and Pliny also saith Vsed early to sing Psalms and Praise to Christ Administer the Sacraments in the very words of Christ But guard the Door that the grosly ignorant and profane may not come in 1 Cor. 5.11 If any degenerate so as first and second admonition reclaim not shut the Door upon him Let him be to you as an Heathen or a Publican for so is the rule of Christ Matth. 18.17 Every Natural Body and Civil Body or Society hath a power to take in or cast out such as are for the Benefit or Damage of the Community to Infranchise or Disfranchise when there is just cause The Church is Christs Body and a Society of visible Saints Most Epistles to the Churches in Scripture were directed to the Saints at Rome Rom. 1.7 at Corinth 1 Epist 1.2 and so on Now if out of Custom carnal Policy Flattery or other ill motive the whole World must come into the Church and the Church and the World which lieth in wickedness 1 John 5.19 are one thing then in cometh also the god of this World too And will Christ have fellowship with Devils If Swearers Drunkards and Unclean persons come in it may be a Market-house or House for Merchants but not the Lords-house John 2.16 A Drunken Saint an Unclean Saint a Swearing Saint if they be not contradictions yet they sound very harshly No sin hath less tentation of gain or pleasure than Swearing and Cursing and no sin more debaucheth the Conscience and strips it even to Atheism of all reverence and for Men to have no more pity on them than to let them cram damnation down their Throats as soon as they have made the imprecation on themselves is dreadful I remember an Ear-witness told me he heard Dr. Ham. preach before King Charles the First at Oxford when his Affairs were at a low ebb and he told him While God-dam-me led the Van and the Devil confound me brought up the Rear he would be routed in all his designs And they are very unlikely to be good Subjects to Princes who are open Rebels to the Laws of God and Men and their own reason But let us keep to the Rule the Principles of Christs Kingdom are Rock and Steel not calculated for the soft Meridians of this World but can abide and stand in all times the same they need not load the secular Arm to hold them up Let us be faithful Executors of our Lords Will not Law-makers or Testament-makers for untempered Morter will be always falling and fowling them who daub it up Let us therefore stand fast in that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free he and his Truth only can make us free from all Errors and mistakes John 8.36 Let us be of the same mind which was in Christ Jesus Phil. 2.5 then nothing will be done out of contention or vain-glory But God will make good his own Promise all his shall have one Heart and one way Jer. 32.39 then our Lords Prayer shall be answered Joh. 17.21 That all his may be one as he and his Father are One. One in the World that is impossible but let them be one in us in our appointments and then the World will believe that thou hast sent me otherwise Divisions will breed such tentations as if Christianity was no reality Now what can any Man say against this method Who are they that make Divisions but they that make more Duties in Religion and Worship than Christ hath made They who build upright on the foundations or they who will jet over and drop upon their Neighbours 2. As we should keep to our rule so practise accordingly let the one Foot of the Compass keep the Center and the other walk the rounds let us live so as M. Felix says Non magna loquimur sed vivimus We do not talk great things but live them Exact walking would be as a miracle in this loose age to confirm the Faith we do profess Catechize your Children and Servants as Abraham did Gen. 18.19 to walk in the way of the Lord so most excellent Theophilus was Cathechized and instructed in the things of Christ Luke 1.4 Pray in your Families dayly bread you have twice at least then you are directed to dayly prayer for it If Nations and Kingdoms have Gods wrath poured out upon them that call not on his Name Psal 79.6 then surely Families much less can escape We and our Families need dayly Grace dayly Pardon as well as dayly Bread therefore unless we dare die in our Sins we should dayly pray for in Gods hands is our breath and his are all our ways Dan. 7.23 who then dare breath a day without compassing him about with Prayer and Praises And let us adorn our Profession of Godliness with honesty Tit. 2.10 1 Tim. 2.2 Labour to think as near to the truth of things and actions as you can and as they are in themselves Job 26.3 then speak and declare the thing as it is in your mind Jos 14.7 then do as you speak Psal 15.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 simplifie your self in Epictetus's phrase from all composition of Frauds Policies and Hypocrisie then besure you be just and do as you would have others do to you the grand skale of Righteousness if Men would but weigh their Thoughts Words and Actions by this standard of equity Matth. 7.12 how would this make Ministers Lawyers Physicians and all others take as much care of Peoples Souls Bodies and Estates as of their own then would come that golden age wherein they would have if not so many dirty Fees yet a cleaner and a greater reward of Peace of Conscience and joy in God Let us all be humble meek and patient as our Lord modest in Apparel and all civil Conversation as those that resolve to walk in Christ as they have received him Col. 2.6 and to wear him as they have put him on Rom. 13.14 1 Tim. 2.9 This Primitive simplicity would revive charity which is frozen to pieces in this cold Age this being the fulfilling of the Law Rom. 13.10 All the commands of God must needs be broken by the very want of it When all is done live so accurately Ephes 5.15 as if you were to be justified by your works and then as unprofitable Servants cast your selves wholly on Free-grace in Christ Luke 17.10 least by the conceit of any merit when you have anointed our Saviours feet you fling the box at his Head and rob him of his Priestly Office and Crown As for disputing of Controversies let your discourses be rather in private than before others that you argue in Love to the Souls of your Brethren not for Victory and Triumphing over their infirmities The Jewish Rabbins say He deserveth Hell-fire who putteth his Brother to the blush Therefore in meekness of Wisdom argue with your week Brethren that Christ was faithful in Gods House or Church Heb. 3.2 in commanding all things necessary for Salvation and the Worshiping of
in its essential Malignity which implies no less than that God was neither wise nor good in making his Law and that he is not just and powerful to vindicate it And when tempted to any pleasant Sin to consider the due Aggravations of it as Joseph did which will controle the Efficacy of the Temptation I shall only add that when a Man has mortified the lusts of the flesh he has overcom the main part of the infernal Army that Wars against the Soul Sensual objects do powerfully and pleasantly insinuate into carnal Men and the affections are very unwillingly restrain'd from them To undertake the cure of those whose Disease is their pleasure is almost a vain attempt for they do not judge it an evil to be regarded and will not accept distastful remedies 3. Fly all tempting occasions of sin Joseph would not be alone with his Mistriss There is no vertue so confirmed and in that degree of eminence but if one be frequently ingaged in vicious Society 't is in danger of being eclipst and controul'd by the opposite vice If the Ermins will associate with the Swine they must lie in the mire if the Sheep with Wolves they must learn to bite and devour if Doves with Vultures they must learn to live on the prey Our surest guard is to keep at a distance from all engaging snares He that from carelessness or confidence ventures into temptations makes himself an easie prey to the tempter And let us dayly pray for the Divine Assistance to keep us from the evil of the World without which all our resolutions will be as ineffectual as ropes of sand to bind us to our duty 5. The consideration of the evil of sin is a powerful motive to our solemn and speedy Repentance The remembrance of our original and actual sins will convince us that we are born for repentance There are innumerable silent sins that are unobserved and do not Alarm the Conscience and altho a true Saint will neither hide any sin nor suffer sin to hide it self in his brest yet the most holy Men in the World have great reason with the Psalmist to say with melting affections who can understand his errors O clense me from my secret sins discover them to me by the light of the Word and cover them in the blood of the Redeemer There are sins of infirmity and dayly incursion from which none can be perfectly freed in this mortal state these should excite our watchfulness and be lamented with true tears There are crying sins of a crimson guilt which are to be confest with heart-breaking sorrow confounding shame and implacable antipathy against them and to be forsaken for ever Of these some are of a deep die in their nature and some from the circumstances in committing them some are of a heynous nature and more directly and expresly renounce our duty and more immediately obstruct our Communion with God As a mud-wall intercepts the light of the Sun from shining upon us 2. Some derive a greater guilt from the circumstances in the commission Such are 1. Sins against knowledge for according to the ingrediency of the will in sin the guilt arises Now when Conscience interposes between the carnal Heart and the temptation and represents the evil of sin and deters from compliance and yet Men will venture to break the Divine Law this exceedingly aggravates the offence for such sins are committed with a fuller consent atd are justly called rebellion against the light And the clearer the light is the more it will increase the disconsolate fearful darkness in Hell 2. Sins committed against the Love as well as the Law of God are exceedingly aggravated To pervert the benefits we receive from God to his dishonour to turn them into occasions of sin which were designed to endear obedience to us to sin licentiously and securely in hopes of an easie pardon at last is intensive of our guilt in a high degree This is to poison the antidote and make it deadly There is a Sacrifice to reconcile offended Justice but if Men obstinately continue in sin and abuse the Grace of the Gospel there is no Sacrifice to appease exasperated Mercy 3. Sins committed against solemn promises and engagements to forsake them have a deeper die for perfidiousness is joyn'd with this disobedience The Divine Law strictly binds us to our duty antecedently to our consent but when we promise to obey it we increase our obligations and by sinning break double chains In short any habitual allowed sin induces a heavy guilt for it argues a deeper root and foundation of sin in the Heart a stronger inclination to it from whence the repeated acts proceed which are new provocations to the pure Eyes of God Accordingly in repenting reflections our sorrow should be most afflicting our humiliation deeper our self-condemnation most severe for those sins which have been most dishonourable to God and defiling to us Not that we can make any satisfaction for our sins tho we should fill the Air with our sighs and Heaven with our tears but it becomes us to have our sorrows inlarged in some proportion to our unworthiness And this mournful disposition prepares us for the grace of God The Law does not allow repentance but exacts entire obedience 't is the privilege of the Gospel that repenting sinners are assur'd of forgiveness without this qualification 't is inconsistent with the Majesty Purity and Justice of God to extend pardoning Mercy to Sinners for they will never value nor humbly and ardently seek for Mercy till they feel the woful effects of sin in their Conscience only the stung Israelite would look to the brazen Serpent and this is requisite to prevent our relapsing into sin for the dominion of sin being founded in the love of pleasure the proper means to extinguish it is by a bitter repentance the Heart is first broken for sin and then from it To Conclude Let us renew our repentance every-day let not the wounds of our Spirits putrifie let not the Sun go down upon Gods wrath let us always renew the applications of Christs blood that alone can cleanse us from Sin The Case or Question which comes to be spoken unto this morning is Quest How may Private Christians be most helpful to promote the entertainment of the Gospel SERMON XII Colossians IV. 5. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without YE have heard the Question And as I conceive a due attendance unto the words read may lead us far toward the Resolution of it And for that reason was this Text chosen I design not therefore to frame a set Discourse upon it but only to lay it as a ground-work to support that which I have to offer toward the Answering of the Question propounded We have before us then a serious Exhortation Walk in wisdom toward them that are without And therein we may observe 1. The Persons to whom the Apostle doth direct it And they are private Christians This is apparent
by the Sword of the Spirit all his force was repelled Christians are to look upon the Evil one as an Enemy that Christ has conquer'd and this should encourage them in their conflicts with him they are to despise his offers they are not to be perswaded by his misapplication of Scripture to any thing that is unjustifiable and irregular The Word of God should abide in them that they may be strong and overcome the wicked one 1 Joh. 2.14 The Head always resisted shall the Members yield to this Destroyer Let not your hearts be filled with Satan let not your heads and hands be employed by him who works in the Children of disobedience 4. Christ is to be followed in his contempt of the worlds glory and contentment with a mean and low estate in it Never was the world so set forth in such an alluring dress as when the God of it in a moment of time shew'd unto our Lord Jesus all the Kingdoms of the world and all the glory of them Luk. 4.5 yet the heavenly Mind of Christ is not taken with the sight he knew he saw nothing but what was Vanity and his Kingdom which was not of this world was a far better thing than the worlds best Kingdom Instead of pursuing he flees from a Crown which the people were ready to force upon his head Ambition and covetousness after worldly grandeur and gain which make us so unlike to Christ should be far from us If the world be the great thing with us Mammon will have us at command and Christ will have but little service from us Why should that be high in the esteem and affection of your hearts which Christ so little minded Love not the world neither the things that are in the world 1 Joh. 2.15 Set your affection on things above not on things that are on earth Col. 3.2 If you have the worlds riches let not your minds be high nor your hearts set upon them and be rich in good works if you are in a meaner estate be satisfied remember who said The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head The best men in the world that have done most good in the world have least cared for the world and have been most willing to leave the world and go to a better 5. Christ is to be followed in his living a life so very beneficial doing good being his perpetual business The Apostle Peter who was one of his greatest and most constant attendants says that he went about doing good Act. 10.38 to do thus was meat and drink to him How great was his Kindness and Compassion to Souls how much Mercy does he shew to the Bodies of Men You that are Christians be very active in the best sence the true Members of Christ have the Spirit of the Head in them whose fruit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth Eph. 5.9 What have you Faith for but that it may work by Love Why are you created in Christ Jesus but that you may be employed in good works which God hath before ordained that you should walk in them Eph. 2.10 Be sure to do justly be injurious to none render unto all their dues and do not only consult the dues of others but their needs also and love to be merciful and let the perishing Souls as well as the distressed Bodies of others have a great share in your Compassions As you have opportunity do good unto all men and good of as many sorts as may be especially to the houshold of faith Gal. 6.10 The Apostle speaks with great authority and asseveration when he presses Christian practice This is a faithful saying and these things I will that thou affirm constantly that they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works these things are good and profitable unto men Tit. 3.8 A Christian by Profession who lives wickedly is not a true Member but a Monster in the Church and will not be endured long but is near to be cut off and destroy'd It 's a true Saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Death does not destroy the Soul but 't is an ill Life that ruins it 6. Christ is to be followed in his most profitable and edifying Communication We read Psal 45.2 That grace was poured into his Lips the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth were the wonder of the hearers Luk. 4.22 Exact truth always accompanied his Speeches he never spake a word that was offensive to God or injurious to any man Was he chargeable with guile or when he was reviled did he revile again No no he gave a better example he speaks words to awaken Sinners to search Hypocrites and how does he comfort the mourners calling all the weary and heavy laden to come to him for rest He takes occasion almost from every thing to discourse of the heavenly kingdom His parables of the sower of leaven of the Merchant man seeking goodly pearls and such like plainly shew that the most ordinary things may spiritually be improved unto great usefulness All Professours and especially you of London set a watch before the door of your lips and let your words be like the words of Christ Jesus Your lying and corrupt communication your slanderous and backbiting words your passionate and angry speeches and revilings are these like Christs language An unbridled tongue though it utters many a falshood yet it speaks one certain truth that your Religion is but vain Jam. 1.26 Let Conscience be tender and purpose with the Psalmist that your mouths shall not transgress Let the word of Christ be more in your Hearts for out of the abundance of the Heart the mouth speaks Let your speech be always with Grace Col 4.6 Discourse as those who do believe you are debtors of edifying words one to another that idle words are heard by him that is in Heaven and an account must be given of them in the day of judgement 7. Christ is to be followed in his manner of performing holy duties never was He negligent in an Ordinance His cries were strong his tears many Heb 5.7 and how does he wrestle with his Heavenly Father Christians should take heed of doing the work of God deceitfully they should be fervent in Spirit when serving the Lord Rom. 12.11 Look to your Hearts in all your performances for Gods eye is fixed upon them and if they are not present and right with him your duties are but dead duties and dead duties are really dead works so far from being acceptable that they are an abomination When Christ was here upon the Earth as he taught in other places so he went to the Temple and to the Synagogues though there was much corruption in the Jewish Church Christians should learn so much moderation as to own what is good even in them in whom there are mixtures of much that is bad and there should be a
cause that will pass for just and sufficient at the great day before they resolve upon a total separation from their Brethren 8. Christ is to be followed in his great humility and meekness Mat. 11.29 Take my yoak upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your Souls Pride overcame the first man he affected Divinity and would needs be as God but behold the Lord Jesus who is the Eternal God and he humbled himself and became Man Humility was the constant attire and ornament of the Man Christ Jesus Though this great Redeemer be the chief of all the ways of God though more of God is visible in Him than in the whole Creation besides Though he glorifies his Father more than all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth put together and though he is exalted far above all Principalities and Powers and Might and Dominion no◠only in this World but in that which is to come Yet our Lord never was in the least High-minded Humility is one most remarkable feature in the image of Christ therefore resemble him in being humble Be not proud of Habit Hair and Ornaments 1 Pet. 5.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Etymologists derive the word from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies nodus a knot Be cloathed or be knotted with Humility I wish that other knots were less and this which is incomparably most becoming were more in fashion Let not your Estates puff you up Riches are not always to men of understanding and there may be a great deal of Gold in the Purse where there is no true Wisdom in the Head no Grace at all in the Heart Let not your natural parts your acquired endowments your spiritual Gifts though never so excellent make you to look upon others with contempt upon your selves with admiration you owe all Glory to that God from whom you have received all Let Humility look out at your Eyes a proud look is one of the seven things which the Lord hates Prov. 6.16 17. Let Humility express it self at your Lips let it attend you in all your addresses to God and beautifie your whole behaviour and converses with Men. The more humble you are the more of every other Grace will be imparted to you the more Rest and Peace you will have within your selves and since you will be ready to give him all the Praise the Lord is ready to put the more honour upon you in making you useful unto others 9. Christ is to be followed in his love to God great care to please him and fervent zeal for his Name and Glory Joh. 14.31 The World may know says Christ that I love the Father and as the Father gave me Commandment even so I do He obeyed that first and great Commandment and loved the Lord his God with all his Heart and Soul and Mind and Strength Christs love made him do whatever his Father pleased Joh. 8.29 He that sent me is with me the Father hath not left me alone for I always do those things that please him Christs love was stronger than Death no Waters no Flouds could drown it neither could the Baptism of blood quench it Christ was consumed with Divine and Holy zeal and he matters not what befal him so he might but glorifie his Father and finish the work which was given him to do Oh let us bring our cold and careless Hearts hither to the Consideration of this Great Example that the frost may melt care may be awakened and there may be something in us that may deserve the name of Warm zeal for God Let us be importunate in Prayer and restless till we feel the constraints of the Love of God forceable till we find really the greatest delight and pleasure in doing that which pleases him and aiming at his Glory we think not much of labour difficulty and hazzard that this our end may be attained 10. Christ is to be followed in his Sufferings and Death and unto this my Text has a more particular reference Christs Faith was strong though he was under a dismal Desertion The Sun of Righteousness did set in a dark cloud He submitted to his Fathers will and being confident of a joyful Resurrection he endured the Cross and despised the shame When Christians come to die their Faith should be most lively as being near finishing it should by no means fail when there is most need of it Though he slay me says Job yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 Christians should submit when the Lord of time will grant no more time to them and they should gladly enter upon a holy and blessed Eternity When the body is about to be sown in corruption by Faith they should see that its lying there will be to advantage for it will be raised in Incorruption and Glory 1 Cor. 15.42 43. Let Death be more natural or violent it is yours in the Covenant if you are true Believers 1 Cor. 3.22 Fear not to follow our Lord Jesus through that dark passage into the House not made with hands eternal in the Heavens And all the while you remain on Earth study a Conformity to your Lords death by crucifying the Flesh and dying to the World The more dead you are with Christ in this sense you will live to the better purpose and die in the greater Peace In the third place I am to produce some Arguments to perswade to the imitation of our Lord Jesus 1. Consider the greatness of the Person that gives you the Example Christ has this Name written on his Vesture and on his Thigh King of Kings and Lord of Lords Rev. 19.16 A Roman Historian commends a Prince who is maximus imperio Velleius Paterculus l. 2. exemplo major greatest in authority and yet greater by his example Every thing in Heaven and Earth and under the Earth does bow and is subject to the Lord Jesus and yet whose obedience ever was so exact as his was He gives us precepts and he himself is the great Pattern of performance Claudian the Poet has a notable passage concerning the examples of Monarchs and what a mighty influence they have Tunc observantior aequi Fit populus nec ferre vetat cum viderit ipsum Autorein parere sibi componitur Orbis Regis ad exemplum nec sic inflectere sensus Humanos edicta valent quà m vita Regentis Kings have many observers who very much Eye them and their high estate both awes and allures their Subjects to the imitation of them If they keep within the bounds of their own Laws their Subjects will be the more unwilling to transgress them Christ is the universal Soveraign who commands both Heaven and Earth and has the whole Creation at his beck He has kept the Laws he gives his Church 't is duty 't is interest 't is reasonable 't is honourable to resemble him in obedience 2. Remember the Relation wherein you that are Saints do stand unto the Lord
Jesus You are espoused to Him and should you not consent to be like to him who has betrothed you unto himself in Loving-kindness Mercy and Faithfulness for ever Hos 2.19 20. Nay you are members of his body Therefore you should grow up into Him in all things which is the Head even Christ Eph. 4.15 You should discover such a mind as Christ had you should manifest the same Spirit and act as he acted when he was here in the World 3. Consider that God did fore-ordain you that are Believers to a conformity to the Lord Jesus Rom. 8.29 For whom he did fore-know he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son that he might be the first-born among many Brethren If you would appear with Christ in Glory you must be now changed into his Image Holiness and patient suffering will make you like him and is the decreed way unto his Kingdom 4. Walking as Christ walked will make it evident that you are indeed in him 1 Joh. 2.6 He that saith he abideth in him ought to prove what he saith and himself so to walk even as he walked To be in Christ is to be a new creature And these new Creatures do all resemble him for he is formed in them Naming the name of Christ will never demonstrate your Christianity unless you depart from iniquity which makes you so unlike unto your Lord. But likeness to him will prove you His in Truth And an evidence of this what strong consolation will it afford If you are in Christ how safe are you you are secured from the curse of the Law the stroke of vindictive Justice the wrath of the Destroyer the bondage of Corruption and Sin the sting of the first Death and the power of the second If you are in Christ His God is your God his Father your Father Joh. 20.17 You are loved as He is loved Joh. 17.23 That the World may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me And v. 26. That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them You are joint-heirs with Christ unto the same incorruptible inheritance how firm and sure is your title how certain and soon will be your possession and after possession is taken you shall not be dispossess'd unto Eternity 5. Your following the Example of Christ very much honours Him and credits Christianity 't is a sign that Christs death has a mighty vertue in it when it makes you to die to Sin and to be unmoved by the biggest offers that Mammon makes to you 'T is an argument that He is truly Christ when you are truly Christians that He is indeed alive when he lives in you and makes you to live to him and like him 'T is a demonstration that our Lord is risen indeed when you rise with him and seek those things that are above Col. 3.1 Christ is very much unknown and being unknown is undesired and neglected because so little of him is seen in Christians conversation How few deserve digito monstrari to be pointed at and to have such a Character given them There go the persons who discover such a Spirit who talk and walk too after such a manner that 't is evident Christ dwells and speaks and walks and works in them Be all of you prevailed with to honour your Lord Jesus by shewing the world what he was when here upon Earth and how powerfully he works in you though now he is in Heaven Chrysostom with great reason does call good works 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unanswerable Syllogisms and demonstrations to confute and convince Infidels The World would flock into the Church being struck with the Majesty and Glory shining forth in Her if She were but more like unto her glorious Head But when they who are called Christians are so like unto the World 't is no wonder if the men of the World continue still as they are 6. Christ frequently speaks to you to follow him and observes whether and how you do it His word is plain that you should learn his Doctrine and live after his example And his eyes which are as a flaming fire are upon Professours ways His Omniscience should be more firmly believed and seriously considered by the Church it self Rev. 2.23 All the Churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the Reins and Hearts and I will give to every one of you according to your works I shall here by a Prosopopeia bring in our Lord Jesus speaking to you and himself propounding his own Example that you may hear and heed and follow the Lamb of God To this effect Christ speaks to you Look unto me and be ye saved all ye ends of the Earth Look unto me and become like me all you that profess your selves to be my Members What Do you see in me that in any reason should turn away your faces or your hearts from me Blessed is He whosoever shall not be offended in Me. The Father is well pleased in Me and so should you as you value his favour and would consult your own interest I never took so much as one step in the ways of misery and destruction be you sure to avoid them I always trod in those paths which to you will prove pleasantness and peace though to satisfy for your deviations and going astray I was fain my self to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief Consider your Lord and Master you that call your selves my disciples Many look upon you that will not look into my word and will judge of Me by your practices Be not so injurious to Me by misrepresenting Me as if I allowed those evils which you allow your selves in Why should I be wounded in my honour in the house of my Friends Why should you crucify me afresh And put me to an open shame When you yield to Satans temptations are you like to me When you are eager after worldly wealth the applause of men and flesh-pleasing delights are you like to me When you are proud and haughty bitter envious and revengeful do you at all resemble Me When you seek your selves and please your selves and matter not how much God is forgotten and displeased Am I in this your example O all you upon whom my name is called content not your selves with an empty name Be my disciples in truth and let the same mind that was in me be in you also be my disciples indeed live as I did in the World to honour God and to do good to man let it be your business for I have left you an example that you should follow my steps 7. Follow Christs Example that you may enter into his glory For if we be dead with him says the Apostle we shall live with him if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him 2 Tim. 2.11 12. Be of good courage and conflict but do it in his Strength with your Spiritual enemies and
sublime nervous Epistle whether St. Luke or Barnabas or Clement or Apollos or the Apostle Paul as I most think I here dispute not is evidently walking in the searches of the great Excellency of Christianity as it was brought unto us by and took its denomination from and serves the purposes and speaks the Eminence Unction and Prerogatives and Designs of Christ the Son of God And this discourse he here directeth to the Hebrews by whom we may understand those Christian Jews that were in Syria Judea and principally at Jerusalem for those that were dispersed through the Provinces of the Roman Empire were commonly called Greeks And those indeed who were Converted to the Christian Faith were terribly persecuted by the Jews their Brethren and assaulted by Seducers to work them back again to their deserted Judaism and much ado they had to stand their ground Whereupon this Author mindful of what his Lord had said in Mat. xxiv 9-13 attempts to shew the Eminencies of their State and that Judaism was every way transcended by Christianity The Author of it was a greater and better Person than Moses Aaron or Melchizedeck The Doctrines were more mysterious and sublime The Laws more spiritual and most accurately suited to the compleating and perpetuating of the Divine Life and Nature in them and to the advancing them unto all Conformities to God imitations of him and intimacies with him The Promises were more glorious rich and full and all the Constitutions Furniture Services Ministry and Advantages of the Gospel Polity and Temple carried more glorious signatures of God upon them and were more eminently attested patronized and succeeded by God than ever Judaism was or than it could pretend unto Why therefore should it be deserted or coldly owned or improved negligently or defectively This Author having therefore gained his point and throughly proved the dignity of the Christian state and calling beyond all possibility of grounded Cavils or competition He next proceeds to shew these Hebrews the genuine and just improvement of what he had demonstrated Heb. x. 19-39 xi xii xiii 1-19 The Casuistical consideration of the Text best serves the stated purpose of this hour And that I may be evidently pertinent clear succinct and profitable let me now lay the Case and Text together and consider them in their relative aspects each toward the other 1. Luke-warmness is the remissness or defectiveness of heat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a middle thing betwixt cold and heat When there is not heat enough in subjecto capaci to serve the purposes that such a thing under such circumstances should subserve Now God and Christ expect a fervent Spirit burning and flaming Love and in the Text Love is here represented as needing Provocation Heart-warmth is nothing else but love suiting and accommodating it self to worthy objects according to their apprehended dignity usefulness or concerns Love is the endearing to our selves of apprehended Excellence or Goodness and our letting out our selves or the issuings forth of our pleased wills in correspondent motions towards reposes in obsequiousness to and engagements for what we admire and affect for worth or excellence discerned makes us accommodate our selves unto the pleasure and concerns thereof according to its nature place and posture towards us and our affairs therewith When therefore this Affection Principle or Grace or Passion if Love may properly be called so is grown too weak to fix the will and to influence the life so as to please its God and turns indifferent and unconcerned and variable as the winds and weather change this languor of the Heart and Will and its easiness and proneness to be drawn off from God and things Divine we call Luke-warmness which is nothing else indeed but the sluggishness and dulness of the heart and will to such a degree as that it is not duly affected with nor startled at nor concerned intimately about what is truly excellent and of great consequence and importance to us And hence our Author phrases it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that Love may and ought to be smart and keen heating and urging all the powers of the Soul to excite all their vigours and to perform all their Functions with strength and pleasure Consider well Cant. viii 6 7. ii Cor. v. 14. i Thess ii 8. Heart unaffectedness unconcernedness and inactivity let Souls and their concerns God's interest and the Matters of Christ's Kingdom go and be as they will Phil. ii 20 21. This is the malady to be cured 2. It is not so much a single instance of luke-warmness as a temper that the case speaks of Nor doth the Text intend an intermittent Feaver in the heart 't is not a transient Paroxysm by fits and starts for hearts to burn but 't is a stated frame that must be changed and fixt The Malady is a luke-warm temper a frame and constitution of the inward man too weakly bent and byassed towards God and heavenly things to make them statedly its predominant ambition business and delight Act. xi 23. ii Cor. v. 9. A frame of Soul that sits too loose towards God to do to bear to be to hope to wait much for him in the stormy and dark day 3. It is the effectual cure hereof that the case aims at and in this Paroxysm of Love and of Good Works the cure consists Hence Labour of love Heb. vi 10. i Thess i. 3. Love abounding more and more in knowledge and in all judgment that ye may approve things that are excellent that ye may be sincere and without offence until the day of Christ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the Glory and Praise of God Phil. i. 9. 11. when Love is fervent fixt and genuinely fruitful then is this luke-warm temper cured indeed Hence zealous of good works See Tit. ii 11. 14. 4. How this Cure of such a temper may be effectually wrought is the next thing to be enquired into and the great import of the case before us and a great cluster of apt and pertinent Expedients doth the Text here entertain us with Such as 1. Determining and designing to enterprize the thing here called Provocation to love and to good works 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · This is the great concern to be espoused and the great scope of our intentions resolutions and endeavours Love and good works are the great Cure of this Distemper to which we must direct our thoughts words deeds provokingly Col iv 5 6 Such a Distemper must not be ordinarily expected to be cured by accident nor are their Labours likely to be prosperous who do not cordially design this Cure 2 The mutual Considerations of Persons Consider one another to a Provocation So the Greek We must take into serious deep and frequent thoughts the quality capacity spirits courses and concerns of one another and see wherein they are defective or exemplary and proficient in these things as
no purpose to ill purposes or to needless purpose you must not do it 2. And then seriously pause upon and duly weigh what you discern by your enquiry or your more immediate observation and do not partially passionately rashly and censoriously form and fix your measures Give what you hear or see concerning one another your second serious and Impartial thoughts that so matters of fact being duly and truly stated measures of prudence may be advisedly and safely taken up and fixt upon So that when persons matters of fact your Christian rules and work and way of managing this great concern are duly laid in the balance of the Sanctuary and all this fixed in its just reference to this weighty end you may proceed accordingly in the Sincerity Tenderness and Wisdom of the right Christian Spirit And then 3. Be well advised about the most taking way of managing what you thus instruct your selves about the humour of the person your ways seasons of addressing your discourses to him the preserving or managing of your interest in him or at least your own abilities to prove what you accuse him of to demonstrate what arguments you advance and use and to enforce the motives that you would press him with And study your selves into a just measure of your own abilities a thorow Mastery and Command of your own Passions and good and clear discerning of and insight into the fittest seasons and occasions And well observe as far as may be mens Tempers Interests Ends and Intimates that you may hereby charm them win and govern them And if you would know men throughly mind them strictly in their Trusts their Passions Interests Companions Surprizes and Necessities and let each other have serious thoughts herein 4. And overlook no good in others to lessen it despise it disgrace it or neglect it but think distinctly upon all you see 3. The End and Scope of all must be this provocation to love and to Good works Eph. iv 29 15 16. i Thes v. 11. the tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright Prov. xv 2. Therefore the mind and heart must be intent upon right ends Rom. xiv 19. Not to let others know the reaches of our thoughts the furniture of our minds the nimbleness of our Tongues the neatness of our words or the briskness of our parts or fancies nor to spy faults or weaknesses for our discursive entertainments As the manner of some is Much less to make them proselytes to our opinions parties or perswasions in lower matters or votaries to our particular interests or humours Phil. i. 27. ii 19-21 I wish Professours Ministers and others would read these Texts and well consider them We must inspect observe and well consider one another that where we observe warm hearts and fruitful lives we might by our Commendations provoke them unto perseverance and proficiency therein that where we discern a mixture of things Commendable and blame-worthy what is divine may not be overlooked because of what is culpable nor what is faulty imitated and Commended because of what is there praise-worthy And that where we find our brethren overtaken with their infirmities and defects they may be dealt with in the Spirit of meekness and so recovered from their declensions and defects And so return to their first love And that we our selves may be provoked to and by their excellencies and grow more effectually careful to avoid all that did asswage their holy Warmth and Vigor He that considers others to glory over their defections and neglects to aggravate their slips and falls more to expose their persons to rage and scorn doth what the Devil would advise him to were he consulted with The truths of God and Soul concerns are fixed things and fervent hearts and fruitful lives are the Souls grand affair And he that minds his brother in the neglect hereof hath a corrupted and cold heart to purpose To make each other all light about the things of God and Christ all fervour in our love thereto and all regular and chearful vigour in the pursuit thereof is what we must design and direct our personal considerations to II. Let us not forsake the assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is Here note 1. The thing not here to be deserted is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Our assembling 2. The thing relating hereunto forbidden is our forsaking it 3. The tempting instance hereof proposed by way of warning to us is that the manner of some is thus to do 1. The thing not to be forsaken imports either 1. Our own Conventions for publick Worship in the general our open meeting together as an Organized Congregation Or Assembly wherein Pastours and their Flocks assemble statedly to speak to God and to hear from him and Sacramentally to eat and drink before him and so to recognize and represent our Christian state with all solemnity in open view together Or 2. Doing this without dividing distances and separations each from other under the notion of Jew and Gentile or of persons differing each from other about difficult or trifling things 3. Or our gathering others unto the Church of Christ by our orderly and alluring Carriage in this and other points of Christianity and so the additions which hereafter God will make hereto Or 4. The great Assembly of the compleated and Triumphant Church of Christ in the great day of his Appearance and Kingdom ii Thes ii 1. The only place that I remember in the New Testament besides my Text that this Noun occurs And in that place the Word as here it is being a decompound it fitly may be rendred an after Synagogue or gathering and how far thus rendring it in the Text is countenanced by the last clause that day I here determine not But I will here consider it in the first sence wave or lightly touch upon the other two and transfer the last to the Consideration of the last clause of the Text where it will be freer from Exceptions than here perhaps it would be 2. The thing here given in charge concerning it is That we forsake it not 1. In Thought as judging it to be no Help or Duty 2. In Heart as not attempered and reconciled to the solemnity seriousness and great concerns thereof 3. In Presence as abandoning or neglecting our personal presence and attendance there 3. The Snare that we are warned of here is Our being influenced into a deserting such Assemblies by the practical declensions and neglects of others Others do so they use to do it it is evidently their Custom and Practice 't is possible for you to do the same and to be drawn thereto by their Example But their Example cannot justifie this practice and therefore should not influence you hereinto and this Caution may prevent it and therefore should accordingly be considered and improved by you as being of such manifest and mighty consequence to your Love and Practice both as to the warmth and strength thereof 4.
be exerted thence That thoughtless Idle Souls should be luke-warm is no such wonder or strange thing The contrary would be stranger even to a miracle And being thus awakened and prepared your selves drive all things home upon each other and plead the cause of every Duty Truth and Motive throughly in free and frequent conversation each with other Mal. iii. 16. Luke xxiv 32. i Thes v. 11-15 Rom. xv 13-16 Col. iii. 16. ii Thes iv 18. Christian conference well managed makes and speaks warm hearts and leads and helps to better lives Men that rarely transiently or triflingly think upon or talk about the things of God must needs be cold within and when such pray that God should warm them can they expect returns to prayer when neither hearts nor pains are after them And here How many heart warning Topicks of discourse and edifying conference might I now entertain you with but let the text speak for it self and though it here offer but one yet is that one impregnated with many 1. It is the day 2. 'T is an approaching day and 3. They saw it thus approaching 4. The sight ought because so fit to quicken them to growthful care and diligence in this heart-warning course and work Whence 4. Preserve and practically answer and improve a quick deep constant sence of the approaching day i Thes v. 1-11 ii Pet. iii. 1. 14. and Jude 20 21. Col. iii. 2-5 Luke xxi 34-36 xii 35-40 Perhaps the Reader will not lose his time and labour in perusing and pausing upon these cited Texts Nor find them impertinent nor inexpedient as to the case in hand See also ii Pet. i. 5-13 How copiously and closly might all these passages be insisted on did not the Press stay for me and the stated confines of a short discourse restrain me and the fruits and labours of abler heads and better pens and hearts urge me severely because deservedly to give place thereto Well Sirs Consider the Approaching day and represent it to your thoughtful and concerned selves in all its Grandeurs and Solemnities of Process and Results and try then if it do not warm your hearts and urge you pungently and severely to Good works As to the persons here most Immediately concerned these Christian Hebrews There was a day of reckoning with their malignant Enemies by Providential Controversies and Rebukes which also was a day of great Redemption and Establishment to the persecuted faithful Christians There was to be a day of great Conversion and divine Attestations to the Christian Faith and to its Proselytes and what was more congenial herewith than this endeavoured provocation to love and to good works And they that are provoked hereto are also fittest for a day of tryal But I shall here consider it as the great day of Christs appearance and his Kingdom ii Tim. iv 1.8 i 18. That day of God of Christ of Judgment and Perdition of Vngodly Men. That day of Revelation of God and Christ in their Majestick glory that day of searches sentence and full execution and adjustments in all the accuracies of governing wisdom holiness and grace Who can contemplate this and yet be Cold and Barren Then in the glorious splendours solemnities and proceedings of that day shall it be evident who and whose Son Christ is What cost and care he hath been at to bring men to this warm and active course and temper and what an estimate he and his Father set hereon by what they then dispense and testify by way of recompence of reward thereto Christ in his threefold glory Luke ix 26. God sending him forth and appearing in him by him and for him as his own dear Son the Son of such a King i Tim. vi 3-16 Father and Son making so vast a difference amongst the Sons of men by everlasting punishments and rewards as they are differently found as to Christian love and practice Rom. ii 6-10 ii Cor. v. 9-11 Mat. xxv 34-46 And all that vast Assembly and Convention applauding Gods proceedings and joyfully Congratulating the great endeavours and rewards of our provoked and Successful love Are not these warming thoughts Secondly The Case And of this I have given you this textual resolution You have seen 1. The Seat of this distemper of a Luke-warm Frame or Temper that it is in the heart or will 2. The formal nature of it 'T is a defect or chilness of practical love and zeal to and for God and their concerns with us and ours with them The things which claim and merit the highest place in and that should engage and exercise our best affections and most active zeal are 1. Gods glory in the Church and World 2. The life and growth and the vivid Exercises Profession and Effects of Godliness in our selves Tit. ii 11. 14. Rom. xiv 17 19. Jude 20 21. ii Pet. i. 3. 11. For we must begin at home and set our all in order there 3. The Power Peace and Progress of the Gospel in the World Phil. i. 3. 11. ii 19.21 That it may have its free course and be glorified 4. The Harmony and Prosperity of the Church of Christ wherever this Gospel is accepted and profest 5. The Case and Circumstances of particular professours as they variously are and are evidently considerable as to their Growth Tryals Duties Dangers Decays Wants or Weaknesses c. 6. And the Sons of men as Strangers Enemies Persecutors or any ways Endeavouring to supplant the Gospel interest or to obstruct it or discourage it And these it considered as reducible or incorrigible Now heartlessness Neutrality or Sluggishness of our affectionate concernedness about these things is what we call Luke-warmness 3. The Cure hereof doth formally consist in our Enflamed love Exercised and Exprest unto the life by constant activity congenial with this principle The practical accommodating of all the regency vigours of this principle of love to the concerns of Christian godliness and of those that are concerned therewith pursuant to the growth and prosperousness thereof When we so value these concerns have such Sympathizing with and such genuine adherence to resolutions and activity for and satisfaction in the prosperousness of the things of God and Christ and Souls and Christian Churches as that nothing can stand before us nor be regarded or dreaded by us that rivals or opposes them then are we indeed effectually cured Here our thoughts naturally fix and work here our hearts cleave and flame and hereunto our vigors time interest and treasures are most entirely and cheerfully devoted Where is there then the least remainder of a Luke-warm Temper When we are wrought up to this Frame and pitch 4. The way and means of working this great cure are 1. Persons considered 2. Assemblies attended on 3. What there and thence and otherwise is or may be derived improved by Mutual Exhortation 4. And all this under the powerful influences of and in fit and full proportion to a quick and constant apprehensiveness and
apprehension of the approaching day Now seeing the Text is Hortatory Directive and Encouraging hereto and hath as such been treated on accordingly I will wave all further application and only give you the Directions and Prescriptions for the curing of a luke-warm temper 1. Love-quenching and abating principles Interests and Practices are to be exploded and avoided If once you entertain hard thoughts of God as if he were morose and captious a barren Wilderness or Land of darkness and only careful to ruine and distress his creatures upon the meer accounts of Soveraignty and the Prerogative of Dominion tho a poor penitent lye prostrate at his feet for mercy in tears and shame and self abhorrence or in a readiness to do so were there but any hopes of merciful acceptance If you shall represent him to your selves as if he were so tenacious of revengeful purposes and of advantages put into his hands for the full executions of such deserved revenges through former crimes provoking thereunto Alas how can you think upon him or address your selves to him with hope and pleasure We find grace represented to us as Gods Image in his creatures we find that holiness in creatures makes them the sweetest of all persons in their dispositions and deportments and readiest to be charitable and abundant in benign and alluring and obliging remissions constructions and dispensations Such are most backward to make rigid interpretations and constructions of mens miscarriages and neglects when they arise from rather infirmity than malignity and from ignorance and surprize than from contrivance or perverse resolution They hate above all men every thing that savours of stinginess and of a sordid Spirit and they like not to retain revengeful purposes to ruin or disturb those criminals who seriously and pathetically implore their pardon and beg admission to their now much valued favour And doth grace make such persons better than their maker and is that Gods Image in them which hath nothing in God correspondent herewith Or can we think that the Image can exceed its Grand Exemplar Such black and dismal thoughts of God can never kindle love in us to him Did I not know and think that God is love how could I seek to him in hope and love him For my part I verily believe God sent his Son into the world to convince us of his love and goodness and to invite us to himself under the power of this alluring principle of Truth That God loves us dearly and that he will reject no sinner whose heart is touched with such love to him as makes it restless and uneasie in it self till it obtain his pardon image fellowship and presence See Heb. xi 6. And as for Jesus Christ the liveliest Image and the truest and most glorious Mirrour of the Invisible God that ever any Eye beheld or can behold How sweet indulgent humble gracious and endearing was he unto all and how ready to receive all that come to God through him O! do not then mistake his grace design or temper Love cannot live and do its work where Christ is not duly represented in his lovely Excellencies And yet on the other hand represent not God below himself as fond in his respects partial in his dealings slack and easie in his proceedings apt to favour us tho' neglected by us as one ready to indulge us in our sins and to connive and wink at our miscarriages or one that we may trifle with and fondly think that we can at any time procure his favour and extinguish or evade his anger and displeasure by some trifling applications to him or flattering Elogies of his name upon the knee or a copious verbose declaiming against our sins and selves in our stated or occasional addressings of our selves to him when pangs of Death horrours of Conscience or the tasts and expectations of his Wrath make us uneasie to our selves as if by complements and petty observances of God in lower matters we could turn and toss a ductile nature into any aspect shape or posture that may serve our private turns and please our arrogant and presumptuous humours and court God to strip himself of all the glories of his Name and Throne and prostitute his Interest and Honour Laws and Majesty unto the fond conceits of fools and sinners for this is blasphemy and presumption to the height both fit and sure to be punisht by the Judge Could God be Love or lovely in the eyes of sober and discerning men were he thus facile so as to be infuenced by the conceits and humours of sinners in their dotages He that would not signifie one thought of mercy to our revolted Parents before he had represented himself most awful in his Judiciary Process and that so guarded both his Laws and Throne with awful Majesty and Sanctions and that exacted so severe a satisfaction from his Son he surely neither will nor can debase himself and tempt his creatures by unfit relaxations of his Laws and Courses to think him despicable even by such unfit deportments of himself towards them That fool which takes Gods mercies and indulgencies to be at his commands so as to sin and pray and that makes such easie pardons and redresses the continual encouragements of sinful practices and hopes that fool I say again that is of this perswasion and deportment is no way likely to be cured of his luke-warm temper Deut. xxix 19 20. For so easie pardons and redresses would evidently and effectually mortifie the Spirit and defeat the glorious designs of Divine Government amongst men See Heb. xii 25-28 29. x. 26-31 Rom. ii 6-10 Gal. vi 7-9 i Sam. ii 2 3-29 30 ii Chron. xv 2. And if you take your Christianity to be a state of drudgery and disconsolateness if you degenerate into worldliness luxury or voluptuousness as in John ii 15-17 James iv 4. If you grow so tender of your selves as to be swayed more by what affects the outward than the inward man If you give way to partiality to jealousies heats and ferments to a censorious jealous and detracting Spirit or to the Spirit of domination and division or if you form your principles interests and actions according to the measures and concerns of this vain transient world and of the animal life This malady will prove incurable 2. Heart-warming objects are to be contemplated Such as the glories of Gods name The Grandeurs of his Majesty and Throne the Accuracies of his Government in all its Constitutions and administrations The Stores and Treasures of his Goodness with all their provident and yet generous distributions unto all his creatures the riches of his grace in his kindness to us by Jesus Christ the exhibition of his Son and all the amiable excellencies and endearing aspects and addresses made to us by him the life that is in Christ the grace and promises that are given us by him so great and precious all the fellowship and intimacies that we are hereby called and admitted to Gospel Treasures
and Provisions to bring and keep our God and us together in order to all the Solaces and Satisfactions of Steady Full Eternal Friendship the eminent importance of his Gospel Interest and Kingdom in and to the world the Church and us the loveliness and vigours of his Interest and Image in us as formed fixt and actuated and possessed by his eternal Spirit to his eternal praise by Jesus Christ the solid pleasures peace and usefulness of regular zeal for God Christ Christianity and all that are near and dear to God with all the comforts and renown which this well fixt and ordered zeal prepares us for All that we are saved from by to through the effectual cure of this disease All the solemnities of Christs approaching day and our great concerns therein All the good that is in that attends upon and that issues from the prosperous Successes of the Gospel the holiness and and peace of the Church and the health the usefulness the possession the Conflicts and Conquests of a well cured Soul and all the Honours Ease and Blessings that attend our glorious Gospel All this and much more deserves deep thoughts and all the fervours and acknowledgments and Services of love And the plain truth is this We are both constituted of and surrounded with enflaming objects of this love And the great object and attractive shines even most gloriously in all Nature in all its Harmonies Stores and Beauties Providence in all its illustrations of its excellencies and exactness suiting it self in all the Articles thereof to every thing and being and concern in Heaven and Earth The sacred Scriptures every way entertaining us with what may exercise and enrich the mind of man heal and compose his Conscience enthroning it as Gods vicegerent to inspect the principles designs and practices and State of men to make and keep them orderly safe and easy and so to affect the heart and life as that we may be lovely in the sight of God the blessings of our Stations in our generations and a most comfortable entertainment to our selves Our very selves are most provoking objects unto love So many faculties in our Souls So many passions and affections to be ordered and exercised aright So many sences for reception So many Organs and Instruments for the commodious promoting and securing of our own Good So many Objects Employments and Acquests to be engaged vigorously about and orderly conversant with all continually And God in all this eminently beaming forth those perfections which are so fit and worthy to take endearingly with us How inexcuseable is cold heartedness whenas it may so easily be cured by serious Contemplations of these objects Light and Colours and beautiful proportions to the eye Words and Melodies to the Ears Food to the tast and all the objects exercises and entertainments of every sense afford our very minds and hearts their delicacies to feed on and urge us to love God and Man And let me add this also the beauties and delightfulness of holiness and practical Religion as exemplified in holy persons those excellent ones in whom is my delight saith David Psal xvi 3. O to observe them in all their curious imitations and resemblances of their God in the Wisdom of their Conduct the fervours of their Spirits the steadiness of their purposes the evenness of their tempers the usefulness and blamelessness of their lives the loftiness of their aims the placed gravity of their Looks the savour and obligingness of their Speeches the generous largeness of their Hearts the openness of their Hands the impartiality of their Thoughts the tenderness of their Bowels and all the sweetnesses of their Deportments towards all Such things are really where Christian Godliness obtains indeed Tho meer pretenders or real Christians in their decays and swoons may represent Religion under its eclipses to it's great disadvantage and reproach When therefore we contemplate all these excellencies and many more not mentioned will not our Hearts take fire and burn with love of Complacency where these things are visible and with the Love of benevolence and beneficence to that degree towards those that are receptive of but want them which shall enrage Desires and Prayers and quicken us to diligent endeavours after what by such may be attained unto were they but closely and warmly followed by us and brought to the diligent pursuits thereof Thus you see deep thoughts about lovely Objects will get up love and cure luke-warmness in us to the purpose Let this then be done 3. Heart-awakening and Love-quickning Truths are to be duly and intimately considered And this is indeed in part to truthifie in Love if I may make an English Word to express the valor of the Greek Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eph. iv 15. The existence and excellence of the great Jehovah the Trine-Vne Holy one the care which he hath taken and the expensive cost he hath been at to cure this Malady by the fore-mentioned means and helps The critical Inspections of his Eye into the Heart of Man and his making this the test and balance of the Sanctuary to try us by counting and judging us more or less fit for Mercies and Judgments Heaven or Hell Service or to be thrown aside as refuse as our Hearts stand affected No exact soundness in our Spirits no safety in our State no real ease and chearfulness in our Souls no evidence of our acceptance with our God no Duty well performed towards God or Man no Sins subdued no Trial bravely managed and resulted no Talents used fully to the Masters Satisfaction and Advantage nothing profest performed endured or obtained without this Love And according to it's Ebbs and Flows it's Inflammations and Abatements so doth it fare and go with all our Christianity and Concerns The Truth is all the concerns of Souls and Persons in Life Death Judgment Heaven and Hell are hereupon depending These Articles of Truth considered well will make us serious fervent resolute and industrious in the things of God 4. Heart-warming Duties are to be performed throughly in Publick Private and in Secret Eccl. ix 10. Rom. xii 11 12. Pray hard read frequently and seriously hear diligently and impartially meditate closely and concernedly upon all you read or hear relating to the great concern Be much in Christian conference in the due Spirit and to the genuine design and purposes thereof be much in Praise Thanks Self-observation Government and Discipline Look up to Heaven for help and improve faithfully what you thence obtain And I do take the Supreme Essentially Infinite Good to be dishonoured and degraded by us in our Thoughts and Walk if any Creature Interests or Excellencies do ultimately terminate our Affections and Intentions For my part I take converses Employments Ingenious Recreations and even sensitive Entertainments to be most delicious and grateful when they occasion or provoke me to those Observations of God in all which carry up my thoughts through and from them to him with
of Christ in himself and in the world Such an one as valued carnal things above spiritual earthly above heavenly and a small fleshly enjoyment above so great and advantageous a priviledge as the Primogeniture Secondly Prophaneness is attributed to things Thus in 1 Tim. 4.7 Refuse prophane and old Wives Fables by which we are according to learned men to understand either the absurd Jewish stories or some superstitious persons forbidding to marry and the use of sundry sorts of meats or those idle and foolish Doctrines which place the worship of God in such low and pittiful things as external sapless Rites and Ceremonies Forms Modes and Gestures But further those things are plainly and notoriously prophane which are sinful and wicked Debauchery is prophaneness in Grain a wicked life is a prophane life To Lye and Swear and Curse and Whore are acts of prophaneness for people to drive on their worldly Trades to buy and sell in Houses Shops or Streets upon the Sabbath-day are acts of prophaneness This is a prophaning of that day which God hath separated from the rest of the days and sanctified and set apart for holy use his own worship and service and the good of Souls In short all that which is contrary to the Divine Law those excellent and blessed Rules which God hath been pleased in his Word to give out unto us for the right management of our selves and ordering of our Lives and Conversations in the World all that I say is prophaneness whether it be Impiety or Immorality Our second work is to enquire what we are to understand by the suppressing of prophaneness To this I answer in general the suppressing of it doth signify the keeping of it under If prophaneness be not carefully look'd to but let alone it will quickly grow to an head and soon over-spread and over-top all It must therefore be kept down and if through the negligence of some and the impudence of others it be got to an height it must be knockt down Such tough humours in the body Politick need and call for strong Purges and Civil Magistrates who are the State-Physicians cannot be better imployed than about such works as that More particularly I shall mention two things which the suppression of prophaneness doth carry in it A prevention of 1. The acts of prophaneness 2. The growth of it First There must be a prevention of the Acts of prophaneness Prophane principles in the heart of a man lying still and as it were dormant not breaking forth are out of the reach of others Neither the Magistrates Sword be it never so long nor the Ministers Word if alone and unaccompanied with the Divine Spirit can reach it or prevail against it That is the mighty and glorious work of the great Jehovah who alone knoweth the Heart and searcheth it and can change alter and mend it None but he that made the heart at first can mould it anew None but he can cast Salt into that Spring none but he can graft such holy principles as to make a corrupt tree good But wicked and prophane practices in the lives of men as are the wretched products fruits and issues of base and cursed principles may be curb'd restrain'd and prevented So that though the wickedness of the wicked will not depart from him yet it shall not be committed with that frequency and boldness and openness as it hath been and to this very day is With shame and sorrow be it spoken In the Heb 12.15 Look diligently lest any man fail of the Grace of God lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you You may understand it both of unsound doctrine abominable practices but I am now only to deal with the latter Sin lust corruption in the heart is a root of bitterness yielding that which is bitter to God his Soul hates and abhors it And it is bitter to man in the sad direful consequences and effects of it which when the foolish self-humouring sinner comes to tast he will certainly find worse than Gall. Sin is his dainties he rolls it as a delicious morsel under his tongue but it will prove the poison of Aspes within him Now it nearly concerns every one to endeavour the pulling up of this root in his own heart let him set both his hands to the work let him lay the axe to it and call God in to his assistance It is ten thousand thousand times more desireable to have in you that root of the matter which holy Job spake of than to have this root of bitterness in you But then it ought to be the care of all specially Governours both in Families Churches Kingdoms and Nations they should look diligently to it that this root do not pullulare spring up if at any time it begins to peep and shew its head oppose it with might and main trample upon it with the foot of just indignation never suffer it to shoot up bud and bring forth Though men will not be so good as they should do not give them leave to be as bad as they would It is not in your power to dry up the fountain but it is a part of your duty to dam up the streams and though you cannot eradicate mens vitious habits yet you must restrain their outward acts 1 Timothy 1.20 Of whom are Hymeneus and Alexander whom I have delivered unto Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme A strange way of cure to prevent sin by giving men up to the Devil yet such as God prescrib'd and prosper'd After the same manner let flagitious Persons be delivered up to punishment that so though they will not virtutis amore for the love of virtue yet formidine poenae for fear of punishment they may learn to bridle themselves and not to do any more so wickedly as they have done One great end of punishment being the reclaiming and amending the offender if he be not past hope Secondly There must be a suppression of the growth and spreading of prophaneness I shall hereafter shew you a little more fully how that sin is like some unhappy weeds that if once they get into a ground and be not timely dealt with will in a little while run far and near and overspread the whole they do not need any encouragement it is enough for them to be let alone Of all Weeds this wickedness is the worst and most diffusive of itself a prophane wretch is like one that hath the plague he is indeed a pest or common plague in the place where he is his very breath and touch his discourses and actions are infectious he goeth up and down tainting those with whom he doth converse who are not of healthful constitutions of Souls and well antidoted with the fear and awe of God And this was one reason that the Apostle Paul gives in the forementioned Heb. 12. why he would have such special care taken to prevent the springing up of any root of bitterness lest thereby many
the Angel of the Church of Ephesus to have such a Testimony given of him by the faithful and true Witness who holdeth the seven Stars in his Right hand Rev. 2.2 That he could not bear them that were evil i. e. Not with any Patience but reproved them and did what belonged to his Office either reducing them from their extravagancies and bringing them to Repentance and amendment of Life or otherwise if incurable cutting them off from the Body and casting them out of Communion Fourthly Let men neglect or be remiss about the suppression of prophaneness and they will soon see the increase of it for ill weeds will grow apace shoot and spread incredibly Men do not need to bestow time and pains and care to house them in Winter and water them in Summer for by a bare connivence and permission they will flourish and abound It is indeed a piece of great difficulty and requires skill and labour to make that take and thrive which is good and excellent such is the nature of the soil since the fall the Sin of man brought upon the very ground the curse of God so that Thorns and Thistles it will send up by whole-sale but if a man will eat bread he must do it in the sweat of his brows So here the Heart of Man is so miserably corrupt and depraved that there is scarce any thing good that will prosper in it That goodness which sometimes seems to be in some as to instance in Ephraim is like the Morning Cloud and early Dew that passeth away That which is lasting and abiding in Persons regenerate is for it's continuance beholden to the mighty Power and special influences of the Divine Spirit We see it often and often the experience of too many years of some Generations doth sadly prove how difficult a thing it is to bring about a Reformation which one would think should commend it self to the Consciences of men that understand any thing of the mind and Will of God nay to do any thing toward it or to reconcile most Persons to the Naming thereof to perswade them to break off from unwarrantable Customs to put off old Rags which are rotten and defiling and to throw away those things which have neither Marrow in them nor Flesh upon them but are meer Bones of Contention and to prevail with them to make a further remove from Rome and advance toward Sion I mean a Gospel-worship and Gospel-order How difficult a thing is it to bring the debauched Person to a sober Life or the sapless empty Formalist to the power of Godliness and a real hearty thorough closure with the Lord Jesus Christ and his Laws But as for Sin and Wickedness it needs not any endeavours to promote it in the World and commend it to the practice of men it needs no incouragement not because it is so good but because men are so bad The Devil himself may sit still and let his Servants alone they will be sure to follow his work hard without having his Eye upon them He might forbear and give over his Temptations for they can and will go yea run alone in those down-hill ways of Folly Their connate Principles of Enmity to God and Rebellion against him will of themselves break out into hostile Actions as naturally as Hay stackt or laid up when Green or Moist will fire of it's self and proceed to rage more and more Sin is like to a fire in a Town or City which if it be not extinguished or at least kept down and stopt in it's furious Career will march from House to House and step from one side of the Street to the other and never desist so long as there is any combustible matter for it to fasten upon and so till it set all on a flame and bury the whole in it's own Ruine and Ashes Let but a prophane wretch alone and I dare confidently say you shall not find him long alone He will like a decoy soon gather Company to him and multiply them too Eccl. 9.18 One Sinner destroyeth much good And so being of his Father the Devil and doing the works of his Father let him enjoy his Name call him Abaddon Apollyon a Destroyer He will call himself an hundred to one else a good Subject a good Churchman but he is a Destroyer that is his right Name If you would know how he doth destroy much good I answer in these two things 1. He doth it impiae vitae meritis By the demerits and high provocations of his impious ungodly Life He draweth Iniquity with the Cords of Vanity and so Judgment as with Cart ropes He is as a Jonah in the Ship which raiseth the Storms that threaten us and as an Achan in the Camp that arms and succeeds the Enemies that come out against us To whom do we owe the Plague that hath consumed our Inhabitants and the Fires that have devoured our Houses Towns and Cities but to him and his Fraternity Ahab spake very unhandsomely to one of the Lords Prophets when he said Art thou he that troubleth Israel But Elijah answered him truly and bravely I have not troubled Israel but thou and thy Fathers house in that ye have forsaken the Commandments of the Lord and thou hast followed Baalim 1 Kings 18.17 18. It is the Idolaters Superstitious and Prophane that troubled Israel and that trouble England and will trouble the whole world for they provoke God to trouble us and to distribute sorrows in his anger 2. They destroy much good impiis consiliis exemplis By their wicked Counsels and Examples while they allure intice and perswade and by their practices draw others into the same courses the same excess of riot These are like Samsons Foxes with fire-brands fastned to their tails that spoil the harvest we hoped for as the joyful reward of our Labours How comes our youth to be tainted as they are Who fills the eyes of Parents with tears and their hearts with sorrow who travailed in birth for them that Christ might be formed in them but now mourn and weep bitterly over them as lost because viâ—ious and extravagant Whence is it that our hopes as to the succeeding generation are so exceedingly infeebled but by means of many among us so notorious for prophaneness who make it both their work and sport to render others as bad as themselves And if timely care be not taken to prevent it we can rationally expect nothing else but the leaving this pleasant Land the Land of our Nativity to be possest by Sons of Belial who will make it mourn and groan and sick to the spewing of them out I desire you to lay this to your hearts if you have any bowels of mercy and compassion A little spark is to be narrowly watch'd where there is so much tinder ready to catch Fifthly Let this be seriously considered if Magistrates Superiour and Inferiour do not put forth their power and endeavours for the suppressing of
Dedication but by a real inward Sanctification at least of unblameable Conversations free from scandal being without offence though not before God yet before men A prophane wicked Minister is a gross Solecism and deserves to be counted a monster and to be driven from among men as Nebuchadnezzar was when brutified Dan. 4.25 But while you do shine with the bright beams of Holiness and walk according to the blessed Rules of the everlasting Gospel which you ought to preach you may boldly and comfortably without any severe gripes within without any reproaches cast upon you from without bend your utmost force against those extravagants who walk contrary to them Therefore my Brethren let us all study the Gospel we preach and live it as well as know it for knowledge will not be saving until it influence Heart and Life and be reduced into practice Let us I say think with our selves and repeat the thought often and often what manner of Persons we ought to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness and then may we lift up our voices like Trumpets and decry all the wickedness we know to be acted Herein will you do singularly good service both to the great God in Heaven and to our King and Magistrates upon Earth and to the whole Land We read that in the fight with Amalek while Israel was in the valley Moses was in the mount with the Rod of God in his hand which he lifted up And when his hands were weary and ready to flag Aaron and Hur were by to sustain and uphold them Aaron was the Priest of the Lord and Hur was a Prince of the Tribe of Judah Let this example teach all their duty and excite and quicken them to the performance of it When the hand of Moses the Supream Magistrate I mean is lifted up with the rod of God against the Sins of the times let both Aaron and Hur Magistrates and Ministers come in chearfully and strenuously to his assistance For it is a thousand pities that the Magistrate should work alone when set about so great and good a work as this Do you back him and afford unto him all the Assistance that you can Vse 3. I shall now in the last place direct my discourse unto those who are placed in a lower Sphere for the present not put into any Office nor clothed with any thing of Magistratical Power and Authority but altogether in a private capacity I would have you to consider what you have to do For there is a Duty incumbent upon every one Though you are not to reach out your hands to works or acts of Office neither in the State nor in the Church yet you are not to lay aside nor neglect any part of that work which belongs to you as members of both And as there is not the least and meanest Person in a Kingdom but may do a great deal of mischief so there is not the meanest but if he have an Heart may do some good Solomon tells us Eccl. 9.14 15. of a little City that had but few men and was besieged by a great King And there was found in it a Poor man who by his Wisdom deliver'd the City And in 2 Sam. 20. When Sheba rose up in Rebellion against David and being pursu'd went to Abel Joab with his Host cast up a bank against it and batter'd the wall but a Woman saved it from ruine Every one may be instrumental for good Since it is then the Duty of Magistrates from the highest to the lowest to act what they can toward the suppression of prophaneness there are these two things unto which I would exhort you who are in private stations First Set an high value and esteem upon every one of those Magistrates whom you know or hear to be herein true to their trust and careful to perform their duty You may be sure of this that they will find discouragement enough opposition from the ranting crew The wicked themselves at whose lusts they strike will hate them with an implacable hatred and curse them and drink to their confusion and with longing desire to be rid of them and do whatever they can in order thereunto I do not wonder to hear of the plottings and combinations both of Atheists and Papists in such a case There is nothing that they hate more than Reformation and Religion nothing they will be more impatient under than a restraint laid upon their lusts Therefore those that are pious and sober that fear God and are friends to the Nation should be exceeding dear over them and prize them at an high rate and love them with their hearts and honour them and willingly pay Tribute and bless God for them We are less than the least of mercies and ought to own them much more greater Mercies A good Servant in a Family is a blessing to it Laban confest it to Jacob Gen. 30.27 I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake How great a Blessing then is a good King upon the Throne a good Lord-Mayor in the Chair good Justices upon the Bench Certainly these are Blessings with all thankfulness to be owned they are mercies among temporal ones of the first Magnitude they do make an happy Nation and an happy People unless that People will be so vile and froward as to stand in the way of their own happiness Those that are Protestants in their Hearts who while they verbally profess that Religion are sincere in that Profession cannot but with delight look upon it as a choice and singular Mercy for our gracious God in a day wherein there were great searchings sinkings of heart to set over us our King and Queen a Protestant King and Queen whose hearts we perswade our selves are set for the Maintenance of the true Reformed Religion and we hope for the pulling down whatsoever is contrary and bids defiance thereunto in its Principles and Precepts Love them for this let them be our dear as well as our dread Sovereigns and let us be sure to be subject to them not only for wrath but likewise for Conscience sake yea and out of choice And let us pray for them and plead for them and strive both together and apart with God for them and bring down upon them from Heaven all the Blessings we can This was done by the Jewish Church Psal 20. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble The name of the God of Jacob defend thee send thee help from the Sanctuary and strengthen thee out of Zion Remember all thy offerings and accept thy burnt offerings Grant thee according to thine own heart and fulfil all thy counsels and hear thee from his Holy Heaven with the saving strength of his right hand Thus they did bless their King in his Exploits and thus let us bless our King in his Yea let the blessing of Joseph come upon him Gen. 49.25 26. Let the Almighty bless him with the blessings of
what there is in that prophaneness and numberless number of God-daring abominations which are to be found in the midst of us In short this is that which I propound and desire of you judge of sin by its utter contrariety to the great holy and ever blessed God and by the sufferings of Christ who was his peoples surety and died a Sacrifice the iniquities of them all being laid upon him and by the fatal consequences of sin upon men and Devils yea upon the whole world upon the face whereof it hath thrown dirt and deformity and in the bowels whereof it hath caused Afflictive Painful Agonies and Convulsions Secondly Be sure that all of you get your hearts filled and awed with the true fear of God In which you ought and are commanded to be all the day Prov. 23.17 Lye down at night in it awake and rise in the morning in it and so walk up and down in all Places and Companies and about all your businesses and affairs No persons in the world are so audaciously and impudently vile as those who have their hearts hardned from this fear That passage is very observable which you find in Psal 36.1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart there is no fear of God before his Eyes Sin hath a voice it cries aloud in the Ears of God and it speaks loud to men to the hearts of good men It speaks that which grieves and saddens them it speaks that which informs them So here The transgression of the wicked his visible and open transgression the life he leads which is flagitious the course he takes which is Leud the Villanies he commits these speak within my heart saith David they speak to my mind and understanding but what do they say Enough so much as amounts to a plain and full evidence so much as is to me a sufficient and firm foundation to build this conclusion upon that there is no fear of God before his Eyes Either he doth not believe that there is a God or else he believes that he is not a terrible God a Consuming Fire and Everlasting Burnings but such an one as himself Psal 50.21 A God not to be trembled before but to be trifled and plaid with One that did not mind what is done here below or that hath pleasure in wickedness as he hath himself What was the reason that Abraham though a good man eminently good and strong in faith yet was not willing to have it publickly known that Sarah was his Wife when he sojourned in Gerar You have the account thereof given in Gen. 20.12 I thought surely the fear of God is not in this place Here is not the worship of God therefore here is not the fear of God but what did he gather from thence What if there be not the fear of God Then there is the fear of nothing they will stick at nothing they will have their will they will stay me for my Wifes sake This is indeed a sweet Place a lovely and pleasant Countrey it wants for no earthly accommodations but as I Conjecture and that not without reason the best and principal thing is wanting here is none of the fear of God and where there is not that curb to restrain men they will certainly run wild and their impetuous lusts will hurry them into the vilest and most monstrous practices Vbi non est timor Dei ibi regnant omnia vitia All vices reign and rage in those places where the fear of God hath not a commanding power Whereas on the other side no persons do hate and oppose sin so much as those who do fear God most for this is that which doth teach men and that effectually to depart from evil Former Governours did so and so but said good Nehemiah so did not I because of the fear of God There was none like Job in all earth and it is said of him by the Lord himself that he feared God and eschewed evil He avoided and resisted it This fear will set the heart of a man against sin and constrain him to lift up his hand against it or his voice at least when there is not any power in his hand Wheresoever there is the fear of God as the greatest and best good there will inseparably accompany it the fear of sin as the basest and worst of evils and that person will be sure to make an universal opposition to it wheresoever it is to be found both in himself and in others at home and abroad in enemies and in Friends too yea in them most As a man that hath a natural antipathy to a Viper cannot endure it lying in his bosom nor lurking in his Chamber no nor creeping in the high-way Thirdly Pray that your Souls may be fill'd and fix'd with an holy zeal for God A zeal for his name and honour for his Law and Interest Cold Lukewarm and basely indifferent persons will never be famous and renowned upon the account of any vigorous appearings for God or against sin A sordid Spirit of indifferency greatly unworthy of every one that is honoured with the Christian name doth evermore carry along with it a Spirit of Slothfulness and Inactivity let the matter be never so important the concern never so great In Acts 18. you read that the blind and hardned Jews with one accord made insurrection against Paul and the Greeks took Sosthenes the Apostles Friend and Companion and beat him before the Judgment Seat but Gallio appear'd neither against the one nor the other He cared for none of those things He thought what were those things to him I believe this wretched Spirit influenceth and acts many a great many among us God is greatly dishonoured his name is taken in vain his precious Sabbaths are openly and wickedly prophaned Religion suffers in its honour and interest the Nation is indanger'd and exposed to the dismal effects of divine indignation young ones are corrupted perverted and drawn aside to their destruction and wrath is pulling down apace and who can tell how soon a holy jealous provoked God may unstop his vials and distribute sorrows in his anger But what is all this to them so long as they can follow their callings and enjoy themselves and gratify their proud vain wanton humours and go fine and fare well and lay up money and live in quiet and mirth and plenty But let me be believed by you whilest I tell you that if there were in you a zeal for the honour and interest of God you would judge and conclude that this is something to you and this concerns you and accordingly it would go to your very hearts and be as a Sword in your bones as it was in the holy Prophet's which extorted from him that passionate exclamation Is it not enough for you to weary men but you will weary my God aâ—so It was this holy zeal that put Eleazar upon that Heroick act of taking such speedy revenge as he did upon
save many Lives So many Christians have been preserved from Turkish Fury many Protestants from Popish Rage both in days past and of late So Jeremiah's case was weigh'd by the Chief Captain of the Assyrian Army Fifthly Merchants who travel into far remote parts for their Trade and Gentlemen who travel for their pleasure and to satisfie themselves by an occular survey of Countreys and Cities of which they often heard Reports scarce to be believed on hear-say These have some greater advantages to see and hear the low and sinking State or the rising and flourishing Condition of those Churches which are planted in such Countreys and as Christians they are bound to observe inform themselves and tell others how 't is with the Churches that Prayers and Praises may be offer'd unto God for them But this is very little minded by Merchants when abroad and less minded by them when return'd home with Wealth greater than ever they hoped Though Religion decay and Churches lessen in Number Knowledge Faith and Holiness yet who of them out of their abundance settle a tribute of Thankfulness to God making Provision for the sending and maintaining Preachers and School-masters among them Wo'd the enriched Merchants remember their Duty to God and what Thanks they owe to the People who were kind to them in Travels and Trading there would be some settlements made to encourage such as are fit and willing to employ themselves in promoting the Welfare of the Churches but Poverty and Low Condition in the World forbids them to do it on their own Estate and no due provision is made by others to support them in such a work Some few of this travelling disposition though poor do go abroad Tutors to some young raw Gentlemen who being so unexperienced and imprudent among Strangers and ever endangering themselves if the Tutor be absent he can do little but attend them in every place and spend his time in viewing things that please young fancies and profit none but those that are Door-keepers or Officers about the places One short Tour of a Learned Man now a great Prelate among us gives us assurance that Travels might give us good Intelligence of the State of the Church were there due care taken in this Dr. Burnet Bishop of Sarem by Persons who could bear the Expences of Prudent Experienced and Diligent Persons Lovers of the Truth and Church as well as Lovers of Knowledge we might in a short time have a good account of the true state of all or most of the Churches of Christ and our Praises would be more seasonable and suitable Sixthly There are the whole Tribe of Levi Ecclesiastical Persons who live upon the Emoluments of the Church These above others should concern themselves for the Church These are to manage Publick Prayers and Praises for the Church these are to be Examples to others to kindle the Affections of their people to pray and praise as occasions require They are or should be able to take account of the Church-Affairs written and publisht to the World in several Languages They should be diligent Readers of such Books They more than others should understand the Times and Seasons of the Prophecies and how the Wilderness State ends or the State of Return out of the Wilderness begins especially under such Revolutions as we now are as whither the Witnesses are rising or whether any Vials or how many are poured forth whether we are to encourage the People of God to hope for a speedy Deliverance or to advise them to expect and prepare for sorer and longer Troubles These and such like Enquiries the Learned Clergy are much more fit to make then the Layety and I think they are bound to it more than others But in a more particular manner those of the Clergy who have preferments which will bear the Charges of 1. All sorts of Books that concern this 2. All sorts of Ammanuenses and Helps to read and give account to them 3. All sorts of Intelligencies and Correspondencies with Bishops and Pastors of the Churches abroad 4. Entertaining and Conversing with all Exiles Refugees and Travellers that come from Forreign Churches 5. Sending if need be particular Messengers to know the Truth or falshood of what is reported to them Rich Archbishops Bishops and Deans might and ought to do thus or more for the Church of Christ I do not know how much of this Work is set on foot or whether none I can hardly think among so many and Learned Men as have Great and Rich Preferments in the Church of England 't is wholly omitted They do I believe receive Intelligences from abroad and if these be as true as those that some of them have sent abroad concerning the State of God's Church here in England no wonder they all grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived as the Apostle said of some other Men 2 Tim. 3.13 In giving all Intelligences to others let us keep and in receiving all from them let us desire them to keep to the Apostles Direction Inform 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speaking the Truth in Love It is an inexcusable Crime to be malicious Slanderers one of another And since the Doctrine of the Church of England in points of Faith and good Manners the Renunciation of Popery as fully as is required are both subscribed and Allegiance to the Government assured by Oath or Subscription let none such be any more misrepresented as of no Principles in Religion Friends to Popery and Enemies to Monarchy and Government Ingenuity and Truth is much wanting both in Words and Writings of Men that should describe their Brethren to Foreigners instead of which they decipher a Monster of their own making and set it up to be abhorred by all that see or hear it A Famous Professor of Divinity in a University and City with which the whole Dissenting Party are often upbraided knew not our State or Cause for many years who when he was informed aright wondred extreamly at our ill usage at home and worse representation abroad I am I confess tempted to suspect very great partiality and falshood in Ecclesiastical Historians both Antient and Modern who have wrote with the Prejudice Enmity and Partiality of sworn Vassals to a Party Were there a Colledge of judicious impartial diligent and able Historians imploy'd and encouraged to search out the truth of all mis-reported parties and tell the world their best as well as their worst hath been told by others it would I think be an Ecclesiastical History far more desireable than any I yet have seen Quis dabit Thuanum Ecclesiasticum After so long a Discourse on the first Direction Enquire as fully as your capacity and opportunity can enable you II. If you would Enquire as Christians ought to affect your hearts in order to pray or praise God for the Church Let your Thoughts be much upon the Importance of what is reported to you Weigh well what influence the New things are likely to have
on the good or evil to the comfort or the discomfort of the Church-Catholick or any particular Churches near to or far from you Nehemiah no doubt weigh'd the importance of the News brought to him from Jerusalem and it was thought reasonable that Israel in Egypt on the first appearance of Moses should have considered what Importance it was to see such a Man as Moses was how likely he might be to bring them out When the Edict for Israel's return out of Captivity was first spread as good News to the Jews none of them resented it aright who considered only his personal advantage by it They pray'd and prais'd God aright who look't into the Import of it to the whole Church The News of the death of Ahaz and Succession of Hezekiah is not enquired after till the certainty of the Reformation of Religion and the great change for the better in the Church is lookt into Julian's death was great and good newes to the Church and called for praise to God but those that considered not the influence it would have upon the Church for good if God rais'd up a Christian Successor must needs fall very far short in their prayer and praise When the News of the death of Edward the Sixth afflicted the hearts of Gods children in England and they mourn'd and pray'd as apprehensive of the consequences of the death of a pious Prince a Zealous Reformer a Hearty Lover of Truth and professor of it whilest he lay sick these considerations quickken'd them of that Age to beg his life So when the sickness of Queen Mary was the News on the Stage and her death would be the safety of the Church no wise Protestant enquired after the News without a thought how much it would benefit the Church to lose her III. Who Enquires as a Christian in order to manage Prayer and Praise should I think Enquire of those who can and will inform him the best most truly and sincerely of any News he knoweth There ever have been and now are persons who abuse the world with false Reports to amuse the more simple-hearted they dare coin Lies and cry out Wo Wo or Peace Peace very unagreeably to the nature and aspect of Affairs If you have a Friend who dares not wittingly spread a Lye nor deny a Truth and knows much of publick Occurrences thou mayest rely somewhat on his word thou mayest with greater confidence pray for the Church in deep Distress and Praise God for bringing it out of its Distress When we know the Church needs our Prayers it is most agreeable to God that we do pray If when we praise God for the Church in any particular if afterwards it appear we were deceived by false Reports the Enemy scoffs at us we should to the best of our knowledge pray and praise suitably to the real state of the Church It was a common practice in our late Civil Wars upon a fight that both Parties kept Thanksgiving Days when 't was not possible both should have the Victory this was highly Scandalous and each upbraided others with Hypocrisie Let us as much as in us lieth prevent such a reproof what we cannot be Eye-witness of but must take on Hear-say let us endeavour to be truly informed that both prayer and praises may be grounded on the Truth of things as they proceed from Truth of Heart Tragical Stories of Catholicks prosecuted in England when Garnet and some few others were executed for their unparallel'd Hellish Powder-Plot and Treason set many a deceived Papist into Tears and Prayers who had they known the Truth of things would have prais'd God for preserving their King and Countrey condemned the Traitors and own'd the Hand of God in the Discovery of the Plot and punishment of Plotters On the other side when bloody Men imbru'd their Hands in blood of many Thousand Innocents in the Parisian Massacre and the Irish Rebellion destroy'd Innocent Protestants by Hundreds of Thousands it is palliated with false Rumors to lessen the Horrour of the Fact the Barbarous Cruelty of the Actors as if a few turbulent persons had been prevented and fallen by the hands of Self-Defenders Which had it been a Truth who could have found in their hearts to pray for such But with respect to all such bloody usage of the Innocent Church in all Ages past and in this of ours we will pray with the Psalmist Let God be known by the avenging the blood of his Saints Psal 70.10 IV. Who Enquires as a Christian must Enquire with a Compassionate Affection to the suffering Churches of Christ or feeling their Wounds as living Members feel the griefs and wounds of the Body in what part soever preparing to help the whole and bear his own part as one who prefers Jerusalem above his chief â—oy and can heartily rejoyce in her prosperity as one whose heart is wounded with the same sword that woundeth Jerusalem and therefore bitterly bemoaneth and heartily prayeth for the bleeding Church Give us an Nehemiah who chap. 1. ver 4. sate down and wept when he heard sad tydings great distress and long desolations of Jerusalem When you Enquire with Jeremiah's wish Oh that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears Jer. 9.1 To weep for the slain of the daughter of my people Such an heart doth as naturally pour out it self in prayers as it doth into tears and doth as naturally rejoyce with the rejoycing Church as it either wept or pray'd before When Christ foresaw and foretold the doleful state that Jerusalem should fall into he wept over her and so must every Christian weep over desolate and disconsolate Jerusâ—lem when he hears her Sorrows and prays for her Relief Among Natural Relations few there are who are not affected with grief for the Sorrows and troubles of a Brother there should not be one among Spiritual Relations but should with hearty grief entertain the News of Sorrows and distress upon the Church and give God no rest till he make her a quiet Habitation till he turn her Mourning into Joy till he take away the garments of her Widowhood and cloth her with the garments of his Salvation When we hear the sad Tydings with such a Heart as Josiah heard the Threats of the Law read in his presence 2 Chron. 34.27 ver then we are like to do as he did to seek the Lord to return to him and make a Covenant with him to serve him that he may turn away his displeasure and spare his people Josiah heard the news with a tender heart a melting heart and sent to Enquire of the Lord that he might know what was to be done by him and his People to prevent or defer or lessen the threatned Evil. V. When you Enquire into the present News that concerns the Church that you may the better pray for the Church or praise God on behalf of the Church Enquire into the sins of the Church with an humble mourning and repenting Heart So
Palace Good Name and Honour be your precious Oyntments The things that make you cheerful in your selves grateful and useful unto others True I would rather my own Heart should commend me than all the World's Mouth beside Next to Gods own praise of us the praise of a well informed Conscience is the most desirable Nevertheless mens good esteem good mens especially is useful to the foresaid purposes And your Conversion is requisite thereto For 't is the King of Heaven is the true Fountain of Honour and he maketh Converts and no others Vessels of Honour Honour both below and above Hypocrites know this and therefore for the praise of men they make an outside Conversion to God Converts do know this and therefore by all the Reproaches of Men will not be beaten off from the way of God Plato could say a wicked man was the Earths vilest Dunghill and a Religious one its most sacred Temple Under the Law we know that God would have those that touch'd a dead Man to be held unclean seven times as long as those that touch'd a dead Beast So teaching how debased and defiled a thing an ill man is more than a brute Creature What need words who be those that you see earthly Potentates advance to Honours but their true zealous and active Friends Turn you truly zealously actively to the King immortal he shall forthwith love you more than any of his Angels can love him And that love it self shall be a crown of Honour enough to make all the Divels in Hell envy you many of the worlds Hypocrites wish themselves in your state and all the Saints of God with holy Angels to prize you beyond expression and without Flattery Every convert whether he consider it or no hath a name greater than of Earls and Dukes God writeth them that give up their names unto him Princes in all Lands and Kings and Priests unto him for ever Psal 45. Rev. 1. Indeed the world counts them and tramples on them as dirt but God calls them and will make them up as Jewels See 1 Cor. 4.13 with Mat. 3.17 The world's Dusts be God's Diamonds If then the best things of both worlds can oblige you see your selves obliged to Turn presently unto God R. 4. You are convinced by your own Consciences as truly as other people be that you ought presently to turn unto God Therefore 't is Duty Young people God's Commands Threats and Promises do oblige whether you learn and know and mind them or not Your Negligence and Unbelief cannot make them of no effect though to your selves they may easily make them of very ill effect But when the kindness of God brings them unto your Knowledge and Thoughts when he sets Conscience which is his Vice-roy and Deputy in your Souls to the work and makes it in your very Heart and Reins to Command his Commands to Promise his Promises and to Threaten his Threats what think you then Believe it then he accounts your Engagement to be heighthened with your Advantage And he stands up for the Honour and Reverence of Conscience the Honour of which he takes for your utmost Honour of himself and Contempt of which he takes for your utmost Contempt of him And if now it appear that his Vicegerent Conscience hath been contemned and you have sinned against the Edicts and Commands thereof your sin then is exceeding sinful in his Eyes Then have you broken many yea all his Bonds and must be beaten with many yea the worst of his stripes The Conscience then which you would not have to be your Ruler shall be your Tormentor Sooner or later it shall What plead you therefore Which of you all can look me in the Face and say that your Consciences are convinced of no such thing And therefore whatever Witnesses I do bring your Consciences are none unto the Truth of my Doctrine You are Men and not Brutes You are English people too You live where the Gospel shines And I must tell you I nothing doubt but the Holy Ghost beams in Light very early into English Children Light convincing them of the Necessity of Conversion and of the Malignity of Procrastination I would be understood especially of the Children of Religious Parents and such as are carried to hear Ministers that do understand and preach Christianity and not scoff at all Regeneration beside Baptismal and do not dispense Stones for Bread and Serpents for Fish But do give Babes sincere Milk designing to Edifie not to Amuse them All such as are like to Hear or Read my Labors I would ask these Questions 1. Think you not that your Minds Wills and practick Powers were given to you to Know Love and Serve your God 2. That you are bound from your first Capacity to exercise them thereunto 3. That in order to your so Exercising them 't is incumbent on you to go learn the Gospel-Covenant and Accept it 's gracious offers and Rely on its Promises and Purpose Promise and Vow by the Grace of Jesus Christ from this time for ever to be the Lords 4. That Haste hereto is your Duty and Delay is Sin very manifold Sin 5. That present Conversion will be unto the present Pardon and Mortification of all Sin but the Delay of it will keep every sin Unpardoned Mortifie no sin but give a growing strength unto all 6. That present Conversion is most Honour to God benefit unto your selves joy to your pious Friends c. I am so far from suspecting the more grown of you that I have satisfactory grounds to believe that most of five six and seven years old do in their hearts believe all Yea and have their Consciences oft-times telling them these things as Parents and Ministers are inculking of them As St. Austin said of Seneca I dare say of most of you youngest ones You make much of what you think nothing worth and declaim against that which you do above all prefer in your heart However can you chuse but see that you all who are convinced are all extraordinarily obliged to convert presently 'T is infinitely the Duty of all but yours it would be if possible more than infinitely No man must tell me Regeneration is a great Mystery above Childrens reach and therefore for all my Confidence I do mistake them Well I know Regeneration is a Mystery of the greatest but I deny that the Necessity of it is a Mystery That is of the plainest principles And I utterly deny that so young Children as I have named are uncapable of Understanding as much of Conversion as God will accept of from them Know it O little ones Give God your All he will not reject it as little give him your Best he will accept it as little good as is in it But oh greater and lesser of you hear and fear Hell gapes for all delaying Unconverts And of any is likest to swallow up those whose delays are against Convictions Peter Martyr says St. Paul dealt more severely with the
the Blessing Young Solomon's chusing Wisdom Young Obadiah's fearing the Lord Young John's lying in Christ's Bosom Yea Young Children crying Hosannah stilling or shaming at least and baulking God's Enemies and ours Origen's Father Leonides would sometimes uncover his Breast as he lay asleep and solemnly Kiss it blessing God that had given him to be a Father to so Excellent a Child And so shall many of us have warrant to do Upon our Houses Schools and Churches it shall be writ and read of all Jehova Shamma the Lord is there Amen and Amen Quest What Repentance of National Sins doth God require as ever we expect National Mercies SERMON XVIII HOSEA 10.12 Sow to your selves in Righteousness reap in Mercy breaks up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain Righteousness upon you THE Prophet joyneth Counsel with Threatnings Amendment is that he calleth them to as a means to save them That he might induce them to this he represents their aggravated Sins and the dangers to which they were exposed by their Provocations Yet least this Call should still be uneffectual through an opinion that Repentance could avail little to a People so guilty he addeth that if they returned to God their Sins tho' great should not prevent Mercy and the threatned Judgments though near might be diverted By this Text God proclaims not only to particular Persons but to Nations how desireable it is to him to execute his Goodness and his extream backwardness to avenge himself on the most provoking Kingdoms unless they add Impenitency under solemn Warnings unto their Rebellion God seems to address himself to Ephraim to this purpose Thou are a very guilty People yet turn that I may forgive Thou art on the very brink of ruine thy obstinateness is so notorious that it will not consist with the Rules or Credit of my Government to spare thee longer Oh yet be perswaded to render thy self a Subject capable of my kindness I have long pleaded and thou seemest even unperswadable Yet I 'll make one further essay I 'll try thee once more Sow to your selves in Righteousness First The words containeth some of the Essentials of Repentance and suppose the rest Under a Metaphor from Tillage God applyeth himself in the description of this Duty q. d. 1. He that will repent must deal with his indisposed Heart Break up the fallow ground whatever pain or difficulty attends so barren or obstinate a frame of Soul you must strive with your selves pluck up those Weeds strike at the root of your Lusts which render the Fruits of Righteousness impossible This sence of that clause is more evident from those words of another Prophet Break up the fallow ground Jer. 4.3 sow not among Thornes 2. When the Heart is thus prepared we must proceed to proper acts of Reformation Sow to your selves in Righteousness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad justitiam Isa 61.3 Let the Rule of Righteousness be observed in your hearts and ways be just to God and Men return to God in sincerity be and do what may argue you to be Trees of Righteousness Do thus to your selves i. e. leave it not to others Or you shall reap the advantage of it your selves if you repent 3. You must also seek the Lord i. e. Worship God and not Idols as hath been your way Follow after him who is departed from you call upon him crave his Grace to help you but be not satisfied with faint and short attempts persist in this work till you find his favour in the blessed effects of it even till he come and rain c. These heads of Repentance this Text affords Secondly This Repentance is urged from variety of Arguments but principally from this That National Mercies would certainly follow this National Repentance Reap at the face of Mercy or immediately 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Reap in Mercy It 's promised more strongly then if it had been said Indicatively you shall reap in the Future Tense Being put thus Imperatively the import of it is this you have no more to do but possess your Mercies upon your Repentance Mercy will of it self grow from that Root God hath provided all antecedent Causes he hath ordained the connexion and it lies on him to make a Repenting People happy You may be assured of this for that which was meer Mercy in making the Promise is become an Act of Righteousness by the Promise You may now expect it from God as just in which sense I take that clause till he come and rain Righteousness upon you That which was Mercy in the first part of the Verse is Righteousness in the last part I know it 's true Doctrine to say till God bestow on you holy inclinations and ability to perform but that 's not the most designed Sense He further argues Ezek. 34.26 from the plenty of those Blessings which God would afford on their Repentance Till he come and rain Righteousness The returns of God to a Repenting People are in a fullness of Blessing and there shall be showers of Blessings There 's one Motive more viz. The seasonableness It 's time to seek the Lord. It 's high time and but barely so you cannot say there is no hope though you must repent soon or not at all The consideration of this Paraphrase must lead any one to the case that I am to handle Can any serious Spirit think it vain to ask What is that National Repentance which may give a sinful people hope of Mercy Which is the same with the Case as it is given me What Repentance of National Sins doth God require as ever we may expect National Mercies I have led you to it by this Text that it may not seem a melancholly fancy a mystery not to be handled or a needless inquiry It 's an awful case It 's not put to satisfie your Curiosity but to guide your Fears and Hopes It 's not only to direct your Minds to a right judgment of the matter but to excite your Hearts to that Repentance which may afford us hope in the midst of our dangers and guiltiness It 's the happiness or misery of Nations are concerned in it It 's the only remedy that a sinful Nation can use or turn to God is peremptory Luke 13.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 utterly be destroyed except you repent you shall all likewise perish My work is 1. To resolve the case in general 2. To apply the case resolved to our own Nation I shall use this method As to the first 1. Shew you what is supposed in the case as stated 2. Explain the tearms National Sins and Mercies 3. State the Case it self 4. Propose the difficulties that attend the resolution of it 5. Resolve the Case which the forementioned particulars will much conduce to I shall as proof to this resolution of the Case 1. Evidence that the Repentance expressed in the fifth head doth ordinarily afford ground
their sin ver 10. accepted of their punishment and called upon God ver 15. They put away their strange gods and served the Lord then the Soul of God was grieved for their misery and he delivered them ver 16. A parallel you have in Niniveh the charge given by the King Jon. â— 8 9. which was complyed with was Let them turn every one from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hand then they conclude a possibility of escape according to the tacit reserve in the Prophets message Who can tell if God will turn away from his fierce anger and we perish not 2. But yet further The Repentance in these acts must be for National Sins If it be for other Sins and not for the Sins of the Land it will not warrant our expectations of National Mercies God will have Men direct their Repentance to that which his Wrath is kindled for and which his Testimony is against It 's not enough that you bewail your own personal private sins but these publick faults People are loathest to own bewail and leave these National Offences Custom fixeth them they are commonly reputable and by the generality of Transgressours thought innocent they are supported by lnterest and Power there 's danger by Repenting thereof If you reform as to these there 's oft a loss of Places Men are subject to shame by leaving faults in fashion or the reproach of having long offended in those things and how backward are our proud Hearts to acknowledge we have been in an error But let it be never so hard the Arrow of God is levelled against these very sins and even these shall be bewailed and forsaken or he will proceed to embitter them People may think to commute with God and amend in other matters but this is a vain attempt Mic. 6.15 16. to their own delusion and ruine Thou shalt sow but shalt not reap for the statutes of Omri are kept and all the works of the house of Ahab and ye walk in their counsels that I should make thee a desolation and the inhabitants thereof an hissing Therefore you shall bear the reproach of my people This leads me to answer one Objection Object How may we know which be the National Sins Answ If the same particular Sins be universal Consider the carriage of a people in general and compare it with the Word National Sins are too gross not to be seen when the rule of a Peoples walking is set before us But if you would know which are more eminently the National Sins observe what Sins have the greatest influence in Corrupting the Land which cleaveth fastest to a people and most especially leading persons are guilty of which have been longest continued in and in their Nature and Consequences are most grievous which seem the Judgments of God most directed against what sins do the best Ministers and People witness most against By these Rules you may discern what are those National Sins which the Nation agree in the commission of or connivance at But if the National Sins be by accumulation of several sorts of sins according to the different state of people who constitute that Community You then must distinguish a Nation into its constituent or remarkably differing parties as Magistrates and Subjects Ministers and People Rich and Poor Infidels and Believers c. Compare the frame and carriage of each of these with that which God hath made their peculiar Duty and adding the former helps those National Sins will appear which are made up by complication though the same individual Crimes are not entertained by the several parties in a Nation 3. The Repentance must usually be National I do not mean that every individual must repent but the generality or at least some very considerable number and those of such Men that most represent and influence the Body A small number of private Penitents may save themselves but seldom secure a Nation I confess here I must be wary considering how graciously God is pleased to admit sometimes a few to personate a Body and give in Blessings for many on their mediation Phineas his Zeal turns away Wrath from all his people Num. 25.11 Ezek. 22.30 God seems to conclude the unavoidableness of Israels woe from the want of one man to divert it I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the Land that I should not destroy it but I found none This the desolate Church complains of Isa 64.7 There is none that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee But though Sovereignty admits a very few Penitents to profit many Transgressors yet we are not usually to expect this what ever in extremity we may hope for want of better grounds usually a few are called none as to this effect No man repented him of his wickedness Jer. 8.6 Isa 66.4 and 59.16 I called and none did answer he wondered there was no intercessor There were the Prophets themselves and some others that Repented yet so few were as good as none to secure the good which multitudes concurred to remove His Call is to the generality to return and on that he promiseth favour Hear ye the word of the Lord all ye of Judah Jer. 7.2 3. Thus saith the Lord Amend your ways and your doings and I will cause you to dwell in this place And the failure by the refusal he affixeth to the body of them ver 28. Thou shalt say This is a Nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord nor receiveth correction c. We can hardly look for good to a Land unless the repenting persons be numerous enough to vindicate the Glory of God and influence the Land to Reformation Joel 1.14 15. Jon. 3.5 6. The assembly of Penitents must be solemn How general was the Repentance of Niniveh from the greatest to the least from the King and Nobles to the most abject Some farther light may arise from the next head 4. The Repentance should be suited to the different Condition and Circumstances of those that make up a Nation Each must repent of the sins common to all yea the gross trespasses of each sort must be bewailed by every sort But yet there is a Repentance peculiar to each which ought eminently to appear or at least really to be and this exerted according to their respective abilities Magistrates ought to mourn for the sins of the People and also to repent of their own ill Examples bad Laws c. And they must express their Repentance by exerting that Power which they have above others They should enact good Laws restrain and punish Sin command days of Humiliation appoint good Ministers c. So Ezra did Ezra 10.8 9. Neh. 13. The same did Nehemiah Magistrates do not repent if they do not so and a Land may perish for their neglect Suppose a Land divideable into Unbelievers and Believers These Believers must
transgress you the commandments of the Lord that ye cannot prosper Were it otherwise Gods Name would not be Sanctified no order in this lower World would be kept But further Impenitence is not onely a Moral Obstacle to good as it provokes God to with-hold it but it s a Natural Obstacle the wickedness of men is efficient of Wo to a People and is in many senses destructive of Mercies and inconsistent therewith Many Enormities of a Nation are its Plagues as bad Laws wickedness in Magistrates a corrupt Ministry Oppression c. It s Iniquity is even materially its Ruin APPLICATION Many Inferences are obvious As How dreadful an Evil is Sin How dangerous to a Land are multitudes of Offenders A Nation is foolish that discountenances Piety and destroyeth the godly Party whereby it strikes at its own Refuge How good and long-suffering is God that calls the vilest Nations to return waits long for their Answer and destroys not till their Repentance be even hopeless What Enemies to themselves Neighbours and Posterity bound up in their doom are an impenitent people What sottish and Atheistical Men are they that guide their hopes and fears of a Nations Welfare by Fancies or second Causes but without regard to Gods Favour or Anger or the influence that Repentance or Impenitence have upon the wayes of God towards a People What a dismal Prospect is a Wicked Nation sporting with their Provocations and Warnings How uncertain a Tenure do most Nations hold their Mercies by But I have not time to insist on these I shall briefly apply the Resolution of the Case to our own Nation We are a Nation we have National Sins Repentance of these Sins is a presage of our future State as well as others I know no exemption or peculiar allowance we can expect at the hands of the righteous Governour of the World Oh that our Hearts were under the Power of this awful Truth that our iniquity may not be our ruin Ezek. 18.30 In order to this 1. I shall insist on some things in order to our Repentance 2. Enquire Whether we may groundedly expect National Mercies from our present Frame 3. Conclude with an Use of Lamentation of our National Impenitency and Dangers In order to our Repentance I shall 1. Represent to you the National Sins we ought to Repent of Hereby you 'l know what we should be humbled for resolve against and reform What a Terror ought it be but to mention our Provocations Oh that a Land of Light should be chargeable with such Enormities and yet be secure and hate to be reformed Where shall I begin the Charge We and our Fathers for some Ages have been guilty of the same sins yet unrepented of Against whom shall I level the Inditement Alass we have all sinned and done wickedly as we could Magistrates and Subjects Ministers and People the Unbelievers and Believers To what sorts of Sins shall I confine my self to Wo is us what Sins did God ever destroy a Land for that are not National with us But that the sound may not appear uncertain I account my self bound in Conscience to be more particular My subject forceth me not any uncharitable design Oh that my own heart were more filled with Zeal for God and deepest sorrows for the Nations Sin whiles I am recording what may offend the guilty though the Charge be too plain to admit a Denial Let us Enquire Is England altogether innocent as to its Laws Do not we see that some of the terms of Conformity are far other than our blessed Lord hath instituted Are they not remote from a tendency to advance real Piety and exclusive of some things that would much conduce thereto Is not a Diocesan Bishop set up whose sole Jurisdiction barrs all the other Ministers from the Exercise of a great part of their Office while the Bishop is utterly unable to perform it through the largeness of his Diocess Is there not more than an Umbrage of Lying and Perjury imposed on all Ministers when they must Assent Subscribe and Swear to what is more than suspicious yea utterly false Are not a heap of Ceremonies and corrupt Usages re-assumed though once cast out to the facilitating of the return of Popery dividing of Protestants and the scandal of the weak who are too apt to place Religion yea all their Religion in those Vanities How many severe Laws were made against Dissenters and severely executed to the ruin of Thousands Was it no provocation to silence Two Thousand Faithful Ministers when their Labours were so necessary and their places were to be filled up with many young Men who have proved fatal to serious Religion The Sacrament is made a Politick Engine to further the Damnation of unworthy Receivers that all such may be kept out whom they suspect any way hazardous to excessive Pomp and Ecclesiastick Pageantry Can the Land be Innocent where Atheism is so professed the most Blasphemous Oathes are fashionable Perjury Uncleanness Drunkenness Malignity against all credible Holiness so common and consistent with Reputation VVas it not among us that the Covenant was burnt by the hands of a Common Hangman and horrid Murthers committed as legal Executions Is not that Christian Nation guilty where prophanation of Sabbaths is so notorious yea pleaded for as warrantable Most Families have nothing of Gods VVorship the plainest Essentials of Religion by few understood the Operations of the Spirit turned into Ridicule and Religion placed in things that bear not a faint resemblance of the very form of it while Sobriety its self is meer matter of Scoff and the Fountains of Learning send forth many more fitted to Infect than Reform the Age Is it to be concealed that Men enter on the Ministry as Apprentices on a Trade and use it as a meer means for a Livelihood How many are Pastors without the peoples Consent And too many preach while unacquainted with the Gospel as a Law of Faith and Rule of the Recovery of Apostate Sinners The Labors of such have no tendency to Convert or Edifie their Hearers yea alass Conversion is judged a Foolish thing to urge All the most Debauched and Prophane are Regenerate if they were Baptized and come to Church Many Souls eternally perish by the influence of this one principle and the Ministry is diverted from its greatest end Have we not seen the Ministry too much laid out to serve the late Governments in designs of enslaving the Nations and ruining the Life of the Protestant Religion Though amazing was the Providence which almost too late opened some Mens Eyes by a close attempt against their own places and so swayed their Minds that they contributed to save the Land from that Ruin which a few more Sermons of Non resistance if believed by the Nation had rendred unavoidable The good Lord continue that impulse least our Miseries become greater by the beginnings of our Deliverance I design not this Account of all our publick Ministers blessed be God