his mouth there another follow'd sinners to the very gates of Hell with offers of mercy in his hand and while Vengeance was knocking at the door and the Sword was at their heatts call'd to them Turn ye Turn ye why will ye dye And what was all this but to lay invincible obligations on Men to Reform and by Reformation of their Lives to arrive at last to that Harbor of Bliss and Immortality which the great preserver of Men hath prepar'd for those that fear him Under the Gospel as if beyond this there were no other remedy to engage Men to holiness the Son of God himself comes down from Heaven and turns Preacher He that commands all the powers of Light and Darkness appears in a Pulpit He by whom the Worlds were made leaves the brightness of his Fathers glory to tell Men what a Monster Sin is how odious how loathsom in the eyes of God how lovely how amiable how beautiful the wayes of God are confirms the sayings of all the Prophets of old assures Men and certainly he could not tell a lye that all those Messengers of old were in the right when they profess'd That Iniquity would be Mens ruine and that at yonder gate no unclean thing should enter and that God must be prefer'd before all the Riches Honours and Pleasures of this World a favour for which we want expression and which we must draw a vail over as Timantes the Painter did over the face of Iphigenia's Father because we cannot reach it with our colours If a King should send a Messenger with a Pardon to a Malefactor that 's ready to be turn'd off of the Ladder there is no Man but a stranger to pity and compassion but would speak in commendation of the Royal mercy but should the King himself approach the place of Execution and absolve him it 's like the unexpected bounty would cast the Malefactor into a Swoon And then when the great God of Heaven and Earth made his favor exstatical went out of the common road of mercy stept beyond all precedents and examples encreas'd his kindness into perfect miracles miracles which the Ages before cannot parallel and the Son of God made his way through all the Clouds of Heaven to tell Men how God long'd for their society and happiness we cannot suppose a possibility of greater condescention And that which still encreases the Wonder this Son of God entreats wooes and beseeches Men to bethink themselves and dress up their Souls for the next Worlds glory He that might have come as one day most certainly he will with flames of fire and taken vengeance on the obstinate and terrified and startled them into seriousness and might without a Metaphor as it is Psal. 45.3 girded his Sword upon his Thigh and look'd stern on the Rebels that would not have him reign over them and frown'd them into Hell That this Son of God this Sovereign Prince whom all the Elements serve at whose command the Waters drown and the Fire burns and the Earth swallows up that he should come and draw near the City and instead of consuming weep over it as if he meant to quench the fire of Gods indignation against it and instead of dooming it outright to eternal vengeance wish O that thou hadst known in this thy day what belongs unto thy peace Call like a tender compassionate Father How often would I have gather'd you as a Hen doth gather her Chickens under her wings and ye would not That he should bear affronts and in the midst of those injuries entreat Men to be reconcil'd to him and seek for a Pardon That he should conjure Mankind by Tears and Wounds and his own Blood by those very Torments and Agonies he endured for them to have mercy on themselves to take a view of the burning Lake beneath and run away to look upon the joyes above and be ravish'd with the sight That he should court them by the sweetest invitations and the kindest calls by the greatest offers and the softest promises promises of assistance and of his holy Spirit of peace and joy in the Holy Ghost and seal his strong desires and longings after their holiness with his own death and after his death being risen again sends Apostles and whole Armies of Confessors and Martyrs to establish those desires ordain a Function of Men that might preach those Desires in Mens ears to the Worlds end this indeed is a condescention which the great ministring Spirits in Heaven stand amaz'd at and may justly be look'd upon to be one of those things the Angels desire to pry into By such astonishing means hath the great immortal God endeavour'd to effect that holiness in Men that Seriousness that Piety that Heavenly-mindedness which he hath appointed to be the only way to endless bliss Glorious means indeed But then they are no more but Pearls thrown before Swine where Men consider not how far they are concern'd in the heavenly Call And what can be the meaning of all these arts and stratagems of Divine compassion and what should make God thus sollicitous and careful to procure mans happiness and how dreadful it must be to neglect so great a salvation To lay all this labour and industry and indefatigable pains of God before their eyes where they will not fix their contemplations on the Remedies intended for their recovery what is it but to make a learned Oration to a flock of sheep to talk to a blind Man of Colours to discourse Mathematicks to one in a Fever and to prepare Elixirs and Cordials for Men depriv'd of life and sense Without Consideration we have little but shape and speech left us to distinguish us from Beasts and God clearly loses the virtue of his exhortations and entreaties except Consideration sets them home digests and applies them to the Soul and the inward thoughts like Sun-beams in a burning Glass unite and continue so long upon these spiritual objects till they set the heart on fire CHAP. II. Consideration no transitory view of spiritual things imports laying the heart and mind close unto spiritual Concerns resembles magnifying Glasses which discover things imperceptible by the naked eye The great Ingredients of it Self-Examination Expostulation and strong Resolution HOW Consideration Thinking Pondering Meditation Contemplation do differ is not material to enquire Consideration includes all these and is nothing but exercising and improving that rational Faculty the great Architect hath bestowed on us to the glory of God and the felicity of our immortal Souls The character St. Bernard gives of it may help to illustrate this Description It distinguishes saith he things confus'd collecteth such as lie dispers'd searches and dives into such as are conceal'd and hid examines probabilities reflects upon what is done resolves what to do and presses towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus The Schoolmen are in the right when they call it employing the whole understanding about a thing
his God his Soul and his Neighbor and this cautiousness cannot but make him prudent in his Secular Vocation hence such a man hath commonly his Wife Children and Servants in better order than other men and mingles that sweetness and kindness with his gravity or severity that they may have encouragement to love him and dread offending a far greater Master in Heaven there is not that discontent that emulation that ill language that backbiting that luxury that extravagance that tumult in such a mans Family as is to be observed in Houses where little of God and Eternity is regarded Such a person spends in his house no more but what is decent and convenient and so provides for those of his own Houshold as not to forget doing good to the Levite and to the Widow and to the Fatherless his Speech is commonly with Grace seasoned with Salt full of meekness and gravity and therefore less offensive and he takes heed that it may not be laid to his charge that he hath bestow'd more to feed his pride and luxury than Christs distressed members and in publick affairs or places of great Trust such a man as minds first Heaven and then Earth usually discovers far greater wisdom in management of State affairs than those who first mind Earth and Heaven when they have nothing else to do for his Principles lead him so to carry himself to man as not to affront his God and to advise his King to nothing but what is truly great and glorious and beneficial for the Realm he governs and as a Prince may confide in such a person more than in a sensual Man so he hath reason to believe that all things will prosper better in his hand than in the others because he first seeks the Honour of God and then the happiness of his King and the Honour of that Nation he is a member of which is a thing so pleasing to God that there is nothing more frequent with him than to bless such honest endeavours and to crown them with success and prosperity And certainly he that can consider how to keep himself from the everlasting evil may with greater ease prevent temporal mischief and danger which depend upon the imprudence of his actions he that can row against the Stream may with greater facility row with it he that can chearfully goe up the Hill will find no great difficulty in going down he that can do that which his Nature hath more than ordinary aversion from may more easily doe that which his nature hath a strong byass and inclination to and he whose mind will serve him to turn away the ever-burning wrath of Almighty God cannot want judgement and prudence to prevent the wrath and anger of those men he converses withal and he that can by serious consideration make sure of a Seat in Heaven cannot want power to consider how to manage the Estate God hath given him in this world to Gods Glory and his neighbors good and though men that are very considerate in their Soul concerns doe not always use that prudence we have mention'd in the concerns of this present world yet it is sufficient that if they will make use of that light and those arguments which their reason thus improved by consideration doth furnish them withal they may most certainly arrive to this wisdom and discretion in secular concerns and businesses which we have been speaking of Indeed it 's very rational that he that exercises his reason much and examines the nature ends causes circumstances and consequences of things as he must do that seriously considers the things that belong unto his everlasting peace should arrive to more than ordinary wisdom in other things and that he that 's prudent in the greater should be able to proceed prudentially in lesser matters that he who is faithful in much should be faithful in a little also and that he who is just in the true Riches should be very just in the Mammon of unrighteousness too as we read Luk. 16. 10 11. CHAP. VII A pathetical Exhortation to men who are yet strangers to a serious religious life to consider their ways wilfulness of their neglect how dangerous it is How inexcusable they are how inhumane to God and their own Souls How reasonable God's requests are and how justly God may turn that power of consideration he hath given them into blindness and hardness of heart since they make so ill a use of it c. ANd now Reader whoever thou art that doest yet wallow or allow thy self in any known sin and art not sincerely resolved to close with the terms of Christs Eternal Gospel let me adjure thee by the mercies of God not to reject or superciliously to despise what here we have propos'd As thou art a man and owest civility to all creatures that have the signature of man upon them be but so kind and civil to this Discourse as to allow it some serious thoughts Either thou hast a rational Soul or thou hast not if thou hast let me entreat thee by the Bowels of Jesus to consider whether this present world be all the Sphere that God intended it should move in If it be not and if how to secure the happiness of the world to come be the chief thing this thy Soul is designed for why wilt thou frustrate God in his expectation why wilt thou goe contrary to all creatures and not prosecute the end for which thy Soul was made and shed into thy Body That there is such a thing as a life to come and an Eternity of joy and torment the one promised to a strict and Heavenly conversation the other threaten'd to a loose and careless or sensual life cannot be call'd into question by him that shall impartially reflect upon the premisses it 's certain the things which concern that other life are not discover'd by our sences and therefore thou canst not hope to be affected with them that way It 's thy reason only that can and must apprehend that future state and so apprehend it as to work upon thy affections But which way is it possible thy reason should so apprehend it as to fright thee from thy evil courses except it be improv'd by consideration Sinner I do here in the presence of God conjure thee by all that 's Good and Holy by the interest and welfare of thine own Soul by all the Laws of self-interest by the Revelations of the Son of God by all that God ever did for Mankind by that love which transcends the understandings of Men and Angels by the groans of those miserable Souls which are now in Hell by all the joys of Paradice by the testimony of thine own conscience by all the motions of God's Spirit in thy Heart by all the mercies thou dost receive from Heaven by that allegiance thou owest to God by that Faithfulness thou owest to thine own Soul I do most seriously conjure thee to tell me whether thou art not able to
thou putst upon thine own Soul and is thy Soul so inconsiderable a thing that thou makest nothing of deluding and circumventing it What thinkest thou Sinner suppose thou didst see a Senate or Parliament made up of very grave wise sober judicious men who should unanimously give their verdict in a Cause and determine it and while these men after serious deliberation give their judgement in the case propos'd to them in comes the malefactor against whom they have given sentence accuses the Decree of the Senate of injustice charges their Vote with a lye and takes a great deal of pains to make the world believe a tale of his own making whom wouldst thou believe that grave wise judicious Senate or the Malefactor the Senate sure and then when God Angels and Men the wisest the gravest the learnedst of them do all unanimously determine that without a serious consideration of thy Spiritual concerns thou canst not arrive to any sincere reformation of life canst never know the danger thou art in or what thou must do to escape unquenchable fire and that without it thou art a truly miserable man and dost take the way that leads to destruction hast thou the impudence to oppose thy sickly opinion which arises from a distemper'd ed head and a more distemper'd conscience to the grave sound and orthodox judgement of Men infinitely wiser than thy self when all with one consent affirm that thou art sick to death and nothing but consideration can recover thee wilt thou cancel their verdict by prescribing to thy self medicines of thine own making all cry out against thy inconsiderate course of life God doth not justify it Angels do condemn it the Preachers of the Gospel confute it Philosophers arreign it thy Reason hath arguments against it thy Conscience chides thee for it thy sober neighbors reprove it and wilt not thou subscribe to their sentence what insolence is it to think thy self more knowing than he that knows all things Behold sinner here lies the way to Heaven God is intreating thee to walk in it the Devil is busy to discourage thee from it God saith Here I will be found the Devil suggests that the Sons of Anack dwell there God wishes thou wouldst yield and live the Devil that thou wouldst stand out and dye God seeks to crown thee the Devil to rob thee of thy Diadem God assures thee that this is the Garden where thy Graces must grow the Devil argues that nothing but Weeds and Thistles grow there All the dispute is who shall have thy Soul God or the Devil think sinner for God's sake think who is the Rewarder and who is the Tormenter who is the King that can save thee and who is the Executioner that studies only to ruine thee shall not God prevail wilt not thou give him thy heart and shall Satan goe away with thy Soul shall he possess that Treasure which Angels are ambitious of for shame let not God goe away empty think what a condescension it is in God to be willing to accept of so inconsiderable a Present as thy Heart what is thy Soul to him what benefit doth he receive by offering thee his bosom if thou hast such a mind to be the Devils slave what need God take pains to rescue thee from that bondage dost thou think he cannot live without thee dost thou think thy being in his Heaven doth add any thing to his felicity cannot he as well be glorified in thy Torments as he can in thy Salvation cannot he make his Justice triumph over such a stubborn wretch as thou art wherein doth his advantage lye may not he be God and Great and Glorious and admired by Angels while thou friest in Hell thou hast very highly obliged him indeed that he need be at all this trouble to make thee in love with his ways shouldst not thou stand amazed at his Favour shouldst not thou wonder that this immense and infinite Majesty will vouchsafe a gracious look to so vile a worm as thou art and canst thou see a God court thee and grow coy doth God offer to kiss thee with the kisses of his Lips and dost thou scorn his embraces canst thou see him carress thee and turn away thy face wilt thou prefer the motions of a lying Devil before the Oracles of the Great God of Heaven hadst thou rather goe along with him that will murther thee than accompany him that will encircle thy Head with a Crown of Glory shall God magnify his Mercy upon thee and wilt thou fall in love with his enemy doth God intend by making love to thy Soul to give a character to the world of his infinite goodness and compassion and darest thou be so bold as to lessen that character by thy contempt and ingratitude Behold sinner God is willing to lay aside his Flaming Sword thou shalt hear of him no more in the Earthquake or in the Storm or in the mighty Wind that breaks the Rocks in pieces but in the still small voice the voice of Boanerges shall sound no more in thy ears he 'll blow his Trumpet of War no more all his frowns shall be done away he 'll fright thee no more with Hell-fire if his Grace his Mercy his Compassion can but allure thee to bethink thy self and close with him and so to consider the concerns of thy Soul as to resign thy self altogether to his guidance and direction his Aspect shall be kind his Countenance shall be nothing but smiles his Face shall be a perpetual Sunshine if by consideration of thy ways thou wilt become sensible of thy former folly and throw it away and take up with him alone if his kindly Beams can thaw thy frozen Heart if his calm can win thee and make thee prostrate thy self before the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Heaven and Earth shall be no longer in conspiration against thee and thou shalt not need to look any more for Thunders and Lightnings from that Heaven stand still sinner and see the Salvation of God behold Grace and Mercy lies weeping at thy Feet the free the soveraign the extensive the attractive Grace of God comes wooing to thy Soul and doth bespeak thee in this manner Hold Hold thou poor besotted creature whither dost thou run Hear hear I bring thee the joyfullest tidings that ever were brought to the ears of Men God will be thy Father the Lord Jesus thy Saviour the Holy Ghost thy Comforter the Angels thy Companions thy Life shall be a perpetual Holyday thou shalt be a friend of God an Heir of Heaven and Coheir with Christ thy sins shall all be done away thy iniquities shall be remembred no more all the promises of the Gospel shall be thine God will vouchsafe to live with thee the Holy Ghost will make thy Soul his Temple thou shalt have strength to overcome Hell and Devils Flames and Swords and be more than a Conqueror through him that loved thee the Lord Jesus Christ ask a Heaven and
the bows and cringes whereby both great and small insinuate into her favour On her Head Draw a Tree whose Fruit is Gold and the Dew whereof hardens into Pearls let her right hand grasp a Crown and her left drop gifts on her Clients and Votaries But then when this proud Peacock is drawn thus in all her dazling circles forget not to Draw her ugly feet I mean an unquiet roaring disturb'd distracted trembling Conscience for into this dismal shape doth that lovely Mermaid end On the other side I 'll paint a Wilderness a Grove which wise Nature made and in it I 'll represent a devout Soul kneeling and with the Publican smiting upon her Breast then will I draw Heaven and out of that Heaven Grace and Mercy in the shape of an Angel flying down with this message Fear not I have redeemed thee thou art mine and holding a bottle under to catch her Tears immediately upon this the Holy Ghost shall be seen descending spreading his beams and warming that Soul and invigorating it to resist the World the Flesh and the Devil by and by the Glory of God shall appear and crown all with Peace and Joy and infinite content and Eternal Hallelujahs And now Sinner which of these Pictures wouldst thou chuse do not the homely feet of the former fright thee can all the Beauty thou seest in that painted Harlot countervail the misery it dies into is an ever-gnawing Conscience matter of sport and laughter when all these painted Gaudes must break into a dismal Dungeon wilt thou laugh awhile that thou mayst mourn and lament for ever But if thou art so fond of this dangerous Garden that nothing can reclaim thee from being delighted with it take thy choice give me the other Landskip I know this world Men are so fond of e're long will have an end and their pleasures will have an end and their sins will have an end and their glory will have an end but where these end Gods Justice and Indignation begins Blessed is the man that hath then the God of Jacob for his refuge the Lord will deliver him in the time of trouble what if I enjoy none of the worlds want on solaces I know where better and stronger Consolations are to be had what if Thorns and Bryars surround my Lillies and Roses I know they are but to preserve them and to hinder the Devil from tearing them to pieces these Thorns are my safeguard which will e're long be done away and when I am out of the reach of all enemies my Lillies will continue fresh and flourishing for ever what need I covet the world when I am made to live above the world what should I love this Earth for when I have a God to love why should I dote on Nature when I am in the state of Grace God hath made me many glorious promises how can I forbear rejoycing under the thoughts of them By Grace I am made partaker of the Divine Nature wonderful Dignity Being advanc'd so high why should I be enamour'd with a little Dust when God hath made me a King why should I debase my self or stoop to the mean employment of a Peasant I know God doth not see as man doth see a Soul that loves him above all is more esteemed in his sight than the proudest Monarch nor do rags fright him from fixing his habitation there where he meets with an humble broken heart let others glory in their great Titles in this I 'll glory that I am a Child of God Who can express the Honour God bestows on those that give their hearts to him To be a Child of God is infinitely greater Honor than to be of Kin to Princes or to have the Bloud of Nobles running in my veins A Father expresses greater endearments to him that participates of his nature and draws his substance from him than to him that 's only like him in the face how far greater love then may I conceive in God to a Child which by grace is a partaker of the Divine Nature than to the blessed Angels themselves The whole Creation in a manner participates of the Divine Nature but all other Creatures are but Pictures painted Images of that Glorious Nature he that is a Child of God is a lively Image of his Father which is in Heaven and he hath Fellowship and communion with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. What mysteries are these things to a poor Worldling but Oh how comfortable to him that feels the good Spirit bearing witness with his Spirit that he is a Child of God! If God be my Father then all the Riches he hath are mine if he be my Father he cannot but take special care of me for Can a Mother forget her sucking Child that she should not have compassion on the Fruit of her womb yea she may forget yet will I not forget thee behold I have engraven thee on the palms of my hand Esay 49.15 16. Fathers sometimes expose their own lives to save their Sons God hath done infinitely more for me for he assumed humane Nature and exposed his life for me who was his Enemy and a Traitor to him that I might become his Son By Grace I am the friend of God if God had not taken me for his Child yet how excellent how incomprehensible would the favour be that he vouchsafes to take me into the number of his friends what a stir do men keep to purchase the friendship of Great Men how little do they esteem the friendship of the Almighty they have not Souls clear enough to admire the Mercy their understandings are too earthy to adore so great a bounty it requires too much Spirit and Mind to be ravished with such compassion A Friend is often loved better than neer Relations What may not I promise my self from this Love and Friendship of God What calamity or misery is there in which this love cannot hold my Head and keep it from aking To be loved of God is to be fed with the richest stream and to live upon Milk and Honey If God laid down his life for his enemies what will not he do for his friends when I was his enemy God seemed to love me more than he did himself and now that I am his friend shall I think he will love me less than an enemy How should I rejoyce to have such a friend as Jonathan was but alas what is this friendship to Gods love All humane friendship is perfect perfidiousness in comparison of Gods friendship God so loves his friends that he knows not how to be separated from them if God had no other place to move in but Heaven he would leave that Heaven and come down and joyn himself to those whom by his Spirit he hath adopted into the number of his friends so great so immense is his love to them He that is a friend of God becomes Gods individual companion What a favour would it have been counted if the
Son of God when he was on Earth would have joyned himself to one particular man and would have never departed from him What a priviledge then must it be for one who is Gods friend to have the Divinity always present with him not only as a companion but as an inhabitant for he dwells in us by his spirit Did ever any Father love his Son so as never to part company did ever any Mother love her Child as never to suffer it to goe from her Arms But God is continually embracing his friends Among Men a Father cannot be always there where his Son is but God knows not how to be from him that is his friend and though God be in all creatures by his Essence Presence and Power yet that is because he is God with a Gracious Soul he is because that Soul is his friend and if God were not immense and infinite and could not be with his other creatures yet he would be with such a Soul with whom he is one Spirit and if he could forget things yet he could not forget such a Soul or lay aside the thoughts of his prosperity and welfare and if he could forsake his other creatures yet he could not forsake such a Soul but would work always some good or other in her for Gods love being strong it s always active and where God bears a good Will to a Soul he cannot but communicate goodness to her And shall I after all this repine because I am not a Favourite of Kings and Princes when I have God for my constant guide and associate How should I stand amazed at the strangeness of the favour if God should charge all the Angels of Heaven all the ten thousand times ten thousand Spirits which wait upon him to goe and attend such a man with all the Grandeur and Majesty imaginable yet what is all this but a desart to Gods society in having him for my associate I enjoy more Dignity more Majesty more Pomp and Glory than if I had all the Armies of Heaven waiting upon me and can I think God is always with me and will not provide for me If I should neglect all things in the world and mind nothing but the things of God and my Fathers business I might he confident that he would feed me and support me because so Great so Good so Almighty so kind a friend could not see me perish The Son of God hath not honoured any Angel with the name of Brother and yet if I am united to him by Grace and by his Spirit I enjoy this priviledge and as Mothers love those Children most for which they have suffered and endured most so I may be confident that God loves me most fervently because he hath suffered for me on the Cross and endured most bitter tortures and agonies for me How may I exult how may I triumph in this love O my God! the Angels for the least drop of that Grace thou hast bestowed on them are more beholding to thee than all other creatures for all their natural gifts and for the creation of the whole world but for the least degree of Grace thou hast conferred on me I am more beholding to thee than all the Angels in Heaven for that I might live by Grace thou delivered thine own Son the Son of thy Bosom the brightness of his Fathers Glory to be crucified and to dye for me which is more than thou hast done for all the Angels in Heaven and thus thou hast obliged me more than thou hast done the Heavenly Cherubins and Seraphins Farewel ungrateful treacherous World I have seen enough of thy deceitful Presents I 'll follow thy weak judgement no longer I 'll esteem no Riches but what my Saviour hath counted so In following him I cannot erre self-denial and doing the Will of God were the Treasures he studied to be master of why should not I judge that to be Riches which God hath judged so why should not my mind agree with the verdict of the Most High Nay when God doth love me so entirely why should not I for love of him conform my understanding to his judgement I see those that love the world at the same time confess that they ought to love the everlasting Riches more for if the fading things deserve their love things permanent and solid and eternal ought to be loved much more I will not think much of afflictions now for I find that God by them would make me weary of my fondness to perishable trash and elevate and raise my Soul to embrace those Treasures which neither Men nor Devils can steal away Physitians I see when they would cure a sick man make him sicker than he is by enjoyning him abstinence by adustions by vomitives by putting him to greater torments I know my Soul is sick God would make it perfectly well but such is my sickness that God must put me to pain and anguish and great trouble before I can be well my Heart is all Flint but when this stone is struck sufficiently it will then send forth Holy Fire when my Flesh is weak my Strength will retire more to my Mind and Understanding and I shall be fitter for Heaven The glorified Bodies of Saints in the last day will be the more splendid and illustrious the more they have been afflicted and tortured here and shine the more the more dismal the Dungeon was they were kept in during their abode in this valley of Tears Why should I weep when God takes away from me the cause of weeping How many thousands are now weeping in Hell because they enjoyâ—d so much of the worlds comforts and made them occasions of affronting their Creator Shall I count that loss which is my gain and call my want of Riches a misfortune when it is the greatest remedy to fit my Soul for Heaven what is impudence is it in me to desire that of God which I ought to hate at the most love but with fear and trembling What inhumanity to my self is it to beg poison of the Father of Lights and to murmure that he gives me not that Viper which will sting me into endless tortures My love of the world is Adultery and shall I desire that wherewith I have committed Adultery Is it not all one as if a woman should entreat her Husband to let her enjoy the pleasure of an unlawful Bed the Husband doth shew great mercy to her in that when he might punish her more severely he only removes the Adulterer and shall I count that mercy an injury In wishing for the Riches and Greatnesses of this world I do as much desire God to give me that whereby I may offend him Shall I be angry with a Chirurgeon who to prevent the spreading of my Cancer cuts off a Member to preserve my life and shall I take it ill of God for wounding my Flesh to draw out the Arrows that stick in my heart and would fester and kill me if not
seek not the good but the loss and desolation of my Soul I 'll seek the things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God I 'll set my affections on things above and not on things on earth I am dead to all these sublunary Vanities and my life is hid with Christ in God and when Christ who is my life shall appear then shall I also appear with him in glory Without such resolutions as these Consideration is lame and feeble it 's practical Consideration that must do the work and it is these resolutions make it so the necessity of which Consideration is the next thing I must endeavor to demonstrate CHAP. III. The absolute necessity of Consideration in order to a serious life Gods frequent commands to that purpose Our Reason and the power of Consideration we are furnish'd or endu'd with prov'd to be given us for this end Without it Men have cause to suspect that their Reformation is counterfeit WHat we have said hitherto is not a thing indifferent left to our liberty and discretion to mind or to neglect it as we shall see occasion If labouring after a better life if endeavouring to get a share in the incorruptible Crown of glory if attempts to compass the eternal felicity of our Souls if studying how we may be admitted into the Quire of Angels and enjoy the society of the First-born which are written in Heaven if contriving how we may arrive to that fulness of joy God hath both reveal'd and promis'd be indispensably necessary this Consideration must be so too If Self-preservation be not a thing indifferent Consideration cannot possibly be so For the great object of this Consideration is how we may preserve our selves from being undone for ever how we may guard our Souls from everlasting perdition how we may avoid the second death and how we may make our happiness lasting and durable proof against the gates of Hell and the assaults of that roaring Lyon who walks about seeking whom he may devour God that commands all the powers of Light and Darkness and hath the same power over us that the Potter hath over his Vessel and hath made us capable of being govern'd by Moral Laws and hath created us on purpose to be ready at his beck and may force us into obedience by plagues and thunders if we are loth to be courted by smiles and favours and afar off sees all the dangers we are subject to and knows what Armies of Enemies lie in ambush and watch our fall it 's he that peremptorily commands this Consideration A Sovereign Prince expects to be obey'd and he that dares refuse or slight his reasonable command is justly lookt upon as a stranger to Loyal principles and well may God who is All-wise and can do nothing that 's unreasonable expect submission to a precept so great so good so advantagious both to Soul and Body as will appear in the sequele Consider your wayes is a Law which God to shew he is in good earnest inculcates twice in the same Prophecy Hagg. 1.5 7. And for that the Dream is doubled it is because the thing is establish'd by God said Joseph to Pharaoh Gen. 41.32 The same we may say of repeated Exhortations And indeed when the famous Moses bids the people under his charge and care to keep the statutes and the commandments which God had graciously vouchsafed them that it might go well with them and with their children after them the great preparative he requires for this religious frame is Consideration Deut. 4.39 40. as if without this all attempts of obedience were vain and all endeavors to serve God in Spirit and in Truth were no more but water spilt upon the ground It was upon the same account that St. Paul as quick-sighted as the other peremptorily tells the Romans that they would never practically approve that good and acceptable and perfect will of God without they were transform'd by the renewing of their mind i. e. made a new improvement of their minds by Consideration For Consideration rebuilds the house that 's fallen to the ground makes the mind new removes old prejudices against a serious life and transforms the judgment into other thoughts and conceptions carries away the rubbish which oppressed the Soul and leaves it not till it becomes a new creature Rom. 12.2 What can St. Peter 1 Pet. 1.13 mean when he presses the Christians of those dayes to gird up the loins of their minds but this great Duty we discourse of Consideration as it is a convocation of our thoughts so it ties and unites those thoughts to the great object the one thing necessary and as it were girds the Soul that it may keep within the rules of the Word of God and may not run out into strange desires or inordinate affections but be more expedite and nimble in her Travels to the Land of Promise The truth is from the mind as from Aarons head the precious oyntment runs down to the skirts of our garments This is the great wheel which sets the lesser orbs a going and if that be impregnated with principles of goodness and seriousness and these enlarg'd and spread by Consideration the will and the affections will soon be persuaded to follow that star till it brings them to Bethlehem the house of mercy In our civil affairs it 's the mind must first be fully persuaded either of the necessity or conveniency or danger or advantage of things before any wise resolution can be taken and we may justly conclude that in spiritual concerns men begin at the wrong end if they do not season their minds with such reflections as may make a deep impression on the will and affections For that these may resolve to follow God and may be ravish'd with his love and apply themselves to his wayes and may hate every false path and detest their former exorbitances and deviations we must necessarily suppose there must be some spring to feed them which Spring can be nothing else but Consideration And because the more objects the more flowers this Consideration feeds upon the more effectual it is and the greater seriousness it produces and the most signal change it works the Holy Ghost therefore in order to this end particularizes several things and commands them to be taken in as promoters of this excellent work Hence it is that we are sometimes call'd upon to consider our latter end Deutr. 32.29 sometimes the works of God Eccles. 7.13 sometimes the last judgment or the great account men must give of their works whether they have been good or whether they have been evil Psal. 50.22 sometimes the testimonies of God the sweetness beauty perfection worth and excellency of them Psal. 119.95 sometimes the future reward that God hath promised to them that fear him 2 Tim. 2.7 sometimes the holy Life Example and Christian constancy and magnanimity of Christ Jesus Hebr. 12.3 sometimes Gods correction and chastisement together with
mercies Hos. 2.19 False treacherous Man Is the world become his Master Is his servant become his Sovereign And is that which was intended for his footstool become his Throne whereon he braves all the messages of grace and pardon Shall so great a Soul be married to so mean a slave So great a Spirit join'd to so pitiful a vassal And shall that which was design'd for him to trample on and despise domineer and use him like a Prisoner put fetters about his feet and shackle his Soul that it may not return to that husband to whom it hath sworn fidelity and promised allegiance and subjection How art thou fallen from Heaven O Lucifer son of the morning and thou who hadst once power given thee to ascend into Heaven and without a metaphor to exalt thy Throne above the stars of God to ascend above the heights of the clouds and to be like unto the most High How art thou brought down to Hell to the sides of the Pit How art thou cut down to the ground How is thy pomp brought down to the grave Isa. 14.11 12 13. III. Impediment III. Vnwillingness to part with their sins This certainly is the greatest Impediment of Consideration and the chief cause of Mens neglecting this most useful work Their consciences or their hearts give them that Consideration will discover the deformity and odiousness of their vices and will put them upon forsaking their darling lusts they are afraid it will raise doubts and jealousies in their heads about their present condition disturb them in their slumber discompose them in their golden dreams drive them from their softs and ease and make their Candle burn dim and blew which for the present gives a very delightful shine and therefore they are loth to apply themselves to it I have heard of some rude and savage Indians who being decently cloathed by our Merchants for in their own Countrey it seems they knew no other ornaments but dung and guts of Beasts about their naked bodies and brought over into England with an intent to civilize them and make them instruments upon their return to teach their own Nation modesty and decency as they were walking about the streets of London and beholding the stately houses that adorn'd that goodly City they were observed to sigh and groan and to look very melancholy those that took notice of them charitably believ'd that their dejected looks were no other but characters of their mourning at their unhappy Countreymen who were strangers to such Edifices such Pomp such Glory such Plenty such Magnificence and Gallantry But being sent over into their own Countrey again they quickly betray'd the reason of their sighs and soon discovered that their melancholy was caused by their being delivered from their nastiness and beastly way of living For they were no sooner come to shore but they tore off their cloaths with indignation fell about the necks of their Countreymen with joy and betook themselves to their dung and guts again and in these ornaments they came triumphing to the English There cannot certainly be a fitter emblem of Sin where Men are enamor'd with it They delight in their Plague-sores rejoyce in their wounds and bruises wounds not bound up nor mollified with oyntment They are afraid of Plaisters and do so desire to be let alone in their misery that they are jealous of a Cure and dread a Physitian Their filth is so pleasing to them their itch so amiable that he that offers to free them from it attempts tearing of their bowels from them and that 's it makes them afraid of Consideration For indeed Consideration would anatomize their sin shew them the venome that 's spread through every part shew them who that God is who professes himself offended at it shew them that he who is provok'd by it is that God who breath'd into their Nostrils the breath of life and gives them the meat they eat the drink they drink and the cloaths they put on that hath the same power over them which the Potter hath over his Vessel and can create and destroy them at his pleasure that sits on the circle of the earth and before whom all Nations are as a drop of a Bucket and are counted as the small dust of the ballance before whom they are as nothing yea less than nothing and vanity from whom all their spiritual and temporal mercies do descend without whom they could not be one moment out of Hell who is their best their greatest and most constant Benefactor who lets his Sun shine upon them and his Rain drop down on their fields and pastures who sends his holy Angels to watch their steps and to keep them in their wayes who hears the Heavens for them and makes the Heavens hear the earth and the earth to hear the Corn the Wine and the Oyl and commands all these to relieve them who preserves them from danger prevents their being hurt and charges all the elements to spare them who keeps them by his Providence supports them by his Wisdom protects them by his Power and thinks nothing too good for them if they will but approve themselves obedient children and live like persons who are sensible of the obligations of the Highest Consideration would let them see that this God who could undo them wooes them to Repentance and that there is nothing in the world God hates more than sin and that this is it his Soul abhors being holiness it self and of infinite purity Consideration would let them see that their sin controlls the will and wisdom of that God who feeds them sets up Laws of its own making in opposition to those commands which the holy Angels dare not mention without trembling This would let them see the majesty and glory of that God whom they do affront a God who charges his Angels with folly and on whose brightness those blessed Ministers cannot look without covering their faces with their wings and crying out in amazement Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts Consideration would represent to them the various mercies and opportunities they do slight and how hard it will be for them to kick against the pricks this would shew them what resisting their own mercies means and what fighting against their own happiness imports how blessings slighted will turn to a curse and mercies abus'd will aggravate their gâ—ilt how stubbornness makes God weary of shewing mercy and how refusing to come in while the gates are open provokes the Master of the house to protest That the invited Guests shall neuer taste of his Supper how opportunities of being serious if neglected may be snatcht away and the Scepter of grace if look'd upon with contempt and scorn may never be stretcht forth again Consideration would let them see what grief their sins do cause in Heaven how they make the eternal God complain how loathsom how abominable they make them in the sight of God and how they treasure up unto the owners wrath against
the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God This would shew them Christ Jesus on the Cross this would bespeak them in the language of the Prophet Who is this that comes from Edom with died garments from Bozrah Wherefore is he red in his apparel and his garments like him that treads in the Wine-fat Isa. 63.1 2. This would shew them that the blood which trickled down from that sacred head trickled down upon the account of their follies and transgressions that their oaths and curses and blasphemies were the thorns that prickt his head that their lasciviousness and fornications and adulteries were the spears that open'd his side that their boldness in sinning their resolutions to be damn'd made the tears gush from his eyes that their hatred their malice their envy their revengeful desires were the hands that did buffet him that their covetousness and worldly-mindedness and neglect of their duty towards God and man were the Rods that smote him that their evil thoughts and idle words and extravagant actions were the furies that spit into his face that their perfidiousness their treacheries their hypocrisies were the nails that were struck through his hands and feet that their labouring after Hell their endeavors to be miserable their contempt of the goodness of God made him sweat drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane that their delight in abusing God and in trampling on his Laws was that which made him shreek out to the amazement of Heaven and Earth My God my God why hast thou forsaken me that the heat of their lusts was the cause of his drought and proved the gall and vinegar that was given him to drink that their sinful lives kill'd him and their deadness in duty murther'd him that their impatience and unbelief haled him to the Cross and their impenitence was the cause of that purple flood which the Angels for the rarity and strangeness of it descended from Heaven to behold Consideration would lay before them all the curses of the Law the terror the consumption the sorrow of heart that anguish that attends sin in the end the troubles of Conscience it will raise ere long the frights the disquiet it will produce This would represent to them the flames that Dives felt and made the Wretch cry out for a drop of water to cool his burning tongue This would shew them what blackness sin doth cast on their understandings and that their being baptized into the Christian Faith doth signifie little except they leave their sins and that they do name the Name of Christ in vain without they depart form iniquity This would shew them their error in flattering themselves with the hopes of Gods mercy and demonstrate to them how ridiculous it is to believe that God will pardon them because they pardon themselves or that he will forgive them because they are loth to suffer This would shew them that God sees and hears them and will judge them and set their transgressions in order before them for all the seeming delay of his vengeance Consideration would discover to them the pardon and reconciliation they must go without if they do not speedily return the blessings they deprive themselves of the comforts they bid defiance to the light the favor of God and the mercy of Christ Jesus they must for ever want and be destitute of if they flie not into his arms with the greatest expedition and alacrity This would aggravate their sins make them appear in their proper colours and shew that they are no better than Cockatrices Eggs and Spiders Webs Have not you seen the crafty Spider weave a Net and then lie close in an ambush till the silly Fly dazled perhaps with the curiosity of the Net hastens to those unhappy Labyrinths but while she is sporting her self in those chambers of death out comes the Murtherer and leads the Captive wretch in triumph home Consideration would shew them that thus it is with sin that with much fair speech as that Harlot Prov. 7.21 22 23. it causes the sinner to yield with the flattering of her lips she forces him He goes after her straightway as an Oxe goes to the slaughter or a fool to the correction of the stocks till a dart strike through his liver as a Bird hastes to the snare not knowing that it is for life This kindness Consideration would do them Thus and thus it would tell them and this is it men are afraid of and therefore care not for entertaining it Their sins afford them present satisfaction and the pleasure they promise is brisk and lusty on their fancies their body feels it their eyes see it their ears hear it their tongue tastes it it tickles all their senses it makes them merry and jovial and makes their blood frisk and dance in their veins It makes them forget their sorrows and puts the evil day far from them Frequent converse and long acquaintance hath made their friendship with sin inviolable And though it is really the greatest evil and the cause of all evils in the World though it murthers while it laughs and poysons while it smiles and cringes though it is so merciless that not contented to kill the body it attempts the soul too yet having like the Prophets Ewe Lamb 2 Sam. 12.3 been nourish'd and kept by its owners for many years and being grown up together with them and having eaten of their meat and drank of their Cup and lay'n in their bosoms and been to them as a Child the fondness is grown so great that nothing can make them willing to part with it Hence it is That Consideration is look'd upon as a sawcy ill-bred unmannerly Messenger that would part the dearest friends divide sin from their souls and cause a civil War in their bowels destroy the reigning power of Vice attempt its strong holds and storm its fortifications They lie encircled in its arms and though they hang all this while over Hell-fire by a twin'd Thread though God all this while shakes his Rod over them and while they hug the sin is preparing the instruments of death and whetting his Sword and bending his Bowe and making it ready yet it seems such is the present hearts-ease sin affords so sweet is the sleep it yields that men care not for being awak'd by Consideration We should wonder to see a man that 's ready to starve for want of food refuse the bread or meat which we offer him and wonder to see a person that 's ready to perish with cold reject the fire and cloathing we have prepared for him and wonder to see one who is blind scorn the help of him that would certainly restore him to his sight and wonder to see one who is fallen among Thieves and Robbers make light of the assistance of a Prince who offers to rescue him out of their hands And dost not thou wonder O my soul at the insufferable stupidity of sinful men that entic'd with the
I believe it for when in their riper years they reflect what time they have lost and how they have spent that age which was fittest for pleasure in retired devotion they cannot but turn profane out of despight and strive to redeem the time they have mispent in following the advice of melancholy Scholars Religion is a thing fit only for those who are either discontented or grown weary of the World for men who can sin no more and whom age hath mortified into forsaking of their Vices shall I forbear my mirth and amorous Songs and witty Talk my Railleries and modish Accomplishments for I know not what The men in black speak for their own interest and God sure is kinder to men than to give them an appetite to sensual satisfactions and then forbid them to use it what needs this haste and why should I apply my self to a religious life so early when I have some forty fifty threescore years before me and can shake off my follies any time hereafter Thus the weak Youngster pleads and embraces these motions as Cordials for his sickly passions as Elixirs for his heated blood Consideration would let him see that these Temptations are Messengers of the Devil Threads to lead him into darkness into captivity into perfect slavery and none but a mad man could forbear rejoycing at so happy a discovery When the gray and hoary head from his great age infers the greatness of his graces and from the multitude of his years concludes the multitude of his virtues flatters himself that God loves him because he hath had little or no affliction in the world and from his impunity here draws an argument to prove his impunity hereafter and sooths himself with Gods favour upon this account chiefly because he never discover'd his anger in signal judgments and bids his Soul trust to it that he stands fair in the good opinion and esteem of God because his labours in the world have been crown'd with success and because he hath a Garden of Eden here securely promises himself a Paradise hereafter and will not be persuaded to the contrary but that his plenty here is but an earnest of a fuller Vintage and richer Granary intended for him in the Land of Canaan and that his long life on earth is a pledge of his eternal Life in Heaven What are these but Temptations which Consideration would discover to be Impostures and consequently shed both light and joy into the Soul When the poor from their outward conclude their spiritual poverty and will needs think that they are in a state of grace because they are in a state of want and fancy they may securely pilfer because God hath made no other provision for them and that they shall receive their good things in the next world because they received their evil things in this that they shall be rich in Heaven because they were destitute of conveniences here on earth that they must necessarily be Lords hereafter because they were Beggars here and shall certainly rejoyce in the nex life because they mourn'd in this valley of Tears and cannot but be blessed for ever because they had a very large measure of misery here When the rich from their prerogative on earth conclude their prerogative in Heaven and because they are advanc'd above other men think they may use greater liberty in offending God than others and because they have greater estates than the meaner sort may therefore sin more boldly and more considently than they When from their power they infer the lawfulness of their extravigances and because they can stand it out and brave the World fancy they may oppress the poorer sort and may swear and curse more boldly than their Tenants and resent and affront and revenge injuries with greater justice than Clowns and Peasants when from the custom of the age they infer their priviledge of being more sensual than other men and because persons of the same quality are not argue that they need not be so cautious and circumspect in their words and ways as other men When the gentiler sort of people feel inclinations in themselves to be ashamed of the Gospel and to forbear professing any zeal or fervency for Religion in company where Christs blood and wounds are abus'd where God and Heaven are rallied where the precepts of the Almighty are laught at and the Gospel turn'd into ridicule when they find an unwillingness seize upon their spirits to reprove either their equals or inferiors for some notorious impiety they commit When they think it is below them to pray with their Families to exhort their Servants to seriousness and to shew a good example to those that are under their charge when they find a disposition to comply with lewd society to laugh and smile and consent to their frothy speeches and abusive reflections and to conceal the truth where it ought to be professed and spoken When the Tradesman thinks of putting off his naughty Commodities to the ignorant Chapman and of circumventing and deceiving his Neighbor where his Neighbor understands not what he buys when he is willing to put off his devotion upon every trivial worldly business that comes in his way and to create business rather than obey the checks of his Conscience that chides him for not minding his spiritual Concerns more When he is loth to do acts of Charity because he hath a Wife and Family to maintain and is afraid he may want himself When he thinks that Piety may procure Poverty and strictness of life may lose him his Customers and following the ways of God may make his acquaintance leave him and that to be idle in his shop is better than reading or meditating or employing his mind in contemplations of Gods goodness and mercy and the various blessings he hath bestow'd upon him When Parents are unwilling to correct and admonish their Children are persuaded to let them take their course abuse others despise those they have a grudge against When they are loth to instruct them in the fear of God loth to initiate them in the love of their faithful Creator are apt to be more angry with their Children and Servants for neglecting their commands than the service of God and apt to be delighted more with their industry and pains in Temporal concerns than with their attempts in the affairs of their everlasting salvation apter to teach them how to maintain the punctilio's of their honour than assert the glory of God and apter to encourage them in vindicating their credit and reputation than in securing their everlasting Treasures or making their Calling and Election sure When Children provided they are able are loth to relieve their Parents loth to administer unto them necessaries if in want unwilling to obey those wholsome counsels which their Parents guided and encourag'd by the Word of God impart to them unwilling to imitate them in their seriousness and heavenly-mindedness are apt to obey their Parents more than God and
image and similitude how empty they leave your souls and how like the Sea when ebbing in muddy places leave nothing but stink and filth and nastiness behind them Consideration would let you see That none can rejoyce so heartily as those who make it their business to please God and to be happy for ever This would shew you That light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart Psal. 97.11 And that no persons in the World have greater reason to rejoyce than they whose great care and study is first to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness as being persons who are acquainted with a lively faith and know by blessed experience what that hope means whereby men purifie themselves even as God is pure and what it is to be strengthen'd with all might unto all patience and long-suffering and what the constraining love of God implies and what it is to be married to him who is altogether lovely and what it is to have union and communion with him Consideration would shew you that peace of Conscience and honour with God and the Spirits making intercession for us with groans unutterable and pardon of sins priviledges which attend a serious preparation for a better World are a continual Feast and consequently afford matter for greater joy than all the rarities and curiosities of this present life This would let you see That that one blessing pardon of sin which a serious man enjoys is a mercy which he may justly rejoyce and triumph in more than the greatest Monarch of this world in his boundless Empire This would lead your thoughts to take a view of the present condition of the unhappy spirits in Hell to whom pardon of sin would be a greater comfort and refreshment than all the pleasures of this World distill'd into quintessence Should a Proclamation be made in that dismal Vault by some Angel sent from Heaven that all the Prisoners are freed from their guilt by the new and living way even by the blood of Jesus and that God hath condescended at last and is prevail'd withall to forgive their iniquities what leaping what dancing what joy what gladness what exultation of spirit what serenity of face what a chearful air would appear in every corner of that loathsom Prison How would one Wretch jog the other and bid him break out into praises and celebrations of his Maker for so great a favour How like Heaven would Hell look on a sudden and all their exclamations which grief and anguish did draw from them change into exclamations of gladness How would their hearts swell and dilate themselves and transport them into an extasie of joy How sordid how mean how pitiful how inconsiderable would all their former sensual delights seem to this pleasure or satisfaction Consideration would let you see That whatever men that are become vain in their imaginations may prate there is no pleasure no felicity like that which flows from walking in the wayes of God that in this Garden are the sweetest Roses the most odoriferous Flowers the most fragrant Plants Roses which have no prickles underneath like your carnal delights flowers which wither not away like that frothy mirth which the laughter of Fools affords Plants which feed and nourish and heal and poyson not like those airy satisfactions which flow from making provision for the flesh This would represent to your minds the examples of millions of Saints Who are able from their own experience to affirm that the ways of seriousness are truly ways of pleasantness and that all her paths are peace that they have found more satisfaction in being door-keepers in the house of God than they have done in being Masters of the most glorious Tents of wickedness that they have had more joy from contemplation of Heavens glory and from reflecting on the beauty of holiness in one hour than ever they received from running up and down many years together after the things the vain World is enamor'd withall that they would not be in that miserable unregenerate estate again if they might have whole Kingdoms to entice them and that there is no condition in all the World so full of Bryars and Thorns and Anguish and Pain and Disquietness and Trouble and Vexation as a sinful life and an unconverted state Consideration would let you see That those serious persons who look dejected and melancholy have joyes within which no stranger intermeddles withall and as little shew as they make of chearfulness they carry that within their breasts as can make their life a perpetual Jubilee So far is Consideration from making men melancholy that it points at the things where the greatest joy is to be found and as Consideration it self is a pleasure as we prov'd before so it is a guide to lead men into such a Paradise as they would be content to lose themselves in and desire no greater felicity on this side Heaven VII Impediment VII Fear of going distracted with poring on things too high for their capacities The aversness from a truly serious circumspect life in most men is so very great that they 'll entertain the absurdest silliest and most childish pretences rather than be persuaded to that course God and his holy Angels Scripture Conscience Ministers and all the Providences of God do call and invite them to And such a shift is that we have before us a plea so impertinent that we might justly ask the question Whether those that make use of it are not distracted already Men had as good give us a downright answer and tell us plainly That they will not take their everlasting state into Consideration and will have nothing to do with salvation as make us conclude so much from their unsteddiness and tergiversations They love to leave God and themselves and their Neighbors in the dark and we find they halt between two opinions unresolv'd whether they shall follow God or Baal They would neither displease God nor the Devil The Devils favour they keep and maintain by their secret aversness from a serious preparation for another life and Gods good will they court by pretending that they would follow him were it not for such and such obstacles and impediments And indeed their flesh does no sooner suggest an excuse to their minds but they presently flatter themselves that that shift will be a sufficient Apology for neglect of their duty And though going distracted with Consideration be a thing very unlikely next to impossible yet a pitiful shift being better than none this comes in with the rest and helps to rock the Soul into a sleeping slumber it seems their brains are strong enough to contrive how to promote their own fall but will not serve them to ponder how to keep themselves from ruine One would think they could not be worse mad than they are already and therefore they might venture upon a serious Consideration of their wayes without danger Take a view of thy actions sinner
derived from Heaven too else it would follow that God had been very unwise in his choice and had exerted his omnipotent power to little or no purpose only to make a shew in the World or to increase the Kingdom of darkness than which there can nothing be imagin'd more absurd or incongruous If I consider the progress of this Gospel I find it 's altogether miraculous not only because the Apostles who propagated this Doctrine had the power of Miracles confer'd on them by this Jesus which proves him to have been in the form of God but because in less than 200 years without force or arms in despite of Sword and Fire and the direst Torments it spread over all the known world That the Mahometan Religion made a stupendous progress after its first rise is not denied but he that shall reflect on the means whereby it enlarged its power viz. by Sword and Violence by depopulating Countries by killing and murthering all that resisted will judge it rose from Hell rather than came down from Heaven But I find the Gospel spread to a Miracle only by innocence and patience by doing good and suffering evil the proper Arms of Heaven I see how in despite of all the Arts and Stratagems the Devil could invent to stop its progress in despite of all the endeavours of Nero Domitian Trajan Decius Dioclesian to root it out it mock'd their rage and fury I find how the blood of Martyrs that was spilt this day brought forth a greater number of Confessors the next and multitudes of Christians that were sacrificed this week were seconded by a greater Army in a few dayes after and men seem'd to glory in being designed for death and serving as Apprentices of Martyrdom and though here and there a Mahometan may die for his Religion yet such a number of Martyrs no Religion can shew and what can I think of so many Myriads of men that being offered Ease Plenty Riches Honours Preferments despised them all and would suffer the most exquisite Tortures Tortures which the Executioners themselves trembled at and which made the very Heathen blush to see such inhumanity rather than deny that Doctrine which they had upon indubitable Testimonies receiv'd as Divine what can I think I say of these men but that they had sufficiently search'd into the truth of this Gospel and were most certainly assured that it was the Word and Will of God and that this Jesus would most certainly fulfill his promises to them and give them eternal life if they could be content to lose their lives on earth for his sake That so many Hundred thousand men many of them learned and wise and of noble blood and ingenious education should throw away their lives in a humor without very good ground that what they believed was really Divine and could not but be so is a thing altogether unaccountable to a rational man I read how in and about Christ's time either just before his coming or shortly after his departing out of this world by confession of the Heathen themselves the Heathen Oracles and the Voices of Devils ceas'd And can I think the Devil would have left deluding the world by his ambiguous Oracles gone off of the Stage voluntarily and quietly except he had been forced and compelled to it by this prodigious person whom God sent into the world to reveal his glory Certainly it could not be one that was meer man whom these evil Spirits would have vailed and bowed to without he had been more than man they would have disputed their power and maintained their possession and defended their universal Empire and made men know that the arm of flesh was a very inconsiderable weapon to controll or dethrone the Rulers of the darkness of this world I find wherever this Gospel came the Devil fled away this destroyed his Service Priests and Altars the gates of Hell could not withstand it nor can I see which way the Gospel could have effected all this without its power and efficacy had been Divine I read what strange alterations it made upon all Peoples tempers dispositions and affections who embrac'd it what should make so many great men so many subtle Philosophers so many learned Men so many Sages men of the greatest wit and judgment and apprehension both in the Eastern and Western Empire yield and submit to it and throw away their vain Philosophical Learning and humble themselves to the Cross of Christ except they had seen the stamp of God upon it I find that the greatest Orators and Logicians and the ablest Disputants that came with an intent to deride it were captivated and conquer'd by it and submitted to its Lawes and Doctrines The change it wrought upon Peoples spirits was wondrous strange the Cholerick the Envious the Drunkard the Fornicator the Adulterer the Worldling the Oppressor the Timorous the Pusillanimous were on a sudden transform'd into Love Meekness Sobriety Chastity Temperance Charity Liberality Fortitude and Magnanimity and they that before trembled at the thoughts of Fire and wild Beasts offered themselves to flames and took it ill if they were put by and deprived of the Honour of riding in such fiery Chariots to Heaven Nay I see at this day how wonderfully it works on the Souls of men makes them act against their natural inclinations without any prospect of temporal interest go against the bias of their corruptions and stop in their career to Hell which they were running to with most eager appetite I see how it makes them hate that evil company they formerly delighted in and how insipid it renders all the jests of their old Associates how it makes them love their Enemies do good to them that hate them pray for them that persecute them and despitefully use them how it makes them live above sense and seek their greatest satisfaction in the wayes and ordinances of God In a word how from Beasts it changes them into men and from men into more than men And what can I ascribe all this to but to a Divine Spirit that by this Gospel subdues the hearts and brings the lusts and affections of men into obedience to Christ Jesus He that shall take such Arguments as these into serious Consideration may easily satisfie himself that in these Volumes is contain'd the true Will of God at least that this of all things extant is most likely to be the Will of God nothing in nature having those circumstances and characters and testimonies of a Divine Original as the Rules contain'd in these Books we call the Bible have whatever seeming Contradictions and Tautologies may be found there to a Considerate man it would appear that as long as the main thing the true way to happiness is secured such accidental things as frequency of the same expressions and Chronological mistakes committed by the various Transcribers may be pass'd by without offence That many things which have seem'd Contradictions upon examination of the Customs and Circumstances of the
and the wit of Man can use against it This sure makes it more than probable that it is a Plant which God himself hath planted in the Soul Would he consider with himself I believe there is a God and I cannot but allow that God impartial justice To deny him this is to deny him Perfection and consequently to deny his Being for the notion of a God implies absolute perfection If this God be just how shall I judge of his Justice I have no other rule to go by but that justice which all Mankind believes to be justice If God be our Governour as certainly none hath greater right to it because in him we live and breathe and have our being he cannot but be a righteous Governour and how can he be a Righteous Governour without distributive justice without making a just difference by rewards and punishments between the obedient and disobedient and When I see God makes no just difference in this life by rewards and punishments between those that serve him and those that despise and contemn his Will what can I conclude but that he intends to make it in the life to come or after this life is ended Which way he intends to do it is not material for me to know as long as I am assur'd that this Soul I carry within me will be the principal subject of these joyes or miseries He is most certainly able to preserve that Soul which he hath made capable of being govern'd by moral Laws and Precepts and to be wrought upon by moral perswasions into obedience to his Laws he is most certainly able I say to keep our Souls in being even when they leave the Earthly Tabernacle of their Bodies and to punish or reward them according to their Works these Souls being the principal Agents in good or evil and he that was able to create the Body is certainly able to raise it again and unite it to the Soul that so both may participate of the same fate Nay the necessity of these after-rewards and punishments enforce a necessity at least of Gods preserving the Soul for these rewards and punishments and what way soever God hath to preserve our intellectual part after death it s enough to me or to any rational man that according to the notion and apprehension we have of justice he cannot be just without he doth preserve it either for reward or punishment For that God doth not sufficiently reward and punish Men in this life daily experience gives me sufficient testimonies The wickedest of Men are very often the greatest in the World and those that oppress such as truly fear God swim in all manner of plenty and ease and riches and honour And though its true that such men have sicknesses and dye yet those are things common to good and bad and can be thought no just differencing retributions Those that make it their business to observe Gods Laws labour to approve themselves his most obedient Subjects and his most faithful Servants ordinarily suffer great injuries are unjustly arraign'd condemn'd executed undergo tortures of cruel mockings of scourgings of bonds of imprisonments And their Accusers or Judges may be have all that heart can wish their Eyes stand out with fatness neither are they plagued like other Men or if they be sometimes afflicted the affliction is not at all answerable to the horridness of the crimes they commit How gently do many of these Monsters dye upon their Beds no Lamp expires more leisurely than their breath while the other that meditates in Gods Law day and night dies with disgrace and shame or is most barbarously murther'd and butcher'd Can I look upon all these passages and occurrencies and not conclude another world I must eiher conclude there is no Governour of the World or if there be one that Governour will certainly find a time if not here yet hereafter to manifest his Justice to reward the Innocent and to punish those that bid defiance to Heaven Either Man is a nobler Creature than a Beast or he is not if he be not what means his Reason his Speech his Power to express his Mind and to examine the nature manner ends causes and designes of all things his dominion over all the Beasts of Earth c. If he be we must not affirm that of him which will certainly declare him more miserable than the Beasts whose spirit goes downwards If there be no other World no Judgement to come no after-retribution why is man possessed with the fear of it This fear is a thing of that consequence and hath so great an influence upon Mens Lives that from that fear according as Creatures are either possest with it or want it they may justly be call'd either happy or miserable Beasts I see are not capable of these fears and consequently cannot be disturb'd with the apprehension of such things and therefore must necessarily be more happy and nobler Creatures than Men who are not only capable of such apprehensions but by a natural instinct feed and cherish such thoughts as these And can there be any thing more absurd than to call an Ox or Lion or Elephant a nobler Creature than Man and yet this must necessarily follow if there be no other world Man would be the most miserable Creature in the world being so apt to be tormented with those fears if he did dye into annihilation and he might justly wish himself a Beast and lament that God had put such a clog to all his delights and merriments and accuse his Maker of Injustice or Cruelty for frighting or possessing him with fears of that which never was nor is nor will be Such considerations would most certainly satisfy any rational impartial Man and deliver him from halting between two opinions and convince him that he doth not cease to be when he dies that there is a just Judge and that he will in a short time find it by woful experience if a serious return to God prevent it not that when the jolly sinner banishes all thoughts and contemplations of this Nature from his Mind he turns Monster Changeling Devil nay worse than Devil for the Devils believe a world to come and tremble and it s meerly want of consideration makes him so 3. The same defect makes him wonder at the malapertness and impertinence of Divines that in every Sermon almost pronounce Eternal Flames to be a due and just punishment for Temporal sins Let the vain man but call his thoughts together and summon his understanding to take a view of such Topicks as these Why should I think it incongruous to Gods justice to punish sins committed here with an Eternity of pain and anguish Hath not he power to do with his own what he pleaseth May not he affright stubborn sinners with what punishment he hath a mind to Had I a Servant to whom I were as kind as to my own Child whom I had rais'd out of the Dust and heap'd innumerable Favours upon
Man or can I spend too much time in commemorating so glorious a Favour when God allows me six dayes in the week to follow the business of my lawful Calling cannot I allow one day entire for his service Are the concerns of my Soul so trivial that they do not deserve one day in the week or is Salvation so easy a thing that to spend much time in the contrivance of it is altogether needless I can allow a whole day sometimes two or three for the recreation of my Body and must my Soul have none to feast it self upon God and endless Glory Alas how little do those flashes of contemplating God in the week days which are so often interrupted by worldly businesses warm the Soul how little are mens affections wrought upon by those sits of Devotion except they take a whole day to warm their Souls at the beams of the Sun of Righteousness Alas How little seriousness doe I see in those Families where this day is not Religiously spent where every person is permitted to use their liberty and where the publick Exercises in the Church are not seconded by private Discourses and Prayers and Celebrations of the goodness of God where is my self-denial if I cannot deny my self in my worldly discourses or thoughts one day how can I hope my Spiritual wants and necessities should ever be discover'd to me except I do in my closet apply what I have heard in the House of God and water the incorruptible Seed that is sown in my Heart by self-examination that it may grow and sprout and bear Fruit O the joy the comfort the satisfaction I might reap from the sincere sanctification of this day how quietly might I lye down at night after so sweet a converse with God all day how soft would my rest be having worked in God's Vineyard so many hours how joyfully might I rise next morning and comfort my self with the happy remembrance of the blessings my Soul hath receiv'd the day before Thus to observe and to improve this day would be a Prologue to my everlasting rest a Preface to my Eternal repose in Abraham's bosom a Presage that I should e'r long rest from all Tears and sorrow and pain and anguish and from all the temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil and be admitted into the Quire of Angels to praise him day and night who lives for ever and ever In this manner all other Duties may be compass'd the Beauty Glory usefulness of them thus spread before the Understanding Will and Affections are apt to work upon these Faculties and they being prevail'd upon the Eyes the Ears the Hands the Feet will quickly do their part and shew their readiness to obey the commands of their superior Officers II. It helps men to improve external objects into very comfortable contemplations When I take a view of the Sun and Moon and Stars or reflect on the Air Fire Earth and Water Consideration may furnish me with very excellent Truths and the noblest Lessons of Religion Consideration can metamorphose objects and spiritualize them and find out the secret designs of the Almighty in those Creatures which the sensual man looks upon and like a Beast passes by without any admiration for after this manner it may argue Take wings O my Soul fly up to yonder Heaven where the Almighty hath set a Tabernacle for the Sun which is as a Bridegroom coming out of his Chamber and rejoyces as a Giant to run his race Behold how this glorious Planet when he rises revives every living thing with his kindly beams and will not the increated Sun from whom this bright star borrows his shining rays when he shall rise unto the Spirits of Men made perfect in the last day fill them all with unspeakable joy and gladness and as a dismal uncomfortable darkness succeds when this created Sun doth leave our Hemisphere so think how dreadful how full of horror and disconsolateness that darkness must be which must unavoidably fall on wretched impenitent sinners that would take no warning when the increated Sun shall withdraw from them his beatifical Presence for ever behold this created Sun how many thousand kindnesses it bestowes upon Mankind and doth not this put thee in mind of the Father of Lights from whom every good and perfect Gift descends how much bigger is this shining Body than the whole Earrh and dost not thou remember how before thy God all Mankind are as Grashoppers or rather as the dust of the Ballance nay lighter than nothing and vanity The Sun that he may enlighten the whole World is forced to go from one place to another but thy God at one and the same time without moving his station can fill Heaven and Earth with his Glory Behold O my Soul the next great Light the Moon which the nearer it approaches the Sun the brighter it grows in that part which looks toward Heaven though it becomes darker in that part which looks towards the Earth and when it is opposite to the Sun looses all that brightness it had in its conjunction with the Sun and is only clouded in that part which respects this lower World and dost not thou see a very lively emblem of a converted and an unconverted sinner in this luminary Behold the nearer thou approachest the Sun of Righteousness in purity and holiness the greater luster and the greater happiness thou receivest the Inhabitants of Heaven behold thy brightness and Innocence and applaud it though sensual Men may be think thee all darkness all obscurity because thou dost not wallow in Works of darkness with them they may be look upon thee as mad and distracted because thou art so busy so earnest so zealous to please thy God and spendest so much time in praising and magnifying and glorifying of him but those that dwell in yonder Region of Light and Bliss know that then and not till then thou art master of thy Reason and dost act like a person that 's capable of being made partaker of the Divine Nature On the other side when thou turnest thy back upon God walk'st opposite and contrary to him whatever respect and credit thou may'st have from the World God and his Holy Angels look upon thee as darkness thy understanding which is that part which properly looks towards Heaven looses all its brightness and no marvel for God alone can satisfy it and he being gone that part must needs be perfect night and no marvel if upon this darkness thy love runs altogether for the world and thy affections are altogether carried out after the dross and Dung of this transitory Earth if thy thoughts are all engaged about the World all thy Speeches employ'd about the World and thou becom'st Wise for the World and loosest all thy wisdom for God and for Salvation O my Soul canst thou look upon the Sun and Moon and not remember how differently God deals with Triumphing Saints in Heaven and his militant Church here on
Love and consequently of being too Religious art thou afraid of being too much enamoured with this Jesus art thou afraid that the sight of his broken Body will break thy Heart too much art thou afraid that the sight of his effused Bloud will make thee pour out too many Tears and Prayers and Praises of his Love considering how dull how dead thou art thou hadst need come frequently to the Cross to have thy Affections suppled and softned with this precious Bloud how frail is thy memory and hadst not thou need of refreshing it often with the sight of Christs incomprehensible love art thou afraid of renewing thy Repentance thy Faith thy Hope thy Charity too often The oftner thou dost resort to this blessed communion the greater will be thy acquaintance with thy best of friends the greater sense thou wilt get of the need and want of him the greater encouragement thou wilt find to imitate him in his Holiness Meekness Patience and Humility and the greater assurance thou wilt get of his Love and Favour and Pardon and everlasting Mercy and are these Blessings to be scorn'd and undervalu'd thou pretendest want of preparation but whose fault is it that thou art not prepar'd what can hinder thee from preparation but love to sin and shall love to a sensual careless life hinder thee from laying hold of the greatest Treasure will this Plea hold when thou shalt appear before the great Tribunal O my Soul this is to excuse sin by sin and to despise God's Ordinance because thou despisest his commands and how will this aggravate thy folly one day and fill thee with shame and horror O play not with everlasting mercy let not business hinder thee from advancing thy Spiritual and Eternal interest Remember what became of the men that pretended they had Farms to see and Oxen to try and Wives to marry when they were invited to the Supper of the Lamb canst thou think of the protestation of the Master of the Feast against these stubborn wretches and not conclude thy fate by their being excluded from Gods Favour forever if it be a sense of thy own vileness and unworthiness that keeps thee away thou mistakest and misrepresentest the goodness of thy Lord and Master No persons more welcome at this Table than the humble and broken-hearted none meet with a more favourable reception than the poor in Spirit these the Crucified Jesus prays for on his Cross Father forgive them and the everlasting Father hears and saith to them Be of good chear your sins are forgiven you V. It prepares a man for an Angelical life here on Earth for he that frequently considers and contemplates the Joyes the Triumphs the Scepters the Crowns the Diadems of yonder Kingdom the everlasting Love and Peace and Satisfaction which Angels and glorified Saints enjoy cannot but think himself during that consideration in Heaven and participating of that content and happiness which is possessed by the general Assembly of the First-born which are written in Heaven Indeed this is to make Earth a Heaven and to change this Wilderness into a Paradise a Closet into the Seat of Glory and a Desart into those Regions of Bliss and Happiness How like an Angel may that Man live that is often engaged in such considerations as these Heaven what do I hear Heaven the harbor of all laden and wearied Souls Heaven the end of all my sorrow and miseries Heaven the Port I have been sailing to these many years Heaven the inheritance of those that keep themselves uspotted from the World Heaven the rest of Gods Servants and the habitation of the Mourners in Sion Heaven the great mark of my Desires the anchor of my Hope the foundation of my Confidence Heaven the University where we shall know even as we are known how undisturb'd how quiet do all the Inhabitants of those blessed Mansions live there rest those Saints who were made as the filth of the World and as the off-scouring of all things how different are the thoughts of God from those of the World these men the world regarded not behold God remembers them and when he makes up his Jewels spares them as a man would spare his own Son that serves him There rests that Mary Magdalen that stood behind Christ at his feet weeping and washed his Feet with her Tears and did wipe them with the hair of her Head and kiss'd them and anointed his Head with ointment There rests that Lazarus who desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich mans Table There rest that David that made his Bed to swim and water'd his Couch with his Tears There rests all the Prophets of old who through Faith subdued Kingdoms wrought Righteousness obtain'd Promises stopp'd the mouths of Lions quench'd the violence of the Fire escap'd the edge of the Sword out of weakness were made strong wax'd valiant in fight turn'd to slight the Arms of the Aliens There rest all those Souls that look'd for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of their Saviour Jesus Christ. There rests all those Martyrs and Confessors that were ready not only to suffer but to dye also for the name of the Lord Jesus There they rest encircled with an Eternal calm There they rest incompass'd with an innumerable company of Angels There they rest surrounded with the Gracious Presence of a merciful God There they rest from all the calumnies and slanders of this poor envious world There they rest from all Darkness in Eternal Light and in the beams of the Sun of Righteousness forever Awake O my Soul awake advance into yonder regions of Glory retire into yonder Paradise leave this world and goe higher let thy thoughts transcend the Sun and Moon and Stars get before the Throne of God take a view of the still waters whereof the vast Armies of Glorified Spirits drink where they are there are no Wolves no Tygers no Bears no Lions as in this barren wilderness in those happy shades is no noise but that of Halelujahs no discontent no War no dissentions inhabit there there all agree there Ephraim is no more against Manasse nor Manasse against Ephraim nor they both against Juda but all are delighted with the everlasting Glory and Love of God there they hunger and thirst no more Wonderful change Here O my Saul thou art ever thirsting after God as the dry Land thirsteth after water there thou shalt be satisfied with him to all Eternity here thou longest after the hidden Manna there it will never be taken from thee here like Solomons Bride by night on thy Bed thou seekest him who is altogether lovely there his Beauty and Presence will ravish thee for ever Here though thy desires after the Blessings of Gods left hand be subordinate to thy desires after spiritual Mercies and thy esteem of God preponderates and is higher than thy esteem of any outward felicities yet while so nearly allied to Sense thou canst not so abandon Nature as to
consider the evil of thy courses the beauty of Gods ways and the sad consequences of sensuality thou deniest thy own Being deniest Gods Favour to thy Soul deniest the Glory of thy Creation deniest the most visible and the most apparent thing in the world if thou deniest thy ability in this point and if thou art able to consider so much what injustice can it be in God to demand an account of this consideration wherein doth he do thee an injury if he doth ask what thou hast done with this power wert thou in Gods stead wouldst not thou require the same account of thy servant on whom thou hadst bestow'd such a Talent if thou art able and wilt not take thy faithfulness into serious consideration can there be any thing more just in the world than thy damnation how easy were it for thee to lay home the danger thou art in and seeing it is so easy how just is it with God to let thee perish in that danger thou art resolv'd in despight of all Gods endeavours to the contrary to fall and sink into O Christian how dreadful will it be for thee when Christ shall depart from thee with this doleful exclamation How often would I have gathered thee as a Hen doth gather her Chickens under her wings and thou wouldst not wouldst not This is it that makes thy everlasting torments just O Sinner that God should invite thee to Heaven and thou put him off with this answer I will not that God should carress thee to become his Darling and thou voluntarily and freely list thy self in the Catalogue of the Devils favourites and votaries that God should leave no means untried to melt thy stuborn heart and thou desperately fight against his Heaven and when he would thrust thee into it violently to break loose from him and lay force upon damnation How inexcusable will this make thee What Man what Angel can or dares plead for thee after such horrid wilfulness by it thou shutst up all mens compassion against thee were thy error an infirmity or had invincible ignorance caused thy folly some or other possibly might be moved to speak in favour of thy concerns but that thou knowing the will of God and having power to think what the end of thy courses will be and power to avoid the danger and power to pray for help a gracious God to encourage thee a glorious reward to entice thee Eternity to fright thee the everlasting gulph to startle thee shouldst in despight of all these motives wilfully and maliciously shun thine own cure this is a malady which no creature can justly shed a Tear or frame an apology for Be astonish'd O ye Heavens and tremble O thou Earth ye Angels that rejoyce at a sinners conversion here on Earth O all ye that pass by behold and see whether there be a sorrow as such a sinners sorrow is We have read of men that have eaten their enemies of Monsters that have devour'd their own Children but here is one devours himself inhumane to a prodigy one that contrives how to shut himself out of Heaven plots how to undermine his everlasting Salvation and studies how to sink into the dungeon of desperation Sirs what is it that we are exhorting you unto is it to dig down Mountains is it to exhaust the Sea is it to pull down the Sun from his Orb is it to reverse the course of Nature is it to work miracles is it to unhinge the Earth or to stop the flux and reflux of the Ocean one would think by the earnestness and vehemency of expressions we are forced to use that it must be something beyond the power of man but no all that we keep this stir for is only that you would consent to be happy contrive how to inherit an incorruptible Crown and think seriously how to escape your own torment and needs there any intreaty for this one would think you should run to us break down the doors of our Habitations pull us out of our studies interrupt us though we were never so busy and importune us as that Widdow did the Judge and follow us day and night to be satisfied the thing is of that importance And O did you but believe an Eternity you would do so Believe why what should hinder you from believing it what arguments can you desire that you have not can there be any thing surer than the word of God can there be a greater witness than the Son of God God cannot deceive you he cannot impose upon you he cannot delude you dare to believe him though you have not look'd into Hell yet certainly there 's one though you have not seen the joys above yet such joys there are and to consider to study to ponder how to arrive to them is the great thing we press upon you as being sensible of your danger sensible that death will arrest you before you are aware of it sensible that many thousands are for ever miserable for neglecting such exhortations O Sirs we do not envy your worldly happiness we dare assure you that it is not any grugde we have against your prosperity that makes us put you in mind of these unwelcome Lessons we have a God calling upon us to stop you in your earnestness for the world woe to us if we give you no warning woe to you if you take no warning If making provision for the Flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof would make you happy if rioting and drunkenness chambering and wantonness and rouling in all the pleasures that your flesh does promise and your fancy pay could contribute any thing to your felicity if solacing your selves in the wanton streams of sensual delights would lead you into Paradise we promise you we would not molest or disturb you in your ways nay if you had not Souls to be saved did your Spirits dye with your Bodies we would not stint you in your jollities But oh can we read how the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men and see you fall a prey to that indignation Can we read how tribulation and anguish shall certainly fall upon every Soul that doth evil and not speak to you to prevent it Can we read how the Lord Jesus will e'r long come from Heaven in flames of Fire to take vengeance of those who have continued to disobey his Gospel and to punish them with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his power and not call to you Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand Can we read how the unprofitable Servant that made no use of his Talent but buried it under ground and would not watch or make himself ready to meet his Master shall be thrown into outward darkness where there is howling and gnashing of Teeth and not beg of you to trim your Lamps and arise from the dead that Christ may give you Light Can we remember how many
millions lye now roaring under the fears and terrors of their own Consciences in another world that would not be perswaded to part with their Darling bosome sins till death tore them away from them and not testify unto you least you also come into that place of torment Can we see you stand upon the brink of destruction and be so cruel as not to acquaint you with the bottomless gulph that 's underneath Would you have us to be as tyrannical to you as you are to your own Souls Or would you have us leap into everlasting burnings with you for not reclaiming you from venturing into that fire Sirs what is it that doth discourage you from a sincere consideratiori of your Spiritual condition What are you afraid of Why doe you loiter Why doe you deliberate whether ye shall or no Why doe ye dispute the case Why doe ye stand musing What hinders you Is there any impediment that you may not remove if you will Had you been but a quarter of an hour in Hell would not you call all those men sots and fools that now excuse their wilful neglect of this work Would not you see the vanity of their pretences Would not you confess that all those pretended cloggs are meer cobwebs which may be broke through with the greatest ease Would you be frighted from this duty by any temporal losses as now you are Are you afraid men will laugh at you for being serious Had not you better be laugh'd at here than be scorn'd by God and his Holy Angels to all Eternity Had not you better be jeered here than have the great King of Heaven laugh at your endless calamity and mock when your everlasting fears do come upon you If a fool laughs at you do you regard it and why should you regard such mens scorn any more than the laughter of fools Alas they are distempered in their brains they see not the things which belong to their peace they know not what Religion means Will any man give over the study of Divinity or Law or Physick because the ignorant Peasant sneers at him Will a Tradesman leave his Calling because such a man makes Songs and Ballads upon 't if you are perswaded that Consideration and looking after your Spiritual concerns is the way to real happiness Will you be miserable because another man would not have you to be happy Will that man who laughs at you for despising the world save you harmless at the day of Judgement Will he bail you out when Gods thunder shall break out upon all disobedient sinners Will he undertake for you when God will be abused and mocked no longer and the day of his wrath doth come Will he be your Advocate when you shall have your Consciences pleading against you Alas poor forlorn wretches he will not be able to answer for himself how then should he plead your cause and if he can do you no service cannot secure you against the anger of the Almighty why will you be perswaded by the anger or displeasure of a man though never so great and powerful to omit that on which your Eternal welfare doth depend Sinner as light as thou makest now of this serious reflexion on thy Spiritual concerns thou must consider them one time or other if thou wilt not here God will force thee to do it in Hell whether thou wilt or no here consideration may do good but there it will but aggravate thy torments here it may snatch thee like a brand out of the fire there it will increase thy flames here it may be a means to enlighten thee there it will be a means to confound thee forever Proud self-conceited man who canst find no time for serious consideration here in Hell thou wilt have time enough and O how many sad hours will it cause to consider how thou hast mispent thy time how thou hast flung away so many precious hours upon thy unlawful pleasures how thou hast derided such a Sermon harden'd thy Heart upon such a discourse slighted Gods motions to repentance smother'd the checks of thine own conscience preferr'd the World before Heaven obey'd Man more than thy Creator suffer'd every trivial outward respect to call thee away from Devotion mistrusted Gods Providence taken his name in vain laugh'd at the wholsome Counsels of thy Parents and Teachers despised thy neighbors censur'd their actions more than thy own taken thy fill of sin been weary of following Christ backward to any thing that 's good delighted with nothing but vanity and folly dishonoured God disgraced Religion exposed it to contempt and scorn drawn others into vice laugh'd Men into folly dragg'd them into Hell murther'd their Souls as well as thine own neglected thy Prayers disregarded the Poor oppressed the needy been greedy after the World and undervalu'd the pains and cost God did bestow to entice thee to enter into his Rest At this time thou 'lt be forc'd to consider how great a blessing thou hast refus'd what comfort thou hast depriv'd thy self of what a wise course those took that would not be perswaded by the vain careless world to cast Gods Law behind them but alas these considerations will then be too late time was when thou mightst have consider'd the odiousness of sin and turn'd from thy evil ways time was when thou mightst have consider'd the absolute necessity of despising the world and dedicated thy Self thy Children thy Life and Wealth to Gods service time was when thou mightst have considered that Gods Mercy and Patience did lead thee to Repentance and so have turn'd to God with all thy heart and this had been to secure Gods Favour and to enter thy name in the Book of Life but in Hell such thoughts do but gnaw and sting thee more there they doe but augment thy sorrow and indignation against thyself there they do but make thee weary of thy life and the worst of it is that there thou canst not be rid of these considerations they 'l come into thy mind against thy will here thou didst take pains to keep them out there thou canst not hinder them from burthening and oppressing thy Soul here business and mirth diverted them there thou canst not shake them off with all the industry and labour thou canst use thou needst no accuser there these considerations will be sufficient witnesses against thee there there thou 'lt wish O that I had believ'd the Preachers of the Word I find those men were in the right I find they saw more than I did I find they were not mistaken if I had follow'd their advice I had built my House upon a Rock I find they spoke no more but reason I find they exhorted me to nothing but what was safe and beneficial to my Soul Forgive me ye Men of God pardon my contempt of your Zeal and Fervency O send some Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue if your Prayers if your Tears if
your Entreaties if your Intercessions can prevail with God O help help for I perish in this gulph Plead with your God sollicite for me at the Throne of Grace double treble your cryes and supplications try whether God will have mercy on me who have had no mercy on my self I am frighted I am troubled on every side I would stab my self and cannot dye and must not escape and dare not pity pity a poor miserable worm will none relieve me doe all forsake me doe Men and Angels leave me is there no body to speak comfort to me is there no door for Consolation open are all the avenues to mercy shut Hear hear ye Inhabitants of Heaven are you deaf to my groans are you grown strangers to compassion where is your wonted clemency will no repentance touch the Heart of God will no sorrow move him will no anguish melt him where is that Joshua that prayed for the Suns standing still and it stood still in the midst of Heaven hath he no Prayer left to stop my calamity and to give a truce to my torments where is that Elijah that pray'd that there might be no rain and there came no rain for three years and six months and cannot he pray that this fire may goe out A thousand such cries will then be in vain Consideration now would most certainly prevent those cryes this would represent the groans of those wretches in that dismal prison in such lively characters to thy mind that thou wouldst be restless till thou didst get into the strait-way that leads to life and art not thou ready to embrace it what Fiend what Enemy what Devil what Charm quenches the fire of thy resolutions Dost thou own God for thy Creator and Governor one that hath greater reason to command thee than thy Prince or Master or Parents and dost thou refuse to obey him Dost thou believe that what ever is in man and can challenge obedience is more eminently in God and dost thou scruple to comply with his Will wilt thou prove a Rebel to thy Prince a prodigal Son to thy Father an unfaithful Servant to the best of Masters why shouldst not thou trust God with thy Soul why shouldst not thou run at his call what is it sinner that would make thee take thy ways into serious consideration would a miracle do it why thou hast as great reason to believe that those miracles which are recorded in the Gospel to have been wrought for confirmation of Christs sayings were really wrought and perform'd as thou hast to believe the reality of a miracle if thou shouldst see one wrought before thine eyes either thou believest that those miracles were wrought by Christ and his Apostles or thou dost not if thou dost not why dost not thou examine the circumstances to be satisfied if thou dost what need there any more miracles if those miracles will not perswade thee how should a new miracle do it nay how shall we be sure that the sight of a new miracle would work upon thee how soon would time wear out the memory of it and leave thee as careless as it found thee thou feest miraculous providences every day and yet they move thee not that God spares such a rebellious sinful wretch as thou art so long and after so many thousand provocations is a miracle thou seest Water turn'd into Wine every year for the insipid Liquor of the Vine is changed into a different taste thou feest how from a dry Acorn a mighty Tree doth grow which gives protection to Men and Beasts and to the Fowls of the air thou knowest how from that liquid Principle Job doth speak of A man clothed with skin flesh and fenced with bones and sinews rises what mighty miracles would these be if they were not common and yet none of all these stir thy Soul to reflect seriously what thou must doe to be saved Would an audible voice from Heaven doe it why how couldst thou be sure it came from Heaven and should a voice come to thee from the regions of bliss should God vouchsafe thee such a message immediately from the Clouds as this Wash ye make you clean put the evil of your doings from before mine eyes why it would be no more but what God hath said already it might for the present surprize and startle thee a little but if that Precept written cannot work upon thy Soul it 's to be fear'd the Precept spoke from Heaven would make no very lasting impression upon thee Thou art sufficiently assured so assured that a man of reason cannot justly desire better grounds that God hath spoke those words to thee already and if Gods repeating this Duty so often in his Word can do no good what hopes is there that repeated again it would draw thy heart away from sin and from the world would a mans rising from the dead do it Why Christ is risen from the dead and is become the First-fruits of them that slept and he doth with all the protestations that are fit for a God to make assure thee that he that believes not that is shews his Faith by his Works shall be damn'd and would engage thy mind to ruminate upon that threatning and to think which way thou mayst flee and be freed from that destruction he speaks of and why wilt not thou give credit to what he saith nay if thou shouldst see a Spirit the Ghost of one that hath been thy acquaintance formerly a Ghost that should by woeful experience inform thee that those things the Scripture speaks of are undoubtedly true and that God will proceed exactly according to what he hath promis'd and threatned there it would more satisfy thy curiosity than advance thy Piety and the question still may be whether it would satisfy thy curiosity for it s possible thou mayst imagine that it might be a deception of sight and so forget it and slight it and make little of that motive Thou confessest Christs resurrection and why he should not be believed before a Spirit especially when a Spirit could say no more than he hath said I cannot well conceive Sinner who seeth not that all these pretences are like the wishes of sickly men that wish for this or that Fruit for this or that Dish and when it is brought it is so far from curing them that often it makes them worse and increases their distemper who sees not that these are but inventions to give some colour of reason to thy unwillingness to shake off the sins which do so easily beset thee who sees not that these are only arguments suggested by the Devil to keep thy Soul from her true food and nourishment and who is the looser all this while thou wouldst fain impose upon God and make him believe that it is not want of Will but want of Assurance that this serious consideration of thy wayes is necessary that makes thee stand out against it And alas the cheat thou seek'st to put upon God
thou shalt have it a Crown and it shall be thrown into thy bosom a Kingdom and it shall be thine ask all the Treasures of Glory and they shall not be denied thee from this time forward thy name shall be inrolled among the Favourites of Heaven and in thy Soul as in Jacob's Ladder the Angels shall be continually ascending and descending and thy Head like Gideon's Fleece shall be water'd with the dew of Heaven while the unbelieving World shall be dry and all this shall be thine if my Love my Mercy my Kindness can prevail with thee and engage thee to think seriously what thou must do to please God and to be happy for ever O sinner had those who now lye sweltring under the burning wrath of Almighty God such an offer as this how would they leap and triumph and agree to so reasonable a condition and thank God upon their bended knees day and night and praise him without intermission that he will vouchsafe to receive them on no harder terms than these O sinner is thy heart of stone that it doth not dissolve at this Gracious Message Can the Rock hold out against these bowels of compassion poor stubborn wretch were not thy Heart all steel were not thy Conscience seared how couldst thou forbear being prick'd at the heart hadst thou but the least spark of good nature left in thee what might not these Golden Chains these Silken strings these Cords of Love doe with thy immortal Soul The only reasons that the Servants of Benhadad had to humble themselves to the King of Israel was this We have heard that the Kings of Israel are merciful Kings Sinner hast not thou both heard and seen and seest it to this day that the true King of Israel is a merciful King and will not this prevail with thee to throw thy self down at his feet and kiss his Scepter and consider thy imprudence in deviating so long from the end of thy Creation and Redemption and make thee contented to part with all the strong holds of iniquity within thee and with all imaginations that exalt themselves against the obedience of Christ Jesus O doe not tell me that thou wilt most certainly bethink thy self sometime hereafter when sickness and approaching death shall take thee off from thy worldly businesses Vain foolish man How dost thou know thou shalt live till tomorrow for What is thy life even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away How many thousands are cut off as they are going up the hill in the noon of their days before half their race be run and what Patent hast thou from Heaven that it shall not be thus with thee God laughs at that repentance which men begin when they can keep sin and the world no longer he sees it is forc'd and squeez'd and weak and feeble and will God accept of thy Devotion when thou hast exhausted the cream and marrow of thy Bones in the Devils service How sinner consider thy ways upon thy death-bed Mad man dost thou know what Consideration means the Soul must be in its full strength that considers the sinfulness and sad consequences of her life Doest not thou see how in sickness the Soul sympathizes with the Body how the Mind languishes with the Flesh how weak how feeble the thoughts are upon a Death-bed how the mind is employed with thinking of the pain and anguish and uneasiness of the Body how Mens weakness scarce gives them leave to repeat the Lords Prayer intire without interruption how setling their Estates and disposing of their worldly affairs and sorrow and vexation that they have not managed their secular concerns with greater prudence takes up their cogitations and how transitory and superficial mens thoughts of sin and of another world are except they have gotten a habit of Heavenly-mindedness by a long and constant practice of Holiness in the time of their health and liberty before And doth Salvation deserve no more but a few slight and skin deep reflexions when thou liest a dying Canst thou have such low thoughts of everlasting Glory as to let Consideration of it come behind all the satisfactions of thy flesh Canst thou entertain such pittiful sneaking conceits concerning that mighty Heaven God out of his singular and unparallell'd mercy hath condescended to promise to his Saints as to delay thy contemplations and thy taking a view of it till thy Heart-strings break and thy throat begins to rattle and the House is falling Goe ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Alas when men are a dying the time of working is past that 's the night wherein no man can work that 's the time indeed to reap comfort of our former conscientious practises but not the time to work out our Salvation in that 's the time of rejoycing because our redemption draws nigh not the time of setting out from the Gates of Hell that 's the time to finish our course with joy not the time to begin a Holy life Alas the strength and vigor which must be used in a Heavenly conversation is then gone and men are just upon the point of reckoning with God their accounts must then be ready not to make up so that if thou art not ready now to take thy Spiritual concerns into serious consideration thy heart will be hardened every day more and more and the longer thou livest the less mind thou wilt have to set about it and if thou dost not think it worth thy trouble to spare now and then an hour from thy worldly businesses to mind this one thing necessary thou doest as good as tell God that thou wilt have none of his Heaven and judgest thy self unworthy of Eternal life O Sinner the present time is the day of Salvation this is the acceptable time now strike and thy sins will fall now strive and the Crown will be thine now fall to work and promise thy self Eternal Rest thou canst call no time thine own but the present time that 's only in thine hands make use of that and save thy self from this untoward Generation Extricate thy self from the delusions of the flesh take courage and be gone stay not in Sodom now accept of Mercy now lay up thy Treasure and secure thy right to the Tree of Life now remember thy Creator and God will remember thee when he makes up his Jewels and spare thee as a man would spare his own Son that serves him Hear then this Men Fathers and Brethren the God of your Fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob hath sent us to you to tell you that his Supper is ready and the doors are open and the Guests are come and yet there is room and that you may fill the room which is left is the message we come to acquaint you withal from him who delights not in the death of a sinner but would have him turn and live Hear this ye